Part 16 (1/2)
10. The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of G.o.d, 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:
11. And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who wors.h.i.+p the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.
12. Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of G.o.d, and the faith of Jesus.
13. And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors; and their works do follow them.
Another phase of the last reformation is here brought to view--its communicative genius. It not only stands clear from the apostasy, but it sounds the warnings of G.o.d and proclaims his message. The first messenger had a very important message to deliver, even ”the everlasting gospel.” His message was not limited to the inhabitants of ”the earth”--the Apocalyptic earth--only, but included ”every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,” showing that it was of universal importance. It was not a new gospel, but the everlasting gospel, the same gospel preached before the long period of apostasy. There is one phase different, however, and that is that the _nearness_ of the second coming of Christ is a leading feature; the messenger with loud voice warns the people to prepare for the awful judgment just at hand by turning to ”wors.h.i.+p him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.” The apostle Paul cautioned the Thessalonian brethren not to entertain the idea that the advent of Christ was then near at hand, for it could not come until after the great period of apostasy that he predicted; but here is a messenger now claiming that the ”_hour of his judgment is come_”--an event just at hand. He carries his special message to all people; for Jesus declared, ”This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and _then shall the end come_.” Matt. 24:14. This represents the restoration of gospel truth in the reformation that was begun about the year A.D. 1880 and that is now being carried to all nations by a holy ministry.
The nature of this restoration work is clearly shown. Its leading feature is its missionary character, the proclamation of the pure gospel to ”every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people.” Since the days of the apostles the whole gospel has not been boldly declared and carried forward with burning missionary zeal. Romanism and Protestantism have conducted their missionary work and, according to chap. 16:14, their sphere of influence will extend throughout ”the whole world”; but here is clearly set forth the fact that G.o.d has authorized another universal message and world-wide work wholly distinguished from all others. The contrast between the wors.h.i.+pers of the beast and his image and those composing the redeemed company on Mount Sion is so clear, also the nature of the work done by each, that we can not possibly identify them as being one.
This work of conducting a world-wide missionary enterprise may appear to be a gigantic task, but the seeming impossibility vanishes when we consider the fact (to be more fully developed hereafter) that G.o.d calls into this service all his people who are yet under the sectarian yoke.
With this great host already dispersed over the world, the work of making known this last message can and will be accomplished.
The positive statement that the _hour_ of his judgment is come shows that the end is exceedingly near; hence the second and third angels must follow the first in the closest proximity possible in order to introduce their messages before the wrath of G.o.d is poured out upon apostate Christendom. The time is so short that these three messengers can not possibly refer to three distinct reformations in the world; hence they must signify three important phases in the one last reformation that carries the gospel to all nations in the short period of an ”hour,”
which time also includes the final judgment.
A careful study of these three messages will show that they are inseparably connected. The second cry was against Babylon, that she had fallen. Rev. 18:1, 2 proves this fall of Babylon to be a moral one--a giving away to unG.o.dliness, iniquity and all manner of deception.
According to chapter 16:19 the great city of Babylon is composed of three parts, being a confederation of the dragon[10] (heathenism), the beast (Catholicism), and the false prophet (Protestantism). Chap. 16:13, 14. It is evidently to this latter division of Babylon that this second message applies; for Paganism was always a false religion, and Catholicism was always a corrupt one, during whose reign the church of G.o.d, as already shown, was separate. Protestantism, then, was the only part of the great city that could fall morally or spiritually. During the s.p.a.ce of three hundred and fifty years, from the formation of the first Protestant creed, she held reign and authority over the people of G.o.d, who were scattered among her hundreds of opposing sects.
[Footnote 10: That the dragon should be a part of great Babylon seems at first improbable; but in this statement reference is made, not to the dragon in his original, or Pagan, state, but to the form in which he is manifesting himself in these last days to deceive the nations, working in conjunction with apostate Christendom. This phase of the dragon power which brings him into harmony with, and, in reality, a part of, modern Babylon, will be more clearly understood when we come to consider the three unclean spirits that come out of the mouth of the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet (chap. 16:13, 14), and the release of the dragon in chapter 20:7-9.]
In this condition the faithful children of G.o.d, although bearing the mark and name of the beast, longed for restoration of the divine, primitive standard; but in the cloudy atmosphere of that period they could not clearly discern the whole truth. Later, when the full tidings of the everlasting gospel came, there came also a revelation that Babylon is fallen and that G.o.d is calling his people out of confusion just before the end of time.
I call to witness every child of G.o.d who has been with the present reformation from its beginning, if there were not three special phases of the development of the truth, as follows: 1. A wonderful revival of spirituality among a few of G.o.d's chosen ones, caused by the ”everlasting gospel” being revealed to them as never before. 2. The knowledge of the truth and deep experience thus obtained prepared the way for the next step, which was the discovery that the ”churches” were a part of the great Babylon of Revelation and were in a fallen condition, ”a hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.” Chap. 18:2, 3. Hence the cry went up, ”Babylon is fallen, is fallen.” 3. Then followed immediately the message to G.o.d's people to ”flee out of the midst of Babylon and deliver every man his soul,”
warning them that no one could any longer bear the mark of the beast or wors.h.i.+p his image without forfeiting eternal salvation and that the fearful judgments of heaven would soon descend upon every one who refused to obey the message and to walk in the light. The last two phases, which apply to Babylon, are the same and in the same order as the description given in chapter 18:1-4. First, an angel from heaven cries mightily with a strong voice, ”Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen”; and then ”_another voice_” from heaven says, ”COME OUT OF HER, MY PEOPLE.” The three successive phases of the message are now all combined in one, and G.o.d is gathering his holy remnant ”out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day” (Ezek.
34:12) into the one body of Jesus Christ. Halleluiah! John, also, saw this glorious result of the three messages--”And I saw as it were a sea of gla.s.s mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of gla.s.s, having the harps of G.o.d. And they sung the song of Moses the servant of G.o.d [a song of deliverance], and the song of the Lamb [the song of redemption], saying, Great and marvelous are thy works, Lord G.o.d Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou king of saints.” Chap. 15:2, 3. Let all the people of G.o.d rejoice!
”Hail the day so long expected, Hail the year of full release; Zion's walls are now erected, And the watchmen publish peace.
”Now on s.h.i.+loh's wide dominion, Hear the trumpets loudly roar: Babylon's fallen, is fallen, is fallen, Babylon's fallen to rise no more.”
Those of the Lord's people who through lack of sufficient light were yoked up with unbelievers in Protestantism, labored faithfully to upbuild the very sectarian inst.i.tutions that G.o.d was against and that were destined to be destroyed, though they themselves were saved as by fire; but from the time this reformation began the redeemed die in the triumphs of a living faith, and their labors in upbuilding the true cause and kingdom of G.o.d are still blessed and fruitful, being perpetuated in the works that follow them.
”Here is the patience of the saints; here are they that keep the commandments of G.o.d, and the faith of Jesus.” As before mentioned, G.o.d's people during the reign of Romanism expected her universal supremacy to come to an end, and their patience was greatly exercised in waiting for the appointed time to arrive. It came with a great spiritual reformation. Then followed another period of apostasy, during which time G.o.d's people again looked forward to something better in the future.
Many remarkable predictions of this present holiness reformation were uttered by some of the most spiritual saints during the Protestant era, and I can not refrain from mentioning a few of them in this connection.
D'Aubigne: ”The nineteenth century is called to resume the work which the sixteenth century was unable to accomplish.” History of the Reformation, Book XV, Chap. 1.
Fletcher: ”Only He will come with more mercy, and will increase the light that shall be at eventide, according to his promise in Zech. 14:7.
I should rather think that the visions are not yet plainly disclosed; and that the day and hour in which the Lord will begin to make bare his arm openly are still concealed from us. Oh, when will the communion of saints be complete? Lord, hasten the time; and let me have a place among them that love thee, and love one another in sincerity.” This is an extract from a letter written by John Fletcher to Mr. Wesley, dated London, May 26, 1757, as given in Joseph Benson's life of Fletcher, pp.
39, 40.
D'Aubigne again: ”In every age it has been seen how great is the strength of an idea to penetrate the ma.s.ses, to stir nations, and to hurry them, if required, by thousands to the battle-field and to death.
But if so great be the strength of a human idea, what power must not a heaven-descended idea possess, when G.o.d opens to it the gates of the heart! The world has not often seen so much power at work; it was seen, however, in the early days of Christianity, and in the time of the Reformation; and _it will be seen in future_ ages.” Book VI, Chap. 12.
”It has been said that the three last centuries, the sixteenth, the seventeenth, and the eighteenth, may be conceived as an immense battle of three days' duration. We willingly adopt this beautiful comparison.... The first day was the battle of G.o.d, the second the battle of the priest, the third the battle of reason. What will be the fourth? In our opinion, the confused strife, the deadly contest of all these powers together, to _end in the victory of Him to whom triumph belongs_.” Book XI, Chap. 9.