Continued from previous post:
Philadelphia: Evangelism Sixth Seal: Stirring Up 1798 CE – ? CE
Spirituality
“I
know your deeds. Behold, I have put
before you an open door which no one can shut, because you have a little power,
and have kept My word, and have not denied My name. Because you have kept the word of My
perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is
about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. I am coming quickly; hold fast what you have,
so that no one will take your crown. He
who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will
not go out from it anymore; and I will write on him the name of My God, and the
name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven
from My God, and My new name.” Rev.
2: 8, 10-12
The
Protestant movement withstood the assault from the false church and it began to
grow exponentially. On top of that, in
1798 CE General
Berthier of the French army removed Pope Pius VI from his papal throne,
religiously weakening and politically crippling the Catholic Church. The Protestants had persevered, had kept
God’s truth, and now that the Catholic church was in a weakened state, a door
had opened and it was time for them to reach the whole world with their
message. (see 1 Cor. 16:9; Col. 4:3)
But what is this hour of
God’s testing? It is a two-week (see
Appendix 2) period of time that ends the Philadelphia church era when the
people of the world will be shaken up and tested. (see Jam. 5:9) You see, when you test something, you are
trying to determine if it passes a certain criteria; you are making a judgment
as to something’s worthiness. For
instance, in school we wrote exams so the teacher could judge whether or not we
knew the subject matter well enough to pass and move on in our studies. In this passage Jesus is telling his
followers during this era that the testing is not for them, it is meant for the
world. They are told to simply hang on
to the truth. Jesus promised his
messengers that they would be with him in the temple of the New Jerusalem when
it was set up and that they would be called by His name.
Experience
“I
looked when He broke the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake; and the
sun became black as sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became like
blood; and the stars of the sky fell to the earth…The sky was split apart like
a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island were moved out of
their places. Then the kings of the
earth and the great men and the commanders and the rich and the strong and
every slave and free man hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the
mountains; and they said to the mountains and to the rocks, “Fall on us and
hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of
the Lamb; for the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?” Rev. 6: 12-17
This picture is of the Alpha-Monocerotid meteor outburst in 1995. NASA
Earthquake: San Francisco
As the
Philadelphia church era ends, the sixth seal will be opened and, within the
two-week period time of testing, these signs are going to be given. As they occur, great fear will grip people
and test their beliefs – or lack thereof.
Jesus, in Luke 21: 25, 26, said the same thing as here in Revelation
when he said, “There will be signs in the sun and moon and stars…men fainting
from fear….” Jesus also said in verse 31 that, “…when you see these things
happening, recognize that the kingdom of God is near.”
These signs will frighten
even the bravest, but we see in Revelation 7:1, the verse that immediately
follows the sixth seal and precedes the seventh seal, that John says, “After
this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back
the four winds of the earth, so that no wind would blow on the earth or on the
sea or on any tree.” Angels are
sent to delay the final calamities that will occur under the seventh seal and
fall upon the earth during the era of the seventh church. This is so that the gospel can be preached to
the entire world and those shaken up by the hour of testing will have a chance
to turn to God and be saved. This is a
probation period for Christians living in the end times, similar to the 70-week
probation period given to the Jews that ended in 34 CE when Stephan was
stoned. (see chapter three) We do not know how long our probation period
is going to be, but Jesus’ warning in Luke 21: 31 that says these signs mean
that the kingdom of God is near, so we can assume it will be a short time span.
