The warnings up through time.
Many warnings have been given to a disobedient human race throughout history. Below are some of them. We must keep in mind that Babylon is another name for both the Catholic Church and the fallen Protestant churches when we read the following verses. As for Isaiah, he lived before Babylon conquered Judah. Jeremiah was the prophet who warned the king and the people of Judah about the coming calamity, but at first the people would not listen to him, later it was impossible for the people to escape from the midst of Babylon. Zechariah worked toward the end of the captivity, but it was still not possible for the Jews to escape away from the daughter of Babylon. John wrote the Revelation in the year 96 AD, and long after physical Babylon had been conquered. What these verses are about is therefore equally end-time Babylon and the faithful remnant of God’s church.
Isaias 48:20 Go ye forth of Babylon, flee ye from the Chaldeans, with a voice of singing declare ye, tell this, utter it [even] to the end of the earth; say ye, The LORD hath redeemed his servant Jacob.
Jeremiah 50:8 Remove out of the midst of Babylon, and go forth out of the land of the Chaldeans, and be as the he goats before the flocks.
Jeremiah 51:6 Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and deliver every man his soul: be not cut off in her iniquity; for this [is] the time of the LORD’s vengeance; he will render unto her a recompense.
Jeremiah 51:45 My people, go ye out of the midst of her, and deliver ye every man his soul from the fierce anger of the LORD.
Zechariah 2:11 Deliver thyself, O Zion, that dwellest [with] the daughter of Babylon.
Revelation 18:4 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.
As we see from the verses above, there is no difference between the verses in the Old Testament and in the New Testament. All the verses apply to God’s people in all times, and the verb form used is imperative – a form that expresses a command (or a direct prohibition). Ever since the fall in the Garden of Eden, God has been calling people to make them aware of where they stand in relation to God, and He is asking us to leave Babylon, which is a synonym for the confusion that prevails in the world and in the fallen church.
The historical political-religious Babylon was the world’s dominant power in its time; especially in the part of the world to which the prophecies refer. In other words, God’s people had nowhere to turn if they tried to flee. Rather, God wanted them to settle down and wait for God to lead them out of captivity, as He did about 800 years earlier with Israel when they left Egypt. In Isaiah 29:5-10, the prophet says to Judah more than 100 years before they were taken captive to Babylon: Moreover the multitude of thy strangers shall be like small dust, and the multitude of the terrible ones [shall be] as chaff that passeth away: yea, it shall be at an instant suddenly. Thou shalt be visited of the LORD of hosts with thunder, and with earthquake, and great noise, with storm and tempest, and the flame of devouring fire. And the multitude of all the nations that fight against Ariel, even all that fight against her and her munition, and that distress her, shall be as a dream of a night vision. It shall even be as when an hungry [man] dreameth, and, behold, he eateth; but he awaketh, and his soul is empty: or as when a thirsty man dreameth, and, behold, he drinketh; but he awaketh, and, behold, [he is] faint, and his soul hath appetite: so shall the multitude of all the nations be, that fight against mount Zion. Stay yourselves, and wonder; cry ye out, and cry: they are drunken, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with strong drink. For the LORD hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes: the prophets and your rulers, the seers hath he covered.
What happened to Judah is the type, and what will happen in the end times is the antitype. Now there is another power, which is the political-religious power, which rules the whole world. This is the Roman Empire dressed in a Christian cloak, and which demands that the whole world should follow the commands of this church. When we are just before the return of Jesus, this church will once again exercise its political power as it did in the Middle Ages, and through its ally – the beast from the earth (Revelation 13:11) – will try to impose on the whole world a worldwide Sunday law that the church demands that everyone shall follow. This is done when an image of the first beast is set up (Revelation 13:1) which the beast from the earth will force all people to worship
An image is something that reflects the original, and what is used to reflect the beast from the sea is this beast’s false Sabbath – Sunday. Do we have anything in the Bible that tells us that something similar happened in Old Testament times? When Nebuchadnezzar had conquered the whole world, he was so pleased with himself that he erected an image of himself in the form of a statue of pure gold that everyone had to kneel down and worship. (See Daniel chapter 3.)
Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height [was] threescore cubits, [and] the breadth thereof six cubits: he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon, Daniel 3,1.
When the statue was finished, and all who had been invited to the ‘unveiling’ of the statue had arrived at the plain of Dura where the statue was placed, the ceremony began, and we read in verses 4 and 5 of Daniel chapter 3. Then a herald cried aloud. To you it is commanded, o people, nations, and languages, [that] at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of music, ye fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up. And we read in the next verse the consequence of not doing as they were commanded. And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.
Something similar will also happen in the end times. An image will be set up again that will reflect the ruler of the world, the Pope and his false day of rest – Sunday, and again a decree of death will be issued directed at those who do not obey the command to worship the image of the beast: In Revelation 13:15 we read. And he (the beast for the earth = USA) had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.
For those who were present in the Duradalen, there was no possibility of escaping the punishment if they did not obey the command to worship the beast’s (Nebuchadnezzar’s) image. A horrible death awaited them. However, there were three young men who were appointed to rule the province of Babylon, and these were Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, Daniel’s three friends. These three would not defile themselves before the Lord God by kneeling before an idol, and courageously they stood upright. The punishment came, of course, but before they were thrown into the ovens, they said something we should remember. In verses 16-18 we read. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we [are] not careful to answer thee in this matter. If it be [so], our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver [us] out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.
What happened to the three young men? They were thrown into the fiery furnace to die, but God intervened and came to their rescue.
In the end times, we will not have an opportunity to escape from Babylon either. When the Sunday Law comes we will face the ultimate choice, and what we choose here will determine our destiny. Like the people in Noah’s day who were given a choice, we too will be given a choice. In Noah’s day, it was either to get on board the ark and be saved, or stay outside and be lost. In Daniel’s time, the consequences were the opposite. Those who chose to worship the statue of Nebuchadnezzar kept their lives, while those who would not abandon God and kneel before an idol were to be killed. This is how the consequences of the choice will also be in the end times. Either we choose man-made Sunday law and the Pope’s ten commandments and are lost, or we choose God’s law and God’s Ten Commandments. If we choose God’s law and God’s Ten Commandments, He will come to our aid and save us. In other words, we have two choices either we choose God or we choose Satan. There are no other choices.
In the same way as when God delivered Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego from Nebuchadnezzar’s punishment, God will in the end times come to the rescue of his people when the Sunday law is introduced. God will protect his people in a supernatural way. Because of their faithfulness to God, they will be sealed with God’s seal (mark) and will therefore be beyond the reach of Satan and his evil angels, and when Jesus returns they will be taken to heaven.
God’s infinite and boundless love expressed in six little words. Come out of her, my people.
The background for the warnings that we find above is described in Jeremiah 51:7. Babylon [hath been] a golden cup in the LORD’s hand that made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunken of her wine; therefore, the nations are mad.
Let us first look at the whole message in the loud cry in Revelation 18:1-4. After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven. He had great authority, and the earth was illuminated by his splendour. With a mighty voice, he shouted: Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great! She has become a home for demons and a haunt for every evil spirit, a haunt for every unclean and detestable bird.
For all the nations have drunk the maddening wine of her adulteries. The kings of the earth committed adultery with her, and the merchants of the earth grew rich from her excessive luxuries. Then I heard another voice from heaven say: Come out of her, my people, so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues, (NIV 1984).
Come out of her, my people. These are the six small words expressing God’s infinite and boundless love for us humans. Do we have time to listen to God’s call in the middle of our daily hustle and bustle for wealth and status?
We know that the apostles called Rome/the Roman Empire Babylon, and Rome/the Roman Empire exists in good health today, the Roman Empire may never have been more powerful than it is now, and this power will only increase in the time leading up to Jesus’ second coming. The Roman Empire is today known as the Catholic Church, and there is every reason to wonder at the expression used for the fallen church. John says that she (Babylon/the Catholic Church) has become a home for demons and a haunt for every evil spirit, a haunt for every unclean and detestable bird.
It is therefore not surprising that John writes this about the woman in Revelation 17. A woman, as we all know, is a picture of God’s congregation / church. Moreover, John, the apostle of love, had helped to found the church in the time after the crucifixion of Jesus. At that time, the church was pure and reflected Jesus’ love and all his good qualities. When Johannes sat as a prisoner on Patmos, he gets to see the church that he had helped to found, and he describes the church like this. And upon her forehead [was] a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration, Revelation 17:5-6. As I said, Johannes had helped to found the church, which after a while would change so radically that she – the church – had becomea home for demons and a haunt for every evil spirit, a haunt for every unclean and detestable bird!
The phrase come out of her, my people, which is God’s declaration of love for humans in Revelation 18:4, is an echo of Genesis 3:9, where God calls out to Adam and asks: Where art thou? And in this way the ring is closed. Once again, I must say that this shows God’s infinite and boundless love that runs like a red thread through the entire Bible from the first to the last page, and shows us that God has been working for the salvation of mankind ever since Adam and Eve fell into sin in the Garden of Eden. Yes, the plan of salvation was actually laid before man was created. In the Garden of Eden, God called to Adam Where art thou? to make Adam realize where he was in relation to God, and realize what he had done to turn back to God. In the last book of the Bible, God calls out to humanity come out of her, my people to make the world realize where they are and turn to God
Here the second angel’s message about the fall of Babylon is preached anew, with the addition of the corruptions that have entered the church since 1844, when the three angels’ message was first preached. The loud cry will therefore come at the right time and it will mix with the third angel’s message, and together the two messages will rise to a loud cry. According to Ellen G. White, this is done to prepare God’s people for the time of trial, which when this happens is just ahead of them. We must remember that it is not heavenly angels who are to preach the messages, but God’s chosen people.
When those in Babylon hear the preaching, they must make a decision about it, and then they must make a choice, a choice that will follow them into eternity. Either they must actively choose to come out of Babylon, or they must remain in Babylon. The consequences of not obeying God’s call to leave Babylon are as follows in the next verses of Revelation 18:5-8. For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities. Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double. How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow. Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong [is] the Lord God who judgeth her.
The loud cry mixed with the three angels’ message is also an echo from Deuteronomy 30:15-20. See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil. In that I command thee this day to love the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments and his statutes and his judgments, that thou mayest live and multiply: and the LORD thy God shall bless thee in the land whither thou goest to possess it. But if thine heart turn away, so that thou wilt not hear, but shalt be drawn away, and worship other gods, and serve them; I denounce unto you this day, that ye shall surely perish, [and that] ye shall not prolong [your] days upon the land, whither thou passest over Jordan to go to possess it. I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, [that] I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing, therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live. That thou mayest love the LORD thy God, [and] that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him, for he [is] thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the LORD sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.
Now this is not the only time God calls his people. We also find such cries in Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Micah. Jeremiah 21:8. And unto this people thou shalt say, Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I set before you the way of life, and the way of death. Ezekiel 18:31 Cast away from you all your transgressions, whereby ye have transgressed; and make you a new heart and a new spirit, for why will ye die, O house of Israel? Micah 2:10 Arise ye, and depart; for this [is] not [your] rest: because it is polluted, it shall destroy [you], even with a sore destruction.
As in The Loud Cry, The Three Angels’ Message as well as in Deuteronomy 30:15-20, we see a God who stretches out his hand to help a lost human race. God says in Jeremiah 7:23. But this thing commanded I them, saying, Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people: and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well unto you. In Jeremiah 35:15. I have sent also unto you all my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending [them], saying, return ye now every man from his evil way, and amend your doings, and go not after other gods to serve them, and ye shall dwell in the land which I have given to you and to your fathers. But ye have not inclined your ear, nor hearkened unto me. And in Jeremiah 29:13. And ye shall seek me, and find [me], when ye shall search for me with all your heart.
The three angels’ messages will run parallel until Jesus’ return.
In Psalm 27:1 King David says. The LORD [is] my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD [is] the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
This raises some questions necessary.
How did Babylon fall?
By forcing people to approve of the false Sabbath. (Testimonies for the Church vol. 8)
When is the fall of Babylon complete?
It happens when the church’s union with the world is complete throughout Christendom. (The Great Controversy)
When will her sins reach all the way to heaven?
It happens when God’s law is declared invalid by men. (The signs of the times 12-6-1893)
These three, how Babylon has fallen, when Babylon’s fall is complete and when her sins reach all the way to heaven have to do with the introduction of a worldwide Sunday law. This law promotes the false Sabbath, Sunday – and all of Christendom, except those who keep God’s Ten Commandments, accept Sunday as the Sabbath day – and when this happens then God’s law has been declared void by men. The question is how we should approach the task. We who are to complete God’s work on earth are fallible and imperfect people, and no matter how good we think what we are doing is, it will not measure up in the grand scheme of things. We shall not, and we cannot make plans for how we would like to carry out the task, because God Himself will lead His people during this work, and He will use the means which He sees as expedient, and which are best for building up, increase and preserve his people.
What means will be used?
God will use the means that He himself considers the only usable ones to shout out the warning message, and it will, according to EGW, amaze us all when we see what means God chooses to use. We also know from biblical history that God chooses people who have God in their hearts. Many of the prophets of old were unwilling to do the Lord’s will. Moses said he was not eloquent, other prophets objected by saying they were too young. When Jesus was to choose his 12 disciples, he did not choose members of the high council, no Pharisees, no scribes and no highly respected and well-regarded people, but unlearned fishermen and people who were despised for their profession like the publican Matthew Levi. In the same way, God will choose his representatives among those who do not have what is called relevant education.
Whom will God use to preach the message?
God will when the time is right, raise up men and women who have no formal education in the same way that Jesus chose his disciples. He found them among the fishermen and tax collectors. This is how God will also in the end times, when this cry will resound throughout the earth, choose workers from the man in the street, among those who lack formal civic education, and by this E. G. White means relevant theological education. The Holy Spirit will equip these workers. God therefore wants to train his workers with the help of the anointing of the Spirit, not to use people who have been educated at scientific institutions and / or faculties. When the Millerites began to preach the end-time message, there were many others, independent of each other, who also preached the message it was also preached by children in Sweden/Norway and other places where it was forbidden for lay people to preach. For children, however, there was no prohibition against this.
In this way, the Lord will also use children to preach the end-time message in the absolute end-time, as was done in parts of Europe around 1840 when the first angel’s message was preached for the first time.
In other words, God will choose lay people to finish the great work on earth because Jesus returns, and these are characterized as follows in Revelation 14:4. These are they, which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they, which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, [being] the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb … and I add that they are willing to follow Jesus even to the cross or the stake.
There are many who misinterpret this that they, which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins, and think these are people who cannot be married, because they are like virgins. That is not the correct interpretation. Women here, as elsewhere in the Bible, are a picture of the church or God’s congregation. When someone defiles himself with women, it means that he adheres to false teachings and to idols. When it is said that they were not defiled with women, it means that they relate to God the Creator, and keep God’s ten commandments, have the faith of Jesus and the testimony of Jesus.
What will happen and when will it happen?
If we look at the preaching in our churches today, it has changed radically in almost all churches and congregations within the SDA. Our pastors and other preachers are more concerned with preaching about climate change and similar things than focusing on what matters; Jesus’ soon return. In the original edition of Early Writings, first published in 1882, Ellen G. White talks about the church (SDA) and the world being united. She writes. The ministers preach smooth things to suit carnal professors. They dare not preach Jesus and the cutting truths of the Bible; for if they should, these carnal professors would not remain in the church. But as many of them are wealthy, they must be retained, although they are no more fit to be there than Satan and his angels. This is just as Satan would have it, (Early Writings 228.1).
At the time of writing, 2022, 140 years later, we can observe what I wrote at the beginning of this paragraph. There is an astonishing similarity in what she said 140 years ago and the way the situation has become in our churches / congregations.
This will lead to changes in God’s end-time church. Many nominal Adventists will leave the church, and there will be a lot of noise about this event. It is necessary that this happen so that those who are faithful to God can get their work done as it should be done. Nevertheless, even if it is necessary and that it is God’s will that what is happening, Satan will use this to, if possible, prevent the faithful from doing their job. Now, however, Satan’s attempts will fail because the faithful are determined to follow their dear Saviour wherever He goes, and there awaits a cross or a fire. I saw that God has honest children among the nominal Adventists and the fallen churches, and before the plagues shall be poured out, ministers and people will be called out from these churches and will gladly receive the truth. Satan knows this; and before the loud cry of the third angel is given, he raises an excitement in these religious bodies, that those who have rejected the truth may think that God is with them. He hopes to deceive the honest and lead them to think that God is still working for the churches. But the light will shine, and all who are honest will leave the fallen churches, and take their stand with the remnant, (Early Writings 261.1).
About the loud cry, Ellen G. White says in Early Writings page 277.1 the following. Then I saw another mighty angel commissioned to descend to the earth, to unite his voice with the third angel, and give power and force to his message. Great power and glory were imparted to the angel, and as he descended, the earth was lightened with his glory. The light which attended this angel penetrated everywhere, as he cried mightily, with a strong voice, 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.
Little by little, God’s end-time church will understand the seriousness, and will once again take up the preaching of the three angels’ message as we find it in Revelation 14:6-12, and as at the beginning of the Advent movement, there will be a few scattered over the earth who start this work. Then more and more will join the first and the three angels’ message will be preached in a way that has never been preached before. The midnight cry will also be preached again, mixing with the second angel’s message as was the case when these messages were first preached.
In contrast to when the Advent movement emerged in the first half of the 19th century, now a fourth angel will mix with the first three angels and preach the message we find in Revelation 18:1-8. When these messages sound together they will rise to the loud cry and Ellen G. White says the following about this. Servants of God, endowed with power from on high with their faces lighted up, and shining with holy consecration, went forth to proclaim the message from heaven. Souls that were scattered all through the religious bodies answered to the call, and the precious were hurried out of the doomed churches, as Lot was hurried out of Sodom before her destruction. God’s people were strengthened by the excellent glory which rested upon them in rich abundance and prepared them to endure the hour of temptation. I heard everywhere a multitude of voices saying, “Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus, Early Writings 278.2.
When the three angels’ messages sounded the first time, it was the sins the fallen church had committed at that time that were the subject of the second angel’s message. When the three angels’ messages sound in the absolute end times together with the fourth angel’s message, all the sins that have entered the church since 1844 are included, and what finally triggers it all is the worldwide Sunday law that will soon come and the death decree that will be issued against those who keep God’s Ten Commandments.
The third angel’s message tells us the consequences of worshiping the beast and the image of the beast and taking the mark of the beast on the forehead or hand. If we worship the beast or the image of the beast, or if we take the mark of the beast, we worship another god than the Creator, and we will not be justified by faith. (For the record, the image of the beast is the false Sabbath – Sunday.) In order to be justified by faith, we have to accept the three angels’ messages as they appear in Revelation 14:6-12. If we listen to God’s warning, we avoid worshiping the beast, the image of the beast, and we avoid taking the mark of the beast. We then instead do what God wants us to do, then we keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ (Revelation 12:17), and keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus (Revelation 14,12).
How can we escape the coming judgment?
It is a motley congregation that makes up God’s church in the end times. There, both wheat and tares grow together (see Matthew 13:24-30). Likewise, in the fallen churches, many faithful, sincere seekers sit together with those who are not as faithful and sincere seekers. The warnings that God gives us through the Bible and Ellen G. White apply to all of us, without exception – none mentioned and none forgotten. If we really belong to God’s end-time church, then we go out and preach the message of the three angels so that those who hear our preaching and take the message of the three angels to heart choose to leave Babylon and seek God’s end-time church. However, our preaching must also be directed towards those in God’s end-time church who have become lukewarm and towards those who are nominal to shake them either to wake them up, or to shake them out in what is called the shaking.
How to escape the coming judgment is told us time after time in the Bible, such as here in these verses.
In Amos 5:15 the prophet says; Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish judgment in the gate: it may be that the LORD God of hosts will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph.
In Psalm 34:15 it says; Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.
In Psalm 97:10 we read; Ye that love the LORD, hate evil: he preserveth the souls of his saints; he delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked.
Isaiah 1:16 says; Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil;
Paul says in Romans 12:9; [Let] love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.
Without exception, these verses set up contradictions. We shall hate the evil, but love the good: We shall turn away from evil, and instead do good. If we love the Lord, we hate evil. We must purify ourselves so that the evil deeds we have done will disappear. We are to abhor what is evil, but cling to what is good.
However, we humans somehow have our own way of doing things, which is not always in harmony with God’s word. It has been this way ever since the time of Cain and Abel. Abel chose to sacrifice as God had prescribed, while Cain chose to sacrifice according to his own will. It did not go well, and Cain killed his brother Abel. This is also how it is with people today. Rather, we choose that which itch the ear, that which seems alluring, but which leads to destruction. We want to save ourselves – which is impossible, and we do not have time for God, the only one who can save us.
If you want a life together with the creator of the universe, He who bought you free with His own blood, He who took your punishment when you were condemned to death, then you must turn to Him. You must seek God with all your heart, ask for forgiveness for your sins and begin to live your life as God recommends you to do. God does not force anyone, but He calls you with His loving voice, and asks you to turn around.
In Jeremiah 3:22 the prophet says; Return, ye backsliding children, [and] I will heal your backslidings. Behold, we come unto thee; for thou [art] the LORD our God.
In Ezekiel 33:11, God asks the prophet to say to his people; Say unto them, [As] I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?
In Joel 2:12-13 God says; Therefore also now, saith the LORD, turn ye [even] to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning. And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the LORD your God: for he [is] gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.
Through Zechariah 1:3 the Lord says; Therefore say thou unto them, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Turn ye unto me, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will turn unto you, saith the LORD of hosts.
Malachi 3:7 says this; Even from the days of your fathers ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept [them]. Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith the LORD of hosts. But ye said, Wherein shall we return?
In the Acts of the Apostles 3:19 it says; Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;
There is nothing else God wants but for us to turn to Him. God does not want anyone to die the eternal death. Our Creator is ready with a reward that is greater than we can imagine. He offers us eternal life in a place where God will be with us for all eternity. This is a place where there are no tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away, (Revelation 21:4).
ARE YOU READY?
One thing is absolutely certain. Jesus is coming again, and very soon. The question then is whether you are ready to meet the Saviour. God has called on fallen humanity since Adam and Eve sinned against God in the Garden of Eden. And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where [art] thou? Genesis 3:9). Through all the years that have passed since then, God has had his representatives here on earth who have preached the gospel of grace. In the last book of the Bible, this call is repeated for the last time when God calls out to humanity through his end-time church; 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, (Revelation 18:4).
God really does not want anyone to be lost, but it is your decision that determines where you will be in eternity. If you turn your back on God, He will not force you, but you condemn yourself to eternal perdition. If you choose God, He will come running to meet you and He will throw himself around your neck and carry you into eternal life in a place more beautiful than any eye has seen.
Many say that it is nonsense that God will run to meet us when we turn from our sinful life and accept salvation in Jesus Christ. When Jesus was on earth, he told a parable that describes God’s way of doing things. This parable is called the prodigal son and we find it in Luke 15:11-32. This parable is a picture of God’s response to every person who repents. Verse 20 is a beautiful verse, and shows God’s way of acting; And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.
That is how God will receive all who turn from their sinful life and seek Him, and this is how I felt when I accepted Jesus as my saviour. I am so glad that God was patient with me, and that He never stopped calling me. When I finally gave in to God’s loving whispers, I came home to the most loving father in the universe. If I had not accepted God in 2004, I would not be where I am today, and then I would have had every reason to fear the future, because it is not pleasant reading for the wicked. Just look at what Isaiah 13:9 tells us; Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.
Ellen G. White says in Early Writings 254.1: As the ministration of Jesus closed in the holy place, and He passed into the holiest, and stood before the ark containing the law of God, He sent another mighty angel with a third message to the world. A parchment was placed in the angel’s hand, and as he descended to the earth in power and majesty, he proclaimed a fearful warning, with the most terrible threatening ever borne to man. This warning is the third angel’s message, and in the end times the three angels’ messages will sound together with the fourth angel’s message in Revelation 18:1-8, telling us what awaits those who do not want to seek refuge in Jesus.
It is your choice. What do you choose?
There is no difference between the end times and what happened in Noah’s time. Only those who chose to seek refuge in the ark were saved at that time, and so it will be when Jesus returns. Only those who have chosen to take refuge in Him will be saved. The rest have condemned themselves to perdition because of their arrogance, pride and opposition to their Creator, the God of heaven.
God is patient, and because you are the most important person in the entire universe to God, He keeps calling you. He will not give up on calling you, not until it is too late. Take the chance today, for He stands outside the door of your heart, whispers your name and calls; Come out of her – Babylon – the confusion of the fallen denominations – my beloved child. I long to give you the greatest gift any human can get.
The salvation in Jesus Christ who died for you on the cross is given to you by grace alone and by God’s infinite and boundless love. COME!