THIS threefold message is such a proclamation of the everlasting gospel as will meet the need of the world in the period just before the coming of the Lord. The Lord foresaw what would be the condition of things in these closing days, and he revealed to his servant John, for the benefit of the church, just the way in which the gospel message should be given in order to save men from the delusions of the enemy of their souls. The line of prophecy, of which this threefold message is a part, begins with the twelfth chapter of Revelation, and covers the time from the birth of Christ to his coming “on the cloud.” The whole prophecy reveals to us the working of the great dragon, “that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan,” in paganism, in the papacy, and in apostate Protestantism, which are simply variations of the one principle of self-salvation. In all this deception it is the purpose of Satan to hide from view the revelation of God in Christ as the Saviour from sin, to lead man to trust in some form of self-effort or self-revelation, and thus to keep him in the bondage of sin. In the twelfth chapter the dragon is revealed in his true character as the enemy of the man child, Jesus, and the persecutor of the woman, the church. This chapter throws a true light upon the whole prophecy, as we see that the same dragon spirit works against the church all through this period, and at the last is found wroth with the woman, and making war “with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” In the first part of the thirteenth chapter4we find the dragon hiding himself behind the composite beast to whom he gives “his power, and his throne, and great authority.” By comparing the specifications given in Rev. 13: 5-7 with those given in Dan. 7: 8, 23-25, it will be evident that this composite beast of Revelation 13 corresponds to the little horn of the fourth beast of Daniel 7, that horn in which were “eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things.” And this is modern Babylon, the papacy, described by the apostle Paul in 2 Thess. 2: 3-7, and characterized as “the man of sin,” and “the mystery of iniquity.” In the latter part of the thirteenth chapter of Revelation we find another beast with two horns, through which the dragon still speaks. This dragon voice, speaking through the two-horned beast, directs those who dwell on the earth to make an image to the composite beast, and then the same persecuting spirit is revealed against those who refuse homage to this image of the beast. But under the symbol of the two-horned beast we have set forth the rise of the United States as the one nation in which are revealed in their purity the genuine principles of Protestantism, standing in their own strength as apart from the civil power, followed by that apostasy in which the principles of the papacy gain the ascendancy, and the persecuting spirit of the dragon reveals itself. The false prophet of Rev. 19: 20 is the same as the two-horned beast of Rev. 13: 11, as the same work is ascribed to him; and inasmuch as both the beast and the false prophet are “cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone,” it is evident that these two powers are active in the closing days of the great controversy. Now it is the special purpose of this threefold message to unveil the deception of the dragon, to call the whole world to a recognition of God in his true character, and to set forth in its purity again “the gospel of God . . . concerning his Son.” But the principles of the papacy and of apostate Protestantism are identical with the principles of ancient heathenism. They all spring from the same root idea, the putting of self in the place of God. They are expressed by putting man’s idea of God in the place of the revelation which God has made of himself. In paganism the false conception of God takes the form of a visible image of dead matter, of wood or stone. In the papacy there is a variation of paganism; the images of paganism are supplanted by the images of saints, angels, the Virgin Mary, and Christ; and a pretended vicegerent of the Son of God, humanity without divinity, is made the head of the church. This is “the man of sin” described by the apostle Paul, “he that opposeth and exalteth himself against all that is called God or that is worshipped; so that he sitteth in the temple of God, setting himself forth as God.” In apostate Protestantism we have the most refined form of paganism. All visible images are discarded, but a mental image, a false conception of God, is put in the place of the revelation of God as made in his Word. What is called “spiritual consciousness” is substituted for the Word of God, men are taught to look within for God, and the personal being of God becomes “the Universal Presence.” Thus in paganism, in the papacy, and in apostate Protestantism there is one common principle, the setting aside of the true God as revealed in the person of his Son, and the accepting of a false conception of God inspired by “the deceiver of the whole world.” In each case man is left without any barrier against sin. He is led to trust in his own weakness, and thus becomes an easy prey to the author of sin. The very wording of the message, “Fear God, and give him glory,” reveals the true situation and the remedy. It is the very message which the Lord sent to his people through the prophet Jeremiah in the olden time when they were enticed by the image making of the pagan nations around them. The whole passage is well worth reading in this connection: “Hear ye the word which Jehovah speaketh unto you, O house of Israel: Thus saith Jehovah, Learn not the way of the nations, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the nations are dismayed at them. For the customs of the peoples are vanity; for one cutteth a tree out of the forest, the work of the hands of the workman with the ax. They deck it with silver and with gold; they fasten it with nails and with hammers, that it move not. They are like a palm tree, of turned work, and speak not: they must needs be borne, because they can not go. Be not afraid of them; for they can not do evil, neither is it in them to do good. There is none like unto thee, O Jehovah; thou art great, and thy name is great in might. Who should not fear thee, O King of the nations? for to thee doth it appertain; forasmuch as among all the wise men of the nations, in all their royal estate, there is none like unto thee.” Jer. 10: 1-7. And through the prophet Isaiah the Lord says, “I am Jehovah, that is my name; and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise unto graven images.” In view of this instruction through the prophets, the message, “Fear God, and give him glory,” makes it clear that the same principles of heathenism are now enticing the people away from the true God as in the days of old, even though the image making may be mental instead of material, and that there is the same necessity of setting forth the true God in his true character. Thus the issues at stake to-day are shown to be the same as in the time of the prophets. Modern infidelity is simply the old paganism in a refined form. It is the work of this threefold message to expose the wolves that are parading in sheep’s clothing, and to declare in its purity and power the gospel of the Son of God, the union of divinity and humanity through his incarnation, his atoning work, and his heavenly ministry as the one only Mediator and Saviour from sin. This is the very essence of the threefold message.