rule of life will be revealed. In summer there is no noticeable difference
between evergreens and other trees; but when the blasts of winter come,
the evergreens remain unchanged, while other trees are stripped of their
foliage. So the false-hearted professor may not now be distinguished from
the real Christian, but the time is just upon us when the difference will
be apparent. Let opposition arise, let bigotry and intolerance again bear
sway, let persecution be kindled, and the half-hearted and hypocritical
will waver and yield the faith; but the true Christian will stand firm as
a rock, his faith stronger, his hope brighter, than in days of prosperity.
Says the psalmist: “Thy testimonies are my meditation.” “Through Thy
precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way.”(1040)
“Happy is the man that findeth wisdom.” “He shall be as a tree planted by
the waters, and that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and shall not
see when heat cometh, but her leaf shall be green; and shall not be
careful in the year of drought, neither shall cease from yielding
fruit.”(1041)
38. THE FINAL WARNING.
[Illustration: Chapter header.]
“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.” “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.”(1042)
This scripture points forward to a time when the announcement of the fall
of Babylon, as made by the second angel(1043) of Revelation 14, is to be
repeated, with the additional mention of the corruptions which have been
entering the various organizations that constitute Babylon, since that
message was first given, in the summer of 1844. A terrible condition of
the religious world is here described. With every rejection of truth, the
minds of the people will become darker, their hearts more stubborn, until
they are entrenched in an infidel hardihood. In defiance of the warnings
which God has given, they will continue to trample upon one of the
precepts of the decalogue, until they are led to persecute those who hold
it sacred. Christ is set at naught in the contempt placed upon His word
and His people. As the teachings of Spiritualism are accepted by the
churches, the restraint imposed upon the carnal heart is removed, and the
profession of religion will become a cloak to conceal the basest iniquity.
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.
Of Babylon, at the time brought to view in this prophecy, it is declared,
“Her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her
iniquities.”(1044) She has filled up the measure of her guilt, and
destruction is about to fall upon her. But God still has a people in
Babylon; and before the visitation of His judgments, these faithful ones
must be called out, that they “partake not of her sins, and receive not of
her plagues.” 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.
Fearful is the issue to which the world is to be brought. The powers of
earth, uniting to war against the commandments of God, will decree that
all, “both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond,”(1045) shall
conform to the customs of the church by the observance of the false
sabbath. All who refuse compliance will be visited with civil penalties,
and it will finally be declared that they are deserving of death. On the
other hand, the law of God enjoining the Creator’s rest-day demands
obedience, and threatens wrath against all who transgress its precepts.
With the issue thus clearly brought before him, whoever shall trample upon
God’s law to obey a human enactment, receives the mark of the beast; he
accepts the sign of allegiance to the power which he chooses to obey
instead of God. The warning from heaven is, “If any man worship the beast
and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the
same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out
without mixture into the cup of His indignation.”(1046)
But not one is made to suffer the wrath of God until the truth has been
brought home to his mind and conscience, and has been rejected. There are
many who have never had an opportunity to hear the special truths for this
time. The obligation of the fourth commandment has never been set before
them in its true light. He who reads every heart, and tries every motive,
will leave none who desire a knowledge of the truth, to be deceived as to
the issues of the controversy. The decree is not to be urged upon the
people blindly. Every one is to have sufficient light to make his decision
intelligently.
The Sabbath will be the great test of loyalty; for it is the point of
truth especially controverted. When the final test shall be brought to
bear upon men, then the line of distinction will be drawn between those
who serve God and those who serve Him not. While the observance of the
false sabbath in compliance with the law of the state, contrary to the
fourth commandment, will be an avowal of allegiance to a power that is in
opposition to God, the keeping of the true Sabbath, in obedience to God’s
law, is an evidence of loyalty to the Creator. While one class, by
accepting the sign of submission to earthly powers, receive the mark of
the beast, the other, choosing the token of allegiance to divine
authority, receive the seal of God.
Heretofore those who presented the truths of the third angel’s message
have often been regarded as mere alarmists. Their predictions that
religious intolerance would gain control in the United States, that church
and state would unite to persecute those who keep the commandments of God,
have been pronounced groundless and absurd. It has been confidently
declared that this land could never become other than what it has
been,—the defender of religious freedom. But as the question of enforcing
Sunday observance is widely agitated, the event so long doubted and
disbelieved is seen to be approaching, and the third message will produce
an effect which it could not have had before.
In every generation God has sent His servants to rebuke sin, both in the
world and in the church. But the people desire smooth things spoken to
them, and the pure, unvarnished truth is not acceptable. Many reformers,
in entering upon their work, determined to exercise great prudence in
attacking the sins of the church and the nation. They hoped, by the
example of a pure Christian life, to lead the people back to the doctrines
of the Bible. But the Spirit of God came upon them as it came upon Elijah,
moving him to rebuke the sins of a wicked king and an apostate people;
they could not refrain from preaching the plain utterances of the
Bible,—doctrines which they had been reluctant to present. They were
impelled to zealously declare the truth, and the danger which threatened
souls. The words which the Lord gave them they uttered, fearless of
consequences, and the people were compelled to hear the warning.
Thus the message of the third angel will be proclaimed. As the time comes
for it to be given with greatest power, the Lord will work through humble
instruments, leading the minds of those who consecrate themselves to His
service. The laborers will be qualified rather by the unction of His
Spirit than by the training of literary institutions. Men of faith and
prayer will be constrained to go forth with holy zeal, declaring the words
which God gives them. The sins of Babylon will be laid open. The fearful
results of enforcing the observances of the church by civil authority, the
inroads of Spiritualism, the stealthy but rapid progress of the papal
power,—all will be unmasked. By these solemn warnings the people will be
stirred. Thousands upon thousands will listen who have never heard words
like these.
In amazement they hear the testimony that Babylon is the church, fallen
because of her errors and sins, because of her rejection of the truth sent
to her from heaven. As the people go to their former teachers with the
eager inquiry, Are these things so? the ministers present fables, prophesy
smooth things, to soothe their fears, and quiet the awakened conscience.
But since many refuse to be satisfied with the mere authority of men, and
demand a plain “Thus saith the Lord,” the popular ministry, like the
Pharisees of old, filled with anger as their authority is questioned, will
denounce the message as of Satan, and stir up the sin-loving multitudes to
revile and persecute those who proclaim it.
As the controversy extends into new fields, and the minds of the people
are called to God’s down-trodden law, Satan is astir. The power attending
the message will only madden those who oppose it. The clergy will put
forth almost superhuman efforts to shut away the light, lest it should
shine upon their flocks. By every means at their command they will
endeavor to suppress the discussion of these vital questions. The church
appeals to the strong arm of civil power, and in this work, papists and
Protestants unite. As the movement for Sunday enforcement becomes more
bold and decided, the law will be invoked against commandment-keepers.
They will be threatened with fines and imprisonment, and some will be
offered positions of influence, and other rewards and advantages, as
inducements to renounce their faith. But their steadfast answer is, “Show
us from the word of God our error,”—the same plea that was made by Luther
under similar circumstances. Those who are arraigned before the courts,
make a strong vindication of the truth, and some who hear them are led to
take their stand to keep all the commandments of God. Thus light will be
brought before thousands who otherwise would know nothing of these truths.
Conscientious obedience to the word of God will be treated as rebellion.
Blinded by Satan, the parent will exercise harshness and severity toward
the believing child; the master or mistress will oppress the
commandment-keeping servant. Affection will be alienated; children will be
disinherited, and driven from home. The words of Paul will be literally
fulfilled, “All that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer
persecution.”(1047) As the defenders of truth refuse to honor the
Sunday-sabbath, some of them will be thrust into prison, some will be
exiled, some will be treated as slaves. To human wisdom, all this now
seems impossible; but as the restraining Spirit of God shall be withdrawn
from men, and they shall be under the control of Satan, who hates the
divine precepts, there will be strange developments. The heart can be very
cruel when God’s fear and love are removed.
As the storm approaches, a large class who have professed faith in the
third angel’s message, but have not been sanctified through obedience to
the truth, abandon their position, and join the ranks of the opposition.
By uniting with the world and partaking of its spirit, they have come to
view matters in nearly the same light; and when the test is brought, they
are prepared to choose the easy, popular side. Men of talent and pleasing
address, who once rejoiced in the truth, employ their powers to deceive
and mislead souls. They become the most bitter enemies of their former
brethren. When Sabbath-keepers are brought before the courts to answer for
their faith, these apostates are the most efficient agents of Satan to
misrepresent and accuse them, and by false reports and insinuations to
stir up the rulers against them.
In this time of persecution the faith of the Lord’s servants will be
tried. They have faithfully given the warning, looking to God and to His
word alone. God’s Spirit, moving upon their hearts, has constrained them
to speak. Stimulated with holy zeal, and with the divine impulse strong
upon them, they entered upon the performance of their duties without
coldly calculating the consequences of speaking to the people the word
which the Lord had given them. They have not consulted their temporal
interests, nor sought to preserve their reputation or their lives. Yet
when the storm of opposition and reproach bursts upon them, some,
overwhelmed with consternation, will be ready to exclaim, “Had we foreseen
the consequences of our words, we would have held our peace.” They are
hedged in with difficulties. Satan assails them with fierce temptations.
The work which they have undertaken seems far beyond their ability to
accomplish. They are threatened with destruction. The enthusiasm which
animated them is gone; yet they cannot turn back. Then, feeling their
utter helplessness, they flee to the Mighty One for strength. They
remember that the words which they have spoken were not theirs, but His
who bade them give the warning. God put the truth into their hearts, and
they could not forbear to proclaim it.
The same trials have been experienced by men of God in ages past.
Wycliffe, Huss, Luther, Tyndale, Baxter, Wesley, urged that all doctrines
be brought to the test of the Bible, and declared that they would renounce
everything which it condemned. Against these men, persecution raged with
relentless fury; yet they ceased not to declare the truth. Different
periods in the history of the church have each been marked by the
development of some special truth, adapted to the necessities of God’s
people at that time. Every new truth has made its way against hatred and
opposition; those who were blessed with its light were tempted and tried.
The Lord gives a special truth for the people in an emergency. Who dare
refuse to publish it? He commands His servants to present the last
invitation of mercy to the world. They cannot remain silent, except at the
peril of their souls. Christ’s ambassadors have nothing to do with
consequences. They must perform their duty, and leave results with God.
As the opposition rises to a fiercer height, the servants of God are again
perplexed; for it seems to them that they have brought the crisis. But
conscience and the word of God assure them that their course is right; and
although the trials continue, they are strengthened to bear them. The
contest grows closer and sharper, but their faith and courage rise with
the emergency. Their testimony is: “We dare not tamper with God’s word,
dividing His holy law; calling one portion essential and another
non-essential, to gain the favor of the world. The Lord whom we serve is
able to deliver us. Christ has conquered the powers of earth; and shall we
be afraid of a world already conquered?”
Persecution in its varied forms is the development of a principle which
will exist as long as Satan exists and Christianity has vital power. No
man can serve God without enlisting against himself the opposition of the
hosts of darkness. Evil angels will assail him, alarmed that his influence
is taking the prey from their hands. Evil men, rebuked by his example,
will unite with them in seeking to separate him from God by alluring
temptations. When these do not succeed, then a compelling power is
employed to force the conscience.
But so long as Jesus remains man’s intercessor in the sanctuary above, the
restraining influence of the Holy Spirit is felt by rulers and people. It
still controls, to some extent, the laws of the land. Were it not for
these laws, the condition of the world would be much worse than it now is.
While many of our rulers are active agents of Satan, God also has His
agents among the leading men of the nation. The enemy moves upon his
servants to propose measures that would greatly impede the work of God;
but statesmen who fear the Lord are influenced by holy angels to oppose
such propositions with unanswerable arguments. Thus a few men will hold in
check a powerful current of evil. The opposition of the enemies of truth
will be restrained that the third angel’s message may do its work. When
the final warning shall be given, it will arrest the attention of these
leading men through whom the Lord is now working, and some of them will
accept it, and will stand with the people of God through the time of
trouble.
The angel who unites in the proclamation of the third angel’s message, is
to lighten the whole earth with his glory. A work of world-wide extent and
unwonted power is here foretold. The Advent Movement of 1840-44 was a
glorious manifestation of the power of God; the first angel’s message was
carried to every missionary station in the world, and in some countries
there was the greatest religious interest which has been witnessed in any
land since the Reformation of the sixteenth century; but these are to be
exceeded by the mighty movement under the last warning of the third angel.
The work will be similar to that of the day of Pentecost. As the “former
rain” was given, in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at the opening of
the gospel, to cause the upspringing of the precious seed, so the “latter
rain” will be given at its close, for the ripening of the harvest. “Then
shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord: His going forth is
prepared as the morning; and He shall come unto us as the rain, as the
latter and former rain unto the earth.”(1048) “Be glad then, ye children
of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God: for He hath given you the
former rain moderately, and He will cause to come down for you the rain,
the former rain, and the latter rain.”(1049) “In the last days, saith God,
I will pour out of My Spirit upon all flesh.” “And it shall come to pass,
that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”(1050)
The great work of the gospel is not to close with less manifestation of
the power of God than marked its opening. The prophecies which were
fulfilled in the outpouring of the former rain at the opening of the
gospel, are again to be fulfilled in the latter rain at its close. Here
are “the times of refreshing” to which the apostle Peter looked forward
when he said, “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may
be blotted out when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence
of the Lord; and He shall send Jesus.”(1051)
Servants of God, with their faces lighted up and shining with holy
consecration, will hasten from place to place to proclaim the message from
heaven. By thousands of voices, all over the earth, the warning will be
given. Miracles will be wrought, the sick will be healed, and signs and
wonders will follow the believers. Satan also works with lying wonders,
even bringing down fire from heaven in the sight of men.(1052) Thus the
inhabitants of the earth will be brought to take their stand.
The message will be carried not so much by argument as by the deep
conviction of the Spirit of God. The arguments have been presented. The
seed has been sown, and now it will spring up and bear fruit. The
publications distributed by missionary workers have exerted their
influence, yet many whose minds were impressed have been prevented from
fully comprehending the truth or from yielding obedience. Now the rays of
light penetrate everywhere, the truth is seen in its clearness, and the
honest children of God sever the bands which have held them. Family
connections, church relations, are powerless to stay them now. Truth is
more precious than all besides. Notwithstanding the agencies combined
against the truth, a large number take their stand upon the Lord’s side.
39. “THE TIME OF TROUBLE.”
[Illustration: Chapter header.]
“At that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for
the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as
never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that
time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written
in the book.”(1053)
When the third angel’s message closes, mercy no longer pleads for the
guilty inhabitants of the earth. The people of God have accomplished their
work. They have received “the latter rain,” “the refreshing from the
presence of the Lord,” and they are prepared for the trying hour before
them. Angels are hastening to and fro in heaven. An angel returning from
the earth announces that his work is done; the final test has been brought
upon the world, and all who have proved themselves loyal to the divine
precepts have received “the seal of the living God.” Then Jesus ceases His
intercession in the sanctuary above. He lifts His hands, and with a loud
voice says, “It is done;” and all the angelic host lay off their crowns as
He makes the solemn announcement: “He that is unjust, let him be unjust
still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is
righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be
holy still.”(1054) Every case has been decided for life or death. Christ
has made the atonement for His people, and blotted out their sins. The
number of His subjects is made up; “the kingdom and dominion, and the
greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven,” is about to be given to
the heirs of salvation, and Jesus is to reign as King of kings, and Lord
of lords.
When He leaves the sanctuary, darkness covers the inhabitants of the
earth. In that fearful time the righteous must live in the sight of a holy
God without an intercessor. The restraint which has been upon the wicked
is removed, and Satan has entire control of the finally impenitent. God’s
long-suffering has ended. The world has rejected His mercy, despised His
love, and trampled upon His law. The wicked have passed the boundary of
their probation; the Spirit of God, persistently resisted, has been at
last withdrawn. Unsheltered by divine grace, they have no protection from
the wicked one. Satan will then plunge the inhabitants of the earth into
one great, final trouble. As the angels of God cease to hold in check the
fierce winds of human passion, all the elements of strife will be let
loose. The whole world will be involved in ruin more terrible than that
which came upon Jerusalem of old.
A single angel destroyed all the first-born of the Egyptians, and filled
the land with mourning. When David offended against God by numbering the
people, one angel caused that terrible destruction by which his sin was
punished. The same destructive power exercised by holy angels when God
commands, will be exercised by evil angels when He permits. There are
forces now ready, and only waiting the divine permission, to spread
desolation everywhere.
Those who honor the law of God have been accused of bringing judgments
upon the world, and they will be regarded as the cause of the fearful
convulsions of nature and the strife and bloodshed among men that are
filling the earth with woe. The power attending the last warning has
enraged the wicked; their anger is kindled against all who have received
the message, and Satan will excite to still greater intensity the spirit
of hatred and persecution.
When God’s presence was finally withdrawn from the Jewish nation, priests
and people knew it not. Though under the control of Satan, and swayed by
the most horrible and malignant passions, they still regarded themselves
as the chosen of God. The ministration in the temple continued; sacrifices
were offered upon its polluted altars, and daily the divine blessing was
invoked upon a people guilty of the blood of God’s dear Son, and seeking
to slay His ministers and apostles. So when the irrevocable decision of
the sanctuary has been pronounced, and the destiny of the world has been
forever fixed, the inhabitants of the earth will know it not. The forms of
religion will be continued by a people from whom the Spirit of God has
been finally withdrawn; and the satanic zeal with which the prince of evil
will inspire them for the accomplishment of his malignant designs, will
bear the semblance of zeal for God.