Let's go back and look at anothet point.

Paul points out that Christ and those that rose with him are called "first fruit of the dead.' This then presupposes that there are 2ond fruit of the dead.

When John was shown the 144,000 Revel.14 He was shown the first fruit of the Redeemed or Living.

Paul points out that When Christ comes to gather the saints the Dead are caught up first. These 2ond fruit of the dead. Two ressurections for translation regarding the dead.
1, When Christ arose. Matt. 27:52
2, When Christ comes in his Fathers Glory. 2ond Thess. 4:17

Now it is commonly thought that the 144,000 as seen in Rev. 14, are in heaven, however the sybolism does not share that picture. They are standing with the Lamb. In Rev.19. we see Christ as an Individual comming. But in Rev.14 we see him as a lamb, showing that Probation is still open. Since he is standing on Mt Zion, it shows that he is leading a purified church and they have a work to do. Declare the 3 angels message more fully. Ellen G. White points out that the Message will be given a second time. During the Loud Cry, Servantsof God with there faces lighted up(see Gr. Con. 612,) went from place to place.

As first fruits there is implied that there will be second fruit to follow, or be gathered in. This is in harmony with Gr. Cont..649, and 665.

649, shows the 144,000 being separated from the great multitude.
1, first fruits of the living, sealed for translation --- 144,000

649,665 show great multitude sealed during time of trouble such as their never was, great tribulation. Rev. 7:9-18.

2ond Great multitude sealed called second fruits of the living.


Would suggest reading Early Writings on the shaking.

The reason the 144,000 of the twelve trbes of Israel are called that, is according to Daniel they are the first to have their Names written in the book of like and are lineal descendants of Ancient Israel Daniel 12:1

Whitlie

Whitlie, your post was somewhat confusing to me. Sorry. Did you mean to imply that the Great Multitude symbolizes a second group of saints translated alive when Jesus returns? and that the 144,000 are literal Jews?

The purpose of giving the Loud Cry message is to gather in the final harvest of souls. PP.541.

While the wicked are gathered to be burned the
the Living are sealed for translation. The purpose of the 144,000, is to gather all those out of babylon. Rev. 18:1-4.
The third angel's message is to lighten the earth with its glory; but only those who have withstood temptation in the strength of the Mighty One will be permitted to act a part in proclaiming it when it shall have swelled into the loud cry. {RH, November 19, 1908 par. 9}

Seventh-day Adventist forget about the Doctrine of the Loud cry. Only those with out sin will have a part in that final work. Again two classes of dead rasise to life, and two classes of living translated.

The Scriptures point out, all jews are Israelites but all Israelites are not Jews, the Jews are the children of Jacobs son Judah. The Scriptures point out the descendents of all twelve tribes.

For instance, in the GR.Con. page 362, --Journal of the Rev. Joseph Wolff, page 377. "In Yemen . . . I spent six days with the children of Rechab. They drink no wine, plant no vineyard, sow no seed, and live in tents, and remember good old Jonadab, the son of Rechab; and I found in their company children of Israel, of the tribe of Dan, . . . who expect, with the children of Rechab, the speedy arrival of the Messiah in the clouds of heaven."--Ibid., page 389. {GC 361.4}

These Danites, Children of Jacobs son Dan were flown to Israel, the Rabbis began to inflict certain rites upon them, they refused. "Dan is our father, not Judah.

when DAniel 12:1 read it says.

Daniel 12:1 And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.

Notice. The Angel said, "thy people", Who are the "thy people" when referring back, to Chapter 9:3-19, Daniel is praying and repenting for the whole house of Israel. It is the descendents of these people that are referred to In 12;1. the offspring, the 144,000 of the twelve tribes of Israel. Rev. 7:4. The Covenant agreement is, that if you break mine agreement with you, then I will scatter you to the four corners of the earth, and in the last days I will remember my covenant I made with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob. and the House of Israel. And when you have repented for the sins of your fathers as well. Levitcus 26. When reading the scattering of Israel in II kings and II Chronicles, it is recorde and Israal and Judah were carried away because they broke my convenant. The Covenant Promises of Restoration apply the whole house of Israel not part.

Ellen G. White points out these promises will be fulfilled in the church PK 713,14. She further state they come out of the Three Anges Movement. Notice 3T 266,67

The true people of God, who have the spirit of the work of the Lord and the salvation of souls at heart, will ever view sin in its real, sinful character. They will always be on the side of faithful and plain dealing with sins which easily beset the people of God. Especially in the closing work for the church, in the sealing time of the one hundred and forty-four thousand who are to stand without fault before the throne of God, will they feel most deeply the wrongs of God's professed people. This is forcibly set forth by the prophet's illustration of the last work under the figure of the men each having a slaughter weapon in his hand. One man among them was clothed with linen, with a writer's inkhorn by his side. "And the Lord said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof."

"And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince
213
which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, everyone that shall be found written in the book." When this time of trouble comes, every case is decided; there is no longer probation, no longer mercy for the impenitent. The seal of the living God is upon His people. This small remnant, unable to defend themselves in the deadly conflict with the powers of earth that are marshaled by the dragon host, make God their defense. The decree has been passed by the highest earthly authority that they shall worship the beast and receive his mark under pain of persecution and death. May God help His people now, for what can they then do in such a fearful conflict without His assistance! {5T 212.5}

Ellen G. White places the sealing of the 144,000 of the twelve tribes of Israel here in our denomination. How can she do that, it is very simple

When reading Rev. 14,1-6, the 144,000 are seen in probationary time. (they are seen with the lamb, showing the sanctuary is still open, Zion is also a symbol for God's church) the next message to follow in the important "three angels message" the message of the Most Holy place in the sanctuary message that we so prominently teach and what also makes us the bears of the Laodicean Message. "Fear God For The Hour Of His Judgment Is Come>"

The pupose of the Seventh-day Adventist Church is to gather the trelve tribes back,

Early Writings page 74, teaches that we are in the engathering time of the 12 tribes of Israel.

September 23, the Lord showed me that He had stretched out His hand the second time to recover the remnant of His people, [SEE PAGE 86.] and that efforts must be redoubled in this gathering time. In the scattering, Israel was smitten and torn, but now in the gathering time God will heal and bind up His people. In the scattering, efforts made to spread the truth had but little effect, accomplished but little or nothing; but in the gathering, when God has set His hand to gather His people, efforts to spread the truth will have their designed effect. All should be united and zealous in the work. I saw that it was wrong for any to refer to the scattering for examples to govern us now in the gathering; for if God should do no more for us now than He did then, Israel would never be gathered.

We are not Jews nor are we to run after the Jews, and become like them. The Jews of today have been cast out and as a nation are still cast out. Further they can only guess at their lineage as the migrations of man have made it impossible for any of us to know our linage, however it is Written

Psalms 87:1 A Psalm or Song for the sons of Korah. His foundation is in the holy mountains.
Psalms 87:2 The LORD loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob.
Psalms 87:3 Glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God. Selah.
Psalms 87:4 I will make mention of Rahab and Babylon to them that know me: behold Philistia, and Tyre, with Ethiopia; this man was born there.
Psalms 87:5 And of Zion it shall be said, This and that man was born in her: and the highest himself shall establish her.
Psalms 87:6 The LORD shall count, when he writeth up the people, that this man was born there. Selah.
Psalms 87:7 As well the singers as the players on instruments shall be there: all my springs are in thee.

Further it is well to read all the sealing statements that paralell Rev. 7:1-8, using the Scripture index, in light of Isaiah 10:20 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the remnant of Israel, and such as are escaped of the house of Jacob, shall no more again stay upon him that smote them; but shall stay upon the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, in truth.
Isaiah 10:21 The remnant shall return, even the remnant of Jacob, unto the mighty God.
Isaiah 10:22 For though thy people Israel be as the sand of the sea, yet a remnant of them shall return:

There is more that could be added but this is quite lenghty,

Blessings.

Whitlie, please forgive me for not understanding your last two posts. Can you simplify and summarize what you're saying about the 144,000 and the Great Multitude?

I believe the 144,000 symbolize born again sabbath keepers who will be translated alive when Jesus returns, and the Great Multitude symbolize the resurrected saints beginning with Adam. There is also a special group of saints who will be resurrected after probation closes and just before Jesus arrives.

Dear Mike, the weight of evidence shows very plainly their are two groups of living that are translated.

1, Those who comprise the 144,000 sealed before the four winds blow, and
2, the those sealed during the time the four winds blow. That is sealed during the time of trouble. Mrs white states "AS we entered into the times of trouble were preached the Sabbath More Fully.

once again, The 144,000 sealed before the fourswinds blow, those sealed when the Sabbath is preached morefully while the fourwinds blow. E W. 33/

On page 33 is given the following: "I saw that the holy Sabbath is, and will be, the separating wall between the true Israel of God and unbelievers; and that the Sabbath is the great question to unite the hearts of God's dear, waiting saints. I saw that God had children who do not see and keep the Sabbath. They have not rejected the light upon it. And at the commencement of the time of trouble, we were filled with the Holy Ghost as we went forth and proclaimed the Sabbath more fully." {EW 85.2}
This view was given in 1847 when there were but very few of the Advent brethren observing the Sabbath, and of these but few supposed that its observance was of sufficient importance to draw a line between the people of God and unbelievers. Now the fulfilment of that view is beginning to be seen. "The commencement of that time of trouble," here mentioned does not refer to the time when the plagues shall begin to be poured out, but to a short period just before they are poured out, while Christ is in the sanctuary.

Whitlie, thank you for being so patient with me. I don't always catch on fast. Your ideas are very new to me. I have never heard of two groups of translated saints before. Interesting.

I have always believed that the sealing of the 144,000 would continue until probation closes, that martyrdom would reduce the numbers to 144,000, and that by the time probation closes only 144,000 would remain to be translated alive when Jesus arrives.

Thus, those who remain faithful after the Shaking of adventism and those who are called out of Babylon during the MOB crisis together make up the 144,000. But I can see our observations do not agree.

The last great conflict is before us, but help is to come to all who love God and obey His law, and the earth, the whole earth, is to be lighted with the glory of God. "Another angel" is to come down from heaven. This angel represents the giving of the loud cry, which is to come from those who are preparing to cry mightily, with a strong voice, "Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils,
Mike,
The saddest thing that I have learned about Seventh-day Adventist is the phrase, "I don't agree." Or similar phrases.
The Bible is our unerring guide says Ellen G. White, However SDA's have made Ellen G. White as there Bible. Rather than the appointed Scriptures.

It is not about disagreeing it is always about seeking the truth. We have one LORD, one GOD, one HOLY SPIRIT. The purpose of the Holy Spirit is to lead God's people into unity and truth. Not unity and each to his own. Every truth and how a man reaches that truth should be laid bare upon the table, to give the Holy Spirit an opportunity to reveal the truth. Otherwise none will ever humble themselves enough to be found in the kingdom of God.

Below is the one doctrine that is present truth that is cast down, It must be found with in the pages of the Scripture to know the end of this beginning subject.

With God's Blessing

Whitlie


and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird" (Rev. 18:1, 2). {3SM 412.1}
We have a testing message to give, and I am instructed to say to our people, "Unify, unify." But we are not to unify with those who are departing from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils. With our hearts sweet and kind and true, we are to go forth to proclaim the message, giving no heed to those who lead away from the truth.--Manuscript 31, 1906. {3SM 412.2}

By the way you need to read Early writings very carefully pages 270,71.

Whitlie

Whitlie, I believe God used Sister White to share present truth with the church in exactly the same way He used the apostles Peter, Paul and John. If not, then her writings are no more inspired than mine and yours. I do agree with you though that she insisted we base on beliefs on the Bible. Her inspired insights were given to help us understand Bible truth. I rely on the Bible and the inspired counsel of Sister White. I do not believe the one contradicts the other. They compliment each other perfectly in the same way the NT compliments the OT. I'm sorry if we disagree on this point.

Again, I didn't understand your last post. Were you saying we need to unify? If so, what do we need to unify on?

Pardon me, but I think I will go back on topic here with a longish post relating to and meshing with the original subject, "Last Day Events":

Every true believer in Jesus looks and longs for the happy day when the forces of darkness shall have been forever vanquished, and the kingdom of righteousness established eternally in a world where there "shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying; and there shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away." Revelation 21:4.
But this day cannot come until the purpose of the great controversy has been fully and permanently achieved. The law of God must be so vindicated as the only way of life, that evil will never again have the least opportunity to intrude itself. The only way to arrive at this total rejection of evil and unreserved acceptance of righteousness is to reveal God's lovely character at its radiant best, while exposing wickedness at its ugly worst. Certainly, this climactic condition of things has not yet fully developed, but, be assured, the day of its coming to complete maturity is steadily approaching. Moment by moment, mankind is sinking steadily into the last great pit of apostasy, while, on the other hand, the true people of the Lord are being separated from the world and its corruptions. It is in the light of these purposes that we must study the setting up of the image to the beast on the one hand, and the perfecting of the saints on the other.
So, the battle lines are being drawn up. While the devil is marshalling his forces, the Lord is also preparing His. This is an encouraging picture especially when we are able to recognize these events as fulfillments of prophecy, and know they will surely come to pass.
Unfortunately, the resolution of these issues is taking much longer than it should have done, for God certainly did not need six thousand years in which to solve the sin-problem introduced into the universe by Satan. The fault lies with us, His people, who because of unbelief have caused delay after delay. Generations have come and gone, and movements have been raised up only to fail over and over again. Thus what might have been has never yet eventuated. Though delayed however, the promise of complete and eternal victory is assured.
For this reason the four winds of strife are held in check until this preparation is complete. Then every element of strife will be totally set free to confront every element of good in the last great conflict between the beast and his image on the one hand, and the armies of the living God on the other. This will be the final and the finishing conflict which will bring down the curtain on this world's history and usher in the glorious second advent of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. It is a conflict in which everyone living at the time will be inescapably involved. None will be permitted to adopt a neutral, uncommitted position. In this conflict every man, woman, and child throughout the entire earth will be compelled to take a stand on the one side or the other. There will be no neutrals then. The very force of the pressures of the great conflict will demand this be so, and each must and will have to give his answer to accept one way or the other. Therefore the subject of that conflict must be one which is of vital interest to all who live upon the earth at this time.
The issues in this warfare are spiritual, but this is not to say that the weapons of force are not going to be employed by those who are accustomed to gaining their ends by these means. But on the side of the truth of God, the weapons will be spiritual and not carnal, and God through His Church, will resist the powers of darkness by the proclamation of the mighty message contained in the first part of Revelation 18.
As we are interested in the order of last day events here, let us look at this Scripture from that point of view. Considerable light is thrown on the matter by comparing it with a very similar message which is found in Revelation 14:8 where we read, "And another angel followed, saying, ''Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she has made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.' "
This is the message of the second angel, and "The second angel's message of Revelation 14 was first preached in the summer of 1844 . . . ." Great Controversy, 389. Its proclamation followed the sounding forth of the first angel's message which went before it, and declared the result of the rejection of the first angel's presentation of the everlasting gospel and the warning of impending judgment. Note carefully the difference in the wording between these two messages. In the first angel's message the proclamation was that the hour of God's judgment had come, which is another thing than saying, "God's judgment is come,"
The first statement, “the hour of the judgment is come," does not say that judgment has actually come, but that we are within the hour when it will come. Therefore, this message declares the imminence of the judgment, but not the actual arrival of it.
The other statement, "The judgment is come ", cannot be truthfully preached until the judgment has actually commenced. Thus, between 1831 and October 22, 1844, it was proper to preach that "the hour of God's judgment is come", but since that time, it has been proper to announce that, for the righteous dead, the judgment itself has come.
This distinction must be clearly established in our minds in order to understand the difference between the first and second angel's messages. Reference to the second angel's message shows that it was written in the present tense. It declares, not that the hour of Babylon's fall is come, but that she is fallen. Therefore that message could not be proclaimed until it could be proclaimed in truth. That is to say that first Babylon must fall, and then, and only then, could go forth the message, "Babylon is fallen."
The judgment of the dead commenced in October, 1844, at the end of the 2,300 year prophetic period, but the message announcing that the hour of God's judgment had come was preached for thirteen years before that, as it was quite proper to do. As a result of the rejection of that message, Babylon fell.
"The churches then experienced a moral fall, in consequence of their refusal of the light of the advent message . . . ." Great Controversy, 389. So fell the Babylon which was under the test and trial of God's truth at that time. And immediately after it had fallen, the Lord commissioned the second angel to announce the fact of it and to call the true people of God out of the fallen churches.
But, let this point be noted with care--it is a simple fact of history that that message did not go until it could be proclaimed as present truth. And it would never have been truth to say that Babylon is fallen, if that event was still future. God does not lie in His messages. They speak the truth. Therefore, when He sends a message that Babylon is fallen, then that message does not come until Babylon is fallen.
So then, this brings us to the point where we can compare with profit the second angel's message of Revelation 14:8, and the message of the angel of Revelation 18:1-4. At first they may seem to be identical but there is a very vital difference and it is this. The second angel announces that Babylon is fallen, while in Revelation 18 the announcement is that Babylon the Great is fallen. It is very much in order here to raise the question as to what difference there is between Babylon and Babylon the Great.
As stated at the outset of this series, it will be assumed that our readers possess certain background information so that it will be unnecessary to go back through all that here. But a few basics will be repeated. Babylon is the Bible name given to apostate and corrupt forms of religion at war with God, just as the term Israel is the identifying name given to the loyal and true people of God. And, in the New Testament period through to the second advent of Christ, these two, Babylon and Israel, uphold respectively the same principles, evil and righteous, as were held by the Babylon and the Israel of the Old Testament.
The Papacy as well as ancient Rome, held the principles of Babylon and in unrighteousness warred against God and His truth in the person of His saints. But they were not the Babylon which fell in 1844, for they had been in a fallen condition for centuries before that time. The Babylon which fell at that time was the Protestant churches to whom God had sent the light of truth and who flatly refused to receive that truth.
"Babylon is said to be ''the mother of harlots.' By her daughters must be symbolized churches that cling to her doctrines and traditions, and follow her example of sacrificing the truth and the approval of God, in order to form an unlawful alliance with the world. The message of Revelation 14, announcing the fall of Babylon must apply to religious bodies that were once pure and have become corrupt. Since this message follows the warning of the judgment, it must be given in the last days; therefore it cannot refer to the Roman Church alone, for that church has been in a fallen condition for many centuries." Great Controversy, 382, 383.
So, since 1844, the membership of Babylon has been increasing and its depth of sinfulness has also been developing as we read in the following statement.
"But the message of the second angel did not reach its complete fulfillment in 1844. The churches then experienced a moral fall, in consequence of their refusal of the light of the advent message; but that fall was not complete. As they have continued to reject the special truths for this time they have fallen lower and lower. Not yet, however, can it be said that ''Babylon is fallen, . . . because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.' She has not yet made all nations do this. The spirit of world conforming and indifference to the testing truths for our time exists and has been gaining ground in churches of the Protestant faith in all the countries of Christendom; and these churches are included in the solemn and terrible denunciation of the second angel. But the work of apostasy has not yet reached its culmination." Great Controversy, 389.
But the churches cannot continue to fall forever. There must come a time when the two sides are developed and the last confrontation takes place. This means that Babylon will have come to a point of unity where it has stopped the infighting and is prepared to face God's people in the last battle. It is also a fact that the message of Revelation 18 is the last message given to a perishing world as the following statement says.
" Revelation 18 points to the time when, as the result of rejecting the threefold warning of Revelation 14:6-12, the church will have fully reached the condition foretold by the second angel, and the people of God still in Babylon will be called upon to separate from her communion. This message is the last that will ever be given to the world; and it will accomplish its work." Great Controversy, 390.
So this is the picture. Up to 1844 there already existed a Babylon comprised of at least the Roman Catholic Church. After 1844, Babylon's membership increased to include the Protestant churches. But Babylon's fall was not then complete. It has continued to fall lower and lower until, at the end, it will be at its lowest point. Now, according to the statement just quoted, the Babylon of Revelation 18, which is Babylon the Great, "will have fully reached the condition foretold by the second angel." So the last saving message is given by the last of God's true churches to this lowest and last of all Babylons, Babylon the Great. And how appropriate that this term should be applied to it, for this last Babylon exhibits the greatest unity and greatest hostility towards God of any Babylonian group in history.
Now the message of the Revelation 18 angel is concerned with Babylon the Great and announces, not that the hour of her fall has come, but that she is fallen. Therefore, in the light of the above facts regarding the first and second angel's messages, it is evident that the message of the Revelation 18 angel cannot and will not go under God's direction and leadership until the fact of it is accomplished and it can be stated in very truth that Babylon the Great is fallen.
This immediately raises the question as to whether this is already present truth or is it a situation yet to be reached. If Babylon the Great is not yet fallen, what further depths of apostasy must yet be reached before this becomes the case?
From Great Controversy,603, we learn that that message was still future at the time of the writing of the last edition in 1911. After quoting the scripture from Revelation 18:1, 2, 4, the text goes on to say, "This scripture points forward to a time when the announcement of the fall of Babylon, as made by the second angel of Revelation 14, (verse 8) 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."
The time referred to in the above statement is not a moment of time but a period of time. It is the period of time, as yet of unknown length, during which the message goes forward announcing the fall of Babylon and calling on the true people of God to come out of her. It was still future at the time of the writing of the above statement, but for how long in the future? Inasmuch as we know that there will never be another message based on definite time, then we cannot expect that we shall be informed anywhere in the Word of God of the exact date, but we can expect to be told of the exact conditions which will bring Babylon the Great to the place where the message can go forth in truth that she is fallen.
Let us then begin to assemble the information by which we can determine the answer to these questions. On the very next page to that quoted above we read, "Of Babylon, at the time brought to view in this prophecy, it is declared, ''Her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.' Revelation 18:5. She has filled up the measure of her guilt, and destruction is about to fall upon her. But 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.' " Great Controversy, 604.
The time brought to view in this prophecy is the time when the message goes forth that Babylon the Great is fallen, never to rise again. This will be because the sins of Babylon will have reached as high as heaven and she will have filled up the measure of her guilt. In other words, she will have defied God to the uttermost limit. Her rebellion against the Almighty, the Creator of the heavens and the earth, will know no bounds, and will finally be supported by every man, woman, and child in the world, apart from the true people of God.
And we are able to ascertain from the Word of God just what event will bring them to the place where their sins will have reached unto heaven. Here are two statements, which, when read together, give us the information we are seeking. In the first one you will read that the law of God is to be made void when the Sunday law is passed. This is the time of the setting up of the image to the beast as we learned earlier in this book. Then the second statement tells us that the sins of the world will have reached unto heaven when the law of God is made void. So, these words tell us as plainly as it ever could be told that the point of time when Babylon the Great is finally fallen is that point of time when the law of God is made void in the land by the enforcement of the Sunday law, by which act they fill up the measure of their guilt, and their sins will reach unto heaven above. Read the truth of it in these statements.
"A time is coming when the law of God is, in a special sense, to be made void in our land. The rulers of our nation will, by legislative enactments, enforce the Sunday law, and thus God's people be brought into great peril. When our nation, in its legislative councils, shall enact laws to bind the consciences of men in regard to their religious privileges, enforcing Sunday observance, and bringing oppressive power to bear against those who keep the seventh-day Sabbath, the law of God will, to all intents and purposes, be made void in our land; and national apostasy will be followed by national ruin." Review and Herald, December 18, 1888.
"The sins of the world will have reached unto heaven when the law of God is made void; when the Sabbath of the Lord is trampled in the dust, and men are compelled to accept in its stead an institution of the papacy through the strong hand of the law of the land. In exalting an institution of man above the institution ordained of God, they show contempt for the great Lawgiver, and refuse His sign or seal." Review and Herald, November 5, 1889.
In addition to the above there is also the statement from Testimonies 5:451, where the same truth is expressed as follows: "By the decree enforcing the institution of the papacy in violation of the law of God, our nation will disconnect herself fully from righteousness."
To disconnect one's self fully from righteousness is to come to the place where one can go no further in departing from the living God. This is to fill up the measure of iniquity and guilt and to have one's sins reach to heaven itself. And when will this be accomplished? It will be accomplished by the making of the decree which will enforce the worship of the institution of the Papacy which we know to be the enforcement of the Sunday law.
It is of course apparent that at the time of the writing of this study, that event is still future. Not yet have the churches secured the power of the law of the land in the United States first of all, to enforce their decrees and to sustain their dogmas. But that time is coming with the utmost certainty, and as surely as it comes, then as surely will the fall of Babylon the Great be complete. And then, just so surely will the time have come when the message announcing that fall will ring out under the direction of the angel who lightens the whole earth with his glory. It will go then as a present truth in very fact.
As stated previously in this series, the point of time when the image of the beast is set up is a positive land mark. It is a point of time when a stage of committal by both the world and the true Church of God is reached from which there can be and will be no turning back by either party. It is a point to which the devil is now developing the apostasy in the churches under his control and it is also a point toward which the Lord is developing a faithful remnant to fight His battles in that decisive day. These two lines of development will come to the same focal point at the same time and already both are well advanced in their development. There is but little yet to be fulfilled before that critical hour is reached. Already the unity of the churches, an event which immediately precedes the enforcement of the Sunday law and of which we learned in chapter one of this series, is very near to being a fully accomplished fact, and when it is an accomplished fact, then the image of the beast will be formed, the sins of Babylon the Great will have reached unto heaven, the cup of iniquity will be full, and her fall complete. Then the time will have come for the message to go forth, "Babylon the great is fallen."
This proclamation is a most important development in the general giving of the loud cry, and it will be given with a power which will lighten the whole earth with the glory of the angel. This is made very clear in the following statement:
"I saw angels hurrying to and fro in heaven, descending to the earth, and again ascending to heaven, preparing for the fulfillment of some important event. Then I saw another mighty angel commissioned to descend to the earth, to unite his voice with the third angel, and give power and force to his message. Great power and glory were imparted to the angel, and as he descended, the earth was lightened with his glory. The light which attended this angel penetrated everywhere, as he cried mighty, with a strong voice, ''Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.' The message of the fall of Babylon, as given by the second angel, is repeated, with the additional mention of the corruptions which have been entering the churches since 1844. The work of this angel comes in at the right time to join in the last great work of the third angel's message as it swells to a loud cry. And the people of God are thus prepared to stand in the hour of temptation, which they are soon to meet. I saw a great light resting upon them, and they united to fearlessly proclaim the third angel's message." Early Writings, 277.
Then it is plain and clear that the order of events is that, just as soon as the powers of church and state combine to enforce the decrees of the church in respect to the Sunday law, then the fall of Babylon is complete. This will be the signal for the descent of the mighty angel of Revelation 18:1-4, who joins the powerful work of the third angel as his ministry swells to a loud cry.