8.) The Three Angels’ Messages Repeated
/Revelation 14:6-13
As I begin this article, I want to introduce the concept that all pertinent messages which were found in the books of Daniel and Revelation by William Miller and his associates in the early Advent movement, must also be understood and experienced by God’s remnant people who will live through the end of time. Here is a sampling of quotes from Ellen White which underscores the importance of a present understanding and application of the truths found in these two books.
“In the great final conflict, Satan will employ the same policy, manifest the same spirit, and work for the same end, as in all preceding ages. That which has been will be, except that the coming struggle will be marked with a terrible intensity such as the world has never witnessed.” GC 11.
“Each of the ancient prophets spoke less of their own time than for ours so that their prophesying is in force for us. The Bible has accumulated and bound up its treasures for the last generation. All the great events and solemn transactions of Old Testament history have been, and are, repeating themselves in these last days.” 3 SM 338, 339.
“All these records of the past are seen to have a new significance; and through them a light is cast upon the future, illuminating the pathway of those who, like the reformers of past ages, will be called, even at the peril of all earthly good, to witness for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.” GC 12.
“We are standing on the threshold of great and solemn events. Many of the prophecies are about to be fulfilled in quick succession. Every element of power is about to set to work. Past history will be repeated; old controversies will arouse to new life, and peril will beset God’s people on every side. Intensity is taking hold of the human family. It is permeating everything upon the earth. . . .
“Study Revelation in connection with Daniel, for history will be repeated.” TM 116.
“The perils of the last days are upon us, and in our work we are to warn the people of the danger they are in. Let not the solemn scenes which prophecy has revealed be left untouched. If our people were half awake, if they realized the nearness of the events portrayed in the Revelation, a reformation would be wrought in our churches, and many more would believe the message. We have no time to lose; God calls upon us to watch for souls as they that must give an account.” TM 118. (Emphasis supplied.)
Notice that she says if our people realized the nearness of the events portrayed in the Revelation, there would be a revival in our churches. What events is she talking about? As a fourth-generation Adventist, I grew up believing that almost everything has already been fulfilled, and all that is left is the preaching of our message to the entire world, the national Sunday law, the latter rain, the loud cry, the close of probation, the plagues, and the second coming, in that order. Since we can’t know when our message has reached everyone on the planet, we are left with looking for the Sunday law to take place for a visible marker to show us that Jesus is really going to come in our generation. Otherwise, we are consigned to “occupy until He comes.”
Back in the 1980’s, one of our daughters attended a well-known SDA institution of higher learning. She observed that some of the students would go to church in the morning, and party in town in the evening. She reported some of them as saying, “When the Sunday-law comes, I will really get in earnest about getting ready for Jesus’ coming.” Now, that is not only a sad comment, but also a very dangerous one! These same people, if they are still members of our church, are now in their 50’s, and could possibly be leaders in their churches – teachers, pastors, elders, deacons, etc. Can you see what my point is? If no internal change has taken place since then, no major spiritual maturation, we may have leaders and laymen who are still waiting for the Sunday law as sign that Jesus’ coming is imminent!
Why is this a dangerous position to be in? Because the Sunday-Sabbath issue is the LAST act in the progression of God’s sealing work. It is a sign that a person is cleansed and ready for Jesus to return! Can you imagine trying to “hurry up and get ready” under the pressure that the Sunday Law will cause God’s people? Can a person be cleansed and sealed from a motive of fear? A holy and righteous character is formed by a love relationship with Jesus, not from a fear of being lost!
It reminds me of the parable of the ten virgins. The five foolish virgins waited too long to get ready for the Bridegroom’s coming. The announcement of His appearing found them unready to go immediately into the wedding. The five wise virgins had prepared ahead of time. They had the extra oil of the Holy Spirit, which I believe they had received as a result of cooperating with Jesus through the cleansing, refining experience of the judgment of the living, in preparation for the final touch of the seal of God in their foreheads. Notice this text in Daniel 12:9, 10:
“Go your way, Daniel, because the words are closed up and sealed until the time of the end. Many will be purified, made spotless and refined, but the wicked will continue to be wicked. None of the wicked will understand, but the wise will understand.” (Emphases supplied.)
What is it that the wise will understand, but the wicked will not understand? I believe it to be the relationship with Jesus that we can have as we cooperate with Him in His work in the second apartment of the heavenly sanctuary, where He is cleansing the records in heaven—first of the righteous dead, and then of the living, and blots out their sins by His precious blood. Many sincere people do not believe that we can—or even should—know when Jesus comes to our name in the judgment of the living. I do not believe this to be true. Without a living, growing, conscious, moment by moment relationship with Jesus, we will continue to struggle with our besetting sins and failings.
Years ago, in 1974, I went through an experience with the Lord in which He revealed to me that He had opened my books, and that He wanted to remove the sins from my record. But in order to do this, He needed my cooperation. As He would reveal them to me, I confessed them and asked for cleansing, healing, and the implanting of His righteous principles in my heart and mind. Before this revelation, I had been crying out to God for help for some repeating sins that I could not seem to overcome. Then one day, He guided me to these quotations from The Great Controversy:
“Those who would share the benefits of the Saviour’s mediation should permit nothing to interfere with their duty to perfect holiness in the fear of God. . . .The subject of the sanctuary and the investigative judgment should be clearly understood by the people of God. All need a knowledge for themselves of the position and work of their great High Priest. Otherwise it will be impossible for them to exercise the faith which is essential at this time, or to occupy the position which God designs them to fill. . . .
“We are now living in the great day of atonement. In the typical service, while the High Priest was making the atonement for Israel, all were required to afflict their souls by repentance of sin and humiliation before the Lord, lest they be cut off from among the people. In like manner, all who would have their names retained in the book of life should now, in the few remaining days of their probation, afflict their souls before God by sorrow for sin and true repentance. There must be deep, faithful searching of heart. . . .
“Though all nations are to pass in judgment before God, yet He will examine the case of each individual with as close and searching scrutiny as if there were not another being upon the earth. Everyone must be tested and found without spot or wrinkle or any such thing. . . .
The judgment is now passing in the sanctuary above. For many years this work has been in progress. Soon—none know how soon—it will pass to the cases of the living. In the awful presence of God our lives are to come up in review. At this time above all others it behooves every soul to heed the Saviour’s admonition, ‘Watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is. If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee.’
When the work of the investigative judgment closes, the destiny of all will have been decided for life or death. . . .
“’Watch ye therefore: . . .lest coming suddenly He find you sleeping.’ Perilous is the condition of those who, growing weary of their watch, turn to the attractions of the world. While the man of business is absorbed in the pursuit of gain, while the pleasure-lover is seeking indulgence, while the daughter of fashion is arranging her adornments,—it it may be in that hour that the judge of all the earth will pronounce the sentence, ‘Thou art weighed in the balances and art found wanting.’” GC 488-491. (Emphases supplied.)
As I read these quotations, the Holy Spirit impressed me that because I HAD been watching and praying diligently for help, He could reveal to me the sins in my life which needed cleansing from the books of heaven, thus bringing me into the judgment of the living. As a result of this experience, I began to understand that the whole sanctuary is a revelation of the way to have an intimate, personal walk with Jesus that brings us into harmony with Him. It is this sacred, loving relationship that allows Jesus to share with us His thoughts and feelings about everything that we go through each day. Thus we can open our hearts to His counsel, correction, and cleansing. For those who believe that we can never know when we come into the judgment of the living, just remember that this is only true if we are sleeping and not watching. As Jesus says in the quotation above: “If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon thee. . . .Watch ye therefore. . . .lest coming suddenly He find you sleeping.” (Emphasis supplied.)
I believe that the cleansing of the sanctuary in heaven takes place as Jesus works in the heart of every believer to remove anything that would prevent His life and character from being fully revealed in our lives. Is it possible for this to take place without our knowledge and cooperation? No, it cannot be, because Jesus forces no one to accept His thoughts and feelings—His character—on every matter. This transaction necessitates our conscious, willing cooperation moment by moment. Therefore, the judgment of the living is not a secret transaction by Jesus in heaven, but a work of the grace of Christ in our hearts and minds. We CAN know when Jesus comes to our names in the judgment of the living, but only if we are watching and praying for full and complete victory over every sin. No sin can be tolerated in the lives of those who are recipients of the free gift of Christ’s righteousness. But this is an ongoing process. Jesus paid the ultimate price for sin by His sacrificial death. Now He lives to cleanse His people from the sins for which He died.
“Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, He sat down at the right hand of God. Since that time He waits for His enemies to be made His footstool, because by one sacrifice He has made perfect forever those who are being made holy. The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First He says: ‘This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.’ Then He adds, ‘Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.’” Heb. 10:11-17. (Emphases supplied.)
Think of it! Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross for our sins has made a way for Him to associate with us so intimately that our minds and wills will become one with His! Ellen White says that “Holiness is agreement with God” (5 T 743). “If man is to become immortal, his mind must be in harmony with God’s mind” (T on SB 116). (Emphases supplied,) So our daily walk with God is to bring us into harmony and agreement with Him on every point. During this process, Jesus does not condemn us, for He has paid the ultimate price for every sin. He just wants us to learn from Him and walk with Him as He shares His thoughts with us. Jesus had a perfect blueprint for us in His mind when He created us in our mother’s womb. As the Psalmist says, “Every day ordained for me was written in your book before one of them came to be.” Ps. 139:16. And Jesus can restore us back to that original blueprint if we let Him. That is what perfection means!
“Christ says of the overcomer, ‘I will not blot out his name out of the book of life.’ The names of all who have once given themselves to God are written in the book of life, and their characters are now passing in revue before Him. Angels of God are weighing moral worth. They are watching the development of character in those now living, to see if their names can be retained in the book of life. A probation is granted us in which to wash our robes of character and make them white in the blood of the Lamb. Who is doing this work? Who is separating from himself sin and selfishness?” 7 BC 960.
I have come to understand that this precious, loving, intimate walk with Jesus through the sanctuary-cleansing experience is the extra oil that is spoken of in the parable of the ten virgins. No wonder the wise virgins could not give this experience to the foolish virgins! Our walk with Jesus is very individualized, and adapted just for us and our special needs. He knows all about our background, our experiences throughout our childhood, and our present lives right now, moment by moment and day by day. He feels our sorrows, sees our needs, and wants to supply us and heal us from His bountiful storehouse of blessings reserved just for us. But we must connect with Him and allow Him to make the changes in our lives that are needed in order to open the door to these blessings.
“The class represented by the foolish virgins . . . have not . . . permitted their old natures to be broken up. . . .They have been content with a superficial work. They do not know God. They have not studied His character; they have not held communion with Him; therefore they do not know how to trust, how to look and live. Their service to God degenerates into a form.” COL 411.
“If they cherish hereditary and cultivated traits of character, while professing to be His disciples, they are represented by the foolish virgins.” 4 BC 1179.
At this point, I want to focus more directly upon the precious messages that God gave to His Advent people at the beginning of our movement that has made us unique from all other churches. These messages started our journey as a called-out people, and pointed us to the Promised Land of our heavenly home. We know them to be the three angel’s messages of Revelation 14. What did these messages mean to our pioneers? It was these messages that separated the Advent movement from the other Protestant churches, and gave a special meaning and purpose for our existence as a people. These messages are the story of our pioneers who preached the imminent coming of Jesus, rediscovered the seventh-day Sabbath, and gave a judgment-hour message that went around the world. But the purpose for these messages was only beginning in their day. The real import and purpose of these messages will be fully understood and preached with power at the very culmination of history, just before probation closes. By the quotations below, I hope to show that what has been will be again, only with more power and authority under the latter rain of the Holy Spirit.
“This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. . . .Therefore every teacher of the law who has been instructed about the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old.’” Matt. 13:49-52. (Emphases supplied.)
“By the mighty cleaver of truth, the messages of the first, second, and third angels, He has separated them from the churches and from the world to bring them into a sacred nearness to Himself. . . .The three angels of Revelation 14 represent the people who accept the light of God’s messages and go forth as His agents to sound the warning throughout the length and breadth of the earth. Christ declares to His followers: ‘Ye are the light of the world.’” 5 T 455, 456.
Our forefathers preached the messages from heaven as they received them. These messages were a reflection of the experiences they were going through and the truths they were learning.
“But the people were not yet ready to meet their Lord. There was still a work of preparation to be accomplished for them. Light was to be given, directing their minds to the temple of God in heaven; and as they should by faith follow their High Priest in His ministration there, new duties would be revealed. Another message of warning and instruction was to be given to the church.
“’Says the prophet: “Who may abide the day of His coming? And who shall stand when He appeareth? For He is like a refiner’s fire, and like fuller’s soap: and He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and He shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness.” Mal. 3:2, 3. Those who are living upon the earth when the intercession of Christ shall cease in the sanctuary above, are to stand in the sight of a holy God without a mediator. Their robes must be spotless, their characters must be purified from sin by the blood of sprinkling. Through the grace of God and their own diligent effort, they must be conquerors in the battle with evil. While the investigative judgment is going forward in heaven, while the sins of penitent believers are being removed from the sanctuary, there is to be a special work of purification, of putting away of sin, among God’s people upon earth. This work is more clearly presented in the messages of Revelation 14.
“When this work shall have been accomplished, the followers of Christ will be ready for His appearing.” GC 424, 425. (Emphases supplied).
I believe that this special work of purification which Jesus performs just before He steps out of the Most Holy Place is the judgment of the living. Then, when all sin has been revealed and overcome, Jesus can blot out the sins of the righteous and close His ministration in the heavenly sanctuary, preparatory to His triumphant return to earth in power and glory at His second coming.
“As the books of record are opened in the judgment, the lives of all who have believed on Jesus come in review before God. . . .All who have truly repented of sin, and by faith claimed the blood of Christ as their atoning sacrifice, have had pardon entered against their names in the books of heaven; as they have become partakers of the righteousness of Christ, and their characters are found to be in harmony with the law of God, their sons will be blotted out, and they themselves will be accounted worthy of eternal life.” GC 483.
“The work of the investigative judgment and the blotting out of sins is to be accomplished before the second advent of the Lord. . . .When the investigative judgment closes, Christ will come, and His reward will be with Him to give to every man as his work shall be.” GC 485.
At least four generations have passed since the truths of the investigative judgment and the cleansing of the sanctuary were first preached. Yet it is perhaps the most misunderstood and feared doctrine of our faith because we have generally perceived the judgment of the living to be a secret process which would only be disclosed to us after it was too late to make any changes in our character. This mistake is almost equal in importance with the misunderstanding of William Miller and his associates, who believed that the earth was the sanctuary which would be cleansed at Christ’s appearing! This error about the judgment keeps many struggling saints either focusing upon themselves and their sinful condition, or giving up to the alternate belief that free grace covers our sins until Jesus comes and changes our carnal nature. It is left to our generation to correct this error and give people hope and assurance that Jesus is now doing a special work of cleansing in the heavenly sanctuary which will produce the finished product of His grace!
“He is cleansing the heavenly sanctuary. Let us enter there, by faith. Provision has been made for our cleansing. A fountain has been opened for sin and uncleanness. Ask in faith for the grace of God and you will not ask in vain.” R&H, May 28, 1889.
Once this misunderstanding has been corrected and the cleansing grace of Jesus fully experienced in the lives of God’s people, they will be ready to preach the three angel’s messages through the power of the Holy Spirit, which will then swell into the loud cry of the fourth angel of Revelation 18:4:
“Come out of her, my people, so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues.”
It will again be a separating message for the people of earth—the last one they will hear before probation closes, and the seven last plagues fall upon the unsaved. Here are some quotations from Ellen White which will help to clarify the importance of the work before us:
“For His church in every generation God has a special truth and a special work.” COL 78.
“In every age there is a new development of truth, a message of God to the people of that generation.” COL 127.
“The proclamation of the first, second and third angels’ messages has been located by the word of inspiration. . . .It is just as essential now as ever before that they shall be repeated to those who are seeking for the truth. By pen and voice we are to sound the proclamation, showing their order, and the application of the prophecies that bring us to the third angel’s message. There cannot be a third without the first and second. These messages we are to give to the world in publications, in discourses, showing in the line of prophetic history the things that have been, and the things that will be.” CW 26, 27.
“Many who embraced the third message had not had an experience in the two former messages. Satan understood this, and his evil eye was upon them to overthrow them; but the third angel was pointing them the way to the heavenly sanctuary. Many saw the perfect chain of truth in the angels’ messages, and gladly received them in their order, and followed Jesus by faith into the heavenly sanctuary. These messages were represented to me as an anchor to the people of God. Those who understand and receive them will be kept from being swept away by the many delusions of Satan.” EW 256. (Emphasis supplied.)
“The message of the second angel did not reach its complete fulfillment in 1844. The churches then experienced a moral fall; . . . but that fall was not complete. As they have continued to reject the special truths for this time they have fallen lower and lower. . . .
“God still has a people in Babylon; and before the visitation of His judgments these faithful ones must be called out, that they ‘partake not of her sins and receive not of her plagues.’ This is the same message that was given by the second angel. . . .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’. . . . And in the loud cry of the third angel’s message a voice is heard from heaven saying, ‘Come out of her, my people.’” Maranatha 171.
“In these last days it is our duty to ascertain the full meaning of the first, second, and third angels’ messages.” LDE 68.
How essential it is for us to fully understand and experience the three angels’ messages for our time! How can we share something with power that we have never internalized and experienced for ourselves? These messages are not simply doctrines of our church. They were experienced by our forefathers, and they must be experienced by us now! We must understand and experience the gospel message of the first angel, which includes the cleansing power of Jesus’ second apartment work of judgment, and the Sabbath-seal of God upon our minds which signifies that the world and sin has no more allurement or power over us.
“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.” Rev. 14:6, 7 KJV.
We must be willing to preach an unpopular message to the world that the nominal churches of today are fallen and are imbibing the wine of Babylon. Many honest children of God are deceived by the false doctrines which are being taught today! They must hear the clear message of the second angel.
“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.” Rev. 14:8 KJV.
We must not cloak the clear warning message of the third angel which identifies the work of the beast of Revelation 13 whose deadly wound will be healed in the last remnant of time, and will lead the whole world astray except for God’s true remnant.
“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 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.” Rev. 14:9-12 KJV.
“In the very time in which we live, the Lord has called His people and has given them a message to bear. He has called them to expose the wickedness of the man of sin.” Ev 705. (Emphasis supplied.)
“The sins of Babylon will be laid open. The fearful results of enforcing the observances of the church by civil authority, the inroads of spiritualism, the stealthy but rapid inroads of the papal power—all will be unmasked.” GC 606. (Emphasis supplied.)
“Let us not cringe and beg pardon of the world for telling them the truth. . . .Let it be understood that Seventh-day Adventists can make no compromise. . . .The world has a right to know what to expect of us.” CW 95. (Emphasis supplied.)
As our forefathers gave up everything they had to give these messages to their generation, so must we, the final remnant of God’s people, give our lives and means for the proclamation of these truths to the world at the very time when we can see without a doubt that these prophecies are taking place before our eyes. Let us not delay or hesitate as did Lot’s wife, for it may cost us our lives. We are a people with the most important message that has ever been given to mankind!
“In a special sense, Seventh-day Adventists have been set in the world as watchmen and light-bearers. To them has been entrusted the last warning for a perishing world. On them is shining wonderful light from the word of God. They have been given a work of the most solemn import—the proclamation of the first, second, and third angels’ messages. There is no other work of so great importance. They are to allow nothing else to absorb their attention.” 9 T 19.
“The most solemn truths ever entrusted to mortals have been given us to proclaim to the world. The proclamation of these truths is to be our work.” Ibid.
What a great privilege we have of finishing what the pioneers began! God will have a people who will do His bidding and preach the last warning message that will fully ripen the harvest of the earth.
“Servants of God, with their faces lighted up and shining with holy consecration, will hasten from place to place to proclaim the message from heaven. . . .
“The message will be carried not so much by argument as by the deep conviction of the Spirit of God. The arguments have been presented. The seed has been sown, and now it will spring up and bear fruit. The publications distributed by missionary workers have exerted their influence, yet many whose minds were impressed have been prevented from fully comprehending the truth or from yielding obedience. Now the rays of light penetrate everywhere, the truth is seen in its clearness, and the honest children of God sever the bands which have held them. Family connections, church relations, are powerless to stay them now. Truth is more precious than all besides. Notwithstanding the agencies combined against the truth, a large number take their stand upon the Lord’s side.” GC 612.
Beloved friends, we are living in the evening of earth’s history. The sun is setting quickly, and probation is about to close. Only a small slip of time remains for us to prepare our lives and to work for others. We must lay aside the lethargy of Laodicea, and humbly seek our God for the oil of the Holy Spirit in our lives which will light our way and also shine upon others who are looking for guidance amid the moral and spiritual darkness of our decadent society. We must heed the instruction of the Angel of Revelation 10:11: “Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.” KJV. (Emphasis supplied.) We must preach all the three angels’ messages and their specific application to our generation.
“(Revelation 18:1, 2, 4 quoted). This scripture points forward to a time when the announcement of the fall of Babylon, as made by the second angel of Revelation 14, is to be repeated, with the additional mention of the corruptions which have been entering the various organizations that constitute Babylon, since that message was first given, in the summer of 1844. A terrible condition of the religious world is here described.” GC 603.
“The angel who unites in the proclamation of the third angel’s message, is to lighten the whole earth with his glory. A work of world-wide extent and unwonted power is here foretold. . . .
“The work will be similar to that of the day of Pentecost. As the ‘former rain’ was given . . . at the opening of the gospel . . . so the ‘latter rain’ will be given at its close, for the ripening of the harvest. “. . .The great work of the gospel is not to close with less manifestation of the power of God than marked its opening.” GC 611.
“When the third angel’s message closes, mercy no longer pleads for the guilty inhabitants of the earth. The people of God have accomplished their work. They have received ‘the latter rain,’ ‘the refreshing from the presence of the Lord,’ and they are prepared for the trying hour before them. Angels are hastening to and fro in heaven. An angel returning from the earth announces that his work is done; the final test has been brought upon the world, and all who have proved themselves loyal to the divine precepts have received ‘the seal of the living God.’ Then Jesus ceases His intercession in the sanctuary above. He lifts His hands, and with a loud voice says, ‘It is done.’” GC 613. (Emphasis supplied.)
(Please note that the Sabbath-Sunday issue is the final test. But the preparation for this test has come before that time.)
In my closing remarks, I want to point back to the first angel’s message of judgment. Our forefathers preached this message which announced the beginning of Christ’s ministry in cleansing the heavenly sanctuary of the sins of His people. We are now living in the closing moments of His work there, which is the judgment of the living and the blotting out of sins from the heavenly records. Do you think it is possible to effectively preach this message if we have no experiential knowledge of this for ourselves? If not, we are consigned to preaching the historic message and experience of our pioneers. That certainly is precious truth, but what we need is present truth that is fresh from the heavenly sanctuary and applicable for our time! Otherwise, there will be no power, no conviction that will reach the hearts of people who are hungering for answers which will heal their souls and answer their questions about the meaning of the momentous times in which we are living!
The 144,000 who will be redeemed alive from the earth will “follow the Lamb wherever He goes.” Rev. 14:4. They don’t stop in the beginning of the sanctuary cleansing work, but follow Him all the way until their own lives are cleansed by His closing ministry there. This is why it can be said of them, “No lie was found in their mouths; they are blameless.” Vs. 5. This is why they are the representatives, or “first fruits” of all who have ever lived upon the earth (Vs. 4). It is because they follow Jesus all the way through the final cleansing of the sins which are recorded in the sanctuary, experience the blotting out of their sins, and thus will live through the end without seeing death. Don’t you want to allow Jesus to do this closing work in and for you? If you do, you will have a part in honoring God both now and throughout eternity by being an example of what the grace of Christ can do for fallen sinners like us. May we glorify our precious Lord by following Him through to the end!
