mplished by the message, and the power and
glory that were to attend it. And the angel's flight "in the midst of
heaven," the "loud voice" with which the warning is uttered, and its
promulgation to all "that dwell on the earth,"--"to every nation, and
kindred, and tongue, and people,"--give evidence of the rapidity and
world-wide extent of the movement.

The message itself sheds light as to the time when this movement is to
take place. It is declared to be a part of the "everlasting gospel;" and
it announces the opening of the judgment. The message of salvation has
been preached in all ages; but this message is a part of the gospel which
could be proclaimed only in the last days, for only then would it be true
that the hour of judgment _had come_. The prophecies present a succession
of events leading down to the opening of the judgment. This is especially
true of the book of Daniel. But that part of his prophecy which related to
the last days, Daniel was bidden to close up and seal "to the time of the
end." Not till we reach this time could a message concerning the judgment
be proclaimed, based on a fulfilment of these prophecies. But at the time
of the end, says the prophet, "many shall run to and fro, and knowledge
shall be increased."(591)

The apostle Paul warned the church not to look for the coming of Christ in
his day. "That day shall not come," he says, "except there come a falling
away first, and that man of sin be revealed."(592) Not till after the
great apostasy, and the long period of the reign of the "man of sin," can
we look for the advent of our Lord. The "man of sin," which is also styled
the "mystery of iniquity," the "son of perdition," and "that wicked,"
represents the papacy, which, as foretold in prophecy, was to maintain its
supremacy for 1260 years. This period ended in 1798. The coming of Christ
could not take place before that time. Paul covers with his caution the
whole of the Christian dispensation down to the year 1798. It is this side
of that time that the message of Christ's second coming is to be
proclaimed.

No such message has ever been given in past ages. Paul, as we have seen,
did not preach it; he pointed his brethren into the then far-distant
future for the coming of the Lord. The Reformers did not proclaim it.
Martin Luther placed the judgment about three hundred years in the future
from his day. But since 1798 the book of Daniel has been unsealed,
knowledge of the prophecies has