November 3: VOLUNTARY SURRENDER BEFORE MEN
And they did not repent of their murders or their sorceries or their sexual immorality or their thefts. Revelation 9:21 NKJV
Remember that the Greek leg of the Holy Roman Empire had voluntarily surrendered its independence over to the Islamic power in 1449, as the period mentioned symbolically as five months (9:5,10) drew to a close. In essence, Constantine had declared before the sultan, “I cannot ascend to the throne and reign unless you permit.” Thus, the first woe (the 150-year period of torment launched on 27 July 1299) came to its prophesied end, only to face a worse scenario.
The second woe began immediately with the end of the first: 27 July 1449 – the last Constantine having just been crowned by representatives of the Ottoman government. Incredible! The idea of acquiescing to a human government rather than God Almighty is never a good one. The duration of the second woe was much longer than the first woe, and much more severe.
A drastic turn of events soon ensued when Amurath, the Turkish sultan by whose permission Constantine had been crowned, died. The new sultan, Mahomet II, determined to take for himself Constantinople. By mid-May 1453, the siege had ended, Constantine was dead, and Constantinople, long the eastern capital of the Caesars, became the seat of the Ottoman Empire. The remainder of the second woe continued to prove far worse than the first woe. The Islamic cavalry had been very much prepared for the hour and day and month and year (Revelation 9:15), period of their deadly commission – and in royal Turkish fashion to boot – this symbolic time reference adding up 391 years and 15 days. This unusual prophecy pointed to an exact date for the Islamic power to hand itself back over at the end of the 391 years and 15 days, voluntarily submitting to Christian powers in the same manner that they had gained power over the Christians. This occurred on 11 August 1840. According to the prophecy, it had to be the 11th (not the 10th or the 12th). An Adventist devotee of Scripture had carefully studied, calculated, and announced this date ahead of time, and the world was watching.
“God designs that men shall make a note of His judgements, and receive the lessons He thereby designs to convey. But how slow they are to learn, and how blind to the indications of Providence! The events that occurred under the sixth trumpet constituted the second woe, yet these judgements led to no improvement in the manners and morals of men. Those who escaped them learned nothing by their manifestation in the earth. The hordes of Saracens and Turks were let loose as a scourge and punishment upon apostate Christendom. Men suffered the punishment, but learned no lesson from it.” U. Smith Daniel and The Revelation (p.517)
The sixth trumpet is a vivid reminder of the propensity for spiritual blindness of fallen human nature. Each of us is meant to hear the message from God and therefore tune our spiritual hearing to His counsel alone. Satan specializes in making his wicked counsels appear mild and harmless, but beloved, this is in and of itself a great deception. Willingness to hear and heed the Lord’s lessons opens wide the door to brighter and greater light!
We would have healed Babylon, but she is not healed. Forsake her… for her judgement reaches to heaven and is lifted up to the skies. Jeremiah 51:9 (see also Revelation 18:4-5)