A Fourth Angel
And God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.’ And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. (Genesis 1:3&4)
history lesson before we continue... There was a man who traveled with the ancient Israelites out of Egypt’s bondage along with Moses. His name was Korah, and it is recorded in the book of Numbers that he, along with certain other men, began to speak out against the authority of Moses. They echoed the words of the fallen angel, for Lucifer had said, “If all the angels are indeed holy, why do we need Michael for a leader, and Yah, His laws and rules to guard over us?” In the same way, with similar words, Korah asked why Moses and Aaron exalted themselves above the other travelers.
Now, this is a more grievous sin than most would imagine at first glance. You see, it was obvious that Moses was in the full favor of Yah in regards to his leadership of those drawn out. Korah was there when he parted the Red Sea with a touch of his staff, when – at his command – plagues fell upon the lands and people of their oppressors. And even more dramatically, he (Korah) was witness to the pillars of cloud and fire that even then constituted a constant reminder of the sanctity and presence of their true leader, Yah Himself.
Sin is a deadly poison, and just as light and dark can never be present in the same place (for one will surely overcome the other), so must it always be kept separate from those seeking righteousness. Korah rebelled in the full presence of Yah; therefore, just like Lucifer, he had to have fully turned away from the principles of Heaven in his heart. What more could be done for him in this condition? For the good of the community, so that they would not be ever burdened with a dissenter, a hard decision needed to be made.
Not only Korah, but all the members of his family were decided against and were separated from the rest of the congregation, and thereafter the earth itself split apart and took them away. Have you ever thought about the reason why sinners in ancient Israel were rarely put to death by sword or fire? They were most often stoned, a seemingly cruel and unnecessarily painful way to die. The purpose of prescribing this punishment was for Yah to show them the extreme horror and deadly effects of Sin.
In Genesis, after Cain killed Abel, Yah said to him, “The voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground.” Even before that, to Adam He said, “Cursed is the ground for thy sake.” After sin entered the order of things, the perfect project of the Father and Son was marred beyond repair. Death, sickness, sorrow, all these entered in. Animals and plants themselves changed, for now certain beasts stalked prey, and tore apart the flesh of their former brothers in creation. Plants developed all sorts of poisonous oils, prickly surfaces and rough, unlovely exteriors out of their necessity to survive. The earth itself suffered for the sin of man, and to kill a wrongdoer with stones, the very essence of the ground, was to be an effective reminder of this reality.
Here in Korah’s case was an even clearer example of the planet rebelling against those who would poison it. They were dragged down into the landscape alive. There is an important verse following the record of this tragedy, however. So significant was this event that it was recorded twice in Numbers: in chapters 16 and 26. In chapter 26, when there is a count given of the survivors, the Bible makes it clear that “Notwithstanding, the children of Korah died not.” (Num 26:11) It seems that not all of the would-be usurper’s family stood with him in his rebellion.
There were those who, seeing the right and wrong of the situation, chose to stand with Moses and the others. These were spared the punishment of Yah and nature. We see a parallel here between the rebellion of Korah and the nature of the four angels’ messages. The message is one of separation: good and evil, light and dark. On one hand, those who leave the corrupt organization will receive the Seal of Yah, and the other will receive the Mark of The Beast.
I know, I know... Christians these days are bombarded by dozens of explanations of what these “might” be and what they could mean. These speak with little if any authority, trying to twist the words of prophecy around to fit their pet theories. This is not how Yah’s Word should be handled. The truth should be taught with authority, yet with humble words and an earnest desire to see souls won and eternally safe from sin and death. We are not to be mere followers, or blind guides. Though we follow the One who was our example, we are also leaders, we are Nabi’im, which are messengers, prophets, teachers: heralds of divine revelation as are the angels of the Most High. All humans are called to partake in this holy office.
Well, I have a few articles up on the main ideas here, but for now, we would probably be best served by sticking to the timeline, or the whole site will just be duplicated on this one page! Essentially, the SDA church, which was the guardian of the message of the Three Angels, fell away when they ingested pagan errors (the exact nature of which I describe in The Mark and The Seal). They were, after this, in a fallen condition, but not without hope of reform.
Let us, however, turn to a principle in Deuteronomy, the parallel between Yah’s relationship with the church and a man with his wife. If you have not yet read “The Sabbath Rest Principle” trilogy, it is explained in detail there; but the summary of it is: if a man divorces a woman and she later remarries, even if she leaves the second husband, she is no longer able to return to the first.
In the church, the parallel is this: a fallen church (which has thrown off the authority of its Husband; Christ) can return to faithfulness. However, if in its fallen state it unites with another authority figure such as the state, it is no longer able to be the instrument of Yah on earth, no matter what happens afterwards. This is exactly what will happen to the church in the last days, for this is the meaning of the phrase “fornication with the kings of the earth.” This is just what has happened when the SDA church – in order to protect itself from the effects of the errors it originally allowed – united and formed a corporation with the U.S. Government.
This fatal act makes the fourth angel necessary. The three angels are today trapped in a foul cage, imprisoned by the very ones that were supposed to herald their song to the desperately needful planet. Revelation 18 gives us hope, though, and we rise up to cry out once again, “Come out of her, my people.” (Rev 18:4) The shaking time has begun, and those who would remain faithful must, like some of Korah’s sons, set themselves apart, like light from darkness, and aid in the salvation of those still in the shadows – until the close of this great age. If you have not yet read the first five articles of this website found at Articles, I invite you to do so now, so that you may know the specifics of which I am speaking. May the Father and Son go with you as you read.
David.
