The golden vial was filled with the prayers of the saints that ascended to the heavenly sanctuary before the throne of God.
The golden vial will pour out its incense of smoke at the time of the seven last plagues in response to the saints' prayers.

Rev. 6:10 “…How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?” This prayer will be answered when the golden vial pour out its plague.

Rev. 18:20 “Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her”

Rev. 19:2, 3 “For true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood o f his servants at her hand. And again they said, Alleluia. And her smoke rose up for ever and ever.”

The smoke is depicted as prayers. By the reason of the smoke the sun and the air became darkened. How appropriate that the beast kingdom plagued with darkness (Rev. 16:10) and her smoke rose up for ever and ever (Rev. 19:3)!

What has filled the golden vial? It was filled with the prayers of saints (Rev. 5;8).

Why the golden vial poured out as plagues? It is God’s response for the prayers of the saints (Rev. 15:7).

Who ministers for the saints that send their prayers to the throne of God? Jesus Christ mixes His sweet incense to minster (Rev. 8:4).

When is the ministering of Jesus cease in the heavenly sanctuary? It finishes at the time of the ashes of the golden vial cast upon the earth (Rev. 8:5).

Is our prayers ascend to the throne of God return back to the earth as plagues? Yes, God hears our prayers. Rev. 6:10 “…How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?”

It was very interesting to meditate on the seven last plague judgments which poured out from the golden vials (Rev. 15:7).

The locusts that came out of the smoke received power to hurt the “inhabiters of the earth”. Thus the last three trumpet angels gave the warnings of the three woes to the inhabiters of the earth.

So the fifth trumpet warns the earth that the locusts will hurt them like scorpions excluding those who have the seal of God. If the locusts able to identify who have the seal of God or not, they are the spiritual beings, the evil angels.

The scorpions have power to strike and torment men. In those days, “men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them” (Rev. 9:6). They are so offensive and violent that they have breastplates of iron (verse 9) and teeth of Lions (verse 8). They are triumphant and swift that they have crowns of gold (verse 7) and sound as wings of chariots (verse 9). They are seductive as women (verse 8 –they had hair as the hair of women) and deceptive as men (verse 7 –their faces were as the faces of men). They have power to hurt men on the earth.

Those men on the earth were tormented and they “gnawed their tongues for pain” (Rev. 16:10) but they “repented not of their deeds” (Rev. 16:11).

Has anyone observed of the clear evidence that the fifth trumpet is warning to the fifth plagues?

That the "smoke" is false teachings, I agree.

On this thread however, any mention of the Adventist interpretation of the trumpets is vetoed out of hand. So don't be surprised as the author of the "studies" being presented is "reconsidering" that view -- in other words -- disagrees with it.


I agree with you -- and lean to the historicist (not futurist) interpretation of the trumpets.

There is no way that the smoke arising from Satan's domain which darkens the landscape is "the prayers of the saint".

Nor do I believe that the golden censor in Rev. 8 is the same as the golden vials containing the plagues, and that somehow it is "the prayers of the saints" that are poured out on the unbelievers causing the plagues.

There is DARK smoke of evil, and falsehood,
And there is the smoke of incense of prayers, and glorious, bright, smoke of righteousness --

They are NOT the same.

But then -- I find these studies as simply a strange mixture of playing with and mixing a lot of symbolism and whenever one tries to see a definite concrete meaning it all shifts to more and often different symbolism, till nothing seems to have any definite meaning anymore -- I've long ago given up trying to even get the basic meaning of what is presented on this thread, as it seems to shift and mix symbols so often becoming a veritable playground of playing with symbols.

That's not to say there aren't any good points, there are, but the overall "reconsidering" is confusion. The only consistent truth in the "study" is that there is trouble ahead with the forces of evil, and that somehow God will deal with it, those who are sealed have God's protection, those who are not suffer and loose eternity.
Sometimes the trumpets are presented in these "studies" as warnings before the plagues, sometimes as contemporary with the plagues --
but don't look for it to be the basic Adventists understanding, -- that will be vetoed out of hand. It's all taken out of the realm of history and earthly powers and placed in the realm of symbolic spirituality.

Isa. 28:10 For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:

This is my study that gave me an understanding how the prayers of the golden vial turns to the wrath of God.

Psalm 66:19 “But verily God hath heard me; he hath attended to the voice of my prayer.”
God of heaven hears our prayers.

Psalm 35:13 “But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth: I humbled my soul with fasting; and my prayer returned into mine own bosom.”
Prayers return to righteous as blessings.

Heb. 5:7 “Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared;”

Jesus Christ our righteousness. His ministration in the heavenly sanctuary makes possible to access to the throne of God. Jesus has the golden vial to receive saints' prayers. But those wicked cannot received God's grace and mercy even the saints pray for them.

Isa. 1:15 “And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood.”

Psalm 76:10 “Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee: the remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain.”

Notice that the king Hezekiah prayed and in response to his prayer the king of Assyria Sennacherib was slayed by the angel of the Lord.

Isa. 37:15 “And Hezekiah prayed unto the Lord, saying,”

Isa. 37:21,22 “Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent unto Hezekiah, saying, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Whereas thou hast prayed to me against Sennacherib king of Assyria: This is the word which the Lord hath spoken concerning him;…”

Isa. 37:36 “Then the angel of theI Lord went forth, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses.”

The prayers that ascended to the golden vial before the altar where Jesus ministrates now will eventually turn to the wrath of God and pour out as the last seven plagues to the wicked.

Rev. 5:8 "…and golden vials full of odors, which are the prayers of saints"

Rev. 8:3 "And another angel (Jesus Christ) came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne."

Rev. 8:4 "And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel's hand."

The golden vial with ashes will be casted into the earth when Jesus' ministration of the intercession ceases. The ashes that poured out upon the earth are the wrath of God in the seven last plagues, which displayed as voices, thunderings, lightnings, and earthquakes.

Rev. 8:5 "And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake".

Rev. 15:7 "And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever".

When the golden vials spill upon the earth, there are the terrors of the Lord.

Rev. 16:17,18 "And the seventh angel poured out his vial …"
"And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake,…"

Prayers of the saints ascend to the throne of God. The four beasts and the 24 Elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them…golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints(Rev. 5:8). The four beasts assist with the golden vials full of prayers.

"…How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?" (Rev. 6:10).

Saints of the Lord, Martyrs of Jesus and all the slain upon the earth (Rev. 17:6, 18:24) cry to the God of heaven and those prayers ascend in the golden vial before the throne of God.

This is the promise of God; "until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled" (Rev. 6:11).

Prov. 11:8 "The righteous is delivered out of trouble, and the wicked cometh in his stead"

At the time of the golden vial spills as the plagues, four beasts assist to hand down the seven last plagues to the seven angels. Now the golden vial is full of the wrath of God.

Rev. 8:13 KJV “And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels, which are yet to sound!”

Rev. 8:13 NASB “Then I looked, and I heard [a]an eagle flying in (A)midheaven, saying with a loud voice, “(B)Woe, woe, woe to (C)those who dwell on the earth, because of the remaining blasts of the trumpet of the (D)three angels who are about to sound!”

There is, in the verse, a call for an attention and urgency for the warning of coming dangers. The next three trumpets apparently voice dangers of the spiritual concern. We discovered the demonic activities upon the earth of the first woe that the fallen angel, the Satan, unleashing the mankind through his associate, the beast, to forbid receiving the seal of God. Thus the beast receives the fifth plague. Rev. 16:10 “ And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain,”

Interestingly, the beast kingdom does not repent but still blasphemed the God of heaven (Rev. 16:11).

This beast is one of the three unclean spirits. Rev. 16:13 “And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the (1) dragon, and out of the mouth of the (2) beast, and out of the mouth of the (3) false prophet.”

Notice that the threefold union gathers the whole world together. Rev. 16:14 “For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.”

If they do this they are actually getting into a trouble for themselves because their doing is religious alliance, another words, ecumenical movement. Their method is “working miracles”. The word “miracles” occurs only in religious realm. The sixth plague is this kind of ecumenical movement itself that the wrath of God release.

In the midst of the sixth plague, Jesus says to His saints, “Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame” (Rev. 16:15). No saints will joint the three unclean spirits because they are vigilant.

So can we call the ecumenical movement the sixth plague? Are they contemporary? Is this the time to watch and keep our garments? At what boiling point we say the sixth plague has begun?

The sixth plague poured upon the great river Euphrates, why? What does signify?
The Euphrates River was the fourth river in Genesis. “…And the fourth river is Euphrates” (Gen. 2:14).

God has covenanted with Abram, saying, “Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates:” (Gen. 15:18).

The river Euphrates signifies last boarder of the boundary of the end.

So Rev. 16:12 indicates, “…the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared”, which portrays Jesus’ second coming.

This is the plague that the unclean spirits are doing the Ecumenical Movement just prior to the Day of the Lord, the Second Coming of Jesus.

The bolts of God’s wrath are soon to fall and Jesus’ intercession is soon to cease. The wicked are gathering the “whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty” (Rev. 16:14). And the storm of God’s wrath is gathering too.

Warning message of the sixth trumpet must be sounded in all parts of the world that the four angels are “loose (-ing) the winds”, “which are … in the great river Euphrates” (Rev. 9:14). Then the probation is over when Jesus lifts His hands and with a loud voice says, “It is done.”

The four angels who were holding the four corners of the earth (Rev. 7:1-3) until the sealing of God is done, now the command comes out from the temple, which is the voice of God, (Rev. 16:13) to loose the hold.

The four angels of God do His bidding right away, at a point of time, which portrayed as “an hour and a day, and a month, and a year,” (Rev. 16:15).

The world is on the verge of a stupendous crisis now. The fearful seven last plagues are already begun to fall but still mingled with God’s mercy. We must tell the world, “come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues” (Rev. 18:4).

(Italics added by me)

Blessings Karen Y,

What does this mean that Jesus has finished His ministration in the Heavenly Sanctuary? Is Jesus done with the Judgment of who is saved and not? Is the entire Sanctuary service completed? What are you saying is the finishing of Jesus' ministration in the Heavenly Sanctuary?

I would to point you to a statement in Sister White's writings; SpM 2.1. In this statement Sister White says the fit man has got a hold of the scapegoat and this is while the seven last plagues are falling.

What do you make of all this?