a peg in a sure place

[rainbowinthesky]

On God's side, God will wage warfare with the weapons of righteousness. This means that He will fight under definite limitations, yet it will prove that righteousness is nonetheless more powerful than sinfulness. Inspired with confidence as they view the vast numbers on their side and charged with scorn as they assess how few stand for God's truth, the wicked will boldly unfurl the Sunday flag before the world, flaunting it in the faces of God and His people.

But the righteous will not be impressed by numbers, nor dismayed by the lack of them. They will measure all things by the creative power of God's word of which their beloved Sabbath is the living emblem. In the light of that power, all opposing forces will be as nothing to them.

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[rainbowinthesky]

In every victory gained for God's cause so far, His people, having been blessed with large views of His almighty power, were able to accurately measure the power of the enemy. As they saw how small the opposition was in comparison to the awesome power of their Leader, strong faith arose within them and they were armed to do marvelous deeds. Hebrews 11.

It is unfortunate that these triumphs were the exception rather than the norm, the consequence being that the termination of the great controversy has been seriously delayed. Each victory gained however is a type and an assurance that when God's people at last consistently advance in His power, the work will be done.

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[rainbowinthesky]

David's conquest of the mighty Goliath is an excellent example of this. Prior to his arrival at the battle front to re-provision his brothers, he had gazed into the heavens and on the earth beneath until he had seen something of God's mighty power and had learned to measure all things by this standard. Consequently, when the lion and the bear raided his flocks, he was able to go against them in faith and win.

These experiences were not shared by Saul and his soldiers. They knew only the force of arms. Therefore, when the Philistine giant presented himself before them with the challenge to come down and fight, not one man was prepared to go. Knowing so little, if anything, of God's might, they could only measure Goliath against themselves. They had no difficulty seeing that they were no match for the enemy. So day after day passed by and the issue remained unresolved.

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[rainbowinthesky]

It was an ambarrassing situation for Saul and his subjects who professed to be the invincible followers of the Creator of the heavens and the earth. They had a name and a reputation to live up to, but it seemed that whatever wonderful achievements in the past had honored God, His glory and presence were now departed from them. The promises were in the scrïptures as clear and bright as ever, but there was no evidence that they would be fulfilled in this predicament.

Then David, filled with glowing faith born of a conscious sense of God's presence and power, arrived on the scene. Inspired by God, he offered himself as the answer to Goliath's taunts, and, after discarding the heavy armour the king had ordered, he sallied forth dressed only in a light shepherd's tunic, and armed with no more than a simple slingshot.

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[rainbowinthesky]

Goliath, in his total ignorance of God's power, knew nothing of the real force coming against him. David seemed to be no more than an inexperienced and evidently very foolhardy, self-confident youth who was prepared to throw his life away on a hopeless venture. Goliath, therefore, advanced on the youth, angered that he should be required to meet so "unworthy" an opponent,and determined to exhibit his contempt for this insult by strking the young man down. Great was the surprise of all when the outcome brought, instead, the death of Goliath and the utter defeat of the Philistines.

Both David and the rest of Israel who were present that day, were observers of the seventh-day Sabbath, but while David had God's power within him, to a great extent the rest did not. This was proved by their utter inability to vanquish the Philistine champion. Therefore, the Sabbath, as they held it, was separated from God's power and so could not be the Sabbath as the Lord gave it. They worshipped and ceased from their physical labors on the correct day of the week, but did not know in their life the truth and power of the Sabbath of the Lord. The Sabbath is the memorial of God's creative power manifested in creation and redemption. Therefore, on that triumphant day, David alone demonstrated possession of the Sabbath of God and the vitory was gained.

This history will be repeated.

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[rainbowinthesky]

At the present time, we, the professed people of God are upholding the seventh-day Sabbath and are devoted to ending sin's reign and this world's history. Opposing us are powerful Babylonian forces among whom are intellectual and theologian giants who, like Goliath, are challenging the Seventh-day Sabbath, unfurling their Sunday flag before the world, flaunting it in the faces of God and His people. Because, once more, the living power of God is separated from those who uphold the seventh day, we have no capacity to meet and vanquish these enemies of all righteousness. The result, like that in David's time, is a stand-off, delaying the completion of the work and the second coming of Christ!

However, this situation will not continue indefinitely. As God prepared David for his important future role, so, at the present time, He is preparing a people to topple the Babylonian giants. The training again involves the revelation of the mighty power of the word of God in redemption through the merits of the Redeemer, so that His people will have a standard by which to assess the capacity of all other forces. The more clearly we know and discern God's infinite power, the smaller in our eyes will the confederacy of evil appear. This was the experience of Moses, Daniel, David and Jonh the Baptist and many others.

They saw the invisible, that is, they recognized in nature the working of infinite power, that "Above, beneath, beyond, abides Infinite Love, working out all things to accomplish the good pleasure of His goodness." 2 Thess.1:11; Education, p.134.

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[rainbowinthesky]

During the time when Israel and the Philistines confronted each other, David was an unknown factor not taken into account by either side. We have read God's declarations that a Sabbath-keeping people will finish the work. However, without the presence of God's love and power revealed in our lives, day by day, merely observing the correct day of worship does not identify us as the Lord's true army.

We will be surprised one day to find that a little company of true Sabbath-keepers will arise from obscurity just as David did to gain the victory we have futilely striven for so long to obtain, and be awarded the crown we so earnestly desired. Then, too late, we will realize that we have failed to obtain the true qualification for our work. Our disappointment will turn to vengeful rage even as Saul's jealousy was stirred against David until he determined to destroy him. God's true people will find in the end that those who were nearest to them will be their most bitter enemies.

For those of us who have sacrificed greatly for the cause and are confident of an assured place in Heaven, it will be a day of great sadness when we find ourselves disqualified because we had only the appearance but not the reality of the Sabbath truth. 2 Tim.3:5.

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[rainbowinthesky]

Christ was deeply concerned about this problem. He desired that none be deceived by false religion but that all would so clearly see the difference that they would not rest till they found the reality. In very clear language, He warned that the majority, however, would come to the day of final reckoning and be lost while expecting to be saved. Matt.7:22,23.

Obviously then, those who would be champions for the Sabbath in the last days must understand what true Sabbath-keeping involves. Merely being able to debate all the proofs that Saturday is the correct day is not sufficient. The issues go much deeper than that. Therefore, only those who, like David, have God's power embedded within them will be used as God's instruments to vanquish the powers of darkness. They may be few in number, youthful in development, but so mighty in God that they will be invincible. None will be able to stand before them.

Every true child of God aims to be a member of that illustrious company. This is a worthy ambition but it will not be achieved unless there is diligent soul searching to determine the real nature of our Sabbath-keeping. Now is the time to engage in this thorough work. Tomorrow will be too late.

The people of God are those within whom is the righteousness of God obtained through faith in the all-sufficient merits of a crucified and risen Saviour. They are the ones through whom the Lord will vanquish Babylon the Great, and upon whose heads the victor's crown will be placed!

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[rainbowinthesky]

Here is a very interesting piece of information
regarding what Satan thinks about the Sabbath vs
sunday. Mrs. White, in vision, saw him talking to
his evil angels about this very issue.


SIGNPOST

"The Lord has clearly defined the road to the City of God; but THE GREAT APOSTATE HAS CHANGED THE SIGNPOST, setting up a false one--a spurious sabbath, and he says, "I will work at cross-purposes with God. I will empower my delegate, the man of sin, to take down God's memorial, the seventh-day Sabbath. Thus will I show the world that the day sanctified and blessed by God has been changed. That day shall not live in the minds of the people. I will obliterate the memory of it. I will place in its stead a day that cannot be a sign between God and His people. I will lead the people to accept this day, to place upon it the sanctity that God placed upon the seventh day. Through my vicegerent I will exalt myself. The first day shall be extolled, and the Protestant world shall receive this spurious sabbath as genuine."

"Moreover I also gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between them and Me, that they might know that I am the Lord who sanctifies them." Ezekiel 20:12; Exodus 31:13.

The words, 'A sign between them and Me,' I will make to serve on the side of my sabbath. Thus the world will become mine. I will be ruler of the earth, prince of the world. I will so control the minds under my power that God's Sabbath shall be an object of contempt. A sign? I will make the observance of the seventh day a sign of disloyalty to the authorities of earth. Human laws shall be made so stringent that men and women will not dare to observe the seventh-day Sabbath. For fear of wanting food and clothing, they will join with the world in transgressing God's law; and the earth will be wholly under my dominion.'

The man of sin has instituted a false sabbath, and the professed Christian world has adopted this child of the papacy, refusing to obey God. Thus Satan leads men and women in a direction opposite to the city of refuge; and by the multitudes who follow him, it is demonstrated that Adam and Eve are not the only ones who have accepted the words of the wily foe.

The man of sin has turned the signpost round, so that it points to the path of disobedience as the path of happiness. He has insulted Jehovah by refusing to obey a "Thus says the Lord." He has thought to change times and laws. Daniel 7:25. E.G. White, Review and Herald, April 17, 1900.

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[ricker]

He didn't say it was proclaimed in 1844... the light of it was brought in at that time through the sanctuary message and by diligent study it was revealed.

rainbowinthesky;60042802The message of the everlasting gospel as brought in the light of the Advent truth of 1844, called upon men to obey the commandments of God including the Seventh Day Sabbath.

Just pointing out what was written. Trying to keep people honest.

 

[EastCoastRemnant]

Just pointing out what was written. Trying to keep people honest.

There is no discrepancy between our two statements... Sabbath keeping wasn't a doctrine of our movement until at least 1846 and probably later as we weren't a denomination until 1863.

Joseph Bates published his views on the Sabbath in August 1846, "The Seventh-day Sabbath, A Perpetual Sign." In it he presented the Sabbath basically as the Baptist Sabbatarians had done for three hundred years, as part of the decalogue, the continuing standard of Christian discipleship, and a visible witness against the Antichristian power that had thought to change times and laws. (Daniel 7:25) But he went further and tied the Sabbath in with the three angels message in Revelation 14, which called for the worship of the Creator and showed the remnant as those "keeping (all) the commandments of God and the (whole) faith of Jesus.

In the mean time Hiram Edson and some of his fellow Adventists were studying the true significance of the date 1844. Realizing the 2300 day prophecy spoke of the sanctuary, not the earth, being cleansed, they dug deep looking for understanding of the sanctuary. They studied the book of Hebrews and focused on Christ's work in the sanctuary in heaven.

When Bates was visiting Edson in 1846 to talk over their mutual interests and to bring the importance of the Sabbath to his attention, it dawned upon him that the law of God, with the Sabbath in it's heart, was set in the Most Holy Place of the heavenly sanctuary. Just as in the type it had been placed under the mercy seat of the ark in the Most Holy Place of the earthly.

When Edson saw the clear link between the law, the Sabbath, and the cleansing of the sanctuary, he could not restrain himself from declaring, "That is light and truth! The seventh day is the Sabbath, and I am with you to keep it. Joseph Bates shared his booklet on the Sabbath with James and Ellen White. They went into a thorough study of the matter and in 1846 they began to observe the Bible Sabbath, and to teach and defend it.
And now people say this whole message started with Ellen G. White?

 

[rainbowinthesky]

Continuing the order of last day events.

The Loud Cry

The great Advent Movement has been in the world since 1833 heralding the coming judment revealing the wonderful work of Jesus in the sanctuary in Heaven and, as light increased, proclaming the Sabbath Truth. But the churches of the world have rejected this light and this has resulted in their and the world's moral decay.

This, the leaders have blamed on the desecration of Sunday, thus further increasing their rejection of God's truth and their support of the institution of the papacy, with the result that the door has been opened still further for rebellion, lawlessness and spiritualism. This gives the devil greater control over things and he unleashes the forces of nature over which he has a measure of control, with the result that earthquakes, devastations, and various disasters strike manking.

The church leaders, eager to secure the power of the state to replace the lost power of God, FINALLY UNITE and go to the civil authorities urging that the Sunday be enforced as THE ONLY MEANS OF RESTORING LAW AND ORDER and the authorities, not realizing that this is the very worse thing they could possibly do to restore any law or order, finally grant the request, the image of the beast is thus set up and the fall of Babylon the Great--spiritual fall--is thus completed, the time having come for the fourth angel to lighten the earth with his glory.

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[rainbowinthesky]

While the world has thus been moving inevitably into the throes of this final disaster and self-destruction, the Lord has been preparing His army for the battle.

As the time approaches for the giving of the loud cry, the faithful servants who make up the nucleus of the fourth angel's movement, draw into a very close unity and develop in character and moral worth so that the Lord can use them in the final battle.

"We shall come in repentance and contrition, with a despairing sense of our own finite weakness and learn that we must DAILY APPLY to the MERITS of the blood of Christ that they may become VESSELS FIT for the Master's use." Faith & Works,86.

Thus "The love of God will strengthen the soul, and through the virtue of the MERITS of the blood of Christ, we may stand UNSCATHED amid the fire of temptation and trial." Ibid,86,87.

The rejection of this invitation to the bidden ones to come to God just as they are, sinful, helpless, dependent, and daily applying to the merits of Christ's shed blood, will cause a definite shaking in their midst with the result that the faithful ones will be thrust out, an event still in the future.

Despite this, many will still be looking in the future for the shaking to come, not realizing that there are two shakings, the first being caused by the STRAIGHT TESTIMONY of the True Witness to the Laodiceans, and the second by the GREAT FINAL TEST at the end of the loud cry period. This means that the door will be closed on those who would not enter, while it is still open to those who have an ear to hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

The Straight Testimony: "The gold tried in the fire is FAITH that WORKS by LOVE. Only this can bring us into harmony with God. We may be active, we may do much work; but WITHOUT LOVE, SUCH LOVE AS DWELT IN THE HEART OF CHRIST, we can never be numbered with the family of Heaven." C.O.L.158.

What was the measure of that LOVE that dwelt in the heart of Christ:

"When God gave His Son to our world, he endowed human beings with imperishable riches--riches compared with which the treasured wealth of man since the world began is nothingness. Christ came to the earth and stood before the children of men with the HOARDED LOVE OF ETERNITY, and this is the TREASURE that, through our connection with Him, we are to receive, reveal, and to impart." Ministry of Healing,37.

The hoarded love of eternity!

And how do we receive this hoarded love of eternity:

"God will accept everyone that comes to Him TRUSTING WHOLLY in the MERITS of a crucified Saviour. LOVE springs up in the heart. There may be no ecstasy of feeling, but there is an abiding, peaceful trust." 1 S.M.354.

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[rainbowinthesky]

The judgment of the living does not commence with the loud cry but is located at the end of it when the great final test of the death decree is imposed on the people of God. Not one of them can receive the second and final seal until they have passed that dreadful test, the passing of which determines that they shall receive it.

It is the latter rain which completes the work of God's grace in the soul of the believers as they approach this final test, thus finishing in them the work of the first seal in preparation for the great final test and the receiving of the final seal.

Having permitted the prophetic Word to establish these facts for us, it is time to begin a detailed step by step study of the events during the loud cry itself. Nowhere in this better set out than in the chapter entitled, "The Final Warning," beginning on page 603 of The Great Controversy, and it is intended that these pages shall be the basis of our study for this section. It is interesting to note that in the original 1884 edition, this chapter was entitled, "The Loud Cry". The change is merely in the wording, not the meaning, for, is not the loud cry the final warning to the world?

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[rainbowinthesky]

The first three pages of the chapter "The Final Warning," from The Great Controversy are devoted to a discussion of the nature of the issues at stake in the great struggle. First of all is quoted the reference from Revelation 18:1,2,4, which speaks of the other angel who lightens the earth with his glory and proclaims that Babylon the Great is fallen, followed by the other voice which calls upon God's people to come out of her so that they receive not of her plagues.

Then immediately comes the interesting and important comment:

"This Scripture points forward to a time when the announcement of the fall of Babylon, as made by the second angel of Revelation 14 is to be REPEATED with the additional mention of the corruptions which have been entering the various churches that constitute Babylon, since that message was first given in the summer of 1844."

It is important that this statement be kept in mind for, where we find that these conditions are being fulfilled, we may know that the loud cry has begun.

On page 604, we learn that at this time Babylon has come to her complete spiritual fall which fact we have already learned so we shall pass over it quickly here. Then follows the information that the issue will be over the Sabbath on the one hand and the Sunday as on the other. At this time THE SABBATH will be the SYMBOL of the living presence of the power of God to save from sin in the lives of all who hold it, while THE SUNDAY will be the SYMBOL of the power of sin in the lives of all who hold to it.

Therefore in the real and basic sense it will not be so much the struggle over the one day or the other, but a mighty confrontation between the one power and the other.

We can be thankful that at that time the issue will not be clouded but will be clearly brought before the people as we read:

"The decree is not to be urged upon the people blindly. Everyone is to have sufficient light to make his decision intelligently." p.605.

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[rainbowinthesky]

Of course the devil will spare no effort or expense to make the issue as clouded as possible but despite that, the power attending the message will clarify every issue so that no one will have any excuse. For a period of time unknown to us at this moment and nowhere revealed in the prophetic Word, the battle will rage on until at last the people of God are brought to THE GREAT FINAL TEST which, as we have learned previously comes "at the close of human probation" (C.O.L.412) and not after the close of probation for there will still be time to change sides as we have already seen from Testimonies to Ministers,473.

Then, as the next following statement clearly shows, the one class will have received the mark of the beast while the other class will receive the final seal.

"The Sabbath will be the great test of loyalty, for it is the point of truth especially controverted. When the FINAL TEST shall be brought upon men, then the line of distinction will be drawn between those who serve God and those who serve Him not. While the observance of the false sabbath in compliance with the law of the state, contrary to the fourth commandment, will be an avowal of allegiance to a power that is in opposition to God, the keeping of the true Sabbath, in obedience to God's law, is an evidence of loyalty to the Creator. While one class, by accepting the sign of submission to earthly powers, receive the mark of the beast, the other, choosing the token of allegiance to the divine authority, receive the seal of God." The Great Controversy,605.

to be continued

 

[rainbowinthesky]

It is on the bottom of page 605 of The Great Controversy that there begins such a step by step description of the events of the loud cry as is matched nowhere else in the inspired word. The first words take us right back to a point leading immediately to the beginning of the loud cry, and then moves right on step by step to the very end of it. We shall quote these words, pausing every here and then to draw our attention to the significance of the information given.

"Heretofore those who presented the truths of the third angel's message have often been regarded as MERE ALARMISTS. Their predictions that RELIGIOUS INTOLERANCE would gain control in the United States, that church and state would unite to persecute those who keep the commandments of God, have been PRONOUNCED groundless and absurd. It has been confidently declared that this land could never become other than what it has been,--THE DEFENDER OF RELIGIOUS FREEDOM. But as the question of enforcing Sunday observance is widely agitated, the event SO LONG DOUBTED and DISBELIEVED is seen to be approaching and the third message will produce an EFFECT which it COULD NOT have had before."

This paragraph then speaks of the things to happen just before the loud cry begins. On the part of the vast majority there has been complete disbelief in the possibility of free America ever imposing pressure and persecution on any who would not observe an ordinance of the church, but there comes the time when the event is seen to be approaching and then the third angel's message will grow in power and influence until it is joined by the angel of Revelation 18 at which point the loud cry proper begins.

It is worth comparing this statement from Early Writings:

"The message of the fall of Babylon as given by the second angel, is repeated, with the additional mention of the corruptions whcih have been entering the churches since 1844. The work of this angel comes in at the right time to JOIN IN the last work of the third angel's message as it SWELLS to a LOUD CRY."

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[rainbowinthesky]

This passing of the Sunday Law, marking it as it does the full and final fall of Babylon The Great so that her sins reach clear up to Heaven, brings the world to the greatest point of crisis in its history for which the Lord is not left without an answer. His answer is the fullest outpouring of His power upon men and women of His own choosing, just as in the past His Spirit has come upon faithful souls to meet the crisis of the past.

Thus we read on from page 606 of The Great Controversy:

"In every generation God has sent His servants to rebuke sin, both in the world and in the church. But the people desire smooth things spoken to them, and the pure, unvarnished truth is not acceptable. Many reformers, in entering upon their work, determined to exercise great prudence in attacking the sins of the church and the nation. They hoped, by the example of a pure Christian life, to lead the people back to the doctrines of the Bible. But the Spirit of God came upon them as it came upon Elijah, moving him to rebuke the sins of a wicked king and an apostate people; they could not refrain from preaching the plain utterances of the Bible--doctrines which they had been reluctant to present. They were impelled to zealously declare the truth and the danger which threatened souls. The words which the Lord gave them they uttered, fearless of consequences, and the people were compelled to hear the warning."

Thus it has always been in the past and it will be no different in the beginning of the loud cry. A fearful crisis will have arisen, the result of which will be that the whole world would be plunged into the most fearful pit of total destruction, into which the Lord will not let them plunge without ONE FINAL WARNING. Therefore, He sends His mighty Spirit in a flood tide of latter rain power upon His faithful, praying ones.

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[rainbowinthesky]

"Thus the message of the third angel will be proclaimed. As the time comes for it to be given with greatest power, the Lord will work through humble instruments, leading the minds of those who consecrate themselves to His service. The laborers will be qualified rather by the unction of His Spirit than by the training of literary institutions. Men of faith and prayer will be constrained to go forth with holy zeal, declaring the words which God gives them. The sins of Babylon will be laid open. The fearful results of enforcing the observances of the church by civil authority, the inroads of spiritualism, the stealthy but rapid progress of the papal power--all will be unmasked. By these solemn warnings the people will be stirred. Thousands upon thousands will listen who have never heard words like these. In amazement they hear the testimony that Babylon is the church, fallen because of her errors and sins, because of her rejection of the truth sent to her from heaven." G.C.606,607.

Before we read further, there are several points which need to be pondered in this paragraph. In the first case, it must be very clear that this is the description of the opening of the loud cry. These are not events which take place before, but at the very beginning of the giving of the loud cry after it has actually begun. The second sentence in the paragraph makes this clear, reading as it does as follows: "As the time comes for it to be given with greatest power..." the events thereafter enumerated then follow and would not follow or happen except that time had come, the time when the message is to be given with greatest power.

And what is that time? As obviously as it could be, it is that time when the mighty power of the Revelation 18 angel joins the third angel's message in the power of the latter rain to begin the loud cry of the final warning.

In the 1844 edition of The Great Controversy, p.424, the same sentence reads as follows: "As the time comes for the LOUD CRY to be given..." which makes it so clear that this is the time of the loud cry which is being described in the following sentences. What is described in those sentences are events which transpire under the loud cry.

to be continued

 

[rainbowinthesky]

Further evidence to this is given as we read the very nature of the warning sounded. Page 603 reveals that Revelation 18 will be fulfilled during a time "when the announcement of the fall of Babylon, as made by the second angel is REPEATED, with the ADDITIONAL MENTION of the CORRUPTIONS which have been entering the various organizations that constitute Babylon, since that message was first given in the summer of 1844."

That is to say then that the message of 1844 announced the fall of Babylon TO A CERTAIN EXTENT, but since that time there has been MUCH MORE of which she is guilty, and all of this is to be charged to her account in the FINAL WARNING.

Therefore, when the Revelation 18 angel really begins to sound, which is the time of the outpouring of the latter rain and the giving of the loud cry, we must expect to find that the additional corruptions begin at once to be mentioned under the mighty power and direction of the Spirit.

And right here in this paragraph under consideration we do find that these additional corruptions are being made plain. Here is the list of them:

"The fearful results of enforcing the observance of the church by the civil authority, the inroads of spiritualism, the stealthy but rapid progress of the papal power..."

That covers it all pretty well and there is not another thing Babylon could do to increase her guilt, but not one of these three things was present in 1844. There was no move then to enforce the Sunday observance by law. It was not agitated or mentioned. Neither was spiritualism a great power in the churches, although it did begin to gain a grip on the churches immediately upon their rejection of the Advent message.

Finally, in those days the papal power was not a force to be reckoned with. In 1798 the deadly wound had been inflicted and thereafter the fortunes of the papacy reached a very low ebb indeed, so much so that many believed that she could never again rise to any position of world prominence.

In 1860, the papacy lost its lands in Italy except for the Vatican itself. While, from there on the papacy begun a slow at first but ever increasingly rapid climb back into a position of world power and prominence, at the time of the giving of the second angel's message in 1844, she was not a figure of world prominence anymore.

But at the time described in our reference on page 606 of The Great Controversy, "the stealthy but rapid progress of the papal power... will be unmasked," proving beyond a doubt that we are here reading events within the early steps of the loud cry.

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