THE ORDER OF LAST DAY EVENTS (chapters 1-7)

INTRODUCTION

It was the late Sir Winston Churchill who said that the great secret of being a successful politician was to be able to predict accurately what would happen in a years time, and then to be able to explain why it didn't happen when the time came!

This is the predicament that the wisest men of the world together with all the lesser men and women find themselves in. The future is the great, dark, uncertain, fear inspiring unknown for them, but this is not so for the humble, God-fearing child of God who searches the Scriptures to know what is coming upon the earth. "But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. You are the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep as do others but let us watch and be sober." 1 Thess.5:4-6.

NO MYSTERY

The prophecies are not difficult to understand. The Word of God describes them as being a light that shines in a dark place. Darkness is mysterious and uncertain but the light dispels all of that and makes that which was mysterious, clear and plain. The very wording of Scripture indicates that there is no mystery about these things. True, the prophecies are written in code language but the key to the code is also supplied together with the wonderful guidance of that great and marvelous Teacher, the Holy Spirit. 1 John 2:20,27. No one needs to be in the least doubt or uncertainty as to what these messages mean to them.

"The bible was designed to be a guide to all who wish to become acquainted with the will of their Maker. God gave to men the sure word of prophecy; angels and even Christ Himself came to make known to Daniel and John the things that must shortly come to pass. Those important matters that concern our salvation were not left involved in mystery. They were not revealed in such a way as to perplex and mislead the honest seeker after truth. Said the Lord by the prophet Habakkuk, 'Write the vision, and make it plain that he may run that readeth it.' Hab.2:2. The word of God is plain to all who study it with a prayerful heart. Every truly honest soul will come to the light of truth. 'Light is sown for the righteous.' And no church can advance in holiness unless its members are earnestly seeking for truth as for hid treasures." G.C.521,522.

In view of the fact that the Lord has made things so clear and so plain, then it is a wonder that so many of us are confused on just what is to take place in the last days of this earth's history. This should not be, and every effort must be made to so clarify in our minds the great teachings of the prophecies that we shall be truly the people of the light and not of darkness.

But there is one good reason as to why things are not yet clear to all and that is that light is progressive. Not all is given to be understood at the one time, but is understood according to the need of the time. "The path of the just is as a shining light that shineth more and more unto the perfect day." Proverbs 4:18. "Even the prophets who were favoured with the special illumination of the Spirit did not fully comprehend the import of the revelations committed to them. The meaning was to be unfolded from age to age as the people of God should need the instruction therein contained." G.C. 344; C.O.L.78.

One has but to study the history of prophetic interpretation to see that, as each generation of Christ's followers came upon the scene, that they understood the prophecies that were the guidelines for their own day while those that were to be fulfilled in a far-future generation were not opened to them fully by the Holy Spirit. They were opened to them to an extent but not in the fulness of the light with which they were revealed to the later generation.

Thus for instance it is clear that in the days of the early Christians the image of Daniel 2 and the four beasts of chapter seven were clearly understood to symbolize the four great world empires of Babylon, Medo Persia, Greece and Rome, but they did not understand the matter of the time, times and dividing of times. Daniel 7:25. But when we come to the Middle Ages, the times of the great Protestant awakening, then we find that Daniel 7 with its description of the Papacy was the great focal point of study and understanding while little or no attention was given to Daniel 8:14. And this situation continued right through till 1798. Then the interest shifted quite dramatically to the study of Daniel 8:14. And this shift of interest happened all over the world in different places quite independently of any influence from other areas.

DILIGENT STUDY NEEDED

Note the words of counsel in this quotation: "Yet while it was not given to the prophets to understand fully the things revealed to them, they earnestly sought to obtain all the light which God had been pleased to make manifest. They 'inquired and searched diligently...' What a lesson to the people of God in the Christian age, for whose benefits these prophecies were given to His servants! 'Unto whom it was revealed that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister,' 1 Peter 1:10-12. Witness those holy men of God as they 'inquired and searched diligently' concerning generations that were yet unborn. Contrast their holy zeal with the listless unconcern with which the favored ones of later ages treat this gift of Heaven. What a rebuke to the ease-loving, world-loving indifference which is content to declare that the prophecies cannot be understood." G.C.344.

Now the time has surely come when we are facing the last events in this world's history. We can see the steady trend of advancing events in the earth that warn us of the coming crisis. It is thus to be expected that the time has most surely come for the Lord to open more clearly before us the details of the prophecies that reveal what He will do in this final and finishing conflict. We have before us the sure promise that "Increased light will shine upon all the grand truths of prophecy, and they will be seen in freshness and brilliancy, because the bright beams of the Sun of Righteousness will illuminate the whole." Evangelism, p.343.

As we turn now to our study of last day events, let us remember that, "In the last great conflict... That which has been will be..." for "The work of God in the earth presents, from age to age, a striking similarity in every great reformation or religious movement. The important movements of the present have their parallel in those of the past, and the experience of the church in former ages has lessons of great value for our own time." G.C.343.

LAST DAY EVENTS
CHAPTER ONE

In the study of the order of last day events, it soon beomes apparent that there is one event that emerges as a key happening in the sequence. It is quickly established as a peg in a sure place and having it in place it is possible to draw up the lines of sequence out from it in either directions. That event is the setting up of the image of the beast. Its setting up is foretold in Revelation 13:11-18.

As stated in the introduction, it is assumed that the student will have a sound basic understanding of the prophecies of Daniel and the Revelation and will therefore know that the first beast referred to in Revelation 13, as set forth in the first ten verses of the chapter, is none other than the Papal power that ruled supreme over the world for the 1260 years from 538-1798 A.D. It will be also understood that the Lamb-like beast that rises to power after the temporary demise of the first beast is none other than the power of Apostate Protestantism especially as cradled in the United Sates of America.

In this chapter (Rev.13) we are expressly told that this power as symbolized by the lamblike beast will set up an image of the first beast that had the wound by the sword and did live. What is an image? It is a likeness in the form of a reproduction of that which was before, the same thing all over again.

And there can be no mistake as to what this reproduction is. There can be no mistake on two counts. In the first case the actual image itself is described to us here in Rev. 13, and in the second case we have but to go back and study the character of the first beast to see what the image is to be. We find that they are identical.

"By this first beast is represented the Roman Church, an ecclesiastical body clothed with civil power, having authority to punish all dissenters. The image to the beast represents another religious body with similar powers. The formation of this image is the work of that beast whose peaceful rise and mild professions render it so striking a symbol of the United States. Here is to be found an image of the Papacy. When the churches of our land, uniting upon such points of faith as are held by them in common, shall influence the State to enforce their decrees and sustain their institutions, then will Protestant America have formed an image of the Roman hierarchy. Then the true church will be assailed by persecution, as were God's ancient people." Story of Redemption, p.381,382.

We find that we have a religious power that has enlisted the power of the state as her servant and uses that power to enforce her decrees even to the end, to the death penalty where men refuse to yield to her demands. Thus it was with the Papacy and thus we are plainly told it will be with the image. Rev.13:15-18. This is a picture of what is coming to that which is now the free world and, first of all, in that nation which has all along steadfastly held to the right of every man to the utmost freedom to choose as to how and where he will worship or as to whether he will worship at all.

There are those that cannot believe that this could ever be possible. But the word of God has declared that it will be and that is all that we have to believe. The more one studies the prophecies, then the more we see that things that men could never believe were possible but were foretold in the Word, did happen just as they were foretold to happen.

Of course there are factors that lead up to this. There are forces that gradually bring it about so that it does not exactly happen over night. These have also been clearly outlined in the prophetic word and it is important that we study them. This we will do in the proper order once we have established the actual fact of the setting up of the image of the beast in the United States of America and what is involved in that action.

SETTING UP THE IMAGE

At what point of time will the image be set up? What act upon the part of men will establish it? What is involved in this? These are the questions that are now to be answered. And the answers are there. There is no mystery about it. Let us turn to the prophetic word for the answers:

"When the leading churches of the United States, uniting upon such points of doctrine as are held in common, shall influence the state to enforce their decrees and to sustain their institutions, then Protestant America will have formed an image of the Roman hierarchy and the infliction of civil penalties upon dissenters will inevitably result... The 'image to the beast' represents that form of apostate Protestantism which will be developped when the Protestant churches shall seek the aid of the civil power for the enforcement of their dogmas." G.C.445.

"Romanists declare that 'the observance of Sunday by the Protestants is an homage they pay, in spite of themselves to the authority of the (catholic) church.' Mgr. Segur, Plain Talk About the Protestants of Today, p.213. The enforcement of Sunday-keeping on the part of Protestant churches is an enforcement of the worship of the papacy, of the beast of Rev.13:1-10. Those who, understanding the claims of the fourth commandment, choose to observe the false instead of the true Sabbath, are thereby giving homage to the power by which it is commanded. But in the very act of enforcing a religious duty by secular power, the churches would themselves form an image to the beast; hence the enforcement of Sunday-keeping in the United States would be an enforcement of the worship of the beast and his image." G.C.448-449.

Thus is answered the question, At what point of time will the image of the beast be set up? It will be set up at that point of time when the leading churches of the United States, uniting upon such point of doctrine as they hold in common, shall obtain the power of the civil authorities to enforce as law the laws and injunctions of the church itself especially in regard to the enforcement of the Sunday legislation. That time is still future but it is not too much distant anymore. Already the movement for church unity is well advanced and strides have been made in this direction that would not have been thought possible but a few short years ago.

Many see in this unity a great blessing for the world and it is true that the prayer of Christ is for the unity of His people. But let us never forget that the unity that Jesus prayed for is not the root, but the fruit. First comes the unity with the truth of God and then all that are united with that truth will in turn be united with each other as the fruit of the basic unity with the truth.

The unity proposed here is not a platform of truth but as an expediency to gain a substitute power for the power of God. Having lost the power of God in the rejection of the great truths of the Advent message, the only remaining power that the churches can turn to is the arm of the state. But they cannot gain this power until they can go as a united front to take it up. Therefore they must first unify among themselves so that they will have the power to go to the state and demand and obtain that power to enforce their wishes. The reasons for this and the factors involved will be more fully developped as we proceed into this series of studies.

Some may feel that the image of the beast must already be set up because there are numerous Sunday Laws upon the State books throughout the United States as well as in Australia, Canada and Europe. But at the present time these stand largely unenforced while the time will come when, in the face of certain issues, there will be a strong uniting of the churches and a very definite enforcement of the law on a national basis. It will be a nation wide affair that will involve the Constitution. It will be a "national apostasy which will end only in national ruin." 7 BC 976.

So there we have before us fact number one. The setting up of the enforcement of the Sunday law as the will of the leading and by then united churches on a national scale in the United States of America first, is the setting up of the image of the beast. But what takes place in the United States first is followed by every other country on the face of the globe. This is evident from the fact that the message of warning against the beast and his image as contained in Revelation 14:6-12 is a warning that is sent to "every nation, kindred, tongue and people."

"As America, the land of religious liberty, shall unite with the Papacy in forcing the conscience and compelling men to honour the false sabbath, the people of every country of the globe will be led to follow her example." "Foreign nations will follow the example of the United States. Though she leads out, yet the same crisis will come upon our people in all parts of the world." 6 T 18,395.

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE EVENT

The setting up of the image of the beast is a most significant event. It is an event that brings the world to a certain point of acute crisis and ushers in a series of chain reactions that end only in the seven last plagues, the coming of the Lord in glory and the destruction of the wicked. Hence the importance of putting this peg in its sure place at the very outset of this study.

In the first case this act brings the United States first of all, and each other nation in their turn as they follow her, to the point of NATIONAL APOSTASY: "When our nation (USA)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 that keep the seventh-day Sabbath, the law of God will, to all intents and purposes, be made void in the land and national apostasy will be followed by national ruin." RH Dec.18, 1888.

Note that this statement distinctly equates the passing of the Sunday law and its enforcement on the national scale with national apostasy. This is further made plain in this statement that tells us that by this act the USA will have fully disconnected herself from righteousness.

"By the decree enforcing the institution of the Papacy in violation of the law of God, our nation (USA) will disconnect herself fully from righteousness. When Protestantism shall stretch her hand across the gulf to grasp the hand of the Roman power, when she shall reach over the abyss to clasp hands with spiritualism, when, under the influence of this threefold union, our country shall repudiate every principle of its constitution as a Protestant and Republican government, and shall make provision for the propagation of papal falsehood and delusions, then we may know that the time has come for the marvelous working of Satan and that the end is near. As the approach of the Roman soldiers was a sign to the disciples of the impending destruction of Jerusalem, so may this apostasy be a sign to us that the limit of God's forbearance is reached and that the angel of mercy is about to take her flight, never to return." 5 T 451

"When Protestant churches shall unite with the secular powers to sustain a false religion for opposing which their ancestors endured the fiercest persecution, then will the papal sabbath be enforced by the combined authority of church and state. There will be a national apostasy, which will end only in national ruin." Evang.235.

"It is at the time of the national apostasy, when, acting the policy of Satan, the rulers of the land will rank themselves on the side of the man of sin, it is then that the measure of guilt is full; the national apostasy is the signal for national ruin." 2 SM 373.

These statements need no further comment. They plainly tell that the act of passing and enforcing a Sunday law as an act of homage to the papacy, is an act of national apostasy that brings the complete severance from all righteousness, fills the measure of their guilt and causes the angel of mercy to leave, never to return. It is no wonder that this is a significant event and one that is fraught with fearful consequences. It is the great point of no return. Once that step is taken then the powers of this earth will have gone too far to return and their destruction is certified. But there is more yet to be learned about this event, for by it THE DEVICE OF SATAN WILL BE PERFECTED. For a long time the devil has been working to bring the whole world under his complete control and to unite it into one vast army of confederated opposition against the people and the truth of God.

Now at last his device is perfected and he is ready for the last great battle of the ages. Note how clearly this fact of the perfecting of his device is stated in the following quotation:

"When the legislature frames laws which exalt the first day of the week, and put it in the place of the seventh day, the device of Satan will be perfected." RH, April 15, 1890. Inasmuch as the whole object of the devil from the very beginning has been to make of none effect the law of God, (G.C.582) then it follows that if the device of Satan has been perfected at this time then THE LAW OF GOD IS ALSO MADE VOID.

And so it proves to be as these statements show. "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 will be brought into great peril. When our nation in its legislative asemblies, shall enact laws to bind the consciences of man 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 the land; and national apostasy will be followed by national ruin." RH Dec.18,1888.

Very naturally this will bring a great test for the people of God. "The Lord has shown me clearly that the image of the beast will be formed before probation closes: for it is to be the great test for the people of God by which their eternal destiny will be decided... Rev.13:11-17 quoted here)... This is the great test that the people of God must have before they are sealed. All who prove their loyalty to God by observing His law, and refusing to accept a spurious sabbath, will rank under the banner of the Lord God Jehovah and will receive the seal of the living God. Those who yield the truth of divine origin, and accept the Sunday sabbath, will receive the mark of the beast." 7 BC 976.

Finally we will notice that this event marks THE SIGNAL TO FLEE FROM THE CITIES. "As the siege of Jerusalem by the Roman armies was the signal for flight to the Judean Christians, so the assumption of power on the part of our nation in the decree enforcing the papal sabbath will be a warning to us. It will then be time to leave the large cities, preparatory to leaving the smaller ones for retired homes in secluded places among the mountains." 5 T 464,465.

And now without advancing the evidences, we will state here that this is also the time for the complete spiritual fall of Babylon The Great and the beginning of the long looked for outpouring of the latter rain and the loud cry.

NO QUESTION OF ITS GREAT SIGNIFICANCE

There can be no question then in the light of the foregoing evidences from the prophetic Word that this event is a very significant and important one indeed. It marks a very definite point of development in the great final conflict and we must be thoroughly acquainted with all the facts that concern it. These facts will take on even greater significance as we proceed with the study and witness the bearing that they will have on the crisis.

For now it is time to turn to a study of what leads up to and actually brings the image into existence. This will be the subject of the next chapter.

LAST DAY EVENTS (CHAPTER 2)
THE IMAGE OF THE BEAST

The setting up of the image of the beast is not something that happens without cause. Rather it is the result of the outworking of certain steps and certain decisions that have been made along the way, and is the logical and inescapable culmination of those steps. It is something to which the church and the state, having set their feet in certain paths, must of necessity come to in the end.

For us who are called upon by God to be faithful Bible students it is not enough to know that the image is to be set up and to know what is involved in the setting up of that image. We must know how it comes to be set up. We must understand as far as it is revealed and as far as it is possible for the human mind aided by the Spirit of God to understand the outworking of the very principles that lead up to this situation. It is an important part of the study of prophecy.

What was it then that led to the setting up of the beast in the first case and to the setting up of the image of that beast in the second case? Inasmuch as the setting up of the beast is the result of the outworking of certain forces and the setting up of the image is the same result except at a later date, then it follows that the same forces that resulted in the setting up of the beast must have been again at work to set up the repetition of that beast in the image of it. Therefore to understand that which is yet to be we must study carefully that which has already been and can be clearly seen.

That then is the question, and the answer is given to us in language clear and plain. "It was apostasy that led the early church to seek the aid of the civil government, and this prepared the way for the development of the papacy, the beast. Said Paul, 'There shall come a falling away... and that man of sin shall be revealed.' 2 Thess.2:3. So apostasy in the church will prepare the way for the image of the beast." G.C.443,444.

Now, why is it that the setting up of the beast and then of the image is the natural and inevitable consequence of the apostasy?

THE LOSS OF THE POWER OF GOD

The word apostasy or falling away means to fall away, or to depart from the truth of God. This is only to fall away from the power of God and thus to leave the church powerless. To be powerless means to be without any ability to accomplish anything at all. This then means that the church has lost all right of existence when it has come to this place where she has nothing at all to attract the people, and she finds herself drifting more and more into insignificance. Therefore, the church must seek another power to attract the people other than the power of God. But what other power was there? There was only one other power and that was the power of force. If the people would not of themselves come to the churches and support them then they must be forced to come.

But the power of force rested not in the hands of the church. The state was the custodian of that. Therefore it followed that by some means the church must win the support of the state until they could finally control it and use it to force the people to do exactly what they wanted them to do.

There could be no other possible outcome than this. It was the inevitable step by step development of it all. And it was not a sudden thing. No apostasy or the result of it is ever sudden. It is a process. And inasmuch as that power is firmly held in the possession of the secular authorities who have been put in the world to rule those who cannot rule themselves, it follows that the church must gain the control of the State in order to control the power of the State. And when that is accomplished, then the beast is formed.

THE RISE OF THE BEAST

It is important for our future study to spend a little space in the study of the development of the original Sunday law which is, in other words, the study of the development of the control of the church over the people by the force of the power of the State.

The time had come when the churches so lacked the power of God that they could no longer attract the people at all and on the Sunday, and special feast days, the priests found that the people would rather work than come to church. This would never do, for not only was it a serious blow to their pride and prestige, but a decided threat to their livelihood. Having in the meantime gained great favor and power with the Emperor they went to him and secured the law that forbade all work on the first day of the week.

Neander in his history of the Christian Religion and Church, vol.2. section 3, part 2, div.3, par.4, records the fact in these words, "By a law of the year 386, these older changes effected by the Emperor Constantine were more rigorously enforced; and, in general, civil transactions of every kind on Sunday were strictly forbidden. Whosoever transgressed was to be considered, in fact, guilty of sacrilege."

"As a direct result of this law, there soon appeared an evil which, under the circumstances and in the logic of the case, called for further legislation in the same direction. The law forbade all work. But as the people had no such religion as would cause them to devote the day to pious and moral exercises, the effect of the law was only to enforce idleness. Enforced idleness only multiplied opportunity for dissipation. The natural consequences was that the circuses and the theatres throughout the empire were crowded every Sunday." A.T. Jones, Great Empires of Prophecy, p.488.

What to do now? The answer was simple. Having entered upon this wrong path there was nothing left to do but to go further along that path and accordingly they worked till they had a law that closed the theatres on the Sunday. At the council of Carthage in June A.D.401, the following canon was enacted: "Canon 5. On Sundays and feast days, no plays may be performed." This they carried to the Emperor Honorious and requested that he pass this into law.

"The church members had not enough religion or love of right to do what they professed to believe was right, therefore, the State was asked to take away from them all opportunity to do wrong; then they would be Christians! Satan himself could be that kind of Christian in that way, and he would be the devil still." Ibid, 490.

In 425 this came into law and the priests were now confident that the churches were to be filled with a people who, not being permitted by law to work on the Sunday or to play either would now come to church. But again they were disappointed for the people would rather do nothing at all than come to the church which held nothing for them. Accordingly they rested at home on the Sunday and the church was as empty as ever.

"In the logic of this theory there was one more step to be taken. To see how logically it came about, let us glance at the steps taken from the first one to this point: Frist, the church had all work on Sunday forbidden, in order that the people might attend to things divine; work was forbidden, that the people might worship. But the people would not worship; they went to the crrcuses and to the theatres instead of to church. Then the church had laws enacted closing the circuses and the theatres, in order that the people might attend church. But even then the people would not be devoted, nor attend church, for they had no real religion. The next step to be taken therefore, in the logic of the situation was to compel them to be devoted, to compel them to attend to things divine. This was the next step logically to be taken, and it was taken. The theocratical bishops were equal to the occasion. They exactly met the demands of the case; and one of the grandest of the Catholic Fathers and Catholic saints was the father of this Catholic saintly theory. He wrote:

"It is indeed better that men should be brought to serve God by instruction than by fear of punishment or by pain. But because the former means are better, the latter must not therefore be rejected.... Many must be often brought back to their Lord, like wicked servants, by the rod of temporal sufferings, before they attain the highest grade of religious development." Augustine, Ibid, p.491.

ON TO THE ULTIMATE

And in this fashion and along this course of development, which step by step was the only possible outcome in the nature of the situation as it stood, came the development of the beast in the early days of the Christian dispensation. Of course the majority of people who before did not have enough religion to take them to church now went, for they did not have enough religion in them either to discern the nature of this force to offer any resistance to it.

But now the true people of God began to find themselves in difficulty. They could obey a civil law that forbade work on the first day of the week, and the law that forbade them from going to the circuses and the theatres did not touch them either, but when a law came into being that demanded that they worship on the false sabbath, then they found that they had to disobey that law.

So they found themselves suffering the civil penalties of breaking a law that the church had caused the State to enact in the selfish interests of a church which, having lost the power of God, had no right to even exist as a church. And when the church found that such punishments as were inflicted did not cause the true ones to waver and to obey, then, in the ultimate, they brought in the death decree and as history attests, they slew with savage and heartless cruelty the thousands who would not yield but would obey God rather than man no matter what the price might be.

Such was the history of the setting up of the beast. "It was apostasy that led the early church to seek the aid of the civll government and this prepared the way for the development of the papacy." G.C.443.

Thus it was with the setting up of the beast an so will it be in the setting up of the image to the beast. The one is a matter of the past, but the other is yet in the future and terrible will be the repetition of this thing.

In the historical word we have the story of the rise of the beast. In the Prophetic word we have the story of the rise of the image. It is time to spend a little time and space on the story of the rise of the image. This will be the subject of the next chapter in this series.

LAST DAY EVENTS CHAPTER 3
THE RISE OF THE IMAGE

So far in this study of the order of last day events, we have noted that the Image of the Beast is a landmark in the unrolling of the prophetic scroll. It is accomplished when the churches, having secured the support of the power of the State, have the National Sunday Law passed and enforced. Such an act, we learned, would bring about national ruin. It will have brought the powers of church and state to the point of no return and there will be left only the calling out of the true children of God before the judgments on Babylon fall in deadly earnest and destroy her completely.

Such a point of disaster will not have been reached in a moment. Rather, it is the outworking of certain forces over quite a period of time and the object of our study at the moment is to understand this outworking, so that we can follow it as it develops and know that all things are at hand in the final finishing movements of this earth's history.

We are fortunate that already such an outworking has taken place as we have already seen from the words of The Great Controversy, 443,444, the development of the beast before it. There we read, "It was apostasy that led the early church to seek the aid of the civil government, and this prepared the way for the development of the papacy, the beast of Rev.13:1-10. So apostasy in the church will prepare the way for the Image of the Beast." Rev.13:11-18.

The word "so" means, "in just the same way." This then is but to say that as the apostasy in the early church led to the rise of the papacy, so, in exactly the same way, apostasy in the modern church will lead to the rise of the Image of the Beast. This is the very thing that is happening and is in fact well advanced to the full outworking of the evil thing that it is.

Having seen then in our last chapter, the history of the development of the rise of the apostasy and the consequent rise of the beast in the early centuries, let us now study the step by step development of the rise of the apostasy in the modern church which will lead to the rise of the Image of the Beast in this our day.

LIGHT REJECTED

Between the years 1833-1844, the Lord of Heaven and Earth sent to the Protestant Churches who were then the professed churches of God in the world, the glorious light of the Advent message. Had that light been received as the Lord planned that it should, then those churches would have become a mighty power in the world, soon the gospel would have been carried to every nation, kindred, tongue and people, and the kingdom of Christ would have been established.

But the light that was sent was unwelcome and was fiercely rejected and this led to a serious spiritual fall. "The second angel's message of Revelation 14 was frist preached in the summer of 1844, and it then had a direct application to the churches of the United States, where the warning of the Judgment had been most generally rejected, and where the declensions in the churches had been most rapid. But the message of he second angel did not reach its complete fulfilment 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." G.C.389.

That rejection of light there, was a step which could only end in the full formation of the Image of the Beast. There is no possible outcome than this. The setting up of the Image of the Beast and all the oppression and persecution which will go with it, was from that moment on, an unavoidable certainty. It is such not by any arbitrary decree of God, nor even basically by the will and choice of man, but simply because effect will follow the cause in this field as surely as in any other field. That is to say, just as surely as the cause is there, then just as surely will the effects follow.

To understand this let us follow the matter through step by step. The message and the warning which came to those people in 1844 was the Glad Tidings of the all-sufficient merits of Jesus Christ, the power of God unto salvation from sin. Romans 3:25; 1:16; Matt.1:21. Now, if they who needed it so much refused to receive it, then they did not have it. That is obvious. The churches stood devoid of power when they refused to accept the power of God which was ready to be revealed in the last time. 1 Peter 1:5.

Pitted against the church is the power of sin and the church is in the world to save men from sin. It has no other right to exist than this. Now either the church has that power or she does not. It is not the possession of great and splendid organization, not the number of people that serve the church, nor the amount of money under her command, nor any other of these things which gives to a church such power, but the acceptance of the truth as it is brought to the church by God, not the acceptance of the mere theory of the truth but of the living experience of the truth which brings the power of God.

In 1844, the churches rejected the truth of God in the experience and power of it and thus were left without the power of God to combat the power of sin. It must therefore follow that sin must make mighty inroads into their domains, so that wickedness and immorality would increase and prosper. This is the only possible outworking of the situation. Such a cause must be followed by the certain effects of that cause. History itself attests to this in the past as we read: "The iniquity and spiritual darkness that prevailed under the supremacy of Rome were the inevitable result of her suppression of the Sriptures." G.C.586.

As it was in the past so it will be in the future for the same rejection of the truth of God will bring the same sad results.

The message of the everlasting gospel as brought in the light of the Advent truth of 1844, called upon men to receive the righteousness of Christ which is made manifest in obedience to all the commandments of God including the Seventh Day Sabbath. Truly understood, received and obeyed, the Sabbath of God is the evidence of the presence and power of God, and therefore its place in the teaching of the last message to the world is vital and necessary. It has to be there or the message is incomplete and lacking in vital power and efficiency. But the Sabbath is particularly objectionable to those that reject the message and they are led to cast aside the whole law in order to avoid the claims of the Sabbath. But the work of Sabbath reform extends nevertheless and the more it does then the more it is resisted by the churches. In this way their rejection of the truth of God becomes the more confirmed, and inevitably the power of sin makes the more determined and effective inroads into the world. Thus the very churches that are in the world as the channels by which the salvation of God is to come to the world become the very means by which sin is strengthened and entrenched.

Thus we read, "As the work of Sabbath reform extends, this rejection of the Divine law to avoid the claims of the fourth commandment will become well-nigh universal. The teachings of religious leaders have opened the door to infidelity, to spiritualism, and to contempt of God's holy law, and upon these leaders rests a fearful responsibility for the iniquity that exists in the Christian world." G.C.587.

THIS IS UTTERLY TRUE

None but those who know nothing of history can deny it. Up till 1844, the churches were strong teachers of the obligation of the law and the period is recognized as one of the most circumspect and moral of history. True, there was the worldly class who lived wickedly but the hard core of society was religious and law abiding. It was a period when there were men and women of decided strength of character and moral worth.

But when came the added light of the Advent message in 1844, and as has been noted already, the churches led out in a rejection of that message. Ever since there has been an ever increasing crime wave around the world. The family unit is no longer stable, juvenile as well as adult crime is of such fearful proportion to be a major concern of the powers that be. Divorce is common, and violence is rampant the world over. And all this is rapidly on the increase.

These are facts and no one can honestly deny them. The world is not getting to be a better place. It is getting worse and worse at a fearful pace. 2 Tim.3:1-5.

We are in the last days and this situation exists right now. The common man, the man in the street can see it. The officials can see it. The church can see it and the leaders of the nations can see it. Everyone can see it. And it is because they can, and because they are disturbed by it that it becomes the issue on political platforms. Every election in the United States stresses the need for the restoration of Law and Order.

Men will advance a number of different reasons for its presence or even be at a loss to give a reason at all, but let it be known on the authority of the Word of God that there is but one reason for it and that is the rejection of the truth sent to the churches from heaven. This is the reason. Having rejected the truth of God, they have rejected the power of God and thus have no method of defense against the power of sin in their lives, and therefore, the ever increasing crime, violence and immorality provides an ever strengthening pressure to come up with an answer that will either solve the situation or at least remove the blame from the churches.

This brings us to the next step in the inexorable march to the setting up of the Image of the Beast. They have rejected the truth of God, the Sabbath of God, the power of God. The barrier to sin removed, it has swept in like a flood. Now what?

Already quoted above is this statement, "The teachings or religious leaders have opened the door to infidelity, to spiritualism, and to contempt of God's holy law; and upon these leaders rests a fearful responsibility for the iniquity that exists in the 'Christian' world." G.C.587.

Now there immediately follows this word, "Yet this very class put forth the claim that the fast spreading corruption is largely attributable to the desecration of the so-called 'Christian sabbath,' and that the enforcement of Sunday would greatly improve the morality of society." G.C.587.

So here the churches, having rejected the Sabbath of God and the power of God, add further sin to the first sin by charging the trouble to Sunday desecration when it is not that at all. This is an act in support of Sunday and therefore is a further act in the rejection of the Sabbath, the truth and the power of God.

This then can only drive them still further away from God, still more firmly and deeply into the power of sin and thus the more widely open the door to the inroads of immorality, sin and spiritualism. Thus the churches are found to be in a descending spiral of ever frightening proportions until a crisis is reached of such dimension as will demand drastic and inevitable action. And that action will be the call for the enforcement of the Sunday, which, when it is accomplished, will be the setting up of the Image of the Beast.

This crisis will force the churches to the point where they will have to have the Image set up in their behalf or they themselves will cease to exist. It will be a matter of their own survival. So serious will the situation have become, so desperate the plight to which the world will have come, that something will have to be done to meet the situation. On every hand the church will see faith in her institutions and her authority fading away. Conscious of the fact that they are powerless to reach and hold the people, conscious of the fact that they cannot stem the rising tide of evil, the churches will be forced to seek power where it can be found. But they have rejected the power of God and have confirmed themselves in that rejection to the point where they have no mind to confess the sin and return to the Lord. Therefore they must find some other power and they will. The only other power that is available is the power of force, the means whereby a man is compelled to do that which it is not in him do do.

But such power is vested, not in the church, but in the state. It is not the way of God to force anyone to do anything. God desires only willing and cheerful obedience. He looks for a people who are willing to be made willing by trusting wholly in the merits of the blood of a crucified and risen Savior. But the power of the state is such that it can obtain obedience to its laws only by force. It has no other means. Therefore, when the church has lost the power of God, the power to appeal to the heart of man, and needs the power of force, then she will go to the State and obtain from it the power which it has, the power of force, and, when she has obtained that, then she will have set up the image of the beast. But such a situation will not have arrived in a moment. It will be the culmiation of a long process beginning with the rejection of the power of God, followed by the consequent inroads of immorality, vice, spiritualism, violence, rebellion, and such like.

If they were but to see that this is the outworking of their own mischievious course of action and thus be led to repent of that which caused the problem, that one wrong action leads to another and then another until the matter reaches crisis proportions and a desperate church calls in the power of the State to do that which she is powerless to do.

This is the procedure, long and remorseless, which leads up to the Image of the Beast. Already this is well advanced and shortly we shall see the fruition of it all.

LAST DAY EVENTS (CHAPTER 4)
THE ROLE OF SPIRITUALISM

In the work of restoration of the Beast and his Image in these last days, the role of spritualism is not to be overlooked, for it will play a major part in this return to power of ecclesiastical oppression.

"Satan has long been preparing for his final effort to deceive the world... little by little he has prepared the way for his masterpiece of deception in the development of spiritualism... Even in its present form, so far from being more worthy of toleration than formerly, it is really a more dangerous, because a more subtle, deception. While it formerly denounced Christ and the Bible, it now professes to accept both. But the Bible is interpreted in a manner that is pleasing to the unrenewed heart, while its solemn and vital truths are made of no effect. LOVE IS DWELT UPON AS THE CHIEF ATTRIBUTE OF GOD, BUT IT IS DEGRADED TO A WEAK SENTIMENTALISM, making little distinction between good and evil." G.C.561, 558.

In Matthew 24:24, we are warned that in the last days "There shall arise false Christs and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders, insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect."

The ones against whom we are warned, appearing in plural numbers in these last days are false Christs and false prophets. They come not as open enemies of the truth, but as counterfeits of the real. Among those who are opposed to God's living truths are men so polite, courteous, helpful, calm and nice that you would ask yourself, "How could such a person ever be the enemy of God? Outwardly he bears all the marks of conversion. Surely from all I can see of this man he is a true child of God."

But do not be deceived. That is not the test. The ministers of unrighteousness come among us as angels of light to deceive and draw back God's people. In these last days we will have miracles, genuine, undeniable miracles of apparent conversions, worked by Satan's ministers. They will teach a message which appears to be the doctrine of Christ. It will look the same and sound the same, but God's true people will know by His Word that it is not the same because there are distinct differences.

"Genious, sympathy, even generous deeds, may become decoys of Satan to entice other souls over the precipice of ruin for this life and the life to come." MB 94,95. "To a superficial observer, persons who are naturally amiable, who are educated and refine, may appear perfect in life," (F.W.32)but do not be deceived, for "I saw that the mysterious signs and wonders, and false reformations would increase, and spread. The reformations that were shown me, were not reformations from error to truth, but from bad to worse; for those who professed a change of heart, had only wrap about them a religious garb, which covered up the iniquity of a wicked heart. Some appeared to have been really converted, as to deceive God's people, but if their hearts could be seen, they would appear as black as ever." E.G.White, and Her Critics, by F.D. Nichol p.222. (Present Truth, Aug.1849, pp.21,22).

In the book of Revelation, it is made clear that there will be in the final and finishing conflict, a vast gathering of the powers of earth, and that this gathering will be accomplished through the work of the spirits of devils, WORKING MIRACLES. It is also made clear that this vast confederacy of earthly power will be gathered together in opposition against the God of Heaven and against the Lamb, but that in the end the Lord will be the victor in the battle. See Isaiah 8:9-16.

Now these very same miracle working spirits of devils will be the prime agency in the bringing into being the Image of the Beast. This is expressly stated in Revelation 13:11-18. What is this fire that comes down from heaven (first heaven of course)?

Today men in the religious world are looking for the fulfillment of the second Pentecost. In Joel 2:28-32, is foretold the mighty outpouring of the Spirit in the last days. When this true work comes it will be the work of the true Christ and His workers, and the Devil and his evil spirits of devils fear the mighty power to be exercised in this movement.

They will work with all their deceptive power to mislead souls. To do this they will seek to counterfeit the real before it comes so that many will be misled and deceived into a snare before the real movement comes. In this way they miss out on the true because they have become part of the false:

"I saw that God has honest children among the nominal Adventist and the fallen churches, and before the plagues shall be poured out, ministers and people will be called out from these churches and will gladly receive the truth. Satan knows this; and before the loud cry of the third angel is given, he raises an excitement in these religious bodies, that those who have rejected the truth may think that God is with them. He hopes to deceive the honest and lead them to think that God is still working for the churches. But the light will shine, and all who are honest will leave the fallen churches, and take their stand with the remnant." Early Writings, p.261.

The above prophecy from the Book of Joel has already had a fulfillment in the experience of the Apostles at Pentecost. On that day, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and therefore speaking the truth of God, Peter said, "But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel." Acts 2:16. It was in that day when the words of Joel were first fulfilled that "fire came down from Heaven in the sight of men" as a testimony that the Holy Spirit had come in power on the people of God. That was a demonstration of the way in which this prophecy was to be fulfilled and the devil knows it. Inasmuch as he is determined to appear as Christ with the power of God, he will make it appear that the outpouring of the Holy Spirit has come, that Pentecost is being repeated.

The coming down of the fire from heaven which marked the descent of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, was immediately followed by miracles of healing. Likewise we can expect to see miracles of healing sweeping through those churches who, having rejected the light of truth and the message of Sabbath reform, have opened the door to the inroads of spiritualism. And in these expectations we shall not be disappointed in our trust of the sure word of prophecy, for already this thing is being fulfilled before our very eyes. Today there is present in many of the churches a movement of power associated with which are miracles of healing so genuine as to be undeniable.

"And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men and deceived them that dwell upon the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast, saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by the sword and did live."

So the whole objective of the bringing of false fire from heaven, the whole objective of working miracles and therefore, the whole objective of the spirits of devils in the last days is to bring into existence the formation of the Image of the Beast.

THE THREEFOLD UNION

"Through the two great errors, the immortality of the soul and Sunday sacredness, Satan will bring the people under his deception. While the former lays the foundation of spiritualism, the latter creates a bond of sympathy with Rome. The Protestants of the United States will be foremost in stretching their hands across the gulf to grasp the hand of spiritualism, and they will reach over the abyss to clasp hands with the Roman power; and under the influence of this three fold union, this country will follow in the steps of Rome in trampling the rights of conscience." G.C.588; please read 552-560.

And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty." Rev.16:13-14.

"Many will be confronted by the spirits of devils personating beloved relatives or friends and declaring the most dangerous heresies. These visitants will appeal to our tenderest sympathies and will work miracles to sustain their pretensions. We must be prepared to withstand them with the Bible truth that "the dead know not anything" and that they who thus appear are the spirits of devils... The Apostles, as personated by these lying spirits, are made to contradict what they wrote at the dictation of the Holy Spirit when on earth." G.C. 560,557.

We have the plainest warning that through the teaching of the immortality of the soul, the spirits of devils will make fire come down from heaven, which is to make it appear that the Holy Spirit has been poured out. With equal clarity we have been warned that the spirits of devils have power to do miracles in the sight of men. Therefore we know that it is not safe to accept every appearance of the "Holy Spirit" and every miracle as a witness of the presence of the power of God. More likely it is the counterfeit abroad in its work of deception.

That this is not the work of the Spirit of God is evident from the fact that these people have rejected the message of truth for this time. They are of those who, having rejected the mssages of God sent to the churches in the 1844 period, have fallen lower and lower and further and further into the grip of spiritualism.

"The line of distinction between professed Christians and the ungodly is now hardly distinguishable. Church members love what the world loves, and are ready to join with them; and Satan determines to unite them in one body, and thus strengthen his cause by sweeping all into the ranks of Spiritualism. Catholics, who boast of miracles as a certain sign of the true church, will be readily deceived by this miracle working power; and Protestants, having cast away the shield of truth, will also be deceived. Catholics, Protestants and worldlings, will alike accept the form of godliness without the power and they will see in this union a grand movement for the conversion of the world and the ushering in of the long expected millenium." G.C. 588, 589.

But the true people of God will not be deceived. They will know that the work of these forces will be upholding error and not truth. But when Jesus at last appears in the clouds of heaven, then the true children of God will say, "Lo, this is our God. We have waited for Him. We will be glad and rejoice in His salvation." Isaiah 25:9.

CALAMITIES AND DISASTERS

There is yet another means that the Devil use in his effort to bring all the people into subjection to himself and that is the instrument of calamity and trouble. While on the one hand through spiritualism he heals the people and thus appears as the benefactor of the race, on the other hand he works in his true role of destroyer.

This is brought to view very clearly in the way in which he afflicted Job, the servant of God. It was he who swept away all of Job's possessions but it was God who was blamed for it by those who came to see and to "comfort" Job. But Satan was able to go only so far as the Lord allowed him and no more. So today, still, "It is God that shields His creatures, and hedges them in from the power of the destroyer. But the Christian world has shown contempt for the law of Jehovah; and the Lord will do just what He has declared that He would, He will withdraw His blessings from the earth, and remove His protecting care from those who are rebelling against His law; and teaching and forcing others to do the same." G.C.589.

This leaves the door open for Satan to work his will. He will not treat all the same as it will best suit his purpose. "Satan has control of all whom God does not especially guard. He will favour and prosper some, in order to further his own designs; and he will bring trouble upon others, and lead men to believe that it is God who is afflicting them." Ibid, p.589.

In the book of Job we have some revelation of the power of Satan to control the elements of nature. There storm and tempest came at his call to sweep the possessions of God's faithful servant. Since that time his learning and skill have advanced and he has even more power to destroy today. Thus we read, "While appearing to the children of men as the great physician who can heal all their maladies, he will bring disease and disaster until populous cities are reduced to ruin and to destruction. Even now he is at work. In accidents and calamities by sea and by land, in great conflagrations, in fierce tornadoes and terrific hail-storms, in tempests, floods, cyclones, tidal waves, and earthquakes, in every place and in a thousand forms, Satan is exercising his power. He sweeps away the ripening harvest and famine and distress follow. He imparts to the air a deadly taint and thousands perish by the pestilence. These visitations are to become more and more disastrous. Destruction will be upon both man and beast. "The earth mourneth and fadeth away. The haughty people do languish. The earth is defiled under the inhabitants thereof, because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinances, broken the everlasting covenant." Isa.24:4,5; G.C.590.

It is Satan's constant effort to make it appear that these calamities and disasters are visited upon the earth by the direct decree of God. But "It is thus that the great deceiver seeks to conceal his own work... God does not stand toward the sinner as an executioner of the sentence against transgression." G.G.35,36.

MISPLACED BLAME

"And then the great deceiver will persuade men that those who serve God are causing these evils." Ibid, 590. This is the very opposite of the truth. It is just as much the opposite of the truth as the charge to be made that the desecration of Sunday will be the cause of the wide-spread wickedness and immorality in the world.

Bu it will be believed and the natural reaction will be to war against those who stand for the truth as it is in Jesus. This will be but to throw off still further the protection of God and to open the door for Satan to bring more trouble on the one hand and on the other to lead to still greater wickedness in the land, which will lead to still greater pressure for the Sunday Law and so on in an ever steepening spiral to the one possible end, the setting up of the Image of the Beast.

Thus it is that all these diabolical forces are working toward this end. The mighty power of spiritualism masquerading as true religion will be the great motivating and unifying force in the movement. And it will succeed to a point and for a short period of time. Of this we will learn more as we proceed in this study.

LAST DAY EVENTS (CHAPTER 5)
BABYLON THE GREAT

In the study of the order of last day events, we have seen first of all the rise of the powers of darkness in the beast and his image. Then we have seen in the study entitled "THAT OTHER ANGEL" the parallel work of preparing a people to fight the battles of the Lord in the last days. While the devil is marshalling his forces, the Lord is also preparing His. It is a sad picture wherein the armies of the Lord cause many delays by their failure to measure up to the standards the Lord requires and generations pass away before the Lord finally has the army prepared.

For this reason the four winds of strife are held in check until this preparation is complete and then will be released the powers of heaven and earth for this last great conflict between the beast and his image on the one hand, and the armies of the living God on the other hand. This will be the final and the finishing conflict which will ring down the curtain on this earth's history and usher in the glorious second coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. It is a conflict in which everyone of us is going to be involved should we live the short period of time until it comes, whether we like it or not. In this conflict every man, woman and child is going to have 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 controversy will demand this to be so, and each must and will have to give his answer the 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 Lord, the weapons will be spiritual and not carnal, and God, through His faithful few, will resist the powers of darkness by the proclamation of a mighty and a powerful message, which message is 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 Revelaltion 14:8. This is the message of the second angel, "preached in the summer of 1844." Great Controversy, 389. It

AB, well done. A thorough study indeed. Eventually the pastors and politicians in America will unite, in opposition to the mission and message of the Remnant Church, to enforce the Catholic Sabbath. Soon thereafter other countries will follow her example.

I would like to share an observation: by the time probation closes the world will be divided into two classes, 1) those who have the seal of God, and 2) those who do not have the seal of God. The second class can be further subdivided into three categories, 1) those who receive the mark of the beast in their forehead, 2) those who receive the mark of the beast in their right hand, and 3) those who oppose both the mark and the seal.

I am rather surprised that this initial post has not been met with solid interest, as it is about as clear-cut as I have found on the web.
Solid truth, if I ever read it!

There is the position of some, That Christ steps out of the Sanctuary in heaven twice, once when the sealing of the 144,000, are sealed hence to separate the chap from the wheat, to give the Loud Cry, the second time after the sealing of the great multitude is finished, or those who were called out of Babylong, by the 144,000.
The position being that Jacobs trouble for the church is at the end of the sealing of the 144,000, and at that time the NSL is enforced, While the International Sunday Law is inforced at the beginning of the Loud Cry.

The Scriptures read hold back the four winds untill my servants are sealed, indicating that the time of jacobs trouble takes place at the time the four winds (Revel. 7:1-8) When the servants (GC.612) are sealed after jacobs trouble are sent to the world to gather the great Multitude during the blowing of the four winds, in the time of trouble such at their never was. Daniel 12:1,2,3.
Indicating the 144,000 are sealed under the sixth seal to bring in the great Multitude during the seventh seal.

Mrs white shows that the 144,000 and the great multitude and the Martyrs down through the ages are three different groups

Nearest the throne are those who were once zealous in the cause of Satan, but who, plucked as brands from the burning, have followed their Saviour with deep, intense devotion. Next are those who perfected Christian characters in the midst of falsehood and infidelity, those who honored the law of God when the Christian world declared it void, and the millions, of all ages, who were martyred for their faith. And beyond is the "great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, . . . before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands." Revelation 7:9. Their warfare is ended, their victory won. They have run the race and reached the prize. The palm branch in their hands is a symbol of their triumph, the white robe an emblem of the spotless righteousness of Christ which now is theirs. {GC 665.2}

These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth." These, having been translated from the earth, from among the living, are counted as "the first fruits unto God and to the Lamb." Revelation 15:2, 3; 14:1-5. {great contr. 649}

Whitlie, I agree with you that the Great Multitude and the 144,000 are two separate groups. Not everybody agrees, but the GC quote you cited confirms it. However, we disagree as to when they are sealed. I believe the Great Multitude symbolizes the resurrected saints and the 144,000 symbolize the translated saints.

In regards to understanding future last day events, I am reminded of a statement that Jesus made when He was here on this earth. John 13:19; "Now I tell you before it come, that, when it is come to pass, ye may believe that I am he."

Jesus did not give us prophecy concerning the future so that we would know exactly how/when events will transpire in the last days. He gave us propehecy so that when the foretold event takes place we will know that He is who He says He is....The Son of the Omniscient God.

I fear that the SDA Church may be setting itself up for some serious embarrassment by proclaiming to the world that they alone know how the future will unfold.

In fact, they may be repeating history in that the Jews of Christ's Day thought that they knew how the Messianic prophecies were to be fulfilled, and yet they did not recognize the actual fulfillment of these same prophecies in the First Advent of Christ.

Welcome, Bob, to Maritime SDA OnLine!

You made a very good point, Bob. We definitly don't want to make the same mistake(s) that they made.

I would like to present a somewhat different perspective concerning the 144,000.

Revelation 7 presents the 144,000 as a distinct group, separate from the Great Multitude, that are in Heaven after the opening of the Sixth Seal(Second Coming of Christ). The 144,000 come fromt the 12 tribes of Israel and they are sealed.(Note: Only the 144,000 receive the Seal of God.)

Revelation 13 depicts this same group as being in Heaven prior to the proclamation of the Three Angel's Messages and the Great Harvest(Second Coming).

Conclusion: If a literal interpretation of this presentation is made concerning the 144,000, then it should be determined that the 144,000 are a special group of Israelites that have already ascended to Heaven and are there right now. There is only one group, mentioned in the Bible, that could possibly fit this description......The multitude of saints resurrected with Jesus.

There are only 2 resurrections. Those to everlasting life and those to everlasting contempt. The ones alive are the servants of God which by definiteion fits all of us who have the faith of Jesus anf keep the commandments of God. WHether we are alive at that time I suppose depends on a variety of things.
There can;t be already people in heaven and thena nother group on earth that are righteous that will be taken to heaven as well. THat would make it a secret rapture, and that would also mean that there are 3 resurrections when the Bible states only 2.
This would conflict with scripture.

quote:

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1 Thessalonians 4:16,17
16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
17 Then we which are alive [and] remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

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Both the dead in Christ and the righteous living are caught up in the air whcih is the resurrection to everlasting life aka the first resurrection.
This corresponds completely with what is outlined in Revelation 7 i.e. You have people alive on earth, and then all of a sudden you are taken to heaven and its a very large multitude of people which includes those that are alive and remain on the earth (1 thess. 4:16,17)
Why does it mention tribes.. I don't know, but why will we the saints be judging the 12 tribes of Israel let alone sitting on 12 thrones which represent each tribe of Israel? Really interesting stuff indeed:

quote:

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Matthew 19:28
28 And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

---

This is clear indication of who will consist of the 144,000. They are the servants of God.
God Bless,
Will