A response to Ministry magazine's article entitled:

Issues in the Interpretation of the Seven Trumpets of Revelation (Jan 2012).

In his article Issues in the Interpretation of the Seven Trumpets of Revelation (Ministry, January 2012), n!el "# Ro$r%!ue& !athere$ several interpretations that 'ere intro$uce$ in the Seventh($ay $ventist )hurch mostly to'ar$ the en$ of the 20th )entury# In the article he essentially attempts to esta*lish t'o main i$eas+ that the various interpretations !athere$ are all historicist, an$ that at the present time, a final interpretation is not availa*le in our church# -hile 'e may accept that every interpretation may *e improve$ upon an$ e.pan$e$, this superficial 'ay of $ealin! 'ith the matter $oes not ma/e 0ustice to the prophetic faith of our church# The Seventh($ay $ventist )hurch has an official interpretation on the trumpets that 'as emphatically $efen$e$ for more than a century an$ has never *een officially re0ecte$# 1n the contrary, it continues to *e preache$ *y many evan!elists throu!hout the 'orl$# fter $efinin! a clear position in 1232, our church reiterate$ its vie' on the trumpets in several con!resses of the 4eneral )onference (1225, 1601, 1605)# 7urin! these sessions the ori!inal position 'as $eeme$ fun$amental an$ foun$ational for the faith of our people, an$ 'as $eclare$ a lan$mar/ in $ventist history (see more references in my *oo/, The Mystery of the Apocalyptic Trumpets Unraveled)# -ith this in min$, an a$e8uate an$ valua*le stu$y of the trumpets to$ay re8uires a thorou!h analysis of the various reasons 'hy some mo$ern interpreters are $epartin! from the prophetic faith of our forefathers# Simply reportin! the confusion an$ chaos create$ in mo$ern times *y ne' theories of interpretation is insufficient# s I have $emonstrate$ on more than one occasion in my *oo/s an$ lectures, the current confusion create$ *y $iver!ent vie's first *e!an 'hen mo$ern 9rotestantism (an$ no' some circles of $ventism) no lon!er sa' Rome (the last empire foretol$ *y 7aniel) as *ein! 'orthy of the 0u$!ments of 4o$ for the crimes it committe$ a!ainst :is people# t the same time, several interpreters *e!an to impose rules of interpretation to the te.t that the ;i*le $oes not re8uire# Some of these entail classic s/eptical principles of mo$ern e.e!esis that are not compati*le 'ith the *i*lical an$ 9rotestant historicist le!acy 'e as $ventists have inherite$# This is repeate$ly confirme$ *y many scholars< reluctance to search for the fulfillment of prophecy in history# =inally, Ro$ri!ue&<s attempt to sho' that those 'ho spirituali&e the fulfillment of the trumpets of Revelation are nonetheless historicists fails from the start# In reality, it is safe to assume that no one $enies there are sym*ols in the *oo/ of Revelation# -hat 'e re0ect, ho'ever, is the va!ue an$ imprecise application of the apocalyptic prophecies that results 'hen they are re$uce$ to mere i$eas or philosophies unrelate$ to the entity that intro$uce$ them in history# ;a*ylon, for instance, is not 0ust a sym*ol of the apostasy of the latter $ays# It is Rome, an$ more $efinitely, the Roman )atholic )hurch an$ her *lasphemous prince# :er $au!hters are the apostate 9rotestant churches that follo' her e.ample# lso, >!ypt is not merely atheism, *ut the nation represente$ *y >!ypt (GC 2?6), 'hich in its specific historical moment 'as =rance, an$ 'hose influence reache$ the entire 'orl$# The Israel of 4o$ to$ay is not )hristianity in !eneral, or faithful "uslims, *ut the last remnant that /eeps the comman$ments of 4o$ an$ has the testimony of Jesus, or more precisely, the Seventh($ay $ventist )hurch# Similarly, the trumpets of Revelation represent armies that 4o$ raise$ to punish the oppressive Roman /in!$om alon! the centuries, an$ shoul$ not *e re$uce$ to mere philosophies# -hat every true historicist shoul$ re0ect is the current tren$ of avoi$in! the responsi*ility of concretely an$ specifically $efinin! the churches or /in!$oms that fulfill 'hat has previously *een announce$ for a specific moment in history#