Continued from previous post,

“And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.” (Rev 8:1)

Adequate consideration having been given to the last events of the Lord’s life at the First Advent, and to the experience of the apostles at that time—these being a basis for understanding the future period of silence referred to in the Apocalypse, the silence that will occur at this end of the age—attention will now be focused on concluding events yet to come.

The lesson is that down here at the end of the Gospel Age, between the completion of the sacrifice of the last members of the elect body of The Christ and the future Time of Trouble, there will be a jubilation period in heaven above concurrent with a momentary void in the lives of those remaining below. Thus the seventh-seal silence refers to a situation somewhat similar to the closing events of the First Advent. The comparison is to the departure of the last members of the Little Flock beyond the veil of flesh while the secondary or Great Company class is left behind to await renewed strength and further investiture of the Holy Spirit. (As was typified by Elisha receiving a double portion of the spirit of Elijah)

When The Christ is complete, the half hour of silence will occur, preceding the earthquake. In other words, the silence will take place between the completion of the sacrifice and the Time of Trouble (the full outbreak of the Great Storm). It will accentuate the earthquake, and the earthquake will punctuate the silence. During this interim period, the Church will be formally presented to the Father and given their reward. After their grand entrance (2 Pet 1:11), God has a time scheduled—the exact length of which is unknown (perhaps six months more or less) —that will be a waiting period for the Great Company class.

 Very likely, the expression “about the space of half an hour” is meant to be commensurate with the last half of the future “HOUR of power” of the beast in Rev 17:12.

The Great Company will wait down here during the silence, realizing they have missed out on the high calling, sensing an experience of withdrawal and alienation, and wondering where they stand with the Lord.

The Bride will have made herself ready (Rev 19:7), and the Great Company will be deeply disappointed and chagrined at first, for but ever so brief a moment of time, that they were not chosen by the Lord. They will realize then that they have not been as faithful to their vows of consecration as they could have been. As a result, they will begin an introspection and examination of their lives and say, “I know the Lord has not been pleased with me to the extent of choosing me as his Bride, but I love the Lord, not the world, and now I need his forgiveness.” Accordingly, this class will cry unto the Lord for help (even as Elisha exclaimed: “Where is the LORD God of Elijah?” 2 Kings 2:14) Thus the period of silence will be beneficial in that it will awaken the Great Company (the “foolish virgins”) to their shortcomings and a realization of their need for more of the Holy Spirit.” (“Keys of Revelation”, Pages 201-205 edited)

Left Behind

“Just as in the type it was a prerequisite that Elisha see Elijah being taken, so in the antitype the Great Company will recognize the true Church having departed. The Elisha class will be given rejoicing experiences later, but first there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matt 25:1–13; Hab 3:18). Naturally the first to see or understand that the true church has been taken will be those of the Elisha class who have been walking all along with the Elijah class, the rest of the Elisha class or Great Company located in Babylon properly informed will likewise come to a realization of these events shortly thereafter.

“The Harvest [the time of special favor] is past, the summer is ended [winter has come, Compare Matt 24:20], and we [the tribulation class, the foolish virgins] are not saved” [not saved with the chief or great salvation, the salvation to which we aspired, the Heavenly Calling]. Jer 8:20

“The harvest has become a heap of ruins, a day of grief and desperate sorrow” (Isa 17:11)

When the door to the high calling closes, three classes, finding themselves outside, will weep and gnash, knock, and try to enter the door (Matt 7:21–23; Luke 13:24–30; Matt 22:2–13): the Great Company (1) without and (2) within the church systems, and (3) the Judas class, whose doom is oblivion (Jude 12, 13).

The Great Company will, however, be later comforted and told that it is blessed to go in to the marriage supper (Rev 19:9). The way the Holy Spirit came upon the apostles at Pentecost is similar in principle to the manner in which those of the Great Company will get the “double” portion of Elijah’s spirit after the Church is beyond the veil (2 Kings 2:9).

After the Bride of Christ is complete and the wedding ceremonies have subsided, a marriage supper will be prepared. The Bride will return down here to get her bridesmaids to come to this supper, but first the Great Company will have to be made ready by entering into the Time of Trouble and washing their robes white in the blood of the Lamb (Rev 7:14). They will be led into the wilderness “by the hand of a fit man” to get this experience (Lev 16:21). Then they will be rescued with the destruction of the flesh so that the spirit may be saved (1 Cor 5:5).

The Song of Solomon (8:8) reveals that the Bride will go to her companion, who is comely but has not been selected as the Bride because she is undeveloped, has no breasts, i.e., is flat-chested. The purpose is to mature or develop this “little sister” so that she can continue to be the companion of the Bride and enjoy the after-ceremony. While Psalm 45:14, 15 states that the bridesmaids will follow the Bride into the King’s palace, it does not mean they will enter immediately at the time of the wedding ceremony itself. Rather, the bridesmaids will be brought in afterwards. Today it is customary at weddings for bridesmaids to pick up the train of the bride and follow immediately after her. But in the antitype that is not the case, for the bridesmaids will not be at the marriage of the Bride and the Lamb, but will attend only the wedding supper.

An additional testimony of Holy Writ describes the void of silence:

“Though the fig tree does not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.” (Hab 3:17, 18 RSV)

The innermost feelings of an enlightened class—the Great Company—are reflected in these verses. They also faintly suggest a prior chagrin in not being chosen as the Very Elect, even though their feeling of disappointment has been changed to one of consolation and joy (Jer 8:20; Rev 19:7–9). The subject content of the above prophecy indicates that this class is knowledgeable concerning the signs which portend the end of the age and that the converging rays of prophecy are then about to come to a focal point of fulfillment, thus marking the due time for the establishment of Christ’s Kingdom.

The Habakkuk prediction, therefore, discloses a future moment or interval of time, as it were, “betwixt and between” the ages, in which all six enumerated conditions will apply, namely:

1. The blossoming forth of the fig tree—that is, the Jewish nation—to a full restoration of divine favor (Jer 31:31–34), though imminently near, is not yet fulfilled.

2. The other nations being, by implication, subsidiary vines or branches joined to Israel, the choice vine (Psa 80:11, 14, 15), to derive fruitage, nourishment, and life under the terms of the New Covenant (Isa 4:2; 25:6–9; Ezek 17:22–24) is also not yet fulfilled.

3. There is a failure in the yield of the olive and its oil—that is, a temporary diminution of the Holy Spirit, to be followed shortly thereafter by its restoration, as pictured in the parable of the Wise and Foolish Virgins (Matt 25:1–13; 2 Kings 2:9–13).

4. A worldwide crop failure or extreme food shortage prevails with an accompanying cessation of all commerce (Isa 8:21; 24:1–3); in addition, no new growth or yield of spiritual wheat is to be found, the call to be of the Bride class having terminated.

5. The Little Flock is absent, having been cut off in death from the earthly fold (2 Kings 2:11; 1 Thess. 4:17).

6. “No herd in the stalls” is a reference to the Ancient Worthies. Under the Law, the bullock offered in sacrifice, in lieu of or in Aaron’s stead (Lev 16:6), represented the man Christ Jesus as an offering for sin (Isa 53:10). A bullock in the type indicates perfect humanity (Psa 51:19; Mal 4:2, 3).

In the Habakkuk prophecy, the herd or bullocks picture those worthy ones (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, etc.) not yet made perfect (Heb 11:39, 40), not yet installed into office (Psa 45:16), i.e., into their appointed places.” (“Keys of Revelation”, Pages 201-205)

Continued with next post.