The Second Angel’s Message
Introduction
When Jesus introduces the three angel’s messages, He says, that “the everlasting gospel” must be preached to “every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people.” In keeping with the principle of present truth, the everlasting gospel must be the message, that is appropriate for the people, living at that time. We have just discovered, that the first angel’s message is about the judgment, creation and the Sabbath. Therefore, if it is true that the judgment began in 1844, and if it is true that the judgment and the Sabbath, are the present truth for that generation (and subsequent generations), then we should be able to find a God ordained movement, that was the “faithful and wise servant” that preached these things back then, and continues to preach them at this present time, and will continue to preach them until the end of time.
We have already been introduced, to the people, who preach the three angel’s messages, they are the Philadelphians, the Remnant, the 144,000 and the Advent Movement – they are all of one, and one and the same (the Bible tells the same stories in many different ways).
The Advent Movement and the Fall of Babylon
The first half of chapter 14, is a repeat and enlargement of chapter 10. In chapter 10 of Revelation, we were introduced to the Advent Movement. We were told, that God’s people needed to ‘eat’ a little book. After they had eaten the book they were commanded to “prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings” (Rev. 10:11). In other words, the contents of the ‘opened’ book, needed to be preached to all the world. The ‘opened’ little book was the Book of Daniel, and those who studied it, were the pioneers of the Advent Movement.
It was the Advent people, who discovered the ‘right time’ for the judgment. Through the study of the prophecies in Daniel, the pioneers of the Advent Movement, discovered God’s timeline and the ‘right time’ according to the prophecies would be 1844. However, even though the contents of the book were ‘opened’ there was something that was not ‘opened’. The seven thunders had some information to add to the prophecy, but John was commanded not to write down, what they said (see Rev. 10:3, 4). Something was hidden and not to be revealed – something was concealed from the Advent Movement, because it was not the ‘right time’ for it to be known. The information that was concealed from the Advent Movement, was the event to occur in 1844. The pioneers of the Advent Movement got the time right, but they got the event wrong. The pioneers believed the event would be the second coming of Christ, but the event proved to be the judgment, as prophesied in Rev. 14:6, 7. This mistake was not discovered and understood until after the ‘great disappointment.’ After the great disappointment, the Advent pioneers could see more clearly, they began to see the connections between Scripture, they began to connect the dots. They could see the connections between Rev. 10 and Rev. 14. They saw, for example, that the command to prophesy again, was common to both chapters:
| Revelation Chapter 10 |
Revelation Chapter 14 |
| And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings. Rev. 10:11. | And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people. Rev. 14:6, 7. |
Whenever, in God’s timeline, it was the time for ‘new wine’ to be served, the natural inclination of the people was to dislike the ‘new wine’ and proclaim that they preferred the ‘taste’ of the old wine (see Lu. 5:36-39). On every occasion that God’s servants, tried to serve, the right food at the right time, the people always resisted it (see Acts 7:51-54). When the Advent Movement preached the messages of Daniel and Rev. 10 and the first angel’s message, the reaction was the same. There is always a remnant, that accepts the ‘new wine’ and the ‘food’ that is served with it, because they are under the influence of the Holy Spirit. However, the majority eventually decided to reject the ‘new wine’ and return to the old wine. Initially, the Advent Message was preached in the churches, especially in America. But eventually, the established churches rejected the message and closed their doors to the Advent pioneers. When this rejection occurred, the Advent pioneers saw, that they were fulfilling another prophecy, the prophecy of the second angel:
And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. Rev. 14:8.
Because the established churches rejected the Advent Message and the Advent people, and because they could not see or understand the present truth for their time (see Matt. 16:3; 2 Pet. 1:12; Isa. 59:10; 2 Cor. 4:4; Eph. 4:18). The Advent pioneers began to preach the second angel’s message, that Babylon had fallen:
As the churches refused to receive the first angel’s message, they rejected the light from heaven and fell from the favor of God. They trusted to their own strength, and by opposing the first message placed themselves where they could not see the light of the second angel’s message. But the beloved of God, who were oppressed, accepted the message, “Babylon is fallen,” and left the churches. Ellen White, Early Writings, p. 237.
Our hopes now centered on the coming of the Lord in 1844. This was also the time for the message of the second angel, who, flying through the midst of heaven, cried, “Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city.” Revelation 14:8. That message was first proclaimed by the servants of God in the summer of 1844. As a result, many left the fallen churches. In connection with this message the “midnight cry” was given: “Behold, the Bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet Him.” In every part of the land light was given concerning this message, and the cry aroused thousands. It went from city to city, from village to village, and into the remote country regions. It reached the learned and talented, as well as the obscure and humble. Ellen White, Christian Experience and Teachings, p. 50.
Conclusion
When Jesus entered Jerusalem, for the last time, there was much joy and jubilation on the part of the people. When the Pharisees tried to persuade Jesus to rebuke the noisy celebrants, Jesus responded by saying, “I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out” (Lu. 19:40). The reason why the ‘stones would cry out’ if the people do not, is because God always will have His ‘witnesses’ (see Isa. 43:10-12; Rev. 10:11, 14:6). When there is a change in the Kingdom, from one phase to another, or if it is time for ‘new wine’ and ‘food’ to be served, God will have His ‘witnesses.’ The purpose of the ‘witnesses’ is to recognize the event (the phase, the wine, the food), and to proclaim the change or fulfillment to the world. In the same manner, when the Advent people believed, that Jesus would return in 1844, there was much joy and jubilation. But, also in the same manner, the majority of the people, rejected, the message. The result in 34AD was the fall of the nation of Israel/Judea, in 1844 the result was the fall of Babylon.
