Daniel & Revelation

 

1. When was the second angel’s message given?

Answer: The second angel’s message was given just after the proclamation of the first in the summer of 1844. Because most of the churches rejected the first angel’s message, the cry “Babylon is fallen” was given as a warning to the true followers of Christ who still remained in those churches. However, this message will also be re-proclaimed again in the future just before the second coming of Christ.

 <The second angel’s message had its initial sounding early in the summer of 1844 in the call to the advent believers to come out of the nominal churches that had rejected the proclamation of the first angel’s message. When the churches spurned the counsel of God by rejecting the Advent message, the Lord rejected them. The first angel was followed by a second, proclaiming, “Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.” [REV. 14:8{EW 304.1}…While it is true that the second angel’s message continues to be present truth, there was a climatic closing up of the second angel’s message immediately preceding October 22, 1844. When the messages of the three angels come prominently before the world again just before the second advent of Christ… {EW 301.1}

 2. Who did the second angel’s message have a more direct application to?

Answer: The second angel’s message is specifically directed to two groups of people within the protestant churches in 1844 {particularly in the United States). The first group is mentioned in the message: “Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.” This group is the people who rejected the first angel’s message. The other group is the one that accepted the first angel’s message and was proclaiming the second as a warning.

 <The second angel’s message of Revelation 14 was first preached in the summer of 1844, and it then had a more direct application to the churches of the United States, where the warning of the judgment had been most widely proclaimed and most generally rejected, and where the declension in the churches had been most rapid. {GC 389.2} When the churches spurned the counsel of God by rejecting the Advent message, the Lord rejected them. The first angel was followed by a second, proclaiming, “Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.” [REV. 14:8] This message was understood by Adventists to be an announcement of the moral fall of the churches in consequence of their rejection of the first message….as the result, about fifty thousand withdrew from these churches.  {4SP 232.1}

 3.Why was the second angel’s message given?

Answer: The second angel’s message was given to announce that the protestant churches had become the third part of Babylon (when they rejected the first angel’s message).  When many of the members realized that their churches were now becoming Babylon, quite a few decided to leave their church if it rejected the first angel’s message. The second angel’s message was also given to get them ready for the sounding of the third angel’s message, which would “show the way into the most holy place.” The midnight cry was associated with the second angel’s message, and also prepared them to accept the new discoveries about Jesus’ new ministry in the Most Holy place.

< The first angel was followed by a second, proclaiming, “Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.” [REV. 14:8] This message was understood by Adventists to be an announcement of the moral fall of the churches in consequence of their rejection of the first message. The proclamation, “Babylon is fallen,” was given in the summer of 1844, and as the result, about fifty thousand withdrew from these churches.  {4SP 232.1} But the beloved of God, who were oppressed, accepted the message, “Babylon is fallen,” and left the churches.  {EW 237.2} The second angel’s message…in the summer of 1844 in the call to the advent believers to come out of the nominal churches that had rejected the proclamation of the first angel’s message. {EW 304.1} Those who rejected the first message could not be benefited by the second; neither were they benefited by the midnight cry, which was to prepare them to enter with Jesus by faith into the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary. And by rejecting the two former messages, they have so darkened their understanding that they can see no light in the third angel’s message, which shows the way into the most holy place. {EW 260.1}

4.What were the consequences to the churches when they rejected the first angel’s message?

 Answer: When the churches rejected the first angel’s message, the consequence was that they became a part of spiritual Babylon. The churches fell both morally and away from God’s favor. Now they were unable to discern the truths in the three angels’s messages concerning Jesus’ ministry in the Most Holy Place.

 < The term “Babylon” is derived from “Babel,” and signifies confusion. It is employed in Scripture to designate the various forms of false or apostate religion. {GC 381.1}…the rejection of the truth convert the church into Babylon.{1MR 302.2}The churches then experienced a moral fall, in consequence of their refusal of the light of the advent message; {GC 389.2}As the churches refused to receive the first angel’s message, they rejected the light from heaven and fell from the favor of God. They trusted to their own strength, and by opposing the first message placed themselves where they could not see the light of the second angel’s message. {EW 237.2}Those who rejected the first message could not be benefited by the second; neither were they benefited by the midnight cry, which was to prepare them to enter with Jesus by faith into the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary. And by rejecting the two former messages, they have so darkened their understanding that they can see no light in the third angel’s message, which shows the way into the most holy place.   I saw that as the Jews crucified Jesus, so the nominal churches had crucified these messages, and therefore they have no knowledge of the way into the most holy, and they cannot be benefited by the intercession of Jesus there. Like the Jews, who offered their useless sacrifices, they offer up their useless prayers to the apartment which Jesus has left; and Satan, pleased with the deception, assumes a religious character, and leads the minds of these professed Christians to himself, working with his power, his signs and lying wonders, to fasten them in his snare. {EW 260.1}

5.What is the “action step” of the second angel’s message?

    Answer: The “action step” of the second angel’s message is the call to come out of Babylon – out from among the churches that have rejected the first angel’s message, and be separate from those even in our own churches who aren’t truly following God, for “Behold! The Bridegroom cometh…”

<As the churches refused to receive the first angel’s message, they rejected the light from heaven and fell from the favor of God. They trusted to their own strength, and by opposing the first message placed themselves where they could not see the light of the second angel’s message. But the beloved of God, who were oppressed, accepted the message, “Babylon is fallen,” and left the churches.  {EW 237.2}Near the close of the second angel’s message, [SEE APPENDIX BELOW.] I saw a great light from heaven shining upon the people of God. The rays of this light seemed bright as the sun. And I heard the voices of angels crying, “Behold, the Bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet Him!”  {EW 238.1}In every part of the land, light was given upon the second angel’s message, and the cry melted the hearts of thousands. It went from city to city, and from village to village, until the waiting people of God were fully aroused. In many churches the message was not permitted to be given, and a large company who had the living testimony left these fallen churches. A mighty work was accomplished by the midnight cry. The message was heart-searching, leading the believers to seek a living experience for themselves. They knew that they could not lean upon one another. {EW 238.3}Furthermore, in the eighteenth chapter of the Revelation the people of God are called upon to come out of Babylon. According to this scripture, many of God’s people must still be in Babylon. And in what religious bodies are the greater part of the followers of Christ now to be found? Without doubt, in the various churches professing the Protestant faith. At the time of their rise these churches took a noble stand for God and the truth, and His blessing was with them. Even the unbelieving world was constrained to acknowledge the beneficent results that followed an acceptance of the principles of the gospel. In the words of the prophet to Israel: “Thy renown went forth among the heathen for thy beauty: for it was perfect through my comeliness, which I had put upon thee, saith the Lord God.” But they fell by the same desire which was the curse and ruin of Israel–the desire of imitating the practices and courting the friendship of the ungodly. “Thou didst trust in thine own beauty, and playedst the harlot because of thy renown.” Ezekiel 16:14, 15. {GC 382.3} “Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord…and I will receive you.”-2Cr.6:17. This “action step” is seen more clearly in the light of the Midnight Cry.  The Midnight Cry was closely associated with the second angel’s message; it stated, “…go ye out to meet Him!”  Evidently, they were “in” someplace that they were supposed to leave.  The people who hear the second angel’s message are supposed to “go out” of Babylon to meet Jesus. {J. Sharley}

6.When was the climatic closing up of the second angel’s message?

 < The second angel’s message had its initial sounding early in the summer of 1844 in the call to the advent believers to come out of the nominal churches that had rejected the proclamation of the first angel’s message. And while it is true that the second angel’s message continues to be present truth, there was a climatic closing up of the second angel’s message immediately preceding October 22, 1844. When the messages of the three angels come prominently before the world again just before the second advent of Christ, the angel of revelation 18:1 joins in the proclamation of the second angel in the message that “Babylon is fallen.” “Come out of her, my people.” See the chapter “The Final Warning” in the Great Controversy, pages 603-312{EW 304.1}

7.What was the Midnight Cry?

“And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.”- Matthew 25:6

 8.When was the Midnight Cry given?

 Answer: The Midnight cry was given in the early summer of 1844, and just shortly before the expected return of Christ on October 22, 1844.

 <The second angel’s message had its initial sounding early in the summer of 1844…. there was a climatic closing up of the second angel’s message immediately preceding October 22, 1844. {EW 304.1} Near the close of the second angel’s message, [SEE APPENDIX BELOW.] I saw a great light from heaven shining upon the people of God. The rays of this light seemed bright as the sun. And I heard the voices of angels crying, “Behold, the Bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet Him!”  {EW 238.1}

 9.What was the purpose of the Midnight Cry?

 Answer: The Midnight cry was given along with the second angel’s message as a call for God’s true church to come out and separate from Babylon. Babylon in this context is symbolized as a false prophet. The second angel’s message and the midnight cry is more than a call to physically come out of the heretic churches, but a call to spiritually come out and have a real relationship with God. The Midnight cry is a warning of Christ’s soon return, and a call to examine our lives and hearts so we will be ready when the bridegroom comes. It was also given to prepare them to enter the Most Holy place in the heavenly sanctuary with Jesus.

<This was the midnight cry, which was to give power to the second angel’s message. Angels were sent from heaven to arouse the discouraged saints and prepare them for the great work before them. The most talented men were not the first to receive this message. Angels were sent to the humble, devoted ones, and constrained them to raise the cry, “Behold, the Bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet Him!” Those entrusted with the cry made haste, and in the power of the Holy Spirit sounded the message, and aroused their discouraged brethren. This work did not stand in the wisdom and learning of men, but in the power of God, and His saints who heard the cry could not resist it. The most spiritual received this message first, and those who had formerly led in the work were the last to receive and help swell the cry, “Behold, the Bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet Him!” {EW 238.2}It went from city to city, and from village to village, until the waiting people of God were fully aroused. In many churches the message was not permitted to be given, and a large company who had the living testimony left these fallen churches. A mighty work was accomplished by the midnight cry. The message was heart-searching, leading the believers to seek a living experience for themselves. They knew that they could not lean upon one another. {EW 238.3}…the midnight cry, which was to prepare them to enter with Jesus by faith into the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary. {EW 260.1}

 10.For those who had received the first angel’s message, how did the Midnight Cry prepare them to enter with Jesus by faith into the Most Holy place of the heavenly sanctuary?

 Answer: The Midnight cry helped people to wake up to the reality that time is short, and caused them to strive to get to know God for themselves. This cry encouraged them to have a personal relationship with God, and get a more firm foundation in their faith. After the Great disappointment in 1844 (when Christ did not come when He was expected), only those who were firmly grounded in their faith were not shaken. Instead, they were all the more driven to study and find out the truths concerning the three angel’s messages and Christ’s work in the Heavenly Sanctuary. Just as after the great disappointment, in the last days only those who have a firm foundation in their faith and a real relationship with Christ will not be shaken. They will stand ready to enter into the glories of the Most Holy place with God and Christ their savior.

 < A mighty work was accomplished by the midnight cry. The message was heart-searching, leading the believers to seek a living experience for themselves. They knew that they could not lean upon one another. {EW 238.3}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 they that “received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved,” will be left to receive “strong delusion, that they should believe a lie.” 2 Thessalonians 2:9-11. The change is a progressive one, and the perfect fulfillment of Revelation 14:8 is yet future.  {GC 389.3}Notwithstanding the spiritual darkness and alienation from God that exist in the churches which constitute Babylon, the great body of Christ’s true followers are still to be found in their communion…Not a few are dissatisfied with their present condition and are longing for clearer light. They look in vain for the image of Christ in the churches with which they are connected. As these bodies depart further and further from the truth, and ally themselves more closely with the world, the difference between the two classes will widen, and it will finally result in separation. The time will come when those who love God supremely can no longer remain in connection with such as are “lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof.”  {GC 390.1}

 11.Just as Jesus cleansed the temple both at the beginning and at the end of His public Ministry, so in the last work for the warning of the world, two distinct calls are made to the churches. What are the two distinct calls to the churches, and when are these two calls made?

Answer: The first of the two calls is the second angels’ message, given in the summer of 1844. “Babylon is fallen, is fallen…” The second call is the loud cry given by the angel in Revelation 18. The angel calls the true followers of Christ who are still in “Babylon” to “come out of her, my people…” These messages were proclaimed back in 1844, and have been proclaimed from that time on. These messages will be specifically given again just before the second coming of Christ.

<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 is fallen, is 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 ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities” {RH Dec. 6, 1892 – 7BC 985.5} The second angel’s message had its initial sounding early in the summer of 1844 in the call to the advent believers to come out of the nominal churches that had rejected the proclamation of the first angel’s message. And while it is true that the second angel’s message continues to be present truth, there was a climatic closing up of the second angels’ message immediately preceding October 22, 1844. When the messages of the three angels come prominently before the world again just before the second advent of Christ, the angel of Revelation 18:1 joins in the proclamation of the second angel in the message that “Babylon is fallen.” “Come out of her my people.” {EW 304.1}

12.Why are there only two distinct calls made to the churches?

 Answer: There are only two calls made to the churches because they go along with two events happening in the Heavenly Sanctuary. The first call was when Jesus began the judgment. The second call was given as a warning to take the time we have left seriously and get right with God before probation closes, because Christ would soon finish His work in the Most Holy Place. These two messages are given all during Christ’s work in the sanctuary, but no new calls are made in between them because no new events took place in the Heavenly Sanctuary.