And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven,
The mighty Angel is Jesus Christ, standing in the closing scenes of the great controversy with Satan. The scene belongs to the time of the end, when the last message of warning is being given to the world. Standing upon the sea and upon the earth, with right foot upon the sea and left foot upon the dry land, shows that the message will cross the ocean and the broad waters to distant lands, to other countries and to the islands of the sea, even to all the world.
That worldwide stance also denotes supreme power and authority over the whole earth, and demands attention in the face of those united with Satan to oppose the truth. With hand lifted to heaven He proclaims with a most solemn oath that time should be no longer, announcing the end of the prophetic periods, that is, the end of definite prophetic time preceding the advent of the Lord. This does not mean the end of this world's history nor the close of probation or probationary time.
After the period reaching from 1842 to the autumn of 1844, the longest reckoning, there can be no other message tracing prophetic time to a set date and no definite tracing of prophetic time. This was fulfilled when those who ardently expected the Lord in 1844 met bitter disappointment, which came in the Lord's order and was permitted that hearts should be revealed. There was no cloud upon the church that God had not prepared for and no opposing force that He had not foreseen, and all took place as predicted through His prophets and was brought about by His providence in its appointed place in history, so that all His purposes will be fulfilled and established.
The oath also means that no further light was to be revealed before the first and second angels' messages had done their specific work. The special light expressed in the seven thunders was a delineation of events that would transpire under the first and second angels' messages, and it was not best for the people to know these things, for their faith must necessarily be tested. In the order of God most wonderful and advanced truths would be proclaimed in the first and second angels' messages.
The mighty Angel is Jesus Christ, standing in the closing scenes of the great controversy with Satan. The scene belongs to the time of the end, when the last message of warning is being given to the world. Standing upon the sea and upon the earth, with right foot upon the sea and left foot upon the dry land, shows that the message will cross the ocean and the broad waters to distant lands, to other countries and to the islands of the sea, even to all the world.
That worldwide stance also denotes supreme power and authority over the whole earth, and demands attention in the face of those united with Satan to oppose the truth. With hand lifted to heaven He proclaims with a most solemn oath that time should be no longer, announcing the end of the prophetic periods, that is, the end of definite prophetic time preceding the advent of the Lord. This does not mean the end of this world's history nor the close of probation or probationary time.
After the period reaching from 1842 to the autumn of 1844, the longest reckoning, there can be no other message tracing prophetic time to a set date and no definite tracing of prophetic time. This was fulfilled when those who ardently expected the Lord in 1844 met bitter disappointment, which came in the Lord's order and was permitted that hearts should be revealed. There was no cloud upon the church that God had not prepared for and no opposing force that He had not foreseen, and all took place as predicted through His prophets and was brought about by His providence in its appointed place in history, so that all His purposes will be fulfilled and established.
The oath also means that no further light was to be revealed before the first and second angels' messages had done their specific work. The special light expressed in the seven thunders was a delineation of events that would transpire under the first and second angels' messages, and it was not best for the people to know these things, for their faith must necessarily be tested. In the order of God most wonderful and advanced truths would be proclaimed in the first and second angels' messages.