K: It seems clear to me that you intend that when Jesus leaves the sanctuary as mediator and therefore withdraws His restraining Spirit which causes the four winds to blow allowing the plagues to be poured out, He is immediately on his way to earth. Is that supported?

M: Yes. Please see quotes posted above.

K: I must be dense. I read them again and I cannot find where it says He is immediately on his way to earth when he leaves the sanctuary. Could you please point it out?

Then I saw that after Jesus leaves the sanctuary the plagues will be poured out. Said the angel, It is the wrath of God and the Lamb that causes the destruction or death of the wicked. I saw that at the voice of God the saints will be mighty and terrible as an army with banners, but they will not then execute the judgment written. {12MR 248.2}

And I saw a flaming cloud come where Jesus stood and he laid off his priestly garment and put on his kingly robe, took his place on the cloud which carried him to the east where it first appeared to the saints on earth, a small black cloud, which was the sign of the Son of Man. {DS, March 14, 1846 par. 2}

When Christ shall cease His work as mediator in man's behalf, then this time of trouble will begin. --PP 201 (1890). {LDE 253.1}

When Jesus leaves the most holy His restraining Spirit is withdrawn from rulers and people. --1T 204 (1859). {LDE 255.1}

I saw that the four angels would hold the four winds until Jesus' work was done in the sanctuary, and then will come the seven last plagues. --EW 36 (1851). {LDE 256.2}

When He leaves the sanctuary, darkness covers the inhabitants of the earth. In that fearful time the righteous must live in the sight of a holy God without an intercessor. --GC 613, 614 (1911). {LDE 265.6}

Revelation
19:11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him [was] called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.
19:12 His eyes [were] as a flame of fire, and on his head [were] many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.
19:13 And he [was] clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.
19:14 And the armies [which were] in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.
19:15 And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
19:16 And he hath on [his] vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.
19:17 And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God;
19:18 That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all [men, both] free and bond, both small and great.
19:19 And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.
19:20 And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.
19:21 And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which [sword] proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.

Revelation
15:5 And after that I looked, and, behold, the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened:
15:6 And the seven angels came out of the temple, having the seven plagues, clothed in pure and white linen, and having their breasts girded with golden girdles.
15:7 And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever.
15:8 And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.

Here are the quotes:


Here is what John wrote about it:


When Jesus stops mediating in the most holy place, He will don His most kingly garments and begin the ministry of wrath - "he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God." There is no hint or indication Jesus is idle between ceasing His work in the most holy place and beginning His work of punishment and destruction on earth.

Could you please point it out where it says He is immediately on his way to earth when he leaves the sanctuary. There is nothing to suggest Jesus doesn't remain in heaven while the angels go forth to release the four winds.

The angel, the mighty angel from heaven, is to lighten the earth with his glory, while he cries mightily with a loud voice, "Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen" (Rev. 18:2). . . All the world will be on one side or the other of the question. The battle of Armageddon will be fought, and that day must find none of us sleeping. Wide-awake we must be, as wise virgins having oil in our vessels with our lamps. What is this? Grace, Grace.
The power of the Holy Ghost must be upon us, and the Captain of the Lord's host will stand at the head of the angels of heaven to direct the battle. --Letter 112, 1890.

Solemn events before us are yet to transpire. Trumpet after trumpet is to be sounded, vial after vial poured out one after another upon the inhabitants of the earth. --Letter 112, 1890.

Scenes of stupendous interest are right upon us, and these things will be sure indications of the presence of Him who has directed in every aggressive movement, [the One] who has accompanied the march of His cause through all the ages, and who has graciously pledged Himself to be with His people in all their conflicts to the end of the world. He will vindicate His truth. He will cause it to triumph. --Letter 112, 1890.

When the plagues of God shall come upon the earth hail, will fall upon the wicked about the weight of a talent. . . . But there are mercies mixed with judgment. Revelation 7 and 8:3, 4. The Lord has a people whom He will preserve. John beheld the "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 the sea, nor on any tree" (Rev. 7:1, 3) till the seal of the living God shall be placed upon those who love God and keep His commandments.{15MR 220.1, 2.}

Dear Elder:

I listened to one of your sermons on CD called Time No Longer and you made some excellent points on time setting. You developed the thought that time setting inevitably leads to excitement rather than real revival very well.

I respectfully believe though that you went too far in that you didn’t qualify the idea by the following verse which says that prophetic time ends when the seventh trumpet sounds: “. . .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.” Rev 10:6 and 7.

William Miller taught, correctly in my view, that time is ‘no longer’ when the seventh angel sounds and the mystery of God is finished – that is, at the end of probation. While Ellen White appears to apply the phrase “time no longer” differently than Miller, she has left us only one known exposition on Revelation 10. For easy reference I copied part of her statement below.


"After these seven thunders uttered their voices, the injunction comes to John as to Daniel in regard to the little book: "Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered." These relate to future events which will be disclosed in their order. Daniel shall stand in his lot at the end of the days. John sees the little book unsealed. Then Daniel's prophecies have their proper place in the first, second, and third angels' messages to be given to the world. The unsealing of the little book was the message in relation to time. {7BC 971.4}
. . .

"This time, which the angel declares with a solemn oath, is not the end of this world's history, neither of probationary time, but of prophetic time, which should precede the advent of our Lord. That is, the people will not have another message upon definite time. After this period of time, reaching from 1842 to 1844, there can be no definite tracing of the prophetic time. The longest reckoning reaches to the autumn of 1844. {7BC 971.7}

"The angel's position, with one foot on the sea, the other on the land, signifies the wide extent of the proclamation of the message. It will cross the broad waters and be proclaimed in other countries, even to all the world." {7BC 971}

The bolded sentences in the first and last paragraphs indicate a dual application. She applied Daniel 10 to both the past and the future. Her statement in the middle paragraph indicates there will be no message on definite time. If we put that statement with her other statements against time setting, it’s clear she was against setting times for the close of probation, the latter rain and the return of Christ. But because the gift of prophecy will be in the church until the close of probation we want to be careful not to shackle the prophetic gift by assertions there can be no time elements at all after 1844. The oath of Christ in regard to time being no longer is fulfilled at the sounding of the seventh trumpet.

We also need to take note of Christ’s admonition to study the abomination of desolation of Daniel. This passage is the only one Christ specifically admonished us to study and understand and this scripture is also linked to His oath:



In both passages in Daniel 12 and Revelation 10 the oath is made by Christ and in both cases it is linked to the final 3.5 year period of the Two Witnesses which Ellen White also applies to the future.


While it is true that the 3.5 year period of the Two Witnesses is not to be the focus of that message, its place in scripture and in end time events should not be repressed. In my humble opinion you make a mistake in breaking the important link in both passages to one of its main elements – the 3.5 year period.

I hope you can review my attached paper on Revelation 11 and Ezekiel’s temple which was written for the public. It describes events that are just before us and the work we as Adventists are called to do – to bear the testimony of the Two Witnesses.

Otherwise I found your sermon very instructive.

Peace and Blessings.

Mark

The agency of the Holy Spirit is to combine with human effort, and all heaven is engaged in the work of preparing a people to stand in these last days. The end is near, and we want to keep the future world in view. The burden of my prayer is that the churches may be aroused from their moral torpor and awaken to earnest, interested endeavor. Oh, that they could see and understand that in this last conflict the Captain of the Lord's host is leading on the armies of heaven, and mingling in the ranks and fighting our battles for us. We shall have apostasies; we expect them. "They will go out from us, because they were not of us" [cf: 1 John 2:19]. "Every plant, which My heavenly Father has not planted, shall be rooted up" (Matt. 15:13). {14MR 286.2}
The angel, the mighty angel from heaven, is to lighten the earth with his glory, while he cries mightily with a loud voice, "Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen" (Rev. 18:2). Oh, how I wish the church to arise and shine because the glory of the Lord has risen upon her. What can we not do in God if every human agency is doing its very utmost! "Without Me ye can do nothing" (John 15:5). We would lose faith and courage in the conflict if we were not sustained by the power of God. Every form of evil is to spring into intense activity. Evil angels unite their powers with evil men, and as they have been in constant conflict and attained an experience in the best modes of deception and battle, and have been strengthening for centuries, they will not yield the last great final contest without a desperate struggle. All the world will be on one side or the other of the question. The battle of Armageddon will be fought, and that day must find none of us sleeping. Wide-awake we must be, as wise virgins having oil in our vessels with our lamps. What is this? Grace, Grace. {14MR 286.3}

"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 on 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 prepare the saints to stand in the period when the seven last plagues shall be poured out. {EW 85.3}