Heavenly Father, we thank you for bringing us together this Sabbath to consider your Word. I ask that you'd set the human agent aside and let the Word spoken be for your glory and your honor, and let them be clear and easily understood. Use those words to bring conviction on each and every one of us of the areas in our lives that need to be changed more fully into your image, that we might be brought into a place where you can use us as your tools in finishing this work. Thank you for the easy times we have to come together and study, and ask a blessing upon this time now in Jesus' name. Amen. We're going to attempt to show that the story of Belshazzar is an illustration of the Millerite history, and it's pretty easy to see once you lay out the components. And once you see it, then it brings some serious implications to Adventism today. The first quote, a fair amount of reading in this, under Nebuchadnezzar's warning message, which this series is titled, from Review and Herald, November 25th, 1884. It says, Those who are engaged in proclaiming the third angel's message are searching the scriptures upon the same plan that Father Miller adopted. In the little book entitled Views of the Prophecies in Prophetic Chronology, Father Miller gives the following simple but intelligent and important rules for Bible study and interpretation. Scripture must be its own expositor, since it is a rule of itself. If I depend on a teacher to expound to me, and he should guess at its meaning, or desire to have it so on account of his sectarian creed, or to be thought-wise, then his guessing, desire, creed, or wisdom is my rule, and not the Bible. And I have a hunch here today, or at least those that might be viewing this on the CD, that some of what we're going to teach here today is things that haven't been taught before. So if you receive it just because I said so, then you're just receiving man's word, and you shouldn't do that. You should test it for yourselves. Continuing on, this is Sister White, The above is a portion of these rules, and in our study of the Bible we shall all do well to heed the principles set forth. Now if you're aware of it or not today, the truths that were established through the work of William Miller by the Lord at the beginning of Adventism were under attack. Almost everything that he was associated with establishing in that time period has either question marks by it, or is outright rejected. So when Sister White is placing her seal of approval on the approach to Bible study that he had, it's saying something about where we're at in Earth's history. Continuing on, Genuine faith is founded on the Scriptures, but Satan uses so many devices to arrest the Scriptures and bring in error, that great care is needed if one would know what they really do teach. It is one of the greatest delusions of this time to dwell much upon feeling, and to claim honesty while ignoring the plain utterances of the word of God, because that word does not coincide with feeling. Many have no foundation for their faith but emotion, and we're going to talk about the foundation of our faith. And she's saying that many in Adventism, that the foundation of their faith is their feelings, it's emotion. Their religion consists in excitement. When that ceases, their faith is gone. Feeling may be chaffed, but the word of God is the wheat, and what says the prophet is the chaff to the wheat. And there's going to be a theme throughout this entire presentation as we read the Spirit of Prophecy quotes. That theme is expressed here in this final paragraph. No one will be condemned for not heeding light and knowledge that they never had, and they could not obtain. But many refuse to obey the truth that is presented to them by Christ's ambassadors, because they wish to conform to the world standard. Now, that sounds like blatant worldliness, worldlyism, you can say that, but I would submit here that it can be demonstrated that in the 1930s, the Seventh-day Adventist Church determined that they were going to put their school systems under the accreditation of the worldly institutions. And that influence in Adventism today has developed a theology in Adventism that's based upon theological standards that were invented in the world. So it isn't simply blatant worldliness. She says, because they wish to conform to the world standard. And we did that in the 1930s. And the truth that has reached their understanding, the light that has shone in the soul, will condemn them in the judgment. In these last days we have the accumulated light that has been shining through all the ages, and we shall be held correspondingly responsible. And notice, we're going to talk a lot about the way and the path here, Lord willing, today. She says, the path of holiness is not on a level with the world. It is a way cast up. The path of holiness is the path that's cast up. And we're going to read Ellen White's First Vision if we get through all this today. And she saw a path that was cast up. It's the path of holiness. If we walk in this way, and if we run in the way of the Lord's commandments, we shall find that the path of the just is as a shining light that shineth more and more unto the perfect day. And in that First Vision of Ellen White, there was a bright light set up behind her, which she was told was the midnight cry that shed light all along the path. And then Christ was at the front of the path, and when he would raise his glorious right arm, glorious light would come from his glorious right arm. That path is a shining light. It's cast up. It's the path that we should be walking upon, and we're going to find that at the end of the world there's a controversy and adventism about what path we should be on. Now I'm cutting in. That's the end of that quote from Sister White. I'm going to cut into some of the rules by William Miller just to make some points. If you read that, when she quotes those first five rules, she's not saying those are the only ones that are important. That third paragraph, she says, the above is a portion of these rules, and in our study of the Bible we shall all do well to heed the principles set forth. She's putting her seal of approval on all 14 rules of William Miller. And Rule 6 says this, God has revealed things to come by visions, in figures, and parables. And we're going to look at some parables and some figures today. And in this way, the same things are oftentimes revealed again and again by different visions and in different figures and parables. If you wish to understand them, you must combine them all in one, which is another way of saying bringing line upon line. You bring the line of history that's represented in this parable, you combine it with the line of history that's represented in this figure, and that's how you're going to understand these things. Now, the bottom of the page, 1 Corinthians 10 and 11 and 12, says, Now all these things happened unto them for examples, and they're written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. Wherefore, let him that thinketh he standeth take heed, lest he fall. Now, in Adventism today, there are variations on what that means. What we're going to identify here is that the examples in God's Word are historical examples that will be repeated at the end of the world, but some people teach that those historical examples are only teaching moral lessons that we need to understand at the end of the world, and that history is not to be repeated. And then I've heard of a third foolish idea recently, is that yes, the history is repeated, but there's no way to know that that history is perfectly repeated. The history that's repeated is going to be imperfect, therefore we can't have any confidence in understanding what it is, which is just as foolish as saying that the history isn't going to be repeated. If the history is going to be repeated based upon a biblical illustration, and it's based upon God's Word, and God's Word never fails, the history is going to be repeated perfectly. In that passage from 1 Corinthians 10, verse 11, where it says, Examples, that word is tupos, means a die, as struck, that is by implication a stamp or a scar, by analogy a shape, that is a statue, figuratively, style or resemblance, specifically a sampler, a type, that is a model for imitation or instance, for warning. In sample, example, fashion, figure, form, matter, pattern, print. All these histories in the Bible are a pattern of the end of the world. They're in samples, they're examples of the end of the world. Now the next quotes, these aren't all of William Miller's rules, but there's some of them, and I have them in there just to make the point that when William Miller's rules of study are recommended to us, if you look carefully at them, the very main thing that he was dealing with is the repetition of history based upon type and anti-type. That's what he was, he was finding these rules in order to take the histories and the examples in the Bible and correctly place them at the end of the world. That's the primary subject of all of his rules. So we look at a couple there. Rule number eight, figures always have a figurative meaning and are used much in prophecy to represent future things, times and events, such as mountains meaning governments, beasts meaning kingdoms, water meaning people, lamp meaning word of God, day meaning year. Rule nine, parables are used as companions to illustrate subjects and must be explained in the same way as figures by the subject of the Bible. Now we're going to look at a line of prophecy here when we get started and then we're going to bring the parable of the ten virgins into it at a certain point in time, bringing line upon line, bringing them all into one place. And the parables are going to line up with these figures and add to the total testimony at the end of the world. In rule number ten it says, figures sometimes have two or more different significations, as a day used in a figurative sense to represent three different periods of time. What are the three different periods of time that a day is used for in the scriptures? A day is a day, a day is a year, and a day is a time period, the day of the Lord. The day of the Lord has no numerical significance, it's just a period of time at the end of the world. Day, period of time. Day, a year. Day, a day. Each figure can have more than one meaning. For instance, we're going to show that the parable of the ten virgins was fulfilled to the very letter in the time period of the Millerites and is fulfilled to the very letter at the end of the world. So here's a parable that is governed under the same rules as a figure that is illustrating the history of Philadelphia but also illustrating the history of Laodicea. It can have more than one meaning. Rule 11, how to know when a word is used figuratively? If it makes good sense as it stands and does no violence to simple laws of nature then it must be understood literally if not figuratively. The reason I have that rule in here, if you look at Miller's rules, and we've read a couple of them that will say what I'm going to say here, he uses a very simple logic. He says if you look at a prophecy and you've looked at every characteristic of it and it all fits together and it makes good sense, then it's true. You don't see any demands by Miller that he's placing on it, saying that when you look at a prophetic line you need to go in and study the Hebrew and you need to study at what period of history was this Hebrew being employed versus the Hebrew that was employed 300 years earlier or how does that relate to the Greek. He's saying you look at it, if it makes good sense, it's not denying any other truth, then you've found the truth, which is the way it should be. Rule number 12. To learn the true meaning of figures trace your figurative word through your Bible and where you find it explained put it on your figure and if it makes good sense you need to look no further. If not, look again. How hard is that? Number 13. To whether we have the true historical event for the fulfillment of a prophecy if you find every word of the prophecy after the figures are understood is literally fulfilled, then you may know that your history is the true event. But if one word lacks a fulfillment, then you must look for another event or wait its future development. For God takes care that history and prophecy doth agree so that the true believing children of God may never be ashamed. There's an argument in Adventism about what the last six verses of Daniel 11 represent and there's a lot of different teachings on what the last six verses of Daniel 11 represent. And there's two different schools that you can use. You can say that all those verses are applying literally, that the king of the north, the king of the south, and Egypt in those last six verses is talking about literal powers, literal Egypt. Or you can do as we're supposed to do and you can say that those are spiritual. You need to look for what they figuratively mean. But in terms of what Miller's saying here, if there's one word that doesn't fit, then you know they're wrong. And in the last six verses of Daniel 11, there's a tribe mentioned called Edom in verse 41. And Edom no longer exists as a people or a country. It's a lost race totally. In other words, there is no literal Edom. In other words, the last six verses of Daniel 11 could not be literal and that's what Miller's saying. If you find one word, just one word in a passage that turns things upside down, then throw that thought out because you're wrong. Every word has to fit. Now when it comes to Miller from the story of redemption, page 356, Sister White says this, To William Miller and his co-labors it was given to preach the message in America and the light kindled by their labor shone out to distant lands. God sent his angel. I don't know this. This is going to be my speculation. But as I look at this, in a moment she's going to say many angels were sent to Miller. But where she says God sent his angel, I have a hunch that this is the angel Gabriel, but it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. God sent his angel to move upon the heart of a farmer, William Miller, who had not believed the Bible to lead him to search the prophecies. Angels of God repeatedly visited that chosen one. She's calling William Miller the chosen one. To guide his mind and open to his understanding prophecies which had ever been dark to God's people. Now this is a problem. This sentence here is a problem. We're going to talk about the foundational truths of Adventism as we proceed today. And we're going to talk about the controversy in Adventism, about those in Adventism that want to throw out the foundational truths. And those in Adventism that want to throw out the foundational truths, they want to pick and choose about which truths that William Miller was associated with and say, well, I'll accept that one, but I won't accept that one, I won't accept that one. When they do so, they'll find that they're rejecting the spirit of prophecy. This is one of the reasons. Notice this next statement. The commencement of the chain of truth was given to him. Sister White says William Miller wasn't given a singular truth. He was given a chain of truth. And if you go back and you investigate William Miller's understanding, you'll find that when he taught the 2300 day, he never taught the 2300 day prophecy without teaching the 2520 prophecy. And he never taught those two time prophecies without teaching the 1335. And without teaching the 1335, he'll always teach the 1290. And if he's going to teach the 1290, he teaches the 1260. Go read his writings. They were a chain of understanding. So here we are at the end of the world, and we'll say, well, I can accept what William Miller said about the 2300, but all the rest is gone. But Sister White was placing her endorsement upon the chain of understanding that he understood. The commencement of the chain of truth was given to him. And he was led to search out for link after link. Not just one part. He was putting together the whole chain. Until he looked with wonder and admiration upon the Word of God. Do you remember any place else where he looked with wonder and admiration? He had a dream where he sees all these jewels, and they were so wonderful, and he admired them so much that he couldn't look at those things alone. He had to call other people in to come and see. He saw there a perfect chain of truth. So whatever William Miller was used to establish, it was a perfect chain of truth. We either accept the whole chain, or... What happens if you have a chain that's holding up a car, and you just take one link out of it? The car comes tumbling down, right? It's a perfect chain of truth. The Word which he had regarded as uninspired now opened before his vision in its beauty and glory. He saw that one portion of the Scripture explains another, and when one passage was closed to his understanding, he found in another part of the Word that which explained it. He regarded the sacred Word of God with joy, and with deepest respect and awe. Okay. Enough about William Miller right now, but... A few thoughts on the fact that God is always the same. Top of page 3, from Malachi 3, 6. For I am the Lord, I change not. Therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed. Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, and today, and forever. Hebrews 13, 8. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. James 1, 17. God doesn't change. Doesn't even pretend to change. No wavering at all. Sister White in The Great Controversy, 343, uses this same principle. She says, The work of God in the earth presents from age to age a striking similarity in every great reformation or religious movement. The principles of God's dealing with men are ever the same. The important movements of the present have their parallel in those of the past, and the experience of the church in former ages has lessons of great value for our own time. So, God's dealing with men are ever the same. And all the reform movements parallel the other reform movements. And in Revelation 14, verses 6 and 7, we have the first angel of Revelation 14. And in these two verses we have the everlasting gospel. And the everlasting gospel was proclaimed and experienced by the Millerites from 1798 through 1844. So, we're going to look briefly at verses 6 and 7, but I want you to note in here, that verses 6 and 7 of the first angel's message is identifying the everlasting gospel, but it's breaking down the everlasting gospel into a three-step process. And if there was a three-step process in the Millerite history that was the everlasting gospel, that was the first angel's message, then any time the gospel is presented, it will be a three-step process. So, Revelation 14, verses 6 and 7, says this, And I saw another angel flying 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 Him glory, for the hour of His judgment is come, and worship Him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of water. And the three-step process that I hope you will see in there is the fear God, the give Him glory, for the hour of His judgment is come. Now, up here, there's a lot of things that we'll have to explain about this history as we go forward. But in 1798, which is the time of the end, the first angel's message arrived in history. And the first step in the everlasting gospel is to convict of sin. And Miller's message to the world was that the world was about to end, and it was a message that convicted of sin. That's the first expression of the first angel's message, Fear God. If I'm living in sin, and I hear Miller's message, and it convicts me of sin, I fear God. If I respond accordingly, I come to the foot of the cross, He forgives my sins, I stand up, and I give glory to the Lord. And in the summer of 1844, there was a manifestation of righteousness in the Midnight Cry. That's when they gave glory to the Lord. And that manifestation of righteousness ended on October 22, 1844. Miller's message, Fear God. The Midnight Cry, they gave Him glory. 1844, judgment arrived. That's the everlasting gospel. Every time you see the gospel illustrated in the scriptures, you'll see this three-step process. Conviction of sin, demonstration of righteousness, followed by judgment. In Selected Messages, Book 2, there was a ministry out of Georgia one time that we were interacting with, and they made a big argument saying that only the 144,000 experienced the everlasting gospel, and that they were arguing that I was suggesting that the Millerites experienced the everlasting gospel in their history. But notice what Sister White says. The message proclaimed by the angel flying in the midst of heaven is the everlasting gospel, the same gospel that was declared in Eden when God said to the serpent, I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed. It shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise thy heel. The everlasting gospel is called the everlasting gospel because it's been the gospel from the book of Genesis with Adam and Eve, all the way to Revelation 14, which is the last book in the Bible. From the first book in the Bible to the last book in the Bible, the gospel is the gospel. It's the everlasting gospel. It does the same thing. It does just what happened in the Millerite history. I hope you're semi-familiar with the Millerite history. Some of us may be less than others. But in 1798, the warning message came. Those that accepted the warning message gave glory to God. They manifested righteousness here. And then judgment began. In this history, they proclaimed the first angel's message, the everlasting gospel. But on October 21, 1844, how many Millerites were there? 50,000. On October 23, 1844, how many Millerites were there? 50. From 50,000 down to 50,000 overnight. And that's what Sister White says here in this passage, the elected messages that we just read. She says the first angel's message is the same gospel that was preached in Genesis. And the gospel there is that Christ would put enmity between thee and the woman. He's speaking to Satan. He'll put enmity between Satan and the church, and between Satan's seed and Christ's seed. And when you get to October 23, 1844, this history and the first angel's message has produced two classes of worshiper. One class of worshiper, the 50, have moved into the most holy place with Christ. The 49,950, Sister White says, are praying to the holy place. And who's answering their prayers? Satan. So they experienced the everlasting gospel in this history. They also proclaimed it. And that everlasting gospel is identified in the first angel's message as fear God. That's Miller's warning message. Give him glory. That's the manifestation of righteousness that took place in the midnight cry. For the hour of his judgment has come. October 22, 1844. Are you with me? Perhaps. Okay. Next quote from Great Controversy 355 says this. A great religious awakening under the proclamation of Christ's soon coming is foretold in the prophecy of the first angel's message of Revelation 14. An angel is seen flying in the midst of heaven having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth and to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people. With a loud voice he proclaims the message, fear God and give him glory for the hour of his judgment has come and worship him that made the heaven and earth and the sea and the fountains of water. The message itself. Now she's talking about the message. Many people in Adventism don't think about it. We believe that the Millerites proclaimed the first angel's message. Do we? Do we believe that? Amen. But here's the chart that they were using. This chart here. As they proclaimed the first angel's message. Can anyone get up here and show me Revelation 14 verses 6 and 7 represented on this chart? It's not there. They fulfilled the first angel's message by proclaiming a prophecy from the book of Daniel. Daniel 8, 14. And Daniel 8, 14 identifies when the judgment is going to begin. Revelation 14, 6 and 7 is identifying the work that the Millerites were going to do when they fulfilled the first angel's message. But the way that they fulfilled the first angel's message of Revelation 14 was by proclaiming a prophecy from the book of Daniel. Do you see that? Revelation 14, 6 and 7. When the Millerites were standing in front of people and pointing to this chart, they weren't pointing to Revelation 14, 6 and 7 and saying we're now teaching you the first angel's message. They were pointing to Daniel 8, 14 saying the hour of God's judgment is about to arrive. So they fulfilled the first angel's message in Revelation 14, 6 and 7 by proclaiming a prophecy from the book of Daniel. So in this second paragraph she says the message itself. What message? This message. The message of Daniel 8, 14. That was the message they were proclaiming. The message itself sheds light as to the time when this movement is to take place. It is declared to be the everlasting gospel. Is that what it says? The message is simply part of the everlasting gospel. We've already went over that. The everlasting gospel is three steps. It's a conviction of sin. That was the message. The world's coming to the end. That's the part of the everlasting gospel. Then there's a manifestation of righteousness that concludes with judgment. The manifestation of righteousness and the judgment, those are the other two-thirds of the everlasting gospel. The message is just part of it. It's the first step. It is declared to be part of the everlasting gospel and it announces the opening of the judgment. Am I losing everyone here as you're digesting the lunch? Alright. Focus in. This is not that hard. The message of salvation has been preached in all ages. But this message is part of the gospel which could be proclaimed only in the last days. For only then would it be true that the hour of judgment had come. The prophecies present a succession of events leading down to the opening of the judgment. Now notice this last half of this paragraph. This is an important paragraph. This is especially true of the book of Daniel. But that part of his prophecy which related to the last days, Daniel was bidden to close up and seal to the time of the end. When was the time of the end? 1798. A couple more paragraphs. She's going to send that plainly. Daniel sealed up until 1798, the time of the end. Not until we reach this period of time could a message concerning the judgment be proclaimed based upon the fulfillment of these prophecies. But at the time of the end, says the prophet, many should run to and fro and knowledge shall be increased. The apostle Paul warned the church not to look for the coming of Christ in his day. That day shall not come except there come a falling away first and the man of sin be revealed. Not till after the great apostasy in the long period of the reign of the man of sin can we look for the advent of our Lord. The man of sin, which is also styled as the mystery of iniquity, son of perdition, and that wicked, represents the papacy which as foretold in prophecy was to maintain its supremacy for 1260 years. This period ended in 1798. The coming of Christ could not take place before that time. Paul covers with his caution the whole of the Christian dispensation down to the year 1798. It is this side of that time that the message of Christ's second coming is to be proclaimed. No such message has ever been given in past ages. Paul, as we've seen, did not preach it. He pointed his brethren to the then far distant future for the coming of the Lord. The reformers did not proclaim it. Martin Luther placed the judgment about 300 years in the future from his day. But since 1798, the book of Daniel has been unsealed. Knowledge of the prophecies has increased and many have proclaimed the solemn message of the judgment near. Here is where the book is unsealed. Here's where a message, and only here, can a message begin that's going to announce God's judgment. And what message announces God's judgment? The first angel's message. The first angel arrives when the book of Daniel is unsealed in 1798. It couldn't arrive before, but in 1798, it arrives. Next quote, The Desire of Ages, page 671. Of the Spirit, Jesus said, He shall glorify me. The Savior came to glorify the Father by the demonstration of His love. So the Spirit was to glorify Christ by revealing His grace to the world. The very image of God is to be reproduced in humanity. The honor of God, the honor of Christ, is involved in the perfection of the character of His people. Now here's the part that I really want you to see. When He, the Spirit of Truth, is come, He will reprove the world of three things. Of sin, righteousness, and judgment. Righteousness and judgment. William Miller's message announcing the judgment was a message that convicted of sin. In response to that message, in the Midnight Cry in the summer of 1844, there was a manifestation of righteousness. History is governed on how the Holy Spirit works. He convicts of sin, which produces a manifestation of righteousness that leads to judgment. Select the messages, book two, page 109. A transforming power attended the proclamation of the first and second angels' messages as it attends the message of the third angel. Before we go on there, the third angel arrived on October 22nd, 1844. Because it's at this point that you can, by faith, see into the Most Holy Place, see the Ark, see the Ten Commandments, and see the Sabbath, and understand the relationship between Sabbath and Sunday, which is the third angel's message. The third angel's message is a warning against receiving the Mark of the Beast, which is Sunday keeping. It wasn't until October 22nd, 1844 that the light of the Ark, the Ten Commandments, the Sabbath and Sunday issue is opened up. So the third angel's message arrives on October 22nd, 1844. So when Sister White says, a transforming power attended the first and second angels' messages, the first angel arrived in 1798, the third arrived in 1844. So the history of the first and second angels' messages is from 1798 to 1844. A transforming power attended the proclamation of the first and second angels' messages as it attends the message of the third angel. Lasting convictions were made upon human minds. The power of the Holy Spirit was manifested. There was diligent studies of the Scriptures point by point. Almost entire nights were devoted to earnest searching of the Word. We searched for the truth as for hidden treasures, and the brothers and sisters, they searched for the truth as for hidden treasures. There is a mentality in Adventism today, well there's lots of mentalities, but one of them is that all we need to do is learn the doctrines. All we need to do is learn how to show somebody, a non-Adventist, from a chain reference study, why the Sabbath is Sabbath. From a chain reference study, why the state of the dead is the state of the dead. From a chain reference study, all the doctrines of Adventism, which are correct. We sometimes teach and convey the idea to people that this is how we are to be studying the Word of God. But when she's talking about this history here, she says, we searched for the truth as for hidden treasures. Now if you keep your finger on this quote, this theme of searching for truth as for hidden treasures, go to page 12 of your notes. We're going to come back here, but on page 12 of your notes, there's a very nice thought and connection with this. On the top of page 12, there's a quote from the Great Controversy. There's two paragraphs, and the last sentence of the second paragraph from the Great Controversy 521 says this, No church can advance in holiness unless its members are earnestly seeking for truth as for hidden treasure. When she says, in this history, they were seeking for truth as for hidden treasures, it means that they were growing in holiness, and it means that if we aren't searching God's Word, looking for hidden treasures, we can't grow in holiness. That's how I understand it. Hope that's how you understand it. Back to page 4. We searched for the truth as for hidden treasures. The Lord revealed Himself to us. Light was shed on the doctrines, and we knew that we received divine instructions. Did I read that right? Light was shed on the prophecies, and we knew that we received divine instruction. When they were searching for hidden treasures, they were coming to understand the hidden treasures of God's prophetic Word. It was this experience, this searching for hidden treasures that corresponds with what we understand about the time of the end. At the time of the end, the book of Daniel was unsealed, and there was an increase of knowledge. The increase of knowledge had to do with prophetic knowledge. Those people in this history that were searching God's Word as if they were looking for hidden treasures, were understanding the increase of knowledge on prophecy, and this prepared them to manifest the righteousness of Christ in the midnight cry, which also prepared them to move into the Most Holy Place with Christ on October 22, 1844, because this is how the Gospel works. It convicts you of sin with a message that then leads you to the point where you can reject or accept that message. If you accept that message, you will manifest righteousness and be prepared for the judgment. It's the everlasting Gospel. Psalm 77, verse 13 says, Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary. Who is so great a God as our God? As Adventists, we've taught for, I don't know how long, that there are three areas of the sanctuary. The Courtyard, the Holy Place, the Most Holy Place. And the Courtyard represents the conviction of sin. This is where we come and we slay the Lamb. That's conviction of sin. That's the first work of the Holy Spirit. In the Holy Place, we have an illustration of sanctification, righteousness. The work of the Holy Spirit is to convict of sin and of righteousness. And what does the Most Holy Place represent? Judgment. So, in the sanctuary, which is where God's way is, you have this same three-step work. Conviction of sin, manifestation of righteousness that leads to the judgment. It's the everlasting Gospel. It's the work of the Holy Spirit. It's always the same. So, now we're going to switch gears. We've put a few things in place. What are the angels in Revelation 14, Revelation 10, and Revelation 18? They're symbols of the people of God and the work that they're doing. Notice from Life Sketches, page 429. I've had precious opportunities to obtain an experience. I've had an experience in the first, second, third angels' messages. The angels are represented as flying in the midst of heaven, proclaiming to the world a message of warning and having a direct bearing upon the people living in the last days of this earth's history. No one hears the voice of these angels, for these angels are a symbol to represent the people of God who are working in harmony with the universe of heaven. The three angels of Revelation 14 and the two angels of Revelation 18 and the angel of Revelation 10 are symbols of the work that God's people are doing at the point in history when these angels arrive. Now, on page 5, this may be a little bit hard for some of you to follow, but just hang in there. We're going to move past the hard part in a minute. But you'll see a long quote there from Uriah Smith, that he's expressing the correct pioneer understanding. And the correct pioneer understanding is this. Brothers and sisters, look to the front here. In 1798, the first angel of Revelation 14 arrived in history at the time of the end. Then there could be a message announcing God's judgment. When the papacy received its deadly wound, now you can have a message announcing God's judgment. The book of Daniel was unsealed. William Miller and others began to understand Daniel 8.14, which announces the hour of God's judgment. This is happening in this history. But in 1840, there's an angel that comes down out of heaven in Revelation 10. And he comes down out of heaven with the little book of Daniel open in his hand in fulfillment of a time prophecy in Revelation 9, verses 14 and 15, identifying when the Ottoman Empire would collapse. The Millerites had predicted that event in advance using the year-day principle of Bible prophecy, which is what they were using on all these prophecies. So when in 1838, the Millerites are saying in 1840 the Ottoman Empire is going to collapse, the whole world is disbelieving them. But when the Ottoman Empire collapsed in 1840, in fulfillment of this prophecy right down here, it's listed right here, 1449, there was a power that came into the movement because the year-day principle had been confirmed for the whole world to see. And suddenly, what the Millerites were saying about the end of the world was validated. Uriah Smith, in this passage, is teaching the truth that this angel, the first angel of Revelation 14 that arrived in 1798, is the same angel as Revelation 10 that comes down out of heaven in 1840. It's the same message. It's just describing two different aspects of that work. The angels represent the work that the people of God are doing. And in 1798, what the people of God were to be doing is understanding the increase of knowledge, but the angel here is identifying when the message is empowered by the confirmation of the primary rule of Bible prophecy that they've been using, the year-day principle. So you can read this. Let's read the first paragraph. Top of page 5. The chronology of the events of Revelation 10 is further ascertained from the fact that this angel, the angel of Revelation 10, is identical with the first angel of Revelation 14. You can read his arguments for saying so, but then notice the last paragraph. Of their identity, there can be no question and all the arguments which go to locate the one are equally effective in the case of another. So maybe you've never thought about it before, but the first angel of Revelation 14 arrived in 1798, and when the angel of Revelation 10 came down in 1840, it is the same angel. Okay? If you follow the logic, say Amen. Alright? Switching and add one more line of thought here now. The first, second, and third angels' messages are all linked together, meaning when they're linked together that they can't be separated. They're one unit of thought. The next quote builds on this. It says, The first and second angels' messages were given in 1843 and 1844. We're now under the proclamation of the third, but all three of the messages are still to be proclaimed. There cannot be a third without a first and a second. You can't have a third message without a first and a second message. They're linked together. But they're linked together by cause and effect in the sense that the first angel's message is a warning message. Okay, look up here. Maybe this will help, maybe it won't. The first angel's message is a warning message. But in June, that's what the sixth is, June of 1842, Testimonies, Volume 1, page 21, Sister White says, In June of 1842, the Protestant churches closed their doors on Miller's message. There's a warning message. Here it's rejected. And in the summer, the rejection of that message is identified by the pronouncement, Babylon is fallen. Now what am I saying? I'm saying you can't have a third message without a first and a second. They're all linked together. They operate upon cause and effect. The second message is simply a message that's pronouncing that the first message has been rejected. If you have a warning message and it never gets rejected, then you don't have a second message come into history. But when that warning message is rejected, then you will have a divine pronouncement identifying that the warning message has been rejected. Please get this thought in your head. This is where we're starting to build for this presentation. These messages are all connected. They're governed by cause and effect. The first angel's message is a warning message and when it's rejected, it brings about the second angel's message which says, Babylon has fallen. It's saying, they've rejected the message and that message concludes with judgment. It's always the same. It's always the same. Now, in Revelation, well, Early Writings 245, Revelation 18.1 on top of page 6 says, And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven having great power and earth was lightened with his glory. What angel is this? Someone help me. What angel is this? Revelation 18.1 Which angel is it in Adventism? That's the fourth angel, isn't it? Revelation 18.1 is what we call the fourth angel message. The three angels' messages are in Revelation 14.1 But when we get to Revelation 18.1 it says, He saw another angel come down. What angel is it? The fourth. You were right though. Because Sister White is going to comment on the first angel's message here from Early Writings. In Early Writings, if you go read this in context, she's talking in this next long quote about the first angel that arrived in 1798, the first angel of Revelation 14.6 and 7 and here's what she says, I was shown the interest which all heaven had taken in the work going on upon the earth. Jesus commissioned a mighty angel to descend and warn the inhabitants of the earth to prepare for his second appearing. As the angel left the presence of Jesus in heaven, an exceeding bright and glorious light before him, I was told that his mission was to lighten the earth with his glory. This angel, the first angel that came in 1798, which is the same angel in 1840, is the first angel of Revelation 14. And Sister White says that the characteristic of the first angel is that he's to lighten the whole earth with his glory, but that's the characteristic of the fourth angel. Therefore, the fourth angel and the first angel, they're the same angel. They're doing the same work. We'll explain that as we go forward. You see the second angel here under Revelation 14.8. And there followed another angel saying, Babylon has fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. In the summer of 1842, because the Protestant churches had rejected the first angel's message in June of 1842, in the summer of 1844, the pronouncement was, Babylon has fallen. That's the second angel's message. If you understand that, say amen. Okay? Notice this next quote. Great Controversy 389. The Bible declares that before the coming of the Lord, Satan will work with all power and signs and lying wonders and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness and that they that receive not the love of the truth that they might be saved will be left to receive strong delusion that they should believe a lie. Not until this condition shall be reached and the union of the church with the world shall be fully accomplished throughout Christendom will the fall of Babylon be complete. The change is the progressive one and the perfect fulfillment of Revelation 14.8 is yet future. Revelation 14.8 is the second angel's message. It was fulfilled in the summer of 1844, but it was not the perfect fulfillment. The second angel's message was fulfilled in the summer of 1844, but Sister White says the perfect fulfillment of the second angel's message, which you have right above that quote, is yet future. If you turn very quickly in your Bibles to Revelation 18, verse 2, you can see when the perfect fulfillment of the second angel's message takes place. If we know that the second angel's message was fulfilled in the summer of 1844, I'm not denying that, neither is Sister White. She's simply saying that the perfect fulfillment of the second angel's message is yet future. In Revelation 18, verse 2, it says, And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great has fallen, has fallen, has become the habitation of devils and the hold of every foul spirit in the cage of every unclean and hateful bird. This is the perfect fulfillment. This is the perfect fulfillment of the second angel's message. Can you have a second angel's message without a first? So, before the perfect fulfillment of the second angel's message takes place at the end of the world, you'll have to have the perfect fulfillment of the first angel's message. And the first angel's message, Sister White has used the same characteristics from what we call the fourth angel. In verse 1 of Revelation 18, he's going to lighten the whole earth with his glory. She's used those characteristics to identify the first angel's message. In other words, with the repetition of Millerite history. Enough said. Now we're going to try to keep it simple and make some conclusions about everything we've been saying. Are you ready? Yeah, I'm watching up there. When it comes to the fall of Babylon, in the summer of 1844, the fall of Babylon has been illustrated other places in scripture. And we're going to take some of those other places in scripture and see that they parallel this history. One of them is the story of Babel, when Babel fell. On page 6, under Nimrod, Patriarchs and Prophets, page 120, it says, What a loss to those who had set themselves against God. It was His purpose that His men should go forth to found nations. This is after the flood. In different parts of the earth, they should carry with them a knowledge of His will that the light of truth might shine undimmed to succeeding generations. Noah, the faithful preacher of righteousness, lived for 350 years after the flood, Shem for 500 years, and thus their descendants, whose descendants? The descendants of Noah and Shem. Thus their descendants had an opportunity to become acquainted with the requirements of God and the history of His dealing with their fathers. What was the dealing with their fathers? Well, He destroyed them with the flood. She continues on, But they were unwilling to listen to those unpalatable truths. They had no desire to retain God in their knowledge. So what I want you to see here, the first angel's message that arrived in 1798 was a warning message. And ultimately, when the warning message in the Millerite history was rejected, the divine pronouncement was that Babylon had fallen. So if we go back to the story of Babel, the first place Babylon is mentioned in the scriptures, and Nimrod, we find there was a warning message. Noah and Shem gave the warning message to Nimrod and their cohorts. The warning message is the first message. What follows the first message? The second message. And the second message is the divine pronouncement that the first message, the warning message, has been rejected. When the Protestants, in June of 1842, closed their doors against the Millerites, then in the summer, against the Millerite message, then in the summer of 1844, you had the divine pronouncement that the message had been rejected. So here in the story of Nimrod, they have a warning message. Then, from Genesis 11, 5 and 6, it says, And then the Lord came down to see the city and the tower which the children of men built, and the Lord said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language, and this they begin to do. And now nothing will be restrained from them which they have imagined to do. This is the pronouncement. He's saying they've rejected Noah and Shem's message. Now their imagination is full-blown. And by imagination, we know that that's crossing the line of forbearance because that's the testimony of Genesis. Genesis 6, 1 through 7 says this, backing it into a history before Nimrod, And it came to pass when men began to multiply on the face of the earth and daughters were born unto them, that the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair, and they took them wives of all which they chose. And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with men, for that he is also flesh, yet his day shall be a hundred and twenty years. What's that referencing? A warning message. There were giants in the earth in those days, and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown. And God saw that the wickedness of men was great in the earth, and every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And he repented to the Lord that he made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his spirit. And the Lord said, I will destroy man. So in the story of the flood, you had a warning message that was rejected. The divine pronouncement that it was rejected is that man's thoughts were evil continually. His imaginations were continually evil. And then they had the judgment of the flood. So in the story of Nimrod, we have a warning message that's given by Noah and Shem. And when Nimrod and his cohorts reject it, then the Lord comes down. And he says, nothing will be restrained from them that they've imagined to do. This is the divine pronouncement. A warning message when it's rejected. There's a divine pronouncement followed by judgment. So in Genesis 11, verses 7 through 9, it says, Go, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech. So the Lord scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth, and they left off to build the city. Therefore it's the name of it called Babel, because the Lord did not therefore, because the Lord did there confound their language of all the earth, and from thence did the Lord scatter them abroad upon the face of the earth. So what am I saying? Here's what I'm saying. The everlasting gospel is the same all the way from the beginning to the end of the Bible, and it's a three-step process that's accomplished by the Holy Spirit. It's a conviction of sin, a manifestation of righteousness, followed by judgment. The first angel's message was a warning message. When it was rejected, then there was a divine pronouncement that it had been rejected that followed with judgment. The divine pronouncement in the summer of 1844 was, Babylon is fallen. This gives us the prophetic right to go to the story of Babylon, and the first story of Babylon is in the story of Babel. Same story there. Nimrod was given a warning message by Noah and Shem. When he rejected the message, there was a divine pronouncement, and then there was judgment. What was the judgment? Their language was confounded, and they were scattered. Okay. Let's look at one more fall of Babylon, and this is in the story of Belshazzar. You're not going to be brokenhearted if I go a little bit over, right? Okay. Are you following me at this point? Are you following me? Trying to. Are you? Okay. Now we're going to deal with the history of Belshazzar. Daniel 5, verses 5 and 6 says this. In the same hour... We know the story of Daniel 5, hopefully. This is the handwriting on the wall, okay? 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. Then the king's countenance was changed, and his thought troubled him, so that the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees smote one against another. This is the divine pronouncement. He's already rejected a warning message. Right down here, I'm saying these histories line up. This is the divine pronouncement of many, many tekel ufarsin, all right? Now, you can't have a second message. The divine pronouncement is the second message. The judgment is the third, all right? What followed the fall of Babylon in the summer of 1842 was the beginning of the judgment. The Holy Spirit convicts of sin, righteousness, and judgment. So here, this is the divine pronouncement against Belshazzar. So he's already rejected a warning message, and his judgment's going to come in the very night. We have more to say about it, but I just want you to see some of the components as we build this up. In verses 18 through 24, it says this about Belshazzar. After he looks around for someone to explain the handwriting on the wall to him, he finds Daniel. And Daniel comes in, and Daniel's going to explain the handwriting on the wall, and this is what he says. O thou King, the Most High God gave Nebuchadnezzar thy father a kingdom and majesty and glory and honor, and for thy majesty that he gave him all peoples, nations, and language trembled and feared before him. Whom he would, he slew, and whom he would, he kept alive. And whom he would, he set up, and whom he would, he put down. But when his heart was lifted up, and his mind hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him. And he was driven from the sons of men, and his heart was made like the beast, and his dwelling was with the wild asses. They fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, till he knew that the Most High God ruled in the kingdom of men, and that he appointed over it whomsoever he will. And thou his son, O Belshazzar, actually his grandson, hast not humbled thine heart, though thou knewest all this. See, Daniel's coming in, and he's going to tell them what this means, but first he's saying, let's remind ourselves, Belshazzar, you knew the warning message, because the warning message for you is the story of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon that lifts himself up in pride, and then gets judged by the Lord for doing so. You knew all this. You knew the warning message, but you rejected it, therefore the divine pronouncement comes, and many, many tackle you farson. And thou his son, O Belshazzar, hast not humbled thine heart, though thou knewest all this, but hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven. That's just what Nebuchadnezzar did at the beginning of the seven times. Next page. Sister White says in Bible Echo, April 25th, 1898, Belshazzar had been given many opportunities for knowing and doing the will of God. He had seen his grandfather. He didn't just hear this second-hand information. He watched this happen. He had seen his grandfather Nebuchadnezzar banished from the society of men. He had seen the intellect in which the proud monarch glory had taken by the one who gave it. He had seen the king driven from his kingdom and made the companion of the beast of the field. But Belshazzar's love of amusement and self-glorification effaced the lessons he should never have forgotten and he committed sins similar to those that brought single judgments on Nebuchadnezzar. He wasted the opportunities graciously granted him, neglecting to use the opportunities within his reach for becoming acquainted with the truth. What must I do to be saved? was a question that the great but foolish king passed by indifferently. Belshazzar had a warning message. When he rejected that warning message, then the divine pronouncement marking that the message had been rejected was recorded on the wall. And it says that very night he was slain. It was followed by judgment. It's the same history. Okay, so what is the warning message? And we're almost through with this presentation. The warning message for Belshazzar is the story of Nebuchadnezzar. When Daniel comes in before Belshazzar and he tells him about Nebuchadnezzar, he doesn't tell him about Nebuchadnezzar in chapter 1, that he tested Daniel and his four friends after the test. He doesn't tell him about Nebuchadnezzar's dream in chapter 2. He doesn't tell him about Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the flaming fire furnace. When Daniel's called in before Belshazzar to explain the handwriting on the wall, he tells him the story of Nebuchadnezzar in chapter 4, which is the story of Nebuchadnezzar's seven times living like a beast. That's the warning that Belshazzar knew that he was being held accountable for understanding, but that he rejected, that brought the divine pronouncement that Babylon had fallen. So here is Nebuchadnezzar's warning story. In Daniel 4, verse 5, it says, I saw a dream which made me afraid, and the thoughts upon my bed and the visions of my head troubled me. Then Daniel, whose name was Belshazzar, when he brings in Daniel to explain this to him, then Daniel, whose name was Belshazzar, was astonished for one hour, and his thoughts troubled him. The king spake and said, Belshazzar, let not the dream or the interpretation thereof trouble thee. Belshazzar answered and said, My lord, the dream be to them that hate thee, and the interpretation thereof to thine enemies. Daniel explains this dream, gives him a warning to break off his sins, that the punishment in the dream might not be carried out upon him. Because of time, I'm going to pass over that. Go to the next page. Top of page 9. Nebuchadnezzar has been given the warning, if you lift yourself up in pride, you're going to be cut down. You're the tree. You're the one represented by the tree. And you're going to live like a beast for seven times. And then it says in verse 29, And at the end of twelve months he walked in the palace of the kingdom of Babylon. The king spake and said, Is not this great Babylon that I built from the house of the kingdom by the might and power of my power and for the honor of my majesty? While the word was in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from heaven saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken, thy kingdom is departed from thee. Now I want you to see something, if you would. Nebuchadnezzar is a type of Belshazzar. In a moment we'll read you a quote where Sister White says that. Sister White says, Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar, they're a type. Nebuchadnezzar was given a warning message, but he rejected the warning message, didn't he? After one year, after he got the warning message, he's walking in his kingdom and he says, I'm the one that did all this. And then the pronouncement came. That's what we just read. And then what followed the pronouncement on Nebuchadnezzar? The pronouncement wasn't many, many tuckle you farson for Nebuchadnezzar, but the sequence is the same. He had a warning message. If you lift yourself up in pride, I'm going to bring you down and you're going to be living like a beast for seven times. A year later, he lifts himself up in pride, the pronouncement comes, Babylon has fallen, many, many tuckle you farson, and then the judgment comes. His judgment was, he's seven times eating the grass, right? So, at the end of the seven times, what do we have? We have a human being that's been humbled in the dust, someone that's been changed by the everlasting gospel. Nebuchadnezzar is a representation of the everlasting gospel. Okay, now if you remember where we first started here, snap yourself back awake, some of you that are getting tired. The everlasting gospel is always the same. And Sister White says, the everlasting gospel of the first angel is the same gospel that was preached to Adam and Eve in Genesis. And it was a promise that the Lord would put enmity between the seed of Satan and the seed of Christ, correct? The everlasting gospel produces two classes of worshippers. But the everlasting gospel of the first angel's message, it's accomplished by who? Who accomplishes the everlasting gospel on a people or upon a person? The Holy Spirit. And when he accomplishes the everlasting gospel on a people or on a person, how does he do it? He does it with a three-step process. Conviction of sin, and if you respond accordingly to that warning message that convicts you of sin, then you are raised up and you glorify the Lord and that leads you into judgment. Sin, righteousness, and judgment is the three-step process that the Holy Spirit uses to accomplish the everlasting gospel on people or a person. He accomplished it in the history of the Millerites during the history of the first angel's message. He used the same three-step process on Belshazzar, the warning message of Nebuchadnezzar, and when Belshazzar flunked the test, the divine pronouncement came and then judgment followed. But in Daniel chapter 4, what I'm saying is that the story of Nebuchadnezzar, it's the story of the everlasting gospel because Nebuchadnezzar represents two classes of worshipers. Nebuchadnezzar represents two classes of worshipers in one chapter. Nebuchadnezzar represents a group of people that have received a warning message. Did not Daniel come in and tell Nebuchadnezzar what the dream meant? Did he tell him what the consequences would be if Nebuchadnezzar rejected the dream? So Nebuchadnezzar had received a warning message, but what did he do? He rejected it. And because he rejected it, he was punished, was he not? So Nebuchadnezzar in one sense represents a group of people that reject the warning message and are judged accordingly. They're punished. But on the other end of the spectrum, Nebuchadnezzar also represents a group of people that allow the everlasting gospel to humble them into the dust. After seven years of living like an animal, had Nebuchadnezzar been humbled into the dust? And what is the work of the gospel? Manuscript Releases, Volume 20, page 117, says this, What is justification by faith? It is the work of God in laying the glory of man in the dust and doing for man that which it is not in his power to do for himself. When men see their own nothingness, they are prepared to be clothed with the righteousness of Christ. Did Nebuchadnezzar see his own nothingness at the end of the seven times? He's representing people that have accepted the everlasting gospel. They've been accepted that warning message, been humbled in the dust, seen their own nothingness. And what's the work of the Holy Spirit? To convict of sin. This is humbleness in the dust. And once that's accomplished, then we can stand up and give glory to God, a manifestation of righteousness. Is that what Nebuchadnezzar did? Notice the rest of the paragraph. When they begin to praise and exalt God all the day long, then, beholding, they are becoming changed into the same image. What is regeneration? It is revealing to man what is his own real nature. It is revealing to man what is his own real nature, that in himself he is worthless. Nebuchadnezzar represents two classes of worshippers. He represents the class that rejects the warning message and are punished. But at the end of the seven times, he rejects a class that accepts the warning message, accepts the first step of the gospel, the conviction of sin, and then are lifted up through the power of the Holy Spirit and give glory to God. You can see from Daniel 4, underneath that, his testimony. The last verse, verse 37, Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and exalt and honor the Kingdom of Heaven, King of Heaven, all whose works are truth and whose ways judgment, and those that walk in his pride he is able to abase. Next quote, Belshazzar, awed by this representation of God's power, showing that they had a witness, though they knew it not, had had great opportunities of knowing the works of the living God and his power and of doing his will. He had been privileged with much light. His grandfather, Nebuchadnezzar, had been warned of his danger in forgetting God and glorifying himself. Belshazzar had a knowledge of his banishment from the society of men and his association with the beasts of the field. And these facts, which ought to have been a lesson to him, these facts that were a warning message to him, he disregarded as if they had never occurred and he went on repeating the sins of his grandfather. He dared to commit the crimes which brought God's judgment upon Nebuchadnezzar. He was condemned, not alone that he himself was doing wickedly, but that he had not availed himself of the opportunities and capabilities, if cultivated, of being right. And that night was Belshazzar, the king of the Chaldean slain, and Darius the Median took the kingdom, being about three score and two years old. Belshazzar had a warning message. His warning message was the story of Nebuchadnezzar. When he rejected the warning message, the divine pronouncement came and that very night he was slain. That very night there was judgment and it says that his kingdom was taken by Darius the Median. Did Darius the Median come into Babylon that night? No, he didn't. He had used his general, Cyrus, to conquer Babylon. But he gets credit for him, it was his general. So, on the bottom of your page, it says, it was not long before reverses came, Babylon was besieged by Cyrus, nephew of Darius the Median, and commanding general of the combined armies of the Medes and the Persians. But within this seemingly impregnable fortress, with its massive walls and its gates of brass, its gates of what? Its gates of what? Protected by the river Euphrates and stocked with provisions and abundance, the voluptuous monarch felt safe and passed his time in mirth and revelry. Cyrus is the one that came in that night. And not only in the places I'm going to read here, but in the Bible, in Isaiah 44-28 and 45-1, Cyrus is a type of Christ. Anyone that comments on the Bible generally will tell you that Cyrus is a type of Christ. Notice what it says in Isaiah 44-28, Thus, that saith of Cyrus, he is my shepherd. Who's God's shepherd? Christ. That saith of Cyrus, he is my shepherd, and he shall perform all my pleasure, even saying to Jerusalem, thou shalt be built and to the temple thou foundation shalt be laid. Thus saith the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus. Christ was the anointed of the Lord, but Cyrus is the anointed of the Lord. He's a type of Christ, whose right hand I have holden to subdue nations before him. Now, he's speaking of Cyrus here, but notice what he says, And I will loose the loins of kings to open before him the two leap gates, and the gates shall not be shut. What gates is he speaking about? The gates into Babylon. Alright? Cyrus, as a type of Christ, was going to open the gates. So, let me run this by you. The story of Nebuchadnezzar is the everlasting gospel. Nebuchadnezzar in chapter 4 represents two classes of worshippers. Those that will not receive the everlasting gospel and punished, and those that are receptive of it, and are lifted up by the Lord and glorified. Does everyone see that Nebuchadnezzar represents those two classes of worshippers? And that is what the everlasting gospel is. It's the promise to put enmity between the seed of Satan and the seed of Christ. So, Nebuchadnezzar symbolizes the everlasting gospel. But in the story of Nebuchadnezzar, you see the same three-step work that is in the first angel's message. You see a warning message. Nebuchadnezzar's warning message is to Belshazzar. The first angel's message was to the Protestant churches. When the Protestant churches rejected the message, then there was a divine pronouncement that Babylon had fallen. When Belshazzar had rejected the message, there was a divine pronouncement. Many, many tekel yapharsin. That very night, judgment came upon Belshazzar. And when the second angel's message climaxed on October 22, 1844, judgment began. And when judgment began on October 22, 1844, Christ, the high priest, opened the door into the most holy place and closed the door into the holy place. And when judgment took place on Belshazzar, Cyrus, the type of Christ, opened the doors to the gates of Babylon. The ones that no one could open. It's a perfect, airtight, parallel to those histories. Now, what's interesting, I'm almost done. This is where the warning message for Belshazzar begins. Right here. Why does it begin here? What is the warning message for Belshazzar? It's the story of Nebuchadnezzar. But what story? The seven times. It's not Daniel 1. It's not Daniel 2. It's not Daniel 3. It's the seven times. And the seven times, the warning message for Nebuchadnezzar, it's not complete until Nebuchadnezzar is lifted up and glorified, right? The seven times has to finish before the message is complete. Nebuchadnezzar wasn't humbled in the dust in the middle of the seven times. It was at the end that his kingdom was restored. So, Nebuchadnezzar represents the warning message for Belshazzar. Do you follow me? But the warning message only arrives in history at the end of the 2520, because seven times is 2520. So, the warning message for Belshazzar, it starts right here. And lo and behold, the first angel's message arrives in 1798, which is the end of the 2520, time prophecy against the northern kingdom. The 2520 time prophecy against the northern kingdom of Israel began in 723 and it ends in 1798. When the first angel, the warning message arrives, and the warning message for Belshazzar arrives when the 2520 of Nebuchadnezzar ends, right here. So, the 2520, it's the same starting point for both of these histories. Nebuchadnezzar is illustrating the first angel's message. The first angel's message is the everlasting gospel. It's three steps. A warning message that's rejected, and then there's a pronouncement, Babylon has fallen. Many, many tickle your farsen. And what's many, many tickle your farsen add up to? It adds up to 2520. And the very night that the 2520 appears on the wall, that very night, judgment came. And judgment came here at the end of the 2520 against the southern kingdom, which began in 677 BC and ended in 1844. Do you see the parallel? That's a coincidence. But there's more to say about this. But do you see the parallel? On this chart here, this 2520 that began in 677, they were off on the year zero. So, it actually ends in 1844. There's a time prophecy that began in 677, and it ended in 1844. And what was the time prophecy? It was the scattering of Israel for breaking the covenant. This was the scattering against the southern kingdom. This 2520 was the scattering against the northern kingdom. The punishment for the northern kingdom and the southern kingdom of Israel is that they were going to be scattered for 2520 years. Many, many tickle your farsen adds up to 2520. The pronouncement here of 2520 in the fall of Babylon. Do we have another illustration of this anywhere? How about the fall of Babel? In the fall of Babel, what was the punishment? They were scattered, were they not? And he confused their languages. When Israel was scattered for 2520 years, both the northern and southern kingdom, where were they scattered to? To the other kingdoms, right? Now, if they take me and they throw me into Mexico, what's going to happen to me? Confusion of languages because I don't understand Spanish. In the judgment against Nimrod, there was a scattering and confusion in languages. And in the judgment against the northern kingdom and the southern kingdom, there was a scattering and a confusion of languages when they were thrown into those other countries. And this history of Belshazzar begins with the conclusion of the 2520 and it ends with the 2520, paralleling the history of the Millerites that begins with the conclusion of the 2520 and ends with the conclusion of the 2520. And Nebuchadnezzar, in the two representations of someone that receives a message and someone that rejects a message, is a symbol of the everlasting gospel. And the everlasting gospel is a three-step process that's represented in both of these histories as a warning message that's rejected, then a pronouncement is given that ends in judgment. There's no way that's an accident, shall we pray? Heavenly Father, we thank you for bringing the books of Daniel and Revelation together as we consider the everlasting gospel in the book of Revelation. We are amazed how you've illustrated it in the book of Daniel. We wish to be among those that understand these things in a way that allows us to be convicted and confronted by the demands of your Holy Spirit upon our lives, but also we wish to understand these things in a way that prepares us and gives us the ability that we can share these things with those around us. We ask that you would make that happen in each of our lives. We thank you for these things in Jesus' name, amen.