Appeal for Sound Methods of Intepretation of Bible Prophecy

[Ron Lambert]

Dear Brethren,

As we begin a new emphasis on the study of Bible prophecies of Daniel and Revelation in evangelistic efforts, I must appeal once again that sound methods of interpretation be used. For too long we have been content to use methods of interpretation that were not consistent, contrary to the principles of interpretation we profess to believe in.

In the interpretation of Bible prophecy, we must ever keep in mind the strict admonition of 2 Peter 1:20, 21:  “knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.” (NKJV)

In order to avoid a private interpretation, we must do three reasonable things. First, all prophetic symbols must be defined by Scripture alone. We can do this, because the prophets “spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.” One Divine Mind is in evidence over all. An example of the way prophetic symbols are defined in Scripture is seen in Revelation 17:15: “Then the angel said to me, "The waters you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations and languages.” (NIV)

One example of wrong interpretations we have made, is supposing that the "smoke" mentioned during the fifth trumpet refers to gunsmoke from Moslem cavalry. But throughout all the Bible, smoke and the synonym cloud always symbolize manifestation of supernatural power, with context indicating whether it is divine or satanic. This has lead us to miss completely what the prophecy is really all about. It has nothing to do with Moslems!

Second, the prophecies must be applied to history, during the time periods context indicates to us that they apply. Then we look for the obvious, straightforward, most logical parallels. This is seen in the prophecies of Daniel (see for example Daniel 8:20-26, where the angel names the empires in historical sequence that correspond to the symbols).

I must especially note where this traditionally has not been followed in our evangelistic campaigns. In Revelation chapter five, the context provably is the Judgment. An investigation is made into who is worthy to open the book. And because finally the Lamb was found to be worthy, mankind is saved! In both prophecies we encounter this distinctive formulation: "...and the number of them [angels] was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands." (Revelation 5:11.) Compare Daniel 7:10: "thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the Judgment was set, and the books were opened." Modern translations render this "myriads upon myriads," or "myriads of myriads," instead of "ten thousand times ten thousand." But still, these similar formulations are only found in Revelation 5:11 and in Daniel 7:10. There are several other parallels between Revelation chapter 5 and the Judgment explicitly set forth in Daniel 7.

This indicates to us when the prophecies of the seven seals must be applied by comparison to history. In other words, since the seals are opened after the Judgment has begun, any application of the prophecy of the seven seals that begins before 1844 is not Biblical. When applied to history AFTER 1844, the prophecies apply perfectly.

Had we always done this, we could have predicted the World Wars far in advance. We could have predicted the fall of the command economy of the Soviet Union far in advance. We have missed a great evangelistic opportunity, had we taught these prophecies interpreted by sound Biblical methods, instead of teaching the traditional but flawed interpretations we have borrowed from what Protestants have taught for over 500 years.

I also must conclude that context clearly indicates that the prophecies of the seven trumpets must be applied after the beginning of final events during the time of the end. The seven angels being given trumpets before the vignette of the angel with the censer but not sounding them until afterwards, indicates they sound during the closing up of Christ’s ministry in the Heavenly Sanctuary. Interpreted this way, the events foretold exactly correspond to the sequence of events Ellen G. White gave. The first trumpet is the beginning of the time of trouble. The second trumpet is the re-immersion of the Papacy into the political affairs of Europe. The third trumpet is the rise of a similar church-state entity in the Americas involving Protestants. The fourth trumpet describes the Shaking in our church. The fifth trumpet describes spiritualism coming into the fallen churches that reject the light. The sixth trumpet describes the way that Satan leads the fallen churches into a final all-out war against the faithful. These things are soon to become of utmost importance to us all.

I discuss these things in detail in my book, Genuine New Light From Revelation and Daniel, available as an e-book from Amazon. Here is the link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MY3I88W

Third, of course, we must be careful in understanding whether something is literal narrative, or symbolic. Simple literary analysis usually is a reasonable guide. We should note if an image or statement is specifically defined as symbolic or is used frequently as a prophetic symbol or metaphor in other places in the Bible. We should not have to guess about this. We can look it up.

I mention this last, because Adventists presently do not seem to have much problem with this, though expositors from other Christian groups do.

Ronald R. Lambert

 

[JoeMo]

2 hours ago, Ron Lambert said:

Interpreted this way, the events foretold exactly correspond to the sequence of events Ellen G. White gave. The first trumpet is the beginning of the time of trouble. The second trumpet is the re-immersion of the Papacy into the political affairs of Europe. The third trumpet is the rise of a similar church-state entity in the Americas involving Protestants. The fourth trumpet describes the Shaking in our church. The fifth trumpet describes spiritualism coming into the fallen churches that reject the light.

Admittedly, I haven't read your book; but it sounds interesting!  I agreed with everything you posted except the portion quoted.  You are applying symbolism and EGW's interpretations  where (arguably) symbolism should not be applied, and EGW should be taken with a grain of salt.  In my humble opinion, these events should be taken as literal, only limited by the writer's lack of language skills to explain what he is "seeing".  I believe the first 4 trumpets could describe the impact of a large meteorite or comet.  The 5th trumpet (first woe) describes the the release of demons previously imprisoned in the great abyss mentioned; and the beginning of satan's final assault against humanity. The 6th trumpet begins the warfare between heaven and satan - allied with his human minions.

The thoughts above are strictly my opinion. I am not saying I am right and you are wrong; just saying that I see things differently than you; and for me, that's okay.  It just stimulates good conversation.

[Gregory Matthews]

Ron lambert makes three (3) points with which I am in solid agreement with him:

*  We must use sound methods to interpret and to understand the Biblical prophecies.

*  We have not always done so.

*  Our evangelists have not always done so.

Once he goes beyond the above points  I will leave it to you to decide.  I am not going to get into those aspects of his post at this point in time.  But, I applaud him for making the above three (3) points which I believe are critical.

 

[JoeMo]

2 hours ago, The Wanderer said:

I think we should all be careful not to let prejudice get in the way when she, (or anyone else) has gotten something right, and she certainly does do that! Not everything the woman says is "wrong"

Don't get me wrong - I have much respect for EGW; and I don't mean to imply that she is "wrong".  I'm just saying that IMHO she is not infallibly correct on all matters.  On the matters posted above, I simply disagree with her.  

2 hours ago, The Wanderer said:

Where in scripture do you find this? Can you apply the same principles to your explanation, as what you are holding EGW to?  I am sincerely interested to hear what you have said explained, in detail

I cannot quote you direct passages from scripture.  EGW can't quote from scripture that the pope is the antichrist, either.  One reason is that the language needed did not exist in biblical history.  There was no word for meteorite or comet, for example.  As I said in my post, the ideas I presented are simply my opinion.  They are not a personal "biblical doctrine" of mine.  Truth be told, I don't think any of us actually "knows" how the seals, trumpets, and bowls will literally play out, except that they will absolutely culminate in the physical return of our Lord Jesus Christ to earth to redeem his chosen people.  That part IS in the Bible.

[Ron Lambert]

JoeMo, what you said about the first few trumpets (I assume you especially mean the second trumpet) sounding to you like a meteoroid impact, is particularly interesting to me because of my own experience with this speculation. Here is my personal testimony about how I arrived at my present understanding of the seven trumpets.

When I first began my study of the seven trumpets about 20 years ago, I had left the church, and questioned Ellen G. White, because of the various accusations some were making about her. But the Lord convicted me one Sabbath afternoon that if I would study the seven trumpets using strictly Biblical methods, letting the chips fall where they may, He would open up the meaning of these prophecies to me. I had long been aware that there were inadequacies about the way these had been taught among us in the past. For example, Uriah Smith in one place calls the "bottomless pit" the Arabian desert, while in another place he says it represents Paris, France, during the French Revolution, while in yet another place he applies it to the wasted earth on which Satan and his cohorts will be confined for a thousand years. (I eventually concluded that the bottomless pit is the state of restraint inwhich Satan and his cohorts are held.)

This was a thrilling experience for me. I would look ahead to portions of the prophecies I had not reached yet in systematic study, and I could just sense the meanings opening up to me, like I could feel the Holy Spirit keeping His promise.

But then I came to the second trumpet. Being a long time aficionado of science generally, and a long time fan of science fiction (I have actually had three science fiction short stories and one novelette published in Analog Science Fiction magazine), naturally I pretty much fell into the view that the mountain burning with fire that was cast into the sea sure sounded like an asteroid/meteoroid. I held on to my fascination with that interpretation fondly for about a week.

But then I noticed something. When I looked ahead to portions of the prophecies I had not reached yet in my systematic studying, it seemed that everything was closed up. It was no longer open. I no longer had the sense that the Holy Spirit was going to make the meanings of these prophecies clear to me.

Finally I said to the Lord--with a sigh--"OK, Lord, I know that Bible prophecies define the symbol of a mountain as a kingdom or empire." The change was virtually immediate. When I would glance ahead, I would again have the sense of prophecies opening up, and the renewed promise of the Holy Spirit to make the meanings clear to me. I then allowed the Lord to lead me in my study of how all the symbols fit together, and I saw it was talking about the burnt Mountain, Babylon, of Jeremiah 51:25, being re-immersed in the political affairs of Europe. Every single symbol in the prophecy became clear to me, once I gave up the asteroid idea.

So I had to be willing to let my fond, cherished ideas perish, so the Lord could enlighten me. I had to adhere to Peter's admonition that "no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation." (2 Peter 1:20) It can be hard to give up a cherished notion like this. But the Lord made it clear to me that He would only keep His promise to me if I stuck faithfully to following strictly Biblical methods of interpretation.

It was as a result of my study of the seven trumpets prophecies that I was persuaded to return to the SDA Church 20 years ago, and at the same time my confidence in Ellen G. White as a genuine prophet was restored. I saw that the prophecies of Rev. 8-11 were the same events in the same sequence, that Ellen G. White predicted. So clearly the same Divine Spirit had to have inspired them both.

As for Ellen G. White, I had to look into what was right and wrong with the way many of us have been using her writings. I had too, because my conclusions from Revelation were different from some of the interpretations she gave in her magnum opus, The Great Controversy. I devote a whole chapter to this in my book." The Bible, and the Bible alone, is to be the rule of our faith. It is a leaf from the tree of life, and by eating it, by receiving it into our minds, we shall grow strong to do the will of God. By our Christlike characters we shall show that we believe the word, that we cleave to the Bible as the only guide to heaven." (Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, May, 1897, p. 4, par. 9; emphasis supplied.)

If we really respect the prophetic ministry of Ellen G. White, we will do what she said to do, and go by the Bible and the Bible alone in deciding all matters of Bible interpretation. She said her ministry was that of "a lesser light" to lead us back to the "greater light" of the Bible (Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, Jan. 1, 1903, p. 20) because we had not been faithful enough students of the Bible; it was never to take the place of the Bible. If we regard her as an infallible, definitive commentator on the Bible, who is to be given the last word on what any prophecy of Scripture means, then we would be in fact placing her above the Bible. Ultimately that would be a violation of the First Commandment.

Even during her day, leading brethren in the church were prone to settle all questions of doctrine or Bible interpretation by using her writings as an inspired commentary, that literally had the last word in understanding what the Bible teaches.

The following pointed statement given by Ellen G. White is as relevant to the entire church today, as it was to the meeting of church leaders held in the Battle Creek College library at the 1901 General Conference, where she originally spoke it. This statement is a fascinating one, because she was so emphatic about what she was saying that she even employed a double negative. She seemed to be speaking with true righteous indignation. The statement in its original form is found in the Spaulding and Magan Collection, p. 167, par. 2:

"Lay Sister White right to one side: lay her to one side. Don't you never quote my words again as long as you live, until you can obey the Bible. When you take the Bible and make that your food, and your meat, and your drink, and make that the elements of your character, when you can do that you will know better how to receive some counsel from God. But here is the Word, the precious Word, exalted before you today. And don't you give a rap any more what 'Sister White said' -- 'Sister White said this,' and 'Sister White said that,' and 'Sister White said the other thing.' But say, 'Thus saith the Lord God of Israel,' and then you do just what the Lord God of Israel does, and what He says."

Now, let me share some statements by Ellen White where she clearly left open the future application of the seven trumpets:

"Let all who would understand the meaning of these things read the eleventh chapter of Revelation. Read every verse, and learn the things that are yet to take place in the cities."--Manuscript Releases 1518 (May 10, 1906; quoted in Last Day Events, p. 95; emphasis supplied.)

Here is another statement, which clearly implies that the seven trumpets of Revelation 8-11 are yet to sound:

"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. 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. Scenes of stupendous interest are right upon us." —Ellen G. White, Letter 109, 1890 (quoted in The Ellen G. White 1888 Materials, page 762-3. All but first sentence quoted in The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 7, p. 982; emphasis supplied.)

Let us look closely at this. The expression “vial after vial poured out” is an unmistakable reference to the seven last plagues of Revelation 15-16. In this context, the expression “trumpet after trumpet” must refer to the seven trumpets of Revelation 8-11. Now, according to the traditional interpretation, the prophecy of Revelation 11, as applied to the French Revolution, took place after the sounding of the sixth trumpet. This means that at the time that Sister White wrote the above words, only one more trumpet, the seventh, was yet to sound, according to the traditional view. But she said in the above quotation that “trumpet after trumpet is to be sounded.” If the sixth trumpet is yet to be sounded, then the events foretold in Revelation 11 must yet be future, and the time for the sounding of all seven trumpets could yet be future.

Here is where people must search their hearts, and face up to the truth about their real state of mind. If a person says he rejects new light because he prefers to go by what Sister White said, but then just shrugs off and dismisses quotes like the two above just quoted, refusing even to acknowledge that she did leave open the possibility of a future fulfillment of the seven trumpets—is he really basing his position on Sister White and the Spirit of Prophecy writings--or is he really, in fact, going by nothing other than tradition, the familiar way something has long been taught in our church? What reason, what motive could he possibly have for picking and choosing which Spirit of Prophecy statements to go by, if he is not making church tradition the highest authority of all? Such a person is a hypocrite if he claims to be going by the Spirit of Prophecy writings of Sister White, and is even more a hypocrite if he claims to be a Bible-believing Christian, who believes in exalting the Bible as the supreme authority. If our heart relation is right to the Spirit of Prophecy, then we will obey it, and make the Bible alone the rule of all faith and doctrine.

Those who misuse Sister White's writings by giving them authority over the Bible, and even subordinate her writings to tradition, are setting up her writings to be discredited and rejected unfairly. She was not superhuman, and could not be right about everything at all times! Such false expectations led some people to criticize her at one point for not getting right the number of rooms in a large house! If God had "made" her be infallible, that would have been a violation of her free will. And tradition that is, after all, established by the opinions of numerous sinful, fallible human beings, is guaranteed to be unreliable at some point.

 

 

 

 

 

[Ron Lambert]

As for "smoke" and "clouds" being used as synonyms as prophetic symbols, consider Rev. 15:8: "The temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from His power...." And Exodus 13:21: "And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead the way...." And Isaiah 4:5: "then the Lord will create above every dwelling place of Mount Zion, and above her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day and the shining of a flaming fire by night." Since smoke comes in clouds, they can be used synonymously. Not all clouds are smoke, but all smoke forms clouds.

Oh yes--not all smoke and not all clouds mentioned in the Bible are prophetic symbols. Sometimes they are literal, sometimes they are metaphors. Though often metaphoric use informs us of what the prophetic symbols mean.

[TrevorL]

Greetings Robert,

11 hours ago, Ron Lambert said:

As we begin a new emphasis on the study of Bible prophecies of Daniel and Revelation in evangelistic efforts, I must appeal once again that sound methods of interpretation be used. For too long we have been content to use methods of interpretation that were not consistent, contrary to the principles of interpretation we profess to believe in.

In the interpretation of Bible prophecy, we must ever keep in mind the strict admonition of 2 Peter 1:20, 21:  “knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.” (NKJV)

This indicates to us when the prophecies of the seven seals must be applied by comparison to history. In other words, since the seals are opened after the Judgment has begun, any application of the prophecy of the seven seals that begins before 1844 is not Biblical. When applied to history AFTER 1844, the prophecies apply perfectly.

 

I was interested in your comments and have had an interest especially in Daniel for many years, and now gradually working through Revelation more thoroughly. I agree with much of what you state, but a few brief comments without getting involved with all that you claim, as you are mainly directing your comments to SDAs.

 

I believe that 2 Peter 1:20-21 is not talking about interpretation, but origination. In other words the prophets did not originate their message, but were inspired by God, and hence we should give heed to their message. I am not sure that every symbol can be based upon previous Scripture, and some context and correct interpretation helps.

 

Over the years I have compared my understanding of Daniel with what the SDAs usually present in their literature and seminars. My major departure with the SDA view commences in Daniel 2, where the SDAs teach that the earth will be desolate for the 1000 years, while Daniel 2:35,44 teach me that the Kingdom of God will be upon the earth for the 1000 years.

 

Your comments here indicate that you accept the major view of the SDAs concerning 1844, while I believe that a major fulfillment of the 2300 years was in 1967 when the Jews regained Jerusalem. Thus I have a major difference with SDAs on both Daniel 2 and Daniel 8. Another difference with what you suggest, is that I believe that the seals represent the prophetic period from AD96 to AD 312. Many expositors have taught this from the earliest times. It represents the judgements on the Pagan Roman Empire. Prophetically, sometimes the final picture is revealed, and then the steps leading up to this final picture are revealed. For example Isaiah 2:1-5 precede in the vision, when the Kingdom of God on earth is established upon the earth for the 1000 years, centred in literal Jerusalem, but the judgements and earthquake are then detailed in the rest of Isaiah 2.

 

Kind regards

Trevor