Isa. 24:13, 14 — “There shall be as the shaking of an olive tree, and as the gleaning grapes when the vintage is done. They shall lift up their voice, they shall sing for the majesty of the Lord.”
The above scriptures explain that the church after being shaken will “sing for the majesty of the Lord;” that is, the shaking will make the church what she ought to be.
Mal. 3:2 —“But who may abide the day of His coming? and who shall stand when He appeareth? for He is like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers sope.”
The following will answer the question as to what means will the Lord employ in the shaking:
“I asked the meaning of the shaking I had seen, and was shown that it would be caused by the straight testimony called forth by the counsel of the True Witness to the Laodiceans. This will have its effect upon the heart of the receiver, and will lead him to exalt the standard and pour forth the straight truth. Some will not bear this straight testimony. They will rise up, against it, and this is what will cause a shaking among God’s people.” — “Early Writings,” p. 270.
It is also clear from the next page that the shaking must take place before the “Loud Cry” —
The numbers of this company had lessened. Some had been shaken out and left by the way. The careless and indifferent, who did not join with those who prized victory and salvation enough to perseveringly plead and agonize for it, did not obtain it, and they were left behind in darkness, and their places were immediately filled by others taking hold of the truth and coming into the ranks. Evil angels still pressed around them, but could have no power over them.
I heard those clothed with the armor speak forth the truth with great power. It had effect. Many had been bound; some wives by their husbands, and some children by their parents. The honest who had been prevented from hearing the truth now eagerly laid hold upon it. All fear of their relatives was gone, and the truth alone was exalted to them. They had been hungering and thirsting for truth; it was dearer and more precious than life. I asked what had made this great change. An angel answered, “It is the latter rain, the refreshing from the presence of the Lord, the loud cry of the third angel.” —“Early Writings,” p. 271.
Has the “Loud Cry” Begun? If Not, When? And What Makes It “Loud”? - Its Inception and Delay Though Sister White penned the following remarkable statement in 1892: “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… Both, the Scriptures and the Spirit of Prophecy explain that God Himself will purify the church:
Amos 9:9, 10—“I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, like as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth. All the sinners of My people shall die by the sword, which say, The evil shall not overtake nor prevent us.”
And that when thus purified “the Gentiles shall see” her “righteousness and all kings” her “glory”:
“In the mighty sifting soon to take place, we shall be better able to measure the strength of Israel. The signs reveal that the time is near when the Lord will manifest that His fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly purge His floor.” — “Testimonies for the Church,” Vol. 5, p. 80.
Moreover, Christ in the parable explains that it is Satan’s determined purpose to sow the tares among the wheat. (Matt. 13:38.)
7. The Harvest - No matter how great and how effective a revival and reformation even God Himself may launch in His church, the Scriptures make it plain that both the sinners and the saints will be in the church until the harvest. No one need brag that the members of his church are… As the “Blue Sunday Law” is to be enacted by Satan’s own will, not by God’s, then such a method to purify the church would not only be contrary to every inspired statement, but also to Satan’s determined purpose, for his aim is not to bring the tares and then pluck them out, but rather to choke out the wheat by their continued presence.
Neither is his intention to fulfill the prophecies, for that is what he would be doing if he should enact blue Sunday laws, but rather defeat them. Therefore, if the church is to be purified by Satan’s laws he would be doing the work which God has assigned to His servants and which He is to do Himself.
Is Satan working for God’s and His church’s interest or against? If against, he will never do one thing to purify the church or to fulfill the prophecy.
The only thing that would compel him to pass blue Sunday laws and go “to make war with the remnant of her seed” (with those that are left, Rev. 12:17) is the purity of the church when God by the slaughter weapons of Ezekiel Nine takes away the tares which received not the mark, and even then Satan will not enact “blue Sunday laws” until after he has exhausted every other weapon against the church.
Therefore, as long as the church remains in her present Laodicean condition, there will be no blue laws or “war” against her, but a bluff only to make her members believe that they are free from his snares and that he is still trying to cause them to fall.
But the worst of it all is in that they are sound asleep, which is shown by the fact that they still think Satan is working terribly hard to fulfill God’s word by trying to pass blue laws and are not aware that he is only playing with them as a cat with a mouse, and the brethren “to whom the Lord has entrusted the spiritual interests of the people” (“Testimonies for the Church,” Vol. 5, p. 211) instead of sounding the alarm to arouse the church are determined to even silence the voice of Present Truth, and thus rocking her to a more sound sleep!
