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Last Updated on : Saturday, October 11, 2014

CONTENTS | Chart 1 | Chart 3 | Appendix/Chart 4

 

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The Book Unsealed

The Apocalyptic Scheme

Chart 2

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VIEW LARGER IMAGE

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This chart consists of a series of parallelograms of different colours, each of which represents a period of time. The one representing the longest period of time is that at the top, coloured grey. It represents the times in relation to the tree I was speaking of, that was cut down, - the stump of the tree remaining with its roots in the ground, banded with brass and iron. That tree represented the dominion and glory and majesty of the kingdom of men. As far as Nebuchadnezzar was concerned, his dynasty was to be removed, but the kingdom of men was to continue, as represented by the stump in the earth banded with brass and iron. Certain times are in God's arrangements appointed, in which men are permitted to govern themselves by their own institutions. God does not intend that mankind shall govern themselves for ever. They are not fit to govern themselves. Experience has proved it. If it had not been for God's supervision of their affairs, the world would have been a perfect pandemonium by this time.  

The times allotted for the duration of the kingdom of men are expressed in seven symbolic times, commencing with the overthrow of the Jewish Commonwealth by the arms of Nebuchadnezzar, about 612 years before the birth of Jesus, and continuing 2,520 years from that date down to the establishment of the millennium. When the judgments that remain to be poured out have been exhausted, the result will be the establishment at the end of the seven times of the kingdom of men, of the kingdom of God, represented by the yellow downward stripe at the right hand side of the chart, called "the Millennium or aion of the kingdom." This long period of 2,520 years is called by Jesus "the times of the Gentiles." In his prophecy concerning the destruction that was in his day impending over the Jewish nation, he says (Luke 21:24), "Jerusalem shall be trodden under the feet of the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled." When those times are run out, the Gentiles will have no more right to govern themselves and no more power over Jerusalem. There will be no more vote by ballot. The people will not be consulted as to who should rule over them. God will give them rulers as He thinks proper, and they will be obliged to submit. The time for the self-government of the devil will have passed away. The world will have had enough of that.

The next parallelogram (pink) represents the somewhat shorter period of 2,400 years of which I have just been speaking. It is placed in such a position as to show its commencement relatively to the seven times of the Babylonian tree, and its termination with reference to their termination. It commences B.C. 540, and terminates A.D. 1860. So that it begins after, and ends before the seven times. The interval between 1860 and the end of the seven times is the time during which the events are developed that result in the demolition of the kingdom of men, and the establishment of the kingdom of God.

The next parallelogram comprehends three periods; first, the seventy weeks, of which I have already spoken, represented by the first section of the parallelogram (green). They commenced B.C. 456, and terminated at the crucifixion. Then from the day of Pentecost, fifty days after the crucifixion, to the establishment of the apostacy, under Constantine (the Great, so-called, and by Catholics described as the first Christian emperor), is a gestation interval of 280 years, during which the mystery of iniquity, which began to work in the apostles' days, developed into the Man-child of Sin, who was born as the champion of the Catholic woman. This is represented by the grey portion of the line, coming after the seventy weeks. The birth took place during the revolution contemporary with the Donatist trials in 312-16, after the birth of Jesus. From the manifestation of the first Catholic emperor - characterised by these Donatist trials, in the epoch 312-16 - down to the massacre of St. Bartholomew, when the powers that be, began to make war against the two witnesses who protested against the abominations of the middle ages - which war continued 113 years, and resulted in the death of the witnesses - is a period of 1,260 years. This period is represented by the third (green) portion of the line, and conducts to the epoch, 1572-76.

In the eleventh chapter of the Apocalypse, we read of a certain power called the god of the earth. The witnesses are represented in that chapter as standing in the presence of the god of the earth. That god of the earth is the power represented by Daniel's little horn, with eyes and mouth, and the throne of his godship is the seven hills of Rome. The god of the earth is still a power existing in Rome - a city called by those who don't know what they are talking about, the Eternal City. The god of the earth is familiarly known as the Pope. He is the ecclesiastical element of the power referred to by Paul in his 2nd Epistle to the Thessalonians, chap. 2, as the Man of Sin, who should oppose and exalt himself above all that was called God, or every power to whom political and religious obedience is yielded, and who should sit in a temple as a god - not the true God, yet openly showing himself that he is a god. That performance you may see every year in connection with the festivals celebrated in the Cathedral of St. Peter's at Rome, which is the temple of the god of the earth, where he sits on a high altar, and is worshipped by the cardinals who kiss his toe.

The development and career of this god of the earth are represented by the fourth parallelogram. The small grey portion to the left represents the gestative period of 280 years from the Council of Nice, or the Pentecost of the Apostasy, during which the Harlot Church was pregnant with the god of the earth; and at the end of which, viz., in 608, he was fully born by the decree of Phocas, which confirmed the bishop of Rome head of all the churches.

The small detached green patch to the left, below the fourth line, represents the opening of the seventh seal, which was characterised by silence politically for half-an-hour, or 15 years, after the political heaven had been convulsed by that war by which the Pagan dragon was cast out by the champion of the Catholic Woman - the Man-child of Sin. Until the death of Constantine in 337, there was perfect peace and quietude in the Roman world. That was characteristic of the opening of the seventh seal, under which seventh seal we are now living.

The two other green patches on a line with the one I have just noticed, but farther to the right of the Chart, represent the complications developed by the fifth trumpet in the organisation of the Mohammedan power, and the letting loose of the Saracens in the year 632, when the battle of Muta commenced their invasion of the Byzantine empire. They were to prevail five months of years, at the end of which, having reached the turning point, they were to commence to decline, and continue declining for another five months of years, when they were to come to an end. This came to pass. The Saracens were submerged in the Turkish power in 932 - exactly ten months of years - or 300 years - from their invasion of the Greek empire. The period comprehends all that you read in history about the crusades in the middle ages. The second square, farther to the right, represents the period during which the four angels were loosed from the river Euphrates - that is, the four Mohammedan Euphratean powers were developed, resulting in the formation of the Turkish power, which overthrew Constantinople on May 29th, 1453. They were prepared for an hour, a day, a month, and a year, or 391 years, 30 days, which was exactly the time that elapsed between the crossing of the Euphrates by Arslan the Valiant (1062), and the fall of Constantinople (1453). The Turks have held Constantinople from that day to this.

The three parallel belts at the bottom of the chart represent three distinct periods. The first (grey) - that with the interrupted lines - represents an historical period, arrived at by calculating the times that actually transpired between certain events as bearing upon certain symbols employed in the Apocalypse, viz., the interval that elapsed between the issue of the Justinian edicts, A.D. 531, in the reign of the emperor whose name they bear, and the abolition of them in 1789, when the French Revolution broke out, and by its extraordinary effects, arrested general attention to the fact that it marked an epoch in prophecy. Between these two dates is an exact period of 1,260 years. This is the period mentioned in connection with the operations of the two symbolic witnesses. Their connection drew attention to the relation of that symbol to the events that transpired within that long period.

The square at the end of the belt represents a prophetic period that has to do with the events marking the close of the "forty and two months," or 1,260 day-years. The witnesses were made war upon by the system of powers constituting modern Europe. This system of powers is represented by a beast coming up out of the Mediterranean waters in a stormy period, with seven heads and ten horns, and a name of blasphemy upon its heads. The beast is represented as making war upon the witnesses, and overcoming them, and putting them to death, notwithstanding the issue of devouring fire from their mouths. We recognise the accomplishment of this calamity in the war initiated by the massacre of St. Bartholomew. This war against the witnesses continued 113 years, so that in 1685 they lay politically dead, being unable any longer to bear a living testimony against the reigning apostasy. They remained dead for a period of 105 years, answering to 3 lunar days, mentioned as the period of their decease. Afterwards, their resurrection took place. We (the Christadelphians) live in the epoch of their resurrection. We belong to the same class of people. Before 1789, the witness-class existed, but were unable to deliver their testimony. We exist, but our testimony is free, and no man can stop us.

This means something. The class to which we belong was prevailed against by the powers that be, and continued in political death three lunar days and a half of years - that is, 105 years, which extend from 1685, when their death was accomplished, to 1789, when the French Revolution released them from their death-state, and caused them to stand upon their feet, and to ascend in a storm-cloud to the place of power, to the "terror" of their enemies, the Catholic kings and nobles of the earth; for they established the "reign of terror," abolished, for a time, the Catholic religion in France, and the names and titles of men. Their political champion is known in history as "The Great Napoleon."

That was the political resurrection of the witnesses, preceding their spiritual resurrection. The one resurrection had to take place before the other was possible. We have lived to witness the spiritual sequel to the political resurrection of the witnesses. A resurrection has been developed before your eyes of the testimony which was originally set forth in the gospel preached by Jesus and the apostles 1,800 years ago. That doctrine is so different from anything you can hear from the pulpits in Europe or America, that they all concur in denouncing it as infidelity and blasphemy, and everything that is abominable. It is the greatest compliment they can pay us to stigmatize our doctrine in this way.

The second of the belts (coloured pink) is representative of a period named only once - in Daniel's prophecy, last chapter, where Daniel was told that there was to be a desolating abomination, which should overspread the land for 1,290 years, or until that determined should be poured upon the desolator of the Holy Land. I need scarcely tell you who that is. You know that the Holy Land is a province of the Turkish Government, and you all know what sort of a Government the Turkish Government is. The Turkish Government improves nothing, but desolates and destroys everything. It was destined, in God's arrangement, that the Holy Land should be protected in the enjoyment of its Sabbaths by the rule of a despotism which would prevent the land from being cultivated. This, however, was only to continue until that determined should be poured out upon the desolator himself; and that which was predetermined to be poured out is represented in the 16th chapter of the Apocalypse as the sixth vial of the wrath of God, poured upon the river Euphrates - the symbol of the Ottoman power - that the water or power of the river might be dried up for a certain specific purpose - that the way of the kings from a sun's rising might be prepared. These kings, from the sun's rising, are the saints who are to be manifested when the power of the Sun of Righteousness, who is to rise with healing in his beams, shall cause them to come forth and grow up as calves of the stall, preparatory to the treading of the wicked as ashes under the soles of their feet (Mal. 4:1-3).

The last of the three parallelograms (coloured green) represents another period mentioned only once, viz., in the 12th chapter of Daniel - the 1,335 days. Daniel was told he should go to his rest, and that he should stand in his lot or rise to his lot at the end of the days - that is, of the 1,335 days or years. The 1,335 years, reckoned from a certain date, were entirely to expend themselves before that new series of events should commence, which should include the resurrection of the dead. Then Daniel would stand in his lot - not that the resurrection of the dead would take place the very year after the 1,335 years were accomplished; but that the series of events developed in the 1,335 years were first to elapse, and then a new order of events would be developed, one of the elements of which would be the resurrection of the dead, when Daniel and the rest of the prophets would come forth and stand in their lot in the end of the 1,335 days or years.

 

 

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