The Revelation of Jesus Christ - The Herald

Concerning this vision of the third angel and his message, as also the two preceding, this
same writer said:
"All three of these messages yet continue, and will doubtless continue to be repeated by
others so long as they contain truth due to the Lord's children."
The history of the last forty years has to many minds confirmed these utterances. The Lord
has continued to give increased knowledge on this and other visions, and now it is
beginning to be seen and made known that the fulfillment of this third angel's message
will involve more significant matters pertaining to the last testimony of the Lord's
consecrated. Later writings of this author show that its complete fulfillment could not take
place until the image of the beast (Confederated Protestantism) had received its life
(authority)--indeed, not until the great predicted federation of Christendom had become
an accomplished fact, and the great triple-alliance would feel compelled to act, to hold
back the rising tide of insubordination to governmental authority, lawlessness, that has
long threatened.
The complete fulfillment of the vision is therefore in the future--the near future, it would
seem. It appears to describe the final testimony of the last of the Lord's faithful followers.
Keeping in mind the predicted usurpation of Divine power that will be exercised by this
last great federation of Christendom, as described in the vision of the image of the beast
(Rev. 13:15-18), will enable us to see that certain seemingly necessary laws will be enacted
which will so conflict with the Christian's duties and obligations to the great Head of the
Church as to make obedience to their laws impossible for conscientious Christians. In
other words, to be obedient to the "powers that be" at that time will require on the part of
true loyal Christians a violation of conscience before God. The vision of this third angel
and his message, therefore, would seem to require a more conspicuous movement than as
yet has taken place--a movement involving a testimony against this last anti-Christian
federation, and a very conspicuous exhortation to fellow-Christians to keep themselves
separate and free from it. As Mr. Lord has expressed:
"The great principles on which the pure and apostate Church proceed are . . . to be brought
into the most open and violent antagonism; the worshipers of God are to give the most
public and perfect demonstration of the truth and inflexibleness of their allegiance, by
resigning their lives, rather than apostatize; and the anti-Christian powers and their
vassals are to give the most resistless proof of their deliberate and incorrigible apostasy by
continuing their rebellion amidst threatenings of avenging judgments."
It is only by discovering what the Scriptural requirements and obligations of the Christian
are to the "powers that be," that will enable him to understand what, and what alone,
could possibly be involved in this exercise of authority on the part of this great federation
that could cause Christians to be brought into such trying conditions. It is quite certain
that nothing of this nature has yet occurred in this harvest period. It becomes therefore a
matter of the utmost importance that the true followers of Christ should know,
understand, what are their duties and obligations to worldly governments, good or evil.