Daniel & Revelation

(Just a note – there’s still one more question to answer, but we haven’t had the presentation on it yet, so this is almost compete.)

1.      What is the core content of the third angel’s message?

Answer: The core content of the third angel’s message is two-fold: 1. Jesus’ mediation in the Most Holy Place, and 2. The unchanging authority of God’s Law.

< Those who had accepted the light concerning the mediation of Christ and the perpetuity of the law of God, found that these were the truths brought to view in the third message. {4SP 275.2}As the ministration of Jesus closed in the holy place, and He passed into the holiest, and stood before the ark containing the law of God, He sent another mighty angel with a third message to the world…he proclaimed a fearful warning, with the most terrible threatening ever borne to man. The third angel closes his message thus: “Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” As he repeated these words, he pointed to the heavenly sanctuary. The minds of all who embrace this message are directed to the most holy place, where Jesus stands before the ark, making His final intercession for all those for whom mercy still lingers and for those who have ignorantly broken the law of God. {EW 254.1

2.    When did Jesus send the third angel’s message?

Answer: Jesus sent the third angel’s message just as He started His new job in the Most Holy Place, in 1844.

<As foretold in the Scriptures, the ministration of Christ in the most holy place began at the termination of the prophetic days in 1844. {4SP 273.2} When Christ entered the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary to perform the closing work of the atonement, he committed to his servants the last message of mercy to be given to the world. Such is the warning of the third angel of Revelation 14. Immediately following its proclamation, the Son of man is seen by the prophet coming in glory to reap the harvest of the earth.{ 4SP 273.1}

 

3.      How did the third angel light up the past, the present, and the future to the early advent believers after the passing of the time in 1844?

Answer: The third angel brought light to the past by explaining what event really took place in 1844. They had thought that Jesus was returning to earth to cleanse the sanctuary (Daniel 8:14), but in reality Christ had gone in to begin the work of cleansing the Heavenly Sanctuary. The third angel’s message helped them to find their errors by studying the sanctuary. The third angel’s message lit up the present by clarifying what Christ is currently doing in the Heavenly Sanctuary, and by illuminating the law of God. When they realized that the law of God (particularly the 4^th commandment) was extremely necessary, the people saw that they needed to change their lives – they needed to keep the whole law, and live in the context of what was going on in Heaven. The third angel lit up the future by showing what will be going on in the sanctuary until the close of probation. The angel also pointed forward to the great struggle that they would go through and the consequences of those who refused to keep God’s law.

<Light from the sanctuary illumined the past, the present, and the future.{GC 424.1} After Jesus opened the door of the most holy, the light of the Sabbath was seen, and the people of God were tested, as the children of Israel were tested anciently, to see if they would keep God’s law. I saw the third angel pointing upward, showing the disappointed ones the way to the holiest of the heavenly sanctuary. As they by faith enter the most holy, they find Jesus, and hope and joy spring up anew. I saw them looking back, reviewing the past, from the proclamation of the second advent of Jesus, down through their experience to the passing of the time in 1844. They see their disappointment explained, and joy and certainty again animate them. The third angel has lighted up the past, the present, and the future, and they know that God has indeed led them by His mysterious providence.{ EW 254.2}

4. Why does the evangelical Christian world not accept the truth of Christ’s change of ministration from the holy place to the most holy place in 1844?

Answer: The evangelical Christian world doesn’t accept the truth of Christ’s change of ministration in the sanctuary because if they did, they would have to accept the truth about the Sabbath being on Saturday. Most Christians would rather keep tradition and keep Sunday as their holy day. Within the Most Holy Place is the ark of the covenant, which contains the ten commandments, which contains the message of the Sabbath.

<They had by faith followed their High Priest from the holy to the most holy, and they saw him pleading his blood before the ark of God. Within that sacred ark is the Father’s law, the same that was spoken by God himself amid the thunders of Sinai, and written with his own finger on the tables of stone. Not one command has been annulled; not a jot or title has been changed. While God gave to Moses a copy of his law, he preserved the great original in the sanctuary above. Tracing down its holy precepts, the seekers for truth found, in the very bosom of the Decalogue, the fourth commandment, as it was first proclaimed: “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy…” [Ex. 20:8-11]{ 4SP 273.3} Many and earnest were the efforts made to overthrow their faith. None could fail to see that if the earthly sanctuary was a figure or pattern of the heavenly, the law deposited in the ark on earth was an exact transcript of the law in the ark in Heaven, and that an acceptance of the truth concerning the heavenly sanctuary involved an acknowledgment of the claims of God’s law, and the obligation of the Sabbath of the fourth commandment. Here was the secret of the bitter and determined opposition to the harmonious exposition of the Scriptures that brought to view the ministration of Christ in the heavenly sanctuary.{4SP 275.1

5. How is the message of justification by faith the third angel’s message?

Answer: The third angle’s message proclaims the importance of keeping God’s law (the Ten Commandments). God organized it so that when we keep His commandments, we know that we are made whole – we have received the righteousness of Christ. “Now by this we know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.”-1John 2:3. “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.”-John 17:3. When we accept God’s authority in our lives and keep His commandments, it is our evidence that we have been justified by faith. This is made evident when we obey God to the best of our ability. In this way, the third angel’s message corresponds with justification by faith.

< Several have written to me, inquiring if the message of justification by faith is the third angel’s message, and I have answered, “It is the third angel’s message in verity.”– Review and Herald, April 1, 1890.  {Ev 190.3} This message was to bring more prominently before the world the uplifted Saviour, the sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. It presented justification through faith in the Surety; it invited the people to receive the righteousness of Christ, which is made manifest in obedience to all the commandments of God. Many had lost sight of Jesus. They needed to have their eyes directed to His divine person, His merits, and His changeless love for the human family. All power is given into His hands, that He may dispense rich gifts unto men, imparting the priceless gift of His own righteousness to the helpless human agent. This is the message that God commanded to be given to the world. It is the third angel’s message, which is to be proclaimed with a loud voice, and attended with the outpouring of His Spirit in a large measure. –Testimonies to Ministers, pp. 91-93. (1896) {Ev 190.4}

6.  What is the purpose of the numbering system for the angels’ messages of Revelation 14?

Answer: The numbering systems simply shows the order in which the messages were given chronologically. After these three messages are proclaimed, they will be given again as a whole.

< The three messages are but one threefold message. They are three only in the order of their rise. But having risen, they go on together and are inseparable.  {GC 693 appendix} These messages all blend in one, to come before the people in the closing days of this earth’s history.   {2SM 116.2}

7. How do the first, second, and third angel’s messages all blend into one?

Answer: These three messages blend together because each one builds upon the one previously given. All three messages emphasize the central point of the mediation of Christ and the perpetuity of the law of God. The first angel’s message is a call to worship God and keep His commandments for “the hour of his judgment is come.”- referring to Christ’ new job in the Most Holy Place. The second angel’s message is a warning to those who reject the first messages – who reject keeping God’s law and Jesus’ mediation during the judgment. It explains that these people become part of Babylon. The third angel’s message elaborately describes the consequences of those who reject the first and second messages. It continues to point to the importance of God’s commandments and Christ’s work in the Heavenly Sanctuary. It finishes “Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God”. It puts emphasis on the commandments, and points to the believers in the Most Holy Place where the law is kept.

< Thus the substance of the second angel’s message is again given to the world by that other angel who lightens the earth with his glory. These messages all blend in one, to come before the people in the closing days of this earth’s history.{2SM 116.2} A threefold message – Revelation 14:6, 7 foretells the proclamation of the first angel’s message. Then the prophet continues: “There followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen is fallen…and the third angel followed them.” The word here rendered “followed” means “to go along with,” “to follow one,” “go with him” (see Henry George Liddell and Robert Scott, Greek English Lexicon (OXFORD: Clarendon Press, 1940), Vol. 1, pg. 52.) It also means “to accompany.” (See George Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (Edinburgh: T. and T. Clark, 1950), page 17.) {GC 693.1} Those who had accepted the light concerning the mediation of Christ and the perpetuity of the law of God, found that these were the truths brought to view in the third message. {4SP 275.2}…the third angel’s message, which shows the way into the most holy place.{ EW 260.1} After Jesus opened the door of the most holy, the light of the Sabbath was seen, and the people of God were tested, as the children of Israel were tested anciently, to see if they would keep God’s law. I saw the third angel pointing upward, showing the disappointed ones the way to the holiest of the heavenly sanctuary. {EW 254.2}

8.  How can you show that the mediation of Christ and the perpetuity of the law of God are the truths of the third angel’s message?

Answer: The third angel’s message ends: “here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus”. It shows the difference between two groups of people: those who worship God, and those who worship the Beast. Those who worship God keeps His commandments. Not some of them, not a revised version of them, but the same ones that were spoken to Moses on top of Mt. Sinai. They live by the truth that “Jesus Christ [is] the same yesterday, and today, and forever” (Heb.13:8). As we look at the Ten Commandments, automatically the sanctuary comes into view. The law was kept in the Most Holy Place back in Old Testament times. Correspondingly, in the Heavenly Sanctuary, the original law of God is stored in the Most Holy Place (Heb. 8:5). The law helped point the attention of the believers to Jesus’ new location in His ministry. As previously stated, the three angel’s messages are to be taken as one. We need to take the third angel’s message into context of the first and second.  The third continues the theme of the judgment (which is part of the closing work of atonement) stated in the first angel’s message. The third angel’s message points to the Most Holy Place to show where the first message is fulfilled.

< “After Jesus opened the door of the most holy, the light of the Sabbath was seen, and the people of God were tested, as the children of Israel were tested anciently, to see if they would keep God’s law. I saw the third angel pointing upward, showing the disappointed ones the way to the holiest of the heavenly sanctuary. {EW 254.2}As foretold in the Scriptures, the ministration of Christ in the most holy place began at the termination of the prophetic days in 1844. To this time apply the words of the Revelator, “The temple of God was opened in Heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament.” [REV. 11:19] {4SP 273.2}They had by faith followed their High Priest from the holy to the most holy, and they saw him pleading his blood before the ark of God. Within that sacred ark is the Father’s law, the same that was spoken by God himself amid the thunders of Sinai, and written with his own finger on the tables of stone. Not one command has been annulled; not a jot or title has been changed. While God gave to Moses a copy of his law, he preserved the great original in the sanctuary above. Tracing down its holy precepts, the seekers for truth found, in the very bosom of the Decalogue, the fourth commandment, as it was first proclaimed: “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.” [EX. 20:8] {4SP 273.3}

9. Where is the “here” in Revelation 14:12: “Here is patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God” “and their faith in Jesus.”

Answer: The “here” in this verse refers to the Most Holy Place. When the early advent believers discovered the importance of God’s law and of Jesus’ new job in the Sanctuary, they “entered” by faith into the same compartment. They did this by believing that Christ was in the Sanctuary ministering for mankind, and by making preparation for their judgment day. These believers had the “faith of Jesus” and kept His commandments. I think this verse also applies to anyone that discovers God’s law, decides to keep it, and follows Jesus into the Most Holy Place today.

< The third angel closes his message thus: “Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” As he repeated these words, he pointed to the heavenly sanctuary. The minds of all who embrace this message are directed to the most holy place, where Jesus stands before the ark, making His final intercession for all those for whom mercy still lingers and for those who have ignorantly broken the law of God. {EW 254.1} They had by faith followed their High Priest from the holy to the most holy, and they saw him pleading his blood before the ark of God.” {4SP 273.3}

10. What is the “action step[s]” for the third angel’s message?

Answer: The two main themes of this message are 1) the mediation of Christ in the Most Holy Place, and 2) the perpetuity of God’s law. The “action steps” relates to these two core concepts. It is 1) a call to keep God’s commandments, and 2) to live our lives having the faith that Jesus has entered into the Most Holy Place.

< Those who had accepted the light concerning the mediation of Christ and the perpetuity of the law of God, found that these were the truths brought to view in the third message. {4SP 275.2}   I saw the third angel pointing upward, showing the disappointed ones the way to the holiest of the heavenly sanctuary.{EW 254.2} They had by faith followed their High Priest from the holy to the most holy, and they saw him pleading his blood before the ark of God. Within that sacred ark is the Father’s law…{4SP 273.3}          

11.  What are the two purposes for the warning against the beast and his image contained in the third message?

Answer: The purposes of the warning are 1) to extend Christ’s mercy to all who are willing to accept it, and 2) to warn those in Babylon of the consequences if they refuse to accept Christ’s offer.

< When Christ entered the most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary to perform the closing work of the atonement, he committed to his servants the last message of mercy to be given to the world. Such is the warning of the third angel of Revelation 14. {4SP 273.1} It presented justification through faith in the Surety; it invited the people to receive the righteousness of Christ, which is made manifest in obedience to all the commandments of God. {EW 190.4} The most fearful threatening ever addressed to mortals is contained in the third angel’s message. That must be a terrible sin which calls down the wrath of God unmingled with mercy. Men are not to be left in darkness concerning this important matter; the warning against this sin is to be given to the world before the visitation of God’s judgments, that all may know why they are to be inflicted, and have opportunity to escape them…{GC 449.2}

12. What does it mean to receive the mark of the beast?

Answer: Through the third angel’s message, God warns the world against receiving the mark of the beast. Nobody will get this mark until the time comes when the world has learned of the truth, but refuses to follow it. God will not punish without first sending a warning and offering salvation. Keeping the seventh-day Sabbath is a sign of God’s people (Eze. 20:20). Likewise, keeping the first day of the week is a sign of the Devil’s people ( aka the Mark of the Beast). Receiving the mark of the beast means to persistently reject God’s commandments and Jesus’ mediation for them in the Sanctuary, thus showing allegiance to the beast.

< The third angel’s message has been sent forth to the world, warning men against receiving the mark of the beast or of his image in their foreheads or in their hands.{7BC 979.12} John was called to behold a people distinct from those who worship the beast and his image by keeping the first day of the week. The observance of this day is the mark of the beast.{Letter 31, 1989 – 7BC 979.11}