The fourth angel comes down and joins the third angel’s cry, adding force and strength to the third message.

“Then I saw another mighty angel commissioned to descend to earth, and unite his voice with the third angel, and give power and force to his message… The work of this angel comes in at the right time, and joins in the last great work of the third angel’s message, as it swells into a loud cry.” {1SG 193.2}              “This message seemed to be an addition to the third message, and joined it, as the midnight cry joined the second angel’s message in 1844.”  {1SG 194.1}

What are the two parts to the Loud Cry?

The first part is the message from the glorious angel proclaiming the final fall of Babylon: “And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory. And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.  For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.” {Rev. 18:1-3}      And the second part is spoken by a voice from heaven, calling God’s people out of Babylon so that they do not partake of her sins and receive her punishment: “And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.” {Rev. 18: 4,5}

What are the two parts to the final warning?

The Third Angel’s Message and the Loud Cry unite in the Final Warning.

“Hence the movement symbolized by the angel coming down from heaven, lightening the earth with his glory and crying mightily with a strong voice, announcing the sins of Babylon. In connection with his message the call is heard: “Come out of her, My people.” These announcements, uniting with the third angel’s message, constitute the final warning to be given to the inhabitants of the earth.” {GC 604.1}

What is the difference between “Babylon is fallen” in the second angel’s message of Revelation 14, as given in the summer of 1844, and “Babylon is fallen” in the Loud Cry of Revelation 18?

The churches (Babylon) fell in 1844 by rejecting the first angel’s message.  But the Loud Cry announces that the churches have fallen completely by rejecting, not only the first message, but all three of the messages.

“When the churches spurned the counsel of God by rejecting the Advent message, the Lord rejected them. The first angel was followed by a second, proclaiming, “Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.” [REV. 14:8] This message was understood by Adventists to be an announcement of the moral fall of the churches in consequence of their rejection of the first message.” {4SP 232.1}

“The whole chapter [of Rev. 18] shows that Babylon that has fallen is the churches who will not receive the messages of warning the Lord has given in the first, second, and third angels’ messages.” {2SM 68.1}

Babylon is become: “the habitation of devils,” “the hold of every foul spirit,” “and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.”  Explain each of these elements.

First, Babylon is “the habitation of devils” in that the people in the fallen churches are under the control of evil angels, with some even believing in spiritualism. “A belief in spiritual manifestations opens the door to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils, and thus the influence of evil angels will be felt in the churches.” {GC 603.2} Second, it is from Christ alone that we obtain pure, holy, loving spirits; our natural spirits are vile, formed in the image of Satan.  So, if the fallen churches have in essence rejected Christ, He cannot impart His loving spirit, and the churches will literally be full of foul-spirited people.  Finally, Babylon is a cage that houses “every unclean and hateful bird” in that those in the churches have not had their hearts cleansed and renewed by Jesus; they are unclean and still in their sins.

List and explain the sins of Babylon, as stated in Revelation 18.

1. The first sin is Babylon’s false doctrines—“the wine of the wrath of her fornication”—of which she has forced all nations to drink.  She has spread her false doctrines about Sunday worship and the immortality of the soul all over the world and has caused as many people as possible to accept them.  Babylon and those who follow her have committed fornication with these doctrines, preferring them over the truths of God’s Word.

“The wine of Babylon is the exalting of the false and spurious sabbath above the Sabbath which the Lord Jehovah hath blessed and sanctified for the use of man, also [it is] the immortality of the soul. These kindred heresies, and the rejection of the truth, convert the church into Babylon. Kings, merchants, rulers, and religious teachers are all in corrupt harmony.” {2SM 68.2}         “But the man of sin, exalting himself above God, sitting in the temple of God, and showing himself to be God, thought to change times and laws. This power, thinking to prove that it was not only equal to God, but above God, changed the rest day, placing the first day of the week where the seventh should be. And the Protestant world has taken this child of the papacy to be regarded as sacred. In the Word of God this is called her fornication.”  {7BC 979.7}         “These and kindred errors are presented to the world by the various churches, and thus the Scriptures are fulfilled that say, ‘For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.’ It is a wrath which is created by false doctrines, and when kings and presidents drink this wine of the wrath of her fornication, they are stirred with anger against those who will not come into harmony with the false and satanic heresies which exalt the false sabbath, and lead men to trample underfoot God’s memorial.”  {TM 61.3}

2. Babylon’s second sin is making alliances with political powers and uniting the church with the state.  This is how “the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her.”

“…confederating with the kings and great men of the earth,…” {1MR 353.4}

3. Her third sin is selfishly misusing the blessings that God has given her—“waxing rich through the abundance of her delicacies.”  Christ was self-sacrificing and humble, and His followers should be the same way.  But Babylon exalts herself and lives extravagantly, displaying a character completely foreign to the meek and lowly Savior.

“Extravagance in the use of means, selfishness, heresies, have taken the world captive. For centuries satanic agencies have been at work. Will they now give up without a struggle (MS 172, 1899)?” {7BC 985.3}         “Only by a life of simplicity, self-denial, and close economy, is it possible for us to accomplish the work appointed us as Christ’s representatives. Pride and worldly ambition must be put out of our hearts. In all our work the principle of unselfishness revealed in Christ’s life is to be carried out.” {ST,December 15, 1909 par. 11}

When do Babylon’s sins reach unto heaven?

Babylon’s sins reach unto heaven when God’s Law is ultimately desecrated by the enforcement of a national Sunday law.

“When do her sins reach unto heaven [Rev. 18:2-5]? When the law of God is finally made void by legislation.–ST June 12, 1893. {LDE 198.5} “God keeps a record with the nations. The figures are swelling against them in the books of heaven, and when it shall have become a law that the transgression of the first day of the week shall be met with punishment, then their cup will be full.” –7BC 910 (1886).

Why does Revelation 18 say that Babylon receives the plagues?

Babylon receives the plagues because she has filled up her cup of woe and now must drink it in the seven last plagues.

“…that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.” Why does she receive these plagues? “For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.” (Rev. 18:4, 5)

If you are honestly serving God, what difference does it make which church you belong to [according to Revelation 18]?

If you know that the church you belong to is rebelling against God, staying a part of it would in a sense be condoning the evil taking place, even if you yourself are a true believer.  To be a true follower of Christ, we must give all for Him; but if we are not willing to give up our membership in a particular church, than we aren’t really following Him.  Also, the destruction of Babylon is a “packaged deal”—Babylon and whatever is “inside” of her is burned.  “Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.” (Rev. 18:4)  It’s like this: if you insist on staying inside of a building that is being demolished, you will be destroyed with the building.  Even though the demolition crew did not plan to destroy you, they ended up doing so because you refused to leave the building.

Why are there only two distinct calls made to the churches?

It could be that the first distinct call was made to announce that the churches had fallen by rejecting the first angel’s message.  They were no longer blessed of God, but rather had become the third part of Babylon.  Now notice that when the fall of Babylon was announced the first time, the call to come out of her was implied, not directly stated; perhaps this was because there was still quite a bit of time for people to come out.  But the second distinct call announces the complete fall of the churches by their rejection of all three messages, and it is coupled with an urgent call for God’s people to come out of Babylon.  Time is running out; the churches will move toward a national Sunday Law; probation will close, and the seven last plagues will fall upon Babylon.  If people do not want to be “partakers of her sins” and receive “of her plagues,” they must leave Babylon now.

When is the Loud Cry supposed to be given?

The Loud Cry is to be given right now, at this present time.

“The message of the angel following the third is now to be given to all parts of the world. It is to be the harvest message.” –Letter 86, 1900.  {LDE 208.1}

What is it that gives power to the Loud voice [Cry]?

The true believers of God (us hopefully!) give the Loud Cry, and it is the Latter Rain that gives them their power.

“At that time the “latter rain,” or refreshing from the presence of the Lord, will come, to give power to the loud voice of the third angel, and prepare the saints to stand in the period when the seven last plagues shall be poured out.” –EW 86 (1854). {LDE 186.4}

The truths of Christ’s move into and subsequent mediation in the Most Holy Place and the eternal authority of His Law are the core concepts of the Third Angel’s Message.

“Those who had accepted the light concerning the mediation of Christ and the perpetuity of the law of God, found that these were the truths brought to view in the third message.” {4SP 275.2}                      “They had by faith followed their High Priest from the holy to the most holy, and they saw him pleading his blood before the ark of God. Within that sacred ark is the Father’s law, the same that was spoken by God himself amid the thunders of Sinai, and written with his own finger on the tables of stone. Not one command has been annulled; not a jot or tittle has been changed. While God gave to Moses a copy of his law, he preserved the great original in the sanctuary above.” {4SP 273.3}

When did Jesus send the third angel’s message?

Jesus sent the third message after he entered the Most Holy Place, which was after the 2300 days ended on October 22, 1844.

“When Christ entered the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary to perform the closing work of the atonement, he committed to his servants the last message of mercy to be given to the world. Such is the warning of the third angel of Revelation 14.” {4SP 273.1} “As foretold in the Scriptures, the ministration of Christ in the most holy place began at the termination of the prophetic days in 1844. To this time apply the words of the Revelator, “The temple of God was opened in Heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament.” [REV. 11:19] The ark of God’s testament is in the second apartment of the sanctuary. As Christ entered there, to minister in the sinner’s behalf, the inner temple was opened, and the ark of God was brought to view.“  {4SP 273.2}

How did the third angel light up the past, the present, and the future to the early advent believers after the passing of the time in 1844?

When the third angel’s message was given, it threw light upon the past, present, and future.  As the advent believers came to understand Christ’s move into and ministration in the Most Holy Place, they realized that the first angel’s message was really an announcement of this (“the hour of his judgment is come”) and not of His second coming.  They now understood that that Judgment was going on at the present time (and still is); and they were also shown the perpetuity of God’s Law, especially the Sabbath. Their minds were pointed forward to Christ’s final work of atonement in the Most Holy Place, (this work is in the future for the living) which started in their present time and continues until the end of probation.

Why does the evangelical Christian world not accept the truth of Christ’s change of ministration from the holy place to the most holy place in 1844?

The evangelical Christian world rejects Christ’s ministration in the Most Holy Place because they see that to accept it would also mean to accept the validity of God’s Law and the Sabbath.  This would go against their traditions, and they would rather reject a message from God than throw out their man-made customs.

“Many and earnest were the efforts made to overthrow their faith. None could fail to see that if the earthly sanctuary was a figure or pattern of the heavenly, the law deposited in the ark on earth was an exact transcript of the law in the ark in Heaven, and that an acceptance of the truth concerning the heavenly sanctuary involved an acknowledgment of the claims of God’s law, and the obligation of the Sabbath of the fourth commandment. Here was the secret of the bitter and determined opposition to the harmonious exposition of the Scriptures that brought to view the ministration of Christ in the heavenly sanctuary. How hard men tried to close the door which God had opened, and to open the door which he had closed! But “He that openeth and no man shutteth, and shutteth and no man openeth,” had declared, “Behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it.” [REV. 3:7, 8.] Christ had opened the door, or ministration, of the most holy place, light was shining from that open door of the sanctuary in Heaven, and the fourth commandment was shown to be included in the law within the ark; what God had established, no man could overthrow.” {4SP 275.1}

How is the message of justification by faith the third angel’s message?

The third angel’s message presents Christ’s ministration in the Most Holy Place.  It is in this apartment that Christ performs his last act of ministration: The final atonement or justification.  To be benefited by the final atonement, we must accept Christ’s righteousness by faith.

“This message…presented justification through faith in the Surety; it invited the people to receive the righteousness of Christ…All power is given into His hands, that He may dispense rich gifts unto men, imparting the priceless gift of His own righteousness to the helpless human agent.”[Testimonies to Ministers, pp. 91-93. (1896) {Ev 190.4}]

What is the purpose of the numbering system for the angels’ messages of Revelation 14?

The messages are numbered 1, 2, 3 only because that is the order in which they were given.  However, one message did not end when another arose; they simply went on together.

“The three messages are but one threefold message. They are three only in the order of their rise. But having risen, they go on together and are inseparable.” {GC 693 appendix}

How do the first, second, and third angels’ messages all blend into one?

The first message announces the Investigative Judgment (which happens in the Most Holy Place).  The second message proclaims the fall of the churches after they rejected the first message.  And the essence of third message is Christ’s move into the Most Holy Place and the perpetuity of the Law.  Therefore, the messages blend into one in that they all have something to do with the Most Holy Place.

How can you show that the mediation of Christ and the perpetuity of the law of God are the truths of the third angel’s message?

The common thread through the three messages is the Most Holy Place; so it can be understood that the third message would be on this subject also.  However, the Most Holy Place has little significance by itself; it is an important place because Christ has gone there to perform the final atonement.  It because of our faith in Christ’s ministration in the Most Holy Place that we will have the “patience” to endure trials and the terrible wrath of God that will come upon the wicked.  “Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” Rev. 14:12  Now, the above verse says that the saints keep the commandments, showing that God’s Law is still valid and must still be kept.  We can know that we are to keep all the commandments (including the fourth) because the majority of the  third angel’s message warns the world of the consequences of disregarding God’s Sabbath and receiving the mark of the beast, which is Sunday worship.

Where is the “here” in Revelation 14:12: “Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God” “and their faith in Jesus”?

The “here” is the Most Holy Place into which the advent believers were led by faith.

“The third angel closes his message thus:  ‘Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.’ As he repeated these words, he pointed to the heavenly sanctuary. The minds of all who embrace this message are directed to the most holy place, where Jesus stands before the ark, making His final intercession for all those for whom mercy still lingers and for those who have ignorantly broken the law of God.” {EW 254.1}

What is the “action step[s]” for the third angel’s message?

When I, by faith, go into the Most Holy Place, I find that God’s Law is still binding, and I have a choice—whether to follow it or not.  If I heed the third angel’s message, I must keep the Law, including the fourth commandment.  Also, the third message was about justification by faith in Christ; so if I accept the third angel’s message, I must stop trying to reach heaven by works alone and accept Christ’s righteousness by faith.  Finally, Ellen White was shown that the health message is a part of the third angel’s message as well; thus I must also keep God’s health laws and take care of my body, which is His temple.

“They had by faith followed their High Priest from the holy to the most holy…Within that sacred ark is the Father’s law, the same that was spoken by God himself amid the thunders of Sinai, and written with his own finger on the tables of stone. Not one command has been annulled; not a jot or tittle has been changed. While God gave to Moses a copy of his law, he preserved the great original in the sanctuary above. Tracing down its holy precepts, the seekers for truth found, in the very bosom of the decalogue, the fourth commandment, as it was first proclaimed: ‘Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy…’” {4SP 273.3}             “The Spirit of God impressed the hearts of these students of his word. The conviction was urged upon them, that they had ignorantly transgressed the fourth commandment by disregarding the Creator’s rest-day. They began to examine the reasons for observing the first day of the week instead of the day which God had sanctified. They could find no evidence in the Scriptures that the fourth commandment had been abolished, or that the Sabbath had been changed; the blessing which first hallowed the seventh day had never been removed. They had been honestly seeking to know and do God’s will, and now, as they saw themselves transgressors of his law, sorrow filled their hearts. They at once evinced their loyalty to God by keeping his Sabbath holy.” {4SP 274.1}            “None could fail to see that if the earthly sanctuary was a figure or pattern of the heavenly, the law deposited in the ark on earth was an exact transcript of the law in the ark in Heaven, and that an acceptance of the truth concerning the heavenly sanctuary involved an acknowledgment of the claims of God’s law, and the obligation of the Sabbath of the fourth commandment.” {4SP 275.1}              “Several have written to me, inquiring if the message of justification by faith is the third angel’s message, and I have answered, “It is the third angel’s message in verity.” –Review and Herald, April 1, 1890. {Ev 190.3}             “This message was to bring more prominently before the world the uplifted Saviour, the sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. It presented justification through faith in the Surety; it invited the people to receive the righteousness of Christ, which is made manifest in obedience to all the commandments of God. Many had lost sight of Jesus. They needed to have their eyes directed to His divine person, His merits, and His changeless love for the human family. All power is given into His hands, that He may dispense rich gifts unto men, imparting the priceless gift of His own righteousness to the helpless human agent.” –Testimonies to Ministers, pp. 91-93. (1896) {Ev 190.4}              “The health reform, I was shown, is a part of the third angel’s message and is just as closely connected with it as are the arm and hand with the human body.” –1T 486 (1867).            “Whatever injures the health not only lessens physical vigor but tends to weaken the mental and moral powers. Indulgence in any unhealthful practice makes it more difficult for one to discriminate between right and wrong and hence more difficult to resist evil.” –MH 128 (1905).

What are the two purposes for the warning against the beast and his image contained in the third message?

The warning’s two purposes apply to two different groups of people.  One purpose is to warn those who are not following God of their impending doom so that they may flee to Christ for salvation.  The second purpose is to arouse the people of God to the fearful events about to take place so that they may prepare to overcome the soon-coming trials and temptations and remain faithful.

“The most solemn warning and the most awful threatening ever addressed to mortals is that contained in the third angel’s message. The sin that calls down the wrath of God unmixed with mercy must be of the most heinous character. Is the world to be left in darkness as to the nature of this sin?–Most assuredly not. God does not deal thus with His creatures. His wrath is never visited upon sins of ignorance. Before His judgments are brought upon the earth, the light in regard to this sin must be presented to the world, that man may know why these judgments are to be inflicted, and may have opportunity to escape them.” {ST, November 1, 1899 par. 7} “The most fearful threatening ever addressed to mortals is contained in the third angel’s message. That must be a terrible sin which calls down the wrath of God unmingled with mercy. Men are not to be left in darkness concerning this important matter; the warning against this sin is to be given to the world before the visitation of God’s judgments, that all may know why they are to be inflicted, and have opportunity to escape them…   The warning of the third angel…   will command the attention of the world.” {GC 449.2} “As the ministration of Jesus closed in the holy place, and He passed into the holiest, and stood before the ark containing the law of God, He sent another mighty angel with a third message to the world. A parchment was placed in the angel’s hand, and as he descended to the earth in power and majesty, he proclaimed a fearful warning, with the most terrible threatening ever borne to man. This message was designed to put the children of God upon their guard, by showing them the hour of temptation and anguish that was before them. Said the angel, “They will be brought into close combat with the beast and his image. Their only hope of eternal life is to remain steadfast. Although their lives are at stake, they must hold fast the truth.” {EW 254.1}

What does it mean to receive the mark of the beast?

The mark of the beast is the false sabbath or Sunday worship.  One receives this mark when he has an understanding of the sanctity of the true Sabbath, yet chooses to ignore God’s command and follow the beast and his image in the worship of Sunday.

“John was called to behold a people distinct from those who worship the beast and his image by keeping the first day of the week. The observance of this day is the mark of the beast.” (Letter 31, 1898). {7BC 979.11} “If the light of truth has been presented to you, revealing the Sabbath of the fourth commandment, and showing that there is no foundation in the Word of God for Sunday observance, and yet you still cling to the false sabbath, refusing to keep holy the Sabbath which God calls “My holy day,” you receive the mark of the beast. When does this take place? When you obey the decree that commands you to cease from labor on Sunday and worship God, while you know that there is not a word in the Bible showing Sunday to be other than a common working day, you consent to receive the mark of the beast, and refuse the seal of God. {7BC 980.1}           “To receive this mark means to come to the same decision as the beast has done, and to advocate the same ideas, in direct opposition to the Word of God.” {7BC 979.12}            “‘He causeth all, both small and great, . . . to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads’ (Rev. 13:16). Not only are men not to work with their hands on Sunday, but with their minds are they to acknowledge Sunday as the Sabbath.” –Special Testimony to Battle Creek Church (Ph 86) 6, 7 (1897). {LDE 224.4}

What is “the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation”?

This “wine of the wrath of God” is the seven last plagues that are poured out upon the wicked once probation is closed and God has withdrawn His protective mercy from the earth.

“When Christ ceases His intercession in the sanctuary, the unmingled wrath threatened against those who worship the beast and his image and receive his mark (Revelation 14:9, 10), will be poured out. The plagues upon Egypt when God was about to deliver Israel were similar in character to those more terrible and extensive judgments which are to fall upon the world just before the final deliverance of God’s people.”   {GC 627.3} “These plagues are not universal, or the inhabitants of the earth would be wholly cut off. Yet they will be the most awful scourges that have ever been known to mortals. All the judgments upon men, prior to the close of probation, have been mingled with mercy. The pleading blood of Christ has shielded the sinner from receiving the full measure of his guilt; but in the final judgment, wrath is poured out unmixed with mercy.” {GC 628.2}

How are those who receive the mark of the beast “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”?

The wicked experience mental torment, far exceeding any physical pain from the lake of fire.  This anguish—the weight of sin and guilt that separates the soul from God—is what nearly crushed out the life of Christ as He clung to the ground in Gethsemane, and it is what will eternally kill the wicked.  But the wicked are still burned in a lake of fire that encompasses the whole earth, except for where the New Jerusalem is.  The wicked are finally destroyed before the city in the sight of God, the angels, and the saints.  When the conflagration is over, sin will have been exterminated for ever.

“In the presence of the assembled inhabitants of earth and heaven the final coronation of the Son of God takes place…Above the throne is revealed the cross; and like a panoramic view appear the scenes of Adam’s temptation and fall, and the successive steps in the great plan of redemption. The Saviour’s lowly birth; His early life of simplicity and obedience; His baptism in Jordan; the fast and temptation in the wilderness; His public ministry…the days crowded with deeds of love and mercy, the nights of prayer and watching in the solitude of the mountains; the plottings of envy, hate, and malice which repaid His benefits; the awful, mysterious agony in Gethsemane beneath the crushing weight of the sins of the whole world… It is now evident to all that the wages of sin is not noble independence and eternal life, but slavery, ruin, and death. The wicked see what they have forfeited by their life of rebellion. The far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory was despised when offered them; but how desirable it now appears. “All this,” cries the lost soul, “I might have had; but I chose to put these things far from me. Oh, strange infatuation! I have exchanged peace, happiness, and honor for wretchedness, infamy, and despair”… Fire comes down from God out of heaven. The earth is broken up. The weapons concealed in its depths are drawn forth. Devouring flames burst from every yawning chasm. The very rocks are on fire. The day has come that shall burn as an oven. The elements melt with fervent heat, the earth also, and the works that are therein are burned up. Malachi 4:1; 2 Peter 3:10. The earth’s surface seems one molten mass–a vast, seething lake of fire…Satan’s work of ruin is forever ended. For six thousand years he has wrought his will, filling the earth with woe and causing grief throughout the universe…Now God’s creatures are forever delivered from his presence and temptations…While the earth was wrapped in the fire of destruction, the righteous abode safely in the Holy City. Upon those that had part in the first resurrection, the second death has no power. While God is to the wicked a consuming fire, He is to His people both a sun and a shield. Revelation 20:6; Psalm 84:11. “I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away.” Revelation 21:1. The fire that consumes the wicked purifies the earth. Every trace of the curse is swept away.” {portions of GC 666-674}

What does it mean that “the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever”?

The smoke ascending up “for ever and ever” does not mean that the wicked burn forever; this is simply a word picture of the eternal consequences of sin—the second eternal death.  Jude 7 talks about Sodom and Gomorrah “suffering the vengeance of eternal fire,” but obviously these cities are no longer burning.  Also Isaiah 34, which describes the “day of the Lord’s vengeance” (vs. 8), says in verse 10 that the land burns with unquenchable fire; but the very next verse says that birds possess the wasted land, and they couldn’t live in eternal flames.  Thus Rev. 14:11 is not talking about an eternally burning hell, but rather sin-destroying flames that only the eternal God can extinguish .  These flames accomplish the final eternal destruction of sin and those who have chosen to cling to it.

So, how can we stop this downward plunge?  I think the answer lies in the next few verses of Rev. 3, “I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.  As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.   Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.”  We must all do serious soul searching personally and adhere to the truth steadfastly.  If every member would seek God with his whole heart personally, than the church as a whole would be reformed.  Also, we must take much stronger action toward those who do apostasize, but at the same time remembering the God still loves them, and we should too.   However, no matter how much one may love a diseased limb, if it endangers the rest of the body, it needs to be cut off.  If I were GC president, I would probably fire the president of La Sierra and the teachers who are teaching evolution.  Also, I would disfellowship those who claim to be SDAs but choose to believe the evolutionary theories–you can’t be a Seventh-day Adventist and believe evolution, I’m sorry.   If these measures weren’t enough, I might even consider turning La Sierra over to “the world” and just let it be a “normal” university.  This may sound drastic, but Christ did say, “And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.” Matt. 5:30      “If morality and religion are to live in a school, it must be through a knowledge of God’s word. Some may urge that if religious teaching is to be made prominent our school will become unpopular; that those who are not of our faith will not patronize the college. Very well, then, let them go to other colleges, where they will find a system of education that suits their taste. Our school was established, not merely to teach the sciences, but for the purpose of giving instruction in the great principles of God’s word and in the practical duties of everyday life.  {5T 25.3} This is the education so much needed at the present time. If a worldly influence is to bear sway in our school, then sell it out to worldlings and let them take the entire control; and those who have invested their means in that institution will establish another school, to be conducted, not upon the plan of popular schools, nor according to the desires of principal and teachers, but upon the plan which God has specified. {5T 25.4}

The second angel’s message was proclaimed in the summer of 1844, after the mainstream Protestant churches made it plain that they wanted nothing to do with the first message. “When the churches spurned the counsel of God by rejecting the Advent message, the Lord rejected them. The first angel was followed by a second, proclaiming, “Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.” [REV. 14:8]…The proclamation, “Babylon is fallen,” was given in the summer of 1844, and as the result, about fifty thousand withdrew from these churches. ” {4SP 232.1} “THE SECOND ANGEL’S MESSAGE HAD ITS INITIAL SOUNDING EARLY IN THE SUMMER OF 1844 IN THE CALL TO THE ADVENT BELIEVERS TO COME OUT OF THE NOMINAL CHURCHES THAT HAD REJECTED THE PROCLAMATION OF THE FIRST ANGEL’S MESSAGE.” {EW 304.1}

Who did the second angel’s message have a more direct application to?

The second message applied directly to the Protestant churches of America, who had rejected the first angel’s message and thus become a part of Babylon. “The first angel was followed by a second, proclaiming, “Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.” [REV. 14:8] This message was understood by Adventists to be an announcement of the moral fall of the churches in consequence of their rejection of the first message.”{4SP 232.1}             “ The second angel’s message of Revelation 14 had a more direct application to the churches of the United States, where the warning of the judgment had been most widely proclaimed and most generally rejected, and where the declension in the churches had been most rapid.” {GC 389.2}

Why was the second angel’s message given?

The second angel’s message was given to announce the fall of the Protestant churches and to call the advent believers out of them.         “The first angel was followed by a second, proclaiming, “Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.” [REV. 14:8] This message was understood by Adventists to be an announcement of the moral fall of the churches in consequence of their rejection of the first message. The proclamation, “Babylon is fallen,” was given in the summer of 1844, and as the result, about fifty thousand withdrew from these churches.” {4SP 232.1}

What were the consequences to the churches when they rejected the first angel’s message?

Of course the result of the rejection of the first message by the churches was that God rejected them.  But more than that, they became a part of Babylon–the false prophet, apostate Protestantism.  Because they had rejected the light, the nominal churches could not benefit from the greater light that would come in the forms of the second message, midnight cry, and third message.  They would not have an understanding of Christ’s ministration in the  Most Holy Place, and thus would not be able to be benefited by it. “The term “Babylon” is derived from “Babel,” and signifies confusion. It is employed in Scripture to designate the various forms of false or apostate religion. In Revelation 17 Babylon is represented as a woman –a figure which is used in the Bible as the symbol of a church, a virtuous woman representing a pure church, a vile woman an apostate church.”  {GC 381.1} “…These kindred heresies, and the rejection of the truth convert the church into Babylon. ” {1MR 302.2}               “When the churches spurned the counsel of God by rejecting the Advent message, the Lord rejected them.” {4SP 232.1} “As the churches refused to receive the first angel’s message, they rejected the light from heaven and fell from the favor of God. They trusted to their own strength, and by opposing the first message placed themselves where they could not see the light of the second angel’s message. ” {EW 237.2}                 “Those who rejected the first message could not be benefited by the second; neither were they benefited by the midnight cry, which was to prepare them to enter with Jesus by faith into the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary. And by rejecting the two former messages, they have so darkened their understanding that they can see no light in the third angel’s message, which shows the way into the most holy place…and therefore they have no knowledge of the way into the most holy, and they cannot be benefited by the intercession of Jesus there.” {EW 260.1}

What is the “action step” of the second angel’s message?

By rejecting the first message, the Protestant churches became Babylon.   God says, “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?” (2 Cor. 6:14).  Since the churches could definitely be called “unrighteousness” and “darkness,” the true people of God should not be “yoked together” with them, but rather should separate themselves (which is exactly what they did).  In other words, the “action-step” was the leaving of the nominal churches by the advent believers.          “This message was understood by Adventists to be an announcement of the moral fall of the churches in consequence of their rejection of the first message… about fifty thousand withdrew from these churches. “ {4SP 232.1} “But the beloved of God, who were oppressed, accepted the message, “Babylon is fallen,” and left the churches.” {EW 237.2}

When was the climactic closing up of the second angel’s message?

The second angel’s message was closed us shortly before the expected date of Christ’s return (Oct. 22, 1844).        “THERE WAS A CLIMACTIC CLOSING UP OF THE SECOND ANGEL’S MESSAGE IMMEDIATELY PRECEDING OCTOBER 22, 1844. {EW 304.1}”

What was the Midnight Cry?

The Midnight Cry proclaimed, “Behold, the Bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him” (Matthew 25:6).           “And I heard the voices of angels crying, “Behold, the Bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet Him!”  {EW 238.1} This was the midnight cry, which was to give power to the second angel’s message. Angels were sent from heaven to arouse the discouraged saints and prepare them for the great work before them.”  {EW 238.2}

When was the Midnight Cry given?

As the second angel’s message drew to a close, the Midnight Cry was given.    “Near the close of the second angel’s message, I saw a great light from heaven shining upon the people of God. The rays of this light seemed bright as the sun. And I heard the voices of angels crying, “Behold, the Bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet Him!”  {EW 238.1}

What was the purpose of the Midnight Cry?

The Midnight Cry gave power to the second angel’s message.  Also, many of the believers were discouraged by the rejection of the first angel’s message by the churches and the opposition that they faced.  The Midnight Cry aroused these brethren, as well as the rest of the Adventists, and led them to seek a living, personal experience in the truth rather than depending on what others believed.                   “This was the midnight cry, which was to give power to the second angel’s message…Angels were sent to the humble, devoted ones, and constrained them to raise the cry, “Behold, the Bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet Him!” Those entrusted with the cry made haste, and in the power of the Holy Spirit sounded the message, and aroused their discouraged brethren. This work did not stand in the wisdom and learning of men, but in the power of God, and His saints who heard the cry could not resist it.” {EW 238.2} “A mighty work was accomplished by the midnight cry. The message was heart-searching, leading the believers to seek a living experience for themselves. They knew that they could not lean upon one another.” {EW 238.3}

For those who had received the first angel’s message, how did the Midnight Cry prepare them to enter with Jesus by faith into the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary?

If you didn’t have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, most likely you wouldn’t be studying His Word, praying, or seeking His will very much.  You probably would reject the first two angels’ messages and not realize that He moved to the Most Holy Place, and you could not be “benefited by the intercession of Jesus there.” {EW 260.1}  The Midnight Cry prepared the believers to, in faith, move with Jesus into the Most Holy Place by calling them to have a living personal relationship with Him.  By obeying the call, they would be drawn nearer to Jesus, and He could then open to their understanding the truth of His Most-Holy-Place ministration.            “Those who rejected the first message could not be benefited by the second; neither were they benefited by the midnight cry, which was to prepare them to enter with Jesus by faith into the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary.” {EW 260.1}                “A mighty work was accomplished by the midnight cry. The message was heart-searching, leading the believers to seek a living experience for themselves. They knew that they could not lean upon one another.”  {EW 238.3}

Just as Jesus cleansed the temple both at the beginning and at the end of His public ministry, so in the last work for the warning of the world, two distinct calls are made to the churches. What are the two distinct calls to the churches, and when are these two calls made?

The two distinct calls are the  1) Second Angel’s Message/Midnight Cry and 2) The Loud Cry (of the third angel’s message).  The first call was given in the summer of 1844; the second call should be being given right now until the end of probation.           “When Jesus began His public ministry, He cleansed the temple from its sacrilegious profanation. Among the last acts of His ministry was the second cleansing of the temple. So in the last work for the warning of the world, two distinct calls are made to the churches. The second angel’s message is, “Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.” And in the loud cry of the third angel’s message a voice is heard from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities” (RH Dec. 6, 1892).  {7BC 985.5 }                “THE SECOND ANGEL’S MESSAGE HAD ITS INITIAL SOUNDING EARLY IN THE SUMMER OF 1844 IN THE CALL TO THE ADVENT BELIEVERS TO COME OUT OF THE NOMINAL CHURCHES THAT HAD REJECTED THE PROCLAMATION OF THE FIRST ANGEL’S MESSAGE.” {EW 304.1} “The second angel’s message of Revelation 14 was first preached in the summer of 1844, and it then had a more direct application to the churches of the United States…” {GC 389.2} “The message of the angel following the third is now to be given to all parts of the world. It is to be the harvest message.”  –Letter 86, 1900.  {LDE 208.1}

Why are there only two distinct calls made to the churches?

Jesus opened his public ministry by cleansing the temple; and near the end of His time on earth, He cleansed it a second time. Ellen White connects Christ’s cleansings of the temple with the two distinct calls that are to be given to the churches: “When Jesus began His public ministry, He cleansed the temple from its sacrilegious profanation. Among the last acts of His ministry was the second cleansing of the temple. So in the last work for the warning of the world, two distinct calls are made to the churches.” {LDE 208.1} In between the first and second cleansings of the temple, Jesus carried out His mission to earth, and the Jews had time to accept or reject His Messiahship.  Perhaps it is the same in the last days.  The proclamation of the Second Angel’s Message/Midnight Cry was the initial wakeup call to the people in the churches.  The Loud Cry will be the second distinct call.  Perhaps the intervening time is given so that the Holy Spirit can prepare the hearts of as many as possible, so that when the second call is given (now until the end of probation) they will heed it and come out of Babylon.  In summary, perhaps two distinct calls are given in order to give people two chances to make the right choice.

Or in answer to why there are only two distinct calls, I thought about the parable of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:20-31).   When the rich man is in torment, he asks Abraham to bring Lazarus back from the dead and send him to the rich man’s family to convert them.  But Abraham replies,   “They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.”  The rich man says, “Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent.”   Abraham tells him,  “If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.”   So, with the people of today, perhaps only two calls are given because God knows that it would be of no use to send more; if they won’t heed two calls (Moses and the prophets), they won’t heed a third call either (one risen from the dead).

Those who accept God’s truth are the ones to give the first angel’s message.  “These three angels represent the people who accept the light of God’s messages, and go forth as His agents to sound the warning throughout the length and breadth of the earth...“  {ST, January 25, 1910 par. 5} “Here is shown the nature of the work of the people of God. They have a message of so great importance that they are represented as flying in the presentation of it to the world.”  {5T 206.3}

When was the first angel’s message first given?

The first angel’s message was proclaimed in the 1830′s and ’40s, specifically in 1843 and 1844.  The message will be repeated in the future as mentioned above.  “The first and second messages were given in 1843 and 1844, and we are now under the proclamation of the third; but all three of the messages are still to be proclaimed. It is just as essential now as ever before that they shall be repeated to those who are seeking for the truth…”  –Manuscript 32, 1896.  {CW 26.2} “WHILE WE UNDERSTAND CLEARLY THAT THE MESSAGES OF THE FIRST AND SECOND AND THIRD ANGELS ARE MESSAGES THAT HAVE THEIR APPLICATION TODAY, WE RECOGNIZE ALSO THAT IN THEIR INITIAL PROCLAMATION THE SOUNDING OF THE FIRST ANGEL’S MESSAGE WITH ITS DECLARATION THAT “THE HOUR OF GOD’S JUDGMENT IS COME” IS LINKED WITH THE PROCLAMATION OF THE EXPECTED ADVENT OF CHRIST IN THE 1830′S AND EARLY 1840′S.”  {EW 304.1}

Where did the prophecy of the first angel’s message have its most direct fulfillment?

The message was proclaimed in many parts of the earth, but the most specific fulfillment was in the United States.  “To William Miller and his colaborers it was given to preach the warning in America. This country became the center of the great advent movement. It was here that the prophecy of the first angel’s message had its most direct fulfillment. The writings of Miller and his associates were carried to distant lands. Wherever missionaries had penetrated in all the world, were sent the glad tidings of Christ’s speedy return. Far and wide spread the message of the everlasting gospel: “Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come.” {GC 368.1}

Why was the first angel’s message given?

The message was given because the churches had fallen away from the principles of the Protestant Reformation.  They had gone from operating on the Circuit of Beneficence (taking to give) to operating on the Broken Circuit (taking to glorify one’s self).  They were glorifying themselves and living deliciously (Rev.  18:7).   The message was meant to wake the sleeping ones up and prepare them for the judgment and ultimately the second coming.  “Why are the messages of Revelation fourteen given? Because the principles of the churches have become corrupted. . . . [Rev. 14:6-10 quoted.]“  {7BC 979.1} “The first angel’s message of Revelation 14, announcing the hour of God’s judgment and calling upon men to fear and worship Him, was designed to separate the professed people of God from the corrupting influences of the world and to arouse them to see their true condition of worldliness and backsliding. In this message, God has sent to the church a warning, which, had it been accepted, would have corrected the evils that were shutting them away from Him. Had they received the message from heaven, humbling their hearts before the Lord and seeking in sincerity a preparation to stand in His presence, the Spirit and power of God would have been manifested among them. The church would again have reached that blessed state of unity, faith, and love which existed in apostolic days, when the believers “were of one heart and of one soul,” and “spake the word of God with boldness,” when “the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.” Acts 4:32, 31; 2:47. “{GC 379.1}

How is the first angel’s message announcing  “the hour of His judgment is come,” a part of the gospel?

The Gospel is the good news about salvation and Christ’s ministry for us in the heavenly sanctuary.  The Judgment is a part of that Gospel in that the Judgment is the finishing act of Christ’s ministry–probation closes at the end of the Judgment.      “The message of salvation has been preached in all ages; but this message [about the judgment] is a part of the gospel which could be proclaimed only in the last days, for only then would it be true that the hour of judgment had come. ” {GC 355.3}           “The announcement, “The hour of His judgment is come,” points to the closing work of Christ’s ministration for the salvation of men. It heralds a truth which must be proclaimed until the Saviour’s intercession shall cease and He shall return to the earth to take His people to Himself. The work of judgment which began in 1844 must continue until the cases of all are decided, both of the living and the dead; hence it will extend to the close of human probation. ” {GC 435.2}

What were the consequences to the churches when they rejected the first angel’s message?

The message was a matter of life and death to those who heard it.  Those who accepted the message turned onto the way to God and everlasting life; but those who rejected the message, turned their backs on life and God, incurring his wrath and judgment.    “When the churches spurned the counsel of God by rejecting the Advent message, the Lord rejected them. The first angel was followed by a second, proclaiming, “Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.” [REV. 14:8] This message was understood by Adventists to be an announcement of the moral fall of the churches in consequence of their rejection of the first message. The proclamation, “Babylon is fallen,” was given in the summer of 1844, and as the result, about fifty thousand withdrew from these churches.“  {4SP 232.1}

How does the first angel’s message influence the second angel’s message?

If the first angel’s message had been accepted by all the churches, than there would have been no need for the second message; Protestantism would not have fallen.   But since the majority of Protestant churches rejected the light, becoming a part of Babylon, it was necessary that another message be preached warning of Babylon’s fall and calling the true believers out of her.   “The first angel was followed by a second, proclaiming, “Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.” [REV. 14:8] This message was understood by Adventists to be an announcement of the moral fall of the churches in consequence of their rejection of the first message. The proclamation, “Babylon is fallen,” was given in the summer of 1844, and as the result, about fifty thousand withdrew from these churches.“  {4SP 232.1}

How is the first angel’s message still relevant today?

The first angel’s message was, “Fear God and give glory to him…for the hour of his judgment is come…”  This message is still relevant because the Judgment is still going on.  There are still people who do not know about the Judgment, so when they are given the message, it will be the first time they have heard that “the hour of his judgment is come.”          “The first and second messages were given in 1843 and 1844, and we are now under the proclamation of the third ; but all three of the  messages are still to be proclaimed. It is just as essential now as ever before that they shall be repeated to those who are seeking for the truth. By pen and voice we are to sound the proclamation, showing their order, and the application of the prophecies that bring us to the third angel’s message. There cannot be a third without the first and second. These messages we are to give to the world in publications, in discourses, showing in the line of prophetic history the things that have been, and the things that will be.” –Manuscript 32, 1896.  {CW 26.2

What is the “action step” for the first angel’s message?

When a person hears the first angel’s message, it is not enough for him to have head knowledge, but he must act on it.   He must fear God, give glory to Him, keep His law, and worship Him (Rev. 14:7).      “…The message commands them to “fear God, and give glory to Him,” “and worship Him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.” The result of an acceptance of these messages is given in the word: “Here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.”  In order to be prepared for the judgment, it is necessary that men should keep the law of God. That law will be the standard of character in the judgment. “  {GC 435.2}

How does the first angel’s message, as it was perceived during the advent movement of 1840-1844, fit together with the actual content of the first angel’s message?

When the message was first given, the second coming of Jesus was proclaimed; but the second coming isn’t mentioned in the text.  I think the way that the second coming fits with the “actual” message is this:  Jesus is coming soon.   People must be given the everlasting Gospel, taught how to keep the Law, and made aware of the Judgment in order to be prepared for Jesus’ coming.   And since we are now in the time of the end, the urgency of this message being preached to prepare people’s hearts is even greater.      “The first angel’s message of Revelation 14, announcing the hour of God’s judgment and calling upon men to fear and worship Him, was designed to separate the professed people of God from the corrupting influences of the world and to arouse them to see their true condition of worldliness and backsliding. In this message, God has sent to the church a warning, which, had it been accepted, would have corrected the evils that were shutting them away from Him. Had they received the message from heaven, humbling their hearts before the Lord and seeking in sincerity a preparation to stand in His presence, the Spirit and power of God would have been manifested among them. The church would again have reached that blessed state of unity, faith, and love which existed in apostolic days, when the believers “were of one heart and of one soul,” and “spake the word of God with boldness,” when “the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.” Acts 4:32, 31; 2:47. “  {GC 379.1 “The first message is to be repeated proclaiming the second advent of Christ to our world.“  {16MR 40.2}    “While the investigative judgment is going forward in heaven, while the sins of penitent believers are being removed from the sanctuary, there is to be a special work of purification, of putting away of sin, among God’s people upon earth. This work is more clearly presented in the messages of Revelation 14.“  {GC 425.1}      “That men may be prepared to stand in the judgment, the message commands them to “fear God, and give glory to Him,” “and worship Him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters…” {GC 435.2}

The 144,000 in Heaven (The First-Fruits)–verses 1-5

The Messages of the Three Angels (Harvest Message)–verses 6-12

The Harvest of the Righteous and the Wicked–verses 13-20

Revelation 18

The Fourth Angel’s Message & the Call to Come out of Babylon–verses 1-8

The Lamentation and Destruction of Babylon–verses 9-24

The white horse symbolizes the Apostolic church, which, clothed with the pure Gospel, went forth to “conquer” and spread the truth over all the world.             The first symbol is a white horse, bearing a rider who carries a bow. A crown is given to him, and he goes forth conquering and to conquer, a fit emblem of the triumphs of the gospel in the first century of the Christian Era. The whiteness of the horse denotes the purity of faith in that age. The crown which was given to the rider, and his going forth as a conqueror to make still further conquests, signify the zeal and success with which the truth was promulgated by its earliest ministers. By what symbols could the work of Christianity better be represented when it went forth as an aggressive principle against the huge systems of error with which it had at first to contend? The rider upon this horse went forth–where? His commission was unlimited. The gospel was to all the world. {Dan. & the Rev. 425, 426 by Uriah Smith}                 

 …the Apostolic Church was blessed with a double portion of the Spirit.  The horse upon which it rode was white, representing the simple faith and trust of those who accepted the baptism of the Spirit in its purity…A crown denotes victory.  A crown was given to him that sat on the horse, and he went forth “conquering and to conquer.”  During the first century, it mattered not whether there was an appearance of defeat, or whether triumph was seen in in the healing of the sick, and the delivering of the tried and tempted.  The name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth was health to the afflicted and life to the dead.  Victory was written upon every move of the disciples…Truly wonderful was the story of the Gospel during the first century, as it went forth “conquering and to conquer. {The Story of the Seer of Patmos 110, 111 by S.N. Haskell}

And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword. Rev. 6:4

The red horse symbolizes the church from the death of John through the rule of Constantine.  During this time, Christianity was persecuted by pagan Rome.  At this time, pagan and worldly influences began to corrupt the purity of the Apostalic church.             Perhaps the first feature noticed in these symbols is the contrast in the color of the horses. This doubtless has special significance. It the whiteness of the first horse denoted the purity of the gospel in the period which that symbol covers, the redness of the second horse would signify that in this period that original purity began to be corrupted. The mystery of iniquity already worked in Paul’s day, and the professed church of Christ was so far corrupted by this time as to require this change in the color of the symbol. Errors began to arise. Worldliness came in. The ecclesiastical power sought the alliance of the secular. Troubles and commotions were the result. {Dan. & the Rev. 426}          

Peace was taken from the earth: blood was shed upon the right hand and upon the left, and the saints were led as a lamb to the slaughter.  Nothing could more vividly describe this period than the ‘horse that was red: and power was given to him hat sat thereon to take peace from the earth.’  This carries us through the period known as the triumph of paganism, corresponding to the Smyrna church…Sad as it may seem, we find the church, which for years sacrificed its life for the sake of the Gospel, beginning to compromise the truth of God.  The church turned its eyes from Christ, and was allured by the world into strange paths. {Seer of Patmos 112, 114}

And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. ⁶ And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.  Rev. 6:5, 6

The black horse  represents an even more corrupt church, which attempts to control men’s consciences and is consumed by worldliness.  However, God makes sure that the oil and the wine–His grace and spirit working in the life– are not hurt to the point of destruction.             How rapidly the work of corruption progresses! What a contrast in color between this symbol and the first one: A black horse–the very opposite of white! A period of great darkness and moral corruption in the church must be denoted by this symbol. By the events of the second seal the way was fully opened for that state of things to be brought about which is here presented. The time that intervened between the reign of Constantine and the establishment of the papacy in A.D. 538 may be justly noted as the time when the darkest errors and the grossest superstitions sprang up in the church…It is seen by this how paganism was incorporated into Christianity, and how during this period the false system which resulted in the establishment of the papacy, rapidly rounded out its full outlines, and ripened into all its deplorable perfection of strength and stature…It will be observed that the voice limiting the amount of wheat for a penny, and saying, “Hurt not the oil and the wine,” is not spoken by anyone on earth, but comes from the midst of the four living creatures, signifying that although the undershepherds, the professed ministers of Christ, had no care for the flock, yet the Lord was not unmindful of them in this period of darkness. A voice comes from heaven. He takes care that the spirit of worldliness does not prevail to such a degree that Christianity should be entirely lost, or that the oil and the wine–graces of genuine piety–should perish from the earth. {Dan. & the Rev. 428-430}         

The church during the fourth and fifth centuries, began dictating to men what they should believe, and how they should worship.  This was the period when Christianity was replaced by the papacy, and man was exalted as vicegerent of God on earth. {Seer of Patmos 114, 115}

And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.  Rev. 6:8

The last horse is a pale horse with a rider named Death.  This horse represents the spiritually dead reign of the papacy.  During this time, millions who resisted the papal system were slaughtered.               The color of this horse is remarkable. The original word denotes the “pale or yellowish color” that is seen in blighted or sickly plants. A strange state of things in the professed church must be denoted by this symbol. The rider of this horse is named Death, and Hell…followed with him. The mortality is so great during this period it would seem as if “the pale nations of the dead” had come upon the earth, and were following in the wake of this desolating power. The period during which this seal applies can hardly be mistaken. It must refer to the time in which the papacy bore its unrebuked, unrestrained, and persecuting rule, beginning about A.D. 538, and extending to the time when the Reformers began their work of exposing the corruptions of the papal system.   “Power was given unto them”–”him,” says the margin, that is, the power personified by Death on the pale horse, namely the papacy. By the fourth part of the earth is doubtless meant the territory over which this power had jurisdiction; and the words “sword,” “hunger,” “death” (that is, some infliction which causes death, as exposure or torture), and beasts of the earth, are figures denoting the means by which it has put to death millions of martyrs. {Dan. & the Rev. 431, 432}                   

The pale horse was an indication of still greater departure from the spirit of truth than the black one.  Thousands have been put to death by the sword, by starvation, and by wild beasts; and what is worse than killing the body, many more have suffered spiritual death because of the hiding of the Word of Life. {Seer of Patmos 116}

And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: ¹⁰ And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? ¹¹ And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled. Rev. 6:9-11

              Under the fifth seal the martyrs cry out for vengeance, and white robes are given to them. The questions that at once suggest themselves for solution are, Does this seal cover a period of time, and if so what period? Where is the altar under which these souls were seen? What are these souls, and what is their condition? What is meant by their cry for vengeance? What is meant by white robes being given to them? When do they rest for a little season, and what is signified by their brethren being killed as they were? To all these questions we believe satisfactory answers can be returned. It seems consistent that this seal, like all the others, should cover a period of time, and that the date of its application cannot be mistaken if the preceding seals have rightly located. Following the period of papal persecution, the time covered by this seal would begin when the Reformation began to undermine the papal fabrication, and restrain the persecuting power of the Roman Catholic Church.             The Altar.–This cannot denote any altar in heaven, as it is evidently the place where these victims had been slain–the altar of sacrifice. On this point, Adam Clarke says: “A symbolical vision was exhibited, in which he saw an altar; and under it the souls of these who had been slain for the word of God–martyred for their attachment to Christianity–are represented as being newly slain as victims to idolatry and superstition. The altar is upon earth, not in heaven.”  A confirmation of this view is found in the fact that John is beholding scenes upon the earth. The souls are represented under the altar, just as victims slain upon it would pour out their blood beneath it, and fall by its side.             The White Robes.–These were given as a partial answer to their cry, “How long, O Lord, . . . dost Thou not judge and avenge our blood?” They had gone down to the grave in the most ignominious manner. Their lives had been misrepresented, their reputations tarnished, their names defamed, their motives maligned, and their graves covered with shame and reproach, as containing the dishonored dust of the most vile and despicable of characters. Thus the Church of Rome, which then molded the sentiment of the principal nations of the earth, spared no pains to make her victims an abhorrence to all people.        But the Protestant Reformation began its work. It began to be seen that the church was corrupt and disreputable, and those against whom it vented its rage were the good, the pure, and the true. The work went on among the most enlightened nations, the reputation of the church going down, and that of the martyrs coming up, until the corruptions of the papal abominations were fully exposed. Then that huge system of iniquity stood forth before the world in all its naked deformity, while the martyrs were vindicated from all the aspersions under which that persecuting church had sought to bury them. Then it was seen that they had suffered, not for being vile and criminal, but “for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held.” Then their praises were sung, their virtues admired, their fortitude applauded, their names honored, and their memories cherished. White robes were thus given to every one of them.           The Little Season.–The cruel work of Roman Catholicism did not altogether cease, even after the work of the Protestant Reformation had become widespread and well established. Not a few terrible outbursts of hate and persecution were yet to be felt by the true church. Multitudes more were to be punished as heretics, and to join the great army of martyrs. The full vindication of their cause was to be delayed a little season. During this time Rome added hundreds of thousands to the vast throng whose blood she had already become guilty. But the spirit of persecution was finally restrained, the cause of the martyrs was vindicated, and the “little season” of the fifth seal came to a close. {Dan. & the Rev. 432, 433, 436, 437}             

God does not forget those who have suffered for His name, but their names are written in the Book of Life…The blood of Abel cried unto God, so the earth bears witness before Jehovah of every life which has been taken in His name…The whole creation suffers because of the curse which sin has brought; and in addition to these voices, which plead for the end of all things, the blood of the martyrs is heard by the sensitive ear of Jehovah.  When asked why there is such long-suffering on the part of God, John saw the white robes of Christ’s righteousness, prepared for every one who has given up life for the sake of the truth.  They have been despised, rejected, and killed by men; but on the record books of heaven, every sin is covered by the character of their Lord…To-day they are seen clothed in white robes; for the world, forgetting the crimes of which they were basely accused, assigns them a martyr’s crown. {Seer of Patmos 117-119}

And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; ¹³ And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. ¹⁴ And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. ¹⁵ And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; ¹⁶ And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: ¹⁷ For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?  Rev. 6:12-17

The earthquake spoken of here took place on November 1, 1755 and was the devastating earthquake of Lisbon.  The sun was darkened, and the moon was turned to blood on the dark day and night of May 19, 1780.  The stars fell from heaven in the amazing meteor shower of November 13, 1833.  Rev. 6:14-17 is referencing to events immediately before the second coming of Christ when the elements will be shaken; the wicked will try go flee God’s wrath; and the righteous will tremble.  We are presently living under the sixth seal, waiting for the final events to take place.  [See Dan. & the Rev. 437-451 and Seer of Patmos 119-126]

And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.  Rev. 8:1

The seventh seal is the second coming of Christ to earth with God the Father and all the holy angels.  There is silence in heaven because no one is there.  This silence lasts about seven days while Christ and his redeemed children travel back to their new home.

The sixth seal does not bring us to the second advent of Christ, although it embraces events closely connected with that coming…The personal appearing of Christ must therefore be allotted to the next seal.      When the Lord appears, He comes with all the holy angels with Him.  (Matthew 25:31.)  When all the heavenly harpers leave the courts above to come to this earth with their divine Lord as He descends to gather the fruit of His redeeming work, will there not be silence in heaven?  The length of this period of silence, if we consider it prophetic time, would be about seven days.  {Dan. & Rev. 473}

The opening of the seventh seal is the ushering in of eternity… God’s dwelling place is the center of life and the scene of constant activity.  Music ever echoes from the vaults of heaven, and choruses composed of ten thousand times ten thousand of angel voices, sing the praises of the Lamb and of Him who sitteth on the throne.  When the little company on earth are prepared, the sealing angel speeds back to heaven with the message that the work is done.  Christ in the sanctuary above, lays aside His priestly robes, and the Lamb appears as the King of kings…Attended by myriads of angels, the Rulers of heaven and earth leave heaven empty, drawn earthward by the faithful ones whose hearts have become the abiding place of His eternal Spirit…This is the cause of the silence in heaven…Together, for seven successive days, they are traveling to their glorious home.  {Seer of Patmos 143, 144}

“It is true that there are prophecies yet to be fulfilled. But very erroneous work has been done again and again, and will continue to be done by those who seek to find new light in the prophecies, and who begin by turning away from the light that God has already given…The Lord does not lay upon those who have not had an experience in His work the burden of making a new exposition of those prophecies which He has, by His Holy Spirit, moved upon His chosen servants to explain.”  {2SM 111.3}

     Revelation 4 gives the setting for chapter 5 and the Book as being the Most Holy Place, where the judgment and marriage occur.  We can know this because, in Rev. 4:1, 2, a door was opened in heaven, and inside a throne was set up (as in Dan. 7:9, 10) signifying Christ’s move to the Most Holy Place and the beginning of the Investigative Judgment.  Since the Judgment began in 1844, we can realize that the time period for the Book of chapter 5 is especially from the Advent movement (1840-1844) to the second coming of Christ (however it really begins in 1798, which marked the start of the time of the end).  Christ’s return will mark the completion of the plan of redemption as God’s people are reunited with Him.

     The Book is written within and on the backside.  “Within” means it is in the heart.  Since the Book is written in the heart, it must be experienced through the decisions we make for or against Christ.  “Backside” is an adverb telling “when in time”.  It means after or behind; thus some people will have this Book written in their hearts or will experience it after others.  “Many who embraced the third message had not had an experience in the two former messages. Satan understood this, and his evil eye was upon them to overthrow them; but the third angel was pointing them to the most holy place, and those who had had an experience in the past messages were pointing them the way to the heavenly sanctuary. Many saw the perfect chain of truth in the angels’ messages, and gladly received them in their order, and followed Jesus by faith into the heavenly sanctuary. These messages were represented to me as an anchor to the people of God. Those who understand and receive them will be kept from being swept away by the many delusions of Satan.” {EW 256.2}  “Many will honestly search the Word for Light as those in the past have searched it; and they see light in the Word. But they did not pass over the ground in their experience, when these messages of warning were first proclaimed. Not having had this experience, some do not appreciate the value of the truths that have been to us as waymarks, and that have made us as a peculiar people what we are.”   {2SM 110.4}  “Those who have not had a personal experience in this work, are to take the Word of God andbelieve on “their word” who have been led by the Lord in the proclamation of the first, second, and third angels’ messages. These messages, received and acted upon, are doing their work to prepare a people to stand in the great day of God. If we search the Scriptures to confirm the truth God has given His servants for the world, we shall be found proclaiming the first, second, and third angels’ messages.”  {2SM 111.2}

     The Book has four aspects, or represents four things.  The first and second aspects are the prophecies of Daniel and the unsealing messages of Revelation (three angels’ messages).  The third aspect is the heart or character, which are developed as we respond to the messages of Revelation.  “The messages of Revelation 14 are those by which the world is to be tested; they are the everlasting gospel, and are to be sounded everywhere.”  {2SM 111.3}  And the fourth aspect is the heavenly record book, which is an exact picture of our characters.  “In the book of God’s providence, the volume of life, we are each given a page. That page contains every particular of our history; even the hairs of the head are numbered. God’s children are never absent from His mind.”  {DA 313.3}  “The past is contained in the book where all things are written down. We cannot blot out the record, but we can learn many things if we choose.” {TMK 89.2}  “… The destiny of every nation was contained in that book…”  {20MR 197.3}.  The prophecies and messages of Dan. and Rev., the heart, and the record book in heaven are the four aspects of the Book.

     The opening of the Book is connected with its four aspects.  The prophecies of Daniel are opened or fulfilled with the beginning of the Investigative Judgment.  The messages of Revelation are opened in that they can be understood and proclaimed at this time.  Our heart books are opened as we make decisions about the messages and reveal our attitudes toward the truth.  The record book is opened in the judgment so that the decisions and characters of professed Christians can be judged.      

     While the Book was sealed, the prophecies had not been fulfilled, and the corresponding messages could not be proclaimed.  But since 1798, the Book is being unsealed; the prophecies are being fulfilled and the messages can be proclaimed.

 When does one start having a defective character, and when does one stop having it?     Many people believe that we are born with defective characters because of our sinful natures inherited from Adam; therefore a defective character starts at birth.  The defective character is taken away at the Marriage when God cleanses the spots and blemishes and takes away our sinful natures.

What processes start/stop a defective character?     Some say the process that starts a defective character begins with the inherited desires for selfishness that we all receive from Adam.  The sins and defects of parents can also be handed down to their children.  “They have inherited the defective characters of their parents…”  {CT 192}  “Many children have inherited selfishness from their parents, but parents should seek to uproot every fiber of this evil tendency from their natures. Christ gave many reproofs to those who were covetous and selfish. Parents should seek, on the first exhibition of selfish traits of character, … to retrain and uproot these traits from the character of their children.”  {CG 132}  “When a child reveals the wrong traits which it has inherited from its parents, shall they storm over this reproduction of their own defects?”  {AH 173,174}  After birth, the natural tendencies to evil are cultivated and selfish habitual thought patterns are formed and strengthened, leading to wrong thoughts and feelings and subsequent wrong actions (and thoughts + feelings = character).  Progressive conversion is the process that stops or takes away a defective character.  “In the human heart there is natural selfishness, which can only be overcome by most thorough discipline and severe restraint; and even then it will require years of patient effort and earnest resistance. God permits us to experience the ills of poverty, and places us in difficult positions, that the defects of our characters may be revealed and their asperities be smoothed away.”  {4T 496}  It is also believed that, to completely take away the defective character, it is necessary to go to the marriage so that God can remove our sinful natures and give us Christ’s perfect character. 

How does one build a character?     To build our characters, we must rightly develop the mental and moral powers which will build our characters.  “The mental and moral powers which God has given us do not constitute character. They are talents, which we are to improve, and which, if properly improved, will form a right character.”  {4T 606.2}  With the help of the Holy Spirit, we must overcome the selfish habitual thought patterns we have and cultivate the unselfish habitual thought patterns God puts in us at conversion and throughout the progressive conversion process.  Before the close of probation we must have overcome every wrong thought, feeling, and action.

Who are the workmen that do the job?        Our mental and moral powers are the workmen that build our characters.  The mental powers include reason, judgment, understanding and memory.  The moral powers include conscience, will, self-control, faith, hope, and love.  “Every faculty in man is a workman that is building for time and for eternity. Day by day the structure [character] is going up, although the possessor is not aware of it. It is a building which must stand either as a beacon of warning because of its deformity or as a structure which God and the angels will admire for its harmony with the divine Model.”  {4T 606.2}

What aspects of the building are we unable to do, and who does them?     It is our duty to put right thoughts into our heads; but we cannot change our desires.  God alone can change our desires.  “Education, culture, the exercise of the will, human effort, all have their proper sphere, but here they are powerless. They may produce an outward correctness of behavior, but they cannot change the heart; they cannot purify the springs of life. There must be a power working from within, a new life from above, before men can be changed from sin to holiness. That power is Christ. His grace alone can quicken the lifeless faculties of the soul, and attract it to God, to holiness.”  {SC 18,19}

Why is it necessary to go to the Marriage before the time of trouble?     If you believe that you are guilty from birth (because of Original Sin), you would decide that it was necessary to go to the marriage because your character would not be counted perfect at the Investigative Judgment because of the spots and wrinkles on the heavenly records.  You would need to go to the Marriage to have those spots and blemishes (selfish desires) removed by God, thus finally perfecting your character.

How could your understanding of character make you a part of those who believe in spiritualistic theories?     Those who believe they can perfect their characters by works alone make man his own savior and join with those who believe in spiritualistic theories.  “These theories, followed to their logical conclusion, sweep away the whole Christian economy. They do away with the necessity for the atonement and make man his own savior.”  {8T 291}  People who believe in Original Sin would also say that a belief that the character can be perfected before the Marriage is a spiritualistic theory because it does away with the need for the final atonement or removal of our sinful natures.

“Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.”  Daniel 9:25

When did the prophecy begin?     There were three decrees to “restore and to build Jerusalem” by Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes kings of Persia.  However it is the third decree by Artaxerxes in 457 B.C. that marks the beginning of the 2300 days.   ”In the seventh chapter of Ezra the decree is found. Verses 12-26. In its completest form it was issued by Artaxerxes, king of Persia, 457 B.C. But in Ezra 6:14 the house of the Lord at Jerusalem is said to have been built “according to the commandment ["decree," margin] of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia.” These three kings, in originating, reaffirming, and completing the decree, brought it to the perfection required by the prophecy to mark the beginning of the 2300 years.”  {GC 326.3}  “…the decree of Artaxerxes for the restoration of Jerusalem, which formed the starting point for the period of the 2300 days…” {GC 398.4}.

When does the sanctuary get cleansed?     The sanctuary is cleansed at the end of the 2300 days.  Since we know that the 2300 days start in 457 B.C., we can subtract: 2300-457=1843.  However Jewish years don’t follow the Roman calendar, but rather start and end in our springtime.  Thus the 2300 days would extend to the spring of 1844.  But–Artaxerxes’ decree went into effect in the fall of 457 B.C., therefore the prophecy would terminate in the fall of 1844.  “…the decree of Artaxerxes for the restoration of Jerusalem, which formed the starting point for the period of the 2300 days, went into effect in the autumn of the year 457 B.C….  Reckoning from the autumn of 457, the 2300 years terminate in the autumn of 1844.”  {GC 398.4}   The exact day that the sanctuary began to be cleansed can be found by looking at the Jewish Day of Atonement: “Under the Mosaic system the cleansing of the sanctuary, or the great Day of Atonement, occurred on the tenth day of the seventh Jewish month (Leviticus 16:29-34)…  The tenth day of the seventh month, the great Day of Atonement, the time of the cleansing of the sanctuary, which in the year 1844 fell upon the twenty-second of October, was regarded as the time of the Lord’s coming. This was in harmony with the proofs already presented that the 2300 days would terminate in the autumn, and the conclusion seemed irresistible.”  {GC 399.4}

Summary:     The 2300 days began with Artaxerxes’ decree in 457 B.C.  Simple subtraction would have the prophecy end in 1843; but with adjustments for differences in calendars, the fact that the decree went into effect in the fall, and the date for the Jewish Day of Atonement the final and correct date for the the end of the 2300 days and the cleansing of the sanctuary is October 22, 1844.