The Time of the Third Angel’s Message.
By J.
We have shown that the sixth of the seven trumpet angels ceased to sound August 11, 1840, and that then, says the Scripture, “the second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly.” Rev. 11:14. The third woe and the seventh trumpet are identical. And when the seventh angel sounded, said the prophet, “There were great voices in Heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign forever and ever.” He also said, “The nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy [margin, corrupt] the earth. And the temple of God was opened in Heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament; and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.” Verses 18, 19. Now we want it to be clearly seen, and it may be, that the events here named are identical with those of Rev. 14:6–20; 16:1–21, and that the latter are but an explanation in full of the former. To show this we shall here bring together the statements of Rev. 11:18, 19, and the corresponding ones of chapters 14 and 16. 1. “And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come.” Rev. 11:18. The third angel says, “If any man worship the beast and his image, . . . the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God.” Chapter 14:9, 10. And in the seven last plagues is filled up the wrath of God. 15:1, 6–8; 16. 2. “The time of the dead, that they should be judged.” Rev. 11:18. “I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, . . . saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his Judgment is come.” Chapter 14:6, 7. 3. “That thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great.” Rev. 11:18. This time of reward is at the coming of Christ; for he says: “Behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.” Chapter 22:12. Again he said: “Thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.” Luke 14:14. But his coming follows immediately the Third Angel’s Message; for says the prophet, “I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle.” “And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped.” Rev. 14:14, 16. This harvest is the end of the world. Matt. 13:39. 4. “And shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.” Rev. 11:18. “Another angel came out of the temple which is in Heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe. And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great wine-press of the wrath of God.” Rev. 14:17–19. Here are shown two reapings. One is by the Son of God reaping the harvest of the earth, gathering the wheat into the garner of God. The other is to gather together those who are to be cast into the wine-press of the wrath of God. The former are the fruits of the true Vine, Christ, Jesus. For he says: “I am the true Vine.” “I am the Vine, ye are the branches.” This is the Vine of Heaven, for Christ, the true Vine, came down from Heaven to do his Father’s will; and of this Vine the “Father is the Husbandman.” All who abide in Christ, the true Vine, will be gathered by the angels into the kingdom of God, when he comes on the white cloud to reap the harvest of the earth. The others are called the clusters of the vine of the earth. Those have no connection with the heavenly Vine, but are of the earth, earthy. And when the clusters of this vine are gathered, it is only to be cast into the wine-press of the wrath of God. This same result is shown by John the Baptist under another figure: “He that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear; he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire; whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” Matt. 3:11, 12. 5. “And the temple of God was opened in Heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament.” Rev. 11:19. Why is this called the ark of his testament? Because within it is his testimony, as there was in the earthly temple, which was a pattern of the heavenly. “In the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee.” Ex. 25:21. But what was the testimony or testament that was put in the ark? “He gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon Mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God.” Ex. 31:18. “And the tables were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, graven upon the tables.” Ex. 32:16. These tables Moses broke when he came down from the mount and found the people given up to idolatry. Then said the Lord to Moses: “Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first, and come up unto me into the mount, and make thee an ark of wood. And I will write on the tables the words that were in the first tables which thou breakest, and thou shalt put them in the ark.” Then says Moses: “I made an ark of shittim wood, and hewed two tables of stone like unto the first, and went up into the mount, having the two tables in mine hand. And he wrote on the tables, according to the first writing, the ten commandments, which the Lord spake unto you in the mount, out of the midst of the fire, in the day of the assembly; and the Lord gave them unto me. And I turned myself and came down from the mount, and put the tables in the ark which I had made; and there they be, as the Lord commanded me.” Deut. 10:1–5. This ark was called the ark of the testimony or testament because that in it were the tables of the testimony which God gave to Moses, and that testimony was the ten commandments. It is this alone which gave it the title of the ark of the testimony. Now we have shown that this sanctuary or temple on the earth was only a pattern or figure of the sanctuary or temple in Heaven. Therefore, that testimony which gave to the ark of the earthly sanctuary the title of the ark of the testament must be identical with the testimony which gives to the ark in Heaven the title of the ark of His testament, that is; the ten commandments. Now this temple of God in Heaven is opened at the sounding of the seventh trumpet. There is shown the heavenly ark of his testament; and connected directly with this stands Rev. 14:12. The Third Angel’s Message says: “Here are they that keep the commandments of God.” 6. “And there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.” Rev. 11:19. This is identical with the record of the events of the seventh plague. For says the Scripture, “The seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of Heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done. And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great.” “And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent; and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.” Rev. 16:17, 18, 20, 21. But the seven last plagues comprise the wrath of God. This wrath is poured upon those who worship the beast and his image, upon those who refuse to keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. And the Third Angel’s Message is to warn men against that worship that they may escape this wrath, and calls them especially to keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. These things show that these three messages of Revelation 14, and the wrath which is foretold by the third of these, and the coming of the Lord which follows the third, represent events referred to as occurrent when the seventh angel shall sound. It is therefore absolutely certain that in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the Third Angel’s Message of Revelation 14 is due to the world. Here we must refer again to Rev. 10:7, where the angel declares with an oath that “in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished.” We have shown that the mystery of God is the gospel, and that the gospel is the power of God unto salvation, and that therefore in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he begins to sound, the power of God for the salvation of man shall cease to be exercised. Note especially that this is in the days when the seventh angel begins to sound. From the texts presented in former articles, as well as all already given in this, it is plain that the events connected with the Third Angel’s Message end with the end of the world. Therefore the Third Angel’s Message is the means by which God makes his last effort for the salvation of men. Thus it becomes of584 the utmost importance to the children of men to know when the Third Angel’s Message is due to the world. In our article last week, in discussing the subject of the mystery of God and its finishing, we elicited the sanctuary and its services, the Levitical law, and showed that they were typical of the heavenly sanctuary, and the work of Christ in his priesthood. We showed that the services ended with the cleansing of the sanctuary, and that Christ’s priestly service ends at the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary, and we showed that this cleansing began in 1844. Therefore this last service of the gospel, the finishing of which is identical with the finishing of the mystery of God, began in 1844. Again: we showed that the cleansing of the sanctuary was really a work of judgment. It was so understood by the people who performed the service; it was so intended to be understood by the Lord who established the service. This is made certain by the voice which instanced that whosoever was not partaker of the services that day was cut off without mercy when the services closed. He had no further chance. His probation was gone. This was but typical of the work of Christ once for all, and the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary must be likewise a work of the Judgment. This answers exactly to the words which describe the scenes of the seventh trumpet when it begins to sound, that then was come “the time of the dead, that they should be judged.” And as we have seen, this cleansing of the sanctuary, this work of judgment, this time of the dead, that they should be judged, began in 1844. But this time of the dead, that they should be judged, is the same time referred to in Rev. 14:6, 7, in that message which carries still the everlasting gospel to them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, yet saying with a loud voice to all, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his Judgment is come. Paul preached this same gospel, but not that the hour of his Judgment was come, but simply a judgment to come. Acts 24:25, and 17:31. But when the time comes when the seventh angel shall begin to sound, then it is declared in accordance with the same gospel, the hour of his Judgment is come. But this, as we have shown, is identical with the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary which began in 1844. Therefore it is certain that the seventh angel began to sound in 1844. That this hour of Judgment is not the great day of Judgment which comes at the end of the world, but is a time which precedes the end of the world, answering to the time of the cleansing of the sanctuary, is shown by the fact that two other messages follow this one before the coming of the Lord and the end of the world. But these two do follow this one, and the third of these is the Third Angel’s Message which warns all men against the worship of the beast and his image, and against receiving his mark, under the dreadful penalty of having to drink the wine of the wrath of God, and which at the same time calls all to keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. This wine of the wrath of God is the seven last plagues, with the last of which come the lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail, which come at the sounding of the seventh trumpet. These commandments are the testimony of God which was brought forth prominently when the temple of God was opened in Heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament. And all these things are but the events that occur in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he begins to sound. And as we have found that this seventh angel began to sound in 1844, then it was and onward the Third Angel’s Message is due to the world. When this message is finished, the mystery of God will be finished. When this message closes, the work of the gospel will be closed. And when the seven last plagues which are pronounced by this message against those who worship the beast and his image, shall be poured out upon them which shall have the mark of the beast, and upon them which worship his image,—with the pouring out of the last of these comes the end of the world. Therefore now is the time when there is danger of being drawn into the worship of the beast and his image. The people now living are the ones who are concerned in this. The people now living are they who will be called upon to make an image to the beast, and to worship the beast and his image. These are also the people who will be warned by the message of God against all those things under penalty of suffering the seven last plagues, and will be called to the keeping of the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.