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Title: The First Woe

Location: Williams 2/11, Rogue River 2/11, North Valley 3/11

Opening Hymn:  435 The Glory Song

Scripture: Revelation 8:13

Closing Hymn: We Are Nearing Home

Revelation 8:1, 2 “And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour. And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets.”

* A.T. Jones, March 5, 1896: “There are three great lines of prophecy in the book of Revelation, that run by sevens, and all extend to the end of time—the Seven Churches, the Seven Seals, and the Seven Trumpets. The line of the Seven Churches is the Lord's messages to the seven stages of the church to the end of time, and treats only of the church. The line of the Seven Trumpets marks the great events in the ruin of the Roman power, and what should follow

* to the end of time, and thus treats only of the world; while the line of the Seven Seals treats of the church and the world as they would be related to the end of time, and thus treats of both. The trumpet itself is the symbol of war. And in this alone is a suggestion that the seven trumpets would announce wars.” March 5, 1896 ATJ, PTUK 149

In this series of sermons we are going to study the last three trumpets from the viewpoint of our pioneers.

They believed the trumpets all relate to literal battles involving civil powers.

In Revelation 8: 7-12 we see the sounding of the first four trumpets. They believed these had to do with the fall of western Rome brought about by the attacks of the Goths and the Huns in the fifth century.

After these four trumpets sounded Revelation 8:13 states:

* “And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound!

Trumpets five, six, and seven contain the three woes. We are going to study these three woes in detail.

You may be thinking, “We’ve got woes enough! Why should we make a study of woes?”

Because we will discover something incredible is taking place right before our eyes that is setting the stage for a literal battle the Bible calls Armageddon.

You will discover that something is even now in the process of taking place that will become the trigger for the battle of Armageddon.

Ellen White and the pioneers all taught that the battle of Armageddon was going to be a literal battle fought by civil governments after the close of probation.

Here is what Ellen White says about Armageddon:

* “Four mighty angels hold back the powers of this earth till the servants of God are sealed in their foreheads. The nations of the world are eager for conflict; but they are held in check by the angels. When this restraining power is removed, there will come a time of trouble and anguish. Deadly instruments of warfare will be invented. Vessels, with their living cargo, will be entombed in the great deep. All who have not the spirit of truth will unite under the leadership of Satanic agencies. But they are to be kept under control till the time shall come for the great battle of Armageddon.” 1MR 145

* “But while already nation is rising against nation and kingdom against kingdom, there is not now a general engagement. As yet the four winds are held until the servants of God shall be sealed in their foreheads. Then the powers of earth will marshal their forces for the last great battle.” 6T 14

Armageddon will be a literal battle fought after the close of probation, at the time of the 6th plague after the four angels have released their hold upon the nations; a literal battle where deadly instruments of warfare will be used and ships will be sunk. 

God and his followers have a part to act in this battle too. We will cover that phase of Armageddon in our third woe study.

When we understand the woes in connection with Daniel 11:45 which is related to the woes; when we understand these prophecies as our pioneers understood them, we will clearly see by the events taking place in the Middle East that the preparations for this battle are currently underway.

The fact that this battle is now on the horizon is very good news. Why? Because the second coming of Jesus takes place at the time of this battle. We are nearing home.

But this message is not good news if we are not ready for Jesus to come.

* “. . . my accompanying angel said, ‘Time is almost finished. Do you reflect the lovely image of Jesus as you should?’ Then I was pointed to the earth and saw that there would have to be a getting ready among those who have of late embraced the third angel's message. Said the angel, ‘Get ready, get ready, get ready. Ye will have to die a greater death to the world than ye have ever yet died.’ I saw that there was a great work to do for them and but little time in which to do it.” EW 64

As we go through these three woes remember who it is that is speaking to us:

Revelation 1:1, 2 “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John: Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw.”

The three woes are dictated messages directly from the heart of God. He wants us to understand the signs of the times and what they mean in relation to His Son’s promised return.

As a result of this study we will see prophetic significance in the current war on terror. We will also see prophetic significance in the current turmoil in the Middle East.

* But you won’t be able to see any of this unless you know what the third woe is.

And it is only in understanding the first and the second woe that makes it possible to know what the third woe will be.

So, let’s get started and take a look at this first woe found in the fifth trumpet.

Revelation 9:1 “And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.”

This woe commences with a star falling from heaven to the earth.

In scripture, a star denotes a leader (Rev.1:20; Dan.8:10). In this prediction it is a fallen star, and a fallen star represents an apostate religious leader (Jude 1:13). 

Let’s identify this fallen star.

Revelation 9:2 “And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.”

What is the bottomless pit or abyss as it says in Greek? This term is used seven times in the book of Revelation (Rev.9:1, 2, 11; 11:7; 17:8; 20:1, 3).

In most places where it is used, it represents the place of death and the domain of Satan. Any power emerging from the abyss is inspired by him.

This leader in the fifth trumpet has the key to the abyss. What does the key represent?

It represents power or authority; the ability to unlock, to free, or release.

What does he release? He releases smoke that darkens the sun and air. The sun of course represents Christ the light of the world. It also represents truth.

Under this trumpet a leader is given the key to release from the arsenal of Satan, falsehood and error that would darken the light of the gospel; that would obscure Jesus the Light of the world.

* Revelation 9:3 “And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.”

The Bible employs the locust as a symbol of the Arab. Speaking of the Midianite Arabs it says,

* “They came as grasshoppers (or locusts) for multitude.” Judges 6:5 The original word is locusts.

* Judges 7:12 “Midianites and the Amalekites (Arab tribes) ... lay along the valley like grasshoppers or [locusts] for multitude.”

Question: after the fall of Western Rome in 476 A.D. – that is, after the first four trumpets, did a fallen star, a leader of a false religion, arise in Arabia and bring torment to a significant proportion of mankind?

The answer is yes! Only one event fulfills it and to the very letter. It was the rise of Mohamed and the Islamic religion in the seventh century AD.

Revelation 9:4 “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 have not the seal of God in their foreheads.”

Was such a command issued to the Arab conquerors? It is interesting to notice that in the other trumpets, the first trumpet for example “...a third part of trees was burnt up and all green grass was burnt up.” (Rev.8:7)

The Goths who fulfilled the first trumpet deliberately destroyed the vegetation in Western Europe so much so that it resulted in the formation of desert areas.

Now the prediction says that “it was commanded them . . . not to hurt the grass”. Was there such a command?

The command was issued at the very time when the Arabs were about to invade the Roman Empire back in the seventh century.

They had just raided Persia and now they were about to invade Syria, the Eastern portion of Eastern Rome. Mohomet had died, Abubeker his successor was now in charge.

Edward Gibbon, in his book, Decline & Fall of the Roman Empire writes:

* "As soon as their numbers were complete, Abubeker ascended the hill, reviewed the men, the horses, and the arms, and poured forth a fervent prayer for the success of their undertaking . . . 'Remember', said the successor of the prophet, 'that you are always in the presence of God, on the verge of death, in the assurance of judgment, and the hope of paradise. Avoid injustice and oppression; consult with your brethren, and study to preserve the love and

* confidence of your troops. When you fight the battles of the lord, acquit yourselves like men, without turning your backs; but let not your victory be stained with the blood of women or children. Destroy no palm trees, nor burn any field of corn. Cut down no fruit trees, nor do any mischief to cattle, only such as you kill to eat. When you make a covenant ... stand to it and be as good as your word. As you go on, you will find some religious persons, who live

* retired in monasteries, and propose to themselves to serve God that way: let them alone and neither kill them nor destroy their monasteries. And you will find another sort of people that belong to the synagogue of Satan, who have shaven crowns; be sure you cleave their skulls, and give them no quarter, till they either turn Mahometans or pay tribute.” Edward Gibbon, Decline & Fall of the Roman Empire, Vol.V:489-490

That was the actual command. The Arabs were not to destroy any green thing or trees just as the prophecy had declared six hundred years before. Amazing evidence "that all scripture is inspired of God".

* Now the prophecy also included the hurting of "...those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads".

As seen in the command, they were to kill the men who had shaven crowns. These were the priests of the apostate Christian church.

The shaven ring on their crowns represented the sun which came from Babylon.

Is it correct that those who had "the seal of God" were protected by the Arab invaders? What do we understand by the term "the seal of God?"

In Rev.7 the seal of God is shown as being implanted in the foreheads of God's people in the last days in order to protect them from the judgments of God.

The scripture clearly reveals that the seal of God refers to the Sabbath of the fourth commandment. 

Did the Arabs or Saracens (ser-u-suns) protect those, who were observers of the seventh-day Sabbath of the fourth commandment back there is the seventh century?

Notice the record as given by Dr. B.G. Wilkinson in his study of the rise and spread of the early Christian faith.

* "In the early centuries of the Christian era, the church of the East [not the Western or Latin church] sometimes called the Assyrian church, sometimes the Nestorian church [who were observers of the true Sabbath] very effectively spread throughout Asia and the East, but remained separate from the church in the West, especially the apostasy. These true Christians became the teachers of the Saracens (ser-u-suns), and were responsible for establishing an educational system in Syria, Mesopotamia, Turkestan, Tibet, China, India, Ceylon, and other areas."  (Elliott 'Horae Apocalypticae' p 461) B.G. Wilkinson 'Truth Triumphant.' p 268-291. Pacific Press. 

The Arabs, like the Persians were very partial to the Assyrian Christians because they found it necessary in the early days of their power to make use of the superb schools which the church had developed.

Medicine made great progress in the hands of the Church of the East. [They had the right arm of the gospel, the health message.]

Edward Gibbon confirms Dr. Wilkinson's statement. He says,

* "To his Christian subjects [i.e. the true Christians, not the apostate ones whom the Arabs tormented]; Mohomet readily granted the security of their persons, the freedom of their trade, the property of their goods, and the toleration of their worship"(Gibbon 'Decline & Fall!' Vol.V:439-W; 579-580; 390-391).

* Revelation 9:5 “And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man.”

They were not to kill but they were to hurt and torment. Does this mean that the Arabs did not kill in their conquests?

No! It could not mean that. The killing concerned the political killing or destroying of the Roman Empire – Eastern Rome.

In their battles the Arabs killed hundreds of thousands of people and they themselves lost hundreds of thousands.

They overran almost all of Eastern Rome. They conquered North Africa, they crossed the Straits of Gibraltar and conquered most of Spain and even overran some of South Western France.

But in all their conquests they were not able to destroy or kill or end, the Empire of Eastern Rome. They made concerted efforts to capture Constantinople, the capital of the Empire, but always they were unsuccessful.

Amid the rampant apostasy in the Roman Empire there were remnants of God's faithful people, who were withdrawing to the wilderness regions in order to maintain their faith.

These were the Albigenses of South France, the Waldenses of Northern Italy, and others in Bohemia, Germany etc.

When the Arabs invaded France they were nearing areas where God's true people were dwelling and it is believed that one reason the Arabs were repelled was to protect the people of God.

While Europe was fighting off the Muslims they couldn’t pursue God’s people.

What does the scorpion's tail represent? The key is found in the writings of Isaiah in the Old Testament.

* “The ancient and honorable, he is the head; and the prophet that teaches lies, he is the tail.” Isaiah 9:15

The false prophet, the lying prophet - false religion - that is the tail. In other words, the false religion of Mohomet is the tail which tormented men.

The prophecy said “that they should be tormented five months”

In a Bible month there are exactly thirty days. Therefore five months would equal 150 days. In symbolic prophecy, a day equals a year therefore the 150 days represent 150 years.

Notice what the prophecy says would take place during this 150 year period.

* The 7th century opening of the bottomless pit from which Islam arose through Mohammad.

The 7th century command to not burn trees or hurt those who kept the seventh-day Sabbath.

So what century should we look at to find the fulfilment of this 150 year prophecy? The 7th century of course.

To find out when this 150 period of torment by the Arabs began we need to find out the exact year in which Mohammad arose from the bottomless pit.

* “The Prophet Muhammad . . . proclaimed his prophetic mission in Arabia in 612 and eventually won over the city of his birth, Mecca, to the new faith.” Islamic Conquest, Helen Chapin Metz, ed. Iran: A Country Study. Washington: GPO for the Library of Congress, 1987.

This period of Arab torment continue until there was a sharp division in the leadership of the Arab world.

As a result there were formed two Islamic caliphates. This occurred in 756 A.D.

The new caliph reigning in Damascus, Syria, transferred his capital to the West Bank of the Tigris and founded the city of Bagdad where he became the leading caliph of the Arabian empire.

He built his city on a canal flowing from the Euphrates to the Tigris, an area outside the boundaries of the Roman Empire.

It was in 762 A.D that the Caliph transferred his capital outside the realm of the Roman Empire. With this transfer came a complete change of attitude on the part of the Arabs.

* As Waddington says, "The [Arab] conquerors now settled tranquilly in the countries they had subdued." (Waddington Church History' Vol. 2:44)

* “From the 8th to the 12th centuries the Muslim world enjoyed great prosperity. Muslim traders were in close contact with three continents and could move goods back and forth between China and Western Europe and from Russia to Central Africa.”



The period of conquest and torment had ceased and it ceased in 762 A.D. If we deduct 612 from 762, we have exactly 150 years or five prophetic months.

Thus this prophetic period in which the Arabs were to torment or hurt men was fulfilled to the very letter.

* * * * The first expositor to see this 150 year prophecy was the Italian, Joachim of Floris. He saw this in 1190 AD.

I have listed on the screen 128 expositors from the 12th century through the 20th century who understood this. A high percentage use the dates 612-762.

(pages 22-26, 46)

* You can see from this map the territory that this first woe Caliphate conquered during this 150 year period.

Satan inspired Mohomet and he in turn inspired the Arabians to conquer and destroy and in the first ten years of Omar's reign who was the second successor of Mohomet,

* "The Saracens (ser-u-suns) reduced 36,000 cities or castles, destroyed 4,000 churches and built 1,400 mosques (Gibbon, Decline & Fall Vol.V:474-475).

Now, there is one problem with locating the five month prophecy at the start of the fifth trumpet and that is Ellen White indicates that there is a the five month prophecy is at the end of the fifth trumpet.

It was Friday afternoon and I was getting this message ready to preach the next morning and I came across this quotation:

* “In the year 1840, another remarkable fulfillment of prophecy excited widespread interest. Two years before, Josiah Litch, one of the leading ministers preaching the second advent, published an exposition of Revelation 9, predicting the fall of the Ottoman empire, and specifying not only the year but the very day on which this would take place. 

* According to this exposition, which was purely a matter of calculation on the prophetic periods of Scripture, the Turkish government would surrender its independence on the eleventh day of August, 1840. The prediction was widely published, and thousands watched the course of events with eager interest.”  

Great Controversy (1888 version) p. 334

What this is saying is that the prophetic time prophecy of the next trumpet (6th trumpet) is calculated by using the 150 years of the 5th trumpet added to the 391 year and 15 day prophecy of the 6th trumpet which we will look more closely at in our next sermon.

When the Spirit of Prophecy speaks to an issue then that settles it for me.

Even though I thought that the 150 year prophecy fit perfectly in the 7th and 8th century, if Ellen White said it belongs to the 14th and 15th century then I’ve got it all wrong no matter how right it appeared to be.

So I sat down to delete all that I’ve just presented and just before I pressed the delete key I prayed for an understanding of this quandary.

I opened up to Revelation 9 and the solution to this age old dilemma flashed into my mind.

I immediately noticed that there was a duplication of several symbols in this prophecy.

* Let me list those symbols that are duplicated:

1. Bottomless pit (9:1; 9:11)

2. Leader (9:1 – star; 9:11 – king)

3. Scorpion sting (9:5; 9:10)

4. Five months (9:5; 9:10)

There is one noticeable feature about apocalyptic prophecy and that is: information is usually given in the least possible amount of words.

For this prophecy to mention twice that there will be five months it isn’t because the angel is just being repetitively wordy. No, that is never done without good cause.

So why are these four things repeated in this first woe? It is because we are to understand that this woe starts with a five month period and it ends with a five month period.

The people of the first period were Arabs and the people of the second period were Turks.

Both groups would be Muslims from the bottomless pit using the scorpion sting of falsehood with a different leader beginning each five month period.

Mohammad was the first leader of the first period. Who was the first leader of the second prophetic time period?

This leader is brought to view in Revelation 9:11. It says:

“And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.”

This king comes from the same place Mohammad came from – the bottomless pit. He begins once again the conquest of territory.

This king whose Greek name was Apollyon was Osman the founder of the Ottoman Empire. He reigned from 1299-1324.

* “Ottoman historians often dwell on the prophetic significance of his name, which means "bone-breaker", signifying the powerful energy with which he and his followers appeared to show in the following centuries of conquest. The name Osman is the Turkish variation of the Muslim name Othman. . .”

* "It was on the twenty-seventh of July, in the year 1299," says Gibbon, "that Othman first invaded the territory of Nicomedia," in Asia Minor, "and the singular accuracy of the date," he adds, "seems to disclose some foresight of the rapid and destructive growth of the monster."-"Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire," chap. 64, par. 14.

This, then, would be the date for the beginning of the second 150 year period.

From July 27, 1299 to July 27, 1449 the Turks were engaged in almost constant warfare with the Greek Empire, and yet without conquering it just as the prophecy foretold.

This beginning date, July 27, 1299, is of vital importance to the second woe. It is this date that is to be calculated with the time prophecy of the 6th trumpet in order to arrive at the end of the 6th trumpet.

Revelation 9:7-9 “And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men. And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions. And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle.”

The Arab warriors are likened to "horses prepared for battle". This also is a true picture of the type of military force that was used by the Arabs in their method of attack.

* Edward Gibbon says, "I shall here observe what I must often repeat, that the charge of the Arabs was not like that of the Greeks and Romans, the effort of a firm and compact infantry: their military force was chiefly formed of cavalry and archers." (Edward Gibbon 'Decline & Fall!' Vol.V:478-479).

* They wore turbans, beards, long hair and breastplates just as the prophecy said they would.

Revelation 9:12 “One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter.”

Are you clear on what the first woe is all about?

Why do you think Jesus wanted us to know this? What can this knowledge do for us today?

There is a trigger event found in the eleventh chapter of Daniel that propels planet earth into the final scenes of its history.

This event takes place just before Michael stands up at the close man’s probation.

* Daniel 11:45; 12:1 “And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him. And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.”

Identifying the third woe of Revelation confirms the correct interpretation of Daniel 11:45. (see )

And the identity the third woe will be evident once the first two woes are identified.

The fulfillment of Daniel 11:45 is heaven’s signal that time on planet earth is over. Jesus wants us to know what that signal is so that we will watch for its approaching fulfillment.

As we witness events in this world that tell us that this prophecy is on the verge of being fulfilled we know that we are nearing home.

* Soon we will realize that blessed hope - that glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;” Titus 2:13

Closing Hymn: We are Nearing Home

* Just over the mountains in the Promised Land,

Lies the Holy City built by God's own hand;

* As our weary footsteps gain the mountain's crest,

We can view our homeland of eternal rest.

* We are nearing home! We are nearing home!

See the splendor gleaming from the domes afar!

* See the glory streaming thro' the gates ajar!

There we soon will enter, never more to roam,

* Hear the angels singing! We are nearing home!

We are nearing home!

* From the roles of the prophets we have long been told

Of that wondrous city with its streets of gold.

* Now with raptured vision we can see it there,

With its walls of jasper and its mansions fair.

* We are nearing home! We are nearing home!

See the splendor gleaming from the domes afar!

* See the glory streaming thro' the gates ajar!

There we soon will enter, never more to roam,

* Hear the angels singing! We are nearing home!

We are nearing home!

* Those who enter that city are the chosen few

Who keep God's commandments--faith of Jesus, too.

* There we'll lift our voices through the endless days

In sweet songs of gladness and in psalms of praise.

* We are nearing home! We are nearing home!

See the splendor gleaming from the domes afar!

* See the glory streaming thro' the gates ajar!

There we soon will enter, never more to roam,

* Hear the angels singing! We are nearing home!

We are nearing home!

* My brother, my sister, will you meet us there,

In that land of sunshine where there'll be no care?

* Accept of God's message and to Him be true,

Then when Jesus cometh, He will call for you!

* We are nearing home! We are nearing home!

See the splendor gleaming from the domes afar!

* See the glory streaming thro' the gates ajar!

There we soon will enter, never more to roam,

* Hear the angels singing! We are nearing home!

We are nearing home!

* end slide

John Witcombe

pastorjcw@



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