The Return of the Latter Rain

The Heart of the 1888 Message

The Lord in his great mercy sent a most precious message to his people through Elders Waggoner and Jones. This message was to bring more prominently before the world the uplifted Saviour, the sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. It presented justification through faith in the Surety; it invited the people to receive the righteousness of Christ, which is made manifest in obedience to all the commandments of God. Many had lost sight of Jesus. They needed to have their eyes directed to his divine person, his merits, and his changeless love for the human family. All power is given into his hands, that he may dispense rich gifts unto men, imparting the priceless gift of his own righteousness to the helpless human agent. This is the message that God commanded to be given to the world. It is the third angel’s message, which is to be proclaimed with a loud voice, and attended with the outpouring of his Spirit in a large measure.

The uplifted Saviour is to appear … sitting upon the throne, to dispense the priceless covenant blessings. … Christ is pleading for the church in the heavenly courts above. …

Notwithstanding our unworthiness, we are ever to bear in mind that there is One that can take away sin and save the sinner. …

God gave to His servants a testimony that presented the truth as it is in Jesus, which is the third angel’s message, in clear, distinct lines. …

This … testimony … presents the law and the gospel, binding up the two in a perfect whole. (See Romans 5 and 1 John 3:9 to the close of the chapter). These precious scriptures will be impressed upon every heart that is opened to receive them.

This is the very work which the Lord designs that the message He has given His servant shall perform in the heart and mind of every human agent. It is the perpetual life of the church to love God supremely and to love others as they love themselves. …

Neglect this great salvation, kept before you for years, despise this glorious offer of justification through the blood of Christ, and sanctification through the cleansing power of the Holy Spirit, and there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation. …

I entreat you now to humble yourselves and cease your stubborn resistance of light and evidence.

At least ten great gospel truths that make the 1888 message “most precious” can be found in this statement. We will look briefly at ten of them here:

(1) As mentioned previously, Jones and Waggoner presented truth “as it is in Jesus.” Every truth came from a correct understanding of who He was and what He came to this earth to accomplish. This included a deeper understanding of the height from which Christ had come and the depth to which he stooped in order to save mankind. Many Adventist pioneers had Arian roots and saw Christ as a created being, or as having a beginning. Even Uriah Smith in 1865 wrote of Christ as the “first created being.” But Jones and Waggoner exalted Christ’s divinity. They saw Him as “self existent,” having “life in Himself,” possessing “by nature all the attributes of Divinity.” Waggoner unequivocally proclaimed at the 1888 General Conference: “We believe in [the] Divinity of Christ. He is God.”

Speaking of the message sent through Jones and Waggoner, Ellen White exclaimed: “Messages bearing the divine credentials have been sent to God’s people … The fullness of the Godhead in Jesus Christ has been set forth among us with beauty and loveliness, to charm all whose hearts were not closed with prejudice.” In her well-known statement about the “most precious message,” she put it this way: “This message was to bring more prominently before the world the uplifted Saviour. … [T]he people … needed to have their eyes directed to His divine person, His merits.” In lifting up Christ, however, Jones and Waggoner didn’t go to the other extreme and teach that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit were “identical” who only roleplayed three assignments in the plan of salvation. With but few exceptions they believed and consistently taught the truth of the Godhead in the same terms as the Bible and Ellen White.

Closely connected with their understanding of the divine nature of Christ was their understanding of His human nature. Christ came all the way to where we are, taking upon Himself “the likeness of sinful flesh.” He took upon his sinless nature our sinful human nature, and yet was without sin. To Jones and Waggoner Christ “was in the same condition that the men are in whom He died to save. … I am not implying Christ was a sinner. … If Christ had not been made in all things like unto His brethren, then his sinless life would be no encouragement to us.”

To Ellen White this was “presenting Christ as a Saviour who was not afar off, but nigh at hand.” It was bringing “more prominently before the world the uplifted Saviour,” both in his divine and human nature which had not been done. This was “humanity inhabited by Deity, the revelation of God in human nature,—this was God’s gift to our world. … God in human flesh,—God in our tried and tempted nature.” Not all were happy with this teaching. Letters came to Ellen White “affirming that Christ could not have had the same nature as man, for if he had, he would have fallen under similar temptations.” She responded: “If he did not have man’s nature, he could not be our example … he could not have been tempted as man has been … he could not be our helper.”

(2) Thus God took the initiative in salvation, and continues to take the initiative. He is the good Shepherd who is seeking His lost sheep even though they have not sought Him. He is constantly drawing all men to repentance. God’s agape love is unlike man’s love, for His love is changeless—not based on conditions— seeking good for His enemies. Waggoner wrote that “God does not wait for sinners to desire pardon, before he makes an effort to save them.” “Not only does He call us, but He draws us. No one can come to Him without being drawn, and so Christ is lifted up to draw all to God.”

Jones stated that “God’s mind concerning human nature is never fulfilled until He finds us at His own right hand, glorified. … He comes and calls us into this, let us go where He will lead us. … Here the heavenly Shepherd is leading us.”

Ellen White described this part of the message stating; “it invited the people to receive the righteousness of Christ. … They needed to have their eyes directed to His … changeless love for the human family.” “In the parable of the lost sheep, Christ teaches that salvation does not come through our seeking after God but through God’s seeking after us.” “None will ever come to Christ, save those who respond to the drawing of the Father’s love. But God is drawing all hearts unto Him, and only those who resist His drawing will refuse to come to Christ.”

(3) By Christ coming all the way down to be with men, He became the second Adam and accomplished something for every human being without any choice on their part. He was not offered to the world from the foundation of the world, He was given to the world. He died the second death for every man, which gave a verdict of acquittal, by satisfying the demands of justice. In Him the human race is accepted. Thus Christ literally saved the world from premature destruction and has elected all men to be eternally saved. He has given life to all men and brought immortality to light. And to each person He has given a measure of faith.

Jones stated that “He chose every soul in the world; He chose him in Christ before the foundation of the world, predestined him unto the adoption of children and made him accepted in the Beloved.”

As Waggoner put it: “This faith is dealt to every man, even as Christ gave himself to every man. Do you ask what then can prevent every man from being saved? The answer is nothing, except the fact that all men will not keep the faith. If all would keep all that God gives them, all would be saved.” “There is no exception here. As the condemnation came upon all, so the justification comes upon all. Christ has tasted death for every man.”

Ellen White described this part of their message as bringing “more prominently before the world the uplifted Saviour, the sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. … (See Romans 5 and 1John 3:9 to the close of the chapter).” Thus it is that Christ’s death actually did something for everyone without his or her choice, both temporal and eternal, but the fullness of this great Gift will never be fully realized or experienced without a positive steadfast response. Rather than taking away mankind’s choice, the cross of Christ is that which gives them a choice. It is the cross of Christ that elicits or draws out a response from everyone: “What will you do with the Gift I have given you?” It is upon this response, this choice, that everyone’s eternal destiny hangs. “There are only two classes in the whole universe,—those who believe in Christ and whose faith leads them to keep God’s commandments, and those who do not believe in him, and are disobedient.” “There always have been and always will be two classes … the believers in Jesus, and those who reject him … and refuse to believe the truth.” “Thus every one will be condemned or acquitted out of his own mouth, and the righteousness of God will be vindicated.”

(4) So it is that God will not force anyone into heaven. He has purchased for mankind freedom of choice. The sinner must persistently resist His love in order to be lost. Waggoner made it clear: “God has wrought out salvation for every man, and has given it to him, but the majority spurn it and throw it away. The judgment will reveal the fact that full salvation was given to every man and that the lost have deliberately thrown away their birthright possession.” “God had implanted in the soul of every man some knowledge of right and wrong, and some natural desires for the right; and whenever a man gives himself wholly to sin, he does so only by resisting the strivings of the Spirit.” “His death has secured pardon and life for all. Nothing can keep them from salvation except their own perverse will. Men must take themselves out of the hand of God, in order to be lost.”

Jones agreed: “All the grace of God is given freely to every one, bringing salvation to all. … Having given it all, he is clear, even though men may reject it.” “The Lord will not compel any one to take it. … No man will die the second death who has not chosen sin rather than righteousness, death rather than life.”

Ellen White, writing during this time period, put it this way: “The sinner may resist this love, may refuse to be drawn to Christ, but if he does not resist he will be drawn to Jesus.” “The blessings of salvation are for every soul. Nothing but his own choice can prevent any man from becoming a partaker of the promise in Christ by the gospel.” Speaking of that “most precious message” she specifically stated: “I entreat you now to humble yourselves and cease your stubborn resistance of light and evidence.” “Jesus died for the whole world, but in stubborn unbelief men refuse to be fashioned after the divine pattern.” “Christ has made an ample sacrifice for all! What justice required, Christ had rendered in the offering of Himself. … Those who reject the gift of life will be without excuse [John 3:16 quoted].” “The wrath of God is not declared against men merely because of the sins which they have committed, but for choosing to continue in a state of resistance.” Since Christ has already paid the penalty for every man’s sin, the only reason anyone can be condemned at last is continued unbelief, and the disobedience which is an inevitable result—a refusal to appreciate the redemption achieved by Christ on His cross and the atonement ministered by Him as High Priest that would cleanse us from all sin. It is in this sense that sin is (or sin is the result of) a constant resisting of His grace, which always leads to transgression of the law.

(5) The only other possible response is that of faith; genuine faith which works by love. But this is more than a mere mental assent to doctrinal truth, it is a realization of the height and depth of the love (agape) of God for the human race. “You may say that you believe in Jesus, when you have an appreciation of the cost of salvation.” By looking at the cross men see the law and the gospel— justice and mercy—perfectly blended. The heart is gripped with the magnitude of the sacrifice required by a broken law, the transcript of God’s character. It is more than the letter of the law that brings us to Christ, but the Spirit of the law as revealed in the life and death of Christ which brings conviction of sin and a desire for forgiveness and restoration. “His love will call forth a response … and [our] lives will show to those around [us] that the Spirit of God is controlling [us].” In proportion to our realization of the great sacrifice—“the length of the chain let down from heaven to draw us up”—is our realization of the extent to which God’s holy law reaches. “God reaches for the hand of faith in us to direct it to lay fast hold upon the divinity of Christ, that we may attain to perfection of character.” Our desire will be for that perfect righteousness which is found only in Christ.

Thus it is that justification by faith is much more than the appreciating and receiving a legal declaration of acquittal; it changes the heart. The sinner has now received the atonement, which is reconciliation with God. Since it is impossible to be truly reconciled to Him and not also be reconciled to His holy law, it follows that true justification by faith makes the believer obedient to all the commandments of God. “Here we have the love of the Father in giving His son to die for fallen man, that he might keep the law of Jehovah. Now Jesus stands in our world, His divinity clothed with humanity, and man must be clothed with Christ’s righteousness. Then he can, through the righteousness of Christ, stand acquitted before God.”

Waggoner expressed it this way: “We are saved by faith in Jesus Christ; but Christ saves us from our sins, and not in them.” “We have the most positive evidence that the keeping of the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus are inseparably connected. No one can keep the commandments without faith in Jesus, and no one ever has real faith in Jesus except as he is driven to it by the terms of the violated law, and by a sincere desire to have the righteousness of the law fulfilled in him. … [A]nd none can obey it except as they yield to the striving of the Holy Spirit, and come to Christ.” “It is not that God gives a man righteousness as a reward for believing certain dogmas; the gospel is something entirely different from that. It is this, that true faith has Christ alone as its object, and it brings Christ’s life actually into the heart; and therefore it must bring righteousness.”

Jones stated the same: “Faith is ‘the gift of God’ (Eph. 2:8); and that it is given to everybody is plainly stated in Scriptures [Rom. 12:3 quoted]. This measure of faith which ‘God hath dealt to every man’ is the capital with which God endows and starts ‘every man that cometh into the world;’ and every man is expected to trade upon this capital—cultivate it—to the salvation of his soul.” “Do you want to be like Jesus? Then receive the grace that he has so fully and so freely given. Receive it in the measure in which He has given it, not in the measure in which you think you deserve it. Yield yourself to it. … It will make you like Jesus.”

Ellen White described this part of that “most precious message,” stating: “It presented justification through faith in the Surety; it invited the people to receive the righteousness of Christ, which is made manifest in obedience to all the commandments of God.” “The heart needs the presence of the heavenly Guest,—Christ abiding in the soul. We are to dwell in Christ, and Christ is to dwell in us by faith.” “Let Christ, the divine Life dwell in you and through you reveal the heaven-born love that will inspire hope in the hopeless and bring heaven’s peace to the sin-stricken heart.”

(6) This marvelous work is accomplished through the ministry of the new covenant wherein the Lord actually writes His law in the heart of the believer. Obedience is loved and sin hated. The old and new covenants are not primarily a matter of time but of condition. Abraham’s faith enabled him to live under the new covenant, while multitudes of Christians today live under the old covenant. The new covenant is God’s one-way promise to write His law in our hearts, and to give us everlasting salvation as a free gift in Christ. The old covenant is the vain promise of the people to be faithful and obey, which gives birth to bondage (Gal. 4:24). So it is that under the new covenant salvation comes by believing God’s promises to enable us to obey, not by our making promises to Him, which we cannot obey. This new covenant truth was an essential element of the 1888 message and was also at the heart of the controversy over the law in Galatians.

Waggoner expressed it this way: “These two covenants exist today. The two covenants are not matters of time, but of condition. … So the covenant from Sinai holds all who adhere to it in bondage ‘under the law,’ while the covenant from above gives freedom, not freedom from obedience to the law, but freedom from disobedience to it. … The difference between the two covenants may be put briefly thus: In the covenant from Sinai we ourselves have to do with the law alone, while in the covenant from above we have the law in Christ.”

Jones’ view was the same: “The first [old] covenant rested upon the promises of the people, and depended solely upon the efforts of the people. The second [new] covenant consists solely of the promise of God, and depends upon the power and work of God.”

Ellen White supported Jones and Waggoner in this view of the covenants and also proclaimed the same good news: “All power is given into His hands, that He may dispense rich gifts unto men, imparting the priceless gift of His own righteousness to the helpless human agent. … The uplifted Saviour is to appear … sitting upon the throne, to dispense the priceless covenant blessings.” “The terms of the ‘old covenant’ were, obey and live. … The ‘new covenant’ was established upon ‘better promises’—the promise of forgiveness of sins and of the grace of God to renew the heart and bring it into harmony with the principles of God’s law.” “Your promises and resolutions are like ropes of sand. You cannot control your thoughts, your impulses, your affections. The knowledge of your broken promises and forfeited pledges weakens your confidence in your own sincerity, and causes you to feel that God cannot accept you. … What you need to understand is the true force of the will.”

(7) The validity of God’s promises can be seen in the fact that our Savior “condemned sin in the flesh” of fallen mankind, and conquered the sin problem for the human race. This means that He has outlawed sin. In the light of the cross, the devil cannot force anyone to sin. Because of Christ, there is now no reason for any human being to go on living under the frightful “dominion” of sin. Righteousness is by faith; sin is by unbelief. Sinful addictions lose their grip if one has “the faith of Jesus” (Rev. 14:12).

Waggoner stated it this way: “To do this as the Bible enjoins, to consider Christ continually and intelligently, just as He is, will transform one into a perfect Christian.” Jones made it clear as well: “[Christ] has made and consecrated a way by which, in Him, every believer can in this world, and for a whole lifetime, live a life holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and as a consequence be made with Him higher than the heavens. … Christ attained it in human flesh in this world, and thus made and consecrated a way by which, in Him, every believer can attain it.”

Ellen White supported Jones and Waggoner on this teaching: “God was manifested in the flesh to condemn sin in the flesh. … No man can say that he is hopelessly subject to the bondage of sin and Satan. Christ has assumed the responsibilities of the human race. … He testifies that through this imputed righteousness the believing soul shall obey the commandments of God.” Speaking of that most precious message, she stated: “The efficacy of the blood of Christ was to be presented to the people with freshness and power, that their faith might lay hold upon its merits. … Notwithstanding our unworthiness, we are ever to bear in mind that there is One that can take away sin and save the sinner. … Those who received the message were greatly blessed, for they saw the bright rays of the Sun of Righteousness, and life and hope sprang up in their hearts.”

(8) The desire to see sin and sorrow come to an end is therefore not based on selfish motivations. A higher motivation will be realized in the closing years of time than has prevailed in the church in past ages. There is a concern for Christ that He receive His reward and find His rest in the final eradication of sin. This new motivation transcends fear of being lost or hope of reward in being saved; obedience is loved. The higher motivation is symbolized in the climax of Scripture— the Bride of Christ making herself ready. This takes place when believers really appreciate the love (agape) of God manifested to all men. This constrains them to live for Him and the “marriage of the Lamb” can finally take place (Rev. 19:7).

Waggoner expressed the final vindication of God’s character this way: “God is now accused by Satan of injustice and indifference, and even of cruelty. Thousands of men have echoed the charge. But the judgment will declare the righteousness of God. His character, as well as that of man, is on trial. In the judgment every act, both of God and man, that has been done since creation, will be seen by all in all its bearings. And when every thing is seen in that perfect light, God will be acquitted of all wrongdoing, even by His enemies.”

Jones wrote of this final selfless experience in this way: “When Jesus comes, it is to take His people unto Himself. It is to present to Himself His glorious church, ‘not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing,’ but that it is ‘holy and without blemish.’ It is to see Himself perfectly reflected in all His saints. And before He comes thus, His people must be in that condition. … And this state of perfection, this developing in each believer the complete image of Jesus—this is the finishing of the mystery of God, which is Christ in you the hope of glory. This consummation is accomplished in the cleansing of the sanctuary.”

Ellen White expressed this theme often in her writings: “It is not the fear of punishment, or the hope of everlasting reward, that leads the disciples of Christ to follow Him. They behold the Saviour’s matchless love, revealed throughout His pilgrimage on earth, from the manger of Bethlehem to Calvary’s cross, and the sight of Him attracts, it softens and subdues the soul. Love awakens in the heart of the beholders. They hear His voice, and they follow Him.” “Christ is waiting with longing desire for the manifestation of Himself in His church. When the character of Christ shall be perfectly reproduced in His people, then He will come to claim them as His own. It is the privilege of every Christian not only to look for but to hasten the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” “Few give thought to the suffering that sin has caused our Creator. All heaven suffered in Christ’s agony; but that suffering did not begin or end with His manifestation in humanity. The cross is a revelation to our dull senses of the pain that, from its very inception, sin has brought to the heart of God.” Of that “most precious message,” she wrote: “This is the very work which the Lord designs that the message He has given His servant shall perform in the heart and mind of every human agent. It is the perpetual life of the church to love God supremely and to love others as they love themselves.”

(9) The 1888 message is especially precious because it joins together the true biblical truth of justification by faith with the unique biblical idea of the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary. This is true righteousness by faith. This work is contingent on the full cleansing of the hearts of God’s people on earth, which the High Priest will accomplish with all who let Him. This is Bible truth that the world is waiting to discover. It is “the third angel’s message in verity,” which is centered in the Most Holy Apartment ministry of Christ since 1844. It forms the essential element of truth that will yet lighten the earth with the glory of a final, fully developed presentation of “the everlasting gospel” of Revelation 14 and 18.

Waggoner expressed this view right after the 1888 General Conference stating: “But will there ever be any people on the earth who will have attained to that perfection of character? Indeed there will be [Zeph. 3:13 quoted]. When the Lord comes there will be a company who will be found ‘complete in him,’ having not their own righteousness, but that perfect righteousness of God, which comes by faith of Jesus Christ. To perfect this work in the hearts of individuals, and to prepare such a company, is the work of the Third Angel’s Message. That message, therefore, is not a mass of dry theories, but is a living practical reality.” Years later Waggoner was still writing about this very important message: “That God has a sanctuary in the heavens, and that Christ is priest there, cannot be doubted by anyone who reads the Scriptures. … Therefore it follows that the cleansing of the sanctuary—a work which is set forth in the Scriptures as immediately preceding the coming of the Lord—is coincident with complete cleansing of the people of God on earth, and preparing them for translation when the Lord comes.”

Jones wrote with the same urgency: “This special message of justification which God has been sending us is to prepare us for glorification at the coming of the Lord. In this, God is giving to us the strongest sign that it is possible for Him to give, that the next thing is the coming of the Lord.” Years later he had the same emphasis: “Though I preach the finishing of transgression in the lives of individuals; and though I preach the making an end of sins, and the making of reconciliation for iniquity, and the bringing in of everlasting righteousness, in the life of the individual; and yet do not preach with it the sanctuary and its cleansing, that is not the third angel’s message. That great day can not come till the sanctuary is cleansed. The sanctuary can not be cleansed until transgression is finished in your life and mine; till an end of sins is made in your life and mine; and reconciliation made for the sins that have been committed; and then, oh, then, in place of it all, everlasting righteousness brought in, to hold us steady in the path of righteousness.”

Ellen White speaking of what took place in 1844, shows the connection between the third angel’s message and the cleansing of the sanctuary: “Those who rejected the first message could not be benefited by the second, and were not benefited by the midnight cry, which was to prepare them to enter with Jesus by faith into the Most Holy place of the heavenly Sanctuary. And by rejecting the two former messages, they can see no light in the third angel’s message, which shows the way into the Most Holy place.” In 1888 she saw that Christ was still in the sanctuary seeking to prepare a people for His Second Coming. Jones and Waggoner had been sent with a message for this very reason: “Now Christ is in the heavenly sanctuary. And what is He doing? Making atonement for us, cleansing the sanctuary from the sins of the people. Then we must enter by faith into the sanctuary with Him. … The closing work of the third angel’s message will be attended with a power that will send the rays of the Sun of Righteousness into all the highways and byways of life.” In 1890 she wrote several articles about the relationship between this message and the cleansing of the Sanctuary: “We are in the day of atonement, and we are to work in harmony with Christ’s work of cleansing of the sanctuary from the sins of the people. Let no man who desires to be found with the wedding garment on, resist our Lord in his office work.” Speaking of that “most precious message” she wrote: “Christ is pleading for the church in the heavenly courts above. … As the priest sprinkled the warm blood upon the mercy seat … so while we confess our sins and plead the efficacy of Christ’s atoning blood, our prayers are to ascend to heaven. … God gave to His servants a testimony that presented the truth as it is in Jesus, which is the third angel’s message, in clear, distinct lines.”

(10) Since Christ has already paid the penalty for every man’s sin, and is constantly drawing man to repentance, the only reason anyone can be condemned at last is continued unbelief, a refusal to appreciate the redemption achieved by Christ on His cross and ministered by Him as High Priest. It follows then that if one understands and believes how good the good news of salvation really is, then it is actually easier to be saved then it is to be lost. Christ’s yoke is easy, and His burden light, and to resist is the hard downward road to destruction. Light is stronger than darkness, grace is stronger than sin, and the Holy Spirit is stronger than the flesh when the heart is surrendered to Christ. But to resist the Holy Spirit’s conviction of good news is to “kick against the goads.” Those who refuse to believe will find it easy to follow their own natural tendencies to do evil. The true gospel exposes this unbelief and leads to an effective repentance that prepares the believer for the return of Christ if man will only choose Him. Any difficulty is the result of failing to believe the gospel, to believe that “God reaches for the hand of faith in us to direct it to lay fast hold upon the divinity of Christ, that we may attain to perfection of character.” Christ will hold our hand more firmly than we can possibly hold His.

Jones expressed it this way: “When grace reigns, it is easier to do right than it is to do wrong. That is the comparison [Rom. 5:21]. … So it is as literally true that under the reign of grace it is easier to do right than to do wrong, as it is true that under the reign of sin it is easier to do wrong than it is to do right.” “Salvation from sin certainly depends upon there being more power in grace than there is in sin. … Because man naturally is enslaved to a power—the power of sin—that is absolute in its reign. And so long as that power has sway, it is not only difficult, but impossible to do the good that he knows and that he would. But let a mightier power than that have sway, then is it not plain enough that it will be just as easy to serve the will of the mightier power, when it reigns, as it was to serve the will of the other power when it reigned?”

Waggoner agreed: “Many people have the notion that it is impossible for them to believe. That is grave error. Faith is just as easy and natural as breathing. It is the common inheritance of all men, and the one thing wherein all are equal. It is only when men build up a barrier of pride about themselves (Ps. 73:6) that they find it difficult to believe. … The question is, In what measure has God given every man faith? … [T]he faith which he gives is the faith of Jesus. The faith of Jesus is given in the gift of Jesus Himself, and Christ is given in His fullness to every man.” “We need not try to improve on the Scriptures, and say that the goodness of God tends to lead men to repentance. The Bible says that it does lead them to repentance. … But not all repent? Why? Because they despise the riches of the goodness and forbearance and long-suffering of God, and break away from the merciful leading of the Lord. But whoever does not resist the Lord, will surely be brought to repentance and salvation.”

Ellen White expressed the same things: “For fifty years I have borne Christ’s yoke, and I can testify that his yoke is easy, and His burden is light. I have never found any difficulty except when I manufactured a yoke of my own, and laid aside the yoke of Christ.” “Tell the people in clear, hopeful language how they may escape the heritage of shame which is our deserved portion. But for Christ’s sake do not present before them ideas that will discourage them, that will make the way to heaven seem very difficult.” “But the way to life is narrow and the entrance strait. If you cling to any besetting sin you will find the way too narrow for you to enter. … Yet do not therefore conclude that the upward path is the hard and the downward road the easy way. All along the road that leads to death there are pains and penalties, there are sorrows and disappointments, there are warnings not to go on. God’s love has made it hard for the heedless and headstrong to destroy themselves.” “Christ will hold our hand more firmly than we can possibly hold His.”

Speaking of those who were rejecting that “most precious message” she warned: “If you reject Christ’s delegated messengers, you reject Christ. Neglect this great salvation, kept before you for years, despise this glorious offer of justification through the blood of Christ, and sanctification through the cleansing power of the Holy Spirit, and there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation.”

Granted, there are other aspects of the 1888 message that influenced the work of the church for years to come, such as religious liberty, education, medical work, and reforms in health; but the heart of that message, as recognized by Ellen White, was righteousness by faith. Many other books have been printed that deal more specifically with the aspects of the message as mentioned above. We will deal more specifically with many of these aspects of the message in The Return of the Latter Rain, volume 2.