The Three Messages

“The Three Messages” is a nineteenth-century Advent hymn text by H. S. Gurney, a lay Advent believer associated with early Advent preaching and conversion efforts alongside Joseph Bates. The text draws directly on the prophecy of Revelation 14:6-12, where three angels proclaim divine messages relevant to the last days. These messages are interpreted in Adventist understanding as the everlasting gospel, the fall of Babylon, and a solemn warning against worshipping the beast and his image.

The hymn opens with the first angel’s proclamation of the gospel and the nearness of judgment, calling all people and nations to fear God and give Him glory. This reflects the call to recognize God’s authority and the urgent warning that judgment is approaching. The second clause follows by warning that “Babylon the great is fallen,” a symbolic call for believers to flee corrupt systems of religion and error. In the third stanza, the final angel’s proclamation brings a solemn warning about the fate of those who worship the beast and his image. These three movements closely parallel John’s vision in Revelation, underscoring the urgency and global scope of the end-time message.

A fourth stanza celebrates those who endure in faith, keeping “the commandments and the faith of Jesus,” language directly taken from the description of the faithful remnant in the closing messages of Revelation 14. The text thus becomes both a proclamation to the world and an encouragement to believers to remain steadfast in allegiance to Christ.

Historically, this hymn was part of early Advent songbooks where texts were often printed without tunes, and music was later matched to fit the powerful prophetic words. Its appearance in Adventist hymnals such as The Seventh-day Adventist Hymn and Tune Book (1886) under the opening line “These words, said the Master, ‘I’m coming again’” shows its early and enduring use in Adventist worship.