The Three Angels’ Messages

            The three angels’ messages are the final messages of warning to the world. With the termination of these messages, the time of probation will close and Christ will return to liberate His people. The great controversy between Christ and Satan reaches its climax in the preaching of these messages and the followers of the Christ and Satan will be split into two groups, those following the Lamb and those following the beast. The contest will be fierce and there will be a time of trouble such as never was. (Daniel 12:1)

            Throughout the book of Revelation, the two great camps are contrasted and Satan determines to counterfeit the very plan of salvation, so as to deceive, if possible, the very elect. (Matthew 24:24) Through the Beast power (Roman Catholicism), he determines to counterfeit the ministry of Christ. (See Wine of Babylon) and he sets up a false trinity to lead the world astray. Only the true prince of this world, Jesus Christ can save us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness:

And from Jesus Christ who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto Him that loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, ... Revelation 1:5

Christ and His followers are involved in this Battle and although Christ has already overcome the adversary, the battle will rage until the second coming of Christ.

... I will no longer talk much with you, for the prince of this world cometh, and he hath nothing in Me.  John 14:30

This false prince, Satan, will be judged and cast out.

... because the prince of this world is judged.  John 16:11

Contrasting the two sides is the theme of the book of Revelation.

The First Angel’s Message Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth - to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people - saying with a loud voice, “Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.” Revelation 14:6,7 NKJV

            The message entailed in the first angel’s message is not only a message of judgment, but a message of the “restoration of all things”. It is the Elijah message, the final reformation that would cleave the remnant of Spiritual Israel from the world, and prepare a people for the coming of the Lord. The angel is depicted as spreading the everlasting gospel to every nation. God employs people to be co-workers together with Him in the spreading of the gospel. The angel is a symbol of the heavenly nature of this message.

            The everlasting gospel is the great theme of salvation  - saved by the blood of the Lamb. This gospel has never changed. Our first parents were taught the lesson of salvation by grace when God covered their nakedness with the pelt of a sheep - symbolizing the righteousness of Christ which would cover them. Abel offered a lamb as sacrifice because he understood that salvation was to be found outside himself in the merits of the Lamb that was to be slain for the sins of the world. Cain sought favour through the works of his hands and his offering was not acceptable to God. The two great classes  - salvation by grace and salvation by works - were established from the very beginning. Abraham understood the significance of the Lamb when God enacted the plan of salvation in mini form through the Patriarch's own son, Isaac.

            Issac was a symbol of God’s Son who was to be offered, but God provided His own lamb - a ram, a symbol of Jesus who would die for the sins of the world. The Jews in the ceremonial law were taught the principles of the plan of salvation, which were the same principles that apply today - our salvation lies in the lamb that was slain. The gospel has never changed, but Satan perverts the gospel to suit his ends.

            The Lamb was slain because the law could not be compromised. If the law could have been done away with, then Christ need not have died. To be saved by grace does not give a license for sin, which is transgression of the Law.  (1 John 3:4)

Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid! Yea, we establish the law. Romans 3:31

God forbid! How shall we that are dead to sin live any longer therein?  Romans 6:2

...for not the hearers of the law are just in the sight of God, but the doers of the law will be justified.  Romans 2:13, 14 NKJV

Every deed will be brought into judgment (2 Cor 5:10). God’s grace is as great as God’s justice.

Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord’, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Matthew 7:21 NKJV

The gospel rests on the twin pillars of law and grace. Satan knows this and wars against those who bring these twin pillars into a right relationship.

And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. Revelation 12:17 NKJV

In Israel of old, Satan exalted the law and crucified the Lamb whilst in spiritual Israel he exalts the Lamb and crucifies the law. Make no mistake - we cannot claim the merits of Christ whilst we deliberately keep on sinning.

For if we sin wilfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins. Hebrews 10:26 NKJV

We cannot accept justification and refuse sanctification. Without holiness, no one will see God. (Heb 12:14)

            We accept sanctification in the same way as which we accepted justification  - through faith in Christ. No man can keep the law in his own strength, it is only through Christ in us that obedience becomes possible. Sanctification is a growth in Christ and not a magic wand. Through abiding trust in God, our bent sinful nature can be overcome.

            Some strive for perfection, and some even believe that they are sinless. All such striving is useless for only through Christ in us can we attain the victory. By ourselves we can do nothing. (John 15:5)

Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.  1 John 3:24  NKJV

You therefore, beloved, since you know this before hand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked. 2 Peter 3:17 NKJV

Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. 1 Corinthians 10:12 NKJV

The nearer one is to Christ, the more one will be humbled by His beauty and the less meritorious one will seem in one’s own eyes. Like Isaiah of old, one will be led to exclaim:

‘...Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts. Isaiah 6:5

Even the beloved John fell at the feet of Jesus like one that was dead when Christ appeared to him in His glory. (Rev 1:17)

            The Law contains no elements of selfishness. There will be no selfishness in heaven. The very atmosphere of heaven is permeated by selflessness. True sanctification will eradicate selfishness from the soul. False sanctification will exalt self and nurture a judgmental spirit.

            The everlasting gospel to be preached by the remnant is to set straight the record and place the issues of law and grace in a right perspective:

...Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water. Revelation 14:7 NKJV

            The remnant will preach the judgment (See Millenium of Peace) and exalt the Creator - the One who made heaven and earth and the sea and the fountains of water. This is the seal of God, which is the sign of His authority. It also appears in the Sabbath commandment where it emphasizes not only the authority over, but also God’s ownership of the universe.

            The Sabbath stands as a memorial to creation and the remnant is to point to and exalt God as Creator. It is noteworthy that, at the close of the 2300-day prophecy in 1844, God sends a message into the world reminding the world of its origins whilst at the same time (1844), Darwin’s concept of evolution is readied for the world. In the music world, Haydn’s “Creation” exalts the Creator.

            The first angel’s message calls for a choice between truth and error; between the binding claims of the gospel versus popular humanism; between emptying of self together with trust in God and exalting self.

The Second Angel’s Message

And another angel followed, saying, ‘Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she has made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.’ Revelation 14:8 NKJV

            Babylon of old was opposed to Jerusalem. Babylon enticed Jerusalem and made her serve foreign gods. Babylon of old eventually led the whole of Israel captive and only a remnant returned to rebuild the ancient ruins. God pronounced judgment on ancient Babylon.

Babylon was a golden cup in the Lord’s hand, that made all the earth drunk. The nations drank her wine; therefore the nations are deranged. Babylon has suddenly fallen and been destroyed. Wail for her! Take balm for her pain; perhaps she may be healed. We would have healed Babylon, but she is not healed. Forsake her, and let us go everyone to his own country; for her judgment reaches to heaven and is lifted up to the skies. Jeremiah 51:7-9 NKJV

            In similar fashion, the anti-typical Babylon, the confederacy of religious powers at the end of time, will lead people astray and take them captive through her numerous false doctrines. (See the chapters Wine of Babylon, Spirit of Unity, Strange Fire, and New Age Movement) The same pronouncement as pronounced in Jeremiah 51:8 on ancient Babylon is pronounced in Revelation 14:8. In Revelation 18:1-5, the call out of Babylon is the same as that given by God in ancient times. (Jeremiah 51:9) Babylon cannot be healed. She has stopped her ears to the call of God and the remnant is called out of her. Indeed her soothing doctrines of salvation in sin and self-exaltation are doctrines of devil. (1 Timothy 4:1)

After these things, I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was illuminated with his glory. And he cried mightily with a loud voice, saying, ‘Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and has become a dwelling place of demons, a prison for every foul spirit and a cage for every unclean and hated bird! For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich through the abundance of her luxury.’ And I heard another voice from heaven saying, ‘Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues. For her sins have reached to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities.’  Revelation 18:1-5 NKJV

            The second angel announces the fall of Babylon, but the loud call to come out of her my people is only pronounced later. God’s people are thus still in Babylon. It is Babylon that is condemned - the system of religious structures aligned in confederacy against Christ and His people - not the individuals.

            There are two calls out of Babylon. Just as Jesus began and ended His ministry on earth by cleansing the temple from profanation, so there are two calls to the churches at the end of time. The first of these calls was made at the commencement of the Advent movement around 1844, and was confined largely to America, whereas the final call will be worldwide and climax in the loud cry just prior to the close of probation. This experience will be accompanied by the outpouring of the latter rain.

The Third Angel’s Message Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, ‘If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.’ Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.  Revelation 14:9-12 NKJV

            The third angel’s message is the most fearful message ever given to the world. It warns against the acceptance of the mark of the beast or the worship of the beast or its image. (See Mark of the Beast)

            Accepting the authority of the counterfeit religious system over and above that of God is tantamount to worshipping the beast system rather than God. Accepting the spurious Sabbath is an acceptance of the authority of the beast in the place of the authority of God. As the beast obtains his authority from the Dragon, (Rev 13:2) acknowledgement of that authority is worship of the Dragon or of Satan himself.

So they worshipped the dragon who gave authority to the beast; and they worshipped the beast, saying, ‘Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?’ Revelation 13:4 NKJV

            The worship of the system entails far more than just an acceptance of authority. It is also an alignment with the principles of the system. The doctrine of salvation in sin permits all things and teaches that in Christ all are free to do as they please.

For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. Matthew 24:38-39 NKJV

Indeed:

Her priests have violated My law and profaned My holy things; they have put no difference between the holy and profane, neither have they shewed the difference between the unclean and the clean; and they have hid their eyes from My Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them. Ezekiel 22:26

         Those that are in Christ will align themselves with the principles of Christ. They will attain to holiness and separate themselves from all that separates from Christ.

Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what concord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For ye are the temple of the living God. As God has said: ‘I will dwell in them and walk in them, and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.’ Wherefore, ‘Come out from among them and be ye separate, saith the Lord and  touch not  the unclean thing, and I will receive you. I will be a Father unto you, and you shall be  My sons and daughters,’ Says the Lord Almighty. Having  therefore, these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. 2 Corinthians 6:14-18; 7:1

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Romans 12:1,2 NKJV

            The whole lifestyle of believers in Christ must reflect this relationship. Babylon is in enmity with God, and teaches a doctrine of compromise, but compromise with sin is impossible, because God is a consuming fire. (Hebrews 12:29)

            The third angel’s message is a message of separation from Babylon and its principles. It is a message that puts our relationship with Christ in its right perspective, and it is a message that brings about lifestyle changes as behooves those who are to stand in the presence of a holy God.

            Separating from the world does not mean retiring to solitary confinement. We are to labour in the world as Christ laboured, but we are not to be trapped by the ways of the world. To make a stand for right principles will require courage and fortitude often in the face of fierce opposition, but in Christ, it is possible to overcome the world. The consequences of drinking the wine of Babylon are spelt out in the word of God:

The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of His indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. Revelation 14:10

The wrath that is to be poured out without mixture refers to the wrath without mercy, without grace.

Anyone who has rejected Moses’ law die without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know Him who said, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay’ says the Lord. And again, ‘The Lord will judge His people.’ It is a fearful things to fall into the hands of the living God. Hebrews 10:28-31 NKJV

            In ancient Israel, the enemies of God were to be totally destroyed. (Deut 7:2; 20:16-18) The false prophets that led Israel astray were to be executed without mercy. (Deut 13:7-10)  This typology is applicable also to the enemy of God in the last days.

But to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness - indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek; but glory, honour, and peace to everyone who works what is good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For there is no partiality with God. Romans 2:8-11 NKJV

God’s people need not fear the judgments as: 

There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. We love Him because He first loved us. 1 John 4:18-19 NIV

            Those who accept the mark of the beast are set in sharp contrast with those that receive the seal of God. In Revelation 7, John sees the 144,000 who receive the seal of God. They have a number of identifying characteristics that are given in Revelation 14. Firstly, they have the name of the Lamb and His father written on their foreheads. (Rev 14:1) Secondly, they are redeemed from the earth. (Rev 14:3) They have not defiled themselves with women, (Rev 14:4) and they are virgins. Moreover, there is no lie in their mouths (Rev 14:5), they are blameless (Rev 14:5) and they follow the Lamb wherever he goes. (Rev 14:4) Of significance here is that they stand in sharp contrast to those who receive the mark of the beast.

            The name stands for their character. They have a share in the nature and character of God, and they refuse to be defiled by women, which means that they refuse to become involved with idolatrous practices. They remain chaste, faithful to Jesus. The fact that no lie is found in their mouths signifies an investigation into their character. But they are found to stand justified before God. They are blameless.

...we should be holy and without blame before Him in love. Ephesians 1:4 (See also Phil 2:15, Colossians 1:22, 2 Peter 3:11)

            This is not a message of legalism or perfectionism, since without Jesus we can do nothing. It is a recognition of the power of Christ. Christ depicts His bride as dressed in spotless white, covered with the righteousness of Christ. No man should ever dare to utter “I am sinless,” but Christ can write it in His book, because His forgiveness does not only remove the stain of sin but also the record of sin. In the book of Leviticus we read that priests were only permitted to marry virgins, a typology of Christ and His bride. The priests were not even permitted to marry chaste widows, who by the nature of their status had had previous relationships. Since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, all of us fall into the category of having had previous relationships with evil. To fulfill the requirements of the typology, the forgiveness of God has to be so complete that not even the record of the previous unfaithfulness of God’s people will remain. Only then can they qualify as the chaste virgin, pure and undefiled. All the honour and glory belong to God and this leaves no room for legalism, which relies on one's own merits.

            Is it coincidental that there are only two truly worldwide religious movements in the world today - The Roman Catholic Church and The Seventh-Day Adventist Church? The American Bible Society and Church Missions document lists the Seventh-day Adventist Church as the only universally distributed Protestant denomination in the world. The Catholic Church demands obedience to its system and claims Sunday as the mark of her authority, and the Seventh-Day Adventist Church propagates obedience to God and Him only and upholds the Seventh day Sabbath as the sign of obedience to God, in accordance with the Scriptures. As Catholics admit, compromise is impossible:

Reason and common sense demand the acceptance of One or the other of these alternatives: either Protestantism and the keeping holy of Saturday, or Catholicity and the keeping holy of Sunday.  Compromise is impossible.[i] 

This is a simple contest of wills, a contest for authority. Pope John Pauls II’s encyclical on Sunday worship is calling the world to honour that day. The Seventh-day Adventist Church warns the world against accepting the mark of the beast. It is protesting against the usurping of God’s authority. This is the recipe for the final conflict. As the Roman Catholic Church admits, the Adventists have the authority of Scripture on their side in this confrontation. In fact, they boast that Protestants keeping Sunday are paying homage to them:

You may read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, and you will not find a single line authorizing the sanctification of Sunday. The Scriptures enforce the religious observance of Saturday, A day which we never sanctify.[ii]

... the observance of Sunday by Protestants is an homage they pay, in spite of themselves, to the authority of the Catholic Church.[iii]

The Catholic Church openly acknowledges, that only the Seventh-day Adventist Church is here acting in accordance with the Scriptures:

The Adventists are the only body of Christians with the Bible as their teacher, who can find no warrant in its pages for the change of day from the seventh to the first. Hence their appellation, 'Seventh-day Adventists' .[iv]

The (Catholic)Church changed the observance of the Sabbath to Sunday by right of the divine, infallible authority given to her by her Founder, Jesus Christ. The Protestant claiming the Bible to be the only guide of faith has no warrant for observing Sunday. In this matter the Seventh-day Adventist is the only consistent Protestant.[v]

The Saint Catherine Catholic Church Sentinel had this to say on the issue. 

People who think that the Scriptures should be the sole authority, should logically become Seventh Day Adventists and keep Saturday holy.[vi]

The choice is ours, the commandments of God or the commandments of men. Those who knowingly disobey God will have to give an account to God.

And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men. Matthew 15:9 NKJV

            The final conflict in the drama of the great controversy between Christ and Satan is about to unfold. Once the choice has been placed before the people, and the mark of the beast has been legislated, then probation will close and Christ will return. The redeemed will sing a “new song before the throne.” Their unique experience as those who will come out of the last tribulation will qualify them to sing this song of praise to the Lamb of God that was slain, but lives forever more. The choice is clear, God longs to redeem us. He who spared not His own son wants to give us all things. Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.

REFERENCES:

[i] December  23, 1893, The Catholic Mirror

[ii] Cardinal Gibbons, The Faith of Our Fathers - 92nd ed.rev. Baltimore: John Murphy Company, p. 89.

[iii] Monsignor Louis Segar, Plain Talk about the Protestantism of Today. p. 213.

[iv] Sept. 9, 1893, Catholic Mirror

[v] “The Question Box”, The Catholic Universe Bulletin, (August 14, 1942) p. 4.

by Professor Walter J. Veith Phd.