Are the Four Angels About to Loose Their Hold?
By G. B. T.
THE Patmos seer, beholding the times in which we live, when mighty nations would be angry, saw “four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree.” And he says, “I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.” Rev. 7: 2, 3. That the nations of the earth have long been held in check by some mighty power seems evident. For years they have been making preparations for a tremendous contest. Statesmen have known the conflict to be inevitable, and seemingly have kept the titanic struggle from beginning only by means of the most skilful diplomacy. The blood of thinking men has frozen with horror in contemplation of the scenes of carnage which would be witnessed when once the flower of manhood from the populous nations met on the field of blood, equipped with all the deadly implements of destruction which the minds of men have been able to invent. Now the conflict is on, and apparently there will be no cessation of that which is turning pleasant hillsides and fertile valleys dotted with churches, schoolhouses, and factories, into an inferno of sorrow, until the angry combatants fall exhausted. The fabric from which the boasted civilization of the times has been woven is fast being torn to shreds. Let the crimson circle enlarge and take in a few more nations, and there will be no spot on which the dove of peace can find a resting place. The servant of God, now sleeping, more than a half century ago beheld in vision a time when the angels holding the winds of war seemed to be about to let them go, and permit the whirlwind of war to begin its universal destruction. Here are the words:— “I saw four angels who had a work to do on the earth, and were on their way to accomplish it. Jesus was clothed with priestly garments. He gazed in pity on the remnant, then raised his hands, and with a voice of deep pity cried, ‘My blood, Father, my blood, my blood, my blood!’ Then I saw an exceeding bright light come from God, who sat upon the great white throne, and was shed all about Jesus. Then I saw an angel with a commission from Jesus, swiftly flying to the four angels who had a work to do on the earth, and waving something up and down in his hand, and crying with a loud voice, ‘Hold! hold! hold! hold!’ until the servants of God are sealed in their foreheads.” I asked my accompanying angel the meaning of what I heard, and what the four angels were about to do. He said to me that it was God that restrained the powers, and that he gave his angels charge over things on the earth; that the four angels had power from God to hold the four winds, and that they were about to let them go; but while their hands were loosening, and the four winds were about to blow, the merciful eye of Jesus gazed on the remnant that were4not sealed, and he raised his hands to the Father, and pleaded with him that he had spilled his blood for them. Then another angel was commissioned to fly swiftly to the four angels, and bid them hold, until the servants of God were sealed with the seal of the living God in their foreheads.”—Early Writings, p. 38. Notice that “the four angels had power from God to hold the four winds,” and that when they were “about to let them go,” “while their hands were loosening,” Jesus looked upon those not yet sealed, and sent an angel with a commission to bid those angels hold the winds of strife until the sealing work is done. Of all things on earth, God’s message bearing the seal of the living God to the nations of the world, is the most important in the estimation of heaven. And while it seems as if the angels had been loosening their hold, and that a whirlwind of universal war and bloodshed would convulse the world, yet the eye of Jehovah is upon his people, and he will control events and hold the nations in check until his work is done. Speaking further concerning this time when the nations are angry and trouble of various kinds is increasing in the world, the following blessed assurance is given by the Lord’s servant: “At the commencement of the time of trouble, we were filled with the Holy Ghost as we went forth and proclaimed the Sabbath more fully.”—Id., p. 33. Concerning the meaning of the troublous times here mentioned, the following explanation is given:— “‘The commencement of the time of trouble’ here mentioned, does not refer to the time when the plagues shall begin to be poured out, but to a short period just before they are poured out, while Christ is in the sanctuary. At that time, while the work of salvation is closing, trouble will be coming on the earth, and the nations will be angry, yet held in check so as not to prevent the work of the third angel.”—Id., Supplement, p. 85. Surely here is a picture of this time of strife and bloodshed. We are surely in that “short period” just before the plagues of God’s wrath are to be poured out upon the inhabitants of the world. Then, brother, sister, we are to go forth at this time, when “the work of salvation is closing,” in this “commencement of the time of trouble,” when the nations are angry, but “held in check,” and proclaim everywhere “the Sabbath more fully.” What does it mean to proclaim “the Sabbath more fully”? It can hardly mean that new and more powerful arguments will be advanced; but under the administration of the Spirit, the words of God on this great question will be set forth with new power. There are still many places, even in this country, where the Sabbath has not been fully preached. But in this time, when the nations are angry and the plagues are soon to be poured out, under the vitalizing power of the Holy Spirit the Sabbath will be preached more fully in our large cities, in places not yet entered, in the great nations of the world, in short, everywhere, to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people, and the whole earth will be lighted with the glory of God. Men may try to hinder God’s work. Those who hate light may seek to stop the progress of the message. False teachers may do all in their power to keep the light from their flocks. Many may arise from God’s remnant people, to sow discord and dissension, and try to divide and pull down that which has been built up by some one else’s toil and sacrifice. But the effort is futile. God started this work, and he will finish it. Even the mighty nations, with their powerful armament and billions of money, are held in check by angels at the command of God, that his work may not be hindered. If the tremendous power of nations will not be permitted to prevent the giving of the message, religious federations, and wolves in sheep’s clothing, will not. It remains for us to humble our hearts, and bind about us more closely the girdle of truth, that we may remain faithful and triumph at last with the work of God.