Three Woes and the Gospel

Extracted Verses and Quotes from the Sermon

Biblical Verses

Daniel 2

(Paraphrased) The statue in Daniel’s vision represents God’s control of history, showing that the prophecies extend from Daniel’s time to the second coming of Jesus.

Joel 2:1

“Blow the trumpet in Zion, and sound an alarm in my holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming; it is near.”

Joel 2:12-13

“Now therefore says the Lord: ‘Turn to Me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning.’ So rend your heart, and not your garments; return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness; and He relents from doing harm.”

Revelation 8:13

“I looked, and I heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, ‘Woe, woe, woe to the inhabitants of the earth, because of the remaining blasts of the trumpet of the three angels who are about to sound!’”

Revelation 9:1-11

“And the fifth angel sounded: And I saw a star fallen from heaven to the earth. To him was given the key to the bottomless pit. He opened the bottomless pit, and smoke arose out of the pit like the smoke of a great furnace. The sun and the air were darkened by the smoke of the pit. Then out of the smoke locusts came upon the earth. They were given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. They were commanded not to harm the grass or any green thing, or any tree, but only those men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads. They were not permitted to kill but to torment them for five months. And the torment was like the torment of a scorpion when it strikes a man. In those days men will seek death and will not find it; they will desire to die, and death will flee from them. The locusts looked like horses prepared for battle. On their heads were crowns like gold, their faces were like men’s faces, their hair like women’s hair, and their teeth like lions’ teeth. They had breastplates like breastplates of iron, and the sound of their wings was like the sound of chariots of many horses running into battle. They had tails like scorpions, and there were stingers in their tails. Their power was to hurt men for five months. They had a king over them, the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, but in Greek he has the name Apollyon.”

Isaiah 9:15

“The ancient and honorable, he is the head; and the prophet who teaches lies, he is the tail.”

Revelation 9:13-21

“Then the sixth angel sounded: And I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, saying to the sixth angel who had the trumpet, ‘Release the four angels who are bound at the great river Euphrates.’ So the four angels, who had been prepared for the hour and day and month and year, were released to kill a third of mankind. The number of the army of the horsemen was two hundred million; I heard the number of them. The horses and riders I saw in my vision had breastplates fiery red, hyacinth blue, and sulfur yellow. The heads of the horses were like the heads of lions, and from their mouths came fire, smoke, and brimstone. By these three plagues a third of mankind was killed—by the fire and smoke and brimstone coming out of their mouths. For the power of the horses was in their mouths and in their tails; their tails were like serpents with heads, and with them they do harm. The rest of mankind, who were not killed by these plagues, still did not repent of the works of their hands, nor give up worshiping demons and idols of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood; nor did they repent of murders, sorceries, fornication, or thefts.”

Revelation 11:14

“The second woe is past. Behold, the third woe is coming quickly.”

Revelation 10:1-11

(Describes the angel with one foot on land and one on sea holding an open scroll, the story of the Millerite movement, the great disappointment, and the command to prophesy again.)

Revelation 11:15-19

“Then the seventh angel sounded: And there were loud voices in heaven, saying, ‘The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever!’ And the twenty-four elders who sat before God on their thrones fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying, ‘We give You thanks, Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was, because You have taken Your great power and have begun to reign. The nations were angry, and Your wrath has come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that You should reward Your servants the prophets and the saints, and those who fear Your name, small and great, and should destroy those who destroy the earth.’ Then the temple of God was opened in heaven, and the ark of His covenant was seen in His temple. There were lightnings, noises, thunderings, an earthquake, and great hail.”

Daniel 11:45-12:1

“He shall plant the tents of his palace between the seas and the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and no one will help him. At that time Michael shall stand up, the great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people; and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation, even to that time. And at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone who is found written in the book.”

Isaiah 59:1-2

“Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; nor His ear heavy, that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear.”

1 Peter 3:7

“Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered.”

Mark 6:12

(Paraphrased) When the twelve disciples went out ministering, the name of Jesus came to Herod’s ears.

Memorable Quotes

“Studying the Word of God is like pouring the Atlantic Ocean into a little plastic cup—it expands your mind and grows you, and God challenges me and changes me in the process.”

“God is working on the lives of individual Muslims, even though Islam as a system of theology is against the gospel and Jesus Christ.”

“The doctrine of the secret Rapture really is a satanic heresy because it tells people they can wait to give their life to God until after the Rapture—and if they see the Rapture, then they know the Word of God is for real.”

“If we don’t accept historicism, we might as well close the doors and go home and re-join the Methodists or the Baptists—that’s the bottom line, folks.”

“Trumpets in Scripture are a warning sound that God is bringing judgment upon His people, calling them to repentance and renewal of their relationship with Him.”

“The first woe, or the fifth trumpet of Revelation, represents the initial upsurge of Islam under the leadership of the Arabs.”

“The locust-like creatures of the first woe have long hair and iron breastplates; the Arab Muslims rejoice in long flowing hair for their men and cavalry war breastplates—they sting like scorpions.”

“The Ottoman Empire’s competitive military advantage was their use of cannon and mastery of gunpowder—fire, smoke, and brimstone.”

“The 391 years and 15 days prophetic period corresponds to the Ottoman onslaught from 1299 to 1840, when the Ottoman Empire lost its independence and became subject to Christian powers.”

“Before the third woe strikes Earth, God calls out a people for Himself and restores the rightful role of the Scriptures to human society.”

“During the time of the third woe, a resurgent papacy supported by an apostate United States coerces the world into worshiping the mark of the beast.”

“The three woes are God’s final three offers of mercy to a dying world, calling us not to point fingers but to repent of anything in our lives that separates us from a holy God.”

“Our primary and only identity is as citizens of Heaven above, expecting our Savior the Lord Jesus Christ.”

“Sister White says during this time of the third woe there is to be a rapid and triumphant spread of the Gospel worldwide.”

“We are not called to sit on the sidelines; we are called to join the fray for God—to live circumspect, holy lives, to be reconciled with those around us, and to commit to proclaiming the everlasting gospel.”

“God never promised us He would take us from the battle; He promised He would stand with us in the midst of the battles.”

“May there be less of us and more of Jesus, and may the name of Jesus alone percolate through society.”

Other Quotations

Ellen G. White, The Great Controversy

“In the year 1840 another remarkable fulfillment of prophecy excited widespread interest. Two years before, Josiah Litch, one of the leading ministers preaching the second Advent, published an exposition of Revelation 9 predicting the fall of the Ottoman Empire and specifying not only the year but the very day on which this would take place.”

“The kingdoms of this world are soon to become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ. The seventh angel sounded, and there were great voices in heaven saying, ‘The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ; and He shall reign forever and ever.’ Then there is to be a rapid and triumphant spread of the gospel.”

“I saw that the anger of the nations, the wrath of God, and the time to judge the dead were separate and distinct, one following the other. From this, we conclude that before the third woe ends, the nations are angry. Before the close of probation—that is, during the period of the third woe which we are living in today—the world is to be convulsed by conflict and anger.”