Continued
study from the excerpt of The Atonement…
'In Rev.
14:6, 7 is presented one of the most interesting and important proclamations
found in the sacred word. It reads as follows:— “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.”
Related to
the fact of this proclamation are several points of great interest to the
student of the Bible.
1. By
reading the chapter we discover that this message is given before the second advent, and during the probation of man. Verse 8
makes an announcement concerning Babylon, which is supplemented by another on
the same subject in chapter 18. In verses 9-12 of chapter 14 is given yet
another message, containing a most solemn warning against false worship, and a
call to keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.
Rev
14:9 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,
Rev
14:10 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:
Rev
14:11 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.
Rev
14:12 Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the
commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.
Rev
14:13 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 labours; and their works do follow them.
Of course this message
The
Atonement - 140
is given
before the close of probation. In verses 14-20 the second advent of Christ, the
Son of man, is presented, together with the object of his coming—to reap the
harvest of the earth,—and a description of the terrible fate of those who are
not his. Compare 2 Thess. 1:7-10.
2Th
1:7 And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall
be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels,
2Th
1:8 In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that
obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:
2Th
1:9 Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence
of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;
2Th
1:10 When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired
in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that
day.
This is in
perfect harmony with the view that is presented in these pages, that the Judgment must precede the resurrection;
and this, the resurrection, takes place
at Christ’s appearing. 1 Cor. 15:51-54; 1 Thess. 4:13-18.
1Co
15:51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall
all be changed,
1Co
15:52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the
trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall
be changed.
1Co
15:53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must
put on immortality.
1Co
15:54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this
mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying
that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
1Th
4:13 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them
which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.
1Th
4:14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also
which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.
1Th
4:15 For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are
alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are
asleep.
1Th
4:16 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:
1Th
4:17 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.
1Th
4:18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
2 We say
that the Judgment precedes the resurrection, but it does not follow that all
the saints will be in the grave when the judgment of the righteous takes place;
for some are found keeping the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus —that
is, they are heeding the warning of the “third angel”—when Christ appears. And
Paul says that “we shall not all sleep;” that some will be “alive and remain”
at the coming of the Lord. Of course
their judgment takes place while they are living; for as the sleeping
saints are raised immortal, proving that they have been fully acquitted in the
great assize (((a judicial inquest, or the verdict of the jurors involved))))
above, so the living saints at that time will be changed, translated, “in a
moment, in the twinkling of an eye.” Upon
them, in the same instant, will be conferred the same immortality which is
given to the resurrected saints.
3. In Rev.
11:15-18
Rev
11:15 And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in
heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord,
and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.
Rev
11:16 And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their
seats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped God,
Rev
11:17 Saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and
wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, and
hast reigned.
Rev
11:18 And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of
the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto
thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name,
small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.
is shown that the dead are judged—not through
the whole dispensation, but—under the sounding of the seventh trumpet. This is
the last of a series of trumpets covering the whole period of the gospel
dispensation. Under this trumpet the dead are judged, and reward is given to
the saints. Compare Matt. 16:27; Luke 14:14; Rev. 22:12.
Mat
16:27 For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his
angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.
Luk
14:14 And thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for
thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.
Rev
22:12 And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give
every man according as his work shall be.
Under this
trumpet are destroyed the wicked—those who corrupt the earth. See 2 Peter 2:9.
2Pe
2:9 The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to
reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished
Under this
trumpet Christ receives dominion over the kingdoms of the earth, which is given
at the close of his priestly work on his Father’s throne. Please read Ps.
2:6-9; 110:1; Heb. 10:12, 13.
Psa
2:6 Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.
Psa
2:7 I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my
Son; this day have I begotten thee.
Psa
2:8 Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance,
and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.
Psa
2:9 Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in
pieces like a potter's vessel.
Psa
110:1 A Psalm of David. The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right
hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.
Heb
10:12 But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever,
sat down on the right hand of God
Heb
10:13 From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his
footstool.
4 This
message of Rev. 14:6, 7 is called “the everlasting gospel,” though it is
different from any proclamation made in the ministry of Christ and his
apostles. Paul reasoned of judgment to come; Acts 24:25:
Act
24:25 And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to
come, Felix trembled, and answered, Go thy way for this time; when I have a
convenient season, I will call for thee.
he said
God has appointed a day in which he will judge the
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H. Waggoner
world.
Acts 17:31.
Act
17:31 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.
He did not
and could not say that that day was then present—that it had come.
5. Yet it
is not “another gospel,” but an essential part of the same gospel which they
preached; a part which could not be preached in their day, as the Judgment had
not then yet come. In further proof of this, compare Isa. 61 with the facts of
the New Testament.
Isa
61:1 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath
anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up
the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the
prison to them that are bound;
Isa
61:2 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of
vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;
Isa
61:3 To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty
for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of
heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of
the LORD, that he might be glorified.
Isa
61:4 And they shall build the old wastes, they shall raise up the former
desolations, and they shall repair the waste cities, the desolations of many
generations.
Isa
61:5 And strangers shall stand and feed your flocks, and the sons of the
alien shall be your plowmen and your vinedressers.
Isa
61:6 But ye shall be named the Priests of the LORD: men shall call you
the Ministers of our God: ye shall eat the riches of the Gentiles, and in their
glory shall ye boast yourselves.
Isa
61:7 For your shame ye shall have double; and for confusion they shall
rejoice in their portion: therefore in their land they shall possess the
double: everlasting joy shall be unto them.
Isa
61:8 For I the LORD love judgment, I hate robbery for burnt offering; and
I will direct their work in truth, and I will make an everlasting covenant with
them.
Isa
61:9 And their seed shall be known among the Gentiles, and their
offspring among the people: all that see them shall acknowledge them, that they
are the seed which the LORD hath blessed.
Isa
61:10 I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my
God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me
with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments,
and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.
Isa
61:11 For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, and as the garden causeth
the things that are sown in it to spring forth; so the Lord GOD will cause
righteousness and praise to spring forth before all the nations.
The first
two verses of that chapter of the prophecy read thus:— “The Spirit of the Lord
God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto
the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to
the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim
the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to
comfort all that mourn,” etc. Jesus went to Nazareth, and, “as his custom was,”
he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up for to read. The
book of the prophet Isaiah being given to him he turned to chapter 61, as the
book is now divided, and read the words quoted above as far as to the sentence,
“to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord,” and abruptly stopped, not
reading the words which follow—” and the day of vengeance of our God.” As
Christ sat down, he said to the people assembled: “This day is this scripture
fulfilled in your ears.” That day the acceptable year, or season, or time, of
the Lord was preached to them. Paul made the same declaration in 2 Cor. 6:2:
“Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” This
was as far as Jesus could read in the prophecy and say it was fulfilled in
their ears; this was all that the apostle could declare. The “time accepted” (2
Cor. 6:1) had come; it could be then proclaimed; the day of vengeance—the day
of Judgment—had not come; it had to be reserved for a future proclamation. See
our text, Rev. 14:6, 7. The day of vengeance is equivalent to the day of
Judgment, for men are not only judged in that day, but in that day rewards are
given to all. Rev. 11:18 says the dead are judged and reward given to the
saints in that time; 2 Peter 3:7 calls it “the day of judgment and perdition of
ungodly men.” This earth is reserved unto fire against that day. As “the day of
salvation” or “the accepted time” has now continued nearly two thousand years,
so “the day of Judgment” is a
The
Atonement - 142
period
more than one thousand years in length— how much more is not revealed,—covering
the judgment of investigation of the cases of all the righteous, and the giving
of reward to them; followed by the further investigation of the cases of the
wicked (in which the saints take part, 1 Cor. 6:1-3; Rev. 20:1-4),
1Co
6:1 Dare any of you, having a matter against another, go to law before
the unjust, and not before the saints?
1Co
6:2 Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the
world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest
matters?
1Co
6:3 Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more things that
pertain to this life?
Rev
20:1 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the
bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
Rev
20:2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the
Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
Rev
20:3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a
seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand
years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little
season.
Rev
20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given
unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of
Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither
his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their
hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
and their
final overthrow or entire destruction. There are two thoughts, of solemn
importance which present themselves on this subject:— (1) This message must be given before the second
coming of Christ. If it were not given, then the Scriptures would fail;
the word of the Lord thus far would not be fulfilled. But sooner would heaven
and earth pass away than one jot fail of the word of the Lord. Many prophecies
point to the fulfillment of this message. See the following:— “Blow ye the
trumpet in Zion, sound an alarm in my holy mountain; let all the inhabitants of
the land [or the earth] tremble, for the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh
at hand. A day of darkness and of gloominess, a day of clouds and of thick
darkness, as the morning spread upon the mountains.” Joel 2:1, 2. Other
scriptures to the same intent might be quoted, confirming the truth that a
warning will be given to the world before the day of the Lord, or the time of
the Judgment, commences. (2) As this warning is called “the everlasting
gospel,” being a part of the gospel which the Saviour was anointed to preach,
it must be heeded. It makes not a particle of difference when or by whom it is
proclaimed; for whosoever proclaims it does it under Heaven’s sanction and
supervision. That it will be opposed, and even by the professed servants of
Christ, is also a matter of prophecy. The “evil servant” will say, “My Lord
delayeth his coming.” But he cannot stay the message of warning, nor hinder the
coming of that day. His opposition will only work ruin to his own soul, for
Jesus said: “The Lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not
for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, and shall cut him asunder, and
appoint him his portion with the hypocrites.” It will avail him nothing that he
has been called as a servant of the Lord, or that he has confessed or claimed
that the Lord is his Lord. The prophecy is given
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H. Waggoner
by
inspiration, and he who turns away from it or neglects it does so at his own
peril. But, in order to sound the alarm effectively, or to so proclaim “the
hour of his Judgment is come” that it shall produce the desired result, they
who preach it must be able to determine when it is timely; when the
proclamation ought to be made. If they could not know, the trumpet would give an uncertain sound, if, indeed, it were
sounded at all.
(To be
continued)
(Excerpt
from-) THE ATONEMENT PART SECOND:
THE
ATONEMENT AS REVEALED IN THE BIBLE
(1884)
BY ELDER J. H. WAGGONER
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