The Prophecies of Daniel and Revelation by Uriah Smith (Copyright 1944,
1972) is owned and published by the Review and Herald Publishing
Association, a wholly owned and operated Seventh-day Adventist publishing
house. Printed copies of the book may be obtained by calling 1-800-765-6955
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Page 1355

                                Uriah Smith

Smith, Uriah (1832-1903). Editor and author, who gave 50 years of service
to the SDA [Seventh-day Adventist] cause. He was born in West Wilton, New
Hampshire, and was impressed in childhood by the Advent Movement of
1843-1844. When about 13 years of age, because of an infection, his left
leg was amputated above the knee.

From 1848 to 1851 he attended Phillips Exeter Academy, then declined an
attractive invitation to teach in Mount Vernon Academy, New Hampshire. In
the hope of earning money to attend college, he worked briefly in a
business that soon failed. In 1857 he married Harriet Newall Stevens. About
the end of 1852 he became a Sabbathkeeping Adventist. His first
contribution to SDA literature was a 35,000 word poem entitled, "The
Warning Voice of Time and Prophecy." It was being published as a serial in
the Review and Herald in 1853 when he joined his sister, Annie, as a worker
at the office of The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald in Rochester, New
York. He maintained an almost unbroken connection with the institution
until the time of his death.

In 1855 the Review and Herald moved to Battle Creek, Michigan, and that
same year, when Smith was 23 years of age, his name appeared for the first
time as editor. In the first number printed in Battle Creek he wrote: "I do
not enter upon this position for ease, comfort, or worldly profit; for I
have seen by my connection with the Review thus far, that neither of these
is to be found here." The primitive equipment in use would have daunted a
lesser spirit. In helping prepare the first tracts he used a straight-edge
and a pocketknife to trim the edges. "We blistered our hands in the
operation, and often the tracts in form were not half so true and square as
the doctrines they taught."

In the early years severe financial problems faced the youthful editor, but
he managed so well that the Review and Herald flourished and grew. Since
for a time Smith was editor, proofreader, business manager, and bookkeeper,
he found his physical resources taxed to the limit. As a result, in 1869 he
was given a year's leave to recuperate, and J. N. Andrews edited the paper
during his absence. The next year James White was elected editor with Smith
as associate, but 12 months later Smith was again editor. In 1873,
following a disagreement with White over administrative policies, he was
relieved of his editorship. He left Battle Creek and worked at his trade as
an engraver, but in six months was recalled to his former office, and a
cordial relation-

Page 1356

ship between the two men was re-established and maintained from then on.

Smith had considerable mechanical aptitude. Because his artificial leg gave
him insufficient freedom of movement, he patented in 1863 an improved model
with fully flexible knee and ankle joints. In 1874 he patented a school
desk with an improved folding seat. For this he received $3,000, which
enabled him to build a new home. He served as treasurer of the General
Conference in 1876-1877.

By 1890, with competent editorial help, he was able to devote more time to
writing. He traveled extensively, speaking frequently at camp meetings, in
1894 he visited many European countries and the Near East. Alonzo T. Jones
was made editor of the Review and Herald in 1897, with Smith as an
associate; but once again Smith returned as editor in 1901.

In addition to his editorial duties he assumed other responsibilities. He
was the first secretary of the General Conference (organized 1863) and held
that position on five different occasions. He was also an instructor in
Bible at Battle Creek College for many years. It is understandable that
during the formative period of the SDA Church a man of Smith's firm
convictions should become involved in some sharp controversies. He taught
the semi-Arian view held by Joseph Bates, James White, and certain others,
and denied the personality of the Holy Spirit. His views on certain aspects
of the law placed him in opposition to E. J. Waggoner, A. T. Jones, and
others in 1888. At times his relations with Ellen G. White were strained to
the point where he questioned the nature of her visions and made a
distinction between her "testimonies" and her "visions." After 1888, when
she supported the new emphasis on righteousness by faith, he even declined
to accept some of her counsels to him. Smith opposed the new trend during
this period, thinking that the sanctity of the law of God was being
imperiled by the place given to faith and grace. In 1891 Smith admitted his
wrong attitude, and complete harmony was restored. Never at any time had he
considered giving up his beliefs, nor had Mrs. White at any time thought of
him as unfit for his office. She always held him and his work in high
esteem. It is of interest that while the discussion was in progress, he
reported impartially the views of Waggoner, Jones, and Ellen G. White. Some
of his editorials, however, were sharply pointed.

Smith was one of the most fluent writers the denomination has had. In
debate his pen could be incisive. His talent for satire often found
expression when he dealt with fanaticism, faultfinding, and extremes in
health and dress reform. In his later years his writing became more mellow
and meditative, with a fine sense of form and words. Although a creative
writer, he also borrowed from contemporary and early expositors for his
materials, especially in his interpretations of prophecy. He is best
remembered for his book generally known by the short title Daniel and the
Revelation. It received the warm endorsement of Ellen G. White and had an
unrivaled influence on SDA prophetic teaching. Thoughts, Critical and
Practical, on the Book of Revelation was published in 1867, and Thoughts,
Critical and Practical, on the Book of Daniel, in 1873. These books,
combined in one volume, were first sold by George King, thus marking the
beginning of the sale of doctrinal subscription books in the colporteur
work of the SDA Church. This work, now entitled The Prophecies of Daniel
and the Revelation, was revised several times, during Smith's lifetime and
later, and it still has a wide circulation. Among his other works are The
United States in Prophecy (later rewritten as Marvel of the Nations), Here
and Hereafter, and Looking Unto Jesus.

Smith strongly urged the separation of church and state, advocated
noncombatancy, vigorously opposed slavery, did not approve of SDA's seeking
political office, and campaigned tirelessly against Sunday laws.

Smith was a handsome man of charming manner, more powerful in pen than in
speech. The last words he ever wrote, directed to the General Conference in
1903, epitomize his lifelong purpose: "I am with you in the endeavor to
send forth in this generation this gospel of the kingdom, for a witness to
all nations. And when this is completed, it will be the signal for the
coronation of our coming King."

(Seventh-day Adventist Encyclopedia, pp. 1355-1356. Revised Edition. Review
                and Herald Publishing Association, 1976 .)
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Page 5

                                  Foreword

This volume is devoted largely to tracing the story of God's marvelous
dealing with nations and with notable individuals in fulfillment of the
great prophecies of the Bible in the past, but more particularly to the
unrolling of the prophetic scroll as seen in the stirring events of the
throbbing present, and of those impending in the immediate and ominous
future. Such events are of the greatest personal significance to every man
and woman.

No one can afford to live in a time like ours without studying the vital
issues it has pleased God to open to our understanding in this fast moving
age. Such issues have eternal consequences for every soul.

The author of this book lived and wrote more than a century ago, and in the
literary and polemic style of those times. His interpretation of prophecy,
however, and the doctrines of truth he established through intensive study
of the Scriptures, have borne the test of time and of diligent scrutiny by
Bible students. Indeed, they have borne the test so well that they are the
more worthy of being perpetuated in a revised edition, which it is our
great pleasure to offer in this present attractive form.

No effort has been spared by the editors to simplify and clarify the
presentation of truth in the fluent and appealing diction of the writer, to
verify all historical and exegetical sources drawn upon by the author, and
in notable instances to fortify the teaching by new evidence not available
at the time of the original writing. They have sought also to bring to bear
upon prophetic interpretation the additional weight of significance so
obviously discernible in political, social, and religious developments
pressing upon our attention in these culminating days of the gospel era.

Thoughtful and open-minded consideration of these vital themes by every
candid reader is earnestly invited.

THE PUBLISHERS.
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                               The Prophecies
                                     of
                         Daniel and the Revelation

                                    by
                                Uriah Smith

     Electronically Published with Permission of the Review and Herald
                           Publishing Association

 "The prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God
        spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." 2 Peter 1: 21.

Chapter Title                                                    Page #

Foreword...........................................................   5

                          The Response of History
                                   to the
                            Prophecies of Daniel

 "Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but He revealeth His secret unto His
                     servants the prophets." Amos 3:7

Introduction.......................................................  15
I.     A Captive in Babylon's Royal Court..........................  19
II.    The King Dreams of World Empires............................  29
III.   Integrity Tested by Fire....................................  71
IV.    The Most High Ruleth........................................  79
V.     The Handwriting on the Wall.................................  89
VI.    Daniel in the Lion's Den....................................  97
VII.   The Struggle for World Dominion............................. 105
VIII.  The World Arraigned Before the Court of Heaven.............. 149
IX.    A Prophetic Yardstick Spans the Centuries................... 193
X.     God Intervenes in World Affairs............................. 225
XI.    Unrolling the Scroll of the Future.......................... 233
XII.   History's Coming Climax..................................... 301

                          The Response of History
                                   to the
                Prophecies of the Revelation of Jesus Christ

  "We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye
   take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day
        dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts." 2 Peter 1: 19

Introduction....................................................... 337
I.     The Divine Method of Prophetic Revelation................... 339
II.    The Letters of Jesus to the Churches........................ 361
III.   "Behold, I stand at the Door and Knock"..................... 383
IV.    Before the Throne of God.................................... 407
V.     The Challenge of the Sealed Book............................ 415
VI.    Breaking the Seals on the Book of Prophecy.................. 425
VII.   The Seal of the Living God.................................. 453
VIII.  The Collapse of the Roman Empire............................ 473
IX.    The Moslem World in Prophecy................................ 493
X.     The World-Wide Proclamation of the Second Advent............ 519
XI.    The Battle Between the Bible and Atheism.................... 531
XII.   The Background of Religious Intolerance..................... 549
XIII.  The Agelong Struggle for Religious Freedom.................. 561
XIV.   God's Final Warning to a Wicked World....................... 625
XV.    Preparing the Vials of Divine Wrath......................... 681
XVI.   Seven Plagues Devastate the Earth........................... 685
XVII.  A World Union of Church and State........................... 707
XVIII. The Doom of Modern Babylon.................................. 715
XIX.   King of Kings and Lord of Lords............................. 731
XX.    The World's Millennial Night................................ 739
XXI.   A New Heaven and a New Earth................................ 755
XXII.  Peace at Last............................................... 771

                                 References

   "Believe in the Lord your God, so shall ye be established; believe His
            prophets, so shall ye prosper." 2 Chronicles 20:20

"The Light of God's Word" (poem)...................................  12
"The Home of the Saved" (poem)..................................... 769
Bibliography....................................................... 785
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Page 12

                          The Light of God's Word

                O'er all the moral world, where, otherwise,
             No light would come, or through its midnight gloom
                    No cheering ray appear, to dissipate
                 The darkness, God has set a guiding star--
                    A luminary bright--whose rays divine
           Should pierce the night--the deep'ning shades dispel,
               Which o'er the earth in sullen silence brood.
               Nay, more, a ray of God's own brightness, sent
                 Direct to man from off His radiant throne;
              That those who gladly should the light receive,
                 And follow where it led, should here enjoy
                A glorious foretaste of the bliss of Heaven.

                     It is God's Holy Word, immutable,
              Through life's bewildering maze alone can guide
                  The wandering traveler to eternal rest.
                Without it, man were lost--lost in the deep,
                   Dark labyrinth of dread uncertainty--
            Where doubts distract, and fearful thoughts arise--
              With nought his steps to lead, save the dim lamp
                  Of human reason, whose misguiding flame
             Would serve to make the gloom still more profound,
                 The darkness deeper, and more keenly felt.
               But 'twas not God's design to leave man thus,
                In error's devious paths, to grope his way;
              So, through His Sacred Word, His will revealed,
                And pointed out the narrow path, that bright
               And brighter shines, e'en to the perfect day.

 (From the poem "The Warning Voice of Time and Prophecy," by Uriah Smith.)
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Page 15

                               Introduction

That the book of Daniel was written by the person whose name it bears,
there is no reason to doubt. Ezekiel, who was contemporary with Daniel,
bears testimony, through the Spirit of prophecy, to his piety and
uprightness, ranking him in this respect with Noah and Job: "If I send a
pestilence into that land, and pour out My fury upon it in blood, to cut
off from it man and beast; though Noah, Daniel, and Job were in it, as I
live, saith the Lord God, they shall deliver neither son nor daughter; they
shall but deliver their own souls by their righteousness." Ezekiel 14: 19,
20. His wisdom, also, even at that early day, had become proverbial, as
appears from the same writer. To the prince of Tyrus he was directed by the
Lord to say, "Behold, thou art wiser than Daniel; there is no secret that
they can hide from thee." Ezekiel 23: 3. But above all, our Lord recognized
him as a prophet of God, and bade His disciples understand the predictions
given through him for the benefit of His church: "When ye therefore shall
see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand
in the holy place (whoso readeth, let him understand), then let them which
be in Judea flee into the mountains." Matthew 24: 15, 16.

Though we have a more minute account of his early life than is recorded of
that of any other prophet, yet his birth and lineage are left in complete
obscurity, except that he was of the royal line, probably of the house of
David, which had at this time become very numerous. He first appears as one
of the noble captives of Judah, in the first year of Nebuchadnezzar, king
of Babylon, at the beginning of the seventy years' captivity, 606 B.C.
Jeremiah and Habakkuk were yet uttering their prophecies. Ezekiel began
soon after, and a little later, Obadiah; but all these finished their work
years before the close of the long and brilliant career of Daniel. Three
prophets only succeeded him, Haggai and Zechariah, who ex-

Page 16

ercised the prophetic office for a brief period contemporaneously, 520-518
B.C., and Malachi, the last of the Old Testament prophets, who flourished a
little season about 397 B.C.

During the seventy years' captivity of the Jews, 606-536 B.C., predicted by
Jeremiah (Jeremiah 25: 11), Daniel resided at the court of Babylon, most of
the time prime minister of that monarchy. His life affords a most
impressive lesson of the importance and advantage of maintaining from
earliest youth strict integrity toward God, and furnishes a notable
instance of a man's maintaining eminent piety, and faithfully discharging
all the duties that pertain to the service of God, while at the same time
engaging in the most stirring activities, and bearing the weightiest cares
and responsibilities that can devolve upon men in this earthly life.

What a rebuke is his course to many at the present day, who, not having a
hundredth part of the cares to absorb their time and engross their
attention that he had, yet plead as an excuse for their almost utter
neglect of Christian duties, that they have no time for them. what will the
God of Daniel say to such, when He comes to reward His servants
impartially, according to their improvement or neglect of the opportunities
offered them?

But it is not alone nor chiefly his connection with the Chaldean monarchy,
the glory of kingdoms, that perpetuates the memory of Daniel, and covers
his name with honor. From the height of its glory he saw that kingdom
decline, and pass into other hands. Its period of greatest prosperity was
embraced within the limits of the lifetime of one man. So brief was its
supremacy, so transient its glory. But Daniel was intrusted with more
enduring honors. While beloved and honored by the princes and potentates of
Babylon, he enjoyed an infinitely higher exaltation in being beloved and
honored by God and His holy angels, and admitted to a knowledge of the
counsels of the Most High.

His prophecy is, in many respects, the most remarkable of any in the sacred
record. It is the most comprehensive. It was

Page 17

the first prophecy giving a consecutive history of the world from that time
to the end. It located the most of its predictions within well-defined
prophetic periods, though reaching many centuries into the future. It gave
the first definite chronological prophecy of the coming of the Messiah. It
marked the time of this event so definitely that the Jews forbid any
attempt to interpret its numbers, since that prophecy shows them to be
without excuse in rejecting Christ; and so accurately had its minute and
literal predictions been fulfilled down to the time of Porphyry, A.D. 250,
that he declared (the only loophole he could devise for his hard-pressed
skepticism) that the predictions were not written in the age of Babylon,
but after the events themselves had occurred. This evasion, however, is not
now available; for every succeeding century has borne additional evidence
to the truthfulness of the prophecy, and we are just now, in our own day,
approaching the climax of its fulfillment.

The personal history of Daniel reaches to a date a few years subsequent to
the subversion of the Babylonian kingdom by the Medes and Persians. He is
supposed to have died at Shushan, or Susa, in Persia, about the 530 B.C.,
aged nearly ninety-four years; his age being the probable reason why he did
not return to Judea with other Hebrew captives, under the proclamation of
Cyrus (Ezra 1: 1), 536 B.C., which marked the close of the seventy years'
captivity.
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Page 19

                                 Chapter I

                     A Captive in Babylon's Royal Court

Verse 1 In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah came
Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon unto Jerusalem, and besieged it. 2 And the
Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with part of the vessels
of the house of God: which he carried into the land of Shinar to the house
of his god; and he brought the vessels into the treasure house of his god.

With a directness characteristic of the sacred writers, Daniel enters at
once upon his subject. He begins his book in a simple historical style. The
first six chapters, with the exception of the prophecy of chapter 2, are
narrative in content. With chapter 7 we reach the prophetical part of the
book.

Siege of Jerusalem.--Like one conscious of uttering only well-known truth,
he proceeds at once to state a variety of particulars by which his accuracy
could be tested. The overthrow of Jerusalem recorded here was predicted by
Jeremiah, and was accomplished in 606 B.C.[*] (Jeremiah 25: 8-11.) Jeremiah
places this captivity in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, Daniel in the third.
This seemingly discrepancy is explained by the fact that Nebuchadnezzar set
out on his expedition near the close of the third year of Jehoiakim, from
which point Daniel reckons. But the king did not accomplish the subjugation
of Jerusalem until about the ninth month of the year following, from which
year Jeremiah reckons. Jehoiakim, though bound for the purpose of being
taken to Babylon, humbled himself and was permitted to remain as ruler in
Jerusalem, tributary to the king of Babylon.

Page 20

This was the first time Jerusalem was taken by Nebuchadnezzar. Twice
subsequently the city revolted, but was recaptured by the same king, and
more severely dealt with each succeeding time. The second overthrow was
during the time of Jehoiachin, son of Jehoiakim, when all the sacred
vessels were either taken or destroyed, and the best of the inhabitants of
were led with the king into captivity. The third was under Zedekiah, when
the city endured a formidable siege. During its continuance for a year and
a half, the inhabitants of the city suffered all the horrors of extreme
famine. At length the garrison and the king attempted to escape from the
city, but they were captured by the Chaldeans. The sons of the king were
slain before his face. His eyes were put out, and he was taken to Babylon.
Thus was fulfilled the prediction of Ezekiel that he should be carried to
Babylon, and die there, yet he should not see the place. (Ezekiel 12: 13.)
The city and temple were at this time utterly destroyed, and the entire
population of the country, with the exception of a few husbandmen, were
carried captive to Babylon, in 586 B.C.

Such was God's passing testimony against sin--not that the Chaldeans were
the favorites of Heaven, but that God made use of them to punish the
iniquities of His people. Had the Israelites been faithful to God, and kept
His Sabbath, Jerusalem would have stood forever. (Jeremiah 17: 24-27.) But
they departed from Him, and He abandoned them. They profaned the sacred
vessels by bringing idols into the temple; therefore God allowed these
vessels to be further profaned by letting them go as trophies to heathen
shrines abroad.

Hebrew Captives in Babylon.--During these days of trouble and distress upon
Jerusalem, Daniel and his companions were nourished and instructed in the
palace of the king of Babylon. Though captives in a strange land, they were
doubtless in some respects much more favorably situated than they could
have been in their native country.

Verse 3 And the king spake unto Ashpenaz the master of his eunuchs, that he
should bring certain of the children of Israel, and of the king's seed,

Page 21

and of the princes; 4 children in whom was no blemish, but well favored,
and skillful in all wisdom, and cunning in knowledge, and understanding
science, and such as had ability in them to stand in the king's palace, and
whom they might teach the learning and the tongue of the Chaldeans. 5 And
the king appointed them a daily provision of the king's meat, and of the
wine which he drank: so nourishing them three years, that at the end
thereof they might stand before the king.

Here is recorded the probable fulfillment of the judgments predicted by the
prophet Isaiah to King Hezekiah more than a hundred years before. When this
king had vaingloriously shown to the messengers of the king of Babylon all
the treasures and holy things of his palace and kingdom, Hezekiah was told
that all these good things would be carried as trophies to the city of
Babylon, and that even his own children, his descendants would be taken
away and be eunuchs in the palace of the king there. (2 Kings 20: 14-18.)

The word "children" as applied to these captives is not to be confined to
the sense to which it is limited at the present time. It included youth
also. We learn from the record that these children were already "skillful
in all wisdom, and cunning in knowledge, and understanding science, and . .
. had ability in them to stand in the king's palace." In other words, they
had acquired a good degree of education, and their physical and mental
powers were so far developed that a skillful reader of human nature could
form an accurate estimate of their capabilities. They are supposed to have
been about eighteen or twenty years of age.

In the treatment which these Hebrew captives received, we see an instance
of the wise policy and the liberality of the rising king, Nebuchadnezzar.
Instead of choosing means for the gratification of low and base desires, as
too many kings of later times have done, he chose young men to be educated
in all matters pertaining to the kingdom, that he might have efficient help
in administering its affairs. He appointed them daily provision of his own
food and drink. Instead of the coarse fare which some would have thought
good enough for captives, he offered them his own royal viands. For the
space of three years

Page 23

they had all the advantages the kingdom afforded. Though captives, they
were royal children, and were treated as such by the humane king of the
Chaldeans.

Verse 6 Now among these were of the children of Judah, Daniel, Hananiah,
Mishael, and Azariah: 7 Unto whom the prince of the eunuchs gave names: for
he gave unto Daniel the name of Belteshazzar; and to Hananiah, of Shadrach;
and to Mishael, of Meshach; and to Azariah, of Abednego.

Daniel and His Companions Renamed.--This change of names was probably made
on account of the signification of the words. In the Hebrew, Daniel
signified, "judge for God;" Hananiah, "gift of the Lord;" Mishael, "who is
what God is;" and Azariah, "whom Jehovah helps." Since these names had some
reference to the true God and signified some connection with His worship,
they were changed to names which had definitions linking them to the
heathen divinities and worship of the Chaldeans. Thus Belteshazzar, the
name given to Daniel, signified "prince of Bel;" Shadrach, "servant of Sin"
(the moon god); Meshach, "who is what Aku is" (Aku being the Sumerian
equivalent of Sin, the name of the moon god); and Abednego, "servant of
Nebo."

Verse 8 But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself
with the portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank:
therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not
defile himself. 9 Now God had brought Daniel into favor and tender love
with the prince of the eunuchs. 10 And the prince of the eunuchs said unto
Daniel, I fear my lord the king, who hath appointed your meat and your
drink: for why should he see your faces worse liking than the children
which are of your sort? Then shall ye make me endanger my head to the king.
11 Then said Daniel to Melzar, whom the prince of the eunuchs had set over
Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, 12 Prove thy servants, I beseech
thee, ten days; and let them give us pulse to eat, and water to drink. 13
Then let our countenances be looked upon before thee, and the countenance
of the children that eat of the portion of the king's meat: and as thou
seest, deal with thy servants. 14 So he consented to them in this matter,
and proved them ten days. 15 And at the end of ten days their countenances
appeared fairer and fatter in flesh than all the children which did eat the
portion of the king's meat. 16 Thus Melzar took away the portion of their
meat, and the wine that they should drink; and gave them pulse.

Page 24

In this record Nebuchadnezzar appears wonderfully free from bigotry. It
seems that he took no means to compel his royal captives to change their
religion. Provided they had some religion, he seemed to be satisfied,
whether it was the religion he professed or not. Although their names had
been changed to signify some connection with heathen worship, this may have
been more to avoid the use of Jewish names by the Chaldeans than to
indicate any change of sentiment or practice on the part of those to whom
these names were given.

Daniel's Diet.--Daniel purposed not to defile himself with the king's food
or with his wine. Daniel had other reasons for this course than simply the
effect of such a diet upon his physical system, though he would derive
great advantage in this respect from the fare he proposed to adopt. It was
frequently the case that food used by the kings and princes of heathen
nations, who were often the high priests of their religion, was first
offered in sacrifice to idols, and the wine they used, poured out as a
libation before their gods. Again, some of the flesh food used by the
Chaldeans was pronounced unclean by the Jewish law. On either of these
grounds Daniel could not, consistently with his religion, partake of these
articles. Hence he respectfully requested the proper officer that from
conscientious scruples he might not be obliged to defile himself.

The prince of the eunuchs feared to grant Daniel's request, since the king
himself had appointed the food for Daniel and his companions. This shows
the great personal interest the king took in these captives. It appears
that his sincere object was to secure in them the best mental and physical
development that could be attained. How different is this from the bigotry
and tyranny which usually hold supreme control over the hearts of those who
are clothed with absolute power. In the character of Nebuchadnezzar we
shall find many things worthy of our highest admiration.

It is interesting to note what was included in Daniel's request for his
diet. The Hebrew word {HEBREW CHARACTERS IN PRINTED TEXT} zeroim, here

Page 25

translated "pulse," is built on the same root as the word "seed" in the
record of creation, where it mentions "every herb seeding seed," and again,
the "fruit of a tree seeding seed." Genesis 1: 29. This makes it clear
enough that Daniel's request included grains legumes, and fruits. Then,
too, if we understand Genesis 9: 3 correctly, the "green herb" itself must
have been included in the diet requests. In other words, the menu for which
Daniel asked and which he received was made up of cereals, legumes, fruits,
nuts, and vegetables--a vegetarian diet of good variety, together with the
universal drink for man and beast, clear water.

The Cambridge Bible, has this note on zeroim: "vegetable food in general;
there is no reason for restricting the Hebrew word used to leguminous
fruits, such as beans and peas, which is what the term 'pulse' properly
denotes."

Gesenius gives this definition: "Seed-herbs, greens, vegetables, i.e.,
vegetable food, such as was eaten in a half fast, opposed to meats and the
more delicate kinds of food."

A ten days' trial of this diet resulting favorably, Daniel and his
companions were permitted to continue it during the whole course of their
training for the duties of the palace.

Verse 17 As for these four children, God gave them knowledge and skill in
all learning and wisdom: and Daniel had understanding in all visions and
dreams. 18 Now at the end of the days that the king had said he should
bring them in, then the prince of the eunuchs brought them in before
Nebuchadnezzar. 19 And the king communed with them; and among them all was
found none like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: therefore stood
they before the king. 20 And in all matters of wisdom and understanding,
that the king enquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the
magicians and astrologers that were in all his realm. 21 And Daniel
continued even unto the first year of king Cyrus.

After Three Years' Study.--To Daniel alone seems to have been committed an
understanding in visions and dreams. But the Lord's dealing with Daniel in
this respect does not prove his companions any less accepted in His sight.
By their preservation in the midst of the fiery furnace they had equally
good evidence of the divine favor. Daniel probably had some

Page 27

natural qualifications that peculiarly fitted him for this special work.

The same personal interest in these individuals heretofore manifested by
the king, he still continued to maintain. At the end of the three years, he
called them to a personal interview. He must know for himself how they had
fared, and to what proficiency they had attained. This interview also shows
the king to have been a man well versed in all the arts and sciences of the
Chaldeans, else he would not have been qualified to examine others in them.
Recognizing merit where he saw it without respect to religion or
nationality, he acknowledged them to ten times superior to any in his own
land.

It is added that Daniel "continued even unto the first year of King Cyrus."

[*] The date 606 B.C. is widely supported by Ussher, Hales', and other
chronologists, but more recent research by archaeologists favors the date
605. This apparently more accurate date, however, in no way affects the
calculation of prophetic periods presented by the author, for it should be
remembered that the Jews and other ancients counted both the first and last
years of a period.--Editors.
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                                 Chapter II

                      The King Dreams of World Empires

Verse 1 And in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar
Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams, wherewith his spirit was troubled, and his
sleep brake from him.

Daniel was carried into captivity in the first year of Nebuchadnezzar. For
three years he was placed under instructors, during which time he would not
of course be reckoned among the wise men of the kingdom, nor take part in
public affairs. Yet in the second year of Nebuchadnezzar, the transactions
recorded in this chapter took place. How, then, could Daniel be brought in
to interpret the king's dream in his second year? The explanation lies in
the fact that Nebuchadnezzar reigned for two years conjointly with his
father, Nabopolassar. From this point the Jews reckoned, while the
Chaldeans reckoned from the time he began to reign alone on the death of
his father. Hence, the year here mentioned was the second year of his reign
according to the Chaldean reckoning, but the fourth according to the
Jewish. [1] It thus appears that the next year after Daniel had completed
his preparation to participate in the affairs of the Chaldean empire, the
providence of God brought him into sudden and remarkable prominence
throughout the kingdom.

Verse 2 Then the king commanded to call the magicians, and the astrologers,
and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, for to show the king his dreams. So
they came and stood before the king.

The King's Wise Men Fail Him.--The magicians practiced magic, using the
term in its bad sense; that is, they employed all the superstitious rites
and ceremonies of fortunetellers, and

Page 30

casters of nativities, and the like. Astrologers were men who pretended to
foretell events by the study of the stars. The science, or the
superstition, of astrology was extensively cultivated by the Eastern
nations of antiquity. Sorcerers were such as pretended to hold
communication with the dead. In this sense, we believe, the word "sorcerer"
is always used in the Scriptures. The Chaldeans here mentioned were a sect
of philosophers similar to the magicians and astrologers, who made natural
science and divinations their study. All these sects or professions
abounded in Babylon. The result desired by each was the same--the
explaining of mysteries and foretelling of events--the principal difference
between them being the means by which they sought to accomplish their
object. The king's difficulty lay equally within the province of each to
explain; hence he summoned them all. With the king it was an important
matter. He was greatly troubled, and therefore concentrated upon the
solution of his perplexity the wisdom of his realm.

Verse 3 And the king said unto them, I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit
was troubled to know the dream. 4 Then spake the Chaldeans to the king in
Syriac, O king, live forever: tell thy servants the dream, and we will show
the interpretation.

In whatever else the ancient magicians and astrologers may have been
efficient, they seem to have been thoroughly schooled in the art of drawing
out sufficient information to form a basis for some shrewd calculation, or
of framing their answers in such an ambiguous manner that they would be
applicable whichever way the events turned. In the present case, true to
their cunning instincts, they called upon the king to make known to them
his dream. If they could get full information respecting this, they could
easily agree on some interpretation which would not endanger their
reputation. They addressed themselves to the king in Syriac, a dialect of
the Chaldean language which was used by the educated and cultured classes.
From this point to the end of Daniel 7, the record continues in Chaldaic,
the language spoken by the king.

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Verse 5 The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, The thing is gone from
me: if ye will not make known unto me the dream, with the interpretation
thereof, ye shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made a
dunghill. 6 But if ye show the dream, and the interpretation thereof, ye
shall receive of me gifts and rewards and great honor: therefore show me
the dream, and the interpretation thereof. 7 They answered again and said,
Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will show the
interpretation of it. 8 The king answered and said, I know of certainty
that ye would gain the time, because ye see the thing is gone from me. 9
But if ye will not make known unto me the dream, there is but one decree
for you: for ye have prepared lying and corrupt words to speak before me,
till the time be changed: therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know
that ye can show me the interpretation thereof. 10 The Chaldeans answered
before the king, and said, There is not a man upon the earth that can show
the king's matter: therefore there is no king, lord, nor ruler, that asked
such things at any magician, or astrologer, or Chaldean. 11 And it is a
rare thing that the king requireth, and there is none other that can show
it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh. 12
For this cause the king was angry and very furious, and commanded to
destroy all the wise men of Babylon. 13 And the decree went forth that the
wise men should be slain; and they sought Daniel and his fellows to be
slain.

These verses contain the record of the desperate struggle between the wise
men and the king. The former sought some avenue of escape, since they were
caught on their own ground. The king was determined that they should make
known his dream, which was no more than should be expected from their
profession.

Some have severely censured Nebuchadnezzar in this matter, as acting the
part of a heartless, unreasonable tyrant. But what did these magicians
profess to be able to do?--To reveal hidden things, to foretell events, to
make known mysteries entirely beyond human foresight and penetration, and
to do this by the aid of supernatural agencies. There was therefore nothing
unjust in Nebuchadnezzar's demand that they should make known his dream.
When they declared that none but the gods whose dwelling was not with flesh
could make known the king's matter, it was a tacit acknowledgment that they
had no communication with these gods, and knew nothing beyond what human
wisdom and discernment could reveal. "For this cause the king was angry and
very furious."

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He saw that he and all his people were being made the victims of deception.
While we cannot justify the extreme measures to which he resorted, dooming
them to death, and their houses to destruction, we cannot but feel a hearty
sympathy with him in his condemnation of a class of miserable imposters.
The king would be no party to dishonesty or deception.

Verse 14 Then Daniel answered with counsel and wisdom to Arioch the captain
of the king's guard, which was gone forth to slay the wise men of Babylon:
15 he answered and said to Arioch the king's captain, Why is the decree so
hasty from the king? Then Arioch made the thing known to Daniel. 16 Then
Daniel went in, and desired of the king that he would give him time, and
that he would show the king the interpretation. 17 Then Daniel went to his
house, and made the thing known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his
companions: 18 that they would desire mercies of the God of heaven
concerning this secret; that Daniel and his fellows should not perish with
the rest of the wise men of Babylon.

Daniel to the Rescue.--In this narrative we see the providence of God
working in several remarkable particulars. It was providential that the
dream of the king should leave such a powerful impression upon his mind as
to raise him to the greatest height of anxiety, and yet the thing itself be
held from his recollection. This led to the complete exposure of the false
system of the magicians and other pagan teachers. When put to the test to
make known the dream, they were unable to do what they professed was
entirely within their power.

It was remarkable that Daniel and his companions, so lately pronounced by
the king ten times better than all his magicians and astrologers, should
not have been consulted in this matter. But there was a providence in this.
Just as the dream was held from the king, so he was unaccountably
restrained from appealing to Daniel for a solution of the mystery. Had he
called Daniel at the first to make known the matter, the magicians would
not have been brought to the test. But God would give the heathen systems
of the Chaldeans the first chance. He would let them try and ignominiously
fail, and then confess their utter incompetency, ever under the penalty of
death, that they might be the better pre-

Page 33

pared to acknowledge His intervention when He should finally manifest His
power in behalf of His captive servants, and for the honor of His name.

It appears that the first intimation Daniel had of the matter was the
presence of the executioners, come for his arrest. His own life being thus
at stake, he was led to seek the Lord with all his heart until He should
work for the deliverance of His servants. Daniel gained his request of the
king for time to consider the matter--a privilege which probably none of
the magicians could have obtained, as the king had already accused them of
preparing false and corrupt words, and of seeking to gain time for this
very purpose. Daniel at once went to his three companions, and asked them
to unite with him in desiring mercy of the God of heaven concerning this
secret. He could have prayed alone, and doubtless would have been heard.
But then, as now, in the union of God's people there is prevailing power.
The promise of the accomplishment of that which is asked, is to the two or
three who shall agree concerning it. (Matthew 18: 19, 20.)

Verse 19 Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night vision. Then
Daniel blessed the God of heaven. 20 Daniel answered and said, Blessed be
the name of God forever and ever: for wisdom and might are His: 21 And He
changeth the times and the seasons: He removeth kings, and setteth up
kings: He giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know
understanding: 22 He revealeth the deep and secret things: He knoweth what
is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with Him. 23 I thank Thee, and
praise Thee, O Thou God of my fathers, who hast given me wisdom and might,
and hast made known unto me now what we desired of Thee: for Thou hast now
made known unto us the king's matter.

Whether or not the answer came while Daniel and his companions were yet
offering up their petitions, we are not informed. It was in a night vision
that God revealed Himself in their behalf. The words "night vision" mean
anything that is seen, whether through dreams or visions.

Daniel immediately offered up praise to God for His gracious dealing with
them, and while his prayer is not preserved, his responsive thanksgiving is
fully recorded. God is

Page 35

honored by our praise to Him for the things He has done for us, as well as
by our petitions to Him for help. Let Daniel's course be our example in
this respect. Let no mercy from the hand of God fail of its due return of
thanksgiving and praise. In the days of Christ's ministry on earth, did He
not cleanse ten lepers, and only one returned to give Him thanks? "But
where," asks Christ sorrowfully, "are the nine?" Luke 17: 17.

Daniel had the utmost confidence in what had been shown him. He did not
first go to the king to see if what had been revealed to him was indeed the
king's dream, but he immediately praised God for having answered his
prayer.

Although the matter was revealed to Daniel, he did not take honor to
himself as though it were by his prayers alone that the answer had been
obtained; but he immediately associated his companions with him, and
acknowledged it to be as much an answer to their prayers as it was to his
own. It was, said he, "what we desired of Thee," and Thou hast made it
"known unto us."

Verse 24 Therefore Daniel went in unto Arioch, whom the king had ordained
to destroy the wise men of Babylon: he went and said thus unto him; Destroy
not the wise men of Babylon: bring me in before the king, and I will show
unto the king the interpretation.

Daniel's first plea was for the wise men of Babylon. Destroy them not, for
the king's secret is revealed, he implored. True, it was through no merit
of theirs or their heathen systems of divination that this revelation was
made. They were worthy of as much condemnation as before. But their own
confession of utter impotence in the matter was humiliation enough for
them, and Daniel was anxious that they should so far partake of the
benefits shown him as to have their lives spared. They were saved because
there was a man of God among them. Thus it ever is. For the sake of Paul
and Silas, all the prisoners with them were loosed. (Acts 16: 26.) For the
sake of Paul, the lives of all that sailed with him were saved. (Acts 27:
24.) How often the wicked are benefited by the presence of the righteous!
Well would be if they would

Page 36

remember the obligations under which they are thus placed.

What saves the world today? For whose sake is it still spared?--For the
sake of the few righteous persons who are yet left. Remove these, and how
long would the wicked be suffered to run their guilty career?--No longer
than the antediluvians were suffered after Noah had entered the ark, or the
Sodomites after Lot had departed from their polluted and polluting
presence. If only ten righteous persons could have been found in Sodom, the
multitude of its wicked inhabitants would for their sakes have been spared.
Yet the wicked will despise, ridicule, and oppress the very ones on whose
account it is that they are still permitted the enjoyment of life and all
its blessings.

Verse 25 Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste, and said
thus unto him, I have found a man of the captives of Judah, that will make
known unto the king the interpretation.

It is ever a characteristic of ministers and courtiers to ingratiate
themselves with their sovereign. So here Arioch represented that he had
found a man who could make known the desired interpretation, as if with
great disinterestedness in behalf of the king he had been searching for
someone to solve his difficulty, and had at last found him. In order to see
through this deception of his chief executioner, the king had but to
remember, as he probably did, his interview with Daniel, and Daniel's
promise, if time could be granted, to show the interpretation of the dream.
(Verse 16.)

Verse 26 The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar,
Art thou able to make known unto me the dream which I have seen, and the
interpretation thereof? 27 Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and
said, The secret which the king hath demanded cannot the wise men, the
astrologers, the magicians, the soothsayers, show unto the king; 28 But
there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the
king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Thy dream, and the
visions of thy head upon thy bed, are these.

"Art thou able to make known unto me the dream?" was the king's salutation
to Daniel as he came into the royal presence. Notwithstanding his previous
acquaintance with

Page 37

this Hebrew, the king seemed to question the ability of one so young and
inexperienced, to make known a matter in which aged and venerable magicians
and soothsayers had utterly failed. Daniel declared plainly that the wise
men, the astrologers, the soothsayers, and the magicians could not make
known this secret. It was beyond their power. Therefore the king should not
be angry with them, nor put confidence in their vain superstitions. The
prophet proceeded to make known the true God, who rules in heaven, and is
the only revealer of secrets. He it is, said Daniel, who "maketh known to
the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days."

Verse 29 As for thee, O king, thy thoughts came into thy mind upon thy bed,
what should come to pass hereafter: and He that revealeth secrets maketh
known to thee what shall come to pass. 30 But as for me, this secret is not
revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more than any living, but for
their sakes that shall make known the interpretation to the king, and that
thou mightest know the thoughts of thy heart.

Here is brought out another of the commendable traits of Nebuchadnezzar's
character. Unlike some rulers, who fill up the present with folly and
debauchery without regard to the future, the king thought forward upon the
days to come, with an anxious desire to know with what events they should
be filled. It was partly for this reason that God gave him this dream,
which we must regard as a token of divine favor to the king. Yet God would
not work for the king independently of His own people. Though He gave the
dream to the king, He sent the interpretation through one of His
acknowledged servants.

Daniel first disclaimed all credit for the interpretation, and then he
sought to modify the king's natural feelings of pride in being thus noticed
by the God of heaven. He informed him that although the dream had been
given to him, it was not for his sake alone that the interpretation was
sent, but also for their sakes through whom it should be given. Ah! God had
some servants there, and it was for them that He was working. They were of
more value in His sight than the mightiest kings and potentates of earth.

Page 38

How comprehensive was the work of God in this instance! By this one act of
revealing the king's dream to Daniel, He made known to the king the things
he desired, He saved His servants who trusted in Him, He brought
conspicuously before the Chaldean nation the knowledge of Him who know the
end from the beginning, He poured contempt on the false systems of the
soothsayers and magicians, and He honored His own name and exalted His
servants in their eyes.

Daniel Relates the Dream.--After making it clear to the king that the
purpose of the "God in heaven" in giving him the dream, was to reveal "what
shall be in the latter days," Daniel related the dream itself.

Verse 31 Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image,
whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was
terrible. 32 This image's head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of
silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, 33 his legs of iron, his feet
part of iron and part of clay. 34 Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out
without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and
clay, and brake them to pieces. 35 Then was the iron, the clay, the brass,
the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the
chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that
no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a
great mountain, and filled the whole earth.

Nebuchadnezzar, a worshiper of the gods of the Chaldean religion, was an
idolater. An image was an object which would at once command his attention
and respect. Moreover, earthly kingdoms, which, as we shall hereafter see,
were represented by this image, were objects of esteem and value in his
eyes.

But how admirably adapted was this representation to convey a great and
needful truth to the mind of Nebuchadnezzar. Besides delineating the
progress of events through the whole course of time for the benefit of His
people, God would show Nebuchadnezzar the utter emptiness and worthlessness
of earthly pomp and glory. how could this be more impressively done than by
an image whose head was of gold? Below this head was body composed of
inferior metals descending

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in value until they reached their basest form in the feet and toes of iron
mingled with miry clay. The whole was then dashed to pieces, and made like
the empty chaff. It was finally blown away where no place could be found
for it, after which something durable and of heavenly worth occupied its
place. So would God show to the children of men that earthly kingdoms are
to pass away, and earthly greatness and glory, like a gaudy bubble, will
break and vanish. In the place so long usurped by these, the kingdom of God
shall be set up and have no end, while all who have an interest in that
kingdom shall rest under the shadow of its peaceful wings forever and ever.
But this is anticipating.

Verse 36 This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof
before the king. 37 Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of
heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. 38 And
wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the
fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler
over them all. Thou art this head of gold.

Daniel Interprets the Dream.--Now opens one of the most comprehensive of
the histories of world empire. Eight short verses of the inspired record
tell the whole story, yet that story embraces the history of this world's
pomp and power. A few moments will suffice to commit it to memory, yet the
period which it covers, beginning more than twenty-five centuries ago,
reaches from that far-distant point past the rise and fall of kingdoms,
past the setting up and overthrow of empires, past cycles and ages, past
our own day, to the eternal state. It is so comprehensive that it embraces
all this, yet it is so minute that it gives us the great outlines of
earthly kingdoms from that time to this. Human wisdom never devised so
brief a record that embraced so much. Human language never set forth in so
few words such a great volume of historical truth. The finger of God is
here. Let us heed the lesson well. With what interest and astonishment must
the king have listened as he was informed by the prophet that his kingdom
was the golden head of the magnificent image. Daniel in-

Page 41

formed the king that the God of heavens had given him his kingdom, and made
him ruler over all. This would restrain him from the pride of thinking that
he had attained his position by his own power and wisdom, and would enlist
the gratitude of his heart toward the true God.

The kingdom of Babylon, which finally developed into the nation represented
by the golden head of the great historic image, was founded by Nimrod, the
great-grandson of Noah, more than two thousand years before Christ. "Cush
begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth. He was a mighty
hunter before the Lord: wherefore it is said, Even as Nimrod the mighty
hunter before the Lord. And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel
["Babylon," margin], and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of
Shinar." Genesis 10: 8-10. It appears that Nimrod also founded the city of
Nineveh, which afterward became the capital of Assyria. (See marginal
reading of Genesis 10: 11.)

Fulfillment of the Dream.--The Babylonian Empire rose to power under the
general who also became king, Nabopolassar. When he died in 604 B.C. his
son Nebuchadnezzar became king. As R. Campbell Thompson declares: "Events
had already shown that Nebuchadrezzar was a vigorous and brilliant
commander, and physically as well as mentally a strong man, fully worthy of
succeeding his father. He was to become the greatest man of his time in the
Near East, as a soldier, a statesman, and an architect. Had his successors
been of such a stamp instead of callow boys or dilettanti without redeeming
vigor, the Persians would have found Babylonia a harder problem. 'All the
nations,' says Jeremiah (Jeremiah 27: 7, R. V.), 'shall serve him, and his
son, and his son's son, until the time of his own land come.' " [2]

Jerusalem was taken by Nebuchadnezzar in the first year of his reign, and
the third year of Judah (Daniel 1: 1). 606 B.C. Nebuchadnezzar reigned two
years

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conjointly with his father, Nabopolassar. From this point the Jews computed
his reign, but the Chaldeans from the date of his sole reign, 604 B.C., as
stated above. Respecting the successors of Nebuchadnezzar, the authority
just quoted adds:

"Nebuchadnezzar died about August-September, 562 B.C., and was succeeded by
his son Amel-Marduk (562-560 B.C.), whom Jeremiah calls Evil-Merodach. He
was given little time to prove his worth; the two years of his brief reign
are merely enough to show that political conditions were again hostile to
the royal house." [3]

The later Babylonian rulers, weak in power, could not equal the reign of
Nebuchadnezzar. Cyrus, king of Persia, besieged Babylon, and took it by
stratagem.

The character of the Babylonian Empire is indicated by the head of gold. It
was the golden kingdom of a golden age. Babylon, its metropolis, towered to
a height never reached by any of its successors. Situated in the garden of
the East; laid out in a perfect square said to be sixty miles in
circumference, fifteen miles on each side; surrounded by a wall estimated
to have been two hundred to three hundred feet high and eighty-seven feet
thick, with a moat, or ditch, around this, or equal cubic capacity with the
wall itself; divided into squares by its many streets, each one hundred and
fifty feet in width, crossing at right angles, every one of them straight
and level; its two hundred and twenty-five square miles of enclosed surface
laid out in in luxuriant pleasure grounds and gardens, interspersed with
magnificent dwellings--this city, with its sixty miles of moat, its sixty
miles of outer wall, its thirty miles of river wall through its center, its
gates of solid brass, its hanging gardens rising terrace above terrace till
they equaled in height the walls themselves, its temple of Belus three
miles in circumference, its two royal palaces, one three and a half and the
other eight miles in circumference, with its subterranean tunnel under the
River Euphrates connecting these two

Page 43

palaces, its perfect arrangements for convenience, ornament, and defense,
and its unlimited resources--this city, containing it itself many things
which were themselves wonders of the world, was itself another and still
mightier wonder. There, with the whole earth prostate at her feet, a queen
in peerless grandeur, drawing from the pen of inspiration itself this
glowing title, "The glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees'
excellency," stood this city, fit capital of that kingdom which was
represented by the golden head of this great historic image.

Such was Babylon, with Nebuchadnezzar in the prime of live, bold, vigorous,
and accomplished, seated upon its throne, when Daniel entered within its
walls to serve as a captive in its gorgeous palaces for seventy years.
There the children of the Lord, oppressed more than cheered by the glory
and prosperity of the land of their captivity, hung their harps on the
willows by the Euphrates, and wept when they remembered Zion.

There began the captive state of the church in a still broader sense; for
ever since that time the people of God have been in subjection to earthly
powers, and more or less oppressed by them. So they will be until all
earthly powers shall finally yield to Him whose right it is to reign. And
lo, that day of deliverance draws on apace!

Into another city, not only Daniel, but all the children of God, from least
to greatest, from lowest to highest, are soon to enter. It is a city not
merely sixty miles in circumference, but fifteen hundred miles; a city
whose walls are not brick and bitumen, but precious stones and jasper;
whose streets are not the stone-paved streets of Babylon, smooth and
beautiful as they were, but transparent gold; whose river is not the
Euphrates, but the river of life; whose music is not the sighs and laments
of broken-hearted captives, but the thrilling paeans of victory over death
and the grave, which ransomed multitudes shall raise; whose light is not
the intermittent light of earth, but the unceasing and ineffable glory of
God and the

Page 44

Lamb. To this city they shall come, not as captives entering a foreign
land, but as exiles returning to their father's house; not as to a place
where such chilling words as "bondage," "servitude," and "oppression,"
shall weigh down their spirits, but to one where the sweet words, "home,"
"freedom," "peace," "purity," "unutterable bliss," and "unending life,"
shall thrill their souls with delight forever and ever. Yea, our mouths
shall be filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing, when the Lord
shall turn again the captivity of Zion. (Psalm 126: 1, 2; Revelation 21:
1-27.)

Verse 39 And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and
another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth.

Nebuchadnezzar reigned forty-three years, and was succeeded by the
following rulers: His son, Evil-Merodach, two years; Neriglissar, his
son-in-law, four years; Laborosoarchod, Neriglissar's son, nine months,
which, being less than on year, is not counted in the canon of Ptolemy; and
lastly, Nabondius, whose son, Belshazzar, grandson of Nebuchadnezzar, was
associated with him on the throne.

"The proof of this association is contained in the cylinders of Nabonadius
[Nabonidus] found at Mugheir, where the protection of the gods is asked for
Nabu-nadid and his son Bel-shar-uzur, who are coupled together in a way
that implies the cosovereignty of the latter. (British Museum Series, Vol.
I. pl. 68, no. 1.) The date of the association was at the latest 540 B.C.,
Nabonadiu's fifteenth year, since the third year of Belshazzar is mentioned
in Daniel 8: 1. If Belshazzar was (as I have supposed) a son of a daughter
of Nebuchadnezzar married to Nabonadius after he became king, he could not
be more than fourteen in his father's fifteenth year." [4]

The Fall of Babylon.--In the first year of Neriglissar, only two years
after death of Nebuchadnezzar, broke out that fatal war between the
Babylonians and the Medes, which re-

Page 45

sulted in the overthrow of the Babylonian kingdom. Cyaxares, king of the
Medes, who is called "Darius" in Daniel 5: 31, summoned to his aid his
nephew Cyrus of the Persian line. The war was prosecuted with uninterrupted
success by the Medes and Persians, until in the eighteenth year of
Nabonidus (the third year of his son Belshazzar), Cyrus laid siege to
Babylon, the only city in all the East which then held out against him. The
Babylonians gathered within their seemingly impregnable walls, with
provision on hand for twenty years, and land within the limits of their
broad city sufficient to furnish food for the inhabitants and garrison for
an indefinite period. They scoffed at Cyrus from their lofty walls, and
derided his seemingly useless efforts to bring them into subjection.
According to all human calculation, they had good ground for their feelings
of security. Never, weighed in the balance of earthly probability, could
that city be taken with the means of warfare then known. Hence they
breathed as freely and slept as soundly as though no foe were waiting and
watching around their beleaguered walls. But God had decreed that the proud
and wicked city should come down from her throne of glory. And when He
speaks, what mortal arm can defeat His word?

In their feeling of security lay the source of their danger. Cyrus resolved
to accomplish by stratagem what he could not effect by force. Learning of
the approach of an annual festival in which the whole city would be given
up to mirth and revelry, he fixed upon that day as the time to carry his
purpose into execution.

There was no entrance for him into that city unless he could find it where
the River Euphrates entered and emerged, as it passed under the walls. He
resolved to make the channel of the river his highway into the stronghold
of his enemy. To do this, the water must be turned aside from its channel
through the city. For this purpose, on the evening of the feast day above
referred to, he detailed on body of soldiers to turn the river at a given
hour into a large artificial lake a short

Page 47

distance above the city; another to take their station at the point where
the river entered the city; and a third to take a position fifteen miles
below, where the river emerged from the city. The two latter bodies were
instructed to enter the channel as soon as they found the river fordable,
and in the darkness of the night explore their way beneath the walls, and
press on to the palace of the king where they were to surprise and kill the
guards, and capture or slay the king. When the water was turned into the
lake, the river soon became shallow enough to ford, and the soldiers
followed its channel into the heart of the city of Babylon. [5]

But all this would have been in vain, had not the whole city given itself
over on that eventful night to the most abandoned carelessness and
presumption, a state of things upon which Cyrus calculated largely for the
carrying out of his purpose. On each side of the river through the entire
length of the city were walls of great height, and of equal thickness with
the outer walls. In these walls were huge gates of brass, which, when
closed and guarded, debarred all entrance from the river bed to any of the
streets that crossed the river. Had the gates been closed at this time, the
soldiers of Cyrus might have marched into the city along the river bed, and
then marched out again, for all that they would have been able to
accomplish toward the subjugation of the place.

But in the drunken revelry of that fatal night, these river gates were left
open, as had been foretold by the prophet Isaiah years before in these
words: "Thus saith the Lord to His anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I
have holden, to subdue nations before him; and I will loose the loins of
kings, to open before him the two-leaved gates; and the gates shall not be
shut." Isaiah 45: 1. The entrance of the Persian soldiers was not
perceived. Many a cheek would have paled with terror, had the sudden going
down of the river been noticed, and its

Page 48

fearful import understood. Many a tongue would have spread wild alarm
through the city, had the dark forms of armed foes been seen stealthily
treading their way to the citadel of their supposed security. But no one
noticed the sudden subsidence of the waters of the river; no one saw the
entrance of the Persian warriors; no one cared for aught but to see how
deeply and recklessly he could plunge into the wild debauch. That night's
dissipation cost the Babylonians their kingdom and their freedom. They went
into their brutish revelry subjects of the king of Babylon; they awoke from
it slaves to the king of Persia.

The soldiers of Cyrus first made known their presence in the city by
falling upon the royal guards in the vestibule of the palace of the king.
Belshazzar soon became aware of the cause of the disturbance, and died
fighting for his life. This feast of Belshazzar is described in the fifth
chapter of Daniel, and the scene closes with the simple record, "In that
night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain. And Darius the Median
took the kingdom, being about threescore and two years old."

The historian Prideaux says: "Darius the Mede, that is Cyaxares, the uncle
of Cyrus, took the kingdom; for Cyrus allowed him the title of all his
conquests as long as he lived." [6]

Thus the first empire, symbolized by the head of gold of the great image,
came to an ignoble end. It would naturally be supposed that the conqueror,
becoming possessed of so noble a city as Babylon, far surpassing anything
else in the world, would have taken it as the seat of his empire, and
maintained it in its splendor. But God had said that that city should
become a heap, and the habitation of the beasts of the desert; that its
houses should be full of doleful creatures; that the wild beasts of the
islands should cry in its desolate dwellings, and dragons in its pleasant
palaces. (Isaiah 13: 19-22.) It must

Page 49

first be deserted. Cyrus established a second capital at Susa, a celebrated
city in the province of Elam, east from Babylon, on the banks of the River
Choaspes, a branch of the Tigris. This was probably done in the first year
of his sole reign.

The pride of the Babylonians being particularly provoked by this act, in
the fifth year of Darius Hystaspes, 517 B.C., they rose in rebellion and
brought upon themselves again the whole strength of the Persian Empire. The
city was once more taken by stratagem. Darius took away the brazen gates of
the city, and beat down the walls from two hundred cubits to fifty cubits.
This was the beginning of its destruction. By this act, it was left exposed
to the ravages of every hostile band. Xerxes, on his return from Greece,
plundered the temple of Belus of its immense wealth, and then laid the
lofty structure in ruins. Alexander the Great endeavored to rebuild it, but
after employing ten thousand men two months to clear away the rubbish, he
died from excessive drunkenness and debauchery, and the work was suspended.
In the year 294 B.C., Seleucus Nicator built the city of New Babylon in the
neighborhood of the old city, and took much of the material and many of the
inhabitants of the old city, to build up and people the new. Now almost
exhausted of inhabitants, neglect and decay were telling fearfully upon the
ancient capital. The violence of Parthian princes hastened its ruin. About
the end of the fourth century, it was used by the Persian kings as an
enclosure for wild beasts. At the end of the twelfth century, according to
a celebrated traveler, the few remaining ruins of Nebuchadnezzar's palace
were so full of serpents and venomous reptiles that they could not be
closely inspected without great danger. And today scarcely enough even of
the ruins is left to mark the spot where once stood the largest, richest,
and proudest city of the ancient world.

Thus the ruin of great Babylon shows us how accurately God fulfills His
word, and makes the doubts of skepticism appear like willful blindness.

"After thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee."

Page 51

The use of the word "kingdom" here, shows that kingdoms, and not particular
kings, are represented by the different parts of this image. Hence when it
was said to Nebuchadnezzar, "Thou art this head of gold," although the
personal pronoun was used, the kingdom not the king himself was meant.

Medo-Persian Kingdom.--The succeeding kingdom, Medo-Persia, answered to the
breast and arms of silver of the great image. It was to be inferior to the
preceding kingdom. In what respect inferior? Not in power, for it conquered
Babylon. Not in extent, for Cyrus subdued all the East from the AEgean Sea
to the River Indus, and thus erected a more extensive empire. But it was
inferior in wealth, luxury, and magnificence.

Viewed from a Scriptural standpoint, the principal event under the
Babylonian Empire was the captivity of the children of Israel; under the
Medo-Persian kingdom it was the restoration of Israel to their own land. At
the taking of Babylon Cyrus, as an act of courtesy assigned the first place
in the kingdom to his uncle, Darius, in 538 B.C. But two years afterward
Darius died, leaving Cyrus sole monarch of the empire. In this year, which
closed Israel's seventy years of captivity, Cyrus issued his famous decree
for the return of the Jews and the rebuilding of their temple. This was the
first installment of the great decree for the restoration and building
again of Jerusalem (Ezra 6: 14), which was completed in the seventh year of
the reign of Artaxerxes, 457 B.C., a date of much importance, as will
hereafter be shown.

After a reign of seven years, Cyrus left the kingdom to his son Cambyses,
who reigned seven years and five months, to 522 B.C. Eight monarchs reigned
between this time and the year 336 B.C. The year 335 B.C. is set down as
the first of Darius Codomannus, the last of the line of the old Persian
kings. This man, according to Prideaux, was of noble stature, of goodly
person, of the greatest personal valor, and of a mild and generous
disposition. It was his ill fortune to have to con-

Page 52

tend with one who was an agent in the fulfillment of prophecy, and no
qualifications, natural or acquired, could make him successful in the
unequal contest. Scarcely was he warm upon the throne, ere he found his
formidable enemy, Alexander, at the head of the Greek soldiers, preparing
to dismount him from it.

The cause and the particulars of the contest between the Greeks and the
Persians we leave to histories especially devoted to such matters. Suffice
it to say that the deciding point was reached on the field of Arbela in 331
B.C., where the Grecians, though only one to twenty in number as compared
with the Persians, won a decisive victory. Alexander became absolute lord
of the Persian Empire to an extent never attained by any of its own kings.

Grecian Empire.--"Another third kingdom of brass . . . shall bear rule over
all the earth," the prophet had said. Few and brief are the inspired words
which involved in their fulfillment a succession in world rulership. In the
ever-changing political kaleidoscope, Grecia came into the field of vision,
to be for a time the all-absorbing object of attention, as the third of
what are called the universal empires of the earth.

After the battle which decided the fate of the empire, Darius endeavored to
rally the shattered remnants of his army, and make a stand for his kingdom
and his rights. But he could not gather out of all the host of his recently
so numerous and well-appointed army a force with which he deemed it prudent
to hazard another engagement with the victorious Grecians. Alexander
pursued him on the wings of the wind. Time after time Darius barely eluded
the grasp of his swiftly following foe. At length three traitors, Bessus,
Nabarzanes, and Barsaentes, seized the unfortunate prince, shut him up in a
close cart, and fled with him as their prisoner toward Bactria. It was
their purpose, if Alexander pursued them, to purchase their own safety by
delivering up their king. Hereupon Alexander, learning of the dangerous
position of Darius in the hands of the traitors, immediately put himself
with the lightest part of

Page 53

his army upon a forced pursuit. After several days hard march, he came up
with the traitors. They urged Darius to mount on horseback for a more
speedy flight. Upon his refusing to do this, they gave him several mortal
wounds, and left him dying in the cart, while they mounted their steeds and
rode away.

When Alexander arrived, he beheld only the lifeless form of the Persian
king, who but a few months before was seated upon the throne of the
universal empire. Disaster, overthrow, and desertion had come suddenly upon
Darius. His kingdom had been conquered, his treasure seized, and his family
reduced to captivity. Now, brutally slain by the hand of traitors, he lay a
bloody corpse in a rude cart. The sight of the melancholy spectacle drew
tears from the eyes of even Alexander, familiar though he was with all the
horrible vicissitudes and bloody scenes of was. Throwing his cloak over the
body, he commanded that it be conveyed to the ladies of the Persian royal
family who were captives at Susa, and furnished from his own treasury the
necessary means for a royal funeral.

When Darius died, Alexander saw the field cleared of his last formidable
foe. Thenceforward he could spend his time in his own manner, now in the
enjoyment of rest and pleasure, and again in the prosecution of some minor
conquest. He entered upon a pompous campaign into India, because, according
to Grecian fable, Bacchus and Hercules, two sons of Jupiter, whose son he
also claimed to be, had done the same. With contemptible arrogance, he
claimed for himself divine honors. He gave up conquered cities, freely and
unprovoked, to the mercy of his bloodthirsty and licentious soldiery. He
often murdered his friends and favorites in his drunken frenzies. He
encouraged such excessive drinking among his followers that on one occasion
twenty of them died as the result of their carousal. At length, having sat
through one long drinking spree, he was immediately invited to another,
when, after drinking to each of the twenty guests present, he twice drank,
says history, incredible as it may seem, the full

Page 54

Herculean cup containing six of our quarts. He was seized with a violent
fever, of which he died eleven days later, Jun 13, 323 B.C., while yet he
stood only at the threshold of mature life, in the thirty-second year of
his age.

Verse 40 And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron
breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all
these, shall it break in pieces and bruise.

Iron Monarchy of Rome.--Thus far in the application of this prophecy there
is a general agreement among expositors. That Babylon, Medo-Persia, and
Greece are represented respectively by the head of gold, the breast and
arms of silver, and the sides of brass, is acknowledged by all. But with as
little ground for a diversity of views, there is strangely a difference of
opinion as to what kingdom is symbolized by the fourth division of the
great image--the legs of iron. What kingdom succeeded Greece in the empire
of the world, for the legs of iron denote the fourth kingdom in the series?
The testimony of history is full and explicit on this point. One kingdom
did this, and one only, and that was Rome. It conquered Grecia; it subdued
all things; like iron, it broke in pieces and bruised.

Says Bishop Newton: "The four different metals must signify four different
nations: and as the gold signified the Babylonians, and the silver the
Persians, and the brass the Macedonians; so the iron cannot signify the
Macedonians again, but must necessarily denote some other nation: and we
will venture to say that there is not a nation upon earth, to which this
description is applicable, but the Romans." [7]

Gibbon, following the symbolic imagery of Daniel, thus describes this
empire:

"The arms of the Republic, sometimes vanquished in battle, always
victorious in war, advanced with rapid steps to the Euphrates, the Danube,
the Rhine, and the ocean; and the images of gold, or silver, or brass, that
might serve to represent

Page 55

the nations and their kings, were successively broken by the iron monarchy
of Rome." [8]

At the opening of the Christian Era, this empire took in the whole south of
Europe, France, England, the greater part of the Netherlands, Switzerland,
and the south of Germany, Hungary, Turkey, and Greece, not to speak of its
possessions in Asia and Africa. Well therefore may Gibbon say of it:

"The empire of the Romans filled the world, and when that empire fell into
the hands of a single person, the world became a safe and dreary prison for
his enemies . . . To resist was fatal, and it was impossible to fly." [9]

It will be noticed that at first the kingdom is described unqualifiedly as
strong as iron. This was the period of its strength, during which it has
been likened to a mighty colossus bestriding the nations, conquering
everything, and giving laws to the world. But this was not to continue.

Verse 41 And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay,
and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of
the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry
clay. 42 And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay,
so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken.

Rome Divided.--The element of weakness symbolized by the clay, pertained to
the feet as well as to the toes. Rome, before its division into ten
kingdoms, lost that iron vigor which it possessed to a superlative degree
during the first centuries of its career. Luxury, with its accompanying
effeminacy and degeneracy, the destroyer of nations as well as of
individuals, began to corrode and weaken its iron sinews, and thus prepared
the way for its disintegration into ten kingdoms.

The iron legs of the image terminate in feet and toes. To the toes, of
which there were of course ten, our attention is called by the explicit
mention of them in the prophecy. The

Page 57

kingdom represented by that part of the image to which the toes belonged,
was finally divided into ten parts. The question naturally arises, Do the
ten toes of the image represent the ten final divisions of the Roman
Empire? We answer, Yes.

The image of Daniel 2 is exactly parallel with the four beasts in the
vision of Daniel 7. The fourth beast represents the same kingdom as do the
iron legs of the image. The ten horns of the beast correspond naturally to
the ten toes of the image. These horns are plainly declared to be ten kings
which should arise. They are as much independent kingdoms as are the beasts
themselves, for the beasts are spoken of in precisely the same manner--as
"four kings, which shall arise." Daniel 7: 17. They do not denote a line of
successive kings, but kings or kingdoms which existed contemporaneously,
for three of them were plucked up by the little horn. The ten horns, beyond
controversy, represent the ten kingdoms into which Rome was divided.

We have seen that in Daniel's interpretation of the image he uses the words
"king" and kingdom" interchangeably, the former denoting the same as the
latter. In verse 44 he says that "in the days of these kings shall the God
of heaven set up a kingdom." This shows that at the time the kingdom of God
is set up, there will exist a plurality of kings. It cannot refer to the
four preceding kingdoms; for it would be absurd to use such language in
reference to a line of successive kings, since it would be in the days of
the last king only, not in the days of any of the preceding, that the
kingdom of God would be set up.

The Ten Kingdoms.--Here, then, is a division presented; and what have we in
the symbol to indicate it?--Nothing but the toes of the image. Unless they
do, we are left utterly in the dark on the nature and extent of the
division which the prophecy shows did exist. To suppose this would be to
cast a serious imputation upon the prophecy itself. We are therefore held
to the conclusion that the ten toes of the image denote the ten parts into
which the Roman Empire was divided.

Page 58

This division was accomplished between A.D. 351 and 476. The era of this
dissolution thus covered a hundred and twenty-five years, from about the
middle of the fourth century to the last quarter of the fifth. No
historians of whom we are aware, place the beginning of this work of the
dismemberment of the Roman Empire earlier than A.D. 351, and there is
general agreement in assigning its close in A.D. 476. Concerning the
intermediate dates, that is, the precise time from which each of the ten
kingdoms that arose on the ruins of the Roman Empire is to be dated, there
is some difference of views among historians. Nor does this seem strange,
when we consider that there was an ear of great confusion, that the map of
the Roman Empire during that time underwent many sudden and violent
changes, and that paths of hostile nations charging upon its territory
crossed and recrossed each other in a labyrinth of confusion. But all
historians agree in this, that out of the territory of Western Rome, ten
separate kingdoms were ultimately established, and we may safely assign
them to the time between the dates above named; namely A.D. 351 and 476.

The ten nations which were most instrumental in breaking up the Roman
Empire, and which at some time in their history held respectively portions
of Roman territory as separate and independent kingdoms, may be enumerated
(without respect to the time of their establishment) as follows: Huns,
Ostrogoths, Visigoths, Franks, Vandals, Suevi, Burgundians, Heruli,
Anglo-Saxons, and Lombards. [*] The connection between these and some of
the modern nations of Europe, is still traceable in the names, as England,
Burgundy, Lombardy, France, etc.

But it may be asked, Why not suppose the two legs denote division as well
as the toes? Would it not be as inconsistent to say that the toes denote
division and the legs do not, as to say that the legs denote division and
the toes do not? We answer that the prophecy itself must govern our conclu-

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sions in this matter; for though it says nothing of division in connection
with the legs, it does introduce the subject of division as we come to the
feet and toes. The record says, "Whereas thou sawest the feet and toes,
part of potters' clay and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided." No
division could take place, or at least none is said to have taken place,
until the weakening element of the clay is introduced; and we do not find
this until we come to the feet and toes. But we are not to understand that
the clay denotes one division and the iron the other; for after the
long-existing unity of the kingdom was broken, no one of the fragments was
broken, no one of the fragments was a strong as the original iron, but all
were in a state of weakness denoted by the mixture of iron and clay.

The conclusion is inevitable, therefore, that the prophet has here stated
the cause for the effect. The introduction of the weakness of the clay
element, as we come to the feet, resulted in the division of the kingdom
into ten parts, as represented by the ten toes; and this result, or
division, is more than intimated in the sudden mention of a plurality of
contemporaneous kings. Therefore, while we find no evidence that the legs
denote division, but serious objections against such a view, we do find
good reason for supposing that the toes denote division, as here claimed.

Furthermore, each of the four monarchies had its own particular territory,
which was the kingdom proper, and where we are to look for the chief events
in its history shadowed forth by the symbol. We are not, therefore, to look
for the divisions of the Roman Empire in the territory formerly occupied by
Babylon, or Persia, or Grecia, but in the territory proper of the Roman
kingdom, which was finally known as the Western Empire. Rome conquered the
world, but the kingdom of Rome proper lay west of Grecia. That is what was
represented by the legs of iron. There, then, we look for the ten kingdoms,
and there we find them. We are not obliged to mutilate or deform the symbol
to make it a fit and accurate representation of historical events.

Page 60

Verse 43 And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall
mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to
another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.

Rome the Last Universal Empire.--With Rome fell the last of the world's
universal empires. Heretofore it was possible for one nation, rising
superior to its neighbors in prowess, bravery, and the science of war, to
consolidate them into one vast empire. But when Rome fell, such
possibilities forever passed away. The iron was mixed with clay, and lost
the power of cohesion. No man or combination of men can again consolidate
the fragments. This point is so well set forth by another that we quote his
words:

"From this, its divided state, the first strength of the empire
departed--but not as that of the others had done. No other kingdom was to
succeed it, as it had the three which went before it. It was to continue,
in this tenfold division, until the kingdom of the stone smote it, upon its
feet; broke them in pieces, and scattered them as the wind does 'the chaff
of the summer threshing-floor!' Yet, through all this time, a portion of
tis strength was to remain. And so the prophet say, 'And as the toes of the
feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly
strong, and partly broken. Verse 42. . . . Time and again men have dreamed
of rearing on these dominions one mighty kingdom. Charlemagne tried it.
Charles V tried it. Louis XIV tried it. Napoleon tried it. But neither
succeeded. A single verse of prophecy was stronger than all their host. . .
'Partly strong, and partly broken,' was the prophetic description. And
such, too, has been the historic fact concerning them. . . . Ten kingdoms
were formed out of it; and 'broken,' as then it was, it still
continues--i.e., 'partly broken.' . . . It is 'partly strong'--i.e., it
retains, even in its broken state, enough of its iron strength to resist
all attempts to mold its part together. 'This shall not be,' says the word
of God. 'This has not been,' replies the book of history.

"But then, men may say, 'Another plan remains. If force cannot avail,
diplomacy and reasons of state may--we will

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try them. And so the prophecy foreshadows this when it says, 'They shall
mingle themselves with the seed of men'--i.e., marriages shall be formed,
in hope thus to consolidate their power, and, in the end, to unite these
divided kingdoms into one.

"And shall this device succeed?--No. The prophet answers: 'They shall not
cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.' And the
history of Europe, is but a running commentary on the exact fulfillment of
these words. From the time of Canute until the present age, it has been the
policy of the reigning monarchs, the beaten path which they have trodden,
in order to reach a mightier scepter and a wider sway. . . . Napoleon . . .
sought to reach by alliance, what he could not gain by force, i.e., to
build up one mighty, consolidated empire. And did he succeed?--Nay. The
very power with which he was allied, proved his destruction, in the troops
of Blucher,on the field of Waterloo! The iron would not mingle with
clay."[10]

But Napoleon was not the last to try the experiment. Numerous European wars
followed the efforts of the Little Corporal. To avert future conflicts,
benevolent rulers resorted to the expedient of intermarriage to ensure
peace, until by the opening of the twentieth century it was asserted that
every ranking hereditary ruler of Europe was related to the British royal
family. World War I showed the futility of these attempts.

Out of the horrors of that titanic struggle was born an ideal expressed by
President Woodrow Wilson, who exclaimed, "The world has been made safe for
democracy!" With the conviction that a war had been fought which would end
war came the announced inherent rights of minorities, and the principles of
self-determination, ensured by a world league of nations which would
restrain dictators and punish aggressors.

Yet under the very shadow of the League of Nations' palace arose leaders
who would destroy world peace and shatter

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the ideal of world union, while preaching a new social revolution. They
vainly promised the triumph of culture and a union born of racial
superiority ensuring the "partly strong" and "partly broken" nations of
Europe "a thousand years of tranquility."

Out of the welter of confusion, the wreck of nations, the destruction of
institutions, the sacrifice of treasure resultant from centuries of
frugality, through eyes grief-dimmed by the loss of the flower of its young
manhood, the ravishment of its womanhood, the slaughter of infancy and age,
through clouds of smoking human blood a distraught world looks anxiously
for its signs of surcease. Will the elusive mirage of world peace based
upon a trust in European solidarity, the result of wishful thinking, again
cause men to forget the counsel of the word of God, "They shall not cleave
one to another"?

Alliances may come, and it may appear that the iron and miry clay of the
feet and toes of the great image have finally fused, but God said, "They
shall not cleave one to another." It may seem that old animosities have
disappeared and that the "ten kings" have gone the way of all the earth,
but "the Scripture cannot be broken." John 10: 35.

We conclude with a word by William Newton: "And yet if, as the result of
these alliances, or of other causes, that number is sometimes disturbed, it
need not surprise us. The iron was 'mixed with clay.' For a season, in the
image, you might not distinguish between them. But they would not remain
so. 'They shall not cleave one to another.' The nature of the substances
forbids them to do so in the one case; the word of prophecy in the other.
Yet there was to be the attempt to mingle--nay, more, there was an approach
at mingling in both cases. But it was to be abortive. And how marked the
emphasis with which history affirms this declaration of the word of God!"
[11]

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Verse 44 And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a
kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left
to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these
kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. 45 Forasmuch as thou sawest that the
stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in
pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great
God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the
dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.

The God of Heaven to Set Up a Kingdom.--We here reach the climax of this
stupendous prophecy. When Time in his onward flight shall bring us to the
sublime scene here predicted, we shall have reached the end of human
history. The kingdom of God! Grand provision for a new and glorious
dispensation, in which His people shall find a happy terminus of this
world's sad, degenerate, and changing career. Transporting change for all
the righteous, from gloom to glory, from strife to peace, from a sinful to
a holy world, from death to life, from tyranny and oppression to the happy
freedom and blessed privileges of a heavenly kingdom! Glorious transition,
from weakness to strength, from the changing and decaying to the immutable
and eternal!

But when is this kingdom to be established? May we hope for an answer to an
inquiry of such momentous concern to our race? These are the very questions
on which the word of God does not leave us in ignorance, and herein is seen
the surpassing value of this heavenly boon.

The Bible plainly declares that the kingdom of God was still future at the
time of our Lord's last Passover. (Matthew 26: 29.) Christ did not set up
the kingdom before His ascension. (Acts 1: 6.) It states further that flesh
and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of god. (1 Corinthians 15: 50.) It is
a matter of promise to the apostles, and to all those who love God. (James
2: 5.) It is promised in the future to the little flock. (Luke 12: 32.)
Through much tribulation the saints are to enter the coming kingdom. (Acts
14: 22.) It is to be set up when Christ shall judge the living and the
dead. (2 Timothy 4: 1.) This is to be when He shall come in

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His glory with all His holy angels. (Matthew 25: 31-34.).)

We do not say that the exact time is revealed (we emphasize the fact that
it is not) in this prophecy of Daniel 2 or in any other prophecy; but so
near an approximation is given that the generation which is to see the
establishment of this kingdom may mark its approach unerringly, and make
that preparation which will entitle the children of God to share in all its
glories.

Time has fully developed this great image in all its parts. Most accurately
does it represent the important political events it was designed to
symbolize. It has stood complete for more than fourteen centuries. It waits
to be smitten upon the feet by the stone cut out of the mountain without
hands, that is, the kingdom of Christ. This is to be accomplished when the
Lord shall be revealed in flaming fire, "taking vengeance on them that know
not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ." 2
Thessalonians 1: 8. (See also Psalm 2: 8, 9.) In the days of these kings
the God of heaven is to set up a kingdom. We have been in the days of these
kings for many centuries, and we are still in their days. So far as this
prophecy is concerned, the very next event is the setting up of God's
everlasting kingdom. Other prophecies and innumerable signs show
unmistakably that the coming of Christ is near at hand.

The early Christian church interpreted the prophecies of Daniel 2, 7, and 8
as we do now. Hippolytus, who lived A.D. 160-236, and is thought to have
been a disciple of Irenaeus, one of the four greatest theologians of his
age, says in his exposition of Daniel 2 and Daniel 7:

"The golden head of the image and lioness denoted the Babylonians; the
shoulders and arms of silver, and the bear, represented the Persians and
Medes; the belly and thighs of brass, and the leopard, meant the Greeks,
who held the sovereignty from Alexander's time; the legs of iron, and the
beast dreadful and terrible, expressed the Romans, who hold the sovereignty
at present; the toes of the feet which were part clay and part iron, and
the ten horns, were emblems of the

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kingdoms that are yet to rise; the other little horn that grows up among
them meant the Antichrist in their midst; the stone that smites the earth
and brings judgment upon the world was Christ." [12]

"Speak with me, O blessed Daniel. Give me full assurance, I beseech thee.
Thou dost prophesy concerning the lioness in Babylon; for thou wast a
captive there. Thou hast unfolded the future regarding the bear; for thou
wast still in the world, and didst see the things come to pass. Then thou
speakest to me of the leopard; and whence canst thou know this, for thou
art already gone to thy rest? Who instructed thee to announce these things,
but He who formed thee in (from ) thy mother's womb? That is God, thou
sayest. Thou hast spoken indeed, and that not falsely. The leopard has
arisen; the he-goat is come; he hath broken his horns in pieces; he hath
stamped upon him with his feet. He has been exalted by his fall; (the) four
horns have come up from under that one. Rejoice, blessed Daniel! thou hast
not been in error: all these things have come to pass.

"After this again thou hast told me of the beast dreadful and terrible. 'It
had iron teeth and claws of brass: it devoured and brake in pieces, and
stamped the residue with the feet of it.' Already the iron rules; already
it subdues and breaks all in pieces; already it brings all the unwilling
into subjection; already we see these things ourselves. Now we glorify God,
being instructed by thee." [13]

The part of the prophecy that had been fulfilled at that time was clear to
the early Christians. They saw also that there would develop ten kingdoms
out of the Roman Empire, and that the Antichrist would appear among them.
They looked forward with hope to the grand consummation, when the second
coming of Christ would bring an end to all earthly kingdoms, and the
kingdom of righteousness would be set up.

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The coming kingdom! This ought to be the all-absorbing topic with the
present generation. Reader, are you ready for the issue? He who enters this
kingdom shall dwell in it not merely for such a lifetime as men live in
this present state. He shall not see it degenerate, or be overthrown by a
succeeding and more powerful kingdom. No, he enters it to participate in
all its privileges and blessings, and to share its glories forever, for
this kingdom is not to "be left to other people."

Again we ask you, Are you ready? The terms of heirship are most liberal:
"If ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the
promise." Galatians 3: 29. Are you on terms of friendship with Christ, the
coming King? Do you love His character? Are you trying to walk humbly in
His footsteps, and obey His teachings? If not, read your fate in the cases
of those in the parable, of whom it was said, "But those Mine enemies,
which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them
before Me." Luke 19: 27. There is to be no rival kingdom where you can find
an asylum if you remain an enemy to this, for God's kingdom is to occupy
all the territory ever possessed by any and all of the kingdoms of this
world, past or present. It is to fill the whole earth. Happy they to whom
the rightful Sovereign, the all-conquering King, at last can say, "Come ye
blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the
foundation of the world." Matthew 25: 34.

Verse 46 Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face, and worshipped
Daniel, and commanded that they should offer an oblation and sweet odors
unto him. 47 The king answered unto Daniel, and said, Of a truth it is,
that your God is a God of gods, and a Lord of kings, and a revealer of
secrets, seeing thou couldest reveal this secret. 48 Then the king made
Daniel a great man, and gave him many great gifts, and made him ruler over
the whole province of Babylon, and chief of the governors over all the wise
men of Babylon. 49 Then Daniel requested of the king, and he set Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abednego, over the affairs of the province of Babylon: but
Daniel sat in the gate of the king.

We must return to the palace of Nebuchadnezzar, and to Daniel, as he stands
in the presence of the king. He has made

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known to the monarch the dream and its interpretation, while the courtiers
and the baffled soothsayers and astrologers waited in silent awe and
wonder.

Nebuchadnezzar Exalts Daniel.--In fulfillment of his promise of rewards the
king made Daniel a great man. There are two things which in this life are
specially supposed to make a man great, and both these Daniel received from
the king: A man is considered great if he is a man of wealth; and we read
that the king gave him many and great gifts. If in conjunction with riches
a man has power, certainly in popular estimation he is considered a great
man; and power was bestowed upon Daniel in abundant measure. He was made
ruler over the province of Babylon, and chief of the governors over all the
wise men of Babylon. Thus speedily and abundantly did Daniel begin to be
rewarded for his fidelity to his own conscience and requirements of God.

Daniel did not become bewildered or intoxicated by his signal victory and
his wonderful advancement. He first remembered the three who were
companions with him in anxiety respecting the king's matter. As they had
helped him with their prayers, he determined that they should share his
honors. At his request they were placed over the affairs of Babylon, while
Daniel himself sat in the gate of the king. The gate was the place where
councils were held and where matters of chief moment were considered. The
record is a simple declaration that Daniel became chief counselor to the
king.

[1] See Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Old Testatment, Vol. IV, pp. 564,
567, notes on Daniel 1: 1; 2: 1; Thomas Newton, Dissertations on the
Prophecies, Vol. I, p. 231; Albert Barnes, Notes on Daniel, pp. 111, 112,
comment on Daniel 2: 1.

[2] The Cambridge Ancient History, Vol. III, p. 212. By permission of the
Macmillan Company, publishers in the United States.

[3] Ibid., p. 217.

[4] George Rawlinson, The Seven Great Monarchies of the Ancient Eastern
World, Vol. II, p. 610, Note 202.

[5] See Herodotus, pp. 67-71; George Rawlinson, The Seven Great Monarchies
of the Ancient Eastern World, Vol. II, pp. 254-259; Humphrey Prideaux, The
Old and New Testament Connected in the History of the Jews, Vol. I, pp.
136, 137.

[6] Humphrey Prideaux, The Old and New Testament Connected in the History
of the Jews, Vol. I, p. 137.

[7] Thomas Newton, Dissertations on the Prophecies, Vol. I, p. 240.

[8] Edward Gibbon, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Vol. III,
general observations following chap. 38, p. 634. There are many editions of
Gibbon's work beside the one used in the preparation of this book. For the
student who has a different edition, the chapter is included in all
references to facilitate the finding of the quotations.

[9] Ibid., Vol. I, chap. 3, pp. 99, 100.

[10] William Newton, Lectures on the First Two Visions of the Book of
Daniel, pp. 34-36.

[11] Ibid., p. 36.

[12] Hippolytus, "Treatise on Christ and Antichrist," Ante-Nicene Fathers,
Vol. V, p. 210, par 28.

[13] Ibid., pars. 32, 33.

[*] In harmony with seven leading commentators, the author includes the
Huns as one of the ten kingdoms. Others, however, with historical
precedent, name the Alamanni, or Germans, instead of the Huns.--Editors.
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                                Chapter III

                          Integrity Tested by Fire

Verse 1 Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was
threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof six cubits: he set it up in the
plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon.

We may well believe that this image had some reference to the dream of the
king as described in the previous chapter. In that dream the head was of
gold, representing Nebuchadnezzar's kingdom. That was succeeded by metals
of inferior quality, denoting a succession of kingdoms. Nebuchadnezzar was
doubtless gratified that his kingdom should be represented by gold; but
that it should ever be succeeded by another kingdom was not so pleasing.
Therefore, instead of having simply the head of his image of gold, he made
it all of gold, to denote that his kingdom should not give way to another
kingdom, but be perpetual.

Verse 2 Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together the princes,
the governors, and the captains, the judges, the treasurers, the
counselors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, to come to
the dedication of the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. 3
Then the princes, the governors, and captains, the judges, the treasurers,
the counselors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, were
gathered together unto the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the
king had set up; and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had
set up. 4 Then an herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, O people,
nations, and languages, 5 that at what time ye hear the sound of the
cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of musick,
ye fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath
set up: 6 And whoso falleth not down and worshipeth shall the same hour be
cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. 7 Therefore at that time,
when all the people heard the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut,
psaltery, and all kinds of musick, all the people, the nations, and the
languages, fell down and worshipped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar
the king had set up.

Dedication of the Image.--The dedication of this image was made a great
occasion, for the chief men of the kingdom were called together. To such
pains and expense will men go in

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sustaining idolatrous and heathen systems of worship. Alas, that those who
have the true religion should be so far outdone in these respects by the
upholders of the false and counterfeit! The worship was accompanied with
music; and whoever failed to participate therein was threatened with being
thrown into a fiery furnace. Such are ever the strongest motives to impel
men in any direction--pleasure on the one hand, pain on the other.

Verse 8 Wherefore at that time certain Chaldeans came near, and accused the
Jews. 9 They spake and said to the king Nebuchadnezzar, O king, live for
ever. 10 Thou, O king, hast made a decree, that every man that shall hear
the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and
all kinds of musick, shall fall down and worship the golden image: 11 and
whoso falleth not down and worshipeth, that he should be cast into the
midst of a burning fiery furnace. 12 There are certain Jews whom thou hast
set over the affairs of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and
Abednego; these men, O king, have not regarded thee: they serve not thy
gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.

Three Hebrews Under Trial.--The Chaldeans who accused the Jews were
probably the sect of philosophers who went by that name, and who were still
smarting under their failure to interpret the king's dream of Daniel 2.
They were eager to seize upon any pretext to accuse the Jews before the
king, and either disgrace or destroy them. They worked upon the king's
prejudice by strong insinuations of their ingratitude. Thou hast set them
over the affairs of Babylon, and yet they have disregarded thee, they said.
Where Daniel was upon this occasion, is not known. He was probably absent
on some business of the empire. But why should Shadrach, Meshach, and
Abednego, since they knew they could not worship the image, be present on
this occasion? Was it not because they were willing to comply with the
king's requirements as far as they could without compromising their
religious principles? The king required them to be present. With this
requirement they could comply, and they did. He required them to worship
the image. This their religion forbade, and this they refused to do.

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Verse 13 Then Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury commanded to bring
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Then they brought these men before the
king. 14 Nebuchadnezzar spake and said unto them, Is it true, O Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abednego, do not ye serve my gods, nor worship the golden
image which I have set up? 15 Now if ye be ready that at what time ye hear
the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and dulcimer, and
all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the image which I have made;
well: but if ye worship not, ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst
of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that God that shall deliver you out
of my hands? 16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the
king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter.
17 If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the
burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. 18
But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods,
nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.

The forbearance of the king is shown in his granting Shadrach, Meshach, and
Abednego another trial after their first failure to comply with his
requirements. Doubtless the matter was thoroughly understood. They could
not plead ignorance. They knew what the king wanted, and their failure to
fulfil his command was an intentional and deliberate refusal to obey him.
With most kings this would have been enough to seal their fate. But no,
said Nebuchadnezzar, I will overlook this offense if upon a second trial
they comply with the law. But they informed the king that he need not
trouble himself to repeat the test.

Their answer was both honest and decisive. "We are not careful," said they,
"to answer thee in this matter." That is, you need not grant us the favor
of another trial; our minds are made up. We can answer as well now as at
any future time; and our answer is, We will not serve thy gods, nor worship
the golden image which thou hast set up. Our God can deliver if He so
desires; but if not, we shall not complain. We know His will, and we shall
render Him unconditional obedience.

Verse 19 Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his visage
was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego: therefore he spake,
and commanded that they should heat the furnace one seven times more than
it was wont to be heated. 20 And he commanded the most

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mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego,
and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace. 21 Then these men were
bound in their coats, their hosen, and their hats, and their other
garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. 22
Therefore because the king's commandment was urgent, and the furnace
exceeding hot, the flames of the fire slew those men that took up Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abednego. 23 And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and
Abednego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. 24
Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonied, and rose up in haste, and spake,
and said unto his counselors, Did not we cast three men bound into the
midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king. 25
He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the
fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of
God.

Nebuchadnezzar was not entirely free from the faults and follies into which
an absolute monarch so easily runs. Intoxicated with unlimited power, he
could not brook disobedience or contradiction. Let his expressed authority
be resisted on however good grounds, and he exhibits the weakness common to
our fallen humanity under like circumstances, and flies into a passion of
rage. Ruler of the world, he was not equal to that still harder task of
ruling his own spirit. Even the form of his visage was changed. Instead of
the calm, dignified, self-possessed ruler that he should have appeared, he
betrayed himself in look and act as the slave of ungovernable passion.

Cast Into the Fiery Furnace.--The furnace was heated seven times hotter
than usual; in other words, to its utmost capacity. The king overreached
himself in this for even if the superheated furnace had the expected effect
upon the ones he cast into it, the victims would only have been destroyed
the sooner. The king would have gained nothing by his fury. But seeing they
were delivered from it, much was gained on the part of the cause of God and
His truth; for the more intense the heat, the greater and more impressive
the miracle when the young man were delivered from it.

Every circumstance revealed the direct power of God. The Hebrews were bound
in all their garments, but came out with not even the smell of fire upon
them. The mightiest men in the army were chosen to cast them in, but the
fire burned them

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before they came in contact with it. But upon the Hebrews it had not
effect, although they were in the very midst of its flames. It is evident
that the fire was under the control of some supernatural intelligence, for
while it consumed the cords with which they were bound, so that they were
free to walk about in the midst of the fire, it did not even singe their
garments. They did not spring out of the fire as soon as free, but remained
in it; for the king had put them into the furnace of fire as in the
delights and luxuries of the palace. Let us in all our trials, afflictions,
persecutions, and straitened places, but have the "form of the fourth" with
us and it is enough.

The King Gets a New Vision.--The king said, "the form of the fourth is like
the son of God." The language is by some supposed to refer to Christ. A
more literal rendering, according to the Revised Version, and other good
authorities, is "like a son of the gods," that is He had the appearance of
a divine being. Though this was doubtless Nebuchadnezzar's accustomed way
of speaking of the gods he worshiped (see comments on Daniel 4: 18), it
does not at all prevent its referring to Christ, inasmuch as the word
{HEBREW CHARACTERS IN PRINTED TEXT}, elahin, used here in its Chaldean
form, although in the plural number, is regularly translated "God"
throughout the Old Testament.

What a scathing rebuke upon the king for his folly and madness was the
deliverance of these worthies from the fiery furnace! A higher power than
any on earth had vindicated those who stood firm against idolatry, and
poured contempt on the worship and requirements of the king. None of the
gods of the heathen ever had wrought such deliverance as that, nor were
they able to do so.

Verse 26 Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery
furnace, and spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, ye servants
of the most high God, come forth, and come hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach,
and Abednego, came forth of the midst of the fire.

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27 And the princes, governors, and captains, and the king's counselors,
being gathered together, saw these men, upon whose bodies the fire had no
power, nor was an hair of their head singed, neither were their coats
changed, nor the smell of fire had passed on them. 28 Then Nebuchadnezzar
spake, and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who
hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him, and
have changed the king's word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not
serve nor worship any god, except their own God. 29 Therefore I make a
decree, That every people, nation, and language, which speak any thing
amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, shall be cut in
pieces, and their houses shall be made a dunghill: because there is no
other God that can deliver after this sort. 30 Then the king promoted
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, in the province of Babylon.

When bidden, these three men came forth from the furnace. Then the princes,
governors, and king's counselors, through whose advice, or at least
concurrence, they had been cast into the furnace (for the king said to
them, "Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?" Verse
24), were gathered together to look upon these men, and have tangible proof
of their miraculous preservation. The worship of the great image was
forgotten. The interest of this vast concourse of people was concentrated
upon these three remarkable men. How the knowledge of this deliverance
would be spread abroad throughout the empire, as the people should return
to their respective provinces! What a notable instance in which God caused
the wrath of man to praise Him!

The King Acknowledges the True God.--Then the king blessed the God of
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and made a decree that none should speak
against Him. This the Chaldeans had done. In those days, each nation had
its god or gods, for there were "gods many, and lords many." The victory of
one nation over another was supposed to be won because the gods of the
conquered nation were not able to deliver it from the conquerors. The Jews
had been wholly subjugated by the Babylonians, who had no doubt spoken
disparagingly or contemptuously of the God of the Jews. This the king now
prohibited; for he plainly understood that his success against the Hebrews
was the result of their sins and not

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of any lack of power on the part of their God. In what a conspicuous and
exalted light this placed the God of the Hebrews in comparison with the
gods of the nations! It was an acknowledgment that He held men amenable to
some high standard of moral character, and that He did not regard with
indifference their actions in reference to it. Nebuchadnezzar did right in
publicly exalting the God of heaven above all other gods. But he had no
right, either civil or moral, to attempt to force his subjects to similar
confession and reverence, and to threaten men's lives for not worshipping
the true God, than he had threaten death to all who refused to worship the
golden image. God never compels the conscience.

Three Hebrews Promoted.--The king promoted the young captives, that is, he
restored to them the offices which they held before the charges of
disobedience and treason were brought against them. At the end of verse 30
the Septuagint, the Greek version of the Old Testament, adds to the Hebrew
text: "He advanced them to be governors over all the Jews that were in his
kingdom." It is not probable that he insisted on any further worship of his
image.
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Page 79

                                 Chapter IV

                            The Most High Ruleth

Verse 1 Nebuchadnezzar the king, unto all people, nations, and languages,
that dwell in all the earth: Peace be multiplied unto you. 2 I thought it
good to show the signs and wonders that the high God hath wrought toward
me. 3 How great are His signs! and how mighty are His wonders! His kingdom
is an everlasting kingdom, and His dominion is from generation to
generation.

This chapter, says Adam Clarke, "is a regular decree, and is one of the
most ancient on record; and no doubt was copied from the state papers of
Babylon. Daniel has preserved it in the original language." [1]

The King Magnifies the True God.--This decree of Nebuchadnezzar was
promulgated in the usual way. He wised to make known, not to a few men
only, but to all peoples, and nations, God's wonderful dealings with him.
People are ever ready to tell what God has done form them in the way of
benefits and blessings. We ought to be no less ready to tell what God has
done for us in the way of humiliation and chastisements. Nebuchadnezzar set
us a good example in this respect, as we shall see from the subsequent
parts of this chapter. He frankly confessed the vanity and pride of his
heart, and freely told the methods God used to humble him. With a genuine
spirit of repentance and humiliation, he thought it good to show these
things, that the sovereignty of God might be extolled and His name adored.
Nebuchadnezzar no longer claimed immutability for his own kingdom, but made
a full surrender to God, acknowledging His kingdom alone to be
everlastings, and His dominion from generation to generation.

Verse 4 I Nebuchadnezzar was at rest in mine house, and flourishing in my
palace: 5 I saw a dream which made me afraid, and the thoughts upon my bed
and the visions of my head troubled me. 6 Therefore made I a decree to
bring in all the wise men of Babylon before me, that they might

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make known unto me the interpretation of the dream. 7 Then came in the
magicians, the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers: and I told
the dream before them; but they did not make known unto me the
interpretation thereof. 8 But at the last Daniel came in before me, whose
name was Belteshazzar, according to the name of my god, and in whom is the
spirit of the holy gods: and before him I told the dream, saying, 9 O
Belteshazzar, master of the magicians, because I know that the spirit of
the holy gods is in thee, and no secret troubleth thee, tell me the visions
of my dream that I have seen, and the interpretation thereof. 10 Thus were
the visions of mine head in my bed; I saw, and behold a tree in the midst
of the earth, and the height thereof was great. 11 The tree grew, and was
strong, and the height thereof reached unto heaven, and the sight thereof
to the end of all the earth: 12 the leaves thereof were fair, and the fruit
thereof much, and in it was meat for all: the beasts of the field had
shadow under it, and the fowls of the heaven dwelt in the boughs thereof,
and all flesh was fed of it. 13 I saw in the visions of my head upon my
bed, and, behold, a watcher and an holy one came down from heaven; 14 he
cried aloud, and said thus, hew down the tree, and cut off his branches,
shake off his leaves, and scatter his fruit: let the beasts get away from
under it, and the fowls from his branches: 15 nevertheless leave the stump
of his roots in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the
tender grass of the field; and let it be wet with the dew of heaven, and
let his portion be with the beasts in the grass of the earth: 16 let his
heart be changed from man's, and let a beast's heart be given unto him; and
let seven times pass over him. 17 This matter is by the decree of the
watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones: to the intent that
the living may know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and
giveth it to whomsoever He will, and setteth up over it the basest of men.
18 This dream I king Nebuchadnezzar have seen. Now thou, O Belteshazzar,
declare the interpretation thereof, forasmuch as all the wise men of my
kingdom are not able to make known unto me the interpretation: but thou art
able; for the spirit of the holy gods is in thee.

This part of the narrative opens with Nebuchadnezzar as a victor over his
foes. He had accomplished successfully all his military enterprises. He had
subdued Assyria, Phoenicia, Judea, Egypt, and Arabia. These great conquests
probably betrayed him into vanity and self-confidence. At this very time,
when he felt most secure, when it was most unlikely that anything would
occur to disturb his self-complacent tranquility--at this time God chose to
trouble him with fears and forebodings.

The King Troubled by Another Dream.--But what could strike fear to the
heart of such a monarch as Nebuchadnezzar?

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He had been a warrior from his youth. He had often faced the perils of
battle, the terrors of slaughter and carnage, and in the midst of such
scenes he had been unmoved. What could make him afraid now? No foe
threatened, no hostile cloud was visible! His own thought and visions were
used to teach him what nothing else could--a salutary lesson of dependence
and humility. He who had terrified others, but whom no other could terrify,
was made a terror to himself.

A still greater humiliation than that narrated in the second chapter was
brought upon the magicians. At that time they boasted that if they only
knew the dream they could make known the interpretation. Upon this occasion
Nebuchadnezzar distinctly remembered the dream and related it to them, but
his magicians ignominiously failed him again. They could not make known the
interpretation, and once again the king turned to the prophet of God.

The reign of Nebuchadnezzar is symbolized by a tree in the midst of the
earth. Babylon, the city where Nebuchadnezzar reigned, was approximately in
the center of the then-known world. The tree reached unto heaven, and the
leaves thereof were fair. Its external glory and splendor were great. Its
fruit was abundant, and it had food for all. The beasts of the field had
shadow under it, and the fowls of heaven dwelt in its branches. What could
more plainly and forcibly represent the fact that Nebuchadnezzar ruled his
kingdom in such a way as to afford the fullest protection, support, and
prosperity to all his subjects? When the order was given that this tree
should be cut down, it was commanded that the stump should be left in the
earth. It was to be protected with a band of iron and brass, that it might
not decay, but that the source of future growth and greatness might be
left.

The day is coming when the wicked shall be cut down, and no hope will be
left them. No mercy will be mingled with their punishment. They shall be
destroyed both root and branch.

"Let seven times pass over him," was the decree. This

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simple expression is evidently to be understood literally. But how long a
period is denoted by the words "seven times"? This may be determined by
ascertaining how long Nebuchadnezzar, in fulfillment of this prediction,
was driven out to have his dwelling with the beasts of the field. This,
Josephus informs us, was seven years. [2] A "Time," here, then, denotes one
year.

What an interest the holy ones, or angels, take in human affairs! They see,
as mortals never can, how unseemly a thing is pride in the human heart. As
ministers of God they cheerfully execute His decrees for the correction of
evil. Man must know that he is not the architect of his own fortune, for
there is One who ruleth in the kingdom of men on whom his dependence should
be humbly placed. A man may be a successful monarch, but he should not
pride himself upon that; for unless the Lord had permitted him to rule, he
would never have reached this position of honor.

Nebuchadnezzar acknowledged the supremacy of the true God over the heathen
oracles. He appealed to Daniel to solve the mystery. "Thou art able," he
said; "for the spirit of the holy gods is in thee."

As remarked on Daniel 3:25, Nebuchadnezzar here again used his accustomed
way of mentioning "gods" in the plural, though the Septuagint renders the
phrase "the Holy Spirit of God is in thee."

Verse 19 Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was astonied for one
hour, and his thoughts troubled him. The king spake, and said,
Belteshazzar, let not the dream, or the interpretation thereof, trouble
thee. Belteshazzar answered and said, My lord, the dream be to them that
hate thee, and the interpretation thereof to thine enemies. 20 The tree
that thou sawest, which grew, and was strong, whose height reached unto the
heaven, and the sight thereof to all the earth; 21 whose leaves were fair,
and the fruit thereof much, and in it was meat for all; under which the
beasts of the field dwelt, and upon whose branches the fowls of the heaven
had their habitation: 22 it is thou, O king, that art grown and become
strong: for thy greatness is grown, and reacheth unto heaven, and thy
dominion to the end of the

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earth. 23 And whereas the king saw a watcher and an holy one coming down
from heaven, and saying, Hew the tree down, and destroy it; yet leave the
stump of the roots thereof in the earth, even with a band of iron and
brass, in the tender grass of the field; and let it be wet with the dew of
heaven, and let his portion be with the beasts of the field, till seven
times pass over him; 24 this is the interpretation, O king, and this is the
decree of the Most High, which is come upon my lord the king: 25 that they
shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling shall be with the beasts of the
field, and they shall make thee to eat grass as oxen, and they shall wet
thee with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass over thee, till
thou know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to
whomsoever He will. 26 And whereas they commanded to leave the stump of the
tree roots; thy kingdom shall be sure unto thee, after that thou shalt have
known that the Heavens do rule. 27 Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be
acceptable unto thee, and break off thy sins by righteousness, and thine
iniquities by showing mercy to the poor; if it may be a lengthening of thy
tranquillity.

The hesitation of Daniel, who sat astonished for one hour, did not arise
from any difficulty he had in interpreting the dream, but from the delicate
matter of making known its meaning to the king. Daniel had received favor
from the king--nothing but favor, so far as we know--and it wad hard for
him to be the bearer of so terrible a threatening of judgement against him
as was involved in this dream. The prophet was troubled to determine in
what way he could best make it known. It seems the king had anticipated
something of this kind, for he assured the prophet by telling him not to
let the dream or the interpretation trouble him. It was as if he had said,
Do not hesitate to make it known, whatever bearing it may have upon me.

Daniel Interprets the Dream.--Thus assured, Daniel spoke with forceful and
delicate language: "The dream be to them that hate thee, and the
interpretation thereof to thine enemies." A calamity is set forth in this
dream, which Daniel wished might come upon the king's enemies rather than
upon him.

Nebuchadnezzar had given a minute statement of his dream, and as soon as
Daniel informed him that the dream applied to him, it was evident that the
king had pronounced his own sentence. The interpretation which follows is
so plain that it needs no explanation. The threatened judgments

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were conditional. They were to teach the king "that the Heavens do rule,"
the word "heavens" here being put for God, the ruler of the heavens. Hence
Daniel took occasion to give the king counsel in view of the threatened
judgement. But he did not denounce him in a harsh and censorious spirit.
Kindness and persuasion were the weapons he chose to wield: "Let my counsel
be acceptable unto thee." In like manner the apostle Paul beseeches men to
suffer the word of exhortation. (Hebrews 13:22.) If the king would break
off his sins "by righteousness," and his iniquities "by showing mercy to
the poor," it might result in a lengthening of his tranquillity, or, as the
margin reads, "an healing of thine error." By repentance he might even have
averted the judgement the Lord designed to bring upon him.

Verse 28 All this came upon the king Nebuchadnezzar. 29 At the end of
twelve months he walked in the palace of the kingdom of Babylon. 30 The
king spake, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for the
house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the honor of my
majesty? 31 While the word was in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from
heaven, saying, O king Nebuchadnezzar, to thee it is spoken; The kingdom is
departed from thee. 32 And they shall drive thee from men, and thy dwelling
shall be with the beasts of the field: they shall make thee to eat grass as
oxen, and seven times shall pass over thee, until thou know that the Most
High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever He will. 33
The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar: and he was
driven from men, and did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the
dew of heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagles' feathers, and his
nails like birds' claws.

The King's Self-exaltation and Humiliation.--Nebuchadnezzar failed to
profit by the warning he had received, yet God bore with him twelve months
longer before the blow fell. All that time he cherished pride in his heart,
and at length it reached a climax beyond which God could not suffer it to
pass. The king was walking in the palace, and as he looked forth upon the
splendors of that wonder of the world, great Babylon, the beauty of
kingdoms, he forgot the source of all his strength, and greatness, and
exclaimed, "Is not this great Babylon, that I have built?" Archaeologists
have found the ruins of that an-

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cient city, which Sir Frederic Kenyon describes in the following sentences:

"These confirmed the generally wrecked character of the site, but also
revealed much as to its plan, architecture, and ornamentation. The
buildings found were almost wholly the work of Nebuchadnezzar, who rebuilt
the previous city most extensively, his own enormous palace ('this great
Babylon that I have build for the house of the kingdom by the might of my
power and for the honor of my majesty') being the most conspicuous building
of all." [3]

The time had come for Nebuchadnezzar's humiliation. A voice from heaven
again announced the threatened judgement, and divine providence proceeded
immediately to execute it. His reason departed. No longer the pomp and
glory of his great city charmed him. God with a touch of His finger took
away his capability to appreciate and enjoy it. He forsook the dwellings of
men, and sought a home and companionship among the beasts of the field.

Verse 34 And at the end of the days I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes
unto heaven, and mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the
Most High, and I praised and honored Him that liveth for ever, whose
dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom is from generation to
generation: 35 and all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing:
and He doeth according to His will in the army of heaven, and among the
inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay His hand, or say unto Him, What
doest thou? 36 At the same time my reason returned unto me; and for the
glory of my kingdom, mine honor and brightness returned unto me; and my
counselors and my lords sought unto me; and I was established in my
kingdom, and excellent majesty was added unto me. 37 Now I Nebuchadnezzar
praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, all whose works are truth,
and His ways judgment: and those that walk in pride He is able to abase.

Nebuchadnezzar Extols the "King of Heaven".-- At the end of seven years God
removed the hand of affliction, and reason and understanding of the king
returned to him. His first act was to bless the Most High. On this Matthew
Henry makes the following appropriate remark: "Those may justly be reck-

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oned void of understanding that do not bless and praise God; nor do men
ever rightly use their reason till they begin to be religious, nor live as
men till they live to the glory of God." [4]

His honor and brightness returned to him, his counselors sought him, and he
was once more established in the kingdom. The promise was that the kingdom
should be sure to him. (Verse 26.) During his insanity, his son
Evil-Merodach is said to have reigned in his stead. Daniel's interpretation
of the dream was doubtless well understood in the palace, and was probably
more or less the subject of conversation. Hence the return of
Nebuchadnezzar to his kingdom must have been anticipated, with interest.
Why he was permitted to make his home in the open field in so forlorn a
condition instead of being comfortably cared for by the attendants of the
palace, we are not informed.

The affliction had its designed effect. The lesson of humility was learned.
The king did not forget it with returning prosperity. He was ready to
acknowledge that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to
whomsoever He will. He sent forth through all his realm a royal
proclamation containing an acknowledgment of his pride, and a manifesto of
praise and adoration to the King of heaven.

This is the last Scripture record we have of Nebuchadnezzar. This decree is
dated 563 B.C., in the Authorized Version, says Adam Clarke, [5] one year
before Nebuchadnezzar's death, though some place the date of this decree
seventeen years before his death. There is no record that the king ever
lapsed again into idolatry. We may therefore conclude that he died a
believer in the God of Israel.

Thus closed the life of this remarkable man. With all the temptations
incident to his exalted position as king, may we not suppose that God saw
in him honesty of heart, integrity, and purity of purpose, which he could
use to the glory of His name? Hence His wonderful dealings with him, all of
which

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seem to have been designed to wean him from his false religion, and attach
him to the service of the true God. We have his dream of the great image,
containing a valuable lesson for the people of all coming generations. We
remember his experience with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in their
refusal to worship his golden image, wherein he was again led to an
acknowledgment of the supremacy of the true God. Finally, we have the
wonderful incidents recorded in this chapter, showing the unceasing efforts
of the Lord to bring Nebuchadnezzar to a full acknowledgment of the
Creator. May we not hope that the most illustrious king of Babylon, the
head of gold, may at last have part in that kingdom before which all
earthly kingdoms shall become as chaff and the glory of which shall never
fade?

[1] Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Old Testament, Vol. IV, p. 582 note on
Daniel 4: 1.

[2] See Flavius Josephus, "Antiquities of the Jews," book 10, chap. 10,
sec. 6, Works of Flavius Josephus, p. 316.

[3] Sir Frederic Kenyon, The Bible and Archaeology, p. 126.

[4] Matthew Henry, Commentary, Vol. II, p. 965, note on Daniel 4: 34-37.

[5] Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Old Testament, Vol. IV, p. 585, note on
Daniel 4: 37.
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                                 Chapter V

                        The Handwriting on the Wall

Verse 1 Belshazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand of his lords,
and drank wine before the thousand.

This chapter describes the closing scenes of the Babylonian Empire, the
transition from the gold to the silver of the great image of Daniel 2, and
from the lion to the bear of Daniel's vision in chapter 7. This feast is
supposed by some to have been an appointed annual festival in honor of one
of the heathen deities. Cyrus, who was then besieging Babylon, learned of
the celebration, and laid his plans for the overthrow of the city. Our
translation reads that Belshazzar, having invited a thousand of his lords,
"drank . . . before the thousand." Some translate it "drank . . .against
the thousand," showing that in addition to whatever other weaknesses he may
have had, he was also a heavy drinker.

Verse 2 Belshazzar, whiles he tasted the wine, commanded to bring the
golden and silver vessels which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of
the temple which was in Jerusalem; that the king, and his princes, his
wives, and his concubines, might drink therein. 3 Then they brought the
golden vessels that were taken out of the temple of the house of God which
was at Jerusalem; and the king, and his princes, his wives, and his
concubines, drank in them. 4 They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold,
and of silver, of brass, of iron, of wood, and of stone.

That this festival had some reference to former victories over the Jews may
be inferred from the fact that when the king began to be heated with his
wine, he called for the sacred vessels which had been taken from Jerusalem.
He would most likely use them to celebrate the victory by which they were
obtained. Probably no other king had carried his impiety to such length as
this. And while they drank wine from vessels dedicated to the true God,
they praised their gods of gold, silver, brass, iron, wood, and stone.
Perhaps, as we have

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noted in comments on Daniel 3: 29, they celebrated the superior power of
their gods over the God of the Jews, from whose vessels they now drank to
their heathen deities.

Verse 5 In the same hour came forth fingers of a man's hand, and wrote over
against the candlestick upon the plaister of the wall of the king's palace:
and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote. 6 Then the king's
countenance was changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints
of his loins were loosed, and his knees smote one against another. 7 The
king cried aloud to bring in the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the
soothsayers. And the king spake, and said to the wise men of Babylon,
Whosoever shall read this writing, and show me the interpretation thereof,
shall be clothed with scarlet, and have a chain of gold about his neck, and
shall be the third ruler in the kingdom. 8 Then came in all the king's wise
men: but they could not read the writing, nor make known to the king the
interpretation thereof. 9 Then was king Belshazzar greatly troubled, and
his countenance was changed in him, and his lords were astonied.

Handwriting on the Wall.--No flashes of supernatural light, no deafening
peals of thunder, announced the interference of God in their impious
revelries. A hand silently appeared, tracing mystic characters upon the
wall. It wrote over against the candlestick. Terror seized the king, for
his conscience accused him. Although he could not read the writing, he knew
it was no message of peace and blessing that was traced in glittering
characters upon his palace wall. The description the prophet gives of the
effect of the king's fear cannot be excelled in any particular. The king's
countenance was changed, his heart failed him, pain seized upon him, and so
violent was his trembling that his knees smote one against another. He
forgot his boasting and revelry. He forgot his dignity. and he cried aloud
for his astrologers and soothsayers to solve the meaning of the mysterious
inscription.

Verse 10 Now the queen by reason of the words of the king and his lords
came into the banquet house: and the queen spake and said, O king, live for
ever: let not thy thoughts trouble thee, nor let thy countenance be
changed: 11 there is a man in thy kingdom, in whom is the spirit of the
holy gods; and in the days of thy father light and understanding and
wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, was found in him; whom the king
Nebuchadnezzar thy father, the king, I say, thy father, made master of the
magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers; 12 forasmuch as an
excellent spirit, and

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knowledge, and understanding, interpreting of dreams, and showing of hard
sentences, and dissolving of doubts, were found in the same Daniel, whom
the king named Belteshazzar: now let Daniel be called, and he will show the
interpretation. 13 Then was Daniel brought in before the king. And the king
spake and said unto Daniel, Art thou that Daniel, which art of the children
of the captivity of Judah, whom the king my father brought out of Jewry? 14
I have even heard of thee, that the spirit of the gods is in thee, and that
light and understanding and excellent wisdom is found in thee. 15 And now
the wise men, the astrologers, have been brought in before me, that they
should read this writing, and make known unto me the interpretation
thereof: but they could not show the interpretation of the thing: 16 and I
have heard of thee, that thou canst make interpretations, and dissolve
doubts: now if thou canst read the writing, and make known to me the
interpretation thereof, thou shalt be clothed with scarlet, and have a
chain of gold about thy neck, and shalt be the third ruler in the kingdom.

It appears from the circumstance her narrated, that Daniel as a prophet of
God had been lost sight of at the court and palace. This was doubtless
because he had been absent at Shushan, in the province of Elam, whither he
had gone on the business of the kingdom. (Daniel 8: 1, 2, 27.) Probably the
invasion of the country by the Persian army compelled him to return to
Babylon at this time. The queen, who made known to the king that there was
such a person to whom appeal could be made for knowledge in supernatural
things, is supposed to have been the queen mother, the daughter of
Nebuchadnezzar. She must have remembered the wonderful counsel Daniel had
given in her father's reign.

Nebuchadnezzar is here called Belshazzar's father, according to the then
common custom of calling any paternal ancestor father, and any male
descendant son. Nebuchadnezzar was in reality his grandfather. When Daniel
came in, the king inquired if the prophet was of the children of the
captivity of Judah. Thus it seems to have been ordered that, while the
princes were holding impious revelry in honor of their false gods, a
servant of the true God, one whom they were holding in captivity, was
called in to pronounce the merited judgement upon their wicked course.

Verse 17 Then Daniel answered and said before the king, Let thy gifts be to
thyself, and give thy rewards to another; yet I will read the writing

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unto the king, and make known to him the interpretation. 18 O thou king,
the most high God gave Nebuchadnezzar thy father a kingdom, and majesty,
and glory, and honor: 19 And for the majesty that he gave him, all people,
nations, and languages, trembled and feared before him: whom he would he
slew; and whom he would he kept alive; and whom he would he set up; and
whom he would he put down. 20 But when his heart was lifted up, and his
mind hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they
took his glory from him: 21 and he was driven from the sons of men; and his
heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild asses:
they fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of
heaven; till he knew that the most high God ruled in the kingdom of men,
and that He appointeth over it whomsoever He will. 22 And thou his son, O
Belshazzar, hast not humbled thine heart, though thou knewest all this; 23
but hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven; and they have
brought the vessels of His house before thee, and thou, and thy lords, thy
wives, and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them; and thou hast praised
the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see
not, nor hear, nor know: and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose
are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified: 24 then was the part of the hand
sent from Him; and this writing was written.

Daniel Rebukes Belshazzar.--Daniel first disclaimed the idea of being
influenced by such motives as governed the soothsayers and astrologers. He
said, "Let thy rewards be to another." He wished it distinctly understood
that he did not enter upon the work of interpreting this matter on account
of the offer of gifts and rewards. He then rehearsed the experience of the
king's grandfather, Nebuchadnezzar, as set forth in the preceding chapter.
He told Belshazzar that though he knew all this, yet he had not humbled his
heart, but had lifted up himself against the God of heaven. He had even
carried his impiety so far as to profane God's sacred vessels, praising the
senseless gods of men's invention, and refusing to glorify God in whose
breath was. For this reason, Daniel told him, the hand had been sent forth
from God whom he had daringly and insultingly challenged, to trace those
characters of fearful, though hidden import. He then proceeded to explain
the writing.

Verse 25 And this is the writing that was written, MENE, MENE, TEKEL,
UPHARSIN. 26 This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE; God hath
numbered thy kingdom, and finished it. 27 TEKEL; Thou art

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weighed in the balances, and art found wanting. 28 PERES; Thy kingdom is
divided, and given to the Medes and Persians. 29 Then commanded Belshazzar,
and they clothed Daniel with scarlet, and put a chain of gold about his
neck, and made a proclamation concerning him, that he should be the third
ruler in the kingdom.

Daniel Interprets the Writing.--In this inscription each word stands for a
short sentence. Mene, "numbered;" Tekel, "weighed;" Upharsin, from the root
peres, "divided." God whom thou hast defied, hath thy kingdom in His own
hands, and hath numbered its days and finished its course just at the time
thou thoughtest it at the height of its prosperity. Thou, who hast lifted
up thy heart in pride as the great one of the

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earth, art weighed, and found lighter than vanity. Thy kingdom, which thou
didst dream was to stand forever, is divided between the foes already
waiting at thy gates.

Notwithstanding this terrible denunciation, Belshazzar did not forget his
promise, but invested Daniel at once with the scarlet robe and chain of
gold, and proclaimed him third ruler in the kingdom. This Daniel accepted,
probably with a view to being better prepared to look after the interests
of his people during the transition to the succeeding kingdom.

Verse 30 In that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain. 31
And Darius the Median took the kingdom, being about threescore and two
years old.

The scene here so briefly mentioned is described in remarks on Daniel 2:
39. While Belshazzar was indulging in his presumptuous revelry, while the
angel's hand was tracing the doom of the kingdom of the empire on the walls
of the palace, while Daniel was making known the fearful import of the
heavenly writing, the Persian soldiery, through the emptied channel of the
Euphrates, had made their way into the heart of the city, and were speeding
forward with drawn swords to the palace of the king. Scarcely can it be
said that they surprised him, for God had just forewarned him of his doom.
But they found him and slew him, and in that hour the empire of Babylon
ceased to be.

             "That night they slew him on his father's throne,
                 The deed unnoticed and the hand unknown:
                 Crownless and scepterless Belshazzar lay,
                A robe of purple round a form of clay." [1]

[1] Edwin Arnold, "The Feast of Belshazzar," Poetical Works, p. 170.
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                                 Chapter VI

                          Daniel in the Lion's Den

Verse 1 It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom an hundred and twenty
princes, which should be over the whole kingdom; 2 and over these three
presidents; of whom Daniel was first: that the princes might give accounts
unto them, and the king should have no damage. 3 Then this Daniel was
preferred above the presidents and princes, because an excellent spirit was
in him; and the king thought to set him over the whole realm. 4 Then the
presidents and princes sought to find occasion against Daniel concerning
the kingdom; but they could find none occasion nor fault; forasmuch as he
was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him. 5 Then
said these men, We shall not find any occasion against this Daniel, except
we find it against him concerning the law of his God.

Babylon was taken by the Persians, and Darius the Median was placed upon
the throne in 538 B.C. When Darius died two years later, Cyrus took the
throne. Somewhere, therefore, between these two dates the even occurred
which is narrated in this chapter.

Daniel was an active leader in the kingdom of Babylon at the height of its
glory. From that time until the Medes and Persians took the throne of
universal empire, he was at least a resident of the capital, acquainted
with all the affairs of the kingdom. Yet he gave us no consecutive account
of events that occurred during his long connection with these kingdoms. He
touched upon only an event here and there which would inspire faith, hope,
and courage in the hearts of the people of God in every age, and lead them
to be steadfast in their adherence to the right. The event narrated in this
chapter is alluded to in Hebrews 11, where we read of those who through
faith "stopped the mouths of lions."

Daniel Prime Minister in Medo-Persia.--Darius set over the kingdom one
hundred and twenty princes, there being at that time, as is supposed, one
hundred twenty provinces in the empire, each one having its prince, or
governor. By the victories of Cambyses and Darius Hystaspes, it was
afterward enlarged

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to one hundred twenty-seven provinces. (Esther 1: 1.) Over these princes
were set three presidents, and of these Daniel was chief. Daniel was
doubtless advanced to this high position because of the excellent spirit
and fidelity manifest in his work.

As a great man in the empire of Babylon, Daniel might have been regarded an
enemy by Darius, and have been banished or otherwise put out of the way. Or
as a captive from a nation then in ruins, he might have been despised and
set at naught. But to the credit of Darius be it said, Daniel was preferred
over all the others, because the discerning king saw in him an excellent
spirit. The king thought to set him over the whole realm.

Then was the envy of the other rulers raised against him, and they set
about to destroy him. As related to the kingdom, Daniel's conduct was
perfect. He was faithful and true. They could find no ground for complaint
against him on that score. They then said they could find no occasion to
accuse him, except as concerning the law of his God. So let it be with us.
A person can have no better recommendation.

Verse 6 Then these presidents and princes assembled together to the king,
and said thus unto him, King Darius, live for ever. 7 All the presidents of
the kingdom, the governors, and the princes, the counselors, and the
captains, have consulted together to establish a royal statute, and to make
a firm decree, that whosoever shall ask a petition of any God or man for
thirty days, save of thee, O king, he shall be cast into the den of lions.
8 Now, O king, establish the decree, and sign the writing, that it be not
changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth
not. 9 Wherefore king Darius signed the writing and the decree. 10 Now when
Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his
windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his
knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he
did aforetime.

Plot Against Daniel.-- Mark the course these persons took to accomplish
their nefarious purposes. They came together to the king--came
tumultuously, says the margin. They came as if some urgent matter had
suddenly sprung up, and they had come to present it before him. They
claimed that all were

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agreed. This was false, for Daniel, the chief of them all, was of course
not consulted in the matter.

The decree they presented was designed to increase honor and respect for
the royal will. No prayer or petition, they declared, was to be addressed
to any man or god, save the king, for thirty days. By this flattering
approach the princes hid their evil design against Daniel. The king signed
the decree, and it became an unalterable law of the Medes and Persians.

Mark the subtlety of these men--the length to which they went to accomplish
the ruin of the good. If they had made the decree read that no petition
should be asked of the God of the Hebrews, which was the real design of the
matter, the king would at once have divined their object, and the decree
would not have been signed. But they gave it a general application, and
were willing to ignore and heap insult upon their own religion, and all the
multitude of their gods, in order to ruin the object of their hatred.

Daniel realized that a conspiracy was formed against him, but he took no
means to thwart it. He simply committed himself to God, and left the issue
to His providence. He did not leave the capital on pretended business, or
perform his devotions with more than ordinary secrecy. When he knew the
writing was signed, he knelt in his chamber three times a day, as was his
usual custom, with his face turned toward his beloved Jerusalem, and
offered his prayers and supplications to God.

Verse 11 Then these men assembled, and found Daniel praying and making
supplication before his God. 12 Then they came near, and spake before the
king concerning the king's decree; Hast thou not signed a decree, that
every man that shall ask a petition of any God or man within thirty days,
save of thee, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions? The king
answered and said, The thing is true, according to the law of the Medes and
Persians, which altereth not. 13 Then answered they and said before the
king, That Daniel, which is of the children of the captivity of Judah,
regardeth not thee, O king, nor the decree that thou hast signed, but
maketh his petition three times a day. 14 Then the king, when he heard
these words, was sore displeased with himself, and set his heart on Daniel
to deliver him: and he labored till the going down of the sun to deliver
him. 15 Then these

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men assembled unto the king, and said unto the king, Know, O king, that the
law of the Medes and Persians is, That no decree nor statute which the king
establisheth may be changed. 16 Then the king commanded, and they brought
Daniel, and cast him into the den of lions. Now the king spake and said
unto Daniel, Thy God whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee.
17 And a stone was brought, and laid upon the mouth of the den; and the
king sealed it with his own signet, and with the signet of his lords; that
the purpose might not be changed concerning Daniel.

Daniel Cast Into the Lions' Den.--After the trap was set, it only remained
for these men to watch their victim that they might ensnare him. So they
again came together, this time at the residence of Daniel, as though some
important business called them suddenly to consult the chief of the
presidents; and lo, they found him, just as they intended and hoped,
praying to his God. So far their scheme worked well. They were not long in
going to the king with the matter.

Receiving an acknowledgment from the monarch that the decree was in force,
they were ready to inform him against Daniel. In an attempt excite the
prejudices of the king they said, "That Daniel, which is of the children of
the captivity of Judah, regardeth not thee, O king, nor the decree that
thou hast signed." Yes, they complained, that poor captive, who is entirely
dependent on you for all that he enjoys, so far from being grateful and
appreciating your favors, regards you not, nor pays any attention to your
decree. Then the king saw the trap that had been prepared from him as well
as for Daniel, and he labored until the going down of the sun to deliver
him, probably by personal efforts with the conspirators to cause them to
relent, or by arguments and endeavors to procure the repeal of the law. But
the law was sustained; and Daniel, the venerable, the grave, the upright,
and the faultless servant of the kingdom, was thrown into the den of lions.

Verse 18 Then the king went to his palace, and passed the night fasting:
neither were instruments of musick brought before him: and his sleep went
from him. 19 Then the king arose very early in the morning, and went in
haste unto the den of lions. 20 And when he came to the den, he cried with
a lamentable voice unto Daniel: and the king spake and said to Daniel, O
Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou

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servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions? 21 Then said
Daniel unto the king, O king, live for ever. 22 My God hath sent His angel,
and hath shut the lions' mouths, that they have not hurt me: forasmuch as
before Him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I
done no hurt. 23 Then was the king exceedingly glad for him, and commanded
that they should take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out
of the den, and no manner of hurt was found upon him, because he believed
in his God. 24 And the king commanded, and they brought those men which had
accused Daniel, and they cast them into the den of lions, them, their
children, and their wives; and the lions had the mastery of them, and brake
all their bones in pieces or ever they came at the bottom of the den.

Daniel Delivered.--The course of the king after Daniel had been cast into
the den of lions attests his genuine interest in the prophet's behalf, and
the severe condemnation he felt for his own course in the matter. At dawn
he repaired to the den of hungry and ravenous beasts. Daniel was alive, and
his response to the monarch's salutation was no reproach for his having
yielded to his evil counselors. In terms of respect and honor he said, "O
king, live forever." Afterward he reminded the king, in a manner which he
must have keenly felt, but to which he could take no exception, that before
him he had done no wrong. Because of his innocency, God, whom he served
continually, had sent His angel and had shut the lions' mouths.

Here, then, stood Daniel, preserved by a power higher than any power of
earth. His cause was vindicated, his innocency declared. "No manner of hurt
was found upon him, because he believed in his God." Faith did it. A
miracle had been wrought. Why, then, were Daniel's accusers brought and
cast in? They probably attributed the preservation of Daniel, not to any
miracle in his behalf, but to the fact that the lions chanced at that time
not to be hungry. The king may have said, "In that case they will no more
attack you than him, so we will test the matter by putting you in." The
lions were hungry enough when not restrained by divine intervention, and
these men were torn to pieces before they reached the bottom of the den.
Thus was Daniel doubly vindicated, and the words of Solomon were strikingly
fulfilled: "The righteous

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is delivered out of trouble, and the wicked cometh in his stead." Proverbs
11: 8.

Verse 25 Then king Darius wrote unto all people, nations, and languages,
that dwell in all the earth; Peace be multiplied unto you. 26 I make a
decree, That in every dominion of my kingdom men tremble and fear before
the God of Daniel: for He is the living God, and steadfast for ever, and
His kingdom that which shall not be destroyed, and His dominion shall be
even unto the end. 27 He delivereth and rescueth, and He worketh signs and
wonders in heaven and in earth, who hath delivered Daniel from the power of
the lions. 28 So this Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius, and in the
reign of Cyrus the Persian.

Daniel Prospered.--Daniel's deliverance resulted in another proclamation's
being sent out through the empire in favor of the true God, the God of
Israel. All men were commanded to fear and tremble before Him. The plot
which Daniel's enemies had designed to prove his ruin, resulted only in his
advancement. In this case, and in the experience of the three Hebrews in
the fiery furnace, the approval of God is placed on two great lines of
duty--the refusal to yield to any known sin, and the refusal to omit any
known duty. From these instances the people of God in all ages may derive
encouragement.

The decree of the king sets forth the character of the true God: He is the
Creator; all others are without life in themselves. He is steadfast
forever; all others are helpless and unavailing. He has a kingdom; for He
made and governs all. His kingdom shall not be destroyed; all others come
to an end. His dominion is without end; no human power can prevail against
it. He delivers those who are in bondage. He rescues His servants from
their enemies when they call upon Him for help. He works wonders in the
heavens and signs upon the earth. And to complete all, He has delivered
Daniel, giving before our eyes the fullest proof of His power and goodness
in rescuing His servant from the power of the lions. How excellent a eulogy
of the great God and His faithful servant!

Thus closes the historical part of the book of Daniel.
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                                Chapter VII

                      The Struggle for World Dominion

Verse 1 In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel had a dream
and visions of his head upon his bed: then he wrote the dream, and told the
sum of the matters.

This is the same Belshazzar mentioned in Daniel 5. Chronologically, this
chapter precedes the fifth chapter; but chronology is here disregarded in
order that the historical part of the book may stand by itself.

Verse 2 Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold,
the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea. 3 And four great
beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another.

Daniel Relates His Own Vision.--All Scripture language is to be taken
literally, unless there exists some good reason for regarding it as
figurative. All that is figurative is to be interpreted by that which is
literal. That the language here used is symbolic is evident from verse 17,
which reads, " These great beasts, which are four, are four kings which
arise out of the earth." That kingdoms are intended, and not merely
individual kings, is clear from the words, "But the saints of the Most High
shall take the kingdom." In explaining verse 23, the angel said, "The
fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon the earth." these beasts are
therefore symbols of four great kingdoms. The circumstances under which
they arose, as represented in the prophecy, are also stated in symbolic
language. The symbols introduced are the four winds, the sea, four great
beasts, ten horns, and another horn which had eyes and a mouth and which
rose up in war against God and His people. We have now to inquire what they
denote.

In symbolic language winds represent strife, political commotion, and war,
as we read from the prophet Jeremiah:

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"Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to
nation, and a great whirlwind shall be raised up from the coasts of the
earth. And the slain of the Lord shall be at that day from one end of the
earth even unto the other end of the earth." Jeremiah 25: 32, 33. The
prophet speaks of a controversy which the Lord is to have with all nations.
The strife and commotion which produces all this destruction is called "a
great whirlwind."

That winds denote strife and war is evident in the vision itself. As the
result of the blowing of the winds, kingdoms arise and fall through
political strife.

Seas, or waters, when used as Bible symbol, represent peoples, and nations,
and tongues. Said the angel to the prophet John, "The waters which thou
sawest . . . are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues."
Revelation 17: 15.

The definition of the symbol of the four beasts is given to Daniel before
the close of the vision: "These great beasts, which are four, are four
kings which shall arise out of the earth." Verse 17. With this explanation
of the symbols, the field of the vision is definitely opened before us.

Since these beasts denote four kings, or kingdoms, we inquire, Where shall
we begin and what four empires are represented? These beasts arise
consecutively, for they are enumerated from the first to the fourth. The
last one is in existence when all earthly scenes are brought to an end by
the final judgment. From the time of Daniel to the end of this world's
history, there were to be but four universal kingdoms, as we learned from
Nebuchadnezzar's dream of the great image in Daniel 2, interpreted by the
prophet sixty-five years before. Daniel was still living under the kingdom
denoted by the head of gold.

The first beast of this vision must therefore denote the same kingdom as
the head of gold of the great image, namely, Babylon. The other beasts no
doubt represent the succeeding kingdoms portrayed by that image. But if
this vision covers

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essentially the same period of history as the image of Daniel 2, the query
may arise, Why is it given? Why was not that first vision sufficient? We
answer, The history of world empires is passed over again and again in
order that additional characteristics may be brought out, and additional
facts and features may be presented. It is thus that we have "line upon
line" according to the Scriptures. In chapter 2, only the political aspects
of world dominion are portrayed. Here earthly governments are introduced in
their relationship to God's truth and God's people. Their true character is
shown by symbols of wild and ravenous beasts.

Verse 4 The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings: I beheld till the
wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made
stand upon the feet as a man, and a man's heart was given to it.

The Lion.--In the vision of Daniel 7, the first beast seen by the prophet
was a lion. For the use of the lion as a symbol, read Jeremiah 4: 7; 50:
17, 43, 44. The lion as first seen in the vision before us had eagle's
wings. The symbolic use of wings is impressively described in Habakkuk 1:
6-8, where it is said that the Chaldeans should "fly as the eagle that
hasteth to eat."

From these symbols we may easily deduce that Babylon was a kingdom of great
strength, and that under Nebuchadnezzar its conquests were extended with
great rapidity. But there came a time when the wings were plucked. It no
longer rushed upon tis prey like an eagle. The boldness and spirit of the
lion were gone. A man's heart--weak, timorous, and faint--took the place of
a lion's strength. Such was the case with the nation during the closing
years of its history, when it had become enfeebled and effeminate through
wealth and luxury.

Verse 5 And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it raised
up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth of it between the
teeth of it: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh.

The Bear.--As in the image of Daniel 2, so in this series of symbols a
marked deterioration is noticed as we descend from

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one kingdom to another. The silver of the breast and arms is inferior to
the gold of the head. The bear is inferior to the lion. Medo-Persia fell
short of Babylon in wealth, magnificence, and brilliance. The bear raised
itself up on one side. The kingdom was composed of two nationalities, the
Medes and the Persians. The same fact is represented by the two horns of
the ram in Daniel 8. Of these horns it is said that the higher horn came up
last, and of the bear that it raised itself up on one side. This was
fulfilled by the Persian division of the kingdom, for although it came up
last, it attained the higher eminence, becoming a dominant influence in the
nation. (See comments on Daniel 8: 3.) The three ribs doubtless signify the
three provinces of Babylon, Lydia, and Egypt, which were especially
oppressed by Medo-Persia. The command, "Arise, devour much flesh," would
naturally refer to the stimulus given to the Medes and Persians by the
overthrow of these provinces. The character of the power is well
represented by a bear. The Medes and Persians were cruel and rapacious,
robbers and spoilers of the people. This Medo-Persian kingdom continued
from the overthrow of Babylon by Cyrus to the battle of Arbela in 331 B.C.,
a period of 207 years.

Verse 6 After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which had upon
the back of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had also four heads; and
dominion was given to it.

The Leopard.--The third kingdom, Grecia, is here represented by the symbol
of a leopard. If wings upon the lion signified rapidity of conquest, they
would signify the same here. The leopard itself is a swift-footed beast,
but this was not sufficient to represent the career of the nation here
symbolized. It must have wings in addition. Two wings, the number the lion
had, were not sufficient; the leopard must have four. This would denote
unprecedented celerity of movement, which we find to be a historical fact
in the Grecian kingdom. The conquests of Grecia under Alexander had no
parallel in ancient times for suddenness and rapidity. His military
achievements are summarized by W. W. Tarn:

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"He was a master in the combination of various arms; he taught the world
the advantages of campaigning in winter, the value of pressing pursuit to
the utmost, and the principle of 'march divided, fight united.' He marched
usually in two division, one conducting the impediments and his own
[division] traveling light; his speed of movement was extraordinary. It is
said that he attributed his military success to 'never putting anything
off.' . . . The enormous distances traversed in unknown country imply a
very high degree of organizing ability; in ten years he had only two
serious breakdowns.... Had a lesser man attempted what he achieved, and
failed, we should have heard enough of the hopeless military difficulties
of the undertaking." [1]

"The beast had also four heads" The Grecian Empire maintained its unity but
little longer than the lifetime of Alexander. After his brilliant career
ended in a fever induced by a drunken debauch, the empire was divided among
his four leading generals. Cassander had Macedonia and Greece in the west;
Lysimachus had Thrace and the parts of Asia on the Hellespont and the
Bosphorus in the north; Ptolemy received Egypt, Lydia, Arabia, Palestine,
and Coele-Syria in the south; and Seleucus had Syria and all the rest of
Alexander's dominions in the east. By the year 301 B.C., with the death of
Antigonus, the division of the kingdom of Alexander into four parts was
completed by his general. [2] These division were denoted by the four heads
of the leopard.

Thus accurately were the words of the prophet fulfilled. As Alexander left
no available successor, why did not the huge empire break up into countless
petty fragments? Why into just four parts, and no more?--For reasons that
the prophecy foresaw and foretold. The leopard had four heads, the rough
goat four horns, the kingdom was to have four divisions; and thus it was.
(See more fully in comments on Daniel 8.)

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Verse 7 After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast,
dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth:
it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of
it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had
ten horns.

A Dreadful Beast.--Inspiration finds no beast in nature to symbolize the
power here illustrated. No addition of hoofs, heads, horns, wings, scales,
teeth, or nails to any beast found in nature will answer. This power is
diverse from all the others, and the symbol is wholly different from
anything found in the animal kingdom.

The foundation for a volume is laid in verse 7, but for lack of space we
are compelled to treat it briefly here. This beast corresponds to the
fourth division of the great image--the legs of iron. In the comment on
Daniel 2: 40 are given some reasons for believing this power to be Rome.
The same reasons are applicable to the present prophecy. How accurately
Rome answered to the iron portion of the image! How accurately it answers
to the beast before us! In the dread and terror which it inspired, and in
its great strength, it answered admirably to the prophetic description. The
world had never seen its equal. It devoured as with iron teeth, and broke
in pieces all that stood in its way. It ground the nations into the dust
beneath its brazen feet. It had ten horns, which are explained in verse 24
to be ten kings, or kingdoms, which should arise out of this empire. As
already noticed in comments on Daniel 2, Rome was divided into ten
kingdoms. These divisions have ever since been spoken of as the ten
kingdoms of the Roman Empire.

Verse 8 I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them
another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns
plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes
of man, and a mouth speaking great things.

Daniel considered the horns. A strange movement appeared among them.
Another horn, at first little, but afterward more stout than its fellows,
thrust itself up. It was not content quietly to find a place of its own,
and fill it; it must

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thrust aside some of the others, and usurp their places. Three kingdoms
were thus plucked up.

A Little Horn Among the Ten.--This little horn, as we shall have occasion
to notice more fully hereafter, was the papacy. The three horns plucked up
by the roots represented the Heruli, the Ostrogoths, and the Vandals. The
reason for their removal was their opposition to the teachings and claims
of the papal hierarchy.

"In this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great
things"--fit emblems of the shrewdness, penetration, and arrogant claims of
an apostate religious organization.

Verse 9 I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days
did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of His head like the
pure wool: His throne was like the fiery flame, and His wheels as burning
fire. 10 A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand
thousands ministered unto Him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood
before Him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.

A Judgement Scene.--A sublimer description of a more awe-inspiring scene is
not to be found in the word of God. Not the grand and lofty imagery alone
could arrest our attention; the nature of the scene itself demands most
serious consideration. The judgement is here brought to view. Whenever the
judgement is mentioned, it ought to take an irresistible hold upon every
mind, for all have a deep concern in its eternal issues.

By an unfortunate translation in verse 9, a wrong idea is almost sure to be
conveyed. The phrase "cast down" is from a Chaldee word {HEBREW CHARACTERS
IN PRINTED TEXT}, remi, which may properly be rendered "hurled by
violence," as is plainly the case where it is used to describe the casting
of the three Hebrews into the fiery furnace, and of casting Daniel into the
den of lions. But another equally correct translation is "to set or place
in order," as in the placing of the judgement seats mentioned here, as also
a like setting or placing in Revelation 4: 2, in which the Greek bears out
the same meaning. The Revised Version in Daniel 7: 9 reads properly,
"thrones were places," as Gesenius defines

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the root remah, with reference to Daniel 7: 9 as an example.

The "Ancient of days," God the Father, presides at the judgement. Mark the
description of His person. Those who believe in the impersonality of God
are obliged to admit that He is here described as a personal being, but
they console themselves by saying that it is the only description of the
kind in the Bible. We do not admit this latter assertion; but granting that
it were true, is not one description of this kind as fatal to their as
though it were repeated a score of times? The thousand thousands who
minister unto Him, and the ten thousand times ten thousand who stand before
Him, are not sinners arraigned before the judgement seat, but heavenly
intelligences who wait before Him, attendant on His will. John saw the same
heavenly attendants before the throne of God, and he describes the majestic
scene in these words: "I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round
about the throne, and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was
ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands." Revelation 5:
11. A fuller understanding of these verses involves an understanding of the
sanctuary services.

The closing up of the ministration of Christ, our great High Priest, in the
heavenly sanctuary, is the work of judgement here introduced. It is an
investigative judgement. The books are opened, and the cases of all come up
for examination before that great tribunal, that it may be decided
beforehand who are to receive eternal life when the Lord shall come to
confer it upon His people. It will appear from the testimony of Daniel 8:
14 that this solemn work is even now going on in the sanctuary above.

Verse 11 I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the
horn spake: I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed,
and given to the burning flame. 12 As concerning the rest of the beasts,
they had their dominion taken away: yet their lives were prolonged for a
season and time.

End of the Fourth Beast.--There are those who believe in a thousand years'
reign of righteousness over all the world be-

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fore the coming of Christ. There are others who believe in probation after
the Lord comes, during which the immortal righteous still proclaim the
gospel to mortal sinners, and lead them into the way of salvation. Neither
of these theories can be substantiated from the Bible, as we shall see.

The fourth terrible beast continues without change of character, and the
little horn continues to utter its blasphemies, holding its millions of
votaries in the bonds of blind superstition, until the beast is given to
the burning flame. This is not its conversion, but its destruction. (See 2
Thessalonians 2: 8.)

The life of the fourth beast is not prolonged after its dominion is gone,
as were the lives of the preceding beasts. Their dominion was taken away,
but their lives were prolonged for a season. The territory and subjects of
the Babylonian kingdom still existed, though made subject to the Persians.
So with the Persian kingdom in respect to Greece, and Greece in respect to
Rome. But what succeeds the fourth kingdom? No government or state in which
mortals have any part, follows it. Its career ends in the lake of fire, and
it has no existence beyond. The lion was merged with the bear, the bear
into the leopard, the leopard into the fourth beast. But the fourth beast
is not merged into another beast. It is to be cast into the lake of fire.

Verse 13 I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man
came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they
brought him near before Him. 14 And there was given Him dominion, and
glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve
Him: His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away,
and His kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.

The Son of Man Receives His Kingdom.--The scene here described is not the
second coming of Christ to this earth, for the Ancient of days is not on
this earth, and the coming here spoken of is to the Ancient of days. There,
in the presence of the Father, dominion, and glory, and a kingdom are given
to the Son of man. Christ receives His kingdom before His return to this
earth. (See Luke 19: 10-12.) Therefore, this is a scene

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which takes place in heaven, and is closely connected with that brought to
view in verses 9 and 10. Christ receives His kingdom at the close of His
priestly work in the sanctuary. The people and nations that shall serve Him
are the redeemed (Revelation 21: 24), not the wicked nations of the earth,
for these are destroyed at the second advent of Christ by the brightness of
His coming. (Psalm 2: 9; 2 Thessalonians 2: 8.) Out of all nations, tribes,
and kindreds of the earth will come those who server God with joy and
gladness. They shall inherit the kingdom of our Lord.

Verse 15 I Daniel was grieved in my spirit in the midst of my body, and the
visions of my head troubled me. 16 I came near unto one of them that stood
by, and asked him the truth of all this. So he told me, and made me know
the interpretation of the things. 17 These great beasts, which are four,
are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth. 18 But the saints of
the Most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever,
even for ever and ever.

Vision Interpreted to Daniel.--We should be no less concerned than was
Daniel to understand the truth of these things. We have the assurance that
when we inquire with sincerity of heart, we shall find the Lord as ready
now as in the days of the prophet to lead to a correct understanding of
these important truths. The beasts and the kingdoms which they represent,
have already been explained. We have followed the prophet through the
course of events, even to the destruction of the fourth beast, the final
overthrow of all earthly governments. Then the scene changes, for we read,
"The saints... shall take the kingdom." Verse 18. The saints! despised,
reproached, persecuted, cast out; looked upon as the least likely of all
men ever to realize their hopes--these shall take the kingdom, and possess
it forever. The usurpation and misrule of the wicked shall come to an end.
The inheritance forfeited because of sin shall be redeemed. Peace and
righteousness shall reign eternally over all the fair expanse of the earth
made new.

Verse 19 Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast, which was diverse
from all the others, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were

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of iron, and his nails of brass; which devoured, brake in pieces, and
stamped the residue with his feet; 20 and of the ten horns that were in his
head, and of the other which came up, and before whom three fell; even of
that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake very great things, whose
look was more stout than his fellows.

Truth of the Fourth Beast.--Of the first three beasts in this vision,
Daniel had a clear understanding. But he was astonished at the fourth
beast, because of its unnatural and dreadful character. It was of this
beast and its ten horns, more particularly of the little horn which came up
last, "whose look was more stout than his fellows," that he desired further
information. The lion is a production of nature, but it must have the
addition of two wings to represent the kingdom of Babylon. The bear we also
find in nature, but as a symbol of Medo-Persia an unnatural ferocity must
be denoted by the three ribs in its mouth. So the leopard is a beast of
nature, yet fitly to represent Grecia, four wings and three more heads must
be added. But nature furnishes no symbol which can fitly illustrate the
fourth kingdom. The vision therefore introduces a beast the likeness of
which was never before seen, a beast dreadful and terrible, with nails of
brass, and teeth of iron, so cruel, rapacious, and fierce that from mere
love of oppression it devoured, and broke in pieces, and trampled its
victims beneath its feet.

Astounding as all this was to the prophet, there was something still more
remarkable that gripped his attention. A little horn came up, and true to
the nature of the beast from which it sprang, thrust aside three of its
fellows. Lo, the horn had eyes, not the uncultivated eyes of a brute, but
the keen, shrewd, intelligent eyes of a man. Stranger yet, it had a mouth,
and with that mouth it uttered proud sayings, and put forth preposterous
and arrogant claims. No wonder the prophet made special inquiry respecting
this monster, so unearthly in its instincts, so fiendish in its works and
ways. In the following verses some specifications are given respecting the
little horn, which enable the student of prophecy to make an application of
this symbol without danger of mistake.

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Verse 21 I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and
prevailed against them; 22 Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was
given to the saints of the Most High; and the time came that the saints
possessed the kingdom.

Little Horn to Make War With the Saints.--The amazing wrath of this little
horn against the saints particularly attracted the attention of Daniel. The
rise of the ten horns, or the division of Rome into ten kingdoms, between
A.D. 351 and 476, has already been noticed in comments on Daniel 2: 41.

As these horns denote kingdoms, the little horn must denote a kingdom also,
yet not of the same nature, because it was diverse from the others. They
were political kingdoms. Now we have but to inquire if, since A.D. 476, any
kingdom has risen among the ten division of the Roman Empire which was
diverse from them all; and if so, what one? The answer is, Yes, the
spiritual kingdom of the papacy. It answers to the symbol in every
particular, as we shall see as we proceed.

Daniel beheld this power making war upon the saints. Has such a war been
waged by the papacy? Millions of martyrs answer, Yes. Witness the cruel
persecutions of the Waldenses, the Albigenses, and Protestants in general,
by the papal power.

In verse 22 three consecutive events seem to be brought to view. Looking
onward from the time when the little horn was in the height of its power to
the full end of the long contest between the saints and Satan with all his
agents, Daniel notes three prominent events that stand as mileposts along
the way:

The coming of the Ancient of days, that is, the position which Jehovah
takes in the opening of the judgement scene described in verses 9, 10.

The judgement that is given to the saints, that is, the time when the
saints sit with Christ in judgment a thousand years, following the first
resurrection (Revelation 20: 1-4), apportioning to the wicked the
punishment due for their sins. The martyrs will then sit in judgment upon
the great persecuting power, which, in the days of their trial, hunted them
like the

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beasts of the desert, and poured out their blood like water.

The time that the saints possess the kingdom, that is, the time of their
entrance upon the possession of the new earth. Then the last vestige of the
curse of sin, and of sinners, root and branch, will have been wiped away,
and the territory so long misruled by the wicked powers of earth, the
enemies of God's people, will be given to the righteous, to be possessed by
them forever and ever. (1 Corinthians 6: 2, 3; Matthew 25: 34.)

Verse 23 Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon
earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole
earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces. 24 And the ten
horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall
rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall
subdue three kings. 25 And he shall speak great words against the Most
High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and think to change
times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and
times and the dividing of time. 26 But the judgment shall sit, and they
shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end.

Rise and Work of the Little Horn.--Perhaps enough has already been said
respecting the fourth beast (Rome) and the ten horns, or ten kingdoms,
which arose out of this power. The little horn now more particularly
demands attention. As stated in comments on verse 8, we find the
fulfillment of the prophecy concerning this horn in the rise and work of
the papacy. It is a matter of both interest and importance, therefore, to
inquire into the causes which resulted in the development of this arrogant
power.

The first pastors, or bishops, of Rome enjoyed a respect proportionate to
the rank of the city in which they resided. For the first few centuries of
the Christian Era, Rome was the largest, richest, and most powerful city in
the world. It was the seat of empire, the capital of the nations. "All the
inhabitants of the earth belong to here," said Julian; and Claudian
declared her to be the "fountain of laws." "If Rome is the queen of cities,
why should not her pastor be the king of bishops?" was the reasoning these
Roman pastors put forth. "Why should not the Roman Church be the mother of
Chris-

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tendom? Why should not all nations be her children, and her authority their
sovereign law? It was easy," says D'Aubigne, from whom we quote these
words, "for the ambitious heart of man to reason thus. Ambitious Rome did
so." [3]

The bishops in the different parts of the Roman Empire felt a pleasure in
yielding to the bishop of Rome some of that honor which that city received
from the nations of the earth. There was originally no dependence implied
in the honor thus paid. "But," continues D'Aubigne, "usurped power
increases like an avalanche. Admonitions, at first simply fraternal, soon
became absolute commands in the mouth of the pontiff. . . . The Western
bishops favored this encroachment of the Roman pastors, either from
jealousy of the Eastern bishops, or because they preferred submitting to
the supremacy of a pope rather than to the dominion of a temporal power."
[4] Such were the influences clustering around the bishop of Rome, and thus
was everything tending toward his speedy elevation to the spiritual
dominance of Christendom.

Challenge of Arianism.--But the fourth century was destined to witness an
obstacle thrown across the path of this ambitious dream. The prophecy had
declared that the power represented by the little horn would "subdue three
kings." In the rise and development of Arianism early in the fourth century
and the challenge it presented to papal supremacy, we find the causes
leading to the plucking up of three of the kingdoms of Western Rome by the
papal power.

Arius, parish priest of the ancient and influential church of Alexandria,
promulgated his doctrine to the world, occasioning so fierce a controversy
in the Christian church that a general council was called at Nicaea, by the
emperor Constantine in A.D. 325, to consider and rule upon its teaching.
Arius maintained "that the Son was totally and essentially distinct from
the Father; that He was the first and noblest of those be-

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ings whom the Father had created out of nothing, the instrument by whose
subordinate operation the Almighty Father formed the universe, and
therefore inferior to the Father, both in nature and dignity." This opinion
was condemned by the council, which decreed that Christ was of one and the
same substance with the Father. Hereupon Arius was banished to Illyria, and
his followers were compelled to give their assent to the creed composed on
that occasion. [5]

The controversy itself, however, was not to be disposed of in this summary
manner. For ages it continued to agitate the Christian world, the Arians
everywhere becoming the bitter enemies of the pope and of the Roman
Catholic Church. It was evident that the spread of Arianism would check the
onward march of Catholicism, and that the possession of Italy and it
renowned capital by a people of the Arian persuasion would be fatal to the
supremacy of a Catholic bishop. The prophecy, however, had declared that
this horn symbolizing the papacy would rise to supreme power, and that in
reaching this position it would subdue three kings.

Little Horn Overthrows Tree Arian Powers.--Some difference of opinion has
existed in regard to the particular powers which were overthrown by the
papacy in its rise to power. In this connection the remarks of Albert
Barnes seem pertinent: "In the confusion that existed on the breaking up of
the Roman Empire, and the imperfect accounts of the transactions which
occurred in the rise of the papal power, it would not be wonderful if it
should be difficult to find events distinctly recorded that would be in all
respects an accurate and absolute fulfillment of the vision. Yet it is
possible to make out the fulfillment of this with a good degree of
certainty in the history of the papacy." [6]

Joseph Mede supposes the three kingdoms plucked up to have been the Greeks,
the Lombards, and the Franks; and Sir

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Issac Newton supposes they were the exarchate of Ravenna, the Lombards, and
the senate and dukedom of Rome. Thomas Newton [7] states serious objections
to both these suppositions. The Franks could not have been one of these
kingdoms, for they were never plucked up. The Lombards could not have been
one, for they were never made subject to the popes. Says Albert Barnes
further, "I do not find, indeed, that the kingdom of the Lombards was, as
is commonly stated among the number of the temporal sovereignties that
became subject to the authority of the popes." [8] The senate and dukedom
of Rome could not have been one, for as they never constituted one of the
ten kingdoms, three of which were to be plucked up before the little horn.

But we apprehend the chief difficulty in the application made by these
eminent commentators lay in the fact that they supposed that the prophecy
respecting the exaltation of the papacy had not been fulfilled, and could
not have been until the pope became a temporal prince. Therefore they
sought to find an accomplishment of the prophecy in the events which led to
the pope's temporal sovereignty. But evidently the prophecy of verses 24,
25, refers, not to his civil power, but to his power to domineer over the
minds and consciences of men. The papacy reached this position, A.D. 583,
as will hereafter appear.

The word "before" used in verses 8 and 20 represents the Chaldee {HEBREW
CHARACTERS IN PRINTED TEXT}, qadam, with the root meaning "front." Combined
with min, meaning "from," as it is in these two verses, Davidson translates
it "from the presence of," and Gesenius says it is equivalent to the Hebrew
{HEBREW CHARACTERS IN PRINTED TEXT}, lipna, meaning "in the presence of."
It therefore has here the meaning "before" in the sense of "place," as it
does in the same phrase in verse 10, where it is properly translated in the
Authorized Version "from before Him." We have, then, in verse 8 the picture
of the

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little horn pressing in among the ten and forcibly plucking up three horns
from before it. In verse 20, it is declared that the three horns "fell"
from before it, as if overcome by it. In verse 24, we read that another
king, representing the little horn, "shall subdue three kings [horns],"
evidently by acts of force. While the word qadam is also used in the sense
of time, as in the word "before" in verse 7, there can scarcely be a doubt
that it is used in the sense of place in the three verses cited above. With
this interpretation Edward Elliott clearly agrees. (See page 128.)

The position is here confidently taken that the three powers, or horns,
plucked up by the roots were the Heruli, the Vandals, and the Ostrogoths;
and this position rests upon reliable historical data. Odoacer, the leader
of the Heruli, was the first of the barbarians who reigned over the Romans.
He took the throne of Italy, A.D. 476. Of his religious belief Gibbon says:
"Like the rest of the barbarians he had been instructed in the Arian
heresy; but he revered the monastic and episcopal characters; and the
silence of the Catholics attests the toleration which they enjoyed." [9]

The same author says: "The Ostrogoths, the Burgundians, the Suevi, and the
Vandals, who had listened to the eloquence of the Latin clergy, preferred
the more intelligible lessons of their domestic teachers; and Arianism was
adopted as the national faith of the warlike converts who were seated on
the ruins of the Western Empire. This irreconcilable difference of religion
was a perpetual source of jealousy and hatred; and the reproach of
barbarian was embittered by the more odious epithet of heretic. The heroes
of the north, who had submitted with some reluctance to believe that all
their ancestors were in hell, were astonished and exasperated to learn that
they themselves had only changed the mode of their eternal condemnation."
[10]

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The Arian doctrine had a marked influence on the church at that time, as
will be observed in the following paragraphs: "The whole of the vast Gothic
population which descended on the Roman Empire, so far as it was Christian
at all, held to the faith of the Alexandrian heretic. Our first Teutonic
version of the Scriptures was by an Arian missionary, Ulfilas. The first
conqueror of Rome, Alaric, the first conqueror of Africa, Genseric, were
Arians. Theodoric the Great, king of Italy, and hero of the
'Nibelungenlied,' was an Arian. The vacant place in his massive tomb at
Ravenna is a witness of the vengeance which the Orthodox took on his
memory, when on their triumph they tore down the porphyry vase in which his
Arian subjects had enshrined his ashes." [11]

Ranke states: "But she [the church] fell, as was inevitable, into many
embarrassments, and found herself in an entirely altered condition. A pagan
people took possession of Britain; Arian kings seized the greater part of
the remaining West; while the Lombards, long attached to Arianism, and as
neighbors most dangerous and hostile, established a powerful sovereignty
before the very gates of Rome. The Roman bishops, meanwhile, beset on all
sides, exerted themselves, with all the prudence and pertinacity which have
remained their peculiar attributes, to regain the mastery--at least in
their patriarchal diocese." [12]

Machiavelli says: "Nearly all the wars which the northern barbarians
carried on in Italy, it may be here remarked, were occasioned by the
pontiffs; and the hordes with which the country was inundated, were
generally called in by them." [13]

The relation which these Arian kings sustained to the pope is shown in the
following testimony from Mosheim in his church history:

"On the other hand, it is certain, from a variety of the most authentic
records, that both the emperors and the nations in

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general were far from being disposed to bear with patience the yoke of
servitude which the see of Rome was arrogantly imposing upon the Christian
church. The Gothic princes set bounds to the power of the bishop of Rome in
Italy, permitted none to be raised to the pontificate without their
approbation, and reserved to themselves the right of judging concerning the
legality of every new election." [14]

An instance in proof of this statement occurs in the history of Odoacer,
the first Arian king above mentioned. [15] When, on the death of Pope
Simplicius, A.D. 483, the clergy and people had assembled for the election
of a new pope, suddenly Basilius, lieutenant of King Odoacer, appeared in
the assembly, expressed his surprise that any such work as appointing a
successor to the deceased pope should be undertaken without him, in the
name of the king declared all that had been done null and void, and ordered
the election to be begun anew.

Meanwhile, Zeno, the emperor of the East, and friend of the pope, was
anxious to drive Odoacer out of Italy, a movement which he soon had the
satisfaction of seeing accomplished without trouble to himself. Theodoric
had come to the throne of the Ostrogothic kingdom in Moesia and Pannonia.
Being on friendly terms with Zeno, he wrote him, stating that it was
impossible for him to restrain his Goths within the impoverished province
of Pannonia, and asking his permission to lead them to some more favorable
region which they might conquer and posses. Zeno gave him permission to
march against Odoacer and take possession of Italy. Accordingly, after a
five years' war, the Herulian kingdom in Italy was overthrown, Odoacer was
treacherously slain, and Theodoric established his Ostrogoths in the
Italian peninsula. As already stated, he was an Arian, and the law of
Odoacer subjecting the election of the pope to the approval of the king,
was still retained.

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The following incident will show how completely the papacy was in
subjection to his power. The Catholics in the East having begun a
persecution against the Arians, A.D. 523, Theodoric summoned Pope John into
his presence and thus addressed him: " 'If the emperor [Justin, the
predecessor of Justinian] therefore does not think fit to revoke the edict
which he has lately issued against those of my persuasion [that is, the
Arians], it is my firm resolution to issue the like edict against those of
his [that is, the Catholics]; and to see it everywhere executed with the
same rigor. Those who do not profess the faith of Nice, are heretics to
him, and those who do are heretics to me. Whatever can excuse or justify
his severity to the former, will excuse and justify mine to the latter. But
the emperor,' continued the king, 'has none about him who dare freely and
openly speak what they think, or to whom he would hearken if they did. But
the great veneration which he professes for your See , leaves no room to
doubt but he would hearken to you. I will therefore have you to repair
forthwith to Constantinople, and there to remonstrate, both in my name and
your own, against the violent measures in which that court has so rashly
engaged. It is in your power to divert the emperor from them; and till you
have, nay, till the Catholics [this name Theodoric applies to the Arians]
are restored to the free exercise of their religion, and to all the
churches from which they have been driven, you must not think of returning
to Italy.' " [16]

The pope who was thus peremptorily ordered by the Arian emperor not to set
foot again upon Italian soil until he had carried out the will of the king,
certainly could not hope for much advancement toward any kind of supremacy
until that power was taken out of the way.

The feelings of the papal party toward Theodoric may be accurately
estimated, according to a quotation already given, by the vengeance which
they took on his memory. They tore from his tomb the vase in which his
Arian subjects had en-

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shrined his ashes. These feelings are put into language by Baronius, who
inveighs "against Theodoric as a cruel barbarian, as a barbarous tyrant, as
an impious Arian." [17]

While the Catholics were thus feeling the restraining power of an Arian
king in Italy, they were suffering a violent persecution from the Arian
Vandals in Africa. [18] Elliot says: " The Vandal kings were not only
Arians, but persecutors of the Catholics; in Sardinia and Corsica under the
Roman Episcopate, we may presume, as well as in Africa." [19]

Such was the position of affairs, when, A.D. 533, Justinian entered upon
his Vandal and Gothic wars. Wishing to obtain the influence of the pope and
the Catholic party, he issued that memorable decree which was to constitute
the pope of all the churches, and from the carrying out of which A.D. 538,
the period of papal supremacy is to be dated. And whoever will read the
history of the African campaign, 533-534, and the Italian campaign,
534-538, will notice that the Catholics everywhere hailed as deliverers the
army of Belisarius, the general of Justinian.

But no decree of this nature could be carried into effect until the Arian
horns which stood in its way were overthrown. A turn came, however, in the
tide of affairs, for in the military campaign in Africa and Italy the
victorious legions of Belisarius dealt a crushing blow to Arianism, so much
so that its final supporters were vanquished.

Procopius relates that the African war was undertaken by Justinian for the
relief of the Christians (Catholics) in that quarter, and that when he
expressed his intention in this respect, the prefect of the palace came
very near dissuading him from his purpose. But a dream appeared to him in
which he was bidden "not to shrink from the execution of his design;

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for by assisting the Christians he would overthrow the power of the
Vandals." [20]

Mosheim declares: "It is true, the Greeks who had received the decrees of
the Council of Nice [that is, from the Catholics], persecuted and oppressed
the Arians wherever their influence and authority could reach; but the
Nicenians, in their turn, were not less rigorously treated by their
adversaries [the Arians], particularly in Africa and Italy, where they
felt, in a very severe manner, the weight of the Arian power, and the
bitterness of their resentment. the triumphs of Arianism were, however,
transitory; and its prosperous days were entirely eclipsed when the Vandals
were driven out of Africa, and the Goths out of Italy, by the arms of
Justinian." [21]

Elliot summarizes: "I might cite three that were eradicated from before the
pope out of the list first given, viz., the Heruli under Odoacer, the
Vandals, and the Ostrogoths." [22]

From the historical testimony above cited, we think it clearly established
that the three horns plucked up were the powers named: the Heruli, A.D.
493, the Vandals, in 534, and the Ostrogoths finally in 553, though
effective opposition by the latter to the decree of Justinian ceased when
they were driven from Rome by Belisarius in 583, [23] as stated on page
127.

Little Horn to "Speak Great Words Against the Most High."--This prophecy,
too, has been unhappily fulfilled in the history of the pontiffs. They have
sought, or at least have permitted to be applied to them, titles which
would be hyperbolical and blasphemous if applied to an angel of God.

Lucius Ferraris, in his Prompta Bibliotheca which the Catholic Encylopedia
refers to as "a veritable encyclopedia of religious knowledge" and "a
precious mine of information," declares, in its article on the pope, that
"the pope is of so great dignity and so exalted that he is not a mere man,
but as it

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were God, and the vicar of God. . . . The pope is of such lofty and supreme
dignity that, properly speaking, he has not been established in any rank of
dignity, but rather has been placed upon the very summit of all ranks of
dignities. . . . The pope is called most holy because he is rightfully
presumed to be such...

"The pope alone is deservedly called by the name 'most holy,' because he
alone is the vicar of Christ, who is the fountain and source and fullness
of all holiness. . . . 'He is likewise the divine monarch and supreme
emperor, and king of kings.' . . . Hence the pope is crowned with a triple
crown, as king of heaven and of earth and of the lower regions. . . .
Moreover the superiority and the power of the Roman Pontiff by no means
pertain only to heavenly things, to earthly things, and to things under the
earth, but are even over angels, than whom he is greater. . . . So that if
it were possible that the angels might err in the faith, or might think
contrary to the faith, they could be judged and excommunicated by the pope.
. . . For he is of so great dignity and power that he forms one and the
same tribunal with Christ. . . .

"The pope is as it were God on earth, sole sovereign of the faithful of
Christ, chief king of kings, having plenitude of power, to whom has been
intrusted by the omnipotent God direction not only of the earthly but also
of the heavenly kingdom. . . . The pope is of so great authority and power
that he can modify, explain, or interpret even divine laws." [24]

Christopher Marcellus, at the fourth session of the fifth Lateran Council
in an oration to the Pope, exclaimed: "Thou are the shepherd, thou art the
physician, thou art the director, thou art the husbandman; finally, thou
art another God on earth." [25]

Again, Adam Clarke says on verse 25: " 'He shall speak as if he were God.'
So St. Jerome quotes from Symmachus. To

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none can this apply so well or so fully as to the popes of Rome. They have
assumed infallibility, which belongs only to God. They profess to forgive
sins, which belongs only to God. They profess to open and shut heaven,
which belongs only to God. They profess to be higher than all the kings of
the earth, which belongs only to God. And they go beyond God in pretending
to loose whole nations from their oath of allegiance to their kings, when
such kings do not please them. And they go against God when they give
indulgences for sin. This is the worst of all blasphemies." [26]

Little Horn to "Wear Out the Saints of the Most High."--It requires but
little historical investigation to prove that Rome, both in the times of
antiquity and during the Dark Ages, carried forward a work of destruction
against the church of God. Abundant evidences can be given showing that
prior to and following the great work of Reformation, wars, crusades,
massacres, inquisitions, and persecutions of all kinds were the methods
adopted to compel all to submit to the Roman yoke.

The story of medieval persecution is a frightful one, and we dread to dwell
upon its detail. Yet for a proper understanding of this passage it is
necessary that we recall some of the happenings of these unhappy times.
Albert Barnes, in his comment on this passage, remarks:

"Can anyone doubt that this is true of the papacy? The Inquisition, the
'persecutions of the Waldenses;' the ravages of the Duke of Alva; the fires
of Smithfield; the tortures at Goa--indeed, the whole history of the papacy
may be appealed to in proof that his is applicable to that power. If
anything could have 'worn out the saints of the Most High'--could have cut
them off from the earth of that evangelical religion would have become
extinct, it would have been the persecutions of the papal power. In the
year 1208, a crusade was proclaimed by Pope Innocent III against the
Waldenses and Albigenses, in which a million of men perished. From the
beginning of the

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order of the Jesuits, in the year 1540, to 1580, nine hundred thousand were
destroyed. One hundred and fifty thousand perished by the Inquisition in
thirty years. In the Low Countries fifty thousand persons were hanged,
beheaded, burned, and buried alive, for the crime of heresy, within the
space of thirty-eight years from the edict of Charles V against the
Protestants, to the peace of Chateau Cambreses in 1559. Eighteen thousand
suffered by the hand of the executioner in the space of five years and a
half during the administration of the Duke of Alva. Indeed, the slightest
acquaintance with the history of the papacy will convince any one that what
is here said of 'making war with the saints' (verse 21), and 'wearing out
the saints of the Most High' (verse 25), is strictly applicable to that
power, and will accurately describe its history." [27]

These facts are confirmed by the testimony of W. E. H. Lecky. He declares:

"That the Church of Rome has shed more innocent blood than any other
institution that has ever existed among mankind, will be questioned by no
Protestant who has a complete knowledge of history. The memorials, indeed,
of many of her persecutions are now so scanty that it is impossible to form
a complete conception of the multitude of her victims, and it is quite
certain that no powers of imagination can adequately realize their
sufferings. . . . These atrocities were not perpetrated in the brief
paroxysms of a reign of terror, or by the hands of obscure sectaries, but
were inflicted by a triumphant church, with every circumstance of solemnity
and deliberation." [28]

It makes no difference that in numerous instances the victims were turned
over to the civil authorities. It was the church that made the decision
upon the question of heresy, and it then passed the offenders over to the
secular court. But in those days the secular power was but the tool in the

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hands of the church. It was under its control and did its bidding. When the
church delivered its prisoners to the executioners to be destroyed, with
fiendish mockery it made use of the following formula: "And we do leave and
deliver thee to the secular arm, and to the power of the secular court; but
at the same time do most earnestly beseech that court so to moderate its
sentence as not to touch thy blood, or to put thy life in any danger." [29]
Then, as intended, the unfortunate victims of popish hate were immediately
executed.

The testimony of Lepicier is to the point in this connection: "The civil
power can only punish the crime of unbelief in the manner and to the extent
that the crime is judicially made known to it by ecclesiastical persons,
skilled in the doctrine of the faith. But the church taking cognizance by
herself of the crime of unbelief, can by herself decree the sentence of
death, yet not execute it; but she hands over the execution of it to the
secular arm." [30]

The false claims of some Catholics that their church has never killed
dissenters, have been flatly denied by one of their own standard writers,
Cardinal Bellarmine, who was born in Tuscany in 1542, and who, after his
death in 1621, came very near being placed in the calendar of saints on
account of his great services in behalf of the church. This man, on one
occasion, under the spur of controversy, betrayed himself into an admission
of the real facts in the case. Luther having said that the church (meaning
the true church) never burned heretics, Bellarmine, understanding it of the
Roman Catholic Church, made answer: "This argument proves not the
sentiment, but the ignorance or impudence of Luther; for as almost an
infinite number were either burned or otherwise put to death, Luther either
did no know it, and was therefore ignorant; or if he knew it, he is
convicted of impudence and falsehood--for that

Page 134

heretics were often burned by the church, may be proved by adducing a few
from many examples." [31]

Alfred Baudrillart, rector of the Catholic Institute of Paris, when
referring to the attitude of the church toward heresy, remarks:

"When confronted by heresy, she does not content herself with persuasion;
arguments of an intellectual and moral order appear to her insufficient,
and she has recourse to force, to corporal punishment, to torture. She
creates tribunals like those of the Inquisition, she calls the laws of
state to her aid, if necessary she encourages a crusade, or a religious
war, and all her 'horror of blood' practically culminates into urging the
secular power to shed it, which proceeding is almost more odious--for it is
less frank--than shedding it herself.

"Especially did she act thus in the sixteenth century with regard to
Protestants. Not content to reform morally, to teach by example, to convert
people by eloquent and holy missionaries, she lit in Italy, in the Low
Countries, and above all in Spain, the funeral piles of the Inquisition. In
France under Francis I and Henri II, in England under Mary Tudor, she
tortured the heretics, while both in France and Germany, during the second
half of the sixteenth, and first half of the seventeenth centuries, if she
did not actually begin, at any rate she encouraged and actively aided the
religious wars." [32]

In a letter of Pope Martin V (A.D. 1417-1431), are the following
instructions to the King of Poland:

" 'Know that the interest of the Holy See, and those of your crown make it
a duty to exterminate the Hussites. Remember that these impious persons
dare proclaim principles of equality, they maintain that all Christians are
brethren, and that God has not given to privileged men the right of ruling
nations; they hold that Christ came on earth to abolish slavery; they call
the people to liberty, that is, to the annihilation of kings

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and priests! Whilst there is still time, then, turn your forces against
Bohemia; burn, massacre, make deserts everywhere, for nothing could be more
agreeable to God, or more useful to the cause of kings, than the
extermination of the Hussites.' " [33]

All this was in harmony with the teaching of the church. Heresy was not to
be tolerated, but to be destroyed.

Pagan Rome persecuted the Christian church relentlessly. It is estimated
that three million Christians perished in the first three centuries of the
Christian Era. Yet it is said that the primitive Christians prayed for the
continuance of imperial Rome, for the knew that when this form of
government should cease, another far worse persecuting power would arise,
which would literally "wear out the saints of the Most High," as this
prophecy declares. Pagan Rome could slay the infants, but spare the
mothers; but papal Rome slew both mothers and infants together. No age, no
sex, no condition in life, was exempt from her relentless rage.

Little Horn to "Think to Change Times and Laws."--What laws and whose? Not
the laws of other earthly governments; for it was nothing marvelous or
strange for one power to change the laws of another, whenever it could
bring such power under its dominion. Not human laws of any kind; for the
little horn had power to change these so far as its jurisdiction extended;
but the times and laws in question were such as this power should only
think to change, but not be able to change. They are the laws of the same
Being to whom the saints belong who are worn out by this power, namely, the
laws of the Most High. And has the papacy attempted this?--Yes, even this.

It has added the second commandment of the Decalogue to the first, making
them one, and divided the tenth into two, making the ninth forbid the
coveting of a neighbor's wife, and the tenth that of a neighbor's
property--thus making up the

Page 138

full number ten. While the full wording of the second commandment is
retained in the Roman Catholic Bible and in the Roman Catechism authorized
by the Council of Trent, painstaking explanation is made that in the case
of images and likenesses of any kind except that of God Himself, their
making and use are not forbidden by the commandment when employed only to
venerate the virtues of the saints and not to worship them as gods, which
latter is expressly forbidden in the commandment. The same principle is
applied also to ashes, bones, and other relics of saints, and to
representations of angels.

As to the fourth commandment, numbered as the third in their arrangement,
the catechism of highest authority in the Roman Catholic Church retains the
commandment entire, and urges punctilious observance of the Sabbath in the
personal life and in public worship as a sacred privilege and duty.
Nevertheless the position is taken that the particular day on which the
Sabbath is to be observed, was connected with the ceremonial ordinances of
the Jews, and was with them done away in Christ. Reasons are then given why
the Sabbath should be observed on the first day of the week commonly called
Sunday.

In support of the foregoing brief statement on the changing of "times and
laws" by the papacy, we draw evidence from the catechism of highest
authority in the Roman Catholic Church, cited hereafter. According to The
Catholic Encyclopedia, "the authority of this catechism is higher than that
of any other, but is, or course not on a level with that of the canons and
decrees of a council." [34]

Before making quotations, it should be first stated that in the polity of
the Roman Catholic Church, the canons and decrees of an ecumenical church
council are both official and supreme. Outstanding among such ecumenical
church councils is the Council of Trent, held at Trent, Italy, from 1545 to

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1563. Since that council, called to counteract the spreading influence of
the Protestant Reformation, dealt so widely with the doctrines and usages
of the church, it officially decreed the following: "The holy synod
commands all bishops. . . [to explain the sacraments] according to the form
to be prescribed by the holy synod for all the sacraments in a catechism,
which bishops will take care to have faithfully translated into the vulgar
tongue, and expounded to the people by the parish priests." [35]

In pursuance of this command, a catechism was composed in Latin for the
Roman Catholic Church by St. Charles Borromeo and other theologians, in
1566, and published in Rome by the Vatican Congregation for Propagation of
the Faith, under the title Catechismus Romanus ex decreto Sacrosancti
Concilii Tridentini, jussu S. Pii V Pontificis Maximi editus, in other
words, Roman Catechism according to the decree of the Sacred Council of
Trent, published by order of St. Pius V, Pontifex Maximus.

This book was translated into English by "Very Rev. J. Donovan, D. D. . . .
Domestic Prelate to His Holiness Gregory XVI," etc., and published in
Dublin with a preface dated June 10, 1829. The title of this book reads,
Catechism According to the Decree of the Council of Trent, edited by the
command of our Most Illustrious Lord Pius the Fifth.

From the fifth edition of this Roman Catechism published in Rome in 1796,
we quote the following from Donovan's English Translation, in regard to the
fourth (Catholic third) commandment:

"It pleased the church of God, that the religious celebration of the
Sabbath day should be transferred to the Lord's day [meaning Sunday]; for
as on that day light first shone on the world; so by the resurrection of
our Redeemer on that day, who opened to us the gate to life eternal, our
life was recalled out of darkness into light; whence also the Apostles
would have it named 'the Lord's day.' We also observe in the

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Sacred Scriptures that this day was held sacred because on that day the
creations of the world commenced, and the Holy Ghost was given to the
apostles." [36]

Here is the declaration of the papacy that the Roman Catholic Church
changed the time for observing the Sabbath from the seventh day according
to the decalogue to the first day of the week, which it here erroneously
calls "the Lord's day." (See comment on Revelation 1: 10.) It will be
observed that the apostles are here charged with making the change from
seventh day to the first, but without any proof whatsoever from the
Scriptures, because there is no such proof. All the reasons for the change
given in this declaration, are purely of human and ecclesiastical
invention.

The foregoing testimony is sufficient to show how the papacy has thought to
change times and laws. How later Roman Catholic catechisms for instruction
of "the faithful" come out boldly in declaring that the church changed the
day, and even taunt Protestants with acceptance and observance of the
change, will be found in our comment on the mark of the beast in Revelation
13, pages 608-612.

Before leaving this matter of the change of the Sabbath, it will be
enlightening to observe other reasons given by the papacy for the change
than the false one that it was made by the apostles. In the same Roman
Catechism referred to above, is an attempt to explain how the Sabbath
commandment differs from the others in the decalogue:

"That difference, then, appears certain, that the other precepts of the
decalogue belong to the natural law, and are perpetual and unalterable,
whence is it that, although the law of Moses has been abrogated, yet the
Christian people observe all the commandments which are contained in the
two tables, not because Moses so commanded, but because they agree with the
law of nature, by the force of which men are impelled to their observance;
whereas this commandment,

Page 141

touching the sanctification of the Sabbath, if considered as to the time
appointed [for its observance], is not fixed and unalterable, but
susceptible of change, nor does it belong to the moral but ceremonial law,
neither is it a principle of the natural law, for we are [not] taught or
formed by nature to give external worship to God on that rather than on any
other day; but from the time the people of Israel were liberated from the
bondage of Pharaoh, they observed the Sabbath day. . . .

"But the time when the observance of the Sabbath was to be removed, is that
same time when the other Hebrew rites and ceremonies were to be abrogated,
namely, at the death of Christ; for as those ceremonies are, as it were,
images that shadowed forth the light and truth (Hebrews x, 1), it was,
therefore, necessary that they should be removed at the coming of the light
and truth, which is Jesus Christ." [37]

The reader needs only to be reminded that the ten-commandment law was
written with God's finger on tables of stone, while the ceremonial laws
were written by Moses in a book. More than this, the decalogue was written
by Moses in a book. More than this, the decalogue was written before the
ceremonial laws were given to Moses. Shall we charge God with mixing in one
ceremonial command with the nine of the moral law, and leave it to a
presumptuous ecclesiastical body to make the correction? The reason also
for the observance of the seventh-day Sabbath, as given in the commandment
itself, is that the Creator Himself rested on that day, and set it apart as
a memorial of His work of creation, but with no intimation whatever of its
being "a shadow of things to come" in Christ, to whom all ceremonial
ordinances pointed forward.

One more quotation from the Roman Catechism is worth noticing:

"The Apostles, therefore, resolved to consecrate the first day of the seven
to divine worship, which they called 'the Lord's day;' for St. John, in his
Apocalypse, makes mention of 'the Lord's day' (Apocalypse i,10); and the
Apostle orders

Page 142

collections to made on the first day of the week' (1 Corinthians xvi,2),
which is, as St. Chrysostom interprets, the Lord's day; to give us to
understand, that even the Lord's day was kept holy in the church." [38]

In addition to falsely charging the apostles with changing the day of the
Sabbath, it is here represented that the business reckoning of one's
accounts on the first day of the week is a reason for its observance as the
Sabbath contrary to God's unchangeable law.

This quotation also reveals the fact that the practices and interpretations
of the Fathers, such as "St. Chrysostom," here mentioned, are relied on
rather than the Scriptures themselves for proof that the Sabbath of God's
law was changed to Sunday.

One more observation is appropriate here, especially for Protestant clergy
and laymen to consider. In this Roman Catechism, composed by order of Pope
Pius V about the middle of the sixteenth century, is contained virtually
every argument used by Protestants in our day to support the change of the
Sabbath from the seventh to the first day of the week. Note these:

They assume without proof that the seventh-day Sabbath was part of the
ceremonial law (though embodied in the very heart of the moral law written
by the finger of God), and therefore done away in Christ.

They boldly claim that the apostles ordained that the first day of the week
be observed in place of the seventh, citing John's use of the term "Lord's
day" in Revelation 1: 10, despite the fact that the only day God ever set
apart as holy and claimed as His own by resting on it Himself was the
seventh day of the fourth commandment.

They claim that the Sabbath law of rest "agrees with the law of nature"
requiring cessation of labor and a period for meditation and worship, but
assert that the time of its observ-

Page 143

ance is "susceptible of change," since, according to their argument, it
does not "belong to the moral but ceremonial law," and was therefore
changed by the apostles, by the Fathers, and by the church to the first day
of the week.

The arguments they use for such change are that light first shone on the
world on the first day of the week, the resurrection of Christ took place
on that day, the Holy Spirit descended on the apostles on the same day of
the week, Paul admonished Christians to reckon their business accounts and
lay aside a portion for the Lord on the first day of the week--all of human
invention and without Scriptural authority as reasons for such a change.
The only reasons given by the Creator and Lord of the Sabbath, are that He
created the world in six days, rested on the seventh, and set apart that
day for holy use on the same permanent and unalterable basis as He created
all other things on the other days of creation week.

Protestants may not be aware that in defense of the Sunday sabbath they are
using the Roman Catholic arguments contained in the Catechism of the
Council of Trent published in the sixteenth century, but every one of them
mentioned above is found in that work. Our appeal to every Protestant is to
break away fully from the papacy, and hold to the Bible and the Bible only
in his belief and practice.

"A Time and Times and the Dividing of Time."--The pronoun "they" in the
sentence containing this phrase embraces the saints, the times, and the
laws just mentioned. How long a time were they to be given into the hands
of this power. A time, as we have seen from Daniel 4: 23, is one year; two
times, the least that could be denoted by the plural, two years, and the
dividing of time, or half a time, half a year. The word "dividing" in the
phrase "dividing of time" is translated from the Chaldee word {HEBREW
CHARACTERS IN PRINTED TEXT}, pelage, which Gesenius defines as "a half,"
and refers to Daniel 7: 25 as an example. The Septuagint translates it
"half." We thus have three years and a half for the continuance of this
power. The Chaldee word for "time" in the text before us, is {HEBREW
CHARACTERS IN PRINTED TEXT}, iddan, which

Page 144

Gesenius defines thus: "Time. Spec. in prophetic language for a year.
Daniel 7: 25, {HEBREW CHARACTERS IN PRINTED TEXT} for a year, also two
years and half a year; i.e., for three years and a half; comp. Jos.
B.J.I.I.I."

We must now consider that we are in the midst of symbolic prophecy; hence
in this measurement the time is not literal, but symbolic. The inquiry then
arises, How long a period is denoted by the three years and a half of
prophetic time? The principle given us in the Bible is, that when a day is
used in symbolic prophecy, it stands for a year. (Ezekiel 4: 6; Numbers 14:
34.) Under the Hebrew word for day, {HEBREW CHARACTERS IN PRINTED TEXT},
yom, Gesenius has this remark on its plural: "Sometimes {HEBREW CHARACTERS
IN PRINTED TEXT} [yamim] marks a definite space of time; viz., a year; as
also Syr. and Chald. {HEBREW CHARACTERS IN PRINTED TEXT} [iddan] denotes
both time and year; and as in English several words signifying time,
weight, measure, are likewise used to denote certain specified times,
weights, and measures."

Bible students have recognized this principle through the ages. The
following quotation reveal the agreement of various authorities on this
point. Joachim, abbot of Calabria, one of the great ecclesiastical figures
of the twelfth century, applied the year-day principle to the 1260-year
period. "The woman, clothed with the sun, who signifies the church,
remained hidden in the wilderness from the face of the serpent, a day
without doubt being accepted for a year and a thousand two hundred and
sixty days for the same number of years." [39]

"Three times and an half; that is, for 1260 solar years, reckoning a time
for a calendar year of 360 days, and a day for a solar year. After which
'the judgment is to sit, and they shall take away his dominion,' not at
once, but by degrees, to consume and to destroy it unto the end." [40]

The Bible year, which must be used as the basis of reckoning, contained
three hundred and sixty days. (See comments on Revelation 11: 3.) Three
years and a half contained

Page 145

twelve hundred and sixty days. As each day stands for a year, we have
twelve hundred and sixty years for the continuation of the supremacy of
this horn. Did the papacy posses dominion that length of time? The answer
again is, Yes. The edict of the emperor Justinian, dated A.D. 533, made the
bishop of Rome the head of all the churches. But this edict could not go
into effect until the Arian Ostrogoths, the last of the three horns that
were plucked up to make room for the papacy, were driven from Rome; and
this was not accomplished, as already shown, until A.D. 538. (See p. 127.)
The edict would have been of no effect had this latter event not been
accomplished; hence from this latter year we are to reckon, as this was the
earliest point where the saints were in reality in the hands of this power.
From this point did the papacy hold supremacy for twelve hundred and sixty
years? Exactly. For 538 + 1260 = 1798; and in the year 1798, Berthier, with
a French army, entered Rome, proclaimed a republic, took the pope prisoner,
and inflicted a deadly wound upon the papacy. Though it has never since
enjoyed all the privileges and immunities which it possessed before, we are
seeing a gradual restoration of its former strength.

The Judgment Shall Sit.--After describing the terrible career of the little
horn, and stating that the saints should be given into his hand for 1260
years, bringing us down to 1798, verse 26 declares: "But the judgment shall
sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it
unto the end." In verse 10 of the same chapter we have substantially the
same expression regarding the judgment: "The judgment was set." It would
seem consistent to suppose that the same judgment is referred to in both
instances. But the sublime scene described in verse 10 is the opening of
the investigative judgment in the sanctuary in heaven, as will appear in
remarks on Daniel 8: 14 and 9: 25-27. The opening of this judgment scene is
located by the prophecy at the close of the great prophetic period of 2300
years, which terminated in 1844. (See comments on Daniel 9: 25-27.)

Page 146

Four years after this, in 1848, the great revolution which shook so many
thrones in Europe, also drove the pope from his dominions. His restoration
shortly after was through the forces of foreign bayonets, by which alone he
was upheld until his final loss of temporal power in 1870. The overthrow of
the papacy in 1798 marked the conclusion of the prophetic period of 1260
years, and constituted the "deadly wound," prophesied in Revelation 13: 3
to come upon this power; but this deadly wound was to be "healed."

Deadly Wound to Be Healed.--In 1800 another pope was elected, his palace
and his temporal dominion over the Papal States were restored, and, as
George Croly, noted British commentator, says, every prerogative except
that of a systematic persecutor was again his, for the "deadly wound" was
beginning to be healed.

How could that "deadly wound" be healed, and the specifications of Daniel
7: 26, "They shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it
unto the end," be realized? How are we to explain this apparent paradox?
Whatever the exegetical difficulties may be, the fact remains that in the
history of the papacy these two specifications are being seen.

In 1844 the judgment began its work in the heavenly sanctuary. (Verse 10.)
In verse 11 we are told that because of "the great words which the horn
spake. . .the beast was slain." December 8, 1854, the dogma of the
Immaculate conception was decreed by the pope. In 1870 the armies of Victor
Emmanuel took away the temporal power of the pope, the very year that the
Twentieth Ecumenical Council decreed the infallibility of the pope when
speaking ex cathedra, that is, when as shepherd and teacher of all
Christians he defines a doctrine concerning faith or morals. But despite
the increasing honors heaped upon the office of the bishop of Rome by the
clergy, the pope's temporal power was wholly taken away. Thereafter the
popes shut themselves up as prisoners in the Vatican at Rome until the
signing of the concordat with

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Italy, in 1929, which restored "his dominion" over the Vatican City, a
small section of the city of Rome.

Verse 27 And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom
under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the
Most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall
serve and obey Him. 28 Hitherto is the end of the matter. As for me Daniel,
my cogitations much troubled me, and my countenance changed in me: but I
kept the matter in my heart.

After beholding the dark and desolate picture of papal oppression of the
church, the prophet is permitted once more to turn his eyes upon the
glorious period of the saints' rest, when they shall have the kingdom, free
from all oppressive powers, in everlasting possession. How could the
children of God keep heart in this present evil world, amid the misrule and
oppression of the governments of earth, and the abominations that are done
in the land, if they could not look forward to the kingdom of God and the
return of their Lord, with full assurance that the promises concerning them
both shall certainly be fulfilled, and that speedily?

[1] The Cambridge Ancient History, Vol. VI, pp. 425, 426. By permission of
the Macmillan Company, publishers in the United States.

[2] Ibid., pp. 461-504.

[3] Jean Henri Merle d'Aubigne, History of the Reformation of the Sixteenth
Century, Vol. I, p. 8.

[4] Ibid., p. 9.

[5] See John L. Mosheim, An Ecclesiastical History, Ancient and Modern,
Vol. I, p. 412; Arthur P. Stanley, Lectures on the History of the Eastern
Church, pp. 239, 240.

[6] Albert Barnes, Notes on Daniel, p. 324, comment on Daniel 7: 25.

[7] Thomas Newton, Dissertations on the Prophecies, Vol. I, pp. 275, 276.

[8] Albert Barnes, Notes on Daniel, p. 327, comment on Daniel 7: 25.

[9] Edward Gibbon, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Vol. III,
chap. 36, pp. 515, 516.

[10] Ibid., chap. 37, p. 547.

[11] Arthur P. Stanley, Lectures on the History of the Eastern Church, p.
151.

[12] Leopold Ranke, History of the Popes, Vol. I, p. 9.

[13] Niccolo Machiavelli, History of Florence, p. 14.

[14] John L. Mosheim, An Ecclesiastical History, Ancient and Modern, Vol.
I, p. 113, 114.

[15] See Archibald Bower, The History of the Popes, Vol. I, p. 257.

[16] Ibid., Vol. I, p. 325.

[17] Ibid., p. 328.

[18] Edward Gibbon, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Vol. III,
chap. 37, pp. 548-552.

[19] Edward B. Elliott, Horae, Apocalypticae, Vol. III, p. 139, Note 3.

[20] Theodoret and Evagrius, A History of the Church, p. 399.

[21] John L. Mosheim, An Ecclesiastical History, Ancient and Modern, Vol.
I, p. 142, 143.

[22] Edward B. Elliott, Horae, Apocalypticae, Vol. III, p. 139, Note 1.

[23] See Student's Gibbon, pp. 309-319.

[24] Translated from Lucius Ferraris, Prompta Bibliotheca, art. "Papa," II,
Vol. VI, pp. 26-29.

[25] P. Joannis Harduin, Acta Conciliorum, Vol. IX, p. 1651.

[26] Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Old Testament, Vol. IV, p. 596, note on
Daniel 7: 25.

[27] Albert Barnes, Notes on Daniel, p. 328, comment on Daniel 7: 25.

[28] William E. H. Lecky, History of the Rise and Influence of the Spirit
of Rationalism in Europe, Vol. II, pp. 35, 37.

[29] Michael Geddes, "A View of the Court of Inquisition in Portugal,"
Miscellaneous Tracts, Vol. I, p. 408. See also Philip Limborch, The History
of the Inquisition, Vol. II, p. 289.

[30] Alexius M. Lepicier, The Stability and Progress of Dogma, p. 195.

[31] John Dowling, The History of Romanism, p. 547.

[32] Alfred Baudrillart, The Catholic Church, the Renaissance, and
Protestantism, pp. 182, 183.

[33] L. M. de Cormenin, The Public and Private History of the Popes of
Rome, Vol. II, pp. 116, 117.

[34] Catholic Encyclopedia, art. "Doctrine, Christian," Vol. V, p. 79.

[35] J. Donovan, quoting from "council of Trent, Sess. xxiv, c. vii, on
Reformation," Catechism of the Council of Trent, p. 4.

[36] Catechism of the Council of Trent, p. 347.

[37] Ibid., pp. 342, 343.

[38] Ibid., pp. 343, 344.

[39] Joachim of Floris, Concordantia, book 2, chap. 16, p. 12b.

[40] Sir Issac Newton, Observations Upon the Prophecies of Daniel, pp. 127,
128.
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Page 149

                                Chapter VIII

               The World Arraigned Before the Court of Heaven

We now come once more," says Adam Clarke, "to the Hebrew, the Chaldee part
of the book being finished. As the Chaldeans had a particular interest both
in the history and prophecies from chapter 2: 4 to the end of chapter 7,
the whole is written in Chaldee; but as the prophecies which remain concern
times posterior to the Chaldean monarchy, and principally relate to the
church and people of God generally, they are written in the Hebrew
language, this being the tongue in which God chose to reveal all His
counsels given under the Old Testament relative to the New." [1]

Verse 1 In the third year of the reign of king Belshazzar a vision appeared
unto me, even unto me Daniel, after that which appeared unto me at the
first.

One prominent characteristic of the sacred writings which should forever
shield them from the charge of being works of fiction, is the frankness and
freedom with which the writers state all the circumstances connected with
events which they record. Here verse 1 states the time when this vision was
given to Daniel. The first year of Belshazzar was 540 B.C. His third year,
in which this vision was given, would consequently be 538. Since Daniel was
about twenty years of age when he was carried to Babylon in the first year
of Nebuchadnezzar in 606 B.C., he was at this time about eighty-eight years
of age. The vision he refers to as the one which appeared unto him at the
first, is doubtless the vision of the seventh chapter, which he had in the
first year of Belshazzar's reign.

Page 150

Verse 2 And I saw in a vision; and it came to pass, when I saw, that I was
at Shushan in the palace, which is in the province of Elam; and I saw in a
vision, and I was by the river of Ulai.

As verse states the time when the vision was given, this verse gives the
place where the prophet received the revelation. Shushan was the metropolis
of the province of Elam, which was then in the hands of the Babylonians,
and the king of Babylon had a royal palace there. Daniel as minister of the
state employed in the king's business, was in that place. Abradates,
viceroy of Shushan gave his allegiance to Cyrus, and the province was
joined to the Medes and Persians; so that, according to the prophecy of
Isaiah 21: 2, Elam went up with the Medes to besiege Babylon. Under the
Medes and Persians, Elam regained its liberties, of which it had been
deprived by the Babylonians, according to the prophecy of Jeremiah 49: 39.

Verse 3 Then I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and, behold, there stood
before the river a ram which had two horns: and the two horns were high;
but one was higher than the other, and the higher came up last. 4 I saw the
ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward; so that no beasts might
stand before him, neither was there any that could deliver out of his hand;
but he did according to his will, and became great.

Kingdoms of Media and Persia.--In verse 20 an interpretation of this symbol
is given in plain language: "The ram which thou sawest having two horns are
the kings of Media and Persia." We have only therefore to consider how well
the power answers to the symbol in question. The two horns represented the
two nationalities of which the empire was composed. The higher came up
last. This symbolized Persia, which at first was simply an ally of the
Medes, but later came to be the leading division of the empire. The
directions in which the ram pushed denote the directions in which the Medes
and Persians carried their conquests. No earthly powers could stand before
them as they marched toward the exalted position to which the providence of
God had summoned them. So successful were their conquests that in the

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days of Ahasuerus (Esther 1: 1) the Medo-Persian kingdom, consisting of one
hundred twenty-seven provinces, extended from India to Ethiopia, the
boundaries of the then-known world.

Verse 5 And as I was considering, behold, an he goat came from the west on
the face of the whole earth, and touched not the ground: and the goat had a
notable horn between his eyes. 6 And he came to the ram that had two horns,
which I had seen standing before the river, and ran unto him in the fury of
his power. 7 And I saw him come close unto the ram, and he was moved with
choler against him, and smote the ram, and brake his two horns: and there
was no power in the ram to stand before him, but he cast him down to the
ground, and stamped upon him: and there was none that could deliver the ram
out of his hand.

Kingdom of Grecia.--"As I was considering," said the prophet. Here is an
example for every lover of truth and all how have any regard for spiritual
things. when Moses saw the burning bush, he said, "I will now turn aside,
and see this great sight." How few are willing at the present time to turn
aside from their pursuit of business or pleasure to consider the important
themes which god seeks to bring to their attention. The symbol here
introduced is explained to Daniel by the angel. "The rough goat is the king
[or kingdom] of Grecia." Verse 21. Concerning the fitness of this symbol to
represent the Grecian, or Macedonian, people, Thomas Newton observes that
the Macedonians, "About two hundred years before Daniel, were denominated
AEgeadae, or the goat's people." He explains the origin of the name as
recounted by heathen authors: "Caranus, their first king, going with a
great multitude of Greeks to seek new habitations in Macedonia, was
commanded by the oracle to take the goats for his guides to empire: and
afterwards seeing a herd of goats flying from a violent storm, he followed
them to Edessa, and there fixed the seat of his empire, made the goats his
ensigns or standards and called the city AEgeae, or the goat's town, and
the people AEgeadae, or the goat's people. . . . The city of AEgeae, or
AEgeae, was the usual burying place of the Macedonian kings.

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It is also very remarkable that Alexander's son by Roxana was named
Alexander AEgus, of the son of the goat; and some of Alexander's successors
are represented in their coins with goat's horns." [2]

The "goat came from the west on the face of the whole earth." That is,
Greece lay west of Persia and attacked from that direction. The Greek army
swept everything on the face of the earth before it.

The goat "touched not the ground." Such was the marvelous celerity of this
movements that he seemed to fly from point to point with the swiftness of
the wind. The same characteristic of speed is indicated by the four wings
of the leopard in the vision of Daniel 7, representing the same nation.

Alexander the "Notable Horn."--The notable horn between his eyes is
explained in verse 21 to be the first king of the Macedonian Empire. This
king was Alexander the Great.

A concise account of the overthrow of the Persian Empire by Alexander is
given in verses 6 and 7. The battles between the Greeks and the Persians
are said to have been exceedingly fierce. Some of the scenes recorded in
history vividly bring to mind the figure used in the prophecy--a ram
standing before the river, and the goat running toward him "the fury of his
power." Alexander first vanquished the generals of Darius at the River
Granicus in Phrygia. He next attacked and routed Darius at the passes of
Issus in Cilicia, and afterward defeated him on the plains of Arbela in
Syria. This latter battle occurred in 331 B.C., and marked the fall of the
Persian Empire. By this event Alexander became master of the whole country.
Concerning verse 6--"He [the goat] came to the ram that had two horns,
which I had seen standing before the river, and ran unto him in the fury of
his power"--Thomas Newton says: "One can hardly read these words without
having some image of Darius's army standing and guarding the River
Granicus, and of Alexander on the other side with his forces plunging in,

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swimming across the stream, and rushing on the enemy with all the fire and
fury that can be imagined." [3]

Ptolemy begins the reign of Alexander in 332 B.C. but it was not until the
battle of Arbela the year following that Alexander became "absolute lord of
that empire in the utmost extent in which it was ever possessed by any of
the Persian kings." [4]

On the eve of this battle, Darius sent ten of his chief relatives to sue
for peace. When they had presented their conditions to Alexanders, he is
said to have replied, "Heaven cannot support two suns, not the earth two
masters." [5]

The language of verse 7 sets forth the completeness of the subjection of
Medo-Persia to Alexander. The two horns were broken, and the ram was cast
to the ground and stamped upon. Persia was subdued, the country ravaged,
its armies cut to pieces and scattered, and its cities plundered. The royal
city of Persepolis, the capital of the Persian Empire--even its ruins one
of the wonders of the world to the present day--was sacked and burned. Thus
the ram had no power to stand before the goat, and there was none that
could deliver him out of his hand.

Verse 8 Therefore the he goat waxed very great: and when he was strong, the
great horn was broken; and for it came up four notable ones toward the four
winds of heaven.

Great Horn Broken.--The conqueror is greater than the conquered. The ram,
Medo-Persia, became "great;" the goat, Greece, became "very great." "When
he was strong, the great horn was broken." Human foresight and speculation
would have said, When he becomes weak, his kingdom torn by rebellion, or
weakened by luxury, then the horn will be broken, and the kingdom
shattered. But Daniel saw it broken in the prime of its strength, at the
height of tis power, when

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every beholder would have exclaimed, Surely, the kingdom is established,
and nothing can overthrow it. Thus it is often with the wicked. The horn of
their strength is broken when they think they stand most firm. The
Scripture says, "Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall."
1 Corinthians 10: 12.

Four Notable Horns Come Up.--After Alexander's death there arose much
contention among his followers respecting the succession. After a seven
days' contest it was agreed that his natural brother, Philip Aridaeus,
should be declared king. By him, and by Alexander's infant sons, Alexander
AEgus and Hercules, the name and show of the Macedonian Empire were for a
time sustained. But the boys were soon murdered, and the family of
Alexander became extinct. Then the chief commanders of the army, who had
gone into different parts of the empire as governors of the provinces,
assumed the title of king. They at once began warring against one another
to such a degree that within a few years after Alexander's death, the
number was reduced to four--the exact number specified in prophecy.

Four notable horns were to come up toward the four winds of heaven in place
of the great horn that was broken. These were Cassander, who had Greece and
the neighboring countries; Lysimachus, who had Asia Minor; Selecus, who had
Syria and Babylon, and from whom came the line of kings known as the
"Seleucidae," so famous in history; and Ptolemy, son of Lagus, who had
Egypt, and from whom sprang the "Lagidae." These held dominion toward the
four winds of heaven. Cassander had the western parts, Lysimachus the
northern regions, Seleucus the eastern countries, and Ptolemy the southern
portion of the empire. These four horns may therefore be named Macedonia,
Thrace (which then included Asia Minor, and those parts lying on the
Hellespont and the Bosphorus), Syria, and Egypt.

Verse 9 And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which waxed
exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the

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pleasant land. 10 And it waxed great, even to the host of heaven; and it
cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon
them. 11 Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host, and by
him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of the sanctuary was
cast down. 12 And an host was given him against the daily sacrifice by
reason of transgression, and it cast down the truth to the ground; and it
practised, and prospered.

A Little Horn Comes Forth.-- A third power is here introduced into the
prophecy. In the explanation given to Daniel by the angel this symbol is
not described as definitely as are Medo-Persia and Greece.

There are two common interpretations of the symbol which need be noticed in
these brief comments. The first is that the "little horn" denotes the
Syrian king, Antiochus Epiphanes. The second is that it denotes the Roman
power. It is an easy matter to test these two positions.

Does the Little Horn Denote Antiochus?--If Antiochus Epiphanes does not
fulfill the specifications of the prophecy, the application cannot be made
to him. The little horn came out of one of the four horns of the goat. It
was therefore a power existing distinct from any of the other horns of the
goat. Was Antiochus such a power?

Who was Antiochus? From the time that Seleucus made himself king over the
Syrian portion of Alexander's empire, thus constituting the Syrian horn of
the goat, until that country was conquered by the Romans, twenty-six kings
ruled in succession over that territory. The eighth of these was Antiochus
Epiphanes. Antiochus, then, was simply one of the twenty-six kings who
constituted the Syrian horn of the goat. He was, therefore, for the time
being, that horn. Hence he could not at the same time be a separate and
independent power, or another and remarkable horn, as was the little horn.

If it were proper to apply the little horn to any one of these twenty-six
Syrian kings, it should certainly be applied to the most powerful and
illustrious of them all; but Antiochus Epiphanes was not by any means the
most powerful king of the Syrian line. Although he took the name Epiphanes,
that is,

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"The Illustrious," he was illustrious only in name. Nothing, says Prideaux,
on the authority of Polybius, Livy, and Diodorus Siculus, could be more
alien to his true character; because of his vile and extravagant folly,
some thought him a fool and changed his name from Epiphanes, "The
Illustrious," to Epimanes, "The Madman." [6]

Antiochus the Great, the father of Epiphanes, being defeated in a war with
the Romans, was able to procure peace only by the payment of a prodigious
sum of money and the surrender of a part of his territory. As a pledge that
he would faithfully adhere to the terms of the treaty, he was obliged to
give hostages, among whom was Epiphanes, his son, who was carried to Rome.
The Romans ever afterward maintained this ascendancy.

The little horn of the goat was to wax exceeding great; but Antiochus
Epiphanes did not become exceeding great. On the contrary, he did not
enlarge his dominion, except by some temporary conquests in Egypt. These he
immediately relinquished when the Romans took the part of Ptolemy and
commanded him to desist from his designs on that territory. The rage of his
disappointed ambition he vented upon the unoffending Jews.

The little horn, in comparison with the powers that preceded it, was
exceeding great. Persia is simply called great, though it consisted of a
hundred twenty-seven provinces. (Esther 1: 1.) Grecia, being more extensive
still, is called very great. Now the little horn, which waxed exceeding
great, must surpass them both. How absurd, then, to apply this Antiochus,
who was obliged to abandon Egypt at the dictation of the Romans. It cannot
take long for anyone to decide the question which was the greater
power--the one which evacuated Egypt, or the one which commanded that
evacuation.

The little horn was to stand up against the Prince of princes, which
expression refers, beyond controversy, to Jesus

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Christ. (Daniel 9: 25; Acts 3: 15; Revelation 1: 5.) But Antiochus died one
hundred sixty-four years before our Lord was born. The prophecy cannot
therefore apply to him, for he does not fulfill the specifications in a
single particular. The question may then be asked, Why has anyone ever
tried to apply it to him? We answer, Roman Catholics take that view to
avoid the application of the prophecy to themselves; and many Protestants
follow them, apparently in order to oppose the doctrine that the second
advent of Christ is now at hand.

The Little Horn Denotes Rome.--It has been an easy matter to show that the
little horn does not denote Antiochus Epiphanes. It will be as easy to show
that it does denote Rome.

The field of vision here is substantially the same as that covered by
Nebuchadnezzar's image of Daniel 2, and the vision of Daniel 7. In both
these prophetic delineations we have found that the power which succeeded
Grecia as the fourth great power was Rome. The only natural inference would
be that the little horn, the power which in this vision succeeds Grecia as
an "exceeding great" kingdom, is also Rome.

The little horn comes froth from one of the horns of the goat. How, it may
be asked, can that be true of Rome? Earthly governments are not introduced
into prophecy until they become in some way connected with the people of
God. Rome became connected with the Jews, the people of God at that time,
by the famous Jewish League in 161 B.C. [7] But seven years before this,
that is, 168 B.C., Rome had conquered Macedonia, and made that country a
part of its empire. Rome is therefore introduced into prophecy just as,
from the overthrow of the Macedonian horn of the goat, it is going forth to
new conquests in other directions. It appeared to the prophet as coming
forth from of the horns of the goat.

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The little horn waxed great toward the south. This was true of Rome. Egypt
was made a province of the Roman Empire in 30 B.C., and continued such for
some centuries.

The little horn waxed great toward the east. This also was true of Rome.
She conquered Syria in 65 B.C., and made it a province.

The little horn waxed great toward the pleasant land. So did Rome. Judea is
called "the pleasant land" in many scriptures. The Romans made it a
province of their empire in 63 B.C., and eventually destroyed the city and
the temple, and scattered the Jews throughout the earth.

The little horn "waxed great, even to ["against," margin] the host of
heaven; and it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground."
Rome did this also. In this expressions two figures are introduced, "the
host" and "the stars." When used in a symbolic sense concerning events
taking place on earth, these figures refer almost always to the people of
God and their leaders. In verse 13 of this chapter we read that both the
sanctuary and the host will be trodden under foot. Here undoubtedly
reference is made to God's people and the place of their worship. The stars
would naturally represent the leaders of the work of God. This thought is
further indicated in one of the applications of Revelation 12: 4 where we
read that the great red dragon, a symbol of Rome, cast down a third part of
the stars to the ground.

The little horn "magnified himself even to the Prince of the host." Rome
alone did this. In the interpretation (verse 25) the little horn is said to
"stand up against the Prince of princes." This is clearly an allusion to
the crucifixion of our Lord under the jurisdiction of the Romans.

Rome in Two Aspects.--By the little horn "the daily sacrifice was taken
away." This little horn symbolized Rome in its entire history, including
its two phases, pagan and papal. These two phases are elsewhere spoken of
as the "daily" (sacrifice is a supplied word) and the "transgression of
desolation;" the daily (desolation) evidently signifying the pagan

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form, and the transgression of desolation, the papal. (See comments on
verse 13.) In the actions ascribed to this power, sometimes one form is
spoken of, sometimes the other. "by him [the papal form] the daily [the
pagan form] was taken away." Pagan Rome was remodeled into papal Rome. "The
place of his sanctuary," or worship, the city of Rome, was cast down. The
seat of government was removed by Constantine to Constantinople, A.D. 330.
This same transaction is brought to view in Revelation 13: 2, where it is
said that the dragon, pagan Rome, gave to the beast, papal Rome, his seat,
the city of Rome.

A "host was given him [the little horn] against the daily." The barbarians
that subverted the Roman Empire in the changes, attritions, and
transformations of those times, became converts to the Catholic faith, and
the instruments of the dethronement of their former religion. Though
conquering Rome politically, they were themselves vanquished religiously by
the theology of Rome, and became the perpetuators of the same empire in
another phase. This was brought about by reason of "transgression;" that
is, by the working of the mystery of iniquity. The papacy may be called a
system of iniquity because it has done its evil work under the pretense of
the pure and undefiled religion. Of this false religious system, Paul wrote
in the first century to the Thessalonians, "The mystery of iniquity doth
already work." 2 Thessalonians 2: 7.

The little horn "cast down the truth to the ground, and practiced and
prospered." This describes in few words the work and career of the papacy.
The truth is by it hideously caricatured, loaded with traditions, turned
into mummery and superstition, cast down and obscured.

Of this ecclesiastical power it is declared that it has
"practiced"--practiced its deceptions on the people, practiced in schemes
of cunning to carry out its own ends and aggrandize its own power.

Likewise it has "prospered." It has made war upon the saints, and prevailed
against them. It has well-nigh run its

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allotted career, and is soon to be broken without hand, to be given to the
burning flame, and to perish in the consuming glories of the second
appearing of our Lord.

Rome meets all the specifications of the prophecy. No other power does meet
them. Hence Rome, and on other, is the power in question. The inspired
descriptions given in the word of God of the character of this system are
fully met, and the prophecies concerning it have been most strikingly and
accurately fulfilled in history.

Verse 13 Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that
certain saint which spake, How long shall be the vision concerning the
daily sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation, to give both the
sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot? 14 And he said unto me,
Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be
cleansed.

The Time in the Prophecy.--These two verses of Daniel 8 close the vision
proper. They introduce the one remaining point which of all others would
naturally be of most absorbing interest to the prophet and to the church,
namely, the length of time the desolating powers previously brought to view
were to continue. How long shall they continue their course of oppression
against God's people? If time had been given, Daniel might have asked this
question himself, but God ever anticipates out desires, and sometimes
answers them before we ask.

Two celestial beings converse upon this subject. This is an important
matter which the church should understand well. Daniel heard one saint
speaking. What this saint said, we are not informed. But another saint
asked an important question: "How long shall be the vision?" Both the
question and the answer are placed upon the record, which is prima facie
evidence that this is a matter the church should understand. This view is
further confirmed by the fact that the answer was addressed to Daniel, as
the one whom it chiefly concerned, and for whose information it was given.

The 2300 Days.--The angel declared, "Unto two thousand and three hundred
days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed."

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The question may be raised, Why does the Vatican edition of the Septuagint
(LXX) render this number "twenty-four hundred days"? On this point S. P.
Tregelles writes:

"Some writers on prophecy have, in their explanations or interpretations of
this vision, adopted the reading 'two thousand and four hundred days;' and
in vindication of it, they have referred to the common printed copies of
the LXX version. In this book, however, the translation of Theodotion has
been long substituted for the real LXX: and further, although 'two thousand
four hundred' is found in the common printed Greek copies, that is merely
an erratum made in printing the Vatican edition of 1586, which has been
habitually perpetuated. I looked (in 1845) at the passage in the Vatican
MS., which the Roman editions professedly followed, and it read exactly the
same as the Hebrew text ["twenty-three hundred days"]; so also does the
real LXX of Daniel. (So too Cardinal Mai's edition from the Vatican MS.
which appeared in 1857)." [8]

Further substantiating the veracity of the twenty-three-hundred-day period,
we quote the following:

"The edition of the Greek Bible which is commonly used, is printed, as you
will find it stated in Prideaux and Horne, not after that of the 70, but
after that of Theodotion, made about the end of the second century. There
are three principal standard editions of the Septuagint bible, all
containing the version of Daniel by Theodotion; viz., the Complutensian,
published in 1514; the Aldine, 1518; and the Vatican, 1587, from which the
last English editions of the 70 have been chiefly taken; to these three we
may add a fourth, being that of the Alexandrian text, published between
1707 and 1720. Besides these, there is one called the Chisian, 1772, which
contains the Greek text both of Theodotion and of the 70. Of all these six
copies the Vatican alone reads 2400, all the rest agreeing with the Hebrew
and our English Bibles. Moreover, the manuscript itself, in the Vatican,
from which the edition

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was printed, has 2300, and not 2400, and therefore it is indisputable that
the number 2400 is nothing but a misprint." [9]

These quotations show clearly that no confidence whatever can be placed in
this rendering of the Vatican edition of the Septuagint.

What is the Daily?--We have proof in verse 13 that "sacrifice" is the wrong
word to be supplied in connection with the word "daily." If the taking away
of the daily sacrifice of the Jewish service is here meant, as some suppose
(which sacrifice was at a certain point of time taken away), there would be
no propriety in the question, How long shall be the vision concerning it?
This question evidently implies that those agents or events to which the
vision relates occupy a series of years. Continuance of time is the central
idea. The whole time of the vision is filled by what is here called the
"daily" and the "transgression of desolation." Hence the daily cannot be
the daily sacrifice of the Jews, for when the time came for it to be taken
away, that action occupied but an instant of time, when the veil of the
temple was rent in twain at the crucifixion of Christ. It must denote
something which extends over a period of years.

The word here rendered "daily" occurs in the Old Testament one hundred and
two times, according to the Hebrew concordance. In the great majority of
instances it is rendered "continual" or "continually". The idea of
sacrifice is not attached to the word at all. Nor is there any word in the
text which signifies sacrifice. That is a supplied word, the translators
putting in that word which their understanding of the text seemed to
demand. They evidently entertained an erroneous view, the sacrifices of the
Jews not being referred to at all. But it appears to be more in accordance
with both construction and the context to suppose that the word "daily"
refers to a desolating power, like the "transgression of desolation," with
which it is connected. Then we have two

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desolating powers, which for a long period oppress, or desolate, the
church. Literally, the text may be rendered, "How long shall be the vision
[concerning] the continuance and the transgression of desolation?"--the
word "desolation" being related to both "continuance" and "transgression,"
as though it were expressed in full thus: "The continuance of desolation
and the transgression of desolation."

Two Desolating Powers.--By the "continuance of desolation," or the
perpetual desolation, we understand that paganism, through all its history,
is meant. When we consider the long ages through which paganism had been
the chief agency of Satan's opposition to the work of God in the earth, the
propriety of the term "continuance" or "perpetual," as applied to it,
becomes apparent. We likewise understand that "the transgression of
desolation" means the papacy. The phrase describing this latter power is
stronger than that used to describe paganism. It is the transgression (or
rebellion, as the word also means) of desolation; as if under this period
of the history of the church the desolating power had rebelled against all
restraint all restraint previously imposed upon it.

From a religious point of vies, the world has presented these two strong
phases of opposition against the Lord's work in the earth. Hence, although
three earthly governments are introduced in the prophecy as oppressors of
the church, they are here ranged under two heads: "the daily" and the
"transgression of desolation." Medo-Persia was pagan; Grecia was pagan;
Rome in its first phase was pagan. These were all embraced in the "daily."
Then comes the papal form, the "transgression of desolation," a marvel of
craft and cunning, an incarnation of cruelty. No wonder the cry has gone up
from suffering martyrs from age to age, "How long, O Lord, how long?" No
wonder the Lord, in order that hope might no wholly die out of the hearts
of His downtrodden, waiting people, has shown them the future events of the
world's history. All these persecuting powers shall meet an utter and
everlasting destruction. For the redeemed there are unfading

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glories beyond the suffering and sorrow of this present life.

The Lord's eye is upon His people. The furnace will be heated no hotter
than is necessary to consume the dross. It is through much tribulation that
we are to enter the kingdom. The word "tribulation" is from tribulum, a
threshing sledge. Blow after blow must be laid upon us, until all the wheat
is beaten free from the chaff, and we are made fit for the heavenly garner.
But not a kernel of wheat will be lost.

Says the Lord to His people, "Ye are the light of the world," "the salt of
the earth." In His eyes there is nothing else on the earth of consequence
or importance. Hence the peculiar question here asked, "How long . . . the
vision concerning the daily and transgression of desolation?" Concerning
what?--the glory of earthly kingdoms? the skill of renowned warriors? the
fame of mighty conquerors? the greatness of human empire?--No, but
concerning the sanctuary and the host, the people and the worship of the
Most High. how long shall they be trodden underfoot? Here is where all
heaven's interest and sympathy are enlisted.

He who touches the people of God, touches not mere mortals, weak and
helpless, but Omnipotence. He opens an account which must be settled in the
judgment of heaven. Soon all these accounts will be adjusted and the iron
heel of oppression will be crushed. A people will be brought out of the
furnace of affliction prepared to shine as the stars forever and ever.
Every child of God is an object of interest to heavenly beings, one whom
God loves and for whom He is preparing a crown with immortality hereafter.
Reader, are you one of the number?

There is no information in this chapter concerning the 2300 days,
introduced for the first time in verse 14. It is necessary, therefore, to
pass this period of time for the present. Let the reader be assured,
however, that we are not left in any uncertainty concerning those day. The
declaration respecting them is part of a revelation which is given for the
instruction of the people of God, and is to be understood. The 2300

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days are mentioned in the midst of a prophecy which the angel Gabriel was
commanded to make Daniel understand. Gabriel carried out this instruction,
as will be found in the study of the next chapter.

What is the Sanctuary?--Connect with the 2300 days is another subject of
equal importance which now presents itself for consideration, namely, the
sanctuary. With this is connected the subject of its cleansing. An
examination of this matter will reveal the importance of having an
understanding of the beginning and the end of the 2300 days, that we may
know when the great event called "the cleansing of the sanctuary" is to
take place. all the inhabitants of the earth, as will appear in due time,
have a personal interest in that solemn work.

Several views have been held as to what the sanctuary is, such as the
earth, the land of Canaan, the church, and the sanctuary in heaven, the
"true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man," which is "in the
heavens," and of which the Jewish tabernacle was a type, pattern, or
figure. (Hebrews 8: 1, 2; 9: 23, 24.) Which of these conflicting views is
correct, must be decided by the Scriptures. Fortunately the testimony is
neither meager nor ambiguous.

It Cannot Be the Earth.--the word "sanctuary" occurs in the Old and New
Testament on hundred forty-four times. From the definitions of
lexicographers, and its use in the Bible, we learn that it is used to
signify a holy or sacred place, a dwelling place for the Most High. If the
earth is the sanctuary, it must answer to this definition. But what single
characteristic pertaining to this earth will satisfy the meaning of the
term? The earth is neither a holy nor a sacred place, or is it a dwelling
place for the Most High. It has no mark of distinction from other worlds,
except as being a revolted planet, marred by sin, scarred an withered by
the curse of transgression. Moreover, it is nowhere in all the Scriptures
called the sanctuary. Only one text can be produced in favor of this view,
and that by an unreasonable application: "The glory of

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Lebanon shall come unto thee, the fir tree, the pine tree, and the box
together, to beautify the place of My sanctuary; and I will make the place
of My feet glorious." Isaiah 60: 13. This language undoubtedly refers to
the new earth; but even that is not called the sanctuary, but only the
"place" of the sanctuary, even as it is called "the place" of the Lord's
feet. This is an expression which probably denotes the continual presence
of God with His people, as it was revealed to John when it was said,
"Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them,
and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be
their God." Revelation 21: 3. All that can be said of the earth, therefore,
is that when renewed it will be the place where the sanctuary of God will
be located. It cannot present any claim to being the sanctuary at the
present time, or the sanctuary of Daniel's prophecy.

It Cannot Be the Land of Canaan.--So far as we may be governed by the
definition of the word "Canaan," it can present no better claim than the
earth to that distinction. If we inquire where in the Bible it is called
the sanctuary, a few texts are brought forward which are supposed by some
to furnish the requisite testimony. The first of these is Exodus 15: 17.
Moses, in his song of triumph and praise to God after the passage of the
Red Sea, exclaimed: "Thou shalt bring them in, and plant them in the
mountain of Thine inheritance, in the place, O Lord, which Thou hast made
for Thee to dwell in, in the sanctuary, O Lord, which Thy hands have
established." Moses here speaks in anticipation. His language is a
prediction of what God would do for His people. Let us see how it was
accomplished.

We turn to David, who records as a matter of history what Moses uttered as
a matter of prophecy. (Psalm 78: 53, 54.) The subject of the psalmist is
the deliverance of Israel from Egyptian servitude, and their establishment
in the Promised Land. He says: "He [God] led them on safely, so that they
feared not: but the sea overwhelmed their enemies. And He brought them to
the border of His sanctuary, even to this

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mountain, which His right hand had purchased." The "mountain" here
mentioned by David is the same as the "mountain of Thine inheritance"
spoken of by Moses, in which the people were to be planted. This mountain
David calls, not the sanctuary, but only the border of the sanctuary. What,
then, was the sanctuary? Verse 69 of the same psalm informs us: "He built
His sanctuary like high palaces, like the earth which He hath established
forever." The same distinction between the sanctuary and the land is
pointed out in the prayer of the good king Jehoshaphat: "Art not Thou our
God, who didst drive out the inhabitants of this land before Thy people
Israel, and gavest it to the seed of Abraham Thy friend forever? And they
dwelt therein, and have built Thee a sanctuary therein for Thy name." 2
Chronicles 20: 7, 8.

Taken alone, Exodus 15: 17 is used by some as an inference that the
mountain was the sanctuary; but when we take in connection with it the
language of David, which is a record of the fulfillment of Moses'
prediction, and an inspired commentary upon his language, such an idea
cannot be entertained. David plainly says that the mountain was simply the
"border" of the sanctuary, and that in that border, or land, the sanctuary
was "built" like high palaces, reference being made to the beautiful temple
of the Jews, the center and symbol of all their worship. But whoever will
read carefully Exodus 15: 17 will see that not even an inference is
necessary that Moses by the word "sanctuary" means the mountain of
inheritance, much less the whole land of Palestine. In the freedom of
poetic license, he employs elliptical expressions, and passes rapidly from
one idea or object to another. First, the inheritance engages his
attention, and he speaks of it; then the fact that the Lord was to dwell
there, then the place He was to provide for His dwelling there, namely, the
sanctuary which He would cause to be built. David thus associates Mount
Zion and Judah together in Psalm 78: 68, because Zion was in Judah.

The three texts, Exodus 15: 17; Psalm 78: 54, 69, are the ones chiefly
relied on to prove that the land of Canaan is the

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sanctuary. But, singularly enough, the two latter, in plain language, clear
away the ambiguity of the first, and thereby disprove the claim that is
based on it.

Respecting the earth or the land of Canaan as being the sanctuary, we offer
one thought more. If either constitutes the sanctuary, it should not only
be somewhere described as such, but the same idea should be carried through
to the end, and the purification of the earth or of Palestine should be
called the cleansing of the sanctuary. The earth is indeed defiled, and it
is to be purified by fire; but fire, as we shall see, is not the agent
which is used in the cleansing of the sanctuary. This purification of the
earth, or any part of it, is nowhere in the Bible called the cleansing of
the sanctuary.

It Cannot Be the Church.--The solitary text adduced to support the idea
that the church is the sanctuary is Psalm 114: 1,2: "When Israel went out
of Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of strange language; Judah was
His sanctuary, and Israel His dominion." If we take this text in its most
literal sense, it would prove that the sanctuary was confined to one of the
twelve tribes. This would mean that a part of the church only, not the
whole, constitutes the sanctuary. Why Judah is called the sanctuary in the
text quoted, need not be a matter of perplexity when we remember that God
chose Judah, as the place of His sanctuary. "But chose," says David, "the
tribe of Judah, the Mountain Zion which He loved. And He built His
sanctuary like high palaces, like the earth which He hath established
forever." Psalm 78: 68, 69. This clearly shows the connection which existed
between Judah and the sanctuary. That tribe itself was not the sanctuary,
but it is once spoken of as such when Israel came froth from Egypt, because
God purposed that in the midst of the territory of that tribe His sanctuary
should be located.

If it could be shown that the church is anywhere called the sanctuary, it
would be of no consequence to our present purpose, which is to determine
what constitutes the sanctuary of Daniel 8: 13, 14; for the church is there
spoken of as something

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distinct: "To give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden
underfoot." That by the term "host" the people of God is here meant, none
will dispute; the sanctuary is therefore something different from the
church.

The Sanctuary Is the Temple in Heaven.--There now remains but one claim to
be examined, namely, that the sanctuary mentioned in the text is identical
with the one in Hebrews 8: 1, 2, which is called "the true tabernacle,
which the Lord pitched, and not man," to which is expressly given the name
of "the sanctuary," and which is located in "the heavens." Of this
sanctuary there existed in ancient times a pattern, type, or figure, first
in the tabernacle built by Moses, and afterward in the temple at Jerusalem.

Let us put ourselves in the place of Daniel, and view the subject from his
standpoint. What would he understand by the term "sanctuary"? At the
mention of that word, his mind would inevitably turn to the sanctuary of
his people; and certainly he knew well where that was. His mind did turn to
Jerusalem, the city of his fathers, which was then in ruins, and to their
"beautiful house," which, as Isaiah laments, was burned with fire. (Isaiah
64: 11.) Accordingly, with his face turned toward the place of their
once-venerated temple, as was his custom, Daniel prayed God to cause His
face to shine upon His sanctuary, which was at that time desolate. By the
word "sanctuary" he evidently understood the temple at Jerusalem.

On this point, the Scripture bears testimony which is most explicit: "Then
verily the first covenant had also ordinances of divine service, and a
worldly sanctuary." Hebrews 9: 1. What was the sanctuary of the first
covenant? The answer follows: "For there was a tabernacle made; the first
[or first apartment], wherein was the candlestick, and the table, and the
shewbread; which is called the sanctuary ["holy place," A. R .V.]. And
after the second veil, the tabernacle which is called the Holiest of all;
which had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round
about with gold, wherein was the

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golden pot that had manna, and Aaron's rod that budded, and the tables of
the covenant; and over it the cherubims of glory shadowing the mercyseat;
of which we cannot now speak particularly." Hebrews 9: 2-5.

There is no mistaking what is described here. It is the tabernacle erected
by Moses according to the direction of the Lord (which was afterward merged
into the temple at Jerusalem), with a holy and a most holy place, and
various articles of service. A full description of this building, as well
as the sacred articles of furniture and their uses, will be found in Exodus
25 and onward. If the reader is not familiar with this subject, he is urged
to turn and read the description of this building. Plainly, this was the
sanctuary of the first covenant, and we wish the reader carefully to mark
the logical value of this declaration. By telling us what constituted the
sanctuary, the book of Hebrews sets us on the right track of inquiry. It
gives us a basis on which to work. We have before us a distinct and plainly
defined object, minutely described by Moses, and declared in Hebrews to be
the sanctuary during the time of the first covenant, which reached to the
days of Christ.

But the language in Hebrews has greater significance even than this. It
annihilates the claims put forth that the earth, the land of Canaan, or the
church, is the sanctuary. The arguments which would prove any of these to
be the sanctuary at any time, would prove it to be such under ancient
Israel. If Canaan was at any time the sanctuary, it was such when Israel
was planted in it. If the church was ever the sanctuary, it was such when
Israel was led forth from Egypt. If the earth was ever the sanctuary, it
was such during the same period. But was any of these the sanctuary during
that time? The answer must be negative, for the writers of the books of
Exodus and Hebrews tell us in detail that not the earth, not Canaan, not
the church, but the tabernacle built by Moses, replaced by the temple
later, constituted the sanctuary of Old Testament times.

The Earthly Sanctuary.--This building answers in every respect to the
definition of the term, and to the use for which the

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sanctuary was designed. It was the earthly dwelling place of God. "Let them
make Me a sanctuary," said He to Moses, "that I may dwell among them."
Exodus 25: 8. In this tabernacle, which they erected according to His
instructions, He manifested His presence. It was a holy, or sacred, place--
"the holy sanctuary." Leviticus 16: 33. In the word of God it is repeatedly
called the sanctuary. Of the more than one hundred thirty instances in
which the word is used in the Old Testament, it refers in almost every case
to this building.

The tabernacle was at first constructed in such a manner as to be adapted
to the conditions under which the children of Israel lived at that time.
They were entering upon their forty years' wandering in the wilderness when
this building was set up in their midst as the habitation of God and the
center of their religious worship. Journeying was a necessity, and the
tabernacle had to be moved from place to place This was made possible
because the sides were composed of upright boards, and the covering
consisted of curtains of linen and dyed skins. Therefore, it could be
readily taken down, conveniently transported, and easily erected at each
successive stage of their journey. After Israel entered the Promised Land,
this temporary structure gave place in time to the magnificent temple of
Solomon. In this more permanent form the sanctuary existed, except during
the time it lay in ruins in Daniel's day, until its final destruction by
the Romans, A.D. 70.

This is the only sanctuary connected with the earth concerning which the
Bible gives us any instruction or history any record. But is there nowhere
any other? This one was the sanctuary of the first covenant, and with that
covenant it came to an end. Is there no sanctuary which pertains to the
second, or new, covenant? There must be; otherwise the analogy would be
lacking between these covenants. In such a case the first covenant would
have a system of worship, which, though minutely described, would be
unintelligible, and the second covenant would have a system of worship
which would be indefinite and obscure. The writer of Hebrews virtually as-

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serts that the new covenant, in force since the death of Christ, the
testator, has a sanctuary; for when, in contrasting the two covenants, as
he does in Hebrews 9: 1, he says that the first covenant "had also
ordinances of divine service, and a worldly sanctuary." This is the same as
saying that the new covenant has likewise its services and its sanctuary.
Furthermore, verse 8 of this chapter speaks of the worldly sanctuary as the
first tabernacle. If that was the first, there must be a second; and as the
first tabernacle existed as long as the first covenant was in force, when
that covenant came to an end, the second tabernacle must have taken the
place of the first, and must be the sanctuary of the new covenant. There
can be no evading this conclusion.

The Heavenly Sanctuary.--Where, then, shall we look for the sanctuary of
the new covenant? The use of the word "also" in Hebrews 9: 1 intimates that
this sanctuary had been spoken of before. We turn back to the beginning of
the previous chapter, and find a summing up of the foregoing arguments as
follows: "Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have
such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the
Majesty in the heavens; a minister of the sanctuary, and of the true
tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man." Can there be any doubt
that we have in this text the sanctuary of the new covenant? A plain
allusion is here made to the sanctuary of the first covenant. That was
pitched by man, erected by Moses; but this was pitched by the Lord, not by
man. That was the place where the earthly priests performed their ministry;
but this is the place where Christ, the High Priest of the new covenant,
performs His ministry. That was on earth; this is in heaven. That was
therefore very properly called a "worldly sanctuary;" this is a "heavenly"
one.

This view is further sustained by the fact that the sanctuary built by
Moses was not an original structure, but was built after a pattern. The
great original existed somewhere else, and what Moses constructed was but a
type, or model.

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Note the directions the Lord gave him on this point: "According to all that
I show thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all
the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it." Exodus 25: 9. "Look
that thou make them after their pattern which was showed thee in the
mount." Verse 40. (For further clarification of this point, see Exodus 26:
30; 27: 8; Acts 7: 44.)

Now of what was the earthly sanctuary a type, or figure?--Of the sanctuary
of the new covenant, the "true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched and not
man." The relation which the first covenant sustains to the second is that
of type to antitype. Its sacrifices were types of the greater sacrifice of
the new covenant. Its priests were types of our Lord in His more perfect
priesthood. Their ministry was performed unto the example and shadow of the
ministry of our High Priest above. The sanctuary where they ministered was
a type, or figure, of the true sanctuary in heave, where our Lord performs
His ministry.

All these facts are plainly stated in Hebrews. "If He [Christ] were on
earth, He should not be a priest, seeing that there are priests that offer
gifts according to the law: who serve unto the example and shadow of
heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make
the tabernacle: for, See, saith He, that thou make all things according to
the pattern showed to thee in the mount." Hebrews 8: 4, 5. This testimony
shows that the ministry of the earthly priests was a shadow of Christ's
priesthood. The evidence is the direction which God gave to Moses to make
the tabernacle according to the pattern showed him in the mount. This
clearly identifies the pattern showed to Moses with the sanctuary, or true
tabernacle, in heaven, where our Lord ministers, as mentioned in Hebrews 8:
2.

The Scripture further says: "The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way
into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first was
yet standing;

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which was a figure for the time then present." [*] Hebrews 9: 8, 9. While
the first tabernacle stood, and the first covenant was in force, the
ministration of the more perfect tabernacle was not, of course, carried
forward. But when Christ came, a high priest of good things to come, when
the first tabernacle had served its purpose and the first covenant had
ceased, then Christ, raised to the throne of the Majesty in the heavens as
a minister of the true sanctuary, entered by His own blood (verse 12) "into
the holy place," that is, the heavenly sanctuary.

Therefore, the first tabernacle was a figure for the time then present. If
any further testimony is needed, the writer of Hebrews speaks in verse 23
of the earthly tabernacle, with its apartments and instruments, as
"patterns" of things in the heavens; and in verse 24, he calls the holy
places made with hands, that is, the earthly tabernacles and temples of
ancient Israel, "figures" of the true, that is, of the tabernacle in
heaven.

This view is still further corroborated by the testimony of John. Among the
things which he was permitted to behold in heaven were seven lamps of fire
burning before the throne (Revelation 4: 5), an alter of incense, and a
golden censer (Revelation 8: 3), and the ark of God's testament (Revelation
11: 19). All of this was seen in connection with

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a "temple" in heaven. (Revelation 1: 19; 15: 8.) These objects every Bible
reader must at once recognize as the furniture of the sanctuary. They owed
their existence to the sanctuary, and were confined to it, to be employed
in the ministration connected therewith. Even as they would not have
existed without the sanctuary, so wherever we find them, we may know that
there is the sanctuary. Hence the fact that John saw these things in heaven
after the ascension of Christ, is proof that there is a sanctuary in
heaven, and that he was permitted to behold it.

However reluctant a person may have been to acknowledge that there is a
sanctuary in heaven, the testimony that has been presented is certainly
sufficient to prove this fact. The Bible says that the tabernacle of Moses
was the sanctuary of the first covenant. Moses says that God showed him in
the mount a pattern, according to which he as to make this tabernacle. The
book of Hebrews testifies again that Moses did make it according to the
pattern, and that the pattern was the true tabernacle in heaven, which the
Lord pitched, and not man; and that of this heavenly sanctuary the
tabernacle erected with hands was a true figure, or representation.
Finally, to corroborate the statement of the Scriptures that this sanctuary
is in heaven, John bears testimony as an eyewitness that he beheld it
there. What further testimony could be required?

As far as the question of what constitutes the sanctuary is concerned, we
now have the sanctuary before us in one harmonious whole. The sanctuary of
the Bible--mark it well--consists, first, of the typical tabernacle
established by the Hebrews in the exodus from Egypt, which was the
sanctuary of the first covenant. Secondly, it consists of the true
tabernacle in heaven, of which the former was a type, or figure, which is
the sanctuary of the new covenant. These are inseparably related as type
and antitype. From the antitype we go back to the type, and from the type
we are carried forward naturally and inevitably to the antitype. Thus we
see how

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a sanctuary service has been provided from the Exodus to the end of
probation.

We have said that Daniel would at once understand by the word "sanctuary"
the sanctuary of his people at Jerusalem; so would anyone at the time of
its existence. But does the declaration of Daniel 8: 14 have reference to
that sanctuary? That depends upon the time to which it applies. All the
declarations respecting the sanctuary which apply during the time of
ancient Israel, have respect of course to the sanctuary of that time. All
those declarations which apply under the Christian Era must have reference
to the sanctuary of that era. If the 2300 days, at the termination of which
the sanctuary to be cleansed, ended before Christ, the sanctuary to be
cleansed was the sanctuary of that time. If they reach over into the
Christian Era, the sanctuary to which reference is made is the sanctuary of
this era--the new-covenant sanctuary in heaven. This is a point which can
be determined only by a further argument on the 2300 days. This will be
found in remarks on Daniel 9: 24, where the subject of time is resumed and
explained.

The Cleansing of the Sanctuary.--What we have thus far said respecting the
sanctuary has been only incidental to the main question in the prophecy.
That question has respect to its cleansing. "Unto two thousand and three
hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed." But is was necessary
first to determine what constituted the sanctuary, before we could
understandingly examine the question of its cleansing. For this we are now
prepared.

After learning what constitutes the sanctuary, the question of its
cleansing and how it is accomplished, is soon decided. It has been noticed
that whatever constitutes the sanctuary of the Bible must have some service
connected with it which is called its cleansing. There is such a service
connected with the institution which we have shown to be the sanctuary, and
which, in reference to both the earthly building and the heavenly temple,
is called its cleansing.

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Does the reader object to the idea of there being anything in heave which
needs to be cleansed? The book of Hebrews plainly affirms the cleansing of
both the earthly and the heavenly sanctuary: "Almost all things are by the
law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission. It
was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should
be purified [Greek, {GREEK CHARACTERS IN PRINTED TEXT}, katharizesthai,
cleansed] with these; but the heavenly things themselves [cleansed] with
better sacrifices than these." Hebrews 9: 22, 23. In the light of foregoing
arguments, this may be paraphrased thus: "It was therefore necessary that
the tabernacle erected by Moses, with its sacred vessels, which were
patterns of the true sanctuary in heaven, should be cleansed with the blood
of calves and goats; but the heavenly things themselves, the sanctuary of
the Christian Era, the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not
man, must be cleansed with better sacrifices, even with the blood of
Christ."

We now inquire, what is the nature of this cleansing, and how is it to be
done? According to the language just quoted, it is accomplished by means of
blood. The cleansing is not, therefore, a cleansing from physical
uncleanness or impurity, for blood is not the agent used in such a work.
This consideration should satisfy the objector's mind in regard to the
cleansing of the heavenly things. The fact that heavenly things are to be
cleansed, does not prove that there is any physical impurity in heaven, for
that is not the kind of cleansing referred to in the Scriptures. The reason
assigned why this cleansing is performed with blood, is that without the
shedding of blood there is no remission, no forgiveness of sin.

The Cleansing Is From Sin.--Remission of sin, then, and the putting away of
sin, is the work to be done. The cleansing, therefore, is not physical
cleansing, but a cleansing from sin. But how did sin come to be connected
with the sanctuary, either the earthly or the heavenly, that it should need
to be cleansed? This question is answered by the ministration connected
with the type, to which we now turn.

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The closing chapters of Exodus give us an account of the construction of
the earthly sanctuary, and the arrangement of the service connected
therewith. Leviticus opens with an account of the ministration which was
there to be performed. all that it is our purpose to notice here is one
particular branch of the service. The person who had committed sin brought
his offering, a live animal, to the door of the tabernacle. Upon the head
of this victim he placed his hand for a moment, and, as we may reasonably
infer, confessed over it his sin. By this expressive act he signified that
he had sinned, and was worthy of death, but that in his stead he
consecrated his victim, and transferred his guilt to it. With his own hand
(and what must have been his emotions!) he then took the life of the
animal. The law demanded the life of the transgressor for his disobedience.
The life is in the blood. (Leviticus 17: 11, 14.) Hence without the
shedding of blood, there is no remission; but with the shedding of blood
remission is possible, for the demand of life by the law is thus satisfied.
The blood of the victim, representative of a forfeited life, and the
vehicle of its guilt, was then taken by the priest and ministered before
the Lord.

By his confession, by the slaying of the victim, and by the ministry of the
priest, the sin of the individual was transferred from himself to the
sanctuary. Victim after victim was thus offered by the people. Day by day
the work went forward, and thus the sanctuary became the receptacle of the
sins of the congregation. But this was not the final disposition of these
sins. The accumulated guilt was removed by a special service for the
cleansing of the sanctuary. this service, in the type, occupied one day in
the year, the tenth day of the seventh month, which was called the Day of
Atonement. On this day, while all Israel refrained from work and afflicted
their souls, the priest brought two goats, and presented them before the
Lord at the door of the tabernacle. On these goats he cast lots, one lot of
the Lord, and the other lot for the scapegoat. The one upon which the
Lord's lot fell was then slain, and his blood

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carried by the priest into the most holy place of the sanctuary, and
sprinkled upon the mercy seat. This was the only day on which he was
permitted to enter that apartment. Coming forth, he was then to "lay both
his hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him all the
iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all
their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat." Leviticus 16: 21. He
was then to send the goat away by the hand of a fit man into a land not
inhabited, a land of separation, or forgetfulness, the goat never again to
appear in the camp of Israel, and the sins of the people to be remembered
against them no more.

This service was for the purpose of cleansing the people from their sins,
and also for cleansing the sanctuary, its furniture, and its sacred vessels
from the sins of the people. (Leviticus 16: 16, 30, 33.) By this process,
sin was entirely removed. Of course this was only in figure, for all that
work was typical.

The reader to whom these views are new will perhaps be ready here to
inquire with some astonishment, What could this strange work possibly be
designed to typify, and what was it designed to to prefigure in our day? We
answer, A similar work in the ministration of Christ, as the Scriptures
clearly teach. After the statement in Hebrews 8: 2 that Christ is the
minister of the true tabernacle, the sanctuary in heaven, it is declared in
verse 5 that the priests on earth served "unto the example and shadow of
heavenly things." In other words, the work of the earthly priests was a
shadow, a type of the ministration of Christ above.

Ministration in Figure and in Fact.--These typical priests ministered in
both apartments of the earthly tabernacle, and Christ ministers in both
apartments of the heavenly temple. That temple in heaven has two
apartments, or it was not correctly represented by the earthly sanctuary.
Our Lord officiates in both apartments, or the service of the priest on
earth was not a correct shadow of His work. It is stated plainly in Hebrews
9: 21-24 that both the tabernacle and all the vessels in the ministry were
"patterns of things in the heavens." There-

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fore the service performed by Christ in the heavenly temple corresponds to
that performed by the priests in both apartments of the earthly building.
But the work in the second apartment, or most holy place, was a special
work to close the yearly round of service and cleanse the sanctuary. Hence
Christ's ministration in the second apartment of the heavenly sanctuary
must be a work of like nature, and constitutes the close of His work as our
great High Priest, and the cleansing of that sanctuary.

As through the typical sacrifices of old the sins of the people were
transferred in figure by the priests to the earthly sanctuary, where those
priests ministered; so ever since Christ ascended to be our intercessor in
the presence of His Father, the sins of all those who sincerely seek pardon
through Him are transferred in fact to the heavenly sanctuary, where He
ministers. Whether Christ ministers for us in the heavenly holy places with
His blood literally, or only by virtue of its merits, we need not stop to
inquire. Suffice it to say that His blood has been shed, and through that
blood remission of sins is obtained in fact, which was obtained only in
figure through the blood of the calves and goats of the former
ministration. But those typical sacrifices had real sacrifice to come. Thus
those who employed them have an equal interest in the work of Christ with
those who in our era come to Him by faith through the ordinances of the
gospel.

The continual transfer of sins to the heavenly sanctuary makes its
cleansing necessary on the same ground that a like work was required in the
earthly sanctuary. An important distinction between the two ministrations
must here be noticed. In the earthly tabernacle, a complete round of
service was accomplished every year. On every day of the year except one,
the ministration went forward in the first apartment. One day's work in the
most holy completed the yearly round. The work then began again in the holy
place, and went forward until another Day of Atonement completed the year's

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work. And so on, year by year. A succession of priests performed this round
of service in the earthly sanctuary. But our divine Lord "ever liveth to
make intercession" for us. Hebrews 7: 25. Hence the work of the heavenly
sanctuary, instead of being a yearly work, is performed once for all.
Instead of being repeated year by year, one grand cycle is allotted to it,
in which it is carried forward and finished forever.

One year's round of service in the earthly sanctuary represented the entire
work of the sanctuary above. In the type, the cleansing of the sanctuary
was the brief closing work of he year's service. In the antitype, the
cleansing of the sanctuary must be the closing work of Christ, our great
High Priest, in the tabernacle in heaven. In the type, to cleanse the
sanctuary, the high priest entered into the most holy place to minister in
the presence of God before the ark of His testament. In the antitype, when
the time comes for the cleansing of the true sanctuary, our High Priest, in
like manner, enters into the most holy place once for all to make a final
end of His intercessory work in behalf of mankind.

Reader, do you now see the importance of this subject? Do you begin to
perceive what an object of interest for all the world is the sanctuary of
God? Do you see that the whole plan of salvation centers here, and that
when it is done, probation is ended, and the cases of the saved and lost
are eternally decided? Do you see that the cleansing of the sanctuary is a
brief and special work by which the great plan of salvation is forever
finished? Do you see that if it can be ascertained when the work of
cleansing begins we shall know when salvation's's last mighty hour has
come, when that most solemn announcement of the prophetic word is due to
the world--"Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment
is come"? Revelation 14: 7. This is exactly what the prophecy is designed
to show; it is known the commencement of this momentous work. "Unto two
thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed." The
heavenly sanctuary is the one in which the decision of all cases is to be

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rendered. The progress of the work there should be the special concern of
mankind. If people understood the bearing of these subjects on their
eternal interests, they would give them their most careful and prayerful
study.

Verse 15 And it came to pass, when I, even I Daniel, had seen the vision,
and sought for the meaning, then, behold, there stood before me as the
appearance of a man. 16 And I heard a man's voice between the banks of
Ulai, which called, and said, Gabriel, make this man to understand the
vision.

We now enter upon the interpretation of the vision. We have already
mentioned Daniel's longing to understand these things. He sought for the
meaning. Immediately there stood before the prophet one who had the
appearance of a man. Daniel heard a man's voice, that is, the voice of an
angel as of a man speaking. The commandment was given to make this man
Daniel understand the vision. It was addressed to Gabriel, a name that
signifies "the strength of God," or "man of God." He continues his
instruction to Daniel in chapter 9. Centuries later this same angel was
commissioned to announce the birth of John the Baptist to his father
Zacharias, and that of the Messiah to the virgin Mary. (Luke 1: 26.) To
Zacharias, he introduced himself with these words: "I am Gabriel, that
stand in the presence of God." Luke 1: 19. From this is appears that
Gabriel was here addressed by one still higher in rank, who had power to
command and control his work. This one was probably no other than the
Archangel, Michael, or Christ.

Verse 17 So he came near where I stood: and when he came, I was afraid, and
fell upon my face: but he said unto me, Understand, O son of man: for at
the time of the end shall be the vision. 18 Now as he was speaking with me,
I was in a deep sleep on my face toward the ground: but he touched me, and
set me upright. 19 And he said, Behold, I will make thee know what shall be
in the last end of the indignation: for at the time appointed the end shall
be.

It was not for the purpose of worship that Daniel fell before the angel,
for it is forbidden to worship angels. (See Revelation 19: 10, 22: 8, 9.)
Daniel seems to have been completely overcome by the majesty of the
heavenly messenger.

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He prostrated himself with his face to the ground. The angel laid his hand
upon him to give him assurance (how many times have mortals been told by
heavenly beings to "fear not"!), and from this helpless and prostrate
condition set him upright.

With a general statement that at the time appointed the end shall be, and
that he will make him to know "what shall be in the last end of the
indignation," the angel enters upon an interpretation of the vision. "The
indignation" must be understood to cover a period of time. What period of
time? God told His people Israel that He would pour upon them His
indignation for their wickedness; and thus He gave directions concerning
the "profane wicked prince of Israel:" "Remove the diadem, and take off the
crown. . . . I will overturn, overturn, overturn, it: and it shall be not
more, until He come whose right it is; and I will give it Him." Ezekiel 21:
25-27, 31.

Here is the period of God's indignation against His covenant people, the
period during which the sanctuary and host are to trodden underfoot. The
diadem was removed, and the crown taken off, when Israel was subjected to
the kingdom of Babylon. It was overturned by the Medes and Persians, again
by the Grecians, again by the Romans, corresponding to the three times the
word is repeated by the prophet. The Jews, having rejected Christ, were
soon scattered abroad over the face of the earth. Spiritual Israel has
taken the place of the literal seed; but they are in subjection to earthly
powers, and will be until the throne of David is again set up--until He who
is its rightful heir, the Messiah, the Prince of peace, shall come. Then
the indignation will have ceased. The events that shall take place in the
end of the period are now to be made known to Daniel by the angel.

Verse 20 The ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of Media
and Persia. 21 And the rough goat is the king of Grecia: and the great horn
that is between his eyes is the first king. 22 Now that being broken,
whereas four stood up for it, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the
nation, but not in his power.

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The Vision Interpreted.--As the disciples said to the Lord, so may we here
say of the angel who spoke to Daniel, "Lo, now speakest thou plainly, and
speakest no proverb." This explanation of the vision is in language plain
to be understood. (See comments on verses 3-8.) The distinguishing feature
of the Persian Empire, the union of the two nationalities which composed
it, is represented by the two horns of the ram. Grecia attained its
greatest glory as a unit under the leadership of Alexander the Great, a
general as famous as the world has ever seen. This part of her history is
represented by the first phase of the goat, during which time the one
notable horn symbolized Alexander the Great. Upon his death, the kingdom
fell into fragments, but soon consolidated into four grand division. These
were represented by the second phase of the goat, when it had four horns
which came up in the place of the first, which had been broken. These
divisions did not stand in his power. None of them possessed the strength
of the original kingdom. These great waymarks of history on which the
historian has written volumes, the inspired penman here gives us in sharp
outline, with a few strokes of the pen.

Verse 23 And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors
are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark
sentences, shall stand up. 24 And his power shall be mighty, but not by his
own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and
practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people. 25 And through
his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall
magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall
also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without
hand.

This power succeeds to the four divisions of the goat kingdom in the latter
time of their kingdom, that is, toward the termination of their career. It
is of course the same as the little horn of verse 9 and onward. Apply it to
Rome, as set forth in remarks on verse 9, and all is harmonious and clear.

"A King of Fierce Countenance."--In predicting punishment to come upon the
Jews from this same power, Moses calls it "a nation of fierce countenance."
Deuteronomy 28: 49, 50.

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No people made a more formidable appearance in warlike array than Romans.

As to "understanding dark sentences," Moses says in the scripture before
mentioned, "Whose tongue thou [the Jews] shalt not understand." This could
not be said of the Babylonians, Persians, or Greeks, in reference to the
Jews; for the Chaldean and Greek languages were used to some extent in
Palestine. This was not the case, however, with the Latin.

When do the transgressors "come to the full"? All along, the connection
between God's people and their oppressors is kept in view. It was on
account of the transgressions of His people that they were sold into
captivity. Their continuance in sin brought more and more severe
punishment. At not time were the Jews as a nation more corrupt morally than
at the time they came under the jurisdiction of the Romans.

Papal Rome "Mighty, but Not by His Own Power."--The success of the Romans
was owing largely to the aid of their allies, and divisions among their
enemies, of which they were ever ready to take advantage. Papal Rome also
was mighty by means of the secular powers over which she exercised
spiritual control.

"He shall destroy wonderfully." The Lord told the Jews by the prophet
Ezekiel that He would deliver them to men who were "skillful to destroy"
(Ezekiel 21: 31); and the slaughter of eleven hundred thousand Jews at the
destruction of Jerusalem by the Roman army, was a terrible confirmation of
the prophet's words. Rome in its second, or papal, phase was responsible
for the death of millions of martyrs.

"Through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand." Rome
has been distinguished above all other powers for a policy of craft, by
means of which it brought the nations under its control. This is true of
both pagan and papal Rome. Thus by peace it destroyed many.

Finally, in the person of one of its governors, Rome stood up against the
Prince of princes, by giving sentence of death against Jesus Christ. "But
he shall be broken without hands."

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This parallels the prophecy of Daniel 2: 34, where the stone "cut out
without hands" destroys all earthly powers.

Verse 26 And the vision of the evening and the morning which was told is
true: wherefore shut thou up the vision; for it shall be for many days. 27
And I Daniel fainted, and was sick certain days; afterward I rose up, and
did the king's business; and I was astonished at the vision, but none
understood it.

"The vision of the evening and the morning" refers to the period of 2300
days. In view of the long period of oppression, and the calamities which
were to come upon his people, Daniel fainted and was sick certain days. He
was astonished at the vision, but did not understand it. Why did not
Gabriel at this time fully carry out his instructions, and cause Daniel to
understand the vision? Undoubtedly because Daniel had received all that he
could then bear. Further instruction is therefore deferred to a future
time.

[1] Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Old Testament, Vol. IV, p. 598, note on
Daniel 8: 1.

[2] Thomas Newton, Dissertations on the Prophecies, Vol. I, pp. 303, 304.

[3] Ibid., p. 306.

[4] Humphrey Prideaux, The Old and New Testament Connected in the History
of the Jews, Vol. I, p. 378.

[5] Walter Fogg, One Thousand Sayings of History, p. 210.

[6] See Humphrey Prideaux, The Old and New Testament Connected in the
History of the Jews, Vol. II, pp. 106, 107.

[7] See 1 Maccabees 8; Flavius Josephus, "Antiquities of the Jews," book
12, chap. 10, sec. 6, The Works of Flavius Josephus, p. 374; Humphrey
Prideaux, The Old and New Testament Connected in the History of the Jews,
Vol. II, p. 166.

[8] S. P. Tregelles, Remarks on the Prophetic Visions in the Book of
Daniel, p. 89, footnote.

[9] Dialogues on Prophecy, Vol. I, pp. 326, 327.

[*] The Greek original of what is here translated "holiest of all" is the
same as that rendered "sanctuary" in Hebrews 8: 2; 9: 1. It should
therefore be translated "sanctuary" in Hebrews 9: 8 also. The same original
phrase is used, too, in verses 12, 24, 25, and is more fittingly translated
"sanctuary" than "holy place," so as to convey its true meaning more
clearly. In Hebrews 10: 19 the original of "holiest" is the same as that in
all the verses cited above, and should therefore be also translated
"sanctuary." This gives a simple, accurate, uniform, and easily understood
rendering of the same original phrase in all these passages. Moreover, the
reference of the phrase is obviously and uniformly to the heavenly
sanctuary in all these citations, with the exception of Hebrews 9: 1, 25,
which refer to the earthly. The original phrases cited above have of course
the usual variations for number and case common to all languages. The
nominative form is {GREEK CHARACTERS IN PRINTED TEXT}, ta hagia, plural in
all instances here cited except in 9: 1, where it is {GREEK CHARACTERS IN
PRINTED TEXT}, to hagion, singular. In Hebrews 9: 2 the word "sanctuary"
plainly applies to the first apartment only, and would be better translated
"holy place" as suggested in the margin of the Authorized Version, while
the phrase "holiest of all" in verse 3, naming the second apartment, is a
true translation of a different original regularly used to designate that
apartment in distinction from the first and from the entire sanctuary.
"Holiest of all" or "holiest" is not therefore a true translation in either
Hebrews 9: 8 or 10: 19.--Editors.
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                                 Chapter IX

                 A Prophetic Yardstick Spans the Centuries

Verse 1 In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the seed of
the Medes, which was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans; 2 in the
first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the number of the
years, whereof the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he
would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.

The vision recorded in the preceding chapter was given in the third year of
Belshazzar, 538 B.C. The events narrated in this chapter occurred in the
first year of Darius. Since Belshazzar was the last ruler of Babylon and
Darius the first ruler of Medo-Persia, probably less than one year elapsed
between the events of these two chapters.

Seventy Years of Captivity.--Although Daniel, as prime minister of the
foremost kingdom on the earth, was cumbered with cares and burdens, he did
not let this deprive him of the privilege of studying into things of higher
moment--the purposes of God revealed to His prophets. He understood by
books, that is, the writings of Jeremiah, that God would accomplish seventy
years in the captivity of His people. This prediction is found in Jeremiah
25: 12; 29: 10. The knowledge of it, and the use that was made of it, show
that Jeremiah was early regarded as a divinely inspired prophet; otherwise
his writings would not have been so soon collected, and so extensively
copied. Though for a time contemporary with him, Daniel had a copy of his
works which he carried with him in his captivity. Though he was so great a
prophet himself, he was not above studying carefully what God might reveal
to others of His servants.

The seventy years of captivity must not be confused with the seventy weeks
that follow. Dating the period of the seventy years of captivity from 606
B.C., Daniel understood

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that they were now drawing to their close, and that God had even begun the
fulfillment of the prophecy by overthrowing the kingdom of Babylon.

Verse 3 And I set my face unto the Lord God, to seek by prayer and
supplications, with fasting, and sackcloth, and ashes:

Because God has promised, we are not released from the responsibility of
beseeching Him for the fulfillment of His word. Daniel might have reasoned
in this manner: God has promised to release His people at the end of
seventy years, and He will accomplish this promise; I need not therefore
concern myself at all in the matter. Daniel did not thus reason; but as the
time drew near for the accomplishment of the word of the Lord, he set
himself to seek the Lord with all his heart.

How earnestly he engaged in the work, even with fasting, and sackcloth, and
ashes! This was probably the year when Daniel was cast into the lions' den.
The reader will recall that the decree approved by the king had forbidden
all his subjects to ask any petition of any god except the king, on pain of
death. But regardless of the decree, Daniel prayed this prayer three times
a day with his windows open toward Jerusalem.

Verse 4 And I prayed unto the LORD my God, and made my confession, and
said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the covenant and mercy to
them that love him, and to them that keep his commandments;

Daniel's Remarkable Prayer.--We here have opening of Daniel's wonderful
prayer, a prayer expressing such humiliation and contrition of heart that
one must be without feeling who can read it unmoved. He begins by
acknowledging the faithfulness of God, who never fails in any of His
engagements with His followers. It was not from any lack on God's part in
defending and upholding them, that the Jews were then in captivity, but
only on account of their sins.

Verse 5 We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done
wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from Thy precepts and from
Thy judgments: 6 Neither have we hearkened unto Thy servants the prophets,
which spake in Thy name to our kings, our princes, and our

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fathers, and to all the people of the land. 7 O Lord, righteousness
belongeth unto Thee, but unto us confusion of faces, as at this day; to the
men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and unto all Israel,
that are near, and that are far off, through all the countries whither Thou
hast driven them, because of their trespass that they have trespassed
against Thee. 8 O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our kings, to
our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against Thee. 9 To
the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled
against Him; 10 neither have we obeyed the voice of the Lord our God, to
walk in His laws, which He set before us by His servants the prophets. 11
Yea, all Israel have transgressed Thy law, even by departing, that they
might not obey Thy voice; therefore the curse is poured upon us, and the
oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, because we
have sinned against Him. 12 And He hath confirmed his words, which He spake
against us, and against our judges that judged us, by bringing upon us a
great evil: for under the whole heaven hath not been done as hath been done
upon Jerusalem. 13 As it is written in the law of Moses, all this evil is
come upon us: yet made we not our prayer before the Lord our God, that we
might turn from our iniquities, and understand Thy truth. 14 Therefore hath
the Lord watched upon the evil, and brought it upon us: for the Lord our
God is righteous in all his works which he doeth: for we obeyed not his
voice.

To this point Daniel's prayer is employed in making a full and heartbroken
confession of sin. He vindicates fully the course of the Lord,
acknowledging the sins of his people to be the cause of all their
calamites, as God had threatened them by the prophet Moses. He does not
discriminate in favor of himself. No self-righteousness appears in his
petition. Although he had suffered long for others' sins, enduring seventy
years of captivity for the wrongs of his people, he lived a godly life, and
received signal honors and blessings from the Lord. He brings no
accusations against anyone, pleads no sympathy for himself as a victim of
others' wrongs, but classes himself with the rest, saying We have sinned,
and unto us belongs confusion of face. He acknowledges that they had not
heeded the lessons God designed to teach them by their afflictions.

Verse 15 And now, O Lord our God, that hast brought Thy people forth out of
the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and hast gotten Thee renown, as at
this day; we have sinned, we have done wickedly. 16 O Lord, according to
all thy righteousness, I beseech Thee, let Thine anger and Thy fury be
turned away from Thy city Jerusalem, Thy holy mountain:

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because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and
Thy people are become a reproach to all that are about us. 17 Now
therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of Thy servant, and his
supplications, and cause Thy face to shine upon Thy sanctuary that is
desolate, for the Lord's sake. 18 O my God, incline Thine ear, and hear;
open Thine eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city which is called
by Thy name: for we do not present our supplications before Thee for our
righteousnesses, but for Thy great mercies. 19 O Lord, hear; O Lord,
forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for Thine own sake, O my God:
for Thy city and Thy people are called by Thy name.

The prophet now pleads the honor of the Lord's name as a reason why he
desires his petition to be granted. He refers to the fact of the
deliverance of Israel from Egypt, and the great renown that had accrued to
the Lord's name for all His wonderful works manifested among them. All this
would be lost, should He now abandon them to perish. Moses used the same
argument in pleading for Israel. (Numbers 14.) Not that God is moved with
motives of ambition and vainglory; but when His people are jealous for the
honor of His name, when they evince their love for Him by pleading with Him
to work, not for their own personal benefit, but for His own glory, that
His name may not be reproached and blasphemed among the heathen, this is
acceptable with Him. Daniel then intercedes for the city of Jerusalem,
called by God's name, and His holy mountain, for which He has had such
love, and beseeches Him, for His mercies' sake, to let His anger be turned
away. Finally, his mind centers upon the holy sanctuary, God's own dwelling
place upon this earth, and he pleads that its desolations may be repaired.

Daniel understood the seventy years of captivity to be near their
termination. From his allusion to the sanctuary, it is evident that he so
far misunderstood the important vision given him in Daniel 8 as to suppose
that the 2300 days expired at the same time. This misapprehension was at
once corrected when the angel came to give him further instruction in
answer to his prayer.

Verse 20 And whiles I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin and
the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication

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before the Lord my God for the holy mountain of my God; 21 yea, whiles I
was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision
at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of
the evening oblation.

Daniel's Prayer Is Answered.--We here have the result of Daniel's
supplication. He is suddenly interrupted by a heavenly messenger. The angel
Gabriel, appearing again as he had before in the form of a man, whom Daniel
had seen in the vision at the beginning, touched him. An important question
is at this point to be determined, namely, Has the vision of Daniel 8 ever
been explained, and can it ever be understood? To what vision does Daniel
refer by the expression, "the vision at the beginning"? It will be conceded
by all that it is a vision of which we have some previous record, and that
in that vision we shall find some mention of Gabriel. We must go back
beyond this ninth chapter, for all that we have in this chapter previous to
this appearance of Gabriel, is simply a record of Daniel's prayer. Looking
back, then, through previous chapters, we find mention of only three vision
given to Daniel. The interpretation of the dream of Nebuchadnezzar was
given in a night vision. (Daniel 2: 19.) But there is no record of any
angelic agency in the matter. The vision of Daniel 7 was explained to
Daniel by "one of them that stood by," probably an angel, nor is there
anything in that vision which needed further explanation. The vision of
Daniel 8 gives some particulars which show this to be the vision referred
to. Gabriel is there introduced by name. Daniel had said that he did not
understand it, showing that Gabriel, at the conclusion of Daniel 8, had not
completed his mission. There is no place in all the Bible where this
instruction is continued, if it is not in Daniel 9. If therefore the vision
of Daniel 8 is not the one referred to, we have no record that Gabriel ever
complied fully with the instructions given him, or that the vision has ever
been explained. The instruction which the angel now

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gives to Daniel, as we shall see from the following verses, does exactly
complete what was lacking in Daniel 8. These considerations prove beyond a
doubt the connection between Daniel 8 and 9, and this conclusion will be
still further strengthened by a consideration of the angel's instructions.

Verse 22 And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am
now come forth to give thee skill and understanding. 23 At the beginning of
thy supplications the commandment came forth, and I am come to show thee;
for thou art greatly beloved: therefore understand the matter, and consider
the vision.

Gabriel's Mission.--The manner in which Gabriel introduces himself on this
occasion shows that he has come to complete some unfinished mission. This
can be nothing less than to carry out the instruction to make this man
"understand the vision," as recorded in Daniel 8. He says, "I am now come
forth to give thee skill and understanding." As the charge still rested
upon him to make Daniel understand, and as he had explained to Daniel in
chapter 8 all that he could then bear, and yet he did not understand the
vision, he now comes to resume his work and complete his mission. As soon as
Daniel began his fervent supplication, the commandment came forth; for
Gabriel received instruction to visit Daniel, and impart to him the
requisite information.

From the time it takes to read Daniel's prayer down to the point at which
Gabriel made his appearance upon the scene, the reader can judge of the
speed with which this messenger was dispatched from the court of heaven to
this servant of God. no wonder that Daniel says he was caused to fly
swiftly, or that Ezekiel compares the movements of these celestial beings
to a flash of lightning. (Ezekiel 1: 14.)

"Understand the matter," he says to Daniel. What matter? Evidently that
which he did not before understand, as stated in the last verse of Daniel
8. "Consider the vision." What vision? Not the interpretation of
Nebuchadnezzar's image, nor the vision of Daniel 7, for there was no
difficulty with either of these; but the vision of Daniel 8, in reference
to which his

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mind was filled with astonishment and lack of understanding. "I am come to
show thee," also said the angel.

Daniel had no difficulty in understanding what the angel told him about the
ram, the he-goat, and the little horn, symbolizing the kingdoms of
Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome. Nor was he mistaken in regard to the ending
of the seventy years' captivity. But the burden of his petition was in
respect to the repairing of the desolations of the sanctuary, which lay in
ruins. He had undoubtedly drawn the conclusion that the time when the end
of the seventy years' captivity came was the time for the fulfillment of
what the angel had said in regard to the cleansing of the sanctuary at the
end of the 2300 days. Now he must be set right. This explains why at this
particular time, so soon after the previous vision, instruction was sent to
him.

The seventy years of captivity were drawing to their close. Daniel was
acting upon a misunderstanding. He must not be suffered longer to remain
ignorant of the true import of the former vision. "I am now come forth to
give thee skill and understanding," said the angel. How could the
connection between the former visit of the angel and this one be more
distinctly shown than by such words at such a time from such a person?

Daniel Greatly Beloved.--One expression seems worthy of notice before we
leave verse 23. It is the declaration of the angel to Daniel, "For thou art
greatly beloved." The angel brought this declaration direct from the courts
of heaven. It expressed the state of feeling that existed there in regard
to Daniel.

Think of celestial beings, the highest in the universe,--the Father, the
Son, the holy angels,--having such esteem for a mortal man here upon earth
as to authorize an angel to bear the message to him that he is greatly
beloved! This is one of the highest pinnacles of glory to which mortals can
attain. Abraham reached another, when it could be said of him that he was
the "friend of God;" and Enoch another, when it could

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be said of him that he "walked with God." Can we arrive at any such
attainments? God is no respecter of persons; but He is a respecter of
character. If in virtue and godliness we could equal these eminent men, we
could move the divine love to equal depths. We, too, could be greatly
beloved--could be friends of God, and could walk with Him. We must be in
our generation what they were in theirs.

There is a figure used in reference to the last church which denotes the
closest union with God: "If any man hear My voice, and open the door, I
will come into him, and will sup with him, and he with Me." Revelation 3:
20. To sup with the Lord denotes an intimacy equal to being greatly beloved
by Him, walking with Him, or being His friend. How desirable a position!
Alas for the evils of our nature, which cut us from this communion! O for
grace to overcome these, that we may enjoy this spiritual union here, and
finally enter the glories of His presence at the marriage supper of the
Lamb!

Verse 24 Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy
city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make
reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and
to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.

Seventy Weeks.--These are the first words the angel uttered to Daniel in
imparting to him that instruction which he came to give. Why did he thus
abruptly introduce a period of time? We must again refer to the vision of
Daniel 8. We have seen that Daniel, at the close of that chapter, says that
he did not understand the vision. Some parts of that vision were at the
time clearly explained. It could not have been these parts which he did not
understand. We therefore inquire what it was that Daniel did not
understand, or what part of the vision was left unexplained.

In that vision four prominent things are brought to view: the ram, the
he-goat, the little horn, and the period of 2300 days. The symbols of the
ram, the he-goat, and the little horn were explained, but nothing was said
respecting the period of

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time. This must therefore have been the point that he did not understand.
The other parts of the vision were of no avail while the application of
this period of 2300 days was left in obscurity.

Says the learned Dr. Hales, in commenting upon the seventy weeks, "This
chronological prophecy . . . was evidently designed to explain the
foregoing vision, especially in its chronological part of the 2300 days."
[1]

If this view of the subject is correct, we should naturally expect the
angel to begin with the point which had been omitted, namely, the time.
This we find to be true in fact. After citing Daniel's attention to the
former vision in the most direct and emphatic manner, and assuring him that
he had now come forth to give him understanding, he begins with the very
point there omitted: "Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon
thy holy city."

Cut Off From the 2300 Days.--But how does this language show any connection
with the 2300 days, or throw any light upon that period? We answer: The
language cannot be intelligently referred to anything else. The word here
rendered "determined" signifies "cut off," and no other period is given in
the vision here referred to from which the seventy weeks could be cut off,
except the 2300 days. How direct and natural, then, is the connection.
"Seventy weeks are cut off." Cut off from what?--The 2300 days, most
assuredly.

The word "determined" in this clause is a translation of the Hebrew {HEBREW
CHARACTERS IN PRINTED TEXT}, nechtak, based on a primitive root defined by
Strong as meaning "to cut off, (i.e., fig.) to decree--determine" (the
latter by implication). The Authorized Version employs the remoter
definition, and makes it read, "seventy weeks are decreed [i.e., allotted]
upon thy people." Taking the basic and simpler definition, we have "seventy
weeks are cut off for thy people."

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If cut off, it must be from some whole larger than itself--in this case
from the twenty-three hundred years of prophecy heretofore discussed. It
may be added that Gesenius gives the same definition as Strong: "to cut
off, . . . to divide, and so to determine, to decree." He then refers to
Daniel 9: 24, and translates the phrase, "are decreed upon thy people."
Davidson also gives exactly the same definition, and refers likewise to
Daniel 9: 24 as an example.

Why, then, it may be asked, did our translators render the word
"determined," when it so obviously means "cut off"? The answer is, They
doubtless overlooked the connection between the eighth and ninth chapters,
and considering it improper to render it "cut off," when nothing was given
from which the seventy weeks could be cut off, they gave the word its
figurative instead of its literal meaning. But, as we have seen, the
definition and context require the literal meaning, and render any other
inadmissible.

Seventy weeks, then, or 490 days of the 2300, were allotted to Jerusalem
and the Jews. The events which were to be consummated within that period
are briefly state. The transgression was to be finished, that is, the
Jewish people were to fill up the cup of their iniquity, which they did in
the rejection and crucifixion of Christ. An end of sins, or of sin
offerings, [*] was to be made. This took place when the great offering was
made on Calvary. Reconciliation for iniquity was to be provided. This was
accomplished by the sacrificial death of the Son of God. Everlasting
righteousness was to be brought in, the righteousness which our Lord
manifested in His sinless life. The vision and prophecy were to be sealed,
or made sure.

Page 204

By the events which were to occur in the seventy weeks, the prophecy is
tested. By this the application of the whole vision is determined. If the
events of this period are accurately fulfilled, the prophecy is of God, and
will be accomplished. If these seventy weeks are fulfilled as weeks of
years, then the 2300 days, of which these are a part, are so many years.

Day for a Year in Prophecy.--As we enter upon the study of the seventy
weeks, or 490 days, it will be well to remind ourselves of the fact that in
Scripture prophecy a day represents a year. On page 144 we have already
submitted evidence of the acceptance of the year-day principle; however for
the benefit of the reader, we present two further quotations as follows:

"In the same way it was opened up to Daniel in what way the last reviling
would be after the sanctuary shall have been cleansed and the vision shall
have been fulfilled; and this after 2300 days from the hour of the going
forth of the commandment, . . . according to the predicted number by
resolving a day into a year, according to the unfolding made to Ezekiel."
[2]

"It is a singular fact that the great mass of interpreters in the English
and American world have, for many years, been wont to understand the days
designated in Daniel and in the Apocalypse, as the representatives or
symbols of years. I have found it difficult to trace the origin of this
general, I might say almost universal, custom." [3]

The year-day principle numbers among its supporters such names as
Augustine, Tichonius, Primasius, Andreas, the Venerable Bede, Ambrosius,
Ansbertus, Berengaud, and Bruno Astensis, besides the leading modern
expositors. [4] But what is more conclusive than all else is the fact that
the prophecies have been fulfilled on this principle--a demonstration of
its correctness from which there is no appeal. This will be found in the
prophecy of the seventy weeks throughout, and

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all the prophetic periods of Daniel 7 and 12, and Revelation 9, 12, and 13.

Thus the events of the seventy weeks, calculated in this rational way,
furnish a key to the whole vision.

"To Anoint the Most Holy."--According to the prophecy the "most holy" was
to be anointed. The Hebrew phrase {HEBREW CHARACTERS IN PRINTED TEXT},
qodesh qadashim, here translated "most holy," is a term used freely through
the Levitical books to characterize things and places, but is nowhere
applied to persons, unless by exception in this verse. While it is used in
the Old Testament and its Greek equivalent in the New, to distinguish the
most holy place in the tabernacle, it is by no means confined to this use.
It is employed also to characterize many articles connected with the holy
service of the sanctuary, such as the brazen alter, the table, the
candlestick, the incense, the unleavened bread, the sin offering, the
trepass offering, every devoted thing, and the like, but never to persons
connected with that service. (See Exodus 29: 37; 30: 10, 29, 36; Leviticus
6: 17, 29; 7: 1; 27: 28.)

On the other hand, in the case of anointing for service, the term is
applied to the tabernacle itself, as well as to all its vessels. (Exodus
30: 26-29.) In Daniel 9: 24, a case of anointing is specified in the
prophecy. Consistent with the uses of "most holy" pointed out above, there
is every reason to believe that in this verse the anointing of the heavenly
tabernacle is predicted. The tabernacle was anointed for the typical
service; and true to pattern, it is most appropriate that the heavenly
tabernacle should be anointed for the antitypical, or real, service as our
High Priest enters upon His gracious work of ministering in behalf of
sinners.

In the examination of the sanctuary in comments on Daniel 8: 14, we saw
that a time came when the earthly sanctuary gave place to the heavenly, and
the priestly ministration was transferred from the one to the other. Before
the ministration in the earthly sanctuary began, the tabernacle and all the
holy vessels were to be anointed. (Exodus 40: 9,

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10.) The last event of the seventy weeks here brought to view, therefore,
is the anointing of the heavenly tabernacle for the opening of the
ministration there.

Verse 25 Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the
commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince
shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be
built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. 26 And after threescore
and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for Himself: and the people
of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and
the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war
desolations are determined. 27 And He shall confirm the covenant with many
for one week: and in the midst of the week He shall cause the sacrifice and
the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations He shall
make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be
poured upon the desolate.

Seventy Weeks Subdivided.--The angel now relates to Daniel the event which
is to mark the beginning of the seventy weeks. They were to date from the
going forth of the commandment to restore and build Jerusalem. Not only is
the event given which determines the time of the commencement of this
period, but also those events which take place at its close. Thus a double
test is provided by which to try the application of this prophecy. But more
than this, the period of seventy weeks is divided into three grand
divisions. One of these is again divided, and the intermediate events are
given which were to mark the termination of each one of these divisions. If
we can find a date which will harmonize with all these events, we have
beyond a doubt the true application, for none but that which is correct
could meet and fulfill so many conditions.

Let the reader now take in at one view the points of harmony to be made,
that he may be the better prepared to guard against a false application. We
are to find at the beginning of the period a commandment going forth to
restore and build Jerusalem. To this work of restoration seven weeks are
allotted. As we reach the end of this first division, seven weeks from the
beginning, we are to find Jerusalem restored in its material aspect, the
work of building the street and the

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wall fully accomplished. From this point sixty-two weeks are measured off.
As we reach the termination of this division, sixty-nine weeks from the
beginning, we are to see the manifestation of Messiah the Prince before the
world. One week more is given us, completing the seventy. In the midst of
this week the Messiah is to be cut off, and to cause the sacrifice and
oblation to cease. At the expiration of that period which was allotted to
the Jews as the time during which they were to be the special people of
God, we naturally look for the going forth of the blessing and work of God
to other people.

Beginning of the Seventy Weeks.--We now inquire for the initial date which
will harmonize with all these particulars. The command respecting Jerusalem
was to include more than mere building. There was to be restoration. By
this we must understand all the forms and regulations of civil, political,
and judicial society. When did such a command go forth? At the time these
words were spoken to Daniel, Jerusalem lay in utter desolation, and had
thus been lying for many years. The restoration pointed to in the future
must be its restoration from this desolation. We then inquire, When and how
was Jerusalem restored after the seventy years' captivity?

There are four events which can be taken as answering to the commandment to
restore and build Jerusalem. These are:

1. The decree of Cyrus for the rebuilding of the house of God, 536 B.C.
(Ezra 1: 1-4.)

2. The decree of Darius for the prosecution of that work which had been
hindered, 519 B.C. (Ezra 6: 1-12.)

3. The decree of Artaxerxes to Ezra, 457 B.C. [**] (Ezra 7.)

4. The commission to Nehemiah from the same king in his twentieth year, 444
B.C. (Nehemiah 2.)

Dating from the first two of these decrees, the seventy weeks, or 490
literal years, would fall many years

Page 209

short of reaching even to the Christian Era. Besides this, these decrees
had reference principally to the restoration of the temple and the temple
worship of the Jews, not to the restoration of their civil state and
polity, all of which must be included in the expression, "To restore and to
build Jerusalem."

These two decrees made a beginning of the work. They were preliminary to
what was afterward accomplished. But of themselves they were altogether
insufficient to meet the requirements of the prophecy, both in their dates
and in their nature. Thus falling short, they cannot be brought into the
discussion as marking the point from which the seventy weeks are to begin.
The only question now lies between the decrees which were granted to Ezra
and to Nehemiah respectively.

The facts between which we are to decide here are briefly these: In 457
B.C., a decree was granted to Ezra by the Persian emperor Artaxerxes
Longimanus to go up to Jerusalem with as many of his people as were minded
to go with him. The commission granted him an unlimited amount of treasure,
to beautify the house of God, to procure offerings for its service, and to
whatever else might seem good to him. It empowered him to ordain laws, set
magistrates and judges, and execute punishment even unto death; in other
words, to restore the Jewish state, civil, and ecclesiastical, according to
the law of God and the ancient customs of that people. Inspiration has seen
fit to preserve this decree; and a full an accurate copy of it is given in
Ezra 7. This decree is recorded not in Hebrew, like the rest of the book of
Ezra, but in the official Chaldaic, or Eastern Aramaic. Thus we are
referred to the original document by virtue of which Ezra was authorized to
restore and build Jerusalem.

Thirteen years after this, in the twentieth year of the same king, 444
B.C., Nehemiah sought and obtained permission to go up to Jerusalem.
(Nehemiah 2.) Permission was granted him, but he have no evidence that it
was anything more than oral. It pertained to him individually, since
nothing was said about others going up with him. The king asked him how
long

Page 210

a journey he wished to make, and when he would return. He received letters
to the governors beyond the river to help him on his way to Judea, and an
order to the keeper of the king's forest for timber.

When he arrived at Jerusalem, he found rulers and priests, nobles, and
people, already engaged in the work of building Jerusalem. (Nehemiah 2:
16.) They were, of course, acting under the decree given to Ezra thirteen
years before. Finally, after arriving at Jerusalem, Nehemiah finished in
fifty-two days the work he came to accomplish. (Nehemiah 6: 15.)

Now which of these commissions, Ezra's or Nehemiah's, constitutes the
decree for the restoration of Jerusalem, from which the seventy weeks are
to be dated? It hardly seems that there can be any question on this point.

Reckoning from the commission to Nehemiah, 444 B.C., the date throughout
are entirely disarranged; for from that point the troublesome times which
were to attend the building of the street and wall did not last seven
weeks, or forty-nine years. If we reckon from that date, the sixty-nine
weeks, or 483 years, which were to extend to the Messiah the Prince would
bring us to A.D. 40; but Jesus was baptized of John in Jordan, and the
voice of the Father was heard from heaven declaring Him His Son, A.D. 27,
thirteen years before. [5] According to this calculation, the midst of the
last or seventieth week, which is marked by the crucifixion, is placed in
A.D. 44, but the crucifixion took place in A.D. 31, thirteen years
previous. And lastly, the seventy weeks, or 490 years dating from the
twentieth year of Artaxerxes, would extend to A.D. 47, with absolutely
nothing to mark their termination. Hence if that be the year, and the grant
to Nehemiah the event, from which to reckon, the prophecy has proved a
failure. As it is, it only proves that the theory to be a failure which
dates the seventy weeks from Nehemiah's commission in the twentieth year of
Artaxerxes.

Page 211

It is thus evident that the decree granted to Ezra in the seventh year of
Artaxerxes, 457 B.C., is the point from which to date the seventy weeks.
That was the going forth of the decree in the sense of the prophecy. The
two previous decrees were preparatory and preliminary to this. Indeed they
are regarded by Ezra as parts of it, the tree being taken as one great
whole. For in Ezra 6: 14 we read: "They builded, and finished it, according
to the commandment of the God of Israel, and according to the commandment
of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes king of Persia," It will be noticed
that the decrees of these kings are spoken of as one,--"the commandment
[margin, "decree," singular number] of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes,"
showing that they are all reckoned as a unit, the different decrees being
but the successive steps by which the work was accomplished. This decree
could not be said to have "gone forth" as intended by the prophecy, until
the last permission which the prophecy required was embodied in the decree,
and clothed with the authority of the empire. This point was reached in the
grant given to Ezra, but not before. Here the decree assumed the
proportions and covered the ground demanded by the prophecy, and from this
point its "going forth" must be dated.

Harmony of the Subdivision.--Will these dates harmonize if we reckon from
the decree to Ezra? Let us see. Our starting point then is 457 B.C.
Forty-nine years are allotted to the building of the city and the wall. On
this point, Prideaux says: "In the fifteenth year of Darius Nothus ended
the first seven weeks of the seventy weeks of Daniel's prophecy. For then
the restoration of the church and state of the Jews in Jerusalem and Judea
was fully finished, in that last act of reformation, which is recorded in
the thirteenth chapter of Nehemiah, from the twenty-third verse to the end
of the chapter, just forty-nine years after it had been first begun by Ezra
in the seventh year of Artaxerxes Longimanus." [6] This was 408 B.C.

Page 213

So far we find harmony. Let us apply the measuring rod of the prophecy
still further. Sixty-nine weeks, or 483 years, were to extend to Messiah
the Prince. Dating from 457 B.C., they end in A.D. 27. What event then
occurred? [***] Luke thus informs us: "Now when all the people were
baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the
heaven was opened, and the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a
dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art My
beloved Son; in Thee I am well pleased." Luke 3: 21, 22. After this, Jesus
came "preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, The time is
fulfilled." Mark 1: 14, 15. The time here mentioned must have been some
specific, definite, and predicted period; but no prophetic period can be
found terminating then except the sixty-nine weeks of the prophecy of
Daniel, which were to extend to Messiah the Prince. The Messiah had now
come, and with His own lips He announced the termination of that period
which was to be marked by His manifestation. [+]

Page 214

Here, again, is indisputable harmony. But further, the Messiah was to
confirm the covenant with many for one week. This would be the last week of
the seventy, or the last seven years of the 490. In the midst of the week,
the prophecy informs us, He should cause the sacrifice and oblation to
cease. These Jewish ordinances, pointing to the death of Christ, could
cease only at the cross. There they did virtually come to an end when the
veil of the temple was rent at the crucifixion of Christ, though the
outward observance was kept up until the destruction of Jerusalem, A.D. 70.
After threescore and two weeks, according to the record, the Messiah was to
be cut off. It is the same as if it had read: After threescore and two
weeks, in the midst of the seventieth week, shall Messiah be cut off, and
cause the sacrifice and oblation to cease. Now, as the word midst here
means middle, the crucifixion is definitely located in the middle of the
seventieth week.

Date of the Crucifixion.--It now becomes an important point to determine in
what year the crucifixion took place. It is not to be questioned that our
Saviour attended every Passover that occurred during His public ministry,
and we have mention of only four such occasions previous to His
crucifixion. These are found in the passages: John 2: 13; 5: 1; 6: 4; 13:
1. At the last-mentioned Passover He was crucified. From facts already
established, let us then see where this would locate the crucifixion. As He
began His ministry in the autumn of A.D. 27, His Passover would occur the
following

Page 215

spring, A.D. 28; His second, A.D. 29; His third, A.D. 30; and His fourth
and last, A.D 31. This gives us three years and a half for His public
ministry, and corresponds exactly to the prophecy that He would be cut off
in the midst, or middle of the seventieth week. As that week of years began
in the autumn of A.D. 27, the middle of the week would occur three and one
half years later, in the spring of 31, when the crucifixion took place. Dr.
Hales quotes Eusebius, A.D. 300, as saying: "It is recorded in history that
the whole time of our Saviour's teaching and working miracles was three
years and a half, which is the half of a week [of years]. This, John the
evangelist will represent to those who critically attend to his Gospel."
[7]

Of the unnatural darkness which occurred at the crucifixion, Hales thus
speaks: "Hence it appears that the darkness which 'overspread the whole
land of Judea' at the time of our Lord's crucifixion was preternatural,
'from the sixth until the ninth hour,' or from non till three in the
afternoon, in its duration, and also in its time, about full moon, when the
moon could not possibly eclipse the sun. The time it happened, and the fact
itself are recorded in a curious and valuable passage of a respected Roman
Consul, Aurelius Cassiodorus Senator, about A.D. 514. 'In the consulate of
Tiberius Caesar Aug. V and AElius Sejanus (U.C. 784, A.D. 31), our Lord
Jesus Christ suffered, on the 8th of the Calends of April (25th of March),
when there happened such an eclipse of the sun as was never before nor
since.'

"In this year, and in this day, agree also the Council of Caesarea, A.D.
196 or 198, the Alexandrian Chronicle, Maximus Monachus, Nicephorus
Constantinus, Cedrenus; and in this year, but on different days, concur
Eusebius and Epiphanius, followed by Kepler, Bucher, Patinus, and Petavius,
some reckoning it the 10th of the Calends of April, others the 13th." (See
comments on Daniel 11: 22.) [8]

Page 217

Here, then, are thirteen creditable authorities who locate the crucifixion
of Christ in the spring of A.D. 31. We may therefore set this down as a
fixed date. This being in the middle of the last week, we have simply to
reckon backward three and a half years to find where sixty-nine of the
weeks ended, and forward from that point three and a half years to find the
termination of the whole seventy weeks. Thus going back three and a half
years from the crucifixion in the spring of A.D. 31, we come to the autumn
of A.D. 27, when, as we have seen, the sixty-nine weeks ended, and Christ
began His public ministry. Going forward from the crucifixion three and a
half years, we are brought to the autumn of A.D. 34, as the grand
terminating point of the whole period of the seventy weeks. This date is
marked by the martyrdom of Stephen, the formal rejection of the gospel of
Christ by the Jewish Sanhedrin in the persecution of His disciples, and the
turning of the apostles to the Gentiles. These are the events which one
would expect to take place when that specified period cut off for the Jews
and allotted to them as a peculiar people, should fully expire.

From the facts above set forth, we see that, reckoning the seventy weeks
from the decree given to Ezra in the seventh year of Artaxerxes, 457 B.C.,
there is perfect harmony throughout. The important and definite events of
the manifestation of the Messiah at His baptism, the commencement of His
public ministry, the crucifixion, and the rejection of the Jews and the
preaching of the gospel to the Gentiles, with the proclamation of the new
covenant--all come in in their exact place, sealing the prophecy and making
it sure.

End of the 2300 Days.--With the seventy weeks we are now through; but there
remains a longer period, and other important events are to be considered.
The seventy weeks are but the first 490 years of the 2300-year period. Take
490 from 2300, and there remains 1810. The 490, as we have seen, ended in
the autumn of A.D. 34. If to this date we now add the remaining 1810 years,
we shall have the termination of the

Page 219

whole period. So to A.D. 34, autumn, add 1810, and we have the autumn of
A.D. 1844. Thus speedily and surely do we find the termination of the 2300
days, when once the seventy weeks have been located.

Why in 1844?--The query may here arise how the days can be extended to the
autumn of 1844 if they began in 457 B.C., as it requires only 1843 years,
in addition to the 457, to make the whole number 2300. Attention to one
fact will clear this point of all difficulty: It takes 457 full years
before Christ, and 1843 full years after, to make 2300; so that if the
period began with the very first day of 457, it would not terminate till
the very last day of 1843. Now it will be evident to all that if any part
of the year 457 passed away before the 2300 days began, just so much of the
year 1844 must pass away before they would end. We therefore inquire, From
what point in the year 457 are we to begin to reckon? From the fact that
the first forty-nine years were allotted to the building of the street and
wall, we learn that the period is to be dated not from the starting of Ezra
from Babylon, but the actual beginning of the work at Jerusalem. This
beginning could hardly be earlier than the seventh month (autumn) of 457,
as he did not arrive at Jerusalem until the fifth month of that year. (Ezra
7: 9.) The whole period would therefore extend to the seventh month,
autumn, Jewish time, of 1844.

The momentous declaration made by the angel to Daniel, "Unto two thousand
and three hundred days: then shall the sanctuary be cleansed," is now
explained. In our search for the meaning of the sanctuary and it cleansing,
and the application of the time, we have found only that this subject can
be easily understood, but lo, the event is even now in process of
accomplishment. Here we pause a brief moment to reflect upon the solemn
position into which we are brought.

We have seen that the sanctuary of the Christian Era is the tabernacle of
God in heaven, the house not made with hands, where our Lord ministers in
behalf of penitent sinners, the place where between the great God and His
Son Jesus

Page 220

Christ the "counsel of peace" prevails in the work of salvation for
perishing men. (Zechariah 6: 13; Psalm 85: 10.) We have seen that the
cleansing of the sanctuary consists in the removing of the sins from it,
and is the closing act of the ministration performed in it; that the work
of salvation now centers in the heavenly sanctuary; and that when the
sanctuary is cleansed, the work is done. Then the great plan of salvation
devised at the fall of man is brought to its final termination. Mercy no
longer pleads, and the great voice is heard from the throne in the temple
in heaven, saying, "It is done." Revelation 16: 17. What then? All the
righteous have the gift of everlasting life; all the wicked are doomed to
everlasting death. Beyond that point, no decision can be changed, no reward
can be lost, and no destiny of despair can be averted.

The Solemn Judgment Hour.--We have seen (and this is what brings the
solemnities of the judgment to our own door) that that long prophetic
period which was to mark the beginning of the final work in the heavenly
sanctuary, has met its termination. In 1844 the days ended. Since that time
the final work for man's salvation has been going forward. This work
involves an examination of every man's character, for it consists in the
remission of the sins of those who shall be found worthy to have them
remitted, and determines who among the dead shall be raised. It also
decides who among the living shall be changed at the coming of the Lord,
and who of both dead and living shall be left to have their part in the
fearful scenes of the second death. All can see that such a decision as
this must be rendered before the Lord appears.

Every man's destiny is to be determined by deeds done in the body, and each
one is to be rewarded according to his works. (2 Corinthians 5: 10;
Revelation 22: 12.) In the books of record kept by the heavenly scribes
above, every man's deeds will be found recorded. (Revelation 20: 12.) In
the closing sanctuary work these records are examined, and decisions are
rendered in accordance with the findings. (Daniel 7: 9, 10.) It would be
natural to suppose that the work would

Page 221

begin with the first members of the human race, that their cases would be
first examined, and decision rendered, and so on with all the dead,
generation by generation, in chronological succession, until we reach the
last generation-- the generation of the living, with whose cases the work
would close.

When the cases of all the dead have been examined, and when the cases of
the living have been reached, no man can know. But since the year 1844 this
solemn work has been going forward. Light from the types, and the very
nature of the work, forbid that it should be of long continuance. In his
sublime views of the heavenly scenes, John saw millions of attendants and
assistants engaged with our Lord in His priestly work. (Revelation 5.) Thus
the ministration goes forward. It ceases not, it delays not, and it must
soon be forever finished.

Here we stand then, with the last, the greatest, and the most solemn crisis
in the history of our race immediately impending. The plan of salvation is
about finished. The last precious years of probation are almost finished.
The Lord is about to come to save those who are ready and waiting, and to
cut asunder the careless and unbelieving. The world--alas! What shall we
say of it? Deceived with error, crazed with cares and business, delirious
with pleasure, and paralyzed with vice, the inhabitants have not a moment
to spare for listening to solemn truth, nor a thought to bestow upon their
eternal interests. Let the people of God, with eternity in view, be careful
to escape the corruption that is in the world through lust, and prepare to
pass the searching test when their cases shall come up for examination at
the great tribunal above. Let them be diligent in warning sinners of the
wrath to come, and in pointing them to a loving Saviour who intercedes in
their behalf.

To the careful attention of every student of prophecy we commend the
subject of the sanctuary and its service. In the sanctuary is seen the ark
of God's testament, containing His

Page 223

holy law. This suggests a reform in our obedience to that great standard of
morality. The opening of this heavenly temple, or the beginning of the
service in its second apartment, marks the commencement of the sounding of
the seventh angel. (Revelation 11: 15, 19.) The work performed therein is
the foundation of the third angel's message of Revelation 14,--the last
message of mercy to a perishing world. This subject of the sanctuary
renders harmonious and clear past prophetic fulfillments which are
otherwise involved in impenetrable obscurity. It gives a definite idea of
the position and work of our great High Priest, and brings out the plan of
salvation in its distinctive and beautiful features. It reins us up, as no
other subject does, to the realities of the judgment, and shows the
preparation we need to be able to stand in the coming day. It shows us that
we are in the waiting time, and puts us upon our watch, for we do not know
how soon the work will be finished, and our Lord appear. Watch, lest coming
suddenly He find you sleeping.

After stating the great events connected with our Lord's mission here upon
the earth, the prophet in the last part of Daniel 9: 27 speaks of the soon-
following destruction of Jerusalem by the Roman power; and finally of the
destruction of that power itself, called in the margin "the desolator."

[1] William Hales, A New Analysis of Chronology, Vol. II, p. 517.

[2] Nicholas von Cusa, Conjectures of Cardinal Nicholas von Cusa Concerning
the Last Days, p. 934.

[3] Moses Stuart, Hints on the Interpretation of Prophecy, p. 74.

[4] See Edward B. Elliott, Horae Apocalypticae, Vol. III, p. 234, notes
2-6.

[5] See S. Bliss, Analysis of Sacred Chronology, pp. 180, 182; Karl
Wieseler, A Chronological Synopsis of the Four Gospels, pp. 164-247.

[6] Humphrey Prideaux, The Old and New Testament Connect in the History of
the Jews, Vol. I, p. 322.

[7] William Hales, A New Analysis of Chronology, Vol. I, p. 94.

[8] Ibid., pp. 69, 70.

[*] The Hebrew word, {HEBREW CHARACTERS IN PRINTED TEXT}, chattath,
translated "sins" in Daniel 9: 24, denotes either sin or sin offering.
Leviticus 4: 3 is an example of its use in both senses in the same verse:
"Let him bring for his sin . . . a young bullock . . . for his sin
offering," the same Hebrew word being used in both instances. This is a
common usage through the Levitical books including Leviticus 16 and
elsewhere in the Old Testament. It can therefore clearly be used in the
sense of sin offerings in Daniel 9: 24, for an end of sin offerings was
actually made at the cross.--Editors.

[**] The years of Artaxerxes' reign are among the most easily established
dates of history. The Canon of Ptolemy, with its list of kings and
astronomical observations, the Greek Olympiads, and allusions in Greek
history to Persian affairs all combine to place the seventh year of
Artaxerxes at 457 B.C. beyond successful controversion. See Sir Isaac
Newton, Observations Upon the Prophecies of Daniel, pp. 154-157.--Editors.

[***] There is abundance of authority for A.D. 27 as the date of Christ's
baptism. See S. Bliss, Analysis of Sacred Chronology, p. 180; New
International Encyclopedia, art. "Jesus Christ;" Karl Wieseler, A
Chronological Synopsis of the Four Gospels, pp. 164-247.

[+] Luke declared that Jesus "began to be about thirty years of age" at the
time of His baptism (Luke 3: 23); and almost immediately after this He
entered upon His ministry. How, then, could His ministry begin in A.D. 27,
and He still be the same age named by Luke? The answer to this question is
found in the fact that Christ was born between three and four years before
the beginning of the Christian Era, that is, before the year called A.D. 1.
the mistake of dating the Christian Era somewhat over three years this side
of the birth of Christ, instead of dating it from the year of His birth, as
it was designed to be, arose on this wise. One of the most important of
ancient eras was reckoned from the building of the city of Rome--ab urbe
condita--expressed by the abbreviation A.U.C., or more briefly, U.C. In the
year which is now numbered A.D. 532, Dionysius Exiguus, a Scythian by
birth, and a Roman abbot, who flourished in the reign of Justinian,
invented the Christian Era. According to the best evidence at his command,
he placed the birth of Christ U.C. 753. But Christ was born before the
death of Herod; and it was afterward ascertained on the clearest evidence
that the death of Herod occurred in April, U.C. 750. Allowing a few months
for the events recorded in Christ's life before the time of Herod's death,
his birth is carried back to the latter part of U.C. 749, a little more
than three years before A.D. 1. Christ was therefore thirty years of age in
A.D. 27. "The Vulgar [common] era began to prevail in the West about the
time of Charles Martel and Pope Gregory II, A.D. 730; but was not
sanctioned by any public Acts or Rescripts till the first German Synod, in
the time of Carolomannus, Duke of the Franks, which, in the preface, was
said to be assembled 'Anno ab incarnatione Dom. 742, 11 Calendas Maii.' But
it was not established till the time of Pope Eugenius IV, A.D. 1431, who
ordered this era to be used in the public Registers: according to Mariana,
and others."-William Hales, "A New Analysis of Chronology," Vol. I, p. 84.
(See also Samuel J. Andrews, Life of Our Lord Upon the Earth, pp. 29, 30.)
The Christian Era had become so well established before the mistake above
referred to was discovered, that no change in the reckoning has been
attempted. It makes no material difference, as ti does not interfere at all
with the calculation of dates. If the era began with the actual year of
Christ's birth, the number of years B.C. in any case would be four years
less, and the years A.D. four years more. To illustrate: If we have a
period of twenty years, on half before and the other half in the Christian
Era, we ay that it began 10 B.C. and ended A.D. 10. But if we place the era
back to the real point of Christ's birth there would be no change of either
terminus of the period, but we should then say that it began 6 B.C. and
ended A.D. 14; that is four years would be taken from the figures B.C. and
added to those of A.D. Some have so far misapprehended this subject as to
claim that the current year should have four years added to it, to denote
the real year of the Christian Era. This would be true, if the reckoning
began from the actual date of Christ's birth. But this is not the case, the
starting point being between three and four years later.--Editors.
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                                 Chapter X

                      God Intervenes in World Affairs

Verse 1 In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a thing was revealed unto
Daniel, whose name was called Belteshazzar; and the thing was true, but the
time appointed was long: and he understood the thing, and had understanding
of the vision.

This verse introduces the last recorded vision of the prophet Daniel, the
instruction imparted to him at this time being continued through Daniel 11
and 12. The death of Daniel is supposed to have occurred soon after this,
he being at this time, according to Prideaux, not less then ninety years of
age.

Verse 2 In those days I Daniel was mourning three full weeks. 3 I ate no
pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine in my mouth, neither did I
anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled.

Daniel's Sorrow.--The marginal reading for "three full weeks" is "weeks of
days," here used to distinguish the time spoken of from the weeks of years
brought to view in the preceding chapter.

For what purpose did this aged servant of God thus humble himself and
afflict his soul?--Evidently to understand more fully the divine purpose
concerning events that were to befall the church of God. The divine
messenger sent to instruct him says, "From the first day that thou didst
set thine heart to understand." Verse 12. There was still something, then,
which Daniel did not understand. What was it? Undoubtedly it was some part
of the vision of Daniel 8, of which Daniel 9 was but a further explanation.
As the result of his supplication, he now receives more minute information
respecting the events included in the great outlines of his former visions.

This mourning of the prophet is supposed to have been accompanied with
fasting, not an absolute abstinence from

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food, but a use of only the plainest and most simple articles of diet. He
ate no pleasant bread, no delicacies or dainties; he used no flesh or wine;
and he did not anoint his head, which was to the Jews an outward sign of
fasting. How long he would have continued this fast had he not received the
answer to his prayer, we do not know, but his course in continuing it for
three weeks shows that he was not a person to cease his supplications till
his petition was granted.

Verse 4 And in the four and twentieth day of the first month, as I was by
the side of the great river, which is Hiddekel; 5 then I lifted up mine
eyes, and looked, and behold a certain man clothed in linen, whose loins
were girded with fine gold of Uphaz: 6 His body also was like the beryl,
and His face as the appearance of lightning, and His eyes as lamps of fire,
and His arms and His feet like in color to polished brass, and the voice of
His words like the voice of a multitude. 7 And I Daniel alone saw the
vision: for the men that were with me saw not the vision; but a great
quaking fell upon them, so that they fled to hide themselves. 8 Therefore I
was left alone, and saw this great vision, and there remained no strength
in me: for my comeliness was turned in me into corruption, and I retained
no strength. 9 Yet heard I the voice of His words: and when I heard the
voice of His words, then was I in a deep sleep on my face, and my face
toward the ground.

The word Hiddekel in the Syriac is applied to the Euphrates River; in the
Vulgate, Greek, and Arabic, to the Tigris; therefore some conclude that the
prophet had this vision where these rivers unite, near the Persian Gulf.

A most majestic being visited Daniel on this occasion. The description here
given of him is almost parallel to the description of Christ in Revelation
1: 14-16. Also since the effect on Daniel was experienced was similar to
that experienced by Paul and his companions when the Lord appeared to them
on the road to Damascus (Acts 9: 1-7), we conclude that Christ Himself
appeared to Daniel. We learn in verse 13 that Michael had come to assist
Gabriel in influencing the Persian king. How natural then that He should
show Himself to Daniel on this occasion.

Verse 10 And, behold, an hand touched me, which set me upon my knees and
upon the palms of my hands. 11 And he said unto

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me, O Daniel, a man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak unto
thee, and stand upright: for unto thee am I now sent. And when he had
spoken this word unto me, I stood trembling. 12 Then said he unto me, Fear
not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to
understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard,
and I am come for thy words.

Gabriel Encourages Daniel.--After Daniel had fallen at the majestic
appearance of Christ, the angel Gabriel, obviously the speaker in verse
11-13, laid his hand upon him to give him assurance and confidence. He told
Daniel that he was a man greatly beloved. Wonderful declaration! A member
of the human family, one of the same race with us, loved, not merely in the
general sense in which God loved the whole world when He gave His Son to
die for mankind, but loved as individual, and that greatly! Well might the
prophet receive confidence from such a declaration as that! He tells him,
moreover, that he is come for the purpose of an interview with him, and he
wishes him to bring his mind into a proper state to understand the words.
Being thus assured, the holy and beloved prophet stood trembling, before
the angel.

"Fear not, Daniel," continued Gabriel. He had no occasion to fear before
one, even though a heavenly being, who had been sent to him because he was
greatly beloved, and in answer to his earnest prayer. Nor ought the people
of God of any age to entertain a servile fear of any of those agents who
are sent forth to minister to their salvation. There is, however, a
disposition manifested among far too many to conceive of Jesus and His
angels as only stern ministers of justice, rather than as beings who are
earnestly working for their salvation. The presence of an angel, should he
appear bodily before them, would strike them with terror, and the thought
that Christ is soon to appear distresses and alarms them. We recommend to
such more of that perfect love which casts out all fear.

Verse 13 But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and
twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me;
and I remained there with the kings of Persia.

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Gabriel Delayed by the King of Persia.--How often the prayers of God's
people are heard while as yet there is no apparent answer! It was even so
in this case with Daniel. The angel told him that from the first day he set
his heart to understand, his words were heard. Yet Daniel continued to
afflict his soul with fasting, and to wrestle with God for three full
weeks, unaware that any respect had been paid to his petition. But unaware
that any respect had been paid to his petition. But why was the delay? The
king of Persia withstood the angel. The answer to Daniel's prayer involved
some action on the part of that king. This action he must be influenced to
perform. It doubtless pertained to the work which he was to do, and had
already begun to do, in behalf of the temple at Jerusalem and the Jews, his
decree for the building of that temple being the first of the series which
finally constituted that notable commandment to restore and build
Jerusalem, at the going forth of which the great prophetic period of 2300
days was to begin. The angel was dispatched to influence him to go forward
in accordance with the divine will.

How little do we realize what is going on in the unseen world in relation
to human affairs! Here the curtain is for a moment lifted, and we catch a
glimpse of the movements within. Daniel prays. The Creator of the universe
hears. The command is issued to Gabriel to go to his relief. But the king
of Persia must act before Daniel's prayer is answered, and the angel
hastens to the Persian king. Satan no doubt musters his forces to oppose.
They meet in the royal palace of Persia. All the motives of selfish
interest and worldly policy which Satan can play upon, he doubtless uses to
the best advantage to influence the king against compliance with God's
will, while Gabriel brings to bear his influence in the other direction.
The king struggles between conflicting emotions. He hesitates; he delays.
Day after day passes away, yet Daniel prays on. The king still refuses to
yield to the influence of the angel. Three weeks expire, and lo, a mightier
than Gabriel joins him in the palace of the king, and then they come to
Daniel to acquaint him with progress of events. From the

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first, said Gabriel, your prayer was heard; but during these three weeks
which you have devoted to prayer and fasting, the king of Persia has
resisted my influence and prevented my coming.

Such was the effect of prayer. God has erected no barriers between Himself
and His people since Daniel's time. It is still their privilege to offer up
prayer as fervent and effectual as his, and, like Jacob, to have power with
God, and to prevail.

Who was Michael, who here came to Gabriel's assistance? The term signifies,
"He who is like God," and the Scriptures clearly show that Christ is the
one who bears this name. Jude (verse 9) declares that Michael is the
Archangel. This word signifies "head, or chief, angel," and in our text
Gabriel calls Him "one [or, as the margin reads, "the first"] of the chief
princes." There can be but one archangel, and hence it is manifestly
improper to use the word in the plural as some do. The Scriptures never so
use it. In 1 Thessalonians 4: 16, Paul states that when the Lord appears
the second time to raise the dead, the voice of the archangel is heard.
Whose voice is heard when the dead are raised?--The voice of the Son of
God. (John 5: 28.) Taken together, these scriptures prove that the dead are
called from their graves by the voice of the Son of God, that the voice
which is then heard is the voice of the Archangel, proving that the
Archangel is the Son of God, and that the Archangel is called Michael, from
which it follows that Michael is the Son of God. In the last verse of
Daniel 10, He is called "your Prince," and in the first of Daniel 12, "the
great Prince which standeth for the children of thy people," expressions
which can appropriately be applied to Christ, but to no other being.

Verse 14 Now I am come to make thee understand what shall befall thy people
in the latter days: for yet the vision is for many days.

The expression, "yet the vision is for many days," reaching far into the
future, and embracing what should befall the people of God even in the
latter days, shows conclusively that the

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2300 days given in that vision cannot mean literal days, but must be days
of years. (See comments on Daniel 9: 25-27.)

Verse 15 And when he had spoken such words unto me, I set my face toward
the ground, and I became dumb. 16 And, behold, one like the similitude of
the sons of men touched my lips: then I opened my mouth, and spake, and
said unto him that stood before me, O my lord, by the vision my sorrows are
turned upon me, and I have retained no strength. 17 For how can the servant
of this my lord talk with this my lord? for as for me, straightway there
remained no strength in me, neither is there breath left in me.

One of the most marked characteristics manifested by Daniel was the tender
solicitude he felt for his people. Having come now clearly to comprehend
that the vision portended long ages of oppression and suffering for the
church, he was so affected by the view that his strength departed from him,
his breath ceased, and the power of speech was gone. The vision of verse 16
doubtless refers to the former vision of Daniel 8.

Verse 18 Then there came again and touched me one like the appearance of a
man, and he strengthened me, 19 and said, O man greatly beloved, fear not:
peace be unto thee, be strong, yea, be strong. And when he had spoken unto
me, I was strengthened, and said, Let my lord speak; for thou hast
strengthened me. 20 Then said he, Knowest thou wherefore I come unto thee?
and now will I return to fight with the prince of Persia: and when I am
gone forth, lo, the prince of Grecia shall come. 21 But I will show thee
that which is noted in the Scripture of truth: and there is none that
holdeth with me in these things, but Michael your Prince.

The prophet is at length strengthened to hear in full the communication
which the angel has to make. Gabriel says, "Knowest thou wherefore I come
unto thee?" Do you understand my purpose so that you will no more fear? He
then announced his intention to return, as soon as his communication was
complete, to fight with the king of Persia. The word {HEBREW CHARACTERS IN
PRINTED TEXT}, im, signifying "with," is, in the Septuagint, {GREEK
CHARACTERS IN PRINTED TEXT}, meta, and signifies, not "against," but "in
common with, alongside of;" that is, the angel of God would stand on the
side of the Persian kingdom as long as it was in the providence of God

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that that kingdom should continue. "And when I am gone forth," continued
Gabriel, "lo, the prince of Grecia shall come." That is, when he withdraws
his support from that kingdom, and the providence of God operates in behalf
of another kingdom, the prince of Grecia shall come, and the Persian
monarchy shall be overthrown.

Gabriel then announced that none had an understanding with him in the
matters he was about to communicate except Michael the Prince. After he had
made them known to Daniel, there were four beings in the universe who
possessed a knowledge of these important truths--Daniel, Gabriel, Christ,
and God. Four links appear in this chain of witnesses--the first, Daniel, a
member of the human family; the last, Jehovah, the God of all!
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Page 233

                                 Chapter XI

                     Unrolling the Scroll of the Future

Verse 1 Also I in the first year of Darius the Mede, even I, stood to
confirm and to strengthen him. 2 And now will I show thee the truth.
Behold, there shall stand up yet three kings in Persia; and the fourth
shall be far richer than they all: and by his strength through his riches
he shall stir up all against the realm of Grecia.

We now enter upon a prophecy of future events, clothed not in figures and
symbols, as in the visions of Daniel 2, 7, and 8, but given mostly in plain
language. Many of the signal events of the world's history from the days of
Daniel to the end of the world, are here brought to view. This prophecy, as
Thomas Newton says, may not improperly be said to be a comment on and
explanation of Daniel 8, a statement showing how clearly he perceived the
connection between that vision and rest of the book of Daniel. [1]

Daniel's Last Vision Interpreted.--The angel Gabriel, after stating that he
had stood in the first year of Darius to confirm and strengthen him, turns
his attention to the future. Darius was dead, and Cyrus was now reigning.
Three kings would yet stand up, or reign, in Persia, doubtless the
immediate successors of Cyrus. These were Cambyses, son of Cyrus; Smerdis,
an impostor; and Darius Hystaspes.

Xerxes Invades Greece.--The fourth king after Cyrus was Xerxes, son of
Darius Hystaspes. He was famous for his wealth, a direct fulfillment of the
prophecy stating that he should be "far richer than they all." He was
determined to conquer the Greeks; therefore he set about organizing a
mighty army, which Herodotus says numbered 5,283,220 men.

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Xerxes was not content to stir up the East alone. He also enlisted the
support of Carthage in the West. The Persian king fought Greece
successfully at the famous battle of Thermopylae; but the mighty army was
able to overrun the country only when the three hundred brave Spartans who
held the pass were betrayed by traitors. Xerxes finally suffered disastrous
defeat at the battle of Salamis in the year 480 B.C., and the Persian army
made its way back again to its own country.

Verse 3 And a mighty king shall stand up, that shall rule with great
dominion, and do according to his will. 4 And when he shall stand up, his
kingdom shall be broken, and shall be divided toward the four winds of
heaven; and not to his posterity, nor according to his dominion which he
ruled: for his kingdom shall be plucked up, even for others beside those.

Xerxes was the last Persian king to invade Greece; and now the prophecy
passes over six minor rulers to introduce the "mighty king." Alexander the
Great.

After overthrowing the Persian Empire, Alexander "became absolute lord of
that empire in the utmost extent in which it was ever possessed by any of
the Persian kings." [2] His dominion comprised "the greater portion of the
then-known habitable world." How well he has been described as "a mighty
king,. . . that shall rule with great dominion, and do according to his
will"! But he exhausted his energies in rioting and drunkenness, and when
he died in 323 B.C., his vainglorious and ambitious projects when into
sudden and total eclipse. The Grecian Empire did not go to Alexander's
sons. Within a few years after his death, all his posterity had fallen
victims to the jealousy and ambition of his leading generals, who tore the
kingdom into four parts. How short is the transit from the highest pinnacle
of earthly glory to the lowest depths of oblivion and death! Alexander's
four leading generals--Cassander, Lysimachus, Seleucus, and Ptolemy--took
possession of the empire.

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"After the death of Antigonus [301 B.C.], the four confederated princes
divided his dominions between them; and hereby the whole empire of
Alexander became parted, and settled into four kingdoms. Ptolemy had Egypt,
Libya, Arabia, Coele-Syria, and Palestine; Cassander, Macedon and Greece;
Lysimachus, Thrace Bithynia, and some other of the provinces beyond the
Hellespont and the Bosphorus; and Selecus all the rest. And these four were
the four horns of the he-goat mentioned in the prophecies of the prophet
Daniel, which grew up after the breaking off of the first horn. That first
horn was Alexander, king of Grecia, who overthrew the kingdom of the Medes
and Persians; and the other four horns were these four kings, who sprung up
after him, and divided the empire between them. And these also were the
four heads of the leopard, spoken of in another place of the same
prophecies. And their four kingdoms were the four parts, into which,
according to the same prophet, the 'kingdom of the mighty king (i.e., of
Alexander) should be broken, and divided toward (i.e., according to the
number of) the four winds of heaven,' among those four kings, 'who should
not be of his posterity,' as neither of the four above-mentioned were. And
therefore, by this last partition of the empire of Alexander, were all
these prophecies exactly fulfilled." [3]

Verse 5 And the king of the south shall be strong, and one of his princes;
and he shall be strong above him, and have dominion; his dominion shall be
a great dominion.

King of the South.--The king of the north and the king of the south are
many times referred to in the rest of this chapter. Therefore it is
essential to an understanding of the prophecy to identify these powers
clearly. when Alexander's empire was divided, the portions lay toward the
four winds of heaven--north, south, east, est. These divisions may well be
reckoned from Palestine, the central part of the empire. That division of
the empire lying west of Palestine would thus con-

Page 236

stitute the kingdom of the west; that lying north, the kingdom of the
north; that lying east, the kingdom of the east; and that lying south, the
kingdom of the south.

During the wars and revolutions which followed for long ages, geographical
boundaries were frequently changed or obliterated; old ones were wiped out,
and new ones instituted. But whatever changes might occur, these first
division of the empire must determine the names which these portions of
territory should ever afterward bear, or we have no standard by which to
test the application of the prophecy. In other words, whatever power at any
time should occupy the territory which at first constituted the kingdom of
the north, that power would be king of the north as long as it occupied
that territory. Whatever power should occupy that which at first
constituted the kingdom of the south, that power would so long be the king
of the south. We speak of only these tow, because they are the only ones
afterward spoken of in the prophecy, and because, in fact, almost the whole
of Alexander's empire finally resolved itself into these two division.

The successors of Cassander were very soon conquered by Lysimachus, and his
kingdom, Greece and Macedon, was annexed to Thrace. Lysimachus was in turn
conquered by Seleucus, and Macedon and Thrace were annexed to Syria.

These facts prepare the way for an application of the text before us. The
king of the south, Egypt, shall be strong. Ptolemy Soter annexed Cyprus,
Phoenicia, Caria, Cyrene, and many islands and cities to Egypt. Thus was
his kingdom made strong. But another of Alexander's princes is introduced
in the expression, "one of his princes." This must refer to Seleucus
Nicator, who, as already stated, by annexing Macedon and Thrace to Syria
became possessor of three parts out of four of Alexander's dominion, and
established a more powerful kingdom than that of Egypt.

Verse 6 And in the end of years they shall join themselves together; for
the king's daughter of the south shall come to the king of the north to
make an agreement: but she shall not retain the power of the arm; neither
shall

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he stand, nor his arm: but she shall be given up, and they that brought
her, and he that begat her, and he that strengthened her in these times.

King of the North.--There were frequent wars between the kings of Egypt and
of Syria. Especially was this the case with Ptolemy Philadelphus, the
second king of Egypt, and Antiochus Theos, third king of Syria. They at
length agreed to make peace upon condition that Antiochus should put away
his former wife, Laodice, and her two sons, and should marry Berenice, the
daughter of Ptolemy Philadelphus. Ptolemy accordingly brought his daughter
to Antiochus, bestowing with her an immense dowry.

"But she shall not retain the power of the arm;" that is, her interest and
power with Antiochus. So it proved; for shortly afterward, Antiochus
brought back to the court his former wife Laodice and her children. Then
says the prophecy, "Neither shall he [Antiochus] stand, nor his arm," or
posterity. Laodice, being restored to favor and power, feared lest in the
fickleness of his temper Antiochus should again disgrace her by recalling
Berenice. Concluding that nothing short of his death would be an effectual
safeguard against such a contingency, she caused him to be poisoned shortly
afterward. Neither did his children by Berenice succeed him in the kingdom,
for Laodice so managed affairs as to obtain the throne for her eldest son
Seleucus Callinicus.

"But she [Berenice] shall be given up." Laodice, not content with poisoning
her husband Antiochus, caused Berenice and her infant son to be murdered.
"They that brought her." All of her Egyptian women and attendants, in
endeavoring to defend her, were slain with her. "He that begat her,"
margin, "whom she brought forth," that is, her son, who was murdered at the
same time by order of Laodice. "He that strengthened her in these times,"
was doubtless her husband, Antiochus, or those who took her part and
defended her.

Verse 7 But out of a branch of her roots shall one stand up in his estate,
which shall come with an army, and shall enter into the fortress of the
king of the north, and shall deal against them, and shall prevail: 8 and
shall also

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carry captives into Egypt their gods, with their princes, and with their
precious vessels of silver and of gold; and he shall continue more years
than the king of the north. 9 So the king of the south shall come into his
kingdom, and shall return into his own land.

The branch out of the same root with Berenice was her brother, Ptolemy
Euergetes. He had no sooner succeeded his father Ptolemy Philadelphus in
the kingdom of Egypt, than, burning to avenge the death of his sister
Berenice, he raised an immense army and invaded the territory of the king
of the north, Seleucus Callinicus, who with his mother Laodice reigned in
Syria. He prevailed against them, even to the conquering of Syria, Cilicia,
the upper parts beyond the Euphrates, and eastward to Babylon. But hearing
that a sedition was raised in Egypt requiring his return home, he plundered
the kingdom of Seleucus by taking forty thousand talents of silver and
precious vessels and two thousand five hundred images of gods. Among these
were the images which Cambyses had formerly taken from Egypt and carried
into Persia. The Egyptians, being wholly given to idolatry, bestowed upon
Ptolemy the title Euergetes, or the Benefactor, as a compliment for
restoring their captive gods after many years.

"There are authors still extant," says Thomas Newton, "who confirm several
of the same particulars. Appian informs us that Laodice having killed
Antiochus, and after him both Berenice and her child, Ptolemy the son of
Philadelphus to revenge these murders invaded Syria, slew Laodice, and
proceeded as far as to Babylon. From Polybius we learn that Ptolemy,
surnamed Euergetes, being greatly incensed at the cruel treatment of his
sister, Berenice, marched with an army into Syria, and took the city of
Seleucia, which was kept for some years afterward by the garrisons of the
kings of Egypt. Thus did he 'enter the fortress of the king of the north.'
Polyaenus affirms that Ptolemy made himself master of all the country from
Mount Taurus as far as to India without war or battle; but he ascribes it
by mistake to the father instead of the son. Justin asserts that if Ptolemy
had not been recalled by a

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domestic sedition into Egypt, he would have possessed the whole kingdom of
Seleucus. So the king of the south came into the kingdom of the north, and
then returned into his own land. He likewise 'continued more years than the
king of the north;' for Seleucus Callinicus died in exile of a fall from
his horse, and Ptolemy Euergetes survived him about four or five years."
[4]

Verse 10 But his sons shall be stirred up, and shall assemble a multitude
of great forces: and one shall certainly come, and overflow, and pass
through: then shall he return, and be stirred up, even to his fortress.

The first part of this verse speaks of sons, in the plural; the last part,
of one, in the singular. The sons of Seleucus Callinicus were Seleucus
Ceraunus and Antiochus Magnus. These both entered with zeal upon the work
of vindicating and avenging the cause of their father and their country.
The elder of these, Seleucus, first took the throne. He assembled a great
multitude to recover his father's dominions; but was poisoned by his
generals after a short, inglorious reign. His more capable brother,
Antiochus Magnus, was thereupon proclaimed king. He took charge of the
army, recovered Seleucia and Syria, and made himself master of some places
by treaty and of others by force of arms. Antiochus overcame Nicolas, the
Egyptian general, in battle and had thoughts of invading Egypt itself.
However, a truce followed, wherein both sides treated for peace, yet
prepared for war. Here is the "one" who should certainly "overflow and pass
through."

Verse 11 And the king of the south shall be moved with choler, and shall
come forth and fight with him, even with the king of the north: and he
shall set forth a great multitude; but the multitude shall be given into
his hand.

Kings of the North and South in Conflict.--Ptolemy Philopator succeeded his
father Euergetes in the kingdom of Egypt, being advanced to the crown not
long after Antiochus Magnus had succeeded his brother in the government of
Syria. He was an ease-loving and vicious prince, but was at length

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aroused at the prospect of an invasion of Egypt by Antiochus. He was indeed
"moved with choler" because of the losses he had sustained and the danger
which threatened him. He marshaled a large army to check the progress of
the Syrian king, but the king of the north was also "to set forth a great
multitude." The army of Antiochus, according to Polybius, amounted to
62,000 footmen, 6,000 horsemen, and 102 elephants. In this conflict, the
Battle of Raphia, Antiochus was defeated, with nearly 14,000 soldiers slain
and 4,000 taken prisoner, and his army was given into the hands of the king
of the south--a fulfillment of prophecy.

Verse 12 And when he hath taken away the multitude, his heart shall be
lifted up; and he shall cast down many ten thousands: but he shall not be
strengthened by it.

Ptolemy lacked the prudence to make good use of his victory. Had he
followed up his success, he would probably have become master of the whole
kingdom of Antiochus; but after making only a few threats, he made peace
that he might be able to give himself up to the uninterrupted and
uncontrolled indulgence of his brutish passions. Thus having conquered his
enemies, he was overcome by his vices, and forgetful of the great name
which he might have established, he spent his time in feasting and
sensuality.

His heart was lifted up by his success, but he was far from being
strengthened by it, for the inglorious use he made of it caused his own
subjects to rebel against him. But the lifting up of his heart was
especially made manifest in his transactions with the Jews. Coming to
Jerusalem, he offered sacrifices, and was desirous of entering into the
most holy place of the temple contrary to the law and religion of the Jews.
But being restrained with great difficulty, he left the place, burning with
anger against the whole nation of the Jews, and immediately began against
them a relentless persecution. In Alexandria, where Jews had resided since
the days of Alexander, enjoying the privileges of the most favored
citizens, forty thousand according to Eusebius, sixty thousand according to
Jerome,

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were slain. The rebellion of the Egyptians and the massacre of the Jews
certainly were not calculated to strengthen Ptolemy in his kingdom, but
were sufficient rather to ruin it almost totally.

Verse 13 For the king of the north shall return, and shall set forth a
multitude greater than the former, and shall certainly come after certain
years with a great army and with much riches.

The events predicted in this verse were to occur "after certain years." The
peace concluded between Ptolemy Philopator and Antiochus Magnus lasted
fourteen years. Meanwhile Ptolemy died from intemperance and debauchery,
and was succeeded by his son Ptolemy Epiphanes, then five years old.
Antiochus suppressed rebellion in his kingdom during the same time, and
reduced the eastern provinces to obedience. He was then at leisure for any
enterprise when young Epiphanes came to the throne of Egypt. Thinking this
too good an opportunity for enlarging his dominion to let slip, he raised
an immense army, "greater than the former," and set out against Egypt,
expecting to have an easy victory over the infant king.

Verse 14 And in those times there shall many stand up against the king of
the south: also the robbers of thy people shall exalt themselves to
establish the vision; but they shall fall.

Antiochus Magnus was not the only one who rose up against the infant
Ptolemy. Agathocles, his prime minister, having possession of the king's
person and conducting the affairs of the kingdom in his stead, was so
dissolute and proud in the exercise of his power that the provinces which
before were subject to Egypt, rebelled. Egypt itself was disturbed by
seditions, and the Alexandrians, rising up against Agathocles, caused him,
his sister, his mother, and their associates, to be put to death. At the
same time, Philip of Macedon entered into a league with Antiochus to divide
the dominions of Ptolemy between them, each proposing to take the parts
which lay nearest and most convenient to him. Here was a rising up against
the king of the south sufficient to fulfill the prophecy,

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and it resulted, beyond doubt, in the exact events which the prophecy
forecast.

A new power is now introduced--"the robbers of thy people;" literally, says
Thomas Newton, "the sons of the breakers . . . of thy people." [5] Far away
on the banks of the Tiber, a kingdom had been nourishing ambitious projects
and dark designs. Small and weak at first, it grew in strength and vigor
with marvelous rapidity, reaching out cautiously here and there to try its
prowess and test its warlike arm, until with consciousness of its power it
boldly reared its head among the nations of the earth, and seized with
invincible hand the helm of affairs. Henceforth the name of Rome stands
upon the page of history, destined for long ages to control the world, and
to exert a might influence among the nations even to the end of time.

Rome spoke--and Syria and Macedonia soon found a change coming over the
aspect of their dream. The Romans interfered in behalf of the young king of
Egypt, determined that he should be protected from the ruin devised by
Antiochus and Philip. This was 200 B.C., and was one of the first important
interferences of the Romans in the affairs of Syria and Egypt. Rollin
furnishes the following succinct account of this matter:

"Antiochus, king of Syria, and Philip, king of Macedonia, during the reign
of Ptolemy Philopator, had discovered the strongest zeal for the interest
of that monarch, and were ready to assist him on all occasions. Yet no
sooner was he dead, leaving behind him an infant, whom the laws of humanity
and justice enjoined them not to disturb in the possession of his father's
kingdom, than they immediately join in a criminal alliance, and excite each
other to take off the lawful heir, and divide his dominions between them.
Philip was to have Caria, Libya, Cyrenaica, and Egypt; and Antiochus, all
the rest. With this view, the latter entered Coele-Syria and Palestine,

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and in less than two campaigns made an entire conquest of those two
provinces, with all their cities and dependencies. Their guilt, says
Polybius, would not have been quite so glaring, had they, like tyrants,
endeavored to gloss over their crimes with some specious pretense; but so
far from doing this, their injustice and cruelty were so barefaced, that to
them was applied what is generally said of fishes, that the large ones,
though of the same species, prey on the lesser. One would be tempted,
continues the same author, at seeing the most sacred laws of society so
openly violated, to accuse Providence of being indifferent and insensible
to the most horrid crimes; but it fully justified its conduct by punishing
those two kings according to their deserts; and made such an example of
them as ought in all succeeding ages to deter others from following their
example. For, whilst they are meditating to dispossess a weak and helpless
infant of his kingdom by piecemeal, Providence raised up the Romans against
them, who entirely subverted the kingdoms of Philip and Antiochus, and
reduced their successors to almost as great calamites as those with which
they intended to crush the infant king." [6]

"To establish the vision." The Romans more than any other people are the
subject of Daniel's prophecy. Their first interference in the affairs of
these kingdoms is here referred to as being the establishment, or
demonstration, of the truth of the vision which predicted the existence of
such a power.

"But they shall fall" is referred by some to those mentioned in the first
part of the verse, who should stand up against the king of the south;
others, to the robbers of Daniel's people, the Romans. It is true in either
case. If those who combined against Ptolemy are referred to, all that need
be said is that they did speedily fall. If it applies to the Romans, the
prophecy simply pointed to the period of their final overthrow.

Verse 15 So the king of the north shall come, and cast up a mount, and take
the most fenced cities: and the arms of the south shall not withstand,
neither his chosen people, neither shall there be any strength to
withstand.

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The education of the young king of Egypt was entrusted by the Roman Senate
to M. Emilius Lepidus, who appointed Aristomenes, an old and experienced
minister of that court, to be his guardian. His first act was to provide
against the threatened invasion of the two confederated kings, Philip and
Antiochus.

To this end he dispatched Scopas, a famous general of Aetolia then in the
service of the Egyptians, into his native country to raise reinforcements
for the army. After equipping an army, he marched into Palestine and
Coele-Syria (Antiochus being engaged in a war with Attalus in Lesser Asia),
and reduced all Judea to the authority of Egypt.

Thus affairs were brought about for the fulfillment of the verse before us.
Desisting from his war with Attalus at the dictation of the Romans,
Antiochus took speedy steps for the recovery of Palestine and Coele-Syria
from the hands of the Egyptians. Scopas was sent to oppose him. Near the
sources of the Jordan, the two armies met. Scopas was defeated, pursued to
Sidon, and there closely besieged. Three of the ablest generals of Egypt,
with their best forces, were sent to raise the siege, but without success.
At length Scopas, meeting a foe in the specter of famine with which he was
unable to cope, was forced to surrender on the dishonorable terms of life
only. He and his ten thousand men were permitted to depart stripped and
destitute. Here was the taking of the "most fenced cities" by the king of
the north, for Sidon was in its situation and defenses one of the strongest
cities of those times. Here was the failure of the arms of the south to
withstand, and the failure also of the people which the king of the south
had chosen; namely Scopas and his Aetolian forces.

Verse 16 But he that cometh against him shall do according to his own will,
and none shall stand before him: and he shall stand in the glorious land,
which by his hand shall be consumed.

Rome Conquers Syria and Palestine.--Although Egypt had not been able to
stand before Antiochus Magnus, the king of the north, Antiochus Asiaticus
could not stand before the Romans,

Page 246

who came against him. no kingdoms could resist this rising power. Syria was
conquered, and added to the Roman Empire, when Pompey in 65 B.C. deprived
Antiochus Asiaticus of his possessions and reduced Syria to a Roman
province.

The same power was also to stand in the Holy Land, and consume it. The
Romans became connected with the people of God, the Jews, by alliance in
161 B.C. From this date Rome held a prominent place in the prophetic
calendar. It did not, however, acquire jurisdiction over Judea by actual
conquest until 63 B.C.

On Pompey's return from his expedition against Mithridates Eupator, king of
Pontus, two competitors, sons of the high priest of the Jews in Palestine,
Hyrcanus and Aristobulus, were struggling for the crown of Judea. Their
cause came before Pompey, who soon perceived the injustice of the claims of
Aristobulus, but he wished to defer decision in the matter until after his
long-desired expedition into Arabia. He promised then to return, and settle
their affairs as should seem just and proper. Aristobulus, fathoming
Pompey's real sentiments, hastened back to Judea, armed his subjects, and
prepared for a vigorous defense, determined at all hazards to keep the
crown which he foresaw would be adjudicated to another. After his Arabian
campaign against King Aretas, Pompey learned of these warlike preparations
and marched on Judea. As he approached Jerusalem, Aristobulus, beginning to
repent of his course, came out to meet Pompey, and endeavored to arrange
matters by promising entire submission and large sums of money. Accepting
this offer, Pompey sent Gabinius at the head of a detachment of soldiers,
to receive the money. But when that lieutenant arrived at Jerusalem, he
found the gates shut against him, and was told from the top of the walls
that the city would not stand by the agreement.

Not to be deceived in this way with impunity, Pompey put Aristobulus in
irons, and immediately marched against Jerusalem with his whole army. The
partisans of Aristobulus were for defending the city; those of Hyrcanus,
for opening the

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gates. The latter, however, being in the majority, prevailed, and Pompey
was given free entrance into the city. Whereupon the adherents of
Aristobulus retired to the temple fortress, as fully determined to defend
that place as Pompey was to reduce it. At the end of three months a breach
was made in the wall sufficient for an assault, and the place was carried
at the point of the sword. In the terrible slaughter that ensued, twelve
thousand persons were slain. It was an affecting sight, observes the
historian, to see the priests, engaged at the time in divine service, with
calm hand and steady purpose pursue their accustomed work, apparently
unconscious of the wild tumult, until their own blood was mingled with that
of the sacrifices they were offering.

After putting an end to the war, Pompey demolished the walls of Jerusalem,
transferred several cities from the jurisdiction of Judea to that of Syria,
and imposed tribute on the Jews. For the first time Jerusalem was by
conquest placed in the hands of Rome, that power which was to hold the
"glorious land" in its iron grasp till it had utterly consumed it.

Verse 17 He shall also set his face to enter with the strength of his whole
kingdom, and upright ones with him; thus shall he do: and he shall give him
the daughter of women, corrupting her: but she shall not stand on his side,
neither be for him.

Thomas Newton furnishes another reading for this verse, which seems to
express more clearly the meaning: "He shall also set his face to enter by
force the whole kingdom." [7]

Rome Overruns the Kingdom of the South.--Verse 16 brought us to the
conquest of Syria and Judea by the Romans. Rome had previously conquered
Macedon and Thrace. Egypt was now all that remained of the "whole kingdom"
of Alexander which had not been brought into subjection to the Roman power.
Rome now set her face to enter by force into the land of Egypt.

Ptolemy Auletes died in 51. B.C. He left the crown and kingdom of Egypt to
his eldest surviving daughter, Cleopatra,

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and his elder son, Ptolemy XII, a lad of nine or ten years. It was provided
in his will that they should marry each other and reign jointly. Because
they were young, they were placed under the guardianship of the Romans. the
Roman people accepted the charge, and appointed Pompey as guardian of the
young heirs of Egypt.

Soon a quarrel broke out between Pompey and Julius Caesar, which reached
its climax in the famous battle of Pharsalus. Pompey, being defeated, fled
into Egypt. Caesar immediately followed him thither; but before his arrival
Pompey was basely murdered at the instigation of Ptolemy. Caesar now
assumed the guardianship of Ptolemy and Cleopatra. He found Egypt in
commotion from internal disturbances, for Ptolemy and Cleopatra had become
hostile to each other, since she had been deprived of her share in the
government.

The troubles daily increasing, Caesar found his small source insufficient
to maintain his position, and being unable to leave Egypt on account of the
north wind which blew at that season, he sent into Asia for all the troops
he had in that region.

Julius Caesar decreed that Ptolemy and Cleopatra should disband their
armies, appear before him for a settlement of their differences, and abide
by his decision. Since Egypt was an independent kingdom, this haughty
decree was considered an affront to its royal dignity, and the Egyptians,
highly incensed, took up arms. Caesar replied that he acted by the
authority of the will of their father, Ptolemy Auletes, who had put his
children under the guardianship of the senate and people of Rome.

The matter was finally brought before him, and advocates were appointed to
plead the cause of the respective parties. Cleopatra, aware of the foible
of the great Roman general, decided to appear before him in person. To
reach his presence undetected, she had recourse to the following stratagem:
She laid herself at full length in a carpet, and Appolodorus, her Sicilian
servant, wrapped her up in a cloth, tied the bundle

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with a thong, and raising it upon his Herculean shoulders, sought the
apartments of Caesar. Claiming to have a present for the Roman general, he
was admitted into the presence of Caesar, and deposited the burden at his
feet. When Caesar unbound this animated bundle, the beautiful Cleopatra
stood before him.

Of this incident F. E. Adcock writes: "Cleopatra had a right to be heard if
Caesar was to be judge, and she contrived to reach the city and to find a
boatman to take her to him. She came, saw, and conquered. To the military
difficulties of the withdrawal in the face of the Egyptian army was added
the fact that Caesar no longer wished to go. He was past fifty, but he
retained an imperious susceptibility which evoked the admiration of his
soldiers. Cleopatra was twenty-two, as ambitious and high-mettled as Caesar
himself, a woman whom he would find it easy to understand and admire as
well as to love." [8]

Caesar at length decreed that the brother and the sister should occupy the
throne jointly, according to the intent of the will. Pothinus, the chief
minister of state, principally instrumental in expelling Cleopatra from the
throne, feared the result of her restoration. He therefore began to excite
jealousy and hostility against Caesar by insinuating among the populace
that he designed eventually to give Cleopatra the sole power. Open sedition
soon followed. The Egyptians undertook to destroy the Roman fleet. Caesar
retorted by burning theirs. Some of the burning vessels being driven near
the quay, several of the buildings of the city took fire, and the famous
Alexandrian library, containing nearly 400,000 volumes, was destroyed.
Antipater the Idumean joined him with 3,000 Jews. The Jews, who held the
frontier gateways into Egypt, permitted the Roman army to pass without
interruption. The arrival of this army of Jews under Antipater helped
decide the contest.

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A decisive battle was fought near the Nile by the fleets of Egypt and Rome,
resulting in a complete victory for Caesar. Ptolemy, attempting to escape,
was drowned in the river. Alexandria and all Egypt then submitted to the
victor. Rome had now entered into and absorbed the entire original kingdom
of Alexander.

By the "upright ones" of the text are doubtless meant the Jews, who gave
Caesar the assistance already mentioned. Without this, he must have failed;
with it, he completely subdued Egypt in 47 B.C.

"The daughter of women, corrupting her" was Cleopatra, who had been
Caesar's mistress and the mother of his son. His infatuation for the queen
kept him much longer in Egypt than his affairs required. He spent whole
nights in feasting and carousing with the dissolute queen. "But," said the
the prophet, "she shall not stand on his side, neither be for him."
Cleopatra afterward joined herself to Antony, the enemy of Augustus Caesar,
and exerted her whole power against Rome.

Verse 18 After this shall he turn his face unto the isles, and shall take
many: but a prince for his own behalf shall cause the reproach offered by
him to cease; without his own reproach he shall cause it to turn upon him.

War in Syria and Asia Minor against Pharnaces, king of the Cimmerian
Bosphorus, drew Julius Caesar away from Egypt. "On his arrival where the
enemy was," says Prideaux, "he, without giving any respite either to
himself or them, immediately fell on, and gained an absolute victory over
them; an account whereof he wrote to a friend of his in these three words:
Veni, vidi, vici! 'I came, I saw, I overcame.' " [9] The latter part of
this verse is involved in some obscurity, and there is difference of
opinion in regard to its application. Some apply it further back in
Caesar's life, and think they find a fulfillment in his quarrel with
Pompey. But preceding and subsequent events clearly defined in the
prophecy, compel us to look for the fulfillment of this part of the
prediction between the

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victory over Pharnaces, and Caesar's death at Rome, as brought to view in
the following verse.

Verse 19 Then he shall turn his face toward the fort of his own land: but
he shall stumble and fall, and not be found.

After his conquest of Asia Minor, Caesar defeated the last remaining
fragments of Pompey's party, Cato and Scipio in Africa, and Labienus and
Varus in Spain. Returning to Rome, the "fort of his own land," he was made
dictator for life. Other powers and honors were granted him which made him
in fact the absolute sovereign of the empire. But the prophet had said that
he should stumble and fall. The language implies that his overthrow would
be sudden and unexpected, like a person accidentally stumbling in his walk.
So this man, who it is said had fought and won fifty battles, taken one
thousand cities, and slain one million one hundred ninety-two thousand men,
fell, not in the din of battle and the hour of strife, but when he thought
his pathway was smooth and danger far away.

"On the evening before the Ides Caesar dine with Lepidus, and as the guests
sat at their wine someone asked the question, 'What is the best death to
die?' Caesar who was busy signing letters said, 'A sudden one.' By noon the
next day, despite dreams and omens, he sat in his chair in the Senate
House, surrounded by men he had cared for, had promoted or spared, and was
struck down, struggling, till he fell dead at the foot of Pompey's statue."
[10] Thus he suddenly stumbled and fell, and was not found, in 44 B.C.

Verse 20 Then shall stand up in his estate a raiser of taxes in the glory
of the kingdom: but within few days he shall be destroyed, neither in
anger, nor in battle.

Augustus the Raiser of Taxes Appears.--Octavius succeeded his uncle,
Julius, by whom he had been adopted. He publicly announced his adoption by
his uncle, and took his name. He

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joined Mark Antony and Lepidus to avenge the death of Julius Caesar. The
three formed what is called the triumvirate form of government. After
Octavius was firmly established in the empire, the senate conferred upon
him the title "Augustus," and the other members of the triumvirate now
being dead, he became supreme ruler.

He was emphatically a raiser of taxes. Luke, speaking of events that took
place at the time when Christ was born, says: "It came to pass in those
days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world
should be taxed." Luke 2: 1. That taxing which embraced all the world was
an event worthy of notice, for the person who enforced it has certainly a
claim above every other competitor to the title of "a raiser of taxes."
During the reign of Augustus "fresh taxation" was imposed, one quarter of
the annual income from all citizens and a capital levy of one eighth on all
freedmen." [11]

He stood up "in the glory of the kingdom." Rome reached the pinnacle of its
greatness and power during the "Augustan Age." The empire never saw a
brighter hour. Peace was promoted, justice maintained, luxury curbed,
discipline established, and learning encouraged. During his reign, the
temple of Janus was shut three times, signifying that all the world was at
peace. Since the founding of the Roman Empire this temple had been closed
but twice previously. At this auspicious hour our Lord was born in
Bethlehem of Judea. In a little less than eighteen years after the taxing
brought to view, seeming but a "few days" to distant gaze of the prophet,
Augustus died in A.D. 14, in the seventy-sixth year of his age. His life
ended not in anger or battle, but peacefully in his bed, at Nola, whither
he had gone to seek repose and health.

Verse 21 And in his estate shall stand up a vile person, to whom they shall
not give the honor of the kingdom: but he shall come in peaceably, and
obtain the kingdom by flatteries.

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Tiberius Cuts Off the Prince of the Covenant.--Tiberius Caesar followed
Augustus on the Roman throne. He was raised to the consulate at the age of
twenty-nine. It is recorded that as Augustus was about to nominate his
successor, his wife, Livia, besought him to nominate Tiberius, her son by a
former husband. But the emperor said, "Your son is too vile to wear the
purple of Rome." Instead, the nomination was given to Agrippa, a virtuous
and much-respected Roman citizen. But the prophecy had foreseen that a vile
person should succeed Augustus. Agrippa died; and Augustus was again under
the necessity of choosing a successor. Livia renewed her intercessions for
Tiberius, and Augustus, weakened by age and sickness, was more easily
flattered, and finally he consented to nominate that "vile" young man as
his colleague and successor. But the citizens never gave him the love,
respect, and "honor the kingdom" due to an upright and faithful sovereign.

How clear a fulfillment is this of the prediction that they should not give
him the honor of the kingdom. But he was to come in peaceably, and obtain
the kingdom by flatteries. A paragraph from the Encyclopaedia Americana
shows how this was fulfilled:

"During the remainder of the life of Augustus, he [Tiberius] behaved with
great prudence and ability, concluding a war with the Germans in such a
manner as to merit a triumph. After the defeat of Varus and his legions, he
was sent to check the progress of the victorious Germans, and acted in that
was with equal spirit and prudence. On the death of Augustus, he succeeded
(A.D. 14), without opposition, to the sovereignty of the empire; which,
however, with his characteristic dissimulation, he affected to decline,
until repeatedly solicited by the servile senate." [12]

Dissimulation on his part, flattery on the part of the "servile senate,"
and a possession of the kingdom without

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opposition were the circumstances attending his accession to the throne,
thus fulfilling the words of the prophecy.

The person brought to view in the text is called "a vile person." Was such
the character sustained by Tiberius? Let another paragraph from the
Encyclopaedia Americana answer:

"Tacitus records the events of this reign, including the suspicious death
of Germanicus, the detestable administration of Sejanus, the poisoning of
Drusus, with all the extraordinary mixture of tyranny with occasional
wisdom and good sense which distinguished the conduct of Tiberius, until
his infamous and dissolute retirement (A.D. 26), to the isle of Capreae, in
the bay of Naples, never to return to Rome. . . . The remainder of the
reign of this tyrant is little more than a disgusting narrative of
servility on the one hand, and of despotic ferocity on the other. That he
himself endured as much misery as he inflicted, is evident from the
following commencement of one of his letters to the senate: 'What I shall
write to you, conscript fathers, or what I shall not write, or why I should
write at all, may the gods and goddesses plague me more than I feel daily
that they are doing, if I can tell.' 'What mental torture,' observes
Tacitus, in reference to this passage, 'which could extort such a
confession!' " [13]

Tyranny, hypocrisy, debauchery, and uninterrupted intoxication--if these
traits and practices show a man to be vile, Tiberius exhibited that
character to perfection.

Verse 22 And with the arms of a flood shall they be overflown from before
him, and shall be broken; yea, also the Prince of the covenant.

Thomas Newton presents the following reading of the text as a more accurate
translation of the original: "And the arms of the overflower shall be
overflown from before him, and shall be broken." [14] This signifies
revolution and violence; and in fulfillment we should look for the arms of
Tiberius the overflower to be overflown, or, in other words, for him to
suffer a

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violent death. To show how this was accomplished, we again cite the
Encyclopaedia Americana:

"Acting the hypocrite to the last, he disguised his increasing debility as
much as he was able, even affecting to join in the sports and exercises of
the soldiers of his guard. At length, leaving his favorite island, the
scene of the most disgusting debaucheries, he stopped at a country house
near the promontory of Micenum, where on the sixteenth of March, 37, he
sunk into a lethargy, in which he appeared dead; and Caligula was preparing
with a numerous escort to take possession of the empire, when his sudden
revival threw them into consternation. At this critical instant, Macro, the
pretorian prefect, caused him to be suffocated with pillows. Thus expired
the emperor Tiberius, in the seventy-eighth year of his age, and
twenty-third of his reign, universally execrated." [15]

After taking us down to the death of Tiberius, the prophet now mentions an
event to take place during his reign which is so important that it should
not be passed over. It is the cutting off of the "Prince of the covenant,"
or the death of our Lord Jesus Christ, "the Messiah the Prince," who was to
confirm the covenant" one week with His people. (Daniel 9: 25-27.)

According to the Scripture, Christ's death took place in the reign of
Tiberius. Luke informs us that in the fifteenth year of the reign of
Tiberius Caesar, John the Baptist began his ministry. (Luke 3: 1-3.)
According to Prideaux [16], Dr. Hales [17], and others, the reign of
Tiberius is to be reckoned from his elevation to the throne to reign
jointly with Augustus, his stepfather, in August, A.D. 12. His fifteenth
year would therefore be from August, A.D. 26, to August, A.D. 27. Christ
was six months younger than John, and is supposed to have begun His
ministry six months later, both, according to the law of the priesthood,
entering upon their work when they were thirty years of age. If John began
in the spring, in the

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latter part of the fifteenth year of Tiberius, it would bring the beginning
of Christ's ministry in the autumn of A.D. 27. Right here the best
authorities place the baptism of Christ, the exact point where the 483
years from 457 B.C., which were to extend to the Messiah the Prince,
terminated. Christ then went forth proclaiming that the time was fulfilled.
From this point we go forward three years and a half to find the date of
the crucifixion, for Christ attended but four Passovers, and was crucified
at the last one. Three and a half years from the autumn of A.D. 27 brings
us to the spring of A.D. 31. The death of Tiberius is placed but six years
later, in A.D. 37. (See comments on Daniel 9: 27-27.)

Verse 23 And after the league made with him he shall work deceitfully: for
he shall come up, and shall become strong with a small people.

Rome Makes a League With the Jews.--The "him" with whom the league is made,
must be the same power which has been the subject of the prophecy from the
14th verse, the Roman Empire. That this is true has been shown in the
fulfillment of the prophecy in the three individuals who successively ruled
over the empire--Julius, Augustus, and Tiberius Caesar.

Now that the prophet has taken us through the secular events of the Roman
Empire to the end of the seventy weeks of Daniel 9: 24, he takes us back to
the time when the Romans became directly connected with the people of God
by the Jewish league in 161 B.C. From this point we are then taken through
a direct line of events to the final triumph of the church and the setting
up of God's everlasting kingdom. Grievously oppressed by the Syrian kings,
the Jews sent an embassy to Rome to solicit the aid of the Romans and to
join themselves in "a league of amity and confederacy with them." [18] The
Romans listened to the request of the Jews, and granted them a decree
couched in these words:

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" 'The decree of the senate concerning a league of assistance and
friendship with the nation of the Jews. It shall not be lawful for any that
are subject to the Romans to make war with the nation of the Jews, nor to
assist those that do so, either by sending them corn, or ships, or money;
and if any attack be made upon the Jews, the Romans shall assist them, as
far as they are able; and again, if any attack be made upon the Romans, the
Jews shall assist them. And if the Jews have a mind to add to, or to take
away anything from, this league of assistance, that shall be done with the
common consent of the Romans. And whatsoever addition shall thus be made,
it shall be of force.' This decree was "written by Eupolemus, the son of
John, and by Jason, the son of Eleazer, when Judas was high priest of the
nation, and Simon, his brother, was general of the army. And this was the
first league that the Romans made with the Jews, and was managed after this
manner." [19]

At this time the Romans were a small people, and began to work deceitfully,
or with cunning, as the word signifies. But from this time they rose
steadily and rapidly to the height of power.

Verse 24 He shall enter peaceably even upon the fattest places of the
province; and he shall do that which his fathers have not done, nor his
fathers' fathers; he shall scatter among them the prey, and spoil, and
riches: yea, and he shall forecast his devices against the strong holds,
even for a time.

Before the days of Rome, nations entered upon valuable provinces and rich
territory by war and conquest. Rome was now to do what had not been done by
the fathers of the fathers' fathers, namely, receive these acquisitions
through peaceful means. The custom was now inaugurated of kings' leaving
their kingdoms to the Romans by legacy. Rome came into possession of large
provinces in this manner.

Those who thus came under the dominion of Rome derived no small advantage.
They were treated with kindness and leniency. It was like have the prey and
spoil distributed

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among them. They were protected from their enemies, and they rested in
peace and safety under the aegis of the Roman power.

To the latter part of this verse, Thomas Newton gives the thought of
forecasting devices from strongholds, instead of against them. This the
Romans did from the strong fortress of their seven-hilled city. "Even for a
time" doubtless refers to a prophetic time, 360 years. From what point are
these years to be dated? Probably from the event brought to view in the
following verse.

Verse 25 And he shall stir up his power and his courage against the king of
the south with a great army; and the king of the south shall be stirred up
to battle with a very great and mighty army; but he shall not stand: for
they shall forecast devices against him.

Rome Contends With the King of the South.--By verses 23 and 24 we are
brought down this side of the league made between the Jews and the Romans,
in 161 B.C., to the time when Rome had acquired universal dominion. The
verse now before us brings to view a vigorous campaign against the king of
the south, Egypt, and a notable battle between mighty armies. Did such
events as these take place in the history of Rome about this time?--They
did. The war was the war between Egypt and Rome, and the battle was the
battle of Actium. Let us consider briefly the circumstances leading to this
conflict.

Mark Antony, Augustus Caesar, and Lepidus constituted the triumvirate which
had sworn to avenge the death of Julius Caesar. Antony became the
brother-in-law of Augustus by marrying his sister Octavia. Antony was sent
into Egypt on government business, but fell a victim to the charms of
Cleopatra, Egypt's dissolute queen. So strong was the passion he conceived
for her that he finally espoused the Egyptian interest, rejected his wife
Octavia to please Cleopatra, and bestowed province after province upon her.
He celebrated triumphs at Alexandria instead of at Rome, and otherwise so
affronted the Roman people that Augustus had no difficulty

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in leading them to engage heartily in a war against Egypt. This was was
ostensibly against Egypt and Cleopatra, but it was really against Antony,
who now stood at the head of Egyptian affairs. The true cause of their
controversy, says Prideaux, was that neither of them could be content with
only half of the Roman Empire. Lepidus had been deposed from the
triumvirate, and the rule of the empire now lay between the other two. Each
being determined to possess the whole, they cast the die of war for its
possession.

Antony assembled his fleet at Samos. Five hundred ships of war of
extraordinary size and structure, having several decks one above another,
with towers upon the head and stern, made an imposing and formidable array.
These ships carried about one hundred twenty-five thousand soldiers. The
kings of Libya, Cilicia, Cappadocia, Paphlagonia, Comagena, and Thrace were
there in person, and those of Pontus, Judea, Lycaonia, Galatia, and Media,
had sent their troops. A more splendid military spectacle than this fleet
of war ships as they spread their sails and moved out to sea, the world has
rarely seen. Surpassing all in magnificence came the galley of Cleopatra,
floating like a palace of gold beneath a cloud of purple sails. Its flags
and streamers fluttered in the wind, and trumpets and other musical
instruments of war made the heavens resound with notes of joy and triumph.
Antony followed close behind her in a galley of almost equal magnificence.

Augustus, on the other hand, displayed less pomp but more utility. He had
but half as many ships as Antony, and only eighty thousand foot soldiers.
But all his troops were chosen men, and on board his fleet were none but
experienced seamen; whereas Antony, not finding sufficient mariners, had
been obliged to man his vessels with artisans of every class, men
inexperienced and better calculated to cause trouble than to do real
service in time of battle. The season being far consumed in these
preparations, Augustus made his rendezvous at Brundusium, and Antony at
Corcyra, till the following year.

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The next spring, both armies were put in motion on land and sea. The fleets
at length entered the Ambracian Gulf in Epirus, and the land forces were
drawn up on either shore in plain view. Antony's most experienced generals
advised him not to hazard a battle by with his inexperienced mariners, but
send Cleopatra back to Egypt, and hasten at once into Thrace or Macedonia,
and trust the issue to his land forces, who were composed of veteran
troops. But illustrating the old adage, Quem Deus perdere vult, prius
dementat ("Him whom God wishes to destroy He first makes made"), and
infatuated by Cleopatra, he seemed desirous only of pleasing her; while
she, trusting to appearances only, deemed her fleet invincible, and advised
immediate action.

The battle was fought September 2, 31 B.C., at the mouth of the gulf of
Ambracia, near the city of Actium. The world was the stake for which these
stern warriors, Antony and Augustus, now played. The contest, long
doubtful, was at length decided by the course which Cleopatra pursued.
Frightened at the din of battle, she took to flight when there was no
danger, and drew after her the Egyptian squadron numbering sixty ships.
Antony, beholding this movement, and lost to everything but his blind
passion for her, precipitately followed, and yielded a victory to Augustus,
which, had his Egyptian forces proved true to him, and had he proved true
to his own manhood, he might had gained.

This battle doubtless makes the beginning of the "time" mentioned in verse
24. As during this "time" devices were to be forecast from the stronghold,
or Rome, we should conclude that at the end of that period western
supremacy would cease, or such a change take place in the empire that that
city would no longer be considered the seat of government. From 31 B.C., a
prophetic "time," or 360 years, would bring us to A.D. 330. Hence it
becomes a noteworthy fact that the seat of empire was removed from Rome to
Constantinople by Constantine the Great in that very year. [20]

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Verse 26 Yea, they that feed of the portion of his meat shall destroy him,
and his army shall overflow: and many shall fall down slain.

Antony was deserted by his allies and friends, those that fed "of the
portion of his meat." Cleopatra as already described suddenly withdrew from
the battle, taking sixty ships of the line with her. The land army,
disgusted with the infatuation of Antony, went over to Augustus, who
received the soldiers with open arms. When Antony arrived arrived at Libya,
he found that the forces which he had left there under Scarpus to guard the
frontier, had declared for Augustus, and in Egypt his forces surrendered.
In rage and despair, Antony then took his own life.

Verse 27 And both of these kings' hearts shall be to do mischief, and they
shall speak lies at one table; but it shall not prosper: for yet the end
shall be at the time appointed.

Antony and Augustus were formerly in alliance. Yet under the garb of
friendship, they were both aspiring and intriguing for universal dominion.
Their protestations of friendship for each other were the utterances of
hypocrites. They spoke lies at one table. Octavia, the wife of Antony and
sister of Augustus, declared to the people of Rome at the time Antony
divorced her, that she had consented to marry him solely with the hope that
it would prove a pledge of union between Augustus and Antony. But that
counsel did not prosper. The rupture came, and in the conflict that ensued
Augustus was entirely victorious.

Verse 28 Then shall he return into his land with great riches; and his
heart shall be against the holy covenant; and he shall do exploits, and
return to his own land.

Two returnings from foreign conquest are here brought to view. The first
was after the events narrated in verses 26, 27, and the second, after this
power had had indignation against the holy covenant, and had performed
exploits. The first was fulfilled in the return of Augustus after his
expedition against Egypt and Antony. He arrived in Rome with abundant honor

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and riches, for "at this time such vast riches were brought to Rome from
Egypt on the reducing of that country, and on the return of Octavianus
[Augustus] and his army from thence, that the value of money fell one half,
and the prices of provisions and all vendible wares were doubled thereon."
[21]

Augustus celebrated his victories in a three-days' triumph--a triumph which
Cleopatra herself would have graced as one of the royal captives, had she
not artfully caused herself to be bitten fatally by an asp.

Rome Destroys Jerusalem.--The next great enterprise of the Romans after the
overthrow of Egypt, was the expedition against Judea and the capture and
destruction of Jerusalem. The holy covenant is doubtless the covenant which
God has maintained whit his people under different forms in different ages
of the world. The Jews rejected Christ, and according to the prophecy that
all who would not hear that Prophet should be cut off, they were destroyed
out of their own land and scattered to every nation under heaven. While
Jews and Christians alike suffered under the oppressive hand of the Romans,
it was doubtless in the reduction of Judea especially that the exploits
which are mentioned in the sacred text were exhibited.

Under Vespasian the Romans invaded Judea, and took the cities of Galilee,
Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum, where Christ had been rejected. They
destroyed the inhabitants, and left nothing but ruin and desolation. Titus
besieged Jerusalem, and drew a trench around it, according to the
prediction of the Saviour. A terrible famine ensued. Moses had predicted
that appalling calamities would come upon the Jews if they departed from
God. It had been prophesied that even the tender and delicate woman would
eat her own children in the straitness of the siege. (Deuteronomy 28:
52-55.) Under the siege of Jerusalem by Titus, a literal fulfillment of
this prediction occurred. Hearing of the inhuman deeds, but

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forgetting that he was the one who was driving the people to such direful
extremities, he swore the eternal extirpation of the accursed city and
people.

Jerusalem fell in A.D. 70. As an honor to himself, the Roman commander had
determined to save the temple, but the Lord had said, "There shall not be
left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down." Matthew
24: 2. A Roman soldier seized a brand of fire, and climbing upon the
shoulders of his comrades, thrust it into one of the windows of the
beautiful structure. It was soon ablaze, and the frantic efforts of the
Jews to extinguish the flames, seconded by Titus himself, were all in vain.
Seeing that the temple would be destroyed, Titus rushed in and bore away
the golden candle-

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stick, the table of shewbread, and the volume of the law, wrapped in gold
tissue. The candlestick was afterward deposited in Vespasian's Temple of
Peace and copied on the triumphal arch of Titus, where its mutilated image
is yet to be seen.

The siege of Jerusalem lasted five months. In that siege eleven hundred
thousand Jews perished, and ninety-seven thousand were taken prisoners. The
city was so amazingly strong that Titus exclaimed when viewing the ruins,
"We have fought with the assistance of God." It was completely leveled, and
the foundations of the temple were plowed up by Tarentius Rufus. The
duration of the whole war was seven years, and almost a million and a half
persons are said to have fallen victims to its awful horrors.

Thus this power performed great exploits, and again returned to his own
land.

Verse 29 At the time appointed he shall return, and come toward the south;
but it shall not be as the former, or as the latter.

The time appointed is probably the prophetic time of verse 24, which has
been previously mentioned. It closed, as already shown, in A.D. 330, at
which time this power was to return and come again toward the south, but
not as on the former occasion, when it went to Egypt, nor as the latter,
when it went to Judea. Those were expeditions which resulted in conquest
and glory. This one led to demoralization and ruin. The removal of the seat
of empire to Constantinople was the signal for the downfall of the empire.
Rome then lost its prestige. The western division was exposed to the
incursions of foreign enemies. On the death of Constantine, the Roman
Empire was divided among his three sons, Constantius, Constantine II, and
Constans. Constantine II and Constans quarreled, and the victorious
Constans gained the supremacy of the entire West. The barbarians of the
North soon began their incursions and extended their conquests until the
imperial power of the West expired in A.D. 476.

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Verse 30 For the ships of Chittim shall come against him: therefore he
shall be grieved, and return, and have indignation against the holy
covenant: so shall he do; he shall even return, and have intelligence with
them that forsake the holy covenant.

Rome Pillaged by Barbarians.--The prophetic narrative still has reference
to the power which has been the subject of the prophecy from the sixteenth
verse; namely, Rome. What were the ships of Chittim that came against this
power, and when was this movement made? What country or power is meant by
Chittim? Adam Clarke has this note on Isaiah 23: 1, "From the land of
Chittim it is revealed to them:" "The news of the destruction of Tyre by
Nebuchadnezzar is said to be brought to them from Chittim, the islands and
coasts of the Mediterranean; 'for the Tyrians,' says Jerome on verse 6,
'when they saw they had no other means of escaping, fled in their ships,
and took refuge in Carthage and in the islands of the Ionian and AEgean
sea.' . . . So also Jarchi on the same same place." [22] Kitto [23] gives
the same locality to Chittim, the coast and islands of the Mediterranean;
and the mind is carried by the testimony of Jerome to a definite and
celebrated city situated in that region, that is, Carthage.

Was a naval warfare with Carthage as a base of operations ever waged
against the Roman Empire? We think of the terrible onslaught of the Vandals
upon Rome under the fierce Genseric, and answer readily in the affirmative.
Every spring he sallied forth from the port of Carthage at the head of his
large and well-disciplined naval forces, spreading consternation through
all the maritime provinces of the empire. That this is the work brought to
view is further evident when we consider that we are brought down in the
prophecy to this very time. In verse 29, the transfer of empire to
Constantinople we understood to be mentioned. Following in due course of
time as the next remarkable revolution, came the irruptions of the
barbarians of the North, prominent among

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which was the Vandal war already mentioned. The years A.D. 428-477 mark the
career of Genseric.

"He shall be grieved, and return" may have reference to the desperate
efforts which were made to dispossess Genseric of the sovereignty of the
seas, the first by Majorian, the second by Pope Leo I, both of which were
utter failures. Rome was obliged to submit to the humiliation of seeing its
provinces ravaged, and its "eternal city" pillaged by the enemy. (See
comments on Revelation 8: 8.)

"Indignation against the holy covenant." This doubtless refers to attempts
to destroy God's covenant by attacking the Holy Scriptures, the book of the
covenant. A revolution of this nature was accomplished in Rome. The Heruli,
Goths, and Vandals, who conquered Rome, embraced the Arian faith, and
became enemies of the Catholic Church. It was especially for the purpose of
exterminating this heresy that Justinian decreed the pope to be the head of
the church and the corrector of heretics. The Bible soon came to be
regarded as a dangerous book that should not be read by the common people,
but all questions in dispute were to be submitted to the pope. Thus was
indignity heaped upon God's word.

Says the historian, in commenting upon the attitude of the Catholic Church
toward the Scriptures:

"One would have thought that the Church of Rome had removed her people to a
safe distance from the Scriptures. She has placed the gulf of tradition
between them and the Word of God. She has removed them still farther from
the sphere of danger, by providing an infallible interpreter, whose duty it
is to take care that the Bible shall express no sense hostile to Rome. But,
as if this were not enough, she has laboured by all means in her power to
prevent the Scriptures coming in any shape into the hands of her people.
Before the Reformation she kept the bible locked up in a dead language, and
severe laws were enacted against the reading of it. The Reformation
unsealed the precious volume. Tyndale and Luther, the one from his retreat
at Vildorfe in the Low Countries, and the

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other from amid the deep shades of the Thuringian forest, sent forth the
Bible to the nations in the vernacular tongues of England and Germany. A
thirst was thus awakened for the Scriptures, which the Church of Rome
deemed it imprudent openly to oppose. The Council of Trent enacted ten
rules regarding prohibited books, which, while they appeared to gratify,
were insidiously framed to check, the growing desire for the Word of God.
In the fourth rule, the Council prohibits any one from reading the Bible
without a license from his bishop or inquisitor; that license to be founded
on a certificate from his confessor that he is in no danger of receiving
injury from so doing. The Council adds these emphatic words:--'That if any
one shall dare to read or keep in his possession that book, without such a
license, he shall not receive absolution till he has given it up to his
ordinary.' These rules are followed by the bull of Pius IV., in which he
declares that those who shall violate them shall be held guilty of mortal
sin. Thus did the Church of Rome attempt to regulate what she found it
impossible wholly to prevent. The fact that no Papist is allowed to read
the Bible without a license does not appear in the catechisms and other
books in common use among Roman Catholics in this country; but it is
incontrovertible that it forms the law of that Church. And, in accordance
therewith, we find that the uniform practice of the priests of Rome, from
the popes downwards, is to prevent the circulation of the Bible,--to
prevent it wholly in those countries, such as Italy and Spain, where they
have the power, and in other countries, such as our own, to all the extent
to which their power enables them. Their uniform policy is to discourage
the reading of the Scriptures in every possible way; and when they dare not
employ force to effect this object, they scruple not to press into their
service the ghostly power of their Church, by declaring that those who
presume to contravene the will of Rome in this matter are guilty of mortal
sin." [24]

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The emperors of Rome, the eastern division of which still continued, had
intelligence, or connived, with the church of Rome, which had forsaken the
covenant and constituted the great apostasy, for the purpose of putting
down "heresy." The man of sin was raised to his presumptuous throne by the
defeat of the Arian Goths, who then held possession of Rome, in A.D. 538.

Verse 31 And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the
sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they
shall place the abomination that maketh desolate.

"They shall pollute the sanctuary of strength," or Rome. If this applies to
the barbarians, it was literally fulfilled; for Rome was sacked by the
Goths and Vandals, and the imperial power of the West ceased through the
conquest of Rome by Odoacer. Or if it refers to those rulers of the empire
who were working in behalf of the papacy against the pagan and all other
opposing religions, it would signify the removal of the seat of empire from
Rome to Constantinople, which contributed its measure of influence to the
downfall of Rome. The passage would then be parallel to Daniel 8: 11 and
Revelation 13: 2.

Papacy Takes Away "the Daily."--It was shown in comments on Daniel 8: 13,
that "sacrifice" is a word erroneously supplied. It should be "desolation."
The expression denotes a desolating power, of which the abomination of
desolation is but the counterpart, and to which it succeeds in point of
time. It seems clear therefore that the "daily" desolation was paganism,
and the "abomination of desolation" is the papacy. But it may be asked, How
can this be the papacy since Christ spoke of it in connection with the
destruction of Jerusalem? The answer is, Christ evidently referred to
Daniel 9, which predicts the destruction of Jerusalem, and not to this
verse in Daniel 11, which does not refer to that event. In the ninth
chapter, Daniel speaks of desolations and abominations in the plural. More
than one abomination, therefore, treads down the church; that is, as far as
the church is concerned, both

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paganism and the papacy are abominations. But as distinguished from each
other, the language is restricted. One is the "daily" desolation, and the
other is pre-eminently the transgression of "abomination" of desolation.

How was the "daily," or paganism, taken away? As this is spoken of in
connection with the placing or setting up of the abomination of desolation,
or the papacy, it must denote, not merely the nominal change of the
religion of the empire from paganism to Christianity, as on the so-called
conversion of Constantine, but to such an eradication of paganism from all
the elements of the empire that the way would be entirely open for the
papal abomination to arise and assert its arrogant claims. Such a
revolution as this was accomplished, but not for nearly two hundred years
after the death of Constantine.

As we approach the year A.D. 508, we behold a mighty crisis ripening
between Catholicism and the pagan influences still existing in the empire.
Up to the time of the conversion of Clovis, king of France, in A.D. 496,
the French and other nations of Western Rome were pagan; but following that
event, the efforts to convert idolaters to Romanism were crowned with great
success. The conversion of Clovis is said to have been the occasion of
bestowing upon the French monarch the titles "Most Christian Majesty" and
"Eldest Son of the Church." Between that time and A.D. 508, by alliances,
capitulations, and conquests, the Arborici, the Roman garrisons in the
West, Brittany, the Burgundians, and the Visigoths, were brought into
subjects.

From the time when these successes were fully accomplished, in A.D. 508,
the papacy was triumphant so far as paganism was concerned; for though the
latter doubtless retarded the progress of the Catholic faith, yet it had
not the power, if it had the disposition, to suppress the faith, and hinder
the encroachments of the Roman pontiff. When the prominent powers of Europe
gave up their attachment to paganism, it was only to perpetuate its
abominations in another form; for Christianity as exhibited in the Roman

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Catholic Church was, and is, only paganism baptized.

The status of the see of Rome was also peculiar at this time. In 498,
Symmachus ascended the pontifical throne as a recent convert from paganism.
He found his way to the papal chair by striving with his competitor even
unto blood. He received adulation as the successor of St. Peter, and struck
the keynote of papal assumption by presuming to excommunicate the Emperor
Anastasius. [25] The most servile flatterers of the pope now began to
maintain that he was constituted judge in the place of God, and that he was
the vicegerent of the Most High.

Such was the direction in which events were tending in the West. In what
state were affairs at the same time in the East? A strong papal party now
existed in all parts of the empire. The adherents of this cause in
Constantinople, encouraged by the success of their brethren in the West,
deemed it safe to begin open hostilities in behalf of their master at Rome.

Let it be marked that soon after the year 508, paganism had so far
declined, and Catholicism had so far relatively increased in strength, that
the Catholic Church for the first time was able to wage a successful war
against both the civil authority of the empire and the church of the East,
which had for the most part embraced the Monophysite doctrine, which Rome
counted heresy. Partisan zeal culminated in a whirlwind of fanaticism and
civil war, which swept in fire and blood through Constantinople. That such
a war took place a few years later will be seen in the following quotation
from Gibbon in his account of events under the years 508-518:

"The statues of the emperor were broken, and his person was concealed in a
suburb, till, at the end of three days, he dared to implore the mercy of
his subjects. Without his diadem, and in the posture of a suppliant,
Anastasius appeared on the throne of the circus. The Catholics, before his
face,

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rehearsed their genuine Trisagion; they exulted in the offer, which he
proclaimed by the voice of a herald, of abdicating the purple; they
listened to the admonition, that since all could not reign, they should
previously agree in the choice of a sovereign; and they accepted the blood
of two unpopular ministers, whom their master, without hesitation,
condemned to the lions. These furious but transient seditions were
encouraged by the success of Vitalian, who, with an army of Huns and
Bulgarians, for the most part idolaters, declared himself the champion of
the Catholic faith. In this pious rebellion he depopulated Thrace, besieged
Constantinople, exterminated sixty-five thousand of his fellow Christians,
till he obtained the recall of the bishops, the satisfaction of the pope,
and the establishment of the Council of Chalcedon, an orthodox treaty,
reluctantly signed by the dying Anastasius, and more faithfully performed
by the uncle of Justinian. And such was the event of the first of the
religious wars which have been waged in the name, and by the disciples, of
the God of Peace." [26]

We think it clear that the daily was taken away by A.D. 508. This was
preparatory to the setting up, or establishment, of the papacy, which was a
separate and subsequent event. Of this the prophetic narrative now leads us
to speak.

Papacy Sets Up an Abomination.--"They shall place the abomination that
maketh desolate." Having shown quite fully what we think constitutes the
taking away of the daily, or paganism, we now inquire, When was the
abomination that maketh desolate, or the papacy, placed, or set up? The
little horn that had eyes like the eyes of man was not slow to see when the
way was open for his advancement and elevation. from the year 508 his
progress toward universal supremacy was without a parallel.

When Justinian was about to begin the Vandal war in A.D. 533, an enterprise
of no small magnitude and difficulty,

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he wished to secure the influence of the bishop of Rome, who had then
attained a position in which his opinion had great weight throughout a
large part of Christendom. Justinian therefore took it upon himself to
decide the contest which had long existed between the sees of Rome and
Constantinople as to which should have the precedence, by giving the
preference to Rome in an official letter to the pope, declaring in the
fullest and most unequivocal terms that the bishop of that city should be
chief of the whole ecclesiastical body of the empire.

Justinian's letter reads: "Justinian, victor, pious, fortunate, famous,
triumphant, ever Augustus, to John, the most holy Archbishop and Patriarch
of the noble city of Rome. Paying honor to the Apostolic See and to Your
Holiness, as always has been and is our desire, and honoring your
blessedness as a father, we hasten to bring to the knowledge of Your
Holiness all that pertains to the condition of the churches, since it has
always been our great aim to safeguard the unity of your Apostolic See and
the position of the holy churches of God which now prevails and abides
securely without any disturbing trouble. Therefore we have been sedulous to
subject and unite all the priests of the Orient throughout its whole extent
to the see of Your Holiness. Whatever questions happen to be mooted at
present, we have thought necessary to be brought to Your Holiness's
knowledge, however clear and unquestionable they may be, and though firmly
held and taught by all the clergy in accordance with the doctrine of your
Apostolic See; for we do not suffer that anything which is mooted, however
clear and unquestionable, pertaining to the state of the churches, should
fail to be made known to Your Holiness, as being the head of the churches.
For, as we have said before, we are zealous for the increase of the honor
and authority of your see in all respects." [27]

"The emperor's letter must have been sent before the 25th of March, 533.
For, in his letter of that date to Epiphanius he

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speaks of its having been already dispatched, and repeats his decision that
all affairs touching the church shall be referred to the pope, 'head of all
bishops, and the true and effective corrector of heretics.' " [28]

"In the same month of the following year, 534, the pope returned an answer
repeating the language of the emperor, applauding his homage to the see,
and adopting the titles of the imperial mandate. He observes that, among
the virtues of Justinian, 'one shines as a star, his reverence for the
Apostolic chair, to which he has subjected and united all the churches, it
being truly the Head of all; as was testified by the rules of the Fathers,
the laws of the Princes, and the declarations of the Emperor's piety.'

"The authenticity of the title receives unanswerable proof from the edicts
in the 'Novellae' of the Justinian code. The preamble of the 9th states
that 'as the elder Rome was the founder of the laws; so was it not to be
questioned that in her was the supremacy of the pontificate.' The 131st, On
the ecclesiastical titles and privileges, chapter ii, states: 'We therefore
decree that the most holy Pope of the elder Rome is the first of all the
priesthood, and that the most blessed Archbishop of Constantinople, the new
Rome, shall hold the second rank after the holy Apostolic chair of the
elder Rome.' " [29]

Toward the close of the sixth century, John of Constantinople denied the
Roman supremacy, and assumed for himself the title of universal bishop;
whereupon Gregory the Great, indignant at the usurpation, denounced John
and declared, without being aware of the truth of his statement, that he
who would assume the title of universal bishop was the Antichrist. In 606,
Phocas suppressed the claim of the bishop of Constantinople, and vindicated
that of the bishop of Rome. But Phocas was not the founder of papal
supremacy. "That Phocas repressed the claim of the bishop of Constantinople
is beyond a doubt. But the highest authorities among the civilians

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and annalists of Rome spurn the idea that Phocas was the founder of the
supremacy of Rome; they ascend to Justinian as the only legitimate source,
and rightly date the title from the memorable year 533." [30]

George Croly makes this further statement: "On reference to Baronius, the
established authority among the Roman Catholic annalists, I found
Justinian's grant of supremacy to the pope formally fixed to that period. .
. . The entire transaction was of the most authentic and regular kind, and
suitable to the importance of the transfer." [31]

Such were the circumstances attending the decree of Justinian. But the
provisions of this decree would not at once be carried into effect; for
Rome and Italy were held by the Ostrogoths, who were Arians in faith, and
strongly opposed to the religion of Justinian and the pope. It was
therefore evident that the Ostrogoths must be rooted out of Rome before the
pope could exercise the power with which he had been clothed. To accomplish
this object, the Italian was began in 534. The management of the campaign
was entrusted to Belisarius. On his approach toward Rome, several cities
forsook Vitiges, their Gothic and heretical sovereign, and joined the
armies of the Catholic emperor. The Goths, deciding to delay offensive
operations until spring, allowed Belisarius to enter Rome without
opposition. The deputies of the pope and the clergy, of the senate and the
people, invited the lieutenant of Justinian to accept their voluntary
allegiance.

Belisarius entered Rome on December 10, 536. But this was not an end of the
struggle, for the Goths rallied their forces and resolved to dispute his
possession of the city by a regular siege, which they began in March, 537.
Belisarius feared despair and treachery on the part of the people. Several
senators, and Pope Silverius, on proof or suspicion of treason, were sent
into exile. The emperor commanded the clergy to elect a new bishop. After
solemnly invoking the Holy

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Ghost they elected the deacon Vigilius, who, by a bribe of two hundred
pounds of gold, had purchased the honor. [32]

The whole nation of the Ostrogoths had been assembled for the siege of
Rome, but success did not attend their efforts. Their hosts melted away in
frequent and bloody combats under the city walls, and the year and nine
days during which the siege lasted, witnessed almost the entire destruction
of the nation. In the month of March, 538, dangers beginning to threaten
them from other quarters, they raised the siege, burned their tents, and
retired in tumult and confusion from the city, with numbers scarcely
sufficient to preserve their existence as a nation or their identity as a
people.

Thus the Gothic horn, the last of the three, was plucked up before the
little horn of Daniel 7. Nothing now stood in the way of the pope to
prevent his exercising the power conferred upon him by Justinian five years
before. The saints, times, and laws were now in his hands, not in purpose
only, but in fact. This must therefore be taken as the year when this
abomination was placed, or set up, and as the point from which to date the
beginning of the prophetic period of 1260 years of papal supremacy.

Verse 32 And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by
flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do
exploits.

A People Who "Know Their God."--Those who forsake the book of the covenant,
the Holy Scriptures, who think more of the decree of popes and the
decisions of councils than they do of the word of God--these shall he, the
pope, corrupt by flatteries. That is, they shall be led on in their
partisan zeal for the pope by the bestowment of wealth, position, and
honors.

At the same time a people shall exist who know their God, and these shall
be strong, and do exploits. These were Christians who kept pure religion
alive in the earth during the

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Dark Ages of papal tyranny, and performed marvelous acts of self-sacrifice
and religious heroism in behalf of their faith. Prominent among these stand
the Waldenses, the Albigenses, and the Huguenots.

Verse 33 And they that understand among the people shall instruct many: yet
they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil,
many days.

The long period of papal persecution against those who were struggling to
maintain the truth and instruct their fellow men in ways of righteousness,
is here brought to view. The number of the days during which they were thus
to fall is given in Daniel 7: 25; 12: 7; Revelation 12: 6, 14; 13: 5. The
period is called "a time, and times, and the dividing of time;" "a time,
times, and a half;" "a thousand two hundred and threescore days;" and
"forty and two months." All these expressions are various ways of denoting
the same 1260 years of papal supremacy.

Verse 34 Now when they shall fall, they shall be holpen with a little help:
but many shall cleave to them with flatteries.

In Revelation 12, where this same papal persecution is brought to view, we
read that the earth helped the woman by opening her mouth and swallowing up
the flood which the dragon cast out after her. The Protestant Reformation
let by Martin Luther and his co-workers furnished the help here foretold.
The German states espoused the Protestant cause, protected the reformers,
and restrained the work of persecution carried on by the papal church. But
when the Protestants were helped, and when their cause began to be popular,
many were to cleave unto them with flatteries, or embrace the faith from
unworthy motives.

Verse 35 And some of them of understanding shall fall, to try them, and to
purge, and to make them white, even to the time of the end: because it is
yet for a time appointed.

Though restrained, the spirit of persecution was not destroyed. It broke
whenever there was opportunity.

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Especially was this the case in England. The religious state of that
kingdom was fluctuating, it being sometimes under Protestant and sometimes
under papal jurisdiction, according to the religion of the ruling monarch.
"Bloody Queen Mary" was a mortal enemy to the Protestant cause, and
multitudes fell victims to her relentless persecutions. This condition of
affairs was to last more or less "to the time of the end." The natural
conclusion would be that when the time of the end should come, this power
which the Church of Rome had possessed to punish heretics, which had been
the cause of so much persecution, and which for a time had been restrained,
would now be taken entirely away. The conclusion would be equally evident
that this taking away of papal supremacy would mark the beginning of the
period here called the "time of the end." If this application is correct,
the time of the end began in 1798; for then, as already noticed, the papacy
was overthrown by the French, and has never since been able to wield all
the power it before possessed. The oppression of the church by the papacy
is evidently referred to here because that is the only one, with the
possible exception of Revelation 2: 10, connected with "a time appointed,"
or a prophetic period.

Verse 36 And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt
himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous
things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be
accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done.

A King Magnifies Himself Above Every God.--The king here introduced cannot
denote the same power that was last noticed, namely, the papal power; for
the specifications will not hold good if applied to that power.

Take a declaration in the next verse: "Nor regard any god." This has never
been true of the papacy. God and Christ, though often placed in a false
position, have never been professedly set aside and rejected from that
system of religion.

Three peculiar features must appear in the power which fulfills this
prophecy: It must assume the character here de-

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lineated near the beginning of the time of the end, to which we were
brought down in the preceding verse. It must be a willful power. It must be
an atheistical power. Perhaps the two latter specifications might be united
by saying that its willfulness would be manifested in the direction of
atheism.

France Fulfils the Prophecy.--A revolution exactly answering to this
description did take place in France at the time indicated in the prophecy.
Atheists sowed the seeds which bore their logical and baleful fruit.
Voltaire, in his pompous but impotent self-conceit, had said, "I am weary
of hearing people repeat that twelve men established the Christian
religion. I will prove that one man may suffice to overthrow it."
Associating with himself such men as rousseau, D'Alembert, Diderot, and
others, he undertook to accomplish his threat. They sowed to the wind, and
reaped the whirlwind. Then, too, the Roman Catholic Church was notoriously
corrupt in France during this period, and the people were anxious to break
the yoke of ecclesiastical oppression. their efforts culminated in the
"reign of terror" of 1793, when France discarded the Bible and denied the
existence of the Deity.

A modern historian thus describes this great religious change:

"Certain members of the Convention, too, had been the first to attempt to
replace Christian worship in the provinces by civic ceremonial, in the
autumn of 1793. At Abbeville, Dumont, having informed the populace that the
priests were 'harlequins and clowns in black garments, who showed off
marionettes,' had set up the Worship of Reason, and, with a not uncommon
inconsistency, organized a 'marionette show' of his own of a most imposing
description, with dances in the cathedral every decadi, and civic festivals
on the 'observance' of which he greatly insisted. Fouche was the next to
abolish Christian worship; speaking from the pulpit of the cathedral at
Nevers he formally erased all spiritualism from the republican programme,
promulgated the famous order which declared 'death an eternal slumber,' and
thus turned the key

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on heaven and hell alike. . . . In his congratulatory address to the
ex-bishop, the President declared that as the Supreme Being 'desired no
worship other than the worship of Reason, that should in future be the
national religion!' " [33]

But there are other and still more striking specifications which were
fulfilled by France.

Verse 37 Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of
women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all.

The Hebrew word for woman is also translated wife; and Thomas Newton
observes that this passage would be more properly rendered "the desire of
wives." [34] This would seem to indicate that this government, at the same
time it declared that God did not exist, would trample underfoot the law
which God had given to regulate the marriage institution. And we find that
the historian has, unconsciously perhaps, and if so all the more
significantly, coupled together the atheism and licentiousness of this
government in the same order in which they are presented in the prophecy.
He says:

"The family had been destroyed. Under the old regime it had been the very
foundation of society. . . . The decree of September 20, 1792 which
established divorce, and was carried still further by the Convention in
1794, had borne fruit within four years of which the Legislature itself had
never dreamt: an immediate divorce could be pronounced on the score of
incompatibility of temper, to come into force within a year at farthest, if
either of the couple should refuse to separate before that period elapsed.

"There had been a rush for divorce; by the end of 1793--fifteen months
after the passing of the decree--5,994 divorces had been granted in Paris.
. . . Under the Directory we see women passed from hand to hand by a legal
process. What was the fate of the children born of these successive unions?
Some people got rid of them: the number of foundlings in the Year V rose to
4,000 in Paris and to 44,000 in other depart-

Page 284

ments. When the parents kept the children a tragi-comical confusion was the
result. A man would marry several sisters, one after the other: one citizen
presented a petition to the Five Hundred for leave to marry the mother of
the two wives he had already possessed. . . . The family was dissolved."
[35]

"Nor regard any god." In addition to the testimony already presented to
show the utter atheism of the nation at this time, we present the
following:

The "constitutional bishop of Paris was brought forward to play the
principal part in the most impudent and scandalous farce ever acted in the
face of a national representation. . . . He was brought forward in full
procession, to declare to the Convention that the religion which he had
taught so many years was, in every respect, a piece of priestcraft, which
had no foundation either in history or sacred truth. He disowned, in solemn
and explicit terms, the existence of Deity to whose worship he had been
consecrated, and devoted himself in future to the homage of liberty,
equality, virtue, and morality. He then laid on the table his episcopal
decorations, and received a fraternal embrace from the president of the
Convention. Several apostate priests followed the example of this prelate."
[36]

"Hebert, Chaumette, and their associates appeared at the bar, and declared
that 'God did not exist.' " [37]

The fear of God was said to be so far from the beginning of wisdom that it
was the beginning of folly. All worship was prohibited except that of
liberty and the country. The gold and silver plate of the churches were
seized and desecrated. The churches were closed. The bells were broken and
cast into cannon. The Bible was publicly burned. The sacramental vessels
were paraded through the streets on an ass, in token of contempt. A week of
ten days instead of seven was established, and death was declared, in
conspicuous letters posted over

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burial places, to be an eternal sleep. But the crowning blasphemy, if these
orgies of hell admit of degrees, remained to be performed by the comedian
Monvel, who, as a priest of Illuminism, said:

" 'God! if you exist, . . . avenge your injured name. I bid you defiance.
You remain silent; you dare not launch your thunders; who, after this, will
believe in your existence? ' " [38]

Behold what man is when left to himself, and what infidelity is when the
restraints of law are thrown off, and it has the power in its own hands!
Can it be doubted that these scenes are what the Omniscient One foresaw and
noted on the sacred page, when He pointed out a kingdom to arise which
should exalt itself above every god, and disregard them all?

Verse 38 But in his estate shall he honor the God of forces: and a god whom
his fathers knew not shall he honor with gold, and silver, and with
precious stones, and pleasant things.

We meet a seeming contradiction in this verse. How can a nation disregard
every god, and yet honor the god of forces? It could not at one and the
same time hold both these positions, but it might for a time disregard all
gods, and then subsequently introduce another worship and regard the god of
forces. Did such a change occur in France at this time?--It did. The
attempt to make France a godless nation produced such anarchy that the
rulers feared the power would pass entirely out of their hands, and
therefore perceived that as a political necessity, some kind of worship
must be introduced. But they did not intend to introduce any movement which
would increase devotion, or develop any true spiritual character among the
people, but only such as would keep themselves in power, and give them
control of the national forces. A few extracts from history will show this.
Liberty and country were at first the objects of adoration. "Liberty,
equality, virtue, and morality," the very opposites of anything the
possessed in fact

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or exhibited in practice, were words which they set forth as describing the
deity of the nation. In 1793 the worship of the Goddess of Reason was
introduced, and is thus described by the historian:

"One of the ceremonies of this insane time stands unrivaled for absurdity
combined with impiety. The doors of the Convention were thrown open to a
band of musicians, preceded by whom, the members of the Municipal Body
entered in solemn procession, singing a hymn in praise of liberty, and
escorting, as the object of their future worship, a veiled female, whom
they termed the Goddess of Reason. Being brought within the bar, she was
unveiled with great form, and placed on the right hand of the president;
when she was generally recognized as a dancing girl of the opera, with
whose charms most of the persons present were acquainted from her
appearance on the stage, while the experience of individuals was farther
extended. To this person, as the fittest representative of of that Reason
whom they worshiped, the National Convention of France rendered public
homage. This impious and ridiculous mummery had a certain fashion; and the
installation of the Goddess of Reason was renewed and imitated throughout
the nation, in such places where the inhabitants desired to show themselves
equal to all the heights of the Revolution." [39]

The modern French historian, Louis Madelin, writes:

"The Assembly having excused itself from attendance on the score of
business, a procession (of a very mixed description) attended the goddess
to the Tuileries, and in her presence forced the deputies to decree the
transformation of Notre Dame into the Temple of Reason. This not being
deemed sufficient, another goddess of Reason, the wife of Momoro, a member
of the Convention, was installed at Saint-Sulpice on the following decadi.
Before long these Liberties and Reasons were swarming all over France:
wantons, only too often, with here and there a goddess of good family and
decent behaviour.

Page 287

If it be true that the brow of one of these Liberties was bound with a
fillet bearing the words 'Turn me not into License!' the suggestion, we may
say, would hardly have been superfluous in any part of France: for
saturnalia of the most repulsive kind were the invariable rule: at Lyons,
we are told, an ass was given drink out of a chalice. . . . Payan cried out
upon 'these goddesses, more degraded than those of fable.' " [40]

During the time while the fantastic worship of reason was the national
craze, the leaders of the revolution are known to history as "the
atheists." But it was soon perceived that a religion with more powerful
sanctions than the one then in vogue must be instituted to hold the people.
A form of worship therefore followed in which the object of adoration was
the "Supreme Being." It was equally hollow so far as any reformation of
life and vital godliness were concerned, but it took hold upon the
supernatural. And the Goddess of Reason was indeed a "strange god," the
statement in regard to honoring the "God of forces," may perhaps more
appropriately be referred to this latter phase.

Verse 39 Thus shall he do in the most strong holds with a strange god, whom
he shall acknowledge and increase with glory: and he shall cause them to
rule over many, and shall divide the land for gain.

The system of paganism which had been introduced into France, as
exemplified in the worship of the idol set up in the person of the Goddess
of Reason, and regulated by a heathen ritual which had been enacted by the
National Assembly for the use of the French people, continued in force till
the appointment of Napoleon to the provisional consulate of France in 1799.
The adherents of this strange religion occupied the fortified places, the
strongholds of the nation, as expressed in this verse.

But that which serves to identify the application of this prophecy to
France perhaps as clearly as any other particular, is the statement made in
the last clause of the verse, that they

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should "divide the land for gain." Previous to the Revolution, the landed
property of France was owned by the Catholic Church and by a few landlords
in immense estates. These estates were required by the law to remain
undivided, so that no heirs or creditors could partition them. But
revolution knows no law, and in the anarchy that now reigned, as noted also
in Revelation 11, the titles of the nobility were abolished, and their
lands disposed of in small parcels for the benefit of the public exchequer.
The government was in need of funds, and these large landed estates were
confiscated, and sold at auction in parcels to suit purchasers. The
historian thus records this unique transaction:

"The confiscation of two thirds of the landed property in the kingdom,
which arose from the decrees of the Convention against the emigrants,
clergy, and persons convicted at the Revolutionary Tribunals . . . placed
funds worth above L700,000,000 sterling at the disposal of the government."
[41]

When did ever an event take place and in what country, fulfilling a
prophecy more completely than this?

As the nation began to come to itself, a more rational religion was
demanded, and the heathen ritual was abolished. The historian thus
describes that event:

"A third and a bolder measure was the discarding of the heathen ritual, and
reopening the churches for Christian worship; and of this the credit was
wholly Napoleon's, who had to oppose the philosophic prejudices of almost
all his colleagues. He, in his conversations with them, made no attempt to
represent himself as a believer in Christianity; but stood only on the
necessity of providing the people with the regular means of worship
wherever it meant to have a state of tranquillity. The priests who chose to
take the oath of fidelity to government were readmitted to their functions;
and this wise measure was followed by the adherence of not less than 20,000
of

Page 289

these ministers of religion, who had hitherto languished in the prisons of
France." [42]

Thus terminated the Reign of Terror and the French Revolution. Out of the
ruins rose Bonaparte, to guide the tumult to his own elevation, place
himself at the head of the French government, and strike terror to the
hearts of nations.

Verse 40 And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at
him: and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind,
with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter
into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over.

Kings of South and North Again in Conflict.--After a long interval, the
king of the south and the king of the north again appear on the stage of
action. We have met with nothing to indicate that we are to look to any
locations for these powers other than those which shortly after the death
of Alexander constituted respectively the southern and the northern
divisions of his empire. The king of the south was at that time Egypt, and
the king of the north was Syria, including Thrace and Asia Minor. Egypt
continued to rule in the territory designated as belonging to the king of
the south, and Turkey for more than four hundred years ruled over the
territory which first constituted the domain of the king of the north.

This application of the prophecy calls for a conflict to spring up between
Egypt and France, and between Turkey and France, in 17983, which year, as
we have seen, marked the beginning of the time of the end. If history
testifies that such a triangular war did break out in that year, it will be
conclusive proof of the correctness of the application.

We inquire, therefore, Is it a fact that at the time of the end, Egypt did
"push," or make a comparatively feeble resistance, while Turkey did come
like a resistless "whirlwind," against "him," that is, the government of
France? We have already produced some evidence that the time of the end
began in 1798; and no reader of history need be informed that in

Page 290

that year a state of open hostility between France and Egypt was developed.

To what extent this conflict owed its origin to the dreams of glory
deliriously cherished in the ambitious brain of Napoleon Bonaparte, the
historian will form his own opinion; but the French, or Napoleon at least,
contrived to make Egypt the aggressor. "In a skillfully worded proclamation
he [Napoleon] assured the peoples of Egypt that he had come to chastise
only the governing caste of Mamelukes for their depredations on French
merchants; that, far from wishing to destroy the religion of the Muslim, he
had more respect for God, Mohammed, and the Koran than the Mamelukes had
shown; that the French had destroyed the Pope and the Knights of Malta who
levied war on the Muslim; thrice blessed, therefore, would be those who
sided with the French, blessed even those who remained neutral, and thrice
unhappy those who fought against them." [43]

The beginning of the year 1798 found the French indulging in immense
projects against the English. The Directory desired Bonaparte to undertake
at once the crossing of the Channel and an attack upon England; but he saw
that no direct operations of that kind could be judiciously undertaken
before the autumn, and he was unwilling to hazard this growing reputation
by spending his summer in idleness. "But," says the historian, "he saw a
far-off land, where glory was to be won which would gain a new charm in the
eyes of his countrymen by the romance and mystery which hung upon the
scene. Egypt, the land of the Pharaohs and Ptolemies, would be a noble
field for new triumphs." [44]

But while still broader visions of glory opened before the eyes of
Bonaparte in those Eastern historic lands, covering not Egypt only, but
Syria, Persia, Hindustan, even to the Ganges itself, he had no difficulty
in persuading the Directory that

Page 291

Egypt was the vulnerable point through which to strike at England by
intercepting her Eastern trade. Hence on the pretext above mentioned, the
Egyptian campaign was undertaken.

The downfall of the papacy, which marked the termination of the 1260 years,
and according to verse 35 showed the beginning of the time of the end,
occurred in February, 1798, when Rome fell into the hands of Berthier, the
general of the French. On the 5th of March following, Bonaparte received
the decree of the Directory relative to the expedition against Egypt. He
left Paris May 3, and set sail from Toulon the 19th, with a large naval
armament consisting of "thirteen ships-of-the-line, fourteen frigates (some
of them unarmed), a large number of smaller vessels of war, and about 300
transports. Upwards of 35,000 troops were on board, along with 1230 horses.
If we include the crews, the commission of savants sent to explore the
wonders of Egypt, and the attendants, the total number of persons aboard
was about 50,000; it has even been placed as high as 54,000." [45]

July 2, Alexandria was taken, and immediately fortified. On the 21st the
decisive Battle of the Pyramids was fought, in which the Mamelukes
contested the field with valor and desperation, but were no match for the
disciplined legions of the French. Murad Bey lost all his cannon, 400
camels, and 3,000 men. The loss of the French was comparatively slight. On
the 25th, Bonaparte entered Cairo, the capital of Egypt, and only waited
the subsidence of the floods of the Nile to pursue Murad Bey to Upper
Egypt, whither he had retired with his shattered calvary, and so make a
conquest of the whole country. Thus the king of the south was able to make
but a feeble resistance.

At this juncture, however, the situation of Napoleon began to grow
precarious. The French fleet, which was his only channel of communication
with France, was destroyed by the

Page 293

English under Nelson at Aboukir. On September 11, 1798, the sultan of
Turkey, under feeling of jealousy against France, artfully fostered by the
English ambassadors at Constantinople, and exasperated that Egypt, so long
a semi-dependency of the Ottoman Empire, should be transformed into a
French province, declared war against France. Thus the king of the north
(Turkey) came against him (France) in the same year that the king of the
south (Egypt) "pushed," and both "at the time of the end." This is another
conclusive proof that the year 1798 is the year which begins that
period--all of which is a demonstration that this application of the
prophecy is correct. So many events meeting accurately the specifications
of the prophecy could not take place together and not constitute a
fulfillment of the prophecy.

Was the coming of the king of the north, or Turkey, like a whirlwind in
comparison with the pushing of Egypt? Napoleon had crushed the armies of
Egypt, and essayed to do the same thing with the armies of the sultan which
were threatening an attack from the side of Asia. He began his march from
Cairo to Syria, February 27, 1799, with 18,000 men. He first took the Fort
El-Arish in the desert, then Jaffa (the Joppa of the Bible), conquered the
inhabitants of Naplous at Zeta, and was again victorious at Jafet.
Meanwhile, a strong body of Turks had intrenched themselves at St. Jean
d'Acre, while swarms of Mussulmans gathered in the mountains of Samaria,
ready to swoop down upon the French when they should besiege Acre. Sir
Sidney Smith at the same time appeared before St. Jean d'Acre with two
English ships, reinforced the Turkish garrison of that place, and captured
the apparatus for the siege which Napoleon had sent across by sea from
Alexandria. A Turkish fleet soon appeared in the offing, which with the
Russian and English vessels then co-operating with them constituted the
"many ships" of the king of the north.

On the 18th of March the siege began. Napoleon was twice called away to
save some French divisions from falling into the hands of the Mussulman
hordes that filled the

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country. Twice also a breach was made in the wall of the city, but the
assailants were met with such fury by the garrison that they were obliged,
despite their best efforts, to give over the struggle. After a continuance
of sixty days, Napoleon raised the siege, sounded the note of retreat, for
the first time in his career, and on the 21st of May, 1799, began to
retrace his steps to Egypt.

"He . . . shall overflow and pass over." We have found events which furnish
a very striking fulfillment of the pushing of the king of the south, and
the whirlwind onset of the king of the north against the French power. Thus
far there is quite a general agreement in the application of the prophecy.
We now reach a point where the views of expositors begin to diverge. To
whom do the words he "shall overflow and pass over," refer--to France or to
the king of the north? The application of the remainder of this chapter
depends upon the answer to this question. From this point two lines of
interpretation are maintained. Some apply the words to France, and endeavor
to find a fulfillment in the career of Napoleon. Others apply them to the
king of the north, and accordingly point for a fulfillment to events in the
history of Turkey. We speak of these two positions only, as the attempt
which some make to bring in the papacy here is so evidently wide of the
mark that it need not be considered. If neither of these positions is free
from difficulty, as we presume no one will claim that it is absolutely, it
only remains that we take that one which has weight of evidence in its
favor. We shall find one in favor of which the evidence does so greatly
preponderate to the exclusion of all others, as scarcely to leave any room
for doubt in regard to the view here mentioned.

Turkey Becomes King of the North.--Respecting the application of this
portion of the prophecy to Napoleon or to France under his leadership, we
do not find events which we can urge with any degree of assurance as the
fulfillment of the remaining part of this chapter. Hence we do see how it
can be thus applied. It must, then, be fulfilled by Turkey, unless it can
be shown

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that the expression "king of the north" does not apply to Turkey, or that
there is some other power besides either France or the king of the north
which fulfilled this part of the prediction. But if Turkey, now occupying
the territory which constituted the northern division of Alexander's
empire, is not the king of the north of this prophecy, then we are left
without any principle to guide us in the interpretation. We presume all
will agree that there is no room for the introduction of any other power
here. France and the king of the north are the only ones to whom the
prediction can apply. The fulfillment must lie between them.

Some considerations certainly favor the idea that there is in the latter
part part of verse 40 a transfer of the burden of the prophecy from the
French power to the king of the north. The latter is introduced just before
as coming forth like a whirlwind, with chariots, horsemen, and many ships.
The collision between this power and the French we have already noticed.
The king of the north with the aid of his allies gained the day in this
contest; and the French, foiled in their efforts, were driven back into
Egypt. Now it would seem to be the more natural application to refer the
"overflowing and passing over" to that power which emerged in triumph from
that struggle, and that power was Turkey.

Verse 41 He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries
shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and
Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon.

Abandoning a campaign in which one third of the army had fallen victims to
war and the plague, the French retired from St. Jean d'Acre, and after a
fatiguing march of twenty-six days re-entered Cairo in Egypt. They thus
abandoned all the conquests they had made in Judea, and the "glorious
land," Palestine, with all its provinces, here called "countries," fell
back again under the oppressive rule of the Turk, Edom, Moab, and Ammon
(lying outside the limits of Palestine, south and east of the Dead Sea and
Jordan, were out of the line of march of the Turks from Syria to Egypt, and
so escaped the

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ravages of that campaign. On this passage, Adam Clarke has the following
note: "These and other Arabians, they [the Turks] have never been able to
subdue. They still occupy the deserts, and receive a yearly pension of
forty thousand crowns of gold from the Ottoman emperors to permit the
caravans with the pilgrims for Mecca to have a free passage." [46]

Verse 42 He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries: and the
land of Egypt shall not escape.

On the retreat of the French to Egypt, a Turkish fleet landed 10,000 men at
Aboukir. Napoleon immediately attacked the place, completely routing the
Turks, and re-establishing his authority in Egypt. But at this point,
severe reverses to the French arms in Europe called Napoleon home to look

was left with General Kleber, who, after a period of untiring activity for
the benefit of the army, was murdered by a Turk in Cairo, and the command
was left with Abdallah Menou. With an army which could not be recruited,
every loss was serious.

Meanwhile, the English government, as the ally of the Turks, had resolved
to wrest Egypt from the French. March 13, 1801, and English fleet
disembarked a body of troops at Aboukir. The French gave battle the next
day, but were forced to retire. On the 18th Aboukir surrendered. On the
28th reinforcements were brought by a Turkish fleet and the grand vizier
approached from Syria with a large army. On the 19th, Rosetta surrendered
to the combined forces of the English and the Turks. At Ramanieh a French
corps of 4,000 men was defeated by 8,000 English and 6,000 Turks. At
Elmenayer 5,000 French were obliged to retreat, May 16, by the vizier, who
was pressing forward to Cairo with 20,000 men. The whole French army was
now shut up in Cairo and Alexandria. Cairo capitulated June 27, and
Alexandria,

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September 2. Four weeks afterward, October 1, 1801, the preliminaries of
peace were signed in London.

"Egypt shall not escape" were the words of the prophecy. This language
seems to imply that Egypt would be brought into subjection to some power
from whose dominion it would desire to be released. As between the French
and the Turks, how did this question stand with the Egyptians?--they
preferred French rule. In R. R. Madden's Travels in Turkey, Egypt, Nubia,
and Palestine it is stated that the French were much regarded by the
Egyptians, and extolled as benefactors; that for the short period they
remained, they left traces of amelioration; and that, if they could have
established their power, Egypt, would now be comparatively civilized. [47]
In view of this testimony, the language of the Scripture would not be
appropriate if applied to the French, for the Egyptians did not desire to
escape out of their hands. They did desire to escape from the hands of the
Turks, but could not.

Verse 43 But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver,
and over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and the
Ethiopians shall be at his steps.

In illustration of this verse we quote the following statement from the
historian concerning Mehemet Ali, the Turkish governor of Egypt who rose to
power after the defeat of the French:

"The new Pasha set about strengthening himself in his position so as to
insure a permanent hold upon the government of Egypt for himself and his
family. First, he saw that he must exact a large revenue from his subjects,
in order to send such sums of tribute to Constantinople as would propitiate
the Sultan, and make it clearly for his interest to sustain the power of
the Egyptian governor. Acting upon this principle he used many unjust means
to obtain possession of large estates; he denied the legitimacy of many
successions; he burned title deeds, and seized properties; in short, he set
at defiance all

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universally acknowledged rights of landholders. Great disturbances
followed, but Mohammed Ali was prepared for these, and, by his wonderful
firmness he made it appear that the bare assertion of claims was an
aggression on the part of the Sheikhs. The taxes were constantly increased,
and their collection put into the hands of the military governors; by this
means the peasantry were ground to the very lowest point." [48]

Verse 44 But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble
him: therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to
make away many.

King of the North in Trouble.--On this verse Adam Clarke has a note which
is worthy of mention. He say: "This part of the prophecy is allowed to be
yet unfulfilled." [49] His note was printed in 1825. In another part of his
comment, he says: "If the Turkish power be understood, as in the preceding
verses, it may mean that the Persians on the east, and the Russians on the
north, will at some time greatly embarrass the Ottoman government."

Between this conjecture by Adam Clarke, written in 1825, and the Crimean
War of 1853-1856, there is certainly a striking coincidence, inasmuch as
the very powers he mentions, the Persians on the east, and the Russians on
the north, were the ones which instigated the conflict. Tidings from these
powers troubled him (Turkey). Their attitude and movements incited the
sultan to anger and revenge. Russia, being the more aggressive party, was
the object of attack. Turkey declared war on her powerful northern neighbor
in 1853. The world looked on in amazement to see a government which had
long been called "the Sick Man of the East," a government whose army was
dispirited and demoralized, whose treasuries were empty, who rulers were
vile and imbecile, and whose subjects were rebellious and threatening
secession, rush with such impetuosity into the conflict. The prophecy said
that they

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should go forth with "great fury," and when they thus went forth in the war
aforesaid, they were described, in the profane vernacular of an American
writer, as "fighting like devils." England and France, it is true, soon
came to the help of Turkey; but she went forth in the manner described, and
as reported, gained important victories before receiving the assistance of
these powers.

Verse 45 And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas
in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall
help him.

King of the North to Come to His End.--We have now traced the prophecy of
the 11th chapter of Daniel step by step to this last verse. As we see the
divine predictions meeting their fulfillment in history, our faith is
strengthened in the final accomplishment of God's prophetic word.

The prophecy of verse 45 centers in that power known as the king of the
north. It is the power that shall hold the territory possessed originally
by the king of the north (See pages 235, 236.)

It is predicted of the king of the north that "he shall come to his end,
and none shall help him." Just how and when and where his end will come, we
may watch with solemn interest, knowing that the hand of Providence guides
the destiny of nations.

Time will soon determine this matter. When this even takes place, what
follows?--events of the most momentous interest to all the inhabitants of
this world, as the next chapter immediately shows.

[1] Thomas Newton, Dissertations on the Prophecies, Vol. I, p. 335.

[2] Humphrey Prideaux, The Old and New Testament Connected in the History
of the Jews, Vol. I, p. 378.

[3] Ibid., p. 415.

[4] Thomas Newton, Dissertations on the Prophecies, Vol. I, pp. 345, 346.

[5] Thomas Newton, Dissertations on the Prophecies, Vol. I, pp. 352.

[6] Charles Rollin, Ancient History, Vol. V, pp. 305, 306.

[7] Thomas Newton, Dissertations on the Prophecies, Vol. I, pp. 356.

[8] The Cambridge Ancient History, Vol. IX, p. 670. By permission of the
Macmillan Company, publishers in the United States.

[9] Humphrey Prideaux, The Old and New Testament Connected in the History
of the Jews, Vol. II, p. 312.

[10] The Cambridge Ancient History, Vol. IX, p. 738. By permission of the
Macmillan Company, publishers in the United States.

[11] Ibid., Vol. X, pp. 96, 97.

[12] Encyclopaedia Americana, 1849 ed., Vol. XII, p. 251, art. "Tiberius."

[13] Ibid.

[14] Thomas Newton, Dissertations on the Prophecies, Vol. I, p. 363.

[15] Encyclopaedia Americana, 1849 ed., Vol. XII, p. 251, 252 art.
"Tiberius."

[16] Humphrey Prideaux, The Old and New Testament Connected in the History
of the Jews, Vol. II, p. 423.

[17] William Hales, A New Analysis of Chronology, Vol. III, p. 1.

[18] See 1 Maccabees 8; Humphrey Prideaux, The Old and New Testament
Connected in the History of the Jews, Vol. II, p. 166.

[19] Flavius Josephus, "Antiquities of the Jews," book 12, chap. 10, sec.
6, The Works of Flavius Josephus, p. 374.

[20] See Encyclopaedia Americana, 11th edition, Vol. VII, p. 3, art.
"Constantinople."

[21] Humphrey Prideaux, The Old and New Testament Connected in the History
of the Jews, Vol. II, p. 380.

[22] Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Old Testament, Vol. IV, pp. 109, 110,
note on Isaiah 23: 1.

[23] See John Kitto, Cyclopaedia of Biblical Literature, art. "Chittim," p.
196.

[24] J. A. Wylie, The Papacy, pp. 180, 181.

[25] See Louis E. Dupin, A New History of Ecclesiastical Writers, Vol. V,
pp. 1-3, "Pope Symmachus."

[26] Edward Gibbon, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Vol. IV,
chap. 47, p. 526.

[27] Codex Justiniani, lib. 1, tit. 1; translation as given by R. F.
Littledale The Petrine Claims, p. 293.

[28] George Croly, The Apocalypse of St. John, p. 170.

[29] Ibid., pp. 170, 171.

[30] Ibid., pp. 172, 173.

[31] Ibid., pp. 12, 13.

[32] Edward Gibbon, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Vol. IV,
chap. 41, pp. 168, 169.

[33] Louis Madelin, The French Revolution, pp. 387, 388.

[34] Thomas Newton, Dissertations on the Prophecies, Vol. I, pp. 388-390.

[35] Louis Madelin, The French Revolution, pp. 552, 553.

[36] Sir Walter Scott, The Life of Napoleon Buonaparte, Vol. 1, p. 239.

[37] Archibald Alison, History of Europe, Vol. III, p. 22.

[38] Ibid., p. 24.

[39] Sir Walter Scott, The Life of Napoleon Buonaparte, Vol. 1, p. 239,
240.

[40] Louis Madelin, The French Revolution, p. 389.

[41] Archibald Alison, History of Europe, Vol. III, pp. 25, 26.

[42] John Gibson Lockhart, The History of Napoleon Buonaparte, Vol. I, p.
154.

[43] The Cambridge Modern History, Vol. VIII, p. 599. By permission of the
Macmillan Company, publishers in the United States.

[44] James White, History of France, p. 469

[45] The Cambridge Modern History, Vol. VIII, pp. 597, 598. By permission
of the Macmillan Company, publishers in the United States.

[46] Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Old Testament, Vol. IV, p. 618, note on
Daniel 11: 41.

[47] Richard Robert Madden, Travels in Turkey, Egypt, Nubia, and Palestine
, Vol. I, p. 231.

[48] Clara Erskine Clement, Egypt, pp. 389, 390.

[49] Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Old Testament, Vol. IV, p. 618, note on
Daniel 11: 44.
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Page 301

                                Chapter XII

                          History's Coming Climax

Verse 1 And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which
standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of
trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time:
and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be
found written in the book.

A definite time is specified in this verse, not a particular year or month
or day, but a time made definite by the occurrence of a certain event with
which it is connected. "At that time." What time?--The time to which we are
brought by the closing verse of the preceding chapter--the time when the
king of the north shall plant the tabernacles of his palace in the glorious
holy mountain. When this event takes place, he is to come to his end; and
then, according to this verse, we look for the standing up of Michael, the
great Prince.

Michael Stands Up.--Who is Michael, and what is his standing up?-- Michael
is called the "archangel" in Jude 9. This means the chief angel, or the
head over the angels. There is but one. Who is he?--He is the one whose
voice is heard from heaven when the dead are raised. (1 Thessalonians 4:
16.) Whose voice is heard in connection with that event?--The voice of our
Lord Jesus Christ. (John 5: 28.) Tracing back the evidence with this fact
as a basis, we reach the following conclusion: The voice of the Son of God
is the voice of the Archangel; the Archangel, then, must be the Son of God.
But the Archangel is called Michael; hence Michael must be the name given
to the Son of God. The expression in verse 1, "the great Prince which
standeth for the children of thy people," is sufficient alone to identify
the one here spoken of as the Saviour of men. He is the "Prince of life,"
and "a Prince and a Saviour." Acts 3: 15, 5: 31. He is the great Prince.

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He "standeth for the children of thy people." He condescends to take the
servants of God in this poor mortal state, and redeem them for the subjects
of His future kingdom. He stands for us who believe. His people are
essential to His future purposes, an inseparable part of the purchased
inheritance. They are to be the chief agents of that joy which Christ
foresaw, and which caused Him to endure all the sacrifice and suffering
which have marked His intervention in behalf of the fallen race. Amazing
honor! Be everlasting gratitude repaid Him for His condescension and mercy
to us! Be His the kingdom, power, and glory, forever and ever!

We now come to the second question, What is the standing up of Michael? The
key to the interpretation of this expression is given us: "There shall
stand up yet three kings in Persia;" "A mighty king shall stand up, that
shall rule with great dominion." Daniel 11: 2, 3. There can be no doubt as
to the meaning of these expressions in these instances. They signify to
take the kingdom, to reign. This expression in the verse under
consideration, must mean the same. At that time Michael shall stand up,
shall take the kingdom, shall begin to reign.

But is not Christ reigning now?--Yes, associated with His Father on the
throne of universal dominion. (Ephesians 1: 20-22; Revelation 3: 21.) But
this throne, or kingdom, He gives up at His coming. (1 Corinthians 15: 24.)
Then begins His reign, brought to view in the text, when He stands up, or
takes His own kingdom, the long-promised throne of His father David, and
establishes a dominion of which there shall be no end. (Luke 1: 32, 33.)

The kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdom "of our Lord and of His
Christ." His priestly robes are to be laid aside for royal vesture. The
work of mercy will be finished and the probation of the human race ended.
Then he that is filthy is beyond hope of cleansing; and he that is holy is
beyond the danger of falling. All cases are forever decided. From that time
on until Christ comes in the clouds of heaven,

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the nations are broken as with a rod of iron, and dashed in pieces like a
potter's vessel, by an unparalleled time of trouble. There will be a series
of divine judgments upon men who have rejected God. Then shall the Lord
Jesus Christ be revealed from heaven, "in flaming fire taking vengeance on
them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel." 2 Thessalonians 1:
8. (See also Revelation 11: 15; 22: 11, 12.)

Momentous are the events introduced by the standing up of Michael. He
stands up, or takes the kingdom, some length of time before He returns
personally to this earth. How important, then, that we have a knowledge of
His position, that we may be able to trace the progress of His work, and
understand when that thrilling moment draws near which ends His
intercession in behalf of mankind, and fixes the destiny of all forever.

But how are we to know this? How are we to determine what is taking place
in the sanctuary above? God has been so good as to place in our hands the
means of knowing this. He has told us that when certain great events take
place on earth, important decisions which synchronize with them are being
made in heaven. By these things which are seen, we thus learn of things
that are unseen. As we "look through nature up to nature's God," so through
terrestrial phenomena and events we trace great movements in the heavenly
kingdom. When the king of the north shall plant the tabernacles of his
palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain, then Michael our
Lord stands up, or receives from His Father the kingdom, preparatory to His
return to this earth. Or it might be expressed in words like these: Then
our Lord ceases His work as our great High Priest, and the probation of the
world is finished. The great prophecy of the 2300 days gives us the
definite beginning of the final division of the work in the sanctuary in
heaven. The verse before us gives us data whereby we can discover
approximately the time of its close.

Time of Trouble.--In connection with the standing up of Michael, there
occurs a time of trouble such as never was. In

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Matthew 24: 21 we read of a period of tribulation such as never was before
it, nor should be after it. This tribulation, fulfilled in the oppression
and slaughter of the church by the papal power, is already past; while the
time of trouble of Daniel 12: 1 is still future, according to the view we
take. How can there be two times of trouble, many years apart, each of them
greater than any that had been before it, or should be after it?

To avoid difficulty here, let this distinction be carefully noticed: The
tribulation spoken of in Matthew is tribulation upon the church. Christ is
there speaking to His disciples, and of His disciples in coming time. They
were the ones involved, and for their sake the days of tribulation were to
be shortened. (Matthew 24: 22.) The time of trouble mentioned in Daniel is
not a time of religious persecution, but of international calamity. There
has been nothing like it since there was--not a church, but--a nation. This
is the last trouble to come upon the world in its present state. In Matthew
there is reference made to time beyond that tribulation; for after it is
past, the people of God shall never go through another period of suffering
like it. But there is no reference here in Daniel to future time after the
trouble here mentioned, for it closes this world's history. It includes the
seven last plagues of Revelation 16, and culminates in the revelation of
the Lord Jesus, coming in clouds of flaming fire, to visit destruction upon
His enemies. But out of this tribulation everyone shall be delivered who
shall be found written in the book--the book of life; "for in Mount Zion .
. . shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom
the Lord shall call." Joel 2: 32.

Verse 2 And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake,
some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.

This verse reveals the importance of the standing up of Michael, or the
beginning of the reign of Christ, for at this time shall be a resurrection
of the dead. Is this the gen-

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eral resurrection which takes place at the second coming of Christ? Or is
there to intervene between Christ's reception of the kingdom and His
revelation to earth in all His advent glory (Luke 21: 27) a special
resurrection answering to the description here given?

Why may it not be the former, or the resurrection which occurs at the last
trump?--Because only the righteous, to the exclusion of all the wicked,
have part in that resurrection. Those who sleep in Christ then come forth,
but the rest of the dead live not again for a thousand years. (Revelation
20: 5.) The general resurrection of the whole race, then, is divided into
two great events--first, of the righteous exclusively a thousand years
thereafter. The general resurrection is not a resurrection of both the
righteous and the wicked at the same time. Each of these two classes is set
off by itself, and the time which elapses between the respective
resurrection is plainly stated to be a thousand years.

In the resurrection brought to view in the verse before us, however, many,
of both righteous wicked come up together. In cannot therefore be the first
resurrection, which includes the righteous only, nor the second
resurrection, which as distinctly confined to the wicked. If the text read,
Many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake to everlasting
life, then the "many" might be interpreted as including all the righteous,
and the resurrection be that of the just at the second coming. But the fact
that some of the many are wicked, and rise to shame and everlasting
contempt, bars the way to such an application.

Is there, then, any place for a special, or limited, resurrection? Is there
elsewhere any intimation of such an event, before the Lord appears? The
resurrection here predicted takes place when God's people are delivered
from the great time of trouble with which the history of this world
terminated, and it seems from Revelation 22: 11 that this deliverance is
given before the Lord appears. The awful moment arrives when he

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that is filthy and unjust is pronounced unjust still, and he that is
righteous and holy is pronounced holy still. Then the cases of all are
forever decided. When this sentence is pronounced upon the righteous, it
must be deliverance to them, for then they are placed beyond all reach of
danger or fear or evil. But the Lord has not at that time made His
appearance, for He immediately adds, "Behold, I come quickly.,"

The utterance of this solemn fiat seals the righteous to everlasting lift
and the wicked to eternal death. A voice goes forth from the throne of God,
saying, "It is done!" Revelation 16: 17. This is evidently the voice of
God, so often alluded to in descriptions of the scenes connected with the
last day. Joel speaks of it, and says: "The Lord also shall roar out of
Zion, and utter His voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth
shall shake: but the Lord will be the hope of His people, and the strength
of the children of Israel." Joel 3: 16. The margin reads instead of "hope,"
"place of repair, or harbor." Then at this time, when God's voice is heard
from heaven just previous to the coming of the Son of man, God is a harbor
for His people, or, which is the same thing, provides them deliverance. The
last stupendous scene is about to open upon a doomed world. God gives to
the astonished nations another evidence and pledge of His power, and raises
from the dead a multitude who have long slept in the dust of the earth.

Thus we see that there is a time and place for the resurrection of Daniel
12: 2. A verse in the book of Revelation make it clear that a resurrection
of this kind must take place. "Behold, He cometh with clouds [this is
unquestionably the second advent]; and every eye shall see Him [of the
nations then living on the earth], and they also which pierced Him [those
who took an active part in the terrible work of His crucifixion]; and all
kindreds of the earth shall wail because of Him." Revelation 1: 7. Those
who crucified the Lord, would, unless there was an exception made in their
cases, remain in their graves until the end of the thousand years and come
up in the general assembly of the wicked at that time.

Page 308

But here it is stated that they behold the Lord at His second advent. There
must, therefore, be a special resurrection for that purpose.

It is certainly most appropriate that some who were eminent in holiness,
who labored and suffered for their hope of a coming Saviour, but died
without seeing Him, should be raised a little before, to witness the scenes
attending His glorious epiphany; as, in like manner, a goodly company came
out of their graces at His resurrection to behold His risen glory (Matthew
27: 52, 53), and to escort Him in triumph to the right hand of the throne
of the Majesty on high (Ephesians 4: 8, margin). There will be also some,
eminent in wickedness, who have done most to reproach the name of Christ
and injure His cause, especially those who caused His cruel death upon the
cross, and mocked and derided Him in His dying agonies, who will be raised,
as part of their judicial punishment, to behold His return in the clouds of
heaven, a celestial victor, in great majesty and splendor endurable to
them.

What is here said supposed by some to furnish good evidence of the eternal
conscious suffering of the wicked, because those of this character who are
spoken of come forth to shame and everlasting contempt. How can they
forever suffer shame and contempt, unless they are forever conscious? It
has already been stated that shame implies their consciousness, but it will
be noticed that this is not said to be everlasting. This qualifying word is
not inserted until we come to the contempt, which is an emotion felt by
others toward the guilty, and does not render necessary the consciousness
of those against whom it is directed. Shame for their wickedness and
corruption will burn into their very souls as long as they are conscious.
When they pass away, consumed for their iniquities, their loathsome
characters and guilty deeds excite only contempt on the part of all the
righteous, as long as they hold them in remembrance. The text therefore
furnishes no proof of the eternal suffering suffering of the wicked.

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Verse 3 And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the
firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever
and ever.

A Glorious Inheritance.--The margin reads "teachers" in the place of
"wise." "They that be teachers shall shine as the brightness of the
firmament." That is, of course, those who teach the truth, and lead others
to a knowledge of it just previous to the time when the events recorded in
the foregoing verse are to be fulfilled. As the world estimates loss and
profit, it costs something to be teachers of truth in these days. It costs
reputation, ease, comfort, and often property. It involves labors, crosses,
sacrifices, loss of friendship, ridicule, and not infrequently,
persecution.

The question is often asked, How can you afford to keep the true Sabbath,
and perhaps lose a situation, reduce your income, or even hazard your means
of support? Oh, what shortsightedness, to make obedience to what God
requires a matter of pecuniary consideration! How unlike is this to the
noble martyrs who loved not their lives unto death! When God commands, we
cannot afford to disobey. If we are asked, How can you afford to keep the
Sabbath, and do other duties involved in rendering obedience to the truth?
we have only to ask in reply, How can you afford not to do them?

In the coming day, when those who have sought to save their lives shall
lose them, and those who have been willing to hazard all for the sake of
the truth and its divine Lord, shall receive the glorious reward promised
in the text, and be raised up to shine as the firmament, and as the
imperishable stars forever and ever, it will then be seen who have been
wise, and who, on the contrary, have made the choice of blindness and
folly. The wicked and worldly now look upon Christians as fools and madmen,
and congratulate themselves upon their superior shrewdness in shunning what
they call their folly, and avoiding their losses. We need make no response,
for those who now render this decision will soon themselves reverse it, and
that with terrible though unavailing earnestness.

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Meanwhile, it is the Christian's privilege to dwell upon the consolations
of this marvelous promise. A conception of its magnitude can be gathered
only from the stellar worlds themselves. What are those stars, in the
likeness of which the teachers of righteousness are to shine forever and
ever? How much of brightness, and majesty, and length of days, is involved
in this comparison?

The sun of our own solar system is one of these stars. If we compare it
with this globe upon which we live (our handiest standard of measurement),
we find it an orb of no small magnitude and magnificence. Our earth is
neatly eight thousand miles in diameter, but the sun's diameter is eight
hundred sixty-four thousand miles. In size it is one million three hundred
thousand times as large as our globe. In the matter of its substance, it
would balance three hundred thirty-two thousand worlds like ours. What
immensity is that!

Yet this is far from being the largest or the brightest of the orbs in the
heavens. The sun's proximity, only some ninety-three million miles from us,
gives him with us a controlling presence and influence. But far away in the
depths of space, so far that they appear like mere points of light, blaze
other orbs of vaster size and greater glory. The nearest fixed star,
Proxima Centauri, in the southern hemisphere, is found to be about
twenty-five million million miles away. But the polestar system is about a
hundred times as remote, or two thousand five hundred trillion miles; and
it shines with a luster equal to that of 2500 of our suns. Others are also
more luminous, as, for instance, Arcturus, which emits light equivalent to
one hundred fifty-eight of our suns; Capella, one hundred eighty-five; and
so on, until at last we reach the great star Rigel, in the constellation
Orion, which floods the celestial spaces with a brilliance fifteen thousand
times that of the ponderous orb which lights and controls our system! [1]
Why, then, does it not appear more luminous to us? Ah, its distance is
equivalent to thirty-three million diame-

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ters of the earth's orbit; and the latter is one hundred eighty-six million
miles! Figures are weak to express such distances. It will be sufficient to
say that its glowing light must traverse space as only light travels--one
hundred eighty-six thousand miles a second--for a period of more than ten
years before it reaches this world or ours. There are many other stars
which are hundreds of light-years from our solar system.

Some of these monarchs of the skies rule singly, like our own sun. Some are
double; that is, what appears to us like one star is found to consist of
two stars--two suns with their retinue of planets, revolving around each
other. Other are triple, some are quadruple, and one at least sextuple.

Besides this, they show colors of the rainbow. Some systems are white, some
blue, some red, some yellow, some green. In some, the difference suns
belonging to the same system are variously colored. Says Dr. Burr: "And, as
if to make that Southern Cross the fairest object in all the heavens, we
find in it a group of more than a hundred variously colored red, green,
blue, and bluish-green suns, so closely thronged together as to appear in a
powerful telescope like a superb bouquet, or piece of fancy jewelry." [2]

A few years pass away, and all things earthly gather the mold of age and
the odor of decay. But the stars shine on in their glory as in the
beginning. Centuries and cycles have gone by, kingdoms have risen and
slowly passed away. We go back beyond the dim and shadowy horizon of
history, go back even to the earliest moment when order was evoked out of
chaos, and "the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God
shouted for joy" (Job 38: 7)--even then the stars were on their stately
marches. How long before this we know not. Astronomers tell us of nebulae
lying on the farthest outposts of telescopic vision, whose light in its
never ceasing flight would consume five million years in reaching this
planet. Yet their brightness is not dimmed, nor their force abated. The dew
of youth still seems fresh upon them. No faltering motion

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reveals the decrepitude of age. These shine on in undiminished glory
through all eternity.

Thus shall they shine who turn many righteousness. They shall bring joy
even to the heart of the Redeemer. Thus shall their years roll on forever
and ever.

Verse 4 But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to
the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be
increased.

Book of Daniel Sealed.--The "words" and "book" here spoken of doubtless
refer to the things which had been revealed to Daniel in this prophecy.
These things were to be shut up and sealed until the time of the end; that
is, they were not to be specially studied, or to any great extent
understood, until that time. The time of the end, as has already been
shown, began in 1798. As the book was closed up and sealed to that time,
the plain inference is that at that time, or from that point, the book
would be unsealed. People would be better able to understand it, and would
have their attention specially called to this part of the inspired word. Of
what has been done on the subject of prophecy since that time, it is
unnecessary to remind the reader. The prophecies, especially Daniel's
prophecy, have been under examination by all students of the word wherever
civilization has spread abroad its light upon the earth. So the remainder
of the verse, being a prediction of what should take place after the time
of the end, begins, "Many shall run to and fro." Whether this running to
and fro refers to the passing of people from place to place, and the great
improvements in the facilities for transportation and travel made within
the past century, or whether it means, as some understand it, a turning to
and fro in the prophecies, that is, a diligent and earnest search into
prophetic truth, the fulfillment is certainly and surely before our eyes.
It must have its application in at least one of these two ways, and in both
of these respects the present age is very strongly marked.

Increase of Knowledge.--"And knowledge shall be increased." This must refer
either to the increase of knowledge

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in general, the development of the arts and sciences, or an increase of
knowledge in reference to those things revealed to Daniel, which were
closed and sealed to the time of the end. Here, again, apply it which way
we will, the fulfillment is most marked and complete. Look at the marvelous
achievements of the human mind, and the cunning works of men's hands,
rivaling the magician's wildest dreams, which have been accomplished within
the past hundred years or more. Within this time more advancement has been
made in all scientific attainments, more progress has been made in human
comforts, in the rapid transaction of business among men, in the
transmission of thoughts and words from one to another, and in the means of
rapid transit from place to place and even from continent to continent,
than all that was done for three thousand years previously.

Harvesting Machinery.--Compare the harvesting methods of our day with the
old method of hand reaping which was in use in the days of our
grandfathers. Today one machine cuts and gathers, threshes, and sacks the
grain ready for the market.

Modern Battleships and Mechanized Warcraft.--Modern warfare uses naval
armored surface and underseas boats and fighting and bombing airplanes
undreamed of at the middle of the past century. Tanks and motor trucks,
motorized guns, and other equipment replace the animals and battering-rams
of the ancients.

The Steam Railway.--The first American-build locomotive was made at the
West Point Foundry, New York, and put into service in 1830. In the present
day, improvements have made possible speeds of more than one hundred miles
an hour by streamlined trains.

Ocean Steamships.--After little more than a century of steam-powered ships,
the largest ocean liners built can cross the Atlantic in four days, and
supply every luxury found in the finest hotels.

Television.--Then came wireless, a miracle, in 1896. By 1921, this
discovery had developed into radio broadcasting.

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Now television--the wireless transmission of sight and sound, the sending
forth of motion pictures on air waves--is a household reality.

The Automobile.--Only a few years ago the automobile was unknown. Now the
entire population of the United States could ride at one time, and racing
cars have made speed of more than three hundred miles an hour. Huge
passenger buses span the continents, and in the large cities double-decked
buses have largely replaced electric streetcars.

The Typewriter.--The first model of the modern typewriter was put on the
market in 1874. Now speedy and noiseless machines, in both office and
portable style, are adapted to every type of writing and tabulation, and
have become an indispensable part of general business and office equipment
everywhere.

The Modern Printing Press.--Contrast the hand printing press of Benjamin
Franklin with the high-speed rotary printing press, capable of printing
news at more than twice the speed of machine-gun fire.

The Photographic Camera.--The first sunlight picture of a human face was
made by Professor John William Draper of New York, in 1840, by an
improvement of the process of Daguerre, the French pioneer in photography.
since 1924, by means of improved lenses, photographs have been taken from
great distances, over wide areas, and from airplanes high in the sky.
Photographs can be taken of objects invisible to the eye by means of X rays
and infrared rays. Color photography has made vast advances. Beginning
1895, the motion picture has become a mighty influence in the lives of
millions. Movie and color cameras have been perfected and made cheap enough
for use by multitudes.

Air Navigation.--Man's conquest of the air was achieved by the airplane in
1903. It is one of the most noteworthy triumphs of any age. Regular
transoceanic passenger and mail service between North and South America and
Europe and the Orient has been established.

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The Telephone.--The first patent on the telephone was granted Alexander
Graham Bell in 1876. Since then intricate networks of telephones have been
spread over the continents to link all people together.

Typesetting Machines.--These have worked a revolution in the art of
printing. The first machine to set type mechanically was patented in
England in 1822 by Dr. William Church. Out of many kinds introduced, those
chiefly used at the present are the type-casting machines, such as the
Linotype, invented by Mergenthaler in 1878, and the Monotype, invented by
Lanston in 1885.

The Teletypesetter.--By a combination of the telegraph and line-casting
machines, it is now possible for one operator at a central station
simultaneously to operate type-casting machines by telegraph at any
distance or in as many places as are in connection. This puts news into
type at an increase in speed of from 50 to 100 per cent.

The Suspension Bridge.--The first suspension bridge of note in this country
was built across the Niagara River in 1855. The Golden Gate Bridge across
the entrance to San Francisco Bay, finished in 1937 at a cost of
$35,000,000, has the longest single span in the world, 4,200 feet. Similar
accomplishments in bridge construction have been attained in all
progressive countries of the world.

The following is a partial list of advances in knowledge since the time of
the end began in 1798:

Gas lighting, 1798; steel pens, 1803; friction matches, 1820;
electrotyping, 1837; sewing machine, 1841; anesthesia by ether and by
chloroform, 1846, 1848; ocean cable, 1858; Gatling gun, 1861; Monitor
warship, 1862; automatic air brakes on trains, 1872; seismograph, 1880;
steam turbine, 1883; X ray, 1895; radium, 1898; transcontinental telephone,
1915.

What a galaxy of wonders to originate in a single age! How marvelous the
scientific attainments of the present day, upon which all these discoveries
and achievements concentrate

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their light! We have truly reached the age of the increase of knowledge.

To the honor of Christianity let it be noted in what lands and by whom,
these discoveries have been made which have done so much to add to the
facilities and comforts of life. It is in Christian lands, among Christian
men. Not in the Dark Ages, which furnished only a travesty on Christianity;
not to pagans, who in their ignorance know not God, nor to those who in
Christian lands deny Him, is the credit of this progress due. Indeed, it is
the very spirit of equality and individual liberty inculcated in the gospel
of Christ when preached in its purity, which unshackles human limbs,
unfetters human minds, invites them to the highest use of their powers, and
makes possible such an age of free thought and action in which these
wonders can be achieved.

Increase of Bible Knowledge.--But it we take the other standpoint, and
refer the increase of knowledge to an increase of Bible knowledge, we have
only to look at the wonderful light which within the past one hundred and
fifty years has shone upon the Scriptures. The fulfillment of prophecy has
been revealed in the light of history. The use of a better principle of
interpretation has led to conclusions showing beyond dispute that the end
of all things is near. Truly the seal has been taken from the book, and
knowledge respecting what God has revealed in His word, is wonderfully
increased. We think it is in this respect that the prophecy is more
especially fulfilled, but only in an age of unparalleled facilities like
the present could the prophecy be accomplished.

That we are in the time of the end is shown by Revelation 10: 1, 2, where a
mighty angel is seen to come down from heaven with a little book open in
his hand. Then the book of this prophecy should be no longer sealed. It was
to be opened and understood. For proof that the little book to be opened is
the book here closed and sealed when Daniel wrote, and that that angel
delivers his message in this generation, see comments on Revelation 10: 2.

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Verse 5 Then I Daniel looked, and, behold, there stood other two, the one
on this side of the bank of the river, and the other on that side of the
bank of the river. 6 And one said to the man clothed in linen, which was
upon the waters of the river, How long shall it be to the end of these
wonders? 7 And I heard the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters
of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven,
and sware by Him that liveth for ever that it shall be for a time, times,
and an half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of
the holy people, all these things shall be finished.

How Long to the End?--The question, "How long shall it be to the end of
these wonders?" undoubtedly has reference to all that has previously been
mentioned, including the standing up of Michael, the time of trouble, the
deliverance of God's people, and the special resurrection of verse 2. The
answer seems to be given in two divisions: First a specific prophetic
period is marked off, and then an indefinite period follows before the
conclusion of all these things is reached, just as we have it in Daniel 8:
13, 14. When the question was asked, "How long . . . the vision . . . to
give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden underfoot?" the answer
mentioned a definite period of 2300 days, followed by an indefinite period
in the cleansing of the sanctuary. So in the text before us, there is given
the period of a time, times, and a half, or 1260 years, and then an
indefinite period for the continuance of scattering of the power of the
holy people, before the consummation.

The 1260 years mark the period of papal supremacy. Why is this period here
introduced?--probably because this power is the one which does more than
any other in the world's history toward scattering the power of the holy
people, or oppressing the church of God. But what shall we understand by
the expression, "When he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of
the holy people"? To whom does the pronoun "he" refer? According to the
wording of this scripture, the antecedent would at first seem to be "Him
that liveth forever," or Jehovah; but, as an eminent expositor of the
prophecies judiciously remarks, in considering the pronouns of the Bible we
are to interpret them according to the facts of

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the case, and hence must frequently refer them to an antecedent understood,
rather than to some noun which is expressed. So here, the little horn, or
man of sin, after being introduced by the particular mention of the time of
his supremacy, 1260 years, may be the power referred to by the pronoun
"he." For 1260 years he had grievously oppressed the church, or scattered
its power. After his supremacy is taken away, his disposition toward the
truth and its advocates still remains, his power is still felt to a certain
extent, and he continues his work of oppression as far as he is able, until
when?--Until the last of the events brought to view in verse 1, the
deliverance of God's people. When they are thus delivered, persecuting
powers are no longer able to oppress them, their power is no longer
scattered, the end of the wonders prescribed in this great prophecy is
reached, and all its predictions are accomplished.

Or without particularly altering the sense, we may refer the pronoun "he"
to the one mentioned in the oath of verse 7, as "Him that liveth forever;"
that is, God, since He employs the agency of earthly powers in chastising
and disciplining His people, and in that sense may be said Himself to
scatter their power. By His prophet He said concerning the kingdom of
Israel, "I will overturn, overturn, overturn it, . . . until He come whose
right it is." Ezekiel 21: 27. Again, "Jerusalem shall be trodden down of
the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled." Luke 21: 24.
Of like import is the prophecy of Daniel 8: 13 "How long . . . the vision .
. . to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot?" Who
gives them to this condition?--God. Why?--To discipline, to "purify and
make white" His people. How long?--Until the sanctuary is cleansed.

Verse 8 And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, O my Lord, what
shall be the end of these things? 9 And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for
the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. 10 Many shall
be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly:
and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.

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The Book Sealed Until the Time of the End.--By Daniel's solicitude to
understand fully all that had been shown him, we are forcibly reminded of
Peter's words where he speaks of the prophet's inquiring and searching
diligently to understand the predictions concerning the sufferings of
Christ and the glory that should follow; as also of the fact "that not unto
themselves, but unto us they did minister." 1 Peter 1: 12. How little of
what they wrote were some of the prophets permitted to understand! But they
did not therefore refuse to write. If God required it, they knew that in
due time He would see that His people derived from their writings all the
benefit that He intended.

So the language here used to Daniel was the same as telling him that when
the right time should come, the wise would understand the meaning of what
he had written, and profit thereby. The time of the end was the time in
which the Spirit of God was to break the seal of this book. Consequently
this was the time during which the wise should understand, while the
wicked, lost to all sense of the value of eternal truth, with hearts
callous and hardened in sin, would grow continually more wicked and more
blind. None of the wicked understand. The efforts which the wise put forth
to understand, the wicked call folly and presumption, and ask in sneering
phrase, "Where is the promise of His coming?" Should the question be
raised, Of what time and what generation does the prophet speak? the solemn
answer would be, Of the present time, and of the generation now before us.
This language of the prophet is now receiving a most striking fulfillment.

The phraseology of verse 10 seems at first sight to be rather peculiar:
"Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried." How, it may be asked,
can they be made white and then tried (as the language would seem to
imply), when it is by being tried that they are purified and made white?
The language doubtless describes a process which is many times repeated in
the experience of those, who, during this time, are being made ready for
the coming and kingdom of the Lord.

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They are purified and made white, as compared with their former condition.
Then they are again tried. Greater tests are brought to bear upon them. If
they endure these, the work of purification is thus carried on to a still
greater extent until they attain to a purer character. After reaching this
state, they are tried again, and further purified and made white. Thus the
process goes on until characters are developed which will stand the test of
the day of judgment and a spiritual condition is reached which needs no
further trial.

Verse 11 And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away,
and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand
two hundred and ninety days.

The 1290 Prophetic Days.--We have here a new prophetic period introduced,
1290 prophetic days, which according to Bible authority would denote the
same number of literal years. From the reading of the text, some have
inferred that this period begins with the setting up of the abomination of
desolation, or the papal power, in A.D. 538, and consequently extends to
1828. We find nothing in the latter year to mark its termination, but we do
find evidence in the margin that it begins before the setting up of the
papal abomination. The margin reads "To set up the abomination." With this
reading the text would stand thus: "From the time that the daily sacrifice
shall be taken away to set up [or in order to set up] the abomination that
maketh desolate, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days."

The Year A.D. 508.--We are not told directly to what event these 1290 days
reach; but inasmuch as their beginning is marked by a work which takes
place to prepare the way for the setting up of the papacy, it would be
natural to conclude that their end would be marked by the cessation of
papal supremacy. Counting back, then, 1290 years from 1798, we have the
year 508. This period is doubtless given to show the date of the taking
away of the daily, and it is the only one which does this. The two periods,
therefore, the 1290 and the 1260 days, terminate together in 1798, the
latter beginning in 538,

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and the former in 508 thirty years previous. In support of the date A.D.
508 the following historical quotations are given:

Baptism of Clovis.--"As to the writings of Anastasius, . . . there is one
from him to Clovis, king of the Franks, congratulating that prince on his
conversion to the Christian religion. For Clovis, the first Christian king
of the Franks, was baptized on Christmas Day 496, the very day, according
to some, on which the pope was ordained." [3]

Thomas Hodgkin says:

"The result of this ceremony was to change the political relations of every
state in Gaul. Though the Franks were among the roughest and most
uncivilized of the tribes that had poured westwards across the Rhine, as
Catholics they were now sure of a welcome from the Catholic clergy of every
city, and where the clergy led, the 'Roman' provincials, or in other words
the Latin-speaking laity, generally followed. Immediately after his baptism
Clovis received a letter of enthusiastic welcome into the true fold,
written by Avitus, Bishop of Vienne, the most eminent ecclesiastic of the
Burgundian kingdom." [4]

Clovis the First Catholic Prince.--"It is observable, that Clovis was, at
this time [496], the only Catholic prince in the known world, as the word
Catholic was then understood. Anastasius, Emperor of the East, was a
professed Eutychian. Theodoric, King of the Ostrogoths in Italy; Alaric,
King of the Visigoths, master of all Spain, and of the third part of Gaul;
the kings of the Burgundians, Suevians, and Vandals, in Gaul, Spain, and
Africa; were all zealous followers of Arius. As for the other kings of the
Franks settled in Gaul, they were still pagans. Clovis was not only the
sole Catholic prince at this time in the world; but the first king that
ever embraced the Catholic religion; which has procured to the French king
the title of the 'most Christian,' and that of 'the eldest son of the
Church.' But were we to compare the conduct and actions of Clovis, the
Catholic, with those of the Arian King

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Theodoric, such a comparison would no ways redound to the honor of the
Catholic faith." [5] Popes Endangered by Arian Princes.--Ephraim Emerton,
former professor of history at Harvard University, say:

"By the time of the Franks had fought the battle of Strassburg the bishops
of the city of Rome had come to be looked up to as the leaders of the
Church in what had been the Western Empire. They had come to be called
popes, and were trying hard to govern the Church of the West just as a king
might govern his people. We have seen how much respect a venerable pope
like Leo could command even from such rude destroyers as Attila and
Gaiseric. Now the popes had always been devoted Catholics, opposed to
Arianism wherever it appeared. At the moment of the Frankish conversion
they were in constant danger from the Arian Ostrogoths who had just got a
firm hold upon Italy. Theodoric had not distributed the religion of Rome,
but a new king might arise who should try to force Arianism upon the whole
of Italy. The pope was therefore overjoyed to hear that the newly converted
Franks had taken his form of the Christian belief. He was ready to bless
every undertaking of theirs as the work of God, if only it might be against
the worse than heathen Arians. Thus began as early as the year 500 an
understanding between the Roman Papacy and the Frankish kingdom which was
to ripen into an intimate allegiance and to do very much towards shaping
all the future history of Europe." [6]

Clovis's Conversion a Check on the Arians.--"The event which intensified
the fears of all the Arian kings, and which left to each one little more
than the hope that he might be the last to be devoured, was the conversion
to Catholicism of Clovis, the heathen king of the Franks." [7]

Barbarian League Against Clovis.--"The kings of the barbarians were . . .
invited to join in a 'League of Peace,' in

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order to check the lawless aggressions of Clovis which threatened danger to
all." [8]

"To form such a confederacy and to league together all the older Arian
monarchies against this one aspiring Catholic state which threatened to
absorb them all, was now the main purpose of Theodoric." [9]

Clovis Launches a Religious War.--"The diplomatic action of Theodoric was
powerless to aver the war; possible even it may have stimulated Clovis to
strike rapidly before a hostile coalition could be formed against him. At
an assembly of his nation (perhaps the 'Camp of March') in the early part
of 507, he impetuously declared: 'I take it grievously amiss that these
Arians should hold so large a part of Gaul. Let us go and overcome them
with God's help, and bring the land into subjection to us.' The saying
pleased the whole multitude, and the collected army marched southward to
the Loire." [10]

Clovis Defeats the Visigoths.--"The next campaign of the Frankish king was
one of far greater importance and success. He was set on trying his fortune
against the young king of the Visigoths, whose personal weakness and
unpopularity with his Roman subjects tempted him to an invasion of
Aquitaine. It would seem that Chlodovech [Clovis] carefully chose as a
casus belli the Arian persecutions of the Alaric, who, like his father
Euric, was a bad master to his Catholic subjects. . . . In 507 Chlodovech
declared war on the Visigoths ."[11]

"Why the explosion was delayed until the year 507 is unknown. That the king
of the Franks was the aggressor is certain. He easily found a pretext for
beginning the war as a champion and protector of Catholic Christianity
against the absolutely just measures which Alaric took against his
treacherous orthodox clergy. . . . In the spring of 507 he [Clovis]
suddenly crossed the Loire and marched toward Poitiers. . . .

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Ten miles from Poitiers, the Visigoths had taken up their position. Alaric
put off beginning battle because he was waiting for the Ostrogoth troops,
but as they were hindered by the appearance of a Byzantine fleet in Italian
waters he determined to fight instead of beating a retreat, as it would
have been wise to do. After a short engagement the Goths turned and fled.
In the pursuit the king of the Goths was killed, it was said by Clovis's
own hand (507). With this overthrow the rule of the Visigoths in Gaul was
ended forever." [12]

"It is evident, from the language of Gregory of Tours, that this conflict,
between the Franks and Visigoths was regarded by the Orthodox party of his
own and preceding ages as a religious war, on which, humanly speaking, the
prevalence of the Catholic or the Arian creed in Western Europe depended ."
[13]

"A.D. 508. A short time after these events, Clovis receive the titles and
dignity of Roman patricius and consul from the Greek emperor Anastasius;
who appears to have been prompted to this act more by motives of jealousy
and hatred towards Theodoric the Ostrogoth, than by any love he bore for
the restless and encroaching Frank. The meaning of these obsolete titles,
as applied to those who stood in no direct relation either division of the
Roman Empire, has never been sufficiently explained. . . . The sun of Rome
was set, but the twilight of her greatness still rested on the world. The
German kings and warriors received with pleasure, and wore with pride, a
title which brought them into connection with that imperial city, of whose
universal dominion, of whose skill in armies and arts, the traces lay
everywhere around them." [14]

"In 508 Clovis received at Tours the insignia of the consulship from the
eastern emperor, Anastasius, but the title was purely honorific. The last
years of his life Clovis spent in

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Paris, which he made the capital of his kingdom." [15]

End of Arian Resistance.--This disposed of the Visigothic kingdom, but
there yet remained the league of Arian powers under Theodoric. Alaric had
counted on the assistance of Theodoric, but the latter failed him. The next
year, A.D. 508, however, Theodoric came against Clovis and gained a
victory, after which he unaccountable made peace with him, and the
resistance of the Arian powers was at an end. [16]

Significance of Clovis's Victories.--The eminence which Clovis had attained
in the year 508, and the significance of his victories to the future of
Europe and the church were so great that historians cannot forbear
commenting on them.

"Nor was his a temporary conquest. The kingdom of the West Goths and the
Burgundians had become the kingdom of the Franks. The invaders had at
length arrived, who were to remain. It was decided that the Franks, and not
the Goths, were to direct the future destinies of Gaul and Germany, and
that the Catholic faith, and not Arianism, was to be the religion of these
great realms." [17]

"Clovis was the first to unite all the elements from which the new social
order was to be formed,--namely, the barbarians, whom he established in
power; the Roman civilization, to which he rendered homage by receiving the
insignia of patrician and of consul from the Emperor Anastasius; and
finally, the Catholic Church, with which he formed that fruitful alliance
which was continued by his successors." [18]

Paved the Way for Alliance of Church and State.--"In him [Clovis] met two
religions, and two ages of the world. At his birth the Roman world was
still a power; his death marks the dawn of the Middle Ages. He stepped into
the vacant place of the Eastern emperor, and paved the way for what Charle-

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magne perfected--the fusion of Roman and German civilization, the alliance
of church and state." [19]

Clovis Saved the Church From Paganism and Arianism.--"He [Clovis] had on
all occasions shown himself the heartless ruffian, the greedy conqueror,
the bloodthirsty tyrant; but by his conversion he had led the way to
triumph of Catholicism; he had saved the Roman Church from the Scylla and
Charybdis of heresy and paganism, planted it on a rock in the very center
of Europe, and fixed its doctrines and traditions in the hearts of the
conquerors of the west." [20]

Foundations of the Medieval Church.--"the results of their [the Franks']
occupation of Gaul were so important, the empire which they founded, their
alliance with the church, their legal notions and political institutions
were all of such decisive influence upon the future that their history
deserves separate treatment. . . . It is to them that the political
inheritance of the Roman Empire passed; to them came the honor of taking up
and carrying on, roughly, to be sure, and far less extensively and
effectively, but nevertheless of actually carrying on the political work
which Rome had been doing. They alone represent that unity which Rome had
established, and so far as that unity was maintained at all as a definite
fact, it is the Franks who maintained it. . . It is only at the end of the
fifth century that their career really begins, and then, as so often in
similar cases, it is the genius of one man, a great leader, which creates
the nation. . . . Clovis . . . appears as one of the great creative spirits
who give a new direction to the currents of history. . . . A third step of
great importance in this process of union was also to be taken by Clovis.
On institution, produced in the ancient world before the Germans entered
it, had continued with vigorous life and wide influence, indeed, with
slowly increasing power, through all the changes of this chaotic period. It
was to be in the future a still greater

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power and to exert an influence even wider and more permanent than that of
the Franks. . . . This was the Roman Church. It was to be the great
ecclesiastical power of the future. It was therefore a most essential
question whether the Franks, who were to grow on their side into the great
political power of the future, should do so in alliance with this other
power or in opposition to it. . . .

"This question Clovis settled, not long after the beginning of his career,
by his conversion to Catholic Christianity. . . . In these three ways,
therefore, the work of Clovis was of creative influence upon the future. He
brought together the Roman and German upon equal terms, each preserving the
sources of his strength, to form a new civilization. He founded a political
power which was to unite nearly all the continent in itself, and to bring
the period of the invasions to an end. He established a close alliance
between the two great controlling forces of the future, the two empires
which continued the unity which Rome had created, the political empire and
the ecclesiastical." [21]

Thus in A.D. 508 terminated united resistance to the development of the
papacy. The question of supremacy between Frank and Goth, between the
Catholic and the Arian religions, had then been settled in favor of the
Catholics.

Verse 12 Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three
hundred and five and thirty days. 13 But go thou thy way till the end be:
for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days.

The 1335 Prophetic Days.--Still another prophetic period is here
introduced, denoting 1335 years. Can we tell when this period begins and
ends? The only clue we have to the solution of this question, is the fact
that it is spoken of in immediate connection with the 1290 years, which
began in 508 as shown above. From that point there shall be, says the
prophet, 1290 days. The very next sentence reads, "Blessed is he that
waiteth, and cometh to the 1335 days." From what point?--

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From the same point, undoubtedly, as that from which the 1290 date, namely,
A.D. 508. Unless they are to be reckoned from this point, it is impossible
to locate them, and they must be excepted from the prophecy of Daniel when
we apply to it the words of Christ, "Whoso readeth, let him understand."
Matthew 24: 15. From this point they would extend to 1843, for 1335 added
to 508 makes 1843. Beginning in the spring of the former year, they ended
in the spring of the latter.

But how can it be that they have ended, it may be asked, since at the end
of these days Daniel stands in his lot, which is by some supposed to refer
to his resurrection from the dead? This question is founded on a
misapprehension in two respects: First, that the days at the end of which
Daniel stands in his lot are the 1335 days; and second, that the standing
of Daniel in his lot is his resurrection, which also cannot be sustained.
The only thing promised at the end of the 1335 days is a blessing to those
who wait and come to that time; that is, those who are then living. What is
this blessing? Looking at the year of 1843, when these years expired, what
do we behold? We see a remarkable fulfillment of prophecy in the great
proclamation of the second coming of Christ. Forty-five years before this,
the time of the end began, the book was unsealed, and light began to
increase. About the year 1843, there was a grand culmination of all the
light that had been shed on prophetic subjects up to that time. The
proclamation went forth in power. The new and stirring doctrine of the
setting up of the kingdom of God shook the world. New life was imparted to
the true disciples of Christ. The unbelieving were condemned, the churches
were tested, and a spirit of revival was awakened which has had no parallel
since.

Was this the blessing? Listen to the Saviour's words: "Blesses are you
eyes," said He to His disciples, "for they see; and your ears, for they
hear." Matthew 13: 16. Again He told His followers that prophets and kings
had desired to see the things which they saw, and had not seen them. But
"blessed," said He to them, "are the eyes which see the things

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that ye see." Luke 10: 23, 24. If a new and glorious truth was a blessing
in the days of Christ to those who received it, why was it not equally so
in A.D. 1843?

It may be objected that those who engaged in this movement were
disappointed in their expectations; so were the disciples of Christ at His
first advent, in an equal degree. They shouted before Him as He rode into
Jerusalem, expecting that He would then take the kingdom. But the only
throne to which He then went was the cross, and instead of being hailed as
king in a royal palace, He was laid a lifeless form in Joseph's new
sepulcher. Nevertheless, they were "blessed" in receiving the truths they
had heard.

It may be objected further that this was not a sufficient blessing to be
marked by a prophetic period. Why not, since the period in which it was to
occur, the time of the end, is introduced by a prophetic period; since our
Lord, in verse 14 of His great prophecy of Matthew 24, makes a special
announcement of this movement; and since it is still further set forth in
Revelation 14: 6, 7, under the symbol of an angel flying through midheaven
with a special announcement of the everlasting gospel to the inhabitants of
the earth? Surely the Bible gives great prominence to this movement.

Two more questions remain to be noticed briefly: What days are referred to
in verse 13? What is meant by Daniel's standing in his lot? Those who claim
that the days are the 1335, are led to that application by looking back no
further than to the preceding verse, where the 1335 days are mentioned;
whereas, in making an application of these days so indefinitely introduced,
the whole scope of the prophecy should certainly be taken in from Daniel 8.
Chapters 9, 10, 11, and 12 are clearly a continuation and explanation of
the vision of Daniel 8; hence we may say that in the vision of chapter 8,
as carried out and explained, there are four prophetic periods: the 2300,
1260, 1290, and 1335 days. The first is the principal and longest period;
the others are but intermediate parts and subdivisions of this. Now, when
the angel tells Daniel at the

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conclusion of his instructions that he shall stand in his lot at the end of
days, without specifying which period was meant, would not Daniel's mind
naturally turn to the principal and longest period, the 2300 days, rather
than to any of its subdivisions? If this is so, the 2300 are the days
intended. the reading of the Septuagint seems to look plainly in this
direction: "But go thy way and rest; for there are yet days and seasons to
the full accomplishment [of these things]; and thou shalt stand in thy lot
at the end of the days." This certainly carries the mind back to the long
period contained in the first vision, in relation to which the subsequent
instructions were given.

The 2300 days, as has been already shown, terminated in 1844, and brought
us to the cleansing of the sanctuary. How did Daniel at that time stand in
his lot? In the person of his Advocate, our great High Priest, as He
presents the cases of the righteous for acceptance to His Father. The word
here translated "lot" does note mean a piece of real estate, a "lot" of
land, but the "decisions of chance" or the "determinations of Providence."
At the end of the days, the lot, so to speak, was to be cast. In other
words, a determination was to made in reference to those who should be
accounted worthy of a possession in the heavenly inheritance. When Daniel's
case comes up for examination, he is found righteous, stands in his lot, is
assigned a place in the heavenly Canaan.

When Israel was about to enter into the Promised Land, the lot was cast,
and the possession of each tribe was assigned. The tribes thus stood in
their respective "lots" long before they entered upon the actual possession
of the land. The time of the cleansing of the sanctuary corresponds to this
period of Israel's history. We now stand upon the borders of the heavenly
Canaan, and decisions are being made, assigning to some a place in the
eternal kingdom, and barring others forever. In the decision of his case,
Daniel's portion in the celestial inheritance will be made sure to him.
With him all the faithful will also stand. When this devoted servant of
God, who filled up a long life with the noblest deeds of service to his
Maker,

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though cumbered with the weightiest cares of this life, shall enter upon
his reward for well-doing, we too may enter with him into rest.

We draw the study of this prophecy to a close, with the remark that it has
been with no small degree of satisfaction that we have spent what time and
study we have on this wonderful prophecy, and in contemplating the
character of this most beloved of men and most illustrious of prophets. God
is no respecter of person, and a reproduction of Daniel's character will
secure the divine favor as signally even now. Let us emulate his virtues,
that we, like him, may have the approbation of God while here, and dwell
amid the creations of His infinite glory in the long hereafter.

[1] James H. Jeans, The Stars In Their Courses, p. 165.

[2] Enoch Fitch Burr, Ecce Caelum, p. 136.

[3] Archibald Bower, The History of the Popes, Vol. I, p. 295.

[4] Thomas Hodgkin, Theodoric the Goth, pp. 190, 191.

[5] Archibald Bower, The History of the Popes, Vol. I, p. 296, footnote.
See also Henry Hart Milman, History of Latin Christianity , Vol. I, pp.
381-388.

[6] Ephraim Emerton, Introduction to the Study of the Middle Ages, pp. 65,
66.

[7] Thomas Hodgkin, Theodoric the Goth, p. 186.

[8] Ibid., pp. 198, 199.

[9] Ibid., p. 194.

[10] Ibid., p. 199.

[11] Charles Oman, The Dark Ages, p. 62.

[12] The Cambridge Medieval History, Vol. I, p. 286. By permission of the
Macmillan Company, publishers in the United States.

[13] Walter C. Perry, The Franks, From Their First Appearance in History to
the Death of King Pepin, p. 85.

[14] Ibid., pp. 88, 89.

[15] Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th ed., art. "Clovis," Vol. VI, p. 563.

[16] See Thomas Hodgkin, Theodoric the Goth, pp. 202, 203; Nugent Robinson,
A History of the World, Vol. I, pp. 75-79, 81, 82.

[17] Richard W. Church, The Beginning of the Middle Ages, pp. 38, 39.

[18] Victor Duruy, The History of the Middle Ages, p. 32.

[19] Julius von Pflugk-Harttung, in A History of all Nations, Vol. VII, p.
27.

[20] Walter C. Perry, The Franks, From Their First Appearance in History to
the Death of King Pepin, p. 97.

[21] George Burton Adams, Civilization During the Middle Ages, pp. 137-144.
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                               Introduction

The Revelation, usually termed "The Apocalypse," from its Greek name,
{GREEK CHARACTERS IN PRINTED TEXT}, Apokalypsis, meaning "a disclosure, a
revelation," has been described to be "a panorama of the glory of Christ."
In the Evangelists we have the record of His humiliation, His
condescension, His toil and sufferings, His patience, His mockings by those
who should have done Him reverence, and finally His death upon the shameful
cross--a death esteemed in that age to be the most ignominious that men
could inflict. In the Revelation we have the gospel of His enthronement in
glory, His association with the Father upon the throne of universal
dominion, His overruling providence among the nations of the earth, and His
coming again, not a homeless stranger, but in power and great glory, to
punish His enemies and reward His followers.

Scenes of glory surpassing fable are unveiled before us in this book.
Appeals of unwonted power bear down upon the impenitent from its sacred
pages in threatenings of judgment that have no parallel in any other
portion of the book of God. Consolation which no language can describe is
here given to the humble followers of Christ in this world. No other book
takes us at once, and so irresistibly, into another sphere. Long vistas are
here opened before us, which are bounded by no terrestrial objects, but
carry us forward into other worlds. And if ever themes of thrilling and
impressive interest, and grand and lofty imagery, and sublime and
magnificent description, can invite the attention of mankind, then the
Revelation invites us to a careful study of its pages, which urge upon our
notice the realities of a momentous future and an unseen world.
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                                 Chapter I

                 The Divine Method of Prophetic Revelation

The book of the Revelation opens with the announcement of its title, and
with a benediction on those who give diligent heed to its solemn prophetic
utterances:

Verse 1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto Him, to show
unto His servants things which must shortly come to pass; and He sent and
signified it by His angel unto His servant John: 2 who bare record of the
word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that
he saw. 3 Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this
prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is
at hand.

The Title.--The translators of the King James Version of the Bible have
given this book the title, "The Revelation of St. John the Divine." In this
they contradict the very first words of the book itself, which declare it
to be "The Revelation of Jesus Christ." Jesus Christ is the Revelator, not
John. John is but the penman employed by Christ to write out this
Revelation for the benefit of His church. John is the disciple of Jesus who
was beloved and highly favored among the twelve. He was evangelist and
apostle, and the writer of the Gospel and the epistles which bear his name.
To his previous titles must now be added that of prophet; for the
Revelation is a prophecy, and John so denominates it. It is not only the
Revelation of Jesus Christ, but it is the Revelation which God gave unto
Him. It comes first from the great Fountain of all wisdom and truth, God
the Father, by Him it was communicated to Jesus Christ, the Son; and Christ
sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John.

The Character of the Book.--This is expressed in one word, "Revelation." A
Revelation is something revealed or made

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known, not something hidden and concealed. Moses tells that "the secret
things belong unto the Lord our God: but those things which are revealed
belong unto us and to our children forever." Deuteronomy 29: 29. The very
title of the book, then, is a sufficient refutation of the opinion
sometimes expressed that this book is among the mysteries of God, and
cannot be understood. Were this the case, it should bear some such title as
"The Mystery" or "The Hidden Book," certainly not "The Revelation."

Its Object.--"To show unto His servants things which must shortly come to
pass." His servants--who are they? For whose benefit was the Revelation
given? Was it to be for any specified persons, for any particular churches,
for any special period of time? No, it is for all the church in all time,
as long as any of the events predicted within the book remain to be
accomplished. It is for all those who can claim the appellation, "His
servants," wherever or whenever they may live.

God says that this prophecy was given to reveal coming events to His
servants, yet many of the expositors of His word tell us that no man can
understand it! This is as if God would undertake to make known to mankind
important truths, yet fall into the worse than earthly folly of clothing
them in language or in figures which human minds could not comprehend! It
is as if He would command a person to behold some distant object, and then
erect an impenetrable barrier between him and the object! Or as if He would
give His servants a light to guide them through the gloom of night, yet
throw over that light a pall so thick and heavy that not a ray of its
brightness could penetrate the obscuring folds! How men dishonor God who
thus trifle with His word! No; the Revelation will accomplish the object
for which it was given, and "His servants" will learn from it the "things
which must shortly come to pass," and which concern their eternal
salvation.

His Angel.--Christ sent and made known the Revelation to John by "His
angel." A particular angel seems to be brought to view here. What angel
could appropriately be called

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Christ's angel? We found an answer to this question in our study, as will
be seen in the comments on Daniel 10: 21. From that study we concluded that
the truths to be revealed to Daniel were committed exclusively to Christ,
and to an angel whose name was Gabriel. Similar to the work of
communicating important truth to the "beloved prophet" is the work of
Christ in the book of the Revelation--transmitting important truth to the
"beloved disciple." Who in this work can be His angel but the one who was
engaged with Daniel in the former work of prophecy, that is, the angel
Gabriel? It would also seem most appropriate that the same angel who was
employed to carry messages to the "beloved" prophet of ancient times,
should perform the same office for the prophet John in the gospel age. (See
comments on Revelation 19: 10.)

Blessing on the Reader.--"Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear
the words of this prophecy. Is there so direct and formal a blessing
pronounced upon the reading and observance of any other part of the word of
God? What encouragement we have for its study? Shall we say that it cannot
be understood? Is a blessing offered for the study of a book which it can
do us no good to study?

God has pronounced His blessing upon the reader of this prophecy, and has
set the seal of His approbation to an earnest study of its marvelous pages.
With such encouragement from a divine source, the child of God will be
unmoved by a thousand feeble counterblasts from men.

Every fulfillment of prophecy brings its duties. There are things in the
Revelation to be observed, or performed. Practical duties are to fulfilled
as the result of an understanding and accomplishment of the prophecy. A
notable instance of this kind may be seen in Revelation 14: 12, where it is
said, "Here are they that keep the commands of God, and the faith of
Jesus."

"The time is at hand," writes John, and in so doing he gives another motive
for the study of this book. It becomes more and more important, as we draw
near the great con-

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summation. On this point we offer the impressive thoughts of another: "The
importance of studying the Apocalypse increases with the lapse of time.
Here are 'things which must shortly come to pass.' . . . Even when John
bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and
of all things that he saw, the long period within which those successive
scenes were to be realized was at hand. The first in the connected series
was on the eve of accomplishment. If proximity then constituted a motive
for heeding these contents, how much more does it now! Every revolving
century, every closing year, adds to the urgency with which attention is
challenged to the concluding portion of the Holy Writ. And does not that
intensity of devotion to the present, which characterizes our times and our
country, enhance the reasonableness of this claim? Never, surely, was there
a period when some mighty counteracting power was more needed. The
Revelation of Jesus Christ duly studied supplies an appropriate corrective
influence. Would that all Christians might in fullest measure receive the
blessing of 'them that hear the words of this prophecy and that keep the
things which are written therein; for the time is at hand.' " [1]

The Dedication.--Following the blessing, we have the dedication in these
words:

Verse 4 John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you,
and peace, from Him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from
the seven Spirits which are before His throne; 5 and from Jesus Christ, who
is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince
of the kings of the earth. Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our
sins in His own blood, 6 And hath made us kings and priests unto God and
His Father; to Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

The Churches in Asia.--There were more churches in Asia than seven. We may
confine ourselves to that western fraction of Asia known as Asia Minor, or
we may include still less territory than that. Even in that small part of
Asia Minor where the seven churches were located, and right in their very

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midst, there were other important churches. Colosse, to the Christians of
which place Paul addressed his epistle to the Colossians, was but a short
distance from Laodicea. Miletus was nearer than any of the seven to Patmos,
where John had his vision. Furthermore, it was an important center of
Christianity, as we may judge from the fact that during one of his stays
there Paul sent for the elders of the church of Ephesus to meet him at that
place (Acts 20: 17-38.) At the same place he also left in good Christian
hands, his disciple Trophimus, sick. (2 Timothy 4: 20.) Troas, where Paul
spent a season with the disciples, and whence after waiting until the
Sabbath was past he started upon his journey, was not far removed from
Pergamos, named among the seven.

It becomes therefore an interesting question to determine why seven of the
churches of Asia Minor were selected as the ones to which the Revelation
should be dedicated. Does the salutation to the seven churches in
Revelation 1, and the admonitions to them in Revelation 2 and 3, have
reference solely to the seven literal churches names? Are things described
only as they then existed, and portrayed as they were to come to them
alone? We cannot so conclude, for good and substantial reasons:

The entire book of Revelation was dedicated to the seven churches. (See
Revelation 1: 3, 11, 19; 22: 18, 19.) The book was no more applicable to
them than to other Christians in Asia Minor--those, for instance, who dwelt
in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, and Bithynia, who were addressed in Peter's
epistle (1 Peter 1: 1); or the Christians of Colosse, Troas, and Miletus,
in the very midst of the churches named.

Only a small part of the book could have individually concerned the seven
churches, or any of the Christians of John's day, for most of the events it
brings to view were so far in the future as to lie far beyond the lifetime
of the generation then living, or even the time during which those churches
would continue. Consequently those churches could have not direct connect
with them.

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The seven stars which the Son of man held in His right hand are declared to
be the angels of the seven churches. (Verse 20.) The angels of the
churches, doubtless all will agree, are the ministers of the churches.
Their being held in the right hand of the son of man denotes the sustaining
power, guidance, and protection vouchsafed to them. But there were only
seven of them in His right hand. Are there only seven thus cared for by the
great Master of assemblies? May not all true ministers of the entire gospel
age derive from this representation the consolation of knowing that they
are upheld and guided by the right hand of the great Head of the church?
Such would seem to be the only consistent conclusion to be reached.

Again, John, looking into the Christian Era, saw only seven candlesticks,
representing seven churches, in the midst of which stood the Son of man.
The position of the Son of man among them must denote His presence with
them, His watchcare over them, and His searching scrutiny of all their
works. But does He thus take cognizance of only seven individual churches?
May we not rather conclude that this scene represents His position in
reference to all His churches during the gospel age? Then why were only
seven mentioned? Seven, as used in the Scriptures, is a number denoting
fullness and completeness. Therefore the seven candlesticks denote the
entire gospel church in seven periods, and the seven churches may be
applied in the same manner.

Why, then, were the seven particular churches chosen that are mentioned?
For the reason, doubtless, that in the names of these churches, according
to the definitions of the words, are brought out the religious features of
those periods of the gospel age which they respectively were to represent.

"The seven churches," therefore, are easily understood to mean not merely
the seven literal churches of Asia which went by the names mentioned, but
seven periods of the Christian church, from the days of the apostles to the
close of probation. (See comments on Revelation 2: 1.)

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The Source of Blessing.--"From Him which is, and which was, and which is to
come," or is to be--an expression which in this connection refers to God
the Father, since the Holy Spirit and Christ are mentioned separately in
the immediate context.

The Seven Spirits.--This expression probably has no reference to angels,
but to the Spirit of God. It is one of the sources from which grace and
peace are invoked for the church. On the interesting subject of the seven
spirits, Thompson remarks: "That is, from the Holy Spirit, denominated 'the
seven spirits,' because seven is a scared and perfect number; not thus
named . . . as denoting interior plurality, but the fullness and perfect of
His gifts and operations." [2] Albert Barnes says, "The number seven,
therefore, may have been given to the Holy Spirit with reference to the
diversity or the fullness of His operations on the souls of men, and to His
manifold agency on the affairs of the world, as further developed in this
book." [3]

His Throne.--This refers to the throne of God the Father, for Christ has
not yet taken His own throne. The seven spirits being before the throne
"may be intended to designate the face that the Divine Spirit was, as it
were, prepared to go forth, or to be sent forth, in accordance with a
common representation in the Scriptures, to accomplish important purposes
in human affairs." [4]

"And From Jesus Christ."--Some of the chief characteristics which pertain
to Christ are here mentioned. He is "the faithful Witness." Whatever He
bears witness to is true. Whatever He promises, He will surely fulfill.

"The first begotten of the dead" is an expression parallel to 1 Corinthians
15: 20, 23; Hebrews 1: 6, Romans 8: 29; and Colossians 1: 15, 18, where we
find such expressions applied to Christ as "the first fruits of them that
slept," "the

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firstborn among many brethren," "the firstborn of every creature," and "the
firstborn from the dead." But these expressions do not denote that He was
the first in point of time to raised from the dead; for others were raised
before Him. Moreover, that is a very unimportant point. But He was the
chief and central figure of all who have come up from the grave, for it was
by virtue of Christ's coming, work, and resurrection, that any were raised
before His time. In the purpose of God, He was the first in point of time
as well as in importance, for it was not until after the purpose of
Christ's triumph over the grave was formed in the mind of God, who "calleth
those things which be not as though they were" (Romans 4: 17), that any
were released from the power of death by virtue of that great purpose which
was in due time to be accomplished.

Christ is "the Prince of the kings of the earth." In a certain sense He is
that now. Paul informs us, in Ephesians 1: 20, 21, that He has been set at
the right hand of God in the heavenly places, "far above all principality,
and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only
in this world, but also in that which is to come." The highest names in
this world are those of princes, kings, emperors, and potentates of earth.
But Christ is placed far above them. He is seated with His Father upon the
throne of universal dominion, and ranks equally with Him in the overruling
and the controlling of affairs of all nations of earth. (Revelation 3: 21.)

In a more particular sense, Christ is to be Prince of the kings of the
earth when He takes His own throne, and the kingdoms of this world become
the "kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ," when they are given by the
Father into His hands, and He comes forth bearing upon His vesture the
title of "Kings of kings and Lord of lords," to dash them in pieces like a
potter's vessel. (Revelation 19: 16; 2: 27; Psalm 2: 8, 9.)

Christ is spoken of further as "Him that loved us, and washed us from our
sins in His own blood." We have thought that earthly friends loved us--a
father, a mother, brothers and

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sisters, or bosom friends--but se see that no love is worthy of the name
compared with the love of Christ for us. the following sentence adds
intensity of meaning to the previous words: "And washed us from our sins in
His own blood." What love is this! "Greater love," says the apostle, "hath
no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." John 15:
13. But Christ has commended His love for us in that He died for us "while
we were yet sinners." But more than this, He "hath made us kings and
priests unto God and His Father." From being leprous with sin, we are made
clean in His sight; from being enemies, we are not only made friends, but
raised to positions of honor and dignity. What matchless love! What
matchless provision God has made that we might be cleansed from sin!
Consider for a moment the sanctuary service and its beautiful significance.
When a sinner confesses his sins, and receives forgiveness, he lays them on
Christ, the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. In the
books of heaven where they are recorded, the blood of Christ covers them,
and if the follower of God is faithful to his profession, those sins will
never be revealed, but will be destroyed by the fires that purify the earth
when sin and sinners were consumed. Says the prophet Isaiah, "Thou hast
cast all my sins behind Thy back." Isaiah 38: 17. Then will apply the
statement of the Lord through Jeremiah, "I will remember their sin no
more." Jeremiah 31: 34.

No wonder the loving and beloved disciple John ascribed to this Being who
has done so much for us, glory and dominion, forever and ever!

Verse 7 Behold, He cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see Him, and
they also which pierced Him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail
because of Him. Even so, Amen.

Here John carries us forward to the second advent of Christ in glory, the
climax and crowning event of His intervention in behalf of this fallen
world. Once He came in weakness, now He comes in power; once in humility,
now in glory.

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He comes with clouds, in like manner as He ascended. (Acts 1: 9, 11.)

His Coming Visible.--"Every eye shall see Him." All who are alive at the
time of His coming shall see Jesus. We know of no personal coming of Christ
that will be as the stillness of midnight or take place only in the desert
or the secret chamber. He comes not as a thief in the sense of stealing in
secretly and quietly upon the world. But He comes to take to Himself His
dearest treasure, His sleeping and His living saints, whom He has purchased
with His own precious blood; whom He has wrested from the power of death in
fair and open conflict; and for whom His coming will be no less open and
triumphant. It will be with the brilliancy and splendor of the lightning as
it shines from east to the west. (Matthew 24: 27.) It will be with the
sound of a trumpet that will pierce to earth's lowest depths, and with a
mighty voice that shall wake the sainted sleepers from their dusty beds.
(Matthew 24: 31, margin; 1 Thessalonians 4: 16.) He will come upon the
wicked as a thief, only because they persistently shut their eyes to the
tokens of His approach, and will not believe the declarations of His word
that He is at the door. To represent two comings, a private and a public
one, in connection with the second advent, as some do, is wholly
unwarranted from the Scriptures.

"They Also Which Pierced Him."--They also (in addition to the "every eye"
before mentioned) who were chiefly concerned in tragedy of His death shall
behold Him returning to earth in triumph and glory. But how is this? They
are not now living, and how then shall they behold Him when He comes? There
will be a resurrection from the dead. This is the only possible avenue to
life to those who have once been laid in the grave. But how is it that
these wicked persons come up at this time, since the general resurrection
of the wicked does not take place until a thousand years after the second
advent? (Revelation 20: 1-6.) On this point Daniel says further:

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"And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great Prince which standeth
for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such
as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that
time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written
in the book. And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall
awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting
contempt." Daniel 12: 1, 2.

Here a partial resurrection is brought to view, a resurrection of a certain
group of both righteous and wicked. This takes place before the general
resurrection of either group. Many, not all, that sleep shall awake-- some
of the righteous, not all of them, to everlasting life, and some of the
wicked, not all of them, to shame and everlasting contempt. This
resurrection takes place in connection with the great time of trouble such
as never was, which precedes the coming of the Lord. May not "they also
which pierced Him" be among those who then come up to shame and everlasting
contempt? What could be more appropriate than that those who took part in
our Lord's greatest humiliation, and other special leaders in crime against
Him, should be raised to behold His terrible majesty as He comes
triumphantly in flaming fire to take vengeance on them that know not God,
and obey not His gospel?

The response of the church is, "Even so, Amen." Though this coming of
Christ is to the wicked a scene of terror and destruction, it is to the
righteous a scene of joy and triumph. This coming, which is with flaming
fire, and for the purpose of taking vengeance on the wicked, is to
recompense all those who believe. (2 Thessalonians 1: 6-10.) Every friend
and lover of Christ will hail every declaration and every token of His
return as glad tidings of great joy.

Verse 8 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord,
which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.

Here another speaker than John is introduced. In declaring who He is, He
uses two of the same characterizations,

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"Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending," as are found in Revelation
22: 13, where according to verses 12 and 16 of that chapter, it is plainly
Christ who is speaking. We conclude, then, that it is Christ who is
speaking in verse 8.

Verse 9 I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and
in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called
Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.

The subject here changes, for John introduces the place and the
circumstances under which the Revelation was given. He first sets himself
forth as a brother of the universal church, their companion in the
tribulations of the Christian.

In this passage John evidently has reference to the future kingdom of
glory. He introduces the thought of tribulation as part of the necessary
preparation for entry into the kingdom of God. This idea is emphasized in
such scriptures as: "We must through much tribulation enter into the
kingdom of God." Acts 14: 22. "If we suffer, we shall also reign with Him."
2 Timothy 2: 12. It is true that while here in the flesh, believers in
Christ have access to the throne of grace. This is the throne of the
kingdom of grace into which we are inducted at conversion, for He "hath
translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son." Colossians 1: 13. But at
the second advent of the Saviour, when the kingdom of glory will be
inaugurated, then the saints, members of the kingdom of grace here,
redeemed from this present evil world, will have access to the throne of
His glory. Then tribulation will be over, and the children of God will bask
in the sunlight of the presence of the King of kings throughout eternity.

The Place of the Writing.--Patmos is a small, barren island off the west
coast of Asia Minor, between the island of Icaria and the promontory of
Miletus, where in John's day was located the nearest Christian church. It
is about ten miles long, six miles wide at its greatest breadth. Its
present name is Patmo. The coast is high and consists of a succession of
capes, which form many ports. The only one now in use is a deep bay
sheltered by high mountains on every side but one,

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where it is protected by a projecting cape. The town attached to this port
is situated upon a high, rocky mountain rising immediately from the sea.
About halfway up the mountain on which this town is built there is shown a
natural grotto in the rock where tradition says that John had his vision
and wrote the Revelation. On account of the stern and desolate character of
this island, it was used under the Roman Empire as a place of banishment.
This accounts for the exile of John there. The banishment of the apostle
took place under the emperor Domitian about the year A.D. 94; and from this
supposition the date assigned to the writing of the Revelation is A.D. 95
or 96.

The Cause of Banishment.--"For the word of God, and for the testimony of
Jesus Christ." This was John's high crime and misdemeanor. The tyrant
Domitian, who was then invested with the imperial purple of Rome, more
eminent for his vices than even for his civil position, quailed before this
aged but dauntless apostle. He dared not permit the promulgation of the
gospel within the bounds of his kingdom. he exiled John to lonely Patmos,
where, if anywhere this side of death, he might be said to be out of the
world. After confining him to that barren spot, and to the cruel labor of
the mines, the emperor doubtless thought that this preacher of
righteousness was finally disposed of, and that the world would hear of him
no more.

Probably the persecutors of John Bunyan thought the same when they had shut
him up in Beford jail. But when man thinks he has buried the truth in
eternal oblivion, the Lord gives it a resurrection in tenfold glory and
power. From Bunyan's dark and narrow cell there blazed forth a spiritual
light, through the Pilgrim's Progress, which for almost three hundred years
has built up the interests of the gospel. From the barren Isle of Patmos,
where Domitian thought he had forever extinguished at least one torch of
truth, there arose the most magnificent revelation of all the sacred canon,
to shed its divine luster over the whole Christian world until the end of

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time. How many will revere the name of the beloved disciple, and thrill
with delight at his enraptured visions of heavenly glory, who will never
learn the name caused his banishment! Verily those words of the Scriptures
are sometimes applicable to the present life, which declare that "the
righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance," but "the name of the wicked
shall rot." (Psalms 112: 6; Proverbs 10: 7.)

Verse 10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great
voice, as of a trumpet,

Though John was exiled from all of like faith, and almost from the world,
he was not exiled from God, nor from Christ, nor from the Holy Spirit, nor
from angels. He still had communion with his divine Lord. The expression
"in the Spirit" seems to denote the highest state of spiritual elevation
into which a person can be brought by the Spirit of God. It marked the
beginning of his vision.

"On the Lord's Day."--What day is intended by this designation? On this
question four different positions are taken by various classes. On class
holds that the expression "the Lord's day" covers the whole gospel age, and
does not mean any particular twenty-four-hour day. Another class holds that
the Lord's day is the day of judgment, the future "day of the Lord" so
often brought to view in the Scriptures. A third view is that the
expression refers to the first day of the week. Still another class holds
that it means the seventh day, the Sabbath of the Lord.

To the first of these positions it is sufficient to reply that the book of
Revelation is dated by John on the Isle of Patmos, and upon the Lord's day.
The writer, the place where it was written, and the day upon which it was
dated, have each a real existence, no merely a symbolical or mystical one.
But if we say that the day means the gospel age, we give it a symbolical or
mystical meaning, which is not admissible. Why would it be necessary for
John to explain that he was writing in the "Lord's day" if it meant the
gospel age? It is well

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known that the book of Revelation was written some sixty-five years after
the death of Christ.

The second position, that it is the day of judgment, cannot be correct.
Though John might have had a vision concerning the day of judgment, he
could not have had one on that day when it is yet future. The word
translated "on" is {GREEK CHARACTERS IN PRINTED TEXT}, en, and is defined
by Thayer when relating to time: "Periods and portions of time in which
anything occurs, in, on, at, during." It never means "about" or
"concerning." Hence those who refer it to the judgment day either
contradict the language used, making it mean "concerning" instead of "on,"
or they make John state a strange falsehood by saying that he had a vision
upon the Isle of Patmos, nearly eighteen hundred years ago, on the day of
judgment which is yet future.

The third view, that by "Lord's day" is meant the first day of the week, is
the one most generally entertained. On this we inquire for the proof. What
evidence have we for this assertion? The text itself does not define the
term "the Lord's day;" hence if it means the first day of the week, we must
look elsewhere in the Bible for the proof that that day of the week is ever
so designated. The only other inspired writers who speak of the first day
at all, are Matthew, Mark, Luke, and Paul; and they speak of it simply as
"the first day of the week." They never speak of it in a manner to
distinguish it above any other of the six working days. This is the more
remarkable, viewed from the popular standpoint, as three of them speak of
it at the very time when it is said to have become the Lord's day by the
resurrection of the Lord upon the first day of the week, and two of them
mention it some thirty years after that event.

If it is said that "the Lord's day" was the usual term for the first day of
the week in John's day, we ask, Where is the proof of this? It cannot be
found. In truth, we have proof of the contrary. If this were the universal
designation of the first day of the week at the time the Revelation was
written, the same writer would most assuredly call it so in all his
subsequent

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writings. But John wrote his Gospel after he wrote the Revelation, and yet
in that Gospel he calls the first day of the week, not "the Lord's day,"
but simply "the first day of the week." For proof that John's Gospel was
written at a period subsequent to the Revelation, the reader is referred to
standard authorities.

The claim here set up in behalf of the first day, is still further
disproved by the fact that neither the Father nor the Son has ever claimed
the first day as His own in any higher sense than He has each or any or the
other laboring days. Neither of them has ever placed any blessing upon it,
or attached any sanctity to it. If it were to be called the Lord's day from
the fact of Christ's resurrection upon it, Inspiration would doubtless have
somewhere so informed us. But there are other events equally essential to
the plan of salvation, such as the crucifixion and the ascension; and in
the absence of all instruction upon the point, why not call the day upon
which either of these occurred, the Lord's day, as well as the day upon
which He rose from the dead?

Since the three positions already examined have been disproved, the
fourth-- that by Lord's day is meant the Sabbath of the Lord--now demands
attention. This of itself is susceptible of the clearest proof. When God
gave to man in the beginning six days of the week for labor, He expressly
reserved the seventh day to Himself, placed His blessing upon it, and
claimed it as His holy day. (Genesis 2: 1-3.) Moses told Israel in the
wilderness of Sin on the sixth day of the week, "Tomorrow is the rest of
the Sabbath unto the Lord." Exodus 16: 23.

We come to Sinai, where the great Lawgiver proclaimed His moral precepts in
awful grandeur; and in that supreme code He thus lays claim to His hallowed
day: "The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God:. . . for in six
days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and
rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and
hallowed it." By the prophet Isaiah, about

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eight hundred years later, God spoke as follows: "If thou turn away thy
foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on My holy day, . . . then
shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord," Isaiah 58: 13.

We come to New Testament times, and He who is one with the Father declares
expressly, "The Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath." Mark 2: 28. Can
any man deny that that day is the Lord's day, of which He has emphatically
declared that He is the Lord? Thus we see that whether it be the Father or
the Son whose title is involved, no other day can be called the Lord's day
but the Sabbath of the great Creator.

There is in the Christian Era one day distinguished above the other days of
the week as "the Lord's day." How completely this great fact disproves the
claim put forth by some that there is no Sabbath in the gospel age but that
all days are alike! By calling it the Lord's day, the apostle has given us,
near the close of the first century, apostolic sanction for the observance
of the only day which can be called the Lord's day, which is the seventh
day of the week.

When Christ was on earth, He clearly designated which day was His day by
saying, "The Son of man is Lord even of the Sabbath day." Matthew 12: 8. If
He had said instead, not that now be set forth as conclusive proof that
Sunday is the Lord's day--Certainly, and with good reason. Then it ought to
be allowed to have the same weight for the seventh day, in reference to
which it was spoken.

Verse 11 Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What
thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are
in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto
Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea. 12 And
I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven
golden candlesticks; 13 And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like
unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt
about the paps with a golden girdle. 14 His head and His hairs were white
like wool, as white as snow; and His eyes were as a flame of fire; 15 And
His feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and His
voice as the sound of many waters. 16 And He had in His right hand seven

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stars: and out of His mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and His
countenance was as the sun shineth in His strength. 17 And when I saw Him,
I fell at His feet as dead. And He laid His right hand upon me, saying unto
me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: 18 I am He that liveth, and was
dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell
and of death.

The expression, "I turned to see the voice," refers to the person from whom
the voice came.

Seven Golden Candlesticks.--These cannot be the antitype of the golden
candlestick of the ancient typical temple service, for that was but one
candlestick with seven branches. That is ever spoken of in the singular
number. But here are seven, and these are more properly "lamp stands" than
simply candlesticks, stands upon which lamps are set to give light in the
room. They bear no resemblance to the candlestick of the ancient
tabernacle. On the contrary the stands are so distinct, and so far
separated one from another, that the Son of man is seen walking about in
the midst of them.

The Son of Man.--The central and all-attractive figure of the scene now
opened before John's vision is the majestic form of the Son of man, Jesus
Christ. The description here given of Him, with His flowing robe, His hair
white, not with age, but with the brightness of heavenly glory, His flaming
eyes, His feet glowing like molten brass, and His voice as the sound of
many waters, cannot be excelled for grandeur and sublimity. Overcome by the
presence of this august Being, and perhaps under a keen sense of all human
unworthiness, John fell at His feet as dead, but a comforting hand is laid
upon him, and a voice of sweet assurance tells him not to fear. It is
equally the privilege of Christians today to feel the same hand laid upon
them to strengthen and comfort them in hours of trial and affliction, and
to hear the same voice saying to them, "Fear not."

But the most cheering assurance in all these words of consolation is the
declaration of this exalted one who is alive forevermore, that He is the
arbiter of death and grave. I have, He says, "the keys of hell [{GREEK
CHARACTERS IN PRINTED TEXT}, hades, the grave] and of death."

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Death is a conquered tyrant. He may gather to the grave the precious of
earth, and gloat for a season over his apparent triumph. But he is
performing a fruitless task, for the key to his dark prison house has been
wrenched from his grasp, and is now held in the hands of a mightier than
he. He is compelled to deposit his trophies in a region over which another
has absolute control; and this one is the unchanging Friend and the pledged
Redeemer of His people. Then grieve not for the righteous dead; they are in
safekeeping. An enemy takes them away for a while, but a friend holds the
key to the place of their temporary confinement.

Verse 19 Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are,
and the things which shall be hereafter;

A more definite command is given in this verse to John to write the entire
Revelation, which would relate chiefly to things which were then in the
future. In some few instances, events then in the past or then taking place
were referred to; but these references were simply for the purpose of
introducing events to be fulfilled after that time, so that no link in the
chain might be lacking.

Verse 20 The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in My right hand,
and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the
seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven
churches.

To represent the Son of man as holding in His hand only the ministers of
seven literal churches in Asia Minor, and walking in the midst of only
those seven churches, would be to reduce the sublime representations and
declarations of this and following chapters to comparative insignificance.
The providential care and presence of the Lord are not with a specified
number of churches only, but with all His people; not in the days of John
merely, but through all time. "Lo, I am with you alway," said He to His
disciples, "even unto the end of the world." (See remarks on verse 4.)

[1] Augustus C. Thompson, Morning Hours in Patmos, pp. 28, 29.

[2] Ibid., pp. 34, 35.

[3] Albert Barnes, Notes on Revelation, p. 62, comment on Revelation 1: 4.
See also S. T. Bloomfield, D. D., The Greek Testament With English Notes,
Vol. II, p. 565, comment on Revelation 1: 4.

[4] Albert Barnes, Notes on Revelation, p. 62, comment on Revelation 1: 4.
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                                 Chapter II

                    The Letters of Jesus to the Churches

In the first chapter, the prophet outlined the subject of the seven
churches, represented by the seven candlesticks, and the ministry of the
churches, represented by the seven stars. He now takes up each church
particularly, and writes the message designed for it, addressing the
epistle in every case to the angel, or the ministry, of the church.

Verse 1 Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith
He that holdeth the seven stars in His right hand, who walketh in the midst
of the seven golden candlesticks; 2 I know thy works, and thy labor, and
thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou
hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found
them liars: 3 And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake
hast laboured, and hast not fainted. 4 Nevertheless I have somewhat against
thee, because thou hast left thy first love. 5 Remember therefore from
whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will
come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place,
except thou repent. 6 But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the
Nicolaitanes, which I also hate. 7 He that hath an ear, let him hear what
the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to
eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.

The Church of Ephesus.--Some reasons why the messages to the seven churches
should be regarded as prophetic, having their application to seven distinct
periods covering the Christian age, have been given in the remarks on
Revelation 1: 4. It may be added here that this view is not new. Thomas
Newton says, "Many contend, and among them such learned men as More and
Vitringa, that the seven epistles are prophetical of so many successive
periods and states of the church from the beginning to the conclusion of
all." [1]

Thomas Scott says: "Many expositors have imagined that these epistles to
the seven churches were mystical prophecies

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of seven distinct periods, into which the whole term, from the apostles'
days to the end of the world, would be divided." [2]

Although Newton and Scott do not themselves hold this view, their testimony
is good as showing that such has been the view of many expositors. Two of
them say:

"The earliest commentator on the Apocalypse, whose work has come down to
us, was Victorinus, Bishop of Pettau, or Petavium, who died a martyr in the
year 303. He was the contemporary of Irenaeus, and a man of piety,
diligence in setting forth the teachings of the Scriptures, and vigorous in
his perceptions of the meaning of the sacred writers. Most of his writings
have been lost, except some fragments. His comments on the Apocalypse
survive, in a text less pure than we could wish, but sufficiently giving
the substance of his views. In his Scholia in Apocalypsin, he says that
what John addresses to one Church he addresses to all; that Paul was the
first to teach that there are seven Churches in whole world, and that the
seven Churches named mean the Church Catholic; and that John, to observe
the same method, has not exceeded the number seven.

"What Victorinus means, is that Paul, in writing to seven Churches, and to
seven only, intended to have it understood that all the Churches of all
time are comprehended in seven; and that, in the same way, the seven
Churches in the Apocalypse are meant to comprise all the Churches in the
world: that is, the Church Catholic of all ages. This was also the view of
Tichaenius, of the fourth century; Arethas of Cappadocia, and Primasius of
Adrumetum, in the sixth; and Vitringa, Mede, More, Girdlestone, and a large
body of divines, of later periods." [3]

"Mede expounded the Seven Epistles as prophetic of the Seven Ages of the
Church, so that all good should there be prophesied of themselves and all
evil of Rome (see Trench, l.c., p. 228). Later will Vitringa expounded the
Epistles on

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the same principle; and he writes (pp. 32-36): 'Existimo Spiritum S. sub
typo et emblemate Septem Ecclesiarum Asiae nobis . . . voluisse depingere
septem variantes status Ecclesiae Christianae . . . usque ad Adventum
Domini'; adding--'demonstratur illas Prophetice non Dogmatice esse
exponendas.'

"Mede ('Works,' Advert., ch. x, p. 905) states his opinion more fully as
follows: 'If we consider their number being Seven, which is a number of
revolution of times, or if we consider the choice of the Holy Ghost in that
he taketh neither all, no nor the most famous Churches in the world, as
Antioch, Alexandria, Rome. . . . If these things be well considered, may it
not seem that these Seven churches, besides their literal respect, were
intended to be as patterns and types of the several Ages of the Catholic
Church a principio ad finem? that so these Seven Churches should
prophetically sample unto us a Sevenfold successive temper and condition of
the whole visible Church according to the several Ages thereof. . . . And
if this were granted . . . then surely the First Church (viz., the Ephesian
state) must be the first, and the Last be the last. . . . The mention of
false Jews and the synagogue of Satan, &c. (Apoc. ii) in the Five middle
ones, will argue that they belong to the times of the Beast and Babylon.
And for the Sixth in special was have a good character where to place it,
viz., partly about the time the Beast is falling, and partly after his
destruction, when the New Jerusalem cometh.' " [4]

It appears from the authors above cited, that what has led commentators of
more modern times to discard the view of the prophetical nature of the
messages to the seven churches, is the comparatively recent and
unscriptural doctrine of the temporal millennium. The last stage of the
church, as described in Revelation 3: 15-17, was deemed to be incompatible
with the glorious state of things which would exist here on this earth for
a thousand years, with all the world converted to God.

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Hence in this case, as in many others, the Scriptural view is made to yield
to the more pleasing. The hearts of men, as in ancient times, still love
smooth things, and their ears are ever favorably open to those who will
prophesy peace.

The first church named is Ephesus. According to the application here made,
this would cover the first, or apostolic, age of the church. The definition
of the word "Ephesus" is "desirable," which may well be taken as a good
descriptive term of the character and condition of the church in its first
state. Those early Christians had received the doctrine of Christ in its
purity. They enjoyed the benefits and blessings of the gifts of the Holy
Spirit. They were noted for their works, labor, and patience. In
faithfulness to the pure principles taught by Christ, they could not bear
those that were evil, and they tested false apostles, searched out their
true characters, and found them liars. That this work was done by the
literal and particular church at Ephesus more than by other churches of
that time, we have no evidence. But this work was carried on by the
Christian church as a whole, in that age, and was a most appropriate work
at that time. (See Acts 15; 2 Corinthians 11: 13.)

The Angel of the Church.--The angel of a church must denote a messenger, or
minister, of that church. As each church covers a period of time, the angel
of each church must denote the ministry, or all the true ministers of
Christ during the period covered by that church. The different messages,
though addressed to the ministers, cannot be understood to be applicable to
them alone, but are appropriately addressed to the church through them.

The Cause of Complaint.--"I have somewhat against thee," says Christ,
"because thou hast left thy first love." "Not less worthy of warning than
departure from fundamental doctrine or from Scriptural morality, is the
leaving of first love. The charge here is not that of falling from grace,
nor that love is extinguished, but diminished. No zeal, no suffering, can
atone

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for the want of first love." [5] The time never should come in a
Christian's experience, when, if he were asked to mention the period of his
greatest love to Christ, he would not say, The present moment. but if such
a time does come, then he should remember whence he has fallen, meditate
upon it, carefully call up the state of former acceptance with God, and
hasten to repent and retrace his steps to that desirable position. Love,
like faith, is manifested by works; and first love, when it is attained,
will always bring forth corresponding works.

The Admonition.--"I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy
candlestick out of his place, except thou repent." The coming here
mentioned must be a figurative coming, signifying a visitation of judgment,
inasmuch as it is conditional. The removal of the candlestick would denote
the taking away from the church of light and privileges of the gospel, and
the committing of these advantages to other hands, unless the church should
better fulfill the responsibilities of the trust committed to it. It would
be the rejection of them by Christ as His representatives, to bear the
light of His truth and gospel before the world. This threatening would be
just as applicable to individuals as to the church as a body. How many who
professed Christianity during that period came short and were rejected, we
do now know, but doubtless many. Thus things would go on, some remaining
steadfast, some backsliding and becoming no longer light-bearers in the
world, new converts meanwhile filling up the vacancies made by death and
apostasy, until the church reached a new era in her experience, marked off
as another period in her history, and covered by another message.

The Nicolaitanes.--How ready is Christ to commend His people for whatever
good qualities they may possess! If there is anything of which He approves,
He mentions first. In this message to the church of Ephesus, after first
mentioning their commendable traits and then their failures, as if
unwilling

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to pass by any of their good qualities, He says that they hated the deed of
the Nicolaitanes, which He also hated. In verse 15 the doctrines of the
same characters are condemned. It appears that they were a class of people
whose deeds and doctrines were both abominable in the sight of Heaven.
Their origin is involved in some doubt. Some say that they sprang from
Nicholas of Antioch, one of the seven deacons (Acts 6: 5); some, that they
only attribute their origin to him to gain the prestige of his name; and
others, that the sect took its name from one Nicholas of later date. The
latter theory is probably more nearly correct. Concerning their doctrines
and practices, there seems to be a general agreement that they held to a
community of wives, regarded adultery and fornication as matters of
indifference, and permitted the eating of things offered to idols. (See
Clarke, Kitto, and other commentators.)

The Summons to Attention.--"He that hath an ear, let him hear what the
Spirit saith unto the churches." This is a solemn manner of calling
universal attention to that which is of general and most momentous
importance. The same language is used to each of the seven churches.
Christ, when upon earth, made use of the same form of speech in calling the
attention of the people to the most important of His teachings. He used it
in reference to the mission of John (Matthew 11: 15), the parable of the
sower (Matthew 13: 9), and the parable of the tares, setting forth the end
of the world (Matthew 13: 43). It is also used in relation to an important
prophetic fulfillment in Revelation 13: 9.

The Promise to the Overcomer.--To the victor it is promised that he shall
eat of the tree of life that grows in the midst of Paradise, or in the
garden, of god. Where is this Paradise? It is in the third heaven. Paul
writes, in 2 Corinthians 12: 2, that he knew a man (referring to himself)
caught up to the third heaven. In verse 4 he says that he was caught up
into "Paradise," leaving only one conclusion to be drawn, which is that
Paradise is in the third heaven. In this Paradise, it seems, is the tree of
life. There is but one tree of life brought to view in

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the Bible. It is mentioned six times, three times in Genesis, and three
times in the Revelation; but it is used every time with the definite
article "the." It is the tree of life in the first book of the Bible, the
tree of life in the last; the tree of life in the "Paradise" (the term used
for "garden" in the Greek translation of Genesis) in Eden at the beginning,
and the tree of life in the Paradise of which John now speaks, in heaven
above. If there is but one tree, and that was at first upon earth, it may
be asked how it has now come to be in heaven. The answer would be that it
must have been taken up to the Paradise above. There is no possible way
that the identical body which is situated in one place can be located in
another but by being transported there bodily. That the tree of life and
Paradise have been removed from earth to heaven there is a very good reason
to believe. On commentator remarks on this point:

"The act of God in appointing the cherubim 'to keep the way of the tree of
life' (Genesis 3: 24) in the garden of Eden, likewise appears not only in
an aspect indicating judicial severity, but also in one which conveys a
promise full of consolation. The blessed abode from which man is expelled,
is neither annihilated nor even abandoned to desolation and ruin, but
withdrawn from the earth and from man, and consigned to the care of the
most perfect creatures of God, in order that it may be ultimately restored
to man when he is redeemed. (Revelation 22: 2.) The garden, as it existed
before God 'planted' or adorned it, came under the curse, like the
remainder of the earth, but the celestial and paradisaical addition was
exempted, and entrusted to the cherubim. The true (ideal) Paradise is now
translated to the invisible world. At least a symbolical copy of it,
established in the holy of holies in the tabernacle, is already granted to
the people of Israel, after the pattern which Moses saw in the mount
(Exodus 25: 9, 40); and the original itself, as the renewed habitation of
redeemed man, will hereafter descend to the earth. (Revelation 21: 10.)"
[6]

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To the overcomer, then, is promised a restoration that will include more
than Adam lost. Not to the overcomers of that state of the church merely,
but to all overcomers of every age is the promise made, for in the great
rewards of heaven there are no restrictions. Reader, strive to be an
overcomer, for he who gains access to the tree of life in the midst of the
Paradise of God, shall die no more.

The Time of the Church.--The time covered by this first church may be
considered the period from the resurrection of Christ to the close of the
first century, or to the death of the last of the apostles.

Verse 8 And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things
saith the First and the Last, which was dead, and is alive; 9 I know thy
works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the
blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the
synagogue of Satan. 10 Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer:
behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried;
and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I
will give thee a crown of life. 11 He that hath an ear, let him hear what
the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of
the second death.

The Church of Smyrna.--It will be noticed that the Lord introduces Himself
to each church by mentioning some of His characteristics which show Him to
be peculiarly fitted to bear to them the testimony which He utters. To the
Smyrna church, about to pass through the fiery ordeal of persecution, He
reveals Himself as one who was dead, but is now alive. If they should be
called to seal their testimony with their blood, they were to remember that
the eyes of One were upon them who had shared the same fate, but had
triumphed over death, and was able to bring them up from a martyr's grave.

Poverty and Riches.--"I know thy . . . poverty," says Christ to them, "but
thou art rich." Strange paradox this may seem at first. But who are the
truly rich in this world?--Those who are "rich in faith" and "heirs of the
kingdom." The wealth of this world, for which men so eagerly strive, and so
often barter away present happiness and future endless life,

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is "coin not current in heaven." One writer has well said, "There is many a
rich poor man, and many a poor rich man."

"Say They Are Jews, and Are Not."--That the term Jew is not here used in a
literal sense, is very evident. It denotes some character which was
approved by the gospel standard. Paul's language will make this point
plain. He says: "He is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that
circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter,
whose praise is not of men, but of God." Romans 2: 28, 29. Again he says:
"For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel; neither, because they
are the seed of Abraham, are they all children." Romans 9: 6, 7. In
Galatians 3: 28, 29, Paul further tells us that in Christ there are no such
outward distinctions as Jew or Greek; but if we are Christ's, then are we
"Abraham's seed" (in the true sense), and heirs according to the promise.
To say, as some do, that the term Jews is never applied to Christians, is
to contradict all these inspired declarations of Paul, and the testimony of
the faithful and true Witness to the Smyrna church. Some were
hypocritically pretending to be Jews in this Christian sense, when they
possessed none of the necessary characteristics. Such were of the synagogue
of Satan.

Tribulation Ten Days.--As this message is prophetic, the time mentioned in
it must also be regarded as prophetic. Since a prophetic day stands for a
literal years, the ten days would denote ten years. It is a noticeable fact
that the last and most bloody of the ten great persecutions of the
Christian church continued just ten years, from A.D. 303 to 313, beginning
under Diocletian.

It would be difficult to make an application of this language on the ground
that these messages are not prophetic; for in that case only ten literal
days could be meant. It would not seem improbable that a persecution of
only ten days, or only a single church, would be made a matter of prophecy;
and no mention of any such case of limited persecution can be found.

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Again, apply this persecution to any of the notable ones of that period,
and how could it be spoken of as the fate of one church alone? All the
churches suffered in them. Where, then, would be the propriety of singling
out one particular group, to the exclusion of the others, as being the only
one involved in such a calamity?

The Admonition.--"Be thou faithful unto death." Some have endeavored to
base a criticism on the use of the word "unto," instead of "until," as
though the idea of time was not involved. But the original word, {GREEK
CHARACTERS IN PRINTED TEXT}, achri, here rendered "unto," signifies
primarily "until." No argument, however, can be drawn from this for
consciousness in death. The vital point for that argument is still lacking,
for it is not affirmed that the crown of life is bestowed immediately at
death. We must consequently look to other scriptures to learn when the
crown of life is given; and other scriptures inform us fully. Paul declares
that this crown is to be given at the day of Christ's appearing (2 Timothy
4: 8); at the last trump (1 Corinthians 15: 51-54); when the Lord shall
Himself descend from heaven (1 Thessalonians 4: 16, 17); when the Chief
Shepherd shall appear, says Peter (1 Peter 5: 4); at the resurrection of
the just, says Christ (Luke 14: 14); and when He shall return to take His
people to the mansions prepared for them, that they may ever be with Him
(John 14: 3). "Be thou faithful until death," and having been thus
faithful, when the time comes that the saints of God are rewarded, you
shall received a crown of life.

The Promise to the Overcomer.--"He shall not be hurt of the second death."
Is not the language Christ here uses a good comment upon what He taught His
disciples when He said, "Fear not them which kill the body, but are not
able to kill the soul: but rather fear Him which is able to destroy both
soul and body in hell"? Matthew 10: 28. The Smyrna church members might be
put to death here, but the future life which was to be given them, man
could not take away, and God would not. Hence they were to fear not those
who could kill the body, fear

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none of the things which they should suffer, for their eternal existence
was assured.

The Meaning and the Time of the Church.--Smyrna signifies "myrrh," fit
appellation for the church of God while passing through the fiery furnace
of persecution, and proving herself a "sweet-smelling savor" unto Him. But
we soon reach the days of Constantine, when the church presents a new
phase, rendering a different name and another message applicable to her
history.

According to the foregoing application, the date of the Smyrna church would
be A.D. 100-323.

Verse 12 And to the angel of the church in Pergamos write; These things
saith He which hath the sharp sword with two edges; 13 I know thy works,
and where thou dwellest, even where Satan's seat is: and thou holdest fast
My name, and hast not denied My faith, even in those days wherein Antipas
was My faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth. 14
But I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that
hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to cast a stumblingblock
before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to
commit fornication. 15 So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the
Nicolaitanes, which thing I hate. 16 Repent; or else I will come unto thee
quickly, and will fight against them with the sword of My mouth. 17 He that
hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him
that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a
white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth
saving he that receiveth it.

The Church of Pergamos.--Against the preceding church there was no word of
condemnation uttered. Persecution is ever calculated to keep the church
pure, and incite its members to piety and godliness. But we now reach the
period of the Pergamos church, when influences began to work which brought
errors and evils unto the church.

The word "Pergamos" signifies "height, elevation." It was a period in which
the true servants of God had to struggle against a spirit of worldly
policy, pride, and popularity among the professed followers of Christ, and
against the virulent workings of the mystery of iniquity, which finally
resulted in

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the full development of the papal "man of sin." 2 Thessalonians 2: 3.

The Commendation.--"Where Satan's seat is." Christ takes cognizance of the
unfavorable situation of his people during this period. The language is
probably not designed to denote location. As to place, Satan works wherever
Christians dwell. But surely there are times and seasons when he works with
special power, and the period covered by the church of Pergamos was one of
these. During this period, the doctrine of Christ was being corrupted, the
mystery of iniquity was working, and Satan was laying the foundation of a
stupendous system of apostasy, the papacy. Here was the falling away
foretold by Paul in 2 Thessalonians 2: 3, cited already.

It is interesting to note that the city of Pergamos became the seat of
ancient Babylonian sun worship. "The Chaldean Magi enjoyed a long period of
prosperity at Babylon. A pontiff appointed by the sovereign ruled over a
college of seventy-two hierophants. . . . [After the Medo-Persian
occupation], the defeated Chaldeans fled to Asia Minor, and fixed their
central college at Pergamos, and took the Palladium of Babylon, the cubic
stone, with them. Here, independent of state control, they carried on the
rites of their religion, and plotted against the peace of the Persian
Empire, caballing with the Greeks for that purpose." [7]

Antipas.--That a class of persons is referred to by this name, and not an
individual, there is good reason to believe; for no authentic information
respecting such an individual is now to be found. On this point William
Miller says:

"It is supposed that Antipas was not an individual, but a class of men who
opposed the power of the bishops, or popes, in that day, being a
combination of two words, 'Anti,' opposed, and 'Papas,' father, or pope;
and many of them suffered martyrdom at that time in Constantinople and
Rome, where the bishops and popes began to exercise the power which soon
after brought into subjection the kings of the earth, and

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trampled on the rights of the church of Christ. And for myself, I see no
reason to reject this explanation of the word 'Antipas' in this text, as
the history of those times are [is] perfectly silent respecting such an
individual as is here named." [8]

Watson's Biblical Dictionary says, "Ancient ecclesiastical history
furnishes no account of this Antipas." [9] Adam Clarke mentions a work as
extant called the "Acts of Antipas," but gives us to understand that it is
entitled to no credit. [10]

The Cause of Complaint.--Disadvantages in situation are no excuse for
wrongs in the church. Although this church existed at a time when Satan was
making strong delusions, it was the duty of its members to keep themselves
free from his evil doctrines. Hence they were censured for harboring among
them those who held the doctrines of Balaam and the Nicolaitanes. (See
comments on the Nicolaitanes, verse 6.) The doctrine of Balaam is here
partly revealed. He taught Balak to cast a stumbling block before the
children of Israel. (See a full account of his work and its results in
Numbers 22: 25; 31: 13-16.) It appears that Balaam desired to curse Israel
for the sake of the rich reward which Balak offered him. But not being
permitted by the Lord to curse them, he resolved to accomplish essentially
the same thing in another way. He therefore counseled Balak to seduce them,
by means of the women of Moab, to participate in the celebration of the
rites of idolatry and all its licentious accompaniments. The plan
succeeded. The abominations of idolatry spread through the camp of Israel,
the curse of God was called down upon them by their sins, and twenty-four
thousand persons died.

The doctrines complained of in the church of Pergamos were of course
similar in their tendency, leading to spiritual idolatry and an unlawful
connection between the church and

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the world. Out of this spirit was finally produced the union of civil and
ecclesiastical powers which culminated in the formation of the papacy.

The Admonition.--Christ declared that if they did not repent, He would take
the matter into His own hands, and come unto them (in judgment), and fight
against them (those who held these evil doctrines); and the whole church
would be held responsible for the wrongs of those heretical ones whom they
harbored in their midst.

Promise to the Overcomer.--The overcomer is promised that he shall eat of
the hidden manna, and receive from his approving Lord a white stone, with a
new and precious name engraved on it. Most commentators apply the manna,
white stone, and the new name, to spiritual blessings to be enjoyed in this
life; but like all the other promises to the overcomer, this doubtless
refers to the future, and is to be given when the time comes for the saints
to be rewarded. Perhaps the following comment is as satisfactory as
anything that has ever been written upon these several particulars:

"It is generally supposed by commentators that this refers to an ancient
judicial custom of dropping a black stone into an urn when it is intended
to condemn, and a white stone when the prisoner was acquitted. But this is
an act so distinct from that described in the scripture before us, 'I will
give him a white stone,' that we we are disposed to agree with those who
think it refers to a custom of a very different kind, and not unknown to
the classical reader, according with beautiful propriety to the case before
us. In primitive times, when traveling was rendered difficult from want of
places of public entertainment, hospitality was exercised by private
individuals to a very great extent, of which indeed we find frequent traces
in all history, and in none more than the Old Testament. Persons who
partook of this hospitality, and those who practiced it, frequently
contracted habits of friendship and regard for each other; and it became
well-established custom both among the Greeks and Romans, to provide their
guests with some particular mark, which was handed down from father to

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son, and ensured hospitality and kind treatment whenever it was presented.
This mark was usually a small stone or pebble, cut in half, upon the halves
of which the host and guest mutually inscribed their names, and then
interchanged with each other. The production of this tessera was quite
sufficient to insure friendship for themselves or their descendants
whenever they traveled again in the same direction; while it is evident
that these stones required to be privately kept, and the names written upon
them carefully concealed, lest others should obtain the privileges instead
of the persons for whom they were intended.

"How natural, then, is the allusion to this custom in the words of the
text, 'I will give him to eat of the hidden manna;' and having done so,
having made him partaker of my hospitality, having recognized him as my
guest, my friend, I will present him with the 'white stone, and in the
stone a new name written, which no man knoweth, save he who receiveth it.'
I will give him a pledge of my friendship, sacred and inviolable, known
only to himself." [11]

In the new name, John Wesley very appropriately says:

"Jacob, after his victory, gained the new name of Israel. Wouldst thou know
what thy new name will be? The way to this is plain--overcome. Till then
all they inquires are vain. Thou wilt then read it on the white stone."
[12]

The Time of the Church.--The period covered by this church extends from the
days of Constantine, or perhaps, rather, from his professed conversion to
Christianity in A.D. 323, to the establishment of the papacy in A.D. 538.

Verse 18 And unto the angel of the church in Thyatira write; These things
saith the Son of God, who hath His eyes like unto a flame of fire, and His
feet are like fine brass; 19 I know thy works, and charity, and service,
and faith, and thy patience, and thy works; and the last to be more than
the first. 20 Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee, because
thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to
teach

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and to seduce My servants to commit fornication, and to eat things
sacrificed unto idols. 21 And I gave her space to repent of her
fornication; and she repented not. 22 Behold, I will cast her into a bed,
and them that commit adultery with her into great tribulation, except they
repent of their deeds. 23 And I will kill her children with death; and all
the churches shall know that I am He which searcheth the reins and hearts:
and I will give unto every one of you according to your works. 24 But unto
you I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as have not this
doctrine, and which have not known the depths of Satan, as they speak; I
will put upon you none other burden. 25 But that which ye have already hold
fast till I come. 26 And he that overcometh, and keepeth My works unto the
end, to him will I give power over the nations: 27 And he shall rule them
with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to
shivers: even as I received of My Father. 28 And I will give him the
morning star. 29 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith
unto the churches.

If the period covered by the Pergamos church has been correctly located, it
terminated with the setting up of the papacy in A.D. 538. The most natural
division to be assigned to the church of Thyatira would be the time of the
continuance of this power through the 1260 years of its supremacy, or from
A.D. 538 to A.D. 1798.

The Church of Thyatira.--Thyatira signifies "sweet savor of labor," or
"sacrifice of contrition." This well describes the state of the church of
Jesus Christ during the long period of papal triumph and persecution. This
age of dreadful tribulation for the church such as never was (Matthew 24:
21), improved the religious condition of believers. Hence for their
works--charity, service, faith, and patience--they receive the commendation
of Him whose eyes are as a flame of fire. Works are again mentioned, as if
worthy of double commendation, and the last were more than the first. There
had been an improvement in their condition, a growth of grace, an increase
in all these elements of Christianity. This progress, under such
conditions, was commended by the Lord.

This church is the only one that is commended for

an improvement in spiritual things. But as in the church of Pergamos
unfavorable circumstances were no apology for false doctrines in the
church, so in this church, no amount of labor,

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charity, service, faith, or patience could compensate for a like sin. A
rebuke is therefore given them for suffering an agent of Satan to remain in
their midst.

The Cause of Complaint.--"That woman Jezebel." As in the preceding church
Antipas denoted, not an individual, but a class of persons, so doubtless,
Jezebel is here to be understood in the same sense. Watson's Biblical
Dictionary says, "The name of Jezebel is used proverbially. Revelation 2:
20." [13] William Miller speaks as follows:

"Jezebel is a figurative name, alluding to Ahab's wife, who slew the
prophets of the Lord, led her husband into idolatry, and fed the prophets
of Baal at her own table. A more striking figure could not have been used
to describe the papal abominations. (See 1 Kings 18, 19, and 21. . . .) It
is very evident from history, as well as from this verse in Revelation,
that the church of Christ did suffer some of the papal monks to preach and
teach among them." [14]

The Comprehensive Commentary has the following remark upon verse 23:
"Children are spoken of, which confirms the idea that a sect and its
proselytes are meant." [15]

The judgments here threatened against this woman are in harmony with the
threatenings in other parts of this book against the Roman Catholic Church
under the symbol of a corrupt woman, the mother of harlots and abominations
of the earth. (See Revelation 17-19.) The death which is threatened is
doubtless the second death, at the end of the one thousand years of
Revelation 20, when the righteous retribution from the Searcher of "the
reins and hearts" of all men will be given. Further, the declaration, "I
will give unto every one of you according to your works," is proof that the
address to this church looks forward prophetically to the final reward or
punishment of all accountable beings.

"All the Churches Shall Know."--It has been argued from this expression
that these churches could not denote seven suc-

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cessive periods of the gospel age, but must exist contemporaneously, as
otherwise all the churches could not know that Christ was the searcher of
"the reins and hearts" from seeing his judgements upon Jezebel and her
children. But when is it that all the churches are to know this?--It is
when these children are punished with death. If this is at the time when
the second death is inflicted upon all the wicked, then indeed will "all
the churches," as they behold the infliction of the judgment, know that no
secret thing, no evil thought or purpose of the heart has escaped the
knowledge of Him who, with eyes like flames of fire, searches the hearts of
men.

"I will put upon you none other burden." We believe this refers to a
respite promised the church from the burden so long her portion, the weight
of papal oppression. It cannot be applied to the reception of new truths,
for truth is not a burden to any accountable being. But the days of the
tribulation that came upon that church were to be shortened for the elect's
sake. (Matthew 24: 22.) "They shall be holpen," says the prophet, "with a
little help." Daniel 11: 34. "The earth helped the woman," says John.
Revelation 12: 16.

The Admonition.--"Hold fast till I come." These are the words of the "Son
of God," and bring to our view an unconditional coming. To the churches of
Ephesus and Pergamos, certain comings were threatened on conditions:
"Repent, or else I will come unto thee," implying visitations of judgment.
But here a coming of a different nature is brought to view. It is not a
threatening of punishment. It is suspended upon no conditions. Is is set
before the believer as a matter of hope, and can refer to no event other
than the future second advent of the Lord in glory, when the Christian's
trials will cease, and his efforts in the race for life, and his warfare
for a crown of righteousness, will be rewarded with everlasting success.

This church brings us down to the time when the more immediate signs of the
soon-coming advent began to be fulfilled. In 1780, eighteen years before
the close of this period, the predicted signs in the sun and moon were
fulfilled. (See comments

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on Revelation 6: 12.) In reference to these signs the Saviour said: "When
these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads;
for you redemption draweth nigh." Luke 21: 28. In the history of this
church we reach a point when the end is drawing so near that the attention
of the people could properly be called more particularly to that event.
Christ has ever said to His followers, "Occupy till I come." Luke 19: 13.
Now He says: "Hold fast till I come."

The Promise to the Overcomer.--"Unto the end." This must denote the end of
the Christian age. "He that shall endure unto the end," says Christ, "the
same shall be saved." Matthew 24: 13. Is there not here a like promise to
those who keep the works of Christ, do the things He has enjoined, and keep
the faith of Jesus? (Revelation 14: 12.)

"Power Over the Nations."--In this world the wicked bear rule, and the
servants of Christ are of no esteem. But the time is coming when
righteousness will be in the ascendancy; when all ungodliness will be seen
in its true light, and be at a heavy discount; and when the scepter of
power will be in the hands of the people of God. This promise will be
explained by the following facts and scriptures: The nations are to be
given by the Father into the hands of Christ, to be ruled with a rod of
iron, and dashed in pieces like a potter's vessel. (Psalm 2: 8, 9.)
Associated with Christ, when He thus enters upon His own work of power and
judgment, are to be His saints. (Revelation 3: 21.) They are to reign with
Him in this capacity for one thousand years. (Revelation 20: 4.) During
this period, the degree of judgment upon wicked men and evil angels is
determined. (1 Corinthians 6: 2, 3.) At the end of the one thousand years,
they have the honor of sharing with Christ in the execution of the sentence
written. (Psalm 149: 9.)

The Morning Star.--Christ says in Revelation 22: 16 that He is Himself the
morning star, the immediate forerunner of the day. What is here called the
"morning star," is called the "daystar" in 2 Peter 1: 19, where it is
associated with the

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dawn of the day: "Until the day dawn, and the daystar arise." During the
saints' weary night of watching, they have the word of God to shed its
needful light upon their path. But when the daystar shall arise in their
hearts, or the morning star be given to the overcomers, they will be taken
into so close a relationship to Christ that their hearts will be fully
illuminated with His Spirit, and they will walk in His light. Then they
will no longer need the sure word of prophecy, which now shines as a light
in a dark place. Hasten on, O glorious hour, when the light of heaven's
bright day shall rise upon the pathway of the faithful, and beams of glory
from the eternal world shall gild their banners!

[1] Thomas Newton, Dissertations on the Prophecies, Vol. II, p. 167.

[2] Thomas Scott, Commentary, Vol. II, p. 754, note on Revelation 2: 1.

[3] Joseph A. Seiss, The Apocalypse, Vol. I, pp. 128, 129.

[4] F. C. Cook, editor, The Bible Commentary, New Testament, Vol. IV, pp.
530, 531.

[5] Augustus C. Thompson, Morning Hours in Patmos, pp. 122, 123.

[6] John H. Kurtz, Manual of Sacred History, p. 50.

[7] William B. Barker, Lares and Penates, pp. 232, 233.

[8] William Miller, Evidence From Scripture and History of the Second
Coming of Christ, pp. 135, 136.

[9] Richard Watson, A Biblical and Theological Dictionary, p. 69, art.
"Antipas."

[10] Adam Clarke, Commentary on the New Testament, Vol. II, p. 978, note on
Revelation 2: 13.

[11] Henry Blunt, A Practical Exposition of the Epistles to the Seven
Churches of Asia, pp. 116-119.

[12] John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the New Testament, p. 689, comment
on Revelation 2: 17.

[13] Richard Watson, A Biblical and Theological Dictionary, p. 535, art.
"Jezebel."

[14] William Miller, Evidence From Scripture and History of the Second
Coming of Christ, p. 139.

[15] William Jenks, Comprehensive Commentary, Vol. V, p. 657, note on
Revelation 2: 23.
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Page 383

                                Chapter III

                  "Behold, I Stand at the Door and Knock"

Verse 1 And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things
saith He that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know
thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead. 2 Be
watchful, and strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die:
for I have not found thy works perfect before God. 3 Remember therefore how
thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and repent. If therefore thou
shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know
what hour I will come upon thee. 4 Thou hast a few names even in Sardis
which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in
white: for they are worthy. 5 He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed
in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life,
but I will confess his name before My Father, and before His angels. 6 He
that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.

Church in Sardis.--If the dates of the preceding churches have been
correctly fixed, the period covered by the church of Sardis must begin
about 1798. "Sardis" signifies "prince or song of joy," or "that which
remains." We then have the reformed churches before us as constituting this
church, from the date above named to the great movement which marked
another era in the history of the people of God.

The Cause of Complaint.--The great fault found with Sardis is that is has a
name to live, but is dead. What a high position, in a worldly point of
view, has the nominal church occupied during this period! Look at her
high-sounding titles, and her favor with the world. But how pride and
popularity have grown apace, until spirituality is destroyed, the line of
distinction between the church and the world is obliterated, and the
different popular bodies are churches of Christ only in name!

This church was to hear the proclamation of the doctrine of the second
advent. "If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as a
thief." Verse 3. This implies that the doc-

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trine of the advent would be proclaimed, and the duty of watching would be
enjoined upon the church. The coming spoken of is unconditional; the manner
only in which it would come upon them is conditional. Their not watching
would not prevent the coming of the Lord; but by watching they could avoid
being overtaken as by a thief. It is only to those who are in this
condition that the day of the Lord comes unawares. "Ye, brethren," says
Paul, "are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief."
1 Thessalonians 5: 4.

"A few names even in Sardis," would seem to imply a period of unparalleled
worldliness in the church. But even in this state of things, there are some
whose garments are not defiled, some who have kept themselves free from the
contaminating influence of sin. James says, "Pure religion and undefiled
before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in
their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world. James 1:
27.

The Promise to the Overcomer.--"Shall walk with Me in white." The Lord does
not overlook His people in any place, however few their numbers. Lonely
Christian, with none of like precious faith with whom to commune, do you
ever feel as if the hosts of unbelievers would swallow you up? You are not
unnoticed or forgotten by your Lord. The multitude of the wicked around you
cannot be so great as to hide you from His view. If you keep yourself
unspotted from surrounding evil, the promise is sure. You shall be clothed
in white, the white raiment of the overcomer. You shall walk with you Lord
in glory. "The Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them,
and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters; and God shall wipe
away all tears from their eyes." Revelation 7: 17.

Being clothed with white raiment is explained in other scriptures to be a
symbol of exchanging iniquity for righteousness. (See Zechariah 3: 4, 5.)
"Take away the filthy garments from him," is explained by the language that
follows, "Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee."

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"The fine linen, or the white raiment, "is the righteousness of saints."
Revelation 19: 8.

The Book of Life.--Here is introduced an object of thrilling interest.
Ponderous volume, in which are enrolled the names of all the candidates for
everlasting life! Is there danger, after our names have once been entered
in that heavenly journal, that they may be blotted out? Yes; or this
warning would never have been penned. (1 Corinthians 9: 27.) It is only by
being overcomers to the end that our names can be retained in that book.
But not all will gain the victory. Their names, of course, will be blotted
out. Reference is here made to some definite point of time in the future
for this work. "I will not," says Christ, blot out the names of the
overcomers, which is also saying, by implication, that at the same time He
will blot out the names of those who do not overcome. Is not this the same
time mentioned by Peter? "Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that you
sins may be blotted out when the times of refreshing shall come from the
presence of the Lord." Acts 3: 19.

To say to the overcomer that his name shall not be blotted out of the book
of life, is to say also that his sins shall be blotted out of the book
wherein they are recorded, to be remembered against him no more forever.
(Hebrews 8: 12.) It means that either his name or his sins will be blotted
out from the heavenly records. What a precious thought it is that now we
are forgiven if we confess our transgressions! Then if we remain faithful
to God these sins will be blotted out at the coming of Jesus.

When that hour of decision shall come, which cannot now be a great way in
the future, how, reader, will it be with you? Will your sins be blotted
out, and your name be retained in the book of life? Or will your name be
blotted out of the book of life, and your sins be left to bear their
fearful record against you?

The Presentation in Glory.--"I will confess his name before My Father, and
before His angels." Christ taught that as men

Page 386

confessed or denied, despised or honored Him here, they would be confessed
or denied by Him before His Father in heaven and before the holy angels.
(Matthew 10: 32, 33; Mark 8: 38; Luke 12: 8, 9.) Who can fathom the honor
of being approved before the heavenly hosts! Who can conceive of the bliss
of that moment when we shall be owned by the Lord of life before His Father
as those who have done His will, overcome, and whose names are worthy
through His merits to stand upon the imperishable record of the book of
life forever and ever!

Verse 7 And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things
saith He that is holy, He that is true, He that hath the key of David, He
that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth; 8 I
know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can
shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept My word, and hast
not denied My name. 9 Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan,
which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them
to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee. 10
Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from
the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them
that dwell upon the earth. 11 Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which
thou hast, that no man take thy crown. 12 Him that overcometh will I make a
pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go no more out: and I will
write upon him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God,
which is New Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from My God: and I
will write upon him My new name. 13 He that hath an ear, let him hear what
the Spirit saith unto the churches.

The Church of Philadelphia.--The word "Philadelphia" signifies "brotherly
love," and expresses the position and spirit of those who received the
Advent message up to the autumn of 1844. The great religious awakening in
the early part of the nineteenth century which resulted from a study of the
prophecies, culminated in this advent movement. Men from all denominations
were convinced that the coming of Christ was near. As they came out of the
various churches, they left sectarian names and feelings behind, and every
heart beat in unison as all joined to give the alarm to the churches and to
the world, and pointed to the coming of the Son of man as the be-

Page 387

liever's true hope. Selfishness and covetousness were laid aside, and a
spirit of consecration and sacrifice was cherished. The Spirit of God was
with every true believer, and his praise upon every tongue. Those who were
not in that movement cannot fully realize how great was the searching of
heart, the consecration to God, the peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, and
the pure, fervent love for one another which true believers enjoyed.

"The Key of David."--A key is a symbol of power. The Son of God is the
rightful heir to David's throne; and He is about to take to Himself His
great power and to reign; hence He is represented as having the key of
David. The throne of David, or of Christ, on which He is to reign, is
included in the capital of His kingdom, the New Jerusalem, now above, but
which is to be located on this earth, where He is to reign forever and
ever. (Revelation 21: 1-5; Luke 1: 32, 33.)

"He That Openeth, and No Man Shutteth."--To understand this language, it is
necessary to look at Christ's position and work as connected with His
ministry in the sanctuary, or true tabernacle, above. (Hebrews 8: 2.) A
figure, or pattern, of this heavenly sanctuary once existed here upon earth
in the sanctuary built by Moses. (Exodus 25: 8, 9; Acts 7: 44; Hebrews 9:
1, 21, 23, 24.) The earthly building had two apartments,--the holy place
and the most holy place. (Exodus 26: 33, 34.) In the first apartment were
the candlestick, the table of shewbread, and the alter of incense. In the
second were the ark, which contained the tables of the covenant, or the ten
commandments, and the cherubim. (Hebrews 9: 1-5.) In like manner the
sanctuary in which Christ ministers in heaven has two apartments, for it is
clearly stated in Hebrews 9: 21-24 that "both the tabernacle and all the
vessels of the ministry" were "patterns of things in the heavens." As all
things were made after the pattern, the heavenly sanctuary has also
furniture similar to that of the earthly. For the antitype of the golden
candlestick and altar of incense, in the first apartment, see Revelation 4:
5; 8: 3; and for the antitype of the ark of the covenant, with its ten
commandments, see Revelation 11: 19.

Page 388

In the earthly sanctuary the priests ministered. (Exodus 28: 41, 43;
Hebrews 9: 6, 7; 13: 11.) The ministry of these priests was a shadow of the
ministry of Christ in the sanctuary in heaven. (Hebrews 8: 4, 5.)

A complete round of service was performed in the earthly tabernacle once
every year. (Hebrews 9: 7.) But in the tabernacle above the service is
performed once for all. (Hebrews 7: 27; 9: 12.) At the close of the yearly
typical service, the high priest entered the second apartment, the most
holy place of the sanctuary, to make an atonement; and this work is
appropriately called the cleansing of the sanctuary. (Leviticus 16: 20, 30,
33; Ezekiel 45: 18.) When the ministry in the most holy place began, that
in the holy place ceased; and no service was performed there so long as the
priest was engaged in the most holy place. (Leviticus 16: 17.)

A similar opening and shutting, or change of ministration, must be
accomplished by Christ when the time comes for the cleansing of the
heavenly sanctuary. The time for this service to begin did come at the
close of the 2300 days, in 1844. To this event the opening and shutting
mentioned in the text under consideration can appropriately apply, the
opening being that of Christ's ministration in the most holy place, and the
shutting, its cessation in the first apartment, or holy place. (See
exposition of the subject of the sanctuary and its cleansing, under Daniel
8: 14.)

Verse 9 probably applies to those who do not keep pace with the advancing
light of truth, and who oppose Christians who do. Such shall yet be made to
feel and confess that God loves those who obey His word, and follow in the
knowledge of his truth.

"The Word of My Patience."--John says in Revelation 14: 12: "Here is the
patience of the saints; here are they that keep the commandments of God,
and the faith of Jesus." Those who now live in patient, faithful obedience
to the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus, will be kept in the hour
of temptation and peril. (See the comments on Revelation 13: 13-17.)

Page 389

Behold, I Come Quickly.--The second coming of Christ is here again brought
to view, and with more startling emphasis than in any of the preceding
messages. The nearness of that event is here urged upon the attention of
believers. The message applies to a period when this great event is
impending. In this we have indubitable evidence of the prophetic nature of
these messages. What is said of the first three churches contains no
allusion to the second coming of Christ, from the fact that they do not
cover a period in which that event could Scripturally expected. But with
the Thyatira church, the time had come when this great hope was just
beginning to dawn upon the church. The mind is carried forward to this hope
by a single allusion: "Hold fast till I come."

The next state of the church, the Sardis period, finds the church occupying
a position still nearer that event, and the great proclamation is brought
to view which was to herald Christ's coming, and the duty of watching is
enjoined upon the church: "If thou shalt not watch, I will come on thee as
a thief." We reach the Philadelphia church still later, and the nearness of
the same great event then leads Him who "is holy and true" to utter the
stirring declaration, "Behold, I come quickly."

It is evident from this that these churches occupy positions successively
nearer the great day of the Lord, as in each succeeding one, and in a
continually increasing ratio, this great event is made more and more
prominent, and is more definitely and impressively urged upon the attention
of the church. Here indeed they see the day approaching. (Hebrews 10: 25.)

The Admonition.--"Hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy
crown." By our faithfulness we are not depriving anyone else of a crown.
The verb rendered "to take" has a number of definitions, one of which is
"to take away, snatch from, deprive of." Let no one, and no thing, induce
you to yield the truth, or pervert you from the right ways of the Lord, for
by so doing it will cause you to lose the reward.

Page 390

The Promise to the Overcomer.--The overcomer is to be a pillar in the
temple of God, and go out no more. The temple here must denote the church,
and the promise of being made a pillar in it is the promise of a place of
honor, permanence, and safety in the church, under the figure of a heavenly
building. When the time comes for this part of the promise to be fulfilled,
probation is past, and overcomer is fully established in the truth, and
sealed. "He shall go no more out," that is, there is no danger of his
falling away, he is the Lord's forever, and his salvation is sure.

From the moment the Christians overcome and are sealed for heaven, they are
labeled, if we may so express it, as belonging to God and Christ, and
addressed to their destination, the New Jerusalem. They are to have written
upon them the name of God, whose property they are, the name of the New
Jerusalem, to which place they are going, not old Jerusalem where some are
vainly looking. They also have upon them the new name of Christ, by whose
authority they are to receive everlasting life, and enter into the kingdom.
Thus sealed and labeled, the saints of God are safe. No enemy will be able
to prevent their reaching their destination, the glorious haven of rest,
the New Jerusalem above.

Verse 14 And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These
things saith the Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the beginning of the
creation of God; 15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I
would thou wert cold or hot. 16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and
neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of My mouth. 17 Because thou
sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and
knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and
naked: 18 I counsel thee to buy of Me gold tried in the fire, that thou
mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that
the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with
eyesalve, that thou mayest see. 19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten:
be zealous therefore, and repent. 20 Behold, I stand at the door, and
knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him,
and will sup with him, and he with Me. 21 To him that overcometh will I
grant to sit with Me in My throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down
with My Father in His throne. 22 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the
Spirit saith unto the churches.

Page 391

The Church of Laodicea.--"Laodicea" signifies "the judging of the people,"
or, according to Cruden, "a just people" The message to this church brings
to view the closing scenes of probation. It reveals a period of judgment.
It is the last stage of the church. Consequently it applies to believers
under the third angel's message, the last message of mercy before the
coming of Christ. (Revelation 14: 9-14.) While the work of the great Day of
Atonement is in progress, and the investigative judgment is going forward
upon the house of God, there is a period during which the just and holy law
of God is taken by the waiting church as their rule of life.

"These Things Saith the Amen."--This is, then, the final message to the
churches before the close of probation. The description given of the
indifferent Laodiceans is fearful and startling. Nevertheless, it cannot be
denied, for the Witness is "faithful and true." Moreover, He is "the
beginning of the creation of God." Some attempt by this language to uphold
the error that Christ is a created being, dating His existence anterior to
that of any other created being or thing, next to the self-existent and
eternal God. But the language does not imply that He was created; for the
words, "the beginning of the creation," may simply signify that the work of
creation, strictly speaking, was begun by Him. "Without Him was not
anything made." Others, however, and more properly we think, take the word
{GREEK CHARACTERS IN PRINTED TEXT}, arche, to mean the "agent" or
"efficient cause," which is one of the definitions of the word,
understanding that Christ is the agent through whom God has created all
things.

The Cause of Complaint.--The charge He brings against the Laodiceans is
that they are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold. They lack that religious
fervor and devotion which is demanded by their position in the world's
closing history with the light of prophecy beaming upon their pathway. This
lukewarmness is shown by a lack of good works, for it is from a knowledge
of their works that the faithful and true Witness brings this fearful
charge against them.

Page 393

"I Would Thou Wert Cold or Hot."--Three spiritual conditions are brought to
view in this message--the cold, the lukewarm, and the hot. It is important
to determine what condition they each denote, in order to guard against
wrong conclusions. Three spiritual conditions which pertain to the church,
not to the world, are to be considered. What the term "hot" means it is not
difficult to conceive. The mind at once calls up a state of intense zeal,
when all the affections, raised to the highest pitch, are drawn out for God
and His cause, and manifest themselves in corresponding works. To be
lukewarm is to lack this zeal, to be in a state in which heart and
earnestness are wanting, in which there is no self-denial that costs
anything, no cross-bearing that is felt, no determined witnessing for
Christ, and no valiant aggression that keeps the armor bright. But to be
cold--what is that? Does it denote a state of corruption, wickedness, and
sin, such as characterizes the world of unbelievers? We cannot so regard
it, for several reasons:

It would seem harsh and repulsive to represent Christ as wishing under any
circumstances that persons should be in such a condition, but He says, "I
would thou wert cold or hot."

No state can be more offensive to Christ than that of the sinner in open
rebellion, with a heart filled with every evil. It would therefore be
incorrect to represent Christ as preferring that state to any position
which His people can occupy while they are still retained as His.

The threat of rejection in verse 16 is because they are neither cold nor
hot, they would not be rejected. But if by cold is meant a state of open
worldly wickedness, they would be rejected very speedily. Hence such cannot
be its meaning.

We are brought to the conclusion that by this language our Lord has no
reference whatever to those outside of His church, but that He refers to
three degrees of spiritual affections, two of which are more acceptable to
Him than the third. Heat

Page 394

and cold are preferable to lukewarmness. But what kind of spiritual state
is denoted by the term "cold"? We may remark first that it is a state of
feeling. In this respect it is superior to lukewarmness, which is a state
of comparative insensibility, indifference, and supreme self-satisfaction.
To be hot is also to be in a state of feeling. As "hot" denotes joyous
fervor, and a lively exercise of all the affections, with a heart buoyant
with the sensible presence and love of God, so "cold" would seem to denote
a spiritual condition characterized by a destitution of these traits, yet
one in which the individual feels such destitution. This state is well
expressed by the language of Job, "Oh that I knew where I might find Him!"
Job 23: 3.

In this state there is not indifference, nor is there content; but there is
a sense of coldness, unfitness, and discomfort, and a groping and seeking
after something better. There is hope for a person in this condition. What
a man feels that he lacks and wants, he will earnestly strive to obtain.
The most discouraging feature of the lukewarm is that they are conscious of
no lack, and feel that they have need of nothing. Hence it is easy to see
why our Lord should prefer to behold His church in a state of comfortless
coldness rather than in a state of comfortable, easy, indifferent
lukewarmness. A person will not long remain cold. His efforts will soon
lead him to the fervid state. But if lukewarm, there is danger of his
remaining till the faithful and true Witness is obliged to reject him as a
nauseous and loathsome thing.

"I Will Spue Thee Out of My Mouth."--Here the figure is still further
carried out, and the rejection of the lukewarm expressed by the nauseating
effects of tepid water. This denotes a final rejection, an utter separation
from His church.

"Rich and Increased With Good."--Such the Laodiceans think is their
condition. They are not hypocrites, because they know not that they are
poor, miserable, blind, and naked.

The Admonition.--"Buy of Me," says the true Witness, "gold tried in the
fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be
clothes; . . . and anoint thine

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eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see." This shows at once to the
deceived Laodiceans the things they lack, and the extent of their
destitution. It shows, too, where they can obtain those things in which
they are so fearfully poor, and brings before them the necessity of
speedily obtaining them. The case is so urgent that our great Advocate in
the court above sends us special counsel on this point. The fact that He
who has condescended to point out our lack and counsel us to buy, is the
one who has these things to bestow and invites us to come to Him for them,
is the best possible guarantee that our application will be respected and
our requests granted.

But by what means can we buy these things?--Just as we buy all other gospel
graces. "Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that
hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without
money and without price." Isaiah 55: 1. We thus buy by the asking, buy by
throwing away the worthless baubles of earth and receiving priceless
treasures in their stead, buy by simply coming and receiving, buy, giving
nothing in return. What do we buy on these gracious terms?--Bread that
perishes not, spotless raiment that soils not, riches that corrupt not, and
an inheritance that fades not away. Strange transaction, this! Yet the Lord
condescends to deal thus with His people. He might compel us to come in the
manner and with the mien of beggars, but instead of this He gives us the
treasures of His grace, and in return receives our worthlessness, that we
may take the blessings He has to bestow, not as pittances dealt out to
mendicants, but as the legitimate possessions of honorable purchase. The
things to be obtained demand special notice.

"Gold Tried in the Fire."--Gold literally considered is the comprehensive
name for all worldly wealth and riches. Figuratively, it must denote that
which constitutes spiritual riches. What grace, then, is represented by the
gold, or rather, what graces? Doubtless no one single grace can be said to
answer to the full import of that term. The Lord said to the church of
Smyrna that He knew their poverty, but they were rich. That

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testimony shows that their riches consisted of that which was finally to
put them in possession of a crown of life. Says James, "Hearken, my beloved
brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of the world, rich in faith, and
heirs of the kingdom which He hath promised to them that love Him?" James
2: 5. "Faith," says Paul, "is the substance of things hoped for, the
evidence of things not seen." Hebrews 11: 1. To be "rich toward God," rich
in the spiritual sense, is to have a clear title to the promises, to be
heir of that "inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not
away, reserved in heaven for you." 1 Peter 1: 4. "If ye be Christ's, then
are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." Galatians 3:
29. How do we obtain this heirship?--In the same way that Abraham obtained
the promise, that is, through faith. (Romans 4: 13, 14.)

No wonder, then, that the entire eleventh chapter of Hebrews should be
devoted to this important subject, setting forth the mighty achievements
that have been accomplished, and the precious promises that have been
obtained, through faith. In Hebrews 12: 1, the grand conclusion of the
argument is given when Christians are exhorted to lay aside every weight,
and the sin (of unbelief) that so easily besets them.

Nothing will sooner dry up the springs of spirituality, and sink us into
utter poverty in reference to the things of the kingdom of God, than to let
faith go out and unbelief come in. Faith must enter into every action that
is pleasing in His sight. In coming to Him, the first thing is to believe
that He is. It is through faith as the chief agent under the grace which is
the gift of God, that we are to be saved. (Hebrews 11: 6; Ephesians 2: 8.)

From this it would seem that faith is a principal element of spiritual
wealth. But if, as already remarked, no one grace can answer to the full
import of the term "gold," so doubtless other things are included with
faith. "Faith is the substance of things hoped for." Hence hope is an
inseparable accompaniment of faith. (Hebrews 11: 1; Romans 8: 24, 25.)
Again

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Paul tells us that faith works by love, and speaks in another place of
being "rich in good works." (Galatians 5: 6; 1 Timothy 6: 18.) Hence love
cannot be separated from faith. We then have before us the three things
associated together by Paul 1 Corinthians 13--faith, hope, and charity, or
love; and the greatest of these is charity, which is "rich in good works."
Such is the gold tried by fire which we are counseled to buy.

"White Raiment."--On this point there would not seem to be much room for
controversy. A few texts will furnish a key to the understanding of this
expression. Says the prophet, "All our righteousnesses are as filthy rags."
Isaiah 64: 6. We are counseled to buy the opposite of filthy rags, which
would be complete and spotless raiment. The same figure is used in
Zechariah 3: 3, 4. John, in Revelation 19: 8, says plainly that "the fine
linen is the righteousness of saints."

The Eyesalve.--On the eyesalve there is as little room for a diversity of
opinion as upon the white raiment. The anointing of the eyes is certainly
not to be taken in a literal sense, for reference is being made to
spiritual things. The eyesalve must denote that by which our spiritual
discernment is quickened. There is but one agent revealed to us in the word
of God by which this is accomplished, and that is the Holy Spirit. In Acts
10: 38 we read that "God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost."
The same writer through whom came this Revelation from Jesus Christ which
we are studying, wrote to the church in his first epistle, as follows: "But
ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things. . . . But the
anointing which ye have received of Him abideth in you, and ye need not
that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all
things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye
shall abide in Him." 1 John 2: 20, 27. By referring to his Gospel, it is
found that the work which John here sets forth as accomplished by the
anointing is exactly the same that he there attributes to the Holy Spirit.
"The Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom

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the Father will send in My name, He shall teach you all things, and bring
all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you." John 14:
26 (See also John 16: 13.)

Thus in a formal and solemn manner are we counseled by the faithful and
true Witness, under the figures of gold, white raiment, and eyesalve, to
seek from Him an increase of the heavenly graces of faith, hope, charity,
that righteousness which He alone can furnish, and an unction from the Holy
Spirit. But how is it possible that a people lacking these things should
think themselves rich and increased with goods? A plausible inference may
here be drawn, which is perhaps also a necessary one, as there is room for
no other. It will be observed that no fault is found with the Laodiceans on
account of the doctrines they hold. They are not accused of harboring a
Jezebel in their midst, or countenancing the doctrines of Balaam, or the
Nicolaitanes. So far as we can learn, their belief is correct, and their
doctrine sound.

The inference therefore is that having a correct doctrine, they are
content. They are satisfied with a correct form of religion without its
power. Having received light concerning the closing events of the gospel
era, and having a correct theoretical knowledge of the truths that pertain
to the last generation of men, they are inclined to rest in this to the
neglect of spiritual power which changes the life and builds strong
character. It is by their actions, doubtless, not by their words, that they
say they are rich and increased with good. Having so much light and so much
truth, what can they want besides? If they defend the theory, and as far as
their outward life is concerned, conform to the increasing light upon the
commandments of God and the faith of Jesus, is not their righteousness
complete? Are they not rich, and increased with goods, and in need of
nothing? Here is their failure. Their whole being should cry out for the
spirit, the zeal, the fervency, the life, the power of a living
Christianity.

The Token of Love.--As strange as it may seem, the token of love is
chastisement. "As many as I love, I rebuke, and chas-

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ten." If we are without chastisement, we are not sons. (Hebrews 12: 8.) "A
general law of His gracious economy," says Augustus C. Thompson, "is here
set forth. . . . As all need chastisement in some measure, they in some
measure receive it, and thus have proof of the Saviour's attachment. This
is a hard lesson to learn, and believers are dull scholars; yet here and
throughout God's word and providence it stands, that trials are His
benedictions, and that no child escapes the rod. The incorrigibly misshapen
and coarse-grained blocks are rejected, whilst those chosen for the
glorious structure are subjected to the chisel and the hammer. There is no
cluster on the true vine but must pass through the winepress. 'For myself,'
said an old divine under affliction-- 'for myself, I bless God I have
observed and felt so much mercy in this angry dispensation of God that I am
almost transported. I am sure highly pleased with thinking how infinitely
sweet His mercies are, when His judgments are so gracious.' In view, then,
of the origin and design of the chastisements you receive. 'Be zealous and
repent.' Lose no time; lose not a blow of the rod, but repent at once. Be
fervent in spirit. Such is the first appliance of encouragement." [1]

Be Zealous and Repent.--Although, as we have seen, the condition
represented by coldness is preferable to one of lukewarmness, yet that is
not a state in which our Lord ever desires to find us. We are never
exhorted to seek that state. There is a far better one which we are
counseled to attain; and that is to be zealous, to be fervent, and to have
our hearts all aglow in the service of our Master.

Christ Knocking at the Door.--"Here is the heart of hearts," says Augustus
C. Thompson. "Notwithstanding their offensive attitude, their unlovely
character, such is His love to their souls that He humbles Himself to
solicit the privilege of making them blessed. 'Behold, I stand at the door,
and knock.' Why does He? Not because He is without home elsewhere.

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. . . Among the mansions in His Father's house there is not one entrance
closed to Him. He is the life of every heart, the light in every eye, the
song on every tongue, in glory. But He goes round from door to door in
Laodicea. He stands at each, and knocks, because He came to seek and to
save that which is lost, because He cannot give up the purpose of
communicating eternal life to as many as the Father hath given Him, and
because He cannot become known to the inmate unless the door be opened and
a welcome given Him. Have you bought a piece of ground, have you bought
five yoke of oxen, is your hat in your hand, and do you pray do be excused?
He knocks and knocks. But you cannot receive company at present; you are
worn out with labor; you have wheeled round the sofa; you are making
yourself comfortable, and you send word you are engaged. He knocks and
knocks. . . . It is the hour for church prayer meeting or for monthly
concert; there is opportunity to pay a Christian visit to an individual or
a family; but you move not. . . . Oh, nauseous lukewarmness! Oh, fatal
worldliness! The Lord of glory comes all the way from His celestial
palace--comes in poverty, in sweat, in blood--comes to the door of a
professed friend, who owes all to Him, and cannot get in!--comes to rescue
a man whose house is on fire, and he will not admit Him! Oh, the height,
the depth, or Jesus Christ's forbearance! Even the heathen Publius received
Paul and lodged him three days courteously. Shall nominal Christians tell
the Lord of apostles they have no room for Him?" [2]

"If Any Man Hear My Voice."--The Lord entreats, then, as well as knocks.
The word "if" implies that some will not hear. Though He stands and knocks,
yet some will close their ears to His tender entreaties. But it is not
enough simply to hear. We must open the door. Many who at first hear the
voice, and for a time feel inclined to heed, will, alas! fail in the end to
do that which is necessary to secure to themselves the communion of the
heavenly Guest.

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Reader, are you ears open to the entreaties which the Saviour directs to
you? Is His voice a welcome sound to you? Will you heed it? Will you open
the door and let Him in? Or is the door of your heart held fast by heaps of
this world's rubbish, which you are unwilling to remove? Remember that the
Lord of life never forces an entrance. He condescends to come and knock,
and seek admittance; but He takes up His abode in those hearts only where
He is then a welcome and invited gust. heavenly Guest.

Then the promise! "I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he
with Me." How forcible and touching is the figure! Friend with friend,
partaking of the cheerful and social meal! Mind with mind, holding free and
intimate converse! What a festal scene must that be where the King of glory
is a guest! No common degree of union, no ordinary blessing, no usual
privilege, is denoted by this language. Who can remain indifferent under
such tender entreaty and so gracious a promise? Nor are we required to
furnish the table for this exalted Guest. This He does Himself, not with
the gross nutriment of earth, but with viands from His own heavenly
storehouse. Here He sets before us foretastes of the glory soon to be
revealed. Here He gives us an earnest of our future inheritance, which is
"incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away." Verily, when we
comply with the conditions and receive this promise, we shall experience
the rising of the daystar in our hearts, and behold the dawn of a glorious
morning for the church of God.

The Promise to the Overcomer.--The promise of supping with His disciples is
made by the Lord before the final promise to the overcomer is given. This
shows that the blessing included in that promise are to be enjoyed in this
probationary state. Now, added to all these, is the promise to the
overcomer: "To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with Me in My
throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with My Father in His
throne." Here the promises of the Lord culminate. From being at first
rebellious, and then fallen,

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degraded, and polluted, man is brought back into reconciliation with God
through the work of the Redeemer. He is cleansed from his pollutions,
redeemed from the fall, made immortal, and finally raised to a seat upon
the throne of his Saviour. Honor and exaltation can go no farther. Human
minds cannot conceive that state, human language cannot describe it. We can
only labor on until, if overcomers, we shall know what it is.

In this verse there is not only a glorious promise, but there is also an
important doctrine. We learn by this that Christ reigns consecutively upon
two thrones. One is the throne of His Father, the other is His own throne.
He declares in this verse that He has overcome, and is now set down with
His Father in His throne. He is now associated with the Father in the
throne of universal dominion, placed at His right hand, far above all
principality, power, might, and dominion. (Ephesians 1: 20-22.) While in
this position, He is a priest-king. He is a priest, "a minister of the
sanctuary;" but at the same time He is "on the right hand of the throne of
the Majesty in the heavens." Hebrews 8: 1, 2. This position and work of our
Lord was thus predicted by the prophet Zechariah: "Speak unto him, saying,
Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts [God], saying, Behold the man whose name is
The Branch [Christ]; and He shall grow up out of His place, and He shall
build the temple of the Lord: . . . and He [Christ] shall bear the glory,
and shall sit and rule upon His [God's] throne; and He [Christ] shall be a
priest upon His [God's] throne: and the counsel of peace [in the sacrifice
and priestly work of Christ in behalf of repenting man] shall be between
them both." Zechariah 6: 12, 13.

But the time is coming when He is to change His position, and leaving the
throne of His Father, take His own throne. This must be when the time comes
for the reward of the overcomers, for when they enter upon their reward,
they are to sit with Christ on His throne, as He was overcome, and is now
seated with the Father upon His throne. This change in the position of
Christ is set forth by Paul:

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"Then cometh the end, when He shall have delivered up the kingdom to God,
even the Father; when He shall have put down all rule and all authority and
power. For He must reign, till He hath put all enemies under His feet. The
last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. For He hath put all things
under His feet. But when He saith all things are put under Him, it is
manifest that He is excepted, which did put all things under Him. And when
all things shall be subdued unto Him, then shall the Son also Himself be
subject unto Him that put all things under Him, that God may be all in
all." 1 Corinthians 15: 24-28.

The truths taught in this scripture may perhaps be most briefly expressed
by a paraphrase, and by giving, in every instance, instead of the pronouns,
the nouns to which they respectively refer. Thus:

"Then cometh the end (of the present age), when Christ shall have delivered
up the kingdom (which He now holds conjointly with the Father) to God, even
the Father; when God shall have put down all rule and all authority and
power (that is opposed to the work of the Son). For Christ must reign (on
the throne of His Father) till the Father hath put all enemies under
Christ's feet. [Psalm 110: 1.] The last enemy that shall be destroyed is
death. For God (then) hath put all things under Christ's feet. But when God
saith, all things are put under Christ (and He begins His reign upon His
own throne), it is manifest that God is excepted, who did put all things
under Christ. And when all things shall be subdued unto Christ, then shall
Christ also Himself be subject unto God that put all things under Him, that
God may be all in all."

From this it will be seen that the kingdom which Christ delivers up to the
Father is that which He holds at the present time upon His Father's throne,
where He tells us He is now seated. He delivers up this kingdom at the end
of His priestly meditation, when the time comes for Him to take His own
throne. After this He reigns on the throne of His father David, and is
subject only to God, who still retains His posi-

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tion upon the throne of universal dominion. In this reign of Christ the
saints participate. "To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with Me in
My throne." "They lived," says John, dating from the first resurrection,
"and reigned with Christ a thousand years." Revelation 20: 4. This we
understand to be a special reign, or for a special purpose, as will be
noticed in that chapter, for the actual reign of the saints is to be
"forever and ever." Daniel 7: 18, 27. How can any earthly attraction divert
our gaze from this enduring and heavenly prospect?

Thus close the messages to the seven churches. How pointed and searching is
their testimony! What lessons they contain for all Christian in all ages!
It is as true with the last church as with the first, that all their works
are known to Him who walks in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks.
From His scrutinizing gaze nothing can be hidden. While His threatenings to
the hypocrites and evil workers are awful, as in justice they may be, how
ample, how comforting, how gracious, how glorious are His promises to those
who love and follow Him with singleness of heart!

[1] Augustus C. Thompson, Morning Hours in Patmos, pp. 260, 261.

[2] Ibid., pp. 261-264.
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                                 Chapter IV

                          Before the Throne of God

Verse 1 After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and
the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me;
which said, Come up hither, and I will show thee things which must be
hereafter.

In the first three chapters, John presented the vision he had of the Son of
man. He described His majestic person, and recorded the words which He
uttered with a voice as the sound of many waters. A new scene and a new
vision now open before us. The expression "after this" does not denote that
what is recorded in Revelation 4 and onward was to take place after the
fulfillment of everything recorded in the three preceding chapters. It
means only that after the prophet had seen and heard what is there
recorded, he had the new view which he now introduces.

"A Door Was Opened in Heaven."--Let it be noticed that John says, "A door
was opened in heaven," not into heaven. This expression reads literally in
the Greek, "Behold, a door open in heaven." It was not an opening of heaven
itself before the mind of John, as in the case of Stephen (Acts 7: 56), but
some place in heaven was open before him, and he was permitted to behold
what was taking place within. That what John saw open was the heavenly
sanctuary, will plainly appear from other parts of the book.

"Things Which Must Be Hereafter."--Compare this with Revelation 1: 1. The
great object of the Revelation seems to be the presentation of future
events which will inform, edify, and comfort the church.

Verse 2 And immediately I was in the Spirit: and, behold, a throne was set
in heaven, and one sat on the throne. 3 And He that sat was to look upon
like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the
throne, in sight like unto an emerald. 4 And round about the throne were
four and twenty seats: and

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upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white
raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold. 5 And out of the
throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were
seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits
of God.

In the Spirit.--Once before in this book we have had the expression, "I was
in the Spirit on the Lord's day" (Revelation 1: 10), where it was taken to
express the fact that John had a vision upon the Sabbath, or true Lord's
day. If it there expressed the state of being in vision, it would denote
the same thing here. Consequently the first vision ended with Revelation 3,
and a new one is here introduced. Nor is it any objection to this view that
previous to this, as is learned from the first verse of this chapter, John
was in such a spiritual state as to be able to look up and see a door open
in heaven, and to hear a voice like the mighty sound of a trumpet calling
him up to a nearer prospect of heavenly things. Stephen, also, full of the
Holy Ghost, looked up and saw the heavens open, and the Son of man on the
right hand of God. To be in the Spirit denotes a high state of spiritual
elevation. On what day this vision was given, we are not informed.

Being again in heavenly vision, John first beheld a throne set in heaven,
and the Divine Being seated upon it. The description of the appearance of
this personage, clothed in garments of mingled colors, is such as at once
to suggest to the mind a monarch vested with his royal robes. About the
throne there was a rainbow, which added grandeur to the scene, and reminds
us that though He who sits upon the throne is an almighty and absolute
ruler, He is nevertheless the covenant-keeping God.

The Four and Twenty Elders.--Who are these beings who surround the throne
of glory? It will be observed that they are clothed in white raiment and
have on their heads crowns of gold, which are tokens of both a conflict
completed and a victory gained. From this we conclude that they were once
participants in the Christian warfare, they once trod the earthly way with
all saints; but they have been overcomers, and in

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advance of the great multitude of the redeemed, are wearing their victor
crowns in the heavenly world. Indeed, they plainly tell us this in the song
of praise which they ascribe to the Lamb: "They sung a new song, saying,
Thou are worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for Thou
wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by Thy blood out of every kindred,
and tongue, and people, and nation." Revelation 5: 9. This song is sung
before any of the events in the prophecy of the seven seals take place; for
it is sung to set forth the worthiness of the Lamb to take the book and to
open the seals, on the ground of what He had already accomplished--their
redemption. It is not therefore thrown in here by anticipation, having its
application in the future, but it expresses an absolute and finished fact
in the history of those who sang it. These, then, were a class of redeemed
persons--redeemed from this earth, redeemed as all others must be redeemed,
by the precious blood of Christ.

Do we in any other place read of such a class of redeemed ones? We think
Paul refers to the same company when he writes to the Ephesians thus:
"Wherefore He saith, When He [Christ] ascended up on high, He led captivity
captive, and gave gifts unto men." The marginal reading is He led a
"multitude of captives." Ephesians 4: 8. Going back to the events that
occurred in connection with the crucifixion and the resurrection of Christ,
we read: "The graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept
arose, and came out of the graves after His resurrection, and went into the
holy city, and appeared unto many." Matthew 27: 52, 53. Thus the answer to
our question comes unmistakably from the sacred page. These are some of
those who came out of their graves at the resurrection of Christ, and who
were numbered with the illustrious multitude which Jesus led up from the
captivity of Death's dark domain when He ascended in triumph on high.
Matthew records their resurrection, Paul their ascension, and John beholds
them in heaven, performing the sacred duties which they were raised up to
accomplish.

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In this view we are not alone. John Wesley spoke as follows concerning the
four and twenty elders: " 'Clothed in white raiment'--This and their golden
crowns show that they had already finished their course, and taken their
places among the citizens of heaven. They are never termed souls, and hence
it is probable that they had glorified bodies already. Compare Matthew 27:
52." [1]

Particular attention must be given to the fact that the four and twenty
elders are said to be seated on thrones. Our translation reads "seats;" but
the Greek is {GREEK CHARACTERS IN PRINTED TEXT}, thronoi, thrones, the same
word as is used three times in verses 2 and 3 and once in verse 4
immediately preceding. Thus the Revised Version reads "Round about the
throne were four and twenty thrones, and upon the thrones I saw four and
twenty elders sitting." Consequently this passage throws light on the
expressions found in Daniel 7: 9, "I beheld till the thrones were cast
down." These are the same thrones, and as has been shown in comments upon
that passage, the meaning is not that the thrones were overturned, or cast
down, in the ordinary sense of that expression, but placed, or set. The
figure is taken from the Eastern custom of placing mats or divans for
distinguished guests to sit upon. These four and twenty elders (see
comments on Revelation 5) are evidently assistants of Christ in His
mediatorial work in the sanctuary on high. When the judgment scene
described in Daniel 7: 9 began in the most holy place, their thrones were
placed there, according to the testimony of that passage.

The Seven Lamps of Fire.--In these lamps of fire we have the antitype of
the golden candlestick of the typical sanctuary, with its seven
ever-burning lamps. This candlestick was placed by divine direction in the
first apartment of the earthly sanctuary. (Exodus 25: 31, 32, 37; 26: 35;
27: 20.) Now when John tells us that a door was open in heaven, and in the
apartment thus disclosed to view he sees the antitype of the candlestick

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the earthly sanctuary, it is good proof that he is looking into the first
apartment of the sanctuary above.

Verse 6 And before the throne there was a sea of glass like unto crystal:
and in the midst of the throne, and round about the throne, were four
beasts full of eyes before and behind. 7 And the first beast was like a
lion, and the second beast like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a
man, and the fourth beast was like a flying eagle. 8 And the four beasts
had each of them six wings about him; and they were full of eyes within:
and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God
Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come. 9 And when those beasts give
glory and honor and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth for
ever and ever, 10 the four and twenty elders fall down before Him that sat
on the throne, and worship Him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast
their crowns before the throne, saying, 11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to
receive glory and honor and power: for Thou hast created all things, and
for Thy pleasure they are and were created.

The Sea of Glass.--Not composed of glass, but a broad expanse resembling
glass--"glassy, i.e., transparent," as James Strong says in his Greek
Dictionary. This idea is further carried out by the likening of the sea to
crystal, which is defined to mean "anything concrete and pellucid, like ice
or glass." The position of this sea is such as to show that it bears no
analogy to the laver of the ancient typical service. It may extend under,
and be the foundation of, the throne and even of the city itself. It is
again brought to view in Revelation 15: 2, as the place where the
overcomers, in the ecstatic joy of final victory, will soon stand. There we
shall praise Him who has given us the victory.

The Four Living Creatures.--It is an unhappy translation which has given us
the word "beasts" in this verse. The Greek word {GREEK CHARACTERS IN
PRINTED TEXT}, zoon, denotes properly "a living creature." Bloomfield says
in his comment, " ' Four living creatures' (not beasts). So Heinr. renders
it. . . . The propriety of this correction, is now, I believe, generally
agreed upon by commentators. The word is very different from {GREEK
CHARACTERS IN PRINTED TEXT} [therion, wild beast], used to designate the
prophetic beasts in the 13th and following chapters. (Scholefield.) It may
be added, that Bulkeley adduces several examples of {GREEK CHARACTERS IN
PRINTED TEXT}, to denote, not only creature, but

Page 412

even a human being, especially one from Origen, who uses it of our Lord
Jesus." [2]

Similar imagery is used in the first chapter of Ezekiel. The qualities
which would seem to be signified by the emblems are strength, perseverance,
reason, and swiftness--strength of affection, perseverance, in carrying out
the requirements of duty, reason in comprehending the divine will, and
swiftness in obeying. These living beings are even more intimately
connected with the throne than are the four and twenty elders, being
represented as in the midst of it, and round about it. Like the elders,
these in their song to the Lamb ascribe to Him praise for having redeemed
them from the earth. They therefore belong to the same company, and
represent a part of the great multitude, who, as already described (see
remarks on verse 4), have been led up on high from the captivity of death.
Concerning the object of their redemption, see remarks on Revelation 5: 8.

They Rest Not.--"O happy unrest!" beautifully exclaims John Wesley. The
theme of their constant worship is, "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty,
which was, and is, and is to come." No sublimer strain ever issued from
created lips. They repeat it "day and night," or continually, these terms
only denoting the manner in which time is reckoned here, for there can be
no night where the throne of god is. (Revelation 21: 23, 25.)

We mortals are likely to tire of the repetition of the simple testimony we
bear here to the goodness and mercy of God. We are sometimes tempted to say
nothing, because we cannot continually say something new. But may we not
learn a profitable lesson from the course of these holy beings above, who
never grow weary of the ceaseless repetition of these words, "Holy, holy,
holy, Lord God Almighty;" and to whom these words never grow old, because
their hearts ever glow with a sense of His holiness, goodness, and love?
Praise does not be-

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come to them monotonous, for with every utterance they gain a new view of
the attributes of the Almighty. They reach a greater height of
comprehension in their vision of His perfections; the horizon expands
before them; their hearts enlarge; and the new emotions of adoration draw
from them a fresh utterance of their holy salutation, new even to
themselves, "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty!"

So, even with us here, though words are often repeated concerning the
goodness, the mercy, and the love of God, the value of His truth, and the
attractions of the world to come, these should not grow stale upon the ear.
We should all our lives be rising to new conceptions of the blessings
embraced in these glorious themes.

"Thou are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power." How
worthy, we never shall be able to realize until, like the holy beings who
utter this language, changed to immortality, we are presented "faultless
before the presence of His glory." Jude 24.

"Thou Hast Created All Things."--The works of creation furnish the
foundation for the honor, glory, and power ascribed to God. "For Thy
pleasure [or through Thy will, {GREEK CHARACTERS IN PRINTED TEXT} dia to
thelema sou], they are, and were created." God willed, and all things came
into existence; and by the same power they are preserved and sustained.

[1] John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the New Testament, p. 695, comment
on Revelation 4: 4.

[2] S. T. Bloomfield, The Greek Testament With English Notes, Vol. II, p.
574, comment on Revelation 4: 6.
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                                 Chapter V

                      The Challenge of the Sealed Book

Verse 1 And I saw in the right hand of Him that sat on the throne a book
written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals.

As a new chapter opens, the same view is still before the mind of the
apostle. By the words, "Him that sat on the throne," is evidently meant the
Father, as the Son is later introduced as "a Lamb as it had been slain."
The book which John here saw, contained a revelation of scenes that were to
be enacted in the history of the church to the end of time. That the volume
is held in the right hand of Him that sat on the throne may signify that a
knowledge of the future rests with God alone, except so far as He sees fit
to reveal it to others.

The Sealed Book.--The books in use at the time the Revelation was given
were not in the form of books as now made. They did not consist of a series
of leaves bound together, but were composed of strips of parchment or other
material, rolled up. On this point, John Wesley remarks:

"The usual books of the ancients were not like ours, but were volumes, or
long pieces of parchment, rolled upon a long stick, as we frequently roll
silks. Such was this represented, which was sealed with seven seals. Not as
if the apostle saw all the seals at once: for there were seven volumes
wrapped up on within another, each of which was sealed: so that upon
opening and and unrolling the first, the second appeared to be sealed up
till that was opened, and so on to the seventh."[1]

This book was not written within and on the backside, as the punctuation of
our common version makes it read.

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"Grotius, Lowman, Fuller, etc.," says the Cottage Bible, "remove the comma
thus: 'Written within, and on the back (or outside) sealed.' " [2] How
these seals were placed, is sufficiently explained.

Verse 2 And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is
worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof? 3 And no man in
heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book,
neither to look thereon. 4 And I wept much, because no man was found worthy
to open and to read the book, neither to look thereon.

The Challenge.--In the vision God, as it were, held forth this book to the
view of the universe, and a strong angel, one doubtless of great eminence
and power, came forth as a crier, and with a mighty voice challenged all
creatures in the universe to try the strength of their wisdom in opening
the counsels of God. Who could be found worthy to open the book, and to
loose the seals thereof? A pause ensued. In silence the universe owned its
inability and unworthiness to enter into the counsels of the Creator. "No
man in heaven, " {GREEK CHARACTERS IN PRINTED TEXT}, oudeis, no one,
signifies not merely no man, but no one, no being, in heaven. Is not this
proof that the faculties of angels are limited, like those of man, in
respect to penetrating the future and disclosing what is to come? When the
apostle saw that no one came forward to open the book, he greatly feared
that the counsels of God which it contained in reference to his people
would never be disclosed. In the natural tenderness of his feelings, and
his concern for the church, he wept much. "How far are they," says John
Wesley, "from the temper of St. John, who inquire after anything rather
than the contents of this books!" [3]

Upon the words, "I wept much," Joseph Benson offers the following beautiful
remarks: "Being greatly affected with the thought that no being whatever
was to be found able to understand, reveal, and accomplish the divine
counsels, fearing they would still remain concealed from the church. This
weeping

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of the apostle sprang from greatness of mind. The tenderness of heart which
he always had, appeared more clearly now he was out of his own power. The
Revelation was not written without tears: neither without tears will it be
understood." [4]

Verse 5 And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of
the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and
to loose the seven seals thereof. 6 And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of
the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a
Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the
seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth. 7 And He came and took
the book out of the right hand of Him that sat upon the throne.

John is not permitted to weep for long. God is not willing that any
knowledge which can benefit His people shall be withheld from them.
Provision is made for the opening of the book. Hence one of the elders
counsels John, "Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root
of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof."
Why one of the elder in preference to some other being, should impart this
information to John, does not appear, unless it is that having been
redeemed, they had an acquaintance with Christ, and would be especially
interested in all that pertained to the welfare of the church on earth.

Christ is here called the "Lion of the tribe of Judah." Why called a lion?
And why of the tribe of Judah?--As to the first question, it is probably to
denote His strength. As the lion is the king of beasts, the monarch of the
forest, he thus becomes a fit emblem of kingly authority and power. As to
being "of the tribe of Judah," He doubtless receives this appellation from
the prophecy in Genesis 49: 9, 10.

"The Root of David."--Christ was the source and sustainer of David in his
position and power. That David's position was specially ordained of Christ,
and that he was specially sustained by Him, there can be no doubt. David
was the type, Christ was the antitype. David's throne and reign over Israel
was a type of Christ's reign over His people. He shall reign

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upon "The throne of His father David." Luke 1: 32, 33. As Christ appeared
in the line of David's descendants when He took upon Himself our nature, He
is also called "the offspring of David," and "a rod out of the stem of
Jesse." Isaiah 11: 1, 10; Revelation 22: 16. His connection with the throne
of David being thus set forth, and His right thus shown to rule over the
people of God, there was a propriety in entrusting to Him the opening of
the seals.

"Hath Prevailed."--These words indicate that the right to open the book was
acquired by a victory gained in some previous conflict. We find the account
of this triumph set forth later in this chapter. The next scene introduces
us to the great work of Christ as the Redeemer of the world, and the
shedding of His blood for the remission of sin and the salvation of man. In
this work He was subjected to the fiercest assaults of Satan. But He
endured temptation, bore the agonies of the cross, rose a victor over death
and the grave, made the way of redemption sure--triumphed! Hence the four
living beings and the four and twenty elders sign, "Thou art worthy to take
the book, and to open the seals thereof: for Thou was slain, and hast
redeemed us to God by Thy blood."

John looks for the Lion of the tribe of Judah and beholds a Lamb in the
midst of the throne and of the four living beings and the elders, as it had
been slain.

"In the Midst of the Throne."--Phillip Doddridge translates thus: "I beheld
. . . in the middle space between the throne and the four living creatures,
and in the midst of the elders, . . . there stood . . . a Lamb." [5] In the
center of the scene was the throne of the Father, and standing in the open
space which surrounded it was the Son, set forth under the symbol of a
slain lamb. Around these there stood those saints who had been redeemed:
first, those represented by the four living creatures, then the elders
forming the second circle, and the angles (verse 11) forming a third
circle. The worthiness of Christ as

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He thus stands forth under the figure of a slain lamb, is the admiration of
all the holy throng.

"As It Had Been Slain."--John C. Wood house, as quoted in the Comprehensive
Commentary, says: "The Greek implies that the Lamb appeared with a wounded
neck and throat, as if smitten at the altar as a victim." [6] On this
phrase, Adam Clarke says: "As if now in the act of being offered. This is
very remarkable; so important is the sacrificial offering of Christ in the
sight of God, that He is still represented as being in the very act of
pouring out His blood for the offenses of man." [7]

"Seven Horns and Seven Eyes."--Horns are symbols of power and eyes typify
wisdom. Seven is a number denoting completeness, or perfection. We are thus
taught that perfect power and perfect wisdom inhere in the Lamb.

"He Came and Took the Book."--Commentators have found an incongruity in the
idea that the book was taken by the Lamb, and have had recourse to several
expedients to avoid the difficulty. But is it not a well-established
principle that any action which could be performed by the person or being
represented by a symbol, may be attributed to the symbol? The Lamb, we
know, is a symbol of Christ. We know there is nothing incongruous in
Christ's taking a book, and when we read that the book was taken, we think
of the action, not as performed by a lamb, but by the one of whom the lamb
is a symbol.

Verse 8 And when He had taken the book, the four beasts and four and twenty
elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and
golden vials full of odors, which are the prayers of saints. 9 And they
sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the
seals thereof: for Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy
blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; 10 and hast
made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.

"Vials Full of Odors."--From this expression we form an idea of the
employment of those redeemed one represented by

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the four living creatures and the four and twenty elders. They have golden
vials, or vessels, full of odors--or, as the margin reads, incense--which
are the prayers of saints. This is a work of ministry such as pertains to
priests.

The reader will remember that in the ancient typical service the high
priest had many assistants. when we consider that we are now looking into
sanctuary in heaven, the conclusion at once follows that these redeemed
ones are the assistants of our great High Priest above. For this purpose
they were doubtless redeemed. What could be more appropriate than that our
Lord should be assisted in His priestly work for the human race by noble
members of that race whose holiness of life, and purity of character, had
fitted them to raised up for that purpose? (See remarks on Revelation 4:
4.)

We are aware that many entertain in a great aversion to the idea of there
being anything real and tangible in heaven. But though the Revelation deals
largely in figures, it does not deal in fictions. There is reality in all
the things described, and we gain an understanding of the reality when we
get a correct interpretation of the figures. Thus, in this vision we know
that the One upon the throne is god. He is really there. We know the Lamb
symbolizes Christ. He too is really there. He ascended with a literal,
tangible body, and who can say that He does not still retain it?

If, then, our great High Priest is a literal being, He must have a literal
place in which to minister. If the four living creatures and the four and
twenty elders represent those whom Christ led up from the captivity of
death at the time of His resurrection and ascension, why are they not just
as literal beings while there in heaven as they were when they ascended?

The Song.--It is called "a new song," new, probably, in respect to the
occasion and the composition. They were the first that could sing it, being
the first that were redeemed. They call themselves "kings and priests." In
what sense they are priests has already been noticed. They assist Christ in
His priestly work. In the same sense doubtless they are also

Page 421

kings, for Christ is set down with His Father on His throne, and doubtless
these as ministers of His have some part to act in connection with the
government of heaven in its relation to this world.

The Anticipation.--"We shall reign on the earth." Thus, notwithstanding
they are redeemed and surround the throne of God and of the Lamb, where all
is glory ineffable, their song contemplates a still higher state when the
great work of redemption shall be completed, and they, with the whole
redeemed family of God, shall reign on the earth, the promised inheritance
and the eternal residence of the saints. (Romans 4: 13, Galatians 3: 29;
Psalm 37: 11; Matthew 5: 5; 2 Peter 3: 13; Isaiah 65: 17-25; Revelation 21:
1-5.)

Verse 11 And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the
throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten
thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; 12 saying with a
loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches,
and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing.

The Heavenly Sanctuary.--How little conception we have of the magnitude and
glory of the heavenly temple! Into that temple John was introduced at the
opening of Revelation 4, by the door which was open in heaven. Into the
same temple, he is still looking in Revelation 5: 11, 12. Now he beholds
the heavenly hosts. About the throne are those represented by the four
living creatures. Next come the four and twenty elders. Then John views a
multitude of the heavenly angels surrounding the whole. How many? How many
would we suppose could convene within the heavenly temple? "Ten thousand
times ten thousand!" exclaims the seer. In this expression alone we have
one hundred million! Then, as if no numerical expression is adequate to
embrace the countless throng, he further adds, "And thousands of
thousands!" Well might the writer of Hebrews call this "an innumerable
company of angels." Hebrews 12: 22. These were in the sanctuary above.

Such was the company that John saw assembled at the place where the worship
of a universe centers, and where the

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wondrous plan of human redemption is going forward to completion. The
central figure in this innumerable and holy throng was the Lamb of God, and
the central act of His life which claimed their admiration was the shedding
of His blood for the salvation of fallen man. Every voice in all that
heavenly host joined in the ascription which was raised, "Worthy is the
Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength,
and honor, and glory, and blessing." Fitting assemblage for such a place!
Fitting song of adoration to be raised to Him who by the shedding of His
blood became a ransom for many, and who as our great High Priest in the
sanctuary above still pleads the merits of His sacrifice in our behalf.
Here, before such an august assemblage, must our life record soon come up
in final review. What shall fit us for the searching ordeal? What shall
enable us to rise and stand at last with the sinless throng above? O
infinite merit of the blood of Christ, which can cleanse us from all our
pollutions, and make us meet to tread the holy hill of Zion! O infinite
grace of God, which can prepare us to endure the glory, and give us
boldness to enter into His presence, even with exceeding joy!

Verse 13 And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under
the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I
saying, Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto Him that sitteth
upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever. 14 And the four
beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped
Him that liveth for ever and ever.

A Clean Universe.--In verse 13 we have a declaration thrown in out of its
chronological order for the purpose of following out to its completion the
previous statement or allusion. This occurs frequently in the Bible. In
this instance the time is anticipated when the work of redemption is
finished. In verse 10 the four living creatures and four and twenty elders
had declared, "We shall reign on the earth." Now the prophet's mind is
carried forward to that event. He looks forward to the time when the number
of the redeemed shall be made up, the

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universe be freed from sin and sinners, and a universal song of adoration
go up to God and the Lamb.

It is futile to attempt to apply this to the church in its present state,
or to any time in the past since sin entered the world, or even since Satan
fell from his high position as an angel of light and love in heaven. For at
the time of which John speaks, every creature in heaven and on earth
without any exception was sending up its anthem of blessings to God. But to
speak only of this world since the fall, cursings instead of blessings have
been breathed out against God and His throne from the great majority of our
apostate race. So it will ever be while sin reigns.

We find, then, no place for this sense which John describes, unless we go
forward to the time when the plan of redemption is completed, and the
saints enter upon their promised reign on the earth.

To the Lamb, equally with the Father who sits upon the throne, praise is
ascribed in this song of adoration. "Blessing, and honor, and glory, and
power, be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb forever
and ever." Revelation 5: 13.

Coming back from the glorious scene anticipated in verse 13 to events
taking place in the heavenly sanctuary before him, the prophets hears the
four living creatures exclaim, Amen.

[1] John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the New Testament, p. 697, comment
on Revelation 5: 1.

[2] The Cottage Bible, Vol. II, p. 1391, note on Revelation 5: 1.

[3] John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the New Testament, p. 698, comment
on Revelation 5: 4.

[4] Joseph Benson, Commentary on the New Testament, Vol. II, p. 721, note
on Revelation 5: 4.

[5] Phillip Doddridge, The Family Expositer, Vol. VI, p. 405, paraphrase of
Revelation 5: 5.

[6] William Jenks, Comprehensive Commentary, Vol. V., p. 684, note on
Revelation 5: 6.

[7] Adam Clarke, Commentary on the New Testament, Vol. II, p. 991, note on
Revelation 5: 6.
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Page 425

                                 Chapter VI

                 Breaking the Seals on the Book of Prophecy

Verse 1 And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it
were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see. 2
And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and
a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.

The Lamb takes the book, and proceeds at once to open the seals. The
attention of the apostle is called to the scenes that occur under each
seal. The number seven has already been noticed as denoting completeness
and perfection in the Scriptures. The seven seals represent events of a
religious character, and contain the history of the church from the opening
of the Christian Era to the second coming of Christ. When the seals are
broken, and the record was brought to light, the scenes were presented
before John, not by the reading of the description, but by a representation
of what was described in the book being made to pass before his view in
living characters, and in the place where the reality was to occur, namely,
the earth.

The First Seal.--The first symbol is a white horse, bearing a rider who
carries a bow. A crown is given to him, and he goes forth conquering and to
conquer, a fit emblem of the triumphs of the gospel in the first century of
the Christian Era. The whiteness of the horse denotes the purity of faith
in that age. The crown which was given to the rider, and his going forth as
a conqueror to make still further conquests, signify the zeal and success
with which the truth was promulgated by its earliest ministers. By what
symbols could the work of Christianity better be represented when it went
forth as an aggressive principle against the huge systems of error with
which it had at first to contend? The rider upon this horse went forth--

Page 426

where? His commission was unlimited. The gospel was to all the world.

Verse 3 And when He had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast
say, Come and see. 4 And there went out another horse that was red: and
power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and
that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great
sword.

The Second Seal.--Perhaps the first feature noticed in these symbols is the
contrast in the color of the horses. This doubtless has special
significance. It the whiteness of the first horse denoted the purity of the
gospel in the period which that symbol covers, the redness of the second
horse would signify that in this period that original purity began to be
corrupted. The mystery of iniquity already worked in Paul's day, and the
professed church of Christ was so far corrupted by this time as to require
this change in the color of the symbol. Errors began to arise. Worldliness
came in. The ecclesiastical power sought the alliance of the secular.
Troubles and commotions were the result.

Speaking of the period of the Christian church from A.D. 100 to 311, the
historian remarks:

"We now descend from the primitive apostolic church to the Graeco-Roman;
from the scene of creation to the work of preservation; from the fountain
of divine revelation to the stream of human development; from the
inspirations of the apostles and prophets to the productions of enlightened
but fallible teachers. The hand of God has drawn a bold line of demarcation
between the century of miracles and the succeeding ages, to show, by the
abrupt transition and the striking contrast, the difference between the
work of God and the work of man." [1] "The second period, from the death of
the apostle John to the end of the persecutions, or to the accession of
Constantine, the first Christian emperor, is the classic age . . . of
heathen persecution, and of Christian martyrdom and heroism. . . . It
furnishes a continuous commentary on the

Page 427

Saviour's words, 'Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of
wolves.' " [2] "The ante-Nicene age . . . is . . . the common root out of
which both [Catholicism and Protestantism] have sprung, Catholicism (Greek
and Roman) first, and Protestantism afterwards. It is the natural
transition from the apostolic age to the Nicene age, yet leaving behind
many important truths of the former (especially the Pauline doctrines)
which were to be derived and explored in future ages. We can trace in it
the elementary forms of the Catholic creed, organization, and worship, and
also the germs of nearly all the corruptions of Greek and Roman
Christianity." [3]

The spirit of this period perhaps reached its climax as we come to the days
of Constantine, the first so-called Christian emperor, whose conversion to
Christianity in A.D. 323 brought about a compromise between the church and
the Roman Empire. The Edict of Milan in A.D. 313, is said to have granted
toleration to Christians and allowed conversions to Christianity. Kenneth
S. Latourette declares that the acts immediately preceding and culminating
in the Edict of Milan in 313 "still remain the most significant of the many
milestones in the road by which the church and the state moved toward
co-operation." [4]

This modern scholar of church history further declares:

"Christianity, by bringing the church into existence, developed an
institution which in part was a rival of the state. It created a society
within the empire which, so many believed, threatened the very existence of
the latter. The conflict was very marked in the century or more before
Constantine. . . . When Constantine made his peace with the faith, however,
it long looked as though the conflict had been resolved by the control of
the church by the state. Yet, even in the days of the seeming subordination
of the church to the government,

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ecclesiastics sought to influence the policies of the latter." [5]

This state of things answers well to the declaration of the prophet that
power was given to him that sat on the horse "to take peace from the earth,
and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great
sword."

Verse 5 And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say,
Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him
had a pair of balances in his hand. 6 And I heard a voice in the midst of
the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of
barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.

The Third Seal.--How rapidly the work of corruption progresses! What a
contrast in color between this symbol and the first one: A black horse--the
very opposite of white! A period of great darkness and moral corruption in
the church must be denoted by this symbol. By the events of the second seal
the way was fully opened for that state of things to be brought about which
is here presented. The time that intervened between the reign of
Constantine and the establishment of the papacy in A.D. 538 may be justly
noted as the time when the darkest errors and the grossest superstitions
sprang up in the church. Of a period immediately succeeding the days of
Constantine, Mosheim says:

"Those vain fictions, which an attachment to the Platonic philosophy and to
popular opinions had engaged the greatest part of the Christian doctors to
adopt before the time of Constantine, were now confirmed, enlarged, and
embellished in various ways. From hence arose that extravagant veneration
for departed saints, and those absurd notions of a certain fire destined to
purify separate souls, that now prevailed, and of which the public marks
were everywhere to be seen. Hence also the celibacy of priests, the worship
of images and relics, which in process of time almost utterly destroyed the
Christian religion, or at least eclipsed its luster, and corrupted its very
essence in the most deplorable manner. An enormous train of different
superstitions were gradually substituted in the place

Page 429

of true religion and genuine piety. This odious revolution was owing to a
variety of causes. A ridiculous precipitation in receiving new opinions, a
preposterous desire of imitating the pagan rites, and of blending them with
Christian worship, and that idle propensity which the generality of mankind
have toward a gaudy and ostentatious religion, all contributed to establish
the reign of superstition upon the ruins of Christianity." [6]

Again he says: "A whole volume would be requisite to contain an enumeration
of the various frauds which artful knaves practiced, with success, to
delude the ignorant, when true religion almost entirely superseded by
horrid superstition." [7]

These quotations from Mosheim contain a description of the period covered
by the black horse of the third seal that answers accurately to the
prophecy. It is seen by this how paganism was incorporated into
Christianity, and how during this period the false system which resulted in
the establishment of the papacy, rapidly rounded out its full outlines, and
ripened into all its deplorable perfection of strength and stature.

The Balances.--"The balances denoted that religion and civil power would be
united in the person who would administer the executive power in the
government, and that he would claim the judicial authority both in church
and state. This was true among the Roman emperors from the days of
Constantine until the reign of Justinian, when he gave the same judicial
power to the bishop of Rome." [8]

The Wheat and the Barley.--"The measures of wheat and barley for a penny
denote that the members of the church would be eagerly engaged after
worldly goods, and the love of money would be the prevailing spirit of the
times, for they would dispose of anything for money." [9]

The Oil and the Wine.--These "denote the graces of the Spirit, faith and
love, and there was great danger of hurting

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these, under the influence of so much of a worldly spirit. And it is well
attested by all historians that the prosperity of the church in this age
produced the corruptions which finally terminated in the falling away, and
setting up the antichristian abominations." [10]

It will be observed that the voice limiting the amount of wheat for a
penny, and saying, "Hurt not the oil and the wine," is not spoken by anyone
on earth, but comes from the midst of the four living creatures, signifying
that although the undershepherds, the professed ministers of Christ, had no
care for the flock, yet the Lord was not unmindful of them in this period
of darkness. A voice comes from heaven. He takes care that the spirit of
worldliness does not prevail to such a degree that Christianity should be
entirely lost, or that the oil and the wine--graces of genuine
piety--should perish from the earth.

Verse 7 And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the
fourth beast say, Come and see. 8 And I looked, and behold a pale horse:
and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And
power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with
sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.

The Fourth Seal.--The color of this horse is remarkable. The original word
denotes the "pale or yellowish color" that is seen in blighted or sickly
plants. A strange state of things in the professed church must be denoted
by this symbol. The rider of this horse is named Death, and Hell ({GREEK
CHARACTERS IN PRINTED TEXT},hades, "the grave") followed with him. The
mortality is so great during this period it would seem as if "the pale
nations of the dead" had come upon the earth, and were following in the
wake of this desolating power. The period during which this seal applies
can hardly be mistaken. It must refer to the time in which the papacy bore
its unrebuked, unrestrained, and persecuting rule, beginning about A.D.
538, and extending to the time when the Reformers began their work of
exposing the corruptions of the papal system.

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"Power was given unto them"--"him," says the margin, that is, the power
personified by Death on the pale horse, namely the papacy. By the fourth
part of the earth is doubtless meant the territory over which this power
had jurisdiction; and the words "sword," "hunger," "death" (that is, some
infliction which causes death, as exposure or torture), and beasts of the
earth, are figures denoting the means by which it has put to death millions
of martyrs.

Verse 9 And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the
souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony
which they held: 10 and they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O
Lord, holy and true, dost Thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that
dwell on the earth? 11 And white robes were given unto every one of them;
and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season,
until their fellow servants also and their brethren, that should be killed
as they were, should be fulfilled.

The Fifth Seal.--Under the fifth seal the martyrs cry out for vengeance,
and white robes are given to them. The questions that at once suggest
themselves for solution are, Does this seal cover a period of time, and if
so what period? Where is the altar under which these souls were seen? What
are these souls, and what is their condition? What is meant by their cry
for vengeance? What is meant by white robes being given to them? When to
they rest for a little season, and what is signified by their brethren
being killed as they were? To all these questions we believe satisfactory
answers can be returned.

It seems consistent that this seal, like all the others, should cover a
period of time, and that the date of its application cannot be mistaken if
the preceding seals have rightly located. Following the period of papal
persecution, the time covered by this seal would begin when the Reformation
began to undermine the papal fabrication, and restrain the persecuting
power of the Roman Catholic Church.

The Altar.--This cannot denote any altar in heaven, as it evidently the
place where these victims had been slain--the altar of sacrifice. On this
point, Adam Clarke says: "A symbolical vision was exhibited, in which he
saw an altar; and

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under it the souls of these who had been slain for the word of
God--martyred for their attachment to Christianity--are represented as
being newly slain as victims to idolatry and superstition. The altar is
upon earth, not in heaven." [11] A confirmation of this view is found in
the fact that John is beholding scenes upon the earth. The souls are
represented under the altar, just as victims slain upon it would pour out
their blood beneath it, and fall by its side.

The Souls Under the Altar.--This representation is popularly regarded as a
strong proof of the doctrine of disembodied spirits and the conscious state
of the dead. Here, it is claimed, are souls seen by John in a disembodied
state, and yet they were conscious and had knowledge of passing events, for
they cried for vengeance on their persecutors. This view of the passages is
inadmissible, for several reasons.

The popular view places these souls in heaven, but the altar of sacrifice
on which they were slain, and beneath which they were seen, cannot be
there. The only altar we read of in heaven is the altar of incense, but it
would not be correct to represent victims just slain as under the alter of
incense, as that altar was never devoted to such a use.

It would be repugnant to all our ideas of the heavenly state to represent
souls in heaven shut up under an altar.

Can we suppose that the idea of vengeance would so dominate the minds of
souls in heaven as to make them, despite the joy and glory of that
ineffable state, dissatisfied and uneasy until vengeance was inflicted upon
their enemies? Would they not rather rejoice that persecution raised its
hand of their Redeemer, at whose right hand there is fullness of joy and
pleasures forevermore?

But, further, the popular view which puts these souls in heaven, puts the
wicked at the same time in the lake of fire, writhing in unutterable
torment, and in full view of the hea-

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venly host. Now the souls brought to view under the fifth seal were those
who had been slain under the preceding seal, scores of years, and most of
them centuries, before. Beyond any question, their persecutors had all
passed off the stage of action, and according to the view under
consideration were suffering all the torments of hell right before their
eyes.

Yet, as if not satisfied with this, they cry to God as though He we
delaying vengeance on their murderers. What greater vengeance could they
want? Or, it their persecutors were still on the earth, they must know that
they would, in a few years at most, join the vast multitude daily pouring
through the gate of death into the world of woe. Their amiability is put in
no better light even by this supposition. One thing at least is evident:
The popular theory concerning the condition of the dead, righteous and
wicked, cannot be correct, or the interpretation usually given to this
passage is not correct, for they are mutually exclusive.

But it is urged that these souls must be conscious, for they cry to God.
This argument would be of weight were there no such figure of speech as
personification. But while there is, it will be proper on certain
conditions to attribute life, action, and intelligence to inanimate
objects. Thus the blood of Abel is said to have cried to God from the
ground. (Genesis 4: 9, 10.) The stone cried out of the wall, and the beam
out of the timber answered it. (Habakkuk 2: 11.) The hire of the laborers
kept back by fraud cried, and the cry entered into the ears of the Lord of
sabaoth. (James 5: 4.) So the souls mentioned in our text could cry, and
not thereby be proved to be conscious.

The incongruity of the popular view on this verse is apparent, for Albert
Barnes makes the following concession: "We are not to suppose that this
literally occurred, and that John actually saw the souls of the martyrs
beneath the altar--for the whole representation is symbolical; nor are we
to suppose that the injured and the wronged in heaven actually pray for
vengeance on those who wronged them, or that the redeemed in heaven will
continue to pray with reference to things on

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earth; but it may be fairly inferred from this that there will be as real a
remembrance of the wrongs of the persecuted, the injured, and the
oppressed, as if such prayer were offered there; and that the oppressor has
as much to dread from the divine vengeance as if those whom he has injured
should cry in heaven to the God who hears prayer, and who takes vengeance."
[12]

On such passages as this, the reader is misled by the popular definition of
the word "soul." From that definition, he is led to suppose that this text
speaks of an immaterial, invisible, immortal essence in man, which soars
into its coveted freedom on the death of the mortal body. No instance of
the occurrence of the word in the original Hebrew or Greek will sustain
such a definition. It most often means "life", and is not infrequently
rendered "person." It applies to the dead as well as to the living, as may
be seen by reference to Genesis 2: 7, where the word "living" need not have
been expressed were life an inseparable attribute of the soul; and to
Numbers 19: 13, where the Hebrew concordance reads "dead soul." Moreover,
these souls pray that their blood may be avenged--an article which the
immaterial soul, as popularly understood, is not supposed to possess. The
word "souls" may be regarded as here meaning simply the martyrs, those who
had been slain, the words "souls of them" being a periphrasis for the whole
person. They were represented to John as having been slain upon the altar
of papal sacrifice, on this earth, and lying dead beneath it. They
certainly were not alive when John saw them under the fifth seal, for he
again brings to view the same company, in almost the same language, and
assures us that the first time they live after their martyrdom is at the
resurrection of the just. (Revelation 20: 4-6.) Lying there victims of
papal bloodthirstiness and oppression, they cried to God for vengeance in
the same manner that Abel's blood cried to Him from the ground.

Page 436

The White Robes.--These were given as a partial answer to their cry, "How
long, O Lord, . . . dost Thou not judge and avenge our blood?" They had
gone down to the grave in the most ignominious manner. Their lives had been
misrepresented, their reputations tarnished, their names defamed, their
motives maligned, and their graves covered with shame and reproach, as
containing the dishonored dust of the most vile and despicable of
characters. Thus the Church of Rome, which then molded the sentiment of the
principal nations of the earth, spared no pains to make her victims an
abhorrence to all people.

But the Protestant Reformation began its work. It began to be seen that the
church was corrupt and disreputable, and those against whom it vented its
rage were the good, the pure, and the true. The work went on among the most
enlightened nations, the reputation of the church going down, and that of
the martyrs coming up, until the corruptions of the papal abominations were
fully exposed. Then that huge system of iniquity stood forth before the
world in all its naked deformity, while the martyrs were vindicated from
all the aspersions under which that persecuting church had sought to bury
them. Then it was seen that they had suffered, not for being vile and
criminal, but "for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held."
Then their praises were sung, their virtues admired, their fortitude
applauded, their names honored, and their memories cherished. White robes
were thus given to every one of them.

The Little Season.--The cruel work of Roman Catholicism did not altogether
cease, even after the work of the Protestant Reformation had become
widespread and well established. Not a few terrible outbursts of hate and
persecution were yet to be felt by the true church. Multitudes more were to
be punished as heretics, and to join the great army of martyrs. The full
vindication of their cause was to be delayed a little season. During this
time Rome added hundreds of thousands to the vast throng whose blood she
had already become guilty.

Page 437

But the spirit of persecution was finally restrained, the cause of the
martyrs was vindicated, and the "little season" of the fifth seal came to a
close.

Verse 12 And I beheld when He had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was
a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the
moon became as blood; 13 and the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even
as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty
wind. 14 And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together;
and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. 15 And the
kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief
captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid
themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; 16 and said to
the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that
sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: 17 for the great day
of His wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

The Sixth Seal.--Such are the solemn and sublime scenes which occur under
the sixth seal. A thought well calculated to awaken in every heart an
intense interest in divine things is the consideration that we are now
living amid the momentous events of this seal, as will presently be proved.

Between the fifth and sixth seals there seems to be a sudden and complete
change from highly figurative to strictly literal language. Whatever may be
the cause, the change cannot well be denied. By no principle of
interpretation can the language of the preceding seals be made to be
literal, nor can the language of this any more easily be made figurative.
We must therefore accept the change, even though we may be unable to
explain it. There is a significant fact, however, to which we would here
call attention. It was in the period covered by this seal that the
prophetic parts of God's word to be unsealed, and many run to and fro, or
give their attention to the understanding of these things, and thereby
knowledge on this part of God's word was to be greatly increased. We
suggest that it may be for this reason that the change in the language here
occurs, and that the events of this seal, taking place at a time when these
things were to be fully understood, are not couched in figures, but are
laid before us in plain and unmistakable language.

Page 439

The Great Earthquake.--The first event under this seal, and perhaps the one
which marks its opening, is a great earthquake. As the most striking
fulfillment of this prediction, we refer to the great earthquake of
November 1, 1755, known as the earthquake of Lisbon. Of this earthquake,
Robert Sears says:

"The great earthquake of 1755 extended over a tract of at least four
millions of square miles. Its effects were even extended to the waters, in
many places where the shocks were not perceptible. It pervaded the greater
portions of the continents of Europe, Africa, and America; but its extreme
violence was exercised on the southwestern part of the former." [13] "In
Africa, this earthquake was felt almost as severely as it had been in
Europe. A great part of the city of Algiers was destroyed. Many houses were
thrown down at Fez and Mequinez, and multitudes were buried beneath their
ruins. Similar effects were realized in Morocco. Its effects were likewise
felt at Tangier, at Tetuan, at Funchal in the Island of Madeira; . . . It
is probable . . . that all Africa was shaken by this tremendous convulsion.
At the North, it extended to Norway and Sweden; Germany, Holland, France,
Great Britain, and Ireland were all more or less agitated by the same great
and terrible commotion of the elements." [14] "The city of Lisbon . . .
previous to that calamity . . . contained about . . . 150,000 inhabitants.
. . . Mr. Barretti says, 'that 90,000 persons are supposed to have been
lost on that fatal day.' " [15]

Sir Charles Lyell gives the following graphic description of this
remarkable phenomenon:

"In no part of the volcanic region of Southern Europe has so tremendous an
earthquake occurred in modern times as that which began on the 1st of
November, 1755, at Lisbon. A sound of thunder was heard underground, and
immediately afterwards a violent shock threw down the greater part of that

Page 440

city. In the course of about six minutes, sixty thousand persons perished.
The sea first retired and laid the bar dry; it then rolled in, rising fifty
feet above its ordinary level. The mountains of Arrabida, Estrella, Julio,
Maravan, and Cintra, being some of the largest in Portugal, were
impetuously shaken, as it were, from their very foundations; and some of
them opened at their summits, which were split and rent in a wonderful
manner, huge masses of them being thrown down into the subjacent valleys.
Flames are related to have issued from these mountains, which are supposed
to have been electric; they are also said to have smoked; but vast clouds
of dust may have given rise to this appearance. . . .

"The great area over which this Lisbon earthquake extended is very
remarkable. The movement was most violent in Spain, Portugal, and the north
of Africa; but nearly the whole of Europe, and even the West Indies, felt
the shock on the same day. A seaport called St. Ubes, about twenty miles
south of Lisbon, was engulfed. At Algiers and Fez, in Africa, the agitation
of the earth was equally violent, and at the distance of eight leagues from
Morocco, a village, with the inhabitants to the number of about eight or
ten thousand persons, together with all their cattle, were [was] swallowed
up. Soon after, the earth closed again over them.

"The shock was felt at sea, on the deck of a ship to the west of Lisbon,
and produced very much the same sensation as on dry land. Off St. Lucar
[s], the captain of the ship 'Nancy' felt his vessel shaken so violently
that he thought she had struck the ground, but, on heaving the lead, found
a great depth of water. Captain Clark, from Denia, in latitude 36 degrees
24' N., between nine and ten in the morning, had his ship shaken and
strained as if she had struck upon a rock. Another ship, forty leagues west
of St. Vincent, experienced so violent a concussion that the men were
thrown a foot and a half perpendicularly up from the deck. In Antigua and
Barbadoes, as also in Norway, Sweden, Germany, Holland, Corsica,
Switzerland, and Italy, tremors and slight oscillations of the ground were
felt.

Page 441

"The agitation of lakes, rivers, and springs in Great Britain were
remarkable. At Loch Lomond, in Scotland, for example, the water, without
the least apparent cause, rose against its banks, and then subsided below
its usual level. The greatest perpendicular height of this swell was two
feet four inches. It is said that the movement of this earthquake was
undulatory, and that it traveled at the rate of twenty miles a minute. A
great wave swept over the coast of Spain, and is said to have been sixty
feet high in Cadiz. At Tangier, in Africa, it rose and fell eighteen times
on the coast; at Funchal, in Madeira, it rose full fifteen feet
perpendicular above high-water mark, although the tide, which ebbs and
flows there seven feet, was then at half ebb. Besides entering the city and
committing great havoc, it overflowed other seaports in the island. At
Kinsale, in Ireland, a body of water rushed into the harbor, whirled round
several vessels, and poured into the marketplace." [16]

If the reader will look in his atlas at the countries mentioned, he will
see how large a part of the earth's surface was agitated by this awful
convulsion. Other earthquakes may have been as severe in particular
localities, but no other supplies all the conditions necessary to
constitute it a fitting event to mark the opening of the seal.

The Darkening of the Sun.--Following the earthquake, as announced by
prophecy, "the sun became black as sackcloth of hair." This part of the
prediction has also been fulfilled. We need not here enter into a detailed
account of the wonderful darkening of the sun, May 19, 1780. Most persons
of general reading, it is presumed, have seen some account of it. The
following detached declarations from different authorities will give an
idea of its nature:

"Dark Day, The. May 19, 1780--so called on account of a remarkable darkness
on that day extending over all New England. . . . The obscuration began
about ten o'clock in

Page 443

the morning, and continued till the middle of the next night, but with
differences of degree and duration in different places. . . . The true
cause of this remarkable phenomenon is not known." [17]

"In the month of May, 1780, there was a very terrific dark day in New
England, when 'all faces seemed to gather blackness,' and the people were
filled with fear. There was great distress in the village where Edward Lee
lived, 'men's hearts failing them for fear' that the Judgment-day was at
hand; and the neighbors all flocked around the holy man, [who] spent the
gloomy hours in earnest prayer for the distressed multitude." [18]

"The time of this extraordinary darkness was May 19, 1780," says Professor
Williams. "It came on between the hours of ten and eleven A.M., and
continued until the middle of the next night, but with different
appearances at different places. . . .

"The degree to which the darkness arose was different in different places.
In most parts of the country it was so great that people were unable to
read common print, determine the time of day by their clocks or watches,
dine, or manage their domestic business, without the light of candles. In
some places the darkness was so great that persons could not see to read
common print in the open air, for several hours together; but I believe
this was not generally the case.

"The extent of this darkness was very remarkable. Our intelligence in this
respect is not so particular as I could wish; but from the accounts that
have been received, it seems to have extended all over the New England
States. It was observed as far east as Falmouth [Portland, Maine]. To the
westward we hear of its reaching to the furthest parts of Connecticut, and
Albany. To the southward it was observed all along the seacoasts, and to
the north as far as our settlements extend. It is probable it extended much
beyond these limits in some direct-

Page 444

tions, but the exact boundaries cannot be ascertained by any observations
that I have been able to collect.

"With regard to its duration, it continued in this place at least fourteen
hours; but is probable this was not exactly the same in different parts of
the country.

"The appearance and effects were such as tended to make the prospect
extremely dull and gloomy. Candles were lighted up in the houses; the
birds, having sung their evening songs, disappeared, and became silent; the
fowls retired to roost; the cocks were crowing all around, as at break of
day; objects could not be distinguished but at very little distance; and
everything bore the appearance and gloom of night." [19]

"The 19th of May, 1780, was a remarkable dark day. Candles were lighted in
many houses; the birds were silent and disappeared, and the fowls retired
to roost. . . . A very general opinion prevailed that the day of judgment
was at hand." [20]

Whittier, in a well-known poem, pictures it thus:

                  " 'Twas on a May-day of the far old year
                 Seventeen hundred eighty, that there fell
                Over the bloom and sweet life of the Spring,
                Over the fresh earth and the heaven of noon,
                 A horror of great darkness, like the night
                 In day of which the Norland sagas tell,--
                 The Twilight of the Gods. The low-hung sky
             Was black with ominous clouds, save where its rim
            Was fringed with a dull glow, like that which climbs
                The crater's sides from the red hell below.
              Birds ceased to sing, and all the barnyard fowls
                  Roosted; the cattle at the pasture bars
             Lowed, and looked homeward; bats on leathern wings
                 Flitted abroad; the sounds of labor died;
              Men prayed, and women wept; all ears grew sharp
               To hear the doom-blast of the trumpet shatter
              The black sky, that the dreadful face of Christ
             Might look from the rent clouds, not as He looked
                    A loving guest at Bethany, but stern
                   As Justice and inexorable Law." [21]

Page 445

"The Moon Became as Blood."--The darkness of the following night, May 19,
1780, was as unnatural as that of the day had been.

"The darkness of the following evening was probably as gross as ever has
been observed since the Almighty fiat gave birth to light. . . . I could
not help conceiving at the times, that if every luminous body in the
universe had been shrouded in impenetrable shades, or struck out of
existence, the darkness could not have been more complete. A sheet of white
paper held within a few inches of the eyes, was equally invisible with the
blackest velvet." [22]

"In the evening . . . perhaps it never was darker since the children of
Israel left the house of bondage. This gross darkness help till about one
o'clock, although the moon had fulled but the day before." [23]

This statement respecting the phase of the moon proves the impossibility of
an eclipse of the sun at that time. Whenever on this memorable night the
moon did appear, as at certain times it did, it had, according to this
prophecy, the appearance of blood.

"The Stars of Heaven Fell."--The voice of history still cries, Fulfilled!
We refer to the great meteoric shower of November 13, 1833. On this point a
few testimonies will suffice.

"At the cry, 'Look out of the window,' I sprang from a deep sleep, and with
wonder saw the east lighted up with the dawn and meteors. . . . I called to
my wife to behold; and while robing, she exclaimed, 'See how the stars
fall!' I replied, 'That is the wonder:' and felt in our hearts that it was
a sign of the last days. For truly 'the stars of heaven fell unto the
earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of
a mighty wind.' Revelation 6: 13. . . .

"And how did they fall? Neither myself nor one of the family heard any
report; and were I to hunt through nature

Page 447

for a simile, I could not find one so apt to illustrate the appearance of
the heavens, as that which St. John uses in the prophecy before quoted. 'It
rained fire!' says one. Another, 'It was like a shower of fire.' Another,
'It was like the large flakes of falling snow, before a coming storm, or
large drops of rain before a shower.' I admit the fitness of these for
common accuracy; but they come far short of the accuracy of the figure used
by the prophet. 'The stars of heaven fell upon the earth;' they were not
sheets, or flakes, or drops of fire; but they were what the world
understands by the name 'falling stars;' and one speaking to his fellow in
the midst of the scene, would say, 'See how the stars fall!' and he who
heard, would not pause to correct the astronomy of the speaker, any more
than he would reply, 'The sun does not move,' to one who should tell him,
'The sun is rising.' The stars fell 'even as a fig tree casteth her
untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.' Here is the exactness
of the prophet. The falling stars did not come, as if from several trees
shaken, but from one; those which appeared in the north fell toward the
north; those which appeared in the west fell toward the west; and those
which appeared in the south (for I went out of my residence into the park),
fell toward the south; and they fell, not as ripe fruit falls. Far from it.
But they flew, they were cast like the unripe fruit, which at first refuses
to leave the branch; and, when it does break its hold, flies swiftly
straight off, descending; and in the multitude falling, some cross the
track of others, as they are thrown with more or less force." [24]

"The most sublime phenomenon of shooting stars, of which the world has
furnished any record, was witnessed throughout the United States on the
morning of the 13th of November, 1833. The entire extent of this
astonishing exhibition has not been precisely ascertained, but it covered
no inconsiderable portion of the earth's surface. . . . The first
appearance was

Page 448

that of fireworks of the most imposing grandeur, covering the entire vault
of heaven with myriads of fireballs, resembling skyrockets. Their
coruscations were bright, gleaming, and incessant, and they fell thick as
the flakes in the early snows of December. To the splendors of this
celestial exhibition the most brilliant skyrockets and fireworks of art
bear less relation than the twinkling of the most tiny star to the broad
glare of the sun. The whole heavens seemed in motion, and suggested to some
the awful grandeur of the image employed in the Apocalypse, upon the
opening of the sixth seal, when 'the stars of heaven fell unto the earth,
even as a fig-tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a
mighty wind.' " [25]

"After collecting and collating the accounts given in all the periodicals
of the country, and also in numerous letters addressed either to my
scientific friends or to myself, the following appeared to be the leading
facts attending the phenomenon. The shower pervaded nearly the whole of
North America, having appeared in nearly equal splendor from the British
possessions on the north, to the West India Islands and Mexico on the
south, and from sixty-one degrees of longitude east of the American coast,
quite to the Pacific Ocean on the west. Throughout this immense region, the
duration was nearly the same. The meteors began to attract attention by
their unusual frequency and brilliancy, from nine to twelve o'clock in the
evening; were most striking in their appearance from two to five; arrived
at their maximum, in many places, about four o'clock; and continued until
rendered invisible by the light of day." [26]

"The spectacle must have been of the sublimest order. The apostle John
might have had it before him when he indited the passage referring to the
opening of the sixth seal: 'And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth,
even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a
mighty wind.' " [27]

Page 449

"The Heavens Departed as a Scroll."--In this event out minds are turned to
the future. From looking at the past, and beholding the word of God
fulfilled, we are now called to look at events in the future, which are no
less sure to come. Our position is unmistakably defined. We stand between
the 13th and 14th verses of this chapter. We wait for the heavens to depart
as a scroll when it is rolled together. These are times of unparalleled
solemnity and importance, for we do not know how near we may be to the
fulfillment of these things.

The departing of the heavens is included in what the writers of the Gospels
call, in the same series of events, the shaking of the powers of heavens.
Other scriptures give us further particulars concerning this prediction.
From Hebrews 12: 25-27; Joel 3: 16; Jeremiah 25: 30-33; Revelation 16: 17,
we learn that it is the voice of God, as He speaks in terrible majesty from
His throne in heaven, that causes this fearful commotion in earth and sky.
Once the Lord spoke with an audible voice, when He gave His eternal law
from Sinai. At that time the earth shook. He is to speak again, and not
only the earth will shake, but the heavens also. Then will the earth "reel
to and fro like a drunkard." It will be "dissolved" and "utterly broken
down." Isaiah 24. Mountains will move from their firm bases. Islands will
suddenly change their locations in the midst of the sea. From the level
plain will arise the precipitous mountain. Rocks will thrust up their
ragged forms from earth's broken surface. While the voice of God is
reverberating through the earth, the direst confusion will reign over the
face of nature.

To show that this is no mere conception of the imagination, the reader is
requested to mark the exact phraseology which some of the prophets have
used in reference to this time. Isaiah says: "The earth is utterly broken
down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly. The
earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a
cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall
fall, and not rise again." Isaiah 24: 19, 20.

Page 450

Jeremiah in thrilling language describes the scene as follows: "I beheld
the earth, and lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they
had no light. I beheld the mountains, and lo, they trembled, and all the
hills moved lightly. I beheld, and lo, there was no man, and all the birds
of the heavens were fled. . . . For thus hath the Lord said, The whole land
shall be desolate." Jeremiah 4: 23-27.

Then will the world's dream of carnal security be effectually broken. Kings
who, intoxicated with their own earthly authority, have never dreamed of a
higher power than themselves, now realize that there is One who reigns as
King of kings. The great men behold the vanity of all earthly pomp, for
there is a greatness above that of earth. The rich men throw their silver
and gold to the moles and bats, for it cannot save them in that day. The
chief captains forget their brief authority, and the mighty men forget
their strength. Every bondman who is in the still worse bondage of sin, and
every freeman--all classes of the wicked, from the highest down to the
lowest--join in the general wail of consternation and despair.

They who never prayed to Him whose arm could bring salvation, now raise an
agonizing prayer to rocks and mountains to bury them forever from the sight
of Him whose presence brings to them destruction. Fain would they now avoid
reaping what they have sown by a life of lust and sin. Fain would they now
shun the fearful treasure of wrath which they have been heaping up for
themselves and their catalogue of crimes in everlasting darkness. So they
flee to the rocks, caves, caverns, and fissures which the broken surface of
the earth now presents before them. But it is too late. They cannot conceal
their guilt or escape the long-delayed vengeance.

                        "It will be in vain to call,
                         'Ye mountains on us fall,'
                      For His hand will find out all,
                               In that day."

Page 451

The day which they thought never would come, has at last taken them as in a
snare, and the involuntary language of their anguished hearts is, "The
great day of His wrath is come, and who shall be able to stand?" Before
that day comes with its fearful scenes, we pray you, reader, give your most
serious and candid attention to your salvation.

Many now affect to despise the institution of prayer, but at one time or
another all men will pray. Those who will not now pray to God in penitence,
will pray to the rocks and mountains in despair; and this will be the
largest prayer meeting ever held.

                               Ah! better far
                         To cease the unequal war,
              While pardon, hope, and peace may yet be found;
                  Nor longer rush upon the embossed shield
                   Of the Almighty, but repentant yield,
                 And all your weapons of rebellion ground.
            Better pray now in love, than pray erelong in fear.
                  Call ye upon Him while He waits to hear;
                           So in the coming end,
                          When down the parted sky
                          The angelic hosts attend
                       The Lord of heaven, most high,
                 Before whose face the solid earth is rent,
                    You may behold a friend omnipotent,
               And safely rest beneath His sheltering wings,
                    Amid the ruin of all earthly things.

[1] Phillip Schaff, History of the Christian Church, Vol. II, p. 7.

[2] Ibid., p. 8.

[3] Ibid., p. 11.

[4] Kenneth Scott Latourette, A History of the Expansion of Christianity,
Vol. I, The First Five Centuries, p. 159.

[5] Ibid., p. 273.

[6] John L. Mosheim, An Ecclesiastical History, Vol. I, pp. 364, 365.

[7] Ibid., p. 368.

[8] William Miller, Evidence From Scripture and History of the Second
Coming of Christ, p. 176.

[9] Ibid.

[10] Ibid.

[11] Adam Clarke, Commentary on the New Testament, Vol. I, p. 994, note on
Revelation 6: 9.

[12] Albert Barnes, Notes on Revelation, pp. 190, 191, comment on
Revelation 6: 9-11.

[13] Robert Sears, Wonders of the World, p. 50.

[14] Ibid., p. 58.

[15] Ibid., p. 381.

[16] A. R. Spofford and Charles Gibbon, The Library of Choice Literature,
Vol. VII, pp. 162, 163.

[17] Noah Webster, "Vocabulary of the Names of Noted . . . Persons and
Places," An American Dictionary of the English Language, 1882 ed.

[18] "Some Memorials of Edward Lee," The Publications of the American Tract
Society, Vol. XI, p. 376.

[19] Samuel Williams, in Memoirs of the American Academy of Arts and
Sciences, Vol. I, pp. 234, 235.

[20] Timothy Dwight, quoted by John W. Barber, Connecticut Historical
Collections, p. 403.

[21] John G. Wittier, "Abraham Davenport," Complete Poetical Works, p. 260.

[22] Samuel Tenny, in Collections of Massachusetts Historical Society for
the year 1792, Vol. I, pp. 97, 98.

[23] Boston Gazette, May 29, 1780.

[24] New York Journal of Commerce, Nov. 14, 1833, Vol. VIII, No. 534, p. 2.

[25] Elijah H. Burritt, The Geography of the Heavens, p. 163.

[26] Denison Olmsted, The Mechanism of the Heavens, p. 328.

[27] Edwin Dunkin, The Heavens and the Earth, p. 186.
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Page 453

                                Chapter VII

                         The Seal of the Living God

Verse 1 And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four
corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind
should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. 2 And I saw
another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God:
and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to
hurt the earth and the sea, 3 Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea,
nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their
foreheads.

The time of the work here introduced is established beyond mistake. The
sixth chapter closed with the events of the sixth seal, and the seventh
seal is not mentioned until we reach the beginning of Revelation 8. The
whole of Revelation 7 is therefore thrown in here parenthetically. Why is
it thus introduced at this point? Evidently it is given fro the purpose of
stating additional particulars concerning the sixth seal. The expression,
"after these things," does not mean after the fulfillment of all the events
previously described, but after the prophets had been carried in vision to
the close of the sixth seal, that the consecutive order of events as given
in Revelation 6 might not be broken, his mind is called to what is
mentioned in Revelation 7, as further particulars in regard to the seal. We
inquire, Between what events in that seal is this work done? It must be
accomplished before the departing of the heavens as a scroll, for after
that event there is no place for such a work as this. It must take place
after the signs in the sun, moon, and stars, for these signs have already
been fulfilled, and such a sealing work has not yet been accomplished. It
comes in therefore between the 13th and 14th verses of Revelation 6. There,
as already shown, is just where we now stand. Hence the first part of
Revelation 7 relates to a work the accomplishment of which may be looked
for now.

Four Angels.--Angels are ever-present agents in the affairs of the earth.
Why may not these be four of those heavenly

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beings into whose hands God has committed the work of holding the winds
while it is God's purpose that they should not blow, and loosing them when
the time comes for the hurting of the earth?

Four Corners of the Earth.--This expression denotes the four quarters, or
the four points of the compass, and signifies that these angels in their
particular sphere have charge of the whole earth.

Four Winds.--Winds in the Bible symbolize political commotion, strife, and
war. (Daniel 7: 2, Jeremiah 25: 32.) The four winds, held by four angels
standing in the four quarters of the earth, must denote all the elements of
strife and commotion that exist in the world. When they are all loosed and
all blow together, it will constitute the great whirlwind just referred to
in the prophecy of Jeremiah.

Angel Ascending From the East.--Another literal angel, having charge of
another specific work, is here introduced. Instead of the words "ascending
from the east," some translations read, "ascending from the sunrising,"
which is a more literal translation. The expression evidently refers to
manner rather than locality, for as the sun rises with rays at first
oblique and comparatively powerless, then increases in strength until it
shine in all its meridian power and splendor, so the work of this angel
begins in moderation, moves onward with ever-accumulating influence, and
closes in strength and power.

Seal of the Living God.--It is the distinguishing characteristic of the
ascending angel that he bears with him the seal of the living God. From
this fact and the chronology of his work we are to determine if possible
what movement is symbolized by his mission. The nature of his work is
evidently suggested by his having the seal of the living God. To ascertain
what his work is, we must determine what the seal of the living God is.

A seal is defined to be an instrument of sealing, that which "is used by
individuals, corporate bodies, and states, for making impressions on wax,
upon instruments of writing, as an evidence of their authenticity." The
original word in this text

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is defined, "A seal, i.e., a signet ring; a mark, stamp, badge; a token, a
pledge." The verb signifies: "To secure to any one, to make sure; to set a
seal or mark upon anything in token of its being genuine or approved; to
attest, to confirm, to establish, to distinguish by a mark." With these
definitions as a basis, we compare Genesis 17: 11 with Romans 4: 11, and
Revelation 7: 3 with Ezekiel 9: 4, and find that the words "token," "sign,"
"seal," and "mark" are used in the Bible as synonymous terms. The seal of
God brought to view in our text is to applied to the servants of God. In
this case it is not some literal mark to be made in the flesh, but some
institution or observance having special reference to God, which will serve
as a "mark of distinction" between the worshipers of God and those who are
not His servants, though they may profess to follow Him.

A seal is used to render valid or authentic any enactments or laws that a
person or power may promulgate. Frequent instances of its use occur in the
Scriptures. In 1 Kings 21: 8, we read that Jezebel "wrote letters in Ahab's
name, and sealed them with his seal." These letters then had all the
authority of King Ahab. Again, in Esther 3: 12: "In the name of King
Ahasuerus was it written, and sealed with the king's ring." So also in
Esther 8: 8: "The writing which is written in the king's name, and sealed
with the king's ring, may no man reverse."

A seal is used in connection with some law or enactment that demands
obedience, or upon documents that are to be made legal, or subject to the
provisions of law. The idea of law is inseparable from a seal.

We are not suppose that to the enactments and laws of God binding upon men,
there must be attached a literal seal, made with literal instruments. From
the definition of the term, and the purpose for which a seal is used, as
shown before, we must understand a seal to be strictly that which gives
validity and authenticity to enactments and laws. This is found in the name
of signature of the lawmaking power, ex-

Page 456

pressed in such terms as to show what power is, and its right to make laws
and demand obedience. Even with a literal seal, the name must always be
used as indicated in the references given above. An instance of the use of
the name alone seems to occur in Daniel 6: 8: "Now, O king, establish the
decree, and sign the writing, that it be not changed, according to the law
of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not." In other words, affix the
signature of royalty, which shows who it is that demands obedience, and
what his right is to demand it.

In the prophecy of Isaiah 8, we read: "Bind up the testimony, seal the law
among My disciples." This must refer to a work of reviving in the minds of
the disciples some of the claims of the law which have been overlooked, or
perverted from their true meaning. In the prophecy this is called sealing
the law, or restoring to it its seal, which had been taken from it.

The 144,000 who in the chapter before us are said to be sealed with the
seal of God in their foreheads, are again brought to view in Revelation 14:
1, where they are said to have the Father's name written in their
foreheads.

What Is the Seal of God?--From the foregoing reasoning, facts, and
declarations of Scripture, two conclusions inevitably follow:

1. The seal of God is found in the law.

2. The seal of God is that part of His law which contains His name, or
descriptive title, showing who He is, the extent of His dominion, and His
right to rule.

The law of God is admitted by all the leading evangelical denominations to
be summarily contained in the decalogue, or ten commandments. We have,
then, but to examine these commandments to see which one it is that
constitutes the seal of the law, or in other words, makes known the true
God, the lawmaking power.

The first three commandments mention the word "God," but we cannot tell
from these who is meant, for there are multitudes of objects to which this
name is applied. There

Page 457

are "gods many and lords many," as the apostle says. (1 Corinthians 8: 5.)
We pass over the fourth commandment for the time being. The fifth contains
the words "Lord" and "God," but does not define them, and the remaining
five precepts do not contain the name of God at all. With that part of the
law which we have examined, it would be impossible to convict the grossest
idolater of sin. The worshiper of images could say, This idol before me is
my god, and I worship him according to this law. Thus without the fourth
commandment the decalogue is null and void, as far as it pertains to the
definition of the worship of the true God.

But let us now add the fourth commandment, restore to the law this precept,
which many are ready to contend has been expunged, and see how the case
will then stand. As we examine this commandment, which contains the
declaration, "For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and
all that in them is," we see at once that we are reading the requirements
of Him who created all things. The sun then is not the God of the
decalogue. The true God is He who made the sun. No object in heaven or
earth is the being who here demands obedience, for the god of this law is
the one who made all created things. Now we have a weapon against idolatry.
Now this law can no longer be applied to false gods, who "have not made the
heavens and the earth." Jeremiah 10: 11. The Author of this law has
declared who He is, the extent of His dominion, and His right to rule; for
every created intelligence must at once assent that He who is the Creator
of all has a right to demand obedience from all His creatures. Thus the
fourth commandment in its place, this wonderful document, the decalogue,
the only document among men which God ever wrote with His own finger, has a
signature, it has that which renders it intelligible and authentic, it has
a seal. But without the fourth commandment, the law is incomplete and
unauthoritative.

Page 459

From the foregoing logic it is evident that the fourth commandment
constitutes the seal of the law of God, or the seal of God. The Scriptures
give direct testimony on this conclusion.

We have seen already that in Scripture usage, "sign," "seal," "token," and
"mark" are synonymous terms. The Lord expressly says that the Sabbath is a
sign between Him and His people. 'Verily My Sabbaths ye shall keep; for it
is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know
that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you." Exodus 31: 13. The same fact is
again stated in Ezekiel 20: 12, 20. Here the Lord told His people that the
very object of their keeping the Sabbath was that they might know that He
is the true God. This is the same as if the Lord had said, "The Sabbath is
a seal. On My part it is the seal of My authority, the sign that I have the
right to command obedience; on you part it is a token that you accept Me to
be your God."

Should it be said that this principle can have no application to Christians
at the present time, as the Sabbath was a sign between God and the Jews
only, it would be sufficient to reply that the terms "Jews" and "Israel" in
a true Scriptural sense are not confined to the literal seed of Abraham.
This patriarch was chosen at first because he was the friend of God while
his fathers were idolaters. His posterity were chosen to be God's people,
the guardians of His law and the depositaries of His truth, because all
others had apostatized from Him. These words respecting the Sabbath were
spoken to them while they enjoyed the honor of being thus set apart from
all others. But when the middle wall of partition was broken down, and the
Gentiles were called in to be partakers of the blessings of Abraham, all
God's people, both Jews and Gentiles, were brought into a new and more
intimate relation to God through His Son, and are now described by such
expressions as "a Jew which is one inwardly," and "an Israelite indeed."
Romans 2: 29; John 1: 47. These declarations apply to all such, for they
have as much occasion to know the Lord as had His people of old.

Page 460

Thus the Sabbath of the fourth commandment is taken by the Lord as a sign
between Him and His people, or the seal of His law for all time. By keeping
that commandment people signify that they are the worshipers of the true
God. In the same commandment God make Himself known as their rightful
ruler, inasmuch as He is their Creator.

In harmony with this idea, the significant fact is to be noticed that
whenever the sacred writers wish to point out the true God in distinction
from false gods of every description, an appeal is made to the great facts
of creation, upon which the fourth commandment is based. (See 2 Kings 19:
15; 2 Chronicles 2: 12; Nehemiah 9: 6; Psalm 96: 5; 115: 4-7, 15; 121: 2;
124: 8; 134: 3; 146: 6; Isaiah 37: 16; 42: 5; 44: 24; 45: 12; 51: 13; Job
9: 8; Jeremiah 10: 10-12; 32: 17; 51: 15; Acts 4: 24; 14: 15; 17: 23, 24.)

Notice again that the same company who in Revelation 7 have the seal of the
living God in their foreheads, are brought to view again in Revelation 14:
1, having the Father's name in their foreheads. This is good proof that the
"seal of the living God" and the "Father's name" are used synonymously. The
chain of evidence on this point is made complete when it is ascertained
that the fourth commandment, which has been shown to be the seal of the
law, is spoken of by the Lord as that which contains His name. The proof of
this will be seen in Deuteronomy 16: 6: "But at the place which the Lord
thy God shall chose to place His name in, there shalt thou sacrifice the
Passover." What was in the place where they sacrificed the Passover? There
was the sanctuary, having in its holiest apartment the ark with the ten
commandments, the fourth of which identified the true God, and contained
His name. Wherever this fourth commandment was, there God's name was
placed, and this was the only thing to which the language could be applied.
(See Deuteronomy 12: 5, 11, 21; 14: 23, 24.)

The Sealing Work.--Since we have now ascertained that the seal of God is
His holy Sabbath, with which His name is identified, we are prepared to
proceed with the application.

Page 461

By the scenes introduced in the verses before us--the four winds apparently
about to blow, bringing war and trouble upon the land, and this work
restrained until the servants of God should be sealed--we are reminded of
the houses of the Israelites marked with the blood of the paschal lamb, and
spared as the destroying angel passed over to slay the firstborn of the
Egyptians. (Exodus 12.) We are also reminded of the mark made by the man
with a writer's inkhorn on all those who were to be spared by the men with
the slaughtering weapons who followed after. (Ezekiel 9.) We conclude that
the seal of God placed upon His servants is some distinguishing mark, or
religious characteristic, through which they will be exempted from the
judgments of God that fall on the wicked around them.

As we have found the seal of God in the fourth commandment, the inquiry
follows, Does the observance of that commandment involve any peculiarity in
religious practice?--Yes, a very marked and striking one. It is one of the
most singular facts to be met with in religious history that, in an age of
such boasted gospel light as the present, when the influence of
Christianity is so powerful and widespread, one of the most striking
peculiarities in practice which a person can adopt, and one of the greatest
crosses he can take up, is the simple observance of the fourth commandment
of God's law. This precept requires the observance of the seventh day of
each week as the Sabbath of the Lord; while almost all Christendom, through
the combined influences of paganism and the papacy, has been beguiled into
the keeping of the first day. A person has only to begin the observance of
the day enjoined in the commandment, when a mark of peculiarity is upon him
at once. He is distinct from both the professedly religious and the secular
world.

We conclude that the angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the
living God, is a divine messenger in charge of a work of reform to be
carried on among men involving the Sabbath of the fourth commandment. The
agents of this work

Page 462

on the earth are of course ministers of Christ, for to men is given the
commission of instructing their fellow men in Bible truth. But as there is
order in the execution of all the divine counsels, it seems not improbable
that a literal angel may have the charge and oversight of this reform.

We have already noticed that the chronology of this work locates it in our
own time. This is further evident from the fact that in the next scene
after the sealing of these servants of God, they appear before the throne
with palms of victory in their hands. The sealing is therefore the last
work to be accomplished for them prior to their deliverance from the
destruction brought upon the world in connection with the second advent.

Identity of the Sealing Angel.--In Revelation 14 we find the same work
again brought to view under the symbol of an angel flying in the midst of
heaven with the most terrible warning that ever fell upon the ears of men.
While we shall speak of this more fully when we reach that chapter, we
refer to it now because it is the last work to be accomplished for the
world before the coming of Christ, which is the next event in order in that
prophecy, and hence must synchronize with the work here brought to view in
Revelation 7: 1-3. The angel with the seal of the living God is therefore
the same as the third angel of Revelation 14.

This view strengthens the foregoing exposition of the seal. As the result
of the sealing work in Revelation 7, a certain company are sealed with the
seal of the living God, while as the result of the third angel's message of
Revelation 14 a company of people obey all the "commandments of God."
Revelation 14: 12. It is the fourth commandment of the decalogue and that
alone which the Christian world is openly violating and teaching men to
violate. That this is the vital question in this message is evident from
the fact that the keeping of the commandments, including the Lord's
Sabbath, is what distinguishes the servants of God from those who worship
the beast and receive his mark. As will be hereafter shown, this mark is
the observance of a counterfeit sabbath.

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After thus briefly noticing the main points of the subject, we now come to
the most striking feature of all. In accordance with the foregoing
chronological argument, we find this work already in process of fulfillment
before our eyes. The third angel's message is going forth. The angel
ascending from the east is on his mission. The reform on the Sabbath
question has begun; and it is surely, though yet in comparative silence,
working its way through the land. It is destined to agitate every country
that receives the light of the gospel, and it will result in bringing out a
people prepared for the soon coming of the Saviour, and sealed for His
everlasting kingdom. The sealing of the servants of God by the angel
mentioned in verse 3, is therefore in recognition of their faithfulness in
keeping the law of God, who is identified in the fourth commandment as the
Creator of heaven and earth, and who established the seventh-day Sabbath in
commemoration of that great work.

Holding the Winds.--With one more question we leave these verses, upon
which we have dwelt so long. Have we seen among the nations any movements
which would indicate that the cry of the ascending angel, "Hurt not" by the
blowing of the winds, "till we have sealed the servants of our God," has in
any manner been answered? The time during which the winds are held could
not from the nature of the case be a time of profound peace. This would not
answer to the prophecy, for in order to make it manifest that the winds are
being held, there must be disturbance, agitation, anger, and jealousy among
the nations, with occasional outbursts of strife, like fitful gusts
breaking away from the imprisoned and struggling tempest. These outbursts
must be unexpectedly checked. Then, but not otherwise, would it be evident
to him who looked at events in the light of prophecy, that for some good
purpose the restraining hand of Omnipotence was laid upon the surging
elements of strife and war. Such has been the aspect of our times. New and
unlooked-for complications have suddenly arisen, throwing the world into
apparently inextricable confusion, and threatening immediate and direful
war, when sud-

Page 464

denly and unaccountably all subsided into quiet again. In the last half of
the nineteenth century outstanding examples of such coincidences are found
in the sudden conclusion of the Franco-German War in 1871, the
Russo-Turkish War in 1878, and the Spanish-American War in 1898.

Then there came in the early part of the present century the devastating
World War I when the four winds were permitted to blow over much of the
world. It was declared by many writers to be the Armageddon of the
Apocalypse. As the years went by, it seemed that this great conflagration
would consume the entire world, leaving neither root nor branch. But
suddenly the angel cried, "Hold," for the sealing work was not yet fully
accomplished. On November 11, 1918, the four angels stopped the winds of
strife, and a war-sick world, distraught by the terror of four years of
blood and carnage, rejoiced once more in apparent peace and safety.

The Armistice was acclaimed as marking the beginning of a golden age of
peace and prosperity and good will among men, for had not this been "a war
to end war"? Millions believed that another war would never come, that the
human race had learned its lesson. But may it not be that the hand of God
was moving in the affairs of nations to make possible the completion of the
great work depicted in verse 3 of this chapter in the words of the angel,
"Until we have sealed the servants of God in their foreheads"?

The period extending from the Armistice in 1918 until the breaking out of
the second world war was far from peaceful, for the World Almanac listed no
less than seventeen conflicts during this time, which touched four
continents. Many of these outbreaks possessed potentialities of expanding
into serious proportions. But every time the troubled world began to fear
the spread of these conflicts, the troubles unexpectedly subsided. Did this
angel interpose in behalf of peace?

Then suddenly the four angels again loosed their hold, and the four winds
took on whirlwind velocity in a devastating global conflict we call World
War II, and almost the entire

Page 465

world was engulfed. In its magnitude and fearful depredations on all that
mankind holds dear and precious, this struggle entirely overshadowed World
War I.

We are unable to understand or explain the ebb and flow of these currents
of war and peace on any other basis than the revelation of Jesus Christ
given through the prophet John and recorded in the verses before us. When
it suits the plans and purposes of God to permit the winds of strife to
blow, then human nature untouched by the grace of God is seen in unbridled
display. But when He says, "It is enough," the angel cries, "Hold, Hold,
Hold, Hold," and the strife ceases that the work of God may proceed. Thus
is will be until the great consummation of the plan of salvation.

Are you troubled, dear reader, over the turmoil and confusion among the
nations? Do you desire to know what it all means? You will find the answer
in the picture presented in these verses. "The Most High ruleth in the
kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever He will." Daniel 4: 32. In His
own chosen time He will make "wars to cease unto the end of the earth."
Psalm 46: 9.

Verse 4 And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were
sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the
children of Israel. 5 Of the tribe of Juda were sealed twelve thousand. Of
the tribe of Reuben were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Gad were
sealed twelve thousand. 6 Of the tribe of Aser were sealed twelve thousand.
Of the tribe of Nepthalim were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of
Manasses were sealed twelve thousand. 7 Of the tribe of Simeon were sealed
twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Levi were sealed twelve thousand. Of the
tribe of Issachar were sealed twelve thousand. 8 Of the tribe of Zabulon
were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Joseph were sealed twelve
thousand. Of the tribe of Benjamin were sealed twelve thousand.

The Number to Be Sealed.--The number sealed is here stated to be one
hundred forty-four thousand. From the fact that twelve thousand are sealed
from each of the twelve tribes, many suppose that this work must have been
accomplished as far back at least as the beginning of the Christian Era,
when these tribes were literally in existence. They do not see how it

Page 467

can apply to our own time, when every trace of distinction between these
tribes has been so long and so completely obliterated. We refer such
persons to the opening language of the Epistle of James: "James, a servant
of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are
scattered abroad, greeting. My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into
divers temptations." Those whom James here addresses are Christians, for
they are his brethren. Some were converts from paganism and others were
Jews, yet they are all included in the twelve tribes. How can this be? Paul
explains in Romans 11: 17-24. In the striking figure of grafting which the
apostle there introduces, the tame olive tree represents Israel.

Some of the branches, the natural descendants of Abraham, were broken off
because of unbelief in Christ. Through faith in Christ the wild olive
scions, the Gentiles, are grafted into the tame olive stock, and thus the
twelve tribes are perpetuated. Here we find an explanation of the language
of the same apostle: "They are not all Israel which are of Israel," and "he
is not a Jew, which is one outwardly, . . . . but he is a Jew, which is one
inwardly." Romans 9: 6-8; 2: 28, 29. so we find on the gates of the New
Jerusalem--which is a New Testament, or Christian, city--the names of the
twelve tribes of the children of Israel. On the foundations of this city
are inscribed the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. (Revelation 21:
12-14.)

If the twelve tribes belonged exclusively to the Jewish era, the more
natural order would have been to have their names on the foundations, and
those of the twelve apostles on the gates; but no, the names of the twelve
tribes are on the gates. As through these gates, so inscribed, all the
redeemed hosts will go in and out, so all the redeemed will be reckoned as
belonging to these twelve tribes, whether on earth they were Jews or
Gentiles.

It will be observed that the enumeration of the tribes here differs from
that given in other places. In the text before us, Ephraim and Dan are
omitted, and Levi and Joseph put in

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their places. The omission of Dan is accounted for by commentators on the
ground that that tribe was the one chiefly addicted to idolatry. (See
Judges 18.) The tribe of Levi here takes it place with the rest, as in the
heavenly Canaan the reasons for their not having inheritance will not exist
as in the earthly. Joseph is probably substituted for Ephraim, it being a
name which appears to have been applied to the tribe of either Ephraim or
Manasseh. (Numbers 13: 11.)

Twelve thousand were sealed "out of" each of the twelve tribes, showing
that not all who in the records of heaven had a place among these tribes
when this sealing work began, stood the test and were overcomers at last,
for the names of those already in the book of life will be blotted out
unless they overcome. (Revelation 3: 5.)

Verse 9 After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could
number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before
the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in
their hands; 10 and cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God
which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb. 11 And all the angels
stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and
fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, 12 saying, Amen:
Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honor, and power,
and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen.

After the sealing is accomplished, John beholds a countless multitude
worshiping God in rapture before His throne. This vast throng is
undoubtedly the saved out of every nation, kindred, tribe, and tongue
raised from the dead at the second coming of Christ, showing that the
sealing is the last work accomplished for the people of God prior to
translation.

Verse 13 And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these
which are arrayed in white robes? And whence came they? 14 And I said unto
him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of
great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the
blood of the Lamb. 15 Therefore are they before the throne of God, and
serve Him day and night in His temple: and He that sitteth on the throne
shall dwell among them. 16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any
more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. 17 For the Lamb
which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead

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them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears
from their eyes.

A Special Company.--The questions put by one of the elders to John, "What
are these which are arrayed in white robes? And when came they?" taken in
connection with John's answer, "Sir, thou knowest," implying that John did
not know, would seem to be devoid of point if they had reference to all the
great multitude now before him. For John did know who they were and whence
they came, inasmuch as he had just said that they were people--redeemed of
course--out of all nations, kindreds, people, and tongues. John could have
answered, These are the redeemed ones from all the nations of the earth. No
company is brought to view to which special allusion would more naturally
be made than the company spoken of in the first part of the chapter, the
144,000. John had indeed seen this company in their mortal state as they
were receiving the seal of the living God amid the troublous scenes of the
last days; but as they here stand among the redeemed throng, the transition
is so great, and the condition in which they now appear so different, that
he does not recognize them as the special company which he saw sealed upon
the earth. To this company, the following specifications seem to be
specially applicable.

Came Out of Great Tribulation.--While it is true in some degree of all
Christians that they "must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom
of God" (Acts 14: 22), it is true of the 144,000 in a very special sense.
They pass through the great time of trouble such as never was since there
was a nation. (Daniel 12: 1.) They experience the mental anguish of the
time of Jacob's trouble. (Jeremiah 30: 4-7.) They are to stand without a
mediator through the terrible scenes of the seven last plagues, those
exhibitions of God's unmingled wrath in the earth as we shall see in
Revelation 15, 16. They pass through the most severe time of trouble the
world has ever known, although they shall finally triumph and be delivered.

Page 470

Wear White Robes.--They have washed their robes and made them white in the
blood of the Lamb. To the last generation the counsel is very emphatic on
the subject of obtaining the white raiment. (Revelation 3: 5, 18.) The
144,000 refuse to violate the commandments of God. (Revelation 14: 1, 12.)
It will be seen that they have rested their hope of life on the merits of
the shed blood of their divine Redeemer, making Him their source of
righteousness. There is peculiar force in saying of these that they have
washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

Called First Fruits.--Verse 15 describes the post of honor they occupy in
the kingdom, and their nearness to God. In another place they are called
"the first fruits unto God and the Lamb." Revelation 14: 4.

Shall Hunger No More.--In verse 16 it is said, "They shall hunger no more,
neither thirst any more." This shows that they have once suffered hunger
and thirst. To what can this refer. As it doubtless has reference to some
special experience, may it not refer to their trials in the time of
trouble, more especially during the seven last plagues? In this time the
righteous will be reduced to bread and water, and that "will be sure"
(Isaiah 33: 16), enough for sustenance. Yet may it not be that when the
pastures, with all fruits and vegetation, are dried up (Joel 1: 18-20), and
the rivers and fountains are turned to blood (Revelation 16: 4-7), to
reduce their connection with the earth and earthly things to the lowest
limit, the saints who pass through that time will be brought occasionally
to extreme degrees of hunger and thirst? But the kingdom once gained, "they
shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more."

The prophet continues: "Neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat."
The 144,000 live through the time when power is given unto the sun "to
scorch men with fire." Revelation 16: 8, 9. Though they are shielded from
the deadly effect which it has upon the wicked around them, we cannot
suppose that their sensibilities will be so deadened that they will feel no
unpleasant sensations from the terrific heat. No,

Page 471

as they enter the fields of the heavenly Canaan, they will be prepared to
appreciate the divine assurance that the sun shall not injure them.

The Lamb Shall Lead Them.--Another testimony concerning the same company,
and applying at the same time, says, "These are they which follow the Lamb
whithersoever He goeth." Revelation 14: 4. Both expressions denote the
state of intimate and divine companionship to which the blessed Redeemer
admits them.

In the following beautiful passage the psalmist seems to allude to the same
promise: "They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of They
house; and Thou shalt make them drink of the river of Thy pleasures." Psalm
36: 8. The phraseology of this promise to the 144,000 is also partly found
in a glowing prophecy from the pen of Isaiah: "He will swallow up death in
victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the
rebuke of His people shall He take away from off all the earth: for the
Lord hath spoken it." Isaiah 25: 8.
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                                Chapter VIII

                      The Collapse of the Roman Empire

Verse 1 And when He had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in
heaven about the space of half an hour.

The first verse of this chapter relates to the events of the preceding
chapters, and therefore should not have been separated from them by the
division of the chapter. The series of seven seals is here resumed and
concluded. The sixth chapter of Revelation closed with the events of the
sixth seal, and the eighth chapter begins with the opening of the seventh
seal. Hence the seventh chapter stands parenthetically between the sixth
and seventh seals, and it appears that the sealing work of Revelation of 7
belongs to the sixth seal.

Silence in Heaven.--The sixth seal does not bring us to the second advent
of Christ, although it embraces events closely connected with that coming.
It introduces the fearful commotions of the elements, described as the
heavens rolling together as a scroll, the breaking up of the surface of the
earth, and the confession by the wicked that the great day of God's wrath
is come. They are doubtless in momentary expectation of seeing the King
appear in glory. But the seal stops just short of that event. The personal
appearing of Christ must therefore be allotted to the next seal.

When the Lord appears, He comes with all the holy angels with Him. (Matthew
25: 31.) When all the heavenly harpers leave the courts above to come to
this earth with their divine Lord as He descends to gather the fruit of His
redeeming work, will there not be silence in heaven? The length of this
period of silence, if we consider it prophetic time, would be about seven
days.

Page 474

Verse 2 And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to them were
given seven trumpets.

This verse introduces a new and distinct series of events. In the seals we
have had the history of the church during what is called the Christian Era.
In the seven trumpets now introduced we have the principal political and
warlike events that occur during the same time.

Verse 3 And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden
censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it
with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the
throne. 4 And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the
saints, ascended up before God out of the angel's hand. 5 And the angel
took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the
earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an
earthquake.

After introducing the seven angels upon the stage of action in verse 2,
John for a moment directs attention to an entirely different scene. The
angel who approaches the altar is not one of the seven trumpet angels. The
altar is the altar of incense, which in the earthly sanctuary was placed in
the first apartment. Here then is another proof that there exists in heaven
a sanctuary with its corresponding vessels of service, of which the earth
was a figure, and that we are taken into that sanctuary by the visions of
John. A work of ministration for all the saints in the sanctuary above is
thus brought to view. Doubtless the entire work of mediation for the people
of God during the gospel era is here presented. This is apparent from the
fact that the angel offers his incense with the prayers of all saints. That
we are here carried forward to the end of time, is evident from the act of
the angel in filling the censer with fire and casting it unto the earth; by
this act he shows that his work is done. No more prayers are to be offered
up mingled with incense. This symbolic act can have its application only at
the time when the ministration of Christ in the sanctuary in behalf of
mankind has forever ceased. Following the angel's act there are voices,
thunderings, lightnings, and an earthquake-- exactly such occurrences as we
are elsewhere informed take

Page 475

place at the close of human probation. (See Revelation 11: 19; 16: 17, 18.)

But why are these verses inserted here? They are a message of hope and
comfort for the church. The seven angels with their warlike trumpets had
been introduced; terrible scenes were to take place when they should sound;
but before they begin to blow, the people of God are directed to behold the
work of mediation in their behalf in heaven, and to look to their source of
help and strength during this time. Though they should be tossed upon the
tumultuous waves of strife and war, they were to know that their great High
Priest still ministered for them in the sanctuary in heaven. To that sacred
place they could direct their prayers with the assurance that they would be
offered with incense to their Father in heaven. Thus could they gain
strength and support in all their tribulation.

Verse 6 And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared
themselves to sound.

The Seven Trumpets.--The subject of the seven trumpets is resumed. These
trumpets occupy the rest of this chapter and all of Revelation 9. The
blowing of the trumpets by the seven angels comes as a complement to the
prophecy of Daniel 2 and 7, beginning with the breaking up of the old Roman
Empire into its ten divisions. In the first four trumpets, we have a
description of the special events which marked Rome's fall.

Verse 7 The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled
with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees
was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.

Alexander Keith has justly remarked on the subject of this prophecy:

"None could elucidate the texts more clearly, or expound them more fully,
than the task has been accomplished by Gibbon. The chapters of the
skeptical philosopher that treat directly of the matter, need but a text to
be prefixed and a few unholy words to be blotted out, to form a series of
expository

Page 476

lectures on the eighth and ninth chapters of the Revelation of Jesus
Christ." [1] "Little or nothing is left for the professed interpreter to do
but to point to the pages of Gibbon." [2]

The first sore and heavy judgment which fell on Western Rome in its
downward course, was the war with the Goths under Alaric, who opened the
way for later inroads. The death of Theodosius the Roman emperor, occurred
in January, A.D. 395, and before the end of the winter the Goths under
Alaric were in arms against the empire.

The first invasion under Alaric ravaged the Eastern Empire. He captured the
famous cities and enslaved many of the inhabitants. Thrace, Macedonia,
Attica, and the Peloponnesus, were conquered, but he did not reach the city
of Rome. Later, the Gothic chieftain crossed the Alps and Apennines and
appeared before the walls of the Eternal City, which fell a prey to the
fury of the barbarians in A.D. 410.

"Hail and fire mingled with blood!" were cast upon the earth. The terrible
effects of this Gothic invasion are represented as "hail," from the
northern origin of the invaders; "fire," from the destruction by flame of
both city and country; and "blood," from the terrible slaughter of the
citizens of the empire by the bold and intrepid warriors.

The First Trumpet.--The blast of the first trumpet has it location about
the close of the fourth century and onward, and refers to these desolating
invasions of the Roman Empire under the Goths.

After quoting at some length from Edward Gibbon's History of the Decline
and Fall of the Roman Empire, Chapters XXX-XXXIII, concerning the conquests
of the Goths, Alexander Keith has presented an admirable summary of the
historian's words emphasizing the fulfillment of prophecy:

"Large extracts clearly show how amply and well Gibbon has expounded his
text in the history of the first trumpet, the first storm that pervaded the
Roman earth, and the first fall of

Page 477

Rome. to use his words in more direct comment, we read thus the sum of the
matter: The Gothic nation was in arms at the first sound of the trumpet,
and in the uncommon severity of the winter, they rolled their ponderous
wagons over the broad and icy back of the river. The fertile fields of
Phocis and Boeotia were crowned [sic] with a deluge of barbarians: the
males were massacred; the females and cattle of the flaming villages were
driven away. The deep and bloody traces of the march of the Goths could
easily be discovered after several years. The whole territory of Attica was
blasted by the baneful presence of Alaric. The most fortunate of the
inhabitants of Corinth, Argos, and Sparta were saved by death from
beholding the conflagration of their cities. In a season of such extreme
heat that the beds of the rivers were dry, Alaric invaded the dominion of
the West. A secluded 'old man of Verona' [the poet Claudian], pathetically
lamented the fate of his contemporary trees, which must blaze in the
conflagration of the whole country [ note the words of the prophecy,--'The
third part of the trees was burned up']; and the emperor of the Romans fled
before the king of the Goths.

"A furious tempest was excited among the nations of Germany; from the
northern extremity of which the barbarians marched almost to the gates of
Rome. They achieved the destruction of the West. The dark cloud which was
collected along the coasts of the Baltic, burst in thunder upon the banks
of the upper Danube. The pastures of Gaul, in which flocks and herds
grazed, and the banks of the Rhine, which were covered with elegant houses
and well-cultivated farms, formed a scene of peace and plenty, which was
suddenly changed into a desert, distinguished from the solitude of nature
only be smoking ruins. Many cities were cruelly oppressed, or destroyed.
Many thousands were inhumanly massacred. The consuming flames of war spread
over the greatest part of the seventeen provinces of Gaul.

"Alaric again stretched his ravages over Italy. During four years the Goths
ravaged and reigned over it without con-

Page 478

trol. And in the pillage and fire of Rome, the streets of the city were
filled with dead bodies; the flames consumed many public and private
buildings; and the ruins of a palace remained, after a century and a half,
a stately monument of the Gothic conflagration." [3]

After making this summary, Keith completes the picture by saying:

"The concluding sentence of the thirty-third chapter of Gibbon's History is
of itself a clear ad comprehensive commentary; for in winding up his own
description of this brief but most eventful period, he concentrates, as in
a parallel reading, the sum of the history and the substance of the
prediction. But the words which precede it are not without their meaning:
'The public devotion of the age was impatient to exalt the saints and
martyrs of the Catholic Church on the altars of Diana and Hercules. The
union of the Roman empire was dissolved; its genius was humbled in the
dust; and armies of unknown barbarians, issued from the frozen regions of
the North, had established their victorious reign over the fairest
provinces of Europe and Africa.'

"The last word--Africa--is the signal for the sounding of the second
trumpet. The scene changes from the shores of the Baltic to the southern
coast of the Mediterranean, or from the frozen regions of the North to the
borders of burning Africa. And instead of a storm of hail being cast upon
the earth, a burning mountain was cast into the sea." [4]

Verse 8 And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain
burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea
became blood; 9 and the third part of the creatures which were in the sea,
and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed.

The Second Trumpet.--The Roman Empire, after Constantine the Great, was
divided into three parts. Hence the frequent remark, "a third part of men,"
is an allusion to the third part of the empire which was under the scourge.
This division

Page 479

of the Roman kingdom was made at the death of Constantine, among his three
sons, Constantius, Constantine II, and Constans. Constantius possessed the
East, and fixed his residence at Constantinople, the metropolis of the
empire. Constantine II held Britain, Gaul, and Spain. Constans held
Illyricum, Africa, and Italy.

The sounding of the second trumpet evidently relates to the invasion and
conquest of Africa, and afterward of Italy, by Gaiseric (Genseric), king of
the Vandals. His conquests were for the most part naval, and his triumphs
were "as it were a great mountain burning with fire, cast into the sea."
What figure would better, or even so well, illustrate the collision of
navies, and the general havoc of war on the maritime coasts? In explaining
this trumpet, we are to look for some events which will have a particular
bearing on the commercial world. The symbol used naturally leads us to look
for agitation and commotion. Nothing but a fierce maritime warfare would
fulfill the prediction. If the sounding of the first four trumpets relates
to four remarkable events which contributed to the downfall of the Roman
Empire, and the first trumpet refers to the ravages of the Goths under
Alaric, in this we naturally look for the next succeeding act of invasion
which shook the Roman power and conduced to its fall. The next great
invasion was that of Genseric, at the head of the Vandals. His career
reached its height between the years A.D. 428-468. This great Vandal chief
had his headquarters in Africa. But as Gibbon states, "The discovery and
conquest of the black nations [in Africa], that might dwell beneath the
torrid zone, could not tempt the rational ambition of Genseric; but he cast
his eyes towards the sea; he resolved to create a naval power, and his bold
resolution was executed with steady and active perseverance." [5] From the
port of Carthage he repeatedly made piratical sallies, preyed on the Roman
commerce, and waged war with that empire. To cope with this sea monarch,
the

Page 480

Roman emperor, Majorian, made extensive naval preparations.

"The woods of the Apennines were felled; the arsenals and manufacturers of
Ravenna and Misenum were restored; Italy and Gaul vied with each other in
liberal contributions to the public service; and the imperial navy of three
hundred large galleys, with an adequate proportion of transports and
smaller vessels, was collected in the secure and capacious harbor of
Carthagena in Spain. . . . But Genseric was saved from impending and
inevitable ruin by the treachery of some powerful subjects, envious, or
apprehensive, of their master's success. Guided by their secret
intelligence, he surprised the unguarded fleet in the Bay of Carthagena:
many of the ships were sunk, or taken, or burnt; and the preparations of
three years were destroyed in a single day. . . .

"The kingdom of Italy, a name to which the Western Empire was gradually
reduced, was afflicted, under the reign of Ricimer, by the incessant
depredations of the Vandal pirates. In the spring of each year, they
equipped a formidable navy in the port of Carthage; and Genseric himself,
though in a very advanced age, still commanded in person the most important
expeditions. . . .

"The Vandals repeatedly visited the coasts of Spain, Liguria, Tuscany,
Campania, Lucania, Bruttium, Apulia, Calabria, Venetia, Dalmatia, Epirus,
Greece, and Sicily. . . .

"The celerity of their motions enabled them, almost at the same time, to
threaten and to attack the most distant objects, which attracted their
desires; and as they always embarked a sufficient number of horses, they
had no sooner landed, than they swept the dismayed country with a body of
light calvary." [6]

A last and desperate attempt to dispossess Genseric of the sovereignty of
the seas, was made in the year 468 by Leo I, the emperor of the East.
Gibbon bears witness to this as follows:

Page 481

"The whole expense of the African campaign, by whatsoever means it was
defrayed, amounted to the sum of one hundred and thirty thousand pounds of
gold, about five million and two hundred thousand pounds sterling. . . .
The fleet that sailed from Constantinople to Carthage consisted of eleven
hundred and thirteen ships, and the number of soldiers and mariners
exceeded one hundred thousand men. . . . The army of Heraclius and the
fleet of Marcellinus either joined or seconded the imperial lieutenant. . .
. The wind became favorable to the design of Genseric. He manned his
largest ships of war with the bravest of the Moors and Vandals, and they
towed after them many large barks filled with combustible materials. In the
obscurity of the night, these destructive vessels were impelled against the
unguarded and unsuspecting fleet of the Romans, who were awakened by the
sense of their instant danger. Their close and crowded order assisted the
progress of the fire, which was communicated with rapid and irresistible
violence; and the noise of the wind, the crackling of the flames, the
dissonant cries of the soldiers and mariners, who could neither command nor
obey, increased the horror of the nocturnal tumult. Whilst they labored to
extricate themselves from the fire ships, and to save at least a part of
the navy, the galleys of Genseric assaulted them with temperate and
disciplined valor; and many of the Romans who escaped the fury of the
flames, were destroyed or taken by the victorious Vandals. . . . After the
failure of this great expedition, Genseric again became the tyrant of the
sea; the coasts of Italy, Greece, and Asia were again exposed to his
revenge and avarice; Tripoli and Sardinia returned to his obedience; he
added Sicily to the number of his provinces; and before he died, in the
fullness of years and of glory, he beheld the final extinction of the
empire of the West." [7]

Concerning the important part which this bold corsair acted in the downfall
of Rome, Gibbon uses this significant

Page 483

language: "Genseric, a name which, in the destruction of the Roman Empire,
has deserved an equal rank with the names of Alaric and Attila." [8]

Verse 10 And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from
heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the
rivers, and upon the fountains of waters; 11 and the name of the star is
called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many
men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.

The Third Trumpet.--In the interpretation and application of this passage,
we are brought to the third important event which resulted in the
subversion of the Roman Empire. In revealing the historical fulfillment of
this third trumpet, we shall be indebted to the notes of Albert Barnes for
a few extracts. in explaining this scripture, it is necessary, as this
commentator says, "that there would be some chieftain or warrior who might
be compared with a blazing meteor; whose course would be singularly
brilliant; who would appear suddenly like a blazing star, and then
disappear like a star whose light was quenched in the waters. That the
desolating course of that meteor would be mainly on those portions of the
world that abounded with springs of water and running streams. That an
effect would be produced as if those streams and fountains were made
bitter; that is, that many persons would perish, and that wide desolations
would be caused in the vicinity of those rivers and streams, as if a bitter
and baleful star should fall into the waters, and death should spread over
the lands adjacent to them, and watered by them." [9]

It is here premised that this trumpet has allusion to the desolating wars
and furious invasions of Attila, king of the Huns, against the Roman power.
Speaking of this warrior, particularly of his personal appearance, Barnes
says:

"In the manner of his appearance, he strongly resembled a brilliant meteor
in the sky. He came from the East gathering his Huns, and poured them down,
as we shall see,

Page 484

with the rapidity of a flashing meteor, suddenly on the empire. He regarded
himself also as devoted to Mars, the god of war, and was accustomed to
array himself in a peculiarly brilliant manner, so that his appearance, in
the language of his flatterers, was such as to dazzle the eyes of
beholders." [10]

In speaking of the locality of the events predicted by this trumpet, Barnes
has this note:

"It is said particularly that the effect would be on 'the rivers' and on
'the fountains of waters.' If this has a literal application, or if, as was
supposed in the case of the second trumpet, the language used was such as
had reference to the portion of the empire that would be particularly
affected by the hostile invasion, then we may suppose that this refers to
those portions of the empire that abounded in rivers and streams, and more
particularly those in which the rivers and streams had their origin--for
the effect was permanently in the 'fountains of waters.' As a matter of
fact, the principal operations of Attila were in the regions of the Alps,
and on the portions of the empire whence the rivers flow down into Italy.
The invasion of Attila is described by Gibbon in this general language:
'The whole breadth of Europe, as it extends above five hundred miles from
the Euxine to the Adriatic, was at once invaded, and occupied, and
desolated by the myriads of barbarians whom Attila led into the field.' "
[11]

The Name of the Star Is Called Wormwood.--The word "wormwood" denotes
bitter consequences. "These words--which are more intimately connected with
the preceding verse, as even the punctuation in our version denotes--recall
us for a moment to the character of Attila, to the misery of which he was
the author or the instrument, and to the terror that was inspired by his
name.

" 'Total extirpation and erasure,' are terms which best denote the
calamities he inflicted. . . .

Page 485

"It was the boast of Attila that the grass never grew on the spot which his
horse had trod. 'The scourge of God' was a name that he appropriated to
himself, and inserted among his royal titles. He was 'the scourge of his
enemies, and the terror of the world.' The Western emperor with the senate
and people of Rome, humbly and fearfully deprecated the wrath of Attila.
And the concluding paragraph of the chapters which record his history, is
entitled, 'Symptoms of the Decay and Ruin of the Roman Government.' The
name of the star is called wormwood." [12]

Verse 12 And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was
smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars;
so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a
third part of it, and the night likewise.

The Fourth Trumpet.--We understand that this trumpet symbolizes the career
of Odoacer, the first barbarian ruler of Italy, who was so intimately
connected with the downfall of Western Rome. The symbols sun, moon, and
stars--for they are undoubtedly here used as symbols--evidently denote the
great luminaries of the Roman government, its emperors, senators, and
consuls. The last emperor of Western Rome was Romulus, who in derision was
called Augustulus, or the "diminutive Augustus." Western Rome fell in A.D.
476. Still, however, though the Roman sun was extinguished, its subordinate
luminaries shone faintly while the senate and consuls continued. But after
many civil reverses and changes of political fortune, at length the whole
form of the ancient government was subverted, and Rome itself was reduced
from being the empress of the world to a poor dukedom tributary to the
Exarch of Ravenna.

The extinction of the Western Empire is recorded by Gibbon as follows:

"The unfortunate Augustulus was made the instrument of his own disgrace: he
signified his resignation to the senate; and

Page 486

that assembly, in their last act of obedience to a Roman prince, still
affected the spirit of freedom, and the forms of the constitution. An
epistle was addressed, by their unanimous decree, to the emperor Zeno, the
son-in-law and successor of Leo, who had lately been restored, after a
short rebellion, to the Byzantine throne. They solemnly 'disclaim the
necessity, or even the wish of continuing any longer the imperial
succession in Italy; since in their opinion the majesty of a sole monarch
is sufficient to pervade and to protect, at the same time, both the East
and the West. In their own name, and in the name of the people, they
consent that the seat of universal empire shall be transferred from Rome to
Constantinople; and they basely renounce the right of choosing their
master, the only vestige that yet remained of the authority which had given
laws to the world.' " [13]

Keith comments on the downfall of Rome:

"The power and glory of Rome as bearing rule over any nation, became
extinct. The name alone remained to the queen of nations. Every token of
royalty disappeared from the imperial city. She who had ruled over the
nations sat in the dust, like a second Babylon, and there was no throne
where the Caesars had reigned. The last act of obedience to a Roman prince
which that once august assembly performed, was the acceptance of the
resignation of the last emperor of the West, and the abolition of the
imperial succession in Italy. The sun of Rome was smitten. . . .

"A new conqueror of Italy, Theodoric, the Ostrogoth, speedily arose, who
unscrupulously assumed the purple, and reigned by the right of conquest.
'The royalty of Theodoric was proclaimed by the Goths (March 5, A.D. 493),
with the tardy, reluctant, ambiguous consent of the emperor of the East.'
The imperial Roman power, of which either Rome or Constantinople had been
jointly or singly the seat, whether in the West or the East, was no longer
recognized in Italy, and the 'third

Page 487

part of the sun' was smitten till it emitted no longer the faintest rays.
The power of the Caesars was unknown in Italy; and a Gothic king reigned
over Rome.

"But though the third part of the sun was smitten, and the Roman imperial
power was at an end in the city of the Caesars, yet the moon and the stars
still shone, or glimmered, for a little longer in the Western hemisphere
[empire], even in the midst of Gothic darkness. The consulship and the
senate ["the moon and the stars"] were not abolished by Theodoric. 'A
Gothic historian applauds the consulship of Theodoric as the height of all
temporal power and greatness;'--as the moon reigns by night, after the
setting of the sun. And instead of abolishing that office, Theodoric
himself 'congratulates those annual favorites of fortune, who, without the
cares, enjoyed the splendor of the throne.'

"But, in their prophetic order, the consulship and the senate of Rome met
their fate, though they fell not by the hands of Vandals or of Goths. The
next revolution in Italy was its subjection to Belisarius, the general of
Justinian, emperor of the East. He did not spare what barbarians had
hallowed. 'The Roman Consulship Extinguished by Justinian, A.D. 541,' is
the title of the last paragraph of the fortieth chapter of Gibbon's History
of the Decline and Fall of Rome. 'The succession of the consuls finally
ceased in the thirteenth year of Justinian, whose despotic temper might be
gratified by the silent extinction of a title which admonished the Romans
of their ancient freedom.' 'The third part of the sun was smitten, and the
third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars.' In the political
firmament of the ancient world, while under the reign of imperial Rome, the
emperorship, the consulate, and the senate shone like the sun, the moon,
and the stars. The history of their decline and fall is brought down till
the two former were 'extinguished,' in reference to Rome and Italy, which
so long had ranked as the first of cities and countries; and finally, as
the fourth trumpet closes, we see the 'extinction of that illustrious
assembly,' the Roman senate. The city that

Page 489

had ruled the world, as if in mockery of human greatness, was conquered by
the eunuch Narses, the successor of Belisarius. He defeated the Goths (A.D.
522 [*]), achieved 'the conquest of Rome,' and the fate of the senate was
sealed." [14]

E. B. Elliott speaks of the fulfillment of this part of the prophecy in the
extinction of the Western Empire, as follows:

"Thus was the final catastrophe preparing, by which the Western emperors
and empire were to become extinct. The glory of Rome had long departed; its
provinces one after another been rent from it; the territory still attached
to it become like a desert; and its maritime possessions and its fleets and
commerce been annihilated. Little remained to it but the vain titles and
insignia of sovereignty. And now the time was come when these too should be
withdrawn. Some twenty years or more from the death of Attila, and much
less from that of Genseric (who, ere his death, had indeed visited and
ravaged the eternal city in one of his maritime marauding expeditions, and
thus yet more prepared the coming consummation), about this time, I say,
Odoacer, chief of the Heruli--a barbarian remnant of the host of Attila,
left on the Alpine frontiers of Italy--interposed with his command that the
name and the office of Roman Emperor of the West, should be abolished. The
authorities bowed in submission to him. The last phantom of an emperor--one
whose name, Romulus Augustus, was singularly calculated to bring in
contrast before the reflective mind the past glories of Rome and its
present degradation--abdicated; and the senate sent away the imperial
insignia to Constantinople, professing to the emperor of the East that one
emperor was sufficient for the whole of the empire. Thus of the Roman
imperial sun, that third which appertained to the Western Empire was
eclipsed, and shown no more. I say that third of its orb which appertained
to the Western empire; for

Page 490

the Apocalyptic fraction is literally accurate. In the last arrangement
between the two courts, the whole of the Illyrian third had been made over
to the Eastern division. Thus in the West 'the extinction of the empire'
had taken place; the night had fallen.

"Notwithstanding this, however, it must be borne in mind that the authority
of the Roman name had not yet entirely ceased. The senate of Rome continued
to assemble as usual. The consuls were appointed yearly, one by the Eastern
emperor, one by Italy and Rome. Odoacer himself governed Italy under a
title (that of patrician) conferred on him by the Eastern emperor. And as
regarded the more distant Western provinces, or at least considerable
districts in them, the tie which had united them to the Roman Empire was
not altogether severed. There was still a certain, though often faint,
recognition of the supreme imperial authority. The moon and the stars might
seem still to shine on the West with a dim reflected light. In the course
of the events, however, which rapidly followed one on the other in the next
half century, these, too, were extinguished. Theodoric the Ostrogoth, on
destroying the Heruli and their kingdom at Rome and Ravenna, ruled in Italy
from A.D. 493 to 526 as an independent sovereign; and on Belisarius's and
Narses's conquest of Italy from the Ostrogoths (a conquest preceded by wars
and desolations in which Italy, and above all its seven-hilled city, were
for a time almost made desert), the Roman senate was dissolved, the
consulship abrogated. Moreover, as regards the barbaric princes of the
Western provinces, their independence of the Roman imperial power became
now more distinctly averred and understood. After above a century and [a]
half of calamities unexampled almost, as Dr. Robertson most truly
represents is, in the history of nations, the statement of Jerome--a
statement couched under the very Apocalyptic figure of the text, but
prematurely pronounced on the first taking of Rome by Alaric,--might be
considered as at length accomplished: 'Clarissimum terrarum lumen extinctum
est.' 'The world's glorious sun has been extin-

Page 491

guished;' or as the modern power has expressed it, still under the same
Apocalyptic imagery--

                 'She saw her glories star by star expire.'

till not even one star remained, to glimmer on the vacant and dark night."
[15]

The fearful ravages of these barbarian hordes who under their bold but
cruel and desperate leaders devastated Rome, are vividly portrayed in the
following spirited lines:

                    "And then a deluge of wrath it came,
                     And the nations shook with dread;
            And it swept the earth, till its fields were flame,
                      And piled with the mingled dead.
                  Kings were rolled in the wasteful flood,
                     With the low and crouching slave,
                  And together lay, in a shroud of blood,
                         The coward and the brave."

Fearful as were the calamities brought upon the empire by the first
incursions of these barbarians, they were light as compared with the
calamities which were to follow. They were but as the preliminary drops of
a shower before the torrent which was soon to fall upon the Roman world.
The three remaining trumpets are overshadowed with a cloud of woe, as set
forth in the following verses.

Verse 13 And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of
heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the
earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels,
which are yet to sound.

This angel is not one of the series of the seven trumpet angels, but simply
another heavenly messenger, who announces that the three remaining trumpets
are woe trumpets, because of the more terrible events to take place under
their sounding. Thus the next, or fifth trumpet, is the first woe; the
sixth trumpet, the second woe; and the seventh, the last one in this series
of seven trumpets, is the third woe.

[1] Alexander Keith, Signs of the Times, Vol. I, p. 241.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Ibid., pp. 251-253.

[4] Ibid., p. 253.

[5] Edward Gibbon, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Vol. III,
chap. 36, p. 459.

[6] Ibid., 481-486.

[7] Ibid., 495-498.

[8] Ibid., chap. 33, p. 370.

[9] Albert Barnes, Notes on Revelation, p. 239, comment on Revelation 8:
11.

[10] Ibid.

[11] Ibid., p. 240.

[12] Alexander Keith, Signs of the Times, Vol. I, p. 267-269.

[13] Edward Gibbon, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Vol. III,
chap. 36, p. 512.

[14] Alexander Keith, Signs of the Times, Vol. I, p. 280-283.

[15] Edward B. Elliott, Horae Apocalypticae, Vol. I, pp. 354-356.

[*] Edward Gibbon, in History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire,
Volume IV, chapter 43, pages 273, 274, places the defeat and death of
Teias, the last king of the Goths, in A.D. 533. This is the date usually
accepted by historians, and is the one used by the author of this book.
(See pages 127, 128.)--Editors.
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Page 493

                                 Chapter IX

                        The Moslem World in Prophecy

Verse 1 And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto
the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.

The Fifth Trumpet.--For an exposition of this trumpet, we shall again draw
from the writings of Alexander Keith. This writer says:

"There is scarcely so uniform an agreement among interpreters concerning
any other part of the Apocalypse as respecting the application of the fifth
and sixth trumpets, or the first and second woes, to the Saracens and the
Turks. It is so obvious that it can scarcely be misunderstood. Instead of a
verse or two designating each, the whole of the ninth chapter of the
Revelation, equal portions, is occupied with a description of both.

"The Roman Empire declined, as it arose, by conquest; but the Saracens and
the Turks were the instruments by which a false religion became the scourge
of an apostate church; and hence, instead of the fifth and sixth trumpets,
like the former, being marked by that name alone, they are called woes. . .
.

"Constantinople was besieged for the first time after the extinction of the
Western Empire by Chosroes [II], the king of Persia." [1]

The prophet said, "I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth; and to him
was given the key of the bottomless pit."

The historian writes of this time:

"While the Persian monarch [Chosroes II] contemplated the wonders of his
art and power, he received an epistle from an obscure citizen of Mecca,
inviting him to acknowledge Mahomet as the apostle of God. He rejected the
invitation, and tore the epsitle. 'It is thus,' exclaimed the Arabian

Page 494

prophet, 'that God will tear the kingdom, and reject the supplications of
Chosroes.' Placed on the verge of the two great empires of the East,
Mahomet observed with secret joy the progress of their mutual destruction;
and in the midst of the Persian triumphs, he ventured to foretell, that
before many years should elapse, victory should again return to the banners
of the Romans. At the time when this prediction is said to have been
delivered, no prophecy could be more distant from its accomplishment, since
the first twelve years of Heraclius announced the approaching dissolution
of the empire." [2]

It was not on a single spot that this star fell, as did the one that
designated Attila, but upon the earth.

The provinces of the empire in Asia and Africa were subdued by Chosroes II,
and "the Roman Empire was reduced to the walls of Constantinople, with the
remnant of Greece, Italy, and Africa, and some maritime cities, from Tyre
to Trebizond, of the Asiatic coast. . . . The experience of six years at
length persuaded the Persian monarch to renounce the conquest of
Constantinople, and to specify the annual tribute or ransom of the Roman
Empire; a thousand talents of gold, a thousand talents of silver, a
thousand silk robes, a thousand horses, and a thousand virgins. Heraclius
subscribed these ignominious terms; but the time and space which he
obtained to collect such treasures from the poverty of the East, was
industriously employed in the preparation of a bold and desperate attack."
[3]

"The king of Persia despised the obscure Saracen, and derided the message
of the pretended prophet of Mecca. Even the overthrow of the Roman Empire
would not have opened a door for Mahometanism, or for the progress of the
Saracenic armed propagators of an imposture, though the monarch of the
Persians and chagan of the Avars (the successor of Attila) had divided
between them the remains of the kingdoms of the Caesars. Chosroes himself
fell. The Persian and Roman mon-

Page 495

archies exhausted each other's strength. And before a sword was put into
the hands of the false prophet, it was smitten from the hands of those who
would have checked his career and crushed his power." [4]

"Since the days of Scipio and Hannibal, no bolder enterprise has been
attempted than that which Heraclius achieved for the deliverance of the
empire. He . . . explored his perilous way through the Black Sea and the
mountains of Armenia, penetrated into the heart of Persia, and recalled the
armies of the great king to the defense of their bleeding country. . . .

"In the battle of Nineveh, which was fiercely fought from daybreak to the
eleventh hour, twenty-eight standards, besides those which might be broken
or torn, were taken from the Persians; the greatest part of their army was
cut in pieces, and the victors, concealing their own loss, passed the night
on the field. . . . The cities and palaces of Assyria were opened for the
first time to the Romans." [5]

"The Roman emperor was not strengthened by the conquests which he achieved;
and a way was prepared at the same time, and by the same means, for the
multitudes of Saracens from Arabia, like locusts from the same region, who,
propagating in their course the dark and delusive Mahometan creed, speedily
overspread both the Persian and the Roman empires. More complete
illustration of this fact could not be desired than is supplied in the
concluding words of the chapter [from Gibbon], from which the preceding
extracts are taken." [6]

"Although a victorious army had been formed under the standard of
Heraclius, the unnatural effort appears to have exhausted rather than
exercised their strength. While the emperor triumphed at Constantinople or
Jerusalem, an obscure town on the confines of Syria was pillaged by the
Saracens, and they cut in pieces some troops who advanced to its relief, an
ordinary and trifling occurrence, had it not been the prelude

Page 496

of a mighty revolution. These robbers were the apostles of Mahomet; their
fanatic valor had emerged from the desert; and in the last eight years of
his reign, Heraclius lost to the Arabs the same provinces which he had
rescued from the Persians." [7]

" 'The spirit of fraud and enthusiasm, whose abode is not in the heavens,'
was let loose on earth. The bottomless pit needed but a key to open it, and
that key was the fall of Chosroes. He had contemptuously torn the letter of
an obscure citizen of Mecca. But when from his 'blaze of glory' he sunk
into the 'tower of darkness' which no eye could penetrate, the name of
Chosroes was suddenly to pass into oblivion before that of Mahomet; and the
crescent seemed but to wait its rising till the falling of the star.
Chosroes, after his entire discomfiture and loss of empire, was murdered in
the year 628; and the year 629 is marked by 'the conquest of Arabia,' and
'the first war of the Mahometans against the Roman Empire.' 'And the fifth
angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him
was given the key of the bottomless pit. And he opened the bottomless pit.'
He fell upon the earth. When the strength of the Roman Empire was
exhausted, and the great king of the East lay dead in his tower of
darkness, the pillage of an obscure town on the borders of Syria was 'the
prelude of a mighty revolution.' 'The robbers were the apostles of Mahomet,
and their fanatic valor emerged from the desert.' " [8]

The Bottomless Pit.--The meaning of this term may be learned from the Greek
{GREEK CHARACTERS IN PRINTED TEXT}, abyssos, which is defined "deep,
bottomless, profound," and may refer to any waste, desolate, and
uncultivated place. It is applied to the earth in its original state of
chaos. (Genesis 1: 2.) In this instance it may appropriately refer to the
unknown wastes of the Arabian desert, from the borders of which issued the
hordes of Saracens, like swarms of locusts. The fall of Chosroes II the
Persian

Page 497

king may well be represented as the opening of the bottomless pit, inasmuch
as it prepared the way for the followers of Mohammed to issue from their
obscure country and propagate their delusive doctrines with fire and sword
until they had spread their darkness over all the Eastern Empire.

Verse 2 And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of
the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were
darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.

"Like the noxious and even deadly vapors which the winds, particularly from
the southwest, diffuse in Arabia, Mahometanism spread from hence its
pestilential influence--arose as suddenly and spread as widely as smoke
arising out of the pit, the smoke of a great furnace. Such is a suitable
symbol of the religion of Mahomet, of itself, or as compared with the pure
light of the gospel of Jesus. It was not, like the latter, a light from
heaven, but a smoke out of the bottomless pit." [9]

Verse 3 And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto
them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.

"A false religion was set up, which, although the scourge of transgressions
and idolatry, filled the world with darkness and delusion; and swarms of
Saracens, like locusts, overspread the earth, and speedily extended their
ravages over the Roman Empire from east to west. The hail descended from
the frozen shores of the Baltic; the burning mountain fell upon the sea
from Africa; and the locusts (the fit symbol of the Arabs) issued from
Arabia, their native region. They came as destroyers, propagating a new
doctrine, and stirred up to rapine and violence by motives of interest and
religion." [10]

"A still more specific illustration may be given of the power like unto
that of scorpions, which was given them. Not only was their attack speedy
and vigorous, but 'the nice sensibility of honor, which weighs the insult
rather than the injury, sheds its deadly venom on the quarrels of the
Arabs; an indecent

Page 498

action, a contemptuous word, can be expiated only by the blood of the
offender; and such is their patient inveteracy, that they expect whole
months and years the opportunity of revenge.' " [11]

Verse 4 And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of
the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men
which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.

After the death of Mohammed, he was succeeded in the command by Abu-bekr in
A.D. 632, who as soon as he had fairly established his authority and
government gathered the Arabian tribes for conquest. When the army was
assembled, he instructed his chiefs on methods of conquest:

"When you fight the battles of the Lord, acquit yourselves like men,
without turning your backs; but let not your victory be stained with the
blood of women and children. Destroy no palm-trees, nor burn any fields of
corn. Cut down no fruit-trees, nor do any mischief to cattle, only such as
you kill to eat. When you make any covenant, or article, stand to it, and
be as good as your word. As you go on, you will find some religious persons
who live retired in monasteries, and propose to themselves to serve God
that way; let them alone, and neither kill them nor destroy their
monasteries: and you will find another sort of people that belong to the
synagogue of Satan, who have shaven crowns; be sure you cleave their
skulls, and give them no quarter till they either turn Mahometans or pay
'tribute.' " [12]

"It is not said in prophecy or in history that the more humane injunctions
were as scrupulously obeyed as the ferocious mandate; but it so commanded
them. And the preceding are the only instructions recorded by Gibbon, and
given by Abubeker to the chiefs whose duty it was to issue the commands to
all the Saracen hosts. The commands are alike discriminating with the
prediction, as if the caliph himself had been acting in known as well as
direct obedience to a higher

Page 499

mandate than that of mortal man; and in the very act of going forth to
fight against the religion of Jesus, and to propagate Mahometanism in its
stead, he repeated the words which it was foretold in the Revelation of
Jesus Christ that he would say." [13]

Seal of God in Their Foreheads.--In remarks upon Revelation 7: 1-3, we have
shown that the seal of God is the Sabbath of the fourth commandment.
History is not silent upon the fact that there have been observers of the
true seventh-day Sabbath all through the gospel age. But the question has
here arisen with many, Who were those men who at this time had the seal of
God in their foreheads, and who thereby became exempt from Mohammedan
oppression? Let the reader bear in mind the fact already alluded to, that
there have been those all through the Christian Era who have had the seal
of God in their foreheads, that is, have been intelligent observers of the
true Sabbath. Let him consider further that what the prophecy asserts is
that the attacks of this desolating Turkish power are not directed against
them, but against another class. The subject is thus freed from all
difficulty, for this is all that the prophecy really asserts. One class of
person is directly brought to view in the text, namely, those who have not
the seal of God in their foreheads. The preservation of those who have the
seal of God is brought in only by implication. accordingly, we do not learn
from history that any of these were involved in any of the calamities
inflicted by the Saracens upon the objects of their hate. They were
commissioned against another class of men. The destruction to come upon
this class is not put in contrast with the preservation of other men, but
only with that of the fruits and verdure of the earth; thus, Hurt not the
grass, trees, nor any green thing, but only a certain class of men. In
fulfillment, we have the strange spectacle of an army of invaders sparing
those things which such armies usually destroy, the face and productions of
nature. In pur-

Page 500

suance of their permission to hurt those men who had not the seal of God in
their foreheads, they cleaved the skulls of a class of religionists with
shaven crowns, who belonged to the synagogue of Satan. It would seem that
these were monks, or some other order of the Roman Catholic Church.

Verse 5 And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that
they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment
of a scorpion, when he striketh a man.

"Their constant incursions into the Roman territory, and frequent assaults
on Constantinople itself, were an unceasing torment throughout the empire,
which yet they were not able effectually to subdue, notwithstanding the
long period, afterward more directly alluded to, during which they
continued, by unremitting attacks, grievously to afflict an idolatrous
church, of which the pope was the head. . . . Their charge was to torment,
and then to hurt, but not to kill, or utterly destroy. The marvel was that
they did not." [14] (In reference to the five months, see comments on verse
10.)

Verse 6 And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and
shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.

"Men were weary of life, when life was spared only for a renewal of woe,
and when all that they accounted sacred was violated, and all they held
dear constantly endangered; and when the savage Saracens domineered over
them, or left them only to a momentary repose, ever liable to be suddenly
or violently interrupted, as if by the sting of a scorpion." [15]

Verse 7 And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto
battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their
faces were as the faces of men.

"The Arabian horse takes the lead throughout the world; and skill in
horsemanship is the art and science of Arabia. And the barbed Arabs, swift
as locusts and armed like scor-

Page 501

pions, ready to dart away in a moment, were ever prepared unto battle.

" 'And on their heads were as it were crowns like gold.' When Mahomet
entered Medina (A.D. 622), and was first received as its prince, 'a turban
was unfurled before him to supply the deficiency of a standard.' The
turbans of the Saracens, like unto a coronet, were their ornament and their
boast. The rich booty abundantly supplied and frequently renewed them. To
assume the turban is proverbially to turn Mussulman. And the Arabs were
anciently distinguished by the miters which they wore." [16]

"And their faces were as the faces of men." "The gravity and firmness of
the mind [of the Arab] is conspicuous in his outward demeanor; . . . his
only gesture is that of stroking his beard, the venerable symbol of
manhood. . . . The honor . . . of their beards is most easily wounded."
[17]

Verse 8 And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the
teeth of lions.

"Long hair is esteemed an ornament by women. The Arabs, unlike to other
men, had their hair as the hair of women, or uncut, as their practice is
recorded by Pliny and others. But there was nothing effeminate in their
character; for, as denoting their ferocity and strength to devour, their
teeth were as the teeth of lions." [18]

Verse 9 And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the
sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to
battle.

"The cuirass (or breastplate) was in use among the Arabs in the days of
Mahomet. In the battle of Ohud (the second which Mahomet fought) with the
Koreish of Mecca (A.D. 624), 'seven hundred of them were armed with
cuirasses.' " [19]

Page 502

" 'The charge of the Arabs was not, like that of the Greeks and Romans, the
efforts of a firm and compact infantry; their military force was chiefly
formed of cavalry and archers.' . . . With a touch of the hand, the Arab
horses dart away with the swiftness of the wind. 'The sound of their wings
was as the sound of many horses running to battle.' Their conquests were
marvelous both in rapidity and extent, and their attack was instantaneous.
Nor was it less successful against the Romans than the Persians." [20]

Verse 10 And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in
their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months. 11 And they had a
king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the
Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.

"To Hurt Men Five Months."--The question arises, What men were they to hurt
five months?--Undoubtedly the same they were afterward to slay (see verse
15), "the third part of men," or third of the Roman Empire--the Greek
division of it.

When were they to begin their work of torment? The eleventh verse answers
the question.

"They had a king over them." From the death of Mohammed until near the
close of the thirteenth century, the Mohammedans were divided into various
factions under several leaders, with no general civil government extending
over them all. Near the close of the thirteenth century, Othman founded a
government which has since been known as the Ottoman government, or empire,
which grew until it extended over all the principal Mohammedan tribes,
consolidating them into one grand monarchy.

Their king is called "the angel of the bottomless pit." An angel signifies
a messenger, a minister, either good or bad, and not always a spiritual
being. "The angel of the bottomless pit" would be the chief minister of the
religion which came from thence when it was opened. That religion is
Mohammedanism, and the sultan was its chief minister.

Page 503

His name in the Hebrew tongue is "Abaddon," the destroyer; in Greek,
"Apollyon," one that exterminates, or destroys. Having two different names
in two languages, it is evident that the character rather than the name of
the power is intended to be represented. If so, as expressed in both
languages, he is a destroyer. Such has always been the character of the
Ottoman government.

But when did Othman make his first assault on the Greek empire?-- According
to Gibbon "it was on the twenty-seventh of July, in the year twelve hundred
and ninety-nine of the Christian Era, that Othman first invaded the
territory of Nicomaedia; and the singular accuracy of the date seems to
disclose some foresight of the rapid and destructive growth of the
monster." [21]

Von Hammer, the German historian of Turkey, and other authorities have
placed this event in 1301. But to what date do the historic sources of this
period testify? Pachymeres was a church and state historian, born at
Nicaea, which was in the vicinity of the Ottoman invasion; and he wrote his
history during this very period. He concluded his work about 1307, so he
was a contemporary of Othman.

Possinus, in 1669, worked out a complete chronology of Pachymeres' history,
giving the dates for the eclipses of the moon and the sun, as well as other
events, recorded by Pachymeres in his work. Concerning the date 1299
Possinus says:

"Now it is our task to give the exact and fundamental epoch of the Ottoman
Empire. This we shall try to effect by a thoroughgoing comparison of the
dates given by Arab chronologists and the testimony of our Pachymeres. This
last- mentioned author reports in the fourth book of this second part,
chapter 25, that Atman [Greek name for Othman] grew strong by taking the
command over a very strong band of bold and energetic warriors from
Paphlagonia. When Muzalo, the Roman army commander, attempted to block his
progress, he

Page 504

defeated him in a battle near Nicomedia, the capital of Bithynia. This city
the lord of the battlefield henceforth kept as if it were besieged. Now,
Pachymeres is very explicit in stating that these events took place in the
immediate vicinity of Bapheum, not far from Nicomedia, on the 27th day of
July. The year, we asseverate [affirm] in our synopsis, comparing carefully
the events to have been of our Lord 1299." [22]

The synopsis to which Possinus refers gives the date of the uniting of
these Paphlagonians with Othman's forces, which took place on July 27, as
1299 of the Christian Era, fifth year of Pope Boniface VIII, and the sixth
year of Michael Palaeologus. The statement is as follows:

"Atman [Othman], the strap of the Persians, called also Ottomanes, the
founder of the still reigning dynasty of the Turcs, grew strong by joining
to himself a great number of fierce bandits from Paphlagonia." [23]

The Paphlagonians under the sons of Amurius joined Othman in this attack of
July 27, so that Possinus gives the date for this event twice as 1299.

Gregoras, also a contemporary of Othman, supports Gibbon and Pachymeres in
establishing the date 1299 in his account of the division of Anatolia. This
division among ten Turkish emirs took place in 1300, as supported by
reliable historians. Gregoras states that in the division of Bithynia,
indicating that Othman had already fought the battle of Bapheum, and had
conquered certain parts of this eastern Roman-Greek territory.

"The calculations of some writers have gone upon the supposition that the
period should begin with the foundation of the Ottoman Empire; but this is
evidently an error; for they not only were to have a king over them, but
were to torment men five months. But the period of torment could not begin

Page 505

before the first attack of the tormentors, which was, as above [stated],
July 27, 1299." [24]

The calculation which follows, founded on this starting point, was made and
first published in a work entitled, Christ's Second Coming, by Josiah
Litch, in 1838.

" 'And their power was to hurt men five months.' Thus far their commission
extended, to torment by constant depredations, but not politically to kill
them. 'Five months' [thirty days to a month, one hundred and fifty days],
that is, one hundred and fifty years. Commencing July 27, 1299, the one
hundred and fifty years reach to 1449. During that whole period the Turks
were engaged in an almost perpetual war with the Greek Empire, but yet
without conquering it. They seized upon and held several of the Greek
provinces, but still Greek independence was maintained in Constantinople.
But in 1449, the termination of the one hundred and fifty years, a change
came," [25] the history of which will be found under the succeeding
trumpet.

Verse 12 One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter.
13 And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of
the golden altar which is before God, 14 saying to the sixth angel which
had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river
Euphrates. 15 And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an
hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of
men.

The Sixth Trumpet.--"The first woe was to continue from the rise of
Mahometanism until the end of the five months. Then the first woe was to
end, and the second begin. And when the sixth angel sounded, it was
commanded to take off the restraints which had been imposed on the nation,
by which they were restricted to the work of tormenting men, and their
commission extended to slay the third part of men. This command came from
the four horns of the golden altar." [26]

Page 506

The Four Angels.--These are the four principal sultanies of which the
Ottoman Empire was composed, located in the country watered by the
Euphrates. These sultanies were situated at Aleppo, Iconium, Damacus, and
Bagdad. Previously they had been restrained; but God commanded, and they
were loosed.

Late in the year 1448, as the close of the 150-year period approached, John
Palaeologus died without leaving a son to follow him on the throne of the
Eastern Empire. His brother Constantine, the lawful successor, would not
venture to ascend the throne without the consent of the Turkish sultan.
Ambassadors therefore went to Adrianople, received the approbation of the
sultan, and returned with gifts for the new sovereign. Early in the year
1449, under these ominous circumstances, Constantine, the last of the Greek
emperors, was crowned.

The historian Gibbon tells the story:

"On the decease of John Palaeologus, . . . the royal family, by the death
of Andronicus and the monastic profession of Isidore, was reduced to three
princes, Constantine, Demetrius, and Thomas, the surviving sons of the
emperor Manuel. Of these the first and the last were far distant in the
Morea. . . . The empress-mother, the senate and soldiers, the clergy and
people, were unanimous in the cause of the lawful successor: and the despot
Thomas, who ignorant of the change, accidentally returned to the capital,
asserted with becoming zeal the interest of his absent brother. An
ambassador, the historian Phranza,, was immediately dispatched to the court
of Adrianople. Amurath received him with honor and dismissed him with
gifts; but the gracious approbation of the Turkish sultan announced his
supremacy, and the approaching downfall of the Eastern empire. By the hands
of two illustrious deputies, the Imperial crown was placed at Sparta on the
head of Constantine. [27]

Page 507

"Let this historical fact be carefully examined in connection with the
prediction [given] above. This was not a violent assault made on the
Greeks, by which their empire was overthrown and their independence taken
away, but simply a voluntary surrender of that independence into the hands
of the Turks, by saying, 'I cannot reign unless you permit.' " [28]

The four angels were loosed for an hour, a day, a month, and a year, to
slay the third part of men. This period, during which Ottoman supremacy was
to exist, amounts to three hundred ninety-one years and fifteen days. Thus:
A prophetic year is three hundred and sixty prophetic days, or three
hundred and sixty literal years; a prophetic month, thirty prophetic days,
is thirty literal years; one prophetic day is one literal year; and an
hour, or the twenty-fourth part of a literal year year, or fifteen days;
the whole amounting to three hundred and ninety-one years and fifteen days.

"But although the four angels were thus loosed by the voluntary submission
of the Greeks, yet another doom awaited the seat of empire. Amurath, the
sultan to whom the submission of Deacozes was made, and by whose permission
he reigned in Constantinople, soon after died, and was succeeded in the
empire, in 1451, by Mahomet II, who set his heart on Constantinople, and
determined to make it a prey.

"He accordingly made preparations for besieging and taking the city. The
siege commenced on the 6th of April, 1453, and ended in the taking of the
city, and death of the last of the Constantines, on the 16th day of May
following. And the eastern city of the Caesars became the seat of the
Ottoman Empire." [29]

The arms and mode of warfare which were used in the siege in which
Constantinople was to be overthrown and held in subjection were, as we
shall see, distinctly noticed by the prophet.

Page 509

Verse 16 And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred
thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them.

"Innumerable hordes of horses, and them that sat on them! Gibbon describes
the first invasion of the Roman territories by the Turks thus: 'The myriads
of Turkish horse overspread a frontier of six hundred miles, from Tauris to
Azeroum, and the blood of 130,000 Christian was a grateful sacrifice to the
Arabian prophet.' Whether the number is designed to convey the idea of any
definite number, the reader must judge. Some suppose 200,000 twice told is
meant, and then, following some historians, find that the number of Turkish
warriors in the siege of Constantinople. Some think 200,000,000 to mean all
the Turkish warriors during the 391 years fifteen days of their triumph
over the Greeks." [30] Nothing can be affirmed on the point. And it is not
at all essential.

Verse 17 And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on
them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the
heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths
issued fire and smoke and brimstone.

The first part of this description may have reference to the appearance of
these horsemen. Fire, representing a color, stands for red, "as red as
fire" being a frequent term of expression; jacinth, or hyacinth, for blue;
and brimstone, for yellow. These colors greatly predominated in the dress
of these warriors; so that the description, according to this view, would
be accurately met in the Turkish uniform, which was composed largely of
red, or scarlet, blue, and yellow. The heads of the horses were in
appearance as the heads of lions, to denote their strength, courage, and
fierceness; while the last part of the verse undoubtedly has reference to
the use of gunpowder and firearms for purposes of war, which were then but
recently introduced. As the Turks discharged their firearms on horseback,
it would appear to the distant beholder that the fire, smoke, and brimstone
issued out of the horses' mouths.

Page 510

Quite an agreement exists among commentators in applying the prophecy
concerning the fire, smoke, and brimstone to the use of gunpowder by the
Turks in their warfare against the Eastern Empire. [31] But they generally
allude simply to the heavy ordnance, the large cannon, employed employed by
that power; whereas the prophecy mentions especially the "horses," and the
fire "issuing from their mouths," as though smaller arms were used, and
used on horseback. Barnes thinks this was the case; and a statement from
Gibbon confirms this view. he says: "The incessant volleys of lances and
arrows were accompanied with the smoke, the sound, and the fire of their
musketry and cannon." [32] Here is good historical evidence that muskets
were used by the Turks; and secondly, it is undisputed that their general
warfare they fought principally on horseback. The inference is therefore
well supported that they used firearms on horseback, accurately fulfilling
the prophecy, according to the illustration above referred to.

Respecting the use of firearms by the Turks in their campaign against
Constantinople, Elliott thus speaks:

"It was to 'the fire and the smoke and the sulphur,' to the artillery and
firearms of Mahomet, that the killing of the third part of men, i.e., the
capture of Constantinople, and by consequence the destruction of the Greek
Empire, was owing. Eleven hundred years and more had now elapsed since her
foundation by Constantine. In the course of them, Goths, Huns, Avars,
Persians, Bulgarians, Saracens, Russians, and indeed the Ottoman Turks
themselves, had made their hostile assaults, or laid siege against it. But
the fortifications were impregnable by them. Constantinople survived, and
with it the Greek Empire. Hence the anxiety of the sultan Mahomet to find
that which would remove the obstacle. 'Canst thou cast a cannon,' was his
question to the founder of cannon that deserted to him, 'of size sufficient
to batter down the wall of

Page 511

Constantinople?' Then the foundry was established at Adrianople, the cannon
cast, the artillery prepared, and the siege began.

"It well deserves remark, how Gibbon, always the unconscious commentator on
the Apocalyptic prophecy, puts this new instrumentality of war into the
foreground of his picture, in his eloquent and striking narrative of the
final catastrophe of the Greek Empire. In preparation for it, he gives the
history of the recent invention of gunpowder, 'that mixture of saltpeter,
sulphur, and charcoal;' tells, as before said, of the foundry of the cannon
at Adrianople; then, in the progress of the siege itself, describes how
'the volleys of lances and arrows were accompanied with smoke, the sound,
and the fire of the musketry and cannon;' how 'the long order of Turkish
artillery was pointed against the walls, fourteen batteries thundering at
once on the most accessible places;' how 'the fortifications which had
stood for ages against hostile violence were dismantled on all sides by the
Ottoman cannon, many breaches opened, and near the gate of St. Romanus,
four towers leveled with the ground:' how, 'as from the lines, the galleys
and the bridge, the Ottoman artillery thundered on all sides, the camp and
city, the Greeks and the Turks, were involved in a cloud of smoke, which
could only be dispelled by the final deliverance or destruction of the
Roman empire:' and how the besiegers at length 'rushing through the
breaches,' 'Constantinople was irretrievably subdued, her empire subverted,
and her religion trampled in the dust by the Moslem conquerors.' I say it
well deserves observation how markedly and strikingly Gibbon attributes the
capture of the city, and so the destruction of the empire, to the Ottoman
artillery. For what is it but a comment on the words of the prophecy? 'By
these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the
smoke, and by the sulphur, which issued out their mouths.' " [33]

Page 512

Verse 18 By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and
by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths. 19
For their power is in their mouth, and in their tails: for their tails were
like unto serpents, and had heads, and with them they do hurt.

These verses express the deadly effect of the new mode of warfare
introduced. It was by means of these agents--gunpowder, firearms, and
cannon--that Constantinople was finally overcome, and given into the hands
of the Turks.

In addition to the fire, smoke, and brimstone, which apparently issued out
of their mouths, it is said that their power was also in their tails. The
meaning of the expression appears to be that horses' tails were the symbol,
or emblem, of their authority. It is a remarkable fact that the horse's
tail is a well- known Turkish standard, a symbol of office and authority.
The image before the mind of John would seem to have been that he saw the
horses belching out fire and smoke, and, what was equally strange, he saw
that their power of spreading desolation was connected with the tails of
the horses. Anyone looking on a body of cavalry with such banners, or
ensigns, would be struck with this unusual or remarkable appearance, and
would speak of their banners as concentrating and directing their power.

This supremacy of the Mohammedans over the Greeks was to continue, as
already noticed, three hundred and ninety-one years and fifteen days.
"Commencing when the one hundred and fifty years ended in 1449, the period
would end August 11, 1840. Judging from the manner of the commencement of
the Ottoman supremacy, that it was by a voluntary acknowledgment on the
part of the Greek emperor that he only reigned by permission of the Turkish
sultan, we should naturally conclude that the fall or departure of the
Ottoman independence would be brought about the same say; that at the end
of the specified period [that is, on the 11th of August, 1840] the sultan
would voluntarily surrender his independence into the hands of the
Christian powers," [34] just as he had, three hun-

Page 513

dred ninety-one years and fifteen days before, received it from the hands
of the Christian emperor, Constantine XIII.

This conclusion was reached, and this application of the prophecy was made
by Josiah Litch in 1838, two years before the expected event was to occur.
In that year he predicted that the Turkish power would be overthrown "in
A.D. 1840, sometime in the month of August;" [35] but a few days before the
fulfillment of the prophecy he concluded more definitely from his study
that the period allotted to the Turks would come to an end on August 11,
1840. It was then purely a matter of calculation on the prophetic periods
of Scripture. It is proper to inquire whether such events did take place
according to the calculation. The matter sums itself up in the following
inquiry:

When Did Mohammedan Independence in Constantinople End?--For several years
previous to 1840, the sultan had been embroiled in war with Mehemet Ali,
pasha of Egypt. "In 1838 there was a threatening of war between the sultan
and his Egyptian vassal had he not been restrained by the influence of the
foreign ambassadors. . . . In 1839 hostilities were again commenced, and
were prosecuted until, in a general battle between the armies of the sultan
and Mehemet, the sultan's army was entirely cut up and destroyed, and his
fleet taken by Mehemet and carried into Egypt. So completely had the
sultan's fleet been reduced, that, when hostilities commenced in August, he
had only two first-rates and three frigates as the sad remains of the once
powerful Turkish flee. This fleet Mehemet positively refused to give up and
return to the sultan, and declared if the powers attempted to take it from
him, he would burn it. In this posture affairs stood, when, in 1840,
England, Russia, Austria, and Prussia interposed, and determined on a
settlement of the difficulty; for it was evident, if let alone, Mehemet
would soon become master of the sultan's throne." [36]

Page 514

The sultan accepted this intervention of the great powers, and thus made a
voluntary surrender of the question into their hands. A conference of these
powers was held in London, the Sheik Effendi Bey Likgis being present as
Ottoman plenipotentiary. An agreement was drawn up to be presented to the
pasha of Egypt, whereby the sultan was to offer him the hereditary
government of Egypt, and all that part of Syria extending from the Gulf of
Suez to the Lake of Tiberias, together with the province of Acre, for life;
he on his part to evacuate all other parts of the sultan's dominions then
occupied by him, and to return the Ottoman fleet. In case he refused this
offer from the sultan, the four powers were to take matters into their own
hands, and use such other means to bring him to terms as they should see
fit.

It is obvious that as soon as this ultimatum should be placed under the
jurisdiction of Mehemet Ali, pasha of Egypt, the matter would be forever
beyond the control of the Sultan, and the disposal of his affairs would,
from that moment, be in the hands of foreign powers. The sultan dispatched
Rifat Bey on a government steamer to Alexandria, to communicate the
ultimatum to Mehemet Ali. The ultimatum was placed as his disposal on the
eleventh day of August, 1840! On the same day, in Constantinople, a note
was addressed by the sultan to the ambassadors of the four powers,
inquiring what plan was to be adopted in case the pasha should refuse to
comply with the terms of the ultimatum, to which they made answer that
provision had been made, and there was no necessity of his alarming himself
about any contingency that might arise.

The facts are substantiated by the following quotations:

"By the French steamer of the 24th, we have advices from Egypt to the 16th.
They show no alteration in the resolution of the Pacha. Confiding in the
valor of his Arab army, and in the strength of the fortifications which
defend his capital, he seems determined to abide by the last alternative;
and as recourse to this, therefore, is now inevitable, all hope may be
considered as at an end of a termination of the affair without

Page 515

bloodshed. Immediately on the arrival of the Cyclops steamer with the news
of the convention of the four powers, Mehemet Ali, it is stated, had
quitted Alexandria, to make a short tour through Lower Egypt. The object of
his absenting himself at such a moment being partly to avoid conferences
with the European consuls, but principally to endeavor, by his own
presence, to arouse the fanaticism of the Bedouin tribes, and facilitate
the raising of his new levies. During the interval of this absence, the
Turkish government steamer, which had reached Alexandria on the 11th, with
the envoy Rifat Bey on board, had been by his orders placed in quarantine,
and she was not released from it till the 16th. Previous, however, to the
poet's [*] [boat's] leaving, and on the very day on which he [she] had been
admitted to pratique, the above- named functionary had an audience of the
Pacha, and had communicated to him the command of the Sultan, with respect
to the evacuation of the Syrian provinces, appointing another audience for
the next day, when, in the presence of the consuls of the European powers,
he would receive from him his definite answer, and inform him of the
alternative of his refusing to obey; giving him ten days which have been
allotted him by the convention to decide the course he should think fit to
adopt." [37]

The correspondent of the London Morning Chronicle, in a communication dated
"Constantinople, August 12, 1840," says:

"I can add but little to my last letter on the subject of the plans of the
Four Powers; and I believe that the details I then gave you compose
everything that is yet decided on. The portion of the Pacha, as I then
stated, is not to extend beyond the line of Acre, and does not include
either Arabia or Candia. Egypt alone is to be hereditary in his family, and
the province of Acre to be considered as a pachalik, to be governed by his

Page 516

son during his lifetime, but afterwards to depend on the will of the Porte;
and even this latter is only to be granted to him on the condition of his
accepting these terms and delivering up the Ottoman fleet within the period
of ten days. In the event of his not doing so, this pachalik is to be cut
off. Egypt alone is then to be offered, with another ten days for him to
deliberate on it before actual force be employed against him. The manner,
however, of applying the force, should he refuse to comply with these
terms--whether a simple blockade is to be established on the coast, or
whether his capital is to be bombarded and his armies attacked in the
Syrians provinces--is the point which still remains to be learned; nor does
a note delivered yesterday by the four ambassadors, in answer to a question
put to them by the Porte, as to the plan to be adopted in such an event,
throw the least light on this subject. It simply states that provision had
been made, and there was no necessity for the Divan alarming itself about
any contingency that might afterward arise." [38]

Let us analyze the foregoing quotations:

First.--The ultimatum reached Alexandria on August 11, 1840.

Second.--The letter of the correspondent of the London Morning Chronicle is
dated August 12, 1840.

Third.--The correspondent states that the question of the Sublime Porte was
put to the representatives of the four great powers, and the answer
received "yesterday." So in his own capital, "yesterday" the Sublime Porte
applied to the ambassadors of the four Christian powers of Europe as to
what measures had been taken in reference to a circumstance vitally
affecting his empire; and was told that "provision had been made," but he
could not know what it was; and that he need not give himself any alarm
"about any contingency which might arise"! From that day, "yesterday,"
which was August 11, 1840--they, the four Christian powers of Europe, and
not he, would manage that.

Page 517

On August 11, 1840, the period of three hundred ninety-one years and
fifteen days, allotted to the continuance of the Ottoman power, ended; and
where was the sultan's independence?--GONE! Who had the supremacy of the
Ottoman empire in their hands?--The four great powers; and that empire has
existed ever since only by the sufferance of these Christian powers. Thus
was the prophecy fulfilled to the very letter.

From the first publication of the calculation of this matter in 1838,
before referred to, the time set for the fulfillment of the prophecy was
watched by thousands with intense interest. The exact accomplishment of the
event predicted, showing, as it did, the right application of the prophecy,
gave a mighty impetus to the great advent movement then beginning to
attract the attention of the world.

Verse 20 And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet
repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship
devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood:
which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk: 21 Neither repented they of
their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of
their thefts.

God designs that men shall make a note of His judgments, and receive the
lessons He thereby designs to convey. But how slow they are to learn, and
how blind to the indications of providence! The events that occurred under
the sixth trumpet constituted the second woe, yet these judgments led to no
improvement in the manners and morals of men. Those who escaped them
learned nothing by their manifestation in the earth.

The hordes of Saracens and Turks were let loose as a scourge and punishment
upon apostate Christendom. Men suffered the punishment, but learned no
lesson from it.

[1] Alexander Keith, Signs of the Times, Vol. I, pp. 289, 291.

[2] Edward Gibbon, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Vol. IV, chap.
46, pp. 463, 464.

[3] Ibid., p. 466.

[4] Alexander Keith, Signs of the Times, Vol. I, p. 293.

[5] Edward Gibbon, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Vol. IV, chap.
46, p. 470-480.

[6] Alexander Keith, Signs of the Times, Vol. I, p. 295.

[7] Edward Gibbon, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Vol. IV, chap.
46, p. 486.

[8] Alexander Keith, Signs of the Times, Vol. I, p. 298.

[9] Ibid., p. 299.

[10] Ibid., p. 301.

[11] Ibid., p. 305.

[12] Edward Gibbon, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Vol. V, chap.
51, pp. 189, 190.

[13] Alexander Keith, Signs of the Times, Vol. I, p. 307.

[14] Ibid., pp. 308, 309.

[15] Ibid., p. 309.

[16] Ibid., p. 311, 312.

[17] Edward Gibbon, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Vol. V, chap.
50, pp. 86, 88.

[18] Alexander Keith, Signs of the Times, Vol. I, p. 312.

[19] Ibid.

[20] Ibid., p. 313.

[21] Edward Gibbon, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Vol. VI,
chap. 64, p. 226.

[22] Possinus, Observationum Pachymerianarum, Book III (Chronology), chap.
8, sec. 5, translation made at the Library of Congress.

[23] Ibid., bk. 4, chap. 25.

[24] Josiah Litch, Prophetic Expositions, Vol. II, p. 180.

[25] Ibid., p. 181.

[26] Ibid., p. 182.

[27] Edward Gibbon, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Vol. VI,
chap. 67, p. 365.

[28] Josiah Litch, Prophetic Expositions, Vol. II, pp. 182, 183.

[29] Ibid., p. 183.

[30] Ibid., pp. 183, 184.

[31] See notes on Revelation 9: 17 in Adam Clarke, Commentary on the New
Testament, Vol. II, p. 1003; Albert Barnes, Notes on Revelation, p. 264;
The Cottage Bible, Vol. II, p. 1399.

[32] Edward Gibbon, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Vol. VI,
chap. 68, p. 388.

[33] Edward B. Elliott, Horae Apocalypticae, pp. 478, 479.

[34] Josiah Litch, Prophetic Expositions, Vol. II, p. 189.

[35] Josiah Litch, The Probability of the Second Coming of Christ About
A.D. 1843, p. 157.

[36] Ibid., pp. 192, 193.

[37] London Morning Chronicle, September 18, 1840, extract from a
correspondent's letter dated "Constantinople, August 27, 1840."

[38] Ibid., September 3, 1840.

[*] The word "poet's" in this newspaper account is apparently a printer's
error. The substitution of the word "boat's" with a change of pronouns
obviously gives the correct meaning of the story.--Editors.
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Page 519

                                 Chapter X

              The World-Wide Proclamation of the Second Advent

Verse 1 And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with
a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the
sun, and his feet as pillars of fire: 2 And he had in his hand a little
book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the
earth.

In this scripture we another instance in which the consecutive line of
thought is for a time interrupted. Revelation 9 closed with the events of
the sixth trumpet. The sounding of the seventh trumpet is not introduced
until we reach Revelation 11: 15. All of chapter 10 and a part of chapter
11, therefore come in parenthetically between the sixth and seventh
trumpets. That which particularly connected with the sounding of the sixth
trumpet is recorded in chapter 9. The prophet has other events to introduce
before the opening of another trumpet, and takes occasion to do it in the
scripture which intervenes to Revelation 11: 15. Among these is the
prophecy of chapter 10. Let us first look at the chronology of the message
of this angel.

The Little Book.--"He had in his hand a little book open." We may infer
from this language that this book was at some time closed. We read in
Daniel of a book which was closed and sealed to a certain time: "Thou, O
Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end:
many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased." Daniel 12: 4.
Since this book was closed only until the time of the end, it follows that
at the time of the end the book would be opened. As this closing was
mentioned in prophecy, it would be but reasonable to expect that in the
predictions of events to take place at the time of the end, the opening of
this book would also be mentioned. There is no book spoken of as closed and
sealed except the book of Daniel's prophecy, and

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there is no account of the opening of that book unless it be here in
Revelation 10. We see, furthermore, that in both places the contents
ascribed to the book are the same. The book which Daniel had directions to
close and seal had reference to time: "How long shall it be to the end of
these wonders?" Daniel 12: 6. When the angel of this chapter comes down
with the little book open, on which he bases his proclamation, he gives a
message in relation to time, as will be seen in verse 6. Nothing more is
required to show that both expressions refer to one book, and to prove that
the little book which the angel had in his hand, open, was the book
referred to in the prophecy of Daniel.

An important point is now determined in our endeavor to settle the
chronology of this angel We have seen that the prophecy, especially the
prophetic periods of Daniel, were not to be opened until the time of the
end. If this is the book which the angel had in his hand open, it follows
that he proclaims his message after the time when the book should be
opened, or somewhere this side of the beginning of the time of the end. All
that now remains on this point is to ascertain when the time of the end
began, and the book of Daniel itself furnishes data from which this can be
done. In Daniel 11: 30, the papal power is brought to view. In verse 35 we
read, "Some of them of understanding shall fall, to try them, and to purge,
and to make white, even to the time of the end." Here is the period of the
supremacy of the little horn, during which time the saints, times, and laws
were to be given into his hand, and from him suffer fearful persecutions.
This is declared to reach to the time of the end. This period ended A.D.
1798, when the 1260 years of papal supremacy expired. There the time of the
end began, and the book was opened. Since that time, many have run to and
fro, and knowledge on these prophetic subjects has marvelously increased.
(See comments on Daniel 12: 4.)

The chronology of the events of Revelation 10 is further ascertained from
the fact that this angel appears to be identical

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with the first angel of Revelation 14. The points of identity them are
easily seen: They both have a special message to proclaim, They both utter
their proclamation with a loud voice. They both use similar language,
referring to the Creator as the maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and the
things that are therein. And they both proclaim time, one swearing that
time should be no more, and the other proclaiming that the hour of God's
judgment has come.

But the message of Revelation 14: 6 is located this side of the beginning
of the time of the end. It is a proclamation of the hour of God's judgment
come, and hence must have its application in the last generation. Paul did
not preach the hour of judgment come. Martin Luther and his coadjutors did
not preach it. Paul reasoned of a judgment to come, indefinitely future,
and Luther placed it at least three hundred years beyond his day. Moreover,
Paul warns the church against preaching that the hour of God's judgment has
come, until a certain time. He say: "Now we beseech you, brethren, by the
coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto Him,
that ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor
by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is a hand. Let
no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there
come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed." 2
Thessalonians 2: 1-3. Here Paul introduces to our view the man of sin, the
little horn, or the papacy, and covers with a caution the whole period of
his supremacy, which, as already noticed, continued 1260 years, ending in
1798.

In 1798, therefore the restriction against proclaiming the day of Christ at
hand ceased. In 1798 the time of the end began, and the seal was taken from
the little book. Since that time, therefore, the angel of Revelation 14 has
gone forth proclaiming that the hour of God's judgment is come. It is since
that time, too, that the angel of chapter 10 has taken his stand on sea and
land, and sworn that time shall be more. Of their identify there can now be
no question. All the argu-

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ments which go to locate the one are equally effective in the case of the
other.

We not enter into any extended argument here to show that the present
generation is witnessing the fulfillment of these two prophecies. In the
preaching of the second advent, more especially from 1840 to 1844, began
their full and circumstantial accomplishment. The position of this angel,
one foot upon the sea and the other on the land. Had this message been
designed for only one country, it would have been sufficient for the angel
to take his position on the land only. But he has one foot upon the sea,
from which we may infer that his message would cross the ocean, and extend
to the various nations and divisions of the globe. This inference is
strengthened by the fact that the advent proclamation above referred to did
go to every missionary station in the world. More on this will be found in
comments on Revelation 14.

Verse 3 And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth: and when he
had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices. 4 And when the seven
thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write: and I heard a
voice from heaven saying unto me, Seal up those things which the seven
thunders uttered, and write them not.

The Seven Thunders.--It would be vain to speculate upon the seven thunders,
in hope of gaining a definite knowledge of what they uttered. Something
evidently was uttered which it would not be well for the church to know. We
must acquiesce in the directions given to John concerning them, and leave
them where he left them, sealed up, unwritten, and consequently to us
unknown.

Verse 5 And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth
lifted up his hand to heaven, 6 and sware by Him that liveth for ever and
ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth,
and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are
therein, that there should be time no longer.

"Time No Longer."--What is the meaning of this most solemn declaration? It
cannot mean that with the message of

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this angel, time, as computed in this world, in comparison with eternity,
should end. The next verse speaks of the days of the voice of the seventh
angel, and Revelation 11: 15-19 gives us some of the events to take place
under this trumpet in the present state. It cannot mean probationary time,
for that does not cease until Christ closes His work as priest, which is
not until after the seventh angel has begun to sound. (Revelation 11: 15,
15: 5-8.) It must therefore mean prophetic time, for there is no other to
which it can refer.

The word "time" in this verse is translated "delay" in the American Revised
Version--a very unusual rendering of the Greek original {GREEK CHARACTERS
IN PRINTED TEXT}, chronos, "time," and the only one in the New Testament.
Evidently the translators did not have prophetic time in mind, and could
discern no other proper rendering of the word than "delay." Though by
extension and implication this may be an admissible translation when the
context seems to justify it, there is nothing in the context of verse 6 to
call for such a rendering. In fact, the bitterness of the experience that
follows the symbolic eating of the little book in verse 8-10 was for the
very reason the Lord's coming was to be delayed beyond the expectation of
those who were looking for Him in 1844--and this for the very reason that
their work of preaching the gospel was not yet finished, as clearly
indicated in verse 11. Surely in an announcement given with so much
emphasis as the one recorded in verse 6, if delay were meant instead of
(prophetic) time, the regular word for "delay," {GREEK CHARACTERS IN
PRINTED TEXT}, anabole, would be used, as in Acts 25: 17, or {GREEK
CHARACTERS IN PRINTED TEXT}, okneo, as in Acts 9: 38. It is true that a
verb derived from chronos, namely, {GREEK CHARACTERS IN PRINTED TEXT},
chronizei, is used in the sense of "delay," as in Matthew 24: 48 and Luke
12: 45. But chronizei means simply "pass time," or "letting time pass," and
gains its meaning of "delay" in this way. The word chronos, however,
denotes "time" in the absolute, and there is every reason to believe this
is its meaning (in a prophetic sense) in verse 6; and that since it is used
in a prediction connected with a very important prophecy, we are justified
in understanding it to mean prophetic

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time. In other words, prophetic time shall be no more--not that time should
never be used in a prophetic sense, for the "days of the voice of the
seventh angel" spoken of immediately after, doubtless mean the years of the
seventh angel. It means, rather, that no prophetic period should extend
beyond the time of this message. Arguments on the prophetic periods,
showing that the longest ones did not extend beyond the autumn of 1844,
will be found in remarks on Daniel 8: 14.

Verse 7 But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall
begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as He hath declared
to His servants the prophets.

The Seventh Trumpet.--This seventh trumpet is not that which is spoken of
in 1 Corinthians 15: 52 as the last trump, which wakes the sleeping dead;
but it is the seventh in the series of the seven trumpets, and like the
others of this series, occupies prophetic days (years) in sounding. In the
days when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God shall be finished.
Not in the day when he shall begin to sound, not in very beginning of his
sounding, but in the early years of his sounding, the mystery of God shall
be finished.

Form the events to take place under the sounding of the seventh trumpet,
its beginning may be located with sufficient definiteness at the close of
the prophetic periods in 1844. The great event, whatever it is, is right
upon us. Some closing and decisive work, with whatever of importance and
solemnity it bears in its train, is near at hand. There is an importance
connected with the finishing of any of the works of God. Such an act marks
a solemn and important era. Our Saviour, when dying upon the cross, cried,
"It is finished." John 19: 30. When the great work of mercy for fallen man
is completed, it will be announced by a voice from the throne of God,
proclaiming in tones like thunder the solemn sentence, "It is done!"
Revelation 16: 17. It is therefore no uncalled-for solicitude which prompts
us to inquire what bearing such events have upon our eternal hopes and
interests. When we

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read of the finishing of the mystery of God, we ask what that mystery is,
and in what its finishing consists.

"The Mystery of God."--A few direct testimonies from God's word, which has
been given as a lamp to our feet, will show what this mystery is. "Having
made known unto us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure
which He hath purposed in Himself: that in the dispensation of the fullness
of times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which
are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in Him." Ephesians 1: 9, 10.
Here God's purpose to gather together all things in Christ is called the
"mystery" of His will. This accomplished through the gospel. "For me [Paul
asks that prayers be made], that utterance may be given unto me, that I may
open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel." Ephesians
6: 19. Here the gospel is declared plainly to be a mystery. In Colossians
4: 3, it is called the mystery of Christ. Again, "How that by revelation He
made known unto me the mystery (as I wrote afore in few words), . . . that
the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, and of the same body, and partakers of
His promise in Christ by the gospel." Ephesians 3: 3, 6. Paul here declares
that the mystery was made known to him by revelation, as he had before
written. In this he refers to his Epistle to the Galatians, where he
recorded what had been given him "by revelation," in these words: "I
certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not
after man. For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but
by revelation of Jesus Christ." Galatians 1: 11, 12. Here Paul tells us
plainly that what he received through revelation was the gospel. In
Ephesians 3: 3, he calls it the mystery made known to him by revelation, as
he had written before. The Epistle to the Galatians was written about A.D.
54, and that to the Ephesians about A.D. 65.

In view of these testimonies, few will be disposed to deny that the mystery
of God is the gospel. It is the same, then, as if the angel had declared,
In the days of the voice of the sev-

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enth angel, when he shall begin to sound, the gospel shall be finished. But
what is the finishing of the gospel? Let us first inquire for what it was
given. It was given to take out from the nations a people for God's name.
(Acts 15: 14.) Its finishing must, as a matter of course, be the close of
this work. It will be finished when the number of God's people is made up,
when mercy ceases to be offered, and probation closes.

The subject is now before us in all its magnitude. Such is the momentous
work to be accomplished in the days of the voice of the seventh angel,
whose trumpet notes have been reverberating through the world since the
memorable epoch of 1844. God is not slack. His work is not uncertain. Are
we ready for the issue?

Verse 8 And the voice which I heard from heaven spake unto me again, and
said, Go and take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel
which standeth upon the sea and upon the earth. 9 And I went unto the
angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me,
Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be
in thy mouth sweet as honey. 10 And I took the little book out of the
angel's hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as
soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter.

John is here brought in to act a part as a representative of the church,
probably on account of the succeeding peculiar experience of the church,
which the Lord of the prophecy would cause to be put on record, but which
could not well be presented under the symbol of an angel. When only a
straight-forward proclamation is brought to view, angels may be used as
symbols to represent the religious teachers who proclaim that message, as
in Revelation 14. But when some particular experience of the church is to
be presented, it could most appropriately be set forth in the person of
some member of the human family. Hence John is himself called upon to act a
part in this symbolic representation. This being the case, the angel who
here appeared to John may represent that divine messenger, who has charge
of this message; or he may be introduced for the purpose of representing
the nature of the message, and the source from which it comes.

Page 528

The Sweet and the Bitter.--The angel of this chapter has in his hand "a
little book open." In comments on verse 2 we have shown this "little book"
to be the book of Daniel which was "sealed till the time of the end."
Daniel 12: 9. It would be opened when the prophecies of the book were to be
understood.

In comments on Daniel 8: 14 it has been shown that the work of cleansing
the heavenly sanctuary began in 1844. Students of prophecy who made this
discovery understood the sanctuary to mean the earth, and mistakenly
regarded this prediction to mean that the Lord would come to cleanse the
earth of its pollution and sin at that time.

This message of the coming of the Lord in the autumn of 1844 spread rapidly
throughout America and other parts of the world. It greatly moved the
hearts of men and stirred the Protestant churches of that time. Tens of
thousands looked for the coming of the Lord at the close of the great
prophetic period of 2300 days in 1844. (See Daniel 8: 14; 9: 25-27.) Every
preparation was made to greet Him with great joy and gladness, and then
came the bitterness of disappointment, for the Lord did not come. Their
mistake was in their misunderstanding of the event to take place at the end
of this prophetic period, and not in their reckoning of the time.

Accordingly, we read in verse 10, "The little book . . . was . . . in my
mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter."

More Work to Be Done.--The disappointment, however, was no evidence that
the Lord was not in the movement, for in this tenth chapter of Revelation
He anticipates this very experience, and in the last verse points His
people to a task of world-wide extent He had yet for them to perform prior
to His glorious appearing, for their work had not yet been finished. This
work is brought to view quite fully in the three angels' messages of the
fourteenth chapter. (See similar experiences in Jeremiah 15: 16-18; Ezekiel
3: 1-3, 10.)

Verse 11 And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples,
and nations, and tongues, and kings.

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John, standing as the representative of the church, here receives from the
angel another commission. Another message joining the first and second
angels' messages, it to go forth to the world. In other words, we have here
a prophecy of the third angel's message, now, as we believe, in process of
fulfillment. Neither will this work be done in a corner, for it is to go
before "many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings," as will be
clearly seen in our study of Revelation 14: 6-12.
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Page 531

                                 Chapter XI

                  The Battle Between the Bible and Atheism

Verse 1 And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood,
saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that
worship therein. 2 But the court which is without the temple leave out, and
measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall
they tread under foot forty and two months.

We here have a continuation of the instruction which the angel began giving
to John in the preceding chapter; hence these verses properly belong to
that chapter, and should not be separated by the present division. In the
last verse of Revelation 10, the angel gave a new commission to John as a
representative of the church. In other words, as already shown, we have in
that verse a prophecy of the third angel's message. The message is
connected with the temple of God in heaven, and is designed to fit a class
of people as worshipers.

The Measuring Rod.--The temple here cannot mean the church, for the church
is brought to view in connection with this temple as "them that worship
therein." The temple is therefore the literal temple in heaven, and the
worshipers are not to be measured in the sense of ascertaining the height
and girth of each one in feet and inches. They are to be measured as
worshipers, and character can be measured only be some standard of right, a
law or principle or action. We are thus brought to the conclusion that the
ten commandments, the standard which God has given by which to measure "the
whole duty of man," are a part of the measuring rod put by the angel into
the hands of John. In the fulfillment of this prophecy under the third
angel's message, this very law has been put in a special way into the hands
of the church. This is the standard

Page 532

by which the worshipers of the true God are not to be tested.

Seeing now what it is to measure those who worship in the temple, we
inquire, What is meant by measuring the temple? To measure any object
requires that special attention be given to that object. The call to rise
and measure the temple of God is a prophetic command to the church to give
the subject of the temple, or sanctuary, a special examination. But how is
this to be done with a measuring rod given to the church? With the ten
commandments alone we could not do it. When we take the entire message,
however, we find ourselves let by it to an examination of the sanctuary on
high, with the commandments of God and the ministration of Christ. Hence we
conclude that the measuring rod, taken as a whole, is the special message
now given to the church, which embraces the great truths peculiar to this
time, including the ten commandments.

By this message, our attention has been called to the temple above, and
through it the light and truth on this subject has come out. Thus we
measure the temple and the altar, or the ministration connected with the
temple, the work and the position of our great High Priest; and we measure
the worshipers with that part of the rod which relates to character, the
ten commandments.

"The court which is without the temple leave out." This must be interpreted
to mean that the attention of the church is now directed to the inner
temple and the service there. Matters pertaining to the court are of less
consequence now. It is given to the Gentiles. That the court refers to this
earth is proved thus: The court is the place where the victims were slain
whose blood was to be ministered in the sanctuary. The antitypical victim
must die in the antitypical court, and He died on Calvary in Judea. The
Gentiles being thus introduced, the attention of the prophet is directed to
the great feature of Gentile apostasy, the treading down of the holy city
forty and two months during that time. Thus we are carried back into the
past by an easy and natural transition, and our attention is called to a
new series of events.

Page 533

Verse 3 And I will give power unto My two witnesses, and they shall
prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.

The period of "a thousand two hundred and three score days" is variously
referred to in the Scriptures. It appears in three forms:

As 1260 days in this verse and Revelation 12: 6.

As 42 months in Revelation 11: 2 and 13: 5.

As 3 1/2 times in Daniel 7: 25 and 12: 7, and Revelation 12: 14.

These all refer to the same period and can be easily be calculated. A time
is a year, as is evident from Daniel 11: 13, marginal reading. A year has
twelve months, and a Biblical month contains thirty days. Thus we have the
following:

1 year of 12 months at 30 days - - - - 360 days

3 1/2 years, or times, of 360 days - - - - 1260 days

42 months of 30 days - - - - - - - - 1260 days

A year made up of 12 months will be readily conceded, but that the month
has 30 days needs perhaps to be demonstrated. This can readily be seen by
referring to the record of the flood in Genesis 7 and 8. There we learn the
following:

1. That the flood came on the seventeenth day of the second month. (Genesis
7: 11.)

2. That the waters subsided on the seventeenth day of the seventh month.
(Genesis 8: 4.)

3. That the flood continued for five months--form the second to the seventh
month.

Reference to Genesis 7: 24 reveals the fact that "the waters prevailed upon
the earth a hundred and fifty days." Our calculation showed five months.
This text mentions 150 days; hence we have five months equaling 150 days,
or 30 days to a month.

Thus we have a definite measure for calculating the prophetic periods,
bearing in mind that in prophecy a day is equal to a year of ordinary time.

The Two Witnesses.--During this time of 1260 years the witnesses are in a
state of sackcloth, or obscurity, and God

Page 534

gives them power to endure and maintain their testimony through that dark
and dismal period. But who or what are these witnesses?

Verse 4 These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing
before the God of the earth.

Evident allusion is here made to Zechariah 4: 11-14, where it is implied
that the two olive trees are taken to represent the word of God. David
testifies, "The entrance of Thy words giveth light;" and, "Thy word is a
lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path." Psalm 119: 130, 105. Written
testimony is stronger than oral. Jesus declared of the Old Testament
Scriptures, "They are they which testify of Me." John 5: 39.

Says George Croly: "The 'Two Witnesses' are the Old and New Testaments. . .
. The essential purpose of the Scriptures is to give witness to the mercy
and verity of God. Our Lord commands, 'Search the Scriptures, . . . they
are they which testify [bear witness] of Me.' This was addressed to the
Jews, and described the character and office of the Old Testament. The New
Testament is similarly pronounced the giver of testimony. 'This gospel of
the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all
nations.' (Matthew 24: 14.)" [1]

These declarations and considerations are sufficient to sustain the
conclusion that the Old and New Testaments are Christ's two witnesses.

Verse 5 And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth,
and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this
manner be killed.

To hurt the word of God is to oppose, corrupt, or pervert its testimony,
and turn people away from it. Against those who do this work, fire
proceedeth out of their mouth to devour them, that is, judgment of fire is
pronounced in that word against such. It declares that they will have their
punishment in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone. (Malachi 4: 1;
Revelation 20: 15; 22: 18, 19.)

Page 535

Verse 6 These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of
their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to
smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will.

In what sense have these witnesses power to shut heaven, turn waters to
blood, and bring plagues on the earth? Elijah shut heaven so that it did
not rain for three years and a half, but he did by the word of the Lord.
Moses by the word of the Lord turned the waters of Egypt to blood. Just as
these judgments, recorded in their testimony, have been fulfilled, so will
every threatening and judgment pronounced by them against any people surely
be accomplished.

"As often as they will" means that as often as judgments are recorded on
their pages to take place, so often they will come to pass. An instance of
this the world is yet to experience in the infliction of the seven last
plagues.

Verse 7 And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that
ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall
overcome them, and kill them. 8 And their dead bodies shall lie in the
street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt,
where also our Lord was crucified.

"When they shall have finished their testimony," that is, "in sackcloth."
the sackcloth state ended, or as elsewhere expressed the days of
persecution were shortened (Matthew 24: 22), before the period itself
expired. "A 'beast' in prophecy, denotes a kingdom, or power. (See Daniel
7: 17, 23.) The question now arises, When did the sackcloth state of the
witnesses close? And did such a kingdom as described make war on them at
the time spoken of? If we are correct in fixing upon A.D. 583 as the time
of the commencement of the sackcloth state, forty-two months being the 1260
prophetic days, or years, would bring us down to A.D. 1798. About this
time, then, did such a kingdom as described appear, and make war on them,
etc.? Mark! this beast, or kingdom, is out of the bottomless pit--no
foundation--an atheistical power--'spiritually Egypt.' (See Exodus 5: 2:
'Pharaoh said, Who is the Lord, that I should obey His voice to let Israel
go? I know not

Page 537

the Lord, neither will I let Israel go.') Here is atheism. Did any kingdom,
about 1798 manifest the same spirit?--Yes, France; she denied the being of
God in her national capacity, and made war on the 'Monarchy of heaven.' "
[2]

"In the year 1793, . . . the gospel was, by a solemn act of the Legislature
and the people abolished in France. The indignities offered to the actual
copies of the Bible were unimportant after this; their life in their
doctrines, and the extinction of the doctrines is the extinction of the
Bible. By the decree of the French Government, declaring that the nation
acknowledged no God, the Old and New Testaments were slain throughout the
limits of Republican France. But contumelies to the Sacred Books could not
have been wanting, in the general plunder of every place of worship. In
Lyons they were dragged at the tail of an ass in a procession through the
streets. . . .

"On the 1st of November, 1793, Gobet, with the Republican priests of Paris,
had thrown off the gown, and abjured Religion. On the 11th, a 'Grand
Festival,' dedicated to 'Reason and Truth,' was celebrated in the Cathedral
of Notre Dame, which had been desecrated, and been named 'the Temple of
Reason;' a pyramid was erected in the center of the Church, surmounted by a
temple, inscribed 'To philosophy.' The torch of 'Truth' was on the altar of
'Reason' spreading light, etc. The National Convention and all the
authorities attended at this burlesque and insulting ceremony." [3]

Spiritual Sodom.--" 'Spiritually' this power 'is called Sodom.' What was
the characteristic sin of Sodom? Licentiousness. Did France have this
character? She did; fornication was established by law during the period
spoken of. 'Spiritually' the place was 'where our Lord was crucified.' Was
this true in France? It was, in more senses than one. First, in 1572 a plot
was laid in France to destroy all the pious Huguenots;

Page 538

and in one night, fifty thousand of them were murdered in cold blood, and
the streets of Paris literally ran with blood. Thus our Lord was
'spiritually crucified' in His members. Again, the watch-word and motto of
the French Infidels was, 'CRUSH THE WRETCH,' meaning Christ. Thus it may be
truly said, 'where our Lord was crucified.' The very spirit of the
bottomless pit' was poured out in that wicked nation.

"But did France 'make war' on the Bible? She did; and in 1793 a decree
passed the French Assembly forbidding the Bible, and under that decree the
Bibles were gathered and burned, and every possible mark of contempt heaped
upon them, and all institutions of the Bible abolished; the Sabbath was
blotted out, and every tenth day substituted for mirth and profanity.
Baptism and the communion were abolished. The being of God was denied; and
death pronounced to be an eternal sleep. The Goddess of Reason was set up,
in the person of a vile woman, and publicly worshiped. Surely here is a
power that exactly answers the prophecy." [4] This point will be further
developed in the comments on the next verse.

Verse 9 And they of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall
see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their
dead bodies to be put in graves.

"The language of this verse denotes the feelings of other nations than the
one committing the outrage on the witnesses. They would see what war
infidel France had made on the Bible, but would not be led nationally to
engage in the wicked work, nor suffer the murdered witnesses to be buried,
or put out of sight among themselves, though they lay dead three days and a
half, that is, three years and a half, in France. No; this very attempt of
France served to arouse Christians everywhere to put forth a new exertion
in behalf of the Bible, as we shall presently see." [5]

Page 539

Verse 10 And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and
make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets
tormented them that dwelt on the earth.

"This denotes the joy those felt who hated the Bible, or were tormented by
it. Great was the joy of infidels everywhere for awhile. But 'the
triumphing of the wicked is short;' so was it in France, for their war on
the Bible and Christianity had well-nigh swallowed them all up. They set
out to destroy Christ's 'two witnesses,' but they filled France with blood
and horror, so that they were horror-struck at the result of their wicked
deeds, and were glad to remove their impious hands from the Bible." [6]

Verse 11 And after three days and an half the spirit of life from God
entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell upon
them which saw them..

Witnesses Restored.--"In 1793, the decree passed the French Assembly
suppressing the Bible. Just three years after, a resolution was introduced
into the Assembly going to supersede the decree, and giving toleration to
the Scriptures. That resolution lay on the table six months, when it was
taken up, and passed without a dissenting vote. Thus, in just three years
and a half, the witnesses 'stood upon their feet, and great fear fell upon
them which saw them.' Nothing but the appalling results of the rejection of
the Bible could have induced France to take her hands off these witnesses."
[7]

"On the 17th of June, Camille Jourdan, in the 'Council of Five Hundred,'
brought up the memorable report on the 'Revision of the laws relative to
religious worship.' It consisted of a number of propositions, abolishing
alike the Republican restrictions on Popish worship, and the Popish
restrictions on Protestant.

"1. That all citizens might buy or hire edifices for the free exercise of
religious worship.

Page 540

"2. That all congregations might assemble by the sound of bells.

"3. That no test or promise of any sort unrequired from other citizens
should be required of the ministers of those congregations.

"4. That any individual attempting to impede, or in any way interrupt the
public worship should be fined, up to 500 livres, and not less than 50; and
that if the interruption proceeded form the constituted authorities, such
authorities should be fined double the sum.

"5. That entrance to assemblies for the purpose of religious worship should
be free for all citizens.

"6. That all other laws concerning religious worship should be repealed.

"Those regulations, in comprehending the whole state of worship of France,
were, in fact, a peculiar boon to Protestantism. Popery was already in
sight of full restoration. But Protestantism, crushed under the burthen of
the laws of Louis XIV, and unsupported by the popular belief, required the
direct support of the state to 'stand on its feet.' The Report of the
Church; the old prohibitions to hold public worship, to possess places of
worship, to have ingress, etc.

"From that period the Church has been free in France. . . .

"The Church and the Bible had been slain in France from November, 1793 till
June, 1797. The three years and a half were expended, and the Bible, so
long and so sternly repressed before, was placed in honor, and was openly
the book of free Protestantism!" [8]

Verse 12 And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up
hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies beheld
them.

" 'Ascended up to heaven.'--To understand this expressions, see Daniel 4:
22: 'Thy greatness is grown, and reacheth unto

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heaven.' Here we see that the expression signifies great exaltation. Have
the Scriptures attained to such a state of exaltation as here indicated,
since France made war upon them?--They have. Shortly after, the British
Bible Society was organized [1804]; then followed the American Bible
Society [1816]; and these, with their almost innumerable auxiliaries, are
scattering the Bible everywhere." [9] Before 1804 the Bible had been
printed and circulated in fifty languages.

"Up to the end of December, 1942, the Bible in whole or in part has been
translated into 1,058 languages and dialects."

No other book approaches the Bible in inexpensiveness and the number of
copies circulated. The American bible Society reported having printed and
circulated, in whole, or in part, 7,696,739 portions in 1940; 8,096,069, in
1941; and 6,254,642, in 1942. The British and Foreign Bible Society
reported for the year ending in the middle of 1941 a circulation of
11,017,334 copies; and in 1942, 7,120,000 copies.

A conservative estimate places the number of Bibles printed annually by
commercial houses at six million. Hence the annual output of Bibles and
portions has reached the enormous total of from twenty-five to thirty
million copies a year.

From its organization up to and including 1942, the American Bible Society
had issued 321,951,266 copies; and the British and Foreign Bible Society up
to March, 1942, had issued 539,664,024 copies, making a total of
861,600,000 copies put out by these two societies alone. The American Bible
Society said in May, 1940: "It is that nine tenths of the 2,000,000,000
people in the world might now, if they turned to the Bible, hear it read in
a language they understand." The Bible is exalted as above all price, as,
next to His Son, the most invaluable blessing of God to man, and as the
glorious testimony concerning that son. Yes; the Scriptures may truly be
said to be exalted "to heaven in a cloud," a cloud being an emblem of
heavenly elevation.

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Verse 13 And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part
of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand:
and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven.

"What city? (See Revelation 17: 18: 'The woman which thou sawest is that
great city which reigneth over the kings [kingdoms] of the earth.') That
city is the papal Roman power. France is one of the ' ten horns' that gave
'their power and strength unto the [papal] beast;' or is one of the ten
kingdoms that arose out of the Western Empire of Rome, as indicated by the
ten toes of Nebuchadnezzar's image, Daniel's ten-horned beast [Daniel 7:
24], and John's ten-horned dragon. [Revelation 12: 3.] France, then, was 'a
tenth part of the city,' and was one of the strongest ministers of papal
vengeance; but in this revolution it 'fell,' and with it fell the last
civil messenger of papal fury. 'And in the earthquake were slain of men
[margin, names of men] seven thousand.' France made war, in here revolution
of 1798 [1789] and onward, on all titles and nobility. . . . 'And the
remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven.' Their
God-dishonoring and Heaven-defying work filled France with such scenes of
blood, carnage, and horror, as made even the infidels themselves to
tremble, and stand aghast; and the 'remnant' that escaped the horrors of
that hour 'gave glory to God--not willingly, but the God of heaven caused
this 'wrath of man to praise Him,' by giving all the world to see that
those who make war on heaven make graves for themselves; thus glory
redounded to God by the very means that wicked men employed to tarnish that
glory." [10]

Verse 14 The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly.

The Trumpets Resumed.--The series of seven trumpets is here again resumed.
The second woe ended with the sixth trumpet, August 11, 1840, and the third
woe occurs under the sounding of the seventh trumpet, which began in 1844.

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Then where are we? "Behold!" that is to say, mark it well, "the third woe
cometh quickly." The fearful scenes of the second woe are past, and we are
now under the sounding of the trumpet that brings the third and last woe.
Shall we now look for peace and safety, a temporal millennium, a thousand
years of righteousness and prosperity on earth? Rather let us earnestly
pray the Lord to awaken a slumbering world.

Verse 15 And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in
heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our
Lord, and of His Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever. 16 And the
four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon
their faces, and worshipped God, 17 saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God
Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because Thou hast taken to
Thee Thy great power, and hast reigned.

From the fifteenth verse to the end of the chapter, we seem to be carried
over the ground in three distinct times from the sounding of the seventh
angel to the end. In the verses here quoted, the prophet glances forward to
the full establishment of the kingdom of God. Although the seventh trumpet
has begun to sound, it may not yet be a fact that the great voices in
heaven have proclaimed that the kingdoms of this world are become the
kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, unless it be in anticipation of the
speedy accomplishment of this event. But the seventh trumpet, like the
preceding six, covers a period of time, and the transfer of the kingdoms
from earthly powers to Him whose right it is to reign, is the principal
event to occur in the early years of its sounding. Hence this event, to the
exclusion of all else, here engages the mind of the prophet. (See remarks
on verse 19.) In the next verse John goes back and takes up intervening
events.

Verse 18 And the nations were angry, and Thy wrath is come, and the time of
the dead, that they should be judged, and that Thou shouldst give reward
unto Thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear Thy
name, small and great; and shouldst destroy them which destroy the earth.

"The Nations Were Angry."--Beginning with the spontaneous outburst of
revolutions in Europe in 1848, the anger of

Page 545

nations toward one another has been constantly increasing. Jealousy and
hatred among nations has been the rule rather than the exception.
Particularly has this been manifested in the two world wars of the
twentieth century, when it seemed that men would be willing to annihilate
whole nations in the heat of their anger.

Here are the exact words of a Harvard professor:

"The twentieth century, so far, has been the bloodiest period and one of
the most turbulent periods--and therefore one of the cruelest and lest
humanitarian --in the history of Western civilization and perhaps in the
chronicles of mankind in general." [11]

"Thy Wrath Is Come."--The wrath of god for the present generation is filled
up in the seven last plagues (Revelation 15: 1), which consequently must
here be referred to, and which are soon to be poured out upon the earth.

"The Time of the Dead, That They Should Be Judged."--The great majority of
the dead, that is, the wicked, are still in their graves after the
visitation of the plagues, and the close of the gospel age. A work of
judgment, of allotting to each one the punishment due because of his sins,
is carried on by the saints in conjunction with Christ during the one
thousand years following the first resurrection. (1 Corinthians 6: 2;
Revelation 20: 4.) Inasmuch as this judgment of the dead follows the wrath
of God, or the seven last plagues, it would seem necessary to refer it to
the one thousand years of judgment upon the wicked, above mentioned; for
the investigative judgement takes place before the plagues are poured out.

"Thou Shouldst Give Reward Unto Thy Servants the Prophets."--These will
enter upon their reward at the second coming of Christ, for He brings their
reward with Him. (Matthew 16: 27; Revelation 22: 12.) The full reward of
the saints, however, is not reached until they enter upon the possession of
the new earth. (Matthew 25: 34.)

Page 546

Punishment of the Wicked.--"Shouldst destroy them which destroy the earth,"
refers to the time when all the wicked, who have literally devastated vast
regions and wantonly destroyed human life, will be forever devoured by
those purifying fires from God out of heaven. (2 Peter 3: 7; Revelation 20:
9.) Thus the seventh trumpet reaches to the end of the one thousand years.
Momentous, startling, yet joyous thought! The trumpet now sounding sees the
final destruction of the wicked, and the saints clothed in a glorious
immortality, safely located on the earth made new.

Verse 19 And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in
His temple the ark of His testament: and there were lightnings, and voices,
and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.

The Temple Opened.--Once more the prophet carries us back to the beginning
of the trumpet. After the introduction of the seventh trumpet in verse 15,
the first great event that comes to mind of the seer is the transfer of the
kingdom from earthly to heavenly rule. God takes to Him His great power,
and forever crushes the rebellion of this revolted earth, establishes
Christ upon His own throne, and remains Himself supreme over all. We are
next referred back to the state of the nations, the judgment to fall upon
them, and the final destiny of both saints and sinners. (Verse 18.) After
this field of vision has been scanned, our attention is called back once
more in the verse now under notice, to the close of the priesthood of
Christ, the last scene in the work of mercy for a guilty world.

The temple is opened, and the second apartment of the sanctuary is entered.
We know it is the holy of holies that is here opened, for the ark is seen;
and in that apartment alone the ark was deposited. This took place at the
end of the 2300 days, when the sanctuary was to be cleansed. (Daniel 8:
14.) At that time the prophetic periods ended and the seventh angel began
to sound. Since 1814, the people of God have seen by faith the open door in
heaven, and the ark of God's testament within. They are endeavoring to keep
every precept of the

Page 547

holy law written upon the tables deposited there. That the tables of the
law are there, just as they were in the ark in the sanctuary erected by
Moses, is evident from the terms which John uses in describing the ark. He
calls it the "ark of His testament."

The ark was called the ark of the covenant, or testament, because it was
made for the express purpose of containing the tables of the testimony, or
ten commandments. (Exodus 25: 16, 31: 18; Deuteronomy 10: 2, 5.) It was put
to no other use, and owed its name solely to the fact that it contained the
tables of the law. If it did not contain the tables, it would not be the
ark of God's testament, and could not truthfully be so called. Yet John,
beholding the ark in heaven under the sounding of the seventh trumpet,
still calls it the "ark of His testament," affording unanswerable proof
that the law is still there, unaltered in one jot of tittle from the copy
which for a time was committed to the care of men in the typical ark of the
tabernacle during the time of Moses.

The followers of the prophetic word have also received the reed, and are
measuring the temple, the altar, and those that worship therein.
(Revelation 11: 1.) They are uttering their last prophecy before nations,
peoples, and tongues. (Revelation 10: 11.) The drama will soon close with
the lightnings, thunderings, voices, the earthquake, and great hail, which
will constitute nature's last convulsion before all things are made new at
the close of the thousand years. (Revelation 21: 5.) (See comments on
Revelation 16: 17-21.)

[1] George Croly, The Apocalypse of St. John, p. 164.

[2] George Storrs, Midnight Cry, May 4, 1843, Vol. IV, Nos. 5, 6, p. 47.

[3] George Croly, The Apocalypse of St. John, pp. 175-177.

[4] George Storrs, Midnight Cry, May 4, 1843, Vol. IV, Nos. 5, 6, p. 47.

[5] Ibid.

[6] Ibid.

[7] Ibid.

[8] George Croly, The Apocalypse of St. John, pp. 181-183.

[9] George Storrs, Midnight Cry, May 4, 1843, Vol. IV, Nos. 5, 6, p. 47.

[10] Ibid., p. 48.

[11] Pitirim A. Sorokin, Social and Cultural Dynamics, Vol. III, p. 487.
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Page 549

                                Chapter XII

                  The Background of Religious Intolerance

Verse 1 And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with
the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve
stars: 2 And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to
be delivered. 3 And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a
great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon
his heads.

An elucidation of this part of the chapter will involve little more than a
mere definition of the symbols introduced. This may be given in few words.

"A woman," signifies a true church. (2 Corinthians 11: 2.) A corrupt woman
is used to represent an apostate or corrupt church. (Ezekiel 23: 2-4;
Revelation 17: 3-6, 15, 18.) By parity of reasoning, a pure woman, as in
this instance, would represent the true church. "The sun" here signifies
the light and glory of the gospel era. "The moon" is the symbol of the
Mosaic period. As the moon shines with a borrowed light derived from the
sun, so the former era shone with a light borrowed from the present. There
they had the type and shadow; here we have the antitype and the substance.
"A crown of twelve stars" appropriately symbolizes the twelve apostles. "A
great red dragon" represents pagan Rome. (See comments under verses 4 and
5.) "Heaven" is the space in which this representation was seen by the
apostle. We are not to suppose that the scenes here presented to John took
place in heaven where God resides, for they are events which occurred upon
this earth. This vision which passed before the eye of the prophet,
appeared as if in the region occupied by the sun, moon, and stars, which we
speak of as heaven.

Verses 1 and 2 cover a period of time beginning just previous to the
opening of the Christian Era, when the church

Page 550

was earnestly longing for and expecting the advent of the Messiah, and
extending to the full establishment of the gospel church with its crown of
twelve apostles. (Luke 2: 25, 26, 38.)

No symbols more fitting and impressive could be found than are here
employed. The Mosaic period shone with a light borrowed from the Christian
Era, even as the moon shines with light borrowed from the sun. How
appropriate, therefore, to represent the former by the moon, and the latter
by the sun. The woman, the church, had the moon under her feet; that is,
the Mosaic period had just ended, and the woman was clothed with the light
of the gospel sun, which had just risen. By anticipation the church is
represented as fully organized, with its twelve apostles, before the man
child, Christ, appeared upon the scene. It was to be thus constituted
immediately after Christ should begin His ministry; and He is more
especially connected with this church than with that of the former period.
There is no ground for misunderstanding the passage; and hence no violence
is done to a correct system of interpretation by this representation.

Verse 4 And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did
cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was
ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born. 5
And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod
of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to His throne. 6 And the
woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God,
that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.

"Third Part of the Stars of Heaven."--The dragon drew the third part of the
stars of heaven. If the twelve stars with which the woman is crowned, here
used symbolically, denote the twelve apostles, then the stars thrown down
by the dragon before his attempt to destroy the man child, or before the
Christian Era, may denote a part of the rulers of the Jewish people. That
the sun, moon, and stars are sometimes used in this symbolic sense, we have
already had evidence in Revelation 8: 12. Judea became a Roman province
sixty-three years before the birth of the Messiah. The Jews had three

Page 551

classes of rulers--kings, priests, and the Sanhedrin. A third of these, the
kings were taken away by the Roman power. Philip Smith, after describing
the siege of Jerusalem by the Romans and Herod, and its capitulation in the
spring of 37 B.C., after an obstinate resistance of six months, says: "Such
was the end of the Asmonean dynasty, exactly 130 years after the first
victories of Judas Maccabaeus, and in the seventieth year from the
assumption of the diadem by Aristobulus I." [1]

This allusion to the stars undoubtedly has also a wider meaning, and is
related to the truths emphasized in verses 7-9 of this chapter. As a result
of the conflict there brought to view, it is evident that a third part of
the angelic host, who joined with Satan in his rebellion against the Ruler
of the universe, were cast out of the courts of glory.

"The Dragon Stood Before the Woman."--It now becomes necessary to identify
the power symbolized by the dragon, and this can be done very easily. The
testimony concerning the "man child" which the dragon seeks to destroy, is
applicable to only one being that has appeared in this world, and that is
our Lord Jesus Christ. No other one has been caught up to God and His
throne, but He has been thus exalted. (Ephesians 1: 20, 21; Hebrews 8: 1,
Revelation 3: 21.) No other one as received from God the commission to rule
all nations with a rod of iron, but He has been appointed to this work.
(Psalm 2: 7-9.)

There can certainly be no doubt that the man child represents Jesus Christ.
The time to which the prophecy refers is equally evident. It was the time
when Christ appeared in this world as a babe in Bethlehem.

It will now be easy to find the power symbolized by the dragon, for the
dragon represents some power which attempted to destroy Christ at His
birth. Was any such attempt made? Who made it? No formal answer to this
question need be given to anyone who has read how Herod, in a fiendish

Page 552

effort to destroy the infant Jesus, sent forth and slew all the children in
Bethlehem from two years old and under. But who was Herod? He was a Roman
governor. From Rome Herod derived his power. Rome ruled at that time over
all the world (Luke 2: 1), and was therefore the responsible actor in this
event. Moreover, Rome was the only earthly government which at that time
could be symbolized in prophecy, for the very reason that its dominion was
universal. It is not, therefore, without the most conclusive reason that
the Roman

Page 553

Empire is regarded by Protestant commentators generally to be the power
indicated by the great red dragon.

It may be a fact worth mentioning that during the second, third, fourth,
and fifth centuries of the Christian Era, next to the eagle the dragon was
the principle standard of the Roman legions. That dragon was painted red,
as if in faithful response to the picture held up by the seer of Patmos
they would exclaim to the world, We are the nation which that picture
represents.

Rome, as we have seen, attempted to destroy Jesus Christ through the
fiendish plot of Herod. The child who was born to the waiting and watching
church, was our adorable Redeemer, who is soon to rule the nations with a
rod of iron. Herod could not destroy Him. The combined powers of earth and
hell could not overcome Him. Though held for a time under the dominion of
the grave, He rent its cruel bands, opened a way of life for mankind, and
was caught up to God and His throne. He ascended to heaven in the sight of
His disciples, leaving to them and us the promise that He would come again.

The church fled into the wilderness at the time of the papacy was firmly
established in 538, where it was nourished by the word of God, and the
ministration of angels during the long, dark, and bloody rule of that power
for 1260 years.

Verse 7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and His angels fought against
the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, 8 and prevailed not;
neither was their place found any more in heaven. 9 And the great dragon
was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which
deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels
were cast out with him. 10 And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now
is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power
of His Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused
them before our God day and night. 11 And they overcame him by the blood of
the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their
lives unto the death. 12 Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell
in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! For the devil
is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath
but a short time.

Page 554

War in Heaven.--The first six verses of this chapter, as has been seen,
take us down to the close of the 1260 years in 1798, which marked the end
of the papal supremacy. In the 7th verse it is equally plain that we are
carried back into previous ages. How far?--To the time first introduced in
the chapter, the days of the first advent, when with fiendish ingenuity
Satan working through the power of pagan Rome sought to destroy the Saviour
of men; and also back beyond that time to the very beginning of the great
controversy between truth and righteousness, when in heaven itself Michael
(Christ) and His angels fought against the dragon (Satan) and his angels.
To prove that Michael is Christ, see Jude 9; 1 Thessalonians 4: 16; John 5:
28, 29.

"Prevailed Not."--Thank God that in that early conflict the archdeceiver
was defeated. As "Lucifer, son of the morning," with envy and hatred in his
heart, he had presumptuously led a host of disaffected angels in rebellion
against the government of God. But the Scripture says he "prevailed not,"
and "was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him."

Centuries later at the time of Christ's first advent, "the great dragon,"
"that old serpent called the devil, and Satan," put forth a supreme effort
in the guise of the great red dragon, representing pagan Rome, to destroy
the world's Redeemer. Satan had looked forward to Christ's mission to this
earth as his last chance of success in overthrowing the plan of salvation.
He came to Christ with specious temptations, in hope of overcoming Him. He
tried in various ways to destroy Christ during His ministry. When he had
succeeded in laying Him in the tomb, he endeavored, in malignant triumph,
to hold Him there. But in every encounter the Son of God came off
triumphant; and He sends back His gracious promise to His faithful
followers: "To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with Me in My
throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with My Father in His
throne." Revelation 3: 21. This shows us that Jesus while on earth waged a
warfare, and ob-

Page 555

tained the victory. Satan saw his last effort fail, his last scheme
miscarry. He had boasted that he would overcome the Son of God in His
mission to this world, and thus render the plan of salvation an ignominious
failure. Well he knew that if he was foiled in this his last desperate
effort to thwart the work of God, his last hope had perished, and all was
lost. In the language of verse 8, he "prevailed not," and hence the song
may well be sung, "Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in
them."

Their Place Found No More in Heaven.--Satan and the fallen angels had
suffered a terrible defeat, which Christ describes by saying, "I beheld
Satan as lightning fall from heaven" (Luke 10: 18), and Peter tells us that
these fallen angels have been delivered "into chains of darkness to be
reserved unto judgment" (2 Peter 2: 4).

The hope which he had long cherished of overcoming the Son of man when He
took Himself our nature, had forever perished. His power was limited. He
could no more aspire to a personal encounter with the Son of God, for
Christ had vanquished him. Henceforth the church (the woman) is the object
of his malice, and he resorts to all those nefarious means against her that
would naturally characterize his rage.

But hereupon a song is sung in heaven, "Now is come salvation." How is
this, if these scenes are in the past? Had salvation and strength and the
kingdom of God and the power of His Christ then come? Not at all; but this
song was sung prospectively. Those things were made sure. The great victory
had been won by Christ which forever settled the question of their
establishment.

The prophet then glances rapidly over the working of Satan from that time
to the end (verses 11, 12), during which time the faithful "brethren"
overcome him by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony,
while his wrath increases as his time grows short.

It was Satan that moved upon Herod to put the Saviour to death. But the
chief agent of the archrebel in making war

Page 557

upon Christ and His people during the early centuries of the Christian Era
was the Roman Empire, in which paganism was the dominant religion. Thus,
while the dragon primarily represents Satan, it is in a secondary sense
representative of pagan Rome.

Verse 13 And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he
persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child. 14 And to the woman
were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the
wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times,
and half a time, from the face of the serpent. 15 And the serpent cast out
of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to
be carried away of the flood. 16 And the earth helped the woman, and the
earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast
out of his mouth. 17 And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to
make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God,
and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

The Church in the Wilderness.--Here we are once more carried back to the
time when Satan became fully aware that he had failed in all his attempts
against the Lord of glory in His earthly mission. Seeing this, he turned
with tenfold fury, as already noticed, upon the church which Christ had
established. Then we have another view of the church going into that
condition here spoken of as being "in the wilderness." This must denote a
state of seclusion from the public gaze, and of concealment from her foes.
That church which during all the Dark Ages trumpeted her lordly commands
into the ears of listening Christendom, and flaunted her ostentatious
banners before gaping crowds, was not the church of Christ; it was the body
of the mystery of iniquity.

The "mystery of godliness" was God manifested here as a man; the "mystery
of iniquity" was a man pretending to be God. This was the great apostasy
produced by the union of paganism and Christianity. The true church was out
of sight. In secret places they worshiped God. The caves and the hidden
recesses of the valleys of the Piedmont may be taken as representative
places, where the truth of the gospel was sacredly cherished from the rage
of its foes. Here God watched

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over His church, and by His providence protected and nourished her.

The eagles' wings given her appropriately signify the haste with which the
true church was obliged to seek her own safety when the man of sin was
installed in power. The assistance of God was provided her to this end. The
like figure is used to describe God's dealings with ancient Israel. By
Moses He said to them, "Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how
I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto Myself." Exodus 19: 4.

The mention of the period during which the woman is nourished in the
wilderness as "a time and times and half a time," similar phraseology to
that used in Daniel 7: 25, furnishes a key for the explanation of the
latter passage. The same period is called in Revelation 12: 6, "a thousand
two hundred and threescore days." This shows that a "time" is one year, 360
days; two "times," two years, or 720 days; and "half a time," half a year,
or 180 days, making in all 1260 days. These days, being symbolic, signify
1260 literal years.

The serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood to carry away the
church. By its false doctrines the papacy had so corrupted all nations as
to have absolute control of the civil power for long centuries. Through it
Satan could hurl a mighty flood of persecutions against the church in every
direction, and this he was not slow to do. (See reference to the terrible
persecutions of the church in remarks on Daniel 7: 25.) Millions of true
believers were carried away by the flood, but the church was not entirely
swallowed up, for the days were shortened for the elect's sake. (Matthew
24: 22.)

"The earth helped the woman" by opening its mouth and swallowing up the
flood. The Protestant Reformation of the sixteenth century began its work.
God raised up Martin Luther and his colaborers to expose the true character
of the papacy, and break the power with which superstition had enslaved the
minds of the people. Luther nailed his theses to the door of the church at
Wittenburg; and the pen with which he

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wrote them, according to the symbolic dream of the good elector Frederick
of Saxony, did indeed span the continent, and shake the triple crown on the
pope's head. Princes began to espouse the cause of the Reformers. It was
the dawning of religious light and liberty, and God would not suffer the
darkness to swallow up its radiance.

The spell was broken. Men found that the bulls and anathemas of the pope
fell harmless at their feet, just as soon as they dared exercised their
God-given right to regulate their consciences by His word alone. Defenders
of the true faith multiplied. Soon there was enough Protestant soil found
in Europe and the New World to swallow up the flood of papal fury, and rob
it of its power to harm the church. Thus the earth helped the woman, and
has continued to help her to the present day, as the spirit of the
Reformation and religious liberty has been fostered by the leading nations
of Christendom.

War on the Remnant.--But the dragon is not yet through with his work. Verse
17 brings to view another and a final outburst of his wrath, this time
against the last generation of Christians to live on the earth. We say the
last generation, for the war of the dragon is directed against the remnant
of the woman's seed, the true church, and no generation but the last can
truthfully be represented by the remnant. If the view is correct that we
have already reached the generation which is to witness the closing up of
earthly scenes, this warfare against the truth cannot be far in the future.

This remnant is characterized by its keeping of the commandments of God,
and having the testimony of Jesus Christ. This points to a Sabbath reform
to be accomplished in the last days, for on the Sabbath alone as pertaining
to the commandments, is there a difference of faith and practice among
those who accept the decalogue as the moral law. This is more particularly
brought to view in the message of Revelation 14: 9-12.

[1] Philip Smith, History of the World, Vol. III, p. 181.
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                                Chapter XIII

                 The Agelong Struggle for Religious Freedom

Verse 1 And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out
of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten
crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. 2 And the beast which I
saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and
his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and
his seat, and great authority. 3 And I saw one of his heads as it were
wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world
wondered after the beast.

The sea is a symbol of "peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues."
Revelation 17: 15. A beast is the Bible symbol of a nation or power. It
sometimes represents the civil power alone, and sometimes the
ecclesiastical in connection with civil. Whenever a beast is seen to come
up out of the sea, it denotes that the power arises in a thickly populated
territory. If the winds are represented as blowing upon the sea, as in
Daniel 7: 2, 3, political commotion, civil strife, and revolution are
indicated.

By the dragon of the previous chapter, and the beast first introduced in
this, we have the Roman power as a whole brought to view in its two phases,
pagan and papal; hence these two symbols have each the seven heads and ten
horns. (See comments on Revelation 17: 10.)

The Leopard Beast.--The seven-headed and ten-horned beast, more briefly the
leopard beast, here introduced, symbolizes a power which exercises
ecclesiastical as well as civil authority. This point is of sufficient
importance to justify the introduction of a few conclusive arguments which
prove it.

The line of prophecy in which this symbol occurs begins with Revelation 12.
The symbols of earthly governments

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embraced in the prophecy are the dragon of Revelation 12 and the leopard
beast and the two-horned beast of Revelation 13. The same line of prophecy
evidently continues into chapter 14. Beginning, therefore, with Revelation
12: 1, and ending with Revelation 14: 5, we have a line of prophecy
distinct and complete in itself.

Each of the powers here introduced is represented as fiercely persecuting
the church of God. The scene opens with the church under the symbol of a
woman anxiously longing for the promise to be fulfilled that the seed of
the woman, the Lord of glory, should appear among men. The dragon stood
before the woman for the purpose of devouring her child. His evil design is
thwarted, and the child is caught up to God and His throne. A period
follows in which the church suffers severe oppression from this dragon
power. In this part of the scene the prophet occasionally glances forward,
once even down almost to the end, because all the enemies of the church
were to be actuated by the spirit of the dragon. In verse 1 of Revelation
13 we are carried back to the time when the leopard beast, the successor of
the dragon, begins his career. From this power the church suffers war and
persecution for the long period of 1260 years. Following this period of
oppression, the church has another conflict, brief but sharp and severe,
with the two-horned beast. Then comes deliverance. The prophecy closes with
the church brought safely through all her persecutions, and standing
victorious with the Lamb on Mount Zion. Thank God for the sure promise of
final victory!

The one character which ever appears the same in all these scenes, and
whose history is the leading theme through all the prophecy, is the true
Church of God. The other characters are her persecutors, and are introduced
simply because they are such. Here, as an introductory inquiry, we raise
the question, Who or what is it that persecutes the true church? It is a
false or apostate church. What is it that is ever warring against true
religion? It is a false and counterfeit religion. Who ever heard of the
mere civil power of any nation persecuting the

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people of God on its own initiative? Governments may war against other
governments to avenge some wrong, real or imaginary or to acquire territory
and extend their power. But governments do not persecute (mark the word--do
not persecute) people on account of their religion, unless under the
control of some opposite and hostile system of religion.

Leopard Beast a Persecuting Power.--The powers introduced in this
prophecy--the dragon, the leopard beast, and the two-horned beast of verses
11-17--are all persecuting powers. They are actuated by rage and enmity
against the people and church of God. This fact is of itself sufficiently
conclusive evidence that in each of these powers the ecclesiastical or
religious element is the controlling power.

Take the dragon: what does it symbolize?--The undeniable answer is,
Primarily Satan, as shown heretofore, and secondarily the Roman Empire. But
this is not enough. No one would be satisfied with this answer and no more.
It must be more definite. We therefore add, The Roman Empire in its pagan
form, to which all must agree. But just as soon as we say pagan, we
introduce a religious element, for paganism is one of the most gigantic
systems of counterfeit religion that Satan has ever devised. The dragon,
then, is so far an ecclesiastical power that the very characteristic by
which it is distinguished is a false system of religion. What made the
dragon persecute the church of Christ? It was because Christianity was
prevailing against paganism, sweeping away its superstitions, overturning
its idols, and dismantling its temples. The religious element of that power
was touched, and persecution was the result.

We now come to the leopard beast of Revelation 13. What does that
symbolize? The answer still is, The Roman Empire. But the dragon symbolized
the Roman Empire, and why does not the same symbol represent it still? Ah!
there has been a change in the religious character of the empire. This
beast symbolized Rome in its professedly Christian form. It is this change
of religion, and this alone, which makes a change in the

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symbol necessary. This beast differs from the dragon only that it presents
a different religious aspect. Hence it would be wrong to affirm that it
denotes simply the Roman civil power.

A Symbol of the Papacy.--To this beast the dragon gives his power, his
seat, and great authority. By what power was pagan Rome succeeded? We all
know that is was by papal Rome. It matters not to our present purpose when
or by what means this change was effected. The great fact is apparent, and
is acknowledged by all, that the next great phase of the Roman Empire after
its pagan form was its papal. It would not be correct, therefore, to say
that pagan Rome gave its power and seat to a form of government merely
civil, having no religious element whatever. No stretch of the imagination
can conceive of such a transaction. But two phases of empire are here
recognized, and in the prophecy Rome is pagan until Rome is papal. The
statement that the dragon gave to the leopard beast his power and seat, is
further evidence that the dragon of Revelation 12: 3 is used as symbol of
pagan Rome. But back of both powers, and leading them on in their wicked
work, is Satan himself.

But it may be said that it takes both the leopard beast and the two-horned
beast to constitute the papacy, and hence it is to these that the dragon
gives his power, seat, and great authority. But the prophecy does not say
so. It is the leopard beast alone with which the dragon has to do. It is to
that beast alone that he gives his power, seat, and great authority. It is
that beast which has a head that is wounded to death, which is afterward
healed; that beast after which the whole world wonders; that beast which
has a mouth speaking blasphemies, and which wears out the saints for 1260
years. It does all this before the succeeding power, the two-horned beast,
appears. The leopard beast alone, therefore, symbolizes the Roman Empire in
its papal form, the controlling influence being ecclesiastical.

Identical With the Little Horn.--To show this more fully, we have but to
draw a parallel between the little horn of Daniel

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7: 8, 20, 24, 25, and this power. From this comparison it will appear that
the little horn and the leopard beast symbolize the same power. The little
horn is generally acknowledged to be a symbol of the papacy. There are six
points by which to establish their identity:

1. The little horn was a blasphemous power. "He shall speak great words
against the Most High." Daniel 7: 25. The leopard beast of Revelation 13: 6
does the same. "He opened his mouth in blasphemy against God."

2. The little horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them.
(Daniel 7: 21.) This beast also (Revelation 13: 7) makes war with the
saints, and overcomes them.

3. The little horn had a mouth speaking great things. (Daniel 7: 8, 20.) Of
this beast we read: "There was given unto him a mouth speaking great things
and blasphemies." Revelation 13: 5.

4. The little horn arose on the cessation of the pagan form of the Roman
Empire. The beast of Revelation 13: 2 arises at the same time; for the
dragon, pagan Rome, gives him his power, his seat, and great authority.

5. Power was given to the little horn to continue for a time, times, and
the dividing of time, or 1260 years. (Daniel 7: 25) To this beast also
power was given for forty-two months or 1260 years. (Revelation 13: 5.)

6. At the end of that specified period of 1260 years the "saints," "times,"
and "laws" were to be taken out of the "hand" of the little horn. (Daniel
7: 25.) At the end of the same period, the leopard beast was himself to be
led "into captivity." Revelation 13: 10. Both these specifications were
fulfilled in the captivity and exile of the pope, and the temporary
overthrow of the papacy by France in 1798.

These six points prove satisfactorily the identity of the little horn and
the leopard beast. When we have in prophecy two symbols, as in this
instance, representing powers that come upon the stage of action at the
same time, occupy the same territory, maintain the same character, do the
same work, exist the

Page 567

same length of time, and meet the same fate, those symbols represent the
same identical power.

Received a Deadly Wound.--The head that was wounded to death was the papal
head. We are held to this conclusion by the obvious principle that whatever
is spoken in prophecy of the symbol of any government, applies to that
government only while it is represented by that symbol. Now Rome is
represented by two symbols, the dragon and the leopard beast, because it
has presented two phases, the pagan and the papal; and whatever is said of
the leopard beast applies to Rome only in its professedly Christian form.
John says that it was one of the heads of this leopard beast that was
wounded to death. In other words, this wound fell upon the form of
government that existed in the Roman Empire after its change from paganism
to Christianity. Thus it is evident that is was the papal head that was
wounded to death, and whose deadly wound was healed. This wounding is the
same as the going into captivity. (Revelation 13: 10.) It was inflicted
when the pope was taken prisoner by Berthier, the French general, and the
papal government was for a time abolished, in 1798. Stripped of his power,
both civil and ecclesiastical, the captive pope, Pius VI, died in exile at
Valence in France, August 29, 1799. But the deadly wound began to be healed
when the papacy was re-established, though with less of its former power,
by the election of a new pope, March 14, 1800. [1]

Verse 5 And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and
blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.
6 And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name,
and His tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. 7 And it was given unto
him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given
him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. 8 And all that dwell upon
the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of
life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. 9 If any man have
an ear, let him hear. 10 He that leadeth into captivity

Page 569

shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with
the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.

Speak Blasphemies.--This beast opens his mouth "in blasphemy against God,
to blaspheme His name, and His tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven."
Mention has already been made in comments on the book of Daniel as to the
significance of the expression, "He shall speak great words against the
Most High." Daniel 7: 25. In verse 5 in this chapter of Revelation similar
words are used, for he had "a mouth speaking great things." Here, however,
the word "blasphemy" is added, and this evidently points to the fact that
the great words will be blasphemous enunciations against the God of heaven.

In the Gospels we find two indications of what constitutes blasphemy. In
John 10: 33 we read that the Jews falsely charged Jesus with blasphemy
because, said they, "Thou, being a man, makest Thyself God." This is in the
case of the Saviour was untrue, because He was the Son of God. He was
"Immanuel, God With Us." But for man to assume the prerogatives of God and
to take the titles of deity--this is blasphemy.

Again, in Luke 5: 21 we see the Pharisees endeavoring to catch Jesus in His
words. "Who is this which speaketh blasphemies?" said they. "Who can
forgive sins, but God alone?" Jesus could pardon transgressions, for He was
the divine Saviour. But for man, mortal man, to claim such authority is
blasphemy indeed.

We might ask if the power represented by this symbol has fulfilled this
part of the prophecy. In comments on Daniel 7: 25 we saw clearly from the
evidence submitted that he had spoken "great words" against the God of
heaven. Now observe what is said regarding the claim of the priesthood to
forgive sins:

"The priest holds the place of the Saviour Himself, when, by saying, 'Ego
te absolvo' [I thee absolve], he absolves from sin. . . . To pardon a
single sin requires all the omnipotence

Page 570

of God. . . . But what only God can do by His omnipotence, the priest can
also do by saying 'Ego te absolvo a peccatis tuis.'. . . Innocent III has
written: 'Indeed, it is not too much to say that in view of the sublimity
of their offices the priests are so many gods.' " [2]

Note still further the blasphemous utterances of this power:

"But our wonder should be far greater when we find that in obedience to the
words of His priests--HOC EST CORPUS MEUM [This is My body]--God Himself
descends on the altar, that He comes wherever they call Him, and as often
as they call Him, and places Himself in their hands, even though they
should be His enemies. And after having come, He remains, entirely at their
disposal; they move Him as they please, from one place to another; they
may, if they wish, shut Him up in the tabernacle, or expose Him on the
altar, or carry Him outside the church; they may, if they choose, eat His
flesh, and give Him for the food of others. 'Oh, how very great is their
power,' says St. Laurence Justinian, speaking of priests. 'A word falls
from their lips and the body of Christ is there substantially formed from
the matter of bread, and the Incarnate Word descended from heaven, is found
really present on the table of the altar!' " [3]

"Thus the priest may, in a certain manner, be called the creator of his
Creator. . . . 'The power of the priest,' says St. Bernardine of Sienna,
'is the power of the divine person; for the transubstantiation of the bread
requires as much power as the creation of the world.' " [4]

Thus this beast power blasphemes the temple in heaven by turning attention
of his subjects to his own throne and palace instead of to the tabernacle
of God; by diverting their attention from the sacrifice of the Son of God
to the sacrifice of the mass.

Page 571

He blasphemes them that dwell in heaven by assuming to exercise the power
of forgiving sins, and so turns away the minds of men from the mediatorial
work of Christ and His heavenly assistants in the sanctuary above.

By verse 10 we are again referred to the events of 1798, when that power
that had for 1260 years led the saints of God into captivity, was itself
let into captivity.

Verse 11 And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had
two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.

Two-Horned Beast.--This verse brings to view the third great symbol in the
line of prophecy we are examining, usually denominated the two-horned
beast. We inquire for its application. The dragon, pagan Rome, and the
leopard beast, papal Rome, present before us great organizations standing
as the representatives of two great systems of false religion. Analogy
would seem to require that the remaining symbol, the two-horned beast, have
a similar application, and find its fulfillment in some nation which is
representative of still another great system of religion. The only
remaining system which is exercising a controlling influence in the world
today is Protestantism. Abstractly considered, paganism embraces all the
heathen lands, containing more then half the population of the globe.
Catholicism, which may perhaps be considered as including the religion of
the Greek Orthodox Church, so nearly identical with it, belongs to nations
which compose a large part of Christendom. A clear portrayal of
Mohammedanism and its influence has been given in other prophecies. (See
comments on Daniel 11 and Revelation 9.) But Protestantism is the religion
of nations which constitute the vanguard of the world of liberty,
enlightenment, progress, and power.

A Symbol of America.--If, then, Protestantism is the religion to which we
are to look, to what nation as the representative of that religion does the
prophecy have application? There are notable Protestant nations in Europe,
but for reasons which

Page 572

will hereafter appear, the symbol cannot apply to any of these. A careful
investigation has led to the conclusion that it does apply to Protestant
America, or the United States of America. The reason for such an
application and the evidence by which it is supported we will carefully
consider.

Are they any reasons why we should expect that the United States would be
mentioned in prophecy? On what conditions have other nations found a place
in the prophetic record? First, that they have acted a prominent part in
the world's history; and second, and above all, that they have had
jurisdiction over, or maintained important relations with, the people of
God. In the records of the Bible and of secular history, we find data from
which to deduce this rule respecting the prophetic mention of earthly
governments: A nation enters prophecy when the work and destiny of God's
people are definitely linked with it. All these conditions are certainly
fulfilled in the United States. The conviction has fastened itself upon
many minds that the rise and progress of this nation has been of such a
nature that Providence saw fit to forecast it in prophecy.

Governor Pownal, an English statesman, predicted in 1780, while the
American Revolution was in progress, that this country would become
independent; that a civilizing activity, beyond what Europe could ever
know, would animate it; and that its commercial and naval power would be
found in every quarter of the globe. He then speaks of the probable
establishment of this country as a free and sovereign power as " 'a
revolution that has stranger marks of divine interposition, superseding the
ordinary course of human affairs, than any other event which this world has
experienced.' " [5]

George Alfred Townsend, speaking of the misfortunes that have attended the
other governments in the Western Hemisphere says:

Page 573

"The history of the United States was separated by a beneficent Providence
far from this wild and cruel history of the rest of the continent." [6]

Such considerations as these are calculated to arouse in every mind a
strong expectation that this nation will be found to have some part to act
in the carrying out of God's providential purposes in this world, and that
somewhere it will be spoken of in the prophetic word.

Chronology of This Power.--At what period in this world's history is the
rise of this power placed in the prophecy? On this point, the foundation
for the conclusions at which we must arrive is already laid in the facts
set forth regarding the leopard beast. It was at the time when this beast
went into captivity, or was killed with the sword (verse 10), or had one of
its heads wounded to death (verse 3), that John saw the two-horned beast
coming up. If the leopard beast, as we have conclusively proved, signifies
the papacy, and the going into captivity met its fulfillment in the
temporary overthrow of the papacy by the French in 1798, then we have the
time definitely specified when we are to look for the rise of this power.
The expression "coming up" must signify that the power to which it applies
was but newly organized, and was then just rising into prominence and
influence.

Can anyone doubt what nation was actually "coming up" in 1798? Certainly it
must be admitted that the United States of America is the only power that
meets the specifications of the prophecy on this point of chronology.

The struggle of the American colonies for independence began in 1775. In
1776, they declared themselves a free and independent nation. In 1777,
delegates from the thirteen original States--New Hampshire, Massachusetts,
Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware,
Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia--in
Congress assembled, adopted Articles

Page 574

of Confederation. In 1783, the War of the Revolution closed with a treaty
of peace with Great Britain, whereby the independence of the United States
was acknowledged, and territory ceded to the extent of 815,615 square
miles. In 1787, the Constitution was framed, and by July 26, 1788, it was
ratified by eleven of the thirteen original States; and on the 1st of
March, 1789 it went into effect. The United States thus began with less
than one million square miles of territory, and less than four million
citizens. Thus we come to the year 1798, when this nation is introduced
into prophecy.

John Wesley, in his notes on Revelation 13, written in 1754, says of the
two- horned beast:

"He has not yet come, though he cannot be far off. For he is to appear at
the end of the forty-two months of the first beast." [7]

Age of This Power.--There is good evidence in the prophecy to show that the
government symbolized by the two-horned beast is introduced in the early
part of its career; that is, while a youthful power. John's words are, "I
beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like
a lamb." Why does not John simply say, "He had two horns"? Why does he add
"like a lamb"? It must be for the purpose of denoting the character of this
beast, showing that it is not only of an innocent and harmless demeanor,
but also that it is a youthful power; for the horns of a lamb are horns
that have barely begun to grow.

Bear in mind that by the preceding argument on chronology, our gaze is
fixed on the year 1798, when the power symbolized was then youthful. What
notable power was at that time coming into prominence, but still in its
youth? England was not, nor was France, nor Russia, nor any European power.
For a young and rising power at that epoch, we are obliged to turn our eyes
to the New World. But as soon as we turn them in that direction, they rest
inevitably upon the

Page 575

United States as the power in question. No other power west of the Atlantic
Ocean fits the description.

Location of the Two-Horned Beast.--A single declaration of the prophecy is
sufficient to guide us to important and correct conclusions on this point.
John calls it "another beast." It therefore is no part of the first beast;
and the power symbolized by it is likewise no part of that which is
intended by that beast. This is fatal to the claim of those who avoid the
application of this symbol to the United States by saying that it denotes
some phase of the papacy; for in such a case it would be a part of the
preceding, or leopard, beast.

Since this is "another" beast, "coming up out of the earth," it must be
found in some territory not covered by any other symbols. Babylon and
Medo-Persia covered all the civilized part of Asia. Greece covered Eastern
Europe, including Russia. Rome, with the ten kingdoms into which it was
divided, as represented by the ten toes of the image of Daniel 2, the ten
horns of the fourth beast of Daniel 7, the ten horns of the dragon of
Revelation 12, and the ten horns of the leopard beast of Revelation 13,
covered all Western Europe. In other words, all the Eastern Hemisphere
known to history and civilization is covered by prophetic symbols
respecting the application of which there is scarcely any room for doubt.

But there is a mighty nation in the Western Hemisphere, worthy, as we have
seen, of being mentioned in prophecy, which is not yet brought in. There is
one symbol remaining whose application has not yet been made. All the
symbols but one are applied, and all the available areas of the Eastern
Hemisphere are covered by the applications. Of all the symbols mentioned,
one alone, the two-horned beast of Revelation 13, is left. Of all the
countries of the earth respecting which any reason exists why they should
be mentioned in prophecy, one alone, the United States of America, remains.
Does the two-horned beast represent the United States? If it does, then all
the symbols find an application, and all the ground is covered. If it does
not, it follows that the United

Page 577

States is not represented in prophecy, and the symbol of the two-horned
beast is left without a nation to which it can apply. But the first of
these suppositions is not probable, and the second is not possible.

Another consideration pointing to the location of this power is drawn from
the fact that John saw it arise from the earth. If the sea, from which the
leopard beast arose (Revelation 13: 1) denotes peoples, nations, and
multitudes (Revelation 17: 15), the earth would suggest, by contrast, a new
and previously unoccupied territory. By exclusion from Eastern continents,
and by looking to territory not previously known to civilization, we turn
of necessity to the Western Hemisphere.

Manner of Its Rise.--The manner in which the two-horned beast was seen
coming up shows, equally with its location, age, and chronology, that it is
a symbol of the United States. John saw the beast coming up "out of the
earth." This expression must have been designedly used to point out the
contrast between the rise of this beast and that of other national
prophetic symbols. The four beasts of Daniel 7 and the leopard beast of
Revelation 13 all arose out of the sea. New nations generally rise by
overthrowing other nations, and taking their place. But no other nation was
overturned in order to make room for the United States, and the attainment
of its independence was already fifteen years in the past when it came into
the field of prophecy. The prophet saw only peace.

The word which is used in verse 11 do describe the manner in which this
beast comes up, is very expressive. It is {GREEK CHARACTERS IN PRINTED
TEXT}, anabainon, one of the prominent definitions of which is, "to grow or
spring up as a plant." It is a remarkable fact that this same figure has
been chosen by political writers, without any reference to the prophecy, as
the one conveying the best idea of the manner in which the United States
has arisen. George Alfred Townsend says:

"In this web of islands, the West Indies, began the life of both [North and
South] Americas. There Columbus saw land; there Spain began her baneful and
brilliant Western

Page 578

empire; thence Cortez departed for Mexico, De Soto for the Mississippi,
Balboa for the Pacific, and Pizarro for Peru. The history of the United
States was separated by a beneficent Providence far from this wild and
cruel history of the rest of the continent, and like a silent seed we grew
into empire; while empire itself, beginning in the South, was swept by so
interminable hurricane that what of its history we can ascertain is read by
the very lightnings that devastated it. The growth of English America may
be likened to a series of lyrics sung by separate singers, which,
coalescing, at last make a vigorous chorus, and this, attracting many from
afar, swells and is prolonged, until presently it assumes the dignity and
proportions of epic song." [8]

A writer in the Dublin Nation spoke of the United States as a wonderful
empire which was "emerging," and "amid the silence of the earth daily
adding to its power and pride."

Edward Everett, in an oration on the English exiles who founded this
government, said:

"Did they look for a retired spot, inoffensive for its obscurity, and safe
in its remoteness, where the little church of Leyden might enjoy the
freedom of conscience? Behold the mighty regions over which, in peaceful
conquest-- victoria sine clade [victory without strife]--they have borne
the banners of the cross." [9]

Will the reader now look at these expressions side by side--"coming up out
of the earth," "emerging amid the silence of the earth," "like a silent
seed we grew into empire," "mighty regions" secured by "peaceful conquest."
The first is from the prophet, stating that would be when the two-horned
beast should arise; the others are from political writers, telling what had
been in the history of the United States of America. Can anyone fail to see
that the last three are exactly synonymous

Page 579

with the first, and that they record a complete accomplishment of the
prediction?

Another inquiry naturally follows: Has the United States "come up" in a
manner to meet the specifications of the prophecy? Let us see. A short time
before the great Reformation in the days of Martin Luther, more than four
hundred years ago, this Western Hemisphere was discovered. The Reformation
awoke the nations that were fettered in the galling bonds of superstition
and oppression, to the great truth that it is the heaven-born right of
every man to worship God according to the dictates of his own conscience.
But rulers are loath to lose their power, and religious intolerance
continued to oppress the people. Under these circumstances, a body of
religious heroes at length determined to seek in the wilds of America that
measure of civil and religious freedom which they so much desired. In
pursuance of their noble purpose, one hundred of these voluntary exiles
landed from the "Mayflower" on the coast of New England, December 21, 1620.
"There," says Martyn, "New England was born," and this was "its first baby
cry, a prayer and a thanksgiving to the Lord." [10]

Another permanent English settlement had been made at Jamestown, Virginia,
in 1607. In process of time, other settlements were made and colonies
organized, which were all subject to the English crown till the Declaration
of Independence, July 4, 1776.

The population of these colonies amounted in 1701 to 262,000; in 1749, to,
1,046,000; in 1775, to 2,803,000. [11] Then came the struggle for
independence, the establishment of a united constitutional government, and
the proclamation to the world that here all could find an asylum from
oppression and intolerance. From the Old World came immigrants by the
thousand, adding by peaceful means to the population and

Page 580

prosperity of the new nation. Large territories were purchased or acquired
by treaty to make room for all who came to settle. Now, passing over more
than 150 years, to the second quarter of the twentieth century, the
territory of the United States has expanded to more than three and a half
million square miles, and its population has increased to over 135,000,000
people.

The growth of the United States in material prosperity and enlightened
development is an astonishment to the world, and furnished an ample basis
for the application of the prophecy.

Character of Its Government Symbolized.--Under this division of the subject
we find still further evidence that the symbol represents the United
States. In describing this power, John says that it had "two horns like a
lamb." The horns of a lamb indicate youthfulness, innocence, and
gentleness. As a power which has but recently arisen, the United States
answers to the symbol admirably in respect to age, while no other power can
be found to do this. Considered as an index of power and character, it can
be decided what constitutes the two horns of the government, if it can be
ascertained what is the secret of its power, and what reveals its
character, or constitutes its outward profession. The Hon. J. A. Bingham
gives us the clue to the whole matter when he states that the object of
those who first sought these shores was to found "what the world had not
seen for ages; viz., a church without a pope, and a state without a king."
Expressed in other words, this would be a government in which the
ecclesiastical should be separate from the civil power, and civil and
religious liberty would be characteristic.

It needs no argument to show that this is precisely the profession of the
American government. Article IV, sec. 4, of the Constitution of the United
States reads in part: "The United States shall guarantee to every State in
this Union a republican form of government." Article VI: "No religious test
shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust

Page 581

under the United States." The First Amendment to the Constitution begins as
follows: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of
religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." These articles profess
the amplest guaranty of civil and religious liberty, the entire and
perpetual separation of church and state. What better symbols of them could
be given than "two horns like a lamb"? In what other country can be found a
condition of things which would represent so completely this feature of the
symbol?

Republican in Form.--The two-horned beast, with a noticeable absence of
crowns upon its horns, symbolizes a nation with a republican form of
government. A crown is an appropriate symbol of a kingly or dictatorial
form of government, and the absence of crowns, as in this case, would
suggest a government in which the power is not vested in any such ruling
member, but is lodged in the hands of the people.

But this is not the most conclusive proof that the nation here symbolized
is republican in its form of government. From verse 14 we learn that appeal
is made to the people when any national action is to be performed: "Saying
to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the
beast." This is emphatically the case in the United States. The
Constitution on which it was founded guarantees "a republican form of
government," as shown above. This constitutes another link in the chain of
evidence that this symbol applies to the United States of America. There is
no other government to which anyone could reasonably think of applying this
symbol.

A Protestant Nation.--The two-horned beast symbolizes a nation which cannot
be Catholic in religion. The papacy is a religion that is fundamentally a
union of church and state. The Constitution of the United States of America
(Article VI ) declares that "no religious test shall ever be required as a
qualification to any office or public trust," and thereby establishes a
perpetual separation of church and state. Civil and religious liberty is a
fundamental principle of Protestant-

Page 582

ism. The founders of this great land, living close to all of the events
that resulted from a union of church and state, were jealous of the
liberties that they claimed as the rights of all, and were quick to
denounce anything that savored of a union of church and state. From the
religious standpoint, therefore, the United States is a Protestant nation,
and meets the requirement of the prophecy admirably in this respect. Thus
again the prophecy points directly to this nation.

Before entering upon a discussion of another aspect of this prophetic
symbol, let us review the points already established:

The power symbolized by the two-horned beast must be some nation distinct
from the powers of the Old World.

It must arise in the Western Hemisphere.

It must be seen assuming a position of prominence and influence about the
year 1798.

It must rise in a peaceful and quiet manner, not augmenting its power and
expanding its territory, as other nations have done, by aggressive wars and
successful conquests.

Its progress must be so evident as to strike the beholder with as much
wonder as would be the perceptible growth of an animal before his eyes.

It must be republican in its form of government.

It must be Protestant in its religion.

It must exhibit before the world, as an index of its character and the
elements of its government, two great principles which are in themselves
perfectly just, innocent, and lamblike.

It must perform its work after 1798.

We have seen that of all these specifications, it can be said that they are
conclusively met in the history of the United States thus far; and that
they are not met in the history of any other nation. It is therefore
impossible to apply the symbol of Revelation 13: 11 to any other nation
than the United States of America.

To Speak as a Dragon.--Now that we have identified the United States of
America as the power symbolized by the two-

Page 583

horned beast, we can follow through without fear or prejudice the course
that that nation takes as marked out clearly in the prophecy itself. In
doing so, let us observe once more that the dragon as the first of the
three beasts in the chain of prophecy under consideration, was a relentless
persecutor of the church of God. The leopard beast that followed was
likewise a persecuting power, destroying the lives of millions of
Christians during a period of 1260 years. As we come to the third beast,
with two horns like a lamb, it is declared that he "spake as a dragon."
This can only mean that at some time his nature changes from that of a lamb
to that of a dragon, that he speaks as a dragon, and that he does the same
kind of work as the dragon before him.

Permit us to say at this juncture that it is with much pain that we
contemplate a nation arising so peaceably and devoted to such noble
principles of government, taking on the nature of the beasts that preceded
it, and in doing so descending to the role of persecutor of God's people.
We have no other choice, however, but to be guided in our study by the
divinely inspired outline so plainly given us in the prophecy. Since the
United States is the power denoted by the symbol that speaks as a dragon,
it follows that it will enact unjust and oppressive laws against the
religious belief and practice of its citizens so that it may be justly
called a persecuting power.

Verse 12 And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and
causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast,
whose deadly wound was healed.

To Exercise Persecuting Power.--Not only does this nation speak as a
dragon, but it is declared that he also "exerciseth all the power of the
first beast before him." Looking back a little, we find that the first
beast before him is the leopard, a symbol of the papacy. The only
conclusion that can be drawn is that a so-called Protestant nation will
exercise the persecuting power of the papacy, and thereby become
pseudo-Protestant, that is, the "false prophet" mentioned in Revelation 19:
20, and explained under the next topic.

Page 584

The exercise of this power takes the form of causing the people in his
jurisdiction "to worship the first beast," the papacy. The Greek word for
"worship" used here is a very significant one. It is from the simple verb
{GREEK CHARACTERS IN PRINTED TEXT}, kuneo, "I kiss," compounded with a
preposition to indicate that the kiss is directed toward someone--in this
case the papacy, or its titular head the pope. It is ordinarily translated
"do obeisance to, bow down to," and is used by the Septuagint in
Nebuchadnezzar's decree to all "people, nations, and languages" to "fall
down and worship the golden image" he had set up in the plain of Dura.
Daniel 3: 4, 5. Such "worship" must mean to submit to the authority and
decree of the one to whom obeisance is made. This is the picture given in
the prophecy of the "worship" given to the papacy by a so-called Protestant
people.

Verse 13 And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from
heaven on the earth in the sight of men, 14 and deceiveth them that dwell
on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the
sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they
should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did
live.

"He Doeth Great Wonders."--In that part of the prediction which sets forth
the work of the two-horned beast we read that "he doeth great wonders, so
that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of
men." In this specification we have still further proof that the United
States is the power represented by the two-horned beast. That we are living
in an age of wonders, none will deny. We would refer the reader to our
remarks on Daniel 12: 4 concerning the wonderful achievements of the
present age, and for some illustrations of the leading triumphs of
scientific and inventive skill.

But the prophecy is not fulfilled in the great advancement in knowledge, in
discoveries, and in inventions so notable at the present time. For the
wonders to which the prophet had reference are evidently wrought for the
purpose of deceiving the people, as we read in verse 14: "Deceiveth them
that dwell

Page 585

on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the
sight of the beast."

We should now ascertain by what means the miracles in question are wrought,
for Revelation 16: 13, 14 refers to "the spirits of devils working
miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole
world."

In predicting events to occur just before His second coming, the Saviour
says: "There shall arise false christs, and false prophets, and shall show
great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall
deceive the very elect." Matthew 24: 24. Here again are wonders foretold,
wrought for the purpose of deception, so powerful that were it possible
even the very elect would be deceived by them.

Thus we have a prophecy (and there are many others) setting forth the
development in the last days of a wonder-working power, manifested to a
startling and unprecedented degree to propagate falsehood and error. The
"spirits of devils" were to go forth to "the whole world," but the nation
with which this development is especially connected in Revelation 13, is
that represented by the two-horned beast, or false prophet. We must
therefore conclude that the prophecy calls for such a work as this in
America. Do we find anything like it at the present time?

There is a widespread belief and teaching current among all classes of
society, that when a man dies and his body is laid away in the grave, an
immortal "spirit" or "soul" within him does not really die, but soars away
to its place of reward or punishment. This belief naturally leads one to
ask, "If disembodied spirits are alive, why may they not communicate with
us?" There are thousands who believe that they can and do, and who claim to
have communication with departed friends.

But the Bible, in the most explicit terms, assures us that the dead are
wholly inactive and unconscious until the resurrection; that the dead know
not anything (Ecclesiastes 9: 5); that every operation of the mind has
ceased (Psalm 146: 4); that

Page 587

every emotion of the heart is suspended (Ecclesiastes 9: 6); and that there
is neither work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom in the grave, where
they lie (Ecclesiastes 9: 10). Whatever intelligence, therefore, comes
claiming to be what from the word of God we know he is not. That our dead
friends do not return to us is shown in 2 Samuel 12: 23, where David says
of his dead child, "Now he is dead, . . . I shall go to him, but he shall
not return to me." Any such intelligence that comes to us cannot be a good
angel, for angel's of God do not lie. Spirits of devils do lie, and this
has been their work ever since the first lie about dying was told by their
leader in Eden, "Ye shall not surely die," when the Lord had said plainly
to Adam, "Thou shalt surely die." Genesis 3: 4; 2: 17.

Birthplace of Spiritism.--Modern spiritism also answers to the prophecy in
that it had its origin in the United States, thus connecting its wonders
with the work of the two-horned beast. Beginning in Hydesville, New York,
in the family of John D. Fox in the latter part of March, 1848, it spread
with incredible rapidity through all the world.

Much excitement was caused by these supposed revelations, and some rather
prominent persons undertook to investigate the "rapping delusion," as it
was commonly called. From that time onward, spiritism has remained a force
in the modern world; and it is a force which has steadily grown. It is
difficult to determine the number of its adherents, because so many who
believe and practice its teachings regard themselves as belonging to no
denomination at all; yet on the other hand many retain their membership in
a non-spiritist denominational group while nevertheless attempting
communication with the dead. It has been estimated that there are
16,000,000 spiritists in North America; and in the world--including those
heathen religions in which spiritism plays so prominent a part--doubtless
hundreds of millions.

As Sir Arthur Conan Doyle remarked some years ago: "The lowly
manifestations of Hydesville have ripened into

Page 588

results which have engaged the finest group of intellects in this country
during the last twenty years, and which are destined, in my opinion, to
bring about far the greatest development of human experience which the
world has ever seen." [12] "If such a view of Christianity were generally
accepted, and if it were enforced by assurance and demonstration from the
New Revelation which is, as I believe, coming to us from the other side,
then I think we should have a creed which might unite the churches, which
might be reconciled to science, which might defy all attacks, and which
might carry the Christian faith on for an indefinite period." [13]

Teachings of Spiritism.--But the doctrines which spiritists teach are
certainly not in harmony with the word of God. As to their attitude toward
the Bible, notice the following paragraph:

"We have no desire to hide the plain fact that there is much in some parts
of the Bible which does not amalgamate with our teaching, being, indeed,
the admixture of human error which came through the mind of the chosen
medium." [14] "In no case are the books as they now stand the work of their
reputed author. They are the compilation of Ezra and his scribes, and do
but embody the conceptions and legends of the period. . . . We mention this
to avoid at once the necessity of replying to any texts from these book
which may be quoted as an argument." [15]

As to the relation of spiritists to Christ and His atoning work, observe
the following significant remark:

"They [the spirits] also testify that Jesus Christ has nothing to do with
the question of life and death, and they know nothing about the 'mediation
of our Saviour Jesus Christ.' " [16]

Page 589

Believers in spiritism have no place, either, for the second advent of our
Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ:

"Jesus Christ is now arranging His plans for the gathering of His people,
for the further revelation of the truth, as well as for the purging away of
the erroneous beliefs which have accumulated in the past. I have heard
something of this from other sources. Is this then the return of Christ? It
is the spiritual return. There will be no such physical return as man has
dreamed of. This will be the return to His people, by the voice of His
messengers speaking to those whose ears are open." [17]

Phenomena of Spiritism.--How significant are these words! Centuries ago the
seer of Patmos declared that in this country would arise a power that
"doeth great wonders," and, lo, spiritism appears claiming to do these very
things.

Spiritism answers accurately to the prophecy in the exhibition of great
signs and wonders. Among its achievements the following may be noted:
Various articles have been transported from place to place by spirits.
Beautiful music has been produced independent of human agency, with and
without the aid of visible instruments. Many well-attested cases of healing
have been presented. Persons have been carried through the air by spirits
in the presence of spectators. Tables have been suspended in the air with
several persons upon them. Spirits also have presented themselves in bodily
form and talked with audible voices.

The power represented in this prophecy is to make "fire come down from
heaven on the earth in the sight of men." But this as well as other
manifestations of its power are for the purpose of deceiving "them that
dwell on the earth." The miracles that are wrought are by "the spirits of
devils." Revelation 16: 14. And many are the warnings in the word of God
against making contact with evil spirits. In the days of the early church
solemn warnings were given to the church

Page 590

of God: "Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some
shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines
of devils." 1 Timothy 4: 1. God's counsel to His people in these last days
is, "When they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar
spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people
seek unto their God? For the living to the dead? To the law and to the
testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is
no light in them." Isaiah 8: 19, 20.

Verse 15 And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that
the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would
not worship the image of the beast should be killed. 16 And he causeth all,
both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in
their right hand, or in their foreheads: 17 and that no man might buy or
sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of
his name.

Makes an Image to the Beast.--Closely associated with this working of
miracles is the erection of an image to the beast. The prophet thus
connects the two in verse 14: "And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth
by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the
beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an
image to the beast which had the wound by a sword, and did live." The
deception accomplished by the working of the miracles prepares the way for
compliance with this demand for the formation of an image to the beast.

To understand what would constitute an image of the papal beast, we must
first gain some definite idea of what constitutes the papacy itself. The
full development of the beast, or the establishment of papal supremacy,
dates from the famous letter of Justinian, which was made effective in A.D.
538, constituting the pope the head of the church and the corrector of
heretics. The papacy was a church clothed with civil power--an
ecclesiastical body having authority to punish all dissenters with
confiscation of goods, imprisonment, torture, and death. What would be an
image of the papacy?--Another

Page 591

ecclesiastical establishment clothed with civil power, in other words, a
union of church and state. How could such an image be formed in the United
States? Let the Protestant churches be clothed with power to define and
punish heresy, to enforce their dogmas under the pains and penalties of the
civil law, and should we not have an exact representation of the papacy
during the days of its supremacy?

To be sure we would. But is such an eventuality possible in a country whose
foundation stones are civil and religious liberty, and where every man's
right to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" has gone
unchallenged throughout the years? Let us examine the evidence.

Nation Founded on Liberty.--The hand of God wrought with the noble and
God-fearing men who laid so well the foundations of the new nation. Said
the Hon. Henry D. Estabrook, speaking before the Connecticut Bar
Association: "On this great continent, which God had kept hidden in a
little world--here, with a new heaven and a new earth, where former things
had passed away, the people of many nations, of various needs and creeds,
but united in heart and soul and mind for the single purpose, builded an
altar to Liberty, the first ever built or that ever could be built, and
called it--The Constitution of the United States." [18]

This was in the year 1787. The prophet saw the lamblike beast coming up out
of the earth about 1798--surely this is no mere coincidence. George
Washington, the first President of the United States, in his inaugural
address said:

"No people can be bound to acknowledge and adore the Invisible Hand which
conducts the affairs of men more than the people of the United States.
Every step by which they have advanced to the character of an independent
nation, seems to have been distinguished by some token of providential
agency." [19]

Page 592

In their reply to this notable address the Senate declared: "When we
contemplate the coincidence of circumstances, and wonderful combination of
causes, which gradually prepared the people of this country for
independence; when we contemplate the rise, progress, and termination of
the late war, which gave them a name among the nations of the earth; we
are, with you, unavoidably led to acknowledge and adore the great Arbiter
of the universe, by whom empires rise and fall." [20]

Struggle Against Religious Tyranny.--These were not only godly men, but
they were wise and farseeing men. When certain religious groups made appeal
that "explicit acknowledgment of the true God and Jesus Christ" be made in
the Constitution, their request was denied. In writing of this incident,
Thomas Jefferson said: "The insertion was rejected by a great majority, in
proof that they meant to comprehend within the mantle of its protection the
Jew and the Gentile, the Christian and Mahometan, the Hindoo, and Infidel
of every denomination." [21]

The House Judiciary Committee, February 18, 1874, in reply to a similar
petition, reported: "As this country, the foundation of whose government
they were then laying, was to be the home of the oppressed of all nations
of the earth, whether Christian or pagan, and in full realization of the
dangers which the union between church and state had imposed upon so many
nations of the Old World, with great unanimity [they agreed] that it was
inexpedient to put anything into the Constitution or frame of government
which might be construed to be a reference to any religious creed or
doctrine." [22]

History attests the fact that these great men who laid the foundation
stones upon which the United States was erected looked forward with almost
prophetic vision to the dangers to

Page 593

personal liberty which some day would confront the country. Their fears
were well expressed by Thomas Jefferson: "The spirit of the times may
alter, will alter. Our rulers will become corrupt, our people careless. A
single zealot may commence persecution, and better men be his victims. It
can never be too often repeated, that the time for fixing every essential
right on a legal basis, is while our rulers are honest and ourselves
united. From the conclusion of this war we shall be going downhill. It will
not then be necessary to resort every moment to the people for support.
They will be forgotten, therefore, and their rights disregarded. They will
forget themselves, but in the sole faculty of making money, and will never
think of uniting to effect a due respect for their rights. The shackles,
therefore, which shall not be knocked off at the conclusion of this war,
will remain on us long, will be made heavier and heavier, till our rights
shall revive or expire in a convulsion." [23]

On the Fourth of July, 1788, an address was delivered by Justice James
Wilson, in which he pointed out how the enemies of liberty were already
working. He said: "The enemies of liberty are artful and insidious. A
counterfeit steals her dress, imitates her manner, forges her signature,
assumes her name. But the real name of the deceiver is licentiousness. Such
is her effrontery, that she will charge liberty to her face with imposture;
and she will, with shameless front, insist that herself alone is the
genuine character, and that herself alone is entitled to the respect which
the genuine character deserves. With the giddy and undiscerning, on whom a
deeper impression is made by dauntless impudence than by modest merit, her
pretentions are often successful. She receives the honors of liberty, and
liberty herself is treated as a traitor and a usurper. Generally, however,
this bold impostor acts only a secondary part. Though she alone appear upon
the stage, her motions are regulated by dark ambition, who sits concealed

Page 594

behind the curtain, and who knows that despotism, his other favorite, can
always follow the success of licentiousness. Against these enemies of
liberty, who act in concert, though they appear on opposite side, the
patriot citizen will keep a watchful guard." [24]

Threatened With Ecclesiastical Domination.--Let it be noted that in the
panorama of coming events which passed before the prophet John, he
witnessed this same amazing change in the nature of the two-horned beast.
It eventually began to speak "as a dragon" and to control the worship of
its people, "saying to them that dwell upon the earth, that they should
make an image to the beast."

The beast "which had the wound by a sword, and did live," is the papacy.
This was a church dominating the civil power. In other words, it was a
union of church and state, and enforced its religious dogmas by the civil
power, under pain of confiscation of goods, imprisonment, and death. An
image to this beast would be another ecclesiastical organization clothed
with civil power--another union of church and state--to enforce religious
dogmas by law.

Evidence that such an image will be formed is seen in the fact already
large and influential organizations, such as the National Reform
Association, the International Reform Bureau, the Lord's Day Alliance of
Christ in America, have been formed, by professed Protestants, and for
years have been persistently working to the end of establishing and
enforcing religious standards by law. Also Roman Catholic societies in the
United States, in harmony with their tradition for centuries, are looking
to a like end. Ultimately these two forces are destined to join hands in a
common effort.

The avowed object of the National Reform Association is "to secure such an
amendment to the Constitution of the United States as will . . . indicate
that this is a Christian

Page 595

nation, and place all the Christian laws, institutions, and usages of our
government on an undeniably legal basis in the fundamental law of the
land." [25]

Upon the question of making this a "Christian nation," Bishop Earl
Cranston, D. D., of the Methodist Episcopal Church, in an address delivered
in Foundry Methodist Church, Washington, D.C., March 13, 1910, made the
following observation:

"Suppose this were to be declared a Christian nation by a Constitutional
interpretation to that effect. What would that mean? Which of the two
contending definitions of Christianity would the word 'Christian'
indicate?-- The Protestant idea, of course, for under our system majorities
rule, and the majority of Americans are Protestants. Very well, but suppose
that by addition of certain contiguous territory with twelve or more
million Roman Catholics, the annexation of a few more islands with half as
many more, and the same rate of immigration as now, the majority some years
hence should be Roman Catholics, --who doubts for a moment that the
reigning Pope would assume control of legislation and government? He would
say, with all confidence and consistency, 'This is a Christian nation. It
was so claimed from the beginning and so declared many years ago. A
majority defined then what Christianity was, the majority will define now
what Christianity now is and is to be.' That 'majority' would be the Pope."
[26]

This association, organized for so-called "National Reform," has no
compunctions about uniting with the papacy to bring about its design to
establish a national religion. It declares: "We cordially, gladly,
recognize the fact that in the South American Republics, and in France and
other European countries, the Roman Catholics are the recognized advocates
of national Christianity, and stand opposed to all the

Page 597

proposals of secularism. . . . Whenever they are willing to co-operate in
resisting the progress of political atheism, will gladly join hands with
them. In a world's conference for the promotion of national
Christianity--which ought to be held at no distant day--many countries
could be represented only by Roman Catholics." [27]

Shall we notice the avowed objective of the other organizations?

In a History of the International Reform Bureau the society in a
self-appraisal declares, "The Reform Bureau is the first 'Christian lobby'
established at our National Capital to speak to government in behalf of all
denominations." [28]

On pages 61 and 65 of the foregoing work it is stated that the securing of
compulsory Sunday legislation is one of the chief objects of this and other
like organizations.

Speaking before the United States Senate Judiciary Committee against the
Supreme Court bill, Professor Theodore Graebner, of Concordia College, St.
Louis, made this interesting observation:

"Some 50 years ago the national Reform Association sought . . . to make all
public education Christian and thereby make Jesus Christ the King of the
nation. . . . The movement persists to the present day, and is issuing an
enormous amount of literature all directed to the end of adopting a
Christian amendment." [29]

The actual objective of this organization is to force religion upon the
people by legal enactment--to secure a Sunday blue law, and to standardize
the Christianity of the people.

From a leaflet published by the Lord's Day Alliance of the United States we
learn that their objective is:

" (1) To preserve the Lord's day [Sunday] for America; (2) to secure an
active Alliance in every State not yet organ-

Page 598

ized: (3) to induce the general government as far as possible to set the
example of Sabbath observance."

By all this is meant the securing, as far as possible, of compulsory state
and national Sunday legislation--the very means by which the church gained
control of the state and by which church and state were united in the
fourth and fifth centuries of the Christian Era.

The Federal Council of Churches of Christ in America, which is by far the
most powerful and representative combination of Protestant churches in the
nation, claiming at its beginning to represent eighteen organizations and
50,000,000 communicants, in stating its reasons for existence declared:

"That the great Christian bodies of our country should stand together. . .
[in dealing with] questions like those of marriage and divorce, Sabbath
desecration, social evils," etc. [30]

In defining how they purpose to deal with Sabbath desecration, the Federal
Council declared:

"That all encroachments upon the claims and the sanctities of the Lord's
day should be stoutly resisted through the press, the Lord's day
associations and alliances, and by such legislation as may be secured to
protect and preserve this bulwark of our American Christianity." [31]

Thus it will be seen that the securing of the laws for the enforcement of
Sunday observance is a prominent feature in all these organizations in
their efforts to "Christianize" the nation. In doing this many fail to see
that they are repudiating the principles of Christianity, or Protestantism,
and of the United States Government, and playing directly into the hand of
that power which originated the Sunday sabbath, and gained control of the
civil power through Sunday legislation--the papacy.

This danger was clearly discerned by the lawmakers of the United States
more than a century ago. In 1830, certain

Page 599

memorials for prohibiting the transportation of the mails and the opening
of post offices on Sunday, which had been referred to the Congressional
Committee on Post Offices and Post Roads, came up for consideration. The
committee reported unfavorably to the petition of the memorialists. Its
report was adopted, and printed by order of the Senate of the United
States, and the committee was discharged from any further consideration of
the subject. Of the Constitution it said:

"The committee look in vain to that instrument for a delegation of power
authorizing this body to inquire and determine what part of time, or
whether any, has been set apart by the Almighty for religious exercises. .
.

"The Constitution regards the conscience of the Jew as sacred as that of
the Christian; and gives no more authority to adopt a measure affecting the
conscience of a solitary individual, than that of a whole community. That
representative who would violate this principle, would lose his delegated
character, and forfeit the confidence of his constituents. If Congress
shall declare the first day of the week holy, it will not convince the Jew
nor the Sabbatarian. It will dissatisfy both, and consequently convert
neither. . . . If a solemn act of legislation shall in one point define the
law of God, or point out to the citizen one religious duty, it may with
equal propriety proceed to define every part of divine revelation; and
enforce every religious obligation, even to the forms and ceremonies of
worship, the endowment of the church, and the support of the clergy.

"The framers of the Constitution recognized the eternal principle that
man's relation with his God is above human legislation, and his rights of
conscience inalienable." [32]

Seeking to Establish Righteousness by Law.--A thousand pities that the
religious leaders in these days are not equally sensitive to the dangers
which lurk beneath their program to make the people good by legal enactment
of religious dogmas.

Page 600

We are not unmindful of the noble service the Protestant churches have
rendered to humanity and to the world by introducing and defending the
great principles of Protestantism, by propagating the gospel, and by
championing the cause of freedom.

Let no one think that we wish to reflect in any way upon the character of
the men engaged in this enterprise. They are men of the highest moral
standing, sincerely solicitous for the welfare of the nation, and honestly
trying to check and remove the evils which are rampant in society. That
their efforts will in many ways be productive of good, no one can doubt. We
wish them all possible success in their work for the promotion of
temperance, the elimination of war, the safeguarding of youth, and other
like noble purposes. For these things all Christians are bound to work and
pray.

Why then are these good men misled into doing something against which the
Bible utters a solemn warning? The reason is that they have turned aside
from the counsel of God given them in His word, and are going about to
establish righteousness and the kingdom of God in the earth in their own
way. They have slighted the prophetic portions of the Bible, by which one
may know what stage of the conflict between the kingdom of Christ and that
of Satan has been reached in his day, and how he can co-operate with the
providence of God for the times in which he is living. They have lost touch
with their divine Leader and with the means He is using today to advance
His kingdom in the earth. They have a mistaken conception of the kingdom
which is to come, and are looking for a kingdom mixed with earthly
elements, to be set up by earthly agencies, such as the ballot,
legislation, and education.

Under such circumstances it is not surprising that they should be working
at cross-purposes with the providence of God. The mistake of failing to
heed and be guided by the instruction of God's word, is a fatal one. The
more zeal a church has when it is off the track and pursing a wrong course,
the greater will be the damage which it will do.

Page 601

The apostle Paul points to a time when men have "a form of godliness," but
would deny "the power thereof."

We greatly regret to see the Protestant church active in the fulfillment of
this prophetic picture. While the power of God is lacking, the outward
services of true Christian worship are maintained. With the loss of the
power of God the churches are turning more and more to the state to supply
what they lack. It is the testimony of all history that just in proportion
as any popular and extensive ecclesiastical organization loses the spirit
and power of God, it clamors for the support of the civil arm and finally
religion becomes a part of the state. Thus it will be in the formation of
the image of the beast, for the prophecy declares: "He had power to give
life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both
speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast
should be killed." Revelation 13: 15.

Let now an ecclesiastical organization be formed, let the government
legalize such an organization and give it power to enforce upon the people
the dogmas which the different denominations can all adopt as the basis of
union, and what do we have? Exactly what prophecy represents--an image to
the papal beast endowed with life by the two-horned beast, to speak and act
with power.

The Mark of the Beast.--The two-horned beast enforces upon its subjects the
mark of the first beast. We have now in the prophecy three agents
introduced, which we must carefully distinguish from one another to avoid
confusion.

The papal beast is the power designated as "the beast," "the first beast,"
"the beast which had the wound by a sword, and did live," and "the beast
whose deadly wound was healed." These expressions all refer to the same
power, and wherever they occur in this prophecy, they have exclusive
reference to the papacy.

The two-horned beast is the power introduced in Revelation 13: 11, and is
represented through the remainder of the prophecy by the pronoun "he."
Wherever this pronoun

Page 602

occurs, down to the seventeenth verse (with possibly the exception of the
sixteenth verse, which perhaps may refer to the image), it refers
invariably to the two-horned beast.

The image of the beast is usually called in the following chapters of
Revelation, "the image;" so there is no danger of confusing this with any
other agent. The acts ascribed to the image are speaking as a dragon and
enforcing the worship of itself under the penalty of death. This is the
only enactment which the prophecy mentions as enforced under the death
penalty.

The mark of the beast is enforced by the two-horned beast, either directly
or through the image. The penalty attached to a refusal to receive this
mark is a forfeiture of all social privileges, a deprivation of the right
to buy and sell. The mark is the mark of the papal beast. Against this
worship of the beast and his image, and the receiving of his mark, the
third angel's message of Revelation 14: 9-12 is a most solemn and thrilling
warning.

This, then, is the issue which according to this prophecy we are soon to be
called upon to meet. Human organizations, controlled and inspired by the
spirit of the dragon, are to command men to do those acts which are in
reality the worshipping of an apostate religious power and the receiving of
his mark. If they refuse to do this, they lose the rights of citizenship,
and become outlaws in the land. They must do that which constitutes the
worship of the image of the beast, or forfeit their lives. On the other
hand, God sends forth a message a little before this fearful crisis comes
upon the people, as we shall see in remarks on Revelation 14: 9-12,
declaring that all who do any of these things "shall drink of the wine of
the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of His
indignation." He who refuses to comply with these demands of earthly powers
exposes himself to the severest penalties which human beings can inflict.
He who does comply, exposes himself to the most terrible threatenings of
divine wrath to be found in the word of God. The question whether

Page 603

they will obey God or man is to be decided by the people of the present age
under the heaviest pressure, from both sides, that has ever been brought to
bear upon any generation.

The worship of the beast and his image and the receiving of his mark must
be something that involves the greatest offense that can be committed
against God, to call down so severe a denunciation of wrath against it.
This is a work, as has already been shown, which takes place in the last
days. As God has given us in His word most abundant evidence to show when
we are in the last days, that no one need be overtaken by the day of the
Lord as by a thief, so likewise He has given us the evidence whereby we may
determine what it means to receive the mark of the beast, that we may avoid
the fearful penalty so sure to follow its reception. God does not so trifle
with human hopes and human destinies as to pronounce a most fearful doom
against a certain sin, and then place it out of our power to understand
what that sin is, so that we have no means of guarding against it.

We therefore now call attention to the important inquiry, What constitutes
the mark of the beast? The figure of a mark is borrowed from an ancient
custom. Thomas Newton says:

"It was customary among the ancients for servants to receive the mark of
their master, and soldiers of their general, and those who were devoted to
any particular deity, of the particular deity to whom they were devoted.
These marks were usually impressed on their right hand or on their
forehead, and consisted of some hieroglyphic characters, or of the name
expressed in vulgar letters, or of the name disguised in numerical letters,
according to the fancy of the imposer." [33]

Prideaux [34] says that Ptolemy Philopater ordered all the Jews who applied
to be enrolled as citizens of Alexandria to have the form of an ivy leaf
(the badge of his god, Bacchus) impressed upon them with a hot iron, under
pain of death.

Page 604

The word used for mark in this prophecy is {GREEK CHARACTERS IN PRINTED
TEXT}, charagma, and is defined to mean, "a graving, sculpture; a mark cut
in or stamped." It occurs nine times in the New Testament, and with the
single exception of Acts 17: 29, refers every time to the mark of the
beast. Of course, we are not to understand in this symbolic prophecy that a
literal mark is intended, but the giving of the literal mark, as practiced
in ancient times, is used as a figure to illustrate certain acts that will
be performed in the fulfillment of this prophecy. From the literal mark as
formerly employed, we learn something of its meaning as used in the
prophecy, for between the symbol and the thing symbolized there must be
some resemblance. The mark as literally used, signified that the person
receiving it was the servant of the person whose mark he bore, acknowledged
his authority, and professed allegiance to him. So the mark of the beast,
or of the papacy, must be some act or profession by which the authority of
that power is acknowledged. What is it?

Characteristics of Papal Power.--It would naturally be looked for in some
of the special papal power. Describing that power under the symbol of a
little horn, Daniel speaks of it as waging a special warfare against God,
wearing out the saints of the Most High, and thinking to change times and
laws. The prophet expressly specifies on this point: "He shall . . . think
to change times and laws." Daniel 7: 25. These laws must certainly be the
laws of the Most High. To apply the expression to human laws, and make the
prophecy read, He shall speak great words against the Most High, and think
to change human laws, would be doing evident violence to the language of
the prophet. But apply it to the laws of God, and let it read, He shall
speak great words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of
the Most High, and shall think to change the times and laws of the Most
High, and all is consistent and forcible. For the word "law" the Hebrew has
{HEBREW CHARACTERS IN PRINTED TEXT}, dath, and the Septuagint reads, {GREEK
CHARACTERS IN PRINTED TEXT},

Page 605

nomos, in the singular, "law," which more directly suggests the law of God.
The papacy has been able to do more than merely "think" to change human
laws. It has changed them at pleasure. It has annulled the decrees of kings
and emperors, and absolved subjects from allegiance to their rightful
sovereigns. It has thrust its long arm into the affairs of nations, and
brought rulers to its feet in the most abject humility. But the prophet
beholds greater acts of presumption than these. He sees it endeavor to do
what it was not able to do, but could only think to do. He sees it attempt
an act which no man, nor any combination of men, can ever accomplish, to
change the law of the Most High. Bear this in mind while we look at the
testimony of another sacred writer on this very point.

The apostle Paul speaks of the same power in 2 Thessalonians 2. He
describes it, in the person of the pope, as "that man of sin" "sitting as
God in the temple of God" (that is, the church), and exalting himself
"above all that is called God, or that is worshiped." According to this,
the pope sets himself up as the one for all the church to look to for
authority, in the place of God.

We ask the reader to ponder carefully the question how he can exalt himself
above God. Search through the whole range of human devices, go to the
extent of human effort, and by what plan, by what move, by what claim,
could this usurper exalt himself above God? He might institute any number
of ceremonies, he might prescribe any form of worship, he might exhibit any
degree of power; but as long as God had requirements which the people felt
bound to regard in preference to his, so long he would not be above God. He
might enact a law, and teach the people that they were under as great
obligations to that as to the law of God; then he would only make himself
equal with God.

But he is to do more than this; he is to attempt to raise himself above
Him. Then he must promulgate a law which conflicts with the law of God, and
demand obedience to his own law in preference to God's law. The most
effective way in

Page 606

which he could place himself in the position assigned in the prophecy would
be for him to change the law of God. If he can cause this change to be
adopted by the people in the place of the original enactment, then he, the
law changer, puts himself above God, the lawmaker. This is the very work
that Daniel said the power represented by the little horn would think to
do.

Such a work as this the papacy will accomplish according to the prophecy,
and the prophecy cannot fail. When this is done, what do the people of the
world have? They have two laws demanding obedience--one the law of God as
originally enacted by Him, an embodiment of His will, and expressing His
claims upon His creatures; the other, a revised edition of that law,
emanating from the pope of Rome, and expressing his will. How is it to be
determined which of these powers the people honor and worship?--It is
determined by the law which they keep. If they keep the law of God as given
by Him, they worship and obey God. If they keep the law as changed by the
papacy, they worship that power.

But further, the prophecy does not say that the little horn, the papacy,
should set aside the law of God, and give one entirely different. This
would not be to change the law, but simply to give a new one. He was only
to attempt a change, so that the law that comes from God and the law that
comes from the papacy are precisely alike, excepting the change which the
papacy has made. The two laws have many points in common. But none of the
precepts which they contain in common can distinguish a person as the
worshiper of either power in preference to the other. If God's law says,
"Thou shalt not kill," and the law as given in by the papacy says the same,
no one can tell by a person's observance of that precept whether he designs
to obey God rather than the pope, or the pope rather than God. But when a
precept that has been changed is the subject of action, then whoever
observes that precept as originally given by God, is thereby distinguished
as a worshiper of God; and he who keeps it as changed is thereby

Page 607

marked as a follower of the power that made the change. In no other way can
the two classes of worshipers be distinguished.

From this conclusion, no candid mind can dissent, but in this conclusion we
have a general answer to the question, "What constitutes the mark of the
beast?" The answer is simply this: The mark of the beast is the change
which the beast has attempted to make in the law of God.

Change in the Law of God.--We now inquire what that change is. By the law
of God, we mean the moral law, the only law in the universe of immutable
and perpetual obligation. Defining the term "law" according to the sense in
which it is almost universally used in Christendom, Webster says, "The
moral law is summarily contained in the decalogue, written by the finger of
God on two tables of stone, and delivered to Moses on Mount Sinai."

In our comment on Daniel 7: 25, in regard to the prediction of the prophet
that the papacy would "think to change times and laws," we produced
evidence from the Roman Catechism based on the unquestioned authority of
the Council of Trent, and published by order of Pope Pius V by the Vatican
press in Rome, that the church changed the day of the Sabbath from the
seventh to the first day of the week. While that catechism records the full
wording of the fourth commandment as it reads in the Bible, and while it is
retained in full in the official Catholic Bible in Latin, the Vulgate, and
in its official translation into English, the Douay Bible; yet the teaching
catechisms provided for Roman Catholic priests and teachers in modern times
omit all that commandment but the first sentence, "Remember that thou keep
holy the Sabbath day." and add extended testimony that the change of the
Sabbath day from Saturday to Sunday was made on the authority of the
Catholic Church and apostolic tradition." Whatever may be said on the text
of the Catechism of the Council of Trent and that of the Roman Catholic
Bible about retaining the entire commandment as it reads in the Scripture,
nevertheless the practice of the prelates and priests is

Page 608

to teach only observance of a Sabbath institution, but locate it on the
first day of the week instead of the seventh, by the authority of the
church.

Let it be borne in mind, that, according to the prophecy, he was to think
to change times and laws. This plainly conveys the idea of intention and
design, and makes these qualities essential to the change in question. But
respecting the omission of the second commandment, Catholics argue that it
is included in the first, and hence should not be numbered as a separate
commandment; and on the tenth they claim that there is no plain a
distinction of ideas as to require two commandments; so they make the
coveting of a neighbor's wife the ninth command, and the coveting of his
goods the tenth.

In all this they claim that they are giving the commandments exactly as God
intended to have them understood; so, while we may regard them as errors in
their interpretation of the commandments, we cannot set them down as
professedly intentional changes. Not so, however, with the fourth
commandment. Respecting this commandment, they do not claim that their
version is like that given by God. They expressly claim a change here, and
also that the change has been made by the church. How these later
catechisms, with their ecclesiastical imprimatur, read, is illustrated
herewith.

Some of the simpler catechisms make no mention of a change in religious
days, but state categorically that the Sabbath commandment teaches Sunday
observance:

"Q. Say the Third Commandment.

"A. Remember that thou keep holy the Sabbath day.

"Q. What is commanded by the Third Commandment?

"A. To sanctify the Sunday." [35]

Others say that the Catholic Church changed the day of worship. In A New
Catechism of Christian Doctrine and Practice, we find the following under
the subject of the third commandment:

Page 609

"What day was the Sabbath?

"The seventh day, our Saturday.

"Do you keep the Sabbath?

"No: we keep the Lord's Day.

"Which is that?

"The first day: Sunday.

"Who changed it?

"The Catholic Church." [36]

In the well-known Baltimore catechism, we find this explanation:

"Q. What it the third Commandment?

"A. The third Commandment is: Remember thou keep holy the Sabbath day.

"Q. What are we commanded by the third Commandment?

"A. By the third Commandment we are commanded to keep holy the Lord's day.
. . .

"Q. Are the Sabbath day and the Sunday the same?

"A. The Sabbath day and the Sunday are not the same. The Sabbath day is the
seventh day of the week, and is the day which was kept holy in the old law;
the Sunday is the first day of the week, and is the day which is kept holy
in the new law.

"Q. Why does the Church command us to keep the Sunday holy instead of the
Sabbath?

"A. The Church commands us to keep the Sunday holy instead of the Sabbath
because on Sunday Christ rose from the dead, and on Sunday He sent the Holy
Ghost upon the Apostles." [37]

In The Catholic Christian Instructed we read:

"Q.--What warrant have you for keeping the Sunday preferably to the ancient
Sabbath, which was the Saturday?

"A.--We have for it the authority of the Catholic Church, and apostolic
tradition.

Page 611

"Q.--Does the Scripture anywhere command the Sunday to be kept for the
Sabbath?

"A.--The Scripture commands us to hear the church (Matt. 18: 17; Luke 10:
16), and to hold fast the traditions of the apostles (2 Thess. 2: 15), but
the Scriptures do not in particular mention this change of the Sabbath."
[38]

In A Doctrinal Catechism we find further testimony to the same point:

"Ques.--Have you any other way of proving that the church has power to
institute festivals of precept?

"Ans.--Had she not such power, she could not have done that in which all
modern religionists agree with her--she could not have substituted the
observance of Sunday, the first day of the week, for the observance of
Saturday, the seventh day, a change for which there is no Scriptural
authority." [39]

In An Abridgment of the Christian Doctrine we find this testimony:

"Q.--How prove you that the church hath power to command feast and holy
days?

"A.--By the very act of changing the Sabbath into Sunday, which Protestants
allow of; and therefore they fondly contradict themselves by keeping Sunday
strictly, and breaking most other feasts commanded by the same church.

"Q.--How prove you that?

"A.--Because by keeping Sunday they acknowledge the church's power to
ordain feasts, and to command them under sin." [40]

In The Catechism Simply Explained, are these questions and answers:

"What is the third commandment?

"The third commandment is, 'Remember that thou keep holy the Sabbath day.'

"What are we commanded by the third commandment?

Page 612

"By the third commandment we are commanded to keep the Sunday holy.

"The Jew's Sabbath Day was the Saturday; we Christians keep the Sunday
holy. The Church, by the power our Lord gave her, changed the observance of
the Saturday to the Sunday." [41]

This is what the papal power claims to have done respecting the fourth
commandment. Catholics plainly acknowledge that there is no Scriptural
authority for the change they have made, but that it rests wholly upon the
authority of the church. They claim as a token, or mark, or the authority
of that church the "very act of changing the Sabbath into Sunday," and set
it forth as proof of its power in this respect.

"But," says one, "I supposed that Christ changed the Sabbath." A great many
suppose so, for they have been so taught. We would remind such persons,
however, that according to the prophecy the only change ever to be made in
the law of God, was to be made by the little horn of Daniel 7, the man of
sin of 2 Thessalonians 2; and that the only change that has been made in it
is the change of the Sabbath. Now, if Christ made this change, He filled
the office of the blasphemous power spoken of by both Daniel and Paul--a
conclusion that is repulsive to any Christian.

Why should anyone labor to prove that Christ changed the Sabbath? Whoever
does this is performing a thankless task. The pope will not thank him; for
if it is proved that Christ wrought this change, then the pope is robbed of
his badge of authority and power. No truly enlightened Protestant will
thank him; for if he succeeds, he only shows that the papacy has not done
the work which it was predicted it should do, that the prophecy has failed,
and that Scriptures are unreliable. The matter would better stand as the
prophecy has it, and the claim which the pope unwittingly puts forth better
be granted.

Page 613

When a person is charged with any work, and that person steps forth and
confesses that he has done the work, that is usually considered sufficient
to settle the matter. So, when the prophecy affirms that a certain power
shall change the law of God, and in due time that very power arises, does
the work foretold, and then openly claims that he has done it, what need
have we of further evidence? The world should not forget that the great
apostasy foretold by Paul has taken place; that the man of sin for long
ages held almost a monopoly of Christian teaching in the world; that the
mystery of iniquity has cast the darkness of its shadow and the errors of
its doctrines over almost all Christendom; and that out of this era of
error and darkness and corruption, the the theology of our day has come.
Would it, then, be strange if there were yet some relics of popery to be
discarded before the Reformation will be complete? Alexander Campbell,
founder of the Disciples of Christ church, speaking of the different
Protestant sects, says:

"All of them retain in their bosom, in their ecclesiastical organizations,
worship, doctrines, and observances, various relics of popery. They are at
best a reformation of popery, and only reformations in part. The doctrines
and traditions of men yet impair the power and progress of the gospel in
their hands." [42]

The nature of the change which the little horn has attempted to effect in
the law of God is worthy of notice. True to his purpose to exalt himself
above God, he undertakes to change that commandment which, among them all,
is the fundamental commandment of the law, the one which makes known who
the lawgiver is, and contains his signature of royalty. The fourth
commandment does this; no other one does. Four others, it is true, contain
the word God, and three of them the word Lord, also. But who is this Lord
God of whom they speak? Without the fourth commandment it is impossible to
tell, for idolaters of every grade apply these terms to the

Page 614

multitudinous objects of their adoration. With the fourth commandment to
point out the Author of the decalogue, the claims of every false god are
annulled at one stroke. The God who here demands our worship is not any
created being, but the One who created all things. The Maker of the earth
and the sea, the sun and the moon, and all the starry host, the Upholder
and Governor of the universe, is the One who claims, and who from His
position has a right to claim, our supreme regard in preference to every
other object. The commandment which makes known these facts is therefore
the very one we might suppose that power which designed to exalt itself
above God, would undertake to change. God gave the Sabbath as as a weekly
reminder of Himself, and as a memorial of His work in creating the heavens
and the earth, a great barrier against heathenism and idolatry. It is the
signature and seal of the law. This the papacy in its teaching and practice
has removed from its place, and has substituted another institution, which
the church sets forth as the sign of its authority.

Issue Is Between Sabbath and Sunday.--This change of the fourth commandment
must therefore be the change to which the prophecy points, and the Sunday
sabbath must be the mark of the beast! Some who have long been taught to
regard this institution with reverence will perhaps start back with little
less than feelings of horror at this conclusion. We have not space, nor is
this perhaps the place, to enter into an extended argument on the Sabbath
question, and an exposition of the origin and nature of the observance of
the first day of the week. Let us submit this one proposition: If the
seventh day is still the Sabbath enjoined in the fourth commandment; if the
observance of the first day of the week has no foundation whatever in the
Scriptures; if this observance has been brought in as a Christian
institution, and designedly put in place of the Sabbath of the decalogue by
that power which is symbolized by the beast, and placed there as a badge
and token of its power to legislate for the church--is not the change from
Sab-

Page 615

bath to Sunday inevitably the mark of the beast? The answer must be in the
affirmative. They hypotheses just set forth are all certainties.

Who Receives the Mark of the Beast?--It will be said again, Then all
Sundaykeepers have the mark of the beast; then all the good of past ages
who kept this day had the mark of the beast; then Luther, Whitefield, the
Wesleys, and all who have done a good and noble work of reformation, had
the mark of the beast; then all the blessings that have been poured upon
the reformed churches have been poured upon those who had the mark of the
beast; and all Christians of the present day who are keeping Sunday as the
Sabbath, have the mark of the beast. We answer, Not so! We are sorry to say
that some professedly religious teachers, though many times corrected,
persist in misrepresenting us on this point. We have never so held; we have
never so taught. Our premises lead no such conclusions.

Please give close attention. The mark and the worship of the beast are
enforced by the two-horned beast. The receiving of the mark of the beast is
a specific act which the two-horned beast is to cause to be done. The third
angel's message of Revelation 14 is a warning mercifully sent out in
advance to prepare the people for the coming danger. There can therefore be
no worship of the beast, nor receiving of his mark such as prophecy
contemplates, until it is enforced by the two-horned beast, and knowingly
accepted by the individual. We have seen that intention was essential to
the change which the papacy has made in the law of God, to constitute it
the mark of that power; so intention is necessary in the adoption of that
change by the individual, to constitute it the receiving of that mark. In
other words, a person must adopt the change knowing it to be the work of
the beast, and receive it on the authority of that power in opposition to
the requirement of God, before it can be said that he has received the mark
of the beast.

But how is it with those mentioned above, who have kept Sunday in the past,
and the majority of those who are keeping

Page 616

it today? Do they keep it as an institution of the papacy?--No. Have they
decided between this and the Sabbath of our Lord, understanding the claims
of each?--No. On what ground have they kept it, and on what do they still
keep it?--They suppose they are keeping a commandment of God. Have such the
mark of the beast?--By no means. Their course is attributable to an error
unwittingly received from the Church of Rome, not to an act of worship
intentionally rendered to it.

But how is it to be in the future? The church which is to be prepared for
the second coming of Christ must be entirely free from papal errors and
corruptions. A reform must hence be made on the Sabbath question. The third
angel of Revelation 14 proclaims the commandments of God, leading men to
the true Sabbath in the place of the counterfeit. The dragon is stirred,
and so controls the wicked governments of the earth that all the authority
of human power shall be exerted to enforce the claims of the man of sin.
Then the issue is fairly before the people. They are required by the law of
God to keep the true Sabbath; they are required by the law of God to keep
the true Sabbath; they are required by the law of the Catholic Church, or
the pseudo-Protestant church, and of the land to keep the counterfeit
sabbath. For refusing to keep the true, the message threatens the unmingled
wrath of God; for refusing the false, earthly governments threaten them
with persecution and death. With this issue before the people, what does he
do who yields to the human requirement? He virtually says to God, I know
your claims, but I will not heed them. I know that the power I am required
to worship is unchristian, but I yield to it to save my life. I renounce
your allegiance, and bow to the usurper. The beast is henceforth the object
of my adoration; under his banner, in opposition to your authority, I
henceforth array myself; to him, in defiance of your claims, I henceforth
yield the obedience of my heart and life.

Such is the spirit which will actuate the hearts of the beast worshipers--a
spirit which insults the God of the universe to His face, and is prevented
only by lack of power from over-

Page 617

throwing His government and annihilating His throne. Is it any wonder that
Jehovah pronounces against so Heaven-daring a course the most terrible
threatening that His word contains?

The Closing Work.--We have now seen what would properly constitute an image
to the beast, such as the two-horned beast is to make, and also the
prospect that such an image will sometime be set up in the United States of
America. We have also learned what constitutes the mark of the beast, which
is to be enforced upon all the people. An ecclesiastical organization
composed of different sects in the land, in coalition with Roman
Catholicism, by the promulgation and enforcement of a civil Sunday-sabbath
law, would fulfill what the prophecy sets forth in reference to the image
and the mark of the beast. These movements, or their exact equivalent, are
called for by the prophecy. The line of evidence leading to these
conclusions is so direct and well defined that there is no avoiding them.
They are a clear and logical sequence from the premises given us.

When the application of Revelation 13: 11-17 to America was first made, as
early as the year 1850, these positions were taken respecting a union of
the churches and a Sunday-law movement. At that time no sign appeared that
such an issue would ever arise. But there was prophecy. The United States
had given abundant evidence by its location, the time of its rise, the
manner of its rise, and its apparent character, that it was the power
symbolized by the two-horned beast. There could be no mistake in the
conclusion that it was the very nation intended by that symbol. But here
were predictions indicating a union of church and state, and the
enforcement of the papal sabbath as a mark of the beast. It was no small
act of faith to take the position at that time that the United States would
pursue such a policy without any apparent probability it would do so.

The founders of the American Republic, in drafting its organic laws, never
intended that any trouble should arise

Page 618

over a question of conscience. The Federal Constitution and most of the
State constitutions have provisions guaranteeing the fullest religious
liberty. But the development of the Sunday-law movement since 1850 amply
demonstrates that the prophecy can be fulfilled in spite of the safeguards
against intolerance erected by the founding fathers.

Just how the tyranny over the souls and bodies of men is to be developed is
not specified in the prophecy. It may come by one man or a set of
men--political, religious, or otherwise. But it controls all--small and
great. It governs finances, for rich and poor feel its grip. It rules
economics, for no one can buy or sell without its permission and mark. It
dictates religion, for it forces all, under penalty of death, to worship
according to its laws.

It is naturally repugnant to the American mind to think that religious
persecution might mar the fair record of the nation founded on liberty at
all. But during the entire history of the country, from its very founding,
farseeing statesmen have recognized that the tendency to enforce religious
dogmas by civil law is all too common with mankind, and is liable to break
out in active persecution in unexpected places.

To the honor of the nation, it should be said that throughout its history
noble statesmen have largely held in check the tendency which the founders
foresaw working in the body politic. But no American can shut his eyes to
the fact that paralleling these noble efforts, zealous but misguided
religious leaders have attempted the civil enforcement of religious usages.

The prophecy predicts that a period of persecution will come. The
two-horned beast causes all to receive a mark, and all who will not worship
the image to be killed; that is, he wills, purposes, and endeavors to do
this. He makes such an enactment, passes such a law. But it does not follow
that all, and we do not think even many, will be put to death. God will
interpose in behalf of His people. Those who have kept the word of Christ's
patience will be kept from falling in this

Page 619

hour of temptation. (Revelation 3: 10.) Those who have made God their
refuge will be kept from all evil. (Psalm 91: 9, 10.) All who are found
written in the book will be delivered. (Daniel 12: 1.) As victors over the
beast and his image, they will be redeemed from among men, and raise a song
of triumph before the throne of God. (Revelation 14: 2-4.)

Verse 18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number
of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is six hundred
threescore and six.

The Number of His Name.--The number of the beast, says the prophecy, "is
the number of a man." If it is to be derived from a name or title, the
natural conclusion would be that it must be the name or title of some
particular or representative man. The most plausible expression we have
seen suggested as containing the number of the beast, is one of the titles
applied to the pope of Rome. That title is this: Vicarius Filii Dei,
"Vicegerent of the Son of God." It is worthy of note that the Douay Version
of the Bible has the following comment on Revelation 13: 18: "The numeral
letters of his name shall make up this number." Taking the letters out of
this title which are used as Roman numerals, we have V, 5; I, 1; C, 100; I,
1; U (formerly the same as V), 5; I, 1; L, 50; I, 1; I, 1; D, 500; I, 1.
Adding these numbers together we have 666.

It has been argued that the title of the popes should be reckoned according
to the Greek gematria, since John wrote in Greek, but since the title
appears in Latin, and Latin is the official language of the Church of Rome
and the language of its adopted Bible, the Vulgate, such a procedure would
destroy the numerical value of that title in its own language. It would
seem reasonable that a Latin title should exhibit its Latin numerical
values rather than Greek values.

As to the practice of representing names by numbers we read: "It was a
method practiced among the ancients, to denote names by numbers." [43]

Page 620

"Representing numbers by letters of the alphabet gave rise to a practice
among the ancients of representing names also by numbers. Examples of this
kind abound in the writings of heathens, Jews, and Christians." [44]

"It was a method practiced among the ancients, to denote names by numbers:
as the name of Thouth or the Egyptian Mercury was signified by the number
1218. . . . It hath been the usual method in all God's dispensations, for
the Holy Spirit to accommodate His expressions to the customs, fashions,
and manners of the several ages. since then this art and mystery of numbers
was so much used among the ancients, it is less wonderful that the beast
also should have his number, and his number is 666." [45]

This title, Vicarius Filii Dei, or some equivalent form of it, has appeared
so frequently in Roman Catholic literature and rituals for centuries, that
it scarcely seems necessary to add other proof of its validity and
importance. Some of the variations of the title are: Vicar of Christ, Vicar
of Jesus Christ, Vicar of God. A quotation from the noted Cardinal Manning
illustrates these various forms of the same title:

"So in like manner they say now, "See this Catholic Church, this Church of
God, feeble and weak, rejected even by the very nations called Catholics.
There is Catholic France, and Catholic Germany, and Catholic Italy, giving
up this exploded figment of the temporal power of the Vicar of Jesus
Christ,' And so, because the Church seems weak, and the Vicar of the Son of
God is renewing the Passion of his Master upon earth, therefore we are
scandalized, therefore we turn our faces from him." [46] (Italic ours.)

Several other variations of this title are used elsewhere in the same book.

On the importance of the pope's position as indicated by the title under
consideration, or its equivalents, we quote from

Page 621

J. A. Wylie, in his comment on the Apology of Ennodius written in defense
of Pope Symmachus:

"We find the council [of Rome, A.D. 502 or 503] convoked by Theodoric
demurring to investigate the charges alleged against Pope Symmachus, on the
grounds set forth by his apologist Ennodius, which were, 'that the Pope, as
God's Vicar, was the judge of all, and could himself be judged by no one.'
'In this apology,' remarks Mosheim, 'the reader will perceive that the
foundations of that enormous power which the popes of Rome afterwards
acquired were now laid.' " [47]

In recent years, the validity of this title has been questioned, but
historical evidence remains that this arrogated title has served to support
the authority of the popes in building up their vast temporal supremacy
during the heyday of Romanism in medieval times, and in maintaining their
spiritual authority to this day.

The particular title Vicarius Filii Dei appeared as early as 752-774 in a
document historically known as the "Donation of Constantine." Though this
document was later proved to have been written by someone else and signed
with the name of Constantine the Great to give it the weight of his
authority--a practice not uncommon in medieval times--yet this so-called
Donation of Constantine was used as valid by at least nine of the popes
over a period of seven centuries or more in establishing the spiritual and
temporal supremacy of the bishops of Rome.

The title itself was obviously an invention to designate the office of
Peter as the first pope in harmony with the widely known claim of the Roman
Catholic Church that the words of Jesus in Matthew 16: 18, 19, conferred
upon Peter the first bishopric of the church--a view which Protestants have
never allowed-- and that this bishopric descended to his successors in the
papal seat, as stated in the Donation of Constantine and maintained by the
church to this day. [48]

Page 622

The document employing the title was confirmed by a church council, says
Binius, a high Roman Catholic dignitary of Cologne, quoted by Labbe and
Cossart. [49] It was incorporated in Roman Catholic canon law by Gratian,
and when this last-named work was revised and published, with endorsement
by Pope Gregory XIII, the title was retained. [50] When Lucius Ferraris
wrote his elaborate theological work about 1755, he gave under the article
"Papa" the title Vicarius Filii Dei, and cited the revised canon law as his
authority. Again when Ferraris's work was revised and enlarged, and
published in Rome in 1890, the document and title were still retained. [51]

Of Ferraris's theological work just cited, the Catholic Encylopedia says
that it "will ever remain a precious mine of information." [52]

We quote herewith from the Latin of the Donation of Constantine, confirmed
by a church council, incorporated in Roman Catholic canon law, and cited by
Ferraris:

"Ut sicut Beatus Petrus in terris Vicarius Filii Dei fuit constitutus, ita
et Pontifices eius successores in terris principatus postestatem amplius,
quam terrenae imperialis nostrae serenitatis mansuetudo habere videtur."
[53]

Christopher Coleman translates this paragraph from the Canon law of Gratian
as follows:

"As the blessed Peter is seen to have been constituted Vicar of the Son of
God on the earth, so the pontiffs who are the representatives of that same
chief of the apostles, should obtain from us and our empire the power of a

A freer translation by Edwin Lee Johnson, professor of Latin and Greek,
Vanderbilt University, reads: "Just as the

Page 623

Blessed Peter was appointed on earth vicar of the Son of God, so also it
seems that the Pontiffs, his successors, hold on earth the power of the
chief rule rather than (that) His Excellency, His Imperial Serene Highness
on earth, (should hold it)."

Thus closes Revelation 13, leaving the people of God with the powers of
earth in deadly array against them and the decrees of death and banishment
from society upon them for their adherence to the commandments of God.
Spiritism will be, at the time specified, performing its most imposing
wonders, deceiving all the world except the elect. (Matthew 24: 24; 2
Thessalonians 2: 8-12.) This will be the "hour of temptation," or trial,
which is to come, as the closing test, upon all the world, to try them that
dwell upon the earth, as mentioned in Revelation 3: 10. What is the issue
of this conflict? This important inquiry is not left unanswered. The first
five verses of the following chapter complete the chain of this prophecy,
and reveal the glorious triumph of the champions of the truth.

[1] See Archibald Bower, History of the Popes, Vol. III, pp. 409-420;
George Croly, The Apocalypse of St. John, p. 251.

[2] Alphonsus de Liguori, Dignity and Duties of the Priest, pp. 34-36.

[3] Ibid., pp. 26, 27.

[4] Ibid., pp. 32, 33.

[5] Quoted by Hon. Charles Sumner, "Prophetic Voices About America,"
Atlantic Monthly, September, 1867, p. 290

[6] George Alfred Townsend, The New World Compared With the Old, p. 635.

[7] John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the New Testament, p. 735, comment
on Revelation 13: 11.

[8] George Alfred Townsend, The New World Compared With the Old, p. 635.

[9] Edward Everett, "Oration Delivered at Plymouth, December 22, 1824,"
Orations and Speeches, p. 42.

[10] W. Carlos Martyn, The Pilgrim Fathers, p. 89.

[11] "The People and Progress of the United States," The United States
Magazine, Vol. II, August, 1855, p. 71.

[12] Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, "The New Revelation," Metropolitan, January,
1918, p. 69.

[13] Ibid., p. 75.

[14] William Stainton Moses, Spirit Teachings, p. 74.

[15] Ibid., p. 189.

[16] James A. Findlay, in The Rock of Truth, p. 288.

[17] William Stainton Moses, Spirit Teachings, pp. 150, 151.

[18] State Bar Association of Connecticut, Annual Report 1916, p. 73.

[19] Annals of Congress, Vol. I, p. 28.

[20] Ibid., p. 32.

[21] The Writings of Thomas Jefferson, Vol. I, p. 45.

[22] U. S. House Reports, 43d Congress, 1st Session, No. 143.

[23] "Notes on Virginia," Query 17, The Writings of Thomas Jefferson, Vol.
VIII, p. 402.

[24] The Works of the Honourable James Wilson, Vol. III, p. 307.

[25] David McAllister, The National Reform Movement, Its History and
Principles, p. 16, Constitution of the National Reform Association, Art.
II.

[26] The Church and the Government, p. 7.

[27] Christian Statesman, December 11, 1884, p. 2.

[28] History of the International Reform Bureau, p. 2.

[29] U. S. Senate Judiciary Committee Hearings, Reorganization of the
Federal Judiciary, Part 3, p. 681.

[30] Federal Council of the Churches of Christ in America, Report of the
First Meeting of the Federal Council, Philadelphia, 1908, pp. 5, 6.

[31] Ibid., p. 103.

[32] "Sunday Mail," U. S. House Reports, Vol. II, No. 271, pp. 1-4.

[33] Thomas Newton, Dissertations on the Prophecies, Vol. II, p. 296.

[34] Humphrey Prideaux, The Old and New Testament Connected in the History
of the Jews, Vol. II, pp. 78, 79.

[35] James Butler's Catechism, p. 34.

[36] James Bellord, A New Catechism of Christian Doctrine and Practice, pp.
86, 87.

[37] A Catechism of Christian Doctrine, No. 2, Prepared and Enjoined by
Order of the Third Plenary Council of Baltimore, p. 65.

[38] Richard Challoner, The Catholic Christian Instructed, p. 202.

[39] Stephen Keenan, A Doctrinal Catechism, p. 174.

[40] Henry Tuberville, An Abridgment of the Christian Doctrine, p. 58.

[41] H. Canon Cafferata, The Catechism Simply Explained, p. 89.

[42] Alexander Campbell, Christian Baptism, p. 15.

[43] Matthew Henry, Commentary, Vol. III, p. 1065, note on Revelation 13:
18.

[44] Adam Clarke, Commentary on the New Testament, Vol. II, p. 1025, note
on Revelation 13: 18.

[45] Thomas Newton, Dissertations on the Prophecies, Vol. II, p. 298, 299.

[46] Cardinal Manning, The Temporal Power of the Year of the Vicar of Jesus
Christ, pp. 140, 141.

[47] J. A. Wylie, The Papacy, pp. 35, 36.

[48] See Christopher Coleman, Constantine the Great and Christianity, p.
178.

[49] P. Labbe and G. Cossart, Sacrosancta Concilia, Vol. 1, col. 1539-1541.

[50] Corpus Juris Canonici, 1622.

[51] Lucius Ferraris, Prompta Bibliotheca (Rome 1890), Vol. VI, p. 43, col.
2.

[52] Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), Vol. VI, p. 49, art., "Ferraris."

[53] Lucius Ferraris, Prompta Bibliotheca (Edition of 1890), art., "Papa,"
II, Vol. VI, p. 43.

[54] Christopher B. Coleman, The Treatise of Lorenzo Valla on the Donation
of Constantine, p. 13.
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Page 625

                                Chapter XIV

                   God's Final Warning to a Wicked World

Verse 1 And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with Him
an hundred forty and four thousand, having His Father's name written in
their foreheads. 2 And I heard a voice from heaven, as the voice of many
waters, and as the voice of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of
harpers harping with their harps: 3 And they sung as it were a new song
before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man
could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which
were redeemed from the earth. 4 These are they which were not defiled with
women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb
whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the first
fruits unto God and to the Lamb. 5 And in their mouth was found no guile:
for they are without fault before the throne of God.

A wonderful feature of the prophetic word is that the people of God are
never brought into positions of trial and difficulty, and there abandoned.
After taking them into scenes of danger, the voice of prophecy does not
leave them there to guess their fate, in doubt, perhaps despair, as to the
final result. Rather, it takes them through to the end, and reveals the
final triumph of the faithful.

The first five verses of Revelation 14 are an example of this. The
thirteenth chapter closed with a view of the people of God, a small and
apparently weak and defenseless company, in deadly conflict with the
mightiest powers of earth which the dragon is able to muster to his
service. A decree is passed, backed up by the supreme power of the land,
that they shall worship the image and receive the mark, under pain of death
if they refuse to comply. What can the people of God do in such a conflict
and in such an extremity? What will become of them? Glance forward with the
apostle to the very next scene in the unfolding drama, and what do we
behold?--The same company standing on Mount Zion with the Lamb, a

Page 626

victorious company, playing on symphonic harps in the court of heaven. Thus
are we assured that when the time of our conflict with the powers of
darkness comes, deliverance is not only certain, but will immediately be
brought to the people of God.

The 144,000.--We believe that the 144,000 here seen on Mount Zion are the
saints who were in Revelation 13 brought to view as objects of the wrath of
the beast and his image.

They are identical with those sealed, as described in Revelation 7, who
have already been shown to be the righteous who are alive at the second
coming of Christ.

They are "redeemed from among men" (verse 4), an expression which can be
applicable only to those who are translated from among the living. Paul
labored, if by any means he might attain to the resurrection from among the
dead. (Philippians 3: 11.) This is the hope of those who sleep in Jesus--a
resurrection from the dead. A redemption from among men, from among the
living, must mean a different thing, and can mean only one thing, and that
is translation. Hence the 144,000 are living saints, who will be translated
at the second coming of Christ. (See comment on verse 13.)

On what Mount Zion does John see this company standing?--The Mount Zion
above; for the song of harpers, which no doubt is uttered by these very
ones, is heard from heaven. This is the same Zion from which the Lord
utters His voice when He speaks to His people in close connection with the
coming of the Son of man. (Joel 3: 16, Hebrews 12: 25-28; Revelation 16:
17.) An acceptance of the fact that there is a Mount Zion in heaven, and a
Jerusalem above, would be a powerful antidote for the false doctrine of a
second probation and a millennium of peace on earth.

Only a few more particulars respecting the 144,000, in addition to those
given in Revelation 7, will claim our attention:

They have the name of the Lamb's Father written in their foreheads. In
Revelation 7, they are said to have the seal of

Page 627

God in their foreheads. An important key to an understanding of the seal of
God is thus furnished, for we at once perceive that the Father regards His
name as His seal. That commandment of the law which contains God's name is
therefore the seal of the law. The Sabbath commandment is the only one that
contains the descriptive title which distinguishes the true God from all
false gods. Wherever this was placed, there the Father's name was said to
be. (Deuteronomy 12: 5, 14, 18, 21; 14: 23; 16: 2, 6; etc.) Therefore
whoever truly keeps this commandment has the seal of the living God.

They sing a new song which no other company is able to learn. In Revelation
15: 3, it is called the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb. The song of
Moses, as may be seen by reference to Exodus 15, was a song of experience
and deliverance. Therefore the song of the 144,000 is the song of their
deliverance. No others can join in it, for no other company will have had
an experience like theirs.

They "were not defiled with women." A woman is in Scripture the symbol of a
church, a virtuous woman representing a pure church, a corrupt woman, an
apostate church. It is, then, a characteristic of this company that at the
time of their deliverance they are not defiled with the fallen churches of
the land, nor do they have any connection with them. yet we are not
understand that they never had any connection with these churches, for it
is only at a certain time that people become defiled by them. In Revelation
18: 4 we find a call issued to the people of God while they are still in
Babylon, to come out lest they become partakers of her sins. Heeding that
call, and leaving her connection, they escape the defilement of her sins.
So of the 144,000: though some of them may have once had a connection with
corrupt churches, they sever that connection with corrupt churches, they
sever that connection when it would become sin to retain it longer.

They follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth. We understand that this is
spoken of them in their redeemed state. They are the special companions of
their glorified Lord in the kingdom. Of the same company and the same time,
we read,

Page 628

"The Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall
lead them unto living fountains of waters." Revelation 7: 17.

They are "first fruits unto God and to the Lamb." This term appears to be
applied to different ones to denote special conditions. Christ is the first
fruits as the antitype of the wavesheaf. The first receivers of the gospel
are called by James a kind of first fruits. (James 1: 18.) So the 144,000,
being prepared for the heavenly garner here on the earth during the
troublous scenes of the last days, being translated to heaven without
seeing death, and occupying a pre-eminent position, are in this sense
called the first fruits unto God and the Lamb. With this description of the
144,000 triumphant, the line of prophecy which began with Revelation 12
comes to a close.

Verse 6 And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the
everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to
every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, 7 saying with a loud
voice, Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is
come: and worship Him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the
fountains of waters.

The First Angel's Message.--Another scene and another chain of prophetic
events is introduced in these verses. We know that this is so, because the
preceding verses of this chapter describe a company of the redeemed in the
immortal state--a scene which constitutes a part of the prophetic chain
beginning with the first verse of Revelation 12, and with which that chain
of events closes, for no prophecy goes beyond the immortal state. Whenever
we are brought in a line of prophecy to the end of the world, we know that
that line ends there, and that what is introduced subsequently belongs to a
new series of events. The book of Revelation in particular is composed of
these independent prophetic chains, as has already been set forth in a
number of examples.

The message described in these two verses is the first of what are known as
"the three angels' messages of Revelation 14." We are justified by the
prophecy itself in designating

Page 629

them the first, second, and third. In the verses that follow, the last one
is distinctly called "the third angel," from which we infer that the one
preceding was the second angel; and the one before that, the first angel.

These angels are evidently symbolic, for the work assigned them is that of
preaching the everlasting gospel to the people. But the preaching of the
gospel has not been entrusted to literal angels; it has been committed to
men, who are responsible for this sacred trust placed in their hands. Each
of these three angels, therefore, symbolizes those who are commissioned to
make known to their fellow men the special truths which constitute the
burden of these messages.

Literal angels are intensely interested in the work of grace among men,
being sent forth to minister to those who shall be heirs of salvation. As
there is order in all the movements and appointments of the heavenly world,
it may not be fanciful to suppose that a literal angel has charge and
oversight of the work of each message. (Hebrews 1: 14; Revelation 1: 1; 22:
16.)

In these symbols we see the sharp contrast the Bible draws between earthly
and heavenly things. Wherever earthly governments are to be represented,
even the best of them, the most appropriate symbol that can be found is a
wild beast. But when the work of God is to be set forth, an angel clad in
beauty and girt with power is used to symbolize it.

The importance of the work set forth in Revelation 14: 6-12 will be
apparent to anyone who attentively studies it. Whenever these messages are
to be proclaimed, they must from the very nature of the case constitute the
great theme of interest for that generation. We do not mean that the great
mass of mankind then living will give them attention, for in every age of
the world the present truth for that time has been too often overlooked.
But they constitute the theme to which the people will pay most earnest
regard if they are awake to what concerns their highest interests.

When God commissions His ministers to announce to the world that the hour
of his judgment is come, that Babylon has

Page 630

fallen, and that whoever worships the beast and his image must drink of His
wrath poured out unmingled into the cup of His indignation--a threat more
terrible than any other that can be found in the Scriptures--no man, except
at the peril of his soul, can treat these warnings as nonessential, or pass
them by with neglect and disregard. Hence the necessity in every age for
the most earnest endeavor to understand the work of the Lord, lest we lose
the benefit of the present truth. This is especially true today, when so
many evidences betoken the soon coming of earth's final crisis.

This angel of Revelation 14: 6 is called "another angel," from the fact
that John had previously seen an angel flying through heaven in a similar
manner, as described in Revelation 8: 13, proclaiming that the last three
of the series of seven trumpets were woe trumpets. (See comments on
Revelation 8: 13.)

The Time of the Message.--The first point to be determined is the time when
this message is to be given. When may the proclamation, "The hour of His
judgment is come," be expected? The possibility that it may be in our own
day makes it essential for us to examine this question with serious
attention. But more positive proof that this is so will appear as we
proceed. It should set every pulse bounding, and every heart beating high
with a sense of the sublime importance of this hour in which we live.

Only three positions are possible on this question of the time of this
prophecy. These positions are that this message has been given in the past,
as in the days of the apostles, or in the days of the Reformers; that it is
to be given in a future age; or that it belongs to the present generation.

We inquire first respecting the past. The very nature of the messages
forbids the idea that it could have been given in the days of the apostles.
They did not proclaim that the hour of God's judgment had come. If they
had, it would not have been true, and their message would have been stamped
with the infamy of falsehood. They did have something to say re-

Page 631

specting the judgment, but they pointed to an indefinite future for its
accomplishment. In Christ's own words, the final judgment of Sodom and
Gomorrah, Tyre, Sidon, Chorazin, and Capernaum, was located indefinitely in
the future from that day. (Matthew 10: 15; 11: 21-24.) Paul declared to the
superstitious Athenians that God had appointed a day in which He would
judge the world. (Acts 17: 31.) He reasoned before Felix "of righteousness,
temperance, and judgment to come." Acts 24: 25. To the Romans he wrote
concerning a day when God should judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ.
(Romans 2: 16.) He pointed the Corinthians forward to a time when "we must
all appear before the judgment seat of Christ." 2 Corinthians 5: 10. James
wrote to the brethren scattered abroad that they were at some time in the
future to be judged by the law of liberty. (James 2: 1 2.) Both Peter and
Jude speak of the first rebel angels as reserved unto the judgment of the
great day, still in the future at that time, to which the ungodly in this
world are also reserved. (2 Peter 2: 4, 9; Jude 6.) How different is all
this from ringing out upon the world the startling declaration that "the
hour of His judgment is come!" --a sound which must be heard when the
solemn message before us is given.

From the days of the apostles nothing has taken place which anyone could
construe as the fulfillment of this first message, until we come to the
Reformation of the sixteenth century. Some claim that Luther and his
colaborers gave the first message, and that the two following message have
been given since his day. This is a question to be decided by historical
fact rather than by argument. Hence we inquire for the evidence that the
Reformers mad any such proclamation. Their teaching has been fully
recorded, and their writings preserved. When and where did they arouse the
world with the proclamation that the hour of God's judgment had come? We
find no record that such was the burden of their preaching.

"The above passage [Revelation 14: 6-11] is by some interpreters supposed
to relate to the period of the Reformation,

Page 632

and to have been fulfilled in the preaching of Luther and the other eminent
persons who were raised up at that time to proclaim the errors of the
Romish Church. . . . But it appears to me that there are insuperable
objections to these interpretations. The first angel is instrumental in
preaching the gospel much more extensively than the Reformers could do. So
far were they from preaching to all the inhabitants of the earth that they
did not even preach through the whole of Christian Europe. The Reformation
was not permitted to enter into some of the most extensive kingdoms of the
Romish jurisdiction. It was entirely excluded from Spain, Portugal, and
Italy. Neither could it be said, in consistence with truth, at the time of
the Reformation that 'the hour of God's judgment is come.' . . . The hour
of God's judgment is a time well known and exactly defined in the
chronological prophecies of Daniel and John." [1]

"I hope," said Luther, "the last day of judgment is not far, I persuade
myself verily it will not be absent full three hundred years longer; for
God's word will decrease and be darkened for want of true shepherds and
servants of God. The voice will sound and heard erelong: 'Behold the
Bridegroom cometh.' God neither will nor can suffer this wicked world much
longer, He must strike in with the dreadful day, and punish the contemning
of His word." [2]

Such records ought to be decisive, as far as the Reformers are concerned.

The foregoing considerations being sufficient to forbid the application of
the judgment message to the past, we now turn to the view that locates it
in a future age, beyond the second advent. The reason urged for locating
the message in that time is the fact that John saw the angel flying through
heaven immediately after he had seen the Lamb standing on Mount Zion with
the 144,000, which is a future event. If the books of Revelation were one
consecutive prophecy, there would be

Page 633

force in this reasoning; but as it consists of a series of independent
lines of prophecy, and as it has already been shown that one such chain
ends with verse 5 of this chapter, and a new one begins with verse 6, the
foregoing view cannot be sustained. To show that the message cannot have
its fulfillment in an age beyond the second advent it will be sufficient to
give a few reasons.

The apostolic commission extended only to the "harvest," which is the end
of the world. (Matthew 13: 39.) If therefore this angel with "the
everlasting gospel" comes after that event, he preaches another gospel, and
subjects himself to the anathema of Paul in Galatians 1: 8.

The second message cannot of course be given before the first, but the
second message announces the fall of Babylon, and a voice is heard from
heaven after that, says, "Come out of her, My people." How absurd to locate
this after the second advent of Christ, seeing that all God's people, both
living and dead, are at that time caught up to meet the Lord in the air, to
be thenceforth forever with Him. (1 Thessalonians 4: 17.) They cannot be
called out of Babylon after this. Christ does not take them to Babylon, but
to the Father's house, where there are many mansions. (John 14: 2, 3.)

A glance at the third angel's message, which must be fulfilled in a future
age if the first one is, will still further show the difficulty of this
view. This message warns against the worship of the beast, which refers,
beyond question, to the papal beast. But the papal beast is destroyed and
given to the burning flame when Christ comes. (Daniel 7: 11; 2
Thessalonians 2: 8.) He goes into the lake of fire at that time, to disturb
the saints of the Most High no more. (Revelation 19: 20.) Why should we
involve ourselves in the inconsistency of locating a message against the
worship of the beast at a time when the beast has ceased to exist, and his
worship is impossible?

In Revelation 14: 13 a blessing is pronounced upon the dead which die in
the Lord "from henceforth," that is, from the time the threefold message
begins to be given. This is a

Page 634

complete demonstration of the fact that the message must be given prior to
the first resurrection, for after that event all who have a part therein
can die no more. We therefore dismiss this view concerning the future age
as unscriptural and impossible.

The Judgment Hour a Distinctive Note.--We are now prepared to examine the
third view, that the message belongs to the present generation. The
argument on the two preceding points has done much to establish the present
proposition. If the message has not been given in the past, and cannot be
given in the future after Christ comes, where else can we locate it but in
the present generation, since we are obviously in the last days just
preceding Christ's second coming? Indeed, the very nature of the message
itself confines it to the last generation of men. It proclaims that the
hour of God's judgment has come. The judgment pertains to the closing of
the work of salvation for the world, and the proclamation announcing its
approach can therefore be made only as we come near the end. It is further
shown that the message belongs to the present time when it is proved that
this angel is identical with the angel of Revelation 10, who utters his
message in this generation. That the first angel of Revelation 14 and the
angel of Revelation 10 are identical, see presentation in chapter 10.

The apostle Paul who before Felix the Roman governor reasoned of "judgment
to come," proclaimed to his hearers on Mars' Hill that God "hath appointed
a day in the which He will judge the world in righteousness by that Man
whom He hath ordained." Acts 17: 31.

The prophecy of the 2300 days of Daniel 8 and 9 pointed unmistakably to
this judgment hour. This longest time prophecy in the Scriptures reaches
from 457 B.C. to A.D. 1844. Then, as we have in the study of Daniel's
prophecy, the sanctuary was to be cleansed. This cleansing, according to
the type in Leviticus 16, was the final work of atonement. That the work of
the last day of the year in the typical service was none other than the day
of judgment in type, will be seen from the following quotations:

Page 635

"The great Day of Atonement, with its services so peculiar and impressive,
fell on the tenth day of the seventh month. . . . It was a day wherein
every man was called to fast and afflict his soul; to mournfully and
penitently reflect upon his sinful ways and transgressions. . . . He who
thus failed to mourn was threatened with the penalty of death, as a direct
visitation of judgment from the hand of Jehovah." [3] "Let us note well the
actual Day of Atonement. It was on the tenth day of the seventh month. The
Jubilee also commenced on the same day and was ushered in by the blowing of
the solemn trumpet; emblem of a God coming near in judgment." [4]

"It was supposed that on the New Year Day (Tishri 1) the divine decrees
were written down, and that on the Day of Atonement (Tishri 10) they are
sealed, so that the decade is known by the name of 'Terrible Days' and the
'Ten Penitential Days.' So awful was the Day of Atonement that we are told
in a Jewish book of ritual that the very angels run to and fro in fear and
trembling, saying, 'Lo, the Day of Judgment has come!' " [5]

" 'God, seated on His throne to judge the world . . . openeth the Book of
Records; it is read, every man's signature being found therein. The great
trumpet is sounded; a still small voice is heard; the angels shudder,
saying, "This is the day of judgment." . . . On New Year's Day the decree
is written; on the Day of Atonement it is sealed who shall live and who are
to die.' " [6]

One might ask if such a message has been given to the world. Again, Is a
message of this character being proclaimed to the world today? We believe
that the great second advent movement of the past century answers exactly
to the prophecy.

Second Advent of Christ Another Distinctive Note.--As early as 1831,
William Miller, of Low Hampton, New York, by an

Page 636

earnest and consistent study of the prophecies, was led to the conclusion
that the gospel age was near its close. He placed the termination, which he
thought would occur at the end of the prophetic periods, about the year
1843. This date was afterward extended to the autumn of 1844. We call his
investigations a consistent study of the prophecies, because he adopted a
sound rule of interpretation. This lies at the base of every religious
reformation, and of every advance movement in prophetic language. This rule
is to take all the language of the Scriptures, just as we would that of any
other book, to be literal, unless the context or the laws of language
require it to be understood figuratively; and to let scripture interpret
scripture. True, on a vital point he made a mistake, as will be explained
hereafter; but in principle, and in a great number of particulars, he was
correct. He was on the right road, and made an immense advance over every
theological system of his day. When he began to promulgate his views, they
met with general favor, and were followed by great religious awakenings in
different parts of the land.

Soon a multitude of colaborers gathered around his standard, among whom may
be mentioned such men as F. G. Brown, Charles Fitch, Josiah Litch, J. V.
Himes, and others, who were then eminent for piety, and men of influence in
the religious world. The period marked by the years 1840-1844 was one of
intense activity and great progress in this work. A message was proclaimed
to the world which bore every characteristic of a fulfillment of the
proclamation of Revelation 14: 6, 7. It was indeed that gospel of the
kingdom which Christ declared should be preached in all the world for a
witness unto all nations, and then the end should come. (Matthew 24: 14.)
The fulfillment of either of these scriptures involves the preaching of the
nearness of the end. The gospel could not be preached to all nations as a
sign of the end, unless it was understood to be such, and the proximity of
the end was at least one of its leading themes. The Advent Herald well
expressed the truth on this point in the following language:

Page 637

"As an indication of the approach of the end, there was, however, to be
seen 'another angel flying through the midst of heaven, having the
everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to
every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people.' Revelation 14: 6. The
burden of this angel was to be the same gospel which had been before
proclaimed; but connected with it was the additional motive of the
proximity of the kingdom--'saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give
glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come: and worship Him that
made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.' Verse 7.
No mere preaching of the gospel, without announcing its proximity, could
fulfill this message." [7]

The persons who were engaged in this movement supposed it to be a
fulfillment of prophecy, and claimed that they were giving the message of
Revelation 14: 6, 7.

"I would now say to you this night, 'Fear God and give glory to Him for the
hour of His judgment is come,' in a strict and literal sense. We are now at
the close of the last day concerning which the apostle says: 'Hereby we
know that it is the last time.' . . . We are just at the evening of that
day--we are at the last hour of that day; and it is very nigh, very nigh,
even at the door. My dear hearers, I beseech you to consider that it is
near at hand, at the very door, according to all who have studied this
matter and have sought the teaching of God; . . . that they are all of one
mind; that . . . the reign of Christ--is just at hand." [8]

"Revelation 14 represents the angel flying into the midst of heaven, having
the everlasting gospel to preach to them that dwell upon the earth, and to
every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people. When the event takes
place which is signified by this symbol, the day of the Lord's judgment is
actually at hand, for the angel cries unto all men, 'Fear God,

Page 638

and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come.' " [9]

"It is the duty of all to call upon those to 'fear God and give glory to
Him, for the hour of His judgment is come,' but more especially is it the
duty of God's ministers." [10]

But the general movement respecting the second advent of Christ, and the
proclamation that "the hour of His judgment is come," was not confined to
the Western Hemisphere. It was world-wide. It fulfilled in this respect the
proclamation of the angel "to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and
people." Mourant Brock, an Anglican clergyman, and a strong leader in the
advent movement in the British Isles, tells us:

"It is not merely in Great Britain that the expectation of the near return
of the Redeemer is entertained, and the voice of warning raised, but also
in America, India, and on the Continent of Europe. I was lately told by one
of our German missionaries that in Wirtemburgh there is a Christian colony
of several hundreds, one of the chief features of which is the looking for
the Second Advent. And a Christian minister from near the shores of the
Caspian Sea has told me, that there is the same daily expectation among his
nation. They constantly speak of it as 'the day of consolation.' In a
little publication, entitled 'The Millennium,' the writer says that he
understands in America about 300 ministers of the Word are thus preaching
'the Gospel of the kingdom,' whilst in this country, he adds, about 700 of
the Church of England are raising the same cry." [11]

Dr. Joseph Wolff traveled in Arabia, through the region inhabited by the
descendants of Hobab, Moses' brother-in-law. He speaks as follows of a book
which he saw in Yemen:

"The Arabs of this place have a book called 'Seera,' which treats of the
second coming of Christ, and His reign in glory!" "In Yemen . . . I spent
six days with the children of Rechabites.

Page 639

. . . They drink no wine, plant no vineyards, sow no seed, live in tents,
and remember the word of Jonadab the son of Rechab. With them were children
of Israel of the tribe of Dan, who reside near Yerim in Hatramawt [sic],
who expected, in common with the children of Rechab, the speedy arrival of
the Messiah in the clouds of heaven." [12]

D. T. Taylor speaks as follows concerning the wide diffusion of the advent
hope:

"In Wurtemberg, there is a Christian colony numbering hundreds, who look
for the speedy advent of Christ; also another of like belief on the shores
of the Caspian; the Molokaners, a large body of dissenters from the Russian
Greek Church, residing on the shores of the Baltic--a very pious people, of
whom it is said, "Taking the Bible alone for their creed, the norm of their
faith is simply the Holy Scriptures'--are characterized by the 'expectation
of Christ's immediate and visible reign upon earth.' In Russia, the
doctrine of Christ's coming and reign is preached to some extent, and
received by many of the lower class. It has been extensively agitated in
Germany, particularly in the south part among the Moravians. In Norway,
charts and books on the advent have been circulated extensively, and the
doctrine has been received by many. Among the Tartars in Tartary, there
prevails an expectation of Christ's advent about this time. English and
American publications on this doctrine have been sent to Holland, Germany,
India, Ireland, Constantinople, Rome, and to nearly every missionary
station on the globe. . . .

"Joseph Wolff, D. D., according to his journals, between the years 1821 and
1845, proclaimed the Lord's speedy advent in Palestine, Egypt, on the
shores of the Read Sea, Mesopotamia, the Crimea, Persia, Georgia,
throughout the Ottoman Empire, in Greece, Arabia, Turkistan, Bokhara,
Afghanistan, Cashmere, Hindustan, Thibet, in Holland, Scotland, and
Ireland, at Constantinople, Jerusalem, St. Helena, also on

Page 640

shipboard in the Mediterranean, and at New York City to all denominations.
He declares he has preached among Jews, Turks, Mohammedans, Parsees,
Hindus, Chaldeans, Yeseedes, Syrians, Sabeans, to pashas, sheiks, shahs,
the king of Organtsh and Bokhara, the queen of Greece, etc.; and of his
extraordinary labors the Investigator says, 'No individual has, perhaps,
given greater publicity to the doctrine of the second coming of the Lord
Jesus Christ than this well-known missionary to the world. Wherever he
goes, he proclaims the approaching advent of the Messiah in glory.' " [13]

Another prominent writer in the great second advent movement writes:

"But that the Lord's warning was in reality heard and that the voice did at
that very time go forth in the church as to the nearness of the advent, is
undeniable. It may be safely affirmed that from the year 1828 to 1833 . . .
a greater number of tracts and works on the subject of the advent and
declaring its nearness went forth to the public and were advertised in the
leading religious journals of the day than had previously appeared in any
whole century, in the whole period that had elapsed from the age of the
apostles; yea, probably than in the whole of the centuries from that age."
[14]

That the mistake made by Adventists in 1844 was not in the time, has been
shown by the argument on the seventy weeks and the 2300 days in Daniel 9.
It was in the nature of the event to occur at the end of those days, as has
been shown in the argument on the sanctuary in Daniel 8. Supposing the
earth to be the sanctuary, with its cleansing to be accomplished by fire at
the revelation of the Lord from heaven, they naturally looked for the
appearing of Christ at the end of the days.

Through their misapprehension on this point, they met with a crushing
disappointment, predicted in the Scripture itself, though everything which
the prophecy declared, and everything which they were warranted to expect,
took place

Page 641

with absolute accuracy at that time. There the cleansing of the sanctuary
began; but this did not bring Christ to this earth, for the earth is not
the sanctuary; and its cleansing does not involve the destruction of the
earth, for cleansing is accomplished with the blood of a sacrificial
offering, not with fire. Here was the bitterness of the little book to the
church. (Revelation 10: 10.) Here was the coming of one like the Son of
man, not to this earth, but to the Ancient of days. (Daniel 7: 13, 14.)
Here was the coming of the Bridegroom to the marriage, as set forth in the
parable of the ten virgins in Matthew 25.

The foolish virgins then said to the wise, "Give us of your oil; for our
lamps are gone ["going" margin] out." "While they went to buy, the
Bridegroom came." This is not the coming of Christ to this earth, for it is
a coming which precedes the marriage; but the marriage, that is, the
reception of the kingdom (see comments on Revelation 21), must precede His
coming to this earth to receive to Himself His people, who are to be the
guests at the marriage supper. (Luke 19: 12; Revelation 19: 7-9.) This
coming in the parable must therefore be the same as the coming to the
Ancient of days spoken of in Daniel 7: 13, 14.

"And they that were ready went in with Him to the marriage: and the door
was shut." After the Bridegroom comes to the marriage, there is an
examination of guests to see who are ready to participate in the ceremony,
according to the parable of Matthew 22: 1-13. As the last thing before the
marriage, the King comes in to see the guests, to ascertain if all are
properly arrayed in the wedding garment; and whoever, after due
examination, is found with the garment on, and is accepted by the King,
never after loses that garment, but is sure of immortality. But this
question of fitness for the kingdom can be determined only by the
investigative judgment of the sanctuary.

This closing work in the sanctuary, which is the cleansing of the sanctuary
and the atonement is therefore nothing else

Page 642

than the examination of the guests to see who have on the wedding garment.
Consequently until this work is finished, it is not determined who are
"ready" to go in to the marriage. "They that were ready went in with Him to
the marriage." By this short expression we are carried from the time when
the Bridegroom comes to the marriage, entirely through the period of the
cleansing of the sanctuary, or the examination of the guests. When this is
concluded, probation will end, and the door will be shut.

The connection of the parable with the message under examination is now
apparent. It brings to view a period of making ready the guests for the
marriage of the Lamb, which is the work of judgment to which the message
brings us when it declares, "The hour of His judgment is come." This
message was to be proclaimed with a loud voice. It went forth with the
power thus indicated between the years 1840-44, more especially in the
autumn of the latter year, bringing us to the end of the 2300 days, when
the work of judgment started as Christ began the work of cleansing the
sanctuary.

As has been already shown, this work did not bring us to the close of
probation but rather to the beginning of the investigative judgment. In
this judgment hour we are now living. Today, as in the period to which
reference has been made, the judgment message is being heralded to all the
earth. Today the solemn judgment proclamation is sounding "to every nation,
and kindred, and tongue, and people, saying with a loud voice, Fear God,
and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come." Revelation
14: 6, 7.

Before passing on to the consideration of the second angel's message, let
us contemplate for a moment the importance and sublime significance of the
wonderful truth here so clearly revealed. We are standing on the very
threshold of the eternal world. God's last message of mercy is now going to
every nation and kindred and tongue and people. The final scenes in the
great plan of salvation are even now being enacted in the sanctuary above.
Think of it! The hour of God's judgment

Page 643

is come. The investigative judgment that concerns every soul and that
immediately precedes the coming of Jesus, is now going forward in heaven. A
wedding garment--the spotless robe of Christ's own righteousness--has at
infinite cost been provided for all who will accept it. "How will it fare
with thee and me when the King comes in?" "My little children, these things
write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate
with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." 1 John 2: 1.

Verse 8 And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is
fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of
the wrath of her fornication.

The Second Angel's Message.--The time of this message is determined to a
great extent by that of the first message. The first cannot precede the
second; but the first is confined to the last days. Yet the second must be
given before the end, for no move of the kind described is possible after
that event. It is therefore a part of that religious movement which takes
place in the last days with special reference to the coming of Christ.

The inquires therefore follow: What is meant by the term "Babylon"? What is
her fall? How does it take place? As to the meaning of the word, we learn
something from the marginal readings of Genesis 10: 10 and 11: 9. The
beginning of Nimrod's kingdom was Babel, or Babylon. The place was called
Babylon, meaning "confusion," because God there confounded the language of
the builders of the tower. The name is here used figuratively to designate
the great symbolic city of the book of Revelation, probably with special
reference to the significance of the term and the circumstances from which
it originated. It applies to something on which, as specifying its chief
characteristics, may be written the word "confusion."

There are but three possible things to which the word can be applied. These
are the apostate religious world in general, the papal church in
particular, and the city of Rome. In examining these terms, we shall first
show what Babylon is not.

Page 644

Babylon is not confined to the Roman Catholic Church. That this church is a
very prominent component part of great Babylon, is not denied. The
descriptions in Revelation 17 seem to apply particularly to that church.
But the name which she bears on her forehead, "Mystery, Babylon the Great,
the Mother of Harlots and Abominations of the Earth," reveals other family
connections. If this church is the mother, who are the daughters? The fact
that these daughters are spoken of, shows that there are other religious
bodies besides the Roman Catholic Church which come under this designation.
Again, there is to be a call made in connection with this message, "Come
out of her, My people." Revelation 18: 1-4. As this message is located in
the present generation, it follows, if no other church but the Roman
Catholic is included Babylon, that the people of God are now found in the
communion of that church, and are to be called out. But this conclusion, no
Protestant at least will be willing to allow.

Babylon is not the city of Rome. The argument relied upon to show that the
city of Rome is Babylon of the Apocalypse runs thus: The angel told John
that the woman which he had seen was the great city which reigned over the
kings of the earth, and that the seven heads of the beast are seven
mountains upon which the woman sits. Then, by taking the city and the
mountains to be literal, and finding Rome built upon seven hills, the
application is made at once to literal Rome.

The principle upon which this interpretation rests is the assumption that
the explanation of a symbol must always be literal. It falls to the ground
the moment it can be shown that symbols are sometimes explained by
substituting for them other symbols, and then explaining the latter. This
can easily be done. In Revelation 11: 3, the symbol of the two witnesses is
introduced. The next verse reads: "These are the two olive trees and the
two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth." In this case the
first symbol is said to be the same as another symbol which is elsewhere
clearly explained. So in

Page 645

the case before us. "The seven heads are seven mountains," and "the woman
is that great city;" and it will not be difficult to show that the
mountains and the city are used symbolically. The readers attention is
directed to the following:

We are informed in Revelation 13 that one of the seven heads was wounded to
death. This head therefore cannot be a literal mountain, for it would be
folly to speak of wounding a mountain to death.

Each of the seven heads has a crown upon it. But who ever saw a literal
mountain with a crown upon it?

The seven heads are evidently successive in order of time, for we read,
"Five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come." Revelation
17: 10. But the seven hills on which Rome is built are not successive, and
it would be absurd to apply such language to them.

According to Daniel 7: 6, compared with Daniel 8: 8, 22, heads denote
governments, and according to Daniel 2: 35, 44, and Jeremiah 51: 25,
mountains denote kingdoms. According to these facts, a literal translation
of Revelation 17: 9, 10 removes all obscurity: "The seven heads are seven
mountains on which on which the woman sitteth, and are seven kings." It
will thus be seen that the angel represents the heads as mountains, and
then explains the mountains to be seven successive kings. The meaning is
transferred from one symbol to another, and then an explanation is given of
the second symbol.

From the foregoing argument, it follows that the "woman" cannot represent a
literal city, for the mountains upon which the woman sits being symbolic, a
literal city cannot sit upon symbolic mountains. Again, Rome was the seat
of the dragon of Revelation 12, and the dragon transferred it to the beast.
(Revelation 13: 2.) Thus it became the seat of the beast; but it would be a
singular mixture of figures to make the seat, which is sat upon by the
beast, and a woman sitting upon the beast refer to the same thing.

Were the city of Rome the Babylon of the Apocalypse, what nonsense should
we have in Revelation 18: 1-4, for in

Page 646

this case the fall of Babylon would be the overthrow and destruction of the
city, in fact, its utter consumption by fire, according to verse 8. But
mark what takes place after the fall. Babylon becomes "the habitation of
devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and
hateful bird." How can this happen to a city after that city is destroyed,
even being utterly burned with fire? Again, after this a voice is heard,
saying, "Come out of her, My people." Are God's people all in Rome?--Not to
any great extent. How many can we suppose to be there to be called out
after the city is burned with fire? It is not necessary to say more to show
that Babylon cannot be the city of Rome.

What Does Babylon Signify?--Babylon signifies the universal worldly church.
After seeing it cannot either of the other two possible things to which it
could be applies, it must mean this. But we are not left to this kind of
reasoning on this subject. Babylon is called "a woman." A woman, used as a
symbol, signifies a church. The woman of Revelation 12 was interpreted to
mean a church. The woman of Revelation 17 should undoubtedly be interpreted
as also signifying a church. The character of the woman determines the
character of the church represented, a chaste woman standing for a pure
church, a vile woman for an impure, or apostate church. The woman Babylon
is herself a harlot, and the mother of daughters like herself. This
circumstance, as well as the name itself, shows that Babylon is not limited
to any single ecclesiastical body, but must be composed of many. It must
take in all of a like nature, and represent the entire corrupt, or
apostate, church of the earth. This will perhaps explain the language of
Revelation 18: 24, which represents that when God makes requisition upon
great Babylon for the blood of His martyrs, in her will be found "the blood
of prophets, and of saints, and of all" that have been slain upon the
earth.

Through the centuries practically every country of Europe has had its state
church, and the most of these countries to the present day have their
established religions, and zealously op-

Page 647

pose dissenters. Babylon has made all nations drunken with the wine of her
fornication, that is, her false doctrines. It can therefore symbolize
nothing less than the universal worldly church.

The great city Babylon is composed of three divisions. So the great
religions of the world may be arranged under three heads. The first,
oldest, and most widespread is paganism, separately symbolized under the
form of a dragon. The second is the great papal apostasy, symbolized by the
beast. The third is the daughters, or descendants from that church
symbolized by the two-horned beast, though that does not embrace them all.
War, oppression, conformity to the world, religious formalism, the worship
of mammon, pursuit of pleasure, and the maintenance of very many errors of
the Roman Catholic Church, identify with sad and faithful accuracy the
great body of the Protestant churches as an important constituent part of
this great Babylon.

A glance at some of the ways in which the Protestant church has deported
herself will still further show this. When Rome had the power, she
destroyed vast multitudes of those whom she adjudged heretics. The
Protestant church has shown the same spirit. Witness the burning of Michael
Servetus by the Protestants of Geneva with John Calvin at their head.
Witness the long-continued oppression of dissenters by the Church of
England. Witness the hanging of Quakers and the whipping of Baptists even
by the Puritan fathers of New England, themselves fugitives from like
oppression by the Church of England. But these, some may say, are things of
the past. True, yet they show that when persons governed by strong
religious prejudice have the power to coerce dissenters, they cannot
forbear to use it--a state of things which we look for in this country
under a further fulfillment of the closing prophecy of Revelation 13.

It was the will of Christ that His church should be one. He prayed that His
disciples might be one, as He and the Father were one; for this would give
power to His gospel, and

Page 648

cause the world to believe in Him. Instead of this, look at the confusion
that exists in the Protestant world, the many sectional walls that divide
it into a network of societies, and the many creeds, discordant as the
languages of those who were dispersed at the tower of Babel. God is not the
author of all these. It is this state of things which the word "Babylon,"
as a descriptive term, appropriately designates. It is evidently used for
this purpose, and not a term of reproach. Instead of being stirred with
feelings of resentment when this term is mentioned, people should rather
examine their position, to see if in faith or practice they are guilty of
any connection with this great city of confusion. If so, they should
separate at once therefrom.

The true church is a chaste virgin. (2 Corinthians 11: 2.) The church that
is joined with the world in friendship, is a harlot. It is this unlawful
connection with the kings of the earth that constitutes her the great
harlot of the Apocalypse. (Revelation 17.) Thus the Jewish Church, at first
espoused to the Lord (Jeremiah 2: 3; 31: 32), became a harlot (Ezekiel 16).
When this church apostatized from God, it was called Sodom (Isaiah 1), just
as "the great city" (Babylon) is so called in Revelation 11. The unlawful
union with the world of which Babylon is guilty, is positive proof that it
is not the civil power. That the people of God are in her midst immediately
before her overthrow is proof that she is professedly a religious body. For
these reasons, it is very evident that the Babylon of the Apocalypse is the
professed church united with the world.

"Babylon Is Fallen."--The fall of Babylon will next claim attention. After
learning what constitutes Babylon, it will not be difficult to decide what
is meant by the declaration that Babylon is fallen. As Babylon is not a
literal city, the fall cannot be a literal overthrow. We have already seen
what an absurdity this would involve. Besides, the clearest distinction is
maintained by the prophecy itself between the fall and the destruction of
Babylon. Babylon "falls" before it is with violence "thrown down," as a
millstone cast into the sea, and

Page 649

"utterly burned with fire." The fall is therefore a spiritual fall, for
after the fall the voice is addressed to the people of God who are still in
her connection, "Come out of her, My people." The reason is immediately
given, "that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of
her plagues." Babylon therefore still exists in sin and her plagues are
still future after the fall.

Those who make Babylon apply exclusively to the papacy, claim that the fall
of Babylon is the loss of civil power by the papal church. Because of the
fall of Babylon, she becomes the hold of foul spirits and hateful birds;
but such is not at all the result to Rome of the loss of civil power.

The people of God are called out of Babylon on account of her increasing
sinfulness resulting from the fall, but the loss of the temporal power of
the papacy constitutes no additional reason why the people of God should
leave that church.

Babylon meets with this spiritual fall "because she made all nations drink
of the wine of wrath [not anger, but intense passion] of her fornication."
There is but one thing to which this can refer, and that is false
doctrines. She has corrupted the pure truths of God's word, and made the
nations drunken with pleasing fables.

In the form of the papacy she has supplanted the gospel by substituting for
it a false system of salvation:

Through the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception she denies that God in
Christ dwelt in human flesh.

She has sought to set aside the mediation of Christ and has put another
system of mediation in its place.

She has attempted to take away the priesthood of Jesus and substitute an
earthly priesthood.

She has made salvation dependent upon confession to mortal man and thus has
separated the sinner from Jesus, the only one through whom his sins can be
forgiven.

She condemns the way of salvation through faith as "damnable heresy," and
substitutes the doctrine of salvation by works.

Page 650

Her crowning blasphemy is the doctrine of transubstantiation, or the
idolatrous sacrifice of the mass, which is declared to be "one and the same
as that of the cross" and which, in "some senses," is said to have "the
advantage over Calvary," for by it "the work of our redemption is carried
out."

Among the doctrines she teaches contrary to the word of God, may be
mentioned the following:

The substitution of tradition and the voice of the church as an infallible
guide in the place of the Bible.

The change of the Sabbath of the fourth commandment, the seventh day, into
the festival of Sunday as the rest day of the Lord and a memorial of His
resurrection, a memorial which has never been commanded, and can by no
possible means appropriately commemorate that event. Fathered by heathenism
as "the wild solar holiday of all pagan times," Sunday was lead to the font
by the pope, and christened as an institution of the gospel church. Thus an
attempt was made to destroy a memorial which the great God had set up to
commemorate His own magnificent creative work, and erect another in its
state to commemorate the resurrection of Christ, for which there was no
occasion, as the Lord Himself had already provided a memorial for that
purpose in baptism by immersion.

The doctrine of the natural immortality of the soul. This also was derived
from the pagan world, and the "Fathers of the church" became the
foster-fathers of this pernicious doctrine as a part of divine truth. This
error nullifies the two great Scripture doctrines of the resurrection and
the general judgment, and furnishes an open door to modern spiritism. From
it have sprung such other evil doctrines as the conscious state of the
dead, saint worship, mariology, purgatory, reward at death, prayers and
baptisms for the dead, eternal torment, and universal salvation.

The doctrine that the saints, as disembodied spirits, find their eternal
inheritance in faraway, indefinable regions, "beyond the bounds of time and
space." Thus multitudes

Page 651

have been turned away from the Scriptural view that this present earth is
to be destroyed by fire at the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly
men, and that from its ashes the voice of Omnipotence will evoke a new
earth, which will be the future everlasting kingdom of glory, and which the
saints will possess as their eternal inheritance.

Sprinkling instead of immersion, the latter being the only Scriptural mode
of baptism, and a fitting memorial of the burial and resurrection of our
Lord, for which purpose it was designed. By the corruption of this
ordinance and its destruction as a memorial of the resurrection of Christ,
the way was prepared for the substitution of something else for this
purpose--the Sunday rest day.

That the coming of Christ is a spiritual, not a literal event, and was
fulfilled at the destruction of Jerusalem, or is fulfilled in conversion,
at death, or in spiritism. How many minds have by such teaching been
forever closed against the Scriptural view that the second coming of Christ
is a future definite event, literal, personal, visible, resulting in
destruction of all His foes, and everlasting life to all His people!

The doctrine of a temporal millennium, or a thousand years of peace and
prosperity and righteousness all over the earth before the second coming of
Christ. This doctrine is especially calculated to shut the ears of the
people against the evidences of the second advent near, and will probably
lull as many souls into a state of carnal security leading to their final
ruin, as any heresy which has ever been devised by the great enemy of
truth.

Application of the Fall of Babylon.--To come now more particularly to the
application of the prophecy concerning the fall of Babylon, let us see how
the religious world stood with reference to the possibility of such a
change when the time came for the proclamation of such a change when the
time came for the proclamation of this second message in connection with
the first about the year 1844. Paganism was only apostasy and corruption in
the beginning, and is so still. No spiritual fall is possible there. Roman
Catholicism had been in a fallen con-

Page 653

dition for many centuries. But the Protestant churches had begun the great
work of reformation from papal corruption and had done noble work. They
were, in a word, in such a position that with them a spiritual fall was
possible. The conclusion is therefore inevitable that the message
announcing the fall had reference almost wholly to the Protestant churches.

The question may then be asked why this announcement was not made sooner,
if so large a part of Babylon had been so long fallen. The answer is at
hand: Babylon as a whole could not be said to be fallen so long as one
division of it remained unfallen. It could not be announced, therefore,
until a change for the worse came over the Protestant world, and the truth
through which alone the path of progress lay, had been compromised. When
this took place, and a spiritual fall was experienced in this last branch,
then the announcement concerning Babylon as a whole could be made, as it
could not have been made before--"Babylon is fallen."

It may be proper to inquire further how the reason assigned for the fall of
Babylon--that she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her
fornication--would apply to the Protestant churches at the time in
question. The answer is, It would apply most pertinently. The fault with
Babylon lies in her confusion of the truth and her consequent false
doctrines. Because she industriously propagates these, clinging to them
when light and truth which would correct them is offered, she is in a
fallen state.

With the Protestant churches, the time had come for an advance to higher
religious ground. They could accept the proffered light and truth, and
reach the higher attainment, or they could reject it, and lose their
spirituality and favor with God, or, in other words, experience a spiritual
fall.

The truth which God saw fit to use as an instrument in this work was the
first angel's message. The hour of God's judgment come, and with it the
imminent second advent of Christ, was the doctrine preached. After
listening long enough to see the blessing that attended the doctrine, and
the good

Page 654

results that accrued from it, the churches as a whole rejected it with
scorn and scoffing. They were thereby tested, for they then plainly
betrayed the fact that their hearts were with the world, not with the Lord,
and that they preferred to have it so.

But the message would have healed the evils then existing in the religious
world. The prophet exclaims, perhaps with reference to this time, "We would
have healed Babylon, but she is not healed." Jeremiah 51: 9. Do you ask how
we know this would have been the effect of receiving the message? We
answer, Because this was the effect with all who did receive it. They came
from different denominations, and their denominational barriers were
leveled to the ground; conflicting creeds were shivered to atoms; the
unscriptural hope of a temporal millennium was abandoned; false views of
the second advent were corrected; pride and conformity to the world were
swept away; wrongs were made right; hearts were united in the sweetest
fellowship; and love and joy reigned supreme. If the doctrine did this for
the few who did receive it, it would have done the same for all if all had
received it, but the message was rejected.

Everywhere throughout the land the cry was raised, "Babylon is fallen,"
and, in anticipation of the movement brought to view in Revelation 18: 1-4,
those proclaiming the message added, "Come out of her, My people."
Thousands severed their connection with the various denominations as the
result.

A marked change then came over the churches in respect to their spiritual
condition. When a person refuses the light, he necessarily puts himself in
darkness; when he rejects truth, he inevitably forges the shackles of error
about his own limbs. Loss of spirituality--a spiritual fall--must follow.
This the churches experienced. They chose to adhere to old errors, and
still promulgate their false doctrines among the people. The light of truth
therefore left them.

Some of them felt and deplored the change. A few testimonies from their
writers describe their condition at that time,

Page 655

The Christian Palladium, in 1844, spoke in the following mournful strain:
"In every direction we hear the dolorous wound, wafted upon every breeze of
heaven, chilling as the blast from the icebergs of the north, settling like
an incubus on the breasts of the timid, and drinking up the energies of the
weak, the lukewarmness, division, anarchy, and desolation are distressing
the borders of Zion." [15]

In 1844, the Religious Telescope used the following language: "We have
never witnessed such a general declension of religion as at the present. .
. . When we call to mind how 'few and far between' cases of true conversion
are, and the almost unparalleled impenitence and hardness of sinners, we
almost involuntarily exclaim, 'Has God forgotten to be gracious? or is the
door of mercy closed?' " [16]

About that time, proclamations of fasts and seasons of prayer for the
return of the Holy Spirit were sent out in the religious papers. Even the
Philadelphia Sun, November, 1844, had the following: "The undersigned,
ministers, and members of various denominations in Philadelphia and
vicinity, solemnly believing that the present 'signs of the times'--the
spiritual dearth of our churches generally and the extreme evils in the
world around us--seem to call loudly on all Christians for a special season
of prayer, do therefore hereby agree, by divine permission, to unite in a
week of special prayer to Almighty God, for the outpouring of His Holy
Spirit on our city, our country, and the world." [17]

Charles G. Finney, well-known evangelist, said in February, 1844: "We have
had the facts before our minds, that, in general, the Protestant churches
of our country, as such, were either apathetic or hostile to nearly all the
moral reforms of the age. There are partial exceptions, yet not enough to
render the fact otherwise than general. We have also another corroborative
fact--the almost universal absence of revival

Page 656

influence in the churches. The spiritual apathy is almost all-pervading,
and is fearfully deep; so the religious press of the whole land testifies.
. . The churches generally are becoming sadly degenerate. They have gone
very far from the Lord, and He has withdrawn Himself from them."

In November, 1844, the Oberlin Evangelist remarked editorially:

"Some of our religious journals deplore, and all attest the fact that
revivals have almost ceased in our churches. It is long since a period of
so general dearth has been known. There is a great revival of political
spirit, and of zeal in all the departments of business operations: but
alas! decline and death sit like an incubus on the bosom of Christian
activity and of holy love for God as for souls. The external forms of
religion are sustained, the routine of Sabbath duties goes on: but those
seasons of 'refreshing from the presence of the Lord,' in which fearfulness
surprises the hypocrite, conviction fastens on the sinner, and humble
hearts cleave to the promises and wrestle for the conversion of
souls--those seasons are known only as they [are] held in sweet
remembrance--days that were, but are no longer." [18]

Not only did the churches suffer a distinct loss of spirituality in 1844,
but the decline since then has been marked and continuous.

The Congregationalist said in November, 1858: "The revived piety of our
churches is not such that one can confidently infer, from its mere
existence, its legitimate, practical fruits. It ought, for example, to be
as certain, after such a shower of grace, that the treasuries of our
benevolent societies would be filled, as it is after a plentiful rain that
the streams will swell in their channels. But the managers of our societies
are bewailing the feebleness of the sympathy and aid of the churches.

"There is another and sadder illustration of the same general truth. The
Watchman and Reflector recently stated that

Page 657

there had never been among the Baptists so lamentable a spread of church
dissension as prevails at present. . . . Even a glance at the weekly
journals of our own denomination will evince that the evil is no means
confined to the Baptists." [19]

The leading Methodist paper, the New York Christian Advocate, in 1883
contained an article from which we copy these statements:

"1. Disguise it as you like, the church, in a general sense, is spiritually
in a rapid decline. While it grows in number and money it is becoming
extremely feeble and limited in its spirituality, both in the pulpit and
pew. It is assuming the shape and character of the church of Laodicea.

"2. . . . There are thousands of ministers, local and conference, and many
thousands of the laity, who are dead and worthless as barren fig-trees.
They contribute nothing of a temporal or spiritual nature to the progress
and triumphs of the gospel throughout the earth. If all these dry bones in
our church and its congregations could be resurrected and brought into
requisition by faithful, active service, what new and glorious
manifestations of divine power would break forth!" [20]

The editor of the Western Christ Advocate in 1893 wrote the following of
his church:

"To the Church of Methodists, Write, the great trouble with us today is,
that the rescue of imperiled souls is our last and least consideration.
Many of our congregations are conducted on the basis of social clubs. They
are made centers of social influence. Membership is sought in order to
advance one's prospects in society, business, or politics. Preachers are
called who know how to

              " 'Smooth down the rugged text to ears polite,
                 And snugly keep damnation out of sight.'

"The Sunday services are made the occasion of displaying the elegancies of
apparel in the latest fashions. Even the little

Page 658

ones are tricked out as though they were the acolytes of pride. If the
'Rules' are read, it is to comply with the letter of a law whose spirit has
long since fled. The class-books are filled with names of unconverted men
and women. Official members may be found in box, dress-circle, and parquet
of opera and theater. Communicants take in the races, and give and attend
cardparties and dances. The distinction between inside and outside is so
obscure that men smile when asked to unite with the Church, and sometimes
tell us that they find the best men outside.

"When we go to the masses, it is too often with such ostentatious
condescension that self-respect drives them from us.

"And yet we have so spread out, under the inflation of the rich and
ungodly, that they are a necessity to us. The enforcement of the
unmistakable letter of Discipline for a single year would cut our
membership in half, bankrupt our Missionary Society, close our fashionable
churches, paralyze our connectional interests, and leave our pastors and
bishops unpaid and in distress. But the fact remains, that one of two
things must happen--the Discipline must purge the church, or God's Holy
Spirit will seek other organized agencies. The ax is laid at the root of
the tree. The call is to repentance. God's work must be done. If we are in
the way, He will remove us." [21]

The New York Independent of December 3, 1896, contained an article from D.
L. Moody, from which the following is an extract:

"In a recent issue of your paper I saw an article from a contributor which
stated that there were over three thousand churches in the Congregational
and Presbyterian bodies of this country that did not report a single member
added by profession of faith last year. Can this be true? The thought has
taken such hold of me that I can't get it out of my mind. It

Page 659

is enough almost to send a thrill of horror through the soul of every true
Christian.

"If this is the case with these two large denominations, what must be the
condition of the others also? Are we all going to sit still and let this
thing continue? Shall our religious newspapers and our pulpits keep their
mouths closed like 'dumb dogs that cannot bark' to warn people of
approaching danger? Should we not all lift up our voice like a trumpet
about this matter? What must the Son of God think of such a result of our
labor as this? What must an believing world think about a Christianity that
can't bring forth any more fruit? And have we no care for the multitudes of
souls going down to perdition every year while we all sit and look on? And
this country of ours, where will it be in the next ten years, if we don't
awake out of sleep?" [22]

The state of spiritual declension into which the churches generally had
"fallen" as a result of their rejection of the first angel's message led to
their acceptance of erroneous and corrupt doctrines. In the latter part of
the nineteenth century a marked change was to be seen in the attitude of
both leaders and people of the Protestant churches toward the basic
doctrines of the Scriptures of truth. Having rejected the true, they
accepted the false. The theory of evolution accepted by many church leaders
in the words of one great religious writer "turned the Creator out of
doors." A religious apologist for the theory declared that "prayer is
communion with my inner racial self."

The effects of the evolution theory on the faith of the churches is so
apparent that public comments upon the situation are commonplace. A
professor of philosophy in a great university remarks:

"Today it seems that the great Hebrew-Christian moral tradition, the most
ancient part of our heritage, is crumbling to pieces before our very eyes.
. . . The faith in science has

Page 660

grown so strong, so self-sufficient, so deeply rooted in the processes of
our society, that many of those who feel it have lost all desire to combine
it with any other. . . . The man who trusts a physical science to describe
the world finds no conceivable place into which to fit a deity. . . . The
philosophies that express their [men's] basic interests today are no longer
concerned, as they were in the nineteenth century, with vindicating a
belief in God and immortality. Those ideas have simply dropped out of any
serious attempt to reach an understanding of the world. . . . The present
conflict of religious faith with science is no longer with a scientific
explanation of the world, but with a scientific explanation of religion.
The really revolutionary effect of the scientific faith on religion today
is not its new view of the universe, but its new view of religion." [23]

What that new view of religion is, is frankly stated by a spokesman of
modern liberalism:

"Liberal Protestants have abandoned belief in the verbal infallibility of
the Bible." [24] "We believe that Jesus was a human being, not a
supernatural being different from all other men in quality. We believe that
he was born in the normal way, and that he faced the problems and the
difficulties of life with no secret reinforcements of miraculous power. . .
. To us Jesus' death is, in essence, no different from the death of other
heroes." [25] "Today the ancient belief that Jesus will reappear in the
sky, inaugurate a dramatic world judgment, sentence Satan and the demons to
hell, and lead the angels and the Christians into paradise, has dwindled
from a universally accepted and enormously influential Christian conviction
to the esoteric doctrine of a minority. Once a modern man accepts what
historians tell him about the age of the universe, and once he accepts what
scientists tell him about

Page 661

the nature of evolutionary process, he cannot believe that there will ever
be any such spectacular wind-up of the world's affairs as the one which the
early Christians believed would presently take place." [26] "We propose to
take from the Christianity of the past the elements which seem of abiding
value, combine with them the religious convictions and the ethical insights
which have emerged during the recent times, and from this composite
material shape a new formulation of the Christian message. We frankly admit
that our gospel is not the 'old gospel,' or even the modified version of
the old gospel which is now proclaimed in conservative pulpits. Ours is, we
confess, a 'new gospel.' " [27]

The acceptance by Protestantism of the first angel's message would have
enabled the church to become a light to "all nations." But betraying her
trust by her rejection of the message, she left the nations without the
witness of present truth that they might have had, to grope in the darkness
of error and superstition resulting from the intoxicating and stupefying
influences of the system of false doctrines she had built up and refused to
relinquish.

Robert M. Hutchins, president of the University of Chicago, in speaking of
our spiritual condition, said: "We do not know where we are going, or why,
and we have almost given up the attempt to find out. We are in despair
because the keys which were to open the gates of heaven have let us into a
larger but more oppressive prison house. We think [thought] those keys were
science and the free intelligence of man. They have failed us. We have long
since cast off God. To what can we now appeal?" [28]

In its issue of May 24, 1941, the Philadelphia Inquirer editorially
attempts to analyze our condition: "We appear to have reached one of those
portentous periods in history when

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civilization halts and stands aghast in the presence of forces too complex
and too terrible in their potentialities accurately to be appraised.
Confronted by problems that can be disregarded by none but lighthearted
children and lightheaded fools, we have reached the crossroads where every
signpost points to bafflement. For years there have been increasingly
bitter assaults upon religion. We have felt it was not our concern if 'the
old faiths loosen and fall.' It would seem that in this, as in past
civilizations when they were nearing their inevitable end, we--and by 'we'
is meant mankind in general--have grown too cocksure of ourselves. . . .

"We have watched, many of us with scant misgivings, the growth of queer
cults and the recrudescence of pagan philosophies. Unperturbed, we have
witnessed the rise of modern Humanism, with its denial of a power greater
than our own; its exalting of man to equality with his Maker. Now, when
civilization may be dying on its feet, the barrage balloons of our
self-sufficiency are in process of being blasted out of the sky. Human
creatures at last are beginning to discover that they are not little
gods--but only little men." [29]

But as the popular churches depart farther and farther from God, they at
length reach such a condition that true Christians can on longer maintain a
connection with them; and then they will be called out. This we look for in
the future, in fulfillment of Revelation 18: 1-4. We believe it will come,
when, in addition to their corruptions, the churches begin to raise against
the saints the hand of oppression. (See comments on Revelation 18.)

Verse 9 And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any
man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead,
or in his hand, 10 the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God,
which is poured out without mixture into the cup of His indignation; and he
shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy
angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: 11 and the smoke of their torment
ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who
worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of

Page 663

his name. 12 Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep
the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.

The Third Angel's Message.--This is a message of most fearful import. No
more severe threatening of divine wrath can be found in all the Bible. The
sin against which it warns must be a terrible sin, and it must be one so
plainly defined that all who will may understand it, and thus know how to
avoid the judgments pronounced against it.

It will be noticed that these messages are cumulative, that is, one does
not cease when another is introduced. Thus, for a time the first message
was the only one going forth. The second message was introduced, but that
did not put an end to the first. From that time there were two message. The
third followed them, not to supersede them, but only to join with them, so
that we now have three messages going forth simultaneously, or rather, a
threefold message, embracing the truths of all three, the last one of
course being the culminating proclamation. Until the work is done, it will
never cease to be true that the hour of God's judgment has come, nor that
Babylon has fallen. These facts sill continue to be proclaimed in
connection with the truths introduced by the third message.

There will also be noticed a logical connection between the messages
themselves. Viewing the situation immediately before the first message was
introduced, we see the Protestant religious world sadly in need of
reformation. Divisions and confusion existed in the churches. They were
still clinging to many papal errors and superstitions. The power of the
gospel was impaired in their hands. To correct these evils, the doctrine of
the second coming of Christ was introduced, and proclaimed with power. They
should have received it and been quickened by it into new life, as they
would have been had they received it. Instead of this, they rejected it,
and suffered the consequences spiritually. Then followed the second
message, announcing the result of that rejection, and declaring what was
not only a fact in itself, but a judicial version verdict of God upon them
for recreancy in this respect;

Page 664

namely, that God had departed from them, and they had met with a spiritual
fall.

This did not have the effect to arouse them and lead them to correct their
errors, as it was sufficient to do had they been willing to be admonished
and corrected. What follows? The way is open for a still further retrograde
movement, for wider apostasy and still greater evils. The powers of
darkness will press forward their work, and if the churches still persist
in this course of shunning light and rejecting truth, they will soon find
themselves worshiping the beast and receiving his mark. This will be the
logical sequence of that course of action which began with the rejection of
the first message.

Now another proclamation is sent forth, announcing in solemn tones that if
any man shall do this, he shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God,
which is poured out without mixture into the cup of His indignation. That
is to say, you rejected the first message, and met with spiritual fall. If
you continue to reject truth and disregard the warnings sent out, you will
exhaust God's last means of grace, and finally meet with a literal
destruction for which there will be no remedy. This is as severe a
threatening as God can make to be inflicted in this life, and it is the
last. A few will heed it and be saved, but the multitude will pass on and
perish.

The proclamation of the third angel's message is the special religious
movement to be made before the Lord appears, for immediately following
this, John beholds one like the Son of man coming upon a great white cloud
to reap the harvest of the earth. This can represent nothing else than the
second coming of Christ. If therefore the coming of Christ is at the door,
the time has come for the proclamation of this message. There are many who
with voice and pen are earnestly teaching that we are in the last days of
time, and that the coming of Christ is at the door; but when we remind them
of this prophecy, they are suddenly at sea, without anchor, chart, or
compass. They do not know what to do with it. They can see as well as we
that if what they are teaching

Page 665

respecting the coming of Christ is true, and the Lord is at hand,
somewhere-- yes, all over the land--should be heard the warning notes of
this angel's message.

The arguments on the two preceding messages fix the time of the third, and
show that it belongs to the present day. But the best evidence that the
message is now going to the world, is found in the events that demonstrate
its fulfillment. We have identified the first message as a leading
proclamation in the great Advent movement of 1840-1844. We have seen the
fulfillment of the second message in connection with that movement in the
latter year. Let us now look at what has taken place since that time.

When Christ did not come in 1844, the entire Adventist body was thrown into
more or less confusion. Many gave up the movement entirely. More concluded
that the argument on the time was wrong, and immediately endeavored to
re-adjust the prophetic period, and set a new time for the Lord to come--a
work which they have continued more or less to the present time, fixing a
new date as each one passed. A few searched closely and candidly for the
cause of the mistake, and were confirmed in their views of the providential
character of the advent movement, and in the correctness of the argument on
the time, but saw that a mistake had been made in their understanding of
the sanctuary, by which error the disappointment could be explained. They
learned that the sanctuary in Daniel 8: 14 was not on this earth, as had
been supposed, that the cleansing was not to be fire, and that the prophecy
on this point did not involve the coming of the Lord at all. They found in
the Scriptures clear evidence that the sanctuary referred to was the temple
in heaven, which Paul calls "the sanctuary," the "true tabernacle, which
the Lord pitched and not man." They saw further that its cleansing,
according to the type, would consist of the final ministration of the
priest in the second apartment, or most holy place. They then understood
that the time had come for the fulfillment of Revelation 11: 19: "The
temple of God was opened in hea-

Page 666

ven, and there was seen in His temple the ark of His testament."

Having their attention thus called to the ark, they were naturally led to
an examination of the law contained in the ark. That the ark contained the
law was evident from the very name applied to it. It was called "the ark of
His testament," but it would not have been the ark of His "testament," and
it could not have been so called, had it not contained the law. Here then
was the ark in heaven, the great antitype of the ark which, during typical
times, existed here on earth. The law which this heavenly ark contained
must consequently be the great original of which the law on the tables in
the earthly ark was but a transcript, or copy. Both these laws must read
precisely alike, word for word, jot for jot, tittle for tittle. To suppose
otherwise would involve only falsehood.

That law, then, is still the law of God's government, and its fourth
precept now as in the beginning demands the observance of the seventh day
of the week as the Sabbath. No one who admits the argument on the sanctuary
disputes this point.

Thus the Sabbath reform was brought to view; and it was seen that whatever
had been done in opposition to this law, especially in the introduction of
a day of rest and worship which destroyed the Sabbath of Jehovah, must be
the work of the papal beast, that power which was to oppose God, to attempt
to change His laws and to exalt himself above God. But this is the exact
work in reference to which the third angel utters his warning. Hence it
began to be seen by the believers of 1844 that the period of the third
angel's message synchronizes with the period of the cleansing of the
sanctuary, which began with the ending of the 2300 days in 1844, and that
the proclamation is based on the great truths developed by this subject.

Thus light of the third angel's message dawned upon the church. They saw at
once that the world would have a right to demand of those who professed to
be giving that message, an explanation of all the symbols which it
contains--

Page 667

the beast, the image, the worship, and the mark. Hence these points were
made subjects of special study. The testimony of the Scriptures was found
to be clear and abundant, and it did not take long to formulate from the
truths revealed, definite statements and proofs in explanation of all these
points.

A Message of Warning.--The argument showing what constitutes the beast, the
image, and the mark, has already been given in comments on Revelation 13;
and it has been shown that the two-horned beast, which erects the image and
enforces the mark, is the United States of America. It is this work, and
these agents, against which the third angel's message utters its warning,
which is further proof that this message is now in order, and shows the
most conclusive harmony in all these prophecies. The arguments we need not
here repeat; it will be sufficient to recapitulate the points established.

The "beast" is the Roman Catholic power.

The "mark of the beast" is that institution which this power sets forth as
proof of its authority to legislate for the church, and command the
consciences of men under sin. It consists in a change of the law of God, by
which the signature of royalty is taken from the law. The seventh-day
Sabbath, the great memorial of Jehovah's creative work, is torn from its
place in the decalogue, and a false and counterfeit sabbath, the first day
of the week, is set up in its stead.

The "image of the beast" is some ecclesiastical combination which will
resemble the beast in being clothed with power to enforce its decrees with
the pains and penalties of the civil law.

The "two-horned beast," by which the image is given power to speak and act,
represents the United States of America, which is moving toward the
formation of the image of the beast.

The two-horned beast enforces the mark of the beast, that is, it
establishes by law the observance of the first day of the week, or the
Sunday rest day. What is being done in this direction has already been
noticed. The movement is urged

Page 668

on by individuals and by organized groups which mix agitation for religious
laws with their better aims.

But the people are not left in the dark in this matter. The third angel's
message utters a solemn protest against all this evil. It exposes the work
of the beast, shows the nature of its opposition to the law of God, warns
the people against compliance with its demands, and points the way of truth
to all. This naturally excites opposition, and the church is led so much
the more to seek the aid of human power in behalf of its dogmas as they are
shown to be sadly lacking in divine authority.

What has this message accomplished, and what showing does it make in the
world today? In answer to this query, some striking facts may be presented.
The first publication in its interests was issued in 1849. Today this
message is proclaimed by books, tracts, and periodicals in 200 different
languages, and maintains 83 publishing houses scattered throughout both
hemispheres, in which are published 313 periodicals. The value of its
literature sold during 1942 amounted to $5,467,664.99. Its evangelistic
work is carried forward in 413 countries, and preached in more than 810
languages.

Such a movement is at least a phenomenon to be explained. We have found
movements which fulfill most strikingly and accurately the first and second
angel's messages. Here is another which now challenges the attention of the
world as a fulfillment of the third. It claims to be a fulfillment, and
asks the world to examine the credentials on which it bases its right to
such a claim. Let us look at them.

"The third angel followed them." So this movement follows the two
previously mentioned. It takes up and continues the promulgation of the
truths they uttered, and adds to them what the third angel's message
involves besides.

The third message is characterized as a warning against the beast. So this
movement holds prominent among its themes an explanation of this symbol,
telling the people what it is, and exposing its blasphemous claims and
works.

Page 669

The third message warns all against worshiping the beast. So this movement
explains how this beast-power has brought into Christendom certain
institutions which antagonize the requirements of the Most High, and shows
that if we yield to these, we worship this power. "Know ye not," says Paul,
"that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to
whom ye obey?" Romans 6: 16.

The third message warns all against receiving the mark of the beast. So
this movement makes it the burden of its work to show what the mark of the
beast is, and to warn against is reception. It is the more solicitous to do
this, because this unchristian power has worked so cunningly that the
majority are deceived into making unconscious concessions to its authority.
It is shown that the mark of the beast is a institution which has been
arrayed in Christian garb, and insidiously introduced into the Christian
church in such a way as to nullify the authority of Jehovah and enthrone
that of the beast. Stripped of all its disguises, it is simply setting up a
counterfeit sabbath of its own on the first day of the week, in place of
the Sabbath of the Lord on the seventh day--a usurpation which the great
God cannot tolerate, and from which the remnant church must fully clear
itself before it will be prepared for the coming of Christ. Hence the
urgent warning, Let no man worship the beast or receive his mark.

The third message has something to say against the worship of the image of
the beast. So this movement speaks of this subject also, telling what the
image will be, or at least explaining the prophecy of the two-horned beast.
It reveals where the image is to be formed. The prophecy concerns this
generation; and is evidently on the verge of fulfillment.

There is no religious enterprise extant today except that of the
Seventh-day Adventists which claims to be a fulfillment of the third
angel's message--no other which holds forth as its prominent themes the
very subjects of which this book is composed. What shall we do with these
things? Is this the fulfillment? It must so stand, unless its claims can be
disproved:

Page 671

unless it can be shown that the first and second angels' messages have not
been heard; that the positions taken in reference to the beast, the image,
the mark, and the worship are not correct; and that all the prophecies, and
signs, and evidences which show that the coming of Christ is near, and
consequently that this message is due, can be wholly set aside. This the
intelligent Bible student will hardly undertake.

The result of the proclamation as declared in verse 12, still further
proves the correctness of the positions here taken. It brings out a company
of whom it can be said, "Here are they that keep the commandments of God
and the faith of Jesus." In the very heart of Christendom this work is
being done, and those who receive the message are rendered peculiar by
their practice in reference to the commandments of God. What difference is
there in practice, and what only difference among Christians in this
respect?--Only this: some think that the fourth commandment is kept by
devoting the first day of the week to rest and worship. Others claim that
the seventh day is the one set apart to such duties, and spend its hours
accordingly, resuming on the first day their ordinary labor. No plainer
line of demarcation could be drawn between two classes. The time which one
class regards as sacred and devotes to religious uses, the other looks upon
as only secular and devotes to ordinary laboring. One class, pursing its
worldly vocations, finds the other class withdrawn from all such pursuits,
and the avenue of commercial intercourse between them abruptly closed. Thus
for two days in the week these two classes are kept apart by difference of
doctrine and practice in regard to the fourth commandment. On no other
commandment could there be so marked a difference.

The Sabbath Made Prominent in the Message.--The third angel's message
brings its adherents to the observance of the seventh day, for in this way
only are they made peculiar, inasmuch as an observance of the first day
would not distinguish a person from the masses who were already observing
that day

Page 672

when the message was introduced. In this we find still further evidence
that Sundaykeeping is the mark of the beast, for the message, presenting as
its chief burden a warning against receiving the mark of the beast, will of
course brings its adherents to discard that practice which constitutes the
mark, and to adopt the opposite course. It does lead them to discard the
observance of the first day of the week, and adopt that of the seventh day.
In view of this, it is at once seen that there is here more than an
inference that Sundaykeeping is the mark of the beast against which it
warns us, and that the observance of the seventh day is its opposite.

This is in harmony with the argument on the seal of God, as given in the
remarks on Revelation 7. It was there shown that sign, seal, mark, and
token are synonymous terms, and that God takes His Sabbath to be His sign,
or seal, in reference to His people. Thus God has a seal, which is His
Sabbath. The beast has a mark, which is a counterfeit sabbath. One is the
seventh day, the other is the first day. Christendom will at last be
divided into just two classes: those who are sealed with the seal of the
living God--that is, have His sign, or keep His sabbath; and those who
receive the mark of the beast-- that is, have his sign, or keep his
counterfeit sabbath. In reference to this issue, the third angel's message
both enlightens and warns us.

As so much importance attaches to the seventh-day Sabbath, it will be
proper to present here the leading facts connected with the Sabbath
institution.

The Sabbath was instituted in the beginning, at the conclusion of the first
week of time. (Genesis 2: 1-3.)

It was the seventh day of that week, and was based on facts which are
inseparably connected with its very name and existence--facts which can
never be changed. God's resting on the seventh day made it His rest day, or
the Sabbath (rest) of the Lord; and it can never cease to be His rest day,
as that fact never can be changed. He sanctified, or set apart, the day
then and there, the record states; and that sanctification can

Page 673

never cease, unless it is removed by an act on the part of Jehovah as
direct and explicit as that by which He placed it upon the day in the
beginning. No one claims that this has ever been done, and one could prove
it if he did so claim.

The Sabbath has nothing in it of a typical or ceremonial nature, for it was
instituted before man sinned, and hence belongs to a time when in the very
nature of things a type or shadow could not exist.

The laws and institutions which existed before man's fall were primary in
their nature. They grew out of the relation between God and man, and man
and man, and were such as would always have remained if man never had
sinned, and were not affected by his sin. In other words, they were in the
nature of things immutable and eternal. Ceremonial and typical laws owed
their origin to the fact that man had sinned. These were from dispensation
to dispensation subject to change; and these, and these only, were
abolished at the cross. The Sabbath law was a primary law, and therefore
immutable and eternal.

The sanctification of the Sabbath in Eden assures its existence from
creation to Sinai. Here it was placed in the very bosom of the decalogue as
God spoke it with an audible voice, and wrote it with His finger on tables
of stone-- circumstances which forever separate it from ceremonial laws,
and place it among the moral and eternal.

The Sabbath is not indefinite, any seventh day after six labor. The law
from Sinai (Exodus 20: 8-11) makes it as definite as language can make it.
The events that gave it birth (Genesis 2: 1-3) confine it to the definite
seventh day. The 6,240 Sabbath miracles in the wilderness, three each week
for forty years--a double supply of manna on the sixth day, the
preservation of the sixth-day manna on the seventh day, and none on the
seventh day (Exodus 16)-- show that it is one particular day, and not
simply a proportion of time. To claim otherwise would be like claiming that
Washington's Birthday or Independence Day was only a 365th part of a year,
and

Page 674

might be celebrated on any other day as well as the day upon which it
occurred.

The Sabbath is a part of that law which our Lord openly declared that He
came not to destroy. On the other hand, He most solemnly affirmed that it
should endure in every jot and tittle while the earth should continue.
(Matthew 5: 17- 20.)

It is a part of that law which Paul declares is not made void but
established by faith in Christ. (Romans 3: 31.) On the contrary the
ceremonial or typical law, which pointed to Christ and ceased at the cross
is made void, or superseded, by faith in Him. (Ephesians 2: 15.)

It is a part of that royal law, a law pertaining to the King Jehovah, which
James declares is a law of liberty, and which shall judge us at the last
day. God does not have different standards of judgment for different ages
of the world. (James 2: 11, 12.)

It is the "Lord's day" of Revelation 1: 10. (See comments on that verse.)

It appears as the institution in reference to which a great reform is
predicted in the last days. (Isaiah 56: 1, 2 compared with 1 Peter 1: 5.)
Under this head would also come the message under consideration.

In the new creation, the Sabbath, true to its origin and nature, again
appears, and will thenceforward shed its blessings upon God's people
through all eternity. (Isaiah 66: 22, 23.)

Such is a brief synopsis of some of the arguments to show that the Sabbath
law has been in no wise relaxed, and the institution in no way changed; and
that a person cannot be said to keep the commandments of God unless he
keeps His day. To have to do with such an institution is a high honor. To
pay heed to its claims will prove an infinite blessing.

Punishment of Beast Worshipers.--These shall be tormented with fire and
brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. When is this
torment inflicted? Revelation 19: 20 shows that at the second coming of
Christ there is a

Page 675

manifestation of fiery judgments which may be called a lake of fire and
brimstone, into which the beast and the false prophet are cast alive. This
can refer only to the destruction visited upon them at the beginning, not
at the end, of the thousand years.

There is a remarkable passage in Isaiah to which we are obliged to refer in
explanation of the phraseology of the threatening of the third angel, and
which unquestionably describes scenes to take place here at the second
advent and in the desolate state of the earth during the thousand years
following. That the language of Revelation was borrowed from this prophecy
can hardly fail to be seen. After describing the Lord's anger upon the
nations, the great slaughter of their armies, and the departing of the
heavens as a scroll, the prophet says: "It is the day of the Lord's
vengeance, and the year of recompenses for the controversy of Zion. And the
streams thereof shall be turned into pitch, and the dust thereof into
brimstone, and the land thereof shall become burning pitch. It shall not be
quenched night nor day; the smoke thereof shall go up forever: from
generation to generation it shall lie waste; none shall pass through it
forever and ever." Isaiah 34: 8-10. Since it is expressly revealed that
there is to be a lake of fire in which all sinners perish at the end of the
thousand years, we can only conclude that the destruction of the living
wicked at the beginning of this period, and the final doom of all the
ungodly at its close, are similar.

The expression "forever and ever" cannot here denote eternity. This is
evident from the fact that this punishment is inflicted on this earth,
where time is measured by day and night. This is further shown from the
passage in Isaiah already referred to, if that is, as above suggested, the
language from which this is borrowed, and applies to the same time. That
language is spoken of the land of Idumea; but whether it be taken to mean
literally the land of Edom, south and east of Judea, or to represent, as it
doubtless does, this whole earth at the time when Lord Jesus shall be
revealed from heaven in

Page 676

flaming fire, and the year of recompenses for the controversy of Zion
comes, in either case the scene must eventually terminate. This earth is
finally to be made new, cleansed of every stain of sin, every vestige of
suffering and decay, and to become the habitation of righteousness and joy
throughout eternal ages. The word {GREEK CHARACTERS IN PRINTED TEXT}, aion,
here translated "forever" is defined thus by G. Abbot-Smith in A Manual
Greek Lexicon of the New Testament: "A space of time, as, a lifetime,
generation, period of history, an indefinitely long period." So without
doing violence to the accepted meaning of the Greek word, we may here
interpret it in harmony with other plain statements of Scripture.

The period of the third angel's message is a time of patience with the
people of God. Paul and James both give us instructions on this point.
(Hebrews 10: 36; James 5: 7, 8.) Meanwhile this waiting company are keeping
the commandments of God--the ten commandments--and the faith of Jesus, that
is, all the teachings of Christ and His apostles as contained in the New
Testament. The true Sabbath as given in the decalogue is thus brought out
in vivid contrast with the counterfeit sabbath, the mark of the beast,
which finally distinguishes those who reject the third angel's message.

Verse 13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are
the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that
they may rest from their labors; and their works do follow them. 14 And I
looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the
Son of man, having on His head a golden crown, and in His hand a sharp
sickle. 15 And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud
voice to Him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in Thy sickle, and reap: for the
time is come for Thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe. 16 And
He that sat on the cloud thrust in His sickle on the earth; and the earth
was reaped.

A Solemn Crisis.--Events grow solemn as we near the end. It is this fact
which gives to the third angel's message, now going forth, its unusual
degree of solemnity and importance. It is the last warning to go forth
prior to the coming of the Son of man, here represented as seated upon a
white cloud, a

Page 677

crown upon His head, and a sickle in His hand, to reap the harvest of the
earth.

We are fast passing over a line of prophecy which culminates in the
revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven in flaming fire, to take vengeance
on His foes, and to reward His saints. Not only so, but we have come so
near its accomplishment that the next link in the chain is this crowning
and momentous event. Time never rolls backward. As the river does not
falter as it approaches the precipice, but bears all floating bodies over
with resistless power; and as the seasons never reverse their course, but
summer follows in the path of the budding fig tree, and winter treads close
upon the falling leaf; so we are borne onward and onward, whether we will
or not, whether prepared or not, to the unavoidable and irreversible
crisis. Ah, how little do the proud professor of religion and the careless
sinner dream of the doom that is impending! How hard, even for those who
know and profess the truth, to realize it as it is!

A Blessing Promised.--John is commanded by a voice from heave to write,
"Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth;" and the
response of the Spirit is, "Yea, . . . that they may rest from their
labors; and their works do follow them." "From henceforth" must signify
from some particular point of time. What point?--Evidently from the
beginning of the message in connection with which this is spoken. But why
are those who die after this point of time blessed? There must be some
special reason for pronouncing this benediction upon them. Is it not
because they escape the time of fearful peril which the saints are to
encounter as they close their pilgrimage? While they are thus blessed in
common with all the righteous dead, they have an advantage over them in
being doubtless that company who are raised to everlasting life in the
special resurrection in Daniel 12: 2.

It will be noticed that in this line of prophecy three angels precede the
Son of man on the white cloud, and three are introduced after that symbol.
The opinion has already been

Page 678

expressed that literal angels are engaged in the scenes here described. The
first three have charge of the three special messages. The message of the
fourth angel is evidently to be uttered after the Son of man finishes His
priestly work, and takes His seat upon the white cloud, but before He
appears in the clouds of heaven. As the language is addressed to Him who is
seated upon the white cloud, having in His hand a sharp sickle ready to
reap, it must denote a message of prayer on the part of the church, after
their work for the work is done, probation has ceased, and nothing remains
but for the Lord to appear and take His people to Himself. It is doubtless
the day-and-night cry spoken of by our Lord in Luke 18: 7, 8, in connection
with the coming of the Son of man. This prayer will be answered; the elect
will be avenged; for does not the parable read, "Shall not God avenge His
own elect, which cry day and night unto Him?" He that is seated upon the
cloud will thrust in His sickle, and the saints, under the figure of the
wheat of the earth, will be gathered into the heavenly garner.

The Wheat Garnered.--"He that sat on the cloud," says the prophecy, "thrust
in His sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped." By this language we
are carried past the second advent, with its accompanying scenes of
destruction to the wicked and salvation to the righteous. Beyond these
scenes we must therefore look for the application of the following verses.

Verse 17 And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he
also having a sharp sickle. 18 And another angel came out from the altar,
which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the
sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters
of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe. 19 And the angel
thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth,
and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. 20 And the
winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the
winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six
hundred furlongs.

The Winepress of God's Wrath.--The last two angels have to do with the
wicked, who are most fitly represented by the

Page 679

purple clusters of the vine of the earth. May it not be that the closing
doom of that class at the end of the thousand years is here presented, the
prophecy thus making a final disposition of both the righteous and the
wicked-- the righteous clothed with immortality, and safely established in
the kingdom, the wicked perishing outside the city?

This can hardly be applied at the time of the second advent, for events are
here given in chronological order, and the destruction of the wicked would
be contemporaneous with the gathering of the righteous. Again, the living
wicked at Christ's coming drink of the "cup" of His indignation. But this
passage brings to view the time when they perish in the "winepress" of His
wrath, which is said to be trodden "without the city," answering completely
to the description of Revelation 20: 9, this latter expression more
naturally denoting their complete and final destruction.

The angel comes out of the temple, where the records are kept and the
punishment is determined. The other angel has power over fire. This may
have some connection with the fact that fire is the agent by which the
wicked are at last to be destroyed, although, to carry out the figure, the
wicked are likened to the clusters of the vine of the earth, and are said
to be cast into the great winepress which is trodden without the city.
Blood comes out of the winepress, even to the horses' bridles. We know that
the wicked are doomed to be swallowed up at last in a flood of
all-devouring flame descending from God out of heaven, but what preceding
slaughter may take place among the doomed host, we do not know. It is not
improbable that this language will be literally fulfilled. As the first
four angels of this series denoted a marked movement on the part of the
people of God, the last two may denote the same; for the saints are to have
some part to act in meting out and executing the final punishment of the
wicked. (1 Corinthians 6: 2; Psalm 149: 9.)

The Saints Triumphant.--This prophecy closes as the others do, with the
triumph of God, Christ, and the redeemed.

[1] William Cuninghame, A Dissertation on the Seals and Trumpets of the
Apocalypse, p. 255.

[2] Martin Luther, Familiar Discourses, pp. 7, 8.

[3] Albert Whalley, The Red Letter Days of Israel, p. 101.

[4] Ibid., p. 116.

[5] F. W. Farrar, The Early Days of Christianity, pp. 237, 238.

[6] Jewish Encyclopedia, Vol. II, p. 286.

[7] Editorial, in The Advent Herald, Dec. 14, 1850, p. 364.

[8] J. M. Campbell, The Everlasting Gospel.

[9] John Bayford, The Messiah's Kingdom, p. 283.

[10] J. W. Brooks, Elements of Prophetical Interpretation, pp. 166, 167.

[11] Mourant Brock, Glorification, pp. 10, 11, footnote.

[12] Joseph Wolff, Narrative of a Mission to Bokhara, pp. 40, 42.

[13] D. T. Taylor, The Voice of the Church, pp. 343, 344.

[14] William Cuninghame, A Dissertation on the Seals and Trumpets of the
Apocalypse, p. 443.

[15] "The Remedy," Christian Palladium, May 15, 1844, p. 409.

[16] "Great Spiritual Dearth," Religious Telegraph, December 4, 1844, p.
76.

[17] Philadelphia Sun, November 11, 1844.

[18] "Revivals," Oberlin Evangelist, November 20, 1844, p. 189.

[19] "Breadth of Christian Culture," Congregationalist, November 19, 1858,
p. 186.

[20] "The Greatest of Questions," New York Christian Advocate, August 30,
1883, p. 549.

[21] Western Christian Advocate, July 19, 1893, p. 456.

[22] Dwight L. Moody, "Those Three Thousand Churches," New York
Independent, December 3, 1896, p. 1.

[23] John Herman Randall, "The Forces That Are Destroying Traditional
Beliefs," Current History, June, 1929, pp. 359-361.

[24] James Gordon Gilkey, A Faith to Affirm, p. 3. By permission of the
Macmillan Company, publishers.

[25] Ibid., pp. 9, 10.

[26] Ibid., p. 24.

[27] Ibid., p. 26.

[28] Robert M. Hutchins, quoted in "The Revolt Against Science," The
Christian Century, January 24, 1934. Dr. Hutchins says he meant "thought"
instead of "think."

[29] "Will They Turn to Religion?" Philadelphia Inquirer, May 24, 1941, p.
10.
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Page 681

                                 Chapter XV

                    Preparing the Vials of Divine Wrath

This chapter introduces the seven last plagues, a manifestation of Heaven's
unmingled wrath, in its full measure upon the last generation of the
wicked. The work of mercy is then forever past.

Verse 1 And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvelous, seven angels
having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God. 2
And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had
gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark,
and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the
harps of God. 3 And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the
song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvelous are Thy works, Lord God
Almighty; just and true are Thy ways, Thou King of saints. 4 Who shall not
fear Thee, O Lord, and glorify Thy name? for Thou only art holy: for all
nations shall come and worship before Thee; for Thy judgments are made
manifest. 5 And after that I looked, and, behold, the temple of the
tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened: 6 And the seven angels
came out of the temple, having the seven plagues, clothed in pure and white
linen, and having their breasts girded with golden girdles. 7 And one of
the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the
wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever. 8 And the temple was filled
with smoke from the glory of God, and from His power; and no man was able
to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were
fulfilled.

A Preparatory Scene.--Thus reads the fifteenth chapter. By it we are
carried back to a new series of events. The whole chapter is but an
introduction to the most terrible judgments of the Almighty ever to be
visited upon this earth--the seven last plagues. What we behold here is a
solemn preparation for the outpouring of these unmixed vials. Verse 5 shows
that these plagues fall after the close of the ministration in the
sanctuary, for the temple is opened before they are poured out. They are
given to seven angels clothed in linen pure and white, a fit emblem of the
purity of God's righteousness and justice in

Page 682

the infliction of these judgments. They receive these vials from one of the
four beasts, or living creatures. These living beings were shown in
comments on Revelation 4 to be a class of Christ's assistants in His
sanctuary work. How appropriate then that they should be the ones to
deliver to the ministers of vengeance the vials of the wrath to be poured
upon those who have slighted Christ's mercy, abused His long-suffering,
heaped contumely upon His name, and crucified Him afresh in the persecution
of His followers! While the seven angels are performing their fearful
mission, the temple is filled with the glory of God, and no man--{GREEK
CHARACTERS IN PRINTED TEXT}, oudeis, "no one, no being" --can enter there.
This shows that the work of mercy is closed, since there is no ministration
in the sanctuary during the infliction of the plagues. Hence they are
manifestations of the wrath of God without any mixture of mercy.

God's People Remembered.--In this scene the people of God are not
forgotten. The prophet is permitted to anticipate somewhat in verses 2-4,
and behold them as victors upon the sea which had the appearance of glass
mingled with fire. They sing the song of Moses and the Lamb as they stand
upon that sparkling expanse of glory. The sea of glass upon which these
victors stand, is the same as that brought to view in Revelation 4: 6,
which was before the throne in heaven. As we have no evidence that it has
yet changed location, and the saints are seen upon it, we have here
indubitable proof in connection with Revelation 14: 1-5 that the saints are
taken to heaven to receive a part of their reward. Thus, as if the bright
sun should burst through the midnight cloud, some scene is presented or
some promise given to the humble followers of the Lamb in every hour of
temptation, to assure and reassure them of God's love and care for them,
and of the certainty of their final reward. "Say ye to the righteous,"
wrote Isaiah of old, "that it shall be well with him;" but, "Woe unto the
wicked! It shall be ill with him." Isaiah 3: 10, 11.

The song the victors sing, the song of Moses and the Lamb, is given here in
epitome: "Great and marvelous are They works,

Page 683

Lord God Almighty; just and true are Thy ways, Thou King of saints." It is
a song of infinite grandeur. How comprehensive in its terms! How sublime in
its theme! It appeals to the works of God which are a manifestation of His
glory. With immortal vision the saints will be able to comprehend them as
they cannot in the present state, even though astronomy reveals enough to
fill all hearts with admiration. From our little world we pass out to our
sun ninety-three million miles away; on to its nearest neighboring sun,
twenty-five million million miles away; on to the great double polestar,
from which it takes light four hundred years to reach our world; on past
systems, groups, constellations, till we reach the great star Rigel, in
Orion, shining with the power of fifteen thousand suns like ours! What then
must be the grand center around which these myriads of shining orbs
revolve! Well may the song be sung, "Great and marvelous are Thy works."
But the song covers another field also, the field of God's providence and
grace: "Just and true are Thy ways, Thou King of saints." All the dealings
of God with all His creatures in the eyes of the redeemed and the sight of
all worlds will be forever vindicated. After all our blindness, all our
perplexities, all our trials, we shall be able to exclaim at last in the
exuberance of satisfied joy, "Just and true are Thy ways, Thou King of
saints."
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Page 685

                                Chapter XVI

                     Seven Plagues Devastate the Earth

Verse 1 And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven
angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the
earth. 2 And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and
there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of
the beast, and upon them which worshiped his image.

This chapter is a description of the seven vials of the unmingled wrath of
God, and the effects that follow as they are poured upon the earth. Our
first inquiries are, What is the true position of these points? Are they
symbolical and mostly fulfilled in the past? Or are they literal, and all
future?

Time of the Plagues.--The description of the first plague clearly reveals
at one the time when it shall fall upon the earth, for it is poured out
upon those who have the mark of the beast, and who worship his image--the
very work against which the third angels warns us. This is conclusive proof
that these judgments are not poured out until after this angel closes his
work, and that the class who hear his warning and reject it, are the ones
to receive the first drops from the overflowing vials of God's indignation.
If these plagues are in the past, the image of the beast and his worship
are in the past. If these are past, the two-horned beast, which makes this
image, and all his work, are in the past. If these are past, then the third
angel's message, which warns us in reference to this work, is in the past;
and if this is ages in the past, then the first and second messages which
precede it were also ages in the past. Then the prophetic periods, on which
the messages are based, especially the 2300 days, ended ages ago. If this
is so, the seventy weeks of Daniel are thrown wholly into the Jewish
period, and the great proof of the Messiahship of Christ is de-

Page 686

stroyed. But it has been shown in remarks on Revelation 7, 13, 14, that the
first and second messages have been given in our own day; that the third is
now in process of accomplishment; that the two-horned beast has come upon
the stage of action, and is preparing to do the work assigned; and that the
formation of the image and the enforcement of the worship are just in the
future. Unless all these positions can be overthrown, the seven last
plagues must also be assigned wholly to the future.

But there are other reasons for locating them in the future and not in the
past.

Under the fifth plague, men blaspheme God because of their sores, the same
sores, of course, caused by the outpouring of the first plague. This shows
that these plagues all fall upon one and the same generation of men, some
being, no doubt swept off by each one, yet some surviving through the
terrible scenes of them all.

These plagues are the wine of God's wrath without mixture, threatened by
the third angel. (Revelation 14: 10; 15: 1.) Such language cannot be
applied to any judgments visited upon the earth while Christ pleads with
His Father in behalf of our fallen race. Therefore we must locate them in
the future, when probation shall have closed.

Another and more definite testimony on the beginning and duration of these
plagues is found in the these words: "The temple was filled with smoke from
the glory of God, and from His power; and no man was able to enter into the
temple, till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled."
Revelation 15: 8. The temple here introduced is evidently that which is
mentioned in Revelation 11: 19: "The temple of God was opened in heaven,
and there was seen in His temple the ark of His testament." In other words,
we have before us the heavenly sanctuary. When the seven angels with the
seven golden vials receive their commission, the temple is filled with
smoke from the glory of God, and no being can enter into the temple, or
sanctuary, until the angels have fulfilled their work. There

Page 687

will therefore be no ministration in the sanctuary during this time.
Consequently, these vials are not poured out until the close of the
ministration in the tabernacle above, but immediately follow that event.
Christ is then no longer a mediator. Mercy, which has long stayed the hand
of vengeance, pleads no more. The servants of God are all sealed. What
could then be expected but that the storm of vengeance should fall, and
earth be swept with the besom of destruction?

Since the time of these judgments places them in the very near future,
treasured up against the day of wrath, we proceed to inquire, into their
nature, and the result when the solemn and fearful mandate goes forth from
the temple to the seven angels saying, "Go you ways, and pour our the vials
of the wrath of God upon the earth." Here we are called to look into the
"armory" of the Lord, and behold the "weapons of His indignation." Jeremiah
50: 25. Here are brought forth the treasures of hail, which have been
reserved against the time of trouble, against the day of battle and war.
(Job 38: 22, 23.)

The First Plague.--"The first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth;
and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark
of the beat, and upon them which worshiped his image." (See also Zechariah
14: 12.)

There is no apparent reason why this should not be regarded as strictly
literal. These plagues are almost identical with those which God inflicted
upon the Egyptians as He was about to deliver His people from the yoke of
bondage, the reality of which is seldom, if ever, called in question. God
is now about to reward His people with their final deliverance and
redemption, and His judgments will be manifested in a manner no less
literal and terrible. What the sore here threatened is, we are not
informed. Perhaps it may be similar to the parallel plague which fell upon
Egypt. (Exodus 9: 8-11.)

Verse 3 And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it
became as the blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea.

Page 689

The Second Plague.--A more infectious and deadly substance can scarcely be
conceived of than the blood of a dead man; and the thought that the great
bodies of water on the earth, which are doubtless meant by the term sea,
will be changed to such a state under this plague, presents a fearful
picture. We have here the remarkable fact that the term living soul is
applied to irrational animals, the fish and living creatures of the sea.
This is, we believe, the only instance of such an application in the
Authorized Version. In the original languages, however, it occurs
frequently, showing that the term as applied to man in the beginning
(Genesis 2: 7) cannot be taken as furnishing any evidence that he is
endowed with an immaterial and immortal essence called the soul.

Verse 4 And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and
fountains of waters; and they became blood. 5 And I heard the angel of the
waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be,
because Thou hast judged thus. 6 For they have shed the blood of saints and
prophets, and Thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy. 7
And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true
and righteous are Thy judgments.

The Third Plague.--Such is the description of the terrible retribution for
the "blood of saints" shed by violent hands, visited upon those who have
done so, or wish to do, such deeds. Though the horrors of that hour when
the fountains and rivers of water shall be like blood, cannot now be
realized, the justice of God will stand vindicated, and His judgments
approved. Even the angels are heard exclaiming, "Thou are righteous, O
Lord, . . . because Thou hast judged thus. For they have shed the blood of
saints and prophets. . . . Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous
are Thy judgments."

It may be asked how the last generation of the wicked can be said to have
shed the blood of saints and prophets, since the last generation of saints
are not slain. Reference to Matthew 23: 34, 35; 1 John 3: 15, will explain.
These scriptures show that guilt attaches to motive no less than to action.

Page 690

No generation ever formed a more determined purpose to devote the saints to
indiscriminate slaughter than the present generation will, not far in the
future. (See comments on Revelation 12: 17; 13: 15.) In motive and purpose,
they do shed the blood of saints and prophets, and are every whit as guilty
as if they were able to carry out their wicked intentions.

It would seem that none of the human family could long survive a
continuance of a plague so terrible as this. It must therefore be limited
in its duration, as was the similar one on Egypt. (Exodus 7: 17-21, 25.)

Verse 8 And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power
was given unto him to scorch men with fire. 9 And men were scorched with
great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these
plagues: and they repented not to give Him glory.

The Fourth Plague.--It is worthy of notice that every succeeding plague
tends to augment the calamity of the previous ones and to heighten the
anguish of the guilty sufferers. We have now a noisome and grievous sore
preying upon men, inflaming their blood, and pouring its feverish influence
through their veins. In addition to this, they have only blood to allay
their burning thirst. As if to crown all, power is given unto the sun, and
it pours upon them a flood of fire, and they are scorched with great heat.
Here, as the records runs, their woe first seeks utterance in fearful
blasphemy.

Verse 10 And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the
beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues
for pain, 11 And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and
their sores, and repented not of their deeds.

The Fifth Plague.--An important fact is established by this testimony. The
plagues do not at once destroy all their victims, for some who were at
first smitten with sores, are still living under the fifth vial, and
gnawing their tongues for pain. An illustration of this vial will be found
in Exodus 10: 21-23. It is poured upon the seat of the beast, the papacy.
The seat of the beast is wherever the papal see is located, which has thus
far, and without doubt will continue to be, the city

Page 691

of Rome. "His kingdom" probably embraces all those who are ecclesiastical
subjects of the pope wherever they may be.

As those who place the plagues in the past have the first five already
wholly accomplished, we here pause a moment to inquire where in past ages
the judgments here threatened have been fulfilled. Can judgments so
terrible be inflicted, and nobody know it? If not, where is the history of
the fulfillment? When did a noisome and grievous sore fall upon a specified
and extensive part of mankind? When did the sea become as the blood of a
dead man, and every living soul in it die? When did the fountains and
rivers become blood, and people have blood to drink? When did the sun so
scorch men with fire as to extort from them curses and blasphemy? When did
the subjects of the beast gnaw their tongues for pain, and at the same time
blaspheme God on account of their sores? In these plagues, says
Inspiration, is filled up the wrath of God, but if they can be fulfilled
and nobody know it, who shall henceforth consider His wrath so terrible a
thing, or shrink from His judgments when they are threatened?

Verse 12 And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river
Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of
the east might be prepared. 13 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs
come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and
out of the mouth of the false prophet. 14 For they are the spirits of
devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of
the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God
Almighty. 15 Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and
keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. 16 And he
gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.

The Sixth Plague.--What is the great River Euphrates, upon which this vial
is poured out? One view is that it is the literal River Euphrates in Asia.
Another is that it is a symbol of the nation occupying the territory
through which that river flows. The latter opinion is preferable for many
reasons.

It would be difficult to see what end would be gained by the drying up of
the literal river, as that would not offer an

Page 692

obstruction at all serious to the progress of an advancing army. It should
be noticed that the drying up takes place to prepare the way of the kings
of the East, that is, regular military organizations, and not a promiscuous
and unequipped crowd of men, women, and children, like the children of
Israel at the Red Sea, or at the Jordan River. The Euphrates is only about
1,400 miles in length, about one third the size of the Mississippi. Without
difficulty, Cyrus turned the whole river from its channel at his siege of
Babylon. Notwithstanding the numerous wars that have been carried on along
its banks, and the mighty hosts that have crossed and recrossed its
streams, it never yet had to be dried up to let them pass.

It would be as necessary to dry up the River Tigris as the Euphrates, for
that is nearly as large as the latter. Its source is only fifteen miles
from that of the Euphrates in the mountains of Armenia, and it runs nearly
parallel with it and but a short distance from it throughout its whole
course. Yet the prophecy says nothing of the Tigris.

The literal drying up of the rivers takes place under the fourth vial, when
power is given to the sun to scorch men with fire. Under this plague occur
beyond question the scenes of drouth and famine so graphically described by
Joel, and as one result of these it is expressly stated that "the rivers of
waters are dried up." (See Joel 1: 14-20.) The Euphrates can hardly be an
exception to this visitation of drouth; hence not much would remain to be
literally dried up under the sixth vial.

These plagues, from the very nature of the case, must be manifestations of
wrath and judgments upon men; but if the drying up of the literal Euphrates
is all that is brought to view, this plague is not of such a nature, and
turns out to be no serious affair, after all.

With these objections existing against considering the Euphrates a literal
river, it must be understood figuratively as symbolizing the power holding
possession of the territory watered by that river when it is observed as
beginning to dry up. All agree that that power was Turkey. Hence we may

Page 693

look for the fulfillment of the specifications of this prophecy to affect
definitely the Turkish nation.

It is so used in other places in the Scriptures. (See Isaiah 8: 7;
Revelation 9: 14.) In this latter text, all must concede that the Euphrates
symbolizes the Turkish power; and being the first and only other occurrence
of the word in the Revelation, it may well be considered as governing its
use in this book.

The drying up of the river in this sense would be the diminution of the
Turkish nation, the gradual shrinking of its borders. This is what has
actually happened.

At its height the Ottoman Empire extended on the east to the Tigris and the
Caspian Sea; on the south to Aden, including Arabia, Palestine, Egypt,
Algiers; on the north, the kingdom of Hungary, the Balkan States, the
Crimea. Turkey waged war again and again with the mightiest armies of
Europe, with Germany, Russia, and others. She carried her conquests deep
into Asia, and received appeals of assistance from India. But this mighty
scourge of Christendom did not pass her bounds. In the events leading up to
1840 she all but collapsed, and since then has rapidly declined. Let us
consider some of her loses.

Turkey lost the kingdom of Hungary in 1718; the Crimea in 1774; Greece in
1832; Rumania, Montenegro, and Bulgaria, 1878; Tripoli, 1912; Egypt was lot
in 1914; Mesopotamia was taken by Britain in 1917; Palestine in 1917;
Syria, 1918; the Hejaz about the same time. At the close of World Ware I,
the straits and Constantinople were made international, and the Turkish
capital was removed to Ankara. Turkey recovered western Anatolia, including
Smyrna, from the Greeks; she regained the western portion of Armenia, the
headwaters of the Euphrates; she recovered her ancient capital
Constantinople in Europe, with a portion of Thrace; but little territory
was left to this one-time mighty empire. Her dominion has been reduced
province by province, until she retains but a shadow of her former
possessions. Surely the nation symbolized by the Euphrates is drying up.

Page 694

But it may be objected that while contending for the literality of the
plagues, we nevertheless make one of them a symbol. We answer, No. A power
is introduced, it is true, under the sixth vial, in its symbolic form, just
as it is under the fifth, where we read of the seat of the beast, which is
a well-known symbol; or as we read again in the first plague of the mark of
the beast, his image, and its worship, which are also symbols. All that is
here insisted upon, is the literality of the judgments that result from
each vial, which are literal in this case as in all the others, though the
organizations which suffer these judgments may be brought to view in their
symbolic form.

The Battle of Armageddon.--It may be asked how the way of the kings of the
East will be prepared by the drying up, or consumption, of the Ottoman
power? The answer is obvious. For what is the way of these kings to be
prepared? Is it not that they may come up to the battle of the great day of
God Almighty? Where is the battle to be fought? The answer of the prophet
is that those who fight this battle will be gathered together "into a place
called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon." This name is drawn from the
ancient valley of Megiddo, where so many fierce and decisive battles were
fought in Old Testament times. Concerning the name "Armageddon," Lyman
Abbot, in A Dictionary of Religious Knowledge says:

"This name is given to the great plain of the central Palestine which
extends from the Mediterranean to the Jordan, separating the mountain
ranges of Carmel and Samaria from those of Galilee. . . . It is the ancient
plain of Megiddo, the Armageddon of Revelation 16: 16." [1]

On the importance of this battlefield, George Cormak says:

"Megiddo was the military key of Syria. It commanded at once the highway
northward to Phoenicia and Coele-Syria

Page 695

and the road across Galilee to Damascus and the valley of the Euphrates. .
. . The vale of Kishon and the region of Megiddo were inevitable
battlefields. Through all history they retained that qualification; there
many of the great contests of southwestern Asia have been decided." [2]

Admitting that "Megiddo was the military key of Syria" and that it
commanded the highways of the Near East, the reader may still be interested
to know why, aside from direct prophetic statement that the final battle
will there be fought, this region should be chosen by the nations of earth
as the scene of the last great conflict. To answer this logical question we
submit the conclusions of others whose year of investigation of social,
economic, and political reasons which lead nations to fight, entitle them
to consideration.

"With the fall of Ottoman sovereignty . . . . there will arise once more
the Eternal Question of the position of Asia Minor. That land is the
corridor between Europe and Asia, along which had passed most of the
European conquerors --the Russians alone excepted--who have invaded Asia,
and most of the Asiatic conquerors who have invaded Europe." [3]

Mark this opinion long held concerning Constantinople and its environs by
H. Huntington Powers: "Constantinople with its tributary straits is the
most strategic site in the world. . . . When Napoleon and the Czar
Alexander sat down at Tilsit to divide the world between them, Alexander is
said to have pled with Napoleon: 'Give or take what you will, but give us
Constantinople. For Constantinople my people are prepared to make any
sacrifice.' Napoleon bent long over the map, and then straightening up with
sudden resolution replied: 'Constantinople? Never! That means the rule of
the world.' . . . Merchant and strategist alike still rank Constantinople
as the most valuable of territorial possessions." [4]

Page 697

Again we read concerning the shift of interest from Constantinople to
Asiatic Turkey:

"The problem of Constantinople has perplexed and distressed the world
during many centuries. Numerous wars have been waged and innumerable lives
have been sacrificed by the nations desiring to possess or control that
glorious city and the wonderful Narrows which separate Europe from Asia and
which connect the Black Sea and the Mediterranean, the East and the West,
the Slavonic and the Latin-Germanic world. Hitherto it was generally
believed that an attempt to settle the question of Constantinople would
inevitably lead to a world war among the claimant States, that their
agreement impossible. Hence diplomats thought with dread of the question of
Constantinople, which seemed insoluble. . . . However, while we may rejoice
that the ever-threatening problem of Constantinople has at last been
eliminated, it seems possible that another, a far greater and a far more
dangerous one, may almost immediately arise in its place. The question of
Asiatic Turkey is forcing itself to the front." [5]

Because the territory so long held by Turkey has dominated the great trade
routes of three continents is has never ceased to be coveted by those who
would rise to world domination. The discovery of vast reservoirs of oil in
the Near East has greatly increased the desire of nations to possess Asia
Minor and the region drained by the Euphrates River. Indeed the discovery
that the words of Job 29: 6, "the rock poured out rivers of oil," was not
hyperbole but literal truth, has led every first class nation to recognize
that oil deposits said to be equal to those of the Western Hemisphere
constitute an invaluable possession in the hands of those who would
dominate the commercial and military world.

But why should the kings of the East be interested in this question which
definitely affects the Near East? Let it not be forgotten that there have
been in the past three invasions of

Page 698

the Near East by Oriental conquerors--which invasions have richly rewarded
the invaders. With the entire East "in the throes of rebirth" it is not
unnatural that they should cover the liquid gold of the Euphrates Valley.

In an interview given by the noted British general, Sir Ian Hamilton to
Kingsbury Smith, staff correspondent of the International News Service, as
General Hamilton spoke of the menace to Western European civilization of
Asiatic penetration, he predicted that "the spot where Europe may attempt
to halt Asiatic penetration will be the last battlefield of all time and
mark the end of civilization." He said further, "I have looked carefully at
the map and the best spot for Europe to meet and throw back Asia is called
Megiddo, or in some maps, Armageddon." [6]

From the language of these writers it would seem obvious that if such
mighty armies as would be made up of "the kings of the earth and of the
whole world" should gather together anywhere from the ancient valley of
Megiddo through the vast stretches of the Euphrates valley and Asia Minor,
to fight the "battle of that great day of God Almighty," what is
comprehended territorially by the term "Armageddon" in the prophecy would
be fully met.

For centuries the territories of Palestine and the Euphrates valley have
been under the control of Mohammedan rulers, who were amenable to the
Turkish nation. Logically, then, the Turk will come to his end before the
kings of the earth debouch their armies in that territory. The end of the
Turk opens the way for the battle of Armageddon.

The Three Unclean Spirits.--An event to be noticed under this plagues is
the issuing forth of the three unclean spirits to gather the nations to the
great battle. The agency now already abroad in the world known as modern
spiritism, is in every way a fitting means to be employed in this work. But
it may be asked how a work which is already going can be

Page 699

designated by that expression, when the spirits are not introduced into the
prophecy until the pouring out of the sixth plague, which is still future.
We answer that in this, as in many other movements, the agencies which
Heaven designs to employ in the accomplishment of certain ends, go through
a process of preliminary preparation for the part which they are to act.
Thus, before the spirits can have such absolute authority over the race as
to gather them to battle against the King of kings and Lord of lords, they
must first win their way among the nations of the earth, and cause their
teaching to be received as of divine authority and their word as law. This
work they are now doing, and when they shall have once gained full
influence over the nations in question, what fitter instrument could be
employed to gather them to be so rash and hopeless an enterprise?

To many it may seem incredible that the nations should be willing to engage
in such an unequal warfare as to go up to battle against the Lord of hosts;
but it is one province of these spirits of devils to deceive, for they go
forth working miracles, and thereby deceive the kings of the earth, that
they should believe a lie.

That great statesmen recognize the influence of spiritism, or the spirits
of devils, in influencing nations to go to war, is seen in the following
statement by Sir Edward Grey, when speaking to the House of Commons. In
describing the workings of these forces, the British Foreign Secretary
accurately said: "It is really as if in the atmosphere of the world there
were some mischievous influence at work, which troubles and excites every
part of it." [7]

Ramsay MacDonald, twice Prime Minister of Britain, said:

"It would seem as if they were all bewitched, or laboring under some doom
imposed upon them by devils. . . . People were beginning to feel that there
was something devilish in the

Page 700

operations now going on to increase armies, navies, and air forces." [8]

The sources from which these spirits issue, denote that they will work
among three great religious divisions of mankind, represented by the
dragon, the beast, and the false prophet, or paganism, Roman Catholicism,
and apostate Protestantism.

But what is the force of the caution thrown out in verse 15? Probation must
have been closed, and Christ have left His mediatorial position, before the
plagues begin to fall. Is there danger of falling after that? It will be
noticed that this warning is spoken in connection with the working of the
spirits. The inference therefore is that it is retroactive, applying from
the time these spirits begin to work to the close of probation, and that by
a use of tenses sometimes occurring in the Greek language, the present
tense is put for the past, as if it had read, Blessed is he that hath
watched and kept his garments, as the shame and nakedness of all how have
not done this will at this time especially appear.

"He gathered them." Who are the ones here spoken of as "gathered," and what
agency is to be used in gathering them? If the work "them" refers to the
kings of verse 14 it is certain that no good agency would be made use of to
gather them; and if the spirits are referred to by the word "he," why is it
in the singular number? The peculiarity of this construction has led some
to read the passage thus: "And he [Christ] gathered them [the saints] into
a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon [the illustrious city, or
New Jerusalem] ." But this position is untenable.

Let us notice how the text really reads. The word for "spirits" is {GREEK
CHARACTERS IN PRINTED TEXT}, pneumata, a noun in the plural number.
According to an established law of Greek language, when a plural noun is in
the neuter gender, as pneumata is, it requires the verb to be in the
singular. Accordingly, in verse 14, the verb "go forth" with "spirits" as
its subject, is in

Page 701

the singular number in the Greek original. Likewise, also, as the narrative
is resumed following the parenthetical exhortation in verse 15, the verb
"gathered" is also in the singular in the Greek to co-ordinate with "go
forth" in verse 14, since these two verbs have the same subject "which,"
that should not be printed as a supplied word, and that stands for
"spirits." There is therefore every sound reason for translating verse 16,
"They [the spirits] gathered them [the kings] together into a place called
in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon." This interpretation is supported by other
versions.

"They gathered them together into the place which is called in Hebrew
Har-Magedon," says the American Revised Version. "They did bring them
together to the place that is called in Hebrew Armageddon," reads Young's
Literal Translation of the Bible. Hence it is logical to conclude that the
persons gathered are the minions of Satan, not the saints; that it is the
work of the spirits, not of Christ; and that place of assemblage is not in
the New Jerusalem at the marriage supper of the Lamb, but at Armageddon (or
Mount Megiddo), at "the battle of that great day of God Almighty."

Verse 17 And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there
came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It
is done. 18 And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and there
was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so
mighty an earthquake, and so great. 19 And the great city was divided into
three parts, and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in
remembrance before God, to give unto her the cup of the wine of the
fierceness of His wrath. 20 And every island fled away, and the mountains
were not found. 21 And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven,
every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of
the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.

The Seventh Plague.--Thus has Inspiration described the last judgment which
is to be inflicted in the present state of the earth upon those who are
incorrigibly rebellious against God. Some of the plagues are local in their
application, but this one is poured out into the air. The atmosphere
envelops the whole earth, and it follows that this plague will envelop
equally the

Page 702

habitable globe. It will be universal. The very air will be deadly.

The gathering of the nations has taken place under the sixth vial, and the
battle remains to be fought under the seventh. Here are brought to view the
instrumentalities with which God will slay the wicked. At this time it may
be said, "The Lord hath opened His armory, and hath brought forth the
weapons of His indignation." Jeremiah 50: 25.

The Scripture declares, "There were voices." Above all will be heard the
voice of God. "The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter His voice
from Jerusalem, and the heavens and the earth shall shake; but the Lord
will be the hope of His people, and the strength of the children of
Israel." Joel 3: 16. (See also Jeremiah 25: 30; Hebrews 12: 26.) The voice
of God will cause the great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon
the earth.

"Thunders and lightnings"--another allusion to the judgments of Egypt. (See
Exodus 9: 23.) The great city is divided into three parts: that is, the
three grand divisions of the false and apostate religions of the world (the
great city), paganism, Roman Catholicism, and apostate Protestantism, seem
to be set apart each to receive its appropriate doom. The cities of the
nations fall; universal desolation spreads over the earth; every island
flees away, and the mountains are not found. Thus great Babylon comes in
remembrance before God. read her judgments as more fully described in
Revelation 18.

"A great hail out of heaven, falling upon men," is the last instrumentality
used in the infliction of punishment upon the wicked--the bitter dregs of
the seventh vial. God has solemnly addressed the wicked, saying, "Judgment
also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail
shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the
hiding place." Isaiah 28: 17. (See also Isaiah 30: 30.) The Lord asks Job
if he has seen the treasures of hail, which He as "reserved against the
time of trouble, against the day of battle and war." Job 28: 22, 23.

Page 703

Every hailstone is said to be "about the weight of a talent." According to
various authorities, a talent as a weight is about fifty-seven pounds
avoirdupois. What could withstand the force of stones of such an enormous
weight falling from heaven? But mankind, at this time, will have no
shelter. The cities have fallen in a mighty earthquake, the islands have
fled away, and the mountains are not found. Again the wicked give vent to
their woe in blasphemy, for the plague of the hail is "exceeding great."

Some faint idea of the terrible effect of such a disaster as is here
predicted, may be inferred from the following sketch of a hailstorm on the
Bosphorus, by Commodore Porter:

"We had got perhaps a mile and a half on our way, when a cloud rising in
the west gave indications of an approaching rain. In a few minutes we
discovered something falling from the heavens with a heavy splash, and of a
whitish appearance. I could not conceive what it was, but observing some
fulls near, I supposed it to be them darting for fish, but soon after
discovered that they were large balls of ice falling. Immediately we heard
a sound like rumbling thunder, or ten thousand carriages rolling furiously
over the pavement. The whole Bosphorus was in a foam, as though heaven's
artillery had been discharged upon us and our frail machine. Our fate
seemed inevitable; our umbrellas were raised to protect us, but the lumps
of ice stripped them to ribbons. We fortunately had a bullock's hide in the
boat, under which we crawled, and saved ourselves from further injury. One
man of three oarsmen had his hand literally smashed; another was much
injured in the shoulder; Mr. H. received a severe blow in the leg; my right
hand was somewhat disabled, and all more or less injured. . . .

"It was the most awful and terrific scene that I ever witnessed, and God
forbid that I should be ever exposed to such another! Balls of ice as large
as my two fists fell into the boas, some of them came with such violence as
certainly to have broken an arm or leg had they struck us in those parts.
One

Page 704

of them struck the blade of an oar, and split it. The scene lasted, maybe
five minutes; but it was five minutes of the most awful felling that I ever
experienced. When it passed over, we found the surrounding hills covered
with masses of ice, I cannot call it hail, the trees stripped of their
leaves and limbs, and everything looking desolate. . . .

"The scene was awful beyond all description. I have witnessed repeated
earthquakes; the lightning has played, as it were, about my head; and wind
roared, and the waves have at one moment thrown me to the sky, and the next
have sunk me into the deep abyss. I have been in action, and have seen
death and destruction around me in every shape of horror; but I never
before had the feeling of awe which seized upon me on this occasion, and
still haunts, and I fear will ever haunt me. . . . My porter, the boldest
of my family, who had ventured an instant from the door, had been knocked
down by a hailstone, and had they not dragged him in by the heels, would
have been battered to death. . . .Two boatmen were killed in the upper part
of the village, and I have heard of broken bones in abundance. . . .
Imagine to yourself, however, the heavens suddenly frozen over, and as
suddenly broken to pieces in irregular masses, of from half a pound to a
pound weight, and precipitated to the earth." [9]

Reader, if such were the desolating effects of a hailstorm of ice, which
discharged stones double the size of a man's fist, weighing at most a pound
or so, who can depict the consequences of that coming storm in which "every
stone" will be more than fifty pounds in weight? As surely as God's word is
truth, He is thus soon to punish a guilty world. May it be ours, according
to the promise, to have "sure dwellings" and "quiet resting places" in that
terrific hour. Isaiah 32: 18, 19.

"There came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne,
saying, It is done!" Thus all is finished. The cup of human guilt has been
filled up. The last soul has availed

Page 705

itself of the plan of salvation. The books are closed. The number of the
saved is completed. The final period is placed to this world's history. The
vials of God's wrath are poured out upon a corrupt generation. The wicked
have drunk them to the dregs, and sunk into the realm of death for a
thousand years. Reader, where do you wish to be found after that great
decision?

But what is the condition of the saints while the "overflowing scourge" is
passing over? They are the special subjects of God's protection, without
whose notice not a sparrow falls to the ground. Many are the promises which
come crowding in to afford them comfort, summarily contained in the
beautiful and expressive language of the psalmist:

"I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress; my God; in Him
will I trust. Surely He shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler,
and from the noisome pestilence. He shall cover thee with His feathers, and
under His wings shalt thou trust: His truth shall be thy shield and
buckler. Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the
arrow that flieth by day; nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness;
nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday. A thousand shall fall at
thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh
thee. Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the
wicked. Because thou has made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the Most
High, thy habitation; there shall no evil befall thee, neither shall plague
come nigh they dwelling." Psalm 91: 2-10.

[1] Lyman Abbot and T. J. Conant, A Dictionary of Religious Knowledge, pp.
326, 372, art. "Esdraelon."

[2] George Cormack, Egypt in Asia, p. 83.

[3] J. B. Firth, "The Partition of Asia," The Fortnightly Review, May,
1915, p. 795

[4] H. Huntington Powers, The Things Men Fight For, pp. 74, 77.

[5] J. Ellis Barker, The Great Problems of British Statesmanship, p. 55.

[6] New York Journal and American, January 17, 1938, p. 2.

[7] Sir Edward Grey. London Times. November 28, 1911, p. 13.

[8] Ramsay MacDonald, quoted in "Disarmament Labour Party's Motion," London
Times, July 24, 1923, p. 7.

[9] David Porter, Constantinople and Its Environs, Vol. I, pp. 44-47.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Page 707

                                Chapter XVII

                     A World Union Of Church and State

Verse 1 And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials,
and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will show unto thee the
judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters: 2 With whom the
kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the
earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication. 3 So he
carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit
upon a scarlet colored beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven
heads and ten horns. 4 And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet
color, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden
cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: 5
and upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE
MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.

In verse 19 of the preceding chapter, we are informed that "great Babylon
came in remembrance before God to give unto her the cup of the wine of the
fierceness of His wrath." The prophet now takes up more particularly the
subject of this great Babylon. In order to give a full presentation of it,
he goes back to recount some of the facts of her history. That this
apostate woman as presented in this chapter is a symbol of the Roman
Catholic Church, is generally believed by Protestants. Between this church
and the kings of the earth there has been illicit connection. With the wine
of her fornication, her false doctrines, the inhabitants of the earth have
been made drunk.

Church and State.--This prophecy is more definite than others applicable to
the Roman power in that it distinguishes between church and state. We have
here the woman, the church, seated upon a scarlet-colored beast, the civil
power, by which she is upheld, and which she controls and guides to her own
ends, as a rider controls the animal upon which he is seated.

Page 708

The vesture and decorations of this woman, as brought to view in verse 4,
are in striking harmony with the application made of this symbol. Purple
and scarlet are the chief colors in the robes of popes and cardinals. Among
the myriads of precious stones which adorn her service, according to
eyewitnesses, silver is scarcely known, and gold itself is less noticeable
than are costly gems. From the golden cup in her hand--symbol of purity of
doctrine and profession, which should have contained only that which is
unadulterated and pure, or only that which is in full accordance with
truth--there came forth only abominations, and the wine of her fornication,
fit symbol of her abominable doctrines and still more abominable practices.

The symbol of a woman with a cup in her hand is said to have been used at a
papal jubilee.

"In 1825, on the occasion of the jubilee, Pope Leo XII struck a medal,
bearing on the one side his own image, and on the other, that of the Church
of Rome symbolized as a 'Woman,' holding in her left hand a cross and in
her right a cup, with the legend around her, Sede super universum, 'The
whole world is her seat.' " [1]

This woman is explicitly called Babylon. Is Rome, then, Babylon, to the
exclusion of all other religious bodies?--No, she cannot be, from the fact
that she is called the mother of harlots as already noticed, which shows
that there are other independent religious organizations that constitute
the apostate daughters, and belong to the same great family.

Verse 6 And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with
the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with
great admiration. 7 And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou
marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that
carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns.

A Cause of Wonder.--Why should John "wonder with great wonder," as it reads
in the original, when he saw the woman drunken with the blood of saints?
Was the persecution of the

Page 709

people of God any strange in his day? Had he not seen Rome launch its most
fiery anathemas against the church, himself being in banishment under its
cruel power at the time he wrote? Why, then, should he be astonished, as he
looked forward, and saw Rome still persecuting the saints? The secret of
his wonder was this: All the persecution he had witnessed had been from
pagan Rome, the open enemy of Christ. It was not strange that pagans should
persecute Christ's followers. But when he looked forward and saw a church
professedly Christian persecuting the followers of the Lamb, and drunk with
their blood, he could but wonder with great amazement.

Verse 8 The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of
the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth
shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the
foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not,
and yet is. 9 And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are
seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth. 10 And there are seven kings:
five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he
cometh, he must continue a short space. 11 And the beast that was, and is
not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.

Rome in Three Phases.--The beast of which the angel here speaks is
evidently the scarlet-colored beast. A wild beast, like the one thus
introduced, is the symbol of an oppressive and persecuting power. While the
Roman power as a nation had a long, interrupted existence, it passed
through certain phases during which this symbol would not be applicable to
it, and during which time the beast, in such prophecies as the present,
might be said not to be, or not to exist. Thus Rome in its pagan form was a
persecuting power in its relation to the people of God, during which time
it constituted the beast that was. But when the empire was nominally
converted to Christianity, there was a transition from paganism to another
phase of religion falsely called Christian. During a brief period, while
this transition was going on, it lost its ferocious and persecuting
character, and then it could be said of the beast that it was not. As time
passed, it developed into the papacy, and

Page 711

again assumed its bloodthirsty and oppressive character.

The Seven Heads.--The seven heads are explained to be first, seven
mountains, and then seven kings. The expression in verse 10, "and there are
seven kings," reads in the original, "and are seven kings." This makes the
sentence read: "The seven heads are seven mountains . . . and are seven
kings," thus identifying heads, mountains, and kings.

The angel says further, "five [kings] are fallen," or passed away. Again he
says, "one [king] is"--the sixth was then reigning. "The other is not yet
come; and when he cometh he must continue a short space." Last of all, "the
beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven."

From this account of the seven kings, we understand that when the one that
had "not yet come" at the time of which John was writing, appears on the
scene, he is here called an eighth, though he is really "of the seven," in
the sense that he absorbed and exercised their power. It is this one whose
career we are interested to follow. Of this one it is said that his destiny
was to go "into perdition," that is, to perish utterly. This repeats the
affirmation made in verse 8 concerning "the beast that thou sawest," which
in turn is the "scarlet colored beast," on which the woman sat. We have
shown that this beast symbolizes civil power, which according to the
narrative before us, passes through seven phases represented also in the
leopard beast of Revelation 13, until an eighth appears and continues to
the end. Since we have already shown that papal Rome grew out of and
succeeded pagan Rome, we must conclude that the eighth head, which was of
the seven and ultimately exercised their power, represents the papacy, with
all its mixture of so-called Christian doctrines with pagan superstitions
and observances.

Verse 12 And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have
received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the
beast. 13 These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto
the beast. 14 These shall make war

Page 712

with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for He is Lord of lords,
and King of kings: and they that are with Him are called, and chosen, and
faithful.

The Ten Horns.--On this subject see remarks on Daniel 7: 7, where the ten
horns are shown to represent the ten kingdoms that rose out of the Roman
Empire. They receive power one hour ({GREEK CHARACTERS IN PRINTED TEXT},
hora, an indefinite space of time) with the beast. That is, they reign a
length of time contemporaneously with the beast, during which time they
give to it their power and strength.

Croly offers this comment on verse 12: "The prediction defines the epoch of
the papacy by the formation of the ten kingdoms of the Western Empire.
"They shall receive power one hour with the beast.' The translation should
be, 'in the same era ({GREEK CHARACTERS IN PRINTED TEXT}, [mian horan]).
The ten kingdoms shall be contemporaneous in contradistinction to the
'seven heads,' which were successive." [2]

This language doubtless refers to the past, when the kingdoms of Europe
were unanimous in giving their support to the papacy. The treatment which
these kingdoms are finally to give the papacy is expressed in verse 16,
where it is said that they shall hate the harlot, make her desolate and
naked, eat her flesh, and burn her with fire. A part of this work the
nations of Europe have been doing for years. The completion of it, burning
her with fire, will be accomplished when Revelation 18: 8 is fulfilled.

"These shall make war with the Lamb." Verse 14. Here we are carried into
the future, to the time of the great and final battle, for at this time the
Lamb bears the title King of kings and Lords of lords, a title which He
assumes when He ceases His intercessory priesthood at the close of
probation. (Revelation 19: 11-16.)

Verse 15 And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the
whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues. 16
And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the
whore, and shall make her desolate and

Page 713

naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire. 17 For God hath put
in their hearts to fulfil His will, and to agree, and give their kingdom
unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled. 18 And the woman
which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the
earth.

Destiny of the Harlot.--In verse 15 we have a plain definition of the
Scripture symbol of waters; they denote peoples, multitudes, nations, and
tongues. The angel told John, while calling his attention to this subject,
that he would show him the judgment of this great harlot. In verse 16 that
judgment is specified. This chapter has naturally more especial referenda
to the mother, or Catholic Babylon. The next chapter, if we mistake not,
deals with the character and destiny of another great branch of Babylon,
the harlot daughters.

[1] Alexander Hislop, The Two Babylons, p. 6.

[2] George Croly, The Apocalypse of St. John, p. 264, 265.
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Page 715

                               Chapter XVIII

                         The Doom of Modern Babylon

Verse 1 And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven,
having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory. 2 And he
cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is
fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul
spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. 3 For all nations
have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of
the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the
earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.

Some movement of mighty power is symbolized in these verse. (See comments
on verse 4 of this chapter.) The consideration of a few facts will guide us
unmistakably to the application. In Revelation 14 we had a message
announcing the fall of Babylon. "Babylon" is a term which embraces not only
paganism and the Roman Catholic Church, but religious bodies which have
withdrawn from that church, but bringing many of her errors and traditions
with them.

A Spiritual Fall.--The fall of Babylon here spoken of cannot be literal
destruction, for there are events to take place in Babylon after her fall
which utterly forbid this idea. For instance, the people of God are there
after her fall, and are called out in order that they may not receive of
her plagues, which include her literal destruction. The fall is therefore a
spiritual one, for the result of it is that Babylon becomes the habitation
of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean
and hateful bird. These are terrible description of apostasy, showing that,
as a consequence of her fall, she piles up an accumulation of sins even to
the heavens, and becomes the subject to the judgments of God, which can no
longer be delayed.

Since the fall here introduced is a spiritual one, it must apply to some
branch of Babylon outside of the pagan or papal

Page 716

divisions; for from the beginning of their history paganism has been a
false religion, and the papacy an apostate one. Further as this fall is
said to occur but a short period before Babylon's final destruction,
certainly this side of the rise and predicted triumph of the papal church,
this testimony cannot apply to any religious organizations but such as have
sprung from that church. These stared out on reform. They ran well for a
season, and had the approbation of God; but bringing some of her erroneous
doctrines with them, and fencing themselves about with creeds of their own,
they have failed to keep pace with the advancing light of prophetic truth.
This has left them where they will finally develop a character as odious in
the sight of God as that of the church from which they withdrew.

Alexander Campbell, founder of the Disciples of Christ Church, says: "A
reformation of popery was attempted in Europe full three centuries ago. It
ended in a Protestant hierarchy, and swarms of dissenters. Protestantism
has been reformed into Presbyterianism, that into Congregationalism, and
that into Baptistism, etc., etc. Methodism has attempted to reform all, but
has reformed itself into many forms of Wesleyism. . . . All of them retain
in their bosom-- in their ecclesiastical organizations, worship, doctrines,
and observances-- various relics of popery. They are at best a reformation
of popery, and only reformations in part. The doctrines and traditions of
men yet impair the power and progress of the gospel in their hands." [1]

Abundant testimony might be produced from persons in high standing in these
various denominations, written, not for the purpose of being captious and
finding fault, but from a vivid sense of the fearful condition to which
these churches have fallen. The term Babylon, as applied to them, is not a
term of reproach, but is simply expressive of the confusion and diversity
of sentiment that exists among them. Babylon need not have fallen. She
might have been healed (Jeremiah 51: 9) by receiving the truth, but she
rejected it.

Page 717

In not accepting the truth of the second coming of Christ and in reject the
first angel's message, the churches failed to walk in the advanced light
shining on their pathway from the throne of God. As a result, confusion and
dissension reign within their borders. Worldliness and pride are fast
choking every plant of heavenly growth.

But in this chapter we have the fall of Babylon mentioned again. In the
previous reference it followed the sounding of the first angel's message,
and the divine declaration then was, "There followed another angel, saying,
Babylon is fallen, is fallen." Now the latter pronouncement from heaven
heaven is, "He cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the
great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils." Here
is a further step in the development of apostasy, and the next few pages
will reveal the extent of this final phase of the fall of Babylon.

Time of This Fall.--At what time do these verses have their application?
When may this movement be looked for? If the position taken here is
correct, that these churches, this branch of Babylon, experienced a
spiritual fall by the rejection of the first angel's message of Revelation
14, the announcement in the chapter now under consideration could not have
gone forth previous to that time. It is, then, either simultaneous with the
message of the fall of Babylon in Revelation 14, or it is given at a later
period than than. It cannot be at the same time with that, for that merely
announces the fall of Babylon, while this adds several particulars which at
that time were neither fulfilled nor in the process of fulfillment. We are
therefore to look this side of 1844, when the previous message went forth,
for the announcement brought to view in this chapter. We therefore inquire,
Has any such message been given from that time to present? The answer is,
Yes. We are now hearing the third angel's message, which is the last to be
given before the coming of the Son of man. As declension has increased in
the religious world, that message has been augmented by the warning of
Revelation 18: 1-4, which thus constitutes a fea-

Page 718

ture of the third angel's message which is now being proclaimed with power
and lighting the world with its glory.

The Work of Spiritism.--The latter phase of the work brought to view in
verse 2 is in process of accomplishment, and will soon be completed, by the
work of spiritism. What are called in Revelation 16: 14, "spirits of
devils, working miracles," are secretly but rapidly working their way into
the religious denominations above referred to. Their creeds have been
formulated under the influence of the wine (errors) of Babylon, one of
which is that the spirits of our dead friends, conscious, intelligent, and
active, are all about us.

A significant feature in the work of spiritism just now, is the religious
garb is is assuming. Keeping in the background its grosser principles,
which it has heretofore carried so largely in the front, it now assumes to
appear as respectably religious as any other denomination in the land. It
talks of sin, repentance, the atonement, salvation through Christ, in
almost as orthodox language as do genuine Christians. Under the guise of
this profession, what is to hinder it from entrenching itself in almost
every denomination Christendom? We have shown that the basis of spiritism,
the immortality of the soul, is a fundamental dogma of the creeds of almost
all the churches. What, then, can save Christendom from its seductive
influence?

Herein is seen another sad result of rejecting the truths offered to the
world by the messages of Revelation 14. Had the churches received these
messages, they would have been shielded against this delusion; for among
the great truths developed by the religious movement in the time of the
great advent awakening, is the important doctrine that the soul of man is
not naturally immortal; that eternal life is the gift of Jesus Christ, and
can be obtained only through Him; that the dead are unconscious; and that
the rewards and punishments of the future world lie beyond the resurrection
and the day of judgment.

These truths strike a deathblow to the first and vital claim of spiritism.
What foot hold can that doctrine secure in any

Page 719

mind fortified by such truth? The spirit comes, and claims to be the
disembodied soul, or spirit, of a dead man. It is met with the fact that
that is not the kind of soul, or spirit, which man possesses; that the
"dead know not anything;" that this, its first pretension, is a lie, and
that the credentials it offers, show it to belong to the synagogue of
Satan. Thus it is at once rejected, and the evil it would do is effectually
prevented. But the great mass of religionists stand opposed to the truth
which would thus shield them, and they thereby expose themselves to this
last manifestation of satanic cunning.

Modern Liberalism.--While spiritism is thus working, startling changes are
manifesting themselves in high places in some of the denominations. The
fidelity of the present age, under the seductive names of "science,"
"higher criticism," evolution," and "modern liberalism," has permeated most
of the theological colleges of the land, and to a large extent has made
serious incursions into the Protestant churches.

Public attention was forcibly called to this situation by a writer, Mr.
Harold Bolce, in the Cosmopolitan Magazine for May, 1909. After making an
investigation into the character of the teaching that was being imparted in
some of the leading universities of this country, he reported the results
in Cosmopolitan, which drew forth this comment from the editor:

"What Mr. Bolce sets down here is of the most astounding character. Out of
the curricula of American colleges, a dynamic movement is upheaving ancient
foundations, and promising a way for revolutionary thought and life. Those
who are not in close touch with the great colleges of the country will be
astonished to learn the creeds being fostered by the faculties of our great
universities. In hundreds of classrooms it is being taught daily that the
decalogue is no more sacred than a syllabus; that the home as an
institution is doomed; that there are no absolute evils; that immorality is
simply an act in contravention of society's accepted standards. . . . These
are some of the revolutionary and sensational teachings submitted

Page 720

with academic warrant to the minds of hundreds of thousands of students in
the United States." [2]

The results of modern liberalism have been all too apparent in the work of
the Protestant churches. Writers in the various communions have freely
pointed out the lack of interest in the preaching of the gospel and the
decline of missions in particular. One writer states the situation in this
way:

"Too largely I suspect our churches have become weak, uncertain as to their
purpose, lifeless, characterized by a deadly respectability and lacking a
sense of mission. The average congregation is primarily concerned with
raising enough money to pay the pastor and to keep the property in good
repair. There is little deep-seated conviction any longer that 'we have a
story to tell to the nations.' The gospel of salvation and evangelism as
respects the whole world has been diluted into a satisfactory and
responsible ethic and the church is a society of good people who want the
blessing of religion to attend them during their moments of exaltation or
grief, but are quite content to absent themselves from the church and its
divine mission so long as they can clothe themselves in the aura of
respectability which attaches to church membership. Is this too caustic an
indictment of the church?" [3]

Another writer states the attitude of the churches toward missions:

"Coupled with the fact that only a minority of church members give
conscientiously is the change in belief about missions. Missionary boards
may persuade themselves that the falling off in their receipts is due to
high taxes and lowered incomes, but pastors who are in touch with donors
recognize a definite increase of resistance to making donations designed
for extension of the gospel beyond our borders. The number of otherwise
loyal parishioners who doggedly announce that

Page 721

they 'don't believe in missions' is mounting. The caliber of these
opponents gives pause. . . .

"The average annual per capita giving in twenty-two non-Roman communions
now shows $11.28 for congregational expenses, against $2.19 for all
non-local work. . . .

"The average of gifts beyond self-support coasts from 29.69 per cent of the
total income with the United Presbyterian Church to 11.14, 12.30, and 10.02
per cent with the last-named trio. Small wonder we are being urged to 're-
think missions.' " [4]

Such results as these are declared to follow:

"While missionary zeal was waning, the situation was further complicated by
the revelation that other than evangelical missionaries were being
commissioned and sent to the foreign fields. These were the 'adventurers'
of a 'new civilization,' the 'creators of a new world,' and were mainly
filled with a social passion. . . .

"World evangelization was again given a cruel blow in the critical findings
of the Laymen's Foreign Missions Inquiry Report. Although the object of
this enterprise, which began in 1930 and continued to 1933, was 'to aid
laymen to determine their attitude toward foreign missions by reconsidering
the functions of such missions in the world of today,' with undoubtedly the
aim not only to remodel missions but to increase financial receipts, the
results was only more controversy and decreased giving." [5]

Results of Apostasy.--From the standpoint of such a lamentable outlook, and
under the leadership of such men, how long before Babylon will become full
of spirits that are foul, and birds that are hateful and unclean? What
progress has already been made in this direction! How would the godly
fathers and mothers of the generation that lived just before the first
angel's message was given, could they hear the teaching and behold

Page 723

the practices of the religious world, stand aghast at the fearful contrast
between their time and ours, and deplore the sad degeneracy! But Heaven is
not to let all this pass in silence. A mighty proclamation is being made,
calling the attention of all the world to the fearful counts in the
indictment against unfaithful religious bodies, that the justice of the
judgments that follow may plainly appear.

Verse 3 shows the wide extent of the influence of Babylon, and the evil
that has resulted and will result from her course, and hence the justness
of her punishment. The merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the
abundance of her delicacies. Who take the lead in all the extravagances of
the age? Who load their tables with the richest and choicest viands? Who
are foremost in extravagance in dress and all costly attire? Who are the
personification of pride and arrogance? Are not church members in the very
forefront of those who seek after the material and prideful things of life?

But there is a redeeming feature in this picture. Degenerate as Babylon has
become as a body, there are exceptions to the general rule; for God has
still a people there, and she must be entitled to some regard on their
account until all who will answer are called from her communion. Nor will
it be necessary to wait long for this consummation. Soon Babylon will
become so thoroughly leavened with the influence of these evil agents that
her condition will be fully manifest to all the honest in heart, and the
way will be prepared for the work which the apostle now introduces.

Verse 4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, My
people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of
her plagues. 5 For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath
remembered her iniquities. 6 Reward her even as she rewarded you, and
double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath
filled fill to her double. 7 How much she hath glorified herself, and lived
deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her
heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow. 8 Therefore
shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she
shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth
her.

Page 724

The voice coming from heaven denotes that it is a message of power attended
with heavenly glory. How marked becomes the interposition of Heaven, and
how the agents for the accomplishment of God's work multiply, as the great
crisis approaches! This voice from heaven is called "another" voice,
showing that a new agency is here introduced. We now have five celestial
messengers expressly mentioned as engaged in this last religious
reformation. These are the first, second, and third angels of Revelation
14; fourth, the angel of verse 1 of this chapter; and fifth, the agency
indicated by the "voice" of verse 4, now before us. Three of these are
already in operation. The second angel has joined the first, and the third
has joined them. The first and second have not ceased. All three are now
united in proclaiming a threefold message. The angel of verse 1 here enters
upon his mission, as conditions call for his work. The divine call from
heaven to come out of Babylon takes place in connection with his work.

"Come Out of Her, My People."--Proof has already been offered to show that
the message of verses 1 and 2 of this chapter is given in connection with
the now current threefold message. An idea of its extent and power may be
gathered from the description of the angel there given. The first angel's
message is said to go with a "loud voice." The same is also said of the
third message, but this angel, instead of simply flying "in the midst of
heaven" like the others, is said to "come down" from heaven." He comes with
a message more pointed and direct. He has "great power," and the earth is
"lightened with his glory." No such description of a message from heaven to
man is elsewhere to be found in all the Bible. This is the last, and as is
meet, it comes with surpassing glory and unwonted power. It is an awful
hour when a world's destiny is to be decided--a most solemn crisis when an
entire contemporaneous generation of the human family is to pass the bounds
of probation, as the last note of mercy is sounded.

In such a time, the world must not be left without warning. So amply must
the great facts be heralded that none can

Page 725

plead a reasonable ignorance of the impending doom. Every excuse must be
taken away. The justice and long-suffering and forbearance of God in
delaying threatened vengeance until all have had an opportunity to receive
a knowledge of His will, and time to repent, must be vindicated. An angel
is sent forth panoplied with heavenly power. The light that encircles the
throne enshrouds him. He comes to the earth. None but the spiritually
dead--yea, "twice dead, and plucked up by the roots"--would fail to realize
his presence. Light flashes everywhere. The dark places are lighted up.
While his presence dispels the shadows, his voice in thunderous tones
utters a warning. He cries "mightily." It is no parlor announcement, but a
cry, a might cry with a strong voice.

The fatal defects in the profession of a worldly church are again pointed
out. Their errors are once more, and for the last time, exposed. The
inadequacy of the present standard of godliness to meet the final crisis is
emphasized beyond all mistaking. The inevitable connection between their
cherished errors and everlasting and irretrievable destruction is heralded
until the earth resounds with the cry. Meanwhile, great Babylon's sins
mount up to the heavens, and the remembrance of her iniquities comes up
before God. The storm of vengeance gathers. Soon it will burst upon the
great city of confusion, and proud Babylon will go down as a millstone
sinks into the depths of the sea.

Suddenly another voice rings out from heaven, "Come out of her, My people!"
The humble, sincere, devoted children of God, of whom there are some still
left, and who sigh and cry over the abominations done in the land, heed the
voice, wash their hands of her sins, separate from her communion, escape,
and are saved, while Babylon becomes the victim of the just judgments of
God. These are stirring times for the church. Let us be ready for the
crisis.

The fact that God's people are called out so as not to be partakers of her
sins, shows that it is not until a certain time that people become guilty
by being connected with Babylon.

Page 726

Verses 6 and 7 are a prophetic declaration that she will be rewarded or
punished according to her works. Bear in mind that this testimony applies
to that part of Babylon which is subject to a spiritual fall. As already
pointed out, it must apply especially to the "daughters," the denominations
who persist in clinging to the personal traits of the "mother," and keeping
up the family resemblance. These, as pointed out previously, are to attempt
a sweeping persecution against the truth and the people of God. By these
the "image to the beast" is to be formed. These are to have what will be to
them a new experience--the use of the civil arm to enforce their dogmas.

It is doubtless this first intoxication of power that leads this branch of
Babylon to cherish in her heart the boast, "I sit a queen, and am no
widow;" that is, I am no longer {GREEK CHARACTERS IN PRINTED TEXT}, chera,
"one bereaved," or destitute of power, as I have been. She declares, Now I
rule like a queen, and I shall see no sorrow. With blasphemy she boasts God
is in the Constitution, the church is enthroned, and will henceforth bear
sway. The expression, "Reward her even as she rewarded you," seems to show
that the time for this message to reach its climax, and for the saints to
be finally called out, will be when she begins to raise against them the
arm of oppression. As she fills up the cup of persecution to the saints, so
the angel of the Lord will persecute her. (Psalm 35: 6.) Judgments from on
high will bring upon her a twofold degree ("double unto her double"), the
evil which she thought to bring upon the humble servants of the Lord.

The day in which her plagues come, mentioned in verse 8, must be a
prophetic day, or at least cannot be a literal day, for it would be
impossible for famine to come in that length of time. The plagues of
Babylon are without doubt the seven last plagues, which have already been
examined. The plain inference from the languages of this verse in
connection with Isaiah 34: 8, is that a year will be occupied in that
terrible visitation.

Page 727

Verse 9 And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and
lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they
shall see the smoke of her burning, 10 standing afar off for the fear of
her torment, saying, Alas, alas that great city Babylon, that mighty city!
for in one hour is thy judgment come. 11 And the merchants of the earth
shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any
more.

A Fitting Retribution.--The infliction of the first plague must result in a
complete suspension of traffic in those articles of luxury for which
Babylon is noted. When the merchants of these things, who are to a great
extent citizens of this symbolic city, and who have been made rich by their
traffic in these things, suddenly find themselves and their neighbors
smitten with putrefying sores, their traffic suspended, and vast stores of
merchandise on hand, but none to buy them, they lift up their voices in
lamentation for the fate of this great city. If there is anything which
will draw from the men of this generation a sincere cry of distress, it is
that which touches their treasures. There is a fitness in this retribution.
They who but a short time before had issued a decree that the saints of God
should neither buy nor sell, now find themselves put under the same
restriction in a far more effectual way.

The question may arise how persons involved in the same calamity can stand
afar off and lament. It must be remembered that this desolation is brought
to view under a figure, and the figure is that of a city visited with
destruction. Should calamity come upon a literal city, it would be natural
for its inhabitants to flee from that city if they had opportunity, and
standing afar off, lament its fall. Just in proportion to their terror and
amazement at the evil impending, would be the distance at which they would
stand from their devoted city. The figure the apostle uses would not be
complete without a feature of this kind, and he uses it, not to imply that
people would literally flee from the symbolic city, which would be
impossible, but to denote their terror and amazement at the descending
judgments.

Verse 12 The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of
pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all

Page 728

thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of
most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble, 13 And cinnamon,
and odors, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine
flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and
slaves, and souls of men.

Babylon's Merchandise.--In these verses we have an enumeration of great
Babylon's merchandise, which includes everything pertaining to luxurious
living, pomp, and worldly display. All kinds of mercantile traffic are
brought to view. The declaration concerning "slaves and souls of men" may
pertain more particularly to the spiritual domain, and have reference to
slavery of conscience by the creeds of these bodies, which in some cases is
more oppressive than physical bondage.

Verse 14 And the fruits that thy soul lusted after are departed from thee,
and all things which were dainty and goodly are departed from thee, and
thou shalt find them no more at all.

Gluttony Rebuked.--The fruits here mentioned are, according to the
original, "autumnal fruits." In this we find a prophecy that the
"delicacies of the season," upon which the gourmand so sets his pampered
appetite, will be suddenly cut off. This, of course, is the work of the
famine, which is the result of the fourth vial. Revelation 16: 8.

Verse 15 The merchants of these things, which were made rich by her, shall
stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing, 16 and
saying, Alas, alas that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and
purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls!
17 For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster,
and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea,
stood afar off, 18 and cried when they saw the smoke of her burning,
saying, What city is like unto this great city! 19 And they cast dust on
their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas that great
city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her
costliness! For in one hour is she made desolate.

Emotions of the Wicked.--The reader can readily imagine the cause of this
universal voice of mourning, lamentation, an woe. Imagine the plague of
sores preying upon men, the rivers turned to blood, the sea like the blood
of a dead man, the sun scorching men with fire, the traders' traffic gone,
and their sil-

Page 729

ver and gold unable to deliver them, and we need not wonder at their
exclamations of distress, nor that shipmasters and sailors join in the
general wail. Very different is the emotion of the saints, as the following
testimony shows:

Verse 20 Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets;
for God hath avenged you on her. 21 And a mighty angel took up a stone like
a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence
shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at
all. 22 And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers, and
trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in thee; and no craftsman, of
whatsoever craft he be, shall be found any more in thee; and the sound of a
millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee; 23 and the light of a
candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom
and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants
were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations
deceived. 24 And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and
of all that were slain upon the earth.

Emotions of the Righteous.--The apostles and prophets are here called upon
to rejoice over great Babylon in her destruction, as it is in close
connection with this destruction that they will be delivered from the power
of death and the grave by the first resurrection.

Like a great millstone dropped into the sea, Babylon sinks to rise no more.
The various arts and crafts that have been employed in her midst, and have
ministered to her desires, shall be practiced no more. The pompous music
that has been heard in her imposing but formal and lifeless service, dies
away forever. The scenes of festivity and gladness, when the bridegroom and
the bride have been led before her altars, shall be witnessed no more.

Her sorceries constitute her leading crime, and sorcery is a practice which
is involved in the spiritism of today. "In her was found the blood" of "all
that were slain upon the earth." From this it is evident that ever since
the introduction of a false religion into the world, Babylon has existed.
In her has been found, all along, opposition to the work of God, and
persecution of His people. In reference to the guilt of the last
generation, see comments on Revelation 16: 6.

[1] Alexander Campbell, Christian Baptism, p. 15.

[2] Cosmopolitan Magazine, May, 1909, p. 665.

[3] Dale D. Welch, "Real Issues and Great Choices," The Presbyterian,
January 9, 1941, p. 3.

[4] Phillips Endecott Osgood, "How Much Do You Help the Church?" The
Atlantic Monthly, January, 1940, p. 56, footnote.

[5] "Is It a Lost Cause?" editorial in The Watchman-Examiner, February 1,
1940, p. 105.
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Page 731

                                Chapter XIX

                      King of Kings and Lord of Lords

Verse 1 And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in
heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honor, and power, unto
the Lord our God: 2 For true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath
judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication,
and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand. 3 And again they
said, Alleluia. And her smoke rose up for ever and ever.

Continuing the subject of Revelation 18, the apostle here introduces the
song of triumph which the redeemed saints strike up on their harps when
they behold the complete destruction of the system of great Babylon, which
is in opposition to God and His true worship. This destruction takes place
and this song is sung in connection with the second coming of Christ at the
beginning of the thousand years.

Forever and Ever.--There can but one query arise on this scripture: How can
it be said that her smoke rose up forever and ever? Does not this language
imply eternity of suffering? Let it be remembered that this expression is
taken from the Old Testament, and to gain a correct understanding of it, we
must go back to its first introduction, and consider its import as there
used. In Isaiah 34 will be found the language from which, in all
probability, such expressions as these are drawn. Under the figure of
Idumea, a certain destruction is brought to view. It is said of that land
that its streams should become burning pitch, and not be quenched night nor
day, but that its smoke should go up forever. This language is spoken, as
all must concede, of one of two things, either of the particular country
called Idumea, or of the whole earth under that name. In either case it is
evident that this phrase, "forever and ever," must be limited in its
application. Probably the whole earth is meant, from the fact that the
chapter opens with an

Page 732

address to the earth "and all that is therein; the world, and all that come
forth of it;" and "the indignation of the Lord" is declared to be upon all
nations.

Whether this refers to the depopulation and desolation of the earth at the
second advent, or to the purifying fires that shall purge it of the effects
of the curse at the end of the thousand years, the expression must still be
limited; for after all this, a renovated earth is to come forth, to be the
abode of the nations of the saved throughout eternity. Three times in the
Bible smoke is spoken of as going up forever: once here in Isaiah 34, of
the land of Idumea as a figure of the earth; in Revelation 14 (which see),
of the worshipers of the beast and his image; and again in the chapter we
are now considering, in regard to the destruction of great Babylon. All
these apply to the very same time, and describe the same scenes, namely the
destruction visited upon this earth, the worshipers of the beast, and all
the pomp of great Babylon, at the second advent of our Lord and Saviour.

Verse 4 And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down and
worshiped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen; Alleluia. 5 And a voice
came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye His servants, and ye
that fear Him, both small and great. 6 And I heard as it were the voice of
a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of
mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.
7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to him: for the marriage of
the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. 8 And to her was
granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the
fine linen is the righteousness of saints.

A Song of Triumph.--"The Lord God omnipotent reigneth," is the language of
this song. He reigns at the present time, and has ever reigned in reality,
though sentence against an evil work has not been executed speedily. Now He
reigns by the open manifestation of His power in the subjugation of all His
foes.

"Rejoice, . . . for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and His wife hath
made herself ready." Who is "the bride, the Lamb's wife," and what is the
marriage? The Lamb's wife is

Page 733

the New Jerusalem which is above. This will be noticed more fully in
Revelation 21. The marriage of the Lamb is His reception of this city. When
He receives this city, He receives it as the glory and metropolis of His
kingdom; hence with it He receives His kingdom, and the throne of His
father David. This may well be the event designated by the marriage of the
Lamb.

That the marriage relation is often taken to illustrate the union between
Christ and His people, is granted, but the marriage of the Lamb here spoken
of is a definite event to take place at a definite time. If the declaration
that Christ is the head of the church as the husband is the head of the
wife (Ephesians 5: 23), proves that the church is now the Lamb's wife, then
the marriage of the Lamb took place long ago. But that cannot be, according
to this scripture, which locates it in the future. Paul told his Corinthian
converts that he had espoused them to one husband, even Christ. This is
true of all converts. But while this figure is used to denote the relation
that they then assumed to Christ, was it a fact that the marriage of the
Lamb took place in Corinth in Paul's day, and that it has been going on for
the past nineteen hundred years? Further remarks on this point are deferred
to a consideration of Revelation 21.

But if the city is the bride, it may be asked how it can be said that she
made herself ready. We answer, By the figure of personification, which
attributes life and action to inanimate objects. (See a notable example in
Psalm 114.) Again, the query may arise on verse 8 how a city can be arrayed
in the righteousness of the saints, but if we consider that a city without
inhabitants would be but a dreary and cheerless place, we see at once how
this is. Reference is had to the countless number of its glorified
inhabitants in their shining apparel. The raiment was granted to her. What
is granted to her? Isaiah 54 and Galatians 4: 21-31 will explain. To the
new-covenant city are granted many more children than to the old. These are
her glory and rejoicing. The goodly apparel of this city,

Page 734

so to speak, consists of the hosts of the redeemed and immortal ones who
walk its golden streets.

Verse 9 And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto
the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true
sayings of God. 10 And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto
me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellow servant, and of thy brethren that
have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the
Spirit of prophecy.

The Marriage Supper.--Many are the allusions to this marriage supper in the
New Testament. It is referred to in the parable of the marriage of the
king's son (Matthew 22: 1-14), and again in Luke 14: 16-24. It is the time
when we shall eat bread in the kingdom of God when we are recompensed at
the resurrection of the just. (Luke 14: 12-15.) It is the time when we
shall drink of the fruit of the vine with our Redeemer in His heavenly
kingdom. (Matthew 26: 29; Mark 14: 25; Luke 22: 18.) It is the time when we
shall sit at His table in the kingdom (Luke 22: 30), and He will gird
Himself, and come forth and serve us (Luke 12: 37). Blessed indeed are they
who have the privilege of partaking of this glorious feast.

John's Fellow Servant.--A word on verse 10, in reference to those who think
they find here an argument for consciousness in death. The mistake which
such persons make on this scripture is in supposing that the angel declares
to John that he is one of the old prophets come back to communicate with
him. The person employed in giving the Revelation to John is called an
angel, and angels are not departed spirits of the dead. Whoever takes the
position that they are, is to all intents a spiritist, for this is the very
foundation stone of their theory. But the angel says no such thing. He
simply says that he is the fellow servant of John, as he had been the
fellow servant of his brethren the prophets. The term "fellow servant"
implies that they are all on a common footing as servants of the great God;
hence he was not a proper object for John to worship. Calling the prophets
"thy brethren," signifies that they all belong to the same class in the
service of God. (See comment on Revelation 1: 1, "His Angel.")

Page 735

Verse 11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and He that sat
upon Him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He doth judge
and make war. 12 His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on His head were
many crowns; and He had a name written, that no man knew, but He Himself.
13 And He was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and His name is
called The Word of God. 14 And the armies which were in heaven followed Him
upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. 15 And out of
His mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it He should smite the nations:
and He shall rule them with a rod of iron: and He treadeth the winepress of
the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 16 And He hath on His vesture and
on His thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS. 17 And I saw
an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all
the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves
together unto the supper of the great God; 18 that ye may eat the flesh of
kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the
flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men,
both free and bond, both small and great. 19 And I saw the beast, and the
kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against
Him that sat on the horse, and against His army. 20 And the beast was
taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him,
with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and
them that worshiped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of
fire burning with brimstone. 21 And the remnant were slain with the sword
of Him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of His mouth: and
all the fowls were filled with their flesh.

Christ's Second Coming.--With verse 11 a new scene is introduced. We are
here carried back to the second coming of Christ, this time under the
symbol of a warrior riding forth to battle. Why is He represented thus?--
Because He is going forth to war, to meet "the kings of the earth and their
armies," and this would be the only proper character in which to represent
Him on such a mission. His vesture is dipped in blood. (See a description
of the same scene in Isaiah 63: 1-4.) The armies of heaven, the angels of
God, follow Him. Verse 15 shows how He rules the nations with a rod of iron
when they are given Him for an inheritance, as recorded in the second
Psalm, which popular theology interprets to mean the conversion of the
world.

But would not such an expression as "treadeth the winepress of the
fierceness and wrath of Almighty God," be a very

Page 736

singular description of a work of grace upon the hearts of the heathen for
their conversion? The great and final display of the "winepress of God's
wrath," and also of "the lake of fire," occurs at the end of the thousand
years, as described in Revelation 20; and to that it would seem that the
full and formal description of Revelation 14: 18-20 must apply. But the
destruction of the living wicked at the second coming of Christ, at the
beginning of the thousand years, furnishes a scene on a smaller scale,
similar in both these respects to what takes place at the close of that
period. Hence in the verses before us we have this mention of both the
winepress of wrath and the lake of fire.

Christ has at this time closed His mediatorial work, and laid off His
priestly robes for kingly attire; for He has on His vesture and on His
thigh a name written, King of kings, and Lord of lords. This is in harmony
with the character in which He here appears, for it was the custom of
warriors anciently to have some kind of title inscribed upon their vesture.
(Verse 16.)

What is to be understood by the angel standing in the sun? In Revelation
16: 17 we read of the seventh vial being poured out into the air, from
which it was inferred that as the air envelops the whole earth, that plague
would be universal. May not the same principle of interpretation apply
here, and show that the angel standing in the sun, and issuing his call
from there to the fowls of heaven to come to the supper of the great God,
denotes that this proclamation will go wherever the sun's rays fall upon
this earth? The fowls will be obedient to the call, and fill themselves
with the flesh of horses, kings, captains, and mighty men. Thus, while the
saints are partaking of the marriage supper of the Lamb, the wicked in
their persons furnish a great supper for the fowls of the heavens.

The beast and false prophet are taken. The false prophet is the one that
works miracles before the beast and is identical with the two-horned beast
of Revelation 13, to whom the same work, for the same purpose, is there
attributed. The

Page 737

fact that these are cast alive into the lake of fire, shows that these
powers will not pass away and be succeeded by other, but will be living
powers at the second advent of Christ.

The papacy has long been in the field, and has come to the closing scenes
in its career. Its overthrow is emphatically predicted in other prophecies
than the one now before us, notably in Daniel 7: 11, in which the prophet
says that he beheld until the beast was slain, and his body destroyed and
given to the burning flame. This power must be very near the close of its
existence. But it dos not perish until Christ appears, for it then goes
alive into the lake of fire.

The other power associated with it, the two-horned beast, we see fast
approaching the climax of the work it has to do before it also goes alive
into the lake of fire. How impressive is the thought that we see before us
two great prophetic agencies which are by all the evidences near the close
of their history, which yet are not to cease until the Lord shall appear in
all His glory.

It appears from verse 21 that there is a remnant not numbered with the
beast or the false prophet. These are slain by the sword of Him that sits
upon the horse, which sword proceeds out of His mouth. This sword is
doubtless what is spoken of elsewhere as "the spirit of His mouth" and "the
breath of His lips," with which the Lord shall slay the wicked at His
appearing and kingdom (2 Thessalonians 2: 8; Isaiah 11: 4.)
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Page 739

                                 Chapter XX

                        The World's Millennial Night

Verse 1 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the
bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. 2 And he laid hold on the
dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a
thousand years, 3 and cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up,
and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till
the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a
little season.

The event with which this chapter opens seems to follow the events of the
preceding chapter in chronological order. The inquires that here arise are,
Who is the angel that comes down from heaven? What are the key and the
chain which he has in his hand? What is the bottomless pit? What is meant
by binding Satan a thousand years?

Is this angel Christ, as some suppose? Evidently not. A direct ray of light
is thrown from the old typical service directly upon this passage.

Satan is the Scapegoat.--Christ is the great High Priest of the gospel age.
On the Day of Atonement anciently two goats were taken by the priest, and
lots were cast upon them, one for the Lord, and the other for the
scapegoat. The goat upon which the Lord's lot fell, was then slain, and his
blood carried into the sanctuary to make an atonement for the children of
Israel. After this the sins of the people were confessed upon the head of
the other, or scapegoat, and he was sent away by the hand of a fit man into
the wilderness, a place not inhabited. As Christ is the priest of the
gospel age, a few arguments will show Satan to be the antitypical
scapegoat.

The Hebrew word for scapegoat, as given in the margin of Leviticus 16: 8,
is "Azazel." On this verse, William Jenks remarks: "Scapegoat. See diff.
opin. in Bochar. Spencer, after the oldest opinions of the Hebrews and
Christians, thinks Azazel is the name of the devil; and so Rosenm., whom
see. The

Page 740

Syr. has Azzail, the 'angel (strong one) who revolted.' " [1] The devil is
here evidently pointed out. Thus we have the definition of the Scripture
term in two ancient languages, with the oldest opinion of the Christians,
in favor of the view that the scapegoat is a type of Satan.

Charles Beecher says: "What goes to confirm this is that the most ancient
paraphrases and translations treat Azazel as a proper name. The Chaldee
paraphrase and the targums of Onkelos and Jonathan would certainly have
translated it if it was not a proper name, but they do not. The Septuagint,
or oldest Greek version, renders it by {GREEK CHARACTERS IN PRINTED TEXT},
apopompaios, a word applied by the Greeks to a malign deity sometimes
appeased by sacrifices. Another confirmation is found in the book of Enoch,
where the name Azalzel, evidently a corruption of Azazel, is given to one
of the fallen angels, thus plainly showing that was the prevalent
understanding of the Jews at that day. Still another evidence is found in
the Arabic, where Azazel is employed as the name of the evil spirit." [2]

Here is the Jewish interpretation:

"Far from involving the recognition of Azazel as a deity, the sending of
the goat was, as stated by Nahmanides, a symbolic expression of the idea
that the people's sins and their evil consequences were to be sent back to
the spirit of desolation and ruin, the source of all impurity." [3]

In a striking manner these views harmonize with the events to take place in
connection with the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary, as revealed to us
in the Scriptures of truth.

In the type we see the sin of the transgressor transferred to the victim.
We see that sin borne by the ministration of the priest and the blood of
the offering into the sanctuary. On the tenth day of the seventh month we
see the priest, with the blood of the sin offering for the people, remove
all their sins from the sanctuary, and lay them upon the head of the scape-

Page 741

goat. And we see the goat bear them away into a land not inhabited.
(Leviticus 1: 4; 4: 3-6; 16: 5-10, 15, 16, 20-22.)

Answering to these events in the type, we behold in the antitype, the great
offering for the world made on Calvary. The sins of all those who avail
themselves of the merits of Christ's shed blood by faith in Him, are borne
by the ministration of Christ into the new-covenant sanctuary. After
Christ, the minister of the true tabernacle (Hebrews 8: 2), has finished
His ministration, He will remove the sins of His people from the sanctuary,
and lay them upon the head of their author, the antitypical scapegoat, the
devil. The devil will be sent away, bearing them into a land not inhabited.

"Let us contemplate that scene at Christ's return to earth. The Church has
been judged; Israel has been judged; the Gentile nations have been also
judged. . . . Now it is Satan's turn to be judged also; and our High Priest
is seen 'putting' the moral blame to where it rightly belongs; judging the
great corruptor and banishing him to a place of separation from the affairs
of men." [4]

"Satan is not here, as some allege against this opinion, put on an equality
with God; for the two goats were both brought 'to Jehovah,' and were His;
while the very casting of lots, which was in itself a solemn appeal to God,
shows that Jehovah claimed the power of disposal. Neither can it be
objected that this was in any sense a sacrifice to Satan, for the animal
was not slain to him; it was only sent to him in disgrace. Bearing upon it
sins which God had already forgiven, it was sent to Azazel in the
wilderness.

"The phrase 'scape,' by which the strange term Azazel is rendered in our
version, came from the 'hircus emissarius' [goat emissary], of the Vulgate.
The term Azazel may mean the 'apostate one'--a name which Satan merits, and
which he seems to have borne among the Jews. It was Satan that brought sin
into the world; and this seduction of

Page 742

man adds to his guilt, and consequently to his punishment. Sin is now
pardoned in God's mercy. The one goat was sacrificed as a sin offering; its
blood was carried into the holy place, and the mercyseat was sprinkled with
it. Guilt was therefore canceled; by this shedding of blood there was
remission. But sin, though pardoned, is yet hateful to God, and it cannot
dwell in His sight: it is removed away to a 'land not inhabited'--severed
from God's people, and sent away to man's first seducer. The sins of a
believing world are taken off them, and rolled back on Satan, their prime
author and instigator. Though the penalty is remitted to believers, it is
not remitted to him who brought them into apostasy and ruin. The tempted
are restored, but the whole punishment is seen to fall on the archtempter.
Hell is 'prepared for the devil and his angels.' " [5]

This we believe to be the very event described in the verses under notice.
At the time here specified, the sanctuary service is closed. Christ lays
upon the head of the devil the sins which have been transferred to the
sanctuary, and which are imputed to the saints no more. The devil is sent
away, not by the hand of the High Priest, but by the hand of another
person, according to the type, into a place here called the bottomless pit.

The Key and the Chain.--It cannot be supposed that the key and chain are
literal; they are rather used merely as symbols of the power and authority
with which this angel is clothed on this occasion for the accomplishment of
his mission.

The Bottomless Pit.--The original word signifies an abyss, bottomless,
deep, profound. Its use seems to be such as to show that the word denotes
any place of darkness, desolation, and death. Thus in Revelation 9: 1, 2,
it is applied to the barren wastes of the Arabian desert, and in Romans 10:
7, to the grave. But the use which specially throws light upon the meaning
of the word here is found in Genesis 1: 2, where we

Page 743

read that "darkness was upon the face of the deep." The word there rendered
"deep" is the same word that is here rendered "bottomless pit," and the
text might have been translated, "Darkness was upon the face of the abyss,
or bottomless pit." We all know that the word "deep" as there used is
applied to the earth in its chaotic state. Precisely this it must mean in
this third verse of Revelation 20. Let it be borne in mind that at the time
the angel does this work, the earth is a vast charnel house of desolation
and death. The voice of God has shaken it to its foundations; the islands
and mountains have been moved out of their places; the great earthquake has
leveled to the earth the mightiest works of man; the seven last plagues
have left their all-desolating trail over the earth; the burning glory
attending the general desolation; the wicked have been given to the
slaughter, and their putrefying flesh and bleaching bones lie unburied,
ungathered, and unlamented from one end of the earth to the other.

Thus is the earth made empty and waste, and turned upside down. (Isaiah 24:
1.) Thus is it brought back again, partly at least, to its original state
of confusion and chaos. (See Jeremiah 4: 19-26, especially verse 23.) What
better term could be used to describe the earth thus rolling on in its
course of darkness and desolation for a thousand years than that of abyss,
or bottomless pit? Here Satan will be confined during this time, amid the
ruins which indirectly his own hands have wrought, unable toe flee from his
habitation of woe, or to repair in the least degree its hideous ruin.

Binding of Satan.--We well know that Satan, in order to work, must have
subjects upon whom to work. Without these, he can do nothing. But during
the thousand years of his confinement to this earth, all the saints are in
heaven beyond the power of his temptations, and all the wicked are in their
graves beyond his power to deceive. His sphere of action is circumscribed,
and thus is he bound, being condemned throughout this period to a state of
hopeless inactivity. To a

Page 745

mind that has been as busy as his has been for the past six thousand years
in deceiving the inhabitants of the world from generation to generation,
this must be a punishment of the most intense severity.

According to this exposition, the "binding" of Satan means simply placing
beyond his reach the subjects upon whom he works. His being "loosed" means
their being brought again by a resurrection to a position where he can
again exercise his power upon them. On this exposition some say that we
have mistaken the personnel, and have the wicked bound, instead of the
devil. Yet how often do we hear, in the daily transactions of life, such
expressions as these: My way was completely hedged up. My hands were
completely tied. but when persons use such expressions, do we imagine that
some insurmountable obstacle was literally thrown across the path they were
traveling, or that their hands were literally confined with ropes and
cords?--No; we understand that a combination of circumstances rendered it
impossible for them to act. Even so here. Why will not people grant to the
Bible the same liberty of speech that they give without question to their
fellow men?

More than this, there is here a great limitation of Satan's power, which
may well be called a "binding." He no longer has the power of traversing
space and visiting other worlds, but like a man he is confined to this
earth, which he nevermore leaves. The place of the ruin he has wrought now
becomes his gloomy prison house until he is led out to execution at the end
of the thousand years.

Verse 4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given
unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness
of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast,
neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or
in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. 5
But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were
finished. This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is he that
hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no
power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with
Him a thousand years.

Page 746

Exaltation of the Saints.--From the devil in his gloomy confinement, John
now directs our attention to the saints in victory and glory, the saints
reigning with Christ. Their employment is to assign to the wicked dead the
punishment due their evil deeds. From that general assembly John then
selects two classes as worthy of especial attention: the martyrs who had
been beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and those who had not worshiped the
beast and his image. The latter class, those who refuse the mark of the
beast and his image, are of course the ones who hear and obey the third
angel's message of Revelation 14. But these are not the ones who are
beheaded for the witness of Jesus, as some who claim that the last
generation of saints are all to be slain, would have us believe. The word
rendered "which," in the expression, "which had not worshiped the beast,"
shows that there is another class introduced. The word is the compound
relative, {GREEK CHARACTERS IN PRINTED TEXT}, hotis, "whoever," not merely
the simple relative {GREEK CHARACTERS IN PRINTED TEXT}, hos, "who," and is
defined by Liddell and Scott, "Whosoever, whichsoever, any one who,
anything which." As one class, John saw the martyrs, and as another he saw
those who had not worshiped the beast and his image.

It is true that {GREEK CHARACTERS IN PRINTED TEXT}, hostis, is sometimes
used as a simple relative as in 2 Corinthians 3: 14; Ephesians 1: 23, but
never in such construction as this, where it is preceded by the conjunction
{GREEK CHARACTERS IN PRINTED TEXT}, kai, "and."

Lest anyone should say that if we render the passage "and whosoever had not
worshiped the beast," we thereby include millions of heathen and sinners
who have not worshiped the beast, and promise them a reign of a thousand
years with Christ, we could call attention to the fact that the preceding
chapter states that the wicked had all been slain, and the seal of death
had been set upon them for a thousand years. John is here viewing only the
righteous company who have part in the first resurrection.

To avoid the doctrine of two resurrections, some claim that the passage,
"The rest of the dead lived not again until the

Page 747

thousand years were finished," is an interpolation, not found in the
original, and hence not genuine. Even if this were so, it would not
disprove the main proposition that the righteous dead are raised by
themselves in a "first resurrection," and that there is a second
resurrection a thousand years later, in which all the wicked are brought
from their graves.

But the criticism is not true, for all scholarship is against it. The
English Revised Version makes no reference to this text as being "not
found" in ancient manuscripts. The American Revised Version does not give
the slightest hint that a part of the text is omitted. Rotherham's
translation, though noting elsewhere "doubtful" renderings, says nothing
about this text being spurious. It is found in Tischendorf's eight editions
of the Greek New Testament, and in the Greek text of Westcoot and Hort. The
sentence occurs also in all the Greek New Testaments issued by the
world-renowned critics. Griesbach, Wordsworth, Lachmann, Tregelles, and
Alford. Three or four Greek manuscripts do not have this sentence; sixteen
hundred and ninety-seven of them do contain it if they have the Revelation
at all.

Two Resurrections.--"The rest of the dead lived not again until the
thousand years were finished." Whatever may be said to the contrary, no
language could more plainly prove two resurrections. The first is a
resurrection of the righteous at the beginning of the thousand years. The
second is that of the wicked at the end of the millennium. On such as have
part in the first resurrection, the second death will have no power. They
can pass unharmed through the elements which destroy the wicked like chaff.
They will be able to dwell with devouring fire and everlasting burnings.
(Isaiah 33: 14, 15.) They will be able to go forth and look upon the
carcasses of the men who have transgressed against the Lord, as the
quenchless fire and undying worm are preying upon them. (Isaiah 66: 24.)
The difference between the righteous and the wicked in this respect is seen
again in the fact that while God is to the latter a consuming fire, He is
to His people both a sun and a shield.

Page 748

Wicked Raised to Life.--The wicked who are raised at the end of the
thousand years actually live again as they have once lived on the earth. To
deny this is to do violence to this scripture. In what physical condition
they will be raised, we are not informed. It is usual to say on this point
that what we have lost unconditionally in Adam, is restored unconditionally
in Christ. With respect to physical condition, this should not perhaps be
taken in an unlimited sense, for the race has lost greatly in stature and
vital force, which need not be restored to the wicked. If they are brought
back to the average mental and physical condition which they possessed
during life or the period of their probation, that would certainly be
sufficient to enable them to receive understandingly the last judgment due
them for all their deeds done while living here upon this earth.

Verse 7 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out
of his prison, 8 and shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the
four quarters of the earth, Gog, and Magog, to gather them together to
battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. 9 And they went up on
the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and
the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured
them. 10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire
and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be
tormented day and night for ever and ever.

Perdition of Ungodly Men.--At the end of the one thousand years, the holy
city New Jerusalem, in which the saints have dwelt in heaven during that
period, comes down and is located upon the earth. It then becomes the camp
of the saints, around which the risen wicked gather, numberless as the sand
of the sea. The devil deceives them, and thus brings them to this battle.
They are induced to undertake an impious warfare upon the Holy City, in
prospect of some advantage to be gained by fighting against the saints.
Satan doubtless persuades them that they can overcome the saints,
dispossess them of their city, and still hold possession of the earth. But
fire comes down from God out of heaven, and devours them. The word here
rendered "devoured," Moses Stuart admits is

Page 749

"intensive," and signifies "to eat up, devour, so that it denotes utter
excision." [6]

This is the time of the perdition of ungodly men--the time when "the
elements shall melt with a fervent heat, the earth also," and when the
works that are in the earth shall be burned up. (2 Peter 3: 7, 10.) In the
light of these scriptures, we can see how the wicked are to received their
recompense in the earth. (Proverbs 11: 31.) We can see also that this
recompense is not eternal life in misery, but an "utter excision," entire
and complete destruction.

The Wicked Never Tread the New Earth.--Two views deserve a passing notice
at this point. The first is that the earth is renewed at the second coming
of Christ, and is the habitation of the saints during the thousand years.
The other is that when Christ appears the second time, He sets up His
kingdom in Palestine, and performs in connection with His saints a work of
conquest over the nations left on the earth during the thousand years, and
subdues them to Himself.

One among many objections to the first view is that it makes the wicked
come up in their resurrection, and with the devil at their head, tread with
their unhallowed feet upon the purified and holy earth, while the saints,
who have held possession for a thousand years, are obliged to yield the
ground, and flee into the city. We cannot believe that the saints'
inheritance will ever be thus marred, or that the fair plains of the earth
made new will ever be soiled with the polluting tread of the resuscitated
wicked. Besides outraging all ideas of propriety, there is no scripture
from which even an inference can be drawn to support this position.

As to the second view, one among many of its absurdities is that although
Christ and His saints have conquered the earth during the thousand years,
at the end of this period the wicked get the upper hand, they lose their
territory, the work of a thousand years is undone, and they are compelled
to beat an

Page 750

ignominious retreat into the city for shelter, leaving the earth to the
undisputed sway of their foes.

A Thousand Years in Heaven.--In contrast with these theories, there is
harmony in the view herein presented. The saints are with Christ in heaven
during the thousand years while the earth lies desolate. The saints and the
city come down, and the wicked dead are raised and come up against it.
There the latter receive their judgment. From the purifying fires which
destroy them come forth the new heavens and the new earth, to be the abode
of the righteous throughout endless ages.

Subjects of Torment.--From verse 10, some have argued that the devil alone
was to be tormented day and night, but the testimony of this verse includes
more than that. The verb phrase "shall be tormented" is in the plural, and
makes affirmation concerning the beast and the false prophet, whereas it
would be in the singular number if it referred to the devil alone. It will
be noticed in the expression, "where the beast and the false prophet are,"
that "are" is a supplied word. It would be more proper to supply the words
"were cast," coordinating with what was spoken of the devil just before. A
more exact translation, too, supplies the word "also" after "where." The
sentence would then read, "The devil was cast into the lake of fire, where
also the beast and the false prophet were cast." The beast and the false
prophet were cast into the lake of fire and destroyed, at the beginning of
the thousand years. (Revelation 19: 20.) The individuals of whom their
organizations were then composed, now come up in the second resurrection,
and a similar and final destruction is visited upon them under the names
Gog and Magog.

The Lake of Fire.--Some reader may be inclined to ask for a definition of
the lake of fire. As a comprehensive definition, may it not be called a
symbol of the agencies which God employs to close up His controversy with
the living wicked at the beginning of the thousand years, and with all the
hosts of the ungodly at the end of that period? Literal fire will of course
be

Page 751

largely employed in this work. We can better describe its effects than the
thing itself. At the second coming of Christ, it is the flaming fire in
which the Lord Jesus is revealed, the spirit of His mouth, and brightness
of His coming by which the man of sin is to be consumed, the fire in which
great Babylon shall be utterly burned. (Revelation 18: 8.) At the end of
the thousand years, it is that day that shall burn as an oven (Malachi 4:
1); it is the fervent heat that shall melt the elements and the earth, and
burn up the works that are in it; it is the fire of Tophet prepared for the
king (the devil and his angel, Matthew 25: 41), the pile whereof is deep
and large, and which "the breathe of the Lord, like a stream of brimstone,
doth kindle" (Isaiah 30: 33). In short, it is the fire that comes down from
God out of heaven. (On the expression, "tormented day and night forever and
ever," see comments on Revelation 14: 11.)

Verse 11 And I saw a great white throne, and Him that sat on it, from whose
face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for
them. 12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the
books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life:
and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the
books, according to their works. 13 And the sea gave up the dead which were
in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and
they were judged every man according to their works. 14 And death and hell
were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And whosoever
was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

A Throne of Judgment.--With verse 11, John introduces another scene in
connection with the final doom of the ungodly. It is the great white throne
of judgment, before which they are assembled to receive their awful
sentence of condemnation, and death. Before this throne the heavens and the
earth flee away, so that no place is found for them. A moment's reflection
on the changes which must then take place in the earth will bring out the
great force of this language. The scene is that of Peter's burning day,
which is the "perdition of ungodly men," and in which even the "elements"
melt with fervent heat. (2 Peter 3: 7-13.)

Fire comes down from God out of heaven. The works that are in the world are
burned up, and the wicked are destroyed. This is the fire of Gehenna, which
contains all the elements necessary to consume utterly every mortal being
that comes under its power. (Mark 9: 43-48.) Then will be fulfilled Isaiah
66: 24: "They [the righteous] shall go forth, and look upon the carcasses
of the men that have transgressed against Me: for their worm shall not die,
neither shall their fire be quenced: and they shall be an abhorring unto
all flesh."

Then also will be fulfilled in Isaiah 33: 14: "Who among us shall dwell
with the devouring fire? Who among us shall dwell with everlasting
burnings?" The answer in the following verses shows it to be the righteous.
This must be the time to which Isaiah's questions and answers apply.

In all this conflagration the elements are not destroyed. They are only
melted and purged from the taint of sin and every token of the curse. The
almighty fiat then goes forth, "Behold, I make all things new. . . . It is
done." Revelation 21: 5, 6. At the first creation, "the morning stars sang
together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy." Job 38: 7. At this new
creation, that song and shout will be augmented by the glad voices of the
redeemed. So will this earth, wrenched for a time by sin from its intended
orbit of joy and peace, be brought back renewed into harmony with a loyal
universe, to be the everlasting home of the saved.

The Books of the Record.--Men are judged out of the things written in the
books, from which we learn the solemn fact that a record of all our deeds
is kept on high. A faithful and unerring record is made by the angelic
secretaries. The wicked cannot conceal from them any of their deeds of
darkness. They cannot bribe them to pass over in the record their unlawful
acts. They must meet them again, and be judged accordingly.

Execution of the Sentence.--The wicked are to be punished according to
their works. The Scriptures declare that they shall be rewarded according
to their deeds. That the degree of suffering which each one is to endure is
taken into the

Page 753

account as a part of the punishment for his sins, is evident: "That
servant, which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did
according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he that knew
not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few
stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required."
Luke 12: 47, 48.

The Book of Life.--Why, it may be asked is the book of life brought forth
on this occasion, when all who have part in the second resurrection, beyond
which this scene is located, are already forejudged to the second death? At
least one apparent reason is that all may see that none of the names of all
the multitude who die the second death are in the book of life, and why
they are not there; and if the names have ever been there, why they are not
retained. Thus all the intelligences of the universe may see that God acts
with justice and impartiality.

It is stated also that "death and hell were cast into the lake of fire.
This is the second death." Here is the final epitaph of all the forces from
first to last that have risen up to oppose the will and work of the Lord.
Satan originated and led out in this nefarious work. A part of heaven's
angels joined him in his false position and murderous work, and for him and
them the everlasting fire was prepared. (Matthew 25: 41.) Men become
involved only because they join him in his rebellion. But here the
controversy closes. The fire is to them everlasting because it allows of no
escape, and of no cessation until they are consumed. The second death is
their punishment, and it is "everlasting punishment" (Matthew 25: 46)
because they never find release from its dread embrace. "The wages of sin
is death," not punishing forever. Roman 6: 23.

To sum up the argument, "Whosoever was not found written in the book of
life was cast into the lake of fire." Reader, is your name written in the
book of life? Are you striving to avert in your own case the fearful doom
that awaits the ungodly? Rest no until you have reason to believe that your
name is among those who are to share at last in eternal life.

[1] William Jenks, The Comprehensive Commentary, Vol. I, p. 410, note on
Leviticus 16: 8.

[2] Charles Beecher, Redeemer and Redeemed, pp. 67, 68.

[3] Jewish Encyclopedia, Vol. II, p. 366, art. "Azazel."

[4] Albert Whalley, The Red Letter Days of Israel, p. 125

[5] John Eadie, Biblical Cyclopaedia, p. 577, art. "Scape-Goat."

[6] Moses Stuart, A Commentary on the Apocalypse, Vol. II, p. 369.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Page 755

                                Chapter XXI

                        A New Heaven and a New Earth

The subject of this chapter, beginning with verse 2, is the New Jerusalem,
but before that is introduced, John tells how the present heaven and earth
and sea are to be disposed of:

Verse 1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and
the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.

New Heaven and New Earth.--By the first heaven and first earth, John
unquestionably means the present heaven and earth, "the heavens and the
earth which are now." 2 Peter 3: 7. Some have supposed that when the Bible
speaks of the third heaven, in which are Paradise and the tree of life (2
Corinthians 12: 2 and Revelation 2: 7), it refers to the heaven which is
yet future, and does not prove that there is a Paradise and a tree of life
literally in existence in heaven at the present time. They base their view
on the fact that Peter speaks of three heavens and earths: those before the
flood, the ones which now are, and the ones which are to come. But that
theory is completely overturned by the first verse of Revelation 21: for
John here reckons but two heavens and earths. The ones which now are he
called the first, so that the future new heavens would, according to this
count, be the second, and not the third, as Peter is supposed to reckon.
Hence it is certain that Peter did not design to establish a numerical
order, in accordance with which we should speak of one as the first,
another as the second, and the last as the third. The object of his
reasoning was simply to show that as a literal heaven and earth succeeded
to the destruction of the earth by the flood, so a literal heaven and earth
would result from the renovation of the present system by fire. There is no
proof, therefore, that when Bible speaks of the third heaven, it refers
simply to

Page 756

the third state of the present heavens and earth, for then all the Bible
writers would uniformly have so reckoned it. Thus the arguments of those
who endeavor to disprove a literal Paradise and tree of life in existence
now, fall to the ground.

The Bible certainly recognizes three heavens in the present constitution of
things, namely, the first, or atmospheric heaven, which the fowls of the
air inhabit; the second, the planetary heaven, the region of the sun, moon,
and stars; and the third, high above others, where Paradise and the tree of
life are found (Revelation 2: 7), where God has His residence and His
throne (Revelation 22: 1, 2), to which Paul was caught up in heavenly
vision (2 Corinthians 12: 2), to which Christ ascended when He left the
earth (Revelation 12: 5), where He now, as Priest-King, sits upon the
throne with His Father (Zechariah 6: 13), and where the glorious city
stands, awaiting the saints when they enter into life (Revelation 21: 2).
Blessed be God that from that bright land intelligence has been brought to
this far-off world of ours! Thanks be to His holy name that a way has been
opened, which leads like a straight and shining path of light up to those
blest abodes!

The Sea No More.--Because John says, "There was no more sea," the question
is sometimes asked, Is there, then, to be no sea in the new earth? It does
not certainly follow from this text that there will be none; for John is
speaking only of the present heaven and earth and sea. It might be
translated thus: For the first heaven and the first earth were passed away,
an the sea [{GREEK CHARACTERS IN PRINTED TEXT}, ouk estin eti, is no more]
also passed away; that is, the old sea no longer appeared, any more than
the old heaven and the old earth. Yet there may be a new sea as there is a
new earth.

Adam Clarke says on this passage: "The sea no more appeared than did the
first heaven and earth. All was made new; and probably the new sea occupied
a different position, and was differently distributed, from that of the old
sea." [1]

Page 757

The river of life, of which we read in the following chapter, proceeds from
the throne of God, and flows through the broad street of the city. It must
find some place into which to discharge its waters, and what could that be
but the new-earth sea? That there will be a sea, or seas, in the new earth,
may be inferred from the prophecy which speaks of Christ's future reign as
follows: "His dominion shall be from sea even to sea, and from the river
even to the ends of the earth." Zechariah 9: 10. But that three quarters of
the globe will then, as now, be abandoned to as waste of waters, can hardly
be expected. The new world, where God's faithful people are to dwell, will
have everything which will contribute to proportion, utility, and beauty.

Verse 2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God
out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a
great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with
men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God
Himself shall be with them, and be their God. 4 And God shall wipe away all
tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow,
nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are
passed away.

The Father's House.--In connection with the view which John has of the holy
city coming down from God out of heaven, a voice is heard, saying, "The
tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them." The great God
takes up His abode on this earth, but we do not suppose that God is
confined to this, or any other one of the worlds of His creation. He here
has a throne, and the earth enjoys so much of His presence that it may be
said that He dwells among men and dwells there in a different sense from
ever before. Why should this be thought a strange thing? God's
only-begotten Son is here as ruler of His special kingdom. The holy city
will be here. The heavenly hosts take an interest in this world probably
above what they feel in any other; yea, reasoning from one of the Saviour's
parables, there will be more joy in heaven over one world redeemed than
over ninety and nine which have needed no redemption.

Page 759

No Cause for Tears.--"God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes." He
does not literally wipe away tears from the eyes of His people, for there
will be no tears in that kingdom to be wiped away. He wipes away tears by
removing all causes of tears.

Verse 5 And He that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things
new. And He said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. 6
And He said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and
the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water
of life freely.

The New Creation.--He that sits upon the throne is the same being that is
mentioned in verses 11, 12 of the preceding chapter. He says, "I make all
things new;" not, I make all new things. The earth is not destroyed,
annihilated, and a new one created, but all things are made over new. Let
us rejoice that these words are true. When this is accomplished, all will
be ready for the utterance of that sublime sentence, "It is done." The dark
shadow of sin has then forever vanished. The wicked, root and branch
(Malachi 4: 1), are destroyed out of the land of the living, and the
universal anthem of praise and thanksgiving (Revelation 5: 13) goes up from
a redeemed world and a clean universe to a covenant-keeping God.

Verse 7 He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God,
and he shall be My son. 8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the
abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters,
and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire
and brimstone: which is the second death.

The Great Inheritance.--The overcomers are "Abraham's seed, and heirs
according to the promise." Galatians 3: 29. The promise embraces the world
(Romans 4: 13); and the saints will go forth upon the earth, not as
servants or aliens, but as lawful heirs to the heavenly estate and
proprietors of the soil.

Fear That Hath Torment.--But the fearful and unbelieving have their part in
the lake that burneth with fire and brim-

Page 760

stone. The word "fearful" has been a trouble to some conscientious ones,
who have had fears more or less in all their Christian experience. It may
be well, therefore, to inquire what kind of fear is here meant. It is not
fear of our own weakness, or of the power of the tempter. It is not fear of
sinning, or of falling out by the way, or of coming short at last. Such
fear drives us to the Lord for help. But the fear mentioned here is
connected with unbelief, a fear of the ridicule and opposition of the
world, a fear to trust God and venture out upon His promises, a fear that
He will not fulfill what He has declared, and that consequently one will be
left to shame and loss for believing on Him. Cherishing such fear, one can
be only half-hearted in His service. This is most dishonoring to God. This
is the fear which we are commanded not to have. (Isaiah 51: 7.) This is the
fear which brings into condemnation here, and will finally bring all who
are controlled by it into the lake of fire, which is the second death.

Verse 9 And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven
vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come
hither, I will show thee the bride, the Lamb's wife. 10 And he carried me
away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me that great
city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, 11 having the
glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like
a jasper stone, clear as crystal; 12 and had a wall great and high, and had
twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon,
which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: 13 On
the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates;
and on the west three gates. 14 And the wall of the city had twelve
foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

The Bride the Lamb's Wife.--This testimony is positive that the New
Jerusalem is the bride, the Lamb's wife. The angel told John distinctly
that he would show him the bride, the Lamb's wife. We may be sure that he
did not deceive him, but fulfilled his promise to the very letter. All that
he did show him was the New Jerusalem, which must therefore be the Lamb's
wife. It would be unnecessary to offer a word of proof that this city is
not the church, were it not that popular theology has so mystified the
Scriptures as to give it this applica-

Page 761

tion. This city cannot be the church, because it would be absurd to talk of
the church as lying foursquare, and having a north side, a south side, an
east side, and a west side. It would be incongruous to speak of the church
as having a wall great and high, and having twelve gates, three on each
side toward the four points of the compass. Indeed, the whole description
of the city which is given in this chapter would be more or less obscure if
applied to the church.

In writing to the Galatians, Paul speaks of the same city and says that it
is the mother of us all, referring to the church. The church, then, is not
the city itself, but the children of the city. Verse 24 of the chapter
under comment, speaks of the nations of the saved, who walk in the light of
this city. These nations of the saved, who walk in the light of this city.
These nations who are saved, and on earth constitute the church, are
distinct from the city, in the light of which they walk. It follows that
the city is a literal city built of all the precious materials here
described.

But how can it then be the bride, the Lamb's wife? Inspiration has seen fit
to speak of it under this figure, and with every believer in the Bible that
should be sufficient. This figure is first introduced in Isaiah 54. The
new-covenant city is there brought to view. It is represented as being
desolate while the old covenant was in force, and the Jews and old
Jerusalem were the special objects of God's care. It is said to here that
"the children of the desolate" shall be many more than "the children of the
married wife." It is further said to her, "Thy Maker is thine husband," and
the closing promise of the Lord to this city contains a description similar
to the one which we have here in Revelation, namely, "I will lay thy stones
with fair colors, and lay thy foundations with sapphires; and I will make
thy windows of agates, and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy borders of
pleasant stones. And all thy children shall be taught of the Lord." Isaiah
54: 11-13.

It is this very promise to which Paul refers, upon which he comments in his
epistle to the Galatians, when he says, "But Jerusalem which is above is
free, which is the mother of

Page 762

us all" (Galatians 4: 26), for he in the next verse quotes this very
prophecy from the book of Isaiah to sustain his declaration. Here then Paul
makes an inspired application of Isaiah's prophecy which cannot be
mistaken, and in this verse he shows that under the figure of a "woman," a
"wife" whose "children" were to be multiplied, the Lord by the prophet
speaks of the New Jerusalem, the city above, as contrasted with the earthly
Jerusalem in the land of Palestine. Of that city the Lord calls Himself the
"husband." In addition to this, we have positive testimony to the same
facts in Revelation 21.

With this view, all is harmony. Christ is called Father of His people
(Isaiah 9: 6), the Jerusalem above is called our mother, and we are here
children. Carrying out the figure of marriage, Christ is represented as the
Bridegroom, the city as the bride, and we, the church, as the guests. There
is not confusion of personalities here. But the popular view, is not
confusion of personalities here. But the popular view, which makes the city
the church, and the church the bride, makes the the church at the same time
both mother and children, both bride and guests.

The view that the marriage of the Lamb is the inauguration of Christ as
King upon the throne of David, and that the parables of Matthew 22: 1-14;
25: 1-13; Luke 12: 35-37; 19: 12-27, apply to that event, is further
confirmed by a well- known ancient custom. It is said that when a person
took his position as ruler over the people, and was invested with that
power, it was called a marriage, and the usually accompanying feast was
called a marriage supper. Adam Clarke, in his note on Matthew 22: 2, thus
speaks of it:

"A Marriage for His Son.--A marriage feast, so the word {GREEK CHARACTERS
IN PRINTED TEXT} [gamous] properly means. Or a feast of inauguration, when
his son was put in possession of the government, and thus he and his new
subjects became married together. (See 1 Kings 1: 5-9, 19, 25, etc., where
such a feast is mentioned.)" [2] Many eminent critics understand this
parable as indicating

Page 763

the Father's induction of His Son into His Messianic kingdom.

A Christian City.--The names of the twelve apostles in the foundations of
the city, show it to be a Christian and not a Jewish city. The names of the
twelve tribes on the gates, show that all the saved from all ages, are
reckoned as belonging to some one of the twelve tribes, for all must enter
the city through some one of the twelve gates. This explains those
instances in which Christians are called Israel, and are addressed as the
twelve tribes, as in Romans 2: 28, 29; 9: 6-8; Galatians 3: 29; Ephesians
2: 12, 13; James 1: 1; Revelation 7: 4.

Verse 15 And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city,
and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof. 16 And the city lieth
foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the
city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth
and the height of it are equal. 17 And he measured the wall thereof, an
hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that
is, of the angel. 18 And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and
the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass.

The City's Dimensions.--According to this testimony the city is laid out in
a perfect square, measuring equally on all sides. The measure of the city,
John declares, was twelve thousand furlongs. Twelve thousand furlongs,
eight furlongs to the mile, equal fifteen hundred miles. It may be
understood that this measure is the measure of the whole circumference of
the city, not merely of one side. This appears, from Kitto, to have been
the ancient method of measuring cities. The whole circumference was taken,
and that was said to be the measure of the city. According to this rule,
the New Jerusalem will be three hundred and seventy-five miles in length on
each side. The length, breadth, and height of it are equal. From this
language, the question has arisen whether the city shown to John was a high
as it was long and broad. The word rendered "equal" is {GREEK CHARACTERS IN
PRINTED TEXT}, isos. From the definitions given by Liddell and Scott, we
learn that it may be used to convey the idea of proportion: the height was
proportionate to the length and breadth. Greenfield, in defining one of its

Page 764

cognate words, {GREEK CHARACTERS IN PRINTED TEXT}, isotes, gives to it the
sense of "equal proportion," and refers to 2 Corinthians 8: 13, 14, as an
example where this definition is quite admissible. And this idea is
strengthened by the fact that the wall was only a hundred and forty-four
cubits high. Taking the cubit at about twenty-two inches, the length which
is most commonly assigned to the ancient cubit, it would give only two
hundred and sixty-four feet as the height of the wall. Now if the city is
just as high as it is long and broad, that is, three hundred and
seventy-five miles, this wall of less than three hundred feet would be in
comparison a most insignificant affair. Probably therefore the height of
the buildings of the city is to be judged by the height of the wall, which
is distinctly given.

The building of the wall was of jasper. This precious stone is usually
described as of "a beautiful bright green color, sometimes clouded with
white or spotted with yellow." This we understand to be the material of the
main body of the wall built upon the twelve foundations hereafter
described. Let it be remembered that this jasper wall was "clear as
crystal" (verse 11), revealing all the glories within.

Verse 19 And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with
all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second,
sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald; 20 the fifth,
sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysotile; the eighth, beryl;
the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the
twelfth, an amethyst.

A Literal City.--If we consider this description exclusively metaphorical,
as is done by many who profess to be Bible teachers, and spiritualize away
this city into ethereal nothingness, how unmeaning to these minute
descriptions appear! But if we take it in its natural and obvious
signification, and look upon the city as the prophet evidently intended, as
a literal and tangible abode, our glorious inheritance, the beauties of
which we are to look upon with our own eyes, how the glory of the scene is
enhances!

Though it is not for mortal man of himself to conceive of the grandeur of
the things which God has prepared for those

Page 765

who love Him, yet viewed as a literality, men may delight to contemplate
the glories of their future abode. We love to dwell upon those descriptions
which convey to our minds an idea of the loveliness and beauty which will
characterize our eternal home. As we become absorbed in the contemplation
of an inheritance tangible and sure, courage springs up anew, hope revives,
faith plumes her wings. With feeling of thanksgiving to God that He has
placed it within our power to gain an entrance to the mansions of the
redeemed, we resolve anew, despite the world and all its obstacles, that we
will be among the sharers in the proffered joy. Let us, then, look at the
precious foundation stones of that great city, through whose gates of pearl
God's people may hope soon to enter. While many gemmologists assert that it
is difficult to identify the precious stones of the Bible, the following
interesting tabulation by Moses Stuart will give some idea of the beauty
and variety of colors in the foundation.

The Glorious Foundation.--"The word adorned [garnished], may raise a doubt
here whether the writer means to say that into the various courses of the
foundation ornamental precious stones were only here and there inserted.
But taking the whole description together, I do not apprehend this to have
been his meaning.

"Jasper, as we have seen above, is usually a stone of green, transparent
color, with red veins. But there are many varieties.

"Sapphire is of a beautiful azure, or sky-blue, color, almost as
transparent and glittering as a diamond.

"Chalcedony seems to be a species of agate, or more properly the onyx. The
onyx of the ancients was probably of a bluish white, and semipellucid.

"The emerald was of a vivid green, and next to the ruby in hardness.

"Sardonyx is a mixture of chalcedony and cornelian, which last is of a
flesh-color.

"Sardius is probably the cornelian. Sometimes, however, the red is quite
vivid.

Page 766

"Chrysolithe, as its name imports, is of a yellow or gold color, and is
pellucid. Form this was probably taken the conception of the pellucid gold
which constitutes the material of the city.

"Beryl is of a sea-green color.

"The topaz of the present day seems to be reckoned as yellow; but that of
the ancients appears to have been pale green. . . .

"Chrysopras, of a pale yellow and greenish color, like a scallion;
sometimes it is classed at the present day under topaz.

"Hyacinth [jacinth] of a deep red or violet color.

"Amethyst, a gem of great hardness and brilliancy, of a violet color, and
usually found in India.

"In looking over these various classes, we find the first four to be of a
green or bluish cast; the fifth and sixth, of a red or scarlet; the
seventh, yellow; the eighth, ninth, and tenth, of different shades of the
lighter green; the eleventh and twelfth of a scarlet or splendid red. There
is a classification, therefore, in this arrangement; a mixture not
dissimilar to the arrangement in the rainbow, with the exception that it is
more complex." [3]

Verse 21 And the twelve gates were twelve pearls: every several gate was of
one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent
glass.

Gates of Pearl.--The beautiful city of God, built of materials most
precious here on earth, is very appropriately described as having gates of
pearl. But more than that, the scripture says that each gate is of a single
pearl. Irridescent and glowing with the beautiful colors reflected from the
foundations, these portals swing wide to welcome the redeemed to their
eternal home.

Streets of Burnished Gold.--In this verse, as also in verse 18, the city is
spoken of as built of gold, pure, like clear glass, that is, transparent
glass. Think for a moment what the appearance of a street so paved would
be. The gorgeous palaces on

Page 767

either side would be reflected beneath, and the boundless expanse of the
heavens above would also appear below; so that to the person walking those
golden streets it would appear that both he himself and the city were
suspended between the infinite heights above and the unfathomable depths
below, while the mansions on either side of the street, having also powers
of reflection, would marvelously multiply both palaces and people, and
would render the whole scene novel, pleasing, beautiful, and grand beyond
conception.

Verse 22 And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the
Lamb are the temple of it.

The Living Temple.--With a temple is naturally associated the idea of
sacrifices and mediatorial work, but when the city is located upon the new
work, there will be no such work to be performed. Sacrifices and offerings,
and all mediatorial work based on them, will be forever past. Hence there
will be no need of the outward symbol of such work. But the temple in old
Jerusalem, besides being a place for sacrificial worship, was the beauty
and glory of the place. As if to anticipate the question that might arise
as to what would constitute the ornament and glory of the new city if there
is to be no temple therein, the prophet answers, "The Lord God Almighty and
the Lamb are the temple of it."

Verse 23 And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine
in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light
thereof. 24 And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light
of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honor into it.
25 And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be
no night there. 26 And they shall bring the glory and honor of the nations
into it. 27 And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that
defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they
which are written in the Lamb's book of life.

No Night There.--It is in the city alone, probably, that there is no night.
There will be course be days and nights in the new earth, but they will be
days and nights of surpassing glory. In speaking of this time, the prophet
says, "Moreover, the light

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of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun
shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day that the Lord
bindeth up the breach of His people, and healeth the stroke of their
wound." Isaiah 30: 26. But if the light of the moon in that state is as the
light of the sun, how can there be said to be night there? The light of the
sun will be sevenfold, so that although the night is to be as our day, the
day will be sevenfold brighter, making the contrast between day and night
there as marked, perhaps, as at the present time. Both will be surpassingly
glorious.

Verse 24 speaks of nations and kings. The nations are the nations of the
saved, and in the new-earth state we are all kings in a certain sense. We
possess a "kingdom," and are to "reign" forever and ever.

But it appears from some of our Saviours parables, as in Matthew 25: 21,
23, that some will occupy in a special sense the position of rulers, and
may thus be spoken of as kings of the earth in connection with the nations
of the saved. These bring their glory and honor into the city, when on the
Sabbaths and new moons they there come up to worship before God. (Isaiah
66: 23.)

Reader, do you want a part in the eternal glories of this heavenly city?
See to it, then, that your name is written in the Lamb's book of life; for
those only whose names are on that heavenly "roll of honor" can enter
there.

[1] Adam Clarke, Commentary on the New Testament, Vol. II, p. 1058, note on
Revelation 21: 1.

[2] Adam Clarke, Commentary on the New Testament, Vol. I, p. 209, note on
Matthew 22: 2.

[3] Moses Stuart, A Commentary on the Apocalypse, Vol. II, pp. 383, 384.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Page 769

                           The Home of the Saved

                  Hail Earth, renewed! Celestial Paradise!
                Fit dwelling place, with all thy loveliness,
                   Thy long reproach for ever wiped away,
                 And fairer now than when at first thy God
             Pronounced thee good--fit dwelling place, so pure,
                So beauteous, so adorned with smiling peace,
               For all the saints, all the redeemed of men;
                 Who through thy gates, immortal City fair,
                 Thy gates of pearl, will freely enter in,
                    Where violence and riot never come,
             And walk thy bright and dazzling streets of gold;
               And to the stream of life, the crystal stream
                Fast by the throne of God, have access free;
               And from the tree of life, high arching o'er,
                 Pluck the eternal fruit and eat and live;
               And in Thy glad'ning smiles, O King of saints!
                     Glory unspeakable possess; for in
               Thy presence bright, there fullness is of joy,
                At Thy right hand, pleasures for ever more.

 (From the poem "The Warning Voice of Time and Prophecy," by Uriah Smith.)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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                                Chapter XXII

                               Peace at Last

Verse 1 And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal,
proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. 2 In the midst of the
street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life,
which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and
the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

The angel continues to show John the wonderful things of the city of God.
In the midst of the street of the city was the tree of life.

The Broad Street.--Although the word "street" is here used in the singular
number with the definite article "the" before it, it is not supposed that
there is but one street in the city, for there are twelve gates, and there
must of course be a street leading to each gate. But the street here spoken
of is the street by way of distinction, the main street, or as the original
word signifies, the broad way, the great avenue.

The River of Life.--The tree of life is in the midst of this street, but is
on either side of the river of life. Therefore the river of life is also in
the midst of the street of the city. This river proceeds from the throne of
God. The picture thus presented before the mind is this: The glorious
throne of God at the head of the broad way, or avenue; out of that throne
the river of life, flowing lengthwise through the center of the street; and
the tree of life growing on either side, forming a high and magnificent
arch over that majestic stream, and spreading its life-bearing branches far
away on either side. How wide this broad street is, we have no means of
determining, but it will be at once perceived that a city three hundred
seventy-five miles square, would have an ample space for its great avenue.

The Tree of Life.--But how can the tree of life be but one tree, and still
be on either side of the river? It is evident that there is but one tree of
life. From Genesis to Revelation it

Page 772

is spoken of as but one--the tree of life. To be at once on both sides of
the river, it must have more than one trunk, in which case it would be
united above in order to form but one tree. John, caught away in the
Spirit, and presented with a minute view of this wonderful object, says
that it was on either side of the river.

The tree of life bears twelve kinds of fruit, and yields it fruit every
month. This fact throws light upon the declaration in Isaiah 66: 23, that
all flesh shall come up "from one moon to another" to worship before the
Lord of hosts. The Greek phrase in the verse before us is {GREEK CHARACTERS
IN PRINTED TEXT}, kata mena hekaston, "each month."

The Septuagint has here {GREEK CHARACTERS IN PRINTED TEXT}, men ek menos,
"from month to month." The redeemed come up to the holy city from month to
month to partake of the fruit of the tree of life. Its leaves are for the
healing of the nations,--literally, the service of the nations. This cannot
be understood as implying that any will enter the city in a diseased or
deformed condition to need healing; for then the conclusion would follow
that there will always be persons there in that condition, as we have no
reason to understand that the service of the leaves, whatever it is, will
not be perpetual, like the use of the fruit. But the idea of disease and
deformity in the immortal state is contrary to the express declarations of
Scripture. "The inhabitant shall not say, I am sick." Isaiah 33: 24.

Verse 3 And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the
Lamb shall be in it; and His servants shall serve Him.

This language proves that the great God, the Father, is referred to, as
well as to the Son. The marks of the curse, the deadly miasma, and the
ghastly scenes of desolation and decay, will no more be seen on the earth.
Every breeze will be balmy and life-giving, every scene beauty, and every
sound music.

Verse 4 And they shall see His face; and His name shall be in their
foreheads.

Page 773

The word "His," in the sentence, "They shall see His face," refers to the
Father; for He is the one whose name is in their foreheads. That it is the
Father, we learn from Revelation 14: 1. This will be a fulfillment of the
promise in Matthew 5: 8, "Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see
God."

Verse 5 And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither
light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign
for ever and ever. 6 And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and
true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent His angel to show unto His
servants the things which must shortly be done. 7 Behold, I come quickly:
blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.

Here, again, we have the declaration that there shall be no night in the
city, for the Lord God will be the light of the place. Christ Himself,
through whom all these revelation have come, repeats the promise which has
been the hope of men through the ages, "Behold, I come quickly." To keep
the sayings of the prophecy of this books is to obey the injunctions
connected with the prophecy, as, for instance, in Revelation 14: 9-12.

Verse 8 And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard
and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which showed
me these things. 9 Then saith he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy
fellow servant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep
the sayings of this book: worship God. 10 And he saith unto me, Seal not
the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand. 11 He
that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be
filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he
that is holy, let him be holy still. 12 And, behold, I come quickly; and My
reward is with Me, to give every man according as his work shall be.

For remarks on verses 8 and 9, see comments on Revelation 19: 10. In verse
10 John is told not to seal the sayings of the prophecy of this book. The
popular theology of our day says that the book is sealed. One of two things
follows from this: either John disobeyed his instructions, or the theology
above referred to is viewing the matter with closed eyes, in "the spirit of
deep sleep." (Read Isaiah 29: 10-14.) Verse 11 proves that probation closes
and the cases of all are unalterably fixed before the coming of Christ; for
in the next verse

Page 775

Christ says, "Behold, I come quickly." What presumption, then, to claim, as
some do, that there will be probation even after that event! Christ's
reward is with Him, to give every man as his work shall be. This is another
conclusive proof that there can be no probation after that event. All the
living wicked, those "that know not God," the heathen, and those "that obey
not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ," the sinners of Christian lands (2
Thessalonians 1: 8), will be visited with swift destruction from Him who
then comes in flaming fire to take vengeance on His foes.

The declaration of verse 11 marks the close of probation, which is the
close of Christ's work as mediator. But we are taught by the subject of the
sanctuary that this work closes with the examination of the cases of the
living in the investigative judgment. When this is accomplished, the
irrevocable fiat can be pronounced.

Verse 13 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the
last. 14 Blessed are they that do His commandments, that they may have
right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the
city.

Christ here gives to Himself the appellation of Alpha and Omega, the
beginning and the end, the first and the last. Verse 14, as before noticed,
is the language of Christ. The commandments of which He speaks are His
Father's.

Keeping His Commandments.--Reference here must be to the ten commandments
as delivered on Mt. Sinai. He pronounces a blessing upon those who keep
them. Thus in the closing chapter of the word of God, and near the very
close of the last testimony which the faithful and true Witness there left
for His people, He solemnly pronounces a blessing upon those who keep the
commandments of God. Let those who believe in the abolition of the law,
candidly consider the decisive bearing of this important fact.

Instead of the reading, "Blessed are they that do His commandments," some
translations, including the Revised Version have, "Blessed are they that
wash their robes." On this

Page 776

point Alford has this note: "The difference in the readings is curious,
being in the original that between poiountes tas entolas autou, and
plunontes tas stolas auton, either of which might easily be mistaken for
the other." [1] In view of the fact that the words and letters in these two
phrases are so strikingly alike, it is not surprising that this difference
of reading is found. But there seems to be good evidence that the first is
the original, from which the latter is a variation by the error of
transcribers. Thus the Syriac New Testament, one of the very earliest
translations from the original Greek, reads according to the Authorized
Version. And Cyprian, whose writings antedate any extant Greek manuscript,
quotes the text as reading, "Blessed are they that do His commandments."
[2] We may therefore safely consider this as the genuine reading.

Verse 15 For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and
murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.

Dog is the Bible symbol of a shameless and impudent man. Who would wish to
be left in the company of those whose lot is outside the city of God? Yet
how many will stand condemned as idolaters, how many as those who make
lies, and how many more as those who love them, and love to circulate them
after they are made!

Verse 16 I Jesus have sent Mine angel to testify unto you these things in
the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the bright and
morning star.

Jesus testifies these things in the churches, showing the entire book of
Revelation is given to the seven churches, which is another incidental
proof that the seven churches are representatives of the church through the
entire gospel age. Christ is the offspring of David, in that He appeared on
earth in the line of David's descendants. He is the root of David, inasmuch
as He is the great prototype of David, and the maker and upholder of all
things.

Page 777

Verse 17 And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth
say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him
take the water of life freely.

The Invitation to Come.--Thus are all invited to come. The Lord's love for
mankind would not be satisfied in merely preparing the blessings of eternal
life, opening the way to them, and announcing that all might come who
would; but He sends out an earnest invitation to come. He sets it forth as
a favor done to Himself if those invited will come and partake of the
infinite blessings provided by His infinite love. His invitation, how
gracious, how full, how free! none of those who are finally lost will ever
have occasion to complain that the provisions made for their salvation were
not sufficiently ample. They can never reasonably object that the light
given to show them the way of life was not sufficiently clear. They can
never excuse themselves on the ground that the invitations and entreaties
that Mercy has given them to turn and live, were not sufficiently full and
free. From the very beginning, there has been a power exerted a strong as
could be exerted and still leave man his own free agent,--a power to draw
him heavenward, and raise him from the abyss into which he has fallen.
"Come!" has been the entreaty of the Spirit from the lip of God Himself,
from the lips of His prophets, from the lips of His apostles, and from the
lips of His Son, even while, in His infinite compassion and humility, He
was paying the debt of our transgression.

The last message of mercy as it is now going forth, is another and final
utterance of divine long-suffering and compassion. Come, is the invitation
it give. Come, for all things are ready. The last sound that will fall from
Mercy's lips on the ear of the sinner before the thunders of vengeance
burst upon him, will be the heavenly invitation, Come. So great is the
loving-kindness of a merciful God to rebellious man.

Yet they will not come. Acting independently and deliberately, they refuse
to come. So when they shall see Abraham, Issac, and Jacob in the kingdom of
God, and themselves

Page 778

thrust out, they will have no one to accuse, no one to blame, but
themselves. They will be brought to feel this in all its bitterness, for
the time will come when Robert Pollok's thrilling description of the
condemnation of the lost will be true to the letter:

                "And evermore the thunders, murmuring, spoke
             From out the darkness, uttering loud these words,
                 Which every guilty conscience echoed back:
                  'Ye knew your duty, but ye did it not.'
           Dread words! that barred excuse, and threw the weight
                    Of every man's perdition on himself,
                            Directly home. . . .
               'Ye knew your duty, but ye did it not!' " [3]

The bride also says, Come. But the bride is the city, and how does it say,
Come? If we could be strengthened to behold the living glories of that city
and live, and should be permitted to gaze upon its dazzling beauty, and be
assured that we had a perfect right to enter therein, and revel in its
glory forever and ever, would it not then say to us, Come, with a
persuasion which no power could resist? Who of us, in view of this, could
turn away, and say, I have no desire for an inheritance there?

But though we cannot now look upon that city, the unfailing word of God has
promised it, and that is sufficient to inspire us with implicit and living
faith. Through the channel of that faith it says to us, Come. Come, if you
would inherit mansions where sickness, sorrow, pain, and death can never
enter; if you would have a right to the tree of life, and pluck its
immortal fruit, and eat and live; if you would drink of the water of the
river of life, that flows from the throne of God, clear as crystal. Come,
if you would obtain through those glittering gates of pearl an abundant
entrance into the eternal city; if you would walk its streets of
transparent gold; if you would behold its glowing foundation stones; if you
would see the King in His beauty on His throne. Come, if you would sing the
jubilee song of millions, and share their joy. Come, if

Page 779

you would join the anthems of the redeemed with their melodious harps, and
know that your exile is forever over, and this is your eternal home. Come,
if you would receive a palm of victory, and know that you are forever free.
Come, if you would exchange the furrows of your care-worn brow for a
jeweled crown. Come, if you would see the salvation of the ransomed
myriads, the glorified throng which no man can number. Come, if you would
drink from the pure fountain of celestial bliss, if you would shine as the
stars forever in the firmament of glory, if you would share in the
unutterable rapture that fills the triumphant hosts as they behold before
them unending ages of glory ever brightening and joys ever new.

The bride does say, Come. Who of us can resist the invitation? The word of
truth is pledged to us that if we keep the commandments of God and the
faith of Jesus, we shall have right to the tree of life, we shall enter in
through the gates into the city. We shall feel that we are at home in our
Father's house, the very mansions prepared for us, and realize the full
truth of the cheering words, "Blessed are they which are called unto the
marriage supper of the Lamb." Revelation 19: 9.

"Let him that heareth say, Come." We have heard of the glory, of the
beauty, of the blessings, of that goodly land, and we say Come. We have
heard of the river with it verdant banks, of the tree with its healing
leaves, of the bowers that bloom in the Paradise of God, and we say, Come.
Whosoever will, let him come, and take of the water of life freely.

Verse 18 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the
prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto these things, God shall
add unto him the plagues that are written in this book: 19 and if any man
shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take
away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from
the things which are written in this book.

What is it to add to, or take from, the book of this prophecy? Let it be
borne in mind that it is the book of this prophecy, or the Revelation,
which is the subject of remark; hence the words in regard to adding to or
taking from have exclusive

Page 781

reference to this book. Nothing can be called an addition except something
added to it with the intention of having it considered as a genuine part of
the book of Revelation. To take from the book would be to suppress some
part of it. As the book of Revelation could not be called an addition to
the book of Daniel, so if God should see fit to make further revelations to
us by His Spirit, it would be no addition to the book of Revelation unless
it should claim to be a part of that book.

Verse 20 He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly.
Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. 21 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be
with you all. Amen.

The word of God is given to instruct us in reference to the plan of
salvation. The second coming of Christ is to be the climax and completion
of that great plan. It is most appropriate, therefore, that the book should
close with the solemn announcement, "Surely I come quickly." Be it ours to
join with fervent hearts in the response of the apostle, "Amen. Even so,
come, Lord Jesus."

Thus closes the volume of inspiration--closes with that which constitutes
the best of all promises, and the substance of the Christian's hope, the
return of Christ. Then shall the elect be gathered, and bid a long farewell
to all the ills of this mortal life. How rich in all that is precious to
the Christian is this promise! Wandering an exile in this evil world,
separated from the few of like precious faith, he longs for the
companionship of the righteous, the communion of saints. Here he shall
obtain it, for all the good shall be gathered, not from one land only, but
from all lands; not from one age only, but from all ages--the great harvest
of all the good, coming up in long and glorious procession, while angels
shout the harvest home, and the timbrels of heaven sound forth in joyous
concert. A song before unheard, unknown, in the universe, the song of the
redeemed, shall add its thrilling notes of rapture and melody to the
universal jubilee. So shall the saints be gathered, to be joyful in one
another's presence forever and ever--

Page 782

                "While the glory of God, like a molten sea,
                       Bathes the immortal company."

This gathering has nothing in it but that which is desirable. The saints
can but sigh and pray for it. Like Job, they cry out for the presence of
God. Like David, they cannot be satisfied till they awake in His likeness.
In this mortal condition we groan, being burdened, not for that we would be
"unclothed, but clothed upon." We can but be "upon tiptoe" for the
adoption, to wit, the redemption of the body. Our eyes are open for its
visions, our ears are waiting to catch the sounds of the heavenly music,
and our hearts are beating in anticipation of tis infinite joy. Our
appetites are growing sharp for the marriage supper. We cry out for the
living God, and long to come into His presence. Come, Lord Jesus, come
quickly. No tidings more welcome than the announcement that the command has
gone forth from the Lord to His angels, "Gather together unto Me My elect
from the four winds of heaven."

The place of gathering has nothing but attraction. Jesus, the fairest among
ten thousand, is there. The throne of God and of the Lamb, in the glory of
which the sun disappears as the stars vanish in the light of day, is there.
The city of jasper and gold, whose builder and maker is God, is there. The
river of life, sparkling with the glory of God and flowing from His throne
in infinite leaves and life-giving fruit, is there. Abraham, Issac, and
Jacob, Noah, Job, and Daniel, prophets, apostles, and martyrs, the
perfection of heavenly society, will be there. Visions of beauty are there;
fields of living green, flowers that never fade, streams that never dry,
products in variety that never ends, fruits that never decay, crowns that
never dim, harps that know no discord, and all else of which a taste
purified from sin and raised to the plane of immortality, can form any
conception or think desirable, all these will be there.

Benediction.--We must be there. We must bask in the forgiving smiles of
God, to whom we have become reconciled, and sin no more. We must have
access to that exhaustless fount of

Page 783

vitality, the fruit of the tree of life, and never die. We must repose
under the shadow of its leaves, which are for the service of the nations,
and never again grow weary. We must drink from the life-giving fountain,
and thirst nevermore; we must bathe in its silvery spray, and be refreshed;
we must walk on its golden sands, and feel that we are no longer exiles. We
must exchange the cross for the crown, and feel that the days of our
humiliation are ended. We must lay down the staff and take the palm branch,
and feel that the journey is done. We must put off the garments of our
warfare for the white robes of triumph, and feel that the conflict is ended
and the victory gained. We must exchange the toilworn, dusty raiment of our
pilgrimage for the glorious vesture of immortality, and feel that that sin
and the curse can nevermore pollute us. O day of rest and triumph, and
every good, delay not they dawning. Let the angels be quickly sent to
gather the elect. Let the promise be fulfilled which bears in its train
these matchless glories

                         EVEN SO, COME LORD JESUS.

[1] Henry Alford, The New Testament for English Readers, note on Revelation
22: 14, Vol. II, part II, p. 1100.

[2] "The Treaties of Cyprian," XII, The Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. V, p.
525.

[3] Robert Pollok, The Course of Time, book IX.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Page 785

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