The Second Angels' Message - Revelation 14:8
The Second Angel's Message
The Second Angel's Message in Scripture ~ Revelation 14: 8 ...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.
The term “Babylon” is derived from “Babel,” and signifies confusion. It is employed in Scripture to designate the various forms of false or apostate religion. In Revelation 17 Babylon is represented as a woman—a figure which is used in the Bible as the symbol of a church, a virtuous woman representing a pure church, a vile woman an apostate church. ...
The woman (Babylon) of Revelation 17 is described as “arrayed in purple and scarlet color, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness:...and upon her forehead was a name written, Mystery, Babylon the Great, the mother of harlots.” Says the prophet: “I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus.” Babylon is further declared to be “that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.” Revelation 17:4-6, 18. The power that for so many centuries maintained despotic sway over the monarchs of Christendom is Rome. ...
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. (Revelation 14: 8)
The Great Controversy, Page 381-383
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Think About This:
1. Babylon is further declared to be “that great city, which reigns over the kings of the earth!” Revelation 17:4-6, 18. The power that for so many centuries maintained despotic sway over the monarchs of Christendom, is Rome. And no other power could be so truly declared drunken with the blood of the saints” [Revelation 17:6] as that church which has so cruelly persecuted the followers of Christ. ~ The Great Controversy, Page 382
2. “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!” Revelation 14:6-8. How is this done? By forcing men to accept a spurious Sabbath. ~ Testimonies, Volume 8, Page 94
3. The fallen denominational churches are Babylon. Babylon has been fostering poisonous doctrines, the wine of error. This wine of error is made up of false doctrines, such as the natural Immortality of the soul, the eternal torment of the wicked, the denial of the pre-existence of Christ prior to His birth in Bethlehem, and advocating and exalting the first day of the week above God’s holy and sanctified day. These and kindred errors are presented to the world by the various churches, and thus the Scriptures are fulfilled that say, “For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication!” [Revelation 18.3.] It is a wrath which is created by false doctrines, and when kings and presidents drink this wine of the wrath of her fornication, they are stirred with anger against those who will not come into harmony with the false and satanic heresies which exalt the false Sabbath, and lead men to trample underfoot God’s memorial. ~ Testimonies to Ministers, Page 61
4. In refusing the warning of the first angel, they rejected the means which Heaven had provided for their restoration. Here was the cause of that fearful condition of worldliness, backsliding, and spiritual death which existed in the churches in 1844. ~ The Great Controversy, Page 380
5. Prophecy declares that the first angel would make his announcement to “Every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people!” [Revelation 14:6.1 The warning of the third angel, which forms a part of the same threefold message, is to be no less widespread. It is represented in the prophecy as being proclaimed with a loud voice, by an angel flying in the midst of heaven; and it will command the attention of the world. ~ The Great Controversy, Page 450
6. Of all the great religious movements since the days of the apostles, none have been more free from human Imperfection and the wiles of Satan than was that of the autumn of 1844. Even now, after the lapse of many years, all who shared in that movement and who have stood firm upon the platform of truth, still feel the holy influence of that blessed work, and bear witness that it was of God. ~ The Great Controversy, Page 401
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Symbolism of the Three Angels’ Messages
Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord. ~ Malachi 4:5 ~ KJV
To prepare a people to stand in the day of God, a great work of reform was to be accomplished [by the Advent Movement]. God saw that many of His professed people were not building for eternity, and in His mercy He was about to send a message of warning to arouse them from their stupor and lead them to make ready for the coming of the Lord.
This warning is brought to view in Revelation 14. Here is a threefold message represented as proclaimed by heavenly beings and immediately followed by the coming of the Son of man to reap “the harvest of the earth.”
The angels are represented as flying in the midst of heaven, proclaiming to the world a message of warning, and having a direct bearing upon the people living in the last days of this earth's history. No one hears the voice of these angels, for they are a symbol to represent the people of God who are working in harmony with the universe of heaven.
The three angels’ messages are to be combined, giving their threefold light to the world. In the Revelation, John says, “I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory.”... This represents the giving of the last and threefold message of warning to the world.
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. When those that “believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness” (2 Thessalonians 2:12), shall be left to receive strong delusion and to believe a lie, then the light of truth will shine upon all whose hearts are open to receive it, and all the children of the Lord that remain in Babylon will heed the call: “Come out of her, my people” (Revelation 18:4).
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The Three Angels’ Messages ... It is our privilege to expect large things, even the demonstration of the Spirit of God. This is a power which will convict and convert the soul. Our message is a life-and-death message, and we must let this message appear as it is—the great power of God. Then the Lord will make it effectual. We are to present it in all its telling force. The first and second angels’ messages are bound up with the third angel's message. The power of the proclamation of the first and second angels’ messages is to be concentrated in the third.—Letter 209, 1899.
The Three Angels'
MESSAGES
~ GOD'S FINAL WARNING TO THE WORLD ~
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