"And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue and people, saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him: for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountain of water."
This proclamation not only relates to the judgment, but also to the hour, period, or time of the judgment. It fitly applies to the proclamation of the judgment at hand, that has been given to the present generation, and it cannot possibly apply to any other period of the church.
We say that this angel's message cannot be properly applied to the preaching of the apostles, because they did not preach that the period of the judgment had come. Paul reasoned before Felix of "righteousness, temperance, and JUDGMENT TO COME." Acts xxiv,25. He declared to the Athenians that God "now commandeth all men everywhere to repent; because he hath appointed a day in the which he will judge the world." (Acts 17:30,31)
That the Thessalonians had received the idea that the period of the coming of Christ and the judgment had come, or was at hand, is evident. But Paul corrected this error, as will be seen from the following, which we copy from his second epistle to them.
"Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, that ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.
Let no man deceive you by any means; for that day shall not come except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition: who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he, as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God." (2 Thess. 2:1-4)
Paul here declares to the Thessalonians that the day of Christ was not at hand, and warns them against being deceived in this matter. He also shows that the period of the judgment was to be after the apostasy, and the 1260 years of triumph and blasphemy of the "man of sin," or the Papacy. It is clear, therefore, that the apostles did not give the proclamation, "the hour of his judgment is come."
Again, this first message is based on prophecies (the prophecy of Daniel in particular) which were to be "closed up and sealed" (Dan. 12:4,9) till the time of the end, which has been clearly proved by second advent writers to be since about 1798. How perfectly absurd then to suppose that the message, relating to the period of the judgment, should be given while the prophecies on which it is based, which show the relative distance of the judgment, we "closed up and sealed," so that they could not be understood. This fixes the message to the present generation.
And again, Christ has given signs of his coming, and of the judgment, in Matt. 24; Luke 21, and Mark 13, also Rev. 6. The object of these signs, in connection with the prophecies of Daniel and John unsealed, was, as stated by Christ, that his people might "KNOW" that his coming was "nigh, even at the doors." This generation alone being able to "KNOW" THIS, could give the judgment hour message, which no other generation could do. Therefore we are bound by the facts in the case, to apply this angel's proclamation to the advent movement witnessed in our day.
The "Advent Herald" of Nov. 22nd, 1851, speaking of the advent cause, says:
"It is the cause of God and is a work that must be done in these last days." (Rev. 14:6,7) . . . We believe it to be the will of God that this class should maintain this position, for on it devolves the duty of giving to the church and world the final message -"The hour of His judgment is come."
We can not agree with the "Herald" that the first of the three, is the "final message." It can not be the last, because two distinct messages follow it, prior to the Son of man taking his place on the "white cloud." But that it applies to the past proclamation of the Advent, we fully believe.
But some, who profess to be looking every day for Christ's coming, and say, "he may come to-day, or at any time," object to the view that the first angel is fulfilled in the past, for they think the "everlasting gospel" of the coming kingdom has not yet been preached sufficiently extensive to fulfill the prophecy of Rev. 14:6,7. But if the prophecy is not fulfilled, then certainly they should not expect the Advent now. Those looking for the world's conversion, cannot expect Christ's coming now; neither should those who are looking for a much wider spread of the first angel's message profess to be looking for the Second Advent, until that work shall first be accomplished.
But when we look to the past mighty movement relative to the coming and kingdom of Christ, we see the prophecy fulfilled, the great work accomplished.
Advent Lecturers and Editors have testified that Rev.xiv,6,7, was fulfilled. The "Voice of Truth" for Dec. 1844, says: "No case can be more clearly demonstrated with facts than that this message has been borne to every nation and tongue under heaven within a few years past in the preaching of the coming of Christ in '43 or near at hand. Through the medium of lectures and publications, the sound has gone into all the earth, and the word unto the ends of the world."
Our advent brethren well know that from about the year 1840 to 1844, the judgment hour message was given with astonishing success and power, and that the public mind was moved by it. They also know that the message has ceased to arrest the public mind, that the world and church have fallen asleep to the subject, and that those who profess to be giving this message now, have lost the energy and power they once had. With these facts before us we have no reason to expect that the first angel's message will again arrest the public mind. And those who are looking for a much more extensive proclamation of this message than the past movement, may as well look for the conversion of the world.