1. WHEN THE LOUD CRY SOUNDS Sunday December 5

a. What did Jesus say about the final triumph of the gospel? Matthew 24:14. What means, in the hands of that other angel, will be instrumental in convincing many honest souls? “In a large degree through our publishing houses is to be accomplished the work of that other angel who comes down from heaven with great power and who lightens the earth with his glory.” –Testimonies, vol. 7, p. 140.“More than one thousand will soon be converted in one day, most of whom will trace their first convictions to the reading of our publications.” –Evangelism, p. 693. b. When the distribution of publications is prohibited, what work will still be permitted? Matthew 10:8 (first part). “I wish to tell you that soon there will be no work done in ministerial lines but medical missionary work.” –Evangelism, p. 523.

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2. HOW SATAN WILL ACT Monday December 6

a. What arguments did the Jewish leaders use against Jesus and His message? John 7:12, 20, 47, 48. How will their example be imitated and by whom? “In amazement [thousands upon thousands] 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. As 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 since 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, filled with anger as their authority is questioned, will denounce the message as of Satan and stir up the sin-loving multitudes to revile and persecute those who proclaim it.” –The Great Controversy, pp. 606, 607. b. How will Satan come to those who reject the truth and what will be the result? 2 Corinthians 11:14. “In this age antichrist will appear as the true Christ, and then the law of God will be fully made void in the nations of our world.” –Evangelism, p. 365.“Satan came as an angel of light in the wilderness of temptation to deceive Christ; and he does not come to man in a hideous form, as he is sometimes represented, but as an angel of light. He will come personating Jesus Christ, working mighty miracles; and men will fall down and worship him as Jesus Christ. We shall be commanded to worship this being, whom the world will glorify as Christ. What shall we do?” –The SDA Bible Commentary [E. G. White Comments], vol. 6, pp. 1105, 1106.

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3. HOW THE HOLY SPIRIT WILL WORK Tuesday December 7

a. How did the Holy Spirit use one member of the Jewish Council to defend the cause of God? Acts 5:34–39. How will this be repeated? “While many of our rulers are active agents of Satan, God also has His agents among the leading men of the nation. The enemy moves upon his servants to propose measures that would greatly impede the work of God; but statesmen who fear the Lord are influenced by holy angels to oppose such propositions with unanswerable arguments. Thus a few men will hold in check a powerful current of evil. The opposition of the enemies of truth will be restrained that the third angel’s message may do its work. When the final warning shall be given, it will arrest the attention of these leading men through whom the Lord is now working, and some of them will accept it, and will stand with the people of God through the time of trouble.” –The Great Controversy, pp. 610, 611. b. What was the result of the Holy Spirit’s work in the early days? Acts 2:47. How will this also be repeated in the last days? “The publications distributed by missionary workers have exerted their influence, yet many whose minds were impressed have been prevented from fully comprehending the truth or from yielding obedience. Now the rays of light penetrate everywhere, the truth is seen in its clearness, and the honest children of God sever the bands which have held them. Family connections, church relations, are powerless to stay them now. Truth is more precious than all besides. Notwithstanding the agencies combined against the truth, a large number take their stand upon the Lord’s side.” –The Great Controversy, p. 612.

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4. TWO DESTINIES Wednesday December 8

a. What will happen to those who have known the truth but have not humbled their hearts before the Lord? Luke 13:25–27. Whose example will they follow? Acts 2:13. “There is to be in the churches a wonderful manifestation of the power of God, but it will not move upon those who have not humbled themselves before the Lord, and opened the door of the heart by confession and repentance. In the manifestation of that power which lightens the earth with the glory of God, they will see only something which in their blindness they think dangerous, something which will arouse their fears, and they will brace themselves to resist it. Because the Lord does not work according to their ideas and expectations, they will oppose the work. ‘Why,’ they say, ‘should not we know the Spirit of God, when we have been in the work so many years?’–Because they did not respond to the warnings, the entreaties of the messages of God, but persistently said, ‘I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing.’ ” –The Review and Herald, December 23, 1890. b. When the door of probation is already closed to those who have rejected the truth, to whom is the door of mercy still open? Jeremiah 29:12, 13. “Oh, that the people might know the time of their visitation! There are many who have not yet heard the testing truth for this time. There are many with whom the Spirit of God is striving. The time of God’s destructive judgments is the time of mercy for those who have had no opportunity to learn what is truth. Tenderly will the Lord look upon them. His heart of mercy is touched; His hand is still stretched out to save, while the door is closed to those who would not enter.” –Testimonies, vol. 9, p. 97.

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5. A CLASS “WITHOUT THE SEAL OF GOD” Thursday December 9

a. While the faithful few are still sighing and crying, what will the leaders who have not lived up to the truth do? Isaiah 3:12; Ezekiel 34:2, 3. “[The] humble, devoted followers of Christ will be distinguished from the rest of the world by their soul anguish, which is expressed in lamentation and weeping, reproofs and warnings. While others try to throw a cloak over the existing evil, and excuse the great wickedness everywhere prevalent, those who have a zeal for God’s honor and a love for souls will not hold their peace to obtain favor of any. Their righteous souls are vexed day by day with the unholy works and conversation of the unrighteous. They are powerless to stop the rushing torrent of iniquity, and hence they are filled with grief and alarm. They mourn before God to see religion despised in the very homes of those who have had great light. They lament and afflict their souls because pride, avarice, selfishness, and deception of almost every kind are in the church. The Spirit of God, which prompts to reproof, is trampled underfoot, while the servants of Satan triumph. God is dishonored, the truth made of none effect.”–Testimonies, vol. 5, pp. 210, 211. b. Why will many professed Sabbathkeepers be left without the seal of God, and what will they receive? Ezekiel 9:5–7, 10. “The class who do not feel grieved over their own spiritual declension, nor mourn over the sins of others, will be left without the seal of God. The Lord commissions His messengers, the men with slaughtering weapons in their hands: ‘Go ye after him through the city, and smite: let not your eye spare, neither have ye pity: slay utterly old and young, both maids, and little children, and women: but come not near any man upon whom is the mark; and begin at My sanctuary. Then they began at the ancient men which were before the house.’“Here we see that the church–the Lord’s sanctuary–was the first to feel the stroke of the wrath of God. The ancient men, those to whom God had given great light and who had stood as guardians of the spiritual interests of the people, had betrayed their trust. They had taken the position that we need not look for miracles and the marked manifestation of God’s power as in former days. Times have changed. These words strengthen their unbelief, and they say: The Lord will not do good, neither will He do evil. He is too merciful to visit His people in judgment. Thus ‘Peace and safety’ is the cry from men who will never again lift up their voice like a trumpet to show God’s people their transgressions and the house of Jacob their sins. These dumb dogs that would not bark are the ones who feel the just vengeance of an offended God. Men, maidens, and little children all perish together.“The abominations for which the faithful ones were sighing and crying were all that could be discerned by finite eyes, but by far the worst sins, those which provoked the jealousy of the pure and holy God, were unrevealed.” –Testimonies, vol. 5, p. 211.

REVIEW AND THOUGHT QUESTIONS Friday December 10

1. Name some significant tools in the hands of that other angel. 2. In what ways will the enemy be deceiving souls? 3. Describe ways in which the Holy Spirit will promote the truth. 4. During the proclamation of the loud cry, what distinction will exist between two classes of believers in the three angels’ messages? 5. What will be the end of those who cry “Peace and safety” in these last days?