Father, we ask that you would pour your Spirit out upon us and open your Word into our hearts and minds, and that you take control of the human agent so there's no more misstating of things. We thank you for what you've been doing here this week, ask for a continued blessing. Please send your Spirit and your angels at this time, in Jesus' name, Amen. Okay, what we're dealing with here is I'm trying to demonstrate to you several things, but one is that the seven churches that we all understand govern the history of the Christian church from the time of the disciples to the end of the world. We're also governing ancient Israel, alright? And we're trying to show that, but at the same time, if you maintain the correct position, the pioneer position, the pioneers understood that the seals were running sequentially with the seven churches. First seal, first church, second seal, second church. So as you're showing that ancient Israel is governed by the seven churches, you're also showing that the seven seals run through the history of ancient Israel also. So where I was heading, what I was working on at the end, was to begin to deal with the seals in ancient Israel, and I took us to the fifth seal in modern Israel, where the souls beneath the altar cry out, how long, oh Lord, until you punish the papacy, alright? And so from there, I jumped into ancient Israel to show you that there was the same history of four seals, alright? And when those four seals were concluded, there's also a question of how long. We took a spirit of prophecy quote, where Sister White compares the seven-year captivity of literal Israel and literal Babylon with the 1,260 years captivity of spiritual Israel and spiritual Babylon. We took a little bit of time to tell you that it's these two histories that produce the three decrees that start the 2,300-year prophecy, and in this history, then the three messages are produced. They're not simply tied together by the spirit of prophecy, they're tied together by prophecy, type-anti-type, right? So what I was going to do, and I got off track here, and I think it's only Brother, some of you have probably seen it, but you didn't know what to do with it, but at least Brother Denim raised the alarm, is in the book of Zechariah, you can show the first four seals in two places, okay, in chapter one and in chapter six. And I know in my mind, I'm familiar with chapter one and chapter six, and it's in your notes. I was going to give you the first testimony in chapter one, and then I was going to give you, actually, the third testimony. The first testimony that we're dealing with is the first four seals in the book of Revelation, and I'm saying that chapter one of Zechariah is a second testimony to what those four seals represent, and then I was going to go to chapter six and give you a third witness to the very same truth. So in my haste to move through this material, I wanted you to go to Zechariah chapter one, and in these notes, I just started reading Zechariah chapter six, okay, and then when I came back in to raise the question of how long, I went to chapter one, and the only one that blew the whistle on me was Brother Denim. So I'm going to walk back in this, and maybe I can get us straightened back out on this thought and we can get beyond it, all right, because we're still not where we want to go. If you go to your notes on page 268, walking to and fro from Zechariah one, seven through ten, what I'm saying is, is it in the history of ancient Israel that what is being described here to Zechariah is a parallel to the first four seals in the book of Revelation, and it says, upon the four and twentieth day of the eleventh month, which is the month of Sabbat, in the second year of Darius came the word of the Lord unto Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, the son of Idder the prophet, saying, I saw by night, and behold, a man riding upon a red horse, and he stood among the mortal trees that were in the bottom, and behind him there were red horses speckled and white. Then said I, O Lord, O my Lord, what are these? And the angel that talked with me said unto me, I will show you what these be. So whatever they are, the angels are going to explain them, okay? And the man that stood among the mortal trees answered and said, these are those whom the Lord has sent to walk to and fro through the earth, okay? And then in verse 11, it says, and they answered the angel of the Lord that stood among the mortal trees and said, we have walked to and fro through the earth, and behold, all the earth is still and is at rest. And the point is this, whatever they represent, these horses that are walking to and fro through the earth, whatever they represent, what they accomplish is that they bring the earth to rest, okay? That's the first thing I want you to see. The work that they're doing for the Lord is that they bring the earth to rest. And then I jumped to the next page in the middle, and we read from Isaiah 14, verses 1-7, and Isaiah teaches that the earth is brought to rest when the Babylonian captivity is over, okay? So what I'm saying, we know that the Babylonian captivity ended at the conclusion of the 70 years, so whatever these horses represent in Zechariah chapter 1, they represent the work of the Lord to bring to a conclusion the captivity of the 70 years. Do you follow me? Okay. And of course, what I'm saying is the four horses of the first four seals, they also conclude when the spiritual captivity of Babylon concluded in 1798, all right? And in the top of page 269, which is what I read last time out of order, you'll see a second witness to this in Zechariah when he also goes through and shows these four chariots that quiet the Lord's spirit in the north. So what I'm saying is, is that both Zechariah 1 and Zechariah 6 is giving symbolic representation that parallels the symbolic representation of the first four seals, the first four horses, okay? You've got three witnesses, Zechariah 1, Zechariah 6, and Revelation 6, that at the end of the fourth seal, there is a question raised, how long? Okay? Now, in Revelation 6, we're so short out of time, I'm just going to tell it to you, then follow these notes, okay? In Revelation 6, in the fifth seal, the martyrs raise the question, how long until you punish the papacy for killing us during the 1260 years of papal rule? And the answer is, rest a little while in your graves until another group of martyrs that dies as you died is made up, okay? That's a paraphrase, but you read it. That's a fair representation. That's the question here. And they're told, rest in your graves until the second group of papal martyrs is made up, and the second group of papal martyrs are those that are about to die in the Sunday Law crisis in the very near future. These martyrs from the 1260 years are saying, you rest in your graves until you get to the Sunday Law testing time. When that group dies, then I'm going to deal with the papacy, because that's what they ask, how long until you judge the papacy? Now, there's quotes in your notes, Sister White takes the fifth seal, this is the fifth seal where this question is raised, and she places it in Revelation 18, in the second Sunday Law persecution. That's where inspiration places the fifth seal, so she's putting it right where it's supposed to be. When you go to Zechariah, the question that's raised there isn't about martyrdom, it's how long until you return to Jerusalem with mercies? When are you going to raise up Jerusalem again? And see, there's so many ways to show this in so little time. Brothers and sisters, there were two 2520 time prophecies. They were judgments against ancient Israel for breaking the covenant. The first one concluded in 1798, and the second one concluded in 1844. Everyone understand that now, after this week, right? Amen? During that 46-year time period from 1798 to 1844, you have the Reform Movement of the Millerites, and it was 46 years long. And in that 46 years, according to John 2.20, it took 46 years to raise the temple. In the 46 years from 1798 to 1844, the spiritual temple of the Millerites was raised up so that the messenger of the covenant in Malachi could suddenly come to his temple on October 22, 1844. And when he did so, when he accomplished that work, he had raised up his temple, he had returned to Jerusalem with mercies. He had re-established Jerusalem again, because when the Lord in Bible prophecy, when he speaks about returning to Jerusalem, which he does often, one of the illustrations of that is you see a man with a measuring line. You're going to rebuild Jerusalem. You need to measure the temple, and you need to start building the work. And of course, we know that John, representing the Millerites, in chapter 11, he begins measuring Jerusalem, does he not? Ties in with Zechariah. When the Lord returns to Jerusalem, it's identifying when he re-establishes his people as his people, okay? But the Millerite history is repeated to the very letter. The Millerites came out of a scattering period, and the Lord returned to build Jerusalem in 1844, but within a handful of years, the Millerites had moved from Philadelphia to Laodicea, and the covering up of the precious jewels that are represented on these charts began. Until we get to the end of the world, when the lion of the tribe of Judah is going to sweep all the rubbish that's covered up the foundation truths out the windows, and he's going to reveal many other special truths, and at that time, what he's going to do is he's going to once again return to Jerusalem with mercies in the time period of Revelation 18. When he comes down out of heaven with the little book of Daniel in his hand, he is returning to build Jerusalem again, because when he does that in this history, he's repeating this history. It would have been nice to go through that carefully. We don't have the time. My point is this. The question in Zechariah about how long takes you to Revelation 18. This is when the Lord builds Jerusalem for the final time. This is where he sets up his kingdom. This question about the martyrdom takes you to the identical place, Revelation 18. One's dealing with raising up the 144,000, and one's dealing with the martyrs that take place when the 144,000 are raised up. All that being said, all I want you to see is not so much that, but is that ancient Israel is governed by the seven churches just as modern Israel was. If this is Thyatira, and it is for both ancient and modern Israel, what was it that brings Thyatira into history? Pergamos. This is Pergamos here for modern Israel. How come Israel got carried into captivity into Babylon? Compromise. Pergamos. As you go through these two histories, brothers and sisters, ancient Israel is governed by the seven churches the same way that modern Israel is. You haven't had time to test this through your own studies, but if you understand the logic, say amen. We have to move beyond this, and I have great sympathy for you walking in this late in the game, but I'm moving ahead to page 275. The fifth chapter of Revelation needs to be closely studied as it is of great importance to those who shall act a part in the work of God for these last days. There are some who are deceived. They do not realize what's coming on the earth. We have specific counsel to study the fifth chapter of Revelation. The fifth chapter of Revelation is where the Lion of the tribe of Judah, after John weeps much just as William Miller wept much, the Lion of the tribe of Judah takes the book that's sealed with seven seals, and what does he do? He begins to open them one at a time. It's very specific. The first seal represents this. The second seal represents this. It's identifying a progressive unsealing, right? It is. Do you see it? From that point on, once Christ takes the Bible, it's been sealed up, the book of Daniel, one seal at a time, it's a progressive unfolding. So we're going to look at these concepts, and if you turn to Revelation 8, I will say what I said at the beginning of the last presentation. We take this particular subject up in greater detail in the 2008 Prophecy School. If your interest is sparked, you need to avail yourself of that, and if you want to avail yourself of it and you don't want to spend any money on it, you can just go to Edgar's site and download it for free, and Edgar's right there, if you don't know him, he can give you the information on that. Revelation 8, verse 1, the opening of the seventh seal. If I had time to tell you the history, this particular study right here, the opening of the seventh seal, the few times that people have tried to teach this particular study, you would not believe the things that went on. I know one brother that when he went out to present this, when he got home that night, his wife has left him and she's never come back. When I tried to present this in 2008 Prophecy School, my mother, who lives on our property, had congestive heart failure. There's something about this subject, I'm forewarning you, and we don't have time to cover it well, that from a human perspective, it seems like Satan doesn't want God's people to understand this. So we're just going to get a glimpse of it, but this is really sacred information. Verse 1, and when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about a space of a half an hour, and I saw the seven angels which stood before God, and to them were given seven trumpets, and another angel came and stood at the altar having a golden censer, and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar, which was before the throne, and the smoke of the incense which came with the prayers of the saints descended up before God out of the angel's hand, and the angel took the censer and filled it with fire of the altar and cast it unto the earth, and there were voices and thunderings and lightnings and an earthquake. The first thing I would say about this is this is an illustration of Christ's intercessory work. Just hold that thought. It isn't a singular point in history. This is an illustration of Christ's intercessory work at specific points in history. The opening of the seventh seal here is not done just one time. It's done at a few specific times in Christ's intercessory work, and that's not commonly understood, but it can be demonstrated once you understand about the repetition of these histories. You'll see from Uriah Smith, there's always the question in Adventist mind, what does the silence in heaven for a half an hour represent in the seven days? How long does it take an angel to get from heaven? Instantaneously. So the argument is that when Sister White says we were seven days ascending to the sea of glass, that the angels come from heaven, so heaven is empty, there's silence in heaven, and then we ascend back to heaven to the sea of glass for seven days, and Uriah Smith comments on this. He doesn't endorse it. There's not enough proof text to prove that one way or another, but whenever you deal with this, you have to address it. I happen to believe that the silence in heaven is probably representing something that takes place every time that Christ is doing something in his intercessory work that is of special importance in the plan of redemption, such as the cross, the day of atonement, the second coming of Christ, but I'm not dogmatic about it, but I'm going to put those in the record. This quote on the bottom of page 275 says, but God suffered with his son. Angels beheld the Savior's agony. They saw their Lord enclosed by legions of satanic forces. His nature weighed down with a shuddering, mysterious dread. There was silence in heaven. Could you imagine that if you were sanctified, you had sanctified heart and mind, and you were there and watched what went on in the cross, what else could you be but silent? For all the reasons, and that's what the angels demonstrated. On the next quote, ministry of healing, speaking of the day of atonement, there was silence during the day of atonement. Why? Because of the sacredness of what was taking place. We're talking about Revelation 8, verses 1 through 5, being Christ's intercessory work, and I'm just throwing in there, this isn't what we're dealing with. This is just one of the little characteristics that you need to touch on as you go into this. The second coming, in these special events connected with the gospel, there is silence. Under the second coming, Laodicea, it says, before his presence all faces turned into paleness. Upon the rejecters of God's mercy falls the terror of eternal despair. The heart meddleth and knees smite together, and the faces of them all gather blackness. The righteous cry with trembling, who shall be able to stand? The angel's song is hushed, and there is a period of awful silence. So the day of atonement began in the time period of Philadelphia. The second coming is in the time period of Laodicea, and the cross was in the time period of Ephesus. And Ephesus and Philadelphia and Laodicea are the histories that Sister White often refers to that are the triple application of prophecy of the three comings of Christ. Not the second coming of Christ, the three comings of Christ in the sense that in the history of Ephesus, Christ came to the heavenly sanctuary. And in the history of the Millerites, Christ came from the holy place to the most holy place. And in the history today, he comes from the judgment of the dead into the judgment of the living. There's a change in dispensation in each of those histories. And what Pastor Sankey said in his previous presentation, he pointed out that at the inauguration during Pentecost, what marked that special time was the outpouring of the Spirit. And sure enough, in the history of Ephesus, there's an outpouring of the Spirit. In the history of Philadelphia, there was an outpouring of the Spirit during the midnight cry. And in the history of Laodicea, there's an outpouring of the Spirit, marking these special inaugurations for Pentecost. I don't know if you'd call it an inauguration for the judgment of the living, but that's what it is. The judgment of the living. Acts chapter 3 teaches us plainly that if we're to receive the refreshing, which Sister White says is the latter rain in Great Controversy 611 and other places, if we're to receive the refreshing, the latter rain, we must send our sins beforehand to judgment that they might be blotted out. They are blotted out in the judgment, and they're blotted out for people that are living. When you reach the latter rain time period, you've reached the time of the judgment of the living. And in the outpouring of the latter rain, what is the primary type of the outpouring of the latter rain? It's the early rain. When was the early rain poured out? Pentecost. Pentecost, the pouring out of the Spirit on Pentecost, was to mark the inauguration of the temple. Therefore, when it's poured out at the end, there's something going on in the temple special, and the change of dispensation that takes place during that time period is the change from investigating the judgment of those that are dead, it changes to investigate the judgment of the living. You see it? Okay. So, in these three histories, Ephesus, Philadelphia, and Laodicea, the Holy Spirit is poured out in agreement to Christ's intercessory work. So, Revelation 8 is speaking about Christ's intercessory work, all right? Okay. So, what is the incense, bottom of page 276? Since I've been here, I was corrected on this quote. I got an email from a friend, a good friend that's transcribing the 2008 Prophecy Schools, and I said, in that school, of this quote, that the incense represents the prayers of the saint, and I was challenged on it. Let's read it. The incense ascending with the prayers of the saints represents the merits and intercession of Christ. So, the incense, in this quote, she's saying, represents the merits and intercession of Christ, but there are other Spirit of Prophecy quotes. It says the prayers of the saints are represented by the incense, okay? So, in this, there's a combination. We send our prayers as incense to Christ, and before they pass through to the Father, He adds His merits, intercession, His righteousness, and passes it on to the Father. I'm not, I wasn't trying to be detailed about the incense there. I'm trying to deal with the different issues that go on in this intercessory scene, because in the intercessory scene, in Revelation 8, what is happening? The seventh seal is being opened, and that's what we're considering here. That's what happens when the seventh seal is being opened, and one of the things that happens when the seventh seal is being opened is we see the prayers of the saints coming up, and what I'm going to suggest to you is that when the seventh seal is opened, that's when the Holy Spirit is poured out, and the Holy Spirit is only poured out when God's people pray for it to be poured out. That's why Zechariah says, pray for the latter rain in the time of the latter rain. If my people will humble themselves, and what? And pray, then I will heal their land. So part of the intercessory works that takes place when Christ is opening the seventh seal, which I'm suggesting to you is identifying when He pours His Spirit out, and He poured His Spirit out in the history of Ephesus, Philadelphia, and He will do it here now in Laodicea. Part of that illustration is that God's people must pray for it to happen, okay? And you can see these quotes in A Spirit of Prophecy Quote from Selected Messages teaching that truth. A revival need be expected only in answer to prayer, Selected Messages, book one, page 121. Was there a revival in the history of Ephesus, Philadelphia, and Laodicea? That's those three histories. So what's the fire represent? Because the fire gets thrown down. It was, ye shall receive power. It was a sin in the ancient economy to offer a sacrifice upon the wrong altar or to allow incense to be kindled from a strange fire. We are in danger of commingling the sacred and the common. The holy fire from God is to be used with our offerings. The true altar is Christ, and the true fire is the Holy Spirit. So in Revelation 8, verse 5, it says, the angel took the censer and filled it with fire of the altar and cast it into the earth. What's he cast into the earth? The Holy Spirit. Okay, so in the intercessory work of Ephesus, Philadelphia, and Laodicea, was the Holy Spirit poured out? And it was poured out at whose direction? Christ, right? The fire to the earth in response to the prayers. Our God is a consuming fire. Purification or wrath. The live coal is symbolic of purification. This is something that we need to wrap our mind around. Sometimes we can't understand what we're saying about the latter rain because we've only studied one component of the latter rain. Only those that have the early rain will receive the latter rain. And Sister White identifies the early rain, and this is her words, perfecting holiness in the fear of the Lord. Only someone that's perfecting holiness in the fear of the Lord, which is the early rain, will receive the latter rain. So with that concept, we have in our mind that the only people that will receive the latter rain are people that are already sanctified. And that's a misconception, although I'm not denying that. But the first work of the latter rain is to awaken the sleeping virgins, and then they have opportunity to bring their life into agreement for the message of that time. He wakes up Laodiceans and gives them the opportunity of life or death. The first work that is accomplished by the pouring out, the sprinkling of the latter rain, is an awakening. So we sometimes don't allow ourselves to have the faith that we need to have to receive the latter rain because we think, well, I'm just not holy enough to respond to this message. And the first work of this message is what? Conviction of sin. The work of the Holy Spirit is always the same. So brothers and sisters, it don't matter what's going on in someone's life when they hear this message. If they understand it and they want to turn to the Lord, He's fully willing and fully capable to lift them up and use them. So in this sense, when the fires, and this is my point, when the fires cast out in this intercessory work, when the Holy Spirit is cast out, it's a symbol of purification. If it was only poured out on people that were pure, they wouldn't need purification, would they? So it will purify. Now notice page 278 from Romans 12. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourself, but rather give place unto wrath, for it is written, vengeance is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord. Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him. If he thirsts, give him drink, for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head. Fire can be a blessing or a curse. So what is the altar? You've already read the quote. The true altar is Christ. The fire illuminates the altar. In the story of Elijah, Elijah rebuilt the altar. How many stones were there? When the fire came down, what did it illuminate? Consumed it all. It illuminated the altar. It illuminated Christ. The work of the Holy Spirit is to illuminate Christ. When the Holy Spirit is poured out upon God's people in the latter reign, what will the 144,000 do? They will perfectly reflect the character of Christ. They will illuminate the altar, right? The work of the Lion of the tribe of Judah, bottom of the page. It was the Lion of the tribe of Judah who unsealed the book and gave to John the revelation of what should be in these last days. Daniel stood in his Lattebeer's testimony which was stilled until the time of the end when the first angel's message should be proclaimed to our world. These matters are of infinite importance in these last days, but while many shall be purified and made white and tried, the wicked shall do wickedly and none of the wicked shall understand. Maybe you'll be able to see this. I hope you'll be able to see this. As big as this board is, not big enough. She just said that it was the Lion of the tribe of Judah that opened the book of Daniel in 1798, at the time of the end. But the Lion of the tribe of Judah in Revelation 5 and onward, when he begins to unseal the book of Daniel, he does it one at a time, doesn't he? So in 1798, the Lion of the tribe of Judah unseals the book of Daniel and what does the book of Daniel say? It says it's an increase of knowledge. This increase of knowledge is another way to say he unseals the book one at a time. Progressive light. You follow me? Okay, we're on the verge of where we want to go. So focus in. This is where we want to be, all right? One seal at a time. By the time you get to 1844, the book is fully open for the Millerites. It was the Lion of the tribe of Judah that unsealed the book of Daniel. Isn't that what we just read? So was the book of Daniel unsealed in the Millerite history? But it was unsealed one seal at a time, was it not? That's the way it's portrayed. So when was it unsealed? It was unsealed back here, she just said, but in 1840, he comes down with a little book of Daniel open in his hand. It's reached a different level, right? At this point, you're told to go eat it and if you don't eat it at this point, you're All those that would not receive the first angel's message could not be benefited by the second angel's message. At this point, the unsealing process has turned into a testing process for that generation. But there was more light that came after 1840, wasn't there? I mean, in August of 1844, just before the end, you had the midnight cry, correct? That's when it was fully open. Why do I say that? Because in Revelation 8, when Christ is opening the seventh seal, the prayers come up and in answer to the prayer, the fires poured out and in the midnight cry, the Holy Spirit was poured out on the Millerites, right? Okay, okay, do you see that? So in this history, the Holy Spirit was poured out, history of Philadelphia right down here. But when it was poured out here, you'd say, I'd say, that was the opening of the seventh seal for the Millerites. The first seal was opened back here in 1798 and in the history of 1798 to 1844, Christ, through an increase of knowledge, opened seven thunders, right? The seven thunders represent a delineation of events that transpired under the first and second angels' message. Am I losing you? We've drawn too many conclusions here for you? Okay. But brothers and sisters, this history here is repeated at the end of the world. And in 1989, the collapse of the Soviet Union, the increase of knowledge began and the first seal was opened, right? You see it? But remember, here in the seventh seal for the Millerites, here in the seventh seal when that's being opened, that's Christ's intercessory work, Revelation 8, right? He's opening the seventh seal right there, is he not? Amen? Okay. I need some answers here so I don't get too far ahead of you. So there's going to be an increase of knowledge in this history. And then when you get to 2001, the angel comes down with the little book open in his hand. And what's the little book? Now brothers and sisters, do you believe that all the prophecies are applying to the end of the world? Most in Adventism don't. Most haven't ever thought whether they do or not. But those that are posing this message, some of them specifically teach that that isn't true, okay? So when you say amen, I want you to know from my human understanding you're in a minority of Adventism. To really believe that each of the ancient prophets who are speaking for the end of the world, this is one of the major keys for understanding this message, and they were. And you know what? That includes the Spirit of Prophecy. The Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy speaking about the end of the world. So the book that's sealed is the Bible. If we had the ability, we could stack all of Ellen White's books on top of this. That's what was sealed up. And at the end of the world, the line of the tribe of Judah is going to open that. Now if you believe that the history of the Bible and the history that Sister White recorded, the sacred history that's fulfilled at the end of the world, then you will ask yourself the question, was there ever any histories that were illustrating that Christ opens men's understanding to the Word? Yeah, what about just before Pentecost? Was Pentecost an illustration of the latter rain? What about the disciples on the road to Emmaus? Did they get their understanding? What about Sister White? Was there a time when she specifically said, my understanding of the Bible was locked, and then it was opened? Can we use her as a representative man? What we're saying here, brothers and sisters, in this history of Laodicea, the Lord opens the Word of God to His people. He comes down here on September 11, 2001, with the Bible and the Spirit of Prophecy, but it's the little book. It's the little book. It's the little book, because the message for this time period is Daniel 11, 40 to 45. The events connected with the close of probation, and when he opens the little book, he presents his people with the prophetic principle that allows them to see that the history of Pergamos, Thyatira, Smyrna, Ephesus, Philadelphia, and Sardis are all repeated in Laodicea, and therefore all the seals are repeated in Laodicea, and therefore the history of ancient Israel is repeated in Laodicea, and as he's doing that, the history of 1888 is repeated in Laodicea. And as he's doing that, the whole Bible shrinks down into a little book that's built upon the last six verses of Daniel 11. Now, in verse 44, the king of the north goes forth to utterly destroy and make away many. Is that not Smyrna? There's your persecution of Smyrna. What allows the papacy to accomplish this? What allows Thyatira, because this is going to be the return of the papacy, Thyatira is going to be, there's going to be another group of martyrs, right? Rest in your graves a little season until those that are going to die as you die are made up. Thyatira is going to return when the papacy captures Egypt, is it not? What allows Thyatira to return? Well, it's the compromise in the United States of America, Pergamos, right? And in this time period, the Lord's going to bring this message to his people, and some of his people are going to become Philadelphia, and those that remain in Laodicea are going to be spewed out of the mouth of the Lord. And those that are the Philadelphians, they're going to carry the message to Sardis. It's all repeated. Now, in that history, you can demonstrate all of those in these verses. These verses are the reform movement where this takes place. So when people say Daniel 11, 40 to 45 is not the third angel's message, they don't know how badly they're desecrating sacred ground. So let me show you something, if you will. What I'm doing here is when you get to this time period where the latter rain begins to sprinkle, because the latter rain sprinkled on the disciples before the full outpouring of Pentecost, when you get to that time period where the latter rain begins to sprinkle, what do you know? What do you know? The judgment's about to close, but what else do you know? That you're in the judgment of the living. You're in the judgment of the living, and you're beginning to understand that when the seventh seal is removed in these histories, the latter rain is poured out. Then it means you're in the time when the seventh seal is being opened. And when is the seventh seal opened? It's opened in Laodicea. Are we not in Laodicea? In ancient Israel, when Christ was born in fulfillment of prophecy, the time of the end had arrived in the history of Christ. Then you had John the Baptist, but there was an increase of knowledge. When Christ was born, right, the increase of knowledge, the shepherds on the hill understood the increase of knowledge. Simeon, Ananias, the wise men from the east, those are the students of prophecy running to and fro in the history of Christ, correct? And then you have John the Baptist who parallels William Miller, correct? Then you have the Sanhedrin choosing that Christ should die rather than the whole nation perish, paralleling the Protestant churches in 1842, closing their door, right? Then you have the triumphal entry of Christ into Jerusalem just before the cross, and Sister White says the triumphal entry into Jerusalem parallels the midnight cry in the Millerite history. So you have that same history in the history of Ephesus. The Holy Spirit was poured out there, was it not? But the history of Ephesus for modern Israel is the history of Laodicea for ancient Israel, right? We went through that. Do you remember that? How many don't remember that? So all I'm saying is, if this is ancient Israel now, if we're considering ancient Israel, in ancient Israel's Laodicea, the end of ancient Israel, was the beginning of the Christian church. It was Ephesus for the Christian church, right? And in Ephesus, the Spirit was poured out at Pentecost, right? So when the Spirit was poured out in Ephesus, it was also being poured out in Laodicea. That was Laodicea for ancient Israel, right? There are so many balls in the air, I know you're swimming, but it's really simple. The end of ancient Israel is a simultaneous history with the beginning of modern Israel. Ephesus for modern Israel is Laodicea for ancient Israel, and in Ephesus you have Pentecost where the Spirit was poured out, so when the Spirit was poured out in Ephesus, and at the same time the Spirit was being poured out in Laodicea, so the Holy Spirit was poured out in Laodicea for ancient Israel, and when's the Holy Spirit poured out for modern Israel? In Laodicea. And it's poured out when the seventh seal is opened. And it's the refreshing, and the rest. Right? Okay. Now, go to page 282. Under the 144,000 it says, John saw a lamb on Mount Zion, and with him 144,000, having his father's name written in their foreheads, they bore the signet of heaven. They reflected the image of God. The 144,000 are going to perfectly reflect the character of Christ, are they not? How does that happen? That's what it is. That's what it is, but how does it happen? It's Christ in us, the hope of glory, but how does that happen? Through His Word. But how does His Word make that happen? Because when He speaks, His Word accomplishes what He speaks. His Word possesses creative power. That's why He can't lie. It's impossible for God to lie, because when He speaks, it happens. Sanctify them through Thy truth. Thy Word is truth. When we eat the Word, it has creative power in it, and that creative power is what accomplishes the transformation of Laodiceans into the 144,000, right? That's simple. That's Jones and Wagner, 1888, right? Under recreation, the Lord invites His people to become workers together with Him in rebuilding and reshaping character according to the true standard of moral rectitude. Through faith in Christ, we are to be recreated in His image. Sanctify them through Thy truth. Thy Word is truth. The way the Laodiceans are changed into the 144,000 is through Christ's creative power. And Jesus illustrates the end from what? From the beginning. And in the beginning, God did what? He created what? The heavens and the earth. How many days did it take Him to create heaven and earth? First day, second day, third day, fourth day, fifth day, sixth day, but on the seventh seal. What did He do? You have it on the top of page 283. Six days may work be done, but in the seventh it is the Sabbath of rest, holy to the Lord. Whosoever do any work in the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death. Wherefore, the children of Israel shall observe the Sabbath throughout their generations for a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between me and the children of Israel forever, for in six days, for in six seals, the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day He rested and what? Was refreshed. What's the refreshing? On the seventh day, the seventh seal, the refreshing, the recreation takes place as the Holy Spirit's poured out on the Sabbath day because Jesus illustrates the end from the beginning. And it was in the seventh church of ancient Israel that the Holy Spirit was poured out, and it was in the seventh thunder of the Millerite history that the Holy Spirit was poured out, and it's in the seventh church of modern Israel, our church, that the Holy Spirit's poured out, and when it's poured out, it's the refreshing, it's the rest, and brothers and sisters, when you get to the point in the unfolding of the prophetic word at the end of the world where you're understanding this truth, it is the strongest evidence that the lion of the tribe of Judah is removing the seventh seal because he's removing the seal that is revealing this very truth about what the seventh seal is. He is now recreating his people into the image of himself during the latter rain. The seventh seal is being removed, but he only can do it in those who pray for it. He only can cause a revival in our lives if we pray for it, pray for the latter rain in the time of the latter rain. How can I pray for the latter rain in the time of the latter rain if I don't think I'm in the latter rain? If I don't see September 11, 2001 for what it is, then I don't recognize it. And Sister White says the latter rain will be falling on hearts all around them, but they will not recognize or receive it. It has to be recognized in order to pray for it, and if you pray for it in this time period, then you will receive it, and if you receive it, you will be recreated into the image of Christ. Is there going to be anybody that is saved that doesn't know about Christ? Yes, there is. Yes, there is, brothers and sisters. You know that. That was a trick question. I knew someone was going to say no. Even the heathen that have followed the impulses of the Holy Spirit, there's going to be some of them there. Where? In the resurrection. But, brothers and sisters, they're going to have to have a crash course on the Bible, the spirit of prophecy, and Christ, and heavenly things, are they not? When do they get their crash course? There's one millennium, two millennium, three millennium, four millennium, five millennium, six millennium, and in the seventh millennium, they're going to be refreshed. They're going to be recreated. Because it's in the seventh that the seal is removed and the refreshing is poured out. When you begin to see the implications of the fact of the work that Christ accomplishes when he removes the seventh seal, you understand that we're now in the time period of the latter rain and that we must send our sins beforehand into judgment. Or as the quote that Pastor Sink, he quoted off the top of his head, sometimes I can do it as well, if I can get it started. Help me with it. Help me with the start of it. Darkness proportionate to the light. How's it start? About the warnings. If the signs that are taking place around us, on us, thickening on every hand, are not enough to arouse the sleeping energies, and this is a paraphrase, then darkness proportionate to the light will come upon these souls. There has never been greater light opened up to God's people than today. And the darkness that we are in peril of going into is proportionate to that light. Brothers and sisters, the latter rain is falling. If you don't think the latter rain is falling, if you don't think it is, let me look at it this way with you. When the latter rain does fall, according to your understanding of prophetic history, would there be an economic crisis going on in planet Earth? How about wars and rumors of wars? Would there be pestilences? Would there be earthquakes? Would God's church be celebrating? Just before the close of probation, we've been told God's church would be celebrating. Brothers and sisters, what would Islam be doing just before the close of probation? Making the nations angry? Is there any sign in the world that doesn't give evidence that we're in the time of the latter rain? I don't know what it is. Yet we don't need those signs because Bible prophecy is clearly nailing it down for those of us that will see. Okay, now I didn't do well on covering the quotes on this, but brothers and sisters, the history of the Christian church as represented by the seven churches is also showing a progressive unsealing of the seals one at a time. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven. And when the seventh seal is opened in Christ's intercessory work, the Holy Spirit is poured out. The seventh seal was opened for ancient Israel in Laodicea, and the Holy Spirit was poured out at Pentecost. The seventh seal was opened up for the Millerites in 1844 when the seven thunders, the seventh seal for that history was opened, and the Spirit was poured out. We are now in the opening of the seventh seal because the Spirit is being poured out and we're understanding these things. Do you understand the logic there? The fact that we can understand this truth means that the Lion of the tribe of Judah has opened it to us and it is the seventh seal that he has opened. The creation of the world, which is the creative power that allows us to be the 144,000, the world was created in six days and in the seventh he rested and was refreshed, and this word refreshed is the latter rain. The earth goes through 6,000 years of sin and in the seventh millennium there is a refreshing course that's given to those people that get there mercifully without knowing why they're there. Brothers and sisters, that's way more than the testimony of two or three. You just got a very quick overview of a very nice study, but we need to end. Shall we pray? Father in heaven, we ask that you would help us to understand the depth, the width of this truth that you have opened for us and help us to allow the Holy Spirit to use these understandings to impact our hard hearts, to motivate us to test and study these truths that we're being confronted with and allow us to eat the little book that we might have the creative power that you've promised within us that it can change us into your image. We wish that you would accomplish that in our lives, that we might be a representative of you that would win many souls to you and we realize now that the time to make that work happen is very short. Keep this sense of urgency upon our hearts for we have a mighty work to do through your power and a short time to accomplish it in. Awaken us, raise up your army, bring the dead dry bones to life and finish this work that we might go home with you. We ask in Jesus' name. Amen.