~ Millerite Time Musings ~
Musings on the Millerite Time Repeating Now
Considering the 7 Thunders, the parallel between the fall of Islam in 1840 at the 1st Thunder, and the fall of Atheism in 1989 is clear (both are powers out of the "bottomless pit" that fell after a "long war"); and its easy to see the parallel between the Midnight Cry and the Loud Cry of the 4th Angel of Rev. 18, in the 6th Thunder; and its easy to see the parallel between the Close of Probation on Oct. 22, 1844 and the second coming of Jesus, in the 7th Thunder, but the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th Thunders don't seem so easy to apply to our time.
The three tests for SDAs at the end of the world are EGW, the Image to the Beast, and the National Sunday Law, but exactly where to place them in the 7 Thunders is challenging. The EGW issue has always been a test for some SDAs, just like the 3rd Angel's message has always been a test for the world. But its hard to tell just where the Image to the Beast test fits in (that's the next one coming up; the union of Church & State). Is the Image Test at the 2nd Thunder? Then the 2nd (and 4th) Angels' messages, "Babylon is fallen, is fallen," and the National Sunday Law go at the 7th Thunder? Or does the National Sunday Law go at the 2nd Thunder as the beginning of the Close of Probation "purifying and cleansing process" and continue until the final End of the "process" at Jesus' appearing, at the 7th Thunder? That would put the "Image Test" in-between the 1st and 2nd Thunders as a relatively "silent" event.
IF the "Image Test" (union of Church & State) is a "stealth event" between the 1st and 2nd Thunders, and the National Sunday Law is at the "fall of Babylon" at the 2nd Thunder, it is then fairly easy to see the other Thunders following it "in their order". The National (and then Universal) Sunday Laws (at the 2nd Thunder) will be quite a shock to God's people as the Laws progress around the world, and a "disappointment" paralleling the 3rd Thunder would likely follow, and there could then follow a corresponding "slump in activity" or a "Tarrying Time" paralleling the 4th Thunder.
After recovering their wits (and receiving the spiritual power of the Latter Rain in response to their earnest prayers), God's people could begin to proclaim the fall of Babylon, as the Millerites did in the 5th Thunder, which would swell into the Loud Cry, the call to "Come out of her My people", parallel to the Midnight Cry, in the 6th Thunder, just before Jesus comes at the 7th Thunder.
(Please view study #31 the MILLERITE "SEVEN THUNDERS" CHART)
Concerning the Trumpets, in conclusion, we can see that during the 7th Trumpet, the events of the first six Trumpets are repeated in a reverse-order fashion, and the events of the 7 Thunders are also repeated, and also during the repeat of the 7th Thunder, the Seven Last Plagues occur.
The Image Test:
"The Lord has shown me clearly that the image of the beast will be formed before probation closes; for it is to be the great test for the people of God, by which their eternal destiny will be decided. . . . [Rev. 13:11-17 quoted.]
"This is the test that the people of God must have before they are sealed. All who proved their loyalty to God by observing His law, and refusing to accept a spurious sabbath, [at the National Sunday Law] will rank under the banner of the Lord God Jehovah, and will receive the seal of the living God. Those who yield the truth of heavenly origin and accept the Sunday sabbath, will receive the mark of the beast." (Letter 11, 1890) {SDA Bible Commentary, vol. 7, p. 976, par. 3}