The Great Nations of To-day
CHAPTER XII. THE TIME OF THE THIRD ANGEL’S MESSAGE
We have seen that the Sixth of the Seven Trumpet angels ceased to sound Aug. 11, 1840; and that then, as says the Scripture, “The Second Woe is past; and, behold, the Third Woe Cometh quickly.” Revelation 11:14. The Third Woe and the Seventh Trumpet are identical in time. GNT 115.1
When “the seventh angel sounded,” said the prophet, “there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He shall reign forever and ever.” GNT 115.2
The prophet also said, “The nations were angry.” This we have seen fulfilled in the nations since 1844, even to the present hour—the nations that are now in the China entanglement: the greater Eastern Question. GNT 115.3
The events of the Seventh Trumpet, the Third Woe, are further given by the prophet thus: “Thy wrath is come; and the time of the dead, that they should be judged; and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy [“corrupt,” margin] the earth. And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in His temple the ark of His testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thundering, and an earthquake, and great hail.” Revelation 11:18, 19. GNT 115.4
Now we wish it to be clearly seen, and it may be, that the events here named are identical with those of Revelation 14:6-20—the threefold message—and 16:1-21—the consequences of rejecting that threefold message. The events of Revelation 14:6-20 and 16:1-21 are but an explanation in full of those mentioned in Revelation 11:18, 19, as the events of the sounding of the Seventh Trumpet unto its ending. To make this plain, we shall here bring together the statements of Revelation 11:18, 19,—the further events of the Seventh Trumpet—and the corresponding statements of chapters 14 and 16. GNT 116.1
1. “And thy wrath is come.” Revelation 11:18. The Third Angel says, “If any man worship the Beast and his Image, ... the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God.” 14:9, 10. In the seven last plagues is filled up the wrath of God; with the last of these come the lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, the earthquake, and the great hail, which come under the sounding of the Seventh Trumpet. 15:1, 6-8; 16:17-21. GNT 116.2
2. “The time of the dead, that they should be judged.” Revelation 11:18. This time of the dead, that they should be judged, is the same time referred to in Revelation 14:6, 7, in which the threefold message carries still the everlasting gospel to them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, yet saying with a loud voice to all, “Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come.” GNT 116.3
Paul preached this same gospel, but not that the hour of His judgment was come, but simply a judgment to come. Acts 24:25; 17:31. But when the time comes when the Seventh Angel shall begin to sound, then it is declared, in accordance with the same gospel, the hour of His judgment is come. GNT 117.1
That this “hour” of judgment is not the great day of Judgment, which comes at the end of the world, but is a time that precedes the end of the world, is shown by the fact that two other messages follow this one before the coming of the Lord and the end of the world. But these two do follow this one, and the third of these is the Third Angel’s Message, which warns all men against the worship of the Beast and his Image, and against receiving his mark, under the dreadful penalty of having to drink the wine of the wrath of God; and which at the same time calls all to keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. “I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, ... saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment IS come.” Revelation 14:6, 7 GNT 117.2
3. “That thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great.” Revelation 11:18. This time of reward is at the coming of Christ; for He says: “Behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.” 22:12. Again He said: “Thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.” Luke 14:14. But His coming follows immediately the Third Angel’s Message, for, says the prophet, “I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on His head a golden crown, and in His hand a sharp sickle.” “And He that sat on the cloud thrust in His sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped.” Revelation 14:14, 16. This “harvest is the end of the world.” Matthew 13:39. GNT 117.3
4 “And shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.” Revelation 11:18. “Another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe. And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great wine-press of the wrath of God.” Revelation 14:17-19. GNT 118.1
Here are shown two reapings. One is by the Son of God, reaping the harvest of the earth, gathering the wheat into the garner of God. The other is to gather together those who are to be case into the wine-press of the wrath of God. The former are the fruits of the true Vine, Christ Jesus. For He says: “I am the true Vine.” “I am the Vine, ye are the branches.” This is the Vine of heaven; for Christ, the true Vine, came down from heaven to do His Father’s will; and of this Vine the “Father is the Husbandman.” All who abide in Christ, the true Vine, will be gathered by the angels into the kingdom of God, when He comes on the white cloud to reap the harvest of the earth. The others are called “the clusters of the vine of the earth.” Those have no connection with the heavenly Vine, but are of the earth, earthy. And when the clusters of this vine are gathered, it is only that they shall be cast into the wine-press of the wrath of God. GNT 118.2
This same result is shown by John the Baptist under another figure: “He that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: whose fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly purge His floor, and gather His wheat into the garner; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” Matthew 3:11, 12 GNT 119.1
5. “And the temple of God was opened in heaven.” GNT 119.2
The sanctuary, the temple, of the Levitical law was a figure of the sanctuary, the temple, of the gospel. Hebrews 9:9, 11, 23. That was on earth, this is in heaven. That was made with hands, and was pitched by man; this was made without hands, and was pitched by the Lord. Hebrews 9:9, 23, 24; 8:2; 9:11. That on earth had two apartments, or holy places,—the holy place, and the most holy place—this in heaven likewise has two apartments or holy places. Hebrews 9:2-7, 24. And the ark of the Testament was in the most holy place. The service of that sanctuary was by the men of the Levitical priesthood, and with the blood of beasts; the service of this sanctuary is by Christ the Lord, of the Melchisedec priesthood, and with the blood of Christ himself. Hebrews 7:9, 6, 9, 12-14, 22-26; 8:1. The service of that sanctuary was completed once a year, by the high priest’s ministry in the most holy place; the service of this, when completed, is once for all. Hebrews 9:7, 25, 26; 10:3, 10. GNT 119.3
The last work of the annual service in that sanctuary was upon what was called the day of atonement; and the service, principally performed in the most holy place, was called the cleansing of the sanctuary—the taking away of all the sins that had been conveyed into the sanctuary by the service of the priests at the confessions and sacrifices of the people during the year that then ended. Leviticus 23:27-32; 16:2-34. The last work of the once-for-all service of the heavenly sanctuary will be the great day of everlasting atonement; and the service will be to take away forever all the sins that have been borne by our High Priest, at the confession of believers, and the offering of Him by faith as our sacrifice: as He offers himself in fact in our behalf. GNT 120.1
This is also called the cleansing of, not the earthly, but the heavenly, sanctuary. As the cleansing of the earthly sanctuary was the last work for that year in behalf of that people, so the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary will be the last work forever in behalf of any people. As the cleansing of the earthly sanctuary was the very last day of that annual round of service, so, whenever the world shall have reached the time of the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary, the world will then have entered upon the very last days of the work of the gospel. And when the sanctuary shall have been cleansed, the gospel—the mystery of God—will have been “finished as He hath declared to His servants the prophets.” GNT 121.1
Now, when, according to the Scriptures, should the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary begin? In Daniel 8:14, from a certain time, it is said, “Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.” This also being prophetic time, each day stands for a year, and is, therefore, two thousand three hundred years. GNT 121.2
From what time?—“From the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem.” Daniel 9:25. Seventy weeks—four hundred and ninety years—were cut off from the two thousand three hundred, and appropriated to Daniel’s people, the Jews; and the beginning of the four hundred and ninety years is the beginning of the two thousand three hundred. This beginning, as quoted above, was at the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem, which was in the year 457 B. C. Ezra 7. GNT 121.3
Although Ezra, with the decree, started from Babylon in the first month, it was not till the fifth month that he reached Jerusalem. And as the decree was to the treasurers “beyond the river” Euphrates, and in Palestine, it was of no force till he reached that country; so about half the year was gone before the decree could be said to go forth to restore and build the city, which would make it about the middle of the year 457, or four hundred and fifty-six and one-half years before Christ. GNT 122.1
Two thousand three hundred years from 456 1/2 B. C. bring us to 2300-456 1/2 = 1844 1/2 after Christ. Eighteen hundred forty-three and one-half years after Christ carries us into the year 1844 A. D. Then it was, the angel said to Daniel, that the time of the cleansing of the sanctuary should be: “Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.” GNT 122.2
That this can not be applied to the earthly sanctuary is made certain by the statement, in Daniel 9:26, that after the cutting off of the Messiah, the people of the prince that should come (the Romans) “should destroy the city and the sanctuary.” And Christ said that when these should be destroyed, Jerusalem should be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. Luke 21:24. As that city and that sanctuary were to be destroyed, and were destroyed but a few years after the expiration of the four hundred and ninety years, it is impossible that that should be the sanctuary that was to be cleansed at the expiration of the two thousand three hundred years. Consequently, the sanctuary that was to be cleansed at the end of the two thousand three hundred years was the heavenly sanctuary; because it is the only one that was then in existence. Therefore, it is certain that the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary began in A. D. 1844. 1 GNT 122.3
The cleansing of the sanctuary, the work of the atonement under the Levitical law, was a work of judgment. For, said the Scripture, “Whatsoever soul it be that shall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off from among his people.” Leviticus 23:29. Whoever did not make confession of sin that day, could have no part in the atonement that was made that day; and when the sanctuary had been cleansed, and atonement made, he was to be cut off without mercy—he had no other chance, his probation was gone. Under the sounding of the Seventh Trumpet it is written that there is come “the time of the dead that they should be judged;” and the First Angel of the threefold message says, “The hour of His judgment is come.” GNT 123.1
Therefore, in the time of the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary, which is now, in the atonement made once for all, whosoever shall not confess his sins,and be partaker of the intercession of Christ, can have no part in the atonement of Christ; and when that sanctuary shall have been cleansed, and that atonement made, he will have to be cut off without mercy—he can have no other opportunity, his probation will be ended. Of such it will be said, “He that is unjust, let him be unjust still; and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still.” No longer will the precious, cleansing blood be applied. These are they who shall wring out and drink the dregs of the cup that is in the hand of the Lord (Psalm 75:8); these are they who “shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of His indignation.” Revelation 14:10. GNT 124.1
The heavenly temple, the most holy place, was opened in A. D. 1844. At that time the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary began; and, in the very nature of the case, must soon close. We are now living in the great day of atonement. Now is the time when it is urgent upon everyone to confess his sins, to put away all his transgressions, to be a partaker of the intercession of Christ, to wash his robes, and make them white in the blood of the Lamb. For since 1844 the Seventh Angel has been sounding; soon the mystery of God will be finished, the work of the gospel will be closed, and the unmixed wrath of God and the Lamb will be poured upon all the wicked of the earth. GNT 124.2
6. “And there was seen in His temple the ark of His testament.” Revelation 11:19. Why is this called the ark of His testament?—Because within it is His testimony, as there was in the earthly temple, which was a pattern of the heavenly. “In the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee.” Exodus 25:21. GNT 125.1
But what was the testimony, or testament, that was put in the ark? “He gave unto Moses, when He had made an end of communing with him upon Mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God.” Exodus 31:18. “And the tables were the work of God, and the writing was the writing of God, graven upon the tables.” Chap. 32:16. GNT 125.2
These tables Moses broke when he came down from the mount and found the people given up to idolatry. Then said the Lord to Moses: “Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first: and come up unto me into the mount, and make thee an ark of wood. And I will write on the tables the words that were in the first tables which thou breakfast, and thou shalt put them in the ark.” Then said Moses: “I made an ark of shittim wood, and hewed two tables of stone like unto the first, and went up into the mount, having the two tables in mine hand. And He wrote on the tables, according to the first writing, the ten commandments, which the Lord spake unto you in the mount out of the midst of the fire, in the day of the assembly; and the Lord gave them unto me. And I turned myself and came down from the mount, and put the tables in the ark which I had made; and there they be, as the Lord commanded me.” Deuteronomy 10:1-5. GNT 125.3
This ark was called the ark of the testimony, or testament, because in it were the tables of the testimony which God gave to Moses, and that testimony was the ten commandments. It is this alone that gave it the title of the ark of the testimony. GNT 126.1
We have seen that this sanctuary, or temple, on the earth was only a pattern, or figure, of the sanctuary, or temple, in heaven. Therefore, that testimony, which gave to the ark of the earthly sanctuary the title of the ark of the testament, must be identical with the testimony that gives to the ark in heaven the title of the ark of His testament; that is, the ten commandments. Now this temple of God in heaven is opened at the sounding of the Seventh Trumpet; then is shown the heavenly ark of His testament, in which are the ten commandments—the tables of His holy law; and connected directly with this stands Revelation 14:12,—the Third Angel’s Message,—saying, “Here are they that keep the commandments of God.” GNT 126.2
7. “And there were lightnings, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.” Revelation 11:19. This is identical with the record of the events of the Seventh Plague. For, says the Scripture, “The Seventh Angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done. And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great.... And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.” Revelation 16:17-21 GNT 126.3
But the seven last plagues comprise the wrath of God. This wrath is poured upon those who worship the Beast and his Image; upon those who refuse to keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. And the Third Angel’s Message is to warn men against that worship, that they may escape this wrath; and it calls upon them especially to “keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” GNT 127.1
These things show that these three messages of Revelation 14, and the wrath which is foretold by the Third of these, and the coming of the Lord which follows the Third, represent events referred to as occurrent when the Seventh Angel shall be sounding. It is therefore certain that in the days of the voice of the Seventh Angel, when he shall begin to sound, the Third Angel’s Message of Revelation 14 is due to the world. GNT 127.2
Here we must refer again to Revelation 10:7, where the angel declares with an oath that “in the days of the voice of the Seventh Angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished.” These being prophetic days,—each day for a year,—the expression says: In the years of the voice of the Seventh Angel, when he shall begin to sound. The Seventh Trumpet, the Third Woe, covers all the woe that will ever be on this earth from the time when this Trumpet begins to sound. But the mystery of God is to be finished in the years when it begins—not at the latter part, nor at the end, but in the beginning. Whenever, therefore, the Seventh Angel begins to sound, the finishing of the mystery of God is close at hand. GNT 128.1
But what is the mystery of God?—The mystery of God is the gospel. Proof: in Ephesians 3:3 Paul says, “By revelation he made known unto me the mystery of Christ, which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto His holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, and of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ by the gospel .... Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ; and to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ: to the intent that now ... might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God, according to the eternal purpose which He purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord.... That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God.” For in Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.” Ephesians 3:3-11, 17-19: Colossians 2:9. GNT 128.2
From these texts it is evident that the eternal purpose of God, which He purposed in Christ for us; that the unsearchable riches of Christ, which are brought to the children of men; that the immeasurable love of Christ and of God, for man; that the love of Christ and of God, which passeth knowledge; is the mystery of God. But this is nothing else than the gospel. The preaching of the gospel is only the effort of God to reveal this mystery, and to bring its depths to the comprehension of men. GNT 129.1
Again: in Ephesians 6:19 Paul calls his preaching, the making known of the mystery of the gospel, saying: “Praying ... for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly,to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in bonds.” To the Colossians likewise he said: “Withal praying also for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds.” Colossians 4:3. And to the Romans: “Now unto Him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, but now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith.” Romans 16:25, 26. GNT 129.2
There can be no question that the mystery of God is the gospel of God, that the mystery of Christ is the gospel of Christ; for it is called the “gospel of God,” as well as the “gospel of Christ” (1 Peter 4:17; 1 Thessalonians 2:29; 1 Timothy 1:11): and properly enough so, for Christ is “God with us” (Matthew 1:23), and “God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself.” 2 Corinthians 5:19. GNT 130.1
The mystery of God being the gospel, when the angel said that the mystery of God should be finished, he was but saying, according to these scriptures, that the gospel should be finished. The gospel “is the power of God unto salvation.” Therefore to say that the mystery of God—the gospel—should be finished, is but to say that the power of God for the salvation of men will cease to be exercised. GNT 130.2
Again, the mystery of God is God manifest in the flesh, “Christ in you the hope of glory.” The finishing of that mystery will be God alone manifest: Christ in His completeness revealed: in the flesh in those who believe in Him. Accordingly, the grace of Christ and the gifts of His Spirit are given “for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come, in the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.” Ephesians 4:7-13. GNT 130.3
So then, according to the explanation given in these scriptures, the angel of Revelation 10:7 says, In the days—the years—of the voice of the Seventh Angel, when he shall begin to sound, the gospel should be finished, the power of God for the salvation of men shall cease to be exercised; and the work of God in Christ in those who truly believe in Him, will be completed unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, “as He hath declared to His servants the prophets.” GNT 131.1
Upon all these counts it is certain that it was in A. D. 1844, that the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary began; it is certain that it was in 1844 that the Temple of God was opened in heaven; it is certain that it was in 1844 that there began the time of the dead that they should be judged, and when it could be truly said, The hour of His judgment is come; and by all these certainties it is increasingly certain that it was in A. D. 1844 that the Seventh Trumpet angel began to sound. GNT 131.2
All these things are but the events that occur in the days of the voice of the Seventh Angel when he begins to sound. And as we have found that this Seventh Angel began to sound in 1844, then it was, and onward, that the Third Angel’s Message is due to the world. When this message is finished, the mystery of God will have been finished. When this message closes, the work of the gospel will be closed. And when the seven last plagues, which are pronounced by this message against those who worship the Beast and his Image, shall be poured out upon them who have the Mark of the Beast, and upon them who worship his Image,—with the pouring out of the last of these comes the end of the world. GNT 131.3
Therefore, now is the time when there is danger of being drawn into the worship of the Beast and his Image. The people now living in the great nations of to-day are the ones who are concerned in this. People now living are they who will be called upon to make an Image to the Beast. The great nations of to-day are they who will be summoned, and will summon, to the worship of the Beast and his Image. And the people of the great nations of to-day are the people who will be warned by the message of God against all those things, and will be called to the keeping of the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus, because “the hour of His judgment is come.” GNT 132.1
When at the culmination of the anger of the great nations of to-day, there comes that “time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation,” only those can be delivered who “shall be found written in the book.” Daniel 12:1. On God’s part, the Third Angel’s Message is the culmination of the events of the Seventh Trumpet. Therefore it is perfectly plain that the Third Angel’s Message is the gracious call of God to all men, and supplying the means to all, to enter their names in the Book of Life, that so they may be delivered in this time of trouble, such as never was. And this is doubly emphasized by the fact that the Third Angel’s Message warns all men against the worship of the Beast and his Image; and “all they that dwell upon the earth shall worship him [the Beast] whose names are not written in the Book of Life of the Lamb, slain from the foundation of the world.” Revelation 13:8. GNT 132.2
Is your name in the Book of Life? Do you believe in Jesus? GNT 133.1
Having shown that now is the time—from A. D. 1844, and onward—when the Third Angel’s Message, the great threefold message, is due to the world, it remains to study the import of that message. GNT 133.2
It is a world-wide message; for— GNT 133.3
1. The First of the three angels of the great Threefold Message (Revelation 14:6, 7) spoke with a loud voice “to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people;” the Second Angel followed this one; and the Third Angel followed them. As, therefore, the First one was to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people; and as the Third one follows; the Third likewise must go to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people. GNT 133.4
2. The Third Angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If any man worship the Beast and his Image,” etc. This phrase, “If any man,” shows that this word is spoken to all men; that it is a universal message. GNT 134.1
3. Of the Beast it is said: “All that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” Revelation 13:8. And the work of the Image of the Beast is but to cause the worship of the Beast. True, he compels men to worship himself—the Image of the Beast; but, as he derives his authority, and draws his inspiration, from the Beast, the worship of the Image is but indirectly the worship of the Beast. Now, as the worship of the Beast is to be by “all that dwell upon the earth;” as the Third Angel’s Message is the warning against the worship of the Beast and his Image; and as obedience to this warning is the only means of escaping that worship and the wrath of God,—therefore the Third Angel’s Message must go to “all that dwell upon the earth:” the warning must be as extensive as is the worship. It is therefore evident that this thing will not be done in a corner. GNT 134.2
These considerations make it most certain that the Third Angel’s Message—the threefold message—of Revelation 14, whatever that message in its fullness may be, not only vitally concerns the great nations of to-day, but is addressed directly to all the people—“to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people”—of the great nations of to-day. It is God’s message to the great nations of to-day. GNT 135.1
And now, just now, because of the times and the manners, and because of the manners of the times, there is forced upon our consideration the questions, What is Babylon? What is the Beast? What is the Image of the Beast? GNT 135.2