THE SECOND AND THIRD MESSAGES.
In the World's Crisis of Jan. 2, 1867, we find the following questions: “BRO. GRANT: Will you tell us through the Crisis what the third angel's message is, as spoken of in Rev. xiv, 9? ‘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.’” To this inquiry the Editor of the Crisis gives the following answer: “We are not able to tell just how this scripture will be fulfilled, but we think it is certain the third angel's message is not given before the second; but the second is not given till after the fall of Babylon, for his cry is, ‘Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city [the church at Rome], because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.’ But Babylon has not fallen yet; therefore the third angel's message is an event still future.” Can any Adventist be satisfied with such a position as this? The third angel's message is, beyond controversy, the last prominent movement among the people of God previous to the second coming of Christ. Whatever may be the length of this message, it reaches to the second advent; for the next event is the appearance of one like unto the Son of man upon the great white cloud. Now, we ask, Will the people of God come up to the advent and know nothing about this message? Yet here is a paper, the Crisis, and there are multitudes of Advent believers, teaching the near coming of Christ, that the great event is at the door, and may be expected almost daily; yet confessing an utter ignorance in regard to what the third message is, and in what its fulfillment will consist. Is such an anomaly admissible in a consistent Advent theory? Can it possibly be, that, while the coming of the Lord is so near, they have all the light that exists on this important message, the most important and solemn that can be found between the lids of the Bible, who thus so completely ignore it and its connections? On the other hand, Seventh-day Adventists think they have a consistent and scriptural view to present on all these points, showing what Babylon is, what the nature and cause of its fall is, what the beast is, what the image is, what constitutes the mark and worship of the beast and image against which the third angel's message warns us, and what the commandments of God are, which it enjoins. And they think they can point to as definite a fulfillment of this message, already in process of accomplishment, as of any prophecy in the Bible. And now, while one class frankly confess that they cannot explain this message, we submit that the views of the other class are at least entitled to a full and candid examination.