In The Great Controversy, pages 265-288 Ellen White identifies the power which opposed the two witnesses as revolutionary France. She also believed that the ideological forces which shaped the revolution would have a powerful impact again at the end of time: “. . . the world-wide dissemination of the same teachings that led to the French Revolution–all are tending to involve the whole world in a struggle similar to that which convulsed France.” Ed 228.
Since the power that opposed the two witnesses in Revelation is identified as the “beast which comes up out of the abyss” (Rev 11:7), it is intriguing to suspect that the fifth trumpet, which is concerned with the opening of the abyss and the tormenting powers that are thereby unleashed, may shed some light on the end-time manifestation of teachings that convulsed France some 200 years ago. While this pair of statements provided the intellectual stimulus for the historical application of the fifth trumpet that I currently favor, I must admit that the connections among all these are too tenuous to argue that Ellen White herself held that view.
But since a radical secularism interpretation of the fifth trumpet is plausible, based on the text of Revelation 9:1-11 in its larger context, it is very possible that the secular and post-modern developments of our time can be used by God to further His purposes. So-called post-moderism and related developments offer intriguing possibilities for rethinking how to frame ideas like gospel and church to meet the needs of a new generation. See my book Everlasting Gospel, Everchanging World for an elaboration of these ideas.
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True atheism and licentiousness were the tools that influence d France on its banning of the bible and exalting herself above God.
Right.
The beast that ascends from the bottomless pit must be understood as the same one who alone is shown to be thrown into it. This is none other than Satan himself, who has always opposed the will of God and has deceived every soul who will be lost. He hasn’t ascended yet, but prophecy tells us he will at the appointed time(Rev 17:8; 20:1-3). Those under his control in every age are simply doing his will, as Rev 11:7 points out. Who else would lead sinners to wage war upon the two witnesses that expose him and his deceptions, while also revealing the mercy and grace of God toward sinners who repent and believe? Easy for him to manipulate sinners, beginning with Eve, then Cain, and including those depicted in the 5th trumpet, etc, to oppose any and all Truth in those who are faithful to fulfill the will of the Lord, which is established in His commandments, statutes, and laws(Ps 40:8, Genesis 26:5).
Both the king of the south and king of the north(Dan 11:40) are active agents of the same beast, who, when loosed from the bottomless pit will deceive the nations one last time(Rev 20:7-9), only to be destroyed forever. Satan will be identified by the lost at last, who will say “Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms; that made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners”(Isa 14:16, 17)? Had they only believed the two witnesses, they could have been saved.
Concerning the “radical secularism interpretation of the fifth trumpet” being plausible”, how is that, given the present understanding of this history being the origin/rise of Islam, which fits the fulfillment that has been witnessed by the fall of the Ottoman empire in 1840, a precise fulfillment of the times given in the 5th and 6th trumpets? Don’t their teachings rather oppose secularism? If we look at the kings of the north/south depicted in Daniel 11, we see secularism(south) being opposed by the “religious”(north), BOTH being led by the same deceptive power in order to unite the whole world(Rev 13:8) against the faithful of the last generation(Dan 11:44,45, Rev 13:15).
Satan will use every deception accepted by the wicked to lead them to oppose God by opposing His faithful people on earth, and has done this in every age. He alone is shown in scripture to be thrown into, and to ascend from the bottomless pit.
Robert,
There’s a lot to work with here. Let me respond to two things. First, the view that the beast that arises from the bottomless pit is Satan after the Millennium is a plausible interpretation of Rev 17:8. My own teacher, Kenneth Strand, held that view. I didn’t emphasize it because it seems like an aside in the context. Since Satan works with earthly powers, I don’t see Rev 17 as either/or.
Regarding the fifth trumpet, the Josiah Litch view of sixth trumpet has a long history in the Adventist Church. We discussed that at length on the Daniel and Rev Committee in the years 1986-1991. Several held that view and sought to substantiate it textually and historically, but failed to do so. The problem is that Litch himself later repudiated the view and no one else has been able to demonstrate it since. William Shea wrote 400 pages for the Committee in an attempt to demonstrate it historically and exegetically, but in the end changed his mind. So there we are. It is a view one can hold, but the exegesis is questionable and the history even more so.