The Final
Warning
“I saw another
angel come down from heaven, having
great power, and the earth was
lightened with his glory. And he
cried mightily with a strong voice,
saying, Babylon the great has fallen,
is fallen, and is become the
habitation of devils, and the hold of
every foul spirit, and a cage of
every unclean and hateful bird.”
“And I heard another voice from
heaven, saying, Come out of her, My
people, that ye be not partakers of
her sins, and that ye receive not her
plagues.” Revelation 18: 1, 2,
4.
This scripture points
forward to a time when the
announcement of the fall of Babylon,
as made by the second angel of
Revelation 14 (verse 8), is to be
repeated, with the additional mention
of the corruptions which have been
entering the various organizations
that constitute Babylon, since the
message was first given, in the
summer of 1844. A terrible condition
of the religious world is here
described. With every rejection of
truth the minds of the people will be
come darker, their hearts more
stubborn, until they are entrenched
in their infidel hardihood. In
defiance of the warnings that God has
given, they will continue to trample
upon one of the precepts of the
Decalogue, until they are led to
persecute those who hold it sacred.
Christ is set at nought in the
contempt placed upon His word and His
people. As the teachings of
spiritualism are accepted by the
churches, the restraint imposed upon
the carnal heart is removed, and the
profession of religion will become a
clock to conceal the barest iniquity.
A belief in spiritual manifestations
opens the door to seducing spirits
and doctrines of devils, and thus the
influence of evil angels will be felt
in the churches.
Of Babylon, at the
time brought to view in this
prophecy, it is declared: “Her
sins have reached unto heaven, and
God hath remembered her
iniquities.” Revelation 18:5.
She has filled up the measure of her
guilt, and destruction is about to
fall upon her. However, God still has
a people in Babylon; and before the
visitation of His judgments, these
faithful ones must be called out,
that they partake not of her sins and
“receive not of her
plagues.” Hence the movement
symbolized by the angel coming down
from heaven, lightening the earth
with his glory and crying mightily
with a strong voice, announcing the
sins of Babylon. In connection with
his message the call is heard:
“Come out of her, My
people.” These announcements,
uniting with the third angel’s
message, constitute the final warning
to be given to the inhabitants of the
earth.
Fearful is the issue
to which the world is to be brought.
The powers of earth, uniting to war
against the commandments of God, will
decree that, “all both small and
great, rich and poor, free and
bond” (Revelation 13:16), shall
conform to the customs of the church
by the observance of the false
sabbath. All who refuse compliance
will be visited with civil penalties,
and it will finally be declared that
they are deserving of death. On the
other hand, the law of God enjoining
the Creator’s rest day demands
obedience and threatens wrath against
all who transgress its precepts.
With the issue, thus
clearly brought before him, whoever
shall trample upon God’s law to
obey human enactment receives the
mark of the beast; he accepts the
sign of allegiance to the power that
he chooses to obey instead of God.
The warning from heaven is: “If
any man worship the beast and his
image, and receive his mark in his
forehead, or in his hand, the same
shall drink of the wine of the wrath
of God, which is poured out without
mixture into the cup of His
indignation.” Revelation 14: 9,
10.
However, not one is
made to suffer the wrath of God until
the truth has been brought home to
his mind and conscience, and has been
rejected. There are many who have
never had an opportunity to hear the
special truths for this time. The
obligation of the fourth commandment
has never been set before them in its
true light. He who reads every heart
and tries the motive will leave none
who desire a knowledge of the truth,
to be deceived as to the issues of
the controversy. The decree is not to
be urged upon the people blindly.
Everyone is to have sufficient light
to make his decision intelligently.
The seventh day
Sabbath will be the great test of
loyalty, for it is the point of truth
especially controverted. When the
final test shall be brought to bear
upon men, then the line of
distinction will be drawn between
those who serve God and those who
serve Him not. While the observance
of the false sabbath in compliance
with the law of the state, contrary
to the fourth commandment, will be an
avowal of allegiance to a power that
is in opposition to God, the keeping
of the true Sabbath, in obedience to
God’s law, is an evidence of
loyalty to the Creator. While one
class, by accepting the sign of
submission to earthly powers,
receives the mark of the beast, the
other choosing the token of
allegiance to divine authority,
receive the seal of God.
Heretofore those who
presented the truths of the third
angel’s message have often been
regarded as mere alarmists. Their
predictions that religious
intolerance would gain control in the
United States, that church and state
would unite to persecute those who
keep the commandments of God, have
been pronounced groundless and
absurd. It has been confidently
declared that this land could never
become other than what is has been
– the defender of religious
freedom. However, as the question of
enforcing Sunday observance is widely
agitated, the event so long doubted
and disbelieved is seen to be
approaching, and the third message
will produce an effect that it could
not have had before.
In every generation,
God has sent His servants to rebuke
sin, both in the world and in the
church. However, the people desire
smooth things spoken to them, and the
pure, unvarnished truth is not
acceptable. Many reformers, in
entering upon their work, determined
to exercise great prudence in
attacking the sins of the church and
the nation. They hoped, by the
example of a pure Christian life, to
lead the people back to the doctrines
of the Bible. However, the Spirit of
God came upon them as it came upon
Elijah, moving him to rebuke the sins
of a wicked king and an apostate
people; they could not refrain from
preaching the plain utterances of the
Bible – doctrines which they had
been reluctant to present. They were
impelled to zealously declare the
truth and the danger that threatened
souls. The words that the Lord gave
them they uttered, fearless of
consequences, and the people were
compelled to hear the warning.
Thus, the message of
the third angel will be proclaimed.
As the time comes for it to be given
with greatest power, the Lord will
work through humble instruments,
leading the minds of those who
consecrate themselves to His service.
The laborers will be qualified rather
by the unction of His Spirit than by
the training of literary
institutions. Men and women of faith
and prayer will be constrained to go
forth with holy zeal, declaring the
words that God gives them. This
special group of the 144,000 servant
prophets will go into Babylon and lay
open the sins of the multitudes
before three different classes of
people. I will explain these three
groups later in this article. The
fearful results of enforcing the
observances of the church by civil
authority, the inroads of
spiritualism, the stealthy but rapid
progress of the papal power –
all will be unmasked. By these solemn
warnings, the people will be stirred.
Thousands upon thousands will listen
who have never heard words like
these. The opening of the Great
Tribulation will be sudden and with
it tremendous destruction of this
planet. The first four trumpets will
fall upon earth during quick
succession and our world will be
reeling under God’s wrath and
people for the first time will want
answers to their questions. In
amazement, they will hear the
testimony that Babylon is the
church-state, fallen because her
errors and sins, because of her
rejection of the truth sent to her
from heaven. As the people go to
their former teachers with eager
inquiry, are these things so? The
ministers present fables, prophesy
smooth things, to soothe their fears
and quiet the awakened conscience.
However, since many refuse to be
satisfied with mere authority of men
and demand a plain “Thus saith
the Lord,” the popular ministry,
like the Pharisees of old, filled
with anger, as their authority
questioned, will denounce the message
as of Satan and stir up the
sin-loving multitudes to revile and
persecute those who proclaim it.
As the Great
Tribulation extends into new fields
and the minds of the people are
called to God’s downtrodden law,
Satan is astir. The power attending
the 144,000’s message will only
madden those who oppose it. The
clergy will put forth almost
superhuman efforts to shut away the
light lest it should shine upon their
flocks. By every means at their
command, they will endeavor to
suppress the discussion of these
vital questions. The church appeals
to the strong arm of civil power,
and, in this work, papists and
Protestants unite. As the movement
for Sunday enforcement becomes more
bold and decided, the law will be
invoked against commandment keepers.
They will be threatened with fines
and imprisonment, and some will be
offered positions of influence, and
their steadfast answer is: “Show
us from the word of God our
error” – the same plea that
was made by Martin Luther under
similar circumstances. Those who are
arraigned before the courts make a
strong vindication of the truth, and
some who hear them are led to take
their stand to keep all the
commandments of God. Thus, light will
be brought before thousands who
otherwise would know nothing of these
truths.
Conscientious
obedience to the word of God will be
treated as rebellion. Blinded by
Satan, the parent will exercise
harshness and severity toward the
believing child; the master or
mistress will oppress the
commandment-keeping servant.
Affection will be alienated; children
will be disinherited and driven from
home. The words of Paul will be
literally fulfilled: “All that
will live godly in Christ Jesus will
suffer persecution.” 2 Timothy
3:12. As the defenders of truth
refuse to honor the Sunday-sabbath,
some of them will be thrust in to
prison, some will be exiled, and some
will be treated as slaves. To human
wisdom, all this now seems
impossible; but the restraining
Spirit of God shall be withdrawn from
men, and they shall be under the
control of Satan, who hates the
divine precepts, there will be
strange developments. The heart can
be very cruel when God’s fear
and love are removed.
As the storm of the
Great Tribulation approaches, large
classes who have professed faith in
the third angel’s message, but
have not been sanctified through
obedience to the truth, abandon their
position and join the ranks of the
opposition. By uniting with the world
and partaking of its spirit, they
have come to view matters in nearly
the same light; and when the test is
brought, they are prepared to choose
the easy, popular side. Men of talent
and pleasing address, who once
rejoiced in the truth, employ their
powers to deceive and mislead souls.
They become the bitterest enemies of
their former brethren. When Sabbath
keepers are brought before the courts
to answer for their faith, these
apostates are the most efficient
agents of Satan to misrepresent and
accuse them and by false reports and
insinuations to stir up the rulers
against them.
In this time of
persecution, the faith of the
Lord’s servants will be tried.
The 144,000 have faithfully given the
warning of the three angel’s
message, and are looking to God and
His word alone. God’s spirit,
moving upon the hearts, has
constrained them to speak. Stimulated
with holy zeal, and with the divine
impulse strong upon them, they
entered upon the performance of their
duties without coldly calculating the
consequences of speaking to the
people of the world that the Lord has
given them. They have not consulted
their temporal interests, nor sought
to preserve their reputation or their
lives. Yet, when the storm of
opposition and reproach bursts upon
them, some, overwhelmed with
consternation, will be ready to
exclaim: “had we foreseen the
consequences of our words, we would
have held our peace.” They are
hedged in with difficulties. Satan
assails them with fierce temptations.
The work that they have undertaken
seems far beyond their ability to
accomplish. They are threatened with
destruction. The enthusiasm that
animated them is gone; yet, they
cannot turn back. The Seventh Trumpet
of God is about to sound in heaven
that will close probation for all
eternity. Then, feeling their utter
helplessness, they flee to the Mighty
One for strength. Many if not all of
the 144,000 servant-prophets have
been murdered by wicked men for their
powerful testimony about the
commandments of God and His eternal
messages of the three angels. They
remember that the words that they
have spoken were not theirs, but His
who bade them give the warning. God
put the truth into their hearts, and
they could not forbear to proclaim
it, they have been sealed with God at
the beginning of the Great
Tribulation because they are first
fruits of God and the Lamb.
The same trials have
been experienced by men of God in
ages past. Wycliffe, Huss, Luther,
Tyndale, Baxter, Wesley, urged that
all doctrines be brought to the test
of the Bible and declared that they
would renounce everything which it
condemned. Against these men
persecutions raged with relentless
fury; yet they ceased not to declare
the truth. Different period in
history of the church have each
marked by the development of some
special truth, adapted to the
necessities of God’s people at
that time. Every new truth has made
its way against hatred and
opposition; those who were blessed
with its light were tempted and
tried. The Lord gave a special truth
for the people in an emergency. Who
dare refuse to publish it? He
commands His servants to present the
last invitation of mercy to the
world. They cannot remain silent,
except at the peril of their souls.
Christ’s ambassadors have
nothing to do with consequences. They
must perform their duty and leave
results with God.
As the opposition
rises to a fiercer height, the
servants of God are again perplexed;
for it seems to them, they have
brought the crisis. However, the
conscience and the word of God assure
them that their course is right; and
although the trials continue, they
are strengthened to bear them. The
contest grows closer and sharper, but
their faith and courage rise with the
emergency. Their testimony is:
‘We dare not tamper with
God’s word, dividing His holy
law; calling one portion essential
and another nonessential, to gain the
favor of the world. The Lord of whom
we serve is able to deliver us.
Christ has conquered the powers of
earth; and shall we be afraid of a
world already conquered?”
Persecution in its
varied forms is the development of a
principle that will exist as long as
Satan exists and Christianity has
vital power. No man can serve God
without enlisting against himself the
opposition of the hosts of darkness.
Evil angels will assail him, alarmed
that his influence is taking prey
from their hands. Evil men, rebuked
by his example, will unite with them
in seeking to separate him from God
by alluring temptations. When these
do not succeed, then a compelling
power is employed to force the
conscience.
However, so long as
Jesus remains man’s intercessor
in the sanctuary above, rulers and
people feel the restraining influence
of the Holy Spirit. It still controls
to some extent the laws of the land.
Were it not for these laws, the
condition of the world would be much
worse than it is now. While many of
our rulers are active agents of
Satan, God also has agents among the
leading men of the nation. The enemy
moves upon his servants to propose
measures that would greatly impede
the work of God; but statesman who
fear the Lord are influenced by holy
angles to oppose such propositions
with unanswerable arguments. Thus, a
few men will hold in check a powerful
current of evil. The opposition of
the enemies of truth will be
restrained that the third
angel’s message may do its work.
When the 144,000 give their final
warning that probation is about to
close, it will arrest the attention
of these leading men through whom the
Lord is now working, and some of them
will accept it, and will stand with
the people of God through the last
seven plagues or time of trouble.
The angel who unites
in the proclamation of the third
angel’s message is to lighten
the whole earth with his glory. A
work of worldwide extent and unwonted
power is here foretold. The advent
movement of 1840-1844 was a glorious
manifestation of the power of God;
the first angel’s message was
carried to every missionary station
in the world, and in some countries
there was the greatest religious
interest which has been witnessed in
every land since the Reformation of
the sixteenth century; but these are
to be exceeded by the mighty movement
under the warning of the third angel.
The work will be
similar to that of the Day of
Pentecost. As the “former
rain” was given, in the
outpouring of the holy Spirit at the
opening of the gospel, to cause the
up springing of the precious seed, so
the “latter rain” will be
given at the close for the ripening
of the harvest. “Then shall we
know, if we follow on to know the
Lord: His going forth is prepared as
the morning; and He shall come unto
us as the rain, as the latter and
former rain unto the earth.”
Hosea 6:3. “Be glad then ye
children of Zion, and rejoice in the
Lord your God: for He hath given you
the former rain moderately, and He
will cause to come down for you the
rain, the former rain, and the latter
rain.” Joel 2:23. “In the
last days, saith God, I will pour out
My Spirit upon all flesh.”
“And it shall come to pass, that
whosoever shall call on the name of
the Lord shall be saved.” Acts
2: 17, 21.
The great work of the
gospel is not to close with less
manifestations of the power of God
than marked it’s opening. The
prophecies that were fulfilled in the
outpouring of the former rain at the
opening of the gospel are again to be
fulfilled in the latter rain at its
close. Here are “the times of
refreshing” to which the apostle
Peter looked forward when he said:
“Repent ye therefore, and be
converted, that your sins many be
blotted out, when the times of
refreshing shall come from the
presence of the Lord; and He shall
send Jesus.” Acts 3: 19,20.
The 144,000
servant-prophets of God, with their
faces lighted up and shining with
holy consecration, will hasten from
place to place to proclaim the
message from heaven. These men and
women of the 144,000 by their voices,
all over the earth, the warning will
be given. Miracles will be wrought,
the sick will be healed, and signs
and wonders will follow the
believers. Satan also works, with
lying wonders, even bringing fire
from heaven in the sight of men.
Revelation 13:13. Thus, the
inhabitants of the earth will be
brought to take their stand.
Their message will be
carried out not so much by argument
as by the deep conviction of the
Spirit of God. All the articles of
salvations story has been clearly
presented to the world. The seed has
been sown, and now it will spring up
and bear fruit. Because of the seven
trumpets most of planet earth is
almost inhabitable, all of mankind
will have made a conscience choice to
either follow the will of God, obey
his commandments and choose eternal
life or take the mark of the beast
and totally rebel against God and
choose Satan as their god, and suffer
eternal damnation in the lake of
fire.
There will be three
classes of people living here at the
end of time. The first group is the honest
in heart, those people who are
used to listening to strong
impressions of the Holy Spirit and
doing just what God asks of them. The
second group is the righteous
wicked; these people have
accepted the devil as their master
because of his manifestations of
miracles and signs to deceive the
world. The third group is the
non-righteous wicked who does not
care to listen to the Holy Spirit or
be influenced by the devil’s
minions. They just want to be left
alone and believe in what they what
to believe. Everyone will have to
make an informed decision that is why
the Lord will push them off the
fence.
The three angel’s
messages are condensed as follows:
1.
Fear God, worship God and obey His
Ten Commandments.
2.
Have no part in the crisis government
that will form to appease God. Reject
its laws and false doctrines.
3.
Do not submit to the Antichrist or
receive his mark. If you do, God will
severely punish you.
The 144,000 will
present these three messages within
the context of the fierce opposition.
The call to worship God and obey His
Ten Commandments will collide
“head on” with the
religions of the world. The demands
of God’s Law will be contrary to
the laws and demands of the crisis
government that will form. This
predicament will produce some very
tough choices. These three messages
contain the “saving”
elements of the everlasting gospel,
and as surprising as it may seem,
will completely separate the people
of Earth. People who allow their
carnal nature to reign will reject
God’s authority, just as people
who allow the Holy Spirit to reign
will submit to God’s authority.
It is simple. Notice the four-step
process that God has predetermined
for the gospel during the
Tribulation.
1.
Everyone must hear the gospel.
2.
Everyone must decide for or
against the gospel.
3.
Everyone must be tested in their
decision (faith tested).
4.
Depending on the outcome choice,
everyone will receive either the seal
of God or the mark of the beast.
The first step
in the testing process is the
proclamation of the terms and
conditions of the gospel. The second
step is the decision phase. The
honest and heart will make the right
choices as the Holy Spirit and the
Bible directs them, even though they
will be threatened with persecution
and death. The point is that everyone
will make an informed decision about
the will of God because the 144,000
will complete their preaching
assignments. The third step
will be the testing phase. This phase
will confirm whether our faith in God
is firm and loyal. Last, God
will remove the carnal nature and
seal those who pass the test of faith
with a spiritual nature that has no
propensity toward sin! God will give
the sinless nature He originally gave
to Adam to the people who pass the
test of faith.
