The Closing Messages of the Gospel

THE THIRD MESSAGE.—"And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, 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; and 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 ascendeth up forever and ever; and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. Here is the patience of the saints; here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus." Rev. 14:9-12.

This is the last message of warning to mankind before the great and terrible day of the Lord. And though it contains the most terrible threatening of wrath to be found in the Bible, yet it is a merciful warning. It is a message of the gospel of salvation to men. Those who heed the warning will escape the threatened wrath, and have a part in the everlasting kingdom of God.

That it is the last message of mercy is evident from the fact that it is immediately followed by the appearing of the Son of man upon the white cloud with the sickle in his hand to reap the harvest of the earth, which is declared to be fully ripe. Under this figure is represented the second coming of Christ "to give every man according as his work shall be." Again, from the fact that unmingled wrath upon those who disregard the warning follows, it is evident that mercy will be no longer offered. It closes forever the preaching of salvation to our fallen race.

This final warning is of the greatest importance to all living at the time of its fulfillment. It was promised in the prophecy 1800 years ago, so that when the time should come when it should be proclaimed, all believers in the word and work of God might have the assurance that the message is from Heaven—that it is the word of God and not the word of men. The bare possibility that it is being fulfilled in our day should awaken the most earnest inquiry whether it is in reality being truly proclaimed, especially since there is a people in many nations of the earth who believe that the time is come, and that, while they heed the warning themselves, it is the special work, to which God in his providence has called them, to proclaim it to their fellow-men. This work is speedily spreading. Soon all who have ears to hear will be apprised of it; hence all should decide the question, "Is it from Heaven, or of men?"

The object of this warning is to prepare the people of God for the last scene of conflict and persecution. The latest power developed as one that shall persecute the people of God, is the image of the beast. Of this power; which is not yet fully developed, we have the prediction that "the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads; and that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name." Rev. 13:15-17.

By comparing this with the warning of the third angel it will be seen that the message has direct reference to this persecution of the image of the beast; for it warns all, under the severest threatening, not to do the very things which the image of the beast says all shall do under severe penalties, even the penalty of death. The message is mercifully sent, before this severe trial is upon us, so that before the conflict shall come, we may by heeding it be prepared to stand. In great mercy the warning is given, that the trial may not come upon us unfortified and unprepared.

It will readily be seen that this message presents a test, a final test, concerning the worship of the beast and his image on the one hand, and the keeping of the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus on the other. These things therefore are directly opposed to each other. If we worship the beast and his image, we shall not keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus; and if we keep these commandments and this faith, we shall not worship the beast and his image. This gives us the clue to the interpretation of the message. The work and the decrees of both the beast and his image will be found to be in opposition to what God has commanded. The grand question to be decided is, Which shall we obey?

We claim that the time has come that this message should be proclaimed, that it has been announced in the order given in the prophecy, that is, following the preaching of the first and second messages of the series, and that it is now going forth to the inhabitants of the earth. If this is so, the symbolical terms of the message are certainly understood. And again, if the terms of the message are truly understood, as we shall endeavor to show, this is an evidence that the time is come, and therefore that the message now being preached in this and many other countries, is the genuine fulfillment of the prophecy. And as it is unreasonable to suppose that God would denounce unmingled wrath against all who should do certain things expressed in symbolic language, and yet not give to all who desire it the means of knowing what those forbidden things are in reality, it is evident that all who sincerely desire to know the literal meaning of these symbols will be able to understand the warning message, so that by heeding it they may escape the impending wrath. Therefore we ask the candid attention of the reader, while we endeavor to define the terms and show the meaning of the message.

THE BEAST.

What are we to understand by the beast? The beast is described in Rev. 13:1-10. In harmony with Protestants generally we apply the term to the Roman popedom. In Dan. 7 four beasts were shown to the prophet, which were explained as representing four great kingdoms or empires of the earth. The best expositors are agreed that these four kingdoms were Babylon, Medo-Persia, Grecia, and Rome. The fourth beast had ten horns. This 'represented' the Roman empire divided into ten kingdoms. Then another and diverse power arises, represented as "another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots." All this has been fulfilled in history. The Roman empire was divided into ten kingdoms, and then the papacy was established by the conquest of three of them.

By comparing the description given of the little horn with that of the beast of Rev. 13:1-10, it will be seen that they both represent the same power.

"1. The little horn was to be a blasphemous power. 'He shall speak great words against the Most High.' Dan. 7:25. So, also, was the beast of Rev. 13:6, to do the same. 'He opened his mouth in blasphemy against God.'

"2. The little horn 'made war with the saints, and prevailed against them.' Dan. 7:21. Thus the beast of Rev. 13:7, was also 'to make war with the saints, and to overcome them.'

"3. The little horn had a 'mouth that spake very great things.' Dan. 7:8, 20. So, likewise, there was given the beast of Rev. 13:5, 'a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies.'

"4. Power was given the little horn of Dan. 7:25, 'until a time and times and the dividing of time.' To the beast, also, power was given to 'continue forty and two months.' Rev. 13:5.

"5. The dominion of the little horn was to be taken away at the termination of that specified period. The beast of Rev. 13:10, who led into captivity and put to death with the sword so many of the saints, was himself to be led into captivity and killed with the sword, at, the end of the forty-two months.

"With these points of similarity in the two emblems, the little horn and the beast, who can doubt their identity?"

It is said that the dragon gave to the beast "his power, and his seat, and great authority." We learn from Rev. 12 that the dragon was the ruling power when Jesus Christ was born, and that was imperial Rome. It is a prediction of a most improbable event that a ruling power of the world should give his seat and power to another. But it was fulfilled in a most remarkable manner and with a convincing exactness. The emperor Constantine removed the seat of empire from Rome to Constantinople. Afterward another Roman emperor, Justinian, reigning at Constantinople, by his civil authority, clothed the pope with power as the head of the church, and established him in great authority in the ancient seat of empire, the city of Rome. Thus that remarkable prediction, apparently most unlikely to be realized, was strikingly fulfilled.