This morning I’d like to study with you about how Satan plans to contradict and counterfeit the truth in these last days. You do understand that Satan tries to counterfeit and contradict everything God says, don’t you? By the word counterfeit I mean Satan’s goal is to make falsehood look like truth, and by the word contradict I mean he usually presents error that is 180 degrees off kilter. He’s a master at it! He takes the truth and formulates a plan to say exactly the opposite of what God says and causes people to believe it. I always find that amazing, but no marvel says Paul, for Satan is able to transform himself into an angel of light, or at least seemingly so.

It started in the Garden of Eden when the serpent told Eve she could disobey God and still go on living without any negative consequences, when God very explicitly told her she would die if she did what He said not to do. In fact, not only did Satan tell Eve there would be no negative consequences, he told her there would be only positive ones. Satan contradicted what God said, and he’s been doing it ever since, and after 6000 years of practice he’s become very good at it.

In Revelation 16:13, 14 the apostle John said, “And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.”

So it’s clear that this three-fold message coming out of these three unclean spirits will affect the whole world, and the consequences of these messages are leading us to a final showdown; “the battle of the great day of (who?) of God almighty.” Notice, this is God’s battle; that means He’s the one in charge.

Also in Revelation 16:16 it reaffirms that the whole world will be gathered together for this battle. That means that everyone will be involved, doesn’t it? Absolutely! When the Bible says “the whole world”, that means you! This also means that there’s no way for everyone in the whole world to be literally gathered into a small valley in the Middle East to fight this battle. Therefore it has to primarily be a spiritual battle if everyone is going to be involved, which also means it’s a battle between earth and heaven and not a battle between nation and nation fighting with literal weapons on a certain piece of real estate in the Middle East.

Revelation is primarily a symbolic book, that’s what John wrote in the very first verse of the first chapter. When John said God “sent and signified” the message “by his angel”, that means that the things he wrote about are largely symbolic, because the root word for “signified” is “sign” and the word “sign” means “to communicate an idea by using symbols”, and a symbol is “something that represents something else.” Sign language is a good example of this. And of course the Spirit of Prophecy agrees with this.

In Acts of the Apostles, page 583 it says, “In figures and symbols, subjects of vast importance were presented to John, which he was to record, that the people of God living in his age and in future ages might have an intelligent understanding of the perils and conflicts before them.”

Also Review and Herald, February 14, 1907 it says, “The Lord Jesus sent a mighty angel to make plain to John, by the use of symbols, the things that were to come to pass until the coming of Christ.”

And one more from Letter 16, 1900, “This book [Revelation] demands close, prayerful study, lest it be interpreted according to the ideas of men, and false construction be given to the sacred Word of the Lord, which in its symbols and figures means so much to us.”

Now, this does not mean that there is nothing literal in Revelation. Sometimes the symbols are dropped and God intends for us to take Him at His word. Just keep in mind as you study, that Revelation is highly symbolic, and let the Bible interpret itself and you will be able to understand something that most Christians believe is a sealed book.

Now this isn’t the subject this morning, but I’d like to share a couple quotes with you about this great battle we just read about a moment ago in Revelation 16, because many people today have various ideas about it. The first one is from a little lady that wrote a lot of books and the second one is from her husband, and by the way, they were one in their understanding.

Review and Herald, May 13, 1902 “A terrible conflict is before us. We are nearing the battle of the great day of God Almighty. That which has been held in control is to be let loose. The angel of mercy is folding her wings, preparing to step down from the throne, and leave the world to the control of Satan. The principalities and powers of earth are in bitter revolt against the God of heaven. They are filled with hatred against those who serve him, and soon, very soon, will be fought the last great battle between good and evil. The earth is to be the battlefield – the scene of the final contest and the final victory.”

So, this battle is not between nation and nation, but “between good and evil”, and the “earth is to be the battlefield” and not just one small location; however, if the whole world is to be involved, even that one small location somewhere in the Middle East will be involved as well.

After quoting Revelation 16:19-21 James White says this in the Review and Herald, January 21, 1862 “Here it is seen that the great battle is not between nation and nation; but between earth and heaven.”

So, Armageddon is primarily a spiritual battle, and yet we must also recognize that even spiritual battles usually have physical consequences; this has proved true many times throughout history, and it’s being proved true even today as we see beheadings of Christians taking place, and terrorist attacks being perpetrated under the name of radical Islam, and all the while the three unclean spirits are doing their work in preparation for the final struggle.

And here’s something else to keep in mind. The gathering for the battle of Armageddon, and Armageddon itself, takes place during the last two of the seven last plagues, which means our salvation or our eternal destruction will have already been determined when its fought, because human probation closes before the vials of God’s wrath are poured out.

So, whether we’re alive when the battle takes place or whether we die beforehand, we are developing a character that is being formed because we are listening to the lies of the three unclean spirits, or we are listening to three messages that come from the throne of God. Alive or dead when it happens, the end result is the same for both classes; eternal life or eternal death.

And here’s another point; worship is the main element in the great controversy between Christ and Satan. There’s a created being that wants to be like God, and it’s not in character like we should want to be, but rather a ruler with entirely different governing principles where the Ten Commandments are not it’s foundation, but rather a live as you please to satisfy the fallen flesh type of government, and unfortunately this is attractive to the majority of people in this world, and that’s why Satan has been so successful since he was cast out of heaven.

Satan’s policies center in self, and that’s just what most people desire; it’s what our fallen nature craves, and unless we partake of the divine nature on a daily basis and submit to it instead of yielding to the fallen flesh, we will be among those that are fooled by the three-fold message that comes out of the mouth of the three unclean spirits.

Now, it’s significant when the Bible tells us that the three unclean spirits come out of the “mouth” of the dragon, beast, and false prophet, because out of the mouth false doctrines are spoken. And of course there’s no doubt that the dragon is Satan, but it also represents paganism, and paganism is where spiritualism has its roots, and paganism pretty much represents the whole non-Christian world.

The Great Controversy, page 438 says, “The dragon is said to be Satan; [Revelation 12:9.] he it was that moved upon Herod to put the Saviour to death. But the chief agent of Satan in making war upon Christ and his people during the first centuries of the Christian era, was the Roman Empire, in which paganism was the prevailing religion. Thus while the dragon, primarily, represents Satan, it is, in a secondary sense, a symbol of pagan Rome.”

Maybe I should read you a statement from Testimonies, volume 5, page 451 at this point, because it really nails down who these three unclean spirits are, and then we’ll talk more about how their threefold message contradicts and counterfeits the three angels’ messages of Revelation 14.

Testimonies, volume 5, page 451, “When Protestantism (that’s the false prophet, we’ll see that in a minute) shall stretch her hand across the gulf to grasp the hand of the Roman power (the papacy or the beast), when she shall reach over the abyss to clasp hands with spiritualism (or paganism, represented by the dragon), when, under the influence of this threefold union, our country shall repudiate every principle of its Constitution as a Protestant and republican government (which it’s doing at lightning speed), and shall make provision for the propagation of papal falsehoods and delusions (it’s in the process), then we may know that the time has come for the marvelous working of Satan and that the end is near.

“As the approach of the Roman armies was a sign to the disciples of the impending destruction of Jerusalem, so may this apostasy (the context being enforced Sunday worship) be a sign to us that the limit of God’s forbearance is reached, that the measure of our nation’s iniquity is full, and that the angel of mercy is about to take her flight, never to return.”

So, don’t be fooled by some other so called sign we should be looking for. There are many ideas about what signs to look for, but inspiration says it’s the enforcement of a Sunday law right here in America, that will then quickly spread all around the world.

The three messages that come out of the mouth of the three unclean spirits are competing with the three angels’ messages. And if we don’t know what the three messages on each side are, it’s possible we could be sitting in church listening to messages coming out of the mouth of these three unclean spirits and not know they are messages that will lead us down the road to perdition.

We won’t take time to read it, but the first angel’s message of Revelation 14:6 presents “the everlasting gospel”; and so we must ask ourselves what the devil’s counterfeit to this message is, because remember, if there’s a true message, there is also a what? A counterfeit message.

Do you remember reading in 2 Corinthians 11 about the dangers of receiving another Jesus, another spirit, and another gospel? Why this threefold warning? It’s because God wants us to know that there are three counterfeit messages being preached that contradict the truth. These false messages may take on different forms, but they all want you to think that you can either do something to save yourself, or be saved in sin, because that’s what the great controversy is all about at its core.

Let me remind you once again of something I’ve read to you time and time again, but it bears repeating; it’s found in The Great Controversy, page 582, “From the very beginning of the great controversy in heaven it has been Satan’s purpose to overthrow the law of God. It was to accomplish this that he entered upon his rebellion against the Creator, and though he was cast out of heaven he has continued the same warfare upon the earth. To deceive men, and thus lead them to transgress God’s law, is the object which he has steadfastly pursued. . . The last great conflict between truth and error is but the final struggle of the long-standing controversy concerning the law of God.”

So, there’s no question as to what the battle’s all about. Therefore the three fold message coming out of the mouth of the three unclean spirits has to be about undermining the law of God, plain and simple. And the three angels’ messages have everything to do with upholding and magnifying the law of God, because they’re opposing messages.

The second angel’s message of Revelation 14:8 gives a call to come out of Babylon, or out of a religion that is confusing the truth by mixing it with error. Babylon has always been opposed to obedience to the law of God. Babylon gives a salvation in sin message; a message of salvation on your own terms; a message that violates the law of God, even if only one commandment is broken; that one can have a saving relationship with Jesus and still have ongoing sin in the life, or that all you have to do is keep your sins confessed like the Catholics, but never have real victory over those sins. Sinning and repenting, sinning and repenting, sinning and repenting and never being able to stop. Don’t you think God has a better plan? Of course He does.

But here’s the point. If the second angel’s message is a call to come out of Babylon, then the message of the unclean spirits must be a message to stay in Babylon; to stay in a church that is putting forth any of the Babylonian principles I just mentioned. In other words, if you are sitting in a church week after week and hearing the messages that come out of the mouth of preachers that are being prompted by the three unclean spirits, you can know that you’re sitting in Babylon. And of course they want you to stay and not leave when you hear the call out message.

Has anyone ever told you that you have to stay with the ship in order to be saved? That’s a true statement by the way, it just depends on which ship. Did you know there are two ships? One is floating in the Babylonian sea without chart and compass and it’s going to go to pieces on the rocks, and the other one is going to sail safely into the heavenly port because it’s sailing on the sea of truth; which one do you want to be on?

And then the third angel’s message very clearly tells us what the two opposing messages are all about by saying that God’s saints will be commandment keepers through faith in Jesus, and the other side will be commandment breakers.

Because think it through; since those who keep God’s commandments are placed in contrast with those that worship the beast and his image and receive his mark, it makes sense that the keeping of God’s law, on the one hand, and its violation, on the other, will mark the difference between the worshipers of God and the worshipers of the beast.

And so, when you consider the three angels’ messages of Revelation 14:6-12, the context of which places them in the last days, and actually the last messages to be given to the world since the following verses in this chapter have Jesus coming to harvest the earth, it means that these three messages will be the messages the devil wants to contradict and counterfeit in order to gain the admiration and worship of those that are living to satisfy the lusts of their fallen flesh. Does that make sense? That’s what the devil hopes to accomplish with the three fold message that comes out of the mouth of the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet.

You see, the devil has unity of sorts, because his three messages will all lead to the same place, and it’s a place you don’t want to go. When you scrape away all the fluff, the three messages that come out of the mouth of the three unclean spirits are all teaching, in one way or another, that you can make it to heaven even while you are being disobedient to any one of the Ten Commandments.

Oh, and don’t forget, according to Revelation 18:1-5, there’s also to be a repeating of the second angel’s message with the additional mention of all the corruption that have been entering the churches since that message was first given in 1844. The combination of the third and forth angels’ messages combined is what constitutes the loud cry, you can read that in Early Writings, page 277, and it’s not to be given at some future time only! It’s to be given now, it has been for a long time!

Notice what it says in Letter 86, 1900 “The message of the angel following the third is now to be given to all parts of the world. It is to be the harvest message, and the whole earth will be lighted with the glory of God.”

So don’t be waiting for some future time to give heed to the loud cry message, or to give it, because if you do you’ll be too late. There are many who think that when the Sunday law comes, then it will be time to give a call out message to all the churches; but the time is now, it has been for some time.

So when looked at in its entirety, you have two opposing messages; one calls people to receive Jesus and His everlasting gospel, and the other to receive another Jesus and another gospel, and both groups receive a spirit, but they originate from two different sources. How can we tell the difference? Is there a simple test by which we can know which side of the great controversy we’re on? Well yes there is! It’s found in 1 John 3:4-10, let’s take a look.

“Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. (Sin is breaking the Ten Commandments, and it’s odd that a lot of professed Christians don’t know that) And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin. Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him. Little children (John says), let no man deceive you (on this point): he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil (in our hearts). Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. In this the children of God are manifest (or made known), and the children of the devil.”

The three fold message that comes out of the mouth of the three unclean spirits is a message to convince you that what we just read is not really the way it is, but rather that you can commit sin and still be a child of God; that Jesus was manifest to save us in our sins, not from our sins, and that you can abide in Christ and still transgress the law. The devil wants you to believe that if you commit sin you’re not really of the devil, it doesn’t really make manifest who you belong to; sinning doesn’t really mean that you are not born again. The devil has convinced his millions that whether or not you actually do righteousness has nothing to do with your salvation because you believe in Jesus, and that’s enough! Well I’m here to tell you that that’s not enough!

Yes, you may believe in Jesus, but the devils also believe and tremble we’re told, and certainly they’re not going to be saved. If you’re not cooperating with Jesus in working out your own salvation with fear and trembling, you’re on the wrong ship friend! If you think that someday you’ll have the power to stop sinning, but in the meantime you’re covered with the blood of Jesus, you’re fooling yourself; the devil is at the helm of your ship and the three unclean spirits are whispering in your ear that everything is just fine and that Jesus loves you. But keep something in mind; God’s love may be unconditional, but salvation is not! God requires obedience to His Ten Commandment law, and if you truly love Jesus you will do what He asks, for He says, “If you love me, keep my commandments.” Or more plainly stated, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”

Now, the beast the apostle John spoke of in Revelation 16:13 is the same beast he saw in chapter 13 and verse 2 where he says, “And the beast (or the papacy, and we’ll see that in a minute) which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon (or Satan) gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.”

When you read the book of Daniel, it becomes quite obvious that it’s the companion book of Revelation, because in Daniel 12:9 Gabriel told Daniel “Go thy way, for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end”, and Revelation is a prophecy about the time of the end, or an unsealing of the prophecies of Daniel.

So when we read in Daniel 7 about beasts being kings and kingdoms, or governments, or religio-political powers, we can know that this is the way the beast spoken of in Revelation is to be interpreted also. When you read about the beast in Revelation chapters 13-20, it’s talking about the same beast power.

When you read Revelation 13:1-10 it becomes quite obvious who the beast is, because what power was responsible for persecuting and warring against the saints for 42 months, or 1260 days, which the Bible interprets as years, and what we call the Dark Ages? What power received a deadly wound and then was healed; or you might say what power looked like it had forever lost its power and then became strong again? What power is the whole world wondering after, or admiring today? What power has a man at the head of it and is worshiped by 1.2 billion people? What power blasphemes God by claiming to be able to forgive sin, and claims to be God on earth?  It has to be the papacy. And don’t forget, the one that gives power to the beast is the one being worshipped, and who is that? The dragon, or the devil himself!

Now, most Catholics don’t know that yet, but when they find out, many will leave their Church and join the remnant spoken of in Revelation 12:17, but right now the majority are ignorantly worshipping the dragon. That’s why the three angels’ messages have to be proclaimed, to help people understand that the threefold message coming out of the mouth of the three unclean spirits are false messages that are leading them down the broad road to destruction.

The third unclean spirit is called the false prophet. And what’s going to happen to the false prophet? Revelation 19:20 says, “And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. (Here’s a clue that the image to the beast and the false prophet are the same power) These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.”

Because this third unclean spirit is called “the false prophet”, it  gives it a religious identity, and not only that, but it’s found to be helping the beast power; that’s what we just read. And guess what? Back in Revelation chapter 13:10-17 we have another beast power that helps the first beast, and it’s important that we identify this second beast power because it’s the same power behind the false prophet. We’ve already discovered that the first beast of Revelation 13 can be none other than the papacy, and the second beast, and I hate to say it, can be none other than the United States of America. How can I be so certain?

Well, according to Revelation 17:15 we know that waters in prophecy represent “peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.” The first beast in Revelation 13 rose up out of the sea, which means it came to power in a populated area and ruled with despotic power for 42 months, that’s 1260 days, and according to Ezekiel 4:6 and Numbers 14:34, a day in prophecy = a year.

So power was given to the papacy for 1260 years to persecute the saints of God, better known as the Dark Ages that ended in 1798 when the pope was taken captive by the French general under Napoleon. Then in the second half of Revelation 13 you have another beast power coming upon the scene that comes up out of the earth, which means it came to power in an unpopulated area about the same time the first beast lost power, which again was 1798.

So we must ask ourselves, what country was coming to power in an unpopulated or unsettled area in 1798? It has to be the United States. No other power fits this prophecy. And notice in verse 11 that this power “had two horns like a lamb, and spake as a dragon.” In other words, the United States started out like a gentle lamb, but as time goes on it begins to speak like a dragon, or like the devil, or just like the first beast, because it makes an image to the papacy, or copies the papacy. Because in verse 12 it says the second beast would exercise the same kind of power that the papacy exercised and would force the people of earth to worship the papacy, the first beast that was healed of its deadly wound, and from there all worship goes to the dragon.

So, in 1798 the papacy received a deadly wound when the pope was taken captive, but in 1929 that deadly wound began the healing process when power was given back to the papacy by the Italian Prime Minister Benito Mussolini, and today it’s the most powerful and influential religious power on the planet, especially when you consider that the Protestant churches are slowly but surely looking to the papacy and lending their influence to her. And so it’s no wonder that apostate Protestantism in America turns out to be “the false prophet.”

Now I know I’ve given you a lot of information to digest this morning, and if you have never studied these things it may be a little overwhelming, but please don’t take my word for it, study it for yourself. These things are in the Good Book for a reason. Revelation is no longer a sealed book, but a revelation.

Our salvation depends upon “rightly dividing the word of truth”, and the truth is, in the end, nearly the whole world will believe “the lie” spoken of in 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. In fact, let’s go there and take a look at what it says before we close, because it fits right in with what we’ve been discussing for the past hour.

2 Thessalonians 2:1-12, “Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, that ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand. (In other words, Paul wanted Christians in his day not to look for Christ to come back right away and that there would be counterfeit messages) Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away (or a great apostasy) first, and that man of sin (or that sinful man) be revealed, the son of perdition; (this is talking about the antichrist, which is the same as the first beast power spoken of in Revelation 13) Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. (Who fits this prophecy better than the papacy with a man, a sinful man at its head?) Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things? And now ye know what withholdeth (or what restrains) that he (the man of sin) might be revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: (even in Paul’s day the great apostasy had already begun) only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. (In other words, this apostate power would not come upon the scene until God lets him, when the time is right.) And then shall that Wicked be revealed, (or the man of sin be revealed, or exposed for who he is) whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. (You see, it’s not enough to just know the truth, you have to love it, and when you love it, it won’t be hard to obey it) And for this cause (or because they didn’t love the truth) God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: (better translated “the lie” and what is the lie? It’s the same lie the serpent told Eve in the Garden; you can disobey God, and you shall not surely die. How do we know that this is the lie? Because of what it says in the next verse) that they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”

The word pleasure means “to approve”, and according to 1 John 5:17, all unrighteousness is sin. So when you have professed Christians that are having pleasure in unrighteousness, you have people who think they are saved in sin because they think they are approved of God while they are sinning. That’s what the devil wants you to believe; that’s the lie, and he’s using the threefold message that comes out of the mouth of the three unclean spirits to accomplish this deception upon everyone that believes this counterfeit of the truth.

Remember what Jesus said in John 8:31, 32? He said, “If you continue in my word (or if you obey my word), then (and only then) are ye my disciples indeed; and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” Free from the deadly errors of the three unclean spirits and free from sin.

Isn’t that what you want? It’s available to you when you understand and obey the three angels’ messages of Revelation 14:6-12. That’s where the true gospel, the true Jesus, and the true spirit can be found, and these three messages are the messages that will expose the poisonous errors of the three unclean spirits that are putting forth another gospel, another Jesus, and another spirit.

This morning I’d like to extend to you the invitation to make a decision and a commitment to the truth as it’s found in God’s holy word; to accept the everlasting gospel as given by the first angel’s message, to have enough courage and boldness to call people out of the confusion of Babylon wherever it’s found, according to the second angel’s message, and to obey the third angel’s message to keep all ten of God’s commandments and the faith of Jesus.

If you make this choice today, I’ll tell you right up front that the devil is not going to be very happy with you, and he will try everything in his book of lies to discourage you from keeping this commitment; but friend, God is stronger than the devil, amen? He has promised to do for you what you cannot do for yourself, but you have to commit everything to Him in order to realize the promise. Jesus said, if we’re not willing to renounce the world and everything we have for His sake, we cannot be His disciple, and if we are not His disciple we cannot be saved.

I sense as never before that we are very very close to the end, and soon Satan is going to make his move to bring his big lie to a climax within Adventism, and it can only end with giving up the true Sabbath for a counterfeit. The great Advent movement is the last pin to knock down, and Satan’s bowling ball of lies is heading straight for it. Where will you be when it happens?

If you’ve been listen to the three unclean spirits that are preaching another Jesus; another spirit; and another gospel, you will remain on a ship that’s going to go to pieces on the rocks, but if you give heed to the three angels’ messages being preached from a very few faithful ministers today; you will be on board a ship that’s going to sail safely into the heavenly port.

Notice what the servant of the Lord said would happen and develop from 1898 when the following was written, and then onward till the end:

Special Testimony For Ministers And Workers, Number 11, pages 7, 8. “Unsanctified ministers are arraying themselves against God. (And she’s not talking about Sunday preachers here, but Adventist preachers) They are praising Christ and the god of this world in the same breath. While professedly they receive Christ, they embrace Barabbas, and by their actions say, ‘Not this man, but Barabbas.’ Let all who read these lines, take heed. Satan has made his boast of what he can do. He thinks to dissolve the unity which Christ prayed might exist in his church. He says, ‘I will go forth and be a lying spirit to deceive those that I can, to criticize, and condemn, and falsify.’ Let the son of deceit and false witness be entertained by a church that has had great light, great evidence, and that church will discard the message the Lord has sent, and receive the most unreasonable assertions and false suppositions and false theories. Satan laughs at their folly; for he knows what truth is.

“Many will stand in our pulpits with the torch of false prophecy in their hands, kindled from the hellish torch of Satan. If doubts and unbelief are cherished, the faithful ministers will be removed from the people who think they know so much. ‘If thou hadst known,’ said Christ, ‘even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes.’”

Jesus spoke these words in reference to ancient Israel as He overlooked Jerusalem from Mount Olivet over 2000 years ago, and over 100 years ago these same words were spoken to modern Israel. And of course, the Spirit of Prophecy refers to the SDA denomination as modern Israel a number of times.

Six years after the quote I just read to you it says this in Testimonies For The Church, volume 8, page 67, “Jerusalem is a representation of what the church will be if it refuses to walk in the light that God has given. Jerusalem was favored of God as the depositary of sacred trusts. But her people perverted the truth, and despised all entreaties and warnings. They would not respect His counsels. The temple courts were polluted with merchandise and robbery. Selfishness and love of mammon, envy and strife, were cherished. Everyone sought for gain from his quarter. Christ turned from them, saying: ‘O Jerusalem, Jerusalem,’ how can I give thee up? ‘How often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!’

“So Christ sorrows and weeps over our churches, over our institutions of learning, that have failed to meet the demand of God.”

And friend, it’s no secret that that failure to meet the demand of God continues to be perpetuated to this day, and it’s not going to get better as time goes on, but will continue to wax worse and worse until the Lord shouts from heaven. You can read that in Special Testimonies Series B, Number 7, page 57. (Dec. 4, 1905)

Well, I could go on and on, but how much information do we need before we make a decision to reject Satan’s counterfeits and contradictions? Friends, it’s time to take a decided stand for the three angels’ messages which we’ve been privileged to understand and proclaim, and I hope you will be among that number.

 Sermon notes in PDF God’s 3 Messages Versus Satan’s 3 Messages