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.