A Seal of the Living God

OBJECTIONS TO LITERAL MESSENGERS

A question arises here: What is it? Why you have attempted to give a symbolic, or figurative exposition of the words four messengers; may they not be explained in a literal sense? I think not, for the following reasons! SLG 5.2

1. The servants of God will not know when, nor how, or for what they are sealed. But it is evident they will know, for John’s instructor says to him, “these sayings are faithful and true, and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his messenger to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done.” 22:6. Jesus says, I have sent my messenger to testify to you these things in the churches, 16th verse. Again, blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book, 7th verse. Also they that read and hear the same, 1:3. These four texts certainly teach that God’s servants will eventually understand this prophecy. If they do not understand it sufficiently clear to know when, and how, and for what they are sealed; then the work will be silent, irresistible, and passive; and of course the prophecy unintelligible. Paul asks the question how we shall hear without a preacher, (or teacher,) and answers thus, “so then faith cometh by hearing.” - Rom. So also this prophecy. SLG 5.3

2. If these four messengers are literal they are of course invisible, then of course the sealing messenger in the 2nd verse is invisible, and his crying with a loud voice to the other four invisible messengers to whom it was given to injure the earth and sea; not to injure the earth, sea nor trees till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads, making it both in the singular and plural number, is making the subject if taken in a literal sense still more obscure. SLG 5.4

3. The strong inference would be that the first four had all the power to injure the earth, and yet did not understand but they ought to injure the earth and sea, and would do it if the sealing messenger did not cry with a loud voice for them to (hold on) injure not, etc. SLG 6.1

FURTHER. If it be said that God’s servants and the wicked nations of the earth and sea are to be the visible actors in this prophecy, (and I fully believe they are and will be,) and that the prophecy is to be exemplified and explained in character with the work of the invisible messengers, then the same difficulties remain. I will not say that they cannot be removed, and the subject made plain while knowledge is increasing. The truth is all we seek for; that only will save us. SLG 6.2

If it be said that the sealing messengers will not fulfil this prophecy by calling with loud voices to Great Britain, France, Russia, and the United States not to injure the earth, nor sea, etc., I answer that the same or a more serious difficulty would present itself under the literal rendering. I have two more serious objections from this prophecy against these messengers in the text being literal, and strongly in favor of the figurative view which I have given on the fourth page. SLG 6.3

First - in the 15 chapter, John saw a wonderful sign in heaven, viz: seven messengers, having the seven last plagues, (well says the reader these must be literal, that is, invisible.) In the 17:1-3, one of these messengers talks with John and shows him the judgment of the great harlot and of the wild beast. He also explains the secret of the woman and wild beast, 7th verse. A little further on he says “these are the true sayings of God.” “And I fell at his feet to worship him, and he saith to me, see thou do it not, I am thy fellow servant and of thy brethren who have the “Testimony of Jesus,” “worship God.” 19:9, 10. SLG 6.4

Again in 21 chapter, one of the same seven messengers took him and showed him the “bride, the lamb’s wife,” “the New Jerusalem.” 9,10. “And he that talked with me measured the city, etc. 15,16. John fell as before to worship him; he repeats again what I have written above. 22:9. SLG 6.5

Now these were not invisible messengers; they are men that worship God as John did. Mark, they kept the “Testimony of Jesus.” Neither could they be Enoch or Elijah, the only two according to the bible view that ever were received into Heaven, because they did not here keep “the Testimony of Jesus.” Now then as these wonderful messengers were literally men, so I believe those brought to view in our text are. SLG 7.1

Second objection - I now come to a part of John’s vision which bears some of the distinctive marks of the one in our text, viz; 9 chapter. And the sixth messenger sounded - and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, saying to the sixth messenger having the trumpet, loose the four messengers who are bound near the great river Euphrates. And the four messengers were loosed, who were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, that they might slay the third part of men. And the number of the armies of the horsemen was to hundred thousand thousand. And I heard the number of them. SLG 7.2

A day for a year, gives the time 391 years and fifteen days. The sounding of this trumpet as we have frequently been shown, ended in August, 1840. According to history these four messengers were four principal tribes or hordes of people living near or by the river Euphrates, viz: Arabs, Turks, Tartars, and Saracens who under the sounding of the sixth trumpet united themselves under the banners of the Mohammedan power to destroy the third part of men, or Greek division of the eastern Roman Empire. For after Constantine his empire was divided into three parts. And the rest of the men who were not killed by these plagues (the arms, powder and bulls, by the hands of these four messengers.) yet repented not of the works of their hands that they should not worship the demons and idols of gold, and silver, and of brass, and of stone, and of wood—nor of their murders, sorceries, fornication, nor thefts. It is recorded that the Greeks were notoriously guilty of these their prevailing sins. SLG 7.3

If it could be clearly proved that the sixth trumpet was yet to sound, yet the case is irrefutable that these four messengers or angels are not invisible ones. They were bound, restrained, had the same power to injure, when loosed as those in our text. And when loosed it was by the command of God from the four horns of the Golden Altar. 12th verse says, “And they have a king over them who is the messenger of the bottomless pit - his name is Abaddon or Apollyon,” if you please one of the devils right hand chieftains. Surely no one in their right senses will doubt for a moment but these five messengers or angels were wicked, ungodly men. Now there is nothing in the whole book of Revelations that represents the four messengers in the 7:1-3, so distinctively as these four. Therefore I am constrained to believe that these in our text represent the wicked governments as they are now organized. SLG 8.1