He says he “saw another angel.” Where did he see the first one, then? Answer—In his description of the trumpets, viii: 13, thus he carries our minds back to the simple narration of the first description of these messengers and receivers out of which were sealed 144,000, in 7th chapter. This message has gone to every nation, kindred, tongue and people.
“And there followed another angel saying Babylon is fallen, is fallen,” &c., 8th verse. This fallen city, we say, was the nominal churches, embracing all of the professed followers of the prince of peace; and they have fallen, because they rejected this first message at the hour of [pg 103] God's judgment, and shut it out of their worshipping assemblies, and out of their hearts—“they made light of it.”
And the third angel followed, 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, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture,” &c.—9th and 10th verses.
These two last described angels, which follow the first, are only a part of the flying messengers described in the 6th and 7th verses—for many of the first class opposed the second and third messengers, and some absolutely denounced them for saying Babylon, or the nominal churches had fallen, and for calling God's people to come out of them and leave them forever. In chapter xviii, 4th verse, John heard the same voice from the same people, called the third angel, telling them to come out from Babylon. In the xiv. chapter, he more particularly describes the condition of all those who retain or receive again the mark of the beast, or in any way connect themselves with these churches,—Jer. iii: 3; the plain English of which is, get clear of this mark, or profession, and keep clear; come out and stay out of this “habitation of Devils.” For a further explanation of these texts, and definition of the locations of the heavens, &c., see Way Marks.
Any advent believer who undertakes to dispute this, and the two preceding angels' messages, with their clear fulfillment in advent history from 1840 to the fall of 1844, is, in my opinion, but a few steps removed from the gross darkness that surrounds the habitations of Babylon. I will venture again to reiterate the assertion, that since the days of the Apostles, God's people have never witnessed such a simultaneous and righteous movement, as they did during these three messages. I feel perfectly safe in saying that I fear no contradiction here, nor condemnation hereafter, for moving in perfect harmony, as we have done, during these three messages. Many are writing and preaching that these are, and will continue to be given, while the world stands. This mistake is as fatal as the rejection of the first, because in so doing they will not see any work which God has marked out for them, in this last work for man to fulfill and finish the history of this prophecy. We say, then, that these messages closed with the world, when they were condemned by them, at the end [pg 104] of a cry at midnight, in Oct. 1844. God then had other and more important work for his church to perform among themselves than they ever had before, and it is clearly marked out in the verses which follow these messages, and whoever fails here, fails to follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. Be assured, John has not broken the thread of this most interesting narrative here and left us in confusion, to call the testimony of Jesus his commandments; and our resting from this most laborious work in these messages, the resurrection. If our experience, for more than three years past, has not taught us that God is fulfilling his word, by having every thing in its place; one thing following another, then we have failed to profit by it. Let me entreat you, my brethren, to critically examine the next three verses: viz. “Here is the patience of the saints, here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.”—12th verse. What is the faith of Jesus? Answer,—Chapter 12th, 17th verse says it is his “testimony;” chapter 19th, 10th verse, says his “testimony is the spirit of prophecy.” “Teach all nations to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.”—Matt. xxviii: 20. Now observe, the faith, or testimony of Jesus, embraces all his teachings. Now mark, this is what our opponents call the New Testament commandments, or grace, which they say embraces all the commandments that we are bound to believe or keep!
The text says that these people that are in their patience, their trying time, keep the commandments of God, besides the testimony of Jesus. Here then, we are absolutely directed, not only to the old testament but to the decalogue—Exo. xx: 1-17, and even before there was any decalogue in the form of a precept; see Exo. xvi: 27-30. This one text, in itself, positively overthrows all of their unscriptural teaching about their New Testament commandments, and clearly demonstrates the perpetuity of God's holy Sabbath, because the commandments of God are one thing, and the testimony of Jesus is another. These are the people, then, and the only ones too, who abide by the whole word of God, in the Old and New New Testament teaching, and they that deny the teachings of this text, deny the word of God, and trample down His Holy Sabbath.
In the three preceding verses, God's people are called [pg 105] away, and required, under penalty of their salvation, to continue disconnected from Babylon, the churches to which the great mass before this belonged. Now the very next thing after these messages, John declares that they are keeping the commandments of God; that is, they are keeping the seventh-day Sabbath. Where is the proof? says the objector. Here it is—when this same people were making their sacrifice, in 1843 and '44, expecting the Lord to come, they were walking out in all the commandments of God, as far as they were taught or knew them at that time; and we all fully believed then, and do now, that all the honest ones were in a saved state; and if called away then, as was brother Fitch and others, the same hope would follow them; but we know that they could not be honest, nor be saved, if they were knowingly living in violation of any of God's commandments; and yet we all positively know now, that with a very few exceptions, we were all living in open violation of the 4th commandment, which we were taught to do, (though not always designedly,) in the churches to which they belonged, and where they are still continued to be taught; and our staying with them, we now see, would not have altered, for they fell for rejecting the message that came before this, and therefore the subject of this 12th verse was not presented to them. Our keeping the first day of the week for the fourth commandment, never was, nor ever will be, fulfilling it, any more than keeping Friday for the Sabbath. John, who kept the right Sabbath, and was now describing our real labors and characters, could not have said that we kept the commandments, unless we were keeping the seventh-day Sabbath, according to God's direction and his practice. This, then, being the only commandment that ever had been objected to, from the days of the Apostles, by those who pretended to keep them, makes it clear that John could not have had any reference to either of the others, but the Sabbath only. Here then, for the first time, they were right in the keeping of God's commandments; and the history of God's confiding children since the messages of 1844, are fully demonstrating this point, which clearly proves this exposition to be unobjectionable and perfect. Another point is, that they could not keep the seventh-day Sabbath, until they were separated and undefiled by the woman, (see [pg 106] 4th verse,) hence the declaration that they were doing so after the message of the third angel had separated them from Babylon. John saw the dragon making war with this remnant, (xii: 17,) and the unclean spirits coming out of the mouth of the dragon (or devil,) have been, and are now, doing this work. The very object in sending forth this work, has been to expose these deceivers, who for the last five months more especially, have been bearing down upon this remnant in a paper war, with all the power they could wield. We do not, by any means, expect this is all of it, because we know that the devil will never yield, nor discharge the volunteer company which he is so judiciously marshalling out of the second advent ranks, until every device to destroy the remnant is resorted to, and they are seen emerging from the smoke and carnage of this unholy warfare, ascending to the gates of the holy city, under the waving banner of the commandments of God.—Rev. xx: 11-14.
The judgment hour cry, in 6th and 7th verses, was the only one that was designed to go to all the nations of the earth; and that of itself was sufficient to condemn a world of sinners and false professors that rejected it. Other tests were required, especially in this land, more than England and other lands, because the light of the church was, and still is, in these middle and northern states. Here also, is where this doctrine emanated from; hence the other messages to test and bring out the true. Then those who reject the messages are the false ones; but the unlettered slave and those who have been, as it were, enshrouded in moral darkness, and have been honestly following the Lamb whithersoever he goeth, as far as they knew, have not rejected this light as have the advent believers in this land; therefore they are not under the same condemnation.
“And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, write: Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth; yea, saith the spirit, that they may rest from their labors and their works do follow them,” 15th verse.
I understand this verse as still referring to the same messengers and their adherents, who had been laboring almost incessantly to convince their friends of the reality of the messages, in an especial manner, during a cry at midnight, where they closed with the world. If it was not true of them then as a body, then there is no history [pg 107] since John had this vision, to show any thing like it; and it looks like making scripture, to attempt its application in the future, disconnected with the labor in the preceding verses. The inference is natural, and it is just like God's order every where, that these his honest believers, should rest from their labors with the world, to get their own minds cloudy and calmly fixed on the great event before them. Isaiah saw it; see xxvi: 20, 21, and xxv: 19. How can God's children be shut away in their chambers from the world, and then say at his coming we have waited for him, if they were not resting from their labors with the world, doing what he says, in his 40th chapter 1st verse. It is also in perfect harmony with the type.