THE THREE ANGEL’S MESSAGEREVELATION 14:6-12

GOD’S LAST MESSAGE OF MERCY

Christ is coming the second time, with power unto salvation. To prepare human beings for this event, He has sent the first, second, and third angels’ messages. These angels represent those who receive the truth, and with power open the gospel to the world.—7BC 978, 979. {TA 247.1}

And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters. REVELATION 14:6-7

And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people. REV. 14:6Paul said, I am not ashamed of the gospel for it is the power of God unto salvation {Rom. 1:16}. Jesus said I am able to save you to the uttermost {Heb. 7:25}, which means the power of God unto salvation is the ability of Jesus to save us amply, fully, entirely, and completely from sin. David said thy way “O” God is in the sanctuary {Ps. 77:13}, and Jesus said I am the way, the truth, and the life {John. 14:6}. Since Jesus is the way and thy way “O” God is in the sanctuary, it means the power of God unto salvation is in the Sanctuary. Praise ye the Lord. Praise God in his sanctuary and praise him in the firmament of his power. Praise the Lamb of God who taketh away the sins of the world {John.1:29}. To see God’s power and glory demonstrated in our lives, we must by faith see what Jesus is doing for us as “High Priest” in the Heavenly Sanctuary, that we may know our duty for this time.

Jesus “The King of Righteousness” has set before us a open door in the most holy place in the heavenly sanctuary {Revelation.3:7-8}. The King of Righteousness says: Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. Come unto me, all [ye] that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us [our] sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 Jn 1:9}.

God's people are now to have their eyes fixed on the heavenly sanctuary, where . . . our great High Priest . . . is interceding for His people. {Mar 249.5} The cleansing of the sanctuary is the work of Jesus as high priest, to blot out sins in our life and in the books of record in heaven, to remove sin from our character. Do you know that the transgression of God’s law is sin, even transgressing the Sabbath {1 John. 3:4.}.

Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters. REVELATION 14:6-7

(The first angel’s message proclaims three special truths which point to the Judge and Creator: (1) The hour of judgment is come, in which God is the investigator of our lives as his professed people. (2) The weekly climactic worship of the true God is to take place on the Seventh day of the week, the memorial of Creation. (3) All should acknowledge and worship the true God as the Creator; therefore atheistic and evolutionary concepts are most blasphemous and terrible evils.)

(REVELATION 14:7)

Jesus is doing the work of investigative judgment and blotting out of sin from our lives and in the record of sin {Is. 43:25}. The wages of sin is death, for all have sin and fall short of the glory of God. I was shape in iniquity and in sin my mother conceived me {Ps. 51: 5}. “O” wretched man that I am, who is able to deliver me from this body of death? I thank God for Jesus Christ our Lord. Jesus is in the Heavenly Sanctuary {Heb. 8:1-2}, doing the last of the final atonement in the most holy place and he has set before us an open door {Revelation. 3:7-8}. Go to Christ by faith make you calling and election sure, probation is about to close, and God’s Spirit will not always strive with men {Genesis. 6:3}. Now is the time to get sin out of our lives, because Jesus is coming for church without spot or blemish {Ephesians. 5:27}.

God keeps an account with each man. Whenever a prayer for forgiveness ascends to God from a true heart, God forgives. But after men have been forgiven they at times change their minds. They repent of their repentance. They show by their lives that their repentance is not permanent. And so God, instead of forgiving absolutely and finally, marks forgiveness against men's names and waits with the final blotting out of sins until they have had time to think the matter through. If at the end of their lives they are still of the same mind, abhorring their sins in sincere repentance, God counts them faithful, and in the day of judgment their record is finally cleared. S, Service, p. 64 M. L. Andreason.

The work of judgment which began in 1844, must continue until the cases of all are decided, both of the living and the dead; hence it will extend to the close of human probation. That men may be prepared to stand in the Judgment, the message commands them to “fear God, and give glory to him,” “and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.” The result of an acceptance of these messages is given in the words, “Here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” In order to be prepared for the Judgment, it is necessary that men should keep the law of God. That law will be the standard of character in the Judgment. The apostle Paul declares, “As many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law; . . . in the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ.” And he says that “the doers of the law shall be justified.” [Romans 2:12-16.] Faith is essential in order to the keeping of the law of God; for “without faith it is impossible to please him.” And “whatsoever is not of faith is sin.” [Hebrews 11:6; Romans 14:23.] {GC88 435.2}

And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication REV. 14:8

SECOND ANGEL MESSAGE

What is Babylon?What, then, is the Babylon of this message? It is here simply called "that great city." But it is elsewhere spoken of in the book of Revelation in a manner which cannot fail to lead to a correct solution of this question. In Rev.17:18, this same city is called a woman. "And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth." A woman is always in the Scriptures, when used as a symbol, taken to represent a religious organization, the true church being represented by a virtuous woman, as in chapter 12, and the false by a corrupt woman, as in the text before us, and many other places. {ND JW, OFAH 37.3}

Babylon is said to be a harlot; and the prophet beheld her drunken with the blood of saints and martyrs. The Babylon thus described represents Rome, that apostate church which has so cruelly persecuted the followers of Christ. {4SP 233.1}

DANIEL. 7: 25, REVELATION. 12: 6&14, REVELATION 13: 5-7, DANIEL. 8: 24-25, DANIEL. 11: 36-37 DANIEL. 7:24

And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen." (Revelation 18:1, 2.) This is the same message that was given by the second angel,--Babylon is fallen, "because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication." (Revelation 14:8.) What is that wine?--Her false doctrines. She has given to the world a false sabbath instead of the Sabbath of the fourth commandment, and has repeated the lie Satan first told to Eve in Eden,--the natural immortality of the soul. Many kindred errors she has spread far and wide, "teaching for doctrines the commandments of men." {1888 725.1}

Identification as to who is Babylon?1. Abundant in treasures--Jeremiah 51:13. 2.   All connected with her are made rich (not riches of heaven)--Revelation 18:19 . 3. Believes they are gods--Isaiah 47:8, 10. 4. Breaks bones of God's people--Jeremiah 50:17. . 5. Builds great image of man for all to worship--Daniel 3:1-7. . 6. Causes God's people to be slain--Jeremiah 51:49. 7. Connected with Mysteries of spiritualism--Revelation 17:5 8. Destroys all the earth--Jeremiah 51:25. . 9. Her cities (churches) are desolate (no Saviour)--Jeremiah 51:43. 10.Keeps God's people captive as prisoners--Isaiah 14:17. . 11. Lucifer is her king--Isaiah 14:4, 12. 12. Makes inhabitants of earth commit fornication with her--Revelation 17:2. 13. Teaches immortality of the soul (a lady for ever)--Isaiah 47:7. Which religious power fits the description? The Roman Catholic Church and all Churches that follow Rome’s example

“In the professedly Christian world many turn away from the plain teachings of the Bible and build up a creed from human speculations and pleasing fables, and they point to their tower as a way to climb up to heaven. Men hang with admiration upon the lips of eloquence while it teaches that the transgressor shall not die, that salvation may be secured without obedience to the law of God. If the professed followers of Christ would accept God’s standard, it would bring them into unity; but so long as human wisdom is exalted above His Holy Word, there will be divisions and dissension. The existing confusion of conflicting creeds and sects is fitly rep- resented by the term ‘Babylon,’ which prophecy (Rev. 4:8; 18:2) applies to the world-loving churches of the last days.” Patriarchs & Prophets, 124.

(The second angel’s message is a powerful call to come out of (Babylon) the apostate churches. The last part of the third angel’s message identifies those churches as the ones which do not, by faith in Christ, obey God’s commandments.)

“The churches, represented by Babylon, are represented as having fallen from their spiritual state to become a persecuting power against those who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.”Testimonies to Ministers, 117.

And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, 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; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and who-soever receiveth the mark of his name. Here is the patience of the saints: here [are] they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. Rev.14: 9-12

“When God sends to men warnings so important that they are represented as proclaimed by holy angels flying in the midst of heaven, He requires every person endowed with reasoning powers to heed the message. The fearful judgments denounced against the worship of the beast and his image (Revelation 14:9-11), should lead all to a diligent study of the prophecies to learn what the mark of the beast is, and how they are to avoid receiving it.”Great Controversy, 594

(The third angel’s message has two distinct aspects: (1) A most terrible warning to shun the apostasy of the commandment-breakers, who observe a false Sunday-Sabbath. (2) An urgent call to repent and obey the commandments of God by faith in the enabling merits of Jesus Christ.)

“1. The ‘beast’ is the Roman Catholic power. “2. The ‘mark of the beast’ is that institution which this power has

set up as proof of its authority to legislate for the church, and command the consciences of men under sin. It consists in a change of the law of God, by which the signature of royalty is taken from the law—the seventh-day Sabbath, the great memorial of Jehovah’s creative work, is torn from its place in the decalogue, and a false and counterfeit Sabbath, the first day of the week, is set up in its stead.

3. The ‘image of the beast’ is some ecclesiastical combination, which will resemble the beast in being clothed with power to enforce its decrees with the pains and penalties of the civil law.

“4. The two-horned beast, by which the image, after being made by the people, is given power to speak and act, is the United States; and all but the final steps toward the formation of the image are already seen.

“5. The two-horned beast enforces the mark of the beast; that is, he establishes by law the observance of the first day of the week, or Sunday-sabbath. (REVELATION 13:11-18)

What Is the Image of the Beast?— “When the Protestant churches shall unite with the secular power to sustain a false religion, for opposing which their ancestors endured the fiercest persecution; when the state shall use its power to enforce the decrees and sustain the institutions of the church (A NATIONAL SUNDAY LAW)—then will Protestant America have formed an image to the papacy, and there will be a national apostasy which will end only in national ruin.” (Signs,3/22/1910).7BC, 976.

Characteristics of the Movement of People in the Three Angel’s message:

1. The third message is characterized as a warning against the beast (The Roman Catholic Church). So this movement holds prominent among its themes an explanation of this symbol, telling the people what it is, and exposing its blasphemous claims and works. 2. The third message warns all against worshiping the beast. So this movement explains how this beast-power has brought into Christendom certain institutions which antagonize the requirements of the Most High, and shows that if we yield to these, we worship this power. ‘Know ye not,’ says Paul, ‘that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey?’ Romans 6:16.

3. The third message warns all against receiving the mark of the beast. So this movement makes it the burden of its work to show what the mark of the beast is, and to warn against its reception. It is the more solicitous to do this, because this antichristian power has worked so cunningly that the majority are deceived into making unconscious concessions to its authority. “It is shown that the mark of the beast is an institution which has been arrayed in Christian garb, and insidiously introduced into the Christian church in such a way as to nullify the authority of Jehovah and enthrone that of the beast. Stripped of all disguises, it is simply setting up a counterfeit sabbath of its own on the first day of the week, in place of the Sabbath of the Lord on the seventh day—a usurpation which the great God cannot tolerate, and from which the remnant church must fully clear itself before it will be prepared for the coming of Christ. Hence the urgent warning, Let no man worship the beast or receive his mark. Smith, DR (1897), 542-544

The Same Shall Drink of the Wine.— “For thus saith the LORD God of Israel unto me; Take the wine cup of this fury at my hand, and cause all the nations, to whom I send thee, to drink it. And they shall drink, and be moved, and be mad, because of the sword that I will send among them. Then took I the cup at the LORD’s hand, and made all the nations to drink, unto whom the LORD had sent me.”Jeremiah 25:15-17 The Wine of the Wrath of God.“What is the wine of the wrath of God? The next chapter clearly explains this point: ‘And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God.’ ‘And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials, full of the wrath of God, who liveth forever and ever. ’Rev. 15:1, 7. It follows, therefore, that the wine of the wrath of God is the seven last plagues.” Andrews, TAM, 115

Smoke of Their Torment Ascendeth Up.— “For evildoers shall be cut off…. For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be. …But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the LORD shall be as the fat of lambs: they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away.”Psalm 37:9,10,20

Forever and Ever.— “The meaning of ‘forever ’ and kindred terms as used in the Scriptures shows clearly that their meaning must be determined by the duration of life. When applied to God and the future life of the redeemed, ‘forever ’ means eternity because with them life will never end. But with the wicked forever can only mean as long as they live, or until their lives are extinct in the lake of fire after they have received the punishment due them ‘according to their works.’ “In Exodus 21:6 a servant is said to serve his master ‘for ever’ which can only mean as long as he lives.

“Greek basanizo, ‘to torture,’ ‘to torment,’ ‘to distress.’ Compare the use of basanizo in Matt. 8:6, 29; 14:24 (translated ‘tossed’); 2 Peter 2:8. The seven last plagues fall upon the worshipers of the beast and his image (Rev. 16:2). In addition, these devotees of the beast rise in the second resurrection and receive their punishment (20:5, 11-15). It is not clear to which phase of punishment the revelator here refers. Per- haps it is to both. In both there will be torment. The first will end in death when Jesus appears from heaven (ch 19:19-21), the second in eternal death (ch. 20:14).” 7SDA Bible Commentary, 831. He Shall Be Tormented With Fire and Brimstone.— “Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest: this shall be the portion of their cup.”Psalm 11:6

They Have No Rest Day Nor Night.— “The wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.” Isaiah 57:20,21. “The sinner’s own thoughts are his accusers; and there can be no torture keener than the stings of a guilty conscience, which give him no rest day nor night.” Desire of Ages, 223.

Here is the Patience of the Saints.— “We have shown that the First Angel’s Message refers to the solemn proclamation of the immediate second advent; consequently the period of patience here brought to view must be the same as that which in many scriptures is located immediately preceding the second advent. A few texts must suffice as examples: ‘Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward. For ye have need of patience, that after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith; but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition, but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.’ Heb. 10:35-39

“This word ‘patience’ is also translated ‘steadfastness.’It will be a patient and steadfast people that will be waiting for the coming of the Lord.”Anderson, UR, 157 “And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.” Matthew 10:22

Rev. 22:14 Blessed [are] they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.

‘The faith of Jesus.’ It is talked of, but not understood. What constitutes the faith of Jesus, that belongs to the third angel’s message? Jesus becoming our sin-bearer that He might become our sin-pardon- ing Saviour. He was treated as we deserve to be treated. He came to our world and took our sins that we might take His righteousness.And faith in the ability of Christ to save us amply and fully and entirely is the faith of Jesus.” Selected Messages, Vol. 3, 172

“As the ministration of Jesus closed in the holy place, and He passed into the holiest, and stood before the ark containing the law of God, He sent another mighty angel with a third message to the world. A parchment was placed in the angel’s hand, and as he descended to the earth in power and majesty, he proclaimed a fearful warning, with the most terrible threatening ever borne to man. This message was designed to put the children of God upon their guard, by showing them the hour of temptation and anguish that was before them. Said the angel, ‘They will be brought into close combat with the beast and his image. Their only hope of eternal life is to re- main steadfast. Although their lives are at stake, they must hold fast the truth.’ The third angel closes his message thus: ‘Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. ’As he repeated these words, he pointed to the heavenly sanctuary. The minds of all who embrace this message are directed to the most holy place, where Jesus stands before the ark, making His final intercession for all those for whom mercy still lingers and for those who have ignorantly broken the law of God. EW, 254

Build yourselves up by increased purity of faith and Christlikeness of character, increasing in the knowledge of God and of Jesus Christ, who is our righteousness and our sanctification. Let us show that we are a people who keep the commandments of God and have the faith of Jesus Christ. Let the truth abide in the heart. Christ declared, "I sanctify Myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth" (John 17:19). Keep yourselves in the love of God by hearkening diligently to His commandments, looking for His keeping power, His mercy, expecting salvation through His grace.--Letter 110, 1902, pp. 7, 8, 10, 11. (To Dr. David Paulson, July 7, 1902.)

God's people are now to have their eyes fixed on the heavenly sanctuary, where . . . our great High Priest . . . is interceding for His people. {Mar 249.5}