By John Thiel, Second Angel’s Message, study 8, mp3

Spiritualism was the very motive of paganism. Ancient Babylon fell into spiritualism, and by rejecting the first angel’s message the United States of America, apostate Protestantism, commenced a path that would ultimately cause them to embrace spiritualism.

When Protestantism shall stretch her hand across the gulf to grasp the hand of the Roman power, when she shall reach over the abyss to clasp hands with spiritualism, when, under the influence of this threefold union, our country shall repudiate every principle of its Constitution as a Protestant and republican government, and shall make provision for the propagation of Papal falsehoods and delusions, then we may know that the time has come for the marvelous working of Satan and that the end is near. {5T 451.1}

What happened back in 1844 when the first angel’s message was rejected prompted the preaching of the second angel’s message, Babylon is fallen. By the fact that they rejected the first angel’s message they were now poised to reach their hand across to the Papacy, because they were already being used from that time onwards to restore the fatal wound of the Papacy. We are now looking at the deterioration from that point on and we look at the prophetic picture and see how realistically this statement has actually been happening in front of our very eyes. We can recognise that the Papal / Protestant amalgamation is taking place. Several years ago even the reformed churches like Lutheranism were playing handies with the Catholic Church. In these amalgamations of protestant churches with the papacy, they are reaching their hands across to each other. There is also spiritualism, and all that will continue until finally it comes to its fruition.

The second angel’s message is re-iterated in Revelation 18 but it goes much deeper:

Revelation 18:2 And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen,

Now, that was the second angel’s message, but it is another angel in Revelation 18, and what does he say now?

Revelation 18:2 … and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.

Notice it says, it has become. It was fallen under the second angel, but now it has become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.

Revelation 18:3 For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.

In 1844, spiritualism had not so entirely taken hold in the fall, but as the fall continues down to our day we can see its development. You can see in the following statement how the scripture of Revelation 18 is here powerfully laid out, and we can see with our own eyes that what was written back there is truly unfolding and has been unfolding from that time onwards:

Notwithstanding the spiritual darkness and alienation from God that exist in the churches which constitute Babylon, {GC 390.1}

This book, The Great Controversy, was written just before the turn of the 19^th century. At that time there was alienation from God, that is why it was called, Babylon is fallen.

… the great body of Christ’s true followers are still to be found in their communion. {Ibid.}

That was back there, when it was written.

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. {Ibid.}

We come to a point when the churches are all amalgamated together, both papal and protestant, and spiritualism actually comes into play among them. At this time we have Babylon (Rome) with its system, we have Babylon USA (Protestantism) with its system, but with modern spiritualism lacing both these systems, and what else do we have? Spiritualism now comes with another system:

The line of distinction between professed Christians and the ungodly is now hardly distinguishable. Church members love what the world loves and are ready to join with them, and Satan determines to unite them in one body and thus strengthen his cause by sweeping all into the ranks of spiritualism. Papists, who boast of miracles as a certain sign of the true church, will be readily deceived by this wonder-working power; and Protestants, having cast away the shield of truth, will also be deluded. Papists, Protestants, and worldlings will alike accept the form of godliness without the power, and they will see in this union a grand movement for the conversion of the world and the ushering in of the long-expected millennium. Through spiritualism, Satan appears as a benefactor of the race, healing the diseases of the people, and professing to present a new and more exalted system of religious faith. {GC 588.3,589.1}

The system of the Papacy and the system of Protestantism in their old forms are changed into new modern forms. Even the Catholic Church has to change its face from what it used to be to continue to keep the people happy. We hear of stories where Mary has magical powers. This is pure spiritualism. You have all the Protestant churches that have now gone into the revival and Pentecostal style where they speak in tongues and do all these miracles, and they all claim that that is Christianity; yet it is spiritualism as well. As the spiritualism is lacing them, the other worldly people are embracing pagan experiences.

Today the Eastern religions are coming over into the West and this is all penetrating the mentalities of the people. Therefore Christians and worldlings are experiencing a wonderful rapport. Their music, their enjoyments of spiritual manifestations are all harmonizing more and more. This is what we are reading, the church becomes a cage of every unclean and hateful bird, and a habitation of devils. This is what we are actually seeing. It’s all coming to pass. It says that, “Papists, Protestants, and worldlings will alike accept the form of godliness without the power, and they will see in this union a grand movement for the conversion of the world and the ushering in of the long-expected millennium.” A movement. What is this? A system of religious faith. A new system. A more exalted system than the old systems of religion. We have matured now, they tell me. Change has come along. The Protestants have changed from Catholicism, and now Protestants and Catholics are changing too into this new, more exalted system of religious faith. What is the name of this new exalted system this movement?

Have you heard of the New Age movement? This is “the Post-Christian era”, have you heard that? “We now have a more exalted religion, it’s post-Christian.” While other systems of worship continue as traditions from the past, but only in form, this one, this new age movement, runs along as a separate movement, while including in its adherents people from these other religious denominations. They have all become one wonderful system. They have their ecumenical meetings, and there they have the aborigines presenting their worship at the ecumenical meeting. The different pagan nations are presenting their religious exercises, and they embrace it.

When your children go to school, they are learning about other religions and becoming aware of them all. Everyone is brought into this wonderful system of new religion. This development is sweeping into the Western world, and the Eastern religion side is part and parcel of this. The New Age movement has in it all the hallmarks of the Eastern religious concepts. Roman Catholicism, as usual, embraces all who wish to continue in their native forms of worship. As we look at this happening in front of us, we are thrilled to read in The Great Controversy that that is the development. It is a prophetic picture. We can see it with our own eyes today.

They call it, The New Age movement. What does it mean? It simply says, New Age. It’s a new age. But is there anything new in the world? The Scriptures make the New Age Movement a laughable thing:

Ecclesiastes 1:9 The thing that hath been, it [is that] which shall be; and that which is done [is] that which shall be done and [there is] no new [thing] under the sun. 10 is there [any] thing whereof it may be said, See, this [is] new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us. 11 [There is] no remembrance of former [things]; neither shall there be [any] remembrance of [things] that are to come with [those] that shall come after.

Why is this called the New Age movement? Because people have forgotten what was before. There is no remembrance of former things. Because they don’t remember what happened before, they think they’ve got this wonderful, new and more exalted religion. And all it is is the same thing that has been in the past. The New Age movement is only a repetition of the past, it’s just that people have forgotten what the past was really like. I find what is written here very fascinating. How true that really is. How people so quickly forget. They know, they’ve studied that in the past there were all these religions that had their pagan rites, but they can’t see that what they are doing now is exactly the same, because they don’t really understand and remember the kind of engagements that were involved there.

As we relate to the three angels’ messages, they are illuminating to us and showing us that this is nothing new. The people speak of the post-Christian era, and yet they still worship.

2 Peter 3:3 Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, 4 And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as [they were] from the beginning of the creation. 5 For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: 6 Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished.

They are willingly ignorant. Every pagan nation has in its records a world deluge (the flood), even the Aborigines (of Australia). They are willingly ignorant of that. Being willingly ignorant they scoff at the Biblical religion, and the coming of Jesus. They are willingly ignorant that what happened in the flood is going to happen in the future again. In their willing ignorance, what are they doing that is exactly the same as what they did before the flood and straight after the flood? People who are willingly ignorant embrace the mentality of those in the past.

Romans 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; 19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath showed [it] unto them. 20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, [even] his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: 21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified [him] not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, 23 And changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four footed beasts, and creeping things. 24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: 25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.

Is there any new thing under the sun? They worship the creature rather than the Creator. They knew better. They still worshipped, but they are saying, What has this old Christianity been teaching, where is the promise of His coming? We’re still going to worship, but we’re not going to take hold of the pure word of God anymore. They hold the truth in unrighteousness. They profess themselves to be wise, but they are actually becoming fools.

Romans 1:28 And even as they did not like to retain God in [their] knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind,

To an apostate mind.

Romans 1:28 … to do those things which are not convenient;

You will remember that in Revelation 18, it says that Babylon has become the cage of every unclean and hateful bird. Here we have the connection. They are worshipping the birds, and all these creatures. They don’t want God or God’s words, but they still want to worship. This is just like Cain. He still worshipped, but in his own way. It’s interesting that Cain’s line, his children, developed a new age movement. This is no new thing under the sun. What did they do? What did they do as they walked away from God, and didn’t want to have God in their minds? They built cities, and what else?

Genesis 4:16 And Cain went out from the presence of the LORD, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden.

What did his offspring do?

Genesis 4:19 And Lamech took unto him two wives the name of the one [was] Adah, and the name of the other Zillah.

Marriage was brought down. Isn’t that what’s happening today?

Genesis 4:20 And Adah bare Jabal he was the father of such as dwell in tents, and [of such as have] cattle. 21 And his brother’s name [was] Jubal he was the father of all such as handle the harp and organ [marginal reading: the pipe]. 22 And Zillah, she also bare Tubalcain, an instructor of every artificer in brass and iron and the sister of Tubalcain [was] Naamah.

What do we see here? Walking away from God, using music and the arts, creating images out of metal and different material. You just need to look at the ancient structures, and especially the Dark Ages with all the buildings that they formulated, these were the kind of people who were born from Jabal and Tubalcain. There is no new thing under the sun. It was already there then.

Genesis 6:1 And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, 2 That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they [were] fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose. 3 And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also [is] flesh yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years. … 5 And God saw that the wickedness of man [was] great in the earth, and [that] every imagination of the thoughts of his heart [was] only evil continually.

Here you have Cain’s children, with their capabilities, and the children of God marrying together with them. This is exactly what is happening today – the Christians cohabitating with those who have God out of their mind and who are replacing God with their own imaginations, and yet the two function together, just like before the flood. There is no new thing under the sun. The New Age movement is there. Then after the flood you had Nimrod, as we saw in the previous studies, and the development of Babylon.

The line of Cain that walked out from the presence of the Lord was characterized by music. Let us have a look at this side of the story in regards to the New Age movement. Observe very closely the way that spiritualism, working through these other Christian churches, carries the same hallmark of worship in regards to music as the people of Cain’s line.

When Nebuchadnezzar built that golden image, what did they do when the music played? Who is the originator of corrupted music? In the following scripture, God is speaking to the one who was in Eden, in the garden of God:

Ezekiel 28:13 Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone [was] thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created. 14 Thou [art] the anointed cherub that covereth; …

This is Lucifer, the anointed cherub that covers. What did he have inside of him? Pipes and tabrets. Jubal, from the line of Cain, was the one who used pipes and other musical instruments to develop a worship of their own. Who was the instigator of that, and what does that music do when they are occupied outside of God’s order of things?

Daniel 3:7 Therefore at that time, when all the people heard the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and all kinds of music, all the people, the nations, and the languages, fell down [and] worshipped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.

Why music? Why didn’t he just say, When we call out to you then you are to fall down and worship? Lucifer has very capable arts with music, which he uses to cause people to fall down and worship.

There’s nothing wrong with music, except when Satan perverts it and it has to do with worshipping in a different way than the true old-fashioned worship of heaven.

Music was made to serve a holy purpose, to lift the thoughts to that which is pure, noble, and elevating, and to awaken in the soul devotion and gratitude to God. What a contrast between the ancient custom and the uses to which music is now too often devoted! How many employ this gift to exalt self, instead of using it to glorify God! A love for music leads the unwary to unite with world lovers in pleasure gatherings where God has forbidden His children to go. Thus that which is a great blessing when rightly used, becomes one of the most successful agencies by which Satan allures the mind from duty and from the contemplation of eternal things. {PP 594.2}

Music has an effect on the emotions and sentiments of people. Sacred music, music that comes from God, affects the emotions and the sentiments towards God. Cain and Jubal were worshipping themselves, and created music that would thrill themselves for themselves. When King Nebuchadnezzar put up the image, the music that was played was of that kind.

It is interesting that the worldly dance music that is created by the people of the world, is taken into the music of religious worship in this New Age movement. When you study carefully into the way that pagans and ungodly, worldly people use music, you discover that they use it to mass-mesmerise the people. The Hitler youth were mesmerised by him. Hitler developed schools where the youth were surrounded with Wagner’s music. Wagner was a spiritualist, and he created good classical music with a twist. He mingled it just like Lucifer did. Wagner’s music was especially used by Hitler to mesmerise the Hitler youth, and Hitler affected them to follow him like a big crowd of people all excited. It was the same sort of thing as with Nebuchadnezzar, and they were worshipping Hitler, as the people were worshipping the golden image.

When you see modern Christianity playing drums in their churches, with music that sounds exactly the same as the music out in the pagan world, you realise what is going on. This is one of the things that I saw creeping into the Seventh Day Adventist Church when I was a youth. The music was changed into the music of the dance floors. The New Age movement with the guru scented kind of procedures, uses music just like that. First of all they make everybody really happy with drum and music to get them all excited and dancing, and when they are stirred up into excitement and their emotional life is highly strung, then all of a sudden, as they are all just about ready to fall over from the excitement, the music turn into a swooning music, and they all fall onto the ground. That’s what they are doing in the New Age movement. Do you hear about Pentecostal music and peopling falling to the ground? Can you see how this is all taking place within the religious circles and in the worldly circles? Here is the New Age movement, this exalted religion and system that is embracing all the Christian churches as well as the world.

Just place a guru in front of the people’s mind, like Hitler was, somebody who is really an icon in the minds of the people, and surround them with music and they will flock. That is New Age, and that is what you can see with the Papacy, and with the TV evangelists. They make the people swoon around them. Eventually, with all the people so conditioned, Satan will come and impersonate himself. Everybody is conditioned for it. Papists, Protestants and worldlings, he’s got it all sewn up. We can see it today. What we have been reading in the writings of the Bible and of the Spirit of prophecy is all true, it has accumulated over the period of time so that now the church, Babylon, has got in it people that are true Christians, and the terrible things that are happening in the churches are causing them to separate more and more.

In reference to the previous scriptures in Romans (1:24,28), regarding the fact that they will do inappropriate things which each other, this is what is happening at the moment with the Anglican Church, as it is in a splitting experience because those that are still standing on some basic, true, godly principles cannot tolerate the homosexuality of some of the priests which is being permitted in the church. They just can’t stay together any more. This is happening all the way through. Observe what is written for God’s people in such a time as this. As we read before in The Great Controversy (p.390), the people who are coming into the experience in the last days and who are faithful will be called out under the Revelation 18 angel. Here are God’s people as they are identified in the last days, and the faithful people who have been separated more and more within their churches, will then respond:

Isaiah 52:7 How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!

Zion, God’s people, God’s church.

Isaiah 52:8 Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice together shall they sing for they shall see eye to eye, when the LORD shall bring again Zion.

These are very important words, when the Lord shall bring again Zion. At such a time as this, God is going to bring together His faithful people, He is going to gather His jewels. What has to happen? There has to be a united voice coming, by which those who see eye to eye will sing together. They will sing the same message together.

Isaiah 52:9 Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem for the LORD hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem. 10 The LORD hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God. 11 Depart ye, depart ye, go ye out from thence, touch no unclean [thing]; go ye out of the midst of her; be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the LORD. 12 For ye shall not go out with haste, nor go by flight for the LORD will go before you; and the God of Israel [will be] your rereward.

How fitting are these words in such a time when the churches are mingling with the world, when the spiritualism is permeating through every company and preparing them for this great New Age movement and the great millennium that we are now entering into where they are expecting everything to come together. Just at that time God’s people are being gathered, and as the Lord is doing this, as He is bringing again Zion, the call is, Depart ye, depart ye. – Revelation 18. Get out of there. Go ye out from thence. Touch no unclean thing, these unclean birds, these habitations of devils, get out from among them, go ye out of the midst of her; be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the Lord.

Isaiah 52:12 For ye shall not go out with haste, nor go by flight: for the LORD will go before you; and the God of Israel [will be] your rereward.

Isn’t that exactly what He has been doing? We are able to get out without haste. We can see, okay, okay, we withdraw. This has been the message from 1844 until now. As we can see what is going on, some of God’s faithful people have already come out, and others will come out because they can see, if only they open their minds to the three angels’ messages. The great final call will be to those that are still in there and who can see that the gap is too far and wide. They will then recognise the voice of those who are singing together.

I’m hearing it on the news, the people can see, they are telling the public on the news, This is not God’s words what is going on in there. Speaking of the TV evangelist Kenneth Copeland, someone said, I don’t know how this man can sleep at night, he is not at all practicing anything that is written in the Bible. These kinds of voices are still heard out there. We can’t always reach these people, but they will be reached when God’s people stand in the courts, and when we study the third angel’s message we will see that in its detail.

The separations are rampant in those churches. We are living now and we can see it with our bare eyes. We can also see the New Age movement with our bare eyes, this great new, exalted system of religious faith.

Amen.