Anchor points in the chronology of Revelation — an after hours study

Anchor points in the chronology of Revelation — an after hours study

Bro. Richard DoctorBible Student General Convention Johnstown, PATuesday—July 22, 2014 @ 7:00PM

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Question for consideration:

•Why did the Present Truth start in Pennsylvania?

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How do churches, seals, and trumpets relate to each other? 1 Ephesus2 Smyrna3 Pergamos4 Thyatira5 Sardis6 Philadelphia7 Laodicea

We have the promise to the persecuted church of Smyrna (2nd)

“…be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.” Revelation 2:10

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“…tribulation ten days”

•Rev 2:10 Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.

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“Ten days” the persecution of Diocletian (303-313 AD)

“Ten days” the persecution of Diocletian (303-313 AD)

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Constantine and Licinius's Edict of Milan (313) has traditionally marked the end of the persecution

Diocletian – inhuman persecution marked the close of his reign

One additional suggested link to 313•Revelation 12:1 And there appeared a great

wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars: Rev 12:2 And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.

•2 Thessalonians 2:7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.

33+280(ideal gestation)=313 AD

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How do churches, seals, and trumpets relate to each other? 1 Ephesus2 Smyrna (303-313 AD closes this church)3 Pergamos “mixed marriage” (313 AD – )4 Thyatira5 Sardis6 Philadelphia7 Laodicea

3rd church and the “Abomination”

The year 539 A.D. marks the beginning for reckoning the

“abomination which makes desolate”(Daniel 11:31; Matthew 24:15)

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•Rev 11:3 And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.

•Rev 11:4 These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.

539+1260=1799 AD

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During Pergamos “mixed marriage” the 1260, 1290, 1335 days•Rev_11:2 But the court which is without

the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.

•Rev_13:5 And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.

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42 months (3 ½ years)

•42 x 30 = 1260 days

•Daniel 7:26; 12:7 (time+times+dividing of times)

360+(2 x 360)+(1/2 x 360)=1260

•Daniel 12:11 brings up 1290, 1335 days

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539 A.D

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1799 A.D

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1829 A.D

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1874 A.D

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The 1260 days isveryclearlymarked

The old order – the church crowned the kings

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Charles VII of France 1422 A.D.

Emperor Fredrick 1155 A.D.

Charlemagne799 A.D.

The New Order1799 A.D. Papacy is abased in the fall of the “10th part of the city” (France) Revelation 11:13

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The new order – the king takes The new order – the king takes power without the churchpower without the church

J.L. David

1,000 yrs after Charlemagne

799 A.D.

How do churches, seals, and trumpets relate to each other? 1 Ephesus2 Smyrna (303-313 AD closes this church)3 Pergamos “mixed marriage” (313 AD –

start; includes 539 AD )4 Thyatira5 Sardis6 Philadelphia7 Laodicea

4th Thyatira Chronos to repent

•Bro. Frank Shallieu--The word translated “space,” from the Greek word chronos, means “a time.” A symbolic year as used in prophecy is calculated on the basis of a lunar year (twelve months of thirty days each, or 360 days), with each day representing a year.

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4th Thyatira – Chronos to repent•Rev. 2:21 “And I gave her space to repent

of her fornication; and she repented not.”•Bro. Frank Shallieu -- The question then

arises: Does the “time” referred to merely indicate an indefinite but sufficient space of time in which the papal system had opportunity to reform, or is the term symbolic and definite in meaning? The latter view is more reasonable.

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4th Thyatira – Chronos to repent•Bro. Frank Shallieu – “…The 360 years

from Waldo’s message in 1157 would thus end in 1517, the very year Martin Luther nailed his ninety-five theses condemning Papacy’s practices…”

•1157+360=1517 AD

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start; includes 539 AD )4 Thyatira (includes 1157 AD)5 Sardis6 Philadelphia7 Laodicea

Souls under the altar

•Revelation 6:9 And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held:

•Rev 6:10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?

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Souls under the altar

•Rev 6:11 And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.

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What happened inRoman Catholic Europe?

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An important – but speculative linkOctober 31, 1517 – 95 thesis start of Reformation 360 “a little season – “chronos” ____October 31, 1877 Resurrection of the

sleeping saints

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start; includes 539 AD )4 Thyatira (includes 1157 AD)5 Sardis (includes October 31, 1517)6 Philadelphia7 Laodicea

Five months of torment•Rev 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.

•Rev 9:5 And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: …

•Rev 9:10 And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months.

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Suggested interpretation ofthe 5 months

October 31, 1517+(5x30)= 1668

This follows by 20 years the Peace of Westphalia which drew the

modern map of Europe in 1648And was the first step towards “international law” in Europe

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John Milton - On the Late Massacre in Piemont (1655) Charles

Emmanuel II, Duke of Savoy April 24, 1655

AVENGE, O Lord, thy slaughtered Saints, whose bones Lie scattered on the Alpine mountains cold; Even them who kept thy truth so pure of old, When all our fathers worshiped stocks and stones, Forget not: in thy book record their groans 5 Who were thy sheep, and in their ancient fold Slain by the bloody Piemontese, that rolled Mother with infant down the rocks. Their moans The vales redoubled to the hills, and they To heaven. Their martyred blood and ashes sow 10 O’er all the Italian fields, where still doth sway The triple Tyrant; that from these may grow A hundredfold, who, having learnt thy way, Early may fly the Babylonian woe.

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Following 1648 and the “Peace of Westphalia” ghastly persecutions within the nations continued – especially the Catholic nationsthe world’s response….

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“Modern” consciousness emergesthe most radical had no religion

Napoleon

Voltaire

But let us not get ahead of the story


start; includes 539 AD )4 Thyatira (includes 1157 AD)5 Sardis (includes October 31, 1517)6 Philadelphia (start 1668 AD)7 Laodicea

The doctrine of the Church’s share in the sin-offering was gradually re-

discovered

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Martin Luther Essay on 1 Peter 2:2Select Works by Martin Luther; H. Cole Trans., Simpkin and Marshall (1826) p288 The chief thing of all [in

preaching is that] that Christ gave himself unto death for us... But by-and-by also, the cross must preached: namely, that we must suffer as he also suffered: this, is strong drink, and pure wine.

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Martin Luther by Cranach

No Cross – No Crown A discourse theme by George Fox founder of the “Quakers”

“When I came to eleven years of age, I knew pureness and righteousness; for, while I was a child, I was taught how to walk to be kept pure. The Lord taught me to be faithful, in all things, and to act faithfully two ways; viz., inwardly to God, and outwardly to man.”

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George Fox (1624-1690)

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After the free-thinking Dean of Christchurch college Oxford was dismissed, he invited George Fox to speak

The discourse critical of the “nominal church” impressed a dozen students who got expelled, including 18 year-old Penn

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William Penn (1644 – 1718)In 1666 (age 22)

William Penn was the son of Admiral Sir William Penn the most important naval commander in England

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Sir William Penn (1621 – 1670)

To son William, “”…your youth outruns your

discretion.”

We may speculate on why Quaker Pacifist doctrine appealed to young Penn

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The Dutch and English were in an interminable series of senseless wars over who would control world commerce. Sir William Penn funded the naval war from his personal fortune. His wife Margaret Jasper was Dutch.

Van Soest, Attack on the Medway painted 1667

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The Father’s plan

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The Father’s plan

Poussin – Inspiration of the poet 1630

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The Son’s planwas Biblical study with the Huguenotsat Samuer. He also failed to write his frustrated father

Samuer, the leading Huguenot center of study

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St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre

Aug 24, 1572. See Vol.2, p.338

The Huguenots fought back militarily after the massacre. They re-established themselves, and gained limited political recognition.

We owe a great deal to their Biblical scholarship

1600’s Huguenot scholarship recognized as “present truth”

•Rejecting Calvinism, they believed in both the elect nature of the church and God’s desire to broadly “save all men” could somehow be reconciled. They could not figure out how.

•They believed the seven churches of Revelation illustrated the sequential unfolding of history

•The days of Daniel should be understood 1 day=1 year

•The 1260 days of Daniel had begun in the 530s - their scholarship differed over which date to adopt

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1600’s Huguenot scholarship recognized as “present truth”•France had done the most to advance the

Papacy, therefore France was the “tenth part of the city” of Revelation 11:13

•Pierre Jurieu (1685) the revolution would start in 1790.

Penn would have known him.

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Storming the Bastille; July 14, 1789

Rev 11:13 And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven.

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The “tenth part of the city” date and event of the French Revolution was predicted by the Huguenot brethren in the 1680s using the Days of Daniel


start; includes 539 AD )4 Thyatira (includes 1157 AD)5 Sardis (includes October 31, 1517)6 Philadelphia (start 1668 includes

1799,1829,1874)7 Laodicea (1874 AD and onward)

1600’s Huguenot scholarship recognized as “present truth”

•The churches of Revelation illustrate the sequential unfolding of history – five churches were finished with the Reformation and the church was on the entrance of the Philadelphia stage

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When his mentor – Moses Amyrat took ill and died, Penn returned to England and his father sent him off on a military campaign

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Sir William Penn (1621 – 1670)

To son William, “”…your youth outruns your

discretion.”

Penn sought out Thomas Lowe, a Quaker preacher and after meeting with him was a committed Christian the remainder ofhis life.

Ironically, the onlyportrait we have of this life-longpacifist shows himin armor.

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At the same time, Sir William Penn suffered a reversal of fortune. He was court-martialed and he suffered a stroke. His health was broken.

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To add to his grief, in 1667 young Penn really got into trouble for a tract “The Sandy Foundation Shaken”

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Penn thought Trinitarians may have missed some of the fine points of the Greek. This landed him in the Tower of London prison for blasphemy

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Psalm 26:7 “[Oh] That I may publish with the voice of thanksgiving, and tell of all thy wondrous works.”

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Penn was undeterred

by prison he had a fine view of the private execution

area. He immediately went

to work writing

No Cross – No Crown written in while confined to the Tower of London 1668

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Because of his social standing “No cross – No crown” was a best-sellerthe artwork followed

After his release from prison he became active in the Quaker pilgrim service traveling through Great Britain, the Netherlands, and up the Rhine River. He would later seek colonists – hence, the “Pennsylvania Dutch”

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We could end the account of the “Cross and Crown” here, but Penn went on to other work – His “Holy Experiment” for a new political order

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After 13 years he was able to secure a colony in repayment for the royal debt of 16,000 £ to his late father

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William Penn – 1698 (age 54)then proprietor of Pennsylvania

“I am crucified between Injustice and Ingratitude there [in the colony] and Extortion and Oppression here [in England].” (1705)

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William Penn – 1698 (age 54)then proprietor of Pennsylvania

Founding Pennsylvania, the “Holy Experiment” to operate on Christian principles bankrupted Penn and put him in debtor's prison for a short period.

Other notable accomplishments•Penn being declared “the greatest law-

giver since Moses,” by the notably unspiritual Voltaire

•Pennsylvania has the longest operating constitution in the world written by William Penn. (It is 110 years older than the United States Constitution, the second oldest)

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Other notable accomplishments•Pennsylvania the only colony to respect

the rights of Native Americans and keep its promises to them.

•The only colony not at war with the native Americans during the lifetimes of Penn, his son, and grandson.

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In the end, after Penn’s death, this “Holy experiment” did meet some of his hopesprivate letter to his sister, hoping that a new nationwould be bornfrom Philadelphia

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Philadelphia

•“Keystone” state that was the site of the Continental Congress (1776)

•Site for the Constitutional Convention (1791)

•First Capital of the United States

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Constitution Museum - Philadelphia

What say the Scriptures of the Philadelphia church?•Rev 3:7 And to the angel of the church in

Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth;

•Rev 3:8 I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name.

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Finally, Pennsylvania as the starting point for Present Truth

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Even to the present day….

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U Pitt – Johnstown, PA 2014

“Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance, and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Hebrews 12:1,2

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“No cross – No crown”May the Lord add His Blessing

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Anchor points in the chronology of Revelation — an after hours study

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