The Hidden History of Verse Forty - Number Fifteen

The spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified. And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations. And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the alien shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers. But ye shall be named the Priests of the Lord: men shall call you the Ministers of our God: ye shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and in their glory shall ye boast yourselves. For your shame ye shall have double; and for confusion they shall rejoice in their portion: therefore in their land they shall possess the double: everlasting joy shall be unto them. Isaiah 61:1–7.

To me belongeth vengeance, and recompense; their foot shall slide in due time: for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that shall come upon them make haste. Deuteronomy 32:35.

Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God: for he hath given you the former rain moderately, and he will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain in the first month. Joel 2:23.

“The angel who unites in the proclamation of the third angel’s message is to lighten the whole earth with his glory. A work of world-wide extent and unwonted power is here foretold. The advent movement of 1840–44 was a glorious manifestation of the power of God; the first angel’s message was carried to every missionary station in the world, and in some countries there was the greatest religious interest which has been witnessed in any land since the Reformation of the sixteenth century; but these are to be exceeded by the mighty movement under the last warning of the third angel.

“The work will be similar to that of the Day of Pentecost. As the ‘former rain’ was given, in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit 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. ‘Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord: His going forth is prepared as the morning; and He shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth.’ Hosea 6:3. ‘Be glad then, ye children of Zion, and rejoice in the Lord your God: for He hath given you the former rain moderately, and He will cause to come down for you the rain, the former rain, and the latter rain.’ Joel 2:23. ‘In the last days, saith God, I will pour out of My Spirit upon all flesh.’ ‘And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.’ Acts 2:17, 21.

“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 when he said: ‘Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; and He shall send Jesus.’ Acts 3:19, 20.” The Great Controversy, 611.

“Not one of us will ever receive the seal of God while our characters have one spot or stain upon them. It is left with us to remedy the defects in our characters, to cleanse the soul temple of every defilement. Then the latter rain will fall upon us as the early rain fell upon the disciples on the Day of Pentecost. …

“What are you doing, brethren, in the great work of preparation? Those who are uniting with the world are receiving the worldly mold and preparing for the mark of the beast. Those who are distrustful of self, who are humbling themselves before God and purifying their souls by obeying the truth these are receiving the heavenly mold and preparing for the seal of God in their foreheads. When the decree goes forth and the stamp is impressed, their character will remain pure and spotless for eternity.” Testimonies, volume 5, 214, 216.

Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates. And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men. Revelation 9:14, 15.

“Christ announced his mission to the world when, in the synagogue at Nazareth, he read from the prophecy of Isaiah: ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the Gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.’ What a work was before him!—To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. This period embraces age after age, extends from century to century, while probation shall last. God is waiting to hear the asking and knocking; watching to see humanity draw nigh unto him, who alone can help us. He longs to forgive their sins, to receive them as his own. He will receive every contrite soul who comes to him; for it was to do this work that God anointed his only-begotten Son.

“But why did not Christ finish the statement recorded in Isaiah? Why did he omit the clause, ‘and the day of vengeance of our God’? The latter portion of this sentence was just as much truth as the first part; and Christ did not deny the truth by his silence, by withholding a portion of his own words given to his chosen prophet. But this last clause was that upon which his hearers delighted to dwell, and which they were inclined to practice, pronouncing judgment upon all who were not of their religious faith. Instead of giving to the people words of truth and righteousness and forgiveness, they had taught them that God hated all the heathen world. The paternal character of God had been misrepresented, and buried beneath human traditions. Signs of the Times, January 14, 1897.

“The mission of the people of God in this age is outlined in the words of inspiration that describe the work of the Messiah: ‘The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn, to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified.’

“‘And they shall build up the old wastes, they shall raise up the former desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many generations.’” Lake Union Herald, November 11, 1908.

And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. … Now if ye be ready that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and all kinds of music, ye fall down and worship the image which I have made; well: but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands? Daniel 3:6, 15.

Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was astonied for one hour, and his thoughts troubled him. The king spake, and said, Belteshazzar, let not the dream, or the interpretation thereof, trouble thee. Belteshazzar answered and said, My lord, the dream be to them that hate thee, and the interpretation thereof to thine enemies. Daniel 4:19.

The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar: and he was driven from men, and did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagles’ feathers, and his nails like birds’ claws. Daniel 4:33.

In the same hour came forth fingers of a man’s hand, and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace: and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote. Daniel 5:5.

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. 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. How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow. Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her. And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning, Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come. Revelation 18:4–10.

And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you. Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house: And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbour next unto his house take it according to the number of the souls; every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats: And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening. Exodus 12:1–6.

But when they shall lead you, and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand what ye shall speak, neither do ye premeditate: but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye: for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost. Mark 13:11.

“THE answer to that important question for today, ‘What shall we do?’ can be given with certainty upon the basis of the Seven Trumpets and the place of the great nations of today; because the answer is given by the word of God, upon this very basis.

“We have seen that inseparably connected with the last three of the Seven Trumpets, are the Three Woes. In the very midst of the Seven Trumpets—after the ending of the Fourth Trumpet, and before the beginning of the Fifth Trumpet—it is written: ‘And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels which are yet to sound.’ Revelation 8:13.

“That the Three Woes are inseparably connected with the last three of the Seven Trumpets, one with each, is put beyond all question by the fact that, when the Fifth Angel’s sounding is ended, it is written: ‘One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter.’ Revelation 9:12. And when the Sixth trumpet is ended, it is written: ‘The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly. And the seventh angel sounded.’ Revelation 11:15.

“Now, inseparably connected with this angel which proclaims the coming of the Three Woes, which are inseparably connected with the last three of the Seven Trumpets, is the ‘Third Angel’ of Revelation 14.

“That this may be seen as also certain beyond all question, let us begin with the Third Angel’s Message of Revelation 14, and trace backward its direct connections to their beginning.

“The first words in the record concerning ‘the Third Angel’ are: ‘And the third angel followed them.’ Revelation 14:9. This shows that some have gone before, whom the Third Angel ‘followed.’

“Take, then, the preceding verse: ‘And there followed another angel.’ This shows that an angel has also preceded this one, which, when this one follows, makes it ‘another.’

“Go back now to the sixth verse: ‘And I saw another angel.’ This also certifies that an angel has gone before, which causes this one, as he flies in the midst of heaven, to be ‘another.’

“Following back further in the book of Revelation, we find no angel, except the Seventh Trumpet angel, until we come to the first verse of chapter ten; and there we read: ‘And I saw another mighty angel.’ This expression, as before, certifies that, before this one, there is an angel, which, when this one comes forth, causes him to be spoken of as ‘another.’

“Following yet further back, we find no angels, except the Sixth and the Fifth Trumpet angels, until we reach the last verse of chapter eight; and there we reach the primal, for we read: ‘And I beheld, and heard an angel’—not ‘another angel,’ but, primarily, ‘an angel.’

“Thus, beginning with Revelation 8:13, there is an unbroken series of angels connected by the word ‘another,’ straight through to the Third Angel of Revelation 14, with his message. Thus:

“‘I beheld, and heard an angel." Revelation 8:13.

“‘And I saw another mighty angel.’ Revelation 10:1.

“‘And I saw another angel.’ Revelation 14:6.

“‘And there followed another angel.’ Verse 8.

“‘And the third angel followed them.’ Verse 9.

“Perhaps the following simple diagram will aid in making plain the connection between the angel that announces the Three Woes of the last three of the Seven Trumpets, and the Third Angel’s Message of Revelation 14:

“1st Trumpet Revelation 8:7

“2nd Trumpet Revelation 8:8

“3rd Trumpet Revelation 8:10

“4th Trumpet Revelation 8:12 ‘An angel’—Woe, woe, woe. Revelation 8:13.

“5th Trumpet Revelation 9:1–11/ First Woe

“6th Trumpet Revelation 9:13 to 11:13 Second Woe ‘Another mighty angel.’ Revelation 10:1

“7th Trumpet Revelation 11:13–19 Third Woe ‘Another angel. Revelation 14:6

“‘There followed another.’ Revelation 14:6

“‘The third angel followed them.’ Revelation 14:9.

“The bearing of all this may now be more fully seen through a consideration of what the Third Angel’s Message really is in itself: On its face the expression ‘the Third Angel,’ clearly has reference to the third in a series of three angels. As already signified, this series of three angels, each one bearing a message, is found in the fourteenth chapter of Revelation, verses 6–12. The messages of these three angels blend and culminate in the third, which does not cease to sound until the harvest of the earth is ripe, and made ready for the coming of the Lord to reap it.

“The Third Angel's Message itself, as it is announced in the words of the Third Angel, is as follows: ‘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.’

“This is the Third Angel’s Message as it stands, separated from the other two. But, in fact, it can not be regarded as separate; and cannot be made to stand apart as if it alone were a single, separate message to the world; for the very first words concerning it are: ‘The Third Angel followed THEM.’ Thus, by the very first words of the message itself we are referred not only to the one, but to the two, which preceded it. And the Greek word translated ‘followed’ signifies not following apart, nor only following, but ‘following with,’ as soldiers follow their captain, or servants their master; therefore, ‘to follow one in a thing; to let one’s self be led.’ When spoken of things, it signifies to follow as a result; to follow ‘as a consequence of something which had gone before.’ Thus, as to persons, the Third Angel follows with the two which have preceded; and his message, as a thing, follows as a result, or consequence, of the which have gone before.

“But of the Second one also it is written: ‘And there followed another angel.’ As with the Third Angel following the Second, so it is with the Second Angel following the First. And of the First one it is written: ‘And I saw another angel fly,’ etc. This is the first in this series of three. There follows with him another; and the Third Angel follows with them. There is a succession in the order of their rise; but, when the three have in succession risen, then they go on together as one. The First one sounds forth his message; the Second one follows and joins with the First; the Third follows them, and joins with them; so that, when the three are joined, and go on together in their united power, they form a mighty, threefold, loud-voiced message. It takes all to make the Third Angel's Message complete; and the Third Angel’s Message cannot be truly given without the giving of all.

“What, then, is the threefold message in its respective parts?—Here is the First: ‘And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, saying with a loud voice, 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.’

“Here is the Second: ‘And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because the made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.’

“And here is the Third: ‘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.’

“A glance at the wording of each of these messages will discover that thought in the Greek word ‘followed,’ which signifies ‘following as a consequence.’ The First bears the everlasting gospel, to preach to every creature, calling upon all to fear God and give glory to Him, and to worship Him; because the hour of His judgment is come. the rejection of this message produces a condition of things which, as the consequence of such rejection, is described in the words of the Second Angel, which follows. And because of the rejection of the First Message; and because of the consequences of that rejection, as announced in the Second; a condition of things is produced, as a further consequence, which requires that the Third Angel shall follow them, proclaiming with a loud voice his dreadful warning against the terrible evils that have been produced as the double consequence of the rejection of the First Message.

“And that the voice and work of the Third Angel blend with that of the First, is plain from his closing words: ‘Here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus;’ because this is ever the object of the preaching of the everlasting gospel. It is the substance of fearing God and giving glory to him, and of worshiping ‘him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.’ The keeping of the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus is the only thing that will enable any soul to stand in the hour of his judgment, which the first angel declares ‘is come.’

“Immediately following the closing words of the Third Angel is ‘heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth’—from this time forward. Revelation 14:13. And immediately following this are the words, ‘And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle. And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of earth is ripe. And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped.’ Revelation 14:14–16. And ‘the harvest is the end of the world.’ Matthew 13:39.

“Again: the Third Angel particularly warns all people against the worship of the beast and his image, whatever these may be; and, from Revelation 19:11–21, we find that the beast and his image are ‘alive’ when the Lord comes in the clouds of heaven, and are ‘both’ destroyed with the brightness of his coming.

“These facts show that the Third Angel’s Message is a mighty, threefold, loud-voiced message, which goes forth to every nation and kindred and tongue and people, just before the second coming of the Lord; and which ripens the harvest of the earth, and makes ready a people prepared for the Lord, just as the message of John the Baptist prepared the way for the first coming of the Lord. And so it is the last, the closing, message of God to the world.

“And now, having thus an understanding of what the Third Angel’s Message is in itself, the relation of that message to the great nations of today can be better discerned by a consideration of The Time of the Third Angel’s Message.” A. T. Jones, The Great Nations of Today, 114.