 
Illustration. The First Angel. "Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come." Rev. 14:7. 1. What prophetic view of the judgment was given Daniel? “I beheld till the thrones were cast down [placed], and the Ancient of days did sit: ... thousand thousands ministered unto Him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.” Dan. 7:9, 10. 2. What assurance has God given of the judgment? “Because He hath appointed a day, in the which He will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom He hath ordained; whereof He hath given assurance unto all men, in that He hath raised Him from the dead.” Acts 17:31. 3. What message announces the judgment-hour come? “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, saying with a loud voice, 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.” Rev. 14:6, 7. 4. In view of the judgment-hour, what is proclaimed anew? “The everlasting gospel.” Verse 6, first part. 5. How extensively is this message to be proclaimed? “To every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people.” Verse 6, first part. [pg 252]6. What is the whole world called upon to do? “Fear God, and give glory to Him.” Verse 7. 7. What special reason is given for this? “For the hour of His judgment is come.” Same verse. 8. Whom are all called upon to worship? “Him that made heaven, and earth.” Same verse. Note.—There is only one gospel (Rom. 1:16, 17; Gal. 1:8), first announced in Eden (Gen. 3:15), preached to Abraham (Gal. 3:8) and to the children of Israel (Heb. 4:1, 2), and proclaimed anew in every generation. In its development, the gospel meets the needs of every crisis in the world's history. John the Baptist in his preaching announced the kingdom of heaven at hand (Matt. 3:1, 2), and prepared the way for the first advent. John 1:22, 23. Christ Himself in His preaching of the gospel announced the fulfilment of a definite-time prophecy (the sixty-nine weeks, or 483 years, of Dan. 9:25), and called the people to repentance, in view of the coming of the predicted Messiah. Mark 1:14, 15. So when the time of the judgment comes, and Christ's second advent is near, a world-wide announcement of these events is to be made in the preaching of the everlasting gospel adapted to meet the need of the hour. 9. What prophetic period extends to the time of the cleansing of the sanctuary, or the investigative judgment? “And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.” Dan. 8:14. 10. When did this long period expire? In a.d. 1844. See reading on page 230. Note.—Our Lord based His preaching of the gospel upon the fulfilment of the first part of the 2300 days, or years (Mark 1:14, 15), a prophecy which determined the time of the first advent. The whole period extends to the time of the judgment, just preceding the second advent, and at its expiration a special gospel message is sent to all the world proclaiming the judgment-hour at hand, and calling upon all to worship the Creator. The facts of history answer to this interpretation of the prophecy: for at this very time (1844) just such a message was being proclaimed in various parts of the world. This was the beginning of the great second advent message which is now being proclaimed throughout the world. 11. How is the true God distinguished from all false gods? “Thus shall ye say unto them, The gods that have not made the heavens and the earth, even they shall perish from the earth.... He [the true God] hath made the earth by His power, He hath established the world by His wisdom, and hath stretched out the heavens by His discretion.” Jer. 10:11, 12. 12. For what reason is worship justly due to God? “For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods.... The sea is His, and He made it: and His hands formed [pg 253] 13. Why do the inhabitants of heaven worship God? “The four and twenty elders fall down before Him, ... saying, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created.” Rev. 4:10, 11. 14. What memorial did God establish of His creative power? “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.... 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.” Ex. 20:8-11. 15. What place has the Sabbath in the work of salvation? “Moreover also I gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between Me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them.” Eze. 20:12. 16. How many are concerned in the judgment? “For we must all appear before the judgment-seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.” 2 Cor. 5:10. 17. What will be the standard in the judgment? “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. For He that said, Do not commit adultery; said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law. So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.” James 2:10-12. 18. In view of the judgment, what exhortation is given? “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep His commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.” Eccl. 12:13, 14. Note.—A comparison of Rev. 14:7 with Eccl. 12:13, 14, suggests that the way to give glory to God is to keep His commandments, and that in giving the judgment-hour message, the duty of keeping the commandments would be emphasized. This is plainly shown in the description given of the people who are gathered out of every nation, kindred, tongue, and people as the result of the preaching of this message, in connection with the other messages which immediately follow and accompany it. Of this people it is said, “Here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.” Rev. 14:12. |
|
