Early Writings - Page 254
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 message was designed to put the children of God upon their guard, by
showing them the hour of temptation and anguish that was before them. Said the angel, "They will be brought into close combat with
the beast and his image. Their only hope of eternal life is to remain
steadfast. Although their lives are at stake, they must hold fast the
truth." The third angel closes his message thus: "Here is the
patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and
the faith of Jesus." As he repeated these words, he pointed to the
heavenly sanctuary. The minds of all who embrace this message are directed to
the most holy place, where Jesus stands before the ark, making His final
intercession for all those for whom mercy still lingers and for those who have
ignorantly broken the law of God. This atonement is made for the righteous dead
as well as for the righteous living. It includes all who died trusting in
Christ, but who, not having received the light upon God's commandments, had
sinned ignorantly in transgressing its precepts.
After Jesus opened the door of the most
holy, the light of the Sabbath was seen, and the people of God were tested, as
the children of Israel were tested anciently, to see if they would keep God's
law. I saw the
third angel pointing upward, showing the disappointed ones the way to the
holiest of the heavenly sanctuary. As they by faith enter the most holy, they
find Jesus, and hope and joy spring up anew. I saw them looking back, reviewing
the past, from the proclamation of the second advent of Jesus, down through
their experience to the passing of the time in 1844. They see their
disappointment explained, and joy and certainty again animate them. The third
angel has lighted up the past, the present, and the future,
and they know that God has indeed led them by His mysterious providence.