26. Three Last Words

LONNIE: Welcome to Exploring the Word. I hope you’re ready to do that--explore the riches of the Bible today.

JEANNIE: Thanks for joining us.

LONNIE: As always, we’ll start with a question, something you’ve been asking. Jeannie, what do you have for us today?

JEANNIE: Well this is something that keeps coming in various letters. People wonder, “How do I find God’s true church?” Or “Is there a true church?”

LONNIE: I hear that a lot too. And of course people ask us about our church, the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Jeannie and I were both nurtured in that church. And we’re very much committed to its mission. We believe that it stands in that light of speaking according to the law and the testimony—as we shared in last week’s lesson.

So let me try to answer, as best I can, what the Bible says about the identifying signs of a true church. And for another perspective on today’s important topic, check out our Discover Bible Guide number twenty-six, “Does God Have a Special Message for Our Day?”

Not all churches are created equal. Even in the New Testament we find Paul warning about certain leaders, certain groups that were watering down the gospel, that were distorting the gospel. And he urged believers to stay away from them. As we saw last week, there are healthy churches and there are unhealthy churches.

But the Bible also tells us that God has a special end-time message He wants to give the world. Remember our homework assignment from last week? Revelation 14, the proclamation of three angels? That’s what we’re going to look at today. The Bible indicates that God has a special message for the last days. And I believe He wants to prepare a special people to represent Him, to stand for Him, in the last days.

So, my conviction is that there is greater safety in belonging to a church that proclaims this final message. There’s greater safety in belonging to a church that’s going to stand for God in the end times.

Is that kind of church going to save you? Absolutely not. There’s salvation in only one name, the name of Jesus Christ. But is there greater safety in that church? Yes, I believe there is.
So open your Bibles to Revelation chapter 14 and get ready to listen to God’s last three words for the world.

On a Friday morning in 1987, Debbie jumped out of an airplane at 12,000 feet. She was skydiving with friends in clear skies near Phoenix, Arizona. Unfortunately in her initial free fall, she slammed into another diver and was knocked unconscious.

Debbie flew past Gregory, her jump-master, limp as a rag doll. She was plummeting toward earth, with her parachute unopened--and no way to open it.

Gregory immediately forced his body into a faster dive. Moving at 180 miles an hour he caught up with Debbie and pulled her reserve parachute cord—just in time, seconds from impact.

I believe we are rushing toward the end times, rushing toward an impact with eternity. And many, many people don’t have a parachute. They’re free-falling. They’re just hoping to somehow land safely. But the fact is, no one is going to survive the end of the world on their own. We all need help.

And fortunately God has planned a mid-air rescue—just in time. It’s found in Revelation chapter 14. There we see three angels flying in mid-heaven to issue a final warning and to show us how we can be safe in the end times. Let’s look at the first angel. Revelation 14:6:

“Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth . . .”

The final message begins in the way God’s message always begins: with the gospel. That’s what must be shared. That doesn’t change. That’s at the center. Jesus Christ is the rescuer. He is the name we can count on.

Now let’s look at what is emphasized in this gospel message. Look at the next verse, verse 7. The angel proclaims in 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 14:7

The message is urgent because we’re living in a certain time, a certain point in history. What is it? The hour of judgment.

The gospel matters more than ever because this is the hour of God’s judgment.

So what should we do? What should our response be? What does this verse say we should do? Give glory to God and “worship Him who made heaven and earth.” In other words worship the Creator.

Worship the Creator—in the hour of judgment. You know in recent years we’ve lost sight of this Almighty Creator who judges human beings. One reason is that we’ve lost sight of God’s unchanging, eternal law. We don’t grasp the fact that we are accountable to God’s commandments; we are responsible before His standards. Everything is so subjective these days. It’s all about living according to your own internal compass. It’s about doing what you think is best.

That’s one reason it’s so critical that God’s true church believe and practice and teach God’s Ten Commandments. We studied about that last week in Isaiah 8:20. To stand in the light you have to speak according to the law and the testimony. The Ten Commandments are spotlighted in that verse. God’s last day church has a mission of honoring all Ten Commandments---not as a means of salvation, but as an evidence of salvation.

It’s so important in these days to makes sure that God is big enough in our lives. We can’t reduce Him to something we can manage or manipulate. We must honor His commands above our opinions.

Now let’s return to Revelation 14 and see what the second angel has to say. We find it in verse eight:

And another angel followed, saying, "Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she has made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication." Revelation. 14:8

So, the second message, the second word is, Babylon is fallen.

Now the ancient city of Babylon fell a long time ago, right? This isn’t exactly news. But here, of course, Babylon is a symbol. Revelation is full of symbols. In Revelation 17 Babylon is pictured as a harlot dressed in purple and scarlet, decked out in gold and pearls.

In many places in the Bible, a harlot is a picture of people who turn away from God, people who are unfaithful to God’s covenant and worship idols. This Babylon in Revelation is called the Mother of all Harlots. In other words she represents the source of false religion, a powerful, apostate religion. And this false spiritual power, the second angel tells us, is trying to make all nations drink of her fornication. She’s trying to make everyone unfaithful like she is, promiscuous like she is.

In other words she is spreading a false, corrupt religion. In the end times we're going to be facing a worldwide religious power that spreads false teaching. What kind of false teaching?

Well think of Babylon’s origins. Babylon actually began at the Tower of Babel. The survivors of the Flood wanted to build a tower tall enough to challenge the sovereignty of God. Instead of trusting in God's promises, they decided to build their own religious security system.

Babylon is about man-made power, man-made truth, man-made religion. Babylon is fallen because it is man-made religion. It's the ultimate human do-it-yourself project. Human ideas replace God’s truths. Mere human religious authority replaces the work of the Holy Spirit.

So what should people do?

The logical response is spelled out in Revelation 18. We hear an echo of the second angel's message in verse 2: “Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen” And then what do we hear in verse four? This admonition: “Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins…" Revelation 18:4

Come OUT.

As we rush headlong toward an impact with the final days, we don't want to be caught inside a false religion that collapses around our ears. We don't want to get tangled up in her immorality and false teaching.

Let me be honest friends. Too many churches today have gone soft on the basic testimony of Scripture. Too many have watered down God’s rock-solid principles, God’s Ten Commandments. This prophecy is saying that much of the world has become Babylon, confusion. Denominations are trying to shout each other down, while downplaying God’s law, God’s testimony.

God says, “Come out of those churches. My people are in those churches, but I am calling them to come out, to become a movement of people from every land and culture who will represent me in the last days.

That’s the second angel’s message. Don’t get trapped in mere human ideas about religion. Don’t get stuck in man-made religion. Don’t be lulled to sleep there. Come out. Wake up. Everything man-made is going to fall apart in the end. The Creator is calling us back to the pure gospel, which will enable us to stand secure in Christ in the judgment.

Now on to the final angel, the third message. Look at Revelation 14:9,10:

“Then a third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, "If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark on his forehead or on his hand, he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God...”

Here we have a warning. Don’t worship the beast.

And the language of this warning is extremely vivid—fire, brimstone and torment. Obviously this is a great danger, a great danger in the end times. God is shouting in our ear. He's telling us what to beware of as we're about to impact with the end times.

What’s this beast all about? Let’s read Revelation 13:3-5:

“And all the world marveled and followed the beast...they worshiped the beast, saying, "Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him? And he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority...”

The beast speaks great things. People marvel at what he says: "Who is like the beast?" He has great authority. It appears no one can stand against him. And he speaks blasphemies. The warning is urgent because he speaks blasphemies.

Blasphemy is claiming to be God, claiming to speak for God, claiming God’s prerogatives.

This is obviously a very powerful religious leader. He is the head of this man-made kind of religion, this Babylon. And lots of people follow him. They marvel at his wonderful pronouncements. He sounds so spiritual. He sounds so sure. Maybe he really is speaking for God.

That’s how people are seduced. They want someone who's powerful to lead them. They want someone who speaks great things, someone who speaks with authority.

So what are we to do when faced with this charismatic figure who presumes to speak for God? Well let’s look at the people who stand against this beast. The people this beast tries to persecute. We find them in Revelation 12:17.

Now, when the Bible uses this word “church,” does it mean the Adventist church in particular? The Methodist church in particular? No. The original Greek here is “ekklesia.” It simply means, “God’s called out ones!” Well, I want to be one of God’s “called out ones,” don’t you?! I believe each of us must find a church that in fact claims to be, not just another denomination, but God’s called out ones, people who go back to the basic truths taught here in the Three Angels’ messages, back to the basics of Scripture.
So let’s look at how God’s true people are identified right here in Revelation 12:17. They are identified as those who:

“. . . keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” Revelation 12:17

Two things distinguish God’s people in the end times. They are loyal to God’s commandments. They take His Word seriously and try to follow it consistently. And they “have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” What does this suggest?

Well again, remember the two-part test for any church or religious group in Isaiah 8:20. “They must speak according to the law and the testimony.”

What we have here in Revelation, here in the New Testament, is simply a sharpening of that focus—showing us where the light is! Here’s a two-part test again. Here’s how you determine God’s true church that comes out of Babylon in these last days.

First, they keep the “commandments of God.” Bingo. That’s the same criteria Isaiah pointed to. All Ten Commandments. And second, they have the “testimony of Jesus.” What is that? Revelation 19:10 tells us clearly: “the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” Now Isaiah was telling us that a true church must line up with all that Scripture says, all that the prophets say. Here, Revelation is saying that God’s true church is still lining up, still listening to—“the spirit of prophecy.”

My conviction is that you’d better find an end-time church that claims the gift of prophecy in its history. Now yes, there are some churches who’ve claimed to have a modern prophet. But they have led churches away from the essential teachings of Scripture, away from God’s Ten Commandments. They don’t line up with all the Bible has to say. What you need is a “spirit of prophecy” which does speak according to “the law and the testimony.”

That can be our response. If someone is speaking blasphemies, we can speak God’s prophetic word. It all comes back to the Word my friends, to keeping the “spirit of prophecy” alive. It all comes back to the gospel. It all comes back to emphasizing what the Bible emphasizes.

We must come back to worshiping our Creator, instead of replacing Him. We must come out of man-made religion because Babylon is falling. And we must make sure that we’re standing on God’s prophetic Word. We want to belong to a group that will stand for God’s Word in the final days of earth’s history.

Listen to those whose lives have been impacted by God’s last three words.

JEANNIE: Lonnie, it is pretty sobering to think about where we are in history, to think about the final conflict. And I’m so very thankful that I belong to a church that does proclaim the gospel and that does prepare people to stand for the truth in the end times.

And I’m glad God was so concerned about spiritual confusion in these last days that He spelled out some simple tests on finding the true church. It’s not complicated. It lines right up with what God’s remnant, God’s people, have stood for all through time.

LONNIE: I feel very fortunate too, Jeannie. I think it has given us a lot of security through our lives. I don’t think we’d be anywhere near as confident about the future without our faith community.

JEANNIE: So it occurs to me that maybe inertia is an issue here.

I think about some of my friends and acquaintances, and maybe they’re not in a gospel-centered church, maybe they know it’s time for them to move to a better place, but—inertia. It’s hard to take that step.

It’s hard to, you know, step into a new fellowship.

LONNIE: We’ve come to the end of another 13-week segment here on Exploring the Word. We’ve covered many of the basic principles of Scripture.

JEANNIE: We’ve even gone through each of the 26 topics covered in our Discover Bible Guides.

LONNIE: So you out there have had quite a bit of information to digest, to ponder. And maybe it’s time to consider taking a big step in your life.

Remember that we're falling headlong toward an impact with the end times. And you want to be in the safest place you can possibly find. God is eager to rescue each and every one of us with His everlasting gospel. That’s why His calls to “come out” are so urgent.

Is it time for you to “come out” of old human ways of looking at things? Is it time to “come out” of man-made religion? Have you found a church where God’s eternal law is honored and the gospel is proclaimed? Have you found a church where the testimony of Jesus overshadows human authority?

The book of Revelation ends with this word: Come! The Spirit says, “Come!” “Let him who thirsts, come.” Come out is only part of God’s end-time call. He also says “Come in!” Have the courage to come in. Have the courage to find the place where God’s last three words echo loud and clear. Please don’t let anything get in the way of the step that you need to take right now—not even family and friends, not even a familiar church home.

If God is calling you to “Come in” please answer that call. Talk to someone about it. If you’re Exploring the Word with a group leader, please ask questions. It’s very likely they have had to struggle with this issue of leaving a comfortable church in order to follow God’s light.

And please remember, this is not turning away from what God has done for you in the past. This is not about denying how God has blessed you in various fellowships. This is about continuing to walk forward as God nudges you. This is about responding to God’s leading.

I challenge you to prayerfully consider the next step you need to take. You can begin right now. You can begin a new journey with God. You can find the place where God wants you. Let’s pray.

Dear Father, thank You for caring enough to bring us this mid-air rescue, this proclamation of three angels. Thank You for showing us how we can be safe and secure through the final days of Earth’s history. We want to take a step in the right direction just now. We want to overcome our inertia. Move us Lord. Energize us. Help us to make a commitment to Your church, to the place where Your truth belongs. In Jesus’ name, amen.

JEANNIE: We’ve got a homework assignment for you today that’s a little different.

LONNIE: That’s right, we’d like you this coming week to pray seriously about where your allegiance lies. Is it time to find the kind of church we’ve been talking about in these last few programs? Is it time for you to take a step forward in your faith.

JEANNIE: Lonnie and I are so thankful to have found a fellowship where God’s end-time message is honored. And we can only hope and pray that you will experience the same sense of purpose and belonging.

LONNIE: So please, this coming week, think and pray seriously about where you stand in relation to God’s Three Angels Message.

Until next week, God bless you. Never stop exploring the Word. And remember God really does love you.