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Sabbath, October 22, 2005 Newark Seventh-Day Adventist Church
Revelation 10 Pastor Tom Hughes

“THE PROPHECY THAT FAILED”

Revelation 10 - John said, “(And) I saw another mighty angel down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire:
2And he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth,
3And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roars: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices.
4And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write and I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, ‘SealT (close) up those things which the seven thunders Tuttered (said), and write them not.
5And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven,
6And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer:
7But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the Tmystery (secret plan) of God would be finished, as he hast declared to his servants the prophets.
8And the voice which I heard from heaven spoke unto me again, and said, ‘Go and take the Tlittle book (open scroll) which is open in the hand of the angel which standeth upon the sea and upon the earth.’
9And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, ‘Give me the little book.’ And he said unto me, ‘Take it, and eat it up and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey.’
10And I took the little book out of the angel’s hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter.
11And he said unto me, ‘Thou must Tprophecy (preach) again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.’”
It talks about a mighty angel in verse 1 “…and a rainbow was on his head…”

Can you imagine that? He had a face like the sun, and his feet were like pillars of fire. And he had a little book, and the book was open in his hand. He set his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land.

This chapter is about a book that this angel came down here to open. He’s standing on the land and the sea, which is a symbol of the whole world – so this is a worldwide message that this angel is bringing.

He has a rainbow around his head. In the Bible, is described a rainbow is around God’s throne. As a matter of fact when you look in God’s throne room he not only has a rainbow over his head he has a rainbow under his head. So looking through a translucent floor it looks like God is sitting in the middle of a circular rainbow. This is a message direct from God and so you want to pay attention.

Now notice the angel had the little book open in his hand. That’s significant. Then, in verse three it says he “cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roars: and when he cried out, the seven thunders uttered their voices.”

When I was at the Zoo, I didn’t know it but I was standing next to a lion cage. I was right next to the wall, and right on the other side of the wall – maybe two feet away from me; around the corner, through the bar was a huge male lion. As I leaned against the wall waiting for my family, this huge male lion went Roar! And I jumped almost high enough to fall over the wall! I mean I have never heard anything like that! Man! If I was in Africa and a lion was comin’ after me, it would really test my courage!

Some tribes actually make it a test of manhood to kill a lion. I had very close friend from Zimbabwe and he said that as a teenager he had to go out and hunt a lion and kill it. And if one of those lions would have done that to me, man, let me tell you what, I’d be headin’ back to America! J I would be out of there! Those things are huge! Maybe half the length of one of these pews!

Then it says the seven thunders uttered their voice.

“And when the seven thunders uttered their voices, I was about to write but I heard a voice from heaven saying, ‘Seal the things which the seven thunders uttered and do not write them”

I wonder if maybe that was God’s chariot with the fiery wheels within a wheel and it sounded like the sound a Harley makes. You know those seven thunders they sounded like thunder! Maybe God’s chariot has that thunder sound. I don’t know. But it says nobody knows what the seven thunders are so let’s not spend a lot of time there. Let’s move on.

Now, “I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, ‘Seal up the things which the seven thunders uttered, and do not write them.”


Well, whatever they said we’re not going to know it.

5And the angel whom I saw standing on the sea and on the land lifted his hand…”

In the Greek it says his right hand “up to heaven,

6And swore by him who lives for ever and ever…”

And this angel swore “that there should be a delay no longer:
7But in the days of the sounding –

…according to the New King James (Version), the sounding –


“of the seventh angel, when he about to sound” –

not “when he sounds” as it is in the King James –

“the mystery of God” by the way, is the plan of salvation… would be finished, as he declared to his servants the prophets.

8Then the voice which I heard from heaven spoke unto me again, and said, ‘Go and take the Tlittle book which is open in the hand of the angel who stands on the sea and on the earth.’
9And I went unto the angel, and said to him, ‘Give me the little book.’ And he said to me, ‘Take and eat…”
Now he ate it. It was sweet in his mouth but it was very bitter in his stomach. And he ate that little book.

“and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey.’
11And he said unto me, ‘You must prophecy (preach) again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.’”

Then in (Revelation) 11:1, “I was given a reed like a measuring rod and the angel stood and said, ‘Rise and measure the temple of God, the altar, and those who worship there but leave out the court which is outside the temple and do not measure it for it has been given unto the gentiles and they will tread the holy city underfoot for forty and two (42) months.’”

That mirrors what Jesus said when he said Jerusalem shall be trodden underfoot by the Gentiles. In 1976, the city of Jerusalem was once again under Jewish control. But from the time of this prophecy in 70 AD when it was fulfilled and began, until 1976 there was not a Jewish nation in Israel. There was the 1967 War where the nation of Israel was established, but Jerusalem was not under Jewish control until 1976.

Now The Prophecy That Failed is title that I borrowed from J. Reynolds Hoffman, and I use it with a little bit of tongue in cheek because the prophecy really didn’t fail, the people just thought it failed. But still, it’s a handy way to make you think about this.

There are questions people ask and if they don’t ask them out loud, at least they think them. Like for instance:

“When did the Adventist movement begin?”

“What caused the Adventist Church to start? Is it a breakaway from some other church?”

“Who were the early leaders of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church?”

Now when we read Revelation 10, we can study the prophecy that failed, begin to dig out the facts, and understand what this chapter is talking about.
The story is symbolic. Like the beast with seven heads and ten horns. The word “angel” in the Greek means “messenger.”

It comes from heaven. The angel with the rainbow brings a message from heaven and it is so important that it is preached in a loud voice, and it is like the roar of a lion. It is heard in both the land and sea – all around the world. It roars like a lion, it’s a powerful message!

Now, it’s a little book, and the entire experience of Revelation 10 revolves around this little book.

Four times we are told that the book is little.

Twice, we are told that the book is open

Once, we are told, that it is a book of prophecy in verse 11.

The implication of the word open is that it was once closed.

Now we need to understand what book this is talking about in order to interpret this prophecy. Amen?

When we go through the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, there is only one book of prophecy that is small in size, 12 chapters, that was ever closed.

Daniel 12:4
“But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.”

So “seal up the book of Daniel until”

…when?

“the time of the end.”

Very interesting.

So the only book in the Bible that was ever sealed was the book of Daniel, and the book of Daniel was to be sealed until the time of the end when many “run to and fro.”

Daniel 12:9, “And he said, ‘Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and Tsealed (kept secret) till the time of the end.”

A couple of weeks ago I had a sermon about the signs of the times. Can we all agree that many are running to and fro and that this is the time of the end?

Now we can; absolutely, I believe, conclude that Daniel is the little book of Revelation 10.

Now the time of this book - Twice we are given clues as to when this prophecy would be fulfilled.

First, it says at the beginning of the seventh angel when it is about to sound. The seventh angel is that last angel. And when the seventh angel sounds, what happens: It’s the time of the end. But what does the seventh angel talk about: the return of Christ. So: when the seventh angel is about to sound, just before Jesus comes, this happens.

Now it also says, “The mystery of God would be finished…”

The mystery of God in Revelation 10:7 is the final proclamation of the gospel, and the experience with the little book is clearly one that takes place near the end of the world. And it helps to finish the gospel by getting the gospel out to the entire world.



Now we’ve looked at prophecy; and in order to understand it, we have to look at the “mirror image” of prophecy, which is history.

About the year 1798, The book of Daniel was rediscovered and, at the same time, there was a worldwide movement called “the great awakening.”

Daniel 7:24 indicates there would be a power that would “pluck up three kings.” The three kings were rulers of three Arian provinces who believed Jesus was a created being, and not eternal God. This was a heresy that the Catholic Church was willing to go to war over. In 493, the Ostrogoths, with the permission of Catholic Emperor Zeno, wiped out the Germanic barbarian tribe, the Heruli; thus plucking up one of the horns.

After Justinian became the emperor in 527 AD, he issued the Justinian Decree in 533 AD elevating the bishop of Rome to be the “Head of ALL the Holy Churches.” But this decree could not go into PRACTICAL effect until the Arian enemies were removed.

In 534 AD, Justinian sent his general, Belisarius, to destroy the Vandals. This he accomplished in one campaign season, thus plucking up the second horn.

Finally the Ostragoths were defeated and driven out of Rome in March of 538 AD.



Napoleon had a general named Berthier. And in 1798, Napoleon sent Berthier, to capture Pope Pius IV and to bring him to France. (Popes have humiliated European Monarch in many ways. Napoleon wasn’t about to be humiliated by any Pontiff)

The French Revolution Proclaimed: God is dead! Reason is king!” and the church was on it’s way to be dragged down into the dirt and destroyed. Berthier captured the pope and brought him back where he died in captivity—fulfilling Revelation 13.
We don’t have time to go into that today, but 1798 is a significant date because that’s when the papacy was dealt its “deadly wound” and there was no pope for three and a half years. Then there were two popes and each excommunicated the other!



Beginning sometime around the year 1798, in the early nineteenth century, there was an international, interdenominational, independent revival of the study of the book of Daniel. The revival of prophecy was sparked by a study of William Miller of Daniel 8:14 where the Bible says, ‘Unto two thousand and three hundred days (2300); then shall the sanctuary be Tcleansed (delivered).”

Bible scholars everywhere began to teach that the sanctuary was the earth and that the Second Coming of Christ to the earth should be expected on or about 1844. Today is October 22, 2005. On October 22, 1844, this all took place.

Now the preachers were in the United States: William Miller, a Baptist; Josiah Litch, a Methodist; Charles Fitch, a Congregationalist. In general, half were Methodists, a quarter of them were Baptists. There were clergy of the Christian, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Quaker, and Episcopal Churches all preaching this doctrine.

Now according to Ezekiel 4:6, they believed that, in prophecy, there was a day for a year; and that the prophecy began with the order to rebuild Jerusalem (Daniel 9:25) in 457 BC.

If you add 2300 years to 457 BC, that brings you to 1843. They came down to 1843 but got it wrong. It didn’t happen (Jesus didn’t return). They went back, recalculated their math and they realized that there was a year between the last year of BC and the first year of AD called zero “0” and they hadn’t counted that. So then, they arrived correctly at October 22, 1844. How interesting.

More than 700 preachers in England were telling this story about Daniel 8:14.

Did you know they had a camp meeting in New England in 1842, 1843, and 1844, and did you know that more than a half million people attended that camp meeting? We have a half million people go to Sturgis for “bike week.” We have a half million people go to Daytona Beach for “bike week.” But can you imagine in 1842-1844, you know back in those eras they actually had a half million people going to these camp meetings to hear the “Adventists” preach this advent message!



There was a man named Lucunza, a Roman Catholic priest who went to South America and preached this message!

Joseph Wolfe was a converted Jew. He got it, he took this message over to the Middle East and all of Europe, the Middle East, South America was stirred by this message about (the book of) Daniel.

The Adventist awakening of 1798 to 1844 alone fulfills the prophecies of Revelation 10.



Now they preached the message that Jesus was coming, and that you needed to get ready because in October 22, 1844, you Christ would come and you would be taken to heaven. But, somehow, they missed the fact that Jesus said, “No man knows the day or the hour.” And there were several other things they missed. Why?

Why did God allow that?

Why did God allow them to misinterpret it?

Why did the prophecy have to fail for them to understand what God wanted them to understand?



Now this preaching of this message caused a tremendous division in the churches where it was preached. These congregations were in turmoil. One Methodist would ask another, “Are you an Adventist?” And if he said he was, they would vote him out of the church. They were inquiring as to the belief of the person in the soon return of Jesus. The Adventist question, “Do you believe Jesus will soon return in 1844?” divided every congregation regardless of denomination. This was an inter-denominational phenomenon.

People sold their homes and put the money in the cause.

People sold their plows, their wagons, their horses.

The people sold their farms and they gave away all their clothes! They had nothing left but the clothes on their back.

They put it all on the line, people. They believed this message. And remember at this time now, there was no Seventh-Day Adventist Church. The preaching of Daniel’s prophecy was in international, worldwide phenomenon.

The “eating of the book,” according to the Bible, would be sweet in the mouth. There is nothing sweeter to a Christian’s heart than the thought of seeing the Savior come again and they believed that soon the heavens would open and they would see his face. But the Bible says it would be bitter in their belly. And it was bitter when these people did not see their Lord appear. And it was doubly bitter because of the jeering of their friends and neighbors and relatives.

“I see that you didn’t leave. Funny thing, I thought you were supposed to fly up yesterday! I see you’re still here. I knew you were wrong!”

Can you imagine? “Hey, Adventist, where’s your wings? I just happened to notice you haven’t flown away yet!”

Can you imagine how those people felt?

Can you imagine how bitter it must have been to be mocked, and made fun of, and to have lost everything and preached about something that absolutely did not happen? To preach a prophecy and then to have it fail and you’re humiliated in front of everyone?



In the midst of this darkness, the truth of 1844 was revealed with even clearer light. God called these people once again to do a work for him. He had allowed them to misinterpret it and we know that by Revelation 11:1 and the last verse of Revelation chapter 10.

Revelation 11:1 – “And there was given me a Treed like unto a rod (10.5 ft.): and Tthe angel stood, saying (one said)…”

…same angel, remember,

“…the angel stood saying, ‘Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.’”

And in the last verse of Revelation 10 he says, “Thou must prophecy again.”

So God showed them that the temple of God, his sanctuary was the key they were looking for! This call to study the sanctuary did not come from man it came from God himself. The answer to the great disappointment in chapter 10 is the sanctuary of chapter 11.
Now what is the location of God’s sanctuary?

Revelation 11:19
“Then the temple of God was opened in heaven, and the ark of His covenant was seen in His temple. And there were lightnings, noises, thunderings, an earthquake, and great hail.”

Did you hear that? Some people say that the Ten Commandments were done away with. Some people say there is no ark. But the Bible says, when the temple of God was opened there was the ark in the temple of God in heaven. Amen?



Now here is the flaw, the fatal flaw, of the 1844 movement: The earth is never called the sanctuary ever in the Bible! It is referred to more as the outer court, the place of sacrifice, the altar of sacrifice, the place where Jesus laid down his life – which is the outer court! The temple is where: in heaven!

So if you look in Hebrews 9:1-7, you will find that there are two rooms, or apartments, in the sanctuary. Each room had its furniture and its articles. The first room was the holy place and it had the table of showbread, the altar of incense, and the candlestick. The second room was the most holy place. It had only one piece of furniture: the Ark of the Covenant. The ark contained the Ten Commandments. We will have sermons on the Law of God and the Heavenly Sanctuary soon.

The priest went daily into the first room, the holy place, but the high priest alone went into the most holy place, and he only went there once a year. The physical arrangements of the temple are basic to an understanding of the tenth and eleventh chapters of Revelation and for that matter, the whole of the Revelation.

Hebrews 9:1-7
“Then indeed, even the first covenant had ordinances of divine service and the earthly sanctuary.
2For a tabernacle was prepared: the first part, in which was the lampstand, the table, and the showbread, which is called the sanctuary;
3and behind the second veil, the part of the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of All,
4which had the golden censer and the ark of the covenant overlaid on all sides with gold, in which were the golden pot that had the manna, Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tablets of the covenant;
5and above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. Of these things we cannot now speak in detail.
6Now when these things had been thus prepared, the priests always went into the first part of the tabernacle, performing the services.
7 But into the second part the high priest went alone once a year, not without blood, which he offered for himself and for the people’s sins committed in ignorance.”

In Revelation 11:19, notice the verse says “…the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen the ark of His testimony…”

The text does not say that the temple was open but that it was opened. The result of this opening was that the ark could be seen. Now if I opened the door of my house and you see a refrigerator, what door is it? The kitchen!

Now if you open the door of the temple and you see an ark, what door is it: The most holy place. Obviously, it is the most holy place.



Now the 1844 event was not the coming of the Lord to the earth, as people expected, but the entrance of Jesus into the most holy place in the heavenly sanctuary; according to Daniel 7, where it says “One like the most high came before God and thrones were set up and the judgment was set.”

Our great high priest, Jesus, went into the holy of holies and began his ministry to judge the world in righteousness at the end of the world; to finish his priestly work, and to finish what it calls the mystery of God.

Now in Revelation 14:7, you can compare that with Revelation 10:6. They are the same. They are referring to the same thing: “The hour of his judgment is come.”

Revelation 14:7
“saying with a loud voice, “Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.”

Revelation 10:6
“and swore by Him who lives forever and ever, who created heaven and the things that are in it, the earth and the things that are in it, and the sea and the things that are in it, that there should be delay no longer,”



Now the effects of the rediscovery of this sanctuary truth were many-fold. God’s gracious invitation to follow Jesus by faith into the holy of holies given to us in Hebrews 10:19 was there to present the work of our Lord as the great high priest. And this ministry took on a new glory in the daily life of witnessing for God’s children who chose to obey and follow their Lord into the most holy place.

Some people refused to follow and gave up their faith. The command of God was to measure the temple and in this discovery of the sanctuary message, they also discovered there the Ark of the Covenant in Revelation 11:19 and in the ark was discovered the Ten Commandments and their true relationship to redemption. The Ten Commandments led to the discovery of the Sabbath and the people there were led to keep it holy and the Seventh-day Adventist movement was born. People who believed in the Second Advent of Christ, and honored God’s Seventh-day Sabbath.

And isn’t it interesting that some would say there is no commandment to keep holy the Sabbath Day; that it’s all been done away with! Well then somebody ought to tell God so he can go up into his throne room and remove the Ten Commandments because God the Father, obviously is unaware of the fact that they’ve been done away with because he still has them in his throne room! They are called “His Testament”!

When you look into heaven (in the most holy place over the ark of the covenant), where Lucifer used to be one of the covering Angels; you see Gabriel and an unknown angel – I’m not sure who the other angel is – but there they are. And the Shekinah glory of this powerful awesome God who dwells in light and no man can approach with the angels there and God looks down from his throne, and what does he see in the ark of the covenant? The Ten Commandments!

Now what’s on above the Ten Commandments? The mercy seat!

What’s above the mercy seat? The Shekinah Glory!

What else is on the mercy seat? The blood of Christ!

The priest, once a year, would go in to the most holy place on the Day of Atonement. He would take the blood and put it on the mercy seat. So while God is sitting on his throne, when He looks down between him and the Ten Commandments He sees the mercy seat!

And he doesn’t see the law of God and all our imperfections; he sees the law of God through the blood of Jesus and has to look through the mercy to see the law!

When you start talking about perfection and that we have to be perfect, there is no human being who ever has been or will be but one – that’s Jesus! He perfectly fulfilled the law of God by walking in it, not by destroying it! (Rom.8: 4-7) We receive his perfection by faith.

That’s why in the book The Great Controversy, page 623, it reads that now, while the door of mercy is swung wide on the hinges of grace – now, while Christ is making an atonement for us – we need to seek to become perfect in Christ through his righteousness.

We need to pray and ask Jesus to credit us with his perfection; not that we have to somehow get rid of all our sins become a perfect little person. If it depends on me, forget it, I’ll never be there. It depends on what God has done for me not what I do for God. I have no righteousness. My only righteousness is Christ, and him crucified.

My only hope is that the blood is on the mercy seat and that my name is written in the lamb’s book of life and that my sins are blotted out! That’s my only hope; and in him I trust. In him, I believe.



Now the Sabbath truth was restored. Truths have been accumulating bit by bit since the Reformation that began in the 15th century and were picked up off the ground, dusted off and restored to their glorious beauty. (See Daniel 8:13, 14)

Now people will say, “Aren’t you Seventh-Day Adventist those who said Christ was coming in 1844?”

The answer is – no, we are not. The Adventist Church did not exist in 1844. It was in the 1860s that the Seventh-Day Adventist Church became a denomination (1863).

So the Seventh-Day Adventist Church has never set a date for the Second Coming and we never will. They never made ascension robes. That is a myth. They went up the mountain to wait for Jesus but none of them had ascension robes.

Well, why didn’t Martin Luther see the Sabbath?

Why didn’t Wesley and all the Reformers see the Sabbath?

I have a very simple explanation for you. The door was shut. Daniel wasn’t open; and the door wasn’t open till 1844. You couldn’t see into the most holy place and see the law of God in the sanctuary because the door was shut. But it’s open now. You can see it today.

Well aren’t Seventh-Day Adventists the product of a terrible mistake; the mistake of 1844? How could possibly have the truth?

In Revelation 10, God has given ample evidence that he let this mistake happen – he allowed it. He covered that prophecy up and allowed it to fail for some reason. How do we know that? He said, “Thou must prophecy again.”

I can only venture a human opinion. The Second Coming of Christ had been lost sight of and people always work harder under a sense of urgency. The glorious truth of our Lord’s return was scattered further and faster this way than it would have been otherwise.

The popular churches were offended by this. They stopped mentioning the Second Coming. For many years (46) the churches had been agitated over this doctrine. They wanted to hear no more of it! This accounts for the silence in the average pulpit today – a backlash against the 1844 movement.

Now it’s coming back; it’s being preached but it’s being preached as a secret rapture. Beloved there is a “rapture.” I believe in the rapture (but) there’s nothing secret about it! In Revelation 1:7, it says “every eye shall see him” and I believe that’s the true.

Another backlash against 1844 was the development of Modernism: “You must not take the Bible too seriously. Remember those nuts who were running around saying, ‘The world’s ending! The world’s ending!’”

Fanaticism rose up about this time, a move into crisis religion and emotionalism. And in 1844 both the Mormon and the Jehovah’s Witnesses were born. You get the impression that old “claw foot” knew when that prophecy was to be fulfilled and he figured he’d throw a few counterfeits in there just to confuse you! Darwinism was also published at the same time.

So the Adventist movement continued following the great disappointment. The majority refused to continue to discuss the return of Jesus but there were individuals and small groups here and there in New England that would not abandon the hope of our Lord’s return.
Slowly, the lines of communication began to form. Periodicals were printed, meetings were called, and a church organization was effected in 1863 and there was a small beginning. Today 20 percent of all the missionaries in the world are Seventh-Day Adventists. There is a publishing empire that is printing in over 300 languages. We have over 500,000 students in our church schools. As you look at the story of our Lord’s return, it is being told in over 700 languages. The Seventh-Day Adventist Church is not a church born of discontent but a church born of a common hope in Jesus’ soon return.

As the signs are fulfilling all around you – one storm after another – earthquakes, tsunamis – as God is ringing the bell; warning you that he is soon to come, you have a church that is preaching the Second Coming of Christ!

What is the message of God’s church today? The answer is found in Revelation 10:11 “…‘Thou must Tprophecy (preach) again before many peoples, nations, tongues, and kings.”

So, once again God is going to use that movement – the one that came out of the Millerite movement –to preach in all the world. Seventh-Day Adventists now have more churches in more countries with than any other church on the face of the earth. They are now a worldwide church preaching, prophesying again and teaching about the open book of Daniel seen in the angel’s hand in Revelation Ten.

Now when something is done again it is implied that it was done once before. “Prophesy again,” means the same message must be repeated: that Jesus is coming again. The only difference is we need to preach the sanctuary and the judgment message of Jesus Christ, which I am going to be preaching in the near future. The Judgment is going on even as we speak according to Revelation 11:18. While the nations were angry the judgment was going on in heaven.

Many people think they can wait till Jesus comes and then when they see him they can repent. But the Bible says that the censer is thrown down and “he who is just, let him be just (still); he who is filthy let him be filthy (still).”

The Bible says, “When I come my reward is with me (Revelation 22:12).” He says, “When I come my reward is with me to give every man according to his works.”

It’s too late then. When Christ comes, you get your reward. You’re either saved or lost. That’s it. You can’t repent then.

It’s like in the days of Noah. Remember when God sent his angels to close the ark’s door and the ark sat there for seven days and the people just made fun of Noah and mocked him? They didn’t realize they were already dead – they were already judged; they were already lost eternally. For seven days everything seemed normal and then the end came.

When Jesus throws down the censor (Rev. 8) and the judgment is over in heaven, everything will seem normal. People will be marrying and giving marriage. People will be going to the movies, watching TV, doing all the things they normally do and they won’t even realize that their fate has already been decided for all eternity.

That’s why now while the door of mercy is swung wide on the hinges of grace you need to bring your life into harmony with God’s call and surrender yourself to Jesus today! Today is the day of salvation! Jesus said in Matthew 24:14 that this message will be preached in the entire world then shall the end come. The Bible says the church who’s preaching in the end will preach about the sanctuary, the Ark of the Covenant, and will preach about the Seventh-day Sabbath that is in the heart of God’s law. There is only one worldwide church that is preaching the Seventh-day Sabbath and the sanctuary message, and that is the Seventh-Day Adventist Church.

The whole purpose of you coming here today to hear the message of God presented is so you can be ready when Jesus comes and not be lost. What a day that will be when Jesus comes!

Do you want to be ready? To be welcomed and given eternal life?

Is there anything in your life more important than this?

Don’t let anything or anyone keep you out of the kingdom.

These things the Bible proclaims are real that and they are going to happen shortly! I believe we need to stay ready by living one day at a time. We need to read our Bibles, pray, put God first in our life, and not let anything keep us out of the kingdom.

If you agree with me and you would like Jesus to write your name down in his book and save you when he comes; if you want to be saved when Jesus comes and not lost, would you raise your hand this morning?

Closing Prayer:

“Heavenly Father, may your angels record their names in the Lamb’s book of life. May each one begin to read their Bible and to pray on a daily basis, to put you first, to put away those worldly things that are drawing us away from you and that displease you. We need to get real with you God. Help us, Lord, to be real with you, to love you with all our heart and do what’s right. And if we have Jesus in our heart, we’ll be obedient and loving and we will carry this message into the entire world. Bless this congregation now because in a little while we’re going home. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.”




Closing Song: Hymn No. 626, “In A Little While, We’re Going Home.” Seventh - day Adventist Hymnal, Review and Herald Publishing Association (1991).

All Scriptural References: New King James Version

Ellen G. White References: www.whiteestate.org

Transcription: Wendy J. Riebel

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