Shall we pray? Father in Heaven, we ask that you would give us your presence once again through your Holy Spirit and your angels. That you would take control of the information that's being shared and let it be conveyed in a clear, concise way, truthful, honest, and to your glory and honor and that you'd open our hearts to understand these things as we've requested throughout this weekend. We wish this time to be a period in our lives where we can point back to where a change took place, where you accomplished something in us that contributed to bringing us fully into your kingdom. We ask that you make that happen. We want to be faithful and correct Berean students of prophecy and we ask that you help us to be that in Jesus' name, amen. There's a lot of information to bring together on the seven trumpets that I'm passing over in kind of a casual way. If you're familiar with them, I'm being very selective on what I'm sharing here. The pioneers correctly understood that the seventh trumpet began to sound on October 22nd, 1844 and the fifth, sixth, and seventh trumpet are also the first, second, and third woe. If you're familiar that the pioneers understood correctly that the seventh trumpet began to sound on October 22nd, 1844 and it did, you should be, if this is the first time you're hearing this information, you should be asking yourself why is it that Pippin just saying that the third woe began on September 11th, 2001 because the third woe and the seventh trumpet are interchangeable. The seventh trumpet is the third woe and the seventh trumpet began to sound on October 22nd, 1844, so why am I saying the third woe begins on September 11th, 2001? Of course, I wouldn't bring that up to your attention unless I thought I had an answer for that, so bear with me. I think there is a prophetic answer for that. The pioneers also addressed that about the fifth and sixth trumpet. The pioneers, when they dealt with the fifth and sixth trumpet, the first and second woe, they pointed out that the sounding of the trumpet is what brings about the warfare aspect of the trumpet. It's a cause and effect, so they have it in their writings that the sounding of the trumpet is what produces the woe part of the trumpet. In verse 14, where we were closing off last time, and I could be wrong, but what I wanted to summarize very quickly about the dragon power being the influence in the French Revolution and therefore because the second woe, the sixth trumpet, ends in verse 14 of Revelation 11, then one of the characteristics of the second woe is the activities of the dragon power bringing down Rome because it was the dragon power of the French Revolution that brought the deadly wound of the papacy in 1798. Therefore based upon a triple application of prophecy, when you bring the characteristics of the first and second woe together, in the second woe you do see the activities not only of Islam but of the dragon power, and therefore this allows you to identify that in September 11, 2001, when the third woe began, that you can see the activities of the dragon power, which we would call the globalists today or the Luminati or the Jesuits or the CIA, but you can also see Islam. This is one of the points where people, I believe, stumble in this. They want to understand 9-11 is simply the globalists, and I'm more on the other side, but I'm telling you this is not a place to stumble because prophetically there's no reason to argue they're both there. So we can move past that one, hopefully, and let the Lord convict us on where our emphasis should be on that date. If you look at verse 15 of Revelation 11, after it says the second woe is past, and behold the third woe cometh quickly, it says, and the seventh angel sounded. And if you go down to verse 19, starting in this passage of verse 15, where it says, and the seventh angel sounded, and then you drop down to verse 19, it says, and the temple of God was opened in heaven. It's these two verses that the pioneers correctly used to identify, because they understand verses 15 through 19 as a commentary on the seventh trumpet. Their understanding is that verse 19 is marking when the seventh trumpet began to sound, and it began to sound when the temple in heaven was opened, and the temple in heaven was opened on October 22, 1844, because at that point you could see the arc of the Testament. So this is the biblical argument of the pioneers. This is where they start to demonstrate that the seventh trumpet began to sound in 1844. Of course, if you go back into Revelation 10, when Christ comes down out of heaven, the mighty angel, in verses 1 through 5, when he gets to verse 6, the mighty angel swears by him that liveth forever and ever, who created heaven and the things that therein are, and the earth and the things that therein are, and the sea and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer. But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets. They would also incorporate these verses in. The Millerites, they understood that when it says there should be time no longer, they believed that was the end of the world, but after the disappointment, we came to understand the Advent people, and Sister White comments on this much, that this is identifying that on October 22nd, 1844, time prophecy comes to a conclusion, and it comes to a conclusion when the seventh angel begins to sound, which is October 22nd, 1844, and you put that together with verse 15 through 19 of chapter 11, and this is the argument for placing the beginning of the sounding of the seventh trumpet at this point. In verse 15 to 19 of Revelation 11, you're going to see a narrative about some of the characteristics of the seventh trumpet, and let's read verse 18. In verse 18 of Revelation 11, it says, And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants, the prophets, and to the saints, and to them that fear thy name, small and great, and should destroy them which destroy the earth. Somewhere around 1848, in that time frame, I should take the time to dig it out again and be certain on this date, but it was in that time frame, Joseph Bates wrote an article on verse 18, and the premise of his article is that all these things in verse 18, the angering of the nations, the wrath of God, the time to judge the dead, that they all took place at the same point in time, they're descriptions of the same event, and he wrote an article about that, and shortly thereafter, Sister White was given information, and you find her statement in Early Writings 36, and this came right after Bates wrote this article, and she says this in Early Writings page 36, I saw that the anger of the nations, the wrath of God, and the time to judge the dead were separate and distinct, one following the other. So she's making a correction on Bates' application, and she's saying that these events in verse 18 are separate and distinct, one following another. So if you go back to verse 18, the first characteristic is that the nations are angry, and the next is that thy wrath has come. And we understand that the wrath of God begins when human probation closes, Michael stands up, and the seven last plagues begin. But when Sister White says these are separate and distinct, one following another, based upon this comment in Early Writings page 36, we know that whatever the angering of the nations represent, it takes place before the close of probation, it takes place before the wrath of God. And this is something we want to deal with here, because if you remember, in terms of this reformatory movement that we dealt with the other day, and I didn't spend a great deal of time with the fourth waymark, remember the three-one combination, we spent our time primarily down here with the first, second, third angel's message, but we all knew we were also including the fourth angel's message of Revelation 18 down here. And if you remember, when we dealt with the history of Nehemiah, we pointed out that during the fourth waymark in that history, when Nehemiah built the streets and the walls, that he did it in troublous times, and I pointed out that troublous times is a subject of Bible prophecy. So the fourth angel's message down here, Nehemiah in other places give his testimony that when the fourth angel's message is accomplished, it will be accomplished in troublous times. And this is the fourth angel's message down here. So what I'm saying is, when we pull this down here, because we're running this parallel, that in this history, we should expect to see troublous times, and it's a subject of prophecy, and in verse 18, these troublous times are being described as the angering of the nations. And of course, what we're suggesting to you is that the role of Islam is to be the issue that angers the nations, all right? Let me show you this from another way, and I'm going to make an argument that is based upon the Millerite history being repeated to the very letter. If you would turn with me to Luke chapter 21. In Luke chapter 21, and I usually would spend at least one presentation on Luke 21. I'm not going to do that. I'm just going to point out a few things. Of course, this passage is a parallel to Mark and to Matthew. You'll see this passage in all three of these Gospels. And in verse 6 of Luke 21, verse 7, the disciples are asking Christ the questions as they're walking by the temple, and in verse 7 it says, and they asked him, saying, Master, but when shall these things be, and what sign will there be when these things shall come to pass? They're asking the sign of the destruction of the temple and the end of the world, because we understand that this portion of Scripture, whether in Matthew, Mark, or here in Luke, as Jesus is describing the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem in the 80-70 time period, he's also setting forth that history to prefigure the end of the world. We've always correctly understood this as Adventism. So when the disciples are asking these questions, they're not asking these questions for themselves. They're asking these questions for you and I who live at the end of the world, because that's what the biblical testimony is about. So when they're asking these questions, these are questions that we're supposed to ponder about what they mean. And I've pointed out that in all of these reformatory movements, if you look closely, there are signs, and it's one of the themes, and we're not going to deal with them, we're going to touch on them. And here they're asking what are the signs of the end of the world, and of course Jesus begins to give the narrative that we're pretty much familiar with, and I'm going to cut into the narrative to make a point. In verse 24, it says, and they shall fall by the edge of the sword and shall be led away captive into all nations, and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. I've told you, and we have this, well I have this available on a memory stick to anyone that has a laptop, but we've told you that in 1856, Hiram Edson wrote a series of articles and it was titled, The Times of the Gentiles, and in that series of articles, Hiram Edson sets forth the 2520 time prophecy, disagreeing with William Miller. He says that William Miller should apply the 2520 against the Northern Kingdom when they went into captivity, and if you do that, it begins in 723 and it ends in 1798, and there's six articles in this series, it wasn't ever finished by Hiram Edson, and he's making the point that the times of the Gentiles is concluded in 1798, and I know the Protestant view of this passage of the times of the Gentiles came to a conclusion in the three day war, or five day war, whatever it was, what was it, six day war? The six day war in 1967, then Jerusalem was retaken by the Jews and the times of the Gentiles was over, that's Protestant understanding, that's using Catholic rules of biblical interpretation, Jerusalem at the end of the world is not literal Jerusalem, it's spiritual Jerusalem, but unfortunately Christianity and Adventism accepted that, but the pioneers didn't, and Hiram Edson has a strong biblical case, every Seventh-day Adventist should read that series of articles on the times of the Gentiles, and he demonstrates that Jerusalem was trodden down until 1798, and that it was spiritual Jerusalem, and keep your finger on Luke 21, his primary point of reference is that, found in Revelation 11, verse 2 and 3, where it says, But the court which is without the temple leave out and measure it not, for it is given to the Gentiles, and the holy city shall they tread underfoot forty and two months, and I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand, two score and three days, clothed in sackcloth, so Hiram Edson says the holy city is going to be trampled down for 42 months, the 42 months is the 1,206 years of papal rule, therefore the treading down of Jerusalem, which back here in verse 24 of Luke 21, it says, Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled, Hiram Edson concludes that the treading down of the holy city of Revelation 11, verse 2, concluded in 1798, therefore the times of the Gentiles shall be fulfilled, and a few years ago, the time I read this article by Hiram Edson, I thought, praise the Lord, this is a really good article, but what do I do with that, because he's wrong, because I had already come to the conclusion for myself that the times of the Gentiles ended in 1844, and I had to come to grips with that, because his biblical arguments are virtually airtight, but the point of reference that I was using for concluding that the times of the Gentiles concluded in 1844 is Daniel 8, 13, and 14, and in Daniel 8, verse 13, it says, then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint sent unto that certain saint which spake, how long shall be the vision concerning the daily, and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden underfoot, and then the answer is 1844, so I saw the sanctuary, Jerusalem, spiritual Jerusalem being trodden down until 1844, and there are spirit of prophecy quotes to bring to bear, I just didn't pull one verse, I had done a study on that, and I was in a dilemma until the lights clicked on for some of us, that the one 2520 ends in 1798, and the other ends in 1844, and you got parallel passages, that are marking that the times of the Gentiles are concluding in this time period, they begin to conclude in 1798, they end officially in 1844, paralleling the scattering and the gathering, so that was not a problem, but what I want you to see, going back to Luke, here in verse 24, is that when it gets down to the end of the world, to the Millerite history, specifically the Millerite history, whether you're taking 1844, 1798, you are taking this time period, where the reformatory movement of the Millerite history takes place, Jesus takes us there, by referencing the times of the Gentiles, in order to answer the question, what is the signs of the second coming Christ, the end of the world, so after, in verse 24, we're taken to the Millerite history, verse 25 adds to that, and it says there will be signs in the sun, and the moon, and the stars, were those signs in existence for the Millerites, yes, this is the signs that usher in the Millerite time period, in fact, the falling of the stars, 1833, William Miller ordained, so this is another testimony, this is signs concerning Millerite history, but notice the next statement, it says, and upon the earth, distress of nations with perplexity, so I ask you this question, in the Millerite history, which Jesus is absolutely pointing them forward to, one of the signs, he says, for the Millerites, was the distress of nations, what was the distress of nations in the Millerite history? Islam, it was the activity that was going on between Egypt and Turkey that brought about the four great European powers coming together to decide the fate of Islam, the distress of nations is one of the signs that ushers in the Millerite history, and the distress of nations is nothing more, or is just another way to express Nehemiah's troublous times, or to express the angering of the nations in Revelation 11, verse 18, it's the role of Islam in Bible prophecy to distress the nations, to anger the nations, to produce the troublous times where end-time events take place. Now, just to finish this off, to give you a little bit more fuel for the fire, in verse 27, when the disciples have asked what's the sign of the end of the world, in verse 27, after Jesus is giving the signs leading up to the Millerite Reformatory Movement, it says, and then they shall see the Son of Man coming in the cloud with power and great glory, and did the Millerites see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great glory? Yes, they did. If you turn to Daniel 7, 13, we need to put a little restraint on so these guys can think this through, but that's okay. This is good information. Daniel 11, or Revelation, Daniel 7, verse 13, says this, and I saw in the night visions, and behold, one like the Son of Man came with the clouds of heaven to the Ancient of Days. So in this history, when Christ moved into the most holy place on October 22, 1844, Christ came in the clouds. So those people that saw these signs, they also were there when Christ came with the clouds, and that's an important point to take note of in terms of Luke 21, because in verse 29, Christ is going to repeat and enlarge upon this passage, and he's going to set forth a parable, and he says, and he spake to them a parable. I'm in Luke 21 again, verse 29, and he spake to them a parable. Behold the fig tree and all the trees, when they now shoot forth, you see and know of your own selves that summer is now nigh at hand, so likewise when you see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand. Verily I say unto you, this generation shall not pass till all these things be fulfilled. And brothers and sisters, it's a fact, when you look closely at Luke 21, that the Millerites that saw these signs, the falling stars, the times of the Gentiles being fulfilled in 1798 and 1844, and the distress of nations, that generation did not pass until Christ came in the clouds of heaven. But brothers and sisters, the Millerite history is going to be repeated again to the very letter, so there's going to be signs for you and I here at the end of the world that when we see these signs, we can know of a certainty that we are the final generation that lives until Christ comes in the clouds of heaven. And Jesus tells us right here what the signs are. In the parable, he says, when you see the trees now bud out, you know of your own selves that summer is nigh at hand. The Bible teaches that summer is the harvest and it teaches that harvest is at the end of the world. When you see the trees bud out, you know that you're at the end of the world and the generation that sees this, that generation does not pass till the Son of Man comes in the clouds of heaven. Our sign is the budding trees of springs. In fact, in great controversy, when Sister White is commenting on this passage, let me see if I can turn right to this, I didn't really expect to go to Luke 21. When Sister White is commenting on this passage in great controversy, on page 308, this is what she says, Christ had bidden his people to watch for the signs of his advent and rejoice as they should behold the tokens of their coming king. When these things begin to come to pass, he said, then look up and lift up your head for your redemption draweth nigh. He pointed his followers, that's us, to the budding trees of springs and said, when they now shoot forth, you see and know of your own selves that summer is nigh at hand. So likewise ye, when you see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom of God is nigh at hand. Brothers and sisters, our sign is the budding trees of St. Spring. That's the Bible spirit of prophecy says it. So let me ask you, what is it that makes the trees bud in the Middle East in the springtime? Which rain? Brothers and sisters, our sign is the latter rain. We are required to recognize when the latter rain begins to fall. We have to see the sign. We have to respond accordingly. It's our sign. And by the way, when it begins to fall, when you can mark prophetically, when you can see that the trees are budding out, you know that you're living in the last generation before Christ comes in the clouds of heaven. And brothers and sisters, on September 11th, 2001, the latter rain began to fall. That's where we're going with this. And this generation is the last generation. The angering of the nations. Selected messages. Oh, this Paulson collection 196. I want to spend just a little bit of time on the angering of nations. The end of all things is at hand, and the message of warning must be given. A spirit of anger is stirring the nations, and it will soon be too late to work for the Lord. Selected messages, book one, page 221. We are standing on the threshold of great and solemn events. Prophecies are fulfilling. Strange and eventful history is being recorded in the books of heaven. Events which it was declared should shortly precede the great day of God. Everything in the world is in an unsettled state. How do you see the newspapers and television news today, and the radio news? Is everything in the world in an unsettled state? The nations are angry, and great preparations for war are being made on our way up here. I heard what seemed like a pretty logical idea. Congress is discussing the idea of passing a rule to make Bush, or whoever makes these decisions, quit sending the military equipment to the Islamic countries until they increase the petroleum output. Start producing more oil, which will bring the gas down, or we're not going to send you the weapons you've already bought. They've already bought them. They've already been sold, but the point is, she says, and great preparations for war are being made. Why are they buying those weapons? Nation is plotting against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. The great day of God is hastening greatly, but although the nations are mustering their forces for war and bloodshed, the command to the angels is still enforced that they should hold the four winds until the servants of God are sealed in their foreheads. Now, let me show you something here, if I can. Go to Revelation chapter 9. This bothers me a little bit. This is a personal frustration about the theologians and Adventism across the board. In verse 4 of Revelation 9, this is during the history of the first world, this fifth trumpet, it says, and it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree, but only those men which had not the seal of God in their foreheads. This is a command to Islam not to hurt people that have the seal of God, and if you go back into history, in the history of the first world, you can see that this was fulfilled. Abu Bakr, one of the first generals after Muhammad, his command is actually recorded. He gave a command to the Islamic troops that when they went out, and they're going to find two classes of Christians, and basically those groups of Christians break down this way. One group of Christians, so-called Christians that keep Sunday, Catholic Christians, and then Sabbath- keeping Christians, and Abu Bakr, the Islamic leader, says when you find the Sabbath-keeping Christians, you leave them alone, but when you find the Sunday-keeping Christians, you make them either submit to Muhammad, or you cut off their head, and this is identified here in verse 4 of Revelation 9, and it's acknowledged in B.G. Wilkerson. What's the initials of Wilkerson? Benjamin Wilkerson wrote a- pardon me? This is fulfilled in the history of the first world, the fifth trumpet, but in Wilkerson's book, which the title is escaping me, Truth Triumphant, he takes note of this. He's one of the Adventist historians that takes note of this, that in this time period, Islam was making a distinction between Sabbath-keeping Christian and Sunday-keeping Christian. This is historical fact, and remember, the role of Islam is that they're a blessing and a curse. They're bringing a curse to the Sunday-keeping Christians, but they're providing some kind of protection for the Sabbath-keeping Christians, and remember, upon a triple application of prophecy, the first woe and the second woe are going to give you a characteristic of the third woe, and you can show as you look at the woes that somehow, some way, the controversy, the crisis that's brought about by Islam in the last days is going to provide some type of umbrella protection for God's people to give the loud cry message. I don't know how, but it's part of the role of Islam in Bible prophecy, but my point is this. Here's what I have a personal frustration about this verse, because you read this verse, they're commanded to hurt not the grass, the earth, nor any green thing, neither any tree, and now you go back to Revelation 7, if you would. Revelation 7, verse 1, says, "...and after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on any tree, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God, and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt this earth and the sea, saying, hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we've sealed the servants of God in our foreheads." Here's my personal frustration. For me, you look at verse 4 of Revelation 9, and you look at these three verses, and if you can't see that the expressions are more than similar, not to hurt the trees and the earth, that is a purposeful parallel, but generally in Adventism, we'll say Revelation 9, verse 4, has no connection with Revelation 7, verse 1 through 3. It's just crazy. In the book of Revelation, when those types of expressions are being used, and you find them in one chapter, and you find them in another chapter, that's purposeful. There's no accidents in the Word of God. There has to be some kind of relationship between Revelation 9, verse 4, and Revelation 7, verses 1 through 3. So what is the relation? Let's consider that here. If we remember the prophecy that empowers the Millerite movement, and at a very surface level, the prophecy that empowered and marked the testing period for the Millerite movement was a prophecy of the woes. And what I'm saying is the prophecy that marks the empowerment and the testing time for the 144,000 is a prophecy of the third woe. So in terms of saying the Millerite history is repeated, there's a logic to that. But what marks this part, brothers and sisters, what was fulfilled on August 11, 1840, is the time prophecy that is within the sixth trumpet. The time prophecy is not the sixth trumpet. The time prophecy of Revelation 9, verses 14 and 15, is a time prophecy within the sixth trumpet. And in verse 14 of Revelation 9, it says, saying to the sixth angel, which had the trumpet, loose the four angels which are bound at the great river Euphrates. And the four angels were loosed. So back here, on July 27, 1449, four angels, representing the Ottoman Empire, representing Islam, four angels, not three angels, not two, not five, four angels are loosed at the beginning of this time prophecy. And when this time prophecy concludes on August 11, 1840, prophetically, four angels are restrained, correct? If they're loosed back here at the beginning, back here, they're restrained. Do you see it at the prophetic level? Well, the reason that I want you to see it is right here at the point in history that we're saying marks the beginning of the sealing of the 144,000. Four angels are restrained. Of course, what I'm saying, brothers and sisters, is we're saying that on September 11, 2001, the sealing of the 144,000 began, and at the sealing of the 144,000, what do we find? We find four angels restraining the four winds. We see four angels, not three, not five, four angels once again in a restraining action. Now, in chapter nine of Revelation, at a very surface level, not a surface level, but just to to make a point, the symbols that are used to symbolize Islam, there's a few, but the one that bubbles to the surface is Islam is the war horse. And it's obvious, this isn't just my logic, it's obvious that's how the pioneers of Adventism saw it. When they're symbolizing the fifth trumpet and the sixth trumpet, the first and second woe, they use the war horses that are described in chapter eight and nine. And when James White's told to produce a new chart to correct the errors on this chart, they still stick with the war horses, all right? So it's a horse that used to represent Islam in chapter nine, amen? And that's how the pioneers understood it, okay? And what I'm saying to you is that what marks the beginning of this history that Sister White says is the seven thunders, 1840 to 1844, what marks the empowerment of the message, what marks the beginning of the testing time, is when the four angels of this time prophecy who have been loosed are restrained on August 11th, 1840, they're restrained by the four great European powers, and I'm saying that this history, all the prophecy of this history is identifying when the sealing of the 144,000 is going to begin. And we know as Seventh-day Adventists that the sealing of the 144,000 begins in Revelation 7, verse one through three. Is that how you understand it, that Revelation 7, verse one through three, when the four angels are restrained in the winds of strife, that this is the beginning of the sealing of the 144,000? If that's how you understand it, say amen nice and loud. Okay, so we're on that same page. So this is a test question. We've read it just a second ago. I want you to please look at verses one through three of Revelation 7 and tell me which verse you see the horse in. Revelation 7. You see a horse in verse two, huh? No, where do you see a horse? Okay, read the word horse to me in verse one through three. Not the verses. Which verse do you see a horse? I know, and I'm just making a point. I'm using you to make a point. I'm not being critical. Does anyone see a horse in verses one through three? No way. There isn't any horse, right? But verse one through three, it talks about four angels being restrained in the winds of strife. And of course, what we're saying, brothers and sisters, is that the war horse in Bible prophecy is Islam, right? In agreement with the foundations, right? Amen. That's what Sister White says in Selected Messages, book three, page 409. Angels are holding the four winds. You see four winds in Revelation? Verses seven, one through three, you see four winds. Angels are holding the four winds, represented as an angry horse seeking to break loose and rush over the face of the whole earth, bearing destruction and death in its path. The four winds that are restrained at the beginning of the sealing of the 144,000 are symbolized by an angry horse that brings warfare. And brothers and sisters, the angry horse of Bible prophecy that brings warfare is Islam. And the third wall and Islam came back into history on September 11th, 2001. And you know what happened at that time, brothers and sisters? The trees begin to bud out. The latter rain began to sprinkle. And brothers and sisters, it's a misunderstanding, and I've, personally, I've been involved with fighting this battle, this particular battle, for a while now. It's a misunderstanding in Adventism to think that the latter rain begins to fall at the Sunday law. If you believe that, you're going to have to throw out the spirit of prophecy because Sister White has passages where she says things like this. The latter rain will be falling on hearts all around them, but they will not recognize or receive the latter rain. There is a time period when the latter rain begins to fall, when the wheat and tares of Adventism are still together. And the wheat and tares of Adventism are separated at the Sunday law. So there is a spring So there is a sprinkling of the latter rain that precedes the Sunday law. And at that time, the trees of spring begin to butter out. And we have more to say about Islam, but let me jump ahead to at least finish off. Yes. Okay. Looking for one particular quote, and it's close, so just give me a second, please. Testimonies to Ministers, Volume 507, I have been, or Page 507, I've been referring to. Only those who are living up to the light they have will receive greater light. Unless we are daily advancing in the exemplification of active Christian virtues, we shall not recognize the manifestations of the Holy Spirit in the latter rain. Or you could say, we shall not recognize that the budding trees of spring are budding out. Because this is our sign. This is our sign. Not only is this our sign, when this begins to happen, according to Jesus, this generation will not pass till the Son of Man comes in the clouds of heaven. We shall not recognize the manifestations of the Holy Spirit in the latter rain. It may be falling on hearts all around us, but we shall not discern or receive it. There is a time period when the latter rain is falling upon Adventism, and some of us receive it, and some of us don't. And during that time period, we are required to recognize it. And there's a blank in this. Sister White mentions a city in this quote. This is Testimonies to Ministers, the 300. Let's, where are we? We're in Washington. Let's put Washington in there. Unless those who can help in Washington are aroused to a sense of their duty, they will not recognize the work of God when the loud cry of the third angel shall be heard. Brothers and sisters, this is where that fourth angel joins the third. This is the loud cry of the third angel, according to how we understand it is Adventist. And unless we participate in the work, we won't recognize when the loud cry comes. We have to recognize it. When the light goes forth to lighten the earth, instead of coming up to the help of the Lord, they will want to bind about his work to meet their narrow ideas. Let me tell you that the Lord will work in this last work in a matter very much out of the common order of things, and in a way that will be contrary to any human planning. There will be those among us who will always want to control the work of God, to dictate even what movements shall be made when the work goes forward under the direction of the angel who joins the third angel's message to be given to the world. God will use ways and means by which it will be seen that he is taking the reins into his own hands. The workers will be surprised by the simple means that he will use to bring about and perfect his work of righteousness. Brothers and sisters, we have to recognize when the latter rain begins to fall, it's our sign. The budding trees of spring are our sign. And throughout these prophetic histories, when you take time to look at the signs, there's always two groups of followers with Christ's peoples concerning the signs. One, like Ahaz, says, I won't pick a sign, even though Isaiah says the Lord asked you to select the sign. I won't take the sign. And then Isaiah says, it's bad enough that you weary me, but will you weary God also? Pharaoh saw the signs and wonders in Egypt, but he hardened his heart. Jesus said, the sign I'll give you is destroyed this temple in three days. I'll raise it up. And the Pharisees didn't understand what he was speaking about. Do we think that all these histories that parallel our history don't give us a lesson that we must understand the sign that is given to us? We must understand the sign. And our sign is the latter rain. And brothers and sisters, the latter rain is illustrated in this history. That's why in Great Controversy, page 611, she says the advent movement of 1840 to 1844 was a wonderful manifestation of the power of God. This history is an illustration of the manifestation of the power of God. And on Great Controversy, 611, after she says that in that paragraph, the very next paragraph, you know what she says? It will be similar as to Pentecost. She compares this history to Pentecost. Is Pentecost an illustration of this history? It's the same history. We have to recognize that this sacred history is being repeated, because the only way you and I are going to receive the latter rain is if we're receiving the early rain. And brothers and sisters, if we're not receiving the early rain, this message is designed to awaken us that it's time to quit playing around with sin and partake of the early rain, because only those that are receiving the early rain are going to receive the latter rain. Review in Herald, July 21st, 1896, says, if the truth for this time, if the signs that are thickening on every hand that testify that the end of all things is at hand are not sufficient to arouse the sleeping energy of those who profess to know the truth, and brothers and sisters, she's talking about the truth for this time, and I want to share something with you here that is largely missed. Sister White says over and over again, there is a special message of truth for every generation, all right? In each of these reformatory movements, there is a message that is formulated. We've seen it. Upon the testimony of two or three, a thing is established. That message is what will test that generation. Whether it's Miller's message, or John the Baptist's message, or Moses' message, or Noah's message, or Eliza's message, there is a message that is brought forth at that special time in history. It's not the work. This is where a lot of Adventists miss it. We know from these histories that after the disappointment, we're given a work to do, but we quit doing the work, and there's some of us down here at the end of the world, we look back into the history of Adventism, and we know the work is the health message, and true education, and agriculture. We know the works. So here we are at the end of the world, and we're saying, we understand the works. We're going to keep doing the works, and we're confusing the works with the message. There is a message of arousal that always comes in these reformatory histories. They don't deny the work, but it's the message that awakens us to our condition, and our Laodicean condition is not savable. And that's the purpose of this message. It's different than the work. And she says, if the truth for this time, for this time, if the truth for this time, if the signs that are thickening on every hand, that testify that the end of all things is at hand, are not sufficient to arouse the sleeping energy of those who profess to know the truth, then darkness proportionate to the light which has been shining will overtake these souls. There is not a semblance of an excuse for their indifference that they will be able to present to God in the great day of final reckoning. There will be no reason to offer as why they did not live and walk and work in the light of sacred truth, of the sacred truth of the word of God, and thus reveal to a sin-darkened world through their conduct, their sympathy, and their zeal, the power and reality of the gospel, could not be controlled. That's Review and Herald, July 21st, 1896. And my point is this, brothers and sisters, throughout history there has never been a time when a man would be justified to ignore the truth of God's word. But according to these reformatory movements, when the divine symbol comes down, it marks the beginning of a testing process. And once you're in that testing process, this passage applies more than any other time. If the truth of this time is not enough to awaken me to my condition, then darkness proportionate to the light is going to overtake me. And brothers and sisters, this message is the greatest light of all time. This is the time that has been illustrated by every other history in God's word. We're in a time period where if we will not come up to this message, the type of darkness that we're about to go into is just too scary to talk about. It's wake-up time. What if I'm right? What if what I'm saying is right? If the logic that I'm applying here is correct, then what I want to ask you, is this message of the same serious nature as, say, the message of John the Baptist, or Elijah, or Moses, or Noah? And is it a message that is designed to convince us of sin? It is. The first step in these histories is the conviction of sin, then the manifestation of righteousness that will take place when the church is purified at the Sunday law, and then judgment's going to close, and the judgment of the seven last plagues is going to come. Brothers and sisters, what we've been sharing here, you have to test this. If what we're saying is true, you can't walk away from this. If it's false, go ahead and reject it. There's never been a more serious message in Earth's history, if it's true. We're not done with Islam. There are many more arguments connected to Islam. Islam is the angry horse. Islam is the power in Bible prophecy that angers the nations. In manuscript releases, volume 18, page 177, it says, and in every part of the globe there will be dissension, strife, war, and bloodshed. And Sister White's already defined the four winds for us as an angry horse. I'm not saying that the winds of strife aren't the tornadoes, and the hurricanes, and the earthquakes, and it's that as well, but primarily it's warfare, and the warfare that is brought about at the end of the world is brought about by the descendants of Ishmael. That's what it says. That's what it says in Genesis 16, 14. It says, Ishmael's prophecy at the end of the world is that his hand would be against every man, and in his activity of attacking every man, every man's hand will come together against him. And this is the issue that brings the threefold union of the beast, the dragon, and the false prophet together at the end of the world. The whole world comes together in order to deal with Islam that's bringing the world to its knees. Now, brothers and sisters, how's your pocketbook? When we have the opportunity to come out here to the west coast, we try to fly into Reno because my son lives in Carson City. It gives us an opportunity to check in with our son, and he always lets us use his car. He's a young guy. He needs to get a little bit more rational about things, and he happens to have one of these big fancy SUVs that gets 14 miles to the gallon at the best, and as we calculated out coming out here this time, after we bought the airplane tickets, we realized we couldn't use his car. We haven't got enough money to drive 200 miles and put 80 bucks in an SUV and 200 miles and drive, you know, do it again over and over again. How's your pocketbook? Brothers and sisters, who is it that's in control of the petroleum in the world? It's Islam. It's Islam. Do you think do you think this is all business on their part? Brothers and sisters, the world, the world is getting prepared to deal with Islam, and Islam's making its move, and if you can't see that, you've got more money than I got. They're impacting the world in a lot of different ways right now, and there's a war about to break out on planet earth. Let me show you another passage from early writings, page 85. Mark this one. I would challenge you to go and read this one carefully. This is in where she's describing something that's said earlier in early writings. It says on page 33, it's given the following, I saw that the holy sabbath is and will be the separating wall between the true Israel of God and unbelievers, and that the sabbath is a great question to unite the hearts of God's dear waiting saints. I saw that God's children who do not see and keep, I saw that God had children who do not see and keep the sabbath. They have not rejected the light upon it, and at the commencement of the time of trouble, we were filled with the Holy Ghost as we went forth and proclaimed the sabbath more fully. She had said that on page 33 in early writings, and now she's going to explain what she meant by the time of trouble. It's what we call the little time of trouble. It wasn't the time of trouble after probation closes, and she says this, this view was given in 1847 when there were a bit very few of the advent brethren observing the sabbath, and of these but few suppose that its observance was of sufficient importance to draw a line between the people of God and unbelievers. Now the fulfillment of that view is beginning to be seen. The commencement of that time of trouble here mentioned does not refer to the time when the plague should begin to be poured out, but to a short period just before they're poured out while Christ is still in the sanctuary. At that time, while the work of salvation was still in progress, salvation is closing, trouble will be coming upon the earth, and the nations will be angry. The nations are made angry before the close of probation, and the nations will be angry, yet held in check so as not to prevent the work of the third angels. Brothers and sisters, on August 11, 1840, the power that was distressing the nations, Islam, the power that angers the nations, there was a restraint put upon it. On September 11, 2001, the power that brings the angering of the nations, the distress of nations, there was a restraint placed upon it. As George Bush went to the world, and then went into Afghanistan, and then went into Iraq, they're being restrained. Why is Islam being restrained? To not prevent the work of the third angel. Let me go back and read that, because there's another point here. The commencement of that time of trouble here mentioned does not refer to the time when the plagues shall begin to be poured out, but to a short period just before they are poured out while Christ is in the sanctuary. At that time, while the work of salvation is closing, trouble will be coming upon the earth, and the nations will be angry, yet held in check so as not to prevent the work of the third angel. At that time, the latter rain or refreshing from the presence of the Lord will come to give power to the loud voice of the third angel, and to prepare the saints to stand in a period when the seven last plagues shall be poured out. When Islam is restrained, the latter rain comes. The restraint placed upon Islam was September 11th, 2001, in order that the work of the third angel can finish up. It's all there. It's all there. In between two minutes, I can't do it. I was going to respond to something to what Brother Dave said in between. Let's have a prayer, and we'll finish this up in our next presentation, Lord willing. Heavenly Father, we wish to understand, recognize, and respond correctly to the sign that you've identified as indicating that the generation that lives during this sign shall not pass till you come. We want to respond correctly to that. Help us to understand that you are now closing up the work of the third angel, that you're about your business of finishing up the work in the most holy place, and at this time, you're fully prepared to take a Laodicean that has been self-deceived or running away from you in any way, and cooperate with him in growing up fully into the Lord and participating in this final work. Give us the faith and the courage to be among those that respond to this time period, bring our life into agreement with it, and rapidly become tools in your hands to bring many souls in before you finally finish that work of judgment. We ask that these meetings will be blessed of you, that this part of your vineyard here can be awakened and empowered with this message, and that this can be a place where the light of this final warning message beams out bright and clear, and those of us that are coming from far away, we ask that you take us home safely, and let us also echo this message of warning, that your people might be awakened and finish the work we ask in Jesus' name. Amen.