Please notice the author of The Great Controversy states
that Matthew 24 has two meanings… not three. She says nothing about
Matthew 24 applying to the Dark Ages.
Application # 1 "The
destruction of Jerusalem"
Application # 2 "The Last
Great Day"
Although other
prophecies are clearly referring to the 1260 years during the Dark Ages,
this period of time CANNOT be the final
fulfillment of Matthew 24 prophecies as some Bible students have previously
thought.
Compare the following verses carefully…
Matthew 24:21 For
then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the
world to this time, no,
nor ever shall be.
Was
the tribulation during the dark ages greater than that during the 7 last
plagues? Of course not!
Daniel 12:1 “…
and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a
nation even to that same time: …”
Daniel 12 refers to when probation closes and the 7
last plagues are poured out.
Daniel 12:1
(1)
And at
that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the
children of thy people:
and there shall be a time of trouble, such as
never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at
that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found
written in the book.
The seven last plagues will be the GREAT TIME OF TROUBLE,
greater than any previously experienced. Matthew 24:15 refers to the
writings of the Prophet Daniel, and then in verse 21 Jesus makes reference
again to Daniels writings using the very same language found in Daniel 12.
Matthew 24:20-22
(20) But pray ye that
your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day:
(21)
For then
shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world
to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
(22) And except those
days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the
elect's sake those days shall be shortened.
This is clearly a reference
to the same time of trouble. They both claim to be the greatest time of trouble the world
will ever experience. Daniel 12 is referring to the time of the 7 Last
Plagues; Matthew 24 is also referring to the time of the end, NOT the time
of the dark ages, or 1260 prophetic years of Daniel 7 and Revelation 12 &
13.
My deepest respect is offered as I say the following. The
dark day of the 18th century did not cause the actual fulfillment
of either Matthew 24 or Revelation 6. The falling of the stars in 1833 as
amazing as that was did not either? The Lisbon earth quake has been
surpassed by the earthquake that caused the tsunami in India in 2004. That
earthquake actually shifted the earth off its normal North and South Pole
access. The Lisbon earth quake did not do that!
Again please compare Matthew 24:21 to Daniel 12:1 over and
over again until this point sinks into your mind. The event of the sun moon
and stars from over 150 years ago was a wake up call, but it was not the
actual fulfillment of Matthew 24:29 or the sixth seal. Some Prophecy
students teach that we are living in the time of the middle of the sixth
seal. We need to realize that these events have NOT happened yet, and that
we need to wake up and sound the warning to the world of the coming
judgments.
Matthew
24:29
29 Immediately
after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and
the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and
the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
It is ONLY after this
“Great Time of Trouble” begins that the event of the sun, moon and stars
Predicted by Christ occurs. Dear heart, the events of the 18th
and 19th century serve as merely a shadow of what is going to
happen. We have not seen anything yet!
CONTINUE TO PART II