THE THIRD ANGEL'S MESSAGE.
By James White
AWFULLY solemn is this Message. Such dreadful threatened wrath cannot elsewhere be found in the holy Scriptures. Read it, and weigh well the import of the language used. "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: and the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus." Rev. xiv, 9-12. The worship of the Papal Beast and his Image, and the reception of the Mark of the Beast, are the dangers pointed out in this warning Message. The wine of the wrath of God poured out without mixture of mercy, (the seven last plagues,) and to be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the angels and the Lamb, (at the second resurrection and second death,) are the dreadful penalties threatened. And here we would remark, that God in his wisdom has not given a Message fraught with such terror, without making his revelation sufficiently plain, that we may clearly understand what the Beast, his Mark, and his Image are, and what their worship is, and the time when this warning Message is to be given. God has revealed these things sufficiently plain for faith. And when we ask those who reject our position without close investigation, what these symbols mean, it is not enough for them to say, that they "don't know." They have too much prejudice, or too little interest to search and find out. It is said of those who perished by the waters of the flood, they "knew not until the flood came and took them all away." Many at the present time "don't know," have no disposition to know; neither will they know, till a slighted and insulted God begins to pour out upon them the vials of his indignation. "As it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man." The Third Angel's Message contains the great truths of Revelation—the Commandments of God, and the Faith of Jesus—the rule of man's life, and the plan by which the transgressor of God's law may find pardon and redemption. This warning Message develops a people of whom it is said, "Here are they that keep the Commandments of God." Two characters are here presented. One class, called saints, keep the Commandments of God; the other heed not the warning, but still cling to the institutions of the Beast. As the saints worship God by keeping his Commandments, so the other class worship the Beast by reverencing institutions of the Papacy. After the claims of the Commandments of God have been urged upon the consciences of men, if they turn from them, or any of them, and choose to honor an institution of the Papacy, it can be said of them then that they receive the Mark of the Beast. The Christian world generally has followed on in Sunday-keeping without any particular choice. But when the claims of the Sabbath of the fourth Commandment are urged upon the mind in opposition to the practice of Sunday-keeping, it is then that men choose, and receive either the Mark of the Beast, or the Seal of the living God. What gives the Third Message the greater solemnity, is the fact that it is the last, the very last warning to a fallen world. Read Rev. xiv, and you will not fail to see this fact. John hears the voice from heaven announce, "Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth," or during the Third Message, [verse 13,] and then [verse 14] introduces the great event which occurs at the close of the Message, as follows: "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. And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap: for the harvest of the earth is ripe. And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped." Verses 14-16. That here is a representation of Jesus after his work is closed in the Sanctuary, will not be denied. His crown, and the sickle in his hand, show that his work as priest is then at an end. The angel which is here called "another," which is the fourth angel, symbolizes the church, as the other three symbolize the church in their turn. But it should here be observed, that as the other three are addressed to the inhabitants of earth, they contain messages of mercy to man, and the fourth being addressed to the Son of man on the white cloud, it is a message of prayer. Not a prayer for the salvation of sinners, for that closes with the Third Message; but a prayer to the Son of man, "Thrust in thy sickle and reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe," or dried, Margin. Men chosen of God to enter the gospel harvest are called reapers. Angels are also called reapers. And when the harvest of the earth is ripe, Christ will reap. But what is to ripen the harvest of the earth, ready for this work of the Son of man? Answer, the Third Message, received or rejected. It is the last warning Message, dreadful in its character, much more solemn and awful than any before it, ever given to the race of man. It is the closing work of salvation through Jesus Christ. It ripens the harvest of the earth, consequently the Message is yet to arrest the public mind; hence the acts of the two-horned beast. On the manner in which this Message is treated, hangs the eternal destiny of this generation. Awful thought! Mighty truth! Dreadful are the responsibilities, and consequences of the Message! The harvest of the earth is to be ripened. All will be fitted for immortality or the seven last plagues. What will do this work? Reader pause and reflect. Read the chapter again. But one answer can be given; viz., The Third Angel's Message ripens the harvest of the earth. Those who receive it, and live up to their profession of faith, who really keep the Commandments of God and the Faith of Jesus, will be ripened for immortality; while those who reject it, will be left of God to the delusions of Satan, and thus ripen for the vials of Jehovah's wrath. If this position be correct, then where the Message is faithfully set forth, its ripening influence will be seen. The experience of the past is to the point. A few years since the light upon the Message was not sufficiently clear and powerful to arrest the people generally in communities where it was introduced; hence the work was gradual. One after another embraced the present truth, until a general decision, for or against the Message, was finally made. But as it has opened before us, it now possesses sufficient light and strength to command the attention of the people in new fields. And where it is faithfully set forth, its searching power is felt, and its influence is decisive. A few in every place will receive and obey it, while the mass will fall back into indifference, or opposition. And you can no more re-arouse the masses, than you can raise the dead. How important, then, that those who handle the Message, move in the counsel of God, that his hand may guide them, and his Spirit attend all their efforts. That they faithfully set life and death before the people, and clear their skirts from the blood of souls. A misstep of theirs, may so mar the work as to shut the truth away from some who might be saved by its influence. O ye servants of Christ, yours is a holy work, a solemn station. God has committed to you the most grand, and awfully solemn Message of his word, and bids you go and sound the alarm. Human wisdom is inadequate to guide you in this great work amid the perils of the times. O look to Him who has called you. Lean on his all-potent arm. Follow him, as he leads you forth, and certain victory will be yours. J. W.