New Moon Meeting: October 2006, 3:15 EST
Part 1: The Silent Tribulation

 

Zahakiel: Before we begin, I’d like you to take note of something.  We are going to have a slightly different format this month.  There are two separate, yet related, topics I would like to cover in this meeting, and so we are going to have a pair of shorter studies rather than one longer one.  I believe that we can cover both these teachings in about the same length of time we took in months previous, because they are more focused than our normal discussion.  We do have a lot of material, however, so let’s begin with a prayer.

 

Luke, can you please provide us with that?

 

Qinael: Our most holy and gracious Father,

 

We thank you for this day of cleansing, for reflection on ourselves, and Yahshua within us. We thank you for your Spirit by which you dwell in us, we thank you for the ministry of your angels; both reminders that you are ever with your people, and caring for them. We thank you that you are a loving Father, interested in our well being, even when this means chastening your children; and thus we are thankful for this day you have provided for such a service, performed in love.

 

We ask that your presence be with every heart attending, and open our understanding to all topics and themes you would have us to dwell on. In Yahshua’s holy name we pray, giving thanks always, amen.

 

Zahakiel: Amen.

Rita: Amen.

Crystle: Amen.

Barb: Amen.

Kevin: Amen.

Happy Rock: Amen.

Raziel: Amen.

Pastor “Chick”: Amen.

Guerline: Amen.

 

Zahakiel: Okay, let’s begin... and please remember that if you have more than one person signed in from the same account, indicate who is speaking :)

 

As those of us who attended the recent Feast of Tabernacles know, some of our visitors had problems understanding some of the concepts related to the Mark of the Beast.  One of the blocks of stumbling appeared to be the question of how the Trademark Law would cause a global stir.  The Sunday Law, they reasoned, would affect businesses on a large scale, and cause an open discussion about the day of rest, while the Trademark is limited to the names of businesses, and does not even belong in a religious setting at all.

 

A part of this difficulty comes from a misunderstanding of the kind of “stir” that either the Sunday Law or the Trademark Law would cause.  A Sunday Law today would cause quite a sensation, that is true.  Yet a Sunday Law in Ellen White’s day, when it was expected to come to pass, when it was expected to be the test of the Churches, would not have caused such a fervor, because most businesses were already closed on Sundays anyway, and the law would merely exist to enforce the status quo.

 

Zahakiel: Similarly, today, when the Trademark has become the test, very few people will probably take much note of it, and this is exactly what the Bible predicts.  Adventists who are expecting the Sunday Law have been conditioned by tradition (not by inspired writings) to expect a global religious catastrophe when the Mark of the Beast comes in, but this is not what happened, and it is not what the tribulation is really about – this is why most people have missed it.  Unable to grasp the importance of conditionality to explaining and understanding prophecy, die-hard Sunday Law believers have had to resort to some unlikely and illogical theories to hold fast to their expectations.  For example, the idea that terrorism will lead to a Sunday Law (I have heard this one more than once) has no credible basis in reality – Muslim terrorists are only making the United States more pro-Israel (they’re still Sabbathkeepers).  The idea that there will be a major restructuring of the United Nations or some other globally recognized authority ignores the facts of the day, that the U.N. in particular has been passing laws that specifically protect Sabbath keeping.

 

Is everyone following so far?

 

Rita: Yes.

Qinael: Yes.

Kevin: Yes.

Annetta: Yes.

Pastor “Chick”: Yes.

Guerline: Yea.

Happy Rock: Yes.

Raziel: Yes.

 

Crystle: Question.

 

Zahakiel: Go ahead.

 

Crystle: You stated that if a Sunday Law would have come during Ellen White’s day it would ‘not’ have stirred up much fervor. Then I do not understand why it was such a big thing for her at that time then.

 

Zahakiel: That is what we are looking at in this study.  Worldwide, people would have simply accepted it... this is why the world would have gone along with it.

 

Crystle: Okay.

 

Qinael: It was big for her in the same way the Trademark is big for us...

 

Zahakiel: That’s the point, yes.

 

Qinael: We care about things that the world misses.

 

Crystle: Thanks.

 

Zahakiel: Biblically, and from Adventist writings, the tribulation is about a small group of saints undergoing persecution from the world as a whole… but it is not an active persecution by most individuals in the world, it is simply the system of which they are a part forcing the faithful to choose between integrity to the instructions of Heaven, or destruction.  That, and the internal spiritual conflicts that ensue as a result, is what it is about.  Demons will be given full sway to present accusations and feelings of failure and guilt to the Remnant.  All earthly support will be removed from the Church, and like Christ we will be unable to see “beyond the portals of the tomb.” [The Desire of Ages, page 753]

 

We must have the discernment to realize that there is a difference between a global spiritual catastrophe, which has happened, and a global religious catastrophe, which will not.

 

Rita: Good.

 

Zahakiel: A “religious” catastrophe causes widespread agitation, but the Bible makes no prediction that this will happen, if we read carefully.  Let us look at a few verses to verify this beyond any question:

 

“And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, and deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.” (Rev 13:11-14)

 

Where is the force mentioned?  It is not.  It simply says that the second beast, which Adventists have identified as the United States government, will “cause” those who dwell on the earth to worship (i.e., to respect) the first beast, which we have additionally identified as the papacy.  This has already happened, and no one has taken any note, at least until recently.  Today the United States protestant Churches are almost all religious corporations, are all state-registered religions, and in so doing are all paying homage to the papal system established in Rome.  The Bible does not say the people are forced to do anything against their will, but they are “caused” to do it by deception, which is something entirely different.

 

Zahakiel: Does everyone understand this?

 

Rita: Yes.

Qinael: Yes.

Annetta: Yes.

Crystle: Yes

Barb: Yes.

Happy Rock: Yes.

Raziel: Yes.

Kevin: Yes.

Guerline: Totally true.

 

Zahakiel: Ellen White wrote, “Let the principle once be established in the United States that the church may employ or control the power of the state; that religious observances may be enforced by secular laws; in short, that the authority of church and state is to dominate the conscience, and the triumph of Rome in this country [the United States of America] is assured.” [The Great Controversy, page 581]

 

Has this been done?

 

Rita: Yes.

 

Zahakiel: Then is the triumph of Rome in this country assured?

 

Naraiel: Yes.

Guerline: Sure.

 

Zahakiel: Now, was this system set in place by force, or by legal subtlety?

 

Rita: Legal.

Guerline: By legal subtlety.

 

Zahakiel: Now, it is true that some people have had their consciences forced after the churches were already bowing to the first beast, yes, but the crisis was spiritual, and not religious – few took note of these dramatic events that were to set the stage for the time of trouble.

 

Let’s read the next few verses that talk about the formation of the Mark:

 

“And [the second beast] had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads; and that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark […] the name of the beast, or the number of his name.” (Rev 13:15-17)

 

Zahakiel: The same thing happens here.  The image “causeth all” to receive the mark.  It does not say the mark is forced upon them.  In the Bible, the word “causeth” does not imply force when applied to humans unless it is specifically stated.  For example:

 

“I have heard the check of my reproach, and the spirit of my understanding causeth me to answer.” (Job 20:3)

 

“But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery; and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.” (Matthew 5:32)

 

“Now He that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness, being enriched in every thing to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God.” (2Cor 9:10, 11)

 

Zahakiel: In the above cases, the word “causeth” simply means to prompt, to lead into a course of action by inducement, by providing circumstances, or merely by facilitating an existing tendency.

 

By agreeing with the idea that a Church may control the conscience of believers, one is coming to the same conclusion as did the papacy of old, and one has therefore necessarily taken the “mark” (a sign of loyalty or jurisdiction) of the beast, which promoted this principle, in the forehead where decisions are made.  (Jer 3:3, Ezek 3:9)  By going along with a movement that is acting like a beast in this sense, one has necessarily taken the “mark” of loyalty or jurisdiction in the hand, whereby one is led. (Psa 73:23, Heb 8:9)

 

This is why it is written, “And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, ‘If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God…” (Rev 14:9, 10a)  The Biblical symbols are actually quite simple if the Scripture is allowed to interpret itself, and if we keep in mind that these are primarily spiritual concepts, not statements about microchips or bar codes.

 

Zahakiel: So then, where did this idea about a widely-visible global crisis come in?  Partly it came from missing the above points, that the mark is only “forced” on those who resist it… the rest of the world is already conditioned to bow to the beast, and therefore the idea of a religious corporation persecuting a small sect of Bible fundamentalists is just a ten-minute segment on the nightly news.  As I said to a friend of mine when discussing the significance of the Trademark Law, “How many people do you think knew about the crucifixion of Jesus Christ firsthand?  How many people do you think knew about it personally?”  Not many did… but that one little event altered the course of human history in ways that were, at the time, entirely unexpected.

 

Rita: Oh, wow.

 

Zahakiel: In the lawsuit facing us now, Christ is “crucified afresh” according to Adventist teachings, [Selected Messages Book 3, page 299, paragraphs 1-3] and this is a global, spiritual crisis… but it is not a “religious” crisis in the conventional sense of the word, it is not something that will be worthy of too much note in religious circles, and this is why there is a necessity for a “loud cry” – otherwise people would not even know what was happening!  The people who stand around saying, “No one will ever notice that,” are part of the very reason why some won’t hear of it.  We can’t expect circumstances to do our work for us; we have been specifically commissioned to raise our voices in protest, and to warn the earth to prepare for the coming of the Son of Man. (Mal 4:5, 6)

 

Let’s establish this firmly from the Bible.

 

In the parable of the ten virgins we read, “They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them, but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made, ‘Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.’ Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps.” (Mat 25:3-7)

 

Now, did the world hear the cry, or only those virgins who were already awaiting the Bridegroom?

 

Rita: The virgins awaiting.

 

Zahakiel: That’s right.  Clearly, only those who have been awaiting the Advent would recognize the nearness of the time, and only those with the discernment of the Spirit would enter in to the marriage.

 

And again, “But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, ‘Peace and safety,’ then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.” (1Th 5:1-5)

 

Many people use this passage, and the “thief in the night” idea to come to the conclusion that the time of Yahshua’s return will be a big surprise to everyone.  It will be a surprise to the world, yes, to those saying, “Peace and safety.”  This is why they will be occupied with feasting, and drinking, and indiscriminate unions, (Mat 24:38) but the “children of the day” will not have the event overtake them “as a thief.”

 

Guerline: Amen.

 

Zahakiel: The world, then, will take no note of the soon approach of Christ… if left unwarned, they will not realize that the time of trouble has begun for the saints, because they have been effectively lulled to sleep.

 

Now, I said that the reason people are expecting a religious fervor to be associated with the Mark of the Beast is partly because they miss the idea that the system has already been set in place without the use of force, and that the Mark will only be “forced” upon those who resist.  But there is another part also… some misapply the statements Christ makes about His return with the statements He makes about the time of trouble.

 

Of His return we read:

 

“Behold, He cometh with clouds, and every eye shall see Him; and they also which pierced Him, and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of Him. Even so, Amen.” (Rev 1:7)

 

“For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.” (Mat 24:27)

 

Peter writes, “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat; the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.” (2Pet 3:10)

 

Zahakiel: Here we have a summary of both ideas.  The approach of the day will be silent, as of a thief, but when the day does arrive, then, and only then, will everyone know it.  If the approach of the day, however, is generally unknown to the world, then this means the tribulation itself will be known to be the tribulation only by a few: those who are undergoing the time of trouble, and those whom they inform about this development.

 

Qinael: Does that mean the last plagues will be spiritual in nature, or, just really rapid?

 

Zahakiel: Getting to that.

 

The ones doing the persecuting will also be aware of the events, of course, and will certainly notice the plagues falling near the end, but they will not see it as the tribulation, since they will view the oppressed as heretics and criminals, taking the position that they “doeth God service” by exterminating them. (John 16:2)  They will attribute the catastrophes to natural causes… and of course most of the rest will not even care.

 

You might say, “How can Adventists miss the significance of the plagues?”  Well, even Adventists have, at times, missed the implications of their own words when examining this idea of the end times, and it has damaged their view on certain doctrines.  I am almost finished with the book More Than a Prophet, which seeks to provide a rounded view of Ellen White’s prophetic gift.  I think that it does a very good job when it sticks to that topic, however there are a few statements with which we would not agree, such as the pro-Trinity stand and the idea – though subtly presented – that victory over sin is not a necessary aspect of a believer’s life.  When I am finished I will post a brief review as an article, but I can cite one passage as an example of what I am talking about here.

 

Zahakiel: On page 177, the author quotes the Adventist theologian Edward Heppenstal, who criticizes an earlier SDA figure, M. L. Andreasen.  Andreasen, whom the book describes as “undoubtedly a pre-emminent Bible scholar and a devout follower of the writings of Ellen White during the 1930s and 1940s” taught, “the final general of Christians may become victorious over each sin in turn until they are ready for translation.” [More Than a Prophet, page 187, quoting a January 1991 lecture at Andrews University by Dr. George Knight]

 

That sounds fairly close to what we teach, but note the reason for Heppenstal’s objection: “The idea just does not hold up.  We can’t be sinless before Christ comes.  A man coming to Christ just a week or two before Jesus returns can’t do it.  His relationship to Christ, that is what matters.” [ibid., page 177]

 

If the Sanctuary doctrine is understood, and the end time events are placed in their right setting, this objection has no foundation.  Understanding that a “time of trouble” takes place after the close of probation, (Rev 22:11) but before the return of Yahshua, we realize that no one will come to Christ “just a week or two before Jesus returns.”  The case of each individual will have already been decided, based upon his relationship to Christ, before the Advent, even before the time of Jacob’s Trouble, therefore the idea of not having enough time to perfect Christian character has no bearing on the topic of complete victory over known sin, and a final refining of the soul.

 

The Scriptures teach, when He shall appear we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.  And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as He is pure. (1John 3:2, 3)

 

Zahakiel: A part of the preparation, however, is standing firm amidst trial, and the Tribulation will be the final valley before Mount Zion, even though it will be a process largely invisible to the secular world.

 

Does anyone have any questions about this topic, on the difference between a “religious” and a “spiritual” crisis, or anything else we looked at so far?

 

Kevin: No.

Rita: No.

Qinael: No.

Happy Rock: No.

Annetta: No.

Crystle: No.

Raziel: No.

Guerline: No.

Naraiel: No.

Click here to continue to part 2