Understrood correcctly the Three Angels Messages of Revelation 14 begin a final warning call to our dying earth. These messages represent God;s final appeal to a stubborn and unrepentant world on the brink of disaster. God used His preophets before to call His people from a backsliding state into communion with Him. He used Hosea, Jeremiah, Daniel and Exekiel especially to present His love to a people steeped in apostacy. Few responded to the call. Today God is using heavenly messengers to make the same appeal but the consequences are stupendous. Below we will briefly examine these messages.
May the call of God be sounded and answered by as many as possible.
- The First Angel's Message: "And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters." (Revelation 14:6, 7) This message met its partial fulfilment in the preaching of a man called William Miller. Guided by the Spirit of God this man studied the prophecied especially Daniel 8:14 and saw that Christ would return to the earth in the year 1843 at first and then a correction was made and He along with others settled on the date October 22nd 1844. This represented the everlasting gospel being sent to all the world. History records that the message of Christ's return went to all the inhabited world and there was a great expectation to see the Lord in the clouds of Glory. The time passed and there were more messages to follow and more to be learnt.
- The second Angel's Message: "And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication" Revelation 14:8. After the first disappointment in 1843 and the Lord did not come as predicted by William Miller. Lots of scoffers opposed the message to the point of open reidicule and hostility. They even forade members of their churches from attending the meetings of the then called "Millerites." This lead to the development of the call to leave these churches in order to stand for truth which the believers saw from the word of God. Hence fulfilling the call " ... Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication ..." It was not completely fulfilled then but as the churches rejected the preaching of truth,especially the Advent of Jesus Christ, they became part of Spiritual Babylon. The Millerites then recalculated and thought that Jesus would come in October 22nd 1844. So they anxiously waited for their Lord.
- The Third Angels Message: "And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus." (Revelation 14:9-12) After the disappointment of 1844 when the Lord did not come many became discouraged and left the movement. Some joined the scoffers as well but the faithful who remained studied the message and saw it was not the date that was wrong but the event. Christ had not come to the earth as the sanctuary to ceanse it but the sanctuary in heaven. They saw that there were more messages to follow and they cheerfully took up the work of carrying foward the everlasting gospel under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. The truth of the : sabbath, judgement, state of the dead, an understanding prophecy, second coming of Christ, perfection of the saints, the Great Controversty Theme were all made prominent as time went on. God had raised up a movement to give the final call to a dying word of His soon retutn.
May the call of God be sounded and answered by as many as possible.