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"LET THERE BE LIGHT" Ministries
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() The LOUD CRY and the CURSE of MEROZ
![]() We will be examining the subject of the Loud Cry, specifically centering on when the loud cry is to occur, to swell, and to be sounded forth to the world. But first, what is this loud cry message about?
The message of the loud cry is found in Revelation 18:1-6 (see 2SM 118). This powerful message declares that all the religious churches have become Babylon the Great and fallen forever from God's grace and favor. Included in this amazing and startling denunciation is the call from the throne of God for all His people to break themselves away from any connection with these churches or suffer the wrath of God and lose eternal life.
We should all understand that the message of Revelation 18:1-6, to be given "mightily" and "with a strong voice" "is to be sounded forth in the loud cry of the third angel" (Testimonies, vol 8, p 118). So the message of Revelation 18 is inseparably connected with the third angel's message of Revelation 14:9-12, and this third angel's message brings forth the truths on the righteousness of Christ, exposing and warning against the beast, the image, the mark, etc. But it is vital to comprehend that only giving the message of Revelation 18 alone does not signal the beginning of the loud cry. And only giving the message of the third angel alone does not signal the beginning of the loud cry either. Both the precious message of Revelation 18, and the precious message of the third angel--especially in the aspect of the righteousness of Christ, are to be combined together. When these two precious messages are combined, AND THEN ATTENDED WITH THE MIGHTY CONVICTING AND CONVERTING POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, you have the beginning of the loud cry, the LAST message of mercy, the LAST and final call, for all the inhabitants of this world.
"As these warnings (Revelation 18:1-5) join the third angel's message, it swells to a loud cry." Spirit of Prophecy, vol 4, p 422.
But what has sadly become attached with this message of the loud cry, is a current belief among many individuals and Ministries that the time for the loud cry message to begin to swell is not now, nor has it been time for it to occur in the past, but it will soon be time in the future. Many believe this because they have been taught that the Sunday law will be the signal that the time has come for the loud cry to be given and that only after the Sunday law will the loud cry begin to swell and then fill the whole earth with God's glory. Thus, when these individuals hear anyone giving the message of Revelation 18 today, they are led to believe that these individuals may very well be sincere, but they are deluded fanatics, or extremists and therefore are agents of the devil because they are giving this message prematurely and are causing needless confusion among the people. But is the message of Revelation 18 to be held quiet until after the Sunday law is passed, or is it to be given today--before the Sunday law? What is the message God would have His faithful and honest followers to sound forth at this time?
"Today, as in the days of Elijah, the line of demarcation between God's commandment-keeping people and the worshippers of false gods is clearly drawn. `How long halt ye between two opinions?' Elijah cried; `if the Lord be God, follow Him: but if Baal, then follow him.' 1 Kings 18:21. And the message for today is: `Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen....Come out of her, My people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.' Rev 18:2, 4, 5.
"The time is not far distant when the test will come to every soul. The observance of the false Sabbath will be urged upon us." Prophets and Kings, p 187-88.
So the message to be given today is the loud cry message of Revelation 18. And then God clearly reveals that after giving this separation message, it would not be long before the Sunday law would be enacted and urged upon us to obey.
As this is the truth of God, are any of His people to continue to believe that they are to wait for the Sunday law before they are to give the message of Revelation 18? NO! The time to give it is TODAY! How long are we going to halt between following God's will or following our own will? No longer should any continue to ride the fence in this issue because God Himself has spoken! It is inaction that Satan desires of you. He wants you to put off following God, to put off giving the message, until a later time, when the time to obey God and give the straight message is already here and now!
But God, ever merciful and loving, continues to try and awaken His people to the importance of this issue--that the loud cry is to be given BEFORE the Sunday law!
"The sins of Babylon will be laid open. The fearful results of a union of Church and State, 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 have never listened to 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. The people go to their former teachers with the eager inquiry, Are these things so? The ministers present fables, prophesy smooth things, to soothe their fears, and quiet the awakened conscience. But many refuse to be satisfied with the mere authority of men, and demand a plain `Thus saith the Lord.' The popular ministry, like the Pharisees of old, are filled with anger as their authority is questioned; they denounce the message as of Satan, and stir up the sin-loving multitudes to revile and persecute those who proclaim it.
"As the controversy extends into new fields, and the minds of the people are called to God's down-trodden law, Satan is astir. The power attending the message only maddens those who oppose it. The clergy put forth almost superhuman efforts to shut away the light, lest it should shine upon their flocks. By every means at their command they endeavor to suppress the discussion of these vital questions. The church appeals to the strong arm of civil power, and in this work, papists are solicited to come to the help of Protestants. The movement for Sunday enforcement becomes more bold and decided. The law is invoked against commandment-keepers." Spirit of Prophecy, vol 4, p 424-25 (Great Controversy, p 606-607).
So in the testimony above, the message of the loud cry is clearly given first, and then the wicked religious elements awoke, and the Sunday law and crisis came.
God tried again to awaken us by giving another Testimony:
"When the earth is lighted with the glory of the angel of Revelation eighteen, the religious elements, good and evil, will awake from slumber..." SDA Bible Commentary, vol 7, p 983 (Manuscript 175, 1899).
What message awakens both good and evil religious elements from their sleep? The message of Revelation 18 sounded forth in the loud cry! Now just the opposite of this would also hold true: that without the giving of the loud cry message of Revelation 18, neither the good nor the evil individuals of each religious group would awake from slumber, and thus no Sunday law could come!
It is the preaching of the loud cry message that awakens the people of God, as well as the followers of the devil, out of their slumber; both groups then make a decision either for or against the message; and then the evil religious elements, who hate this message, will try to stop it by passing laws to hinder it from being preached. This eventually leads to the passing and enforcement of the Sunday law. But please understand that the Revelation 18 message of the loud cry is given first, and then the Sunday law and crisis comes!
"We have the truth which, in its proclamation is to bring the crisis for this world's history." Last Day Events, p 190 (Letter 94, July 3, 1900).
What is to bring the crisis for this world's history? The proclamation of the truth. It is by the proclamation of these messages that brings on the crisis, not the crisis signalling the time to give these messages! So the message of the third angel, combined with the message of Revelation 18, is to be given now before the Sunday law is passed, which will then "bring the crisis for this world's history".
As this is true, and since the Sunday law has not yet been passed, have these messages already started swelling? Has the loud cry already begun? Is it time now to loudly preach and swell this last message of mercy, combined with the mighty outpouring of the Holy Spirit in latter rain power, into the loud cry?
Please pay close attention: If all that is needed for the loud cry to swell is for both these precious messages of the third and fourth angel to be combined together and preached with the convicting and converting power of the Holy Spirit, and since this was indeed being done by a few during Ellen White's life time, then has the beginning of, and the swelling of, the loud cry already begun? The answer is YES!
"The third angel's message is swelling into a loud cry..." Review and Herald, March 22, 1892.
"The time of test is just upon us, for the loud cry of the third angel has already begun in the revelation of the righteousness of Christ, the sin pardoning Redeemer. This is the beginning of the light of the angel whose glory shall fill the whole earth." Review and Herald, November 22, 1892.
So this last message of mercy was indeed already "swelling into a loud cry"! Thus the loud cry of the third angel "has already begun", and this was over 100 years ago! Now please do not believe that I am intimating that the fullest extent of the loud cry took place at that time, because it did not, and it fullness has still not yet occurred. But the truth is that the loud cry did indeed begin, and was already lightening some of the earth with its glory!
"The work to be done now is that of sounding this last message of mercy to a fallen world....They (God's servants) will not be turned from the present message, which is already lightening the world with its glory." Selected Messages, book 2, p 114.
The point to notice, is that even though the loud cry was not at its loudest point back then, or had not yet reached its greatest intensity, or was not yet at its fullest swelling, does not mean that it had not yet begun to swell! And since the loud cry had already started back then, it clearly shows that when these precious messages of the third and fourth angel are combined together, coupled with the mighty power of the Holy Spirit, you still have the swelling of the loud cry taking place even today!
Some may ask: "How can this be? Is it really God's will that we arise and boldly give the message of the loud cry today?" Please read closely:
"Every feature of the third angel's message is to be proclaimed in all parts of the world....This message is a testimony message. Received into honest hearts, it will prove an antidote for all the world's sins and sorrows. No conditions of climate, of poverty, of ignorance, or of prejudice can hinder its efficiency, or lessen its adaptability to the needs of mankind.
"The proclamation of the great gospel message is the work of the disciples of Christ. Some will labor for this in one way, and others will carry another branch of the work, as the Lord calls and directs them individually. Not all have the same line of work, but all may unite in their efforts....
"The message of the angel following the third is now to be given to all parts of the world." Last Day Events, p 78 (Letter 86, June 18, 1900).
"All are to hear the last message of warning. The prophecies in the book of Revelation, chapters 12 to 18, are being fulfilled. In the eighteenth chapter is recorded the very last call to the churches. This call is now to be given." Last Day Events, p 83 (Manuscript 75, September 20, 1906, Upward Look, p 277)
"The message presented at this time is the last message of mercy for a fallen world. Those who have the privilege of hearing this message, and persist in refusing to heed the warning, cast away their last hope of salvation. There will be no second probation." Testimonies, vol 6, p 19.
So it is indeed the time for all of God's followers to rise up and add their voices in loudly giving this last message of mercy to all the churches and people of the world--before the Sunday law! The reason why we are still here today is because the SDA church turned their backs on this realization and ridiculed, criticized, slighted, and rejected these precious messages (see Selected Messages, book 1, p 234-235; Testimonies to Ministers, p 467-468). Thus the loud cry could not continue to increase nor to swell in intensity back then.
God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and the heavenly angels, were all anxiously waiting for more Adventists to follow the Spirit of Prophecy, rise up and give this message to the world, but not enough were willing to do so in Ellen White's day and so it could not swell into a full loud cry. The SDA church after the death of Ellen White, instead of accepting these messages and swelling the loud cry, continued to reject these precious messages--and this includes up to the present day! (For proof of this fact, please write for the booklet "Transmutation of the Three Angels" or for the book "The Abomination of Desolation and Church History). Therefore they have been rejected by God, have been set aside, and others are being chosen to do this work without her! (see Upward Look, p 131 for the warning of this possibility).
But the question that begs to be asked today is--Will you be one of these who will raise your voice in giving the loud cry message, and help to finish the work which the church has refused to do? Or will you keep quiet and risk being passed by along with the corrupt and apostate church?
God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and the heavenly angels are still anxiously and patiently waiting for His people to understand that since the loud cry had already begun to swell in Ellen White's day, then we have the distinct privilege to help it to swell in our day. This privilege will only be for those who rise up, making sure that they completely obey this message themselves (by separating from all personal sin, and by separating from all corrupt churches of Babylon fallen--including the SDA church in order to be completely pure in God's sight), and then to preach these precious messages of truth to others. As more and more join this precious "movement symbolized by the angel" of Revelation 18 (see Spirit of Prophecy, vol 4, p 422) it can then increase in intensity and swell more fully until all have made their decisions to stand with Jesus and His pure righteous remnant few, or to stand with Satan and his wicked corrupt majority! And as soon as all decisions have been made for or against, probation can close and Christ can come! So all this great controversy hinges upon God's people rising up and giving this loud cry message as soon as possible!
That is why sister White clearly specified that the giving of the message of Revelation 18 "is now to be given" (Last Day Events, p 78; Upward Look, p 277). That is why sister White also stated that Revelation 18 is already "the message for today" (Prophets and Kings, p 187). Why? Because the "loud cry of the third angel has already begun" and was already "swelling into a loud cry" and thus was "already lightening the earth with its glory"!
My dear brothers and sisters, don't you see what time we are living in today? We are all living in the time of the swelling of the loud cry! Don't you see what honor God is holding out to each one of us? The blessed honor and distinct privilege to have a part NOW in helping to swell this loud cry message into the loudest cry possible, and to NOW fill this earth with God's glory!
"Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising." Isaiah 60:1-3.
But God cannot use a single individual among us while we are still touching or connected in any way to known sin or to any fallen Babylon churches--including the SDA church! This is because we would not be pure by these connections, but corrupted by that touch, and thus cannot be used of God in this impure condition. And membership in the SDA church does indeed "touch" you to that corrupt thing, and you are thus impure and are unfit to labor for a holy God! Hence the importance of following Revelation 18:4--to not be "a partaker of her sins", and of following 2 Corinthians 6:14-18 and Isaiah 52:11--to "touch not the unclean thing", becomes paramount for us to understand and follow--if we want to be used of God in this great and final work! (For more information on this vital topic of Corporate Responsibility, please write us.)
Why can't our people awake to the solemn reality of what is taking place right now? Why can't they view these issues as God sees them, instead of viewing them as what other men have told them to believe? But regardless of how many will see and understand, the messages of the third and fourth angels are going forth as sharp sickles to harvest God's people out of sin and out of the apostate Babylonian churches. Those who awaken, study, and accept these precious messages will be harvested out, while those who awaken, but refuse to study, or who reject these messages will be past by and left in sin and in the corrupt church. The harvest will pass them by and then come to an end, leaving them to suffer the same punishment as their harlot church (see Jeremiah 8:20; Testimonies, vol 8, p 252). So is the loud cry call of Revelation 18 really the harvest message?
"The message of the angel [Revelation 18] 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. The Lord has this one [last] call of mercy to [give to] the world, but the perversity of men diverts the work from its true bearing, and the light has to struggle amid the darkness of men who feel themselves competent to do a work that God has not appointed them to do." Last Day Events, p 78 (Letter 86, June 18, 1900).
Thus the messages of the loud cry--the third and fourth angels' messages, are the harvest messages for today! So it is already harvest time! The harvest period has already begun! But Satan, along with all of his lying perverse agents--posing as the ministers of righteousness, are doing their utmost to keep God's people asleep, and to keep them from hearing and following these life and death messages. Not only are these deceptive "dumb dogs" refusing to bark themselves, but are deceiving multitudes through the lie that it is not yet time to give the loud cry messages, and thus it is not time yet to obey these messages, and thus the loud cry has to struggle to be heard and received among the people!
Whereas, the truth is that the time of harvest is now, and it is continuing to occur whenever the messages of the loud cry are clearly presented to the people under the power of the Holy Spirit. Thus decisions are being made today either for or against these shut door messages. The time of harvest is now and is not to be thrown onto some distant future event, such as the Sunday law, but is occurring now for those people who hear these precious messages, and then decide for life or death!
This is a most serious time in which we all are living today! Will you arise, accept these precious messages of the loud cry, and then loudly proclaim these to all around you so that we can go home? This is why Satan is working so hard to keep people confused about the timing of these messages, pointing them to the future Sunday law for the time of the loud cry, when it is time now. That is why he is so active in binding people to their apostate Babylonian churches, so that they will reject the loud cry message by not separating from her, and thus they will receive the plagues and be brought down to hell right along with their beloved harlot church. Thus Christ's return cannot take place, and Satan has more time to secure souls to destruction! And whether you believe it or not, the last saving message of mercy is going forth right now, and the loud cry is swelling!
"The work to be done now is that of sounding this last message of mercy to a fallen world....The work will grow deeper and become more earnest to the very close of time. And all who are laborers together with God will contend most earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints. They will not be turned from the present message, which is already lightening the earth with its glory. Nothing is worth contending for but the glory of God. The only rock that will stand is the Rock of Ages. The truth as it is in Jesus is the refuge in these days of error." Selected Messages, book 2, p 114.
"The messenger turned to the congregation and said, `Do you believe the prophecies? Do you who know the truth, understand that the last message of warning is now being given to the world,--the last call of mercy is now being heard. Do you believe that Satan has come down with great power, working with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in every place? Do you believe that great Babylon has come up in remembrance before God, and that soon she will receive from God's hand double for all her sins and iniquities?'...If the enemy can keep workers out of the field on any pretext, he will do so." Fundamentals of Christian Education, p 362-363.
Please do not allow the Devil to keep you out of the field of labor by holding you in a position of inaction by believing a futuristic doctrine that it is not yet time to follow or to give this last message of message; or that it is not yet time for the probation of the churches, including the SDA, to be closed; or that the beginning of the loud cry has not yet arrived or has not yet begun to swell. If you believe any of the above, you are really working to hinder the loud cry from swelling, instead of working to further its increase in intensity. Thus you show yourself to be a medium and agent of the devil doing his bidding, instead of working to hasten Christ's return to this earth!
But if we recognize and follow this precious loud cry message ourselves, understanding that God is calling for His people to come together and unitedly stand upon this same platform of loud cry truth, then our united voices, combined with the mighty convicting and converting power of the Holy Spirit, can work to give a further increasing to, and intensifying of, this last message of mercy which allows it to swell more and more into a loud cry! Oh brethren, what blessed possibilities are lovingly held out for each one of us TODAY!! Shall we not grasp them?
Who among us really desires to end this great controversy? Who among us really desires to go home and be with our Saviour for eternity? I, for one, do not want to be among those who sit down and relax waiting for the crisis to come--which will never come, because no one will give the message that will bring it! Hasn't 100 years of waiting been enough time to prove this so? Brethren, let us go to work, for our light has already come, and the glory of the Lord has already risen upon us. Let us completely follow this light ourselves, and then take this light and glory and fill this earth with it!
But we cannot do this important work while we are connected either to personal sin or to a harlot Babylon fallen church. Neither can we give this last message of mercy if we are unwilling to plainly identify the harlot church to be Babylon fallen and boldly call others out of her. That is because this Babylon message must be given with unmuffled boldness and without trying to bind it about through various excuses!
"Satan has devised a state of things whereby the proclamation of the third angel's message shall be bound about. We must beware of his plans and methods. There must be no toning down of the truth, no muffling of the message for this time. The third angel's message must be strengthen and confirmed. The eighteenth chapter of Revelation reveals the importance of presenting the truth in no measured tones but with boldness and power....There has been too much beating about the bush in the proclamation of the third angel's message. The message has not been given as clearly and distinctly as it should have been." Evangelism, p 230.
God did not use the word "Babylon" in this last message of mercy to have it reasoned away as being too blunt for sensitive ears to hear, or only to be spoken behind the scenes in private, or completely set aside and other words used in its place! God purposely put the word "Babylon" in this last message of mercy so that all who will listen may awaken at its sharp sound, and then begin to inquire "are these things so?"
Not only are the righteous awakened by this powerful message, but the wicked are awakened as well by this loud cry message calling their beloved church to be Babylon fallen, and these expose themselves to be among the children of the devil by their efforts to fight against this message! So I hope that you can begin to realize the importance of this "Babylon is the church" message of Revelation 18, because it is the very message which clearly identifies who are the chosen vessels and followers of God from those who are the agents and followers of the devil!
"The Lord is soon to come; there must be a refining, winnowing process in every church, for there are among us wicked men who do not love the truth. There is need of a transformation of character. Will the church arise and put on her beautiful garments, the righteousness of Christ? It is soon to be seen who are vessels unto honor. 'And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory. And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.' 'Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not. For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble; and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of Righteousness arise with healing in his wings.'
"Here are brought plainly to view those who will be vessels unto honor; for they will receive the latter rain. Every soul that continues in sin in the face of the light now shining upon our pathway, will be blinded and accept the delusions of Satan. We are now nearing the close of this world's history. Where are the faithful watchmen on the walls of Zion, who will not slumber, but faithfully declare the time of night?" Review and Herald, March 19, 1895 (vol 3, p 239).
So it is this Babylon message of Revelation 18 which allows all to clearly determine who are really following and working for God, versus who are really following and working for the devil. As this is true, where are you in this scenario? Are you working for God by plainly and boldly giving the message that "Babylon is the church, fallen because of her errors and sins, because of her rejection of the truth sent to her from heaven"? If not, may God fully awaken you out of sleep to realize your dire situation in these last few moments of earth's history, and grant you the courage to stand up for God and be counted on his side, through your life and the message you bear!
If you really desire to go home to heaven and be with our blessed Father and our Saviour Jesus Christ, then it's time to accept, to act upon, to live, and raise your voices today in boldly giving the last saving message of the loud cry--the righteousness of Christ, and separation from all corrupt churches of Babylon to be with Christ. It is time to give this complete and harmonious gospel truth with unmuffled boldness and power, with no toning down, which will swell the loud cry, which will then bring on the Sunday law, and the crisis, and the second coming of Christ, and the ending of this whole great controversy, to the glory of God.
Some are giving this loud cry message right now! Will you unite with and join your voices with us? May God help us all to clearly understand the seriousness of the times in which we NOW live in, and then to come up "to the help of the Lord, to the help of the Lord against the mighty" and avoid receiving the curse of Meroz!
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