Hi Jeff,
I have really appreciated the material the Lord has led you to put together. I ran across this statement that makes it appear that the trumpets sound after the close of probation. What do you think of this? GC.
“Evil angels unite their powers with evil men, and as they have been in constant conflict and attained an experience in the best modes of deception and battle, and have been strengthening for centuries, they will not yield the last great final contest without a desperate struggle. All the world will be on one side or the other of the question. The battle of Armageddon will be fought, and that day must find none of us sleeping. Wide-awake we must be, as wise virgins having oil in our vessels with our lamps. What is this? Grace, Grace.
“The power of the Holy Ghost must be upon us, and the Captain of the Lord’s host will stand at the head of the angels of heaven to direct the battle. Solemn events before us are yet to transpire. Trumpet after trumpet is to be sounded, vial after vial poured out one after another upon the inhabitants of the earth.” The 1888 Materials, 762.
Response
Brother GC,
This is a common statement to those who wish to apply the trumpets after the close of probation, but there are trumpets that are sounded that are not the seven trumpets of Revelation 8 and 9. There is no specific context to apply this to the trumpets of Revelation 8 and 9, so you would need to deny the several places where Sister White endorsed the pioneer understanding of the trumpets in order to make this single statement hold up. It just doesn’t fit. Her endorsement of Litch’s prediction in The Great Controversy is an endorsement of the understanding of the trumpets by the pioneers. You cannot logically separate the pioneer understanding of the trumpets from the time prophecy in Revelation 9:15. If they were incorrect on the trumpets, then they would also be incorrect on what or who to apply the time prophecy to. You would also need to address William Foy’s vision in 1842, where he was told that the sixth trumpet had not yet done sounding. Jeff.
Brother GC Replies
Thank you Brother Jeff,
I concur with your answer and just wanted to know how you handle this quote. Certainly the time prophecies of the pioneers are almost indisputable for their interpretation of the 7 trumpets—first 4, nomadic nations against Western Rome, and the last 2 trumpets—Islam against Eastern Rome. GC.
Response
Brother GC,
One other further thought: The trumpets were representing seven parts of an unfolding history that began after Constantine divided the Roman Empire into East and West, when in the year 330—he moved the capital of the Empire from the city of Rome in the West, unto the city of Constantinople in the East. All seven trumpets had specific sequential histories which they were representing. In spite of that fact, the message of the trumpets is also identifying the opening up of information unto God’s people by the Lion of the tribe of Judah. Yes, the trumpets represent specific histories, but the prophetic histories represented by the trumpets are also the truths which the Millerites came to understand in the books of Daniel and Revelation and that the Millerites developed and established as the foundations of Adventism.
The trumpets cover the history of the disintegration of the Roman Empire, basically after the year 330. The history continues until the end of the world. It is the history represented by the trumpets, which the book of Daniel also addresses. This is the prophetic history that fulfilled the unsealing of the book of Daniel in that time. The history represented by the trumpets covers and adds understanding to the years 476, 496, 508, 533, 538, 1299, 1449, 1798, 1840, 1843 and 1844. These dates and their associated prophetic history is what the Millerites presented up until 1844. Not only was the histories represented by the seven trumpets the foundational prophetic history of the Millerite message, but God brought the Millerites into revival by the fulfillment of prophecy located in the message of the trumpets. The Millerite history is to be repeated in the history when the 144,000 are developed. Therefore: It is reasonable to expect that prophetic light will once again be brought from the trumpets that accomplishes or at least contributes to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, when God brings about the revival of the latter rain.
In both the past history of the Millerites and the current history of the development of the 144,000—the messages of the trumpets are used to bring revival. Prophetically, this fact places the trumpets within a history that precedes the close of probation, for the revival of the Millerites preceded October 22, 1844 and the revival of the 144,000 precedes the Sunday law testing period. The trumpets are therefore representing a history when probation is still open, whether considering the Millerite time-period or today. They are not then understood to be paralleling the seven last plagues, for the seven last plagues are representing the history after human probation closes. Most who wish to reject the pioneer position on the trumpets align their ‘new’ understanding of the trumpets with the seven last plagues. One of these histories is representing a time when probation is open, and one a time when probation is closed—therefore; the two histories represented by the trumpets and the plagues are not the same prophetic history. Jeff.
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