Today I would like to talk to you about a topic that should be familiar to Seventh-day Adventists: the third angel’s message. Many of you know the importance of this message and so you may wonder why I would want to bring this topic before you again. Well notice what Ellen White has to say about the Third Angel’s Message. She says:
The third angel’s message is the great sanctifying as well as the testing truth. 25 LtMs, Ms 60, 1911, par. 1.
And in another place:
When the third angel’s message shall go forth with a loud voice [and] the whole earth shall be lightened with His glory, the Holy Spirit is poured out upon His people. 14LtMs, Lt 96a, 1899, par7.
And finally she says:
The third angel's message is the gospel message for these last days, and in no case is it to be overshadowed by other interests and made to appear an unessential consideration. Testimonies, Volume 6, 241.
Clearly the third angel’s message is incredibly important to God’s people at this time. As a result of this let’s study this special truth.
Let’s first go to Revelation 14:9,10 which says:
9 And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, 10 The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: Revelation 14:9,10
According to what we have read God does not want you and I to worship the beast and his image. He says that if we do worship the beast and his image we will drink of the wine of the wrath of God. The third angel goes on to say that those that do worship the beast and his image will be tormented. The bible says:
And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. Revelation 14:11
Clearly God does not want you and I to worship the beast and his image. If we do there will be dire consequences. The issue then is over who or what we will worship. Are we going to worship God or are we going to worship the beast and his image?
The Bible tells us that true worship happens when we acknowledge God as our maker. The Bible says:
O come, let us worship and bow down:
Let us kneel before the Lord our maker. Psalm 95:7
When we keep the true seventh-day Sabbath we acknowledge God as our maker. The Bible says:
8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: 10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: 11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it. Exodus 20:8-11
A portion of this very commandment is echoed in the first angel’s message that reads:
Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters. Revelation 14:7
We worship God then when we acknowledge Him as our maker and when we keep the seventh-day Sabbath we are acknowledging God as our maker. As a result this is true worship of God. But in the Bible the third angel’s message warns us that we are not to worship the beast and his image in place of God. That must mean then that the worship of the beast does not include keeping the seventh-day Sabbath. But before we unpack how the worship of the beast is different than true worship we need to establish who exactly the beast is.
The context of third angel’s message tells us that the beast in Revelation 14 is the same beast that is described at the the beginning of Revelation 13. In Revelation 13 we are told that a beast comes up out of the sea. The. Bile says:
And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. Revelation 13:1
And then another beast comes up out of the earth. The bible says:
11 And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. 12 And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. Revelation 13:11,12
Now not only does the lamblike beast cause the people of the world to worship this first beast, but the people that worship the first beast receive a mark. And the people that do not worship the sea beast are to be killed. The bible says:
15…as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. 16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: Revelation 13:15,16
It is clear then that this beast in Revelation 13 that came up out of the sea is the beast that we are told not to worship. And if we do worship this beast then we will receive a mark and we will be punished with the wrath of God. Who or what then is this beast that comes up out of the sea. There are many ways we can establish who this beast is but today I want to simply show you where the sea beast arrives in history. The Bible tells us that this beast that comes up out of the sea receives its authority from the dragon. The bible says of this beast:
And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority. Revelation 13:2
The dragon then gives the beast that comes up out of the sea his authority. If we can establish who or what the dragon is in history we can also establish who the sea beast is and then we will know who we shouldn’t worship. So who or what is the dragon? The simple answer comes in Revelation 12 which says:
7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, 8 And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. 9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. Revelation 12:7-9
The dragon then is the devil. But I want you to notice that the dragon also symbolizes something else. Let’s read Revelation 12:3-5 which says:
3 And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. 4 And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born. 5 And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne. Revelation 12:3-5
Notice here that the dragon has seven heads and ten horns. Heads and horns are symbols for the divisions of a kingdom. In Daniel we learn that beasts themselves are symbols for kingdoms. You can read about that in Daniel 7:17,23. But as we look closer at the information that is given in Revelation we can identify which kingdom this dragon represents. Again the Bible says that the dragon attempts to devour the child of a woman. But this child is to rule all nations with a rod of iron and this child is caught up to God. Because the Bible describes Jesus being the one to ascend to heaven we can identify the dragon also with pagan Rome.
After all it was Herod the Great, who was appointed by Rome, that attempted to take the life of Jesus. It was also pagan Rome that sentenced Jesus to die. But Jesus was resurrected and went to heaven. And so it is clear then that the dragon also symbolizes pagan Rome. That means that the dragon in Revelation 12 is pagan Rome and that it gave it’s authority to the beast that came up out of the sea in the very next chapter of Revelation 13.
When we study history we learn that this happened at the decree by the Roman emperor Justinian. Beginning in the year 531 Justinian began to issue a decree that gave civil authority to the bishop of Rome. This code called the bishop of Rome:
“the head of all churches,”—Code of Justinian, lib. I, title I.
And then a little later Justinian wrote a letter elaborating upon his decree saying:
“that all affairs touching the church shall be referred to the pope, 'Head of all bishops, and the true and effective corrector of heretics.’’’ Emperor Justinian
This would later be inserted into his code along with the following statement that reads:
“We order that the Most Holy Pope of ancient Rome shall hold the first rank of all the Pontiffs,”Emperor Justinian
All of this was done in order to give the bishop of Rome, called the pope, civil authority. And all of this went into effect when Rome was freed from the Ostrogoths in 538 A.D.
As a result of this Rome gave authority to the papacy just as the Bible prophesied. Over the next 1260 years the popes would use this authority to punish and persecute anyone that did not comply with their dictates. This is why the Bible says:
5 And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months. 6 And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. 7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. Revelation 13:5-7
It is this same power that the Bible describes in Revelation 14 in the third angel’s message. Just as the papacy used persecution in the past it will do so again. We know then that the third angel’s message warns us not to worship the beast. And we now know that the beast is the papacy. We also know that the worship of the beast cannot include keeping the true seventh-day Sabbath because keeping the seventh-day Sabbath acknowledges God as our our maker. That must mean then that the worship of the papacy excludes Sabbath worship for some other form of worship. Ellen White explains:
The enforcement of Sunday-keeping on the part of Protestant churches is an enforcement of the worship of the papacy—of the beast. Those who, understanding the claims of the fourth commandment, choose to observe the false instead of the true Sabbath; are thereby paying homage to that power by which alone 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. Great Controversy 1888, p448.
If I had more time I would show you how the United States is the beast with two horns like a lamb that will speak as a dragon. But for now we can say that the United States will enforce the false Sunday worship. And the United States will cause people to receive the mark of the papacy’s authority. Notice what catholics themselves have said:
“Sunday is our mark of authority …. The church is above the Bible, and this transference of sabbath observance is proof of that fact” (The Catholic Record of London, Ontario, Sept. 1, 1923).
Sunday worship then is a replacement worship for the true Sabbath. You see true Sabbath worship acknowledges God as both our maker and our redeemer. That is why it is so important to worship God on the seventh day of the week. But the devil doesn’t want you to acknowledge God as your maker and redeemer. And as a result he will use the papacy and Protestantism to enforce a spurious and false Sunday Sabbath. The Bible says:
15…as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. Revelation 13:15
And even though there will be the threat of death God does not want you and I to receive the mark of the catholic church’s authority by worshipping on Sunday. And while no one yet has the mark of the beast because it is not being enforced there will come a time when that is the case. Ellen White says:
The truth for this time, the third angel’s message, is to be proclaimed with a loud voice as we approach the great final test. 20LtMs, Ms 130, 1905, par. 7.
God is calling for you and I to stand up for the true Sabbath. He is calling for you and I worship Him through obedience to His laws and to share the good news of salvation with the world. This is why the third angel closes His message by saying:
Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. Revelation 14:12
Those that choose not to worship on the false Sunday Sabbath are choosing to keep the commandments of God and keep the true seventh day Sabbath. Those that do not receive the mark of the papacy’s authority also have the faith of Jesus. In a few weeks we will study more about what it means to keep the commandments of God and to have the faith of Jesus. But for now we can say that these are identifying marks of the people of God in the last days. We can also say that those that have the seal of God at the end of time will in fact keep His commandments and have the faith of Jesus.
If it is your desire to have these characteristics then choose today to honor the Sabbath. Ask yourself will you heed the warning of the third angel’s message? Will you heed this message even when persecution is pressing upon us? You and I know this message can be difficult to give. But we are called to give it. We need to of course give the third angel’s message in love by explaining to the people how God wants them to worship on the true Sabbath. But even if it is difficult God wants us to give this message. And the best way to give this message is to be an example.
Will you by your life and witness show others what it means to follow God? The third angel’s message may sound frightening but it is an alarm that is designed to wake God’s people up. It is designed to teach us to desire the seal of the living God. It is designed to arrest our attention. Will you not only render to God true worship, Will you also share with others this final warning to the world? Will you give the third angel’s message?
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