The Sealed Book of Revelation 5

The fifth chapter of Revelation needs to be closely studied. It is of great importance to those who shall act a part in the work of God for these last days. {9T 267} But that part of his prophecy which related to the last days, Daniel was bidden to close up and seal “to the time of the end.” Not till we reach this time could a message concerning the judgment be proclaimed, based on a fulfillment of these prophecies… {GC 355.3} 1And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals. Him that sat on the throne – this is God the Father, since He sits on the throne of Heaven. He is holding a book sealed with seven seals; this ties in with Revelation 4:1,2. “A dor was opened in heaven,” and “a throne was set up in heaven.” Since “Revelation [follows] Daniel, as giving fuller light on the subjects dealt with in Daniel…they both relate to the same subjects” {TM 117.2}. So this sealed book must be the same book referred to in Daniel 12:4, which was sealed until the time of the end. The portion of Daniel that was sealed until the time of the end was “that portion of Daniel which related to the last days” {17 MR 6.3}. This is referring to the final part of the gospel, see GC 355.3 above. The setting is the most holy place, where the judgment and the final atonement take place. Since the door to the most holy place was opened during the era of the church of Philadelphia [Rev. 3:7,8], which was the church of the great second advent awakening, the setting is the portion of the redemption plan that covers the time of the advent movement of 1840-1844 on. 2And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof? 3And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon. 4And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon. 5And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof. 6And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth. 7And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne. 8And when he had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints. 9And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; 10And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth. 11And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; 12Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. 13And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever. 14And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever.

Open Book Test on Term 2

Open Book Test for Daniel 2,7,8,9

Directions:  Answer the questions on a Word document. Post your answers at the end of class on Friday.  You have from now to the end of class on Friday to complete your open book test.  You can use your manuscript notes, your hand outs,  your Great Controversy, the Bible and Ellen G White Estate online to take your open book test. You can work on this outside of class time, but the test must be completed and posted by the end of class on Friday.

Daniel 2 questions:

1. Name the four kingdoms of the image that are symbolized by the gold, silver, brass, and iron.

Answer: The four kingdoms of the image that are symbolized by the gold, silver, brass, and iron are as follows: Gold—Babylon, Silver—Medo-Persia, Brass—Greece, and Iron—Pagan Rome.

1. How many kingdoms total are there in the image?  What is the difference between the feet and the rest of the image?

Answer: There are 4 kingdoms total in the image. The difference between the feet and the rest of the image is that the feet are partly of miry potters’ clay and partly of iron, or divided. They are partly strong [iron] (reliant on self) and partly broken [clay] (broken on and by the Rock, Christ). “And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay” (Dan. 2:43, KJV). “The mingling of churchcraft and statecraft is represented by iron and the clay” {4 BC 1168}.

1. What is the common thread that runs through the whole image?

Answer: The common thread through the whole image is paganism, the essence of which is creature worship.

1. What two things does the iron and clay each symbolize? [two things for iron; two things for clay]

Answer: Iron symbolizes the kingdom or state—Pagan Rome and the system of paganism. Clay symbolizes the church and the system of Christianity.

1. Who does the feet of iron and clay represent?  What parallels are there in Revelation?

Answer: The feet of iron and clay represent the divided fourth kingdom of paganism and Christianity. This divided fourth kingdom is still Rome, in a new form, called papal Rome. In Revelation 7 and 8, the parallel to the feet of iron and clay is the little horn on the terrible beast. In Revelation 12, 13, and 17, the parallel is the scarlet colored leopard-like beast with seven heads and ten horns. This iron and clay combination makes a new entity. The feet of iron and clay in Dan. 2 equates with the woman who rides the beast in Revelation 17. Since a woman in the Bible represents a church and a beast represents a kingdom, this woman/beast combination  symbolizes this entity’s structural system, a religious/political system. This new entity is called the papacy.  Note how the papacy developed. There is a compromise between paganism and Christianity that results in an apostasy in the church. An apostate church, losing the power of love, unites with the state, controlling the power of the state and employing it  to enforce and execute her decrees, especially for the punishment of heresy. The inevitable result of this union of church and state is intolerance and persecution.

1. Who do the toes of iron and clay represent?  What parallels are there in Revelation?

Answer: The toes of iron and clay represent the divided fourth kingdom of paganism and Christianity, with the characteristics of being partly strong, and partly broken being the effort to serve both self and Christ. The toes and feet are also known as papal Rome. The parallels to the iron and clay toes are the ten horns on the sixth head of the Lamb-like beast in Revelation 12, 13, and 17. The characteristics of iron and clay that apply to the feet also apply to the toes. The toes become an image of the beast. Put in the context of Daniel 2, the toes become an image or mirror of the feet, exhibiting the three problems of mixing iron and clay. The toes equate with the ten horns on the sixth head of the scarlet colored leopard-like beast of Revelation 17,  and they also equate with the lamb-like beast of Rev. 13.

1. Why are the two entities in question 5 and question 6 both pictured as iron and clay?

Answer: The 2 entities in #5 and #6 are pictured as iron and clay because iron / characteristics of iron symbolize:

1) A compromise between paganism and Christianity, which creates its ideological system [its manner of thinking]

2) A union of church and state, which creates its structural system, a religious/political system

[The characteristics of iron symbolize the system of paganism, where self exalts itself and puts others down, controls, damages, and destroys.]

“Force is the last resort of every false religion… The papacy has exercised her power to compel men to obey her, and she will continue to do so.” {7BC 976}

1. Name the two systems of the papacy.

Answer: The first system of the papacy is the ideological system, or paganism combine with Christianity. This first system shaped the second, which is the structural system, or religious/political Church/state. These are both symbolized by the mixing of the iron with the clay.

1. Who are “these kings” talked about in Daniel 2:44? Where else in the Bible is there a parallel to “these kings” pictured in this verse?

Answer: The toes of the image are called kings in Dan. 2:44. Verse 44 is stating that “in the days of these [ten] kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed…” There are two passages that talk about ten kings. These two passages give more details about the ten kings of the image of Daniel 2: (1) Daniel 7:24 and (2) Rev. 17:12.

1. Who is the “they” of Dan. 2:43? Who is “the seed?”  HOW does “they” mingle themselves with “the seed?”

Answer: “And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.”

“They” of Dan. 2:43 is the toes of the image, or the divided fourth kingdom, composed of a mixture of iron and clay, or of paganism and Christianity. “They” is referring to apostate Protestants. “The seed of men” are non-Christians, or pagans, who are reliant on self and “strong.” This verse discusses how the clay (or Christians, “broken” on Christ the Rock) mingles themselves with the seed of men, who are strong and reliant on self (the iron). The apostate Protestants, as symbolized by  the toes of iron and clay mixed, mingle, by being in the same church with true Christians, who are part of the Seed. God wants the true Christians to leave those false churches and not mingle anymore with the iron and clay people.

1. What two things does the stone represent?

Answer: God’s law is represented by the stone. God Himself has cut out the stone and written His law on that stone with His own finger. The stone, although it is a symbol of the law, also symbolizes Jesus, the living Stone, because He is the Mediator, having the power to bring the hearts of men into harmony with the principles of the law.

Daniel 7 questions:

1. Name the four kingdoms that the four beasts of Daniel 7 symbolize?

Answer: The four kingdoms symbolized by the four beasts of Daniel 7 are lion–Babylon, bear—Medo Persia, leopard—Greece, and terrible beast—Pagan Rome.

1. What is the difference between Daniel 7:8 and Daniel 8:9?

Answer: In Dan. 7:8, the horn is described as coming out “before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and behold, in this horn WERE eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things.” This little horn is a parallel to the iron and clay feet of Dan. 2 and the scarlet colored leopard-like beast with seven heads and ten horns of Revelation 12, 13, and 17. In Dan. 8:9, the little horn came forth out of another horn, “which waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land.”

1. What are some characteristics that Daniel 7 talks about that you could point out that demonstrate that the little horn represents the papacy?

Answer: In vs. 21, Daniel states that “the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them” and “even of that horn that had eyes and a mouth that spake very great things, whose look was more stout than his fellows.” Also, “he shall speak GREAT words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.” The papacy tried to change the Sabbath to Sunday instead of Saturday. This is changing times and laws (God’s Law.) Also the saints of the most High were given unto his hand for a time and times and the dividing of time. (1260 years.) And “all dominions shall serve and obey him.”

1. Fill in the blank:  “The prophecies present a succession of events leading down to the ___________________________________________. This is especially true of the book of Daniel.”   How is this demonstrated in Daniel 7?

Answer: “Opening of the judgment.” This is demonstrated in Daniel 7 in verses 9-14. “I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit.” (vs. 9). “Thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.” (vs. 10.)

1. What is the connection between the beast and the horn in Daniel 7:11?

Answer: The horn spake great words and therefore, the beast was slain and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame. So because of what the horn said, the beast was slain.

1. What is the kingdom talked about in Daniel 7:13, 14?  What is the “status” of this kingdom in this verse?

Answer: The kingdom of grace, or the marriage is what is being discussed in these verses. Jesus is mediating for his people in the Most Holy place and therefore gaining marriage with his people. This is the ceremony and the formalities that must take place before the wedding supper in Heaven. The status of this kingdom is pending, or Jesus is working out the details of the marriage and the formalities.

1. How could you demonstrate from this chapter that the four beasts are four kingdoms and not four kings?

Answer: In Daniel 7:17, it states that “These great beasts, which are four, ARE FOUR KINGS, WHICH shall arise out of the earth.” Then in verse 23: ´The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon the earth.”

1. Which kingdom is given to the saints in verses 18, 22 and 27?

Answer: The kingdom of glory is given to the saints in verses 18, 22, and 27.

1. How long does the little horn “bother” the saints?

Answer: “A time and times and the dividing of time” or 1260 days [prophetically meaning: 1260 years].

1. Who are the ten horns of Daniel 7:24?

Answer: The ten horns of Daniel 7:24 are ten kings that shall arise out of the fourth kingdom. “And the ten horns out of this kingdom ARE TEN KINGS THAT shall arise.”

1. What is the “time, times and dividing of time?”  Identify some other passages of scripture that are referring to the same “time, times, and dividing of time?”

Answer: The “time, times, and dividing of time” is referring to the time when the saints are given into the hand of the little horn, or the papacy. It is 1260 days. The Bible teaches us that a day in Bible prophecy is a year in time. In Daniel 12: 7, when Daniel asks, “How long shall it be to the end of these wonders?” the angel replies, “it shall be for a time, times, and a half.” Also, Revelation 12:14 states that the woman which brought forth the man child “were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.” In Rev. 11:2, “the holy city shall they [the Gentiles] tread under foot forty and two months.” In Rev. 13:5, “there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.” “After the number of the days in which ye searched the land, even forty days, each day for a year, shall ye bear your iniquities, even forty years, and ye shall know my breach of promise.” (Numbers 14:34).

Daniel 8 questions:

1. Identify the ram and the he goat of Daniel 8.  How can you demonstrate that the ram is referring to the same power as the bear of Daniel 7? How can you demonstrate that the he goat is the same as the leopard of Daniel 7?

Answer: The ram is found in Daniel 8:3-4. The he goat is found in Dan. 8:5. The ram is referring to the same power as the bear of Daniel 7 because “IT HAD three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh” (Daniel 7: 5). And “the ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward, so that no beasts might stand before him, neither WAS THERE ANY that could deliver out of his hand; but he did according to his will, and became great.” The bear of Daniel 7 had three ribs which said to arise and devour much flesh, or conquer other nations. The ram of Daniel 8 pushed three directions: westward, northward, and southward; so that no beasts might stand before him, neither was there any that could deliver out of his hand. They both conquered many nations and became great and no nation could stand before them. Therefore, it is the same power. This power is described in Daniel 8:20 as “the kings of Media and Persia.”

1. Who is the notable horn of the he goat?  The four notable horns?

Answer: The notable horn according to Daniel 8:21, is “the first king.” The four notable horns, in Daniel 8:21 are: “four kingdoms [which] shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his power.”

1. Who is the host and stars being referred to in Daniel 8:10?  Who is the prince of the host in verse 11?

Answer: The host and stars are Jesus’ true followers. The Prince of the host is Jesus Himself.

1. What is the “daily” being talked about in verse 11?  How does the little horn take away the “daily?”

Answer: The “daily” is the sacrifice that Jesus makes for us everyday in the Most Holy Place before the Father. The little horn, or papal Rome, takes away the daily by saying that people can pay for their sins by indulgences and the like. This completely opposes the Scripture that says, “if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). Jesus takes our sins to the Father each day in the “daily,” appearing in His spotless appearance before God to atone for our sins with His death on the cross.

1. Explain verse 12.

Answer: “And an host was given him against the daily sacrifice by reason of transgression, and it cast down the truth to the ground; and it practiced, and prospered.”

A lot of people agreed and went along with the pope [the little horn] against Jesus’ daily sacrifice for us by making people go to church on Sunday and pay for their sins in different ways. The pope cast down the Word of God by forbidding it to be read except by the priests in Mass. This method “practiced, and prospered” and many people were deceived.

1. What two elements does the vision include, according to verse 13?  What is the vision that is sealed up?

Answer: The vision concerning the Daily and the transgression of desolation. The vision that is sealed up is the vision concerning the daily.

1. *What is the “transgression of desolation” talked about in verse 13?  What passage in the Bible could you use to support your answer?

Answer: The transgression of desolation

1. What period of time does the vision apply to, according to Daniel 8?

Answer: 2300 days, or prophetically, 2300 years, according to Daniel 8:14.

1. How long was the vision going to be sealed?

Answer: Until the time of the end.

1. Explain verse 23.

Answer: “And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up.”

When the four kingdoms following Greece shall finish their reign, when the transgressors are come to a full (their sins have gotten really bad), a king (a really bad king) who understands dark sentences and has fierce countenance shall stand up and take the throne.

1. Where in Daniel 2 can you find a similar phrasing that is found in Daniel 8:25:  he shall be “broken without hand?”

Answer: Daniel 2:45: “Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.”

Daniel 9 questions:

1. What does the word “determined” mean?

Answer: “Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.”

Seventy weeks are “determined,”  “will happen to,” or are “bound to happen to” God’s people and His holy city. This is to finish the transgression, make an end of sins, and make reconciliation for iniquity [sin] and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and the prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.

1. How are seventy weeks of Daniel 9 connected to the 2300 days of Daniel 8?

Answer: In 457 B.C. Artaxerxes I decreed that the city government of Jerusalem should be re-established and rebuilt. There is a 490 year period from 457 B.C. until 34 A.D. when Jesus died on the cross. This is 490 prophetic “days” and therefore, 70 “weeks.” 2300 “days” or years, prophetically speaking, is the period from 457 B.C. to 1844 A.D. In 1844 the Millerites thought that Jesus would come back to the earth to take His people to heaven. The two timelines, therefore, are adjacent to one another.

1. What was the starting point for the seventy week period? Give a scripture verse for support for your answer.

Answer: The starting point for the seventy week period is 457 B.C. This is proved in Ezra 7.

1. What does “Messiah” mean?

Answer: One who is anticipated as, regarded as, or professes to be a savior or liberator.

1. Why does Daniel 9:25 say “seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks” instead of just saying threescore and nine weeks?

Answer: Because the seven weeks represents a time period of its own in which something important happens, and the threescore and two weeks is another time period.

1. What does it mean when verse 27 says “in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease?

Answer: In the midst of the last seven years of Jesus’ life or prophetic “week” Jesus caused the “sacrifice and the oblation to cease.” This is because He died on the cross as the sacrificial Lamb of the world to take away the world’s sins. He thus did away with the sacrificial system of sacrificing lambs and offerings system, causing the “sacrifice and the oblation to cease.”

1. What event is connected to the end of the seventy weeks?

Answer: Jesus’ death on the cross.

1. Explain what it means in verse 27:  “he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week?”

Answer: Jesus made sure people understood that He was the Son of God. He “confirmed the covenant” by letting people realize that He was the Son of God and He came to earth to seek and to save the lost.

BONUS QUESTIONS FOR THE INSIGHTFUL!!:

1. Who is “the prince that shall come” talked about in verse 26?

Answer: Satan, impersonating Christ.

1. What does this mean in verse 26:  “the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary?

Answer: The anti-Christ [Satan impersonating Christ] and his followers will destroy the city and the sanctuary [the New Jerusalem].

1. Who are “the desolate” referred to in verse 27?  What is “that determined” that “shall be poured upon the desolate?”

Answer: The desolate are the people that are left on earth after the saints have gone to heaven. “That determined” is fire from heaven that shall consume those left on the earth.

The Loud Cry

This assignment is on Revelation 18:1-8.  It is due October 7.

Answer the following questions:

1.  Question: How does the fourth angel relate to the third angel?

     Answer: The fourth angel gives power to the third angel’s message.

     Support: “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. And the people of God are fitted up every where to stand in the hour of temptation which they are soon to meet. I saw a great light resting upon them, and they united in the message, and fearlessly proclaimed with great power the third angel’s message” {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. The glory of God rested upon the patient, waiting saints, and they fearlessly gave the last solemn warning, proclaiming the fall of Babylon, and calling upon God’s people to come out of her; that they might escape her fearful doom” {1SG 194.1}.

2.  Question: What are the two parts to the Loud Cry?

     Answer: The first part to the Loud Cry is the message that the second angel proclaimed: “Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.” The second part to the Loud Cry is that which the fourth angel (of Revelation 18) proclaims: “Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.”

     Support: “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.’” {Mar 189.1}. “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} .

3.  Question: What are the two parts to the final warning?

     Answer: The Third Angel’s Message and the Loud Cry

     Support: “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}.

4.  Question: 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?  [Hint: what caused the fall of Babylon in 1844?]

Answer: 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.

Support: “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}.

5.  Question: 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.

Answer: “The habitation of devils”—Since Jesus no longer dwells with the church, the Devil and his servants dwell in the fallen churches and work through them, some even believing in spiritualism. Therefore, we can safely say that this church has a corrupting influence in all that it teaches. Also, there are devils dwelling in people, which makes them act as those of the world.

“The hold of every foul spirit”—Because this church has a corrupting influence, its members are unconverted and display the same characteristics that the unbelievers have.   

“A cage of every unclean and hateful bird”—If a bird represents a person, then it could be assumed that the people in Babylon are unclean and hateful, stuck in their sins and not having been cleansed by Christ; basically lacking the spirit of God, and probably exhibiting its absence.

     Support: “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.” {GC 603.2}  

“They had chosen a ruler who chained them to his car as captive… Satanic agencies were incorporated with men. The bodies of human beings, made for the dwelling place of God, had become the habitation of demons” (DA 36.3).  

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

     Answer: All nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication—All nations have submitted and are following and enforcing false doctrines, especially the Sabbath. Men trample God’s Holy Sabbath underfoot and uphold the false sabbath, irate at those who will not subject themselves to it.

The kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality with her. She has joined church with state and has denied the power of God and instead has relied on the power of men.

The merchants of the earth have gotten rich from the power of her sensual behavior. Babylon selfishly misuses the blessings God has given her. She lives a selfish and extravagant life, far different than the life of the Savior, who was meek and lowly.

     Support: “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}

“The fallen denominational churches are Babylon. Babylon has been fostering poisonous doctrines, the wine of error. This wine of error is made up of false doctrines, such as the natural immortality of the soul, the eternal torment of the wicked, the denial of the pre-existence of Christ prior to His birth in Bethlehem, and advocating and exalting the first day of the week above God’s holy and sanctified day. 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}

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

“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}

7.  Question: When do Babylon’s sins reach unto heaven?

     Answer: When the Sunday law is passed.

     Support: “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}

8.  Question: Why does Revelation 18 say that Babylon receives the plagues?

     Answer: Because her sins have reached unto heaven and she has persecuted God’s faithful followers. She is getting her just reward for her iniquities.

     Support:  “For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities. Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double” (Rev. 18:5:-6).

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

     Answer: Honestly serving God is the most important, but the messages telling God’s people to come out of Babylon will be proclaimed to everyone, so they will have to make a choice whether to stay in Babylon, and be destroyed; or to come out of Babylon and be a part of God’s commandment-keeping church, so you can be saved.

     Support: “The light that was shed upon the waiting ones penetrated every where, and those who had any light in the churches, who had not heard and rejected the three messages, answered to the call, and left the fallen churches. Many had come to years of accountability since these messages had been given, and the light shone upon them, and they were privileged to choose life or death. Some chose life, and took their stand with those looking for their Lord, and keeping all his commandments” {1SG 195.1}.

10. Question: Why are there only two distinct calls made to the churches?

      Answer: Both calls focus on fallen Babylon and invite people to “come out of her.” There are only two distinct calls given because there are only two distinct events in the fall of Babylon. The first call (the second angel’s message) announced the beginning of Babylon’s fall. The second call (the Loud Cry) will announce the completion of Babylon’s fall.

11. Question: When is the Loud Cry supposed to be given?

      Answer: The Loud Cry is to be given right now.

      Support: “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}.

12. Question: What is it that gives power to the Loud voice [Cry]?

      Answer: The Latter Rain gives the power to the Loud voice [Cry].

      Support: “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 Third Angel’s Message

This assignment is on Revelation 14:9-12.

Answer the following questions:

1. Question: What is the core content of the third angel’s message?

Answer: The core content of the third angel’s message is summed up in two points:  1) Jesus’ mediation in the most holy place and 2) the eternal authority of God’s law.

Support: “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).

2.  Question: When did Jesus send the third angel’s message?

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

Support: “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}

3. Question: 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?

Answer: The third angel’s message gave the believers light on the past. It helped them understand that the first angel’s message, “the hour of His judgment has come,” really meant that Christ moved from the Holy Place to the Most Holy Place to atone for our sins, not Jesus coming back to earth. Also, the third angel’s message shed light on the fact that the Judgment was going on (and still is) and that God’s law was everlasting and should be kept. They especially realized the importance of the Sabbath. It also showed them what going to happen in the future, (i.e. Christ’s second coming, Loud Cry, etc.) and thus lighted up the future.

Support: “After Jesus opened the door of the most holy, the light of the Sabbath was seen, and the people of God were tested, as the children of Israel were tested anciently, to see if they would keep God’s law. I saw the third angel pointing upward, showing the disappointed ones the way to the holiest of the heavenly sanctuary. As they by faith enter the most holy, they find Jesus, and hope and joy spring up anew. I saw them looking back, reviewing the past, from the proclamation of the second advent of Jesus, down through their experience to the passing of the time in 1844. They see their disappointment explained, and joy and certainty again animate them. The third angel has lighted up the past, the present, and the future, and they know that God has indeed led them by His mysterious providence.” {EW 254.2}.

4. Question: 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?

Answer: The evangelical Christian does not accept the truth of Christ’s change of ministration from the holy place to the most holy place in 1844 for mainly one reason. This is that if they were to accept this truth, they would also have to accept the Ten Commandments and God’s 7^th-day Sabbath. They do not want to do this, because their customs are very important to them and it is important to them to worship and go to church on Sunday.

Support: “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}

5.  Question: How is the message of justification by faith the third angel’s message?

Answer: 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.  In order to benefit by the final atonement, we must accept Christ’s righteousness by faith.

Support: “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}]

 

6. Question: What is the purpose of the numbering system for the angels’ messages of Revelation 14?

    Answer: The numbering system is simply to show the chronological rise of the three messages.  After all three are proclaimed, they are to be given as one message.

    Support: “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)

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

    Answer: The first angel’s message has to do with worshiping God (and keeping His commandments). The reason being is that “the hour of his judgment is come” (Rev. 14:7).  This text is referring to Jesus’ new role of investigative judgment in the Most Holy Place. The second angel’s message warns of the faults of the churches, basically warning of the state they’re in for the judgment. Also, the second angel’s message tells God’s true people to get out of the churches and come into the Most Holy Place. 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 keeping God’s Commandments and the Most Holy Place.

Support: “A threefold message—Revelation 14:6, 7 foretells the proclamation of the First Angel’s message. Then the prophet continues: “There followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen. . . . and the third angel followed them.” The word here rendered “followed” means “to go along with,” “to follow one,” “go with him.” See Henry George Liddell and Robert Scott, Greek English lexicon (Oxford: Clarendon press, 1940), vol. 1, p. 52. It also means “to accompany.” see George Abbott-smith, a manual Greek lexicon of the new testament” (Edinburgh: t. and t. Clark, 1950), page 17. GC 693.1

“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

8. Question: 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?

Answer: God’s laws are eternal. Through the ages the laws have been marred, twisted, and tangled with earthly traditions and mandates. The Sabbath, an eternal law of God, has been “changed” to Sunday, but the Third Angels’ message points back to the true Sabbath, showing the perpetuity of the law of God, no matter the earthly trend or teaching. It says that if you worship the beast and his image, then all these bad things happen to you. But here is the patience of the Saints – keeping the Commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. Through it all, the Commandments stay firm! Notice the Faith of Jesus as well! The mediation of Christ is shown in the third angels’ message as well, where it says the “faith of Jesus.” Those who make it as Saints in the last days will keep faith in Jesus, realizing that it is not them but Christ who brought them through the judgment.

Support: “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. Immediately following its proclamation, the Son of man is seen by the prophet coming in glory to reap the harvest of the earth.”  {4SP 273.1}

“We hold no doctrine that we wish to hide. To those who have been educated to keep the first day of the week as a sacred day, the most objectionable feature of our faith is the Sabbath of the fourth commandment. But does not God’s word declare that the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God? And although it is not an easy matter to make the required change from the first to the seventh day, this change must be made. It involves a cross; it clashes with the precepts and practices of men. Learned men have taught the people till they are full of unbelief and prejudice; and yet we must say to these people, ‘Come and see.’ God requires us to proclaim the truth, and let it discover error.”  {PH089 22.1}

9. Question: 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.”

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

Support: “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}

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

Answer: If the two main themes of this message are the 1) mediation of Christ in the Most Holy Place and the 2) perpetuity of God’s Law, then the actions steps should be related to these core concepts. The third angel’s message is a call to 1) keep God’s commandments and 2) live our lives in the faith that Jesus has entered the Most Holy Place.

Support: “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 “I saw the third angel pointing upward, showing the disappointed ones the way to the holiest of the heavenly sanctuary.” EW 254.2

“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…” 4SP 273.3

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

Answer: The two purposes for the warning against the beast and his image are to extend Christ’s mercy to those who will accept it and to warn those in Babylon of their impending doom if they do not leave Babylon and follow Jesus.

Support: “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 “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.” Ev 190.4 “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…” GC 449.2

12. Question: What does it mean to receive the mark of the beast?

Answer: The mark of the beast is to worship on the first day of the week, or Sunday. Also, they must acknowledge the fact that God’s true Sabbath is on Saturday, yet refuse to keep it, disregarding God’s commandment and going along with the Beast in disobeying God.

Support: “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}

13. Question: Identify the following elements and how they relate to each other:  (1) fully ripe grapes (2) winepress (3) God’s wine (4) God’s wrath (5) [Babylon's own] cup (6) trodden without the city (7) blood came out of the city

      Answer: coming soon…

Revelation 14, 18 Sections

Entry Mode 1:

         

        Question:

 

               Read Revelation 14 and find the three divisions to the chapter. On your Inductive Bible Study space write out chapter divisions i.e. Rev. 9:1-12; 13-21. Write an appropriate title to each section.

         

     Answer:

              

              Revelation 14:

              

               Section 1 (144,000 Saints from Earth Praise the Lamb with a new song.): Rev. 14:1-5.

              

               Section 2 (3 Angels’ Messages: Worship God alone, Babylon is Fallen, and those who worship the beast or his image will receive God’s wrath.): Rev. 14:6-13.

              

               Section 3 (Christ brings in the harvest to be cast into the winepress of the great wrath of God.): Rev. 14:14-20.

              Revelation 18:

              Section 1: Revelation 18: 1-8, titled: “Babylon is fallen; God hath remembered her iniquities, and shall reward her justly.”

              Section 2: Revelation 18: 9-24, titled: “The nations of the earth lament for Babylon, but heaven and the saints rejoice over her.”

The Second Angel’s Message and the Midnight Cry

This assignment is on Revelation 14:8.

Answer the following 6 W’s questions for this passage:

1. Question: When was the second angel’s message given?

Answer: 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.

Support: “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}

2. Question: Who did the second angel’s message have a more direct application to?

Answer: 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.

Support: “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, 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.” {Mar 171.1}

3. Question: Why was the second angel’s message given?

Answer: The second angel’s message was given to tell of the fall of the Protestant churches and to call God’s true people out of them.

Support: “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}

4. Question: What were the consequences to the churches when they rejected the first angel’s message?  [A how problem]

Answer: They fell out of favor with God, became a part of Babylon and could not understand the second angel’s message, the midnight cry, or the third angel’s message. They also did not understand or benefit from Christ’s ministration in the Most Holy Place.

Support: “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}

5. Question: What is the “action step” of the second angel’s message?

Answer: The “action step” of the second angel’s message was for the true people of God to leave the Protestant churches who had rejected the first angel’s message (or Babylon).

Support: “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}

6. Question: When was the climactic closing up of the second angel’s message?

Answer: The second angel’s message had its climactic ending just before Jesus was expected to return (October 22, 1844).

Support: “There was a climactic closing up of the second angel’s message immediately preceding October 22, 1844.” {EW 304.1}

7. Question: What was the Midnight Cry?

Answer: The Midnight Cry was: “Behold, the Bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet Him!”

Support: “…And I heard the voices of angels crying, ‘Behold, the Bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet Him!’  This was the midnight cry, which was to give power to the second angel’s message.” {EW 238}

8. Question: When was the Midnight Cry given?

Answer: The Midnight Cry was given towards the end of the second angel’s message.

Support: “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}

9. Question: What was the purpose of the Midnight Cry?

Answer: The purpose of the Midnight Cry was to give power to the second angel’s message and to encourage God’s people to hold on even though they were discouraged about the rejection of the first angel’s message in the churches and to give them the faith to leave the Protestant churches that had rejected the message.

Support: “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}

10. Question: 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?

Answer: The first angel’s message encouraged believers to worship God and give glory to Him. The Midnight Cry encouraged believers to have a personal relationship with God, not relying on others for their salvation or walk with God. It also prepared believers to “enter with Jesus by faith into the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary” {EW 260.1}. You can link this with the third angel’s message, which shows the way into the most holy place.

Support: “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}

11. Question: 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?

Answer: The first call made to the churches is the second angel’s message (for God’s people to come out of Babylon [the Protestant churches that had rejected the first angel’s message].) It was given in the summer of 1844. The second call made to the churches was the loud cry given by the angel in Revelation 18. It should be all through the time from 1844 onward, but this loud cry will be proclaimed in a prominent distinct call just before Jesus returns. Although the messages of these angels are to be given all through the time from 1844 onward, this loud cry will be proclaimed in a prominent distinct call just before Jesus returns.

Support: “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.’” {Mar 171.4}

12. Question: Why are there only two distinct calls made to the churches?

Answer: The first call, “Babylon is fallen,” was describing Protestant churches, especially in America, that had rejected the first angel’s message. The second call, “Come out of her, my people,” is speaking to God’s people in the Protestant churches that rejected the first angel’s message. But it has not been completely fulfilled: Babylon’s fall is not yet complete. Babylon’s fall is complete when she institutes the Sunday Law. When this occurs, the call out of Babylon is even more severe than the previous one. The first call out of Babylon stated that Babylon has fallen into sin and that there will be Divine Justice, the second tells us that Babylon’s cup of iniquity is full and the judgment is about to be poured out. After this, there will be no more Babylon.

Support: “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, 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. But the message of the second angel did not reach its complete fulfillment in 1844. The churches then experienced a moral fall, in consequence of their refusal of the light of the advent message; but that fall was not complete. As they have continued to reject the special truths for this time they have fallen lower and lower. Not yet, however, can it be said that ‘Babylon is fallen,… because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.’ She has not yet made all nations do this. The spirit of world conforming and indifference to the testing truths for our time exists and has been gaining ground in churches of the Protestant faith in all the countries of Christendom; and these churches are included in the solemn and terrible denunciation of the second angel. But the work of apostasy has not yet reached its culmination.”  {GC 389.2}

The First Angel’s Message

1. Question: Who does the first angel symbolize [who gives the first message]?

    Answer: The first angel symbolizes William Miller and the people working with him in 1843-1844 to preach the message to America.

    Support: “To William Miller and his colaborers it was given to preach the warning” {GC 368.1}.

2. Question: When was the first angel’s message first given?

    Answer: In 1843-1844, when William Miller preached the message to America.

    Support: “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.” {CW 26.2}

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

    Answer: In America.

    Support: 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” {GC 368.1}.

4. Question: Why was the first angel’s message given?

    Answer: To bring the churches back to God.

    Support: “Why are the messages of Revelation fourteen given? Because the principles of the churches have become corrupted….” {7BC 979.1} 

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

    Answer: It is the message of salvation. The gospel is the message leading up to the second coming and Christ’s ministration for us in atoning for our sins and pleading with God for our salvation. This is a part of the gospel, and when that work is completed, we will be forever brought to Jesus to live with Him forever. We should preach of Christ’s intercession for us until Christ’s soon return. The marriage (right after the judgment) will happen in heaven. (The feast with the Lamb in heaven.)

    Support: “The message itself sheds light as to the time when this movement is to take place. It is declared to be a part of the “everlasting gospel;” and it announces the opening of the judgment. The message of salvation has been preached in all ages; but this message 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}

6. Question: What were the consequences to the churches when they rejected the first angel’s message?  [A how problem]

     Answer: The Lord rejected them and they backslid and became corrupted in their ways.

     Support: “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.” {GC 379.1} “When the churches spurned the counsel of God by rejecting the Advent message, the Lord rejected them.” {4SP 232.1}

7. Question: How does the first angel’s message influence the second angel’s message?

    Answer: Because the churches rejected the first angel’s message “to give God glory”, the second angel proclaimed his: “Babylon [churches that rejected 1^st angel’s message] is fallen!”

    Support: 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}

 

8. Question: How is the first angel’s message still relevant today?

    Answer: The first angel’s message should be proclaimed along with the gospel: “Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters” (Rev. 14:7). 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.” We need to tell people to worship God and praise His name.” 

    Support: “The first message is to be repeated proclaiming the second advent of Christ to our world.”  {16MR 40.2} “Dear brethren, the Lord is coming. Lift up your thoughts and heads and rejoice. Oh, we would  think that those who hear the joyful news, who claim to love Jesus, would be filled with joy unutterable and full of glory. This is the good, the joyful news which should electrify every soul, which should be repeated in our homes and told to those whom we meet on the street – what more joyful news can be communicated! Caviling and contention with believers and unbelievers is not the work God has given us to do.”  {2SM 381}   

 

9. Question: What was/is the “action step” for the first angel’s message?  [In other words, how was/is a person suppose to respond to the first message?]

    Answer: It is not enough just to hear God’s truth. We need to apply it to our lives. “If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15). The law of God will be the judge of true character on the judgment day.

   Support:  “…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}

10. Question: 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?

      Answer: The first angel’s message is that the hour of His judgment has come. However, how they perceived that the message was referring to the second coming, and that the second coming was coming in 1844.

      Support: “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 Savior’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}

“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.”           {GC 368.1}