During a recent prayer meeting, a member of our church spoke of having shared the different periods of present truth with someone. That brought to mind the parallels between the three periods of present truth and the three angels’ messages.
We all know the first angel’s message, which warns that judgment has begun.
“Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come … .” Revelation 14:7
Let’s compare the first stage of present truth—Noah’s message of the destruction of the Earth by the Flood—with the first angel’s message. God had judged the state of mankind and found it wicked, evil, and worthy of destruction.
Noah’s Message of Destruction and the First Angel’s Message
“Then the Lord saw [discerned or perceived] that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart. So the Lord said, ‘I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth, both man and beast, creeping thing and birds of the air, for I am sorry that I have made them.’ ” Genesis 6:5–7
Noah’s message to the world, the present truth for his day, was “If you truly fear God and worship Him as the Creator, you will get on this ark.”
Though there may have been a difference between the words of Noah’s message and the first angel’s message, the concept is the same. Judgment had been made and God will cleanse the Earth of sin.
“… ‘take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.’ Our danger is presented before us by Christ Himself.” Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 4, 309. Christ’s words should sink into the hearts of all who believe present truth.
The judgment of the world in Noah’s day was announced by Noah under the divine direction of Christ. Present truth—the judgment of the world today—was announced by John the Revelator, also under the divine direction of Christ.
“So God looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth. And God said to Noah, ‘The end of all flesh has come before Me, for the earth is filled with violence through them; and behold, I will destroy them with the earth.’ ” Genesis 6:12, 13
“ ‘Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.’ ” Revelation 14:7
“He [Christ] knew the perils we should meet in these last days, and would have us prepare for them. ‘As it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.’ They were eating and drinking, planting and building, marrying and giving in marriage, and knew not until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the Flood came and swept them all away. The day of God will find men absorbed in like manner in the business and pleasures of the world, in feasting and gluttony, and in indulging perverted appetite in the defiling use of liquor and the narcotic tobacco. This is already the condition of our world, and these indulgences are found even among God’s professed people, some of whom are following the customs and partaking of the sins of the world. Lawyers, mechanics, farmers, traders, and even ministers from the pulpit are crying, ‘Peace and safety,’ when destruction is fast coming upon them.” Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 4, 309
Did destruction come fast upon the antediluvians? Noah preached for 120 years, but when the execution of judgment came, it came swiftly. The first angel’s message has gone forth since 1843, well over 120 years. God in His mercy has extended man’s probation, but He won’t wait forever. It is indeed time to “fear God and give glory to Him.”
Present Truth in Christ’s Day
As Jesus spoke to the woman at the well, she “said to Him, ‘I know that Messiah is coming’ (who is called Christ). ‘When He comes, He will tell us all things.’ Jesus said to her, ‘I who speak to you am He.’ ” John 4:25, 26
“The Messiah has come, and I am He.” Was He accepted by the church of His day? No, in fact, if you believed in Him, you were forced to leave the church if you were brave enough to publicly admit it.
John 9 tells the story of the man born blind. On the Sabbath day, Jesus restored restored this man’s sight. When he returned to the synagogue, he was questioned by the church authorities. “How were your eyes opened?” Verse 10
The man answered and said, “A Man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and said to me, ‘Go to the pool of Siloam and wash.’ So I went and washed, and I received sight.” Verse 11
The Pharisees concluded that because Jesus healed on the Sabbath, He was a sinner and could not be from God, and therefore, could not be the Messiah.
The formerly blind man said, “Whether He is a sinner or not, I do not know, but I do know that I was blind and now I see.” Verse 25
When questioned a second time about how his vision was restored, the man answered, “I told you already, and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become His disciples?” Verse 27
You can imagine how that was received by the jealous and self-righteous Pharisees. Even though it might have been involuntary, the result was that the man was disfellowshiped, and he came out of Babylon.
Babylon and the Second Angel’s Message
This story reveals clearly that, during Jesus’ day, if you believed Him to be the Messiah, you had to leave the church. Whether you left voluntarily or were involuntarily expelled by church authority, you came out of Babylon. The mainstream church, which at one time stood for the truth, had fallen by forcing its members to drink of the wine of her error and disbelief.
And thus, we see a parallel to the second angel’s message: “… ‘Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she has made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.’ ” Revelation 14:8
Present Truth Today and the Third Angel’s Message
Present truth warns us against accepting the mark of the beast by worshiping the beast and its image. The image is the false sacredness of Sunday. When the law of the land requires the observance of Sunday as the only legal day of worship, those who concur, whether they agree by consent or by action, will have accepted the mark. Here we see the exact and unquestioned alignment between present truth for today and the message itself.
“Fearful is the issue to which the world is to be brought. The powers of earth, uniting to war against the commandments of God, will decree that ‘all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond’ (Revelation 13:16), shall conform to the customs of the church by the observance of the false sabbath. All who refuse compliance will be visited with civil penalties, and it will finally be declared that they are deserving of death. On the other hand, the law of God enjoining the Creator’s rest day demands obedience and threatens wrath against all who transgress its precepts.” The Great Controversy, 604
“Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, ‘If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of His indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.” Revelation 14:9–11
Soul-Saving Message
Notice that there is a two-stage execution of the judgment. First, they will receive the wrath of God—the seven last plagues. Then they are tormented with fire and brimstone. These are totally and completely avoidable, simply by loving and willing obedience to the law of God.
There is no question that the present truth message was the soul-saving message for its time.
The eight who got on the ark were saved.
Eleven men and a few women in Jesus’ day believed that He was the Son of God and the long-awaited Messiah and were saved.
In both cases, the number who believed as a percentage of the total world population was insignificant. Will it be the same during this period of present truth?
There is an aspect of this last soul-saving message of present truth that does not get the emphasis that it should. It is addressed in this passage.
“The soul-saving message, the third angel’s message, is the message to be given to the world. [It is present truth for our day.] The commandments of God and the faith of Jesus are both important, immensely important, and must be given with equal force and power. The first part of the message has been dwelt upon mostly, the last part casually. The faith of Jesus is not comprehended. We must talk it, we must live it, we must pray it, and educate the people to bring this part of the message into their home life.” Reflecting Christ, 82
Keeping the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus is the ark of safety for our day, but the ticket for boarding that ark is the righteousness of Christ. And the only way to obtain that righteousness is by exercising the same faith that Christ manifested; the faith that led Him to the cross.
“Here is the patience of the saints; here are those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.” Revelation 14:12
“We believe without a doubt that Christ is soon coming. This is not a fable to us; it is a reality. We have no doubt, neither have we had a doubt for years, that the doctrines we hold today are present truth, and that we are nearing the judgment. We are preparing to meet Him who, escorted by a retinue of holy angels, is to appear in the clouds of heaven to give the faithful and the just the finishing touch of immortality. When He comes He is not to cleanse us of our sins, to remove from us the defects in our character, or to cure us of the infirmities of our tempers and dispositions. If wrought for us at all, this work will all be accomplished before that time. When the Lord comes, those who are holy will be holy still. Those who have preserved their bodies and spirits in holiness, in sanctification and honor, will then receive the finishing touch of immortality. But those who are unjust, unsanctified, and filthy, will remain so forever. No work will then be done for them to remove their defects, and give them holy characters. The Refiner does not then sit to pursue His refining process and remove their sins and their corruption. This is all to be done in these hours of probation. It is now that this work is to be accomplished for us. …
“We are now in God’s workshop. Many of us are rough stones from the quarry. But as we lay hold upon the truth of God, its influence affects us. It elevates us and removes from us every imperfection and sin, of whatever nature. Thus, we are prepared to see the King in His beauty and finally to unite with the pure and heavenly angels in the kingdom of glory. It is here that this work is to be accomplished for us, here that our bodies and spirits are to be fitted for immortality.” Counsels on Health, 43, 44
That can only be achieved by accepting the third angel’s message and acting accordingly. May it be so with all of us!
“Let nothing lessen the force of the truth for this time. The present truth is to be our burden. The third angel’s message must do its work of separating from the churches a people who will take their stand on the platform of eternal truth.” Testimonies for the Church, Vol. 6, 61
John R. Pearson is the office manager and Steps to Life board member. He can be reached by email at johnpearson@stepstolife.org or by phone at 316-788-5559.