Jeff Pippenger is a diligent bible student. In the last 10 or more years he's applied some prophecies in Daniel and Revelation to our time. Recently he's applied the third woe/seventh trumpet of Revelation 11:15 to our day. http://www.thelatterrainisnow.com/thirdwoe.html. Is he using right principles of interpretation?

Here's something from his site:



I don't see how he gets from this that Ellen White says that an angry horse represents radical Islam. I couldn't find anywhere in Ellen White's writings that this was suggested.

I notice he is looking to apply prophecies to 9/11. I think this is a big mistake. Back in the late 30's/early 40's SDA's thought the coming of Christ was near because of Adolph Hitler. When JFK became the first Catholic president, there were SDA's thinking Christ's coming was near because of that. Many example of this could be given, but the SOP tells us as early as 1858 I think that "Christ could have come 'ere this." She says that Christ was bitterly disappointed that He could not come around the time the latter rain was being poured out in 1888 and thereafter. (I think this was 1903). It would hardly make sense for Christ to be disappointed if 9/11/2001 is prophesied in Scripture -- surely Christ would have known that.



The real reason for Christ's delay doesn't have to do with 9/11 or any other prophecy not being fulfilled, but with the rejection of the light which God gave to lighten the earth with glory. Rev. 18:1 (which Ellen White references here) is "that other angel," the loud cry of the third angel. Christ would have come very shortly had the message been heeded instead of rejected, and His coming will be very soon whenever the acceptance of this light takes place.

His application of multiple fulfillments is interesting. As I recall, Desmond Ford used a similar technique in his book "Daniel," but I'm not familiar enough with it to say how much the techniques used are similar or different.

Well, those are certianly things to consider. I'll try to make a few observations, maybe on Sabbath, on the methods he's using. One good thing about him - he stimulates my thinking.

By the way, I've been listening to David Fiedler's sermons from the 2008 GYC on 1888. He's a bit glib, but overall he has a good analysis. I agree with a lot of what he says - most of it.

Have you read any Were? I don't know if I have any "soft print" of his. I'll see if I can get some if you'd like. I think he has a very solid framework for studying prophecy; I can't think of anyone with a better one. It's very Christocentric and Gospel focussed.

Yes I've read some of Were. I think what I read was from the 1950's. I thought it was good.

I should point out that the site I linked to is anonymous. Jeff Pippenger almost certianly did not publish it. But I linked to it because it mirrors his teaching well and summarizes it. A lot of what Jeff presents is complex. This site is a good simplification. I don't endorse the contents. I question some of the methods he uses and his conclusions. But I enjoy reading any prophetic study that challenges my views and causes me to look at things from another angle and modify them.

Looking at things from different angles and having our thinking challenged is definitely helpful.

Yes, Pippenger is saying that 9/11 was the beginning of the fulfilment of the third woe of Rev 11:14-19:

More than this, in a nut shell, Pippenger is also saying that the sealing, the latter rain, and the judgment of the living for Adventists started on 9/11. He comes to that conclusion by a combination of applying what he calls the 'triple application principle' to the Bible prophecy and by putting together statements of Ellen White that do seem to associate the latter rain, the sealing and the judgment of the living together and by applying them to the Loud Cry message of Revelation 18:1-3. There is at least one statement from Sister White that can be interpreted to read that when skyscrappers in New York City fall, the Loud Cry will be given. Pippenger puts that statement together with her others to say that since the Twin Towers fell on 9/11, and since they were brought down by radial Islamic extremists, the Loud Cry began on that date and by association the other events - the sealing, latter rain and judgment of the living - did too. I agree with associating the Loud Cry, sealing, latter rain and judgment of the living together, but is it valid 1) to pin them to the 3rd woe of Revelation 11, and 2) is it valid to make 9/11 the fulfilment of the third woe?

Going back to his 'triple application principle', if you view some of his videos you can see that he has found several parallels in first, second and third applications of prophecies. Much of what he says is interesting and the result of careful observation. It's been a while since I looked at them so I can't recall many of the details, but I remember thinking that some of the connections he was making were remote/doubtful, and/or strained the meaning or context of the text. His logic is good, but if the connections he's making are not well founded to begin with, the logic isn't helpful in arriving at the conclusion.

A while after the fall of communism and the Berlin Wall, Pippenger got the attention of many conservative Adventists with his application of that event to Daniel 11:40:
He said that the King of the South was communism and that in 1989, the King of the North, the Papacy allied with the USA, overthrew it. At that time and up to now, Pippenger says that we will see the rest of chapter 11 fulfilled shortly. And in the big picture, I'm sure he's right. But was he right in applying that text to the fall of communism?

Personally, I think Elder Pippenger is mistaken on both interpretations - the 1989 fall of communism in Daniel 11 and the fall of the Twin Towers as the third woe of Revelation 11. But the more important issues are 1) where did he go wrong and 2), especially, where is he partly right. Recall that William Miller made major mistakes as well, but God used him in a mighty way regardless.

The same may be true of Brother Jeff. What I'm thinking of in particular is that fact that we Adventists, for the last 165 years have believed that the judgment of God and of the living is at some unknown time based on Ellen Whites statement that soon, none know how soon, the judgment will turn to the cases of the living. But we've ignored her equally inspired statements that today 'God is measuring you'. . . etc. For many years I've been convicted and told others that yes, the judgment of the living is going on individually. The scripture says judgment begins with us, the household of God. For those who have the light of the full gospel, that Christ can deliver from sin fully, the judgment is here friends. And, it's good news. Christ is our saviour and our Righteousness. Overall, that's that more important message and personally, I'm glad to see that Pippenger's message is having an impact.

Regarding where he's gone wrong, I'd say it seems like his initial misapplication of Daniel 11 was caused by the straight jacket that conservative Adventists put on reapplications of prophecy. Over the last four or so decades, Hope International and similar well meaning ministries stiffled open-minded investigation of the scriptures by doggedly following "Historic" interpretations of prophecy. Pippenger was affected by that closed environment. And that initial misapplication of Daniel 11 has lead to his current ones. But his conclusion that the latter rain is current reality and that we live in the sealing, judgment hour - in my view, those are timely, awsome, present truthes. God speed to you, Brother Jeff.