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    CHAPTER XI. THE THIRD ANGEL’S MESSAGE

    THE answer to that important question for to-day, “What shall we do?” can be given with certainty upon the basis of the Seven Trumpets and the place of the great nations of to-day; because the answer is given by the word of God, upon this very basis.GNT 105.1

    We have seen that inseparably connected with the last three of the Seven Trumpets, are the Three Woes. In the very midst of the Seven Trumpets—after the ending of the Fourth Trumpet, and before the beginning of the Fifth Trumpet—it is written: “And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels which are yet to sound.” Revelation 8:13.GNT 105.2

    That the Three Woes are inseparably connected with the last three of the Seven Trumpets, one with each, is put beyond all question by the fact that, when the Fifth Angel’s sounding is ended, it is written: “One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter.” Revelation 9:12. And when the Sixth trumpet is ended, it is written: “The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly. And the seventh angel sounded.” Revelation 11:15.GNT 105.3

    Now, inseparably connected with this angel which proclaims the coming of the Three Woes, which are inseparably connected with the last three of the Seven Trumpets, is the “Third Angel” of Revelation 14.GNT 106.1

    That this may be seen as also certain beyond all question, let us begin with the Third Angel’s Message of Revelation 14, and trace backward its direct connections to their beginning.GNT 106.2

    The first words in the record concerning “the Third Angel” are: “And the third angel followed them.” Revelation 14:9. This shows that some have gone before, whom the Third Angel “followed.”GNT 106.3

    Take, then, the preceding verse: “And there followed another angel.” This shows that an angel has also preceded this one, which, when this one follows, makes it “another.”GNT 106.4

    Go back now to the sixth verse: “And I saw another angel.” This also certifies that an angel has gone before, which causes this one, as he flies in the midst of heaven, to be “another.”GNT 106.5

    Following back further in the book of Revelation, we find no angel, except the Seventh Trumpet angel, until we come to the first verse of chapter ten; and there we read: “And I saw another mighty angel.” This expression, as before, certifies that, before this one, there is an angel, which, when this one comes forth, causes him to be spoken of as “another.”GNT 106.6

    Following yet further back, we find no angels, except the Sixth and the Fifth Trumpet angels, until we reach the last verse of chapter eight; and there we reach the primal, for we read: “And I beheld, and heard an angel”—not “another angel,” but, primarily, “an angel.”GNT 107.1

    Thus, beginning with Revelation 8:13, there is an unbroken series of angels connected by the word “another,” straight through to the Third Angel of Revelation 14, with his message. Thus:—GNT 107.2

    “I beheld, and heard an angel.” Revelation 8:13.GNT 107.3

    “And I saw another mighty angel.” Revelation 10:1.GNT 107.4

    “And I saw another angel.” Revelation 14:6.GNT 107.5

    “And there followed another angel.” Verse 8.GNT 107.6

    “And the third angel followed them.” Verse 9.GNT 107.7

    Perhaps the following simple diagram will aid in making plain the connection between the angel that announces the Three Woes of the last three of the Seven Trumpets, and the Third Angel’s Message of Revelation 14:—GNT 107.8

    1st Trumpet Revelation 8:7
    2nd Trumpet Revelation 8:8
    3rd Trumpet Revelation 8:10
    4th Trumpet Revelation 8:12 “An angel” — Woe, woe, woe. Revelation 8:13.
    5th Trumpet Revelation 9:1-11/ First Woe
    6th Trumpet Revelation 9:13 to 11:13 Second Woe “Another mighty angel.” Revelation 10:1
    7th Trumpet Revelation 11:13-19 Third Woe “Another angel.” 14:6
    “There followed another.” 14:6
    “The third angel followed them.” 14:9.
    GNT 108.1

    The bearing of all this may now be more fully seen through a consideration of what the Third Angel’s Message really is in itself: On its face the expression “the Third Angel,” clearly has reference to the third in a series of three angels. As already signified, this series of three angels, each one bearing a message, is found in the fourteenth chapter of Revelation, verses 6-12. The messages of these three angels blend and culminate in the third, which does not cease to sound until the harvest of the earth is ripe, and made ready for the coming of the Lord to reap it.GNT 109.1

    The Third Angel’s Message itself, as it is announced in the words of the Third Angel, is as follows: “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 forever 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.”GNT 109.2

    This is the Third Angel’s Message as it stands, separated from the other two. But, in fact, it can not be regarded as separate; and can not be made to stand apart as if it alone were a single, separate massage to the world; for the very first words concerning it are: “The Third Angel followed THEM.” Thus, by the very first words of the message itself we are referred not only to the one, but to the two, which preceded it. And the Greek word translated “followed” signifies not following apart, nor only following, but “following with,“ as soldiers follow their captain, or servants their master; therefore, “to follow one in a thing; to let one’s self be led.” When spoken of things, it signifies to follow as a result; to follow “as a consequence of something which had gone before.” Thus, as to persons, the Third Angel follows with the two which have preceded; and his message, as a thing, follows as a result, or consequence, of the which have gone before.GNT 109.3

    But of the Second one also it is written: “And there followed another angel.” As with the Third Angel following the Second, so it is with the Second Angel following the First. And of the First one it is written: “And I saw another angel fly,” etc. This is the first in this series of three. There follows with him another; and the Third Angel follows with them. There is a succession in the order of their rise; but, when the three have in succession risen, then they go on together as one. The First one sounds forth his message; the Second one follows and joins with the First; the Third follows them, and joins with them; so that, when the three are joined, and go on together in their united power, they form a mighty, threefold, loud-voiced message. It takes all to make the Third Angel’s Message complete; and the Third Angel’s Message can not be truly given without the giving of all.GNT 110.1

    What, then, is the threefold message in its respective parts?—Here is the First: “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.”GNT 111.1

    Here is the Second: “And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because the made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.”GNT 111.2

    And here is the Third: “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 forever 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.”GNT 111.3

    A glance at the wording of each of these messages will discover that thought in the Greek work “followed,” which signifies “following as a consequence.” The First bears the everlasting gospel, to preach to every creature, calling upon all to fear God and give glory to Him, and to worship Him; because the hour of His judgment is come. the rejection of this message produces a condition of things which, as the consequence of such rejection, is described in the words of the Second Angel, which follows. And because of the rejection of the First Message; and because of the consequences of that rejection, as announced in the Second; a condition of things is produced, as a further consequence, which requires that the Third Angel shall follow them, proclaiming with a loud voice his dreadful warning against the terrible evils that have been produced as the double consequence of the rejection of the First Message.GNT 112.1

    And that the voice and work of the Third Angel blend with that of the First, is plain from his closing words: “Here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus;” because this is ever the object of the preaching of the everlasting gospel. It is the substance of fearing God and giving glory to him, and of worshiping “him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.” The keeping of the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus is the only thing that will enable any soul to stand in the hour of his judgment, which the first angel declares “is come.”GNT 112.2

    Immediately following the closing words of the Third Angel is “heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth”—from this time forward. Revelation 14:13. And immediately following this are the words, “And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle. And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of earth is ripe. And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped.” Revelation 14:14-16. And “the harvest is the end of the world.” Matthew 13:39.GNT 113.1

    Again: the Third Angel particularly warns all people against the worship of the beast and his image, whatever these may be; and, from Revelation 19:11-21, we find that the beast and his image are “alive” when the Lord comes in the clouds of heaven, and are “both” destroyed with the brightness of his coming.GNT 113.2

    These facts show that the Third Angel’s Message is a mighty, threefold, loud-voiced message, which goes forth to every nation and kindred and tongue and people, just before the second coming of the Lord; and which ripens the harvest of the earth, and makes ready a people prepared for the Lord, just as the message of John the Baptist prepared the way for the first coming of the Lord. And so it is the last, the closing, message of God to the world.GNT 114.1

    And now, having thus an understanding of what the Third Angel’s Message is in itself, the relation of that message to the great nations of to-day can be better discerned by a consideration of The Time of the Third Angel’s Message.GNT 114.2

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