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Chapter Twenty One
A Warning Rejected
In preaching the doctrine of the second advent,
William Miller and his associates had labored with the sole
purpose of arousing men to a preparation for the judgment.
They had sought to awaken professors of religion to the true
hope of the church and to their need of a deeper Christian
experience, and they labored also to awaken the unconverted
to the duty of immediate repentance and conversion to God.
"They made no attempt to convert men to a sect or party in
religion. Hence they labored among all parties and sects,
without interfering with their organization or discipline.”
“In all my labors,” said Miller, “I never had the desire or
thought to establish any separate interest from that of
existing denominations, or to benefit one at the expense
of another. I thought to benefit all. Supposing that all Christians
would rejoice in the prospect of Christ’s coming, and that
those who could not see as I did would not love any the less
those who should embrace this doctrine, I did not conceive
there would ever be any necessity for separate meetings. My
whole object was a desire to convert souls to God, to notify
the world of a coming judgment, and to induce my fellow
men to make that preparation of heart which will enable
them to meet their God in peace. The great majority of those
who were converted under my labors united with the various
existing churches.” —Bliss, page 328.
As his work tended to build up the churches, it was for
a time regarded with favor. But as ministers and religious
leaders decided against the advent doctrine and desired to
suppress all agitation of the subject, they do not only opposed
it from the pulpit, but denied their members the privilege
of attending preaching upon the second advent, or even of
speaking of their hope in the social meetings of the church.
Thus the believers found themselves in a position of great
trial and perplexity. They loved their churches and were
loath to separate from them; but as they saw the testimony
of God’s word suppressed and their right to investigate the
prophecies denied they felt that loyalty to God forbade them
to submit. Those who sought to shut out the testimony of
God’s word they could not regard as constituting the church
of Christ, “the pillar and ground of the truth.” Hence they
felt themselves justified in separating from their former
connection. In the summer of 1844 about fifty thousand withdrew
from the churches.
About this time a marked change was apparent in most of
the churches throughout the United States. There had been
for many years a gradual but steadily increasing conformity
to worldly practices and customs, and a corresponding
decline in real spiritual life; but in that year there were
evidences of a sudden and marked declension in nearly all the
churches of the land. While none seemed able to suggest
the cause, the fact itself was widely noted and commented
upon by both the press and the pulpit.
At a meeting of the presbytery of Philadelphia, Mr.
Barnes, author of a commentary widely used and pastor
of one of the leading churches in that city, “stated that he had
been in the ministry for twenty years, and never, till the last
Communion, had he administered the ordinance without
receiving more or less into the church. But now there are no
awakenings, no conversions, not much apparent growth in
grace in professors, and none come to his study to converse
about the salvation of their souls. With the increase of
business, and the brightening prospects of commerce and
manufacture, there is an increase of worldly-mindedness.
Thus it is with all the denominations.”—Congregational
Journal, May 23, 1844.
In the month of February of the same year, Professor
Finney of Oberlin College said: “We have had the fact before
our minds, that, in general, the Protestant churches of our
country, as such, were either apathetic or hostile to nearly all
the moral reforms of the age. There are partial exceptions,
yet not enough to render the fact otherwise than general.
We have also another corroborated fact: the almost
universal absence of revival influence in the churches. The
spiritual apathy is almost all-pervading, and is fearfully deep;
so the religious press of the whole land testifies. . . . Very
extensively, church members are becoming devotees of fashion,
—join hands with the ungodly in parties of pleasure,
in dancing, in festivities, etc. . . . But we need not expand
this painful subject. Suffice it that the evidence thickens
and rolls heavily upon us, to show that the churches
generally are becoming sadly degenerate. They have gone very
far from the Lord, and He has withdrawn Himself from
them.”
And a writer in the Religious Telescope testified: “We
have never witnessed such a general declension of religion
as at the present. Truly, the church should awake, and search
into the cause of this affliction; for as an affliction everyone
that loves Zion must view it. When we call to mind how ‘few
and far between’ cases of true conversion are, and the almost
unparalleled impertinence and hardness of sinners, we
almost involuntarily exclaim, ‘Has God forgotten to be
gracious? or, Is the door of mercy closed?’"
Such a condition never exists without cause in the church
itself. The spiritual darkness which falls upon nations, upon
churches and individuals, is due, not to an arbitrary withdrawal
of the succors of divine grace on the part of God, but
to neglect or rejection of divine light on the part of men. A
striking illustration of this truth is presented in the history of
the Jewish people in the time of Christ. By their devotion to
the world and forgetfulness of God and His word, their
understanding had become darkened, their hearts earthly
and sensual. Thus they were in ignorance concerning
Messiah’s advent, and in their pride and unbelief they rejected
the Redeemer. God did not even then cut off the Jewish
nation from a knowledge of, or a participation in, the
blessings of salvation. But those who rejected the truth lost
all desire for the gift of Heaven. They had “put darkness
for light, and light for darkness,” until the light which
was in them became darkness; and how great was that darkness!
It suits the policy of Satan that men should retain the
forms of religion if but the spirit of vital godliness is lacking.
After their rejection of the gospel, the Jews continued
zealously to maintain their ancient rites, they rigorously preserved
their national exclusiveness, while they themselves could not
but admit that the presence of God was no longer manifest
among them. The prophecy of Daniel pointed so unmistakably
to the time of Messiah’s coming, and so directly foretold
His death, that they discouraged its study, and finally the
rabbis pronounced a curse on all who should attempt a
computation of the time. In blindness and impenitence the
people of Israel during succeeding centuries have stood,
indifferent to the gracious offers of salvation, unmindful of the
blessings of the gospel, a solemn and fearful warning of the
danger of rejecting light from heaven.
Wherever the cause exists, the same results will follow.
He who deliberately stifles his convictions of duty because it
interferes with his inclinations will finally lose the power to
distinguish between truth and error. The understanding
becomes darkened, the conscience callous, the heart hardened,
and the soul is separated from God. Where the message
of divine truth is spurned or slighted, there the church
will be enshrouded in darkness; faith and love grow cold,
and estrangement and dissension enter. Church members
center their interests and energies in worldly pursuits, and
sinners become hardened in their impenitence.
The first angel’s message of Revelation 14, announcing
the hour of God’s judgment and calling upon men to fear
and worship Him, was designed to separate the professed
people of God from the corrupting influences of the world
and to arouse them to see their true condition of worldliness
and backsliding. In this message, God has sent to the church
a warning, which, had it been accepted, would have
corrected the evils that were shutting them away from Him.
Had they received the message from heaven, humbling their
hearts before the Lord and seeking in sincerity a preparation
to stand in His presence, the Spirit and power of God would
have been manifested among them. The church would
again have reached that blessed state of unity, faith, and love
which existed in apostolic days, when the believers “were
of one heart and of one soul,” and “spake the word of God
with boldness,” when “the Lord added to the church daily
such as should be saved.”
Acts 4:32, 31;
2:47.
If God’s professed people would receive the light as it
shines upon them from His word, they would reach that
unity for which Christ prayed, that which the apostle
describes, “the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” “There
is,” he says, “one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are
called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one
baptism.”
Ephesians 4:3-5.
Such were the blessed results experienced by those who
accepted the advent message. They came from different
denominations, and their denominational barriers were hurled
to the ground; conflicting creeds were shivered to atoms; the
unscriptural hope of a temporal millennium was abandoned,
false views of the second advent were corrected, pride and
conformity to the world were swept away; wrongs were
made right; hearts were united in the sweetest fellowship,
and love and joy reigned supreme. If this doctrine did this
for the few who did receive it, it would have done the same
for all if all had received it.
But the churches generally did not accept the warning.
Their ministers, who, as watchmen “unto the house of
Israel,” should have been the first to discern the tokens of
Jesus’ coming, had failed to learn the truth either from the
testimony of the prophets or from the signs of the times. As
worldly hopes and ambitions filled the heart, love for God
and faith in His word had grown cold; and when the advent
doctrine was presented, it only aroused their prejudice and
unbelief. The fact that the message was, to a great extent,
preached by laymen, was urged as an instrument against it.
As of old, the plain testimony of God’s word was met with
the inquiry: “Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees
believed?” And finding how difficult a task it was to refute
the arguments drawn from the prophetic periods, many
discouraged the study of the prophecies, teaching that the
prophetic books were sealed and were not to be understood.
Multitudes, trusting implicitly to their pastors, refused to
listen to the warning; and others, though convinced of the
truth, dared not confess it, lest they should be “put out of the
synagogue.” The message which God had sent for the testing
and purification of the church revealed all too surely how
great was the number who had set their affections on this
world rather than upon Christ. The ties which bound them
to earth were stronger than the attractions heavenward.
They chose to listen to the voice of worldly wisdom and
turned away from the heart-searching message of truth.
In refusing the warning of the first angel, they rejected
the means which Heaven had provided for their restoration.
They spurned the gracious messenger that would have
corrected the evils which separated them from God, and with
greater eagerness they turned to seek the friendship of the
world. Here was the cause of that fearful condition of
worldliness, backsliding, and spiritual death which existed
in the churches in 1844.
In Revelation 14 the first angel is followed by a second
proclaiming: “Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because
she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her
fornication.”
Revelation 14:8. The term “Babylon” is
derived from “Babel,” and signifies confusion. It is employed
in Scripture to designate the various forms of false or apostate
religion. In Revelation 17 Babylon is represented as a woman
—a figure which is used in the Bible as the symbol of a
church, a virtuous woman representing a pure church, a vile
woman an apostate church.
In the Bible the sacred and enduring character of the
relation that exists between Christ and His church is
represented by the union of marriage. The Lord has joined His
people to Himself by a solemn covenant, He promising to be
their God, and they pledging themselves to be His and His
alone. He declares: “I will betroth thee unto Me forever; yea,
I will betroth thee unto Me in righteousness, and in judgment,
and in loving-kindness, and in mercies.”
Hosea 2:19.
And, again: “I am married unto you.”
Jeremiah 3:14. And
Paul employs the same figure in the New Testament when
he says: “I have espoused you to one husband, that I may
present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.”
2 Corinthians 11:2.
The unfaithfulness of the church to Christ in permitting
her confidence and affection to be turned from Him, and
allowing the love of worldly things to occupy the soul, is
likened to the violation of the marriage vow. The sin of Israel
in departing from the Lord is presented under this figure;
and the wonderful love of God which they thus despised is
touchingly portrayed: “I sware unto thee, and entered into a
covenant with thee, saith the Lord God, and thou becamest
Mine.” “And thou wast exceeding beautiful and thou didst
prosper into a kingdom. And thy renown went forth among
the heathen for thy beauty: for it was perfect through My
comeliness, which I had put upon thee. . . . But thou didst
trust in thine own beauty, and playedst the harlot because of
thy renown.” “As a wife treacherously departeth from her
husband, so have ye dealt treacherously with Me, O house
of Israel, saith the Lord;” “as a wife that committeth
adultery, which taketh strangers instead of her husband!”
Ezekiel 16:8, 13-15, 32;
Jeremiah 3:20.
In the New Testament, language very similar is addressed
to professed Christians who seek the friendship of the world
above the favor of God. Says the apostle James: “Ye adulterers
and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of
the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be
a friend of the world is the enemy of God.”
The woman (Babylon) of Revelation 17 is described as
"arrayed in purple and scarlet color, and decked with gold
and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her
hand full of abominations and filthiness:...and upon her
forehead was a name written, Mystery, Babylon the Great,
the mother of harlots.” Says the prophet: “I saw the woman
drunk with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the
martyrs of Jesus.” Babylon is further declared to be “that
great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.”
Revelation 17:4-6,
18. The power that for so many centuries
maintained despotic sway over the monarchs of Christendom is
Rome. The purple and scarlet color, the gold and precious
stones and pearls, vividly picture the magnificence and more
than kingly pomp affected by the haughty see of Rome.
And no other power could be so truly declared “drunken
with the blood of the saints” as that church which has so
cruelly persecuted the followers of Christ. Babylon is also
charged with the sin of unlawful connection with “the
kings of the earth.” It was by departure from the Lord, and
alliance with the heathen, that the Jewish church became
a harlot; and Rome, corrupting herself in like manner by
seeking the support of worldly powers, receives a like
condemnation.
Babylon is said to be “the mother of harlots.” By her
daughters must be symbolized churches that cling to her
doctrines and traditions, and follow her example of sacrificing
the truth and the approval of God, in order to form an
unlawful alliance with the world. The message of Revelation
14, announcing the fall of Babylon must apply to religious
bodies that were once pure and have become corrupt. Since
this message follows the warning of the judgment, it must be
given in the last days; therefore it cannot refer to the Roman
Church alone, for that church has been in a fallen condition
for many centuries. Furthermore, in the eighteenth chapter
of the Revelation the people of God are called upon to come
out of Babylon. According to this scripture, many of God’s
people must still be in Babylon. And in what religious bodies
are the greater part of the followers of Christ now to be
found? Without doubt, in the various churches professing
the Protestant faith. At the time of their rise these churches
took a noble stand for God and the truth, and His blessing
was with them. Even the unbelieving world was constrained
to acknowledge the beneficent results that followed an
acceptance of the principles of the gospel. In the words of
the prophet to Israel: “Thy renown went forth among the
heathen for thy beauty: for it was perfect through My
comeliness, which I had put upon thee, saith the Lord God.” But
they fell by the same desire which was the curse and ruin of
Israel—the desire of imitating the practices and courting the
friendship of the ungodly. “Thou didst trust in thine own
beauty, and playedst the harlot because of thy renown.”
Ezekiel 16:14, 15.
Many of the Protestant churches are following Rome’s
example of iniquitous connection with “the kings of the
earth” —the state churches, by their relation to secular
governments; and other denominations, by seeking the favor of the
world. And the term “Babylon” —confusion—may be
appropriately applied to these bodies, all professing to derive their
doctrines from the Bible, yet divided into almost innumerable
sects, with widely conflicting creeds and theories.
Besides a sinful union with the world, the churches that
separated from Rome present other of her characteristics.
A Roman Catholic work argues that “if the Church of
Rome were ever guilty of idolatry in relation to the saints, her
daughter, the Church of England, stands guilty of the same,
which has ten churches dedicated to Mary for one dedicated
to Christ.” —Richard Challoner, The Catholic Christian
Instructed, Preface, pages 21, 22.
And Dr. Hopkins, in “A Treatise on the Millennium,”
declares: “There is no reason to consider the antichristian spirit
and practices to be confined to that which is now called the
Church of Rome. The Protestant churches have much of
antichrist in them, and are far from being wholly reformed
from . . . corruptions and wickedness.” —Samuel Hopkins,
Works, vol. 2, p. 328.
Concerning the separation of the Presbyterian Church
from Rome, Dr. Guthrie writes: “Three hundred years ago,
our church, with an open Bible on her banner, and this
motto, ‘Search the Scriptures,’ on her scroll, marched out
from the gates of Rome.” Then he asks the significant
question: “Did they come clean out of Babylon?” —Thomas
Guthrie, The Gospel in Ezekiel, page 237.
“The Church of England,” says Spurgeon, “seems to be
eaten through and through with sacramentarianism; but
nonconformity appears to be almost as badly riddled with
philosophical infidelity. Those of whom we thought better
things are turning aside one by one from the fundamentals of
the faith. Through and through, I believe, the very heart of
England is honeycombed with a damnable infidelity which
dares still go into the pulpit and call itself Christian.”
What was the origin of the great apostasy? How did the
church first depart from the simplicity of the gospel? By
conforming to the practices of paganism, to facilitate the
acceptance of Christianity by the heathen. The apostle Paul
declared, even in his day, “The mystery of iniquity doth
already work.”
2 Thessalonians 2:7. During the lives of
the apostles the church remained comparatively pure. But
"toward the latter end of the second century most of the
churches assumed a new form; the first simplicity
disappeared, and insensibly, as the old disciples retired to their
graves, their children, along with new converts, . . . came
forward and new-modeled the cause.” —Robert Robinson,
Ecclesiastical Researches, ch. 6, par. 17, p. 51. To secure
converts, the exalted standard of the Christian faith was
lowered, and as the result “a pagan flood, flowing into
the church, carried with it its customs, practices, and idols.”
—Gavazzi, Lectures, page 278. As the Christian religion
secured the favor and support of secular rulers, it was
nominally accepted by multitudes; but while in appearance
Christians, many “remained in substance pagans, especially
worshiping in secret their idols.” —Ibid., page 278.
Has not the same process been repeated in nearly every
church calling itself Protestant? As the founders, those who
possessed the true spirit of reform, pass away, their
descendants come forward and “new-model the cause.” While
blindly clinging to the creed of their fathers and refusing to
accept any truth in advance of what they saw, the children of
the reformers depart widely from their example of humility,
self-denial, and renunciation of the world. Thus “the first
simplicity disappears.” A worldly flood, flowing into the
church, carries “with it its customs, practices, and idols.”
Alas, to what a fearful extent is that friendship of the
world which is “enmity with God,” now cherished among
the professed followers of Christ! How widely have the
popular churches throughout Christendom departed from
the Bible standard of humility, self-denial, simplicity, and
godliness! Said John Wesley, in speaking of the right use of
money: “Do not waste any part of so precious a talent, merely
in gratifying the desire of the eye, by superfluous or
expensive apparel, or by needless ornaments. Waste no part of
it in curiously adorning your houses; in superfluous or
expensive furniture; in costly pictures, painting, gilding. . . .
Lay out nothing to gratify the pride of life, to gain the
admiration or praise of men. . . . ‘So long as thou doest well
unto thyself, men will speak good of thee.’ So long as thou
art ‘clothed in purple and fine linen,’ and farest ‘sumptuously
every day,’ no doubt many will applaud thy elegance of taste,
thy generosity and hospitality. But do not buy their
applause so dear. Rather be content with the honor that
cometh from God.” —Wesley, Works, Sermon 50, “The Use
of Money.” But in many churches of our time such teaching
is disregarded.
A profession of religion has become popular with the
world. Rulers, politicians, lawyers, doctors, merchants, join
the church as a means of securing the respect and confidence
of society, and advancing their own worldly interests. Thus
they seek to cover all their unrighteous transactions under
a profession of Christianity. The various religious bodies,
re-enforced by the wealth and influence of these baptized
worldlings, make a still higher bid for popularity and
patronage. Splendid churches, embellished in the most
extravagant manner, are erected on popular avenues. The
worshipers array themselves in costly and fashionable attire.
A high salary is paid for a talented minister to entertain
and attract the people. His sermons must not touch popular
sins, but be made smooth and pleasing for fashionable
ears. Thus fashionable sinners are enrolled on the church
records, and fashionable sins are concealed under a pretense
of godliness.
Commenting on the present attitude of professed Christians
toward the world, a leading secular journal says:
"Insensibly the church has yielded to the spirit of the age, and
adapted its forms of worship to modern wants.” “All things,
indeed, that help to make religion attractive, the church now
employs as its instruments.” And a writer in the New York
Independent speaks thus concerning Methodism as it is:
"The line of separation between the godly and the irreligious
fades out into a kind of penumbra, and zealous men on both
sides are toiling to obliterate all difference between their
modes of action and enjoyment.” “The popularity of religion
tends vastly to increase the number of those who would
secure its benefits without squarely meeting its duties.”
Says Howard Crosby: “It is a matter of deep concern that
we find Christ’s church so little fulfilling the designs of its
Lord. Just as the ancient Jews let a familiar intercourse with
the idolatrous nations steal away their hearts from God, . . .
so the church of Jesus now is, by its false partnerships with
an unbelieving world, giving up the divine methods of its
true life, and yielding itself to the pernicious, though often
plausible, habits of a Christless society, using the arguments
and reaching the conclusions which are foreign to the
revelation of God, and directly antagonistic to all growth in
grace.” —The Healthy Christian: An Appeal to the Church,
pages 141, 142.
In this tide of worldliness and pleasure seeking, self-denial
and self-sacrifice for Christ’s sake are almost wholly lost.
"Some of the men and women now in active life in our
churches were educated, when children, to make sacrifices
in order to be able to give or do something for Christ.” But
"if funds are wanted now, . . . nobody must be called on
to give. Oh, no! have a fair, tableau, mock trial, antiquarian
supper, or something to eat—anything to amuse the people.”
Governor Washburn of Wisconsin in his annual message,
January 9, 1873, declared: “Some law seems to be required to
break up the schools where gamblers are made. These are
everywhere. Even the church (unwittingly, no doubt) is
sometimes found doing the work of the devil. Gift concerts,
gift enterprises and raffles, sometimes in aid of religious or
charitable objects, but often for less worthy purposes,
lotteries, prize packages, etc., are all devices to obtain money
without value received. Nothing is so demoralizing or
intoxicating, particularly to the young, as the acquisition of money
or property without labor. Respectable people engaging in
these change enterprises, and easing their consciences with
the reflection that the money is to go to a good object, it is
not strange that the youth of the state should so often fall
into the habits which the excitement of games of hazard is
almost certain to engender.”
The spirit of worldly conformity in invading the churches
throughout Christendom. Robert Atkins, in a sermon
preached in London, draws a dark picture of the spiritual
declension that prevails in England: “The truly righteous are
diminished from the earth, and no man layeth it to heart.
The professors of religion of the present day, in every church,
are lovers of the world, conformers to the world, lovers of
creature comfort, and aspirers after respectability. They are
called to suffer with Christ, but they shrink from even
reproach.... Apostasy, apostasy, apostasy, is engraven on the
very front of every church; and did they know it, and did
they feel it, there might be hope; but, alas! they cry, ‘We are
rich, and increased in goods, and stand in need of nothing.’”
—Second Advent Library, tract No. 39.
The great sin charged against Babylon is that she “made
all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.”
This cup of intoxication which she presents to the world
represents the false doctrines that she has accepted as the
result of her unlawful connection with the great ones of the
earth. Friendship with the world corrupts her faith, and in
her turn she exerts a corrupting influence upon the world by
teaching doctrines which are opposed to the plainest
statements of Holy Writ.
Rome withheld the Bible from the people and required all
men to accept her teachings in its place. It was the work of
the Reformation to restore to men the word of God; but is it
not too true that in the churches of our time men are taught
to rest their faith upon their creed and the teachings of their
church rather than on the Scriptures? Said Charles Beecher,
speaking of the Protestant churches: “They shrink from any
rude word against creeds with the same sensitiveness with
which those holy fathers would have shrunk from a rude
word against the rising veneration of saints and martyrs
which they were fostering. . . . The Protestant evangelical
denominations have so tied up one another’s hands, and their
own, that, between them all, a man cannot become a preacher
at all, anywhere, without accepting some book besides the
Bible.... There is nothing imaginary in the statement that
the creed power is now beginning to prohibit the Bible as
really as Rome did, though in a subtler way.” —Sermon on
"The Bible a Sufficient Creed,” delivered at Fort Wayne,
Indiana, Feb. 22, 1846.
When faithful teachers expound the word of God, there
arise men of learning, ministers professing to understand the
Scriptures, who denounce sound doctrine as heresy, and thus
turn away inquirers after truth. Were it not that the world
is hopelessly intoxicated with the wine of Babylon, multitudes
would be convicted and converted by the plain, cutting
truths of the word of God. But religious faith appears so
confused and discordant that the people know not what to
believe as truth. The sin of the world’s impenitence lies at
the door of the church.
The second angel’s message of Revelation 14 was first
preached in the summer of 1844, and it then had a more
direct application to the churches of the United States, where
the warning of the judgment had been most widely
proclaimed and most generally rejected, and where the declension
in the churches had been most rapid. But the message
of the second angel did not reach its complete fulfillment in
1844. The churches then experienced a moral fall, in
consequence of their refusal of the light of the advent message; but
that fall was not complete. As they have continued to reject
the special truths for this time they have fallen lower and
lower. Not yet, however, can it be said that “Babylon is
fallen,... because she made all nations drink of the wine
of the wrath of her fornication.” She has not yet made all
nations do this. The spirit of world conforming and indifference
to the testing truths for our time exists and has been
gaining ground in churches of the Protestant faith in all the
countries of Christendom; and these churches are included in
the solemn and terrible denunciation of the second angel. But
the work of apostasy has not yet reached its culmination.
The Bible declares that before the coming of the Lord,
Satan will work “with all power and signs and lying wonders,
and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness;” and they
that “received not the love of the truth, that they might be
saved,” will be left to receive “strong delusion, that they
should believe a lie.”
2 Thessalonians 2:9-11. Not until this
condition shall be reached, and the union of the church with
the world shall be fully accomplished throughout Christendom,
will the fall of Babylon be complete. The change is a
progressive one, and the perfect fulfillment of
Revelation
14:8 is yet future.
Notwithstanding the spiritual darkness and alienation
from God that exist in the churches which constitute Babylon,
the great body of Christ’s true followers are still to be
found in their communion. There are many of these who
have never seen the special truths for this time. Not a few are
dissatisfied with their present condition and are longing for
clearer light. They look in vain for the image of Christ in
the churches with which they are connected. As these bodies
depart further and further from the truth, and ally
themselves more closely with the world, the difference between
the two classes will widen, and it will finally result in separation.
The time will come when those who love God
supremely can no longer remain in connection with such as
are “lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a
form of godliness, but denying the power thereof.”
Revelation 18 points to the time when, as the result of
rejecting the threefold warning of
Revelation 14:6-12, the
church will have fully reached the condition foretold by the
second angel, and the people of God still in Babylon will be
called upon to separate from her communion. This message
is the last that will ever be given to the world; and it will
accomplish its work. When those that “believed not the
truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness” (2 Thessalonians 2:12), shall be left to receive strong delusion and to believe a
lie, then the light of truth will shine upon all whose hearts
are open to receive it, and all the children of the Lord that
remain in Babylon will heed the call: “Come out of her, My
people” (Revelation 18:4).
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