A Seal of the Living God

A WIND:

Is it literal or figurative? Answer, figurative: because these four angels, or messengers governments, viz: England, France, Russia and the United States of North America, in their present organized state cannot prevent the literal winds from blowing from any point of the compass. It appears from the 2nd and 3rd verses of Revelations, 7; that A WIND, which they seem to have the power to hold, is something that will injure the inhabitants of the earth, and sea, as soon as they let go; hence the cry of the sealing angel for them to injure not the earth, sea or trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. The question now arises, what does A WIND symbolize or represent! Answer, a SWORD; or, as the prophet Ezekiel expresses it in his 9th chapter 2nd verse: A weapon of his breaking in pieces, (see margin,) destroying weapon, or slaughter weapon in his hand. 1st and 2nd verses. Please notice that Ezekiel is looking in vision at the same sealing that John is, only some seven hundred years earlier. SLG 14.3

Further: besides the literal winds of heaven which these four messengers have no control over, there are four spiritual, and figurative winds; three of these they have not attempted to, neither can they control them. SLG 14.4

1st. Wind, the operation of God’s spirit. John 3:8. 2nd. Winds of doctrine, such as vain and groundless opinions. It is well known that these are propagated all over the earth. 3rd. Sin and temptation. Isaiah 64:6. Matthew 7:25. 4th. Winds and whirlwinds of judgment and enemies, which begins, according to the prophet Ezekiel, with first, the sword; second, the famine; third, the noisome beasts; fourth, the pestilence. 14:21. Please read the context, 12-20 verses, and mark the irrevocable decree of God’s judgments, without the least mixture of mercy, when not even the prayer of Noah, Daniel, and Job, if they were in the land, could save son, or daughter, no, none but their own souls. This is to be in the time of Daniel’s trouble, when Michael stands up to reign and dashes the nations in pieces like a potter’s vessel. Won’t the open door believer and opposer be willing then, think you, to acknowledge that the door is shut? or will they continue to say as they now do, that they know the door is open, and will be until the Lord Jesus shall come. Just look at the order of events predicted by the prophets. 1st. “Daniel’s trouble.” 2nd. “The voice of God.” 3rd. “Sign of the son of man” 4th. “Coming of the son of man.” Is it not perfectly clear that there is no open door in the first event named; viz: time of Daniel’s trouble: if there was, surely the prayers of all the righteous united would save some one besides themselves. Noah, Job and Daniel could not if they were here. Then it is clear that the door is not open. Can it be shown now whereabouts the 2,300 days will end in the time of trouble? no; will Jesus come then before the voice of God? no; where, and when then, did the 2,300 days end, and the door close or shut? Answer, tenth day of the 7th month, 1844. I do not believe it’s in the power of any living being on earth, or ever will be to show the ending of the 2,300 days, and door shut at any other point of time. And now the time of trouble has began, what is our duty? Answer, hold fast our past experience, and let no man take our crown. SLG 15.1

God here describes his four sore judgments separately, and emphatically shows at that time the fruitless hopes of unbelievers. See also Jeremiah 49:36. The four winds to come upon Elam, 37th verse, shows how, viz: I will send the SWORD after them. Again Jeremiah 23:19, 20; and 30:23, 24. The fierce anger of God upon the head of the wicked, a continuing whirlwind, “in the latter (or last) days ye shall consider it perfectly”. This must be for the time of trouble. Once more, Jeremiah 25:29, I will call for a sword upon ALL the inhabitants of the EARTH. In the 32nd verse he calls this evil, the sword first, to destroy them, and says a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth, and the slain of the Lord, etc., showing most clearly here, and in 31st verse, that it’s the sword that slays them, and denominates it a whirlwind. Just turn and read Proverbs 1:24-32; mark 27th verse, also Hosea 8:1, trespassing against God’s law is sowing the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind, etc., 7th verse; and lastly, Isaiah 17:12, 14, connecting with it the remaining portions of Ezekiel’s vision in chapter 9:5-10 verses. Now we see that A WIND, symbolically, or figuratively means a sword, or destroying weapon which will come upon all the inhabitants of the earth when the four messengers let go, or as it would be more literally expressed when they cease to have the power to restrain mob law, violence and blood, by the power of their organized governments. Please see the specimens which have been exhibited in Europe since the beginning of 1848, particularly Paris, the capital of France, on the 22nd February, 20-23 June last, and now. And also Vienna, the capital of the Empire of Austria, and some eight or ten other kingdoms and states, and then we shall begin to learn what John means by the holding or letting go a wind. SLG 15.2

Now it will be readily seen when they let go, and the four winds blow, that these messenger governments only had the power vested in them to hold the first wind or as it is called, a wind, the sword; for when this work becomes general all over the earth, (and it will be,) men cutting down their fellow men, neighbor against neighbor, brother against brother, and city against city. Then the other three winds will follow as a matter of course, viz: famine, noisome beasts, and pestilence, for it never was yet, nor ever can be in the power of men to prevent them when law ceases to restrain the violence of the sword, which in the text is figuratively called “A WIND.” SLG 16.1

Verse 2nd. “And I saw another messenger ascending from the rising of the sun having a seal of the living God, and he cried with a loud voice to the four messengers to whom it was given to injure the earth and the sea”. SLG 17.1