The Third Angel's Message of Rev. XIV

"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 for ever 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.

THE message of the third angel is the latest special message of mercy and of warning to mankind. It is by far the most solemn message in the Bible. We have decisive evidence that the three messages of Rev. 14 belong to the last days. They are immediately followed by the coming of the Son of man to reap the harvest of the earth; verses 14-18; and "the harvest is the end of the world." Matt. 13:39. The words of the third angel so plainly relate to the final conflict that little argument is needed in proof of the fact. Thus we are solemnly warned concerning the image of the beast. But the image is not formed till after wicked men have wrought certain wonderful miracles, among which is the act of bringing down fire from heaven upon the earth in the sight of men. Rev. 13:13, 14. This has never yet taken place, and it never can take place till Satan is permitted to work with all power, and signs, and lying wonders, which will not be till the final conflict. 2 Thess. 2:9, 10; Rev. 3:10.

The third angel threatens the worshipers of the beast with the wine of God's wrath. This wine, as we shall show hereafter, is the seven last plagues; and these are poured upon the last generation of wicked men as the means whereby God will desolate the earth. This message is a solemn warning concerning the great time of trouble which comes at the close of our High Priest's work in the sanctuary in Heaven. It relates (1) to the beast which the world is to worship; (2) to the image which is made to this beast; (3) to the mark of this beast; (4) to the wine of God's wrath which the worshipers of the beast will drink; (5) to the fire which will devour them; (6) to the patience of the saints; (7) to the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. Three great sins are made prominent in this warning: (1) the worship of the beast; (2) the worship of his image; (3) the reception of his mark. It is to be noticed that each of these sins has direct reference to that beast which speaks great words against God and against his truth. The image is made to this beast, and the mark is his mark. The beast is the central, and by far the most prominent, object in this evil group. Three grand purposes are to be accomplished by the third angel's message. (1) To give the church warning of the approaching conflict with the beast and his image; (2) to give the world warning of the seven last plagues; (3) to prepare the people of God for the coming of Christ.

The beast, with whom this great conflict is to take place, is described in Rev. 13:1-10, and must be the same as Daniel's fourth beast after the rise of the little horn. That prophet saw four great beasts rise up out of the sea, which were a lion, a bear, a leopard, and a terrible beast with ten horns among which afterward arose a little horn with a mouth which spoke great words of blasphemy. Dan. 7. The angel said that these represent the four great kingdoms which should successively rule the world till God's kingdom shall be established. These are Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome. He also said that the ten horns are the ten kingdoms which should arise out of the fourth or Roman empire. These are the kingdoms of Europe which once pertained to that empire. The little horn that rises after the ten and that claims authority as representing God upon the earth, must represent the pope.

When John had his vision, Babylon, Persia, and Greece, represented by the lion, the bear, and the leopard, had passed away, and only Rome, represented by Daniel's beast with ten horns, remained. Therefore John saw only this terrible beast arise from the sea. But it was presented to him in such a manner as to show that it is the successor to the power and territory of the first three; for it had the body of the leopard, the feet of the bear, and the mouth of the lion. And as Daniel's beast with ten horns had afterward another horn arise in which was a mouth speaking great things, so this beast with ten horns has a mouth afterward given to it which also speaks great words and blasphemies. That this beast after this mouth was given to it is the same as Daniel's fourth beast after the little horn arose upon it, will be seen from the following comparison of the two symbols:—

1. The little horn was to be a blasphemous power, He should 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 month 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 to 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 be killed with the sword, at the end of the forty and 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 his power and his seat unto the beast. Rev. 13:2. From the previous chapter we learn that the dragon represents the power which ruled the world at the birth of Jesus Christ. In other words, the dragon represents imperial Rome. Now it is a remarkable fact that the Emperor Constantine removed the seat of empire from Rome to Constantinople, and that the Emperor Justinian clothed the pope with civil power as head of the church, and gave him the ancient seat of empire, the city of Rome. The seven heads, as we have already seen, are seven successive forms of government in the Roman empire, so that, though John saw them all at once, in fact only one existed at a time. The dragon of chapter 12, and the beast of chapter 13, and that of chapter 17, are each represented as having the seven heads and the ten horns. This shows that these symbols represent the Roman power at different periods of its existence, or, in other words, under different heads in this succession of seven.

The ten horns, as has been shown, represent the kingdoms of papal Europe; that is to say, the kingdoms which have been or are now under the especial influence of the papacy. The horns exist at the same time, for they represent the divided Roman empire. But that which chiefly concerns us at this time is with reference to the mouth given to this beast which speaks great words of blasphemy. This must represent the pope asserting his arrogant pretentious to govern the church of God and to determine the doctrines of the Bible. This mouth, as has been shown, is the same as that of the little horn in Dan. 7:8. The papacy, thus symbolized, has thought to change times and laws, and still maintains that pretension, and has spoken and still speaks great words of rebellion against God. It

claims to be the vicar of God, and has decreed that itself is infallible. To worship the beast is to yield obedience to his claim in preference to that of the God of the Bible.

The mouth speaking great things, which is given to the beast, represents the papacy elevated to a commanding position in the Roman empire, and able to speak great words in the name of that empire and by its authority. From this time we must identify the beast with the papal authority and government. We have decisive proof of this in chapter 17, where we find that the beast cannot represent merely the civil power of the Roman empire; for we read that the ten kings receive their kingdom at the same time with the beast, and that they have one mind and shall give their power to the beast. But the Roman empire did not commence to bear rule when it was broken up into ten parts, nor did the ten kings ever unite and give their dominion back to the Roman empire. But it is true that the papal power gained the ascendency in the Roman empire immediately after that empire was divided into ten kingdoms, and not only has the papal dominion been cotemporary with that of the ten kingdoms, but the ten kings have agreed and given their power to the pope during the period necessary to fulfill the word of God. The harlot, with whom the kings have committed fornication, represents, not the papal government, but, as we have seen, the so-called Catholic church in its several divisions, unlawfully united to the world.

It was given to this beast to make war with the saints and to overcome them, and to have this dominion for forty-two months or 1260 days. Rev. 13:5-7. This is the same as the giving of the saints into the hands of the little horn for a time, times and a half. Dan. 7:25. Compare Rev. 12:6, 14. In symbolic prophecy, days represent years. Eze. 4:6. The 1260 years of papal dominion commenced with the enforcement of Justinian's decree, in A. D. 538, and terminated in 1798 with the overthrow of the papal government by the French. This great conflict in which the beast made war upon the saints and overcame them is in the past.

But the people of God are to have another conflict with this beast. The third angel gives us warning of this. In the former conflict he overcame them. Rev. 13:7. But in this conflict they are to overcome him. Rev. 15:2; 17:14. That is to say, during the 1260 days they were given into his hands to be destroyed. Dan. 7:25. But those who meet the beast in the final conflict are not to be slain by him but are to triumph over him, for they are like Elijah to be translated. Nevertheless, they will be brought to a terrible extremity before God interposes to deliver them. In the past war of the beast against the saints, those who supported that wicked power thought they were doing God's service in killing his faithful servants. But before the great conflict now at hand, the world is to be warned so that their guilt in worshiping the beast and in persecuting those who refuse to worship him, will be without excuse; and thus they will bring upon themselves the wrath of God without mercy.