The Great Threefold Message
By Roderick S. Owen
I. The Time of the Message.
IN Rev. 14: 6-12 we find three messages which are to be proclaimed to the kindreds, nations, tongues, and peoples of this earth. The first says: “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.” The third says: “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,” etc. Thus we see that these two are simply the positive and negative sides of one great message; the first telling us what we must do, and why; and the second telling us what we must not do, and why. He who heeds the first, will not have part in the direful calamity brought to view in the third, for he who fears God and gives glory to Him, will not worship the beast nor his image, nor receive his mark. The second message describes a fallen condition, and tells why it exists. The first presents a remedy for this condition, while the third shows the final outcome of not receiving this remedy. So here we find a great threefold message for all the people of this world. The Hour of His Judgment.
This message is to go to the world in the time of the Judgment, for it is to announce the fact that the hour of His Judgment is come, not is coming, but is actually present. Paul tells us that God hath appointed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness (Acts 17: 31); also that Christ shall judge the living and the dead at His appearing and kingdom. 2 Tim. 4: 1. Daniel saw the Judgment going on while earthly powers were still carrying on their work here upon earth. Dan. 7: 9-12. The Judgment must take place before Jesus comes, for He comes bringing His reward with Him, to give to every man according to his work. Rev. 22: 12. Since, as we see from these texts, God has a definitely appointed time in which He will judge the world, and since this precedes and is closely connected with the coming of the Lord, then this message which is to be given in the hour of judgment must go to the world just before Jesus comes. In corroboration of this thought, in verse 14, immediately following this message, the revelator says: “And 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.” The Last Message of Mercy.
Being the message which immediately precedes the coming of the Lord, it must be the last message of mercy to mankind. This is clearly seen by a study of the message and that which immediately follows. Verse 10 states that the one who does not heed this message, or who worships the beast and his image and receives the mark, “shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of His indignation.” Rev. 15: 1 reads: “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.” Since the wrath of God is filled up, or finished, in the seven last plagues, and those who do not heed this warning are to drink of the wrath of God, therefore, upon them who will not obey this message by refusing to worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark, will fall the seven last plagues. In harmony with this we read, Rev. 16: 2: “And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and upon them which worshiped his image.” The first message urges men to give God glory, but Rev. 16: 9 tells us that under the fourth plague they are still refusing to give God glory. The second message, which tells of the fallen condition of Babylon, swells into a loud cry and is repeated in Rev. 18: 1-5; and here God’s people are commanded to come out of Babylon, that they be not partakers of her sins, and receive not of her plagues. Thus we see that those who refuse the first message, and do not give God glory, those who ignore the second message, and remain in Babylon, and those who, heedless of the third message, worship the beast and his image and receive his mark,—all these shall drink of the seven last plagues. In Ps. 75: 8 we read: “For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup, and the wine is red; it is full of mixture; and He poureth out of the same; but the dregs thereof, all the wicked of the earth shall wring them out, and drink them.” This cup in the hand of the Lord is one from which all the inhabitants of the earth must drink. The wine is red because to all come tribulations, sorrows, and afflictions; all of which are expressions of wrath against sin. But they are mixed with mercy, for the cup is full of mixture. But when human probation ends and the door of mercy is forever closed, then shall the wicked drink of the dregs of the cup; or as stated in the third message, drink of the wine of the wrath of God which is poured out without mixture. When this takes place, Jesus will have left the throne of grace, from which He as King of Grace has been dispensing to mankind the mercy of God and will have ceased His ministration for sinners; and this He does just before the plagues begin to fall, for we read in Rev. 15: 8: “And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from His power; and no man was able to enter the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.” When the temple is thus filled with smoke, the command is given to the angels: “Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth.” Rev. 16: 1, 2. Then these angels begin their work. While these plagues are falling, Jesus comes on the cloud, not as a priest, but as a king, having received His kingdom, sitting upon the throne of His glory, “having on His head a golden crown, and in His hand a sharp sickle,” coming to reap the harvest of earth. See Luke 19: 12, 15; Matt. 25: 31; Rev. 14: 14. This message is to be given before Jesus comes. The fact that Jesus is soon to come is being taught to-day by devoted ministers of all denominations. The great signs of His coming are all in the past, and a sentiment prevails in the minds of men that the second advent of Christ is very near. Then this great Threefold Message should be proclaimed. And it is, and is going rapidly to all the nations of earth. There is to-day an organized company of people, who by sacrifice and earnest labor are carrying this message. Already their evangelists have encircled the globe. In the short space of fifty years they have established mission stations in almost every country in the world. God is leading out in the work by remarkable providences, and hundreds of souls are accepting the light and giving God glory. They are refusing to worship the beast and his image and to receive his mark, and are looking with joy to the coming of Jesus in the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. Reader, will you not study this message with us, accept it, and join us in giving it to all people, that Jesus soon may come?