By John Thiel, mp3

We live at the cusp of the last days at the very coming of Jesus and His finishing work to the close of probation. The scripture that is the revelation of Jesus Christ for us at this time is Revelation 18:

Revelation 18:1 And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory. 2 And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. 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. 4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.

This scripture is a record of the very last message that is to be given as such a time as this. Is it not true what this angel is saying that Babylon is fallen? What has she become? What are the many churches identified as?

The Mother of Babylon

Revelation 17:5 And her forehead [was] a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.

Her daughters, those Christian religions and denominations that are mingling babylonish paganism with Christianity, is it true that they have become the habitation of devils? Is this present truth? Is it true that all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication? Her doctrines are false wine that makes people drunk.

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.

Is this true? Are the merchants of the world making themselves rich on Christianity misapplied? Christmas, Easter? Is that true Christianity takes note of Christmas? Is that not a pagan rite mingled with Christian values and God hates that? Is it not true that the nations of the world and the merchants of the world are all making themselves comfortable in these ways? This is present truth and there is imminent destruction on its way.

Zechariah 2:6 Ho, ho, [come forth], and flee from the land of the north, saith the LORD: for I have spread you abroad as the four winds of the heaven, saith the LORD. 7 Deliver thyself, O Zion, that dwellest [with] the daughter of Babylon.

A voice crying ho, ho, come out from the daughter of Babylon. Here is a final call for all who are still God’s people but have still been under the influence of this whore. Uriah smith makes reference to the Revelation 18 angel and to the other voice from heaven:

The voice coming from heaven denotes that it will be a message of power attended with heavenly glory. How marked becomes the interposition of Heaven, and how the agents for the accomplishment of God’s work multiply, as the great crisis approaches!This voice from heaven is called “another” voice, showing that a new agency is here introduced. We now have five celestial messengersexpressly mentioned as engaged in this last religious reformation. These are the first, second, and third angels of chapter 14; fourth, the angel of verse one of this chapter; and fifth, the agency indicated by the “voice” of verse 4, now before us. Three of these are already in operation. The second angel has joined the first, and the third has joined them. The first and second have not ceased. All three now have the field. The angel of verse 1 is entering upon his mission, as the conditions which call for his work are supplied; and the divine call from heaven must take place in connection with his work. p. 671, Para. 3.

He describes the destruction that takes place prior to this voice. The Revelation 18 angel already came with his message since 1888 and from that time on to swell into a loud cry.

The fatal defects in the profession of a worldly church are again pointed out. Their errors are once more, and for the last time, exposed. The inadequacy of the present standard of godliness to meet the final crisis is emphasized beyond all mistaking. The inevitable connection between their cherished errors and irretrievable and everlasting destruction is heralded till the earth resounds with the cry. Meanwhile, great Babylon’s sins mount up to the heavens, and the remembrance of her iniquities comes up before God. The storm of vengeance gathers. The great tidal wave of supernal wrath rolls onward. The feathery foam plays along its crest, indicating that but an instant remains ere it will burst upon the great city of confusion, and proud Babylon will go down as a millstone sinks in the depths of the sea. Suddenly another voice rings out from heaven, “Come out of her, my people!” The humble, sincere, devoted children of God, of whom there are some still left, and who sigh and cry over the abominations done in the land, heed the voice, wash their hands of her sins, separate from her communion, escape, and are saved, while Babylon becomes the victim of the just judgments of God. There are stirring times before the church. Let us be ready for the crisis. Daniel & the Revelation page 718. Uriah Smith.

This statement was written before the turn of the century. Where are we today? Can you see the foam beginning to develop at the top of the wave and the loud cry must be given to draw the people out of that destructive tsunami? Is the destruction of the world coming with great movements forward? Whether it is in nature, politics, social degeneracy, religious decay, is it not gathering. In the time in which we are living with this wave of wrath and destruction foaming and the crest, what is meant by these celestial messengers?

Five Celestial Messengers

What is meant by celestial messengers proclaiming the warning to the world?

You must remember that this angel represents the people that have this message to give to the world. Are you among that people? {RH, August 18, 1885 par. 14}

The angels are represented as flying in the midst of heaven, proclaiming to the world a message of warning, and having a direct bearing upon the people living in the last days of this earth’s history. No one hears the voice of these angels, for they are a symbol to represent the people of God who are working in harmony with the universe of heaven. Men and women, enlightened by the Spirit of God, and sanctified through the truth, proclaim the three messages in their order. {LS 429.1}

As you read of the messages in the Bible, can you hear voices? Who are they? The people of God. This message cannot be given by anyone else but those working in harmony with heaven. Why are we here? Are we just another church? Why do you sit in the pews here? Any pew warmers here? Why are we here? Has it not been the message of the three angels and the Revelation 18 angel and all involved with that? If we are the benefactors, the recipients of such a message, what is required of us? Gods people in Babylonish confusion. Are you and I? Are we confused with the present truth? People who are dissatisfied with the churches they are members of. We have had testimonies of people wanting to learn and they make contact. There are people looking for the genuine article. The real Christians today, where are they? They look at all the churches today and they can see something is wrong. Is there any company of people that have the truth that I am hungering for? Gods people in Babylonish confusion. What is the message of the fifth celestial message? Come out of her my people.

Come

What does that mean? What doesn’t mean if I come to you and say come? Where are we going to go? Are you going to join me? That is what is expressed. It says come out of her my people. Come out of her my people, come out. Who is going to make that cry? The people of God.

Revelation 22:17 And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.

Who says it? The Spirit and the bride. Who is the bride? Remember the parable of the ten virgins? They are joining the bridal party. As they travel along the bride and the bridegroom are sounding a message and people join the bridal party. The bride is saying come. The messenger, the celestial messengers are saying come.

You must remember that this angel represents the people that have this message to give to the world. Are you among that people? {RH, August 18, 1885 par. 14}

The People of the Loud Cry

Why are you in this church? Why are you here? This is not just a denomination is it? If you are not here for that reason, if you are here for any other reason, you need to examine yourself. The message is by a people who have this message to proclaim. Come. Come where? Come and be with the very people that carry this message. What are they?

1 Peter 2:9 But ye [are] a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:

What is the bride? Have you experienced the marvelous light of the beauty of the truth for this time? Take the message of the Lord of this time. My heart burns for each one of us. Have we experienced the marvellous light? Has it made a difference the message of Christ and his righteousness? Have you experienced something you have never experienced in any other church denomination? If so you are chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation and a peculiar people to do what? That which has happened to us or be it we may have become a bit rusty, this beautiful light that has launched us out in a wonderful path has sometimes been neglected and we have become a little if not seriously faulty.

What is meant to be done if we have received this marvellous light? We have been called upon to show praises to Him that has called us out of darkness. Look of what we have found. Look at the beautiful salvation that has affected my life. Don’t just say it’s affected my life and now I can just sit in the pews, we are to show forth the praises of Him. We are to let the people know, come out of Babylon. This is the present message. We can already see the tsunami the froth at the top. Is this a message that the people around the world need now? There is no more time and we are meant to be the people who are royal priesthood to say come, a peculiar people, a people showing forth.

It is to the thirsting soul that the fountain of living waters is open. God declares: “I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground.” To souls that are earnestly seeking for light and that accept with gladness every ray of divine illumination from His holy word, to such alone light will be given. It is through these souls that God will reveal that light and power which will lighten the whole earth with His glory. {5T 729.2}

Have we got it? How will God lighten the whole earth with his glory? How? From whom?

To souls that are earnestly seeking for light and that accept with gladness every ray of divine illumination from His holy word, to such alone light will be given. It is through these souls that God will reveal that light and power which will lighten the whole earth with His glory. {5T 729.2}

Have you been a recipient of these beautiful rays of divine illumination as you have thirsted and your soul has been drenched with the answers of life? It is to these souls that God will reveal the light and power. How do we show forth these praises? How do we give God the glory? How?

Thus will the truth be brought into practical life, and thus will be answered the prayer of Christ, uttered just before His humiliation and death: “That they all may be one; as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in Us: that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me.” John 17:21. The love of Christ, the love of our brethren, will testify to the world that we have been with Jesus and learned of Him. Then will the message of the third angel swell to a loud cry, and the whole earth will be lightened with the glory of the Lord. {6T 401.1}

The Loud Cry

The world must believe. The people in Babylon must see the showing forth of the precious unity in the truth. Did you pick up your and my high calling? What did it say? If we are going to be the bride that says come, the people will come to what; a church that doesn’t have perfect love within itself? Will they come to that? Sorry. I want you to examine yourself before the Lord. How is it at home? How is it in your heart? Do you hold grudges? Do you have unforgiveness in your heart toward each other? Do we reflect the perfect love of Jesus to each other? You, who are members to this company, if these people in Babylon come and they come into our midst and see lack of love one to another, what will they say? Just what is the expression of fear that was expressed by a young woman? I’m waiting for something to go wrong and when it goes wrong, the love of the Lord isn’t here. You have a deep desire to search for souls. You have been interested in sharing things with people. How did you sustain that?

How are we sustaining the people that come into our midst? Do they discover the glitches? We are a royal priesthood, a holy priesthood showing praises of Him. What does God want to do in this church and your family? He wants to show His glory. What is His glory? His character. What is the character of your relationship with each other? When people come into this church, do they see those that don’t love each other? There is negativity there. Can you say come?

The love of Christ, the love of our brethren, will testify to the world that we have been with Jesus and learned of Him. Then will the message of the third angel swell to a loud cry, and the whole earth will be lightened with the glory of the Lord. {6T 401.1}

God is just waiting to see Himself perfectly reflected in His people. Now that the wave is already glistening at the top, what are we doing? Are we learning from Christ, in our home, in our church so that those coming will see oh it is fragrant here?

The Fragrance of God’s Love

There are souls out there yearning for the real thing. Do we have the real article? I’m sure that we can all say yes, we have the real truth, the real article that makes a difference in our life. Take an honest look at what you were like and where you have come. Hasn’t the Lord done marvellous things in our experience? Then let us demonstrate it. Let us submit to the call of God that we should be the people that give the call. Here is what we are to demonstrate. If we are going to say come out of Babylon my people, what are we to do? We must demonstrate that we have learnt of Jesus.

2 Timothy 2:24 And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all [men], apt to teach, patient, 25 In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;

What are we going to have to be doing? What is the demonstration of the call? A people who are not argumentative, a people who won’t strive saying I’m right, you are wrong.

Don’t Be Argumentative

If I know I am so right and the other person is so wrong, what is our natural human nature? You are wrong, look what you are doing there. You are not following this principle. It might be true. Those who contradict themselves by their practises, how will we respond to them? If you see someone doing something wrong, in meekness, help them like Jesus in his meek and mild nature. Don’t judge them. One of the characteristics in legalistic Christianity is a characteristic that sounds something like this:

God is angry with those who pursue a course to make the world hate them. If a Christian is hated because of his good works, and for following Christ, he will have a reward. But if he is hated because he does not take a course to be loved, hated because of his uncultivated manners, and because he makes the truth a matter of quarrel with his neighbors, and because he has taken a course to make the Sabbath as annoying as possible to them, he is a stumbling-block to sinners, a reproach to the sacred truth, and unless he repents it were better for him that a millstone were hung about his neck, and he cast into the sea. {Mar 157.4}

If you are argumentative in your home, if you are argumentative by nature and can’t forgive in another person’s faults, will it reflect out of your life? It will reflect out of the church too. We are to repent anything that would annoy the people apart from following Christ apart from the good works we are doing in obedience to his will. We will not take the truth and make it obnoxious to the people. Don’t attack the Catholics. Don’t attack the people who have their idols. Leave them alone. What must we do? Attract them by the beauty of Christ so they will want to be with us so they will have their soul thirst quenched so they will give away their idols and see it in contrast to Gods people.

A loving and lovable Christian is the most powerful argument to present to the world. Are you? You can be a most loving and lovable Christian as the moment you look at the cross and it’s all removed and your love begins to pulsate to each other as God is such a merciful God to us. Loving another and ignoring the things of the past and not worrying about the character defects that are there.

God is leading out a people to stand in perfect unity upon the platform of eternal truth. Christ gave Himself to the world that He might “purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.” This refining process is designed to purge the church from all unrighteousness and the spirit of discord and contention. {4T 17.1}

You may hold yourself but still have contention and when the time is right it will burst. God wants to remove from us the spirit of contention. Your home will be peaceful. The church will be a place of love.

… they may build up instead of tear down, and concentrate their energies on the great work before them. God designs that His people should all come into the unity of the faith. The prayer of the Christ just prior to His crucifixion was that His disciples might be one, even as He was one with the Father, that the world might believe that the Father had sent Him. This most touching and wonderful prayer reaches down the ages, even to our day; for His words were: “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on Me through their word.” {4T 17.1}

When you see something wrong in another person what do you do? Tear down? You know you shouldn’t have done that. Why don’t’ you do this? Why aren’t you changing? That is not building up. If you do see a brother and a sister that is faulty and sinful, if you have a spirit of meekness you will build up your brother and your sister. You will come close and say let’s do it this way. If there is an argument bear it quietly. The spirit of contention will be purged. This is the work that God’s people of the loud cry are going to demonstrate. There are people out there that have never heard the message you convey and therefore have never rejected the message of the three and four angels.

Everywhere there are hearts crying out for the living God. The Lord has His representatives in all the churches. These persons have not had the special testing truths for the last days presented to them under circumstances that brought conviction to the heart and mind; therefore they have not, by rejecting light, severed their connection with God. There are those that have faithfully walked in all the light that has shone upon their pathway. They hunger to know more of the ways and works of God. All over the world men and women are looking wistfully to heaven. Prayers and tears and inquiries go up from souls longing for light, for grace, for the Holy Spirit. Many are on the very verge of the kingdom, waiting to be gathered in. These demand the service of those to whom God has entrusted His truth. {AUCR, August 1, 1902 par. 2}

There are people who will come across Seventh Day Adventists and as they hear the message of the Sunday laws and the message of the mark of the beast and see Adventists in conflict with another, they reject the message. They have rejected it because it was not presented in circumstances that convicted the heart and mind. They are to see a church of Christians to proclaim the message without a quarrel. They are to hear a message that brings conviction to the heart. It is us sitting here who have the call to make.

Our ministers are not to hover over the churches, regarding the churches in some particular place as their special care. And our churches should not feel jealous and neglected if they do not receive ministerial labor. They should themselves take up the burden, and labor most earnestly for souls. Believers are to have root in themselves, striking firm root in Christ, that they may bear fruit to His glory. As one man, they are to strive to attain one object,–the saving of souls. {AUCR, August 1, 1902 par. 7}

Is there any one of us missing here out of this call?

The Lord calls for self-sacrificing workers, those who will labor quietly and unobtrusively, living so close to the Lord that they continually receive grace to impart. {AUCR, August 15, 1902 par. 6}

Let not church members wait for a verbal command to enter God’s service. They know their duty. Let them do it in humility and quietness. There are hundreds who should be at work, who need to be encouraged to make a beginning. {AUCR, August 15, 1902 par. 7}

Don’t wait to be told, go ahead do the work you know God wants you to do. We don’t need pumping meetings to pump into missionary work. If you think we need to sit in the pews to be cosseted by the preacher you are making a mistake. Yes the preacher has a responsibility but after he has exerted himself to nurture and bless you and then get going. One of the reasons some of you have felt I have neglected you is this reason as I have spent much of my efforts to people up and after my efforts to help people up I leave them with the Lord to exercise the muscle so they can be people who will be strong to do the work. It’s not left to the minister to those who’ve been trained and educated it’s for everyone in the church they know their duty. Let them do it in humility and quietness. Have we experienced the glory of Jesus in the study of God’s word? We can all say Amen. God never instructs us to do something without the avenue to achieve it. Can we not then what does the scripture say?

Arise and Shine

Isaiah 60:1 Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee. 2 For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. 3 And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising. 4 Lift up thine eyes round about, and see: all they gather themselves together, they come to thee: thy sons shall come from far, and thy daughters shall be nursed at [thy] side. 5 Then thou shalt see, and flow together, and thine heart shall fear, and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee, the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee.

Is the light come to you? Yes it has arisen upon us. Therefore arise, go forward. If you don’t’ arise to shine you will wither away. What does this mean? The sea, the troubled worldly sea will become subdued as you come face to face to them with the glory of God. They will come to you and say really? When you stand in the courts one day there will be a moment of recognition and everyone will say yes, these are the people and Gods people will come to them but the rest will say you are right but they won’t’ do anything right. The roughest bricklayers I worked with came to me and said what about this and that? They acknowledge you have the answers. We are to let the glory of the Lord shine so that God’s people in Babylon will come to be with this company. It requires sacrifice, the sacrifice of Jesus.

As the destruction is imminent, we have little time left to sort out our internal problems, it is about to crash. The Lord can do a quick work with us and although we are faulty we can show the beautiful love of Jesus. Love will melt away our problems. We will present before the world a united front. This is our calling. If you do have this deep sense that I am covered with dust, the dust of sin, the dust of my human deficiencies, as you look into your home, can you see a perfect home? However am I going to succeed?

Isaiah 52:1 Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city: for henceforth there shall no more come into thee the uncircumcised and the unclean. 2 Shake thyself from the dust; arise, [and] sit down, O Jerusalem: loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion.

What are we to do with the dust of our condition? Shake yourself, get rid of it. Get up, get out and show the glory of Jesus who has affected you. As you shake yourself what is meant by that?

God’s purposes are often veiled in mystery; they are incomprehensible to finite minds; but He who sees the end from the beginning knows better than we. What we need is to cleanse us from earthliness, to perfect our Christian character, that the robe of Christ’s righteousness shall be put upon us. . . . Faith, patience, forbearance, heavenly-mindedness, trust in your wise heavenly Father, are the perfect blossoms which mature amidst clouds and disappointments and bereavements. . . . {UL 102.4}

Can you see the shaking of ourselves? These characteristics will blossom as we go through the disappointments and bereavements of our life. We shake from that and we come up and blossom. Instead of succumbing to these bereavements, shake yourself. As you look upon Jesus those beautiful characteristics will blossom. Let us take this message now before it’s too late. Let us ignore the frailties and sinfulness and corruptions that would affect us. Let us shake ourselves of those terrible scenes of life. May we see poor souls muddling around in the dust, sinking in the sea, their hands rise up and you try to pull them up.

You can walk on the waters like Jesus did and the waters will come to you as you are on top. The people of the loud cry – do we understand it now? If we don’t hasten our decision making and pursue this path we will be left behind because there is no time left. We are called upon to say come out of her my people and as they come to the surface and meet us, we need to be there with a loving and lovable approach. If we are not there, they will be lost and their blood will be upon our garments. God grant us the appreciation of the seriousness of the hour.

Amen.

Further reading: http://sabbathsermons.com/category/the-loud-cry/