“I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory. And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.... And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.” Revelation 18:1, 2, 4.
(HF 367.1)
The announcement made by the second angel of Revelation 14 (verse 8) is to be repeated, with the additional mention of the corruptions which have been entering Babylon since that message was first given.
(HF 367.2)
A terrible condition is here described. With every rejection of truth the minds of people will become darker, their hearts more stubborn. They will continue to trample upon one of the precepts of the Decalogue until they persecute those who hold it sacred. Christ is set at nought in the contempt placed upon His Word and His people.
(HF 367.3)
The profession of religion will become a cloak to conceal the basest iniquity. A belief in spiritualism opens the door to doctrines of devils, and thus the influence of evil angels will be felt in the churches. Babylon has filled up the measure of her guilt, and destruction is about to fall.
(HF 367.4)
But God still has a people in Babylon, and these faithful ones must be called out that they partake not of her sins and “receive not of her plagues.” The angel comes down from heaven, lightening the earth with his glory and announcing the sins of Babylon. The call is heard: “Come out of her, my people.” These announcements constitute the final warning to be given to the inhabitants of the earth.
(HF 367.5)
The powers of earth, uniting to war against the commandments of God, will decree that “all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond” (Revelation 13:16) shall conform to the customs of the church by observance of the false sabbath. All who refuse will finally be declared deserving of death. On the other hand, the law of God enjoining the Creator’s rest day threatens wrath against all who transgress its precepts.
(HF 368.1)
With the issue thus clearly brought before him, whoever shall trample upon God’s law to obey a human enactment receives the mark of the beast, the sign of allegiance to the power he chooses to obey instead of God. “If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation.” Revelation 14:9, 10.
(HF 368.2)
Not one suffers the wrath of God until the truth has been brought home to his mind and conscience and has been rejected. Many have never had opportunity to hear the special truths for this time. He who reads every heart will leave none who desire the truth to be deceived as to the issues of the controversy. Everyone is to have sufficient light to make his decision intelligently.
(HF 368.3)
The Sabbath, the great test of loyalty, is the truth especially controverted. While the observance of the false sabbath will be an avowal of allegiance to a power in opposition to God, the keeping of the true Sabbath is an evidence of loyalty to the Creator. While one class receive the mark of the beast, the other receive the seal of God.
(HF 368.4)
Predictions that religious intolerance would gain control, that church and state would persecute those who keep the commandments of God, have been pronounced groundless and absurd. But as Sunday observance is widely agitated, the event so long doubted is seen to be approaching, and the message will produce an effect it could not have had before.
(HF 369.1)
In every generation God has sent His servants to rebuke sin in the world and in the church. Many reformers, in entering upon their work, determined to exercise great prudence in attacking the sins of the church and the nation. They hoped, by the example of a pure Christian life, to lead the people back to the Bible. But the Spirit of God came upon them; fearless of consequences, they could not refrain from preaching the plain doctrines of the Bible.
(HF 369.2)
Thus the message will be proclaimed. The Lord will work through humble instruments who consecrate themselves to His service. The laborers will be qualified rather by the unction of His Spirit than by the training of literary institutions. Men will be constrained to go forth with holy zeal, declaring the words which God gives. The sins of Babylon will be laid open. The people will be stirred. Thousands have never heard words like these. Babylon is the church, fallen because of her sins, because of her rejection of truth. As the people go to their teachers with the inquiry “Are these things so?” the ministers present fables to quiet the awakened conscience. But since many demand a plain “Thus saith the Lord,” the popular ministry will stir up the sin-loving multitudes to revile and persecute those who proclaim it.
(HF 369.3)
The clergy will put forth almost superhuman efforts to shut away the light, to suppress discussion of these vital questions. The church appeals to the strong arm of civil power, and, in this work, the papists and Protestants unite. As the movement for Sunday enforcement becomes more bold, commandment-keepers will be threatened with fines and imprisonment. Some will be offered positions of influence and other rewards to renounce their faith. But their answer is “Show us from the Word of God our error.” Those arraigned before courts make a strong vindication of truth, and some who hear them are led to take their stand to keep all the commandments of God. Thousands otherwise would know nothing of these truths.
(HF 369.4)
Obedience to God will be treated as rebellion. The parent will exercise severity toward the believing child. Children will be disinherited and driven from home. “All that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” 2 Timothy 3:12. As the defenders of truth refuse to honor Sunday, some will be thrust into prison, some will be exiled, some will be treated as slaves. As the Spirit of God shall be withdrawn from men there will be strange developments. The heart can be very cruel when God’s fear and love are removed.
(HF 370.1)
As the storm approaches, a large class who have professed faith in the third angel’s message, but have not been sanctified through obedience to the truth, abandon their position and join the opposition. By uniting with the world they have come to view matters in nearly the same light, and they choose the popular side. Men who once rejoiced in the truth employ their talent and pleasing address to mislead souls. They become bitter enemies of their former brethren. These apostates are efficient agents of Satan to misrepresent and accuse Sabbathkeepers and stir up the rulers against them.
(HF 370.2)
The Lord’s servants have given the warning. God’s Spirit has constrained them. They have not consulted their temporal interests, nor sought to preserve their reputation or their lives. The work seems far beyond their ability to accomplish. Yet they cannot turn back. Feeling their helplessness, they flee to the Mighty One for strength.
(HF 370.3)
Different periods in history have been marked by the development of some special truth, adapted to the necessities of God’s people at that time. Every new truth has made its way against opposition. Christ’s ambassadors must perform their duty and leave results with God.
(HF 370.4)
The opposition rises to a fierce height; the servants of God are again perplexed, for it seems to them that they have brought the crisis. But conscience and the Word of God assure them that their course is right. Their faith and courage rise with the emergency. Their testimony is “Christ has conquered the powers of earth, and shall we be afraid of a world already conquered?”
(HF 371.1)
No man can serve God without enlisting against himself the opposition of the hosts of darkness. Evil angels will assail him, alarmed that his influence is taking the prey from their hands. Evil men will seek to separate him from God by alluring temptations. When these do not succeed, power is employed to force the conscience.
(HF 371.2)
But so long as Jesus remains man’s intercessor in the sanctuary above, the restraining influence of the Holy Spirit is felt by rulers and people. While many of our rulers are active agents of Satan, God also has His agents among the leading men of the nation. A few men will hold in check a powerful current of evil. The opposition of the enemies of truth will be restrained that the third angel’s message may do its work. The final warning will arrest the attention of these leading men, and some will accept it and stand with the people of God during the time of trouble.
(HF 371.3)
The angel who unites with the third angel is to lighten the whole earth with his glory. The first angel’s message was carried to every mission station in the world, and in some countries there was the greatest religious interest witnessed since the Reformation. But these are to be exceeded by the last warning of the third angel.
(HF 371.4)
interest witnessed since the Reformation. But these are to be exceeded by the last warning of the third angel.
(HF 372.0)
The work will be similar to that of the Day of Pentecost. The “former rain” was given at the opening of the gospel to cause the upspringing of the precious seed; so the “latter rain” will be given at its close for the ripening of the harvest. Hosea 6:3; Joel 2:23. The great work of the gospel is not to close with less manifestation of the power of God than marked its opening. The prophecies which were fulfilled in the outpouring of the former rain at the opening of the gospel are again to be fulfilled in the latter rain at its close. Here are “the times of refreshing” to which the apostle Peter looked forward. Acts 3:19, 20.
(HF 372.1)
Servants of God, their faces shining with holy consecration, will hasten from place to place to proclaim the message from heaven. Miracles will be wrought, the sick will be healed. Satan also works with lying wonders, even bringing down fire from heaven. Revelation 13:13. Thus the inhabitants of the earth will be brought to take their stand.
(HF 372.2)
The message will be carried not so much by argument as by the deep conviction of the Spirit of God. The arguments have been presented, publications have exerted their influence, yet many have been prevented from fully comprehending the truth. Now the truth is seen in its clearness. Family connections, church relations are powerless to stay the honest children of God now. Notwithstanding the agencies combined against the truth, a large number take their stand upon the Lord’s side.
(HF 372.3)