Revelation the Key to Understanding the Bible

Multiple Triple Views within Revelation

REVELATION ARTICLES

James Schucker

Three 7 fold views of the Church During the Gospel age

Scriptural texts frequently employ repetition, wherein a message is initially stated, subsequently restated using different wording, and often reiterated a third time to ensure comprehension. The Book of Revelation exemplifies this approach, at times incorporating a seven-fold pattern within this structure. Having studied Revelation for fifty years, I have discovered that there are three 7 fold views of the Church During the Gospel age, three 7 fold views of the The Harvest Age, and Three views of the Millennial Age Church. There are also three views of the Antichrist-System Controlling the Roman Beast that had power over the Church during the Gospel Age and Three views of the take down of the Antichrist Roman Beast during the Harvest of the Gospel Age.

The first 7 fold view of the Gospel age Church is given in the messages to the seven churches of Revelation chapters two and three. That is, 1 Ephesus, 2 Smyrna, 3 Pergamum, 4 Thyatira, 5 Sardis, 6 Philadelphia, and 7 Laodicea. The messages to these churches reflect what the Lord desired to communicate to the Church across seven periods during 2000 years of the gospel age. These periods are aligned with major shifts in the political landscape. Christianity grew stronger where the Lord sent his seven messengers to the church and where the Jewish people also faced consequences for not recognizing their Messiah. Christians, connected to Jewish heritage, also experience persecution as part of this history. Faithful Christians were to suffer just as the prophets of old suffered for their speaking truth to Israel. This was done to fulfill: Luke 6:22-23 “Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil because of the Son of Man. 23Rejoice on that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For their fathers treated the prophets in the same way.” God must test your willingness to suffer persecution for righteousness before he will reward you with immortal life.

The second 7 fold view of the Gospel age Church is given to us in the opening of the seals beginning in Revelation 5:1 running through 8:5. Think of the seals as the prophetic understanding being opened by the seven messengers. What was revealed is what was written to occur for that corresponding stage of the gospel age. The angel/messenger which was sent to that stage of the church by the Lord would help unlock the corresponding seal. What historically happens because of the seal being broken by the corresponding messenger is described by that seal.

The third 7 fold view of the Gospel age Church is given to us in the sounding of the seven trumpets beginning in Revelation 8:6 through 10:11. The perspective described in these passages reflect a poor response to the message given by the seven messengers from people who identify as Christians but have been following a perversion of the Gospel. Reference: the parable of the wheat and the tares in Matthew 13:24-43. Hence the message from their perspective is seen as a plague. The message is a rebuke to the tare class. But it is good for true Christianity and shows the spread of Christianity against those of the Church who have the Nicolaitan spirit. Yet it is bad for the tare class who profess Christ but do not really follow Him. The hypocrites of Christianity are like the hypocrites of Judaism which ended up killing their Messiah. And the tare or weed class does the same in their desire to kill true Christians as they do not like being told the truth which is the way the plague is written. Looks bad but is really good.

Rev 2 First Church-Gospel Age

Ephesus 33→286 253 Years

Rev 2:1“To the angel Apostle Paul of the church in Ephesus write: These are the words of Him who holds the seven stars in His right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands. [Jesus gave this message directly to Paul before giving it to the apostle John on Patmos.] 2 I know your deeds, your labor, and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate those who are evil, and you have tested and exposed as liars those who falsely claim to be apostles. 3Without growing weary, you have persevered and endured many things for the sake of My name.

4But I have this against you: You have abandoned your first love by thinking that you can be justified by the Mosaic Law. 5Therefore, keep in mind how far you have fallen. Repent and perform the deeds you began with. But if you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.

6But you have this to your credit: You hate the proud and boastful works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 7He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches [given to you via Apostles Paul and John.] To the one who overcomes, I will grant the right to eat from the tree of life in the Paradise of God.

Rev 6 First Seal

To the Church in Ephesus

The White Horse

Rev 6:1 Then I watched as the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures having the face of a Lion power say in a voice like thunder, “Come! And see the corruption of power”

2So I looked and saw a white horse, and its rider, the antichrist held a bow with poisonous arrows And he was given a crown as he having become a king without us and he rode out to overcome and conquer the worldly for Christ. But according to Rev 22:11 this is not what quite what the Lord wants us to do.

Rev 8 First Trumpet

To the Church in Ephesus

The First Trumpet

Rev 8:6 And the seven angels with the seven trumpets prepared to sound them. 8:7 Then the first angel The Apostle Paul sounded his trumpet, and hail Solid truth and fire Judgments against Israel was mixed with the saving blood of Jesus was hurled down upon the Jewish society of earth. And a third of the earth Those seeking the truth about the Messiah was burned up Being converted from Judaism to Christianity along with a third of the trees Many leaders of the Synagogues and all the green grass whom the Lord had called and had any common sense were professing belief in Jesus.

Revelation Chapter Six → Unsealing the 7 Sealed Scroll

[[["And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals:"

[This refers back to the Bible sealed with 7 seals. Isaiah 29:11-14 and Daniel 12:4. The idea is that the scroll's seals prevent its full meaning from being understood until all seven are broken. The unsealing process spans the entire Gospel age.

Until the 7 seals were broken from the scroll/book, it was not possible to figure out who the messengers were. Now that the seals have been broken, the Lord has given us, those living during the harvest period of the age, the ability to study history and figure out who the messengers were that blew the trumpets, and broke the seals. But we must sincerely ask, seek and knock. Luke 11:9 “And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.”]]]

Revelation 8:6 And the seven angels with the seven trumpets prepared to sound them. This is a flash back to the beginning of the Gospel Age where we see the same messages from a different perspective given by the seven angels to the churches now being viewed as trumpets by the institutional churches. Now being seen in a negative light by the established institutions. In reality its purpose is to show the spread of true Christianity which the institutional churches do not appreciate.

Rev 2 Second Church-Gospel Age

Smyrna 286 → 539 Arius 253 Years

Revelation 2:8 To the angel of the church in Smyrna write: These are the words of (Jesus) the First and the Last of God’s direct creation who died and has returned to life. 9I know your affliction and your poverty—though you are rich in faith! And I am aware of the slander of those who falsely claim to be Jews Christians but are in fact of the synagogue of Satan.

10Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil in the form of Diocletian is about to throw some of you into prison to test you, and you will suffer tribulation for ten days. 10 Years from 303-313 when Rome tried to get rid of Christianity. Be faithful even unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.

11He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who overcomes will not be harmed by the second death. Matthew 10:28 Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Instead, fear the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

Rev 6 Second Seal

To the Church in Smyrna

The Red Horse

Revelation 6:3 And when the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature having the face of an ox justice say, “Come”! And see the antithesis of Justice.

4 Then another horse went forth. It was bright red, and its rider the antichrist was granted permission to take away peace from the earth and to make Christian men slay one another. And he was given a great Civil sword of Roman civil Power given by Constantine.

Rev 8 Second Trumpet

To the Church in Smyrna

8:8 Then the second angel Arius sounded his trumpet beginning in 286 and something like a great mountain The Roman Empire was burning with fire Feeling God’s judgment against it, it was thrown into the sea. And a third of the sea turned to the blood Of Jesus for salvation and 9 a third of the living creatures Pagans in the sea died and became alive in Christ and a third of the ships Pagan Temples were destroyed by becoming Christian Churches.

33–286 AD = 253 years to the second messenger, and 286–539 = 253 years to the third messenger. This works if the second stage begins in 286, when Arius was 30—the age a man could become a priest (Numbers 4:30)—making the first two church stages each 253 years. The number 253 is notable: it is a semiprime (11 × 23), the 22nd triangular number, a star number, and a centered heptagonal number. In the Star of David pattern, the center can picture Jesus, surrounded by six resurrected messengers at His 1874 return—three before Him and three after—as suggested by Ezekiel 9 and Revelation 14:6.

Locating the time period of the 2nd Church was not easy. Some feel that the second angel is the Apostle John who gave us the book of Revelation. The problem with this is multiple. 1. John’s ministry started before Paul’s. 2. The desire to have John be the second angel comes from interpreting the “Great Mountain” in the 2nd trumpet to be Israel instead of Rome. However, Israel was cast off by Jesus before his death and if applicable would have been part of the first church period. Additionally, the problem with this is the fact that Israel was not a ‘great mountain’, in my understanding it was not even a mountain. Prior to the time of Christ, it had been reduced to scripturally an ‘island’ or colony of Babylon under Nebuchadnezzar, and later Persia, then Greece and Rome. Only since 1948 has it again become a “mountain”! Referring to the second trumpet; Revelation 8:8-9, “And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: [this without a doubt represents the fall of Rome] and the third part of the sea became blood [the blood of Christ was converting the Roman world “sea” to Christianity] 9And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died [had life in Adam, died to self, and became dead in Christ Romans 6:8 i.e., became Christian] and the third part of the ships [pagan ships of state] were destroyed [as Christianity had no use for them].” This represents the battle between Christianity and Pagan Rome as described in many history books. The idea that two of the messengers would be alive at the same time when the Lord is giving illustrations that would span 2000 years in my mind is not logical.

Another problem with having John as the 2nd messenger is that the Lord just got done telling the first Church to “Repent and do the first works” which implies that he is giving them time to do just that at the time the book of Revelation was written. But, if the 2nd Church starts with John at the time Revelation was written, the 1st Church’s time period must then be over leaving no time for them to repent. I hope you can see the conundrum.

If we believe the Churches, Seals, and Trumpets are all describing corresponding time periods, we should find good clues in all three that locate the time period being spoken of. First: the second trumpet as mentioned, describes what most recognize as the fall and Christianization of Rome. Second: in the message to the 2nd Church, it states “you shall have tribulation ten days.” Most commentators taking the historic approach believe this to be the 10 years of persecution led by Diocletian from 303 – 313. Therefore, the messenger we are looking for must begin his message before 303, but after the Apostles had fallen asleep (in death). And cover the fall and subsequent Christianization of Rome. Third; the second seal talks about “taking peace from the earth and people [Christians] killing each other.” Revelation 6:3-4. Historically Christians began to kill Christians beginning in 314 AD. With the Church then coming under Constantine’s rulership, the persecutions to death of the Donatists began, as they rejected Constantine’s leadership as head of the church.

The second parable in the list of seven parables of Matthew 13 which corresponds to the seven stages of the Church, is the parable of the wheat and tares. This parable describes the time when the “servants of the householder came and said unto him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? from whence then does it have tares?” (Matthew 13:27) This is the time when the development of the tares became evident as pagan rituals began to be Christianized… and pagans began calling themselves Christian.

This second period of the church corresponds to our Lord's great prophecy as stated in Matthew 24:9 “Then they will deliver you over to be persecuted and killed, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name.” The second seal talks about “taking peace from the earth and people [Christians] killing each other.” Revelation 6:3-4, Mark 13:12, and Luke 21:16.

I first thought that Arius could not be the messenger to the 2nd stage of the Church because, in my early reading of history, his “fame” arising out of the controversy over the nature of Christ came sometime after 314, which would be too late historically due to the 10 years Diocletian persecution occurring in the 2nd stage of the church. But upon learning that he was an old man by that time, I realized he must have been a minister from his youth. Looking to Jesus and most of the messengers as the pattern, I believe Arius would have been selected as the messenger to the 2nd stage of the Church when he was around 30 years of age i.e., 286AD. It is interesting reading about Arius in history, but we must understand that those who wrote the histories were generally Catholic and to a greater or lesser degree in favor with what was to become the “accepted” viewpoint of Christianity, i.e., the tares in the parable of the Wheat and the Tares discussed in Matthew 13. It was during the time of Arius, that the greatest foundational errors were formulated and established by the antichrist system led at that time by Constantine the Emperor-Bishop of Rome. So, when we read of Arius, historians will speak of him as a heretic which, of course, he was not. In reality, it was the heretics that had gained civil and ecclesiastical power as many scriptural prophecies stated would happen.

Revelation 2 Third Church-Gospel Age

Pergamum 539 → 1157 Jacob Baradaeus

Rev 2:12 To the angel of the church in Pergamum write: These are the words of Jesus the One who holds the sharp, double-edged sword, the Old and New Testaments 13I know where you live, where the throne of Satan sits during this period 539 → 1157 Satan sat in Constantinople yet you hold fast to My name. You did not deny your faith in Me, even in the days of My faithful witness Antipas who was against the Church being run by the State who was killed among you where Satan dwells. [in Constantinople after 330]

14But I have a few things against you, because some of you hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to place a stumbling block before the Israelites so they would eat the doctrines of Church State Union food sacrificed to idols and commit sexual immorality Having Church – State relations 15In the same way, some of you also hold to the teaching of the proud and boastful Nicolaitans, which have become the Catholic Priesthood 16Therefore repent! Otherwise, I will come to you shortly and wage war against them with the sword of My Mouth. [the Bible]

17He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who overcomes, I will give the hidden manna My words that are sealed within the Bible I will also give him a white stone inscribed with a new name, known only to the one who receives it.

Rev 6 Third Seal

Pergamum 539 → 1157

The Black Horse

Rev 6:5 And when the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature with the face of a man love say, “Come! And see the antithesis of Love Then I looked and saw a black horse [Lamentations 5:10 Our skin was black like an oven because of the terrible famine.] and its rider the antichrist held in his hand a pair of scales. 6And I heard what sounded like a voice from among the four living creatures, saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius, and do not harm the oil and wine.” Amos 8:11 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord GOD, when I will send a famine on the land–not a famine of bread or a thirst for water, but a famine of hearing the words of the LORD”. This is the beginning of the 1260 years of famine and persecution.

Rev 8 Third Trumpet

Pergamum 539 → 1157

The Third Trumpet

Rev 8:10 Then the third angel Jacob Baradaeus sounded his trumpet in 539 and a great star burning like a torch fell from heaven Being rejected by the established leadership who at this point were accepting only the religious leadership of Rome. and his teachings landed on a third of the rivers as many places of learning accepted his teachings against the trinitarian ideology that Papacy was teaching and on the springs of water. 11 The name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters turned bitter like wormwood Used for determining if a woman (in this case the Catholic Church) was being faithful to her husband and many people died And became alive in Christ from the Result of understanding what the bitter waters. Revealing… That the Catholic Church was not being faithful to her husband Jesus but was in an illicit union with the Kings of the earth.

THIRD CHURCH 539 - 1157 JACOB BARADAEUS

The thoughts given in the corresponding seals and trumpets that locate the time-period being spoken of. Here in the message to the third Church, it states that the ‘location’ of the Church is where “Satan’s Seat is” we should not think of this just as a physical location, but also a location in time. There is another place in Revelation that talks about Satan’s seat; it is found in Revelation 13:2, “And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.” The beast’s seat that is being spoken of represents Papacy being set up in power. In 13:2 we see the Dragon giving his power and seat to the Papal Beast—Daniel’s little horn with the big mouth. This occurred around the time that the three horns having the Arian faith were plucked up by the roots as shown in Daniel 7:8, “I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns [Heruli, Ostrogoths, and Lombards] plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things.” The horn in Daniel and the Beast in Revelation 13 represent effectively the same thing, Papal Rome, which it states would rule for 1260 years i.e., a day for a year (Daniel 7:25) The third seal describes a famine which is an allusion to Elijah’s being in the wilderness for three and a half years, representing the 1260 days i.e., years of Papal persecution of the true Church. Therefore, I believe the time of the 3rd stage of the Church should begin around 539 corresponding to the famine as stated in Revelation 6:5-6, “When he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, "Come!" And I saw, and behold, a black horse, and its rider had a balance in his hand; 6and I heard what seemed to be a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, "A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; but do not harm oil and wine!" This is a description of famine, again as pictured in the 3½ years of famine during the time of Elijah and depicting 1260 years [i.e., number of days in 3½ years] of Papal persecution and the spiritual famine of the Church when translations of the Bible into the common language were outlawed by the Papacy.

I believe the reason some who write about who the messengers have overlooked Jacobus Baradaeus, is that his message was ultimately received by the Syriac Orthodox Church. Most looking for the messengers, were looking for messengers that focused primarily on the Papacy. At the beginning of this period, Papacy was just being set up and was not in Jacobus’s sphere of influence. Also, the church had just been given the two wings of an eagle to fly into the wilderness which is outside Papacy’s sphere of influence. I believe the Lord sends his messengers to areas that would have the greatest influence in the Christian world at the time. This would have been in Constantinople which is where the Syriac Orthodox Church was being established. The Syriac Orthodox church did not corrupt nearly as badly as did the Papacy. And I believe they have Jacobus to thank for that.

In the sounding of the 3rd trumpet, the waters were made bitter. It was bitter water that was used in the Law as a test for a woman having illicit relations with a man. Numbers 5:24, ‘And he shall cause the woman to drink the bitter water that causes the curse: and the water that causes the curse shall enter into her, and become bitter.” See Page 508 Leroy Edwin Froom. This was the point in time that relations between the Bishop of Rome and Justinian the Emperor were formalized by Justinian’s edict that the Bishop of Rome was Pope - Pontifex Maximus and outlawing all other religions. Hence the union between the Catholic Church and the State had been finalized by 539AD.

I would also place the beginning of the third Church between 539 and 799 because of a statement in the 4th stage of the Church. Revelation 2:21, “And I gave her space to repent of her fornication;[this indicates that the 3rd church would begin with the consummation of Church-State union] and she repented not.” That the messenger to the 3rd stage of the church would be disapproving of the illicit union of Church and State seems to point to Jacob Baradaeus. He was the Bishop of Edessa, the leader of the Oriental Orthodox Church, who was very much against church-state union. See the comments at the beginning of the 4th stage of the Church for more understanding along this line. It is interesting that Frank Shallieu in his book “Keys of Revelation” got the timing correct on the beginning of the 2nd and 3rd Seals, but not on the 2nd and 3rd messengers.

The third parable in the list of seven parables of Matthew 13 which correspond to the seven stages of the Church is about the Mustard Seed, Matthew 13:31-32. “The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field: 32Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof.” There is a thought that the man in this case may be Justinian, and the field is the Roman Empire which had recently become Christianized. This mustard tree represents Christianity’s becoming entrenched in the State so that the unclean birds of prey, worldlings, love to sit in its branches. Hence, we are told in Revelation 18:2, “And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.”

PERGAMOS: City of the third Church. The name means EARTHLY ELEVATION. The historical meaning is obvious. Paul predicted (2 Thessalonians 2:6, 7) that pagan Rome prevented the elevation of the Mystery of Iniquity. Once pagan Rome under Constantine embraced "Christianity" the obstacle which Paul recognized was taken out of the way, but the full elevation of the apostate church did not come until 539 when it was installed with sole religious power under Justinian.

This third period of the church corresponds to our Lords great prophecy as stated in Matthew 24:15-16 “So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination of desolation,’ described by the prophet Daniel (let the reader understand), 16then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.” and Mark 13:10-14.

Revelation 2 Fourth Church-Gospel Age

Thyatira 1157 → 1367 Peter Waldo

Rev 2:18 To the angel of the church in Thyatira write: These are the words of Jesus the Son of God, whose eyes are like a blazing fire fascinating to look into and whose feet members are like polished bronze. 19I know your deeds—your love, your faith, your service, your perseverance—and your latest deeds are greater than your first. 20But I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel The Catholic Church who calls herself a prophetess. By her teaching she misleads My servants to be sexually immoral and to eat the teachings of Church State Union food sacrificed to Papacy’s idols. 21Even though I am giving her time 360 years to repent of her immorality, from 1157 the start of Waldo’s message to 1517 the start of Luther’s message I know that she is unwilling. 22Behold, I will cast her onto a doctrinal creed bed of sickness, and those who commit adultery with her will suffer great tribulation Because of their false teachings about Hell Fire and Brimstone unless they repent of her deeds. 23Then I will strike her children dead, as they become part of the Protestant Reformation and all the churches will know that I am the One who searches minds and hearts, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds. Instead of your faith. 24But I say to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold to her teaching and have not learned the so-called deep things of Satan: For Satan is much deeper than they think. I will place no further burden upon you 25than to hold fast to what you have until I come. 26And to the one who overcomes and continues in My work Of spreading the Gospel to find my Bride Class until the end, I will give authority over the nations. 27He will rule them with an iron scepter and shatter them like pottery—just as I have received authority from My Father. 28And I will give him the morning star [of the Reformation JOHN WYCLIFFE to help him along the way. 29He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

Rev 6 Fourth Seal

Thyatira 1157→1367

The Fourth Seal

The pale green Horse

6:7 And when the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature →[an eagle [wisdom]]← say, “Come”! And see the antithesis of wisdom.

8 Then I looked and saw a pale green horse. Its rider the antichrist had the name of Death, and Hades followed close behind. And they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill by sword, by famine, by plague, and by the beastly Governments of the earth.

Rev 8 Fourth Trumpet

Thyatira 1157 → 1367

The Fourth Trumpet

8:12 Then the fourth angel Peter Waldo sounded his trumpet in 1157 and a third of the sun The Pope moon Papal Law and stars Cardinals and Bishops were struck as they could not deny that what Peter Waldo taught was scriptural. But they refused to teach it A third of the stars were darkened as their ministers came under sanctions against teaching Peter Waldo’s message a third of the day was without light, and a third of the night as well.

13 And as I observed, I heard an eagle flying overhead Something in the air was telling the people that things were not right with the world as it was. Surely this cannot be Jesus’ Kingdom as our rulers want to proclaim calling in a loud voice, “Woe! Woe! Woe to those who dwell on the earth, because of the trumpet blasts that are about to be sounded Surely Jesus will come and rectify the mess we are in by the remaining three angels!”

FOURTH CHURCH 1157 – 1367 PETER WALDO

Again, considering that if we believe the Churches, Seals and Trumpets are all talking about the same time periods, we must ask what clues might there be to locate the time-period of this stage of the Church? It may be in the thought expressed from the message to the Church in Revelation 2:21, “And I gave her space to repent of her fornication; and she repented not.” The word translated “space” is from the Greek word Chronos and means a time or a symbolic year of 360 days. Using a day for a year [Num 14:34, Eze 4:6] equals 360 years. This is the length of time between the message given by Peter Waldo beginning in 1157 to the start of Luther’s message in 1517 when he nailed his 95 theses to the door at the Wittenberg Church. If we count another 360 years forward from Luther we come to 1877 the beginning of Charles Russell’s ministry whom we believe is the messenger to the 7th stage of the Church. Now, what happens if we count backward from the beginning of Waldo? We arrived at 797. What happened at that time was also significant in Church history! As it turns out, that is about the time [actually 800] when the Pope was elevated in power above the Kings, and the Pope began to crown and uncrown kings from that point forward until Napoleon who removed that power a thousand years later. This gave Papacy a thousand years, a millennium, during which they claimed to be the “Kingdom of God” set up on earth. In reality, they are the imitation stone, and not the real stone, shown in the clay wrapped around the Roman iron of Daniel 2:33. Papacy’s claim today is that we are living in the time that “Satan shall be loosed” which in scripture occurs after a thousand years. Revelation 20:7-8, “And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, 8And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.”

The 4th stage of the Church encompasses the time when historically the Papacy had reached its zenith of power rising above the power of the kings as shown by the Pope’s crowning of Charlemagne in 800. Thus began a thousand-years of Papal reign which continued until Napoleon took the Pope prisoner and Crowned himself in 1799. This is why the 4th seal says that the antichrist was able to (Revelation 6:8) “kill with the sword” [the Papacy had control over the kings which wielded the civil sword which they used to execute individuals who went against their beliefs.] “and with hunger” [you could not buy or sell unless you had the mark of the beast] “and with death” [when the Catholic Church excommunicated you at this time you were considered as good as dead and in time “heretics” were literally put to death as well] “and with the beasts of the earth [governments]”. This shows that the Papacy’s power was over that of the kings and governments which ruled the 10 nations of Europe. The Lord’s message to the true Church for this period, while considering its being overpowered by the Papacy, promises to it that, though you now see yourselves being trodden down by the nations (Revelation 2:26) “he that overcomes, I will give power over the nations” that are now casting you out. Knowing the truth at this time and seeing how those in authority were perverting the Gospel would have been a very bitter pill to swallow. This is probably why it states in the 3rd trumpet, (Revelation 8:11), “many men died of the waters because they were made bitter.” The bitterness here is carrying over into the 4th stage. He also says while you see Papacy killing you with physical death, (Revelation 2:23) “I will kill her children with death; and all the Churches shall know that I am he who searches the reins and hearts”. This will occur in the resurrection of the spirit begotten.

Papacy’s aversion to the truth is well described when we read from historians like McClintock and Strong’s Encyclopedia: Waldo (or Valdo) “The Roman Church began to persecute the Waldensians, and many were tried and sentenced to death in various European countries during the 12th, 13th, and 14th centuries. Centuries after his death, the Waldensian denomination joined the Genevan or Reformed branch of the Protestant Reformation…”

The fourth parable in the list of seven parables of Matthew 13 which correspond to the seven stages of the Church is the parable of the leaven. Matthew 13:33, “The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.” This describes the time when the corruption (leaven) of the church with its puffed-up self-righteous spirit, had become plain for all to see.

Peter Waldo, the 4th messenger, was a rich merchant of Lyons who learned from the Scriptures the terrible errors of the Papacy. He used his riches to translate the Bible, to train disciples, and to spread the Gospel as widely as he could. He had a reputation for an extremely reverent life. He died in Bohemia in 1217 but left behind a movement called the Waldenses. Peter with his wealth as a merchant was able to translate the Bible into French, the first vernacular translation since the Latin Vulgate Bible of the 300’s. Since Latin had died out as a functional language, the Bible had not been available to any who could not read Latin. Waldo changed all this, and this change was a terrible threat to the established Papal authority. Waldo and his followers were forced to operate mostly in secret. They, for the most part, physically left the cities and formed little villages in the mountains of Europe. From these locations, they traveled as merchants spreading the Gospel as they gained access to the presence and the confidence of their customers. This reminds one of Revelation 12:14, “And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.”

This fourth period of the church corresponds to our Lord's great prophecy as stated in Matthew 24:17, and Mark 13:15-16 and Luke 21:22.

THYATIRA: City of the fourth Church. The meaning of the word is ODOR OF AFFLICTION. This describes the state of the true Church as they were severely afflicted by Papacy during the time of the fourth Church under the leadership of Peter Waldo.

Rev 3 Fifth Church

150 Years = 5 Months

Sardis 1367 → 1517 John Wycliffe

Revelation 3:1 “To the angel of the church in Sardis write: These are the words of Jesus the One who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars messengers to the entire church I know your deeds; you have a reputation for being alive, yet you are dead. 2Wake up and strengthen what remains Of the true gospel which is about to die; for I have found your deeds incomplete in the sight of My God. 3Remember, then, what you have received and heard From me through WYCLIFFE Keep it and repent. If you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know the hour when I will come upon you. This implies that if you stay awake you will be able to know the hour...

4But you do have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their garments, and because they are worthy, they will walk with Me in white. 5Like them, he who overcomes will be dressed in white. And I will never blot out his name from the Book of Life, but I will confess his name before My Father and His angels.

6He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

Rev 6 Fifth Seal

Sardis 1367→1517

Note: this is the end of the 4th division with 3 seals left, making the division of 4 & 3 consistent with all 3 views of the church. We no longer see the Cherubim Representing God saying, “come”.

6:9 And when the Lamb opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain Dead in Christ for the word of God and for the testimony they had upheld. 10And they cried out in a loud voice, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge those who dwell upon the earth and avenge our blood?” 11 Then each of them was given a white robe as the world was then beginning to see that those whom the Papacy was killing were really good Christians and those ruling the established church were not so much And they were told to rest a little time longer until the full number The 144,000 of their fellow servants, their brothers, were killed, just as they had been killed. Note: from the end of the 5th seal in 1517 to the resurrection of the church in 1874-78 is about 360 years=a time.

Rev 8 Fifth Trumpet-Gospel Age

Sardis 1367 → 1517

Revelation 9:1 Then the fifth angel John Wycliffe sounded his trumpet in 1367, And those that ruled the political system did not take kindly to what Wycliffe taught and I saw his star fall from heaven to earth as they tried to shut down his influence and he was given the key to the pit Wherein lies the Deep things of the Word of God which the Catholic Church tried to keep hidden in the Abyss. 2The star opened the pit of the Abyss, and smoke Evidence against Papacy rose out of it like the smoke of a great furnace, and the sun The Papacy’s star person the Pope and the air The heavens were darkened by the smoke Evidence which came from the pit. 3And out of the smoke, Contrary to nature, beautiful locusts descended upon the earth, and they were given power like that of the scorpions of the earth. 4They were told not to harm the grass The common people of the earth or any plant or tree, but only those who did not have the seal of God on their foreheads. 5The locusts were not given power to kill them, but only to torment them By giving them the desire to convert to true Christianity for five months 150 Years from Wycliffe to Luther and their torment was like the stinging of a scorpion. 6In those days men will seek death and will not find it; they will long to die to be dead with Christ but death will escape them Due to their insincerity and corruption.

7 And the locusts looked like horses beautiful doctrines prepared for battle, with something like crowns of gold Given by God on their heads; and their faces were like the Loving & Merciful faces of men. 8They had beautiful hair like that of women, and teeth like those of the lions of the tribe of Judah 9They also had breastplates of righteousness Strong as iron, and the sound of their wings was like the roar of many horses Doctrinal teachings and chariots rushing into battle. 10They had tails with stingers like scorpions, which had the power to injure people for five months 150 Years from Wycliffe to Luther. 11 They were ruled by a king, the angel of the Abyss Jesus His name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek it is Apollyon Meaning the Destroyer of error.

9:12 The first woe has passed. Behold, two woes are still to follow.

Rev 3 – Churches 5 – 7

FIFTH CHURCH 1367 – 1517 JOHN WYCLIFFE

By now we realize that the messages to the churches are synonymous with the time periods of the seals and trumpets. Therefore, what do we see that gives us clues as to this period? First, it would seem that this stage would end the downward motion of doctrinal impurity of the Church, it is the lowest point in the development of the true Church, as it states in Revelation 3:1, “I know your works, that you have a name that you live, and are dead.” And the Lord says in verse 2 “strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die.” The standpoint here is the beginning of the fifth stage of the Church, and I believe the messenger to the Church would attempt to “strengthen the things which remain” and begin to instill new life into the Church. Wycliffe is considered by most commentators on the reformation of the Church to be the “morning star” of the reformation. Interestingly, one of the promises to the 4th stage of the Church is “and I will give him the morning star,” (Revelation 2:28) in other words if you continue faithful into the 5th stage of the Church, then when the 5th angel begins to sound, you will hear it and respond appropriately.

There is a similar thought given to both the seals and the trumpets, in dividing the first four from the last three, the first four represent the institutional Church’s falling into decay and depravity until even those outside the Church could see it (see comments on the 5th seal). It then becomes time to try to reform it until, failing to be reformed, the Lord says (Revelation 18:4-6) “I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that you be not partakers of her sins, and that you receive not of her plagues. 5For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities. 6Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she has filled fill to her double.” This shows the effect that the true Church is to have upon the false. The apostate Church persecuted the true Church unto death, but the words of the true Church will end up destroying her as she refuses to listen. This historically begins with the ministry of Wycliffe—the beginning of the “three woes” Revelation 8:13.

In the 5th trumpet, we learn that the length of the 5th stage of the Church was to be 150 years according to the thought expressed in Revelation 9:5&10 - “And to them, it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion when he strikes a man. 10And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months.” The length of time between the ministry of Wycliffe and Luther is just that; five months, again a day for a year = 150 years, i.e., 1367 – 1517. This I believe locks down the idea that we are on the right track in our analyses.

The fifth parable in the list of seven parables of Matthew 13, which correspond to the seven stages of the Church, is the parable of the hidden treasure. Matthew 13:44, “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hidden in a field; the which when a man has found, he hides, and for joy thereof goes and sells all that he has and buys the field.” This describes a time when those who know the truth are hidden from the world as the Lollards had to hide from Papacy’s wrath. But our Lord Jesus died to purchase these, and he hid them from Papacy’s wrath so that they could make their Calling and Election sure.

This fifth period of the church corresponds in our Lord's great prophecy as stated in Matthew 24:19, Mark 13:17 and Luke 21:23. This is where we first see a ‘woe’ stated in the prophecy and I believe it is to link to the first of three woes beginning with the fifth stage of the church Revelation 8:13.

SARDIS: City of the fifth Church. The meaning of the word is ESCAPING. The thought I get from this is the Church is continuing its “fleeing into the wilderness” during this stage of the Church.

Revelation 3 Sixth Church

Philadelphia 1517→1877 Martin Luther

Rev 3:7 To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: These are the words of Jesus the One who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What He opens no one can shut, and what He shuts no one can open.

8I know your deeds. Behold, I have placed before you an open door To the Reformation which no one can shut. I know that you have only a little strength, yet you have kept My word and have not denied My name. 9As for those who belong to the synagogue of Satan The Catholic Church who claim to be Christian Jews but are liars, I will make them come and bow down at your feet, and they will know that I have loved you.

10Because you have kept My command to persevere, I will also keep you from the hour of trial when everyone will be judged according to their works instead of their faith that is about to come upon the whole world, to try those who dwell on the earth. 11I am coming soon. Hold fast to what you have, so that no one will take your crown that I apportioned you when you first consecrated yourself to me 12The one who overcomes the world, the flesh and the Devil I will make a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will never again leave it. Upon him I will write in his mind the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God the new Jerusalem that comes down out of heaven from My God, and My new name.

13He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

Rev 6 Sixth Seal

Philadelphia 1517→1877

Rev 6:12 And I watched as the Lamb opened the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake The French Revolution and the sun The Popes Light became black like sackcloth of goat hair, to and the moon Papal Law turned blood red as it had killed so many righteous people 13and the Cardinals and Biships stars of the sky fell to the earth like unripe figs dropping from a tree Israel begins to show fruitage shaken by a great wind. 14The heavens receded like a scroll being rolled up The Papacy and Papal inquisition [the image of the beast] was being put away and every mountain and island was moved from their places as a result of the French Revolution and required redrawing the maps as their boundaries moved.

Matthew 24:29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days: 'The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.'

15Then the kings of the earth, the nobles, the commanders, the rich, the mighty, and every slave and free man hid in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains as they tried to hide their wealth and wrongdoing against the poor, in an attempt to say, “we did these things because we were just following the Law” 16And they said to the mountains large governments or empires and the rocks city governments “Fall on us and hide us from the face of the One seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb. 17For the great day of Their wrath has come, and who is able to withstand it?” As they recognized what they had been doing to the poor was atrocious.

Rev 8 Sixth Trumpet-Gospel Age

Philadelphia 1517 → 1877

Revelation 9:13 Then the sixth angel Martin Luther sounded his trumpet in 1517 and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar before God 14 saying to the sixth angel with the trumpet, “Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates”. The word of God was bound by Jeremiah.

15So the four angels who had been prepared for this hour and day and month and year were released to kill With Kindness a third of mankind By turning them into true Christians. 16And the number of mounted troops was two hundred million The size of the Great Company I heard their number. too large to count so the number is given to us…

17Now the horses and riders in my vision looked like this: The riders had breastplates of Righteousness the colors of fire, sapphire, and sulfur. The heads of the horses were like the heads of lions, All from the tribe of Judah and out of their mouths proceeded fire, smoke, and sulfur. The righteous Judgments of God against all unrighteousness. 18A third of mankind was killed with the kindness that was explained to them contained by the Word of God. by the three plagues of fire, smoke, and sulfur that proceeded from their mouths. They were converted to believing in Jesus and became alive in Christ. 19For the power of the horses was in their mouths and in their tails; indeed, their tails were like snakes, having heads with which to inflict harm. [Isaiah 9:15 The head is the elder and honorable man, and the tail is the prophet who teaches lies.]

20Now the rest of mankind who were not killed by these plagues still did not repent of the works of their hands. Notice only the good people were killed by the plagues They did not stop worshiping demons and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood, which cannot see or hear or walk. 21Furthermore, they did not repent of their murder, sorcery, sexual immorality, and theft. According to this, only those that repented, died. The reality is that those that died became alive in Christ. The trumpet is made to look bad, but it is good. As in [Isaiah 5:20 "Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who turn darkness to light and light to darkness, who replace bitter with sweet and sweet with bitter" which is what Papacy was doing by preaching hell fire and brimstone is awaiting the unsaved.

SIXTH CHURCH 1517 to 1877 MARTIN LUTHER

As in the previous stages of the Church, what do we find from the messages given to the Church, Seal, and Trumpet, to help us locate its time in history. As stated in the 5th stage by the 5th trumpet, that stage was to last 150 years, and the length of time between Wycliffe and Luther is just that, 150 years. There is a thought given in the 5th seal that I believe is to be taken at the end of that stage of the Church which states: Revelation 6:11, “And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellow servants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.” This is an allusion to the timing of the resurrection of the sleeping saints which I believe began in 1878. We will go into the reasons for this later, and there are many. Suffice it here to note that it is 360 years (the little season i.e., year, a day for year = 360 years [Num 14:34, Eze 4:6]) from the end of Wycliffe’s message which is the beginning of Luther’s message to the beginning of Russell’s message and the time of our Lord’s Return for the Harvest of the Church. This I understand will be a stone of stumbling to most Christians who persist in the dark age doctrines which they have inherited from the Catholic Church and her daughters, the Protestant Churches, who have now ceased to protest and have come back into league with Papacy. I will speak more of this later but recommend that if you want a fuller understanding of it, you should read the writings of the 7th messenger, Charles Russell, but do not get involved with the movement that Satan has developed to get people away from Russell i.e., the Jehovah’s Witnesses. This group is the new modern-day “Catholic Church” developed in the same way Satan developed the Roman Catholic Church at the beginning of the Gospel age. Now his purpose is to draw people away from the many truths presented by Russell. Today there is little left in the Jehovah’s Witnesses group that even resembles what Russell taught other than that they do not believe that God is going to torment most of mankind in a fiery hell, (see when Jesus Returns)

This sixth period of the church loosely corresponds in our Lord's great prophecy as stated in Matthew 24:20 21-25 is a warning as is the message inserted to give more information about what lies ahead as also done between the 6th and 7th stages in the seals and trumpets. Mark 13:18 and Luke 17:23-26.

The sixth parable in the list of seven parables of Matthew 13 which correspond to the seven stages of the Church is the parable of the pearl of great price. Matthew 13:45-46, “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: 46Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.” This describes what Luther did in his life as a Christian. He found one doctrine for which he was willing to sell all that he had to buy, i.e., the doctrine of ‘Justification by Faith’.

PHILADELPHIA: City of the sixth Church. The meaning of the word is BROTHERLY LOVE. As love motivates above all else, so this describes the 6th stage of the Church in their fight against the Papacy. This is the stage of the Church that through their love and devotion overcame Papacy’s bad influence. It was the time of the Reformation.

Revelation 3 Seventh Church

Laodicea 1877 →__ Charles Russell

Rev 3:14 To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of Jesus the Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the beginning of God’s creation. 15I know your deeds; you are neither cold nor hot as you have not expended any of your own energy towards being a true Christian 16So because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to vomit you out of My mouth! As I vomited Adam and Eve at the end of the 6th day into the wilderness

17You say, ‘I am rich; I have grown wealthy and need nothing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked. 18I counsel you to buy from Me not just the messenger I sent to you gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, white raiment so that you may be clothed and that your shameful nakedness be not exposed, and salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see. 19Those I love I rebuke and discipline. Therefore, be earnest and repent.

20Behold, I am no longer coming I am standing at your door and knocking. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and dine the wedding banquet with you, and you with Me. 21To the one who overcomes, I will grant the right to sit with Me on My throne as a mediator between God and Mankind just as I overcame and am presently sat down with My Father on His throne [as your advocate.]

22He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”

Rev 8 Seventh Seal

Laodicea 1877 →__

Rev 8:1 When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour [1000/24 = about 40 = 1874 to 1914] as people slept on through the 40 years of harvest not understanding that it was the 3rd watch of the night 2And After reading the scroll which had been sealed I saw the seven angels who stood before God which had delivered the messages to the seven churches and they were now seen as having been given seven trumpets. 3Then another angel Jesus who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, along with the prayers of all the saints, on the golden altar before the throne. 4And the smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of the saints, rose up before God from the hand of the angel as he entered the most holy to offer the atonement day sacrifice of the Church.

5Then the angel Jesus took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it to the earth; and there were peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake Increases of knowledge leading to World War One.

Rev 11 Seventh Trumpet

Laodicea 1877 →__

Rev 11:15 Then the seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and loud voices called out in heaven: “The kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign forever and ever.” [Just as John in 4:1 heard a voice behind him as a voice from the past, so we see the 7th angel now as a voice from the past speaks to us about these things. And that the things that are about to be spoken to us are to be viewed by John as having already taken place.]

16And the twenty-four elders who sat on their thrones before God fell on their faces and worshiped God, [Not only is the 7th messenger's voice is a thing of the past, the events about which the 24 elders speak of are to be seen as events that have already taken place.] 17saying: “We give thanks to You, O Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was, because You have taken Your great power and have begun to reign. 18The nations became enraged, and Your wrath has come. The time has come to judge the dead and to reward Your servants the prophets [Public Speakers] as well as the saints and those who fear Your name, both small and great—and to destroy those who destroy the earth.”

11:19 Then the temple of God in heaven was opened, and the ark of His covenant appeared in His temple. {Note: The Temple→ Finished} And there were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and a great hailstorm. [Each hailstone about the weight of a talent. Referring to the Parable of the talents These are some of the things we first saw in chapter 10 at Jesus' return in 1799 but were sealed up but now we should understand.]

SEVENTH CHURCH 1877 to __? CHARLES RUSSELL

We should by now realize that the message to the Churches, Seals, and Trumpets are all describing the same time periods. So, what do we see between them that gives us clues as to the correct time period. First, in the Church, we note that there is a change in the language between the 7th stage of the Church and the previous stages relative to the Lord’s coming. In earlier stages he states he is coming, here in the 7th he states, “Behold I stand at the door.” The same thought is expressed in Matthew 25:6, “Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go out to meet him.” And again in Luke 13:25-27, “When once the master of the house is risen up and has shut the door, and you begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence you are: 26Then shall you begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in your presence, and you have taught in our streets. 27But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence you are. Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity.” It is not that the door cannot be opened, but because they don't know how to listen they cannot even find the door Genesis 19:11; hence the door remains for them shut; as stated in Revelation 3:20. “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hears my voice, and opens the door, I will come into him and will sup with him, and he with me.” The idea here is the need to listen and recognize the time of our Lord’s visitation. Luke 19:43-44, “For the days shall come upon you, that your enemies shall cast a trench about you, and compass you round, and keep you in on every side, 44And shall lay you even with the ground, and your children within you; and they shall not leave in you one stone upon another; because you knew not the time of your visitation.” This is why the Lord rejects the 7th stage of the Church, spewing it from his mouth as they too have not heeded the lessons the Lord was trying to teach them with natural Israel. Thus, as a metaphor we see the casting off of Christendom as a system at the 7th stage is related to the casting off of the Jewish system at the beginning of the 1st stage. The institutional Church today says, as stated in 2 Peter 3:4 Young's Literal Translation, “Where is the promise of his presence? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation,” Yet our day has changed in almost every way from then and still they have not awakened. They are not diligent to look at translations and they think it says ‘where is the promise of his coming’ whereas in reality the word is presence (Greek - parousia). Also, the same thought is expressed again in Matthew 24:32-33. “Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is nigh: 33So likewise you, when you shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the door.” The fig tree represents Israel which the Lord cast away for a time but also said he would revive at his return. Acts 1:6-8, “When they, therefore, were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, will you at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? 7And he said unto them, “It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father has put in his own power. 8But you shall receive power, after that the Holy Spirit has come upon you”: and you shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” Probably the greatest evidence of our Lord’s return is the fact that Israel has become a nation again! The fig tree has put forth leaves, i.e., it has come back to life, and therefore we know that summer is here. But summer has not come without its spring storms, namely WWI and WW2... Note also Acts 15:14-17. “Simeon has declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people for his name. 15And to this agree the words of the prophets; as it is written, 16After this [after he has taken out a people for his name i.e., the 144,000] I will return, and will build again the tabernacle of David, which is fallen down; and I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up: 17That the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, says the Lord, who does all these things.” Who today cannot see the ruins of Israel being and having been rebuilt? Why then do the churches still put Jesus’ return into the future? Today the Christian churches are as ignorant of his having returned as the Jewish people were of Jesus at his first advent! And the world was in Noah's day! But a remnant, those who have been watching for it, do perceive and understand. (Appendix: Return)

As the foregoing indicates, the 7th messenger would be one that would show the time of the Lord's return and would feed and alert the Church, as is stated in Luke 12:35-46 "Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, 36like men waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him. 37It will be good for those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. I tell you the truth, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them'. 39But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have let his house be broken into. [at his return, he begins to collect his bride and break down the institutional Church-State systems that are called by his name] 40You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him." 41Peter asked, "Lord, are you telling this parable to us, or to everyone?" 42The Lord answered, "Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom the master puts in charge of his servants to give them their meat in due season? 43It will be good for that servant whom the master finds doing so when he returns. 44I tell you the truth, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. 45But suppose the servant says to himself, 'My master is taking a long time in coming,' and he then begins to beat the menservants and maidservants and to eat and drink and get drunk. 46The master of that servant will have come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the unbelievers.” Here the Lord was telling them that at the time of his return, he would choose one (a messenger as in one of the seven messengers to the Church) that would give the rest of the Church at the end of the age, the understanding of his return, i.e., the “meat in due season” and those who would delay his return by saying it is still future, would fight against his fellow servants that say that he has returned, just as the Jews did to the Christians at the beginning of the early Church and were as a result cast off.

What do we find in the 7th seal about the timing of the 7th stage of the Church? In the 7th Seal Revelation 8:1, an understanding can be had of who the messengers are to the seven stages of the Church, but not right away, as first there is silence in heaven for about a half-hour. That is what I am attempting to do here; to give an understanding as to who the messengers are. In the 7th seal, we note that the prayers of all saints go up to God, and he answers them. What are the prayers of all his saints? In a nutshell, they are for his return, and for retribution upon the ungodly Church that has persecuted them. Revelation 6:10, “And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?” And Revelation 18:7-9, “How much she has glorified herself and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she says in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow. 8Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judges her. 9And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her when they shall see the smoke of her burning. This has been going on for some time, as the Catholic Church has had to eat her words as never before, and the confusion they are in is of epic proportions. As we try to bless them with the truth, they are tormented by our words.

What do we find in the 7th trumpet about the timing of the 7th stage of the Church? Revelation 11:16-18, “And the twenty-four elders, who were seated on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God, 17saying: "We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, the one who is and who was,[and are to come is left off because he has come at this point] because you have taken your great power and have begun to reign. 18The nations were angry; and your wrath has come. The time has come for judging the dead and for rewarding your servants the prophets and your saints and those who reverence your name, both small and great and for destroying those who destroy the earth." The nations have been angry and fighting against the ways of God for some time, and he has destroyed their kings, and the nations are now being laid low. It is now the time of the Lord’s return, and he is in the process of radically changing the world into the desire of all nations, i.e., towards Democracy, note Haggai 2:7. Also, note that knowledge has dramatically increased and many are running to and fro. Daniel 12:3-4, “But you, Daniel, close up and seal the words of the book until the time of the end. Many will run to and fro and knowledge will increase." The book has been opened; you need to begin reading it and do as stated in 1 Thessalonians 5:21, “Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.” (See: Appendix: Return)

In a similar way, Enoch, the 7th from Adam, pictures the 7th stage of the Church. Genesis 5:24, “Enoch walked with God; and he was not, for God took him.” The “rapture” is now going on, although one can only see it through the eye of faith found by reasoning upon the scriptures dealing with his return. Hebrews 11:5, “By faith, Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.” This is the same thought given toward those living during the sounding of the last and 7th trump as expressed in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17Then we which are alive and remain [until our body dies; but now since his return, we no longer “sleep” in the grave, but are raised instantly] shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” So, then we do not “see” death; just like Enoch, we are now being translated.

1 Corinthians 15:51-52, “Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump” [i.e., the 7th trump] “for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we [who remain until we die] shall be changed [in a moment in the twinkling of an eye].” “Changed.” When we die, we no longer “sleep” waiting for his return. Note that most commentators of the Bible today put us in the 7th stage of the Church, but most commentators on the Bible fail to be consistent. If they did, they would also recognize that if we are in the 7th stage of the Church, i.e., the last trump, then to be consistent we should also realize that we are living at the time of the Lord’s 2nd advent.

Considering all that the scriptures tell us about the 7th stage of the Church, there is only one person I know of that can fit the shoes of what that messenger was supposed to do. I believe that messenger to be Charles Taze Russell. (See Appendix: Lord’s Return)

The Seventh parable in the list of seven parables of Matthew 13 which correspond to the seven stages of the Church is the parable of the Dragnet: Matthew 13:47-50, “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind: 48Which, when it was full (full number of the Gentiles having come in), they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away. 49So shall it be at the end of the age: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, 50And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.” This parable has the thought of doing a separating work. It is similar to the harvest time parable of the wheat and tares. So, we see that the seventh stage of the Church is the time of the Harvest, which is a time when the good are separated from the bad. And what is it that does the separating? Daniel 12:4 gives us that answer, “But you, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.” It is the knowledge and recognition that the Lord has returned and is now present with his people; the same doctrine that applied in the harvest of the 1st Advent.

This seventh stage of the church corresponds in our Lord's great prophecy as stated in Matthew 24:30-39, Mark 13:26-32 and Luke 21:25-33.

LAODICEA: City of the seventh Church. The meaning of the word is PEOPLE RULING. From the Greek word laodikeia, which is a combination of two Greek words: laos (meaning peoples) and dike (meaning justice or judgment). This describes our day when the people (now under the influence of our returned Lord) begin to rule over their leaders, setting up Democracies in the world, causing a time of trouble such as has never been. But, when God’s true Democracy takes over, then will come the Kingdom of Peace.

Three 7-fold view of the Churches' Harvest Age

Coupled with the Take Down of the Antichrist System

The harvest is described in the parable of the wheat and tares as the ‘end of the age’ this is where we are presently in God’s Plan of the Ages. The harvest age is represented as the last day that Israel went around Jericho but went around it seven time on that single day. Joshua 6: The Walls of Jericho

The first 7-fold view of the Harvest age Church is found in Revelation 14. It parallels the Gospel age with its seven messages delivered by the same seven angels to the seven churches. At the time of the end of the age harvest six of the angels-messengers of the Gospel Age are seen as have been resurrected flying in the heavens and instructing the seventh messenger (still on the altar of his fleshly sacrifice) on what to write in the 6 volumes of “Studies in the Scriptures” which together make up the Harvest Message. These messages become the earthly part of the wedding banquet spoken of in Luke 12:35-36. Charles Russel gave his own personal seventh message when he to passed into the “air” on October 1, 1916. The structure—three angels, then Jesus, then three more angels—mirrors the pattern found in Ezekiel 9, with chapters 9 and 10 closely resembling what we find in Revelation 14 through 16.

The second 7-fold view of the Harvest age Church appears in Revelation 15 & 16, where the seven last plagues are poured out on the institutional Christian Churches. These plagues closely mirror the trumpets, highlighting their connection to the siege of Jericho in Joshua 6. This to get you to understand that whatever method you use with your interpretation of the trumpets, you must use with your interpretation of the plagues. Interpretations of the trumpets align with those of the plagues, as both share similar messages because they are guided by the resurrected messenger of that church era.

The third 7-fold view of the Harvest age Church is presented in Revelation 18. At first, identifying its seven sections can be challenging, as the harvest church has struggled with its interpretation. However, many are gaining a better understanding of it's meaning now that we are coming to the end of the harvest. Notice that, just as each of the three views of the gospel age was split into seven stages, all three perspectives on the harvest are also divided into seven distinct messages.

Revelation 14 View of the Harvest

Rev 14:6 Then I saw another angel flying in the air, with the eternal gospel light to proclaim [NOTE: 1st thunder-message from the risen Apostle Paul] to those who dwell on the earth, to every nation and tribe and tongue and people. 7And he said in a loud voice, “Fear God and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come. Worship the One who made the heavens and the earth and the sea and the springs of waters.”

Revelation 18 View of the Harvest

Rev 18:1 After this I saw another angel Jesus descending from heaven with great authority, and the earth was illuminated by his glory. [This is the 1st message we see Jesus Righteous Judgement beginning the enlightenment of the world at the end of the 1260 years of darkness. The timing of this is given to us in Rev 11:12 And the witnesses heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Come up here.” And they went up to heaven in a cloud as their enemies watched them. [The timing of this] 13And in that hour there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city collapsed. [French Revolution] Seven thousand were killed in the quake, and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.

Revelation 16 Burning the Tares & Gathering Wheat

Rev 16:2 So the first angel [First Volume as overseen by the Apostle Paul] went and poured out his bowl on the earth, and loathsome, malignant sores broke out on those who had the mark of the beast and worshiped its image. Message contained in the First Volume Beginning the writing down of the first THUNDER. Rev 10:4

First things First as Given in Daniel 7 Then in Revelation of the Seven Harvest Messages

Enlightenment and Judgment first comes to earth as seen in Daniel 7:9–14 and is explained further in verses 22–26. Revelation 10 then provides additional insight on Daniel's view and gives Revelation’s first depiction of the Lord’s return with 7 Thunders, sealed until the seventh messenger is able to write them down. Together, these passages indicate that the simplest date for understanding his return is 1799, and distinguishes his return and bundling the Tares from the harvesting of the Church. Although Revelation can initially seem difficult to untangle, its meaning becomes clearer when we ask, seek, and knock. It reveals what occurred at the close of the 1260 years in 1799, which brings an end to the French Revolution and the beginning God’s judgment against Papacy, as described in Revelation 14:1–7.

But what we really want to understand is the connection between how those who are caught in the nominal heavens (Papacy, Beast/Empire, and Dragon-civil power) see the enlightenment. The perspective of the enlightenment is what we see written in the plagues. There enlightenment is seen as a bad thing because their works are evil unless they die to self and come into Christ. I put Revelation 18 on the left because there we see most clearly the reference to the Lords return.

Rev 18 Second Harvest Message

Rev 18:2 And he cried out in a mighty voice: “Fallen 476 fallen 1829 is Babylon the great! She has become a lair for demons and a haunt for every unclean spirit, every unclean bird, and every detestable beast. 3All the nations have drunk the wine of the passion of her immorality. The kings of the earth were immoral with her, and the merchants of the earth have grown wealthy from the extravagance of her luxury.”

Rev 14 Second Harvest Message

Rev 14:8 Then a second angel followed saying, “Fallen 476 fallen 1829 is Babylon the great, who has made all the nations drink the wine of the passion of her immorality.” [Notably: Between 1829 and 1874, America—the main source of the harvest -- also experienced the Civil War from 1861 to 1865. Similarly, the second seal refers to Christians turning on each other with the rise of Papacy. Also: Rome fell in the 2nd trumpet period.

Rev 16 Second Plague

The 2nd THUNDER. Rev 10:4

Rev 16:3 And the second angel [Second Volume as overseen by Arius] poured out his bowl into the sea, and it turned to blood like that of a dead man Jesus' blood and every living thing in the sea died. [Everyone looking for truth that was not overpowered of Babylon was converted by the message

This is the 2nd threefold harvest message. The thing most striking about lining up the scriptures this way as that we can see the connection between the messages being similar. In this case we have “Fallen 476 fallen 1829 is Babylon the great!" in both the Revelation 18 and Revelation 14 as the second message.

[2nd messenger is Arius] Time frame 1829 the end of the 1290 days of Daniel 12:11. Historians often see 1829 and the surrounding years as a turning point in English-speaking religious life, especially with the Repeal of the Test and Corporation Acts in 1828 and Catholic Emancipation in 1829. At which time those of understanding began looking for our Lord's return in earnest. People like William Miller who calculated our Lord's return would take place in 1843. He was not entirely wrong. The date was correct as far as the 2300 days/Years to 1843 being the restoration and cleansing of the Sanctuary, but his understanding was incorrect about thinking that the Church would be zapped into heaven at that point. At that point he did not understand that we all must die before our change comes. 2 Corinthians 4:11 For we who are alive are always consigned to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our mortal body.

Rev 18 Third Message

Rev 18:4 Then I heard another voice from heaven say: “Come out of her, My people, so that you will not share in her sins or contract any of her plagues. 5For her sins are piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities.

Rev 14 Third Harvest Message

Rev 14:9 And a third angel followed them, calling out in a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives its mark on his forehead or on his hand [The teaching of the Trinity = 666 and belief in Hellfire and Brimstone.] 10 he too will drink the wine of God’s anger, poured undiluted into the cup of His wrath. And he will be tormented by his own belief in fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. 11And the smoke of their torment the stench of their prayers rises forever and ever. Day and night there is no rest for those who worship the beast and its image, or for anyone who receives the mark of its name.”

Rev 14:13 And I heard a voice from heaven telling me to write, “Blessed are the dead In Christ who Physically die in the Lord from this moment on.” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labors, and their deeds will continue with them” in heaven with power

Rev 16 Third Plague

Rev 16:4 And the third angel poured out his bowl into the rivers Universities and springs of water schools, and they turned to blood of Christ. 5And I heard the angel of the waters say: “Righteous are You, O Holy One, who is and was, because You have brought these judgments. 6For they have spilled the blood of saints and prophets, and You have given them blood to drink as they deserve.” 7And I heard the altar reply: “Yes, Lord God Almighty, true and just are Your judgments.”

This is the 3rd threefold harvest message. Hear again we see a similarity in the language used to describe the message being made from the third angel "a voice from heaven" and again the message is received in a negative fashion from the nominal systems as described in the Third Plague of Revelation 16.

Third message: the 2300 days of Daniel 8:14 end in 1843. The third message (1843–1874), is overseen by the risen Jacob Baradaeus, refers back to Revelation 14:9, where the third angel gives a similar message about the third plague. The cup is the Bible, into which she-Babylon has mixed the doctrines of Church-State union, by which she convinced people that she was the Kingdom of God on earth. The true Church is commissioned to fill that cup double, through both the Early and Latter rains, twice what the early Church had. The Lord provided the Latter Rain through the 7th Messenger, Charles Russell, who sounded the 7th trumpet during the early part of the harvest beginning in 1878.

The teaching of hellfire and brimstone as taught by money-hungry Babylon stated that they must convert the world now, or the unconverted will go to be tormented forever by an angry God. This is the most blasphemous doctrine ever taught about our loving Heavenly Father. But the god it describes is really the Devil. The more they believe in it, the more they are tormented, by their own false belief. Because they refused the truth, by not being converted they were left to drink their own putrid doctrines, which torment them. It is interesting that the third volume has a section called The Great Pyramid—the altar. Or possibly, it represents those on this side of the veil, still on the altar, agree with these sentiments.

Rev 18 Fourth Message

Rev 18:6 Give back to her as she has done to others; pay her back double for what she has done; mix her a double portion in her own cup. For in her heart she proudly says, ‘I sit as queen; I am no widow and will never see grief.’ 8 Therefore her plagues will come in one Harvest day—death and grief and famine—and she will be consumed by fire, for mighty is the Lord God who judges her.”

Rev 14 Fourth Harvest Message

Rev 14:14 And I looked and saw a white cloud and seated on the cloud was One like the Son of Man Jesus with a golden crown on His head and a sharp sickle in His hand.

Rev 16 Fourth Plague

Rev 16:8 Then the fourth angel [Fourth volume overseen by Peter Waldo] poured out his bowl on the sun and it the gospel-Sun was given power to scorch the people with fire. 9And the people were scorched by intense heat, and they cursed the name of God, who had authority over these plagues. Yet they did not repent and give Him glory. [Those who do repent, died to self, consecrating themselves to the Lord are then hidden in Christ]

This is the 4th threefold harvest message. We see that it testifies to the time of Jesus Waiting for the Harvest of the Church. Although Jesus has a sharp sickle in his hand, we see that it is still not quite time for the harvest as it seems Jesus is being instructed by the next angel that comes out of the finished temple. What weve had up to this point in the Harvest has been the bundling of the tares.

The order of events in the vision of Chapter 14 parallels Daniel 7:9 & 13. The messages relation to the plagues is that Jesus has returned and the Light of the scriptures has doubled. Hence the scorching heat of the Son of God upon those who refuse the knowledge of God and to give him glory.

4th message 1874 From the risen Peter Waldo. We see Jesus sitting on a cloud ready to begin the harvest.

Rev 18 Fifth Message

Rev 18:9 Then the kings of the earth who committed sexual immorality and lived in luxury with her will weep and wail at the sight of the smoke rising from the fire that consumes her. 10In fear of her torment, they will stand at a distance and cry out: “Woe, Woe to the great city, the mighty city of Babylon! For in a single hour your judgment has come.” 11And the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, because there is no one left to buy their cargo...

Rev 14 Fifth Harvest Message

Rev 14:15 Then another angel [5th message 1878 From John Wycliffe] came out of the temple [Note: this is evidence the temple is now finished] crying out in a loud voice to the One seated on the cloud, “Swing Your sickle and reap, because the time has come to harvest, for the crop of the earth is ripe.” 16So the One seated on the cloud swung His sickle over the earth, and the earth was harvested.

Rev 16 Fifth Plague

Rev 16:10 And the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom was plunged into darkness, and men began to gnaw their tongues in anguish 11and curse the God of heaven for their pains and sores. Yet they did not repent of their deeds.

This is the 5th threefold harvest message. Note that just like there were three woes representing the last three trumpets, so here we find three double Woe’s with messages # 5, 6, & 7. The "hour" is connected to each of the double Woe’s and the last three angels seen after Jesus is seen sitting on the cloud waiting for the harvest to begin Rev 14:14-15. An item of note here is that until now in chapter 14 the Angels that pronounced the messages appear to have been flying in the air. But now they are coming out of the temple, showing us that the temple is now complete. I believe the idea being that between both sides of the veil, the 144,000 is complete as also seen earlier in chapter 14. This is why it states to the 6th stage of the Church "let no man take your crown". The seventh stage of the church is mostly made up of those crowns lost by those begotten during the sixth stage of the church but failing to recognize the Lord's return. This is also the lesson found in Song of Solomon 5:2-6. Note especially the 6th plague along this line where it states 15“Behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who remains awake and clothed, so that he will not go naked and let his shame be exposed.”

Rev 16 Sixth Plague

Rev 16:12 And the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings of the East. the Church

13And I saw three unclean spirits that looked like frogs coming out of the mouths of the dragon emperor, the beast Kings, and the false prophet Pope. 14These are demonic spirits that perform signs and go out to all the kings of the earth, to assemble them for battle on the great day of God the Almighty.

15“Behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who remains awake and clothed, so that he will not go naked and let his shame be exposed.”

16And they assembled the kings in the place that in Hebrew is called Armageddon.

Rev 14 Sixth Harvest Message

Revelation 14:17 Then another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle. [The risen Martin Luther the 6th messenger who preached that the just shall live by faith. Which in his day began the Reformation the beginning of takedown of Babylon]

Rev 18 Sixth Message

Rev 18:15 The merchants who sold these things and gained their wealth from her will stand at a distance, in fear of her torment. They will weep and mourn, 16saying: “Woe, Woe [6th message] to the great city, clothed in fine linen and purple and scarlet, adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls! 17For in a single hour such fabulous wealth has been destroyed!” Every shipmaster, passenger, and sailor, and all who make their living from the sea, will stand at a distance 18and cry out at the sight of the smoke rising from the fire that consumes her. “What city was ever like this great city?” they will exclaim.

This is the 6th threefold harvest message. Note that just like there were three woes representing the last three trumpets, so here we find three double Woe’s with messages # 5, 6, & 7. This "hour" appears to be connected to each of the double Woe’s, and the last three angels seen after Jesus is seen sitting on the cloud waiting for 5th messenger Wycliff to tell him to begin the harvest Rev 14:14-15. An item of note here is that until now in chapter 14 the Angels that pronounced the messages appear to have been flying in the air. Now they are coming out of the temple, showing us that the temple is now complete. I believe the idea being that between both sides of the veil, the 144,000 is complete as also seen earlier in chapter 14. This is why it states to the 6th stage of the Church "let no man take your crown"

Rev 18 Seventh Message

Rev 18:19 Then they will throw dust on their heads as they weep and mourn and cry out: “Woe, woe to the great city, Papal Babylon-Rome where all who had ships on the sea were enriched by her wealth! For in a single hour, she has been destroyed.” WW1 20Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you saints and apostles and prophets, because God has pronounced for you His judgment against her. 21Then a mighty angel picked up a stone the size of a great millstone and cast it into the sea, saying: “With such violence the great city of Babylon will be cast down, never to be seen again. WW2 22And the sound of harpists and musicians, of flute players and trumpeters, will never ring out in you again. Nor will any craftsmen of any trade

be found in you again, nor the sound of a millstone be heard in you again. 23The light of a lamp will never shine in you again, and the voices of a bride and bridegroom will never call out in you again. For your merchants were the great ones of the earth, because all the nations were deceived by your sorcery.” 24And there was found in her the blood of prophets and saints, and of all who had been slain on the earth.

Rev 14 Seventh Harvest Message

Rev 14:18 Still another angel, with authority over the fire, came from the altar [as the 7th messenger Charles Russell was still on the altar on this side of the veil finishing his sacrifice] and called out in a loud voice to the angel with the sharp sickle, [7th messenger Charles Russell calls to the risen 6th messenger Martin Luther] “Swing your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of grapes of wrath from the vine of the earth, because its grapes are ripe.”

19So the angel swung his sickle over the earth and gathered the grapes of wrath of the earth, and he threw them into the great winepress of God’s wrath. 20And the winepress was trodden outside the city [outside their designated time to rule from 314 to 1914] and the blood that flowed from it rose as high as the bridles of the horses [This reminds us of a “that’s enough” gesture as in “I have had it up to here with you as you swipe your hand across your throat”- the Doctrinal hobby horse of Church State Union] for a distance of 1600 stadia.

Rev 16 Seventh Plague

Rev 16:17Then the seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air [Charles Russell now having been caught up into the air himself], and a loud voice came from the throne in the temple, saying, “It is done!” [The times of the Gentiles were ‘done’ and Israel now needed to be reestablished]

18And there were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, and a great earthquake the likes of which had not occurred since men were upon the earth WW1—so mighty was the great quake. 19The great city was split into three parts third world countries, and the cities of the nations collapsed Great Depression. And God remembered Babylon the great and gave her the cup of the wine of the fury of His wrath WW2.

20Then every island colony fled, and no mountain Empire could be found. 21And great hailstones weighing a talent each rained down on them from above. [And those who had buried their talent Matthew 25:28 lost their talent and it was given to those who had 10 talents to help them understand. And he that buried his talent was cast into outer darkness] And men cursed God for the plague of hail, because it was so horrendous.

This 7th three fold message appears to teach that since WW2 there is not enough understanding taught in the Institutional churches (which she is the mother of) to warrant the Lord begetting any of them with the holy spirit. This is because he does not want to subject them to the 2nd death. One must first come out by coming in contact with the Harvest Message then maybe he will give them the holy spirit.

NOTE: [[[This unholy union between the Christian Church and State led Christians to kill other Christians with the “sword of the state,” as referenced in Revelation 6:4. The killing began with the Donatists in 314 and continued for 1600 years—literally to the day. Both Revelation 14:20 and Daniel 11:27 describe this as "doing damage" for 1600 stadia, which also represents a biblical trial period squared: 40 × 40 = 1600 years. This period began on August 1st, 314, at the Council of Arles, which marked the start of the Christian Church-State union, and ended exactly 1600 years later on August 1st, 1914—to the very day. That same day, World War 1 began when Germany declared war on Russia after Russia moved to support Serbia, sparking an East-West religious conflict involving multiple "Christian" nations. This timing appears to be more than coincidence, since it also aligns with the destruction of both Jewish temples, observed on the Jewish calendar as the 9th of Av. Hebrew Date Converter - August 1, 1914 / 9th of Av, 5674 - Hebcal. This also marks the beginning of the destruction of Christendom’s Empires.]]]

[[[The seventh plague/Bowl appears to take us to the end of the 7th stage of the Church on Earth. It does not include the events Ezekiel 38 which by my calculations of the day for year Passover will occur in 2037. The church will be gone by that time. Note: My Chart for the timing of these events.]]]

[[[After the Jewish people’s suffering during World War II, many could not reconcile such events with belief in a caring God and stopped identifying as Christian. This resulted in the burning of the tares—that is, they ceasing to call themselves Christian. Others continued to identify as Christian while retaining the mark of the beast, fulfilling Song of Solomon 5:2–3. Yet they retain some redeeming value by supporting the Jewish people’s return to their homeland, Israel, as described in Song 5:8–16. They stand on the same footing as the Jewish people, provided they keep their Christian identity and encourage the Jewish people to return home.]]]

Three views of the Antichrist System

The first view of the rise of the antichrist system is given in Revelation 12:5-17 where we see the Dragon about to devour the “man child” the antichrist about to be born of the woman (representing the early church which contained many of those who had the Nicolaitin spirit within it.) The Nicolaitin Antichrist system was ‘devoured’ by the Dragon representing Rome when Rome made itself look like it adopted Christianity or was it Christianity adopting paganism and calling itself Christian and casting out the old paganism, you decide. This corresponds to the ‘enemy sowing tare seeds into the wheat field’ in the parable of wheat and tares found in Matthew 13:24:24-30 and 36-43. This is also described by Jesus as ‘Satan casting out Satan’ (Matthew 12:26) which Satan is loath to do, but he was losing the battle. And he begins to take the tactic if you can’t beat them, join them… and kill them from within.

The second view of the rise of the antichrist system appears in Revelation 13:1-10. It depicts Rome regaining power after the deadly wound to its head—an event historians call the “Fall of the Roman Empire” in 476. This wound resulted from the war described in chapter 12. Chapter 13 portrays Rome rising again after that conflict, now taking on a more religious character and beginning a reign often described as lasting 1260 years from 539 to 1799. The Dragon, representing civil power, moved from Rome to Constantinople in Greece and, in 539, transferred its authority and seat to the Papacy, which remained in Rome. Revelation 13 describes what the Apostle Paul referred to in 2Thessalonians 2:7: “For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work [in the church].Only he who now restrains it [Pagan Rome] will do so until he is taken out of the way.” Constantine moved Rome’s seat of power to Constantinople. After the ‘war against paganism’ had been won, Papal Rome—the antichrist system—arose as the victor in Rome. Also as described in Daniel 7:8 as a “horn, a little one, that came up among them [the 10 first horns] and three of the first horns were uprooted before it. This horn had eyes like those of a man and a mouth that spoke words of arrogance.” Thus, showing its Nicolaitan spirit.

The third view of the rise of the antichrist system is given to us in Revelation 13:11-18. Here we see a two horned beast rising to new heights of power after the ‘war’ had been won, having two horns like a lamb, but speaking like a dragon. This is the third description of the antichrist system rising out of both Rome and Constantinople having the two horns one from the fourth beast (Rome) described in Daniel 7 and one from the Grecian Goat of Daniel 8. In these two visions of Daniel the antichrist system is being shown to grow out of both Rome and Greece. This describes the time when the inquisition was beginning to be set up. Here the papacy becomes an image of the beast that has the 10 horns, so the papacy acquires 10 Papal States - Britannica… and ends up ruling the beast (the Roman Empire) itself. (The Origin and Decline of the Papal States)

The book of Daniel also has three views of the antichrist system. Daniel 2:42 the clay and iron mix, Daniel 7 the horn upon Rome that plucks up 3 others, and Daniel 8 the little horn that waxed exceedingly great whose power was not its own Daniel 8:24. And so, it should not surprise us that Revelation also has three views of the antichrist system.

Three Women Described in Revelation

One may ask the question is there not a fourth view of the antichrist system in chapter 17? My response is that 17 is dealing with a woman in the same way that chapter 12 starts out about a woman. These two women represent churches or cities which are always female. As opposed to the antichrist system which is always described as male. The 12th chapter woman is the Early Church. The woman in the 17th chapter represents the Roman Catholic Church located in the City of Rome which grew and became powerful during the middle ages. Not surprisingly there is a third woman in Revelation 21:2 which is the true and completed Church which is the bride and body of Christ. Note again; the ‘Man of sin’ is Male and represents the position of the Pope as head of the Papal political system. Note the Pope himself is not the antichrist but he does occupy that position. There are details about the beast – Rome in the 17th chapter, but they are details of explanation from the time perspective of the Apostle John the writer of Revelation in 90 CE. We know this because in the explanation of the beast he states that “the ten horns had received no power as yet”. The horns began to receive power when Constantine moved the Roman Empire's capital to Constantinople. Also note that those horns continue in power until they destroy the Papal Power in 1870. Then their destruction begins at the end of the 2520 years which is in 1914. Whereas the Papal destruction begins with the French revolution as stated in Daniel 7:25.

Also note that the horns of the beast of chapter 17 are not showing themselves so much against the true church, but are deceived into fighting against the true Church during the 1260 years. Then they come to their senses and hate the Harlot that rides the beast. See: Revelation 17:16.

Three views of the Millennial Age Church.

The first view of the kingdom, for which we pray, is given in Revelation 20. There we see the Dragon (from Revelation 12) as Satan being bound so that he can no longer deceive the nations for a thousand years. Also described as a time when the books were opened and everybody was judged out of those things written in the books Revelation 20:12.

The second view of the kingdom is given in Revelation 21:1-8. Here we see “the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride [the glorified Christian Church] adorned for her husband.”

The third view of the kingdom is given in Revelation 21:9-22:5. Here we see the new Jerusalem again ‘coming down from heaven’ and is then described and measured in 21:15.

Three views of Jesus coming down from heaven

Revelation gives us three views of Jesus’ return (Revelation 10, 18, and 20). These three echo Daniel’s vision in Daniel 7:9–14 where “the court was convened, and the books were opened.” Revelation 10 appears to mark the opening of the first of these books, while Rev 20:12 states again “And the books were opened”. Notably, there are ten chapters in Revelation where a book, the bible, is being unsealed, and another ten where it seems the last book in the bible is in process of being unsealed. It also appears the seventh angel/messenger (Charles Taze Russell) is meant to record for us what the seven thunders—whose words in Revelation 10:4 had been sealed—said.

I believe all these events are meant to be tied together to help us understand the chain of events written in Daniel 7 specially 9 through 26. Note: Revelation 5:1 & Revelation 10:4 The Gospel age seals are unsealed during the gospel age and understood by its end during the 7th trumpet. The harvest age seals are unsealed during the harvest age and understood by its end during the 7th plague. Remember these are secrets that must be kept from Satan which if he understood could be used to frustrate the plan of God. This is why only those who have the Holy spirit are able to understand the things that are written there.

Three Beastly Views of the 1260 Years

Revelation 12 and 13 present the 1260-year period in three forms. First, in 12:6 it states that the woman fled [on foot] into the wilderness, where God had prepared a place for her to be nourished for 1260 days. Second, in 12:14 it states that the woman was given two wings of a great eagle to escape the serpent and reach her place in the wilderness, where she was nourished for a time, and times, and half a time. Third, in 13:5 it states that the beast was given a mouth to speak arrogant and blasphemous words and authority to act for 42 months.

Just as the Lord describes the 1260 years in three different ways, he also gives us three perspectives on the history leading to the beginning of that period. He begins with a vision of the early church pregnant with the Antichrist, echoing Paul’s warning in 2 Corinthians 11:14: “And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.” Likewise, Revelation 2:6 states: But you have this to your credit: You hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. Revelation 12 then depicts the dragon in verse 4 as “standing before the woman who was about to give birth, ready to devour her child as soon as she gave birth. In this interpretation, the scripture tells us that Satan planned to empower those within the Church who possessed the Nicolaitan spirit by placing their leader on his throne. He accomplished this through Constantine, who was crowned emperor in York, England. Constantine’s mother was Christian, his father was pagan, and he was born in Thrace—the fourth division of Greece, which had not yet ruled Israel and was destined to become the "seventh head" described in Revelation 17:10 and Daniel 7:6 as the "4th head" of the Grecian empire which had not yet ruled Israel. At the time of John only three heads of the 4 divisions of Greece after Alexander's death had ruled the promised land.

This first part of the vision leading to the 1260 years concludes with verses 12:5–6: “And she gave birth to a son, a male child, who will rule all the nations with an iron scepter. And her child was caught up to God and to His throne. And the woman fled [apparently on foot] into the wilderness, where God had prepared a place for her to be nourished for 1260 days.”

The second part of the vision leading to the 1260 years—this time described as a time, and times, and half a time—begins with the following verse 12:7: “Then a war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back.” This war represents the struggle between Christianity and paganism for religious dominance around the Constantine came to the Throne. Christianity prevails, and the voice of the Antichrist, now becomes established in heaven and declares that the kingdom sought in the Lord’s Prayer has come. But what had actually come was the Church-State counterfeit kingdom described in Daniel 2 as the Iron and Clay mixed feet of Nebuchadnezzars' dream.

The second part of the vision concludes with verses 13–14: “And when the dragon saw that he had been thrown to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. 14 But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle to fly… [not on foot, but this time with wings, because by this point she now had the canonized Scriptures] …from the presence of the serpent to her place in the wilderness, where she was nourished for a time, and times, and half a time”.

The third part of the vision leading to the 1260 years—next it becomes expressed as 42 months—begins again with the following verse 12:15, after the Scriptures had been canonized: “Then from his mouth the serpent spewed G906... [muddy water, Mark 4:26; spewed = scattered seed, G906—an allusion to act of casting seed Luke 13:8. [Admittedly not used in the tares among the wheat] ...water like a river to overtake the woman and sweep her away in the torrent. 16 But the earth helped the woman and opened its mouth to swallow up the river [by accepting Christianity as stated in Philippians 1:15-17] that the dragon had poured from his mouth. 17 And the dragon was enraged [Dan. 11:30] at the woman and went to make war with the rest of her children, who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus”. These verses offer another depiction of the tares being sown among the wheat in the parable of Matthew 13:24. Here, however, water rather than seed is cast. Not with the same Greek word. The vision then describes how the dragon wages war by overseeing the revival of the Roman Empire, which had fallen in 476—symbolized by the beast’s wounded head. The wound evidently resulted from the war previously described. This account continues into chapter 13; the original text of Revelation contains no chapter divisions.

The third part of the vision leading to the 1260 years concludes with verses 13:4–5: “They worshiped the dragon who had given authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, and who can wage war against it?” [This by all appearances is fulfilling what was stated in 12:17 where it states that the dragon "went to make war" with the rest of her children...] 5 The beast was given a mouth to speak arrogant and blasphemous words [as also stated in Daniel 7:8, 11, 20, 25 describing the office of the Pope] and authority to act for 42 months... 13:7Then the beast was permitted to wage war against the saints and to conquer them, and it was given authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation.”.

The vision in Chapter 13 then continues with the events during the 1260 years. It starts with the reestablishment of Rome as a power that needed to be dealt with again, being set up by the Dragon. This part of history the Lord describes as the healing of Romes deadly head wound. And the Lord desiring to give us a better understanding of this new rise to power of what is in reality Papal Rome He employs the use of a Two-Horned Beast. As Papacy's power rises it begins to look more and more like an Image of the original Beast especially after it receives Lands to rule over called the Papal States. This stage is also mentioned in Daniel 11:39. At this stage of power Papacy became most deadly as it used the inquisition to kill the saints because they refused to go along with the beast's deception, calling itself the Kingdom of God on earth. Because of Papacy's corruption eventually the people could see that it was not the Kingdom of God set up, and they began to tear it down in the French Revolution1789-1799. After 1799 the end of the 1260 years the Kings saw their opportunity to humble the Papacy by taking back the lands donated to it so that by 1870 under Victor Emmanuel II all the Papal States had been seized. At this point the Lord begins to use the term the False Prophet. In this way telling us that all that was left of it was its Big Mouth the mouth of the Pope.

Revelation 13:11–15: Then I saw another beast rising... [I understand this as the horn that rises and uproots three of the first ten horns in Daniel 7:20.] ...out of the earth. This beast had two horns like a lamb but spoke like a dragon [I interpret the two horns as the religious Papacy of the Western Roman Empire and the civil authority of Justinian in Constantinople, representing the Eastern Roman Empire.]. 12 And this beast exercised all the authority of the first beast and caused the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose mortal wound was healed. [The first beast represents the Western Empire and the authority it held before Rome fell in 476. In this interpretation, Justinian healed that wound in 539 by sending Belesariaus to retake Rome. The narratives perspective is from the Eastern Empire’s perspective, Justinian in Constantinople is the seventh head—the one who had not yet come—mentioned in Revelation 7:10 ] [See: Revelation Unredacted for my understanding of the rest of the chapter.]

I propose that the later title False Prophet refers to the period after the ten horns that hated the Roman Church-beast had stripped it of everything except Vatican City. At its still-future final burial, only the Big Mouth remains of the two-horned beast. This corresponds to the prominent horn’s mouth in Daniel 7:8, 7:20, Revelation 13:1,5,6&11 and 16:13. Under Napoleon, the 10 horns and the beast began to devour her flesh and burn her with fire. By 1870, under Victor Emmanuel II, she had been consumed except for the Vatican City, where the Pope—the big-mouthed False Prophet—still resides under continuing fiery judgments. Meanwhile, the birds—whom I interpret as wealthy industrialists gorged themselves on their flesh, what the Beast and False Prophet had previously ruled over (Revelation 19:21).

Email

Call: Jim Schucker 808-754-8978 for help in understanding.

JimSchucker@revelation17.com

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Multiple Triple Views within Revelation

[Three 7-fold views of the Church During the Gospel age]

[First Church] [Second-Church] [Third Church] [Fourth Church] [Fifth Church] [Sixth Church] [Seventh Church]

[Three 7-fold views of the Harvest Age] [Fold Two] [Fold Three] [Fold Four] [Fold Five] [Fold Six] [Fold Seven]

[Three Views of the Antichrist-System]

[Three Women Described in Revelation]

[Three views of the Millennial Age Church]

[Three views of Jesus coming down from heaven]

[Three Beastly Views of the 1260 Years]

Three 7 fold views of the Church During the Gospel age

Rev 2 First Church-Gospel Age

Rev 6 First Seal

Rev 8 First Trumpet

Revelation Chapter Six → Unsealing the 7 Sealed Scroll

[Three Beastly Views of the 1260 Years]

Rev 2 Second Church-Gospel Age

Rev 6 Second Seal

Rev 8 Second Trumpet

[Three Beastly Views of the 1260 Years]

Revelation 2 Third Church-Gospel Age

Rev 6 Third Seal

Rev 8 Third Trumpet

Pergamum 539 → 1157

THIRD CHURCH 539 - 1157 JACOB BARADAEUS

[Three Beastly Views of the 1260 Years]

Revelation 2 Fourth Church-Gospel Age

Rev 6 Fourth Seal

Rev 8 Fourth Trumpet

FOURTH CHURCH 1157 – 1367 PETER WALDO

[Three Beastly Views of the 1260 Years]

Rev 3 Fifth Church

150 Years = 5 Months

Rev 6 Fifth Seal

Rev 8 Fifth Trumpet-Gospel Age

Rev 3 – Churches 5 – 7

FIFTH CHURCH 1367 – 1517 JOHN WYCLIFFE

[Three Beastly Views of the 1260 Years]

Revelation 3 Sixth Church

Rev 6 Sixth Seal

Rev 8 Sixth Trumpet-Gospel Age

SIXTH CHURCH 1517 to 1877 MARTIN LUTHER

[Three Beastly Views of the 1260 Years]

Revelation 3 Seventh Church

Rev 8 Seventh Seal

Rev 11 Seventh Trumpet

SEVENTH CHURCH 1877 to __? CHARLES RUSSELL

[Three Beastly Views of the 1260 Years]

[Three Beastly Views of the 1260 Years]

Three 7-fold view of the Churches' Harvest Age

Coupled with the Take Down of the Antichrist System

Revelation 14 View of the Harvest

Revelation 18 View of the Harvest

Revelation 16 Burning the Tares & Gathering Wheat

First things First as Given in Daniel 7 Then in Revelation of the Seven Harvest Messages

[Three Beastly Views of the 1260 Years]

Rev 18 Second Harvest Message

Rev 14 Second Harvest Message

Rev 16 Second Plague

[Three Beastly Views of the 1260 Years]

Rev 18 Third Message

Rev 14 Third Harvest Message

Rev 14:13 And I heard a voice from heaven telling me to write, “Blessed are the dead In Christ who Physically die in the Lord from this moment on.” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labors, and their deeds will continue with them” in heaven with power

Rev 16 Third Plague

[Three Beastly Views of the 1260 Years]

Rev 18 Fourth Message

Rev 14 Fourth Harvest Message

Rev 16 Fourth Plague

4th message 1874 From the risen Peter Waldo. We see Jesus sitting on a cloud ready to begin the harvest.

[Three Beastly Views of the 1260 Years]

Rev 18 Fifth Message

Rev 14 Fifth Harvest Message

Rev 16 Fifth Plague

[Three Beastly Views of the 1260 Years]

Rev 16 Sixth Plague

Rev 14 Sixth Harvest Message

Revelation 14:17 Then another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle. [The risen Martin Luther the 6th messenger who preached that the just shall live by faith. Which in his day began the Reformation the beginning of takedown of Babylon]

Rev 18 Sixth Message

[Three Beastly Views of the 1260 Years]

Rev 18 Seventh Message

Rev 14 Seventh Harvest Message