“And the third angel followed them,

saying with a loud voice,

‘If any man worship the beast and his image,

and receive his mark in his forehead,

or in his hand,

The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God,

which is poured out without mixture

into the cup of his indignation;

and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone

in the presence of the holy angels,

and in the presence of the Lamb:

And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever:

and they have no rest day nor night,

who worship the beast and his image,

and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.”

Revelation 14:9-11

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THIRD ANGEL’S MESSAGE

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In the last three devotionals, the subject of the messages of the three angels of Revelation 14 has been explored. And it was discovered that these messages were not given back-to-back, but rather over the process of prophetic time in these last decades. Remember, the Book of Revelation was given for God’s people at any time during the New Testament era. Persecution of the Church began even back in the very first century, A.D..

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And even though the 1st angel’s message seemed to be proclaimed as out of time (in the 1800’s), nevertheless, the apostasy within the Church continued to grow from that time forward, until the appointed time when God was ready to call His people out of spiritual Babylon.

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3 Angels Message – cropped image – Wikipedia via www.pri.org – Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 Generic license.

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2ND ANGEL’S MESSAGE

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Then, in the fullness of time, came the 2nd angel’s message, pronouncing this apostasy. And combined with the message of “another angel” of Revelation 18, this message included the call to, “Come out of her (Babylon), My people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.” Revelation 18: 4, 5

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Yes, the apostasy got so bad, that God’s Spirit was finally taken out of the midst of the church-world, giving way to the abomination of desolation (Satan) moving in as the counterfeit of the Holy Spirit to fill the void with his “itching ears” gospels to replace the pure truth of the Word.

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Audience hands – cropped & altered – Wikimedia – Universal Public Domain

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THE PROSPERITY-DRIVEN CHURCHES

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Once this apostasy began to mature, the formerly faithful, holy, and reverent church services began to bring in prosperity-driven gospels, howbeit some in a more conservative form than others. But whether tagged as a “name-it-and-claim-it” gospel, or as “The Entrepreneurial Spirit”. 

(Oh yes, these prosperity ideologies may be fine for the people of the world to pursue, but the Christian’s great focus and chief desire is now to be Heavenward, seeking to be transformed into the image of Christ.)

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And along with this abominable prosperity-driven gospel, came the spirit of world-loving sensuality in the form of very sensual “praise music”, sensual dress codes, sports, parties, clubs, games, “foolish talk and jesting”, comedians, dancing, drinking, politics, and a host of similar worldly inducements.

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Thus the church-world, whether liberal or conservative, became appealing for the unsaved multitudes in the world to join up with. No longer was “the offense of the Cross” standing in the way of the world. 

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Audience hands – cropped & altered – Wikimedia – Universal Public Domain

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SIGNS IN THE SUN, MOON, AND STARS

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Thus came the time when God would give the long-awaited 3rd angel’s message. And each message, the 1st and 2nd angel’s message were presented in a different manner from one-another, and the 3rd message being no exception! (Oh yes, both of the 1st and 2nd angel’s messages given earlier also contained some of the 3rd angels message in part, but not as fully as now is being given.)

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Yes, each message came in distinctly different manners. And the message of the 3rd angel miraculously came in the form of heavenly signs… ”And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;”  This was a promise by God, given in Luke 21:25, that in the last days, there would be signs in the Sun, Moon, and stars. But it was not yet revealed that Luke’s afore-promised signs would be attached to the 3rd angel’s message.

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THREE ANGELS’ MESSAGE INSCRIBED IN THE SUN, MOON, AND STARS

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And these signs in the stars presented an orderly message in three distinct groups, the spring/summer constellations, the fall constellations, and finally the winter constellations.

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Thus, the messages of the three angels were no longer confined to human instrumentalities. Now, the heavens themselves proclaimed the glory of God in these messages of the three angels. And the earth was now lightened with the glory of God by means of the Sun, Moon and stars now becoming heavenly prophets, one message following another in a succinct and orderly manner.

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The Spring/Summer constellations proclaiming the everlasting Gospel of the 1st angel, as the great Star, Arcturus, appears to be leading a procession of constellations through the night skies in a northwesterly direction.

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Then comes the Fall Constellations, proclaiming the 2nd angel’s message, and showing us the choice between which mountain we might climb, as we stand in the Valley of Decision.

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Then comes the fearful Winter Constellations, showing us the great battle before us. This is the message of the 3rd angel which the winter constellations reveal. Not only do they proclaim the battle which we must fight if we are to be overcomers, but they also reveal the rewards which await each portion of the Church-world: the apostate portion and the faithful portion.

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ABOVE PICTURE – Starry Night at La Silla – cropped/altered image – Wikimedia – Share-Alike license

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“The Heavens Declare The Glory of God…”

Psalm 19:1

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But in addition to those starry messengers, the earth is greatly lightened with the God’s glory by reason of the two great lights, the Sun and the Moon, even as is written… “The heavens declare the glory of God.” Psalm 19:1

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Yes, while the Sun represents Christ in Scripture, the Moon represents God’s people: Christ and His Church. Christ who enlightens, warms, and gladdens the world each new morning of our lives, while the Church lightens this dark world with the Gospel of Salvation proclaimed through the dark night of woe which has covered the earth for many long centuries now. 

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And all these heavenly messengers work together to present the messages of the three angels of Revelation 14 in all its fullness!

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CALLING ALL NOBLE BEREANS

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And each and every man, woman, and child is now invited to come and behold this heavenly message, inscribed in the heavens since the very days of creation! And each and every truth-seeking “Noble Berean” has been given enough time to make up his or her mind which direction to go in the coming time before us.

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And when each and every last soul has decided which camp they will join themselves to, then will come the end, culminating with the glorious return of Christ to call His sleeping saints, as well as those who are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord!

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USMC – Prayer before Bible study – Wikimedia – Public Domain

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