Shall we pray? Heavenly Father, we ask for your presence as we begin this study on Nebuchadnezzar's warning message. We want to speak the thoughts and ideas that you have for us. We ask that you'd set the human aside and grant us your Holy Spirit in the presence of your angels. We ask that you pour your latter rain out upon us at this time. And we thank you for allowing us to participate in understanding and presenting this message in Jesus' name. Amen. This is the third part of a message identifying that Daniel chapter 5 and the story of Belshazzar is an illustration, a parallel to the history of the Millerites and the first angel's message from 1798 to 1844. And we've identified previously that the story of Nebuchadnezzar in chapter 4 of Daniel is the warning message. We've identified that the prophetic characteristics in the story of Nebuchadnezzar in chapter 4 is the identical characteristics to the first angel's message in Revelation 14. The quote here on the top of the page we've looked at before, it says, To the last ruler of Babylon, that's Belshazzar, as in type to its first, Nebuchadnezzar, had come the sentence of the divine watcher, O king, to thee it is spoken, thy kingdom is departed from thee. Now in our last presentations we've been showing that on this timeline, the timeline of Belshazzar, that when Nebuchadnezzar's testimony was recorded at the end of the seven times, that the warning message was in place for Belshazzar, and that down here, judgment took place on Belshazzar the night he was slain. This is the story of Belshazzar. His warning message arrives in history at the end of the 2520 of Nebuchadnezzar, and in the expression, many, many tekel yufarsin, down here, we see the 2520 marked at the time of the judgment. And we've noted that the 2520 time prophecy against the northern kingdom of Israel ended in 1798, which was the beginning of the Millerite history, and that the 2520 time prophecy against the southern kingdom of Judah ended in 1844 when judgment arrived. So we've been dealing with this parallel. But I ran out of time on one presentation, so for those that may be viewing this video that haven't looked at some of the previous presentations, I want to go over why many, many tekel yufarsin in the story of Belshazzar down here represents 2520. Many tekel and yufarsin are expressions of denominations, coins in the time of Babylon. A tekel is a Babylonian expression for a shekel, and in Exodus 30.13 it says, Everyone that passeth among them that are numbered half a shekel after the shekel of the sanctuary, a shekel is 20 geras. A shekel is 20 geras, and in the Babylonian terminology, a shekel is a tekel. And a many was a coin that represented 50 shekels. So if a many is 50 shekels, then it values out as 1,000 geras. So when we see many, many, we see 1,000, 1,000, that's 2,000 geras. A tekel is 20 geras, that's 2,020 geras. And the term yufarsin means divided, it means half a many. And half a many, a many is 1,000 geras, so half a many is 500 geras. So a many is 1,000 geras. Many is 1,000, that's 2,000 geras. A tekel, which is a shekel, is 20 geras, that's 2,020. A yufarsin represents half a many, which is 500 geras. So down here, at the end of Belshazzar's history, when we see the handwriting on the wall, we have many, many tekel yufarsin marking the 2,520 on the very night that he was slain. So when judgment arrives, we see the 2,520 just as we've seen judgment arrive at the conclusion of the 2,520 time prophecy against the southern kingdom of Judah in 1844. So both the Millerite history begins with the 2,520 being marked 1798, and it ends when the 2,520 is marked in 1844. We see parallel histories, we've dealt with that in the previous presentations, but we didn't lay out the many, many tekel yufarsin. You have in your notes Isaiah 7, verses 7 through 9. We're not going to deal much with the 2,520 time prophecy, but I at least want to put in the record where both these time prophecies are marked as the beginning. In verse 7 of Isaiah 7, it says, Isaiah is telling the king here not to worry about a confederacy between the northern kingdom of Israel and Syria. Israel and Syria had become confederate, they were going to attack the southern kingdom of Judah, and the Lord sent Isaiah to warn, or to tell Ahaz, king of Judah, not to worry about this confederacy, that it would not pass, it wouldn't come to pass. He says, Here's a time prophecy, a prediction. It says, And if you look at the year that this prophecy of Isaiah is marked in the Bible, it is marked in the year 742, and Isaiah is saying, Isaiah is saying, within 65 years, the northern kingdom will be carried into captivity, no longer being a people. If you start in the year 742, you find that 19 years later, in the year 723, the northern kingdom was carried into captivity, and their 2,520 year time prophecy began. It says, If you will not believe, surely you shall not be established. The Bible here is putting an emphasis on believing this. 2 Chronicles 2, 20 says, We recognize the correlation, the parallel of thought between 2 Chronicles here and Isaiah 7, verse 9, saying, if you will not believe, surely you shall not be established. It's emphasizing what? If you will not believe this time prophecy of 65 years, that within the 65 year period of time, the northern kingdom would be carried into captivity. If you start in the year 742, and say, within 65 years, the northern kingdom will be carried into captivity, 19 years later, remember we're working down here, this is B.C., 19 years later, the northern kingdom was carried into captivity, and their 2,520 year time prophecy began, and it went from 723 to 1798, 2,520 years. But if you go 65 years into the future, as the prophecy suggests, it is not an accident that this brings you to the year 677, which is the year that Manasseh was carried into captivity, into Babylon by the Assyrians, and this begins the 2,520 against the southern kingdom. So here in Isaiah, we have both starting points for both these 2,520 time prophecies, and those people in Adventism that are fighting the foundational truths of Adventism, they disregard these starting points that are very clearly marked by Isaiah, and another thing that they will identify is that Sister White never speaks about the 2,520, which is not true, but I think they can probably say that with pure motive, because if you don't believe the 2,520 is true and correct, then you can read passages in the Spirit of Prophecy that she's dealing with the 2,520, but you just don't see them, you can't see the forest because of all the trees. But in Prophets and Kings, page 382, you'll see a place where Sister White is clearly confirming what William Miller, William Miller, Mark 677, you can see it here on the chart, and he cites 2 Chronicles 33, 11, which is where Manasseh was carried into Babylon by the Assyrians, he marks 677 as the starting point for the 2,520 time prophecy, and he has here 1843, but he was misunderstanding the application of the time prophecy, actually this ends in 1844. Notice what Sister White says in Prophets and Kings, page 382, speaking of Manasseh being carried into captivity, it says, Faithfully, the prophets continued their warnings and their exhortations. Fearlessly, they spoke to Manasseh and to his people, but the messages were scorned. Baxlid and Judah would not heed. As an earnest of what should befall the people, as a what? As an earnest of what should befall God's people, should they continue impenitent, the Lord permitted the king to be captured by a band of Assyrian soldiers who bound him with fetters and carried him to Babylon, their temporary capital. So when Manasseh was carried to Babylon, William Miller says this is the starting of the scattering that began in 677, and Sister White says when he was carried to Babylon, it was an earnest. And from the 1828 Webster's Dictionary, you'll see the definition of earnest from the time period of Sister White, it says, Earnest, first fruits, that which is in advance and gives promise of something to come. Early fruit be an earnest of fruit to follow. The first success in arms may be an earnest of future success. The Christian's peace of mind in this life is an earnest of future peace and happiness. Hence, earnest or earnest money is a first payment or deposit giving promise or assurance of full payment. Hence, the practice of giving an earnest to ratify a bargain. So when Sister White says that when Manasseh was carried to Babylon in the year 677, that it was an earnest of what was to come, she's saying that was the down payment, that was the beginning of the punishment of God's people for breaking the covenant with the Lord. So when Miller marks 677 as the beginning of the 2520, the Spirit of Prophecy does deal with that, it agrees with that fully. But if you don't believe in the 2520, you can read right through comments like that from the Spirit of Prophecy and not recognize them. The next quote from Signs of the Times, July 20th, 1891, says this, In the history of Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar, God speaks to the nations of today. We are to take to heart the lessons he sought to teach these rebellious kings. For if Belshazzar had pursued a course in harmony with the instruction given to his grandfather, he would have retained not only his kingdom, but his life. He disregarded the lessons and went on in rebellion against God, committing the very sins for which his grandfather had been reproved and punished. He too lifted himself up in pride and exaltation, and the final judgment of God fell upon him and his house. His great sin was that notwithstanding God had given him light, he refused to walk in the paths of righteousness. There's a lesson in the punishment of Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar for us here at the end of the world, and it has to do with the rejection of light. Now we're going to review some of the points that we've made previously to draw some further conclusions about them. From Selected Messages, Book 2, page 104, we've already pointed out that Sister White says, There can't be a third message without a first and a second. The first, second, and third angels' messages of Revelation 14 are all connected together by cause and effect. Wherever we see the first, second, and third angels' message illustrated in sacred history, and we see it all over the place, Noah and his three sons are a type of the three angels' messages followed by the fourth. The three blessings pronounced by Balaam against Israel, and then King Balak sent him home and he pronounced a fourth blessing upon them, is this three-one combination that represents the three angels' messages that came into history in the Millerite time period only to be followed by the fourth angel at the end of the world. Over and over again we see these three messages illustrated. The three decrees that start the 2300-day prophecy that's followed by Nehemiah's fourth decree is an illustration of the three messages that come in at the end of the 2300-year prophecy to be followed by the fourth angel's message here at the end of the world. Wherever we see these three messages in history, Sister White says you can't have a third without a first and a second. They operate upon cause and effect. The first message always represents a warning message, and when the warning message is rejected, then there is a divine pronouncement identifying that that warning message has been rejected. Babylon has fallen. The message has been rejected. If there was no warning message, there would be no second message which identifies that the warning message has been rejected. The three messages are governed by cause and effect. That's why Sister White says you can't have a third without a first and a second. So, we've already reviewed that in previous presentations. Now, if you look at Revelation 18.1, which is in your notes, it said, And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power, and the earth was lightened with his glory. Typically in Adventism, this is what we call the fourth angel's message, but we previously read this quote from early writings where Sister White says that the mission of the first angel's message of Revelation 14 was to lighten the earth with his glory, and in Revelation 14, where the first angel's message is given, there's no expression in Revelation 14, verses 6 and 7, of the first angel lighting the earth with his glory. It's the fourth angel of Revelation 18 that lightens the earth with his glory. So, when Sister White in early writings is commenting on the first angel of Revelation 14, and she says that his mission was to lighten the earth with his glory, she's telling us that the mighty angel that comes down in Revelation 18, which we call the fourth angel, has been prefigured by the first angel in Revelation 14. The first angel in Revelation 10 that came down out of heaven and put his foot upon the land and the sea is a type of this angel here at the end of the world that comes down out of heaven and lightens the earth with his glory. Therefore, when this angel of Revelation 18 comes down, it is a type of the first angel, and it needs to be followed by a second angel, because you can't have a third without a first and a second, and if you have a first, there's going to be a second and a third. And in Revelation 18 1, the angel comes down and lightens the earth with his glory, and then in verse 2, it says Babylon is fallen, and the second angel's message of Revelation 14 is Babylon is fallen. So we know that Revelation 18 is a repetition of the history of when the three angels' messages came into history in the time of the Millerites. On Great Controversy 389, all of these things, by the way, are reviewed to us from the first two presentations. Speaking of the fall of Babylon, which is the second angel's message in Revelation 14 8, she says the change, the fall of Babylon, is a progressive one, and the perfect fulfillment of Revelation 14 8 is yet future. We understand that the three angels' messages arrived in the Millerite history from 1798 to 1844. In 1798, at the end of a 2520 time prophecy, the first angel's message arrived. Then in 1840, August 11, 1840, the mighty angel of Revelation 10 came down, marking the empowerment of that message. And then at the end of a 2520, in 1844, October 22, 1844, the end of the 2520 against the southern kingdom of Judah, the third angel's message arrived. The first angel's message came into history in 1798. It was empowered in 1840. In June of 1842, the Protestants of the United States closed their doors against that message. This is the arrival of the second angel's message. This is the arrival of the first angel's message. This is the empowerment of the first angel's message. And here, in the summer of 1844, at the midnight cry, we have the empowerment of the second angel's message. The second angel's message came into history in June of 1842. It goes through history, then it's empowered, just as the first angel's message goes through history, then it's empowered. The third angel's message came into history in 1844. We know that it's empowered when the fourth angel of Revelation 18 joins it. So, here, in June of 1842, the Protestants of the United States were rejecting the first angel's message. There came a divine pronouncement in the summer of 1844 that Babylon has fallen, but that wasn't the perfect fulfillment of the fall of Babylon. Sister White says the fall of Babylon was yet future, the perfect fulfillment. This is an imperfect illustration of the fall of Babylon. The fall of Babylon is the second angel's message. Can you have a second angel's message without a first? If you have a second angel's message, what follows it? But if this second angel's message is imperfect, what does it mean about the first, second and third angel's message here? That this is an imperfect fulfillment of the three angel's messages. Not that it was imperfect in the sense that there was something wrong with it. But Sister White, speaking of the fall of Babylon in the summer of 1844, says the change is a progressive one, and the perfect fulfillment of Revelation 14.8, which is the second angel's message, is yet future. So, the Millerite history, where we have the arrival of the first, the second and the third angel, is prefiguring the perfect fulfillment of the three angel's messages at the end of the world. At the bottom of page 2 you have the first angel's message of Revelation 14, verses 6 and 7. It says, 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, kindred, tongue and people, saying with a loud voice... Now, notice what the first angel says. This is the first angel. It says, Fear God. Fear God is representing the first angel's message. The first message is a warning message. It's a message that convicts of sin. Then it says, Give glory. In the manifestation of the righteousness of Christ in the midnight cry time period, the Millerites gave glory to God. And then it says, For the hour of his judgment has come. So in the first angel's message, we can see this entire history. The warning message. Fear God. Give glory. For the hour of his judgment has come. And then immediately after October 22, 1844, the Millerites had to understand the Sabbath. And the first angel's message says, For the hour of his judgment has come, and worship him that made heaven and earth and the sea and the fountains of the water. They understood the Sabbath at this time period, as symbolically represented in the expression, Worship him that made heaven and earth and sea and the fountains of water. Worship the creator of which the Sabbath is the symbol of the creator God. So, when Sister White says this history here, when the first, second, and third angel's message arrived, that it's imperfect, all three of the steps of the three angels were fulfilled in the time period of the first angel. The perfect fulfillment of the second angel, Revelation 14, verse 8, she says, is yet future. But we know that the second angel's message was fulfilled here. But it wasn't the perfect fulfillment. The perfect fulfillment of Babylon has fallen. It's at the end of the world. The perfect fulfillment of the third angel. When the third angel arrived in 1844, that was not the perfect fulfillment, because the third angel is a warning against receiving the mark of the beast. And in 1844, there was no Sunday Law. The perfect fulfillment of the third angel is at the end of the world, when the Sunday Law crisis arrives. So, next page. It says this. The third angel is represented as flying in the midst of heaven, symbolizing the work of those who proclaim the first, second, and third angel's messages. All are linked together. Many people in Adventism, they don't bring it into their thoughts. The fact that Inspiration says the angels of Revelation represent the work that the people of God do. The first, second, third angel's message of Revelation 14, the angel of Revelation 10, the two angels of Revelation 18 are not angels. They're symbols representing the work that is accomplished by God's people. In 1798, the book of Daniel was unsealed at the time of the end. The work for God's people at that time period was to run to and fro in God's word and understand the increase of knowledge that came from the book of Daniel when it was unsealed. That was the work that God's people were to do at that time. And when they did that work, they understood that the hour of God's judgment was coming, as represented on what they were predicting here of the end of the world. They thought it was the end of the world, announcing the hour of God's judgment. They came to understand that by the increase of knowledge that came from the book of Daniel when it was unsealed in 1798. This is the arrival of the first angel's message, which is identifying the hour of God's judgment. The work here of God's people when the angel arrives is to understand the increase of knowledge that comes from the sealed book. In 1840, the work of God's people is then to go and what? Take the little book out of the angel's hand and eat it. There's a different emphasis on the work of the first angel in 1840. Now it becomes a testing process. So the angels represent the work of God's people. Next quote, Manuscript Releases, Volume 16, page 40, says this, The whole earth is to be lightened with the glory of the Lord. The pure in heart shall see God. It is those who are following the Lamb, whithersoever he goeth, that will receive power from that angel that came down from heaven, having great power. This is the angel of Revelation 18. Now notice what she says about this angel of Revelation 18, verse 1. The first message is to be repeated, proclaiming the second advent of Christ to our world. The second angel's message is to be repeated, Babylon the great is fallen. So when these three angels that came into the Millerite history are repeated at the end of the world, they're going to be repeated in the history of Revelation 18. And in Revelation 18, verse 1, we see a mighty angel come down out of heaven, and the earth is lightened with his glory, paralleling the angel that came down in 1840, empowering the first angel's message. Then in verse 2, we see the pronouncement that Babylon is fallen. And then in verse 3, the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her. And then in verse 4, we see the Sunday Law. We have more to say about this. Verse 4 is when you see the other angel that says, Come out of her, my people. We'll fill that out as we proceed. Notice the next quote from Manuscript Releases, Volume 16, page 269. Many who went forth to meet the bridegroom under the messages of the first and second angels refused the third angel's message, the last testing message to be given to the world. In the last presentation, we identified that the Millerites fulfilled the parable of the ten virgins to the very letter, but it would be repeated again to the very letter. And here Sister White is speaking about the final fulfillment of the parable of the ten virgins, and she's connecting it with the three angels of Revelation 14. Now she once again is going to connect it with Revelation 18. She says a similar work will be accomplished when that other angel, represented in Revelation 18, gives his message. So she's taking us, this is the line of Revelation 18. She takes us there. She's talking about this history being repeated, which is the history of the first, second, and third angels' message. But it was also the history when the parable of the ten virgins was fulfilled. It's also the history that's been prefigured by the story of Belshazzar. But as she takes us to Revelation 18, she says the first, second, and third angels' messages will need to be repeated. The call will be given to the church. Now she's speaking about Revelation 18, and she says, take each verse of this chapter and read it carefully, especially the last two. And then she quotes the last two verses of Revelation 18. It's not in your notes, but she does. And as soon as she quotes them, she says, the parable of the ten virgins was given by Christ himself, and every specification of this parable should be carefully studied. A time will come when the door will be shut. So what I want you to see here, if you go to Revelation 18, the last two verses, 23 and 24, which she quoted in this passage, verse 23 says, And a light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee. She doesn't quote verse 21 and 22, but if you go up to verse 21, it says, And a mighty angel, I'm in verse 21 of Revelation 18, And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown and shall be found no more at all. And the voice of harpers and musicians and of pipers and trumpeters shall be heard no more at all in thee. And no craftsman or whatever craft he be shall be found any more in thee. And the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee. And the light of a candle, this is the verse she's emphasizing, shall shine no more at all in thee. And the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee. For thy merchants were the great men of the earth. By thy sorceries were all nations deceived. And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints and of all that were slain upon the earth. Now in this passage where Sister White is speaking about the parable of the ten virgins, the repetition of the three angels' messages, then she places it in the line of Revelation 18. After she takes us to these final verses of Revelation 18, then she says you should study every characteristic of the parable of the ten virgins, but the characteristic she emphasizes is that the time will come when the door will be closed. And the closing of a door in Bible prophecy represents the close of probation. And the last four verses of Revelation 18, the place that she's taking us to, are the verses that are representing the close of human probation. Verses 21 through 24 is talking about when Michael stands up and human probation closes. Notice from verse 21 where it talks about a mighty angel taking a stone and casting it into the sea. In your notes now on the bottom of page 3 from Jeremiah 51, and remember two out of three words in the Revelation are taken from the Old Testament. When John is speaking of this stone being cast into the sea, he's drawing from Jeremiah, and here's what Jeremiah 51 verse 61 says, And Jeremiah said to Saraiah, When thou comest to Babylon, and shalt see and shalt read all these words, then thou shalt say, O Lord, thou hast spoken against this place, to cut it off, that none shall remain in it, neither man nor beast, that it shall be desolate for how long? Forever. And it shall be when thou hast made an end of reading this book, that thou shalt bind a stone to it, and cast it into the midst of the Euphrates, and thou shalt say, Thus shall Babylon sink, and shall not rise from the evil that I will bring upon her, and they shall be weary. Thus far are the words of Jeremiah. So the point is, is when you come to verse 21 of Revelation 18, John is identifying the close of probation. When you come to verse 23, and he talks about the light of the candle, notice from Jeremiah 25 verse 9. You have it on the bottom of your notes. Behold, I will send and take all the families of the north, saith the Lord, and Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, my servant, will bring him against this land, and against the inhabitants thereof, and against all these nations round about, and will utterly destroy them, and make them an astonishment, and a hissing, and a perpetual desolation. Now here, if you're taking this and placing it at the end of the world, Nebuchadnezzar represents the king of the north at the end of the world, who's implementing the mark of his authority at the end of the world. This is the Sunday Law crisis. Moreover, I will take from them the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, and the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstone, and the light of the candle. And this whole land shall be a desolation, and an astonishment. And when these nations shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years, and it shall come to pass when the seventy years are accomplished, that I will punish the king of Babylon, and that nation, saith the Lord, for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans, and will make it a perpetual desolation. The light of the candle, shining no more at all in thee forever, in Revelation 18, is another example of the close of probation. So what I'm wanting you to see here is that Revelation 18, where Sister White is saying the first, second, and third angels' messages are to be repeated. It begins while probation is closed, open. But when you get to the final verses, you have the close of probation. And the close of probation is marked in verse 21. And you have to see that to understand the significance of verse 4. Verse 4 of Revelation 18 says, And I heard another voice from heaven saying, Come out of her, my people. And we're going to show that verse 4 is identifying the Sunday Law in the United States. So Revelation 18, when you get to verse 4, you've arrived to the Sunday Law in the United States. And from verse 4 to verse 21, you're seeing the sequence of events that leads to the close of human probation. So verse 4 is not the close of human probation. It's the Sunday Law in the United States when the close of probation begins. Verse 21 is where the close of probation ends. And you'll notice, if you go back and read that one quote by Sister White, this is the same emphasis that Sister White puts on it. When she says, read especially the last two verses of Revelation 18, she says, She's wanting us to understand that probation closes in the final verses of Revelation 18. Therefore, verse 4 is identifying something that takes place before the close of probation. Verse 4 is identifying when probation begins to close at the Sunday Law. At the top of page 4, another quote where Sister White says, the angels represent the people of God. It says, John saw another angel come down from heaven having great power and the whole earth was lightened with his glory. That work is the voice of the people of God proclaiming a message of warning to the world. And then underneath that you have Revelation 18 verses 1 through 4. And you see in these verses two angels. Typically in Adventism, we call Revelation 18 the fourth angel's message. But if you read these verses carefully, there are two angels that have two messages. Notice this. Verse 1, And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, which Sister White has already compared more than once in a variety of ways as a type of the first angel's message, having great power and the earth was lightened with his glory. And he cried mightily with a strong voice saying, Babylon the great is fallen. Then dropping down to the second paragraph in your notes to verse 4, it says, And I heard another voice from heaven saying, Come out of her my people. So we see two angels in Revelation 18 verses 1 through 4. And the angels represent the work that the people of God do. The first angel is the one that comes down out of heaven. And in verse 4 is the message, Come out of her my people. And we're going to show that it's in verse 4 that the Sunday Law arrives in the USA. I'll have to remove this. There's much to say as we build this up. This is where we're going to spend our time in this and the following presentation. We've got to go step by step. So, under two distinct calls, we're saying that there are two angels in Revelation 18 and they're identifying two distinct calls. There were two angels in the history of the Millerites. The first angel, the second angel. The second angel concluded when the third arrived. But the work that's illustrated from 1798 to 1844 is the work of the first and the second angel. This history is repeated in the history of Revelation 18. And in Revelation 18 we see two angels. But this history has also been prefigured by the history of Christ. Notice what Sister White says in Selected Messages, book 2, page 118. And she's going to be quoting from verse 4 of Revelation 18 and the second angel's message of Revelation 14. She says, When Jesus began His public ministry, He cleansed the temple from its sacrilegious profanation. Among the last acts of His ministry was the second cleansing of the temple. So in the last work for the warning of the world, two distinct calls are made to the churches. The second angel's message is, Babylon has fallen, has fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. And in the loud cry of the third angel's message, a voice is heard from heaven saying, Come out of her, my people, that you be not partakers of her sins. Now, here Sister White is saying that this history of Revelation 18 has been prefigured by the history of Christ. And in the history of Christ, two times He cleansed the temple. What happened when He cleansed the temple? In Desire of Ages, page 590. Again the piercing look of Jesus swept over the desecrated court of the temple. All eyes were turned toward Him. Priest and ruler, Pharisee and Gentile, looked with astonishment and awe upon Him who stood before them with the majesty of Heaven's King. Divinity flashed through humanity. When Christ cleansed the temple, the reason the people fled out of the temple is because divinity flashed through humanity. Investing Christ with a dignity and glory He had never manifested before. Those standing nearest Him drew as far away as the crowd would permit. Except for a few of His disciples, the Savior stood alone. Every sound was hushed. Now notice the next quote from Review and Herald, April 9, 1889. Christ had just cleansed the temple from those who defiled it with forbidden traffic. Divinity had flashed through humanity and men had seen the glory and the power of God manifested before them. The manifestation of the glory of God is when divinity flashes through humanity. The manifestation of the glory of God is when divinity flashes through humanity and when divinity flashed through humanity in the time of Christ, the temple was cleansed. And how many times did He cleanse the temple? Twice. At the beginning and end of His ministry. So in the history of Christ, which prefigures the history of the Millerites, which prefigures the history at the end of the world, there were two temple cleansings and the temple was cleansed by divinity flashing through humanity and when divinity flashes through humanity, you have a manifestation of the glory of God. You have a manifestation of the power of God. Notice the next quote from Great Controversy, 611. And it's going to be dealing with the Millerite history and this history. It says, The angel who unites in the proclamation of the third angel's message is to lighten the whole earth with its glory. This is Revelation 18. This is this line here. Then she says, A work of worldwide extent and unwanted power is here foretold. Now she's going to switch to this history. She says, The advent movement of 1840 to 1844 was what? A glorious manifestation of the power of God. In this history, divinity flashed through humanity because when divinity flashes through humanity, Christ cleanses the temple and the definition of divinity flashing through humanity is a manifestation of the power of God. And in this history, in 1840, a mighty angel came down out of heaven and the earth, the mission of this angel, according to Sister White, was to lighten the whole earth with his glory. In 1840, there was a manifestation of the power of God and it drove the people out of the temple whereas by 1842, the Protestants had closed their doors against that message. This was the first temple cleansing in the history of the Millerites. At the midnight cry in the summer of 1844, divinity flashed through humanity. There was a manifestation of the power of God. Sister White compares the midnight cry with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. There was a manifestation of the power of God here in the midnight cry and it concluded on October 22, 1844 when the door was closed into the holy place. So in the Millerite history, you have two manifestations of the power of God. You have two times that divinity flashed through humanity. You have two temple cleansings. The first began in 1840 and concludes with the door closing in 1842. The second begins with the midnight cry in 1844 and it concludes with the door closing on October 22, 1844. But Sister White has identified these two temple cleansings with the history of Revelation 18. But the history of Revelation 18 that we're focusing on is when the mighty angel comes down. So when the mighty angel comes down at the end of the world paralleling when the mighty angel came down in 1840, this is the manifestation of the power of God that would produce the closing of the door in here. Then there will be one more manifestation of the power of God which will produce the closing of the door. The manifestation of the power of God here was September 11, 2001. 9-11. The angel came down out of heaven. And it empowers this message, the message of the third angel, which then begins to test God's people. At some point in here, God's people close their door against this message, which brings them to the Sunday Law test where the church is purified. And at the Sunday Law, the Holy Spirit is poured out without measure upon those Adventists that have prepared for the seal of God. There's a manifestation of the power of God that goes until verse 21 of Revelation 18 when Michael stands up. And there's another door closed. There's a door closed on Adventism in here, right here at the Sunday Law. And there's a door closed at the end. Two door closings. In our history, just like there was two door closings for the secularites, those door closings are representing as the two times that Christ cleansed the temple in His time period. They are marking when there's a manifestation of the power of God that tests that generation. I'm on page 5. And we can move to page 6 of your notes. We're going to look at verse 4 of Revelation 18 now. We want to make sure that we understand that verse 4 is the Sunday Law in the United States. Verse 4 says this, And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partaker of her sins, and 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 is filled to her double. So in verses 4 through 6 of Revelation 18, you have the call to come out of her, my people. You have the statement that her iniquities have reached unto heaven, and that her cup is full. There's more to look at than those three issues, but we're going to look at the come out of her, her iniquities are up to heaven, and her cup is full. On the top of page 6, it says this, from Review and Herald, March 9, 1886, But Christ declared that not one jot or tittle of the law should fell until heaven and earth should pass away. The very work that he came to do was to exalt the law and show to the created worlds and to heaven that God is just and that his law need not be changed. But here is Satan's right-hand man. Who's Satan's right-hand man? The Pope. Ready to carry on the work that Satan commenced in heaven, that of trying to amend the law of God. And the Christian world has sanctioned his efforts by adopting the child of the papacy, the Sunday institution. They have nourished it and will continue to nourish it until Protestantism shall gain the hand of fellowship to the Roman power. Then there will be a law against the Sabbath of God's creation, and then it is that God will do a strange work in the earth. He is born long with the perversity of the race. He has tried to win them to himself. But the time will come when what? They shall have filled the measure of iniquity, filled their measure of iniquity. That's verse 5 and 6. She's filled her iniquities to heaven, of Revelation 18. And then it is that God will work. This time is almost reached. God keeps a record with the nations that the figures are swelling against them in the books of heaven. And when it shall have become a law that the transgression of the first day of the week shall be met with punishment, then their cup will be full. So when does their cup fill up? At the Sunday Law. And where does the Sunday Law begin? It begins in the United States. Sister White says, though the United States leads out, every nation on the globe will follow her example. The Sunday Law begins in the United States here in verse 4, 5, and 6 of Revelation 18. The cup of iniquity is full, thus marking verse 4, 5, and 6 as the Sunday Law in the United States. All right? Notice the signs of the times, November 19, 1894. Um... God instituted the Sabbath as a sign of his authority and power, and the papacy acting for the prince of evil points to Sunday as a sign of her power and jurisdiction. The day of the sun, Sunday, was a day devoted to the most vile of the heathen worship, for it was celebrated in connection with sun worship. The Sunday Sabbath has been accepted by many who know it to be the foundling of heathenism, which has been cherished and nourished by the Church of Rome and by her clothed in garments of sanctity. But while many are now aware of its origin, there are true Christians in every church who do not know the origin of the Sunday Sabbath and believe that they are keeping the day which God sanctified and blessed. This is true of worshippers even in the Catholic Church, and while this ignorance and integrity remain, God accepts of their sincerity. But when light shall fall upon their pathway, God requires them to come into harmony with his law and to observe the Sabbath of his appointing. The time has come when the glory of the Lord is to fill the earth, and when the whole earth shall be lightened with his glory. When is that? Revelation 18. A cry is sounding to the honest in heart to come out from among them, to be separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing, and I will receive you and will be a father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. And I heard another voice saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins. It's at the Sunday law when the distinction between Sabbath and Sunday is made, and those people that are outside of Adventism that haven't understood the distinction between Sabbath and Sunday are called out. That's verse 4 through 6 of Revelation 18. Notice the great controversy, 390. Revelation 18 points to a time when, as a result of rejecting the threefold warning of Revelation 14, 6 through 12, the church will have fully reached the condition foretold by the second angel, and the people of God still in Babylon, and where are the majority of God's people today? They're in Babylon. The majority of God's people are outside the Adventist church. And the people of God still in Babylon will be called upon to separate from her communion. This message is the last that will ever be given to the world, and it will accomplish its work. What message? The message to separate from Babylon. This is the last message, separate from Babylon. But notice what it says here. When those that believe not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness, shall be left to receive strong delusion and to believe a lie. This is Seventh-day Adventists. Seventh-day Adventists are the ones that receive the strong delusion. Everyone does. It's progressive. But the first people to receive the strong delusion are Adventists that have rejected the message of the third angel, and they received the lie. Then, and in the spirit of prophecy, if you're not familiar with it, something that you should always watch for in the writings of Ellen White, she does it over and over and over again. It's called the when and the then. She'll set a thought up. She'll say, when this shall happen. She'll say, when this, this, this, this, this, this, and after that, she'll say, then, this, this, this will happen. And when you watch for the when, then, you begin to be able to put things in their proper sequence. This is one of Sister White's when and then comments. When those that believe not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness, shall be left to receive the delusion, and to believe a lie. Then the light of truth will shine upon all whose hearts are open to receive it, and all the children of the Lord that remain in Babylon will heed the call. Come out of her, my people. This is Revelation 18, verse 4. This is the Sunday Law in the United States. This is where the eleventh hour workers and gods of their children in Babylon are called out. But before they're called out, Adventism will have rejected their testing message. When they've received the strong delusion, then the Sunday Law comes. So before verse 4, in this history here, between verse 1 and verse 4, Adventism is being tested, and those that flunk the test are receiving strong delusion. That's Great Controversy 390 from Review and Herald, July 15, 1897. It says this, There are diligent students of prophecy in all parts of the world who are obtaining light and still greater light from searching the Scriptures. This is true of all nations, of all tribes, and of all peoples. These will come from the grossest error and will take the place of those who have had opportunities and privileges and not prize them. They're going to take the place of Adventism that has rejected their privileges and opportunities. These have worked out their own salvation with fear and trembling, lest they should become deficient in doing the ways and will of God, while those who have had great light, Seventh-day Adventists, through the perversity of their own natural heart, turned away from Christ because they were displeased with His requirements. But God will not be left without witnesses. The one-hour laborers will be brought in at the eleventh hour and will consecrate their ability and all their entrusted means to advance the work. These will receive the reward for their faithfulness because they are true to principle and shun not their duty to declare the whole counsel of God. When those who have had abundance of light, Adventists, throw off the restraint which the Word of God imposes and make void His law, others will come in to fill their places and take their crowns. Adventism is tested before the Sunday Law and when they flunk the test, then the Sunday Law comes. And the Sunday Law is marked in verses four through six of Revelation 18 with the call to come out of her, my people. It's at the Sunday Law that the eleventh-hour workers come out. Verse one of Revelation 18 is right here. It's the mighty angel coming down, paralleling 1840. And this was fulfilled in notice, Review and Herald, July 5th, 1906. This is not the argument that proves the fulfillment of this. This is just nicely expressing what took place on September 11th. It says, Now comes the word that I've declared that New York is to be swept away by a tidal wave. This I've never said. I have said as I looked at the great buildings going up there story after story, what terrible scenes will take place when the Lord shall arise to shake terribly the earth. Then the words of Revelation 18 verses 1 through 3 will be fulfilled. She doesn't say verses 1 through 4. She says, When the Lord arises to shake terribly the earth, when the mighty buildings in New York City are thrown down, verses 1 through 3 of Revelation 18 are fulfilled. She says, The whole of the 18th chapter of Revelation is a warning of what is coming on the earth, but I have no light in particular in regard to what is coming on New York, only that I know that one day the great buildings there will be thrown down by the turning and overturning of God's power. September 11, 2001 From the light given me I know that destruction is in the world. One word from the Lord, one touch of His mighty power, and these massive structures will fall. Scenes will take place, the fearfulness of which we cannot now imagine. September 11, 2001 The great buildings of New York City came down. The mighty angel of Revelation 18 came down. Revelation 18 verses 1 through 3 was underway being fulfilled. Notice this next quote, Bible Echo August 26, 1895 There are lessons to be learned from the history of the past, and attention is called to these that all may understand that God works on the same lines now that He has ever done. This history here of Revelation 18, it was prefigured by the history of the Millerites, and in the history of the Millerites the dove came down when the message was empowered. That's the divine symbol of Revelation 10, the mighty angel comes down. In the history of Christ, when John the Baptist's message was empowered, you've seen the dove come down upon Christ. In the history of Moses, when Moses' message was empowered, the Lord came down and brought Moses to the test of circumcision. In the history of the three decrees, which is all of these are parallel histories, Cyrus was struggling to fight against the work of the first decree, and it says in Daniel 10 that Michael came down and struggled with him. There's lessons in these histories that point forward to the end of the world. That's what she's emphasizing. There are lessons to be learned from the history of the past, not secular history, biblical history. And attention is called to these that all may understand that God works on the same lines now that He has ever done. His hand is seen in the work and among the nations now just as it has ever, ever since the gospel was first proclaimed to Adam and Eve. Now notice this. There are periods which are turning points in the history of nations and the church. Was 9-11 a turning point in the history of the United States and of the church? 9-11 was a turning point in the history of every nation in the world. Secular historians will tell you that. There are periods which are the turning points in the histories of nations and of the church in the providence of God when these different crises arrive, the light for that time is given. If it is received, there is spiritual progress. If it is rejected, spiritual declension and shipwreck follow. September 11, 2001, the mighty angel came down out of heaven and in agreement with Revelation 10, he had the book of Daniel open in his hand. And the command at that time, and you see these from Revelation 10, was that God's people are to go and take and eat the little book. You see Revelation 10, verses 1-2, 8-10 in your notes. When the mighty angel of Revelation 10 came down, he had the book of Daniel open in his hand and John, representing the Millerites, was commanded to go take the little book, which Mr. White says is the book of Daniel, and eat it. This angel coming down in Revelation 10 is paralleling and prefiguring the angel of Revelation 18. So when he comes down, Adventism has the same command to go take the little book and eat it. When we come back, we will look at what it means for God's people to take and eat the little book. Shall we pray? Heavenly Father, we wish to be among those that understand what it means to eat the little book and that are benefited from accomplishing that work. We ask that you would help us to be among those that swell this loud cry, that our participants in the earth be enlightened with the glory of this message, the glory of your character, and we thank you for the opportunity to consider these things and be among those that do that work. In Jesus' name, Amen. ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪