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diff --git a/old/13229.txt b/old/13229.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..7e9d1fb --- /dev/null +++ b/old/13229.txt @@ -0,0 +1,13151 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Revelation Explained, by F. Smith + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Revelation Explained + +Author: F. Smith + +Release Date: August 20, 2004 [EBook #13229] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE REVELATION EXPLAINED *** + + + + +Produced by Joel Erikson, Christing Gehring, David King, and the +Online Distributed Proofreading Team + + + + + +The Revelation Explained + +An Exposition, Text by Text, +of the Apocalypse of St. John + +Showing the Marvelous Development of the Prophecies from the Time of +their Delivery on the Isle of Patmos--The Establishment and Growth of +Christianity--Rise of Mohammedanism in the Eastern Empire--Of the Papacy +in the Western Division--Of Protestantism--The Civil History of the +Territory Comprising the Ancient Roman Empire until the End of +Time--Together with the Conflicts and Triumphs of the Redeemed until the +Final Judgment, and their Eternal Reward and Home in the "New Heavens +and New Earth." + +By F.G. SMITH + +Author of + +"What the Bible Teaches" and "The Last Reformation," etc. + + * * * * * + +"Behold the former things are come to pass, and new things do I declare: +before they spring forth I tell you of them." Isa. 42:9. + +"Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto +his servants the prophets." Amos 3:7. + + + + +PREFACE. + + +The subject of prophecy should be of interest to every Bible student. +Its importance can not be overestimated. By it we are enabled to +ascertain our true position in this time-world. From the early dawn of +creation, Inspiration has foretold with certainty the great facts +connected with the history of God's chosen people. By this means alone, +the divinity of Jesus Christ and the truth of our holy religion has been +established in many minds; for it is not in the power of mortals thus to +vaticinate future events. With such surprising accuracy have these +predictions been fulfilled that even infidels ofttimes bear witness to +their truthfulness. "Behold the former things are come to pass, and new +things do I declare: before they spring forth I tell you of them." Isa. +42:9. "For I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none +like me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times +the things that are not yet done." Isa. 46:9, 10. + +The Revelation is a rich mine of prophetic truth. The history of the +current dispensation is there delineated in advance so perfectly that we +can not but attribute its authorship to Him who knoweth the end from the +beginning, and worketh all things after the counsel of his own will. It +was written for the special benefit of the people of God, and we should +give it prayerful consideration. + +In the preparation for this work, I have gleaned historical information +from all the general and ecclesiastical histories, encyclopedias, etc., +within my reach, and only regret that I had not access to a still +greater number. However, knowing that large books are seldom read, I +determined in advance not to write an extensive work, but to condense +the subject matter as much as possible, and, therefore, I have been +obliged to omit much valuable material previously gathered. For this +reason many lines of prophetic truth penned by others of the sacred +writers have been passed over in silence, even though relating to the +same events as certain symbolic visions in the Revelation. + +I have availed myself of all the helps and the commentaries within my +reach in the study of this important subject. However, I have but seldom +referred to the opinions of expositors. In most cases their explanations +are not based upon any established rule of interpretation, and the +definite laws of symbolic language are usually overlooked or +disregarded. Ordinary readers of the Revelation have always supposed +that the only course for them was to take the opinion of some learned +expositor and to believe on _his authority_; and when they have found +that equally learned and judicious men sustained the most opposite +views, they have been bewildered amid conflicting opinions and have +decided that, when such men were at issue, it was useless for them to +investigate. While, therefore, I have made every available use of their +opinions, it was only for the purpose of forming my own and of enabling +myself so to unfold the nature of the symbols that every one might see +for himself the propriety of the interpretation given. + +The present knowledge that has been attained of this prophetic book is +largely the result of the combined efforts of all who have labored to +unfold its meaning. No one has had the honor of first understanding all +its parts, and very few have failed to contribute something, more or +less, to its true interpretation. Therefore I have endeavored as much as +possible to gather up the good from the labors of my predecessors and to +combine it with the results of my own study and research. The Exposition +of Mr. Lord has had an important bearing on this work. For many +beautiful thoughts concerning the nature and the use of symbols, in the +chapter on the nature of symbolic language, I must acknowledge special +indebtedness to the Lectures of Thomas Wickes on the Apocalypse, +delivered many years ago, although I have ofttimes arrived at quite +different conclusions in their interpretation throughout the Revelation. +Much appreciated assistance has been derived from the works of other +commentators as well. + +There is considerable disagreement among historians themselves regarding +certain historical points, but their differences are of minor importance +so far as the present work is concerned. When such points were involved, +I have simply endeavored to follow the best authorities. Lengthy or +important quotations from other writers have been duly credited where +they appear, hence no special mention is necessary in this place. Minor +extracts are merely enclosed within quotation-marks. + +The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, 6 Vols., Philadelphia, 1872, +is the edition of Gibbon's Rome from which quotations are made. + +To assist in simplifying the subject and in placing it before the reader +in a concise, comprehensive manner, a number of useful diagrams have +been added; for they serve about the same purpose in the study of a +subject so complicated as do maps in the study of geography. I would +especially call attention to the large "Diagram of the Revelation," +where the various lines of prophetic truth are outlined in parallel +series, enabling the reader to comprehend at once where the symbolic +narrative returns to take up a new line of thought covering the same +period of time. In these diagrams, however, no attempt has been made to +set forth every phase of thought connected with the subject; only the +main features have been outlined. + +Feeling directed by the Lord to undertake this work and realizing the +greatness of the task, I have earnestly sought for divine wisdom and +guidance, and I humbly acknowledge his gracious assistance in its +prosecution; and while I can not indulge the hope that human fallibility +has been overcome, yet I firmly believe that a careful reliance upon the +Holy Spirit has been an effectual means of avoiding error and unfolding +many of the hitherto mysterious prophecies of this wonderful book. To +his worthy name I ascribe all praise and glory. The future, doubtless, +will witness a still greater development of this subject; for men of God +more worthy and possessing greater abilities will arise, who, beginning +where we have left off, will continue its investigation and throw upon +it additional light as yet unrevealed. + +That the Lord will bless The Revelation Explained to the good of his +church upon earth and grant it a place, however small, in the cause of +present truth, is my earnest prayer. + +Yours in Christ, +F.G. Smith. +_Grand Junction, Mich., June 26, 1906_. + + + + +PREFACE TO FOURTH EDITION + + +The reception accorded this work when it was first submitted to the +public was more than gratifying to the author. The lapse of time has +only tended to confirm still more strongly the fundamental nature of the +principle of interpretation adopted. In order to supply the constant +demand, the fourth edition is now issued. + +I have taken advantage of this opportunity to make certain revisions +necessitated by an increase of knowledge since the work was first +written, nearly twelve years ago. This revision, however, did not +require an entire re-writing and does not involve a change in +fundamentals. + +F.G. Smith. +_Anderson, Ind., Mar. 1, 1918_. + + + + +CONTENTS. + + +Preface +Nature of Symbolic Language + + +CHAPTER I. + +Introduction, verses 1-11 +Vision of Christ, verses 12-20 + + +CHAPTER II. + +Message to Ephesus, verses 1-7 +Message to Smyrna, verses 8-11 +Message to Pergamus, verses 12-17 +Message to Thyatira, verses 18-29 + + +CHAPTER III. + +Message to Sardis, verses 1-6 +Message to Philadelphia, verses 7-13 +Message to Laodicea, verses 14-22 + + +CHAPTER IV. + +Vision of God's Throne + + +CHAPTER V. + +The Book with Seven Seals + + +CHAPTER VI. + +First Seal Opened, verses 1, 2 +Second Seal Opened, verses 3, 4 +Third Seal Opened, verses 5, 6 +Fourth Seal Opened, verses 7, 8 +Fifth Seal Opened, verses 9-11 +Sixth Seal Opened, verses 12-17 + + +CHAPTER VII. + +God's Servants Sealed, verses 1-8 +The White-Robed Company, verses 9-17 + + +CHAPTER VIII. + +Seventh Seal Opened, verses 1-5 +First Trumpet Sounded, verses 6, 7 +Second Trumpet Sounded, verses 8, 9 +Third Trumpet Sounded, verses 10, 11 +Fourth Trumpet Sounded, verses 12, 13 + + +CHAPTER IX. + +Fifth Trumpet Sounded, verses 1-12 +Sixth Trumpet Sounded, verses 13-21 + + +CHAPTER X. + +The Rainbow Angel + + +CHAPTER XI. + +Temple and Holy City, verses 1, 2 +The Two Witnesses, verses 3-6 +The Witnesses Slain, verses 7-10 +The Witnesses Resurrected, verses 11-14 +Seventh Trumpet Sounded, verses 15-19 + + +CHAPTER XII. + +Woman and Man-Child, verses 1-6 +Michael and the Dragon, verses 7-12 +The Woman's Flight, verses 13-17 + + +CHAPTER XIII. + +The Leopard Beast, verses 1-9 +"The Faith of the Saints," verse 10 +The Two-Horned Beast, verses 11-18 + + +CHAPTER XIV. + +The 144,000 on Mount Sion, verses 1-5 +The Three Angels, verses 6-11 +"The Patience of the Saints," verses 12, 13 +Harvest of the World, verses 14-20 + + +CHAPTER XV. + +Seven Last Plagues + + +CHAPTER XVI. + +The First Vial, verses 1, 2 +The Second Vial, verse 3 +The Third Vial, verses 4-7 +The Fourth Vial, verses 8, 9 +The Fifth Vial, verses 10, 11 +The Sixth Vial, verses 12-16 +The Seventh Vial, verses 17-21 + + +CHAPTER XVII. + +"Babylon the Great," verses 1-6 +Beast and Ten Kingdoms, verses 7-18 + + +CHAPTER XVIII. + +Fall of Babylon + + +CHAPTER XIX. + +Marriage of the Lamb, verses 1-10 +Coming of Christ, verses 11-21 + + +CHAPTER XX. + +The Dragon Bound, verses 1-6 +The Dragon Released, verses 7-10 +The Judgment Scene, verses 11-15 + + +CHAPTER XXI. + +New Heaven and Earth, verses 1-8 +The Heavenly Jerusalem, verses 9-27 + + +CHAPTER XXII. + +River and Tree of Life, verses 1-5 +Christ's Coming and Eternity, verses 6-21 + + + + +Nature of Symbolic Language. + + +Before proceeding with the interpretation of this wonderful book, it +will be necessary for us to pause and make inquiry concerning the nature +of the language employed in its prophecies and concerning the mode of +its interpretation. It will be seen at a glance that it is wholly unlike +the common language of life; and it will be useless for us to undertake +to ascertain its signification unless we understand perfectly the +principles upon which it is founded. + +The question may be asked, "Is the language intelligible at all?" +Considering the variety of interpretations placed upon it by expositors +and the opinions generally held respecting it, we might conclude that it +is not. The majority of the people look upon these prophecies as "a mass +of unintelligible enigmas," and are ready to tell the student of +Revelation that this book "either finds or leaves a man mad." But are we +to look upon its language as being applied at a venture, without any +definite rule, capable of every variety of meaning, so that we can never +be quite _sure_ that we have its correct interpretation? + +Commentators generally unite in attaching a definite meaning to certain +symbols, and they tell us that these can not be applied otherwise +without violating their nature. They may not give us their reasons for +thus applying them (in fact, they generally do not), yet it is evidently +assumed that such reasons do exist. Now, if reasons actually exist why a +definite signification must be applied to the symbol in the one case, +why do they not exist in another case, and in all cases? If any law +exists in the case at all, it is a uniform one, for a law that does not +possess uniformity is no law; otherwise, it would be an unintelligible +revelation, and the only possible thing left for us to do would be to +attempt to solve it like a riddle--guess it out. It would be as if the +writer were to use words with every variety of meaning peculiarly his +own attached, without informing the reader what signification to give +them in a given instance. No man has a right thus to abuse written or +spoken language; and we may take it for granted that the God of heaven +would not make such an indiscriminate use of symbolical language when +making a revelation to men. There is no other book the wide world around +in which language is as carefully employed as in the Bible; and we can +rest assured that when God gave this Revelation to Jesus Christ "to +_show_ unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass," he +made choice of proper symbols whose meaning can be definitely evolved, +provided we can but ascertain the great underlying principles upon which +their original selection was based. + +In the ordinary communication of our thoughts we employ arbitrary signs +and sounds to which we have universally agreed to fix a definite +meaning. Thus, our entire spoken language is made up of a great variety +of sounds or words with which by long practise we have become familiar. +We call a certain object a horse, not because there is any similarity +between the sound and the animal designated, but because we have agreed +that that sound shall represent that object. So, also, we have agreed +that the characters h-o-r-s-e shall represent the same thing; and by the +use of twenty-six characters, called the alphabet, placed together in +various combinations, we are able to write our entire spoken language. + +The incidents connected with the introduction of written language among +a barbarous people are worthy of remark in this connection. That thought +can be conveyed to persons at a distance by the use of certain +cabalistic characters seems to them incredible, and when compelled to +believe it, they look upon the person that can accomplish such wonders +as embodying something supernatural. These things I mention merely to +call attention to the fact that spoken and written language is a curious +and wonderfully complicated affair. This is brought forcibly to our +minds when we hear persons conversing in a foreign tongue, or when we +pick up a book the characters of which are wholly unlike those of our +own language. To us an English book is full of instinctive beauty, every +letter or mark possessing a definite meaning that is instantly conveyed +to our minds, because we have become familiar with them by diligent +study and practise. + +There are other ways of transferring thought besides the complicated +system just mentioned--ways which are much more natural and simple. +Thus, a simpler way to represent a certain object would be to draw a +picture of it; or, better still, to represent a certain character or +quality by exhibiting, not the object itself, but an analagous one whose +peculiar character that property is; for examples: the quiet, peaceful, +gentle disposition of a child, by a lamb; a man of cunning, artful, +deceptive disposition, by a fox; or a cruel, bloodthirsty, vindictive +tyrant, by a tiger, etc. This is hieroglyphical or symbolic language. +This language takes precedence over every other for naturalness and +simplicity, being common to a greater or less extent among all nations +and intelligible to all. + +Spoken language was undoubtedly a gift from God originally, while +written language is probably a mere human invention. We are not to +suppose that the first attempts to convey thought in writing would be by +an alphabetical system, but by the symbolic, it being, as before stated, +the most natural and within reach of the ordinary ingenuity of man. This +is proved by the fact that the inscriptions on the ancient monuments of +Egypt and the inscriptions of other nations of antiquity are of this +character. It is also a fact worthy of notice that, four thousand years +later, men of other countries and of other languages have, by much study +and a careful comparison of the symbols, been able to decipher with +accuracy those hierographical representations.[1] This of itself is +sufficient to establish the point that definiteness can be attached to +the use and the interpretation of carefully-selected symbols, when the +principles that governed their original selection are discovered. + +[Footnote 1: The systems of hieroglyphical writing employed by various +nations have, for the most part, remained unintelligible until a key of +their interpretation was discovered. In 1799 M. Bouchard, a French +captain of engineers, while digging intrenchments on the site of an old +temple near the Rosetta mouth of the Nile, unearthed a black stone +containing a trilingual inscription in hieroglyphics, demotic +characters, and Greek. The last paragraph of the Greek inscription +stated that two translations, one in the sacred and the other in the +popular Egyptian language, would be found adjacent; hence this +celebrated stone has afforded European scholars a key to the language +and writing of the ancient Egyptians. The cuneiform writing of the +Babylonians and Persians remained a mystery also until modern times, but +great progress has now been made in the deciphering of thousands of +inscribed clay tablets, cylinders, prisms, etc. The key to its +interpretation is the celebrated inscription at Behistun, cut upon the +face of a high rock three hundred feet above its base, and recording a +portion of the history of Darius. It is written in the cuneiform +characters, in three languages--Median, Persian, and Assyrian.] + +I do not wish to be understood as implying that the symbolical language +of Scripture is identical with the hieroglyphics of ancient monuments. +There may be different kinds of symbolic representations; but they are +not arbitrary, as is spoken language, and can not be arbitrarily +applied; a fixed law governs them all. + +Now, the book of Revelation is made up of this symbolic language. It is +not, however, confined to this book alone. There are many instances of +it to be found elsewhere in the sacred volume, and in many cases it is +explained by inspiration itself, thus giving us a reliable key to the +whole. Joseph's dream of the eleven sheaves that made obeisance to his +sheaf was of this description (Gen. 37:7, 8), and his eleven brethren +were angered, because its meaning was apparent--that they should be +humbled before him. Also, his dream of the sun, the moon, and the eleven +stars (verses 9, 10) was understood to signify the subjection of the +entire family unto him, which was actually fulfilled after Joseph's +exaltation in Egypt. The chief butler's dream of the vine with three +branches bearing grapes, which he took and pressed into the king's cup, +was interpretated by Joseph as signifying the butler's restoration in +three days to his former position of cup-bearer to the king; while the +chief baker's dream of the three baskets upon his head, out of which the +birds ate, was interpretated as signifying his execution in the same +length of time. Gen. 40. Pharaoh's dream of the seven fat kine and the +seven lean kine, also of the seven full ears and the seven thin ears, +signified seven years of plenty and seven years of famine. Gen. 41. + +Again, the four divisions of King Nebuchadnezzar's wonderful image was +explained by Daniel as signifying four universal monarchies and the ten +toes as signifying the ten minor kingdoms which grew out of the fourth; +while the stone that was cut out of the mountain without human +intervention he interpreted as signifying the divine kingdom of God. +Dan. 2. The two-horned ram of Daniel's vision (chap. 8), according to +the explanation of the angel, symbolized the Medo-Persian empire, its +two horns signifying the two dynasties of allied kings that composed it. +The he-goat signified the Greco-Macedonian empire; his great horn, its +first mighty king; and the four horns that replaced the great one when +broken represented four kings under whom the empire would eventually be +divided into as many parts. In the Apocalypse itself we have a number of +symbols divinely interpreted, "The seven stars are the angels of the +seven churches." "The seven candle-sticks which thou sawest are the +seven churches." "The ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings." "The +waters which thou sawest ... are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, +and tongues." "The woman which thou sawest is that great city which +reigneth over the kings of the earth," etc. + +It will be seen that the great underlying principle or _law_ upon which +symbolic language is based is ANALOGY. An object is chosen to represent +not itself, but something of analagous character. + +Webster defines _symbol_ as follows: "The sign or representation of any +moral thing by the images or properties of natural things. Thus, a lion +is the _symbol_ of courage; the lamb is the _symbol_ of meekness or +patience." Home, in his Introduction to the Study of the Bible, says: +"By symbols we mean certain representative marks, rather than express +pictures; or, if pictures, such as were at the time _characters_, and +besides presenting to the eye the resemblance of a particular object, +suggested a general idea to the mind, as when a _horn_ was made to +denote _strength_, an _eye_ and _scepter, majesty_, and in numberless +such instances; where the picture was not drawn to express merely the +thing itself, but something else, which was, or was conceived to be, +analagous to it." The main idea, then, as expressed in the foregoing +definitions, is the representation of an object, not by a picture of +itself, but by something analagous, such as the exhibition of moral +qualities by images drawn from nature. But the use of symbols is not +confined to the representation of moral subjects alone. Anything may be +symbolized to which a corresponding analagous object can be found. + +To establish the principle of analogy here laid down, it will be +necessary to refer only to a few of the numerous examples of divinely +interpreted symbols in the Scriptures. Any one can readily perceive the +analogy between the seven fat kine of Pharaoh's dream and as many years +of plenty; so, also, with the seven full, healthy ears that grew up on +seven stalks. Likewise, the analogy between the seven thin kine and as +many years of famine, and the seven thin, blasted ears that represented +the same thing, is apparent. One fat kine or one full ear would +symbolize one year of plenty, when crops were abundant; while seven +would represent as many distinct seasons of prosperity, etc. Kine do not +represent kine, but something analagous. The beasts of Daniel's visions +do not represent animals like themselves, or a multitude of such +animals, but something of analagous disposition. The analogy between a +wild, ferocious beast, stamping upon or devouring everything within its +reach, and a cruel, persecuting, tyrannical government is apparent. A +horn does not signify a horn, but some great power, such as a dynasty of +kings or rulers; and what the horn is to the animal in manifesting its +desolating disposition, kings and rulers are to an empire in executing +the persecuting or oppressive principles of the body politic. A pure, +chaste virgin is used to symbolize the true church of God; whereas a +corrupt harlot is chosen to represent an apostate church, and +fornication her idolatrous worship. + +Although this principle is worthy of further elucidation, yet enough has +been said to firmly establish the point that symbolic language is +founded upon analogy. It is also clear that, whenever we attach a +literal signification to a symbolic object, we immediately destroy +entirely its use as a symbol. So we may accept it as one established +landmark in the interpretation of the Apocalypse, that every symbol, +regardless of the department from which it is taken--whether from the +material universe, the animal kingdom, human life or the heavenly +realm--stands as the representative, not of itself, but of some other +object of analagous character not found in the same department from +which it is drawn. + +This develops another important fact worthy of attention. If the great +law of symbolic language is based upon analogy, it is clear to a +demonstration that the symbols employed _must be_ definitely applied. +They can not be arbitrary, as the words composing our spoken language +are. There is nothing in the nature of the thing to prevent our calling +a horse an elephant, provided we had only agreed universally to adopt +that designation of the animal referred to (arbitrary sounds can be +arbitrarily applied); but we violate nature when we attempt to make a +ferocious tiger the symbol of an innocent child, or represent a +blood-thirsty tyrant by the symbol of a lamb. A disgusting, polluted +harlot may be the proper symbol of an apostate church, but of the pure, +holy church of God--_never_. A proper correspondence must be kept up. We +must follow nature strictly. + +Symbols are drawn from every department--from animate and inanimate +creation, from animal life and human life, from the visible universe +below and the heavenly world above, and also from some objects of fancy +to which there is no corresponding object in existence, such as Daniel's +four-headed beast, or the one in the Revelator's vision with seven heads +and ten horns; but in the selection of the same a proper correspondence +of quality is kept up. The symbols that are chosen to set forth the +great spiritual affairs of the church are such as are in themselves +nobler than those selected to describe the political affairs of kings +and empires, because in the divine estimation the church is of +infinitely greater importance and occupies a more honorable position +than worldly kingdoms. Thus, a beautiful virgin bride is chosen to +represent the church of God; whereas a great red dragon with seven heads +and ten horns is chosen to symbolize the Pagan Roman empire. The +glorious body of God's reformers is set forth under the symbol of an +angel from heaven, with his face as the sun, his feet as pillars of +fire, and a rainbow upon his head; whereas the Saracen warriors of +Mahomet are locusts upon the earth, with stings of scorpions. The +department of human and angelic life is chosen to set forth the +spiritual affairs of the church, while the department of nature and of +animal life represents the political affairs of nations. To this general +rule, there is at least one exception. Certain things connected with +God's chosen people under the old dispensation are considered proper +symbols to represent similar things or events in the New Testament +dispensation, without special regard to the department from which they +are drawn. Thus, the temple, altar, incense, candlesticks, holy city, +etc., of the former age, though not taken from the department of human +or angelic life, are, nevertheless, clearly used to represent affairs of +the church, the analogy in the case being apparent because of their +former prominence as connected with the Lord's covenant people. + +Again, when the symbol selected is that of a living, active, intelligent +agent, it represents an analagous intelligent agent. Likewise, the +actions of the former plainly denote analagous actions in the latter, +and the effects produced by the actions of the symbolic agent signify +analagous effects produced by the actions of the agent symbolized. To +make it clearer: agents symbolize agents, actions symbolize actions, and +effects symbolize effects. If this be not true--if agents can symbolize +actions and effects as well as agents, or if actions can symbolize +agents and effects--then all is an inextricable maze of confusion, and +well may we repeat the words uttered by a certain minister to the +writer, "The book should have been called Mystification, not +Revelation." + +The same principle of analogy is carried out in another particular. +Whenever the enemies of God or destructive agents are intended, objects +of a corresponding desolating character are chosen as their symbols; +whereas the peaceful triumphs of the cross, as exhibited by God's chosen +people, are described under symbols of an equally benign and gentle +character. Thus, the anti-christian, persecuting power of Rome is +described as a ferocious wild beast, stamping everything beneath its +feet and spreading desolation on every side. The Vandal hordes of +Northern barbarians, who, under Genseric overran the Western Roman +empire early in the fifth century, are symbolized by a volcanic mountain +cast into the sea and spreading its streams of molten lava in every +direction. The fearful pest of Mohammedanism is a dense smoke issuing +from the bottomless pit and darkening the heavens. The Saracens of +Mahomet are swarms of locusts appearing upon the earth, with scorpion +stings, tormenting men five months, or, prophetically, one hundred and +fifty years. On the other hand, a church is a candle-stick; its pastor, +a beautiful star; the whole church, a virgin bride; the glorious +assembly of God's reformers, a rainbow angel, etc. + +From the foregoing it will be seen that symbols are not words, but +things, chosen because of some analagous resemblance to represent other +things; and by a careful study of the nature of the symbols themselves +we can ascertain where to look for their fulfilment. In the present work +no attempt has been made to prove the interpretations given merely by +the authority of learned names (for they can be arrayed on every side of +a passage), but the nature of the symbols themselves has been developed; +and the reader will be able to judge how nearly the known laws of +symbolic language have been followed. + +It will be necessary, however, to notice another exception to the rules +given, although it can scarcely be said to form an exception--it rather +proves the very position taken. Undoubtedly, there are some few objects +whose nature forbids their symbolization, there being no object in +existence of analagous character that can be chosen as their +representative. God, evidently, can not be symbolized; for where is the +individual in heaven or on earth that can stand as his representative? +"To whom then will ye liken God? or what likeness will ye compare unto +him?" Isa. 40:18. Man can not represent him, angels can not; for +whenever they appear on the panoramic scene, they denote distinguished +agencies among men. There may be certain symbols connected with his +person, setting forth his divine attributes and proclaiming the eternal +majesty of his name; but he himself is described as "One sitting upon a +throne," before whom the created intelligences of earth and heaven fall +down and worship unceasingly, but no symbol of Him is given. The same +exception also applies to the person of Jesus, our Savior and Redeemer. +While the human aspect of the Savior, as exhibited during the +incarnation in his sacrificial death, may be properly symbolized by a +lamb, as in chap. V, there is no created intelligence in God's great +universe that can be chosen to represent, in his true, essential +divinity, Him who does not deem it robbery to claim equality with God. +There may, likewise, be certain symbols connected with his person to +give us at least a faint impression of his divine character and infinite +majesty; yet when he appears upon the symbolic scene, he distinctly +announces, "I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth, and was +dead; and, behold, I am alive forevermore." "He hath on his vesture and +on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS." So +whenever the divine Christ appears on the symbolic scene, he comes in +his own person, proclaiming his own name, and we need look for no symbol +of him. + +Upon the opening of the fifth seal, the souls of the martyrs are +represented as crying unto God from the altar for the avenging of their +blood on those who dwell on the earth. Where is there an object in all +creation analagous to a disembodied spirit? None can be found. It is +easy to give them an arbitrary name; therefore they appear in the +Revelation under their own appropriate title, as "the _souls_ of them +that were slain." Chap. 6:9, 10, also 20:4. + +This exception applies to every case where no corresponding object can +be selected as a symbol. Where the nature of the subject forbids its +symbolization, there the description must of necessity be literal, and +all such objects appear under their own appropriate titles. Otherwise, +we are to look upon the entire book of Revelation as a vast collection +of symbols whose interpretation is to be found, not in the department +from which they are taken, but in another, to which they bear a certain +analagous resemblance. + +Although not pertaining strictly to the subject of symbolic language, +yet a word respecting the plan of the prophecy will be appropriate at +this time. The prophetic events are not arranged after the ordinary plan +of histories, narrating all the contemporaneous events in a given +period, whether civil, religious, literary, scientific, or biographical, +thus finishing up the history of that period; but it consists of a +number of distinct themes running over the same ground. The proof of +this assertion will appear as we proceed with the development of the +prophecies. + +May the wisdom of heaven direct us in the perusal of this wonderful book +of Revelation, and may we at last be "accounted worthy to obtain that +world," and the glorious privilege of rendering eternal praise to "Him +that sitteth upon the throne," "upholding all things by the word of his +power," "declaring the end from the beginning," and revealing his mighty +works unto the children of men. + + + + +CHAPTER I. + + + 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. + +This book of the Revelation is frequently styled the Apocalypse, derived +from the word by which it is designated in Greek. Jesus Christ having +received it from God, its author, designed it for the future benefit of +his church, and communicated it to his servants by the hand of the +beloved apostle John. Its character is described by its title +"Revelation," which signifies something revealed or made known; and its +object was to "show unto his servants things which must shortly come to +pass." This object of God's in delivering the Revelation to his church +should be a sufficient refutation of the popular theory that this book +is unintelligible, and its varied symbols wrapped in such deep mystery +that their meaning can not be evolved; for it is not consonant with the +supreme power and wisdom of the God-head to suppose that, in making a +revelation to man, he would make the fatal mistake of clothing his +language with a mystery that defies the intellect of mortals to unveil. +It is said of the things herein revealed that they "must shortly come to +pass," by which is meant not that they were all to be completely +fulfilled within a short time, but that the series of special events +predicted were soon to begin. Thus, we speak of a century or eternity as +near at hand, by which we mean that the events of the period spoken of +are about to commence, although the end of the series may be very far +off. + +But who are "his servants"? For whose benefit was the Revelation given? +Surely it was for all those who become children of God by faith in +Christ Jesus, from the beginning of the gospel dispensation when it was +given, until the end of time; for a benediction is pronounced upon _all_ +those who read and hear its prophecies and "keep those things which are +written therein." It was this promised blessing unto the earnest +inquirers into the truths of Revelation that enabled the writer to +decide to give these prophecies the consideration that is justly their +due, and to recognize their infinite importance to the present church; +"for the time is at hand" that will close the series of events herein +predicted and usher in eternity. Every fulfilment of prophecy brings +with it new duties, and enjoins fresh responsibilities upon the people +of God; yea, "every revolving century, every closing year, adds to the +urgency with which attention is challenged to the concluding portion of +Holy Writ." Daniel prophetically described some of the events contained +also in the Apocalypse, but he was told to shut up the words and seal +the book _until_ the time of the end, when "many shall run to and fro, +and knowledge shall be increased." + +It has been a matter of conjecture as to who the angel or messenger was +that Christ sent to deliver the prophecies to John. Some suppose it to +have been Gabriel, because of his having been a chosen instrument to +deliver similar prophecies to Daniel. Some think it was Elijah, he +having been translated that he should not see death, and afterwards +appearing on the mount of transfiguration. Others think it was one of +the redeemed sons of earth; because afterward, when rejecting the +worship John was about to tender him, he says, "See thou do it not: I am +thy fellow-servant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of +Jesus: worship God." Chaps. 19:10; 22:9. But we can not identify this +messenger positively, as no definite information is given. To these +revelations received John bore a faithful record of all things that he +_saw_, implying the fact that they passed in vision before him and he +beheld them as in a picture. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + +The Apocalypse opens with the salutation of John to the seven churches +in Asia, unto whom it was particularly addressed, and for whom special +messages were prepared. There were other congregations of the church of +God in Asia, or Asia Minor, besides the seven to whom the Revelation was +sent, such as Colosse, Miletus, Troas, etc. Why only seven were +addressed, we do not know, unless it be that the number seven is used, +as elsewhere in the Sacred Volume, to denote fulness or completeness, +being, as has been said, "a kind of memorial of the great facts of the +first seven days of time which have divided all ages into cycles of +weeks." So when we read of Christ's walking in the midst of the seven +churches, we are to understand that he is in all the congregations of +his people; and the ministers of the seven churches who are upheld by +the Lord himself are representative, in one important sense at least, of +the entire Christian ministry; for Christ has promised to be with them +alway "even unto the end of the world." Mat. 28:20. + +This salutation of John's is one of great beauty and splendor, setting +forth, as it does, the divine attributes of the great Jehovah in a +striking manner as he "which is, and which was, and which is to come," +an expression embracing eternity and designating the eternal, +unchangeable God. The seven spirits before his throne describe the third +person in the Trinity, as will appear clearer hereafter, seven being +used as a sacred or perfect number designating his dignity and +excellence. Some have supposed that seven angelic spirits were here +described; but it is not consistent with the honor due the God-head to +suppose that created intelligences should be exalted to a plane of +equality with the supreme Deity. Moreover, they would probably have been +described as seven _angels_, and not as seven _spirits_. + +Jesus Christ is mentioned next and more fully described, he being the +direct author of the Revelation. He is "the first begotten of the dead, +the prince of the kings of the earth," and the one "that loved us, and +washed us from our sins in his own blood." The statement that Christ is +the "first-begotten of the dead," is parallel to similar expressions in +the Bible, where he is declared to be "the first-fruits of them that +slept," "and the first-born from the dead." Though others had been +restored to life before the resurrection of Christ, yet he was the first +to rise with an immortal, glorified body. These expressions may also +denote that Christ was the chief or central figure among all those who +arose. But it was by virtue of his coming and of his victory over death +that any were enabled to rise before his resurrection, as in the mind +and purpose of God, who "calleth those things which be not as though +they were" (Rom. 4:17), Christ was ordained to die and rise again, from +the foundation of the world. He is the "prince of the kings of the +earth" by virtue of his being exalted to the right hand of God, with +"angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him." 1 Pet. +3:22. "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." Eph. 1:21. + +"Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood," +describes the great atonement work of Jesus Christ, by which we are +cleansed from all sin and made a royal, kingly priesthood unto God even +in this world. Every soul that has received the blessed experience John +here describes will be able to appreciate the unbounded rapture the +beloved apostle felt in the contemplation of this wonderful theme of +redemption that caused him to ascribe to God, its author, "glory and +dominion forever and ever." + +This Jesus is he who will come again, not in humiliation and suffering, +but in glory and honor; not as a Lamb to shed his blood for the sins of +the world, but as the Lion of the tribe of Juda, with infinite power and +majesty, causing all the kindreds of earth to wail because of him. The +blasphemous Jews, who clamored for his crucifixion; Pilate, who +delivered him up; and the Roman soldiery, who drove the nails and +pierced his side, producing a death of greatest ignominy--all will see +him when he comes. But while the proud enemies of God and the cruel +oppressors of his saints are overwhelmed with terror at the sight of His +person, the saints of all ages will shout for joy, saying, "Even so. +Amen." "The judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether." In +the face of this awful truth, how dare men assert that the second advent +will usher in a thousand years of peace and tranquility, during which +time the wicked will lie in their graves, when God's word declares that +_every eye_ shall see him when he comes? + +The present description of Christ closes with the statement that he is +the Alpha and the Omega, which, being the first and last letters of the +Greek alphabet, mean the same as "the beginning and the ending"; while +the whole concludes with the statement that he is the one "which is, and +which was, and which is to come, the Almighty"--which is the same as the +description given of God in verse 4. Nothing in addition to this could +be ascribed to Christ. Every attribute with which the Deity himself is +invested is here ascribed to Jesus Christ. If our Savior is anything +more than this description declares him to be, it is beyond the reach of +our finite minds to comprehend. The sacred writers everywhere speak of +him as a being worthy of worship and praise; and this fact, taken in +connection with the universal proneness of men to take the honor from +God and to give it to those who are no gods, is a convincing proof that +Christ is God and, as such, is worthy of all honor and praise; and +nowhere is there given in regard to Christ a warning caution such as +John received from the angel at whose feet he fell to worship--"See thou +do it not ... worship God." + + 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. + + 10. I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a + great voice, as of a trumpet, + + 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. + +At the time the Revelation was given, John was a prisoner in the Isle of +Patmos (now called Patmo or Patino), a small, desolate, rocky island in +the Aegean sea, near the coast of Asia Minor, its greatest length from +north to south being about ten miles, and its greatest breadth six. To +this lonely place, according to Jerome and others, John was exiled +during the reign of the tyrant Domitian, in A.D. 95. The reason of his +banishment is given--"For the word of God, and for the testimony of +Jesus Christ." Having confined him to this barren spot, the emperor no +doubt thought he had effectually cleared the world of this preacher of +righteousness. Doubtless the persecutors of John Bunyan[2] thought the +same when they had him shut up in Bedford jail. But when men think the +truth is dead and buried out of sight, God suddenly gives it a +resurrection with thirty-fold greater glory. It was so in this case. The +giving of the book of Revelation--the writing on this spot of the +history of the church in advance--has changed the name of this rocky +island from deepest infamy to one of sacred interest and holy +recollections. The death of Domitian occurred in A.D. 96, and his +successor, the humane Nerva, recalled those who had been exiled because +of their faithfulness to Christianity; and John returned to Ephesus, +where he spent the remainder of his days, dying a natural death at the +advanced age of about one hundred years. + +[Footnote 2: John Bunyan (1628-1688) was a Puritan. After the +restoration of the Stuarts to the throne, at the close of the English +Revolution and the failure of the Commonwealth, he was imprisoned for +twelve years "on account of non-conformity to the established worship." +It was during this dreary confinement that he wrote his "Pilgrim's +Progress," the most admirable allegory in English literature.] + +The humble manner in which John speaks of himself is affectionate. He +does not represent himself to the churches as some great apostle or +prophet, but as "your brother and companion in tribulation," a sharer +with them in the trials and the persecutions that they were all called +upon to endure. He also testified that he was "in the kingdom and +patience of Christ," of which we will speak more hereafter. + +It was on the first day of the week, or the Lord's day, that the vision +recorded in this chapter was given John, while he was "in the Spirit," +or under the influence of the spirit of prophecy. He was commanded to +write in a book the things that he saw and to send it unto the seven +churches of Asia. It is important to bear in mind the fact that these +visions are things that John _saw_, all the actors and events passing +before him as a moving panorama--the most stupendous scene that human +eyes have ever beheld, containing the future political history of +various nations and kingdoms and also the history of the church in her +different phases from the beginning until the final consummation. Of the +seven churches we will speak more particularly hereafter. + + 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 stars: and out of his + mouth went a sharp two-edged 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 hieroglyphic, or symbolic, characters now begin. Turning in the +direction from which the voice came, John saw seven beautiful +candle-sticks and standing in their midst, a personage whose appearance +was inexpressibly glorious. John had recognized the voice of Christ +announcing "I am the first and the last," but he was not prepared for +the sight that met his gaze when he turned and found himself in the +immediate presence of his August Majesty, the Son of God. A human form +was there, but clothed in such vestments as proclaimed God; and no +wonder mortality was overwhelmed when ushered into the presence of the +uncreated Deity--he whose feet glowed as brass in a furnace, whose eyes +were as a flame of fire, and whose voice was as the sound of many +waters. Any man would have fallen as dead before such a personage as is +here described. Men may talk atheism, but it is the atheism of the lips +and of a coward heart, an atheism that would flee appalled before the +burning footsteps of the Deity, and the irresistible conclusion would +be, "It is God himself." + +John was not left in doubt regarding the identity of this personage; +for, laying his hand upon the prostrate form of the apostle, he said, +"Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth, and was +dead; and, behold, I am alive forevermore, Amen; and have the keys of +hell and of death." The ever-living One entered death's domains and +permitted himself to be bound with chains; but at his pleasure he broke +them asunder, conquered death, and rose triumphant, carrying with him +the keys of hell and of death; and he has ascended on high, alive +forevermore; and at his voice all the dead will arise at his appearing, +for the grave can no longer hold its victims. + +This vision settles an important fact--that when Christ appears upon the +panoramic scene, he comes in his own person, and not in the character of +a created substitute. There may be symbols connected with his +person--the sword of his mouth may signify vengeance upon his enemies; +his eyes as a flame of fire, superior intelligence and penetrating +vision, etc.--but he distinctly announces himself to be the Christ of +God. There is no creature in the universe that could personate "him that +liveth, and was dead, but is alive forevermore." + + 19. Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which + are, and the things which shall be hereafter; + + 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. + +Here John received a special commission to write the things of the +future that were to be given, the things that were then taking place, +and also certain events which had come under his personal observation +during his life-time, and which were also included in the symbolic +visions, thus covering the entire gospel dispensation. + +The special symbols employed in this introductory vision are here +explained by Christ himself, thus leaving us in no doubt whatever. A +star is a fit symbol of the position of a Christian minister--set in the +church to give the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ to the world; +while a candle-stick fitly represents the congregation working with him +and sustaining him in his position. The special power of +Christ--symbolized by his right hand--is manifested in upholding his +ministers, while he walks in the midst of his churches, ready with the +sword of his mouth to defend them from the attacks of their adversaries +and to prove their constant Guardian and Protector. + + + + +CHAPTER II. + + + 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 labored, 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 special messages to the seven churches of Asia Minor are not of such +thrilling interest as are the symbolic visions of the remainder of the +book, yet we can learn many beneficial lessons from the various +experiences of these congregations. + +At the time the Revelation was given, Ephesus was the chief capital of +Proconsular Asia and its pride and glory. It was also that country's +chief mart of idolatry, containing, as it did, the magnificent temple of +Diana, which is reckoned as one of the seven wonders of the world. This +temple, according to the disclosures of modern excavations, was four +hundred and eighteen feet in length, and two hundred and thirty-nine in +width, with one hundred beautiful external pillars of Parian marble, +each a single shaft about fifty-six feet high. The city was proud of the +title it had received, "Servant of the Goddess," and even the Roman +emperors vied with wealthy natives in lavishing gifts to her. One of the +latter, named Vibius Salutaris, presented a large quantity of gold and +silver images to be carried annually in procession. + +In this proud, wealthy, idolatrous city the apostle Paul planted a +Christian church, and the great inroads the gospel made into the +prevalent system of idolatry is shown by one circumstance mentioned in +the Book of Acts. "And many that believed came, and confessed, and +showed their deeds. Many of them also which used curious arts brought +their books together, and burned them before all men: and they counted +the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver. So +mightily grew the word of God and prevailed." Acts 19:18-20. Fifty +thousand pieces of silver would be equal to ten thousand dollars' worth, +or, according to some estimates, six times that amount. But ten thousand +dollars' worth of books on incantation and magic alone destroyed, +considering the scarcity of books in that day, shows the wondrous extent +to which the gospel had been accepted. This was made the occasion of a +great tumult in the city, when one, Demetrius, seeing that the prestige +of Diana was diminishing, stirred up the people of the city against Paul +and his companions, and cried vehemently, "Great is Diana of the +Ephesians!" The souvenir silver shrines and images of this goddess, +which had been in such demand by the multitudes of people constantly +visiting the city, were no longer sought for when the knowledge of the +one true God was made known; and well might Demetrius and his +fellow-craftsmen be alarmed as their means of wealth disappeared. + +The spiritual condition of this church in Paul's time is worthy of +notice; for it presents a striking contrast with its condition at the +time when the special message of the Revelation was addressed to it. +Paul in his epistle to the Ephesians taught them the glorious doctrine +of entire sanctification (chap. 5:25-27), and they had received the +experience; for he gives them the express command, "Grieve not the holy +Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption." Chap. +4:30. And again, "After that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy +Spirit of promise." Chap. 1:13. Their ministers, also, had been placed +in their position by authority of the Holy Ghost, and were commanded to +feed the flock. See Acts 20:28. When this was their heavenly experience, +their "first works" of patience, love, and perseverance, were acceptable +unto Christ; but it was not their present condition. A sad declension +had taken place; therefore the declaration, "I have somewhat against +thee, because thou hast left thy first love." This was no mere human +estimate placed upon their piety, but it was their condition as Christ +himself knew it to be. He "who walketh in the midst of the seven golden +candlesticks," and knoweth the hearts of all men, declared they had +fallen, and commanded them to repent and to do the first works. How sad +that a congregation which had one time enjoyed the fulness of God's +favor should fall from grace and be threatened with destruction by the +Lord himself! But there is one consolation to be obtained from the +experience of this church, and that is, that even if persons have +enjoyed an experience of pardon and of sanctification and have lost it, +there is a possibility of their recovering the favor of God, provided +they "repent, and do the first works." + +But Christ, who in chapter 1:5 is said to be "the faithful witness," +will not overlook anything that is good, nor censure a congregation +unjustly. He finds in this church one fact worthy of commendation--their +abhorrence of the deeds of the Nicolaitans. The infamous practises +attributed to this party are promiscuous sexual intercourse and the +eating of things sacrificed to idols. It is said to have derived its +name from Nicolas, a proselyte of Antioch, who was one of the seven +deacons appointed by the church at Jerusalem, Acts 6:5. But there is no +satisfactory evidence that Nicolas was its founder; and it is the belief +of many, that the sect attributed their origin to him simply to gain the +prestige of his name. However, its mention in this connection is +sufficient proof that at this time those corrupt principles had been +widely promulgated. + +The letter closes with an admonition and a promise--an admonition to +give heed to the things uttered by the Spirit, and a promise of +everlasting life to the overcomer. This shows that Christ does not +approve or condemn indiscriminately. If the great mass of professors +continue in their backslidden condition, the individual that gives heed +to God's Word and is made an overcomer will have a right to "the tree of +life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God." + +What, may we ask, has been the fate of this church against which Christ +uttered the threat of removal? There is no proof that they gave heed to +the exhortation to repent, and the candle-stick has long since been +taken away. Not a vestige of a church remains to mark the site of this +once important congregation; nay, the city itself is no more, the stork, +the jackal, and a few miserable Turkish huts alone remaining on the site +of this once proud metropolis where thousands congregated and cried, +"Great is Diana of the Ephesians!" + + 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. + +Smyrna was situated on a bay of the Aegean Sea, its beautiful harbor +rendering it from time immemorial one of the most important commercial +cities of Asia Minor. History does not inform us when the gospel was +first introduced in this city; but at a very early date a large +congregation existed there, with the venerable Polycarp as its pastor. +He suffered death by martyrdom under the reign of Marcus Aurelius about +A.D. 167. + +In each of the seven letters to the churches Christ introduces himself +by some appellation significant of the character he assumes toward them. +In this he styles himself "the first and the last, which was dead, and +is alive," a fact very important for that congregation to remember +during the great seasons of persecution and oppression through which +they were to be called to pass. + +Against this church Christ has no words of condemnation to utter; all is +encouragement and promise. Their condition of poverty is mentioned. It +is probable that this very poverty arose because of their accepting +Christianity and taking joyfully the spoiling of their goods; for it is +a well-known fact that, when individuals embrace Christianity in an +idolatrous land, they are disinherited by parents, cast out by +relatives, and denied public employment. Even the community refuses to +associate with them or to render them assistance in any form. Their +means of subsistence is thus cut off, and they are harassed in every +possible manner. Perhaps this is the very trial of poverty the church of +Smyrna passed through; but Christ declares that they are rich: yea, God +hath "chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the +kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him." Jas. 2:5. Their +enemies may think that they have reduced them to a condition of +wretchedness, but in this the persecutors are mistaken. God says the +righteous are rich. A certain writer has remarked, "There is many a rich +poor man, and many a poor rich man." + +The blasphemy of opposing, self-styled Jews is next mentioned. In all +probability the term _Jew_ is applied in its spiritual sense. Paul +declares that "he is not a Jew which is one outwardly ... but he is a +Jew which is one inwardly" (Rom. 2:28, 29), and that "if ye be Christ's, +then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." Gal. +3:29. These persons professed to belong to the true "Israel of God" +(Gal. 6:16), but they were without salvation; and the Smyrnaen church +would not recognize them as belonging to the congregation, and therefore +the only name that could be applied to them was "the synagogue of +Satan." Had they been tolerated in the assembly of the righteous, Christ +would have condemned or rebuked the church for not performing their +duty, the same as he did the churches of Pergamos and Thyatira. + +Great persecutions for the church of Smyrna are predicted; but he "which +was dead, and is alive forevermore," having passed through the ordeal of +suffering and death himself, stands in a position to speak words of +comfort and consolation, assuring them in the strongest terms that, +although wicked men and the devil may cast them into prison and +persecute them unto the death, yet "he that overcometh shall not be hurt +of the second death." The overcomers are of the number of those who, +having had "part in the first resurrection, on such the second death +hath no power." Chap. 20:6. The ten days doubtless are prophetic time +(which will be explained later) and signify ten years, which was +probably fulfilled in the terrible persecution that began under the +reign of Diocletian, and continued ten years, or from A.D. 302 to 312. + +The subsequent history of Smyrna has been different from that of +Ephesus, in that it has retained its name and importance until the +present day, being the greatest commercial city in the Levant. It has a +population of more than two hundred thousand, several thousand of whom +belong to the Greek and Armenian churches. The light there has become +dimmed, but let us pray that God will soon remember the faith and +perseverance of his ancient servants and again trim the lamps that once +shone so brightly. + + 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 Balac to + cast a stumbling-block 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. + +Pergamos was a city of considerable importance, the ancient metropolis +of the province of Mysia and the residence of the Attalian kings. + +The description here given of Christ is in accordance with the character +of the church addressed and the work he found necessary to perform in +it. They are said to be located "where Satan's seat is." Pergamos was a +city reputed to be "sacred to the gods" and was one of the headquarters +of idolatry. There are numerous such cities now among the Hindoos and +other idolatrous nations. These cities are regarded with peculiar +veneration and sanctity, and they contain the most honored temples. In +the midst of such surroundings the influences against Christianity would +be very great. + +The congregation is commended because of its loyalty and steadfastness +during a period of persecution in which Antipas was slain. When this +persecution occurred, we are not informed; and as to the identity of +Antipas, we are also left in uncertainty. Some suppose him to have been +the elder of the church. + +Christ censures them severely, however, for tolerating persons in their +midst who held the doctrine of Balaam and the pernicious sentiments of +the Nicolaitans, and he threatens to fight against them with the sword +of his mouth unless they repent. The doctrine of Balaam is partly +explained--he "taught Balak to cast a stumbling-block before the +children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit +fornication." When Balak desired Balaam to pronounce a curse against +Israel, God by various means miraculously prevented Balaam's doing so; +but Balaam craftily instructed Balak to make use of the women of Moab to +seduce the men of Israel to sacrifice to their idols and to indulge in +the licentious accompaniments to such idolatry. In many places in +heathen countries to-day vile women are attached to the temples of the +gods, and at certain stated feasts licentiousness becomes a sanctioned +part of the religious celebration. Balaam's plan was successful. God was +displeased with Israel, and because of this fornication there fell in +one day twenty-four thousand. For a full account see Num. 22-25; +31:13-17. + +It would appear that the doctrine of Balaam and the doctrine of the +Nicolaitans were classed as two different heresies; but the corrupt +tenets of the latter were identical with those of the former, and the +probable meaning is, "As the Hebrews had Balaamites among them; so, +likewise, you have among you the Nicolaitans teaching the same +pernicious doctrines." It is also a singular fact that the Hebrew +signification of Balaam and the Greek of Nicolas is the same--"subduer +of the people." Thus the doctrine of Balaam would stand as a +representation of the principles taught by the Nicolaitans. + +The letter to this church also closes with an exhortation and a promise. +Hidden manna and a white stone in which is inscribed a new name are +rewarded the overcomer. The interpretations of this white stone have +been various, but the difficulty seems to lie in determining which +ancient custom is meant. The most satisfactory to my mind is that +contained in the following account by Mr. Blunt: + +"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 in the Old Testament. +Persons who partook of this hospitality, and those who practised it, +frequently contracted habits of friendship and regard for each other, +and it became a well-established custom among the Greeks and Romans to +provide their guests with some particular mark, which was handed down +from father to son, and insured hospitality and kind treatment whenever +it was presented. This mark was usually a small stone or pebble, cut in +halves, upon each of which the host and the guest mutually inscribed +their names, and then interchanged with each other. The production of +these stones was quite sufficient to insure friendship for themselves or +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." So +those who have obtained salvation and are overcomers through the blood +have received the sure pledge of Christ's eternal friendship (which +those who know not God can not receive) and are invited to partake of +all of his hospitalities, even to "eat of the hidden manna," which is +experienced by the truly sanctified. + + 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 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. + +To this congregation Christ manifests himself in the character of him +"who hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet like fine +brass," denoting the fact that he is the great discerner of all hearts +and that he is able to render unto every man according to his deeds. +Whether the expression, "his feet like fine brass," has any particular +signification, I am unable to say. + +This letter opens with a commendation of the works, the charity, the +service, and the faith of this church. In these things they had made +considerable advancement. Nevertheless, Christ had something against +them, because they had suffered "that woman Jezebel" to teach false +doctrines and to seduce the servants of Christ to compromise with +idolatry and to commit fornication. It is improbable that Jezebel was +her real name; but she was a Jezebel in character, named in this letter +after King Ahab's wicked wife, who killed the Lord's prophets, seduced +her husband into idolatry, and fed the priests of Baal at her own table. +Some have supposed that this appellation designated a number or class of +people teaching these doctrines; but the manner in which "her children," +or disciples, are spoken of would seem rather to point out a particular +woman--one who was a leader and the chief instrument of mischief. + +The long-suffering of Christ had been manifested in this case. He had +given her an opportunity to repent of her evil deeds, but she would not. +Now he declares that he will cause his judgments to descend upon her and +her followers. By casting her into a bed is doubtless meant that he +would bring her down upon a bed of sickness and pain and thus make her a +most distressing object. Her partners in sin were to suffer "great +tribulation," and "her children," or disciples, he would kill with +death, or deadly pestilence. Thus would this whole corrupt party be +visited with divine judgments according to their works; while their +great pretensions to wisdom and discernment, "as they speak," or as they +term it, will be shown to be nothing but the "depths of Satan." + +The frequent references to these gross sins in the letters to the +churches may seem a little strange to us in the altered circumstances of +society in which we live; but when we consider the tone of public +sentiment and the prevalence of idolatry at that time, it will be seen +that the lapse into these sins was very easy. Some compromised with the +heathen by joining in their idolatrous feasts, maintaining that the meat +was not affected one way or the other, and this proved but a +stepping-stone to the licentious principles and the corrupt practises of +those with whom they thus associated. + +The remainder of this letter is full of encouragement to the faithful. +The only burden Christ placed upon them was a severe censure because +they tolerated that abominable party in their midst. They were exhorted +to continue faithful and were promised power over the nations. These +they should rule with a rod of iron, the same as Christ, who received +this power from his Father. The law, or rod, with which Christ, and his +people with him, as _kings_ and priests, rule the nations is the word of +God, the most unyielding law, based upon the greatest authority, ever +written. "Let the saints be joyful in glory ... let the high praises of +God be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand; to execute +vengeance upon the heathen, and punishments upon the people; to bind +their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron; to +execute upon them the _judgments written_: this honor have _all his +saints_." Psa. 149:5-9. + + + + +CHAPTER III. + + + + 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. + +Sardis was one of the chief cities of western Asia Minor. It was +beautifully situated on the river Pactolus, in the middle Hermus valley, +at the foot of Mount Tmolus, and was once the capital of the kingdom of +Lydia, the place of residence of Croesus and other Lydian kings. It was +a city of great opulence and splendor, and "distinguished for the +voluptuous and debauched manners of its inhabitants." + +To this church Christ introduces himself as "he that hath the seven +Spirits of God, and the seven stars"--that is, he has control of the +Holy Spirit's agency and of his ministers. Thus, the great spiritual +agencies of the church are in his keeping to bestow or to take away as +he pleases. Considering the dead condition of this church of Sardis, it +was very appropriate for Christ thus to address himself to them. He has +no words of commendation to offer, no works of charity, service, faith, +and patience of which to approve. They had works, but these were not +"perfect before God." They were threatened with sudden visitation, as +unexpected as a thief breaking in unawares upon the slumbering inmates +of a dwelling in the still hours of night. Their condition was different +from that of any of the churches before mentioned. They are not charged +with such vile practises as prevailed at Pergamus and Thyatira, the +doctrine of the Nicolaitans had gained no foothold among them, yet their +works were not perfect. "Thou hast a name that thou livest, and are +_dead_." They had maintained the external form of religion, but the +vital power of godliness was lacking. + +Although Christ could not commend this church as a body, on account of +their lack of spirituality, yet he testified, "Thou hast a few names +even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments." In the midst of +all the cold formalism of professors and surrounded by worldliness and +iniquity, a few preserved their Christian integrity and were approved by +the Lord. "Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this +... to keep himself unspotted from the world." Jas. 1:27. All such +overcomers have the promise of being clothed in white raiment ("the +righteousness of saints "--chap. 19:8) and of having their names +preserved in the "book of life" in heaven and confessed before the +Father and the holy angels. Wondrous admission into the heavenly realm! +Presented to the Father and the innumerable hosts of heaven _by the +Lord, himself_, there, amid sacred environments, to enjoy the +transcendent felicity of eternal blessedness! "They are worthy," saith +Christ. + +Although this church was threatened with sudden visitation, there is no +hint given of the manner in which this should be fulfilled, for the +reason, perhaps, that it might be all the more unexpected. The church +has long since passed out of existence. The city itself has lain in +ruins for centuries, the modern village of Sart composed of a few huts +inhabited by semi-nomadic Yuruks alone remaining near the ancient site. +Cattle now graze on grassy plains once traversed by streets and thronged +with the inhabitants of this superb metropolis. + + 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. + +Philadelphia was once a large and powerful city, and it continued thus +until later times. Prior to the time the Revelation was written, it had +suffered severely from repeated earthquakes, which caused it to be +almost deserted by its inhabitants. Subsequently, however, it recovered +and became a prosperous, influential city. + +The character Christ assumes toward this church is that of the Holy and +True--one who will justly reward them for their patience and +perseverance--and by virtue of his possessing the key of David (a symbol +of power and authority), he is able to place before them an open door +which no man can shut. + +The character of this church is wholly unlike that of the preceding. In +that, there was nothing to commend, but much to condemn; whereas to +this, all is admonition, encouragement, and promise, because they had +"kept the word of his patience" and had not denied his name. Christ knew +their works and that they were worthy of approval. They still possessed +"a little strength" and had not denied his name. + +Christ, who always upholds and rewards his faithful followers, although +they be few in number and constitute the despised of earth, was not +unrighteous that he should overlook this humble congregation of devoted +disciples that had kept his word, but he made them a number of special +promises _because_ of their faith and perseverance. The first was the +assurance that he had set before them an open door which no man could +shut. A door is a means either of entrance or of escape, and signifies +that God was going to open before them a greater field of enlargement +and success, or else would furnish them a sure means of escape and +protection from their cruel and relentless persecutors. It will be +remembered that the church of Smyrna also received nothing but +commendation and encouragement; but there was no promise of an open door +to them. On the contrary, they were told that they should be tried, cast +into prison, and suffer tribulation ten days. They were comforted, +however, with a certain assurance of future reward and a crown of +everlasting life. But before the church of Philadelphia there was opened +a scene of greater prosperity, deliverance from enemies, greater +enlargement, and the glorious prospect of seeing multitudes of souls +brought under the influence of the saving gospel of Christ. + +The next promise was that of deliverance from opposing Jews, who were to +be humbled before them. This refers, doubtless, to persons who had a +mere profession of Christianity and who were not recognized by the +congregation--the same as the blaspheming Jews of Smyrna. The +faithfulness of God's elect would eventually be the means of bringing +them back to an experience of salvation, so that they would worship in +the midst of the church again. + +Another promise to this congregation was, "I also will keep thee from +the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world." Some +dreadful calamity is here predicted, during which the power of God would +be mercifully manifested in granting this church a special preservation. +Some suppose it to have reference to a great general persecution +throughout the Roman empire, during which the Christians of Philadelphia +would be spared. This may have been the fact; but whether it was or not, +we have no means of information. When we come to consider the symbols of +chapter 9, in which the delusive error of Mohammedanism is set forth, we +will see what a period of sore trial this delusion was to the Eastern +churches. It is also a fact that, in the midst of this abounding heresy, +the church of Philadelphia was preserved as was no other church of Asia. +When the followers of Mohammed were sweeping like a whirlwind over the +Eastern empire, ravaging everything before them, Philadelphia remained +an independent Christian city, when _all the other_ cities of Asia Minor +were under the power of the Saracen sword. It held out against the +Ottoman power until the year 1390 A.D., when it surrendered to Sultan +Bayazid's mixed army of Ottoman Turks and Byzantine Christians (?). This +was six years after the death of Wickliffe, "the morning star of the +reformation," who opposed the corruptions of the Papacy, gave the world +the first English translation of the Bible, and sowed the seeds that +soon grew and produced a Huss, a Jerome, and a Luther. So God preserved +the Christians of Philadelphia in the East until he began raising up +others to herald his truth in the West, whose labors soon ripened into +the glorious Reformation of the Sixteenth Century. + +His final promise to the overcomer is that he shall be made a pillar in +the temple of God, and receive the name of God, of Christ, and of the +New Jerusalem, or city of God. In some manner the Christian is labelled +with the name of God, whose property he is; with the name of Christ, by +whom he was purchased; and with the name of the New Jerusalem, or city +of God, his inheritance and eternal abiding-place; and he is made a +pillar in the temple of God. By turning to Heb. 12:22, 23, we find that +the general assembly and church of God in this dispensation constitutes, +in one important sense, the New Jerusalem, or city of God, in which the +overcomers abide. "But ye _are come_ unto Mount Sion, and unto the city +of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem ... to the general assembly +and church of the first-born, which are written in heaven." The church +is also styled the house or temple of God, composed of people out of all +nations who "are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, +Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner-stone; in whom all the +building fitly framed together groweth unto _an holy temple_ in the Lord +... for an habitation of God through the Spirit." Eph. 2:20-22. See also +1 Cor. 3:17; 1 Pet. 2:5; 1 Tim. 3:15. + +To be a pillar in this temple of God means to occupy a conspicuous or +useful position in supporting the truth, examples of which are to be +found in such characters as "James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be +pillars" in the church in apostolic times. Gal. 2:9. In the last prayer +of Christ to the Father, he says concerning his disciples, "While I was +with them in the world, I kept them in thy name" (John 17:12); and since +the church promised by Christ (Mat. 16:18) has been established, we +continually bear the name of the Father, its title being the church or +city of God. We also bear the new name of Christ, as explained in +chapter 2:17, and we meet together and worship in that name (Mat. +18:20), obeying the exhortation of the apostle Paul--"Whatsoever ye do +in word or deed, do all _in the name of the Lord Jesus_, giving thanks +to God and the Father by him." Col. 3:17. A better understanding of the +manner in which we receive the name of God and of his city will be +obtained when we come to the consideration of the followers of a false, +degenerate church represented as receiving the "mark of the beast," by +which they are designated. + +To inquire further into the history of this church, Philadelphia still +remains with a population of about fifteen thousand. It contains a +number of places of public worship, a resident (Greek) archbishop, and +several inferior clergy. Mr. Keith, in his "Evidence of Prophecy," +speaks of the then presiding bishop, and says that he acknowledges "the +Bible as the only foundation of all religious belief" and admits that +"abuses have entered into the church, which former ages might endure, +but the present must put down." It is also a singular coincidence that +the modern Turkish name of the city, Ala-Shehr, signifies "city of God." + +This description of the church of Philadelphia I will bring to a close +by adding the following extract from Gibbon, recorded in his noted +history entitled "The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire." It is of +especial value since the writer, being an avowed infidel, can not be +convicted of misconstruing historical facts in order to favor +Christianity. + +"The captivity or ruin of the seven churches of Asia was consummated [by +the Ottomans] A.D. 1312, and the barbarous lords of Ionia and Lydia +still trample on the monuments of classic and Christian antiquity. In +the loss of Ephesus the Christians deplore the fall of the first +candle-stick of the Revelation. The desolation is complete; and the +temple of Diana and the church of Mary will equally elude the search of +the curious traveler. The circus and three stately theatres of Laodicea +are now peopled with wolves and foxes. Sardis is reduced to a miserable +village. The God of Mohammed without a rival is invoked in the mosques +of Thyatira and Pergamus; and the populousness of Smyrna is supported by +the foreign trade of the Franks and Armenians. _Philadelphia alone_ has +been saved by prophecy or courage. At a distance from the sea, forgotten +by the emperors, encompassed on all sides by the Turks, her valiant sons +defended their religion and freedom above fourscore years, and at length +capitulated with the proudest of the Ottomans. Among the Greek colonies +of Asia, Philadelphia is still erect--a column in a scene of ruins--a +pleasing example that the path of honor and safety may sometimes be the +same." Vol. VI., p. 229. + + 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 eye salve, 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. + +Laodicea was one of the wealthiest cities of Asia Minor. It was built +upon some low hills, and occupied an important situation in the center +of a very fertile district. It was famous for its money transactions and +for the beautiful soft wool grown by the sheep of the country, which +facts are both alluded to in the message. Verses 17, 18. During the +reign of Tiberius Caesar it was entirely destroyed by an earthquake, but +its wealthy inhabitants rebuilt it immediately. A Christian church was +soon planted there; for Paul makes the request that his epistle to the +Colossians be read in the church of Laodicea and that his epistle to the +church of Laodicea (which was not included in the New Testament canon) +be read unto them. Col. 4:16. + +The condition of this church, according to the burden of the message, +was worse than that of any of the others; for there is not only no +commendation of former faith and piety, but it is not even said of them, +as of the church at Sardis, that a few names were left who had not +defiled their garments. Christ, who here represents himself in the +character of the "faithful and true Witness," testifies that they are +"neither cold nor hot." They did not have enough piety nor zeal to cause +them to do anything for the honor of Christ and his cause, neither were +they open enemies. They were merely lukewarm, insincere friends, and, as +such, were in a position to do the greatest harm. A certain writer has +said, "We always dread a professed but insincere friend; he is the least +desirable of all relations." + +They are further described as being satisfied to remain in their +lukewarm condition, indulging themselves in the riches and the pleasures +of this life. Theirs was a rich, prosperous, influential church in their +estimation, and they were proud of it; but "the faithful and true +Witness" declares that they were "wretched, and poor, and blind, and +naked." What a contrast this congregation presents with the churches of +Smyrna and Philadelphia, whose poverty and "little strength" are +expressly mentioned, but who were rich in spirituality, and who received +no reproof, but words of comfort! They of Laodicea possessed no true +gold from the mine of gospel truth, no white raiment of righteousness to +hide their spiritual nakedness, no clear vision to enable them to +discern the things of the Spirit. In fact, they lacked everything +necessary to constitute a church of which the Lord could approve and +which would be an honor to his cause. But notwithstanding their sad +condition, Christ still pleads with them to repent of their doings and +to allow him to come in and sup with them, promising the overcomer the +privilege of sharing the throne of his Redeemer. + +On account of their lukewarmness a severe threat was uttered--"I will +spue thee out of my mouth." Allusion is doubtless made to the former +catastrophe that overthrew the city under Tiberius, thus giving them +warning of the destruction that might come upon them in the future. The +result has been in accordance with the prediction. God spued that church +out of his mouth centuries ago, and nothing remains of that proud, +wealthy city. Not even a Turk has any fixed residence on the spot. Its +ruins alone remain in their desolation, "rejected of God, deserted of +man, its glory a ruin, its name a reproach." The Encyclopaedia Britannica +says, "Its ruins are of wide extent.... There is no doubt, however, that +much has been buried beneath the surface by the _frequent earthquakes_ +to which the district is exposed." + +The prophecies concerning these individual churches have been fulfilled; +so that even infidelity itself bears witness to the "strange +verification of Apocalyptic promise and threatening." Two of the +churches, Ephesus and Laodicea, where no spiritual souls remained, were +threatened with utter extinction. They are now in utter ruins--forsaken, +desolate. Sardis, too, where only a few names were left, is reduced to a +small Turkish village, without a church or a Christian. Pergamus and +Thyatira, where much spirituality remained, but where wickedness also +was tolerated, still survive, though but mere remnants of their former +greatness. While Smyrna and Philadelphia, where Christ found nothing to +condemn and to whose churches he uttered only words of comfort and +promise, remain until the present day and are the brightest spots on the +whole scene, standing like erect columns in the midst of the surrounding +ruins. + +I do not wish, however, to give too much prominence to the cities +themselves in the fulfilment of these prophecies. The churches located +in these seven cities of Asia were doubtless the main thing under +consideration in the utterance of these promises and threatenings. Yet +it is a singular fact that the subsequent history of the cities +themselves has accorded in a remarkable degree with the nature of the +prophecies uttered. It may be that God has preserved Smyrna and +Philadelphia because of the piety of their ancient inhabitants. + +He who held the seven stars in his right hand and walked in the midst of +the seven golden candle-sticks, still possesses the control of his +ministers and is present in the congregations of the righteous; but let +us all take warning from the example of the churches of Asia, and live +such a life of devotion, charity, faith, and patience as Christ, the +"faithful and true Witness," will approve of, that we may "walk with him +in white" and have right to the "tree of life which is in the midst of +the paradise of God." + + + + +CHAPTER IV. + + + 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. + + 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 + 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. + + 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. + +It is probable that the Apocalypse was communicated to John in parts, or +consisted of a series of symbolic visions. This is indicated by the +expression "after this I looked," and is also confirmed by the words +following, "And immediately I was in the spirit," implying that the +vision recorded in chapter 1, which was given on the Lord's day, had +been interrupted and that a new one now began when the angel with +trumpet voice gave summons for him to ascend to heaven "in the spirit" +(or under the influence of the spirit of prophecy) to behold the events +of the future, passing before him as a vast moving picture. + +This fact of John's ascension to heaven to behold certain visions of the +future (which begin properly with chapter 6) will serve to explain many +allusions to things said to occur in heaven, merely signifying that John +was in heaven when these things were revealed to him, although their +fulfilment was intimately connected with the affairs of the church on +earth, for whose benefit the Revelation was given and unto whom it was +sent. + +When the apostle ascended through the door that had been opened unto +him, the first object that met his vision and absorbed his soul was a +throne with the Almighty seated upon it, around whom all the inhabitants +of heaven were assembled. No symbol of God is given, for the reason that +there is no analagous object that can be chosen as his representative. +True, John saw a throne, but that is a symbol, not of God himself, but +of his supreme power and authority. One was seated upon the throne +separate from the throne itself. It is not said that a jasper or a +sardine stone was seated thereon, for that would be to make such an +object the representative of God; but he that sat on the throne "was to +look upon" like a jasper or sardine stone. The jasper mentioned was in +all probability the diamond, and is described in chapter 21:11 as a +stone most precious, clear as crystal; while the sardine stone was a +brilliant gem of a red hue. This description naturally suggests the +vestments of a great monarch in a position of authority upon his throne. +The main idea, then, as here expressed, is that the appearance of the +Almighty was so inexpressibly glorious that it could be likened to +nothing except the beauty of the most resplendent gems. But God himself +appears in his own person, unrepresented by another, for the reason, as +above stated, that no inferior intelligence of earth or heaven can +analagously represent the uncreated Deity. + +The throne of the omnipotent One was surrounded by a beautiful rainbow +of emerald clearness, and was probably a perfect one, or a complete +circle, such as ours would be could it come wholly into our sight. The +rainbow on the cloud, to Noah and his descendants, constitutes the sure +pledge of God's covenant promise not to destroy the earth with another +deluge; so, also, the bow surrounding the throne is a symbol of God's +covenant favor with his people eternally. + +There were "lightnings and thunderings and voices" proceeding from the +throne--the same outward manifestations as heralded the Godhead when he +came down on Sinai to declare his holy law. The "seven lamps of fire +burning before the throne" are said to signify the seven spirits of God. +These are not lamp-stands or candle-sticks, such as the ones in the +midst of which the Son of God walked on earth, but seven lights or +flames of fire, representing the operation of the Holy Spirit upon the +hearts of men and women. Surrounding the throne also was "a sea of glass +like unto crystal." In the Greek it stands in a little different +form--"And before the throne _as it were_ a sea of glass." Describing +the same object in chapter 15:2, the Revelator says, "I saw _as it were_ +a sea of glass." It was a broad expanse spread out before the throne +with a glassy or transparent appearance like crystal. Its signification +will be made clear hereafter. + +In addition to this description of the throne and Deity, our attention +is directed to certain objects before and surrounding the throne. Four +beasts and four and twenty elders are brought to view. The word _beasts_ +is a very unfortunate translation, being necessarily associated in our +minds with the brute creation. It is not the word _therion_, which in +thirty-five instances in the Apocalypse is translated beast, denoting an +animal of wild disposition, but the word _zoon_, which signifies "a +living creature," and is thus rendered by many of the translators of the +New Testament. Their being full of eyes signifies sleepless vigilance +and superior intelligence and discernment. The chief description given +of the first living creature is that it was "like a lion." It is stated, +not that the creature was a lion, but that it was "like a lion." It +possessed some peculiar quality characteristic of the lion; namely, +strength and courage. The second living creature, "like a calf," or, +more properly, the ox, is symbolic of sacrifice or of patient labor. The +third, with "a face as a man," denotes reason and intelligence. While +the fourth, "like a flying eagle," is an emblem of swiftness and +far-sighted vision. + +But the peculiar qualities thus symbolized are possessed by the four +living creatures themselves, and what do _they_ represent? To whom are +the four and twenty elders referred? They are particularly distinguished +from the angelic throng. In the ninth verse of the following chapter the +elders and the living creatures represent themselves as the host of +people redeemed by the blood of Christ "out of every kindred, and +tongue, and people, and nation." The above-mentioned characteristics, +then, are the peculiar possession of God's people--power and courage to +attack all enemies and to gain the victory; a spirit of perseverance in +patiently laboring for Christ, with a willingness to sacrifice their +lives, if necessary, for the glory of God; ability to receive a +"knowledge of the truth," that they may understand the will of God in +Christ Jesus concerning them; and power and willingness to obey +instantly when able to discern spiritual things, rising above the things +of earth and the trials and persecutions of life--soaring away to +loftier heights, there to bask continually in the blessed sunlight of +God's eternal presence. + +Why was it necessary that the redeemed company of God's people should be +represented by _four_ living creatures? Doubtless because it would +probably have been very difficult to select any _one_ creature combining +all the characteristics desired to represent all God's people of all +ages. It is also a significant fact that all the people of God on earth +were included in four great dispensations--ante-deluvian, post-deluvian, +Mosaic, and Christian; although it is not certain that _four_ living +creatures were selected for the special purpose of showing the number of +dispensations. However, this division of time is well established in the +Bible. Peter reckons a new world beginning with Noah (2 Pet. 3:6, 7), +stating that the old world had been destroyed. 2 Pet. 2:5. God came down +upon Mount Sinai and delivered the old covenant, thus marking a distinct +dispensation; while Jesus Christ established the new covenant and +ushered in the fourth and last dispensation. See Heb. 12:18-24. Under +the first dispensation, Abel by faith offered unto God an "excellent +sacrifice"; men "began to call upon the name of the Lord" (Gen. 4:26); +Enoch "walked with God" and "was translated that he should not see +death"; while Noah, "a preacher of righteousness," was "perfect in his +generation" and "condemned the world" by his preaching and obedience. +The second dispensation was graced with a faithful Abraham, who +"staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strong in +faith," from which circumstance he was called "the friend of God" and +has justly received the title "father of the faithful." In his footsteps +followed Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and Moses. The law age contains the names +of many illustrious prophets of God, and the New Testament era abounds +with brilliant examples of faith and devotion. + +The ministry of John the Baptist can not be said to form another +dispensation, because of its short duration (he preceding Christ but six +months), and being at the time unknown outside of a very limited +territory. Another dispensation could not be begun and _completed_ while +the old covenant dispensation was yet in force; for that would make two +dispensations in full force at the same time--a thing impossible. Also, +John's work, according to the evangelist, marks the beginning of the +gospel dispensation (Mark 1:1-4), from which time the kingdom of God was +preached and men pressed into it. Luke 16:16. + +It was by virtue of the future atonement-work of Christ that any were +enabled to enjoy God's favor in Old Testament times. Even their +sacrifices, which originated in the family of Adam and which were +continued from generation to generation, pointed forward to the +sacrificial offering of the Savior and by this means purchased covenant +favors with Heaven. So, after all, the atonement was for their benefit +as well as for ours. Paul expressly informs us that Christ died for the +"redemption of the transgressions that were _under the first +testament_." Heb. 9:15. "Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and _all the +prophets_" are "in the kingdom of God" (Luke 13:28), and constitute a +part of this great redeemed host set forth under the symbol of the four +living creatures. + +The four and twenty elders, although representing themselves as a part +of this redeemed company, evidently have some special signification; for +they are presented to us as separate characters from the four living +creatures. Who are they? Undoubtedly they represent the ministers of +God, the number twenty-four also signifying perfection or completeness, +being drawn from certain facts connected with the two dispensations in +which God has had a clerical ministry. The natural heads of the tribes +of Israel were the twelve patriarchs; while the spiritual heads of the +Christian church are the twelve apostles of the Lamb, they constituting +a part of the foundation upon which it is built. Eph. 2:20. In a +subsequent chapter we have an account of the sealing of the twelve +tribes, by which is meant the sealing, not of the literal Israel, but of +the spiritual, the twelve tribes being selected from the proper +department to stand as a symbol of the true Israel in this dispensation, +which is expressly said to consist of people of all nations. Natural +Israel and spiritual Israel are frequently used to designate God's +people; so, also, in the case before us the twelve patriarchs as heads +of the natural Israel and the twelve disciples as heads (in one +important sense) of the spiritual Israel are taken to represent the +entire ministry. In the description of the New Jerusalem we find +conspicuously inscribed the names of the twelve tribes of the children +of Israel and of the twelve apostles of the Lamb, thus making the number +twenty-four. Chap. 21:12, 14. + +Although the ministers seem to be a special class among those +constituting the redeemed multitude, yet their intimate connection with +the remainder is set forth under another symbol--that of wings _attached +to_ the four living creatures. Each of the four living ones possessed +six wings, which, taken numerically, make up twenty-four again. The +wings of a living creature would signify its means of flight; and it is +by the action of the ministry, who "go into all the world" as flying +messengers to preach the everlasting gospel, that the church of God is +established among all nations. Thus, under the symbol of living +creatures with wings is set forth the glorious harmony and unity that +exists in the body of Christ between ministry and laity. + +The elders are represented as being clothed in white raiment and as +possessing golden crowns. "White raiment" is a symbol of righteousness +(chap. 19:8), while crowns represent special power and authority. God's +ministers possess both. They are made righteous through the blood of the +everlasting covenant and are given power over all the power of the enemy +and authority to heal the sick and to cast out devils. + +The entire company are engaged in worshiping God unceasingly, the elders +casting their crowns before the throne, thus ascribing all praise, +honor, and glory to Him who has delegated to them the authority they +possess. And may we, my brethren, never grow weary in well-doing and +conclude that the worship of God grows monotonous; but let us, with +heart and soul, join the universal chorus, "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God +Almighty." + + + + +CHAPTER V. + + + 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. + + 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. + + 5. And one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the + Lion of the tribe of Juda, 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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 it 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. + +The vision of this chapter is but a continuation of the preceding one, +being a sublime description of the exaltation and office-work of Christ +in his two-fold character as the Lion of the tribe of Juda and as a +sacrificial offering for the sins of the world. The Apocalypse opens +with the words, "The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto +him," and it is fitting that his special prerogatives and +characteristics, together with the true position he occupies, should +first be revealed. This was especially necessary in view of the fact to +be revealed, that another would soon arise usurping the rights and +prerogatives belonging to Christ alone, claiming to be supreme head of +the church, sitting as God in the temple of God, and "showing himself +that _he_ is God." 2 Thes. 2:4. + +The attention of John was directed to an object "in the right hand of +Him that sat on the throne"--a book sealed with seven seals--and to a +mighty angel calling with a loud voice for some one to come forward and +loose the seals and open the book. No created intelligence of earth or +heaven dared to step forward and declare himself able to accomplish the +result required, and because of this John wept much. + +The form of books in use when the Revelation was given was unlike those +used now. They consisted of strips of parchment or other material, +longer or shorter, rolled up. The book in the symbolic vision before us +consisted of a roll containing seven pieces each one rolled and sealed +separately, so that the outer seal could be broken and the contents of +its strip read without disturbing the remaining ones. Had the seals all +been on the outside, nothing could have been read until they were all +broken; whereas the loosing of each seal was followed by some discovery +of the contents of the roll. + +This book in the hand of God is symbolical of something. Most of the +commentators think it represents the book of Revelation, in which case, +of course, it would not include the present description of the book +itself, but only of its contents as applied to subsequent chapters. But +this view, of itself, is unsatisfactory for many reasons. The rules +governing the use and the interpretation of symbolic language would +forbid the thought of one book's symbolizing another book; for the main +idea conveyed by the term _symbol_ is, that the symbolic object stands +as the representative, not of itself, but of something analagous. +Reasoning by analogy, what would the contents of a sealed book in the +hand of God symbolize? Evidently, the infinite counsels and purposes +known only to Jehovah. Its being written within and on the backside +would indicate that those purposes were full and complete, being all +written out and understood by him who "knoweth the end from the +beginning" and "worketh all things after the counsel of his own will." +Its being sealed denotes that the contents were unrevealed, while its +being in the right hand of God--the hand of his power--shows that he is +able to carry into execution his divine purposes and that none shall be +able to alter them or to wrest them from him. + +While the events future of John's time form a part of the great plan and +counsels of Jehovah, yet it is taking a very limited view of the subject +to suppose that they alone constitute the sealed book of this vision; +for then would that greatest of all events, the atonement of Christ and +the earliest triumphs of the gospel, have no special part in the sealed, +mysterious counsels of the infinite One. It is much more consistent with +the characteristics and attributes of God to make this book a symbol, +not merely of a part, but of all his divine plans and purposes in the +entire gospel dispensation. This position gains credence from the fact +that the visions of the Revelation cover many times the whole period +from the incarnation to the end. When the very first seal is broken, the +early success and triumphs of the gospel, as experienced in John's +lifetime, are portrayed. According to the vision before us, it was by +virtue of Christ's death that he was able to open the book at all; and +the plan of redemption itself, which is based upon his atonement, is +declared by the Scriptures to be a "mystery which from the beginning of +the world hath been _hid in God_." Eph. 3:9. This redemption scheme was +the great center of attraction to the prophets of the old dispensation, +who "inquired and searched diligently" that they might comprehend its +deep mysteries, "which things the _angels desired to look into_." 1 Pet. +1:10-12. + +Now, if the contents of the sealed book were (at the time of this +vision) only the history of events to be, why was it that no man on +earth or in heaven, nor even an angel before the throne, was found +worthy to "look into" it or to communicate its secrets to the children +of men. Gabriel was sent as a worthy messenger to communicate to Daniel +a long series of future events reaching even until the end of time. But +the contents of this roll were such that no created intelligence of +earth or heaven was able to unfold them. All remained unfathomable +mystery--until Christ stepped forward in his character as a sacrificial +Lamb and declared himself able to undertake the task of loosing the +seals and of opening the book. "Unto you it is given to _know the +mystery_ of the kingdom of God" (Mark 4:11), he said to his disciples, +"even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, +but now is _made manifest_ to his saints." Col. 1:26. "Verily I say unto +you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those +things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things +which ye hear, and have not heard them. Blessed are your eyes, for they +see; and your ears, for they hear." Mat. 13:17, 16. + +The fact that the suffering and death of Christ was a past event at the +time when the Revelation was given does not constitute a valid objection +to the position taken, that the contents of the sealed book embrace the +plan of redemption during the entire period of its operation; for the +reason that, in order to form a complete and continuous narrative, past +events are frequently referred to in the Apocalypse. Thus, John saw a +beast with seven heads signifying seven kings; but he was expressly +informed that "_five are fallen_, one is [exists at present], and the +other is not yet come." Chap. 17:10. + +When Christ appears on the symbolic stage, he is introduced by the elder +as "the Lion of the tribe of Juda," and "the Root of David." The lion, +being the king of beasts and the monarch of the forest, is indicative of +power, such as Christ possesses. Christ is elsewhere denominated "King +of kings and Lord of lords," and he himself laid claim to "all power in +heaven and on earth," it having "pleased the Father that in him should +all fulness dwell." Why he is termed "the Lion of the tribe of Juda," I +am unable to say, unless the expression is borrowed from the prophecy +recorded of him in Gen. 49:10--"The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, +nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him +shall the gathering of the people be." His being the "Root of David" +shows that he is the source and sustainer of David as to his position +and power. David was specially ordained of the Lord and sustained by +him. Of this there can be no doubt. David was a type; Christ is the +antitype. David's position as ruler over natural Israel constitutes a +type of Christ's position as ruler over the spiritual Israel; and it is +in this sense that Christ reigns upon the throne of his father David. +Luke 1:32, 33. And since Christ came in the line of David's descendants, +he is called the offspring of David and a rod out of the stem of Jesse. +Isa. 11:1, 10. His connection with the throne of David being evident, he +is entitled to the right to reign over his people. The appellation +_Lamb_ is one of the peculiar titles by which the Son of God is +designated, having reference to that part of his mission in which he +constituted a sacrificial offering for sin. His forerunner John was able +to prophetically discern him in this character, and pointed to him as +"the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." John 1:29. +The Lamb was said to have seven horns and seven eyes. A horn is a symbol +of power, and seven, being a sacred or perfect number, denotes the +fulness of power possessed by Christ; while the seven eyes signify the +seven spirits of God, or the Holy Spirit, which, being under the direct +control of Christ, is sent forth into the world to effect the +regeneration of men. + +When the Lion of the tribe of Juda stepped forward and undertook the +task of revealing the secret counsels and purposes of Jehovah to the +world, immediately a song of praise ascended from the lips of the +redeemed sons of earth. The song was new, adapted to a new theme, and +sung on a new occasion. "The four beasts and four and twenty elders fell +down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden vials +[censers] full of odors, which are the prayers of saints. 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; and hast +made us unto our God kings and priests, and we shall reign on the +earth." This song beautifully expresses the honor due to Jesus Christ in +his office-work as Redeemer of the world, by virtue of which people out +of every nation, kindred, tongue, and people, are saved unto God and +made kings and priests on the earth. The angel who appeared to the +Judean shepherds while they were watching their flocks by night, +comforted them with the welcome announcement: "Fear not: for, behold, I +bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to _all people_. For +unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ +the Lord." Luke 2:10, 11. + +Since the preaching of the gospel began, men are instructed to "seek +first the kingdom of God" (Mat. 6:33), and they "press into it" (Luke +16:16) by the saving virtue of Him "who hath delivered us from the power +of darkness, and hath translated us _into the kingdom_ of his dear Son." +Col. 1:13. Taking our place by the side of the writer of the Revelation, +we testify with him that we are already "in the kingdom and patience of +Jesus Christ" (Rev. 1:9), and that we "receive abundance of grace and of +the gift of righteousness," whereby "we _reign in life_ by one Jesus +Christ." Rom. 5:17. In this happy condition, redeemed by the blood of +Jesus, our Savior, made "a royal [kingly] priesthood" in the "holy +nation" of "peculiar people" that have been gathered out of all nations +of earth (1 Pet. 2:5, 9), we feel like singing anew this glad song of +redemption in honor of Jesus, our only Lord and Savior, who is God over +all, blessed forever! Amen. + +This new and rapturous song of the redeemed was immediately caught by a +greater multitude of the angelic order, an innumerable company, even +"ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands," and +together, with loud and united voices, did they swell the mighty anthem, +"Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and +wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing." And again the +heavenly strain was raised to loftier heights, until the stupendous +chorus rolled around the universe, by every creature in heaven and on +earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, saying, +"Blessing and honor, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon +the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever." A few gifted voices of +earth may possess such power and sweetness as almost to entrance us with +their melody of song; but what an oratorio will it be, my brethren, +when, released from the narrow limits of mortality, that sublime strain +sung by the redeemed of all ages and ten thousand times ten thousand and +thousands of thousands of angels, bursts in upon our ransomed souls! Did +human thought ever reach the conception of music like this? Did the eyes +of a mortal ever behold such rapturous scenes? You may feast your eyes +upon earth's greatest beauty--Yosemite Valley, Yellowstone Park, Niagara +Falls, may pass before your vision; you may climb the lofty Alpine +summit and behold the snow-streaked and snow-capped peaks towering to +the heavens around you--or you may listen to the best music ever +composed by a Mozart, a Handel, or a Beethoven, or the finest ever +executed by a Liszt, a Rubenstein, or a Paderewski; yet I must tell you +upon the authority of God's word that "eye hath not _seen_, nor ear +_heard_, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which +God hath prepared for them that love him." 1 Cor. 2:9. + +This vision shows very clearly the lofty position to which Christ has +been exalted, possessing "a name which is above every name"; for the +entire company of angels and redeemed saints unite in extolling him with +songs of praise, and that, too, before the very throne of the Deity and +in the presence of his infinite Majesty. Surely we can not doubt that +ours is a divine Savior, and one worthy of all praise, honor, power and +dominion both now and forever. + +Though John beheld this wonderful vision in heaven, yet we must remember +that it was given and recorded for the benefit of God's people upon +earth. The plan of redemption was not actually revealed in heaven, for +"Jesus Christ came _into the world_ to save sinners" (1 Tim. 1:15), and +it was here that he was ordained to "taste death for every man." Heb. +2:9. The ransomed company thus brought to view is intended to point out +the redeemed of earth; for there is no salvation to be obtained in +heaven, in which place no blood was shed--the blood is one of the agents +that bears witness in the earth. 1 John 5:7, 8. The central figures of +this vision were God, the Holy Spirit, and Christ, around whom the +living creatures and elders were gathered, and they, in turn, were +surrounded by the angelic throng. This entire scene was doubtless +intended to represent the exalted character of spiritual things on +earth, where the plan of redemption was revealed and the redeemed host +gathered out of all nations. In a very important sense the Father, the +Son, and the Holy Ghost all dwell in the spiritual church, or new +Jerusalem, and are thus "in the midst" of God's people, surrounded by +the redeemed host who unceasingly worship them, and they, in turn, have +the promise that "the angel of the Lord encampeth round about them" +(Psa. 34:7); yea, "an innumerable company of angels" reside in this +"heavenly Jerusalem," or "city of the living God," unto which we, as a +part of the "general assembly and church of the first-born," "_are +come_" in this dispensation. Heb. 12:22, 23. + + + + +CHAPTER VI. + + + + 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. + +We have now reached the point where the thrilling interest of this book +commences. With the opening of the seals of the book of God's purposes +we have the prophecies of the future, the unfolding of the events to be, +described under appropriate symbols. The contents of six seals are +contained in this and the following chapter, while the seventh occupies +the remainder of the volume. + +A word relative to the plan of the prophecies will be appropriate at +this time. I will again state what will be made very clear +hereafter--that the events are narrated by series, and not by centuries. +A particular theme is taken up and carried through to its completion, +then the narrative returns and another subject is traced to its end. +Thus, the entire book consists of a number of distinct parallel series +covering the same ground. + +Upon the opening of the first seal, John is summoned as with a voice of +thunder by one of the living creatures to draw near; and the object that +meets his vision is a white horse with its rider. The symbol is that of +a victorious warrior, being drawn from the civil and military life of +the Romans. The symbol is one of dignity. It does not consist of some +inanimate object such as a mountain, a sea, or a river, neither is it a +wild ferocious beast; but it is that of a living, active, intelligent +being, and he, as denoted by various insignia, a conqueror. He rides a +white horse, such as victors used in triumphal procession; his bow and +crown are also symbols of victory. He goes forth conquering and to +conquer, or to make conquests. + +This symbol is a faithful representation of the early triumphs of +Christianity in its aggressive conflict with the huge systems of error +with which it had to contend. Some have supposed that the rider +represented Jesus Christ; but this can not be, for many reasons, two of +which I will give. First. Christ always appears on the symbolic stage in +his own character, unrepresented by another, for the reason, as before +stated, that there is no creature that can analagously represent Him who +claims equality with God. Not one name or attribute peculiar to him is +mentioned in the description. Second. There are four horsemen brought to +view in this chapter, and the symbols all being drawn from the same +department, must have the same general application. If the first +horseman symbolizes _a definite personage_, so do the remaining three; +but we should have great difficulty in identifying the last three, +giving them an individual application. + +Others make the first horseman a symbol of the gospel itself, but the +gospel is not a living, active, intelligent agent, such as the symbol +evidently is, but is only a system of the revealed truth. All congruity +and appropriateness in the comparison is lacking. + +But let us give this symbol further consideration. It is not enough that +its interpretation alone be given, but the reader is justly entitled to +a knowledge of the process by which we arrive at the truth. In the first +place, we have a symbol of great dignity and excellence, and we must +look for an object of corresponding character. The symbol is that of a +living agent, and consequently, we must look for its fulfillment in an +active, intelligent agent. The purity, or whiteness, of the horse on +which the rider was seated would indicate an agency of mild, beneficent +character. Finally, the symbol is drawn, as before stated, from the +civil and military life of the Romans. Now, according to the laws of +symbolic language, a symbol never represents an object like itself, but +an analagous one in another department. A wild beast does not represent +a wild beast, but something of analagous character. Seven fat and seven +lean kine do not represent kine like themselves, but something +analagous--seven years of plenty and as many of famine. There are only +two great series of events described in the Revelation--the history of +ecclesiastical events and the political history of certain nations. The +present symbol is drawn from one of these departments--the political or +the civil life of the Romans; and leaving the latter department to find +its signification in another department, we have no place to go except +into the department of ecclesiastical affairs. Entering, therefore, the +spiritual realm, and looking about us for an object that perfectly meets +every requirement of the symbol, we find it in _the humble ministers of +Christ_, who boldly went forth in obedience to the divine command to +extend the peaceful triumphs of the cross and to carry the gospel of the +kingdom of God "into all the world." Mark 16:15-18; Mat. 28:19, 20. This +succession of faithful, holy, devoted men is worthy of a place in +Apocalyptic vision. They went forth "conquering and to conquer"; and the +victories they gained were such as the world never witnessed before. +Worthy are they to wear a victor's crown, for they have "fought a good +fight." + +Because of its connection with events following, it is necessary for us +to consider the divine position of these first ministers of the church. +Their _equality_ is clearly taught in the New Testament. Christ gave +them the express command, "Be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your +Master, even Christ; and all ye are _brethren_." Mat. 23:8. When two of +the disciples manifested a desire to gain preeminence over their +brethren and their aspirations displeased the ten, Christ said to them +all, "Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over +them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. But it +_shall not be so among you_." Mat. 20:25, 26. Thus a perfect standard of +equality in the ministry is lifted up. The beloved apostle, the writer +of the Revelation, when addressing the elders of the seven churches of +Asia in particular, humbly and affectionately represented himself as +their "_brother_ and companion in tribulation." Rev. 1:9. + +I will now adduce the testimony of several creditable historians, who +are compelled to admit the humble equality of the New Testament +ministry, notwithstanding the fact that some of them belonged to +churches containing a very _unequal_ ministry. + +Mosheim says: "The rulers of the church were called their presbyters or +bishops, which two titles are, in the New Testament, undoubtedly applied +to the same order of men.... Let no one confound the bishops of this +primitive and golden period of the church, with those of whom we read in +the following ages. For, though they were both distinguished by the same +name, yet they differed extremely, and that in many respects." Vol. I, +p. 99. + +This fact is now admitted by nearly all denominations, even +Episcopalians. In the work entitled "Episcopacy Tested by Scripture," +published by the Protestant Episcopal Tract Society, New York, the +author, one of their able advocates, makes the following admission +concerning the title _bishop_ in the New Testament, "that the name is +there given to the middle order or presbyters; and _all_ that we read in +the New Testament concerning _bishops_, including of course the words +_overseer_ and _oversight_, which have the same derivation, is to be +regarded as pertaining to that middle grade"--the presbyters or elders. +Page 12. + +The noted historian Waddington, also an Episcopalian, makes the same +admission in the following words: "It is also true that in the earliest +government of the first Christian society, that of Jerusalem, not the +elders only, but the 'whole church' were associated with the apostles; +and it is even _certain_ that the terms _bishop_ and _elder_ or +_presbyter_ were, in the first instances, and for a short period, +sometimes used synomously, and indiscriminately applied to the _same +order_ in the ministry." Church History, Part I, p. 41. The italicizing +is mine. + +The well-known historian Milman, also an Episcopalian, in his History of +Christianity, says, "The earliest Christian communities appear to have +been ruled and represented, in the absence of the apostle who was their +first founder, by their elders, who are likewise called bishops, or +overseers of the church." Page 194. + +Kurtz, in his Church History, says: "To aid them in their work, or to +supply their places in their absence (Acts 14:23), the apostles ordained +rulers in every church, who bore the common name of _elders_ from their +dignity, and of _bishops_ from the nature of their office. That +originally the elders were the same as the bishops, we gather with +absolute certainty from the statements of the New Testament and of +Clement of Rome, a disciple of the apostles. (See his first epistle to +the Corinthians, Chaps. 42, 44:52.) 1. The presbyters are expressly +called bishops--compare [the Greek especially] Acts 20:17 with verse 28, +and Titus 1:5 with verse 7. 2. The office of presbyter is described as +next to and highest after that of apostle (Acts 15:6, 22). Similarly, +the elders are represented as those to whom alone the rule, the teaching +and the care of the church is entrusted (1 Tim. 5:17; 1 Pet. 5:1, +etc.).... In [several] passages of the New Testament and of Clement we +read of many bishops in one and the same church. In the face of such +indubitable evidence, it is difficult to account for the pertinacity +with which Romish and Anglican theologians insist that these two offices +had from the first been different in name and functions.... Even Jerome, +Augustine, Urban II. (1091) and Petrus Lombardus admit that originally +the two had been identical. It was reserved for the Council of Trent to +convert this truth into a heresy." Pages 67, 68. Chrysostom, Theodoret, +and others also admitted the same. + +Many similar historical testimonies now lying before me to the humble +equality of the New Testament ministry could be added; but lest the +reader become weary, I will conclude with the following beautiful +description from D'Aubigne in his noted History of the Reformation: "The +church was in the beginning a community of brethren, guided by a few of +the _brethren_." Again, "All Christians were priests of the living God, +with _humble pastors_ as their guides." Vol. I, pp. 35, 50. + +With this description of the early ministers of Christ, who went forth +under the symbol of the first horseman to disciple all nations, we have +the events pertaining to the early history of the church, laid before +us; until the opening of the second seal brings us to another important +phase of its history. + + 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 symbol of this seal is that of a rider going forth on a red horse +armed with a great sword with which to take peace from the earth and to +kill. It is drawn from the same source as that of the preceding one, but +differing greatly in the character of the horseman and the object of his +mission. The symbol is one of great dignity--a living, intelligent +agent--drawn from civil and military life. For the same reason as given +before, we must go out of the department of civil life into the history +of religious affairs to find its fulfilment. + +Notice, also, the peculiar characteristics of this horseman and wherein +he differs from that of the first seal. The color of the horse is red, +denoting something very different from the peace, purity, and benignity +of the white. Instead of gaining glorious spiritual conquests and +triumphs, like him of the first seal, he was to take peace from the +earth. In the place of a victor's crown, he possesses "a great sword" +with which to kill, denoting an agent of great destruction. + +Where shall we look in the history of religious affairs to find the +object that meets the requirements of this symbol? Who were the active, +intelligent agents that appeared as the great opposers of the +establishment of Christianity by the rider of the white horse? We find +the answer undoubtedly in the propagators of the _Pagan religions_. As +soon as Christianity began to gain a foothold in the Roman Empire, the +priests and supporters of Paganism were exasperated to the last degree, +and they determined to crush out the Christian religion. An example of +Pagan opposition is found in the nineteenth chapter of Acts, where it is +recorded that the preaching of the gospel so stirred the people of +Ephesus that they were filled with wrath and for the space of about two +hours cried out, saying, "Great is Diana of the Ephesians!" This great +conflict between Christianity and Paganism will be more fully described +under other symbols in a subsequent chapter, therefore I will make this +description brief. + +The destruction of life brought about by this rider of the red horse +doubtless signifies the great slaughter of the Christians at the hands +of the Pagans. During ten seasons of severe persecution, which occurred +under the reigns of the emperors Nero, Domitian, Trajan, Marcus +Aurelius, Septimus Severus, Maximus, Decius, Gallus, Valerian, and +Diocletian, the Christians suffered every indignity that their +relentless persecutors could heap upon them. They had their eyes burned +out with red-hot irons; they were dragged about with ropes until life +was extinct; they were beheaded, stoned to death, crucified, thrown to +wild beasts, burned at the stake; yet "they overcame by the blood of the +Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives +unto the death." Chap. 12:11. + +It may appear at first that taking the rider of the horse as a symbolic +agent but the killing which he effected as literal, is an inconsistency +and a variation from the laws of symbolic language; but such is not +necessarily the case. One principle laid down in the beginning was, that +the description of an object or event must necessarily be literal when +no symbolic object could be found to analagously represent it. The +destruction of human life could not well be represented symbolically, +there being no destruction analagous to it whose meaning would be +obvious; hence it must appear as a literal description. This is proved +by many texts in the Revelation that will admit of no other application; +such as verses 9-11 of this chapter; chapter 13:10; 17:6; etc. + +But the literal destruction of life may be chosen as a symbol to +represent a destruction to which it is plainly analagous; such as the +destruction of spiritual life, the overthrow of the civil or +ecclesiastical institutions of society, etc. That it is sometimes +employed thus as a symbol will be shown clearly in subsequent chapters. +Hence, in every instance where killing men is the work of a symbolic +agent, the context, or general series of events with which it is +connected, must determine whether the literal or symbolical +signification is intended. In the present prophecy under consideration +it is much more consistent to give it the literal application; for the +devotees of Paganism did not destroy the spiritual life of the church, +which would be an analagous killing; neither did they succeed in +overthrowing the structure of Christianity. + + 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. + +This symbol is also that of a horseman, differing from the preceding +ones only in his characteristics. He is seated upon a black horse, +denoting something dark or appalling in its nature, the very opposite of +that of the first seal. He possesses no bow nor crown, but instead he +has a pair of balances in his hand for weighing food. This he deals out +only at exorbitant prices--"a measure of wheat for a penny, and three +measures of barley for a penny." The penny, or denarius, is equal to +about fifteen cents of our money, and was the ordinary wages of a day +laborer. In the parable of our Lord recorded in Mat. 20, the householder +is represented as hiring laborers for a penny a day to labor in his +vineyard. The measure, or _choenix_, of wheat was the usual daily +allowance of food for a man. So according to the rate given, it would +require a day's labor to supply food sufficient for one man, which shows +an enormous price placed upon these necessaries of life. In ordinary +times the penny would procure about twenty measures of wheat instead of +one, and fifty or sixty measures of barley instead of three. Surely this +represents famine prices. + +The expression "see thou hurt not the oil and the wine" seems to have +some direct connection with the exorbitant schedule of food rates. The +following facts of history, as recorded by Lord, will serve to make the +matter clear: "The taxes required in the Roman empire, to sustain the +court and civil service, the army and desolating wars, and the hungry +brood of office-holders, as well as to provide largesses to the +soldiers, were excessive in the extreme, so as to prove an almost +insupportable burden to the people. The ordinary and economical expenses +of the government were great; but when we take into view that during a +period of seventy-two years previous to Diocletian, there were +twenty-six individuals who held the imperial crown, besides a great +number of unsuccessful aspirants, and that each of these must secure the +favor of the army and the people by large donations of money, we may +well conceive that the taxes and exactions laid to raise the needed +amount must have proved a crushing burden. They were so great as +sometimes to strip men of their wealth and reduce them to poverty. These +were laid upon everything that could be brought into service. Nothing +was too insignificant to escape.... The taxes might be paid in money, or +in produce, grain, fruit, oil, or whatever else it might be;... The +exactions were so excessive that the people were led to avoid them in +every possible mode, as men always will under such circumstances." Once +in fifteen years, a Roman indiction, an assessor would go round to levy +upon the products of the soil, and the assessment was made according to +the amount of the yield. One method adopted to secure a lower assessment +at this time was that of mutilating their fruit trees and vines. We find +among the Roman laws severe enactments against such as "feign poverty, +or cut a vine, or stint the fruit of a tree" in order to avoid a fair +valuation, and the penalty attached was the death of the offender and +the confiscation of all his property. The fact that this law existed +shows that the offense was committed and also that the exactions of the +government must have been of the most oppressive kind. + +With these facts before us it is easy to discern the nature of the +symbol, being that of a Roman magistrate prepared to enforce his severe +exactions upon the people at the exorbitant rate of three measures of +wheat for a penny and three measures of barley for a penny, accompanied +by the solemn injunction, "See thou hurt not the oil and the wine," that +is, the olive-trees and the vines. + +It is evident that we must, as before, go out of the department of civil +and military life into the realm of ecclesiastical history to find the +true fulfilment of this symbol. The black color of the horse would +denote something directly opposite to that of the first seal; and since +the symbol of the first seal represented the establishment of the pure +gospel of Jesus Christ, this symbol must represent the great apostasy +and spiritual darkness that covered the world at a later period. And if +the horseman of the first seal represented the chosen ministry who went +forth in a glorious mission to win trophies of grace, the horseman of +this seal must represent _an apostate ministry_, possessing power and +authority to enforce the severest exactions upon the bread of life, thus +producing a desolating spiritual famine. + +This marvelous change from the humble apostolic ministry to an apostate +one did not occur suddenly, but by degrees; and as it has a great +bearing upon other lines of truth to be brought out in subsequent +chapters, it will be profitable to consider the most important steps by +which this transformation was effected. + +When the desire for precedence or superiority first manifested itself +among the disciples, Christ repressed it (Mat. 20:25, 26), and it +appeared no more in their midst; but before the close of the first +century it is evident that a thirst for preeminence existed in the +hearts of some who had been the servants of the church. An example of +this is to be found in Diotrephes, who exalted himself above his +ministerial associates. The Apostle John says concerning him: "I wrote +unto the church: but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence +among them, receiveth us not. Wherefore if I come, I will remember his +deeds which he doeth, prating against us with malicious words: and not +content therewith, neither doth he himself receive the brethren, and +forbiddeth them that would, and casteth them out of the church." 3 John +9, 10. + +In the historical extracts given in the explanation of the first +horseman, it is clear that the first ministers were all equal; but a +time came about the close of the first century when the most influential +among the clergy grasped the power and exalted themselves to a position +of authority over the rest. The manner in which this transformation was +effected is explained by the learned Gieseler as follows: "After the +death of the apostles, and the pupils of the apostles, to whom the +general direction of the churches had always been conceded, some one +amongst the presbyters of each church was suffered gradually to take the +lead in its affairs. In the same irregular way the title of _bishop_ was +appropriated to the first presbyter." Eccl. Hist., Vol. I, p. 65. In the +days when the apostles were active in the affairs of the church there +were but two classes in the ministry--elders, or bishops, and deacons; +but when one of the presbyters was exalted to a higher position than the +rest and assumed to himself the exclusive use of the word bishop, there +were three classes. To quote the words of Geo. P. Fisher: "After we +cross the limit of the first century we find that with each board of +elders there is a person to whom the name of bishop is specially +applied, although, for a long time, he is likewise often called a +presbyter. In other words, in the room of a two-fold, we have a +three-fold ministry." Hist. of the Christian Church, p. 51. + +The height to which the single bishop of authority in a church had been +exalted is well illustrated in the Ignatian Epistles. Ignatius was +bishop of Antioch and was condemned by the emperor Trajan to suffer +death by being thrown to the wild beasts in the amphitheatre in Rome. +His execution in this manner took place Dec. 20, A.D. 107. He wrote a +number of epistles, a few extracts from which I will give. "Wherefore it +is fitting that ye should run together in accordance with the will of +your bishop, which thing also ye do. For your justly renowned +presbytery, worthy of God, is fitted as exactly to the bishop as the +strings are to the harp." To the Ephesians, Chap. 4. "See that ye all +follow the bishop, even as Jesus Christ does the Father.... Let no man +do anything connected with the church without the bishop." To the +Smyrnaean's, Chap. 8. "It is not lawful without the bishop either to +baptize or to celebrate a love-feast; but whatsoever he shall approve +of, that is also pleasing to God." Smyrnaean's, Chap. 8. "It is well to +reverence both God and the bishop. He who honors the bishop has been +honored of God; but he who does anything without the knowledge of the +bishop, does [in reality] serve the devil." Smyrnaean's, Chap. 9. + +The power of these bishops advanced steadily during the second century. +The churches of the cities where they were located extended themselves +into the surrounding country and smaller towns, and the presbyters or +elders of these inferior churches were presided over by the bishop of +their mother church, and in this manner the great system of diocesan +episcopacy was developed.[3] + +[Footnote 3: The ancient signification of the term _diocese_ must not be +confounded with the modern usage of the term. It then designated a +territory or district, usually containing a number of minor churches, +presided over by one bishop.] + +In the latter part of the second century when the disputes concerning +Easter and Montanism arose, the custom of diocesan bishops consulting +with each other on important doctrines began, and this developed in the +third century into regular provincial synods, or councils. On account of +the ecclesiastical or political importance of the cities in which they +were located, certain bishops had a special deference given them, and +they were not slow to take advantage of the opportunity to exalt +themselves to the presidency of these councils; and in a very short time +they possessed immense power and constituted entirely a separate order, +designated by the term metropolitan. + +The manner in which this important step in the great apostasy was taken +and the effects produced thereby is well described in the words of the +historian Mosheim (referring to events of the third century), from whom +I quote: "In process of time, all the Christian churches of a province +were formed into one large ecclesiastical body, which, like confederate +states, assembled at certain times, in order to deliberate about the +common interests of the whole.... These councils ... _changed the whole +face of the church_, and gave it a new form; for by them the ancient +privileges of the people were considerably diminished, and the power and +authority of the bishops greatly augmented.... At their first appearance +in these general councils, they acknowledged that they were no more than +the delegates of their respective churches, and that they acted in the +name, and by the appointment of their people. But they soon changed this +humble tone, imperceptibly extended the limits of their authority, +turned their influence into dominion, and their councils into laws; and +openly asserted, at length, that Christ had empowered them to prescribe +to his people, _authoritative rules of faith and manners_.... The order +and decency of these assemblies required that some one of the provincial +bishops met in council, should be invested with a _superior_ degree of +power and authority; and hence the rights of _metropolitans_ derive +their origin."--Church History, Cent. II, Part 2. + +When a usurping clergy grasps the power to prescribe "authoritative +rules of faith and manners," to employ the words of Mosheim, we may well +conceive that the true amount of pure spiritual food was exceedingly +small and could be procured only at starvation rates. He who reads the +ecclesiastical events of the third century will find it only too true +that many of the cardinal virtues of apostolic Christianity were almost +lost sight of and that a great spiritual famine existed in the earth +over which this dark horseman of the third seal careered. Instead of +salvation through the Spirit of God being carefully taught, baptismal +regeneration was exalted, and the people were instructed in the saving +virtues of the eucharist. The Platonic idea concerning sin having its +seat in the flesh was adopted, and therefore perfect victory or +sanctification was made to consist in the mortification of the natural +appetites and desires of the body, with the result that a life of +fasting, celibacy, or self-inflicted torture was looked upon as the +surest means of obtaining the favor of Heaven. The writings of such +eminent church Fathers as Tertullian, Origen, Cyprian and others now +lying before me, contain the surest evidences of the woeful extent to +which this dark cloud of superstition and error had settled down over +the world during the period of which I write. + + 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 usual interpretation given this horse and its rider is to apply it +to the desolating wars and famines that occurred in the Roman Empire. +This view is embodied in the celebrated painting "Death on the Pale +Horse," in which death is represented as going forth with war, +pestilence, famine, and wild beasts, to ravage the Roman empire. We are +informed by historians that dreadful pestilences and famines did prevail +and in some places nearly depopulated the country, and that the +remaining inhabitants could not make head against the beasts that +multiplied in the land. But the fact that such events occurred is not +sufficient proof that this symbol has reference to such. Famines and +pestilences may have occurred many times without forming a part of the +Apocalyptic vision. + +The greatest objection to giving this part of the vision such a literal +interpretation is, that it fails to bring out its symbolic character. To +what, then, does it refer? We have, as before, a horseman, indicating +that the agent is one of the same general character, differing mainly in +his features and mission. This horse was of a livid, cadaverous hue, +denoting an agent of ghastly, terrible nature. The living rider bore the +awful name of "Death," or as in the original, "The Death," by way of +emphasis. Death literally was not the agent--it is not so stated--but +the rider was termed The Death, or The Destroyer, because of his +terrible mission; and Hell followed with him. + +Applying the laws of symbolic language as heretofore, it is evident that +this symbol represents a great persecuting ecclesiastical power. And +with this thought before us, we can scarcely fail to recognize it as a +true description of _the Papacy_. The great apostasy, described under +the preceding seal, prepared the way for the final and complete +establishment of the "man of sin"; but during the period there brought +to view the ministers of religion, power-seeking and apostate as they +were, were unable to enforce their claims by the power of persecution. +Under the present seal, however, is represented a later stage of their +corruption, when a great hierarchal system, sustained and upheld by the +arm of civil power, was able to bear tyrannical rule over a great +portion of the earth. During this period clerical ambition and +usurpation reached its greatest height. + +After speaking of the power possessed by the metropolitans, Mosheim +says: "The universal church had now the appearance of one vast republic, +formed by a combination of a great number of little states. This +occasioned the creation of a new order of ecclesiastics, who were +appointed in different parts of the world, as _heads_ of the church, and +whose office it was to preserve the consistence and union of that +immense body, whose members were so widely dispersed throughout the +nations. Such was the nature and office of the Patriarchs." Church +History, Cent. II, part 2. + +Thus, the bishops, or metropolitans, of certain of the most important +cities were exalted to a still higher position as special _heads_ of the +church. They were termed _Exarchs_ at first, after the title of the +provincial governors, but afterwards received the more ecclesiastical +appellation _Patriarchs_. The term Patriarch had been in use for a long +time in the church signifying merely a bishop, irrespective of the +dignity he possessed, but it was finally limited to this higher class of +the clergy, in which sense I now employ it. The cities that first +enjoyed this chief distinction were Alexandria, Rome, and Antioch. The +general council of Nice (A.D. 325) in its sixth canon recognized the +superior authority already possessed by these cities. See D'Aubigne's +Hist, of Reformation, Vol. I, p. 41. The general council of +Constantinople in its third canon placed the bishop of Constantinople in +the same rank with the other three Patriarchs; and the general council +of Calcedon exalted the See of Jerusalem to a similar dignity, doubtless +because of its ancient importance as the birthplace of Christianity. +Thus, Patriarchs were established in the five political capitals of the +Roman empire; and they were considered the "_heads of the church_," +having spiritual authority over the whole empire. These were the only +Patriarchates of importance. Certain ecclesiastics of the Church of Rome +even at the present time bear the honorary title Patriarch; but, to +quote the words of the Encyclopaedia Britannica, "In a strictly technical +sense, however, that church recognizes only five Patriarchates, those of +Constantinople, Alexandria, Jerusalem, Antioch, and Rome." Art. +Patriarch. In the years 637 to 640 Jerusalem, Alexandria, and Antioch +fell into the hands of the Saracen followers of Mohammed, which +terminated their importance, and later the Greek schism separated the +Patriarch of Constantinople from Rome; and thus the Patriarch of Rome +was left in undisputed possession of the field and was soon recognized +as universal head of the church. So under the symbol of this dread rider +on a pale horse is portrayed the great hierarchal system by which the +Papacy was fully developed in the West. + +It is fitting that we notice particularly the agents of destruction +employed by this rider. He possesses a sword with which to kill--the +same instrument wielded by the rider of the red horse--but it is evident +that he uses it with more terrific energy, by reason of which he +receives the name Death, or The Destroyer. It is possible, also, that in +this case a sword, wielded by the hand of an ecclesiastical power, may +be used as a symbol of a spiritual cutting off, or excommunication. The +sword of excommunication has been the most terrible ever wielded by +human hand. When this pale horseman was careering over the world in the +zenith of his power, excommunication and interdiction were the terror of +individuals and the scourge of nations. At his word the rights of an +individual as king, ruler, husband or father, nay, even as a _man_, were +forfeited, and he was shunned like one infected with the leprosy. At his +command the offices of religion were suspended in a nation, and its dead +lay unburied, until its proud ruler humbled himself at the feet of the +ecclesiastical tyrant who bore rule over the "fourth part of the +earth."[4] + +[Footnote 4: This tyranny of the Popes is well illustrated by the +quarrel that took place between Hildebrand (Pope Gregory VII.) and Henry +IV. of Germany. Gregory attempted to make certain reforms, but Henry +refused to recognize those innovations. Gregory excommunicated the +emperor, with the result that he was "shunned as a man accursed by +Heaven." His authority lost and his kingdom on the point of going to +pieces, Henry had but one thing to do--seek the pardon of the Pope. He +found the Pontiff at Canoosa, but Gregory refused to admit the penitent +to his presence. "It was winter, and for three successive days the king, +clothed in sackcloth, stood with bare feet in the snow of the court-yard +of the palace, waiting for permission to kneel at the feet of the +Pontiff and to receive forgiveness." On the fourth day he was granted +admittance to the presence of the Pope. + +During the Pontificate of Innocent III. Philip Augustus, king of France, +put away his wife. Innocent commanded him to take her back and forced +submission by means of an interdict. This submission of a brave, firm, +and victorious prince shows the tremendous power wielded by the Popes in +that period. + +The manner, also, in which Innocent III. humbled King John of England +affords another illustration of the power of the Popes. John caused the +vacant See of Canterbury to be filled, in accordance with the regular +manner of election, by one of his favorites. Innocent declared the +appointment void, as he desired that the place should be filled by one +of his friends. John refused to allow the Pope's archbishop to enter +England as Primate. Innocent then excommunicated John, laid all England +under an interdict, and incited Philip, king of France, to war, offering +him John's kingdom upon the very liberal condition that he go over and +take it. The outcome of the matter was that John was compelled to yield +to the power of the Pope. He even gave him England as a perpetual fief, +and agreed to pay the Papal See the annual sum of one thousand marks.] + +The loss of life by spiritual famine was extreme. The Word of God, which +is spirit and life to God's people (Jno. 6:63), was laid under interdict +and the common people deprived of its benefits. At the time the black +horse appeared, a little food could be obtained at famine prices; but +when the fourth arrived, he was empowered to kill "with hunger." Also, +one of his agents of destruction was death, or pestilence, a fit symbol +of false and blasphemous doctrines breathed forth like a deadly +pestilence blasting everything within its reach. Invocation of saints, +worship of images, relics, celibacy, works of supererogation, +indulgences, and purgatory--these were the enforced principles of +religion, and like a pest they settled down upon the people everywhere. + +This rider also brought into operation "the beasts of the earth" to aid +him in his destructive work. To kill with sword or hunger shows that +such work of destruction is performed solely by him who has it in his +power; but to kill with beasts indicates that _they_ perform the deadly +work according _to their own natures_. Nothing is clearer than the fact +that wild beasts stand as a symbol of persecuting tyrannical +governments; hence we are to understand that this rider was to employ +also the arm of civil power to aid him in the deadly work. How +strikingly this represents the historical facts of the case! In all +truly Roman Catholic countries the civil governments were only a cipher +or tool in the hands of the church, and the ecclesiastics were the real +rulers of the kingdom. But whenever any dark work of persecution was to +be performed, the wild beast was let loose to accomplish the result. +When charged, however, with the bloody work, the Catholics always +answer, "Oh, we _never persecute_--don't you see, it is the wild beasts +that are covered with gore--our hands are clean," yet they themselves +held the chain that bound the savage monsters. We shall have occasion in +a subsequent chapter to trace further the pathway of this dread rider as +he reels onward in the career of ages, "drunken with the blood of the +saints." + +This work of destruction performed by the dread rider on the pale horse +is considered by many as a literal description of the persecutions of +the Papacy. While Catholics usually charge the civil powers with this +bloody work, it is an undeniable fact of history that the Popes often +ordered or sanctioned crusades against the Waldenses, Albigenses, and +other peoples (see remarks on verses 9-11, chap. 17:6), in which the +sword, starvation, and every other means of cruelty imaginable were +brought into use to exterminate the so-called heresy. And in view of the +fact explained in the comments on verses 3 and 4 of this chapter, that +_killing_ is sometimes to be understood in a literal sense on account of +there being nothing to analagously represent such destruction of life, +it is not a violation of the laws of symbolic language thus to interpret +it. It might be consistent in this case to give it a twofold +application; the agreeing facts of history regarding the Papacy strongly +suggest it. Thus, the _sword_ could signify a literal destruction of +life, as in verse 4, and also, in the present case, an ecclesiastical +cutting off by the Papacy, or excommunication; and _hunger_ could +signify literal death by starvation, and also, as in verses 5 and 6, a +destruction of spiritual life, etc. + +Where, let me ask, in the whole compass of human writings can be found a +series of events of such thrilling interest, so great in magnitude, as +is contained in these eight verses? Who but the Omnipotent could have +conceived such a wonderful development of the power of iniquity and with +such master-strokes of power compressed them into so small a scene of +symbolic imagery? The impress of divinity is here speaking from every +line. + + 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 fellowservants also and their brethren, that + should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled. + +Upon the opening of this seal the scene changes entirely. No more +horsemen appear, but instead the souls of the martyrs are seen at the +altar crying for vindication of their blood upon the cruel oppressors of +earth. The question arises, Are these souls symbols of something else, +or are they what they are here stated to be, "the souls of them that +were slain"? Evidently, the latter, appearing under their own name and +character, because they can not properly be symbolized. They were +disembodied spirits, and where is there anything of analagous character +to represent such? Angels can not; for whenever they are employed as +symbols, it is to designate distinguished agencies among men. They +therefore appear under their own appropriate title as "the _souls_ of +them that were slain." + +These souls appeared "under the altar," that is, _at the foot of the +altar_, being the same as that described in chap. 8:3--"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." Thus, the +heavenly world, as opened up before John, appeared symbolized after the +sanctuary of the temple in which stood the golden altar, or altar of +incense. Some have supposed that the brazen altar was the one referred +to, signifying the living sacrifice these souls made of themselves to +God. But there is no altar mentioned in the symbols except the golden +altar. Besides, these were not sacrificial victims; for Christ was made +a complete sacrifice for sin, while these only suffered martyrdom +because of their faithfulness to the cause of Christ. It is much more +reasonable to suppose that their interceding cries went up from the +golden altar, where the "prayers of all saints" ascended with much +incense. + +Their prayers to God for the avenging of their blood shows the +expectation on their part that the judgments of Heaven would descend +upon the cruel and haughty persecutors and oppressors of earth, and +their surprise was that the day of retribution had been so long delayed. +The history of the church as developed under the preceding seals gives +particular force to this cry of the martyrs. For nearly three centuries +the civil power of Pagan Rome had been employed to crush the cause of +God. During ten terrible seasons of persecution they had been crucified, +slain with the sword, sawn asunder, devoured by beasts in the arena, and +given to the flames. When Constantine, a nominal Christian emperor, +ascended the throne and protected religion by law, it was believed that +persecutions must cease; but soon the discovery was made that the sword +had only changed hands, there having risen an ecclesiastical hierarchy +destined to "glut itself upon the blood of which heathen Rome had only +tasted." The world was now made the arena for the terrible coursings of +the pale horseman, and the "beasts of the earth" were let loose to fall +with savage fury upon their helpless victims, until millions lost their +lives at the instigation of the apostate Church of Rome. Is it any +wonder that the souls of these martyrs should cry unto God for the +vindication of their righteous blood? + +It is said that "white robes were given unto every one of them." By +referring to chap. 3:4; 7:9, 13, 14, it will be seen that "white +garments" and "white robes" are sometimes used as a symbol to describe a +part of the heavenly inheritance. The martyr-spirits, although impatient +at the delay of avenging judgment, received a righteous reward. But the +period of tribulation to the church was not yet over. The cup of +iniquity in the hands of her enemies was not yet full, and they were +told to "rest for a little season, until their fellowservants also, and +their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be +fulfilled." The account given seems to indicate an important epoch, a +period in which the martyrs had reason to expect the vindication of +their righteous blood, but which, instead, was to be followed by another +great period of persecution. Considering the time of the events already +described in this series of prophecy, we have no difficulty in fixing +the chronology of this event at the dividing-point between the era of +Papal supremacy and the age of Protestantism--or at the Reformation of +the Sixteenth Century. Did severe slaughter and persecution follow the +Reformation? Witness the reign of Mary Tudor, frequently styled "Bloody +Mary." During three years of her reign, 1555 to 1558, two hundred and +eighty-eight were _burnt alive_ in England! Think of the inhuman +massacre of the innocent Waldenses of southern France by the violent +bigot Oppede (1545), who slew eight hundred men in one town, and thrust +the women into a barn filled with straw and reduced the whole to +ashes--only a sample of his barbarity; or of their oppression in +southern Italy by Pope Pius IV. (1560), at whose command they were slain +by thousands, the throats of eighty-eight men being cut on one occasion +by a single executioner! Witness the horrible massacre of St. +Bartholomew in Paris (Aug. 21, 1572), when the Queen dowager, the +infamous Catherine de Medici, lured immense numbers of the innocent +Hugenots into the city under the pretext of witnessing a marriage +between the Hugenot Henry, king of Navarre, and the sister of Charles +IX., king of France--when the gates were closed and the work of +wholesale slaughter began at a given signal and raged for three days, +during which time from six to ten thousand were butchered in Paris +alone! Think of the rivers of blood in the Netherlands, where the Duke +of Alva boasted that in the short space of six weeks he had put eighteen +thousand to death! Witness the dragoonading methods and other inhuman +persecutions to "wear out the saints of the Most High," that followed +the revocation of the Edict of Nantes (1685) by Louis XIV., king of +France, during whose reign three hundred thousand were brutally +butchered--while Pope Innocent XI. extolled the king by special letter +as follows: "The Catholic church shall most assuredly record in her +sacred annals a _work of such devotion toward her_, and CELEBRATE YOUR +NAME WITH NEVER-DYING PRAISES ... for _this most excellent +undertaking_"!! My heart sickens with horror in the contemplation of +such events. Eternal God! can thy righteous eye behold such +heart-rending scenes of earth, and thy hand of power not be extended to +humble to the dust these cruel, haughty oppressors of thy people? + + 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? + +Upon the opening of this seal the scene changes again. The symbols are +all drawn from an entirely different source. We are taken out of the +department of civil life into the scenes of nature, which is a clear +evidence that the history of the church is no longer under +consideration. Had God intended to here continue her history, he would +no doubt have employed symbols derived from the same source as those +preceding, so as to prevent our being led astray. No more horsemen or +living characters appear, but we behold the most terrific convulsions of +nature--a mighty earthquake, the darkening of the sun and the moon, the +falling of the stars, and finally the dissolution of the heavens, +together with the mountains and the islands being removed. If the +history of the church is no longer under consideration, this great +change of symbols directs us with absolute certainty into the political +and civil world for their fulfilment. Of course, we are not to suppose +that this is a literal description. + +In this manner the dignity and the excellence in the use and the +interpretation of symbols is preserved. To describe the religious +history of the church, noble symbols chosen from the department of human +life are selected; while symbols drawn from an inferior department--that +of nature--are chosen to represent political affairs. This point will +appear very clear as we proceed in the interpretation of the Apocalypse. +It is just what we might naturally expect. + +The question may be asked, If these symbols from nature represent +political affairs, where in the events of civil history shall we look +for their fulfilment? Every one will readily perceive the analogy +between an earthquake and a political revolution, when all society is in +a state of agitation as when the solid earth trembles. It is also +evident that the sun, moon, and stars bear the same analagous +relationship to the earth that kings, rulers, and princes do to the body +politic; while the firmament of heaven is analagous to the entire fabric +of civil government, the symbolic heaven in which the symbolic orbs are +set to give light. + +The symbols, then, point us to the most terrible revolutions--when +society is in a state of agitation, when kingdoms are overthrown and +their rulers and princes thrown from their positions or made objects of +the most gloomy terror; yea, when the entire fabric of civil government +is finally overthrown and all the institutions and organizations of +society are swept away as with a tornado. This is the time of +consternation to the great men of earth, when they shall hide +"themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains," and say 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: for the +great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?" This is +the time that the martyrs looked forward to when they cried, "How long, +O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them +that dwell on the earth?" A large portion of the Apocalypse is occupied +with the history of these persecuting powers, civil and ecclesiastical. +It is their dominacy that constitutes the long period of tribulation to +the church, when the witnesses prophesy in sackcloth and the faithful +are ground into the dust by the feet of these proud oppressors as they +stand in the high places of the earth. But the cries of the slaughtered +saints have ascended to the throne as incense; God speaks; the judgments +of Heaven descend upon these lofty ones; and a voice from heaven +declares, "They have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and _thou +hast given them blood to drink_; for they are worthy." + +This is surely a striking combination of symbols, and the way they are +arranged would indicate that their fulfilment occupied a considerable +period of time. First we have a great earthquake, afterwards the +darkening of the sun and the moon, with the falling of the stars, and +finally the dissolution of the heavens themselves, with the sweeping +away of mountains and islands. This description covers the same period +as that described under the seven last plagues, beginning with certain +fearful revolutions in which the nations that had slaughtered the +millions of God's people were given "blood to drink," and ending finally +in "the great day of his wrath" that shall sweep them from their +positions eternally. The full explanation of these events can not at +present be appreciated by the reader, therefore I reserve it for the +future, to be more fully developed under other symbols. + +In these six seals we have a vivid outline of mighty events, political +and ecclesiastical, extending from the earliest stage of Christianity to +the end of time. This description in advance was no mere human +production. No human foresight would have detected, and no mortal mind +would have conceived, events so wonderful and so farreaching in their +character. Any other history would sooner have been imagined. It takes +divine wisdom to understand the true position of the church in the +present, and she can scarcely read her past history by natural wisdom +alone, much less outline the future. First the establishment of +Christianity is symbolized, then the violence of the Pagan party, the +apostasy, and final establishment of the "man of sin," until the +millions of earth are crushed by the spiritual tyranny or by the arm of +civil power, and the cry of the martyrs goes up "How long, O Lord?" But +they are told to rest "a little season," when they shall witness the +hand of God laid upon these persecuting nations of earth, convulsing +them in the most fearful revolutions, and ending finally in their +complete overthrow in that last "great day of God Almighty." + + + + +CHAPTER VII. + + + 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. + + 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. + +A clear understanding of the two visions in the chapter before us can be +obtained only by considering the plan of the prophecy already referred +to. The events are narrated by series. A particular theme is taken up +and followed through to its completion; then the narrative returns and +another theme is introduced. But this is not all. Whenever the history +of abounding error or iniquity is set forth, we have in immediate +connection and in perfect contrast therewith a history of the true +people of God; thus, the contemporaneous history of righteousness and +iniquity, truth and error, a true church and a false one. The visions of +this chapter cover the same period of time as the events described in +the preceding chapter, but form the most perfect contrast. The student +of Revelation who unfolds the dark history of apostasy and iniquity +contained in the preceding seals might naturally be led to ask, Is this +the melancholy end of God's church? Does it deteriorate rapidly and turn +out so badly, after all? As an answer to these questions, God gives us +next a history of his own people, showing that he preserved his own +church complete, although Antichrist reigned in power. + +The principal points in the vision before us are the tempestuous winds +about to descend upon the earth, and the sealing of God's servants. The +first of these, being drawn from nature, would lead us to look for its +fulfilment in political events; while the latter, derived from human +life, directs us into the affairs of the church. The "four winds of the +earth" from the "four corners of the earth" signify all the winds from +every direction--the cardinal points of the compass; while the four +angels signify all the agencies that have control of these winds, which +for the present are held in restraint in order to give opportunity for +the sealing of the Lord's servants. _Angels_ in the Scripture is +frequently used to denote evil agencies as well as good, the context +determining which is meant. See Chap. 12:7. The design of the winds was +to "hurt the earth, the sea, and the trees." + +What, let me ask, in the political world is analagous to tempestuous +storms sweeping over the earth? What but huge masses of men, excited by +fierce passions, precipitating themselves upon the inhabitants of an +empire, sweeping everything before them in the fury of their march and +spreading desolation on every side? In the symbols of the next chapter +we find that just such hordes of men--barbarians--under their angels, or +leaders, precipitated themselves upon the Roman empire; and the fearful +effects upon the earth, the sea, and the green trees produced thereby, +is particularly detailed. For the present, however, they are held under +restraint until the sealing of the servants of God should be +accomplished, then they were to go forward in their work of destruction. + +The sealing of the servants is not making them the people of God, but +rather marking or designating them as such, just as later we find the +devotees of a corrupt apostate church specified as having the "mark of +the beast." Considerable light can be thrown upon the subject of the +sealing of God's servants and of the mark of the beast by consulting +Roman history for the origin of such expressions. The many conquests of +the Roman arms furnished so many prisoners that they became a drug in +the slave-markets of the world, and were so numerous that in many places +they outnumbered the Roman citizens ten to one. In the first century +before Christ it is said that some Sicilian estates were worked by as +many as twenty thousand slaves. "That each owner might know his own, the +poor creatures were _branded like cattle_." The "mark of the beast" +possessed by the followers of a false communion will be found to consist +of an Antichristian spirit by which they are filled with "doctrines of +devils." So, also, "the seal of the living God" consists of the giving +of the Holy Spirit, by which his people are led into all truth. See John +14:26. While Sabbatarians vainly try to prove that keeping the seventh +day is the seal of God in this dispensation, yet there is not one text +of Scripture that hints such a thing, but, on the contrary, the +Scriptures are against them. "Grieve not the _Holy Spirit_ of God +whereby _ye are sealed_ unto the day of redemption." Eph. 4:30. Again, +the Word of God says, "Now he which stablished us with you in Christ, +and hath anointed us is God; who hath also sealed us, and given the +earnest of the Spirit in our hearts." 2 Cor. 1:21, 22. The time this +sealing of the people of God takes place is thus described: "_After_ +that ye believed, ye were _sealed_ with that Holy Spirit of promise." +Eph. 1:13. The winds of heaven were restrained until the work of _full +salvation_ could be firmly established in the earth. When Christ +appeared, the Roman empire was in a state of comparative quiet, and the +immense hosts of foreign invaders did not appear until the firm +establishment of Christianity, being held back by the power of God until +his work should be accomplished. + +In the description of the sealing given, twelve thousand were selected +from each of the twelve tribes. Some have supposed this to have +reference solely to salvation work among the Jewish nation; but that +would be adopting the literal mode of interpretation, thus destroying +its symbolic character. The twelve tribes are chosen from the proper +department to represent the church or "Israel of God" in this +dispensation, irrespective of nationality. The twelve gates in the wall +of the heavenly city are named after the twelve tribes of the children +of Israel (chap. 21:12), showing that it is only through "Israel" that +any one can enter the New Jerusalem. Since the gospel is given to all +nations, this can not signify literal Israel. "The children of the +promise are counted for the seed." Rom. 9:8. "If ye be Christ's, then +are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." Gal. 3:29. +Since the vision is symbolical, we are to consider the numbers given as +symbolical also, the definite number of twelve thousand from each of the +tribes showing that the church of God was _complete and perfect_, no +part being omitted. + + 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. + + 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 them unto living mountains of waters: and + God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. + +In this scene the vision is carried forward to the close of the long +period of tribulation and persecution to the church of God, when all her +enemies are finally overthrown; and here are the glorious results, the +harvest gathered: a great multitude whom no man can number, gathered out +of all nations, and kindreds, and peoples, and tongues, standing before +the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in +their hands, the symbols of their victory. The scene is laid in heaven, +and refers undoubtedly to the end of time when the heavenly world will +be opened up to all the faithful who have suffered for Christ amid the +trials and the oppositions through which his church is called to pass in +this present world. We are expressly informed by one of the elders who +these are in white robes and whence they came, so there can be no +question respecting them. This is the glorious company of the redeemed +of all ages who "came out of great tribulation, and have washed their +robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore they are +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. They shall hunger +no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, +nor any heat." What a contrast with the scenes of earth, when oppressed +by famine, and cold, and nakedness, and peril, and sword, they were +killed all the day long! But their sufferings are over; "for 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." + +This redeemed company is represented as uniting in a song of praise and +thanksgiving to God for bringing them through their long period of +trial, "saying Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and +unto the Lamb"; while heaven resounds with universal praise as the +angels and all the redeemed host take up the chorus and swell the mighty +anthem "saying, Amen; blessing, and glory, and wisdom and thanksgiving, +and honor, and power, and might be unto our God forever and ever. Amen." + +It is clear that, in this chapter and the one preceding, we have two +grand parallel and comprehensive histories--in one, the process of +corruption in the so-called church and the final judgments that overtook +these cruel persecutors of the Lord's people; in the other, the setting +apart and sealing of God's servants, their preservation from the +contaminations of an apostate church, and the final glorious triumph of +all who endure unto the end. + +This vision has often been applied in a figurative manner to the +spiritual reign of God's people on earth before the end of time--that +they are overcomers through the blood of Christ, that God dwells with +them in his church, that their spiritual needs are all supplied so they +hunger and thirst no more--but a careful study of the plan of the +prophecy will show that its real signification is the heavenly state at +the end. As the sixth seal describes the final overthrow of all the +antichristian powers that have oppressed God's people on earth; so this +vision describes the great white-robed company gathered out of every +nation, kindred, tongue, and people, who have been preserved faithful +through all these trials and tribulations, and who receive at last the +crown of everlasting life. This last vision will be more fully described +under certain symbols contained in the last two chapters of this book; +while the earthquake, the falling of the stars, etc., of the sixth seal +will be more perfectly detailed in chapters 15 and 16. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII. + + + And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in + heaven about the space of half an hour. + + 2. And I saw the seven angels which stood before God; and to + them were given seven trumpets. + + 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. + +The remainder of the book is embraced in the contents of the seventh +seal. This may appear a little singular at first, being so much larger +than the preceding ones. But it is easily understood when we consider +the six as being a synopsis of the whole book, containing a history of +the church apostate to the final consummation, and also the +contemporaneous history of the truth church of God; while the seventh +gives in detail the account of these great persecuting powers, civil and +ecclesiastical, and the trials and triumphs of the saints in the New +Jerusalem--developing more fully the events described under the six. + +Upon the opening of the seventh seal, "there was silence in heaven about +the space of half an hour." Whether this interval of silence is intended +to be symbolical of any event on earth I do not know; neither have I +seen any solution of the matter that is consistent or satisfactory. Some +have supposed that it denoted a cessation of persecution among the +Christians of earth. But if that were the case, then its opposite, +"voices in heaven," would indicate seasons of persecution. There were +several seasons of rest from persecution enjoyed by the early saints, +and why should one period be singled out more than the rest and be thus +described? Besides, "a half hour," according to prophetic time would +signify only about one week, a period too short certainly to take +account of. Others have supposed that it signified the end of the world, +and that heaven would then be deserted for a short time while the +judgment was taking place. But the events following show that the end of +the world is not here described, therefore it can not have reference to +such. Moreover, it is extremely doubtful whether silence in heaven would +be a proper symbol of such an event. I do not perceive the analogy. In +fact, such an interpretation of _silence_ would be literal and not +symbolic. + +Its explanation would seem to be found in connection with certain facts +stated respecting the opening of the preceding seals--that voices +followed them. When the first four seals were opened, John heard the +voices of the four beasts, "as it were a voice of thunder"; and on the +opening of the fifth, he heard the souls of the martyrs crying unto God; +but when the seventh was opened, there was silence for a time. The +contrast is noticeable; but whether it has any special signification, I +am unable to say; perhaps not. + +Before the sounding of the seven trumpets, the acceptableness of the +prayers of the saints is represented by an angel offering incense "upon +the golden altar which was before the throne." This scene was doubtless +introduced to lend encouragement to God's children--that, although +iniquity abounded on every side and the judgments of God were poured out +upon the people, still the prayers of the faithful few were acceptable +in his sight, ascending before the throne like sweet incense from off +the golden altar. + +After offering up the incense with the prayers of all saints, the same +angel took his censer and filled it with fire from off the altar and +cast it (the fire) upon the earth--a token of God's avenging +judgments--"and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and +an earthquake." These, of course, were on earth, and symbolized the +revolutions and convulsions now about to take place in the empire. + + 6. And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared + themselves to sound. + + 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. + +We here enter upon a series of prophecies developing fully the +successive steps in the decline of the Western Roman empire, by which it +finally tottered to its fall. It was necessary that this persecuting, +tyrannical government should be subverted in order to give opportunity +for the establishment of apostate Christianity in the form of the +Papacy, as it constituted the "let" or hindrance to the full development +of the "man of sin" mentioned by the apostle in 2 Thes. 2. That +persecuting, Pagan Rome was a serious obstacle confronting the +development of apostasy was recognized even by the early Christians. +Thus, Tertullian, in his notable Apology, chapter 32, says: "Christians +are under a particular necessity of praying for the emperors, and for +the continued state of the empire; because we know that dreadful power +which hangs over the world, and _the conclusion of the age, which +threatens the most horrible evils, is restrained by the continuance of +the time appointed for the Roman empire_. This is what we would not +experience; and while we pray that it may be deferred, we hereby show +our good-will to the perpetuity of the Roman state." In a subsequent +chapter it will be seen that Pagan Rome, broken up into minor divisions +and no longer able to maintain her position in the political world, +resigns her power and authority into the hands of the rising Papacy. +Therefore it is not surprising that the means by which this great change +is effected should be made the subject of prophetic revelation. Besides, +we have other things to guide us in the interpretation. We can readily +identify the symbols under the fifth trumpet with the curse of +Mohammedanism in the Eastern empire, and we would naturally suppose that +the first four precede those. Again, the symbols are all drawn from the +natural world, which leads us assuredly into the political affairs of +the empire for their fulfilment. They are also of the most destructive +nature, therefore we look for objects of a corresponding desolating +character. Finally, the vision of the preceding chapter represents +fierce, destructive winds as about to descend upon the earth, being +temporarily held in check to give opportunity for the primitive +establishment of Christianity, implying that they would afterwards be +let loose to burst like a tornado upon the empire. It is said positively +that power was given "to hurt the earth and the sea" (chap. 7:2), and in +the vision before us the effects produced upon the earth and the trees +are particularly detailed. + +"The earth" signifies the Roman empire, or that portion of the earth +made the subject of apocalyptic vision. That this application of the +word _earth_ is correct, is shown by various Scriptures. "And 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. "The queen of the South +... came from the _uttermost parts of the earth_ [southern Arabia] to +hear the wisdom of Solomon." Mat. 12:42. "Ye shall be witnesses ... unto +the _uttermost part of the earth_." Acts 1:8. The apostles carried the +gospel personally, only throughout the territory of the then-known +civilized world--the Roman empire. Upon this earth there descended in +the vision before us a fierce storm of hail and fire, mingled with +blood. Its being mingled with blood would indicate its destructive +effects. One characteristic of this symbol particularly is worthy of +notice. Hail and fire cast upon the earth would become absorbed speedily +or pass into new combinations with the surrounding elements, thus not +remaining in any permanent form except in its effects. In this +particular it is wholly unlike the symbol of the next trumpet, which is +that of a burning mountain cast into the sea, for such a body would +naturally remain permanently where it fell; whereas a storm of hail and +fire would soon disappear. Also, the statement that this storm was cast +upon the earth would indicate that it was a calamity descending from +without upon the empire. + +Where, now, do we find the object that fully meets the requirements of +this symbol--destructive agents descending upon the Roman empire like a +furious storm of hail and fire, accomplishing the first important step +toward the subverting of the empire? We find it in the irruption of the +fierce Gothic tribes of the North, who, under Alaric, burst like a +tornado upon the empire about the beginning of the fifth century, +spreading destruction and desolation upon every side. + +The following quotations and facts from the highest authority on the +subject, Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (Vol. III, pp. +190-294), will give the reader an idea of the awful effects produced by +the invasions of these barbarous tribes. The great Theodosius, emperor +of the Western Roman empire, "had supported the frail and mouldering +edifice of the republic," but upon his death he was succeeded by the +weak Honorious. In a few months the Gothic barbarians were in arms. "The +barriers of the Danube were thrown down, the savage warriors of Scythia +issued from their forests ... and the various tribes of barbarians, who +glory in the Gothic name, were irregularly spread over the woody shores +of Dalmatia to the walls of Constantinople." They were "directed by the +bold and artful genius of Alaric," who soon concluded that the conquest +of Constantinople was an impracticable enterprise. He "disdained to +trample any longer on the prostrate and ruined countries of Thrace and +Dacia, and he resolved to seek a plentiful harvest of fame and riches in +a province which had hitherto escaped the ravages of war.... The troops +which had been posted to defend the straits of Thermopylae retired ... +without attempting to disturb the secure and rapid passage of Alaric; +and the fertile fields of Phocis and Baeotia were instantly covered by a +deluge of barbarians, who massacred the males of an age to bear arms, +and drove away the beautiful females, with the spoil and cattle of the +flaming villages. The travelers who visited Greece several years +afterwards, could easily discover the deep and bloody traces of the +march of the Goths.... The whole territory of Attica, from the +promontory of Sunium to the town of Megara, was blasted by his baleful +presence; and, if we may use the comparison of a contemporary +philosopher, Athens itself resembled the bleeding and empty skin of a +slaughtered victim.... Corinth, Argos, Sparta, yielded without +resistance to the arms of the Goths; and the most fortunate of the +inhabitants were saved, by death, from beholding the slavery of their +families and the conflagration of their cities." + +Arcadius, the emperor of the East, wishing to dissuade Alaric from +further conquests and such wholesale massacres, promoted him to the rank +of Master-general of the eastern Illyricum, but it had an opposite +effect. "The birth of Alaric, the glory of his past exploits, and the +confidence in his future designs, insensibly united the body of the +[Gothic] nation under his victorious standard; and, with the unanimous +consent of the barbarian chieftains, the Master-general of Illyricum was +elevated, according to the ancient custom, on a shield, and solemnly +proclaimed king of the Visigoths. Armed with this double power, situated +on the verge of the two empires, he alternately sold his deceitful +promises to the courts of Arcadius and Honorious; until he declared and +executed his resolution of _invading the dominions of the West_.... He +was tempted by the fame, the beauty, the wealth of Italy, which he had +twice visited; and he secretly aspired to plant the Gothic standard on +the walls of Rome, and to enrich his army with the accumulated spoils of +three hundred triumphs." He marched into Italy, and the emperor fled +before him. A temporary respite was finally procured by the promise of a +payment of four thousand pounds of gold. + +Alaric soon appeared, however, before the very walls of Rome, and that +splendid city, surrounded by hordes of barbarians, was soon reduced to a +wretched condition by famine. Two representatives of the Romans waited +upon Alaric for terms of peace, stating that if such could not be +arranged the inhabitants of the city, animated by despair, would fight +to the bitter end. To this the haughty conqueror made this famous reply: +"The thicker the grass, the easier it is mowed." With an insulting +laugh, he named the ransom required--all the gold and silver contained +in the city, all the rich and precious movables, together with all the +slaves. Then the ministers humbly asked, "What do you intend to leave +us?" "Your lives," the haughty king replied, and retired. He finally +relaxed a little and fixed other terms, which included the immediate +payment of the enormous sum of five thousand pounds of gold, thirty +thousand pounds of silver, besides other treasure. "The victorious +leader, who united the daring spirit of a barbarian with the art and +discipline of a Roman general, was at the head of a hundred thousand +fighting men; and Italy pronounced, with terror and respect, the +formidable name of Alaric." + +A second time Rome was besieged by Alaric and taken. Honorious was +deposed and Attalus made emperor; but Honorious was afterwards restored. +In A.D. 410 he again marched upon the city, captured and entered it. +"Eleven hundred and sixty-three years after the foundation of Rome, the +imperial city, which had subdued and civilized so considerable a part of +mankind, was delivered to the licentious fury of the tribes of Germania +and Scythia." For six days the city was sacked by the barbarous +soldiery, and the horrible scenes of robbery, murder, and rapine that +ensued can not be described. It has been said that "civilized warfare is +sufficiently terrible," but that would be almost a blessing compared +with such scenes as these. For a space of four years Alaric ravaged +Italy almost without opposition. + +The slaughter and devastation that followed this storm of "hail and +fire" is thus described: "The banks of the Rhine were crowned like those +of the Tiber, with houses and well-cultivated farms; and if a poet +descended the river, he might express his doubts on which side was +situated the territory of the Romans. This scene of peace and plenty was +suddenly changed into a desert, and the prospect of the smoking ruins +could alone distinguish the solitude of nature from the desolation of +man. The flourishing city of Mentz was surprised and destroyed, and many +thousand Christians inhumanly massacred in the church. Wurms perished +after a long and obstinate siege. Strasburg, Spires, Rheims, Tournay, +Arras, Amiens, experienced the cruel oppression of the German yoke, and +the consuming flames of war spread from the banks of the Rhine over the +greatest part of the seventeen provinces of Gaul. That rich and +extensive country, as far as the ocean, the Alps and the Pyrenees, was +delivered to the barbarians, who drove before them, in a promiscuous +crowd, the bishop, the senator and the virgin, laden with the spoils of +their houses and altars." + +Another historian describing the same, a few years after the event, +says: "The barbarians meeting with little resistance, indulged in the +utmost cruelty. The cities which they captured, they so utterly +destroyed that no traces of them now remain, except in Thrace and +Greece, except here and there a tower or a gate. All the men who opposed +them they slew, young and old, and indeed spared not women, nor even +children. Whence there is still but a sparse population in Italy. The +plunder which they seized in every part of Europe was immense, and +especially at Rome, where they left nothing, either public or private." +In this latter description reference is also made to some later +invasions, but they were all of the same desolating character. + +These historical facts show how the green grass, or the feebler portion +of society--the tender sex, the young, and the aged--were consumed +before this fearful storm of hail and fire; and also how the trees, or +the stronger portion--those better able to make resistance--suffered +greatly. + +It is also a fact to be observed that these fierce tribes which overran +Italy, harassed or captured Rome repeatedly, and threatened the +overthrow of the empire, made no permanent settlement in that territory. +"Under Alaric the Goths make no lasting settlement. In the long tale of +intrigue and warfare between the Goths and the two Imperial courts which +fills up this whole time, cessions of territory are offered to the +Goths, provinces are occupied by them, but as yet they do not take root +anywhere; no Western land as yet becomes Gothia,"--Encyclopaedia +Britannica, Art. Goths. After the death of Alaric (A.D. 412), however, +they settled in the southern part of Spain and Gaul[5]--part of the +territory of the West--but they no longer threatened the life of the +empire; but, on the contrary, they became allies of the Romans in +opposing the dreadful incursions of the Huns and other barbarians. Thus +their invasion of the West was at first terribly destructive--like a +storm of hail and fire--but their ravages soon ceased, except in their +disastrous and weakening effects. + +[Footnote 5: This division of the Gothic tribes is commonly called the +Visigoths (Western Goths), as distinguished from the Ostrogoths, or +Eastern Goths.] + + 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 symbol of this trumpet is that of a volcanic mountain cast into the +sea, whence it sends forth its streams of lava in every direction until +a third of the creatures in the sea are destroyed, thus spreading +desolation on every side. It would naturally remain where it fell, a +permanent instrument of destruction. + +We have here a description of the next step of importance in the +downfall of the Western empire. The second great invasion was that of +"the terrible Genseric" with his Vandal hordes, who pushed southward +through Gaul and Spain, conquered the Carthaginian territory of northern +Africa, and there formed a permanent independent government in A.D. 439. +From this fixed place, he continued for years to make incursions upon +the bordering cities and islands, burning the cities, murdering the +inhabitants, and intercepting the commerce of the Mediterranean. During +his military career, 429-468, he became the terror of the inhabitants of +the empire, insomuch that historians designate him "the terrible +Genseric." The depredations committed by his followers were but a +repetition of such scenes of barbarity as have already been described in +the invasions of Alaric under the first trumpet, therefore I will not +devote much space to the historical facts in the case. Their deeds, +however, were such that the very term _Vandal_ has come to be used as a +designation of any man of ferocious character. Concerning the important +part that this chieftain acted in the downfall of the Western empire, +Gibbon uses this significant language: "Genseric, a name which, in the +destruction of the Roman empire, has deserved an equal rank with the +names of Alaric and Attila." Vol. III, p. 370. + +In the year 454 the empress Eudoxia wished to be revenged on Maximus, +who had murdered her husband Valentinian and had grasped the throne, and +she secretly invited Genseric to attack Rome. That fierce general, who +is described by the Encyclopaedia Britannica as "cruel to +blood-thirstiness, cunning, unscrupulous, and grasping," was glad to +undertake the task, and he soon landed an army of Vandals and African +Moors at the gates of the city. It was soon taken and for fifteen days +given over to be sacked by the barbarous soldiery. When they had glutted +their savage instincts with the horrible deeds of murder and rapine, +loaded with the spoils of the imperial city, they returned to Africa, +taking with them an immense number of captives, including Eudoxia and +her two daughters. This desolating incursion left the empire weak and +tottering to its fall. Genseric "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 fulness of +years and glory, he beheld the FINAL EXTINCTION of the empire of the +West." Gibbon, Vol. III, pp. 497, 498. + +By "the sea" into which this burning mountain was cast is meant, not the +Mediterranean nor any other literal sea, but the heart of the empire, +and that in a state of agitation. The empire was in a state of +comparative quiet when Alaric appeared; therefore the storm of hail and +fire is represented as falling upon "the earth," as a result of which +society was thrown into a state of great agitation, and moved to its +depths, like an ocean in a storm. This was its condition when Genseric, +from his fixed position in Africa, began his desolating incursions; +therefore the next symbol is that of a mountain cast into "the sea." By +the sea becoming blood is doubtless meant the destruction of life in the +empire, and "the third part" denotes the vast extent of the destruction. + +I must speak with hesitation on what is signified by "the creatures +which were in the sea" and the "ships." By analogy I would be led to +refer the former to the rulers and the dignitaries in the empire, they +bearing an analagous position to the empire that fishes do to the waters +of the sea; while the latter may refer to public monuments and +structures. + + 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 description given of this star is similar to that of a large burning +meteor, such as we frequently see shooting athwart the heavens. It fell +rapidly to earth, as such meteors often do, and struck the +fountain-heads of the rivers, imparting to them such a poisonous quality +as caused the death of those who drank the waters. + +This symbol is also drawn from the natural world, and hence we must look +for its fulfilment in political events. The rapidity of its fall and +disappearance in the waters would direct us to an agent who would appear +suddenly and soon disappear, and whose career would leave bitter +results. The direct effects of this meteor were experienced by the +rivers and the fountains of waters, which bear an analagous relation to +the sea that bordering tribes and nations do to an empire. The heart of +the empire, or "the sea," was directly affected by the burning mountain, +under the preceding trumpet; while the tributaries of the sea, or the +bordering tribes, are made the subject of direct attack under this +symbol and the poisonous qualities of their waters carried to far +distant points. + +Under this striking symbol we have a description of the third important +step in the downward course of Rome--the short but eventful career of +Attila, with his terrible Scythians, or Huns. Singularly, Attila was +said to "possess the iron sword of the war-god _Mars_," and he claimed +for himself the designation or title "The Scourge of God"; while his +followers were even more cruel and barbarous, if possible, than the +Goths and the Vandals. + +Coming from the remote solitudes of Asia under the leadership of their +fierce king, they poured like a tornado, first upon the inhabitants of +the Eastern empire (in 442, 445) and then turned their attention +westward. Attila ruled over "nearly all the tribes north of the Danube +and the Black sea," and under his banner fought Ostrogoths, Gepidae, +Alani, Heruli, and many other Teutonic peoples. Says Gibbon: "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." It was the +boast of Attila that the grass never grew on the spot which his horse +had trod. In 451 he led his forces, seven hundred thousand strong, +through the center of Germany into the heart of Gaul, where he was met +at Chalons by the combined forces of the Visigoths, Alans, Franks and +Romans, and was defeated, with the loss of one hundred and seventy +thousand of his men. This was one of the most gigantic as well as one of +the most important battles of history. A rivulet flowing through the +field of battle is said to have been colored and swollen by the blood of +the slain. The next year, however, with a greater force at his command, +he fell with headlong fury upon northern Italy; but he did not attack +Rome. Suddenly and seemingly without cause, he withdrew his army; and +this peculiar action of his has been the wonder of historians ever +since. Says the Encyclopaedia Britannica: "Attila at once withdrew from +Italy, but the motive which led him to act thus is not known." According +to the prophecy, he was to fall upon the "rivers and fountains of +waters" only. A short time later, in 453, he died, and "the vast empire +over which he had ruled broke up _immediately_ after his death, no one +chief being powerful enough to seize the supremacy." Thus his short but +wonderful career of about twelve years ended suddenly, like a meteor +falling into a river. + +But the effects of this invasion were farreaching. Rome in her declining +strength, being unable to cope with these immense hordes of barbarians, +was forced to call to her assistance the half-civilized tribes of Gothic +barbarians against a more dreaded foe. The success that attended these +conflicts of the combined forces were the means of giving greater +political importance to these Gothic tribes and securing their +independence. But while they rose, Rome fell. By the very act of +employing such weapons in defense, Rome robbed herself of the little +political strength remaining, and she was obliged to accept the bitter +consequences. + +Under each of these first three trumpets the extent of destruction is +indicated by the expression "the third part." Since the successive steps +in the downfall of the empire is the subject under consideration, this +expression as here applied doubtless has particular reference to the +loss of political power and life, rather than referring directly to the +loss of human life sustained. With this thought in view, it is evident +that the political importance of the empire was entirely destroyed by +these desolating incursions. Of the truth of this fact all historians +agree. Nothing of Rome remained, except the semblance of a government, +when the time arrived for the sounding of the next trumpet. + + 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 symbol of this trumpet is that of an eclipse of sun, moon, and +stars, so that they shone not for a third part of the day and night. +Under the sixth seal we showed that these luminaries of heaven are taken +as symbols of rulers and princes; for the latter bear an analagous +relation to the empire that the former do to the earth. In the +darkening, then, of the sun, moon, and stars, we are to look for some +disastrous change or overthrow in the imperial government. Such an event +occurred only a few years after the events described under the preceding +trumpets. With her political strength and resources exhausted, Rome +could no longer maintain a separate existence, and Odoacer, king of the +Heruli, overthrew Momyllus Augustulus, the last of the Roman line of +emperors, and caused himself to be proclaimed king of Italy in A.D. 476. +This terminated the Western empire; and thus was the Roman sun eclipsed +in darkness. In a subsequent chapter, however, we will find the eclipse +lifted at a later period and _New Rome_ enjoying all the power and +authority lost in her predecessors of the old Augustin line. + +Odoacer continued in possession of his kingdom seventeen years. Then he +was defeated and slain by Theodoric, and by him the kingdom of the +Ostrogoths was established in Italy. Sixty years later this kingdom was +subverted by Belisarius, the general of Justinian, emperor of the East, +to whom it became a tributary province. In each of the principal cities +of Italy Justinian appointed a governor with the title of Duke, in +subordination to another with the title of Exarch, whose residence was +at Ravenna. "Thus, at last, was Rome, once the proud mistress of the +world, reduced to a poor dukedom, made tributary to the Exarch of +Ravenna, and he holding his authority at the will of the emperor of +Constantinople, the seat of the Eastern empire." + +Thus, under the symbols of these four trumpets we have developed the +wondrous history of the downfall of imperial Rome, in order to give +opportunity for the scenes of the drama yet to follow. The "man of sin" +could not be fully revealed in all his terrible features until this +hindrance was removed out of the way. Imperial Rome for three centuries +stood as the great opposer of God's people and slaughtered thousands, +perhaps millions, of the Lord's innocent servants, and the hand of +retributive Justice was finally extended to humble her to the dust. +Singularly, the persons whom God made choice of to effect her downfall +have either regarded themselves as special instruments whose mission it +was to punish the world or else have received such designations by +historians because of their awful work. Contemporary historians +distinguish Alaric by the epithets "The Scourge of God," "The Destroyer +of Nations"; while the great Vandal leader is designated "The Terrible +Genseric." Attila claimed the title "The Scourge of God." + + 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! + +The later editions of the Greek New Testament give the word _eagle_ +instead of _angel_--denoting a messenger or angel flying with the +swiftness of an eagle. This messenger doubtless is not intended to be +symbolic; for it is not one of the seven angels, but a messenger +possessing a warning, and that warning is given "to the inhabitants of +the earth," as if they were addressed directly. It simply announces that +the three trumpets yet to sound will possess greater calamities to the +people of earth than those that have preceded, by reason of which they +are called woes. The manner, also, in which the woe trumpets are spoken +of afterwards confirm the statement that the announcement is literal and +not symbolical. "One woe is past, and, behold, there come two more woes +hereafter." Chap. 9:12. "The second woe it past: and, behold, the third +woe cometh quickly." Chap. 11:14. These announcements are evidently +literal, and serve to explain the passage before us. Accordingly, the +last three trumpets are generally referred to as the woe trumpets. + + + + +CHAPTER IX. + + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + 8. And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were + as the teeth of lions. + + 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. + + 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. + +The symbols of this trumpet are of a very peculiar character and +peculiarly combined. They are not drawn entirely from the natural world, +showing that we are not to look for their fulfilment in political events +alone; neither are they drawn from human life in any such way as to +indicate events in the religious history of the church. The leading +characters in it, however, are living, active agents of such a +destructive nature as to entitle them to the designation of a woe. + +The first object presented in the vision is a "star" fallen to the +earth. Our translation conveys the idea that this star was in the act of +falling; but in the original it is different, being there represented as +having fallen, its dejection from heaven to earth being complete. The +only place that it appeared in view was on the earth, and there it is +described as fallen. A star is a symbol either of a civil ruler or of a +religious teacher, the symbols in connection deciding whether it is set +in the political or the ecclesiastical firmament. But this was not such +a star as He who walketh in the midst of the golden candle-sticks +holdeth in his right hand, but it was a _fallen_ star, indicating that +it was the propagator of a false faith. + +To this star was given a key. In the Gospels the same figure is +employed, where the ministers of Christ are represented as possessing +the keys of the kingdom of heaven, showing that they acted in his name +and by his authority. How appropriate, then, is this symbol as applied +to a false teacher, who possesses, not the keys of the kingdom of +heaven, but, instead, "the key of the bottomless pit"! Thus, under the +symbol of the star and the key, we have the teacher and his authority +set forth. Armed with this authority, this false teacher "opened the +bottomless pit; and there rose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a +great furnace; and the sun and air were darkened by reason of the smoke +of the pit." In the Scriptures Jesus is represented as the Sun of +righteousness, while "the light of the _glorious gospel_ of Christ" +illuminates the world. But here we have something of the opposite +character--a dense smoke eclipsing the sun and darkening the heavens. +Have we not here a fit representation of a delusive faith proceeding +from its true source, "the bottomless pit"? And is not a fallen star an +appropriate symbol of its propagator? + +In representing a system of religion by these objects from nature we +depart from the general rule first laid down--that objects of nature +symbolize political affairs, while the department of human and angelic +life is chosen to represent religious affairs. But the reader should +bear in mind one important exception to this rule--that things +prominently connected with the history of the people of God in former +ages are frequently employed (regardless of the department to which they +belong) to represent spiritual things, their interpretation being easily +seen; such as candle-sticks, altar, temple, incense, etc. When the +plague of "thick darkness" covered the land of Egypt for three days, +"the children of Israel had light in their dwellings." In the exodus the +Lord went before them "by night in a pillar of fire, to give them +light." After the erection of the tabernacle the holy place was +constantly illuminated. This natural light in the Jewish age constitutes +a beautiful type of the spiritual "light of the glorious gospel of +Christ" that has "shined in our hearts" in the Christian dispensation. +This spiritual light comes from Christ, the "Sun of righteousness," the +"true Light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world"; and +proceeds, also, from his people, who "shine as lights in the world." But +it is the "light of the _gospel_." This light proceeds in a special +sense from God's ministers, who are represented as "stars" (chap. 1:20) +and who possess "the keys of the kingdom of heaven." Mat. 16:19; 18:18. +How appropriate, then, that a _fallen_ "star," possessing "the key of +the bottomless pit," should be a symbol of a religious impostor, and +that the smoke which darkened the heavens, eclipsing the sun, the source +of light, should represent a prominent delusive faith! I have already +mentioned the fact that the symbols of this vision lead to a series of +events entirely separate in their nature from the spiritual history of +the church as developed under other symbols. We find its fulfilment in +Mohammed and the delusive system he promulgated. In the year 606 Mahomet +retired to a cave in Hera, near Mecca, and there received his pretended +revelations, although it was not until six years later that he began to +teach his doctrines publicly and to gain followers outside of the circle +of his own family and personal friends. Gibbon, Vol. V., p. 121. + +The next object in the vision is the locusts that came out of the smoke, +to which was given power like scorpions, or power to inflict a deadly +sting like scorpions. To what living agents, then, did the delusion of +Mohammedanism give birth--agents of a destructive nature like scorpion +locust? Evidently, the Saracens,[6] those warrior followers of Mohammed +who flocked to his standard. These locusts received the express command +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." The successor of Mohammed, Abubeker, gave the +Saracens a command that they should "destroy no palm-trees, nor burn any +fields of grain; cut down no fruit-trees, nor do any mischief to cattle, +only such as you kill to eat." This command was singular, yet it +doubtless is not the fulfilment of the command to the locusts; for that +would be adopting a literal meaning instead of a symbolic one, and to +complete the picture we should have had literal Saracens instead of +locusts. We can not consistently make a part literal and the remainder +symbolical. In the explanation of the first trumpet (chap. 8:6, 7), we +showed that grass and trees symbolized the inhabitants of a kingdom, +grass representing the feebler and trees the stronger portions of +society. The fact, then, that these locusts were not to destroy the +green grass and trees show that they were not sent as a scourge upon the +political empire only, as was the storm of hail and fire under the first +trumpet. Had their mission been like that of natural locusts, to destroy +every green thing, we should then conclude that they were sent as a +scourge upon the empire alone, having nothing whatever to do with a +system of religion. These locusts, however, were commanded not to do +what natural locusts always do--eat green grass and trees--and were +commissioned to do what locusts never do--"hurt men," but only those who +have not the seal of God in their foreheads; that is, the worshipers of +a false, idolatrous church, who are not known unto God as his true +people. This is positive proof that the design of this vision is to set +forth some awful religious imposture; for the "men" that they were to +hurt are found in the department which by analogy represents religious +events. + +[Footnote 6: "In earlier times the name of Saraceni was applied by +Greeks and Romans to the troublesome Nomad Arabs of the Syro-Arabian +desert."--_Encyclopaedia Britannica_. In the Middle Ages, however, +Europeans began to call all their Moslem enemies Saracens. It is in the +limited sense that it is here applied, designating the first followers +of Mohammed before the rise of the Ottoman empire.] + +The fact that their commission was to torment those "men which have not +the seal of God in their foreheads," is a proof also of the wide-spread +apostasies that had already taken place. This was the time when the pale +horseman was careering over the world carrying desolation everywhere by +his instruments of oppression--sword, pestilences, famine, and the wild +beasts of the earth. "The churches both in the Western and Eastern +empire were in the most deplorable condition, being corrupted with the +grossest ignorance and idolatry; the virgin Mary, the saints, and +miserable relics of every description being worshiped in the place of +Jehovah, and superstition reigning with sovereign power over all minds." +The Saracen warriors of Mohammed were sent as a scourge upon apostate +Christendom, overrunning the very territory where the gospel was first +preached, and were commissioned to "torment" the false professors of +Christianity. + +In regard to the kind and the extent of the injury they were to inflict, +it is said that "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. And in those days +shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, +and death shall flee from them." The Saracens, as here described under +the symbol of the locusts, sustained a two-fold relation, and the +careful and perfect manner in which the symbols are selected to set it +forth is worthy of particular notice. In the first place, the Saracens +were a political body. As such, locusts would fitly represent them. But +they were also a religious body, and how could that fact be symbolically +combined with the other? It is done by the locusts' being forbidden to +act out their own nature in eating grass and trees, and their being +commanded instead to "hurt men," thus changing the field of their +operations into the department of human life--the department that is +chosen to symbolically set forth religious events. Thus the +politico-religious system of the Saracens is accurately set forth. This, +also, is nearly as clear as a demonstration that the position already +taken concerning the nature and the use of symbolic language is correct. + +It was given that they should "not kill" men. We have already shown that +killing men when used symbolically signifies the destruction of the +political or ecclesiastical organizations and institutions of society. +We could not consistently interpret it as literal slaughter, but as some +analagous destruction. Now, the Saracen power was, as already stated, a +politico-religious system, and its warriors were an infatuated set of +religious fanatics, described by historians as "carrying the sword in +one hand, and the Koran in the other." Thus, they had it in their power +to kill either religiously or politically--destroy either the church or +the empire--but they did neither, for their mission was not to kill, but +to "torment." "They made extensive conquests and gained immense numbers +of converts. But they did not overthrow the Eastern empire, although +they repeatedly attacked and besieged Constantinople, suffering, +however, uniform defeat in the attempt. Neither did they destroy the +church, corrupt and apostate as it was. To idolators and infidels they +put the alternative of the Koran or death; but allowed the Christians to +retain their church organization, laying them, however, under severe +contributions, and treating them to the ignominious appellation of +Christian dogs." Concerning the character of Mohammed, Gibbon informs us +that "he seldom trampled on a prostrate enemy, and he seems to promise, +that on the payment of a tribute, the least guilty of his unbelieving +subjects might be indulged in their worship, or at least in their +imperfect faith" (Vol. V, p. 129), and this, of course, would be the +natural tendency of his followers. The Armenian and the Greek churches +survived, and still exist in that portion of the world, but they have +indeed been greviously tormented. "The proud Moslem, glorying in his +prophet and religion, has heaped every possible insult and injury upon +the Christians," yet he suffered them to live, but live only for him to +torment. Surely the oppressions thus experienced are appropriately +described by the words, "as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh +a man." Under such torments the professed Christians might court death, +but such is not granted; and still they survive, but only to be +"tormented." The Moslem had "the Christian dog" completely under his +foot. + +We now turn our attention to the period of time during which these +Saracen locusts were to continue their ravages. It is given as "five +months," or one hundred and fifty days. As this description is entirely +symbolic, we must consider the time symbolic also, for time certainly +can be symbolized as well as anything else. It is very appropriate for +days to symbolize years, for they are analagous periods of time; the +diurnal revolution of the earth being taken to represent the earth's +annual movement. Such a system of reckoning time was known centuries +ago. When Jacob complained to Laban because he had been given Leah +instead of Rachel, "Laban said, It must not be so done in our country, +to give the younger before the first-born. Fulfil her _week_, and we +will give thee this also for the service which thou shalt serve me yet +_seven other years_. And Jacob did so, and fulfilled her week ... seven +other years." Gen. 29:26-30. In this case it will be seen that a day was +used to represent a year, since seven days, or one week, represented +seven years. When the law was given, Moses recognized the week of seven +natural days, the last day of which was constituted a Sabbath of rest +for Israel; but he also instituted a week of seven years, the last year +of which was a sabbatical year of rest unto the land. This last fact +will explain such expressions as "forty days, _each day for a year_" +(Num. 14:34), and "I have appointed thee each day for a year." Ezek. +4:6. + +This period, then, of "five months," or one hundred and fifty days, +would represent symbolically one hundred and fifty years. As before +stated, it was in the year A.D. 612 that Mohammed began to expound his +doctrines publicly and to gather adherents around his standard, from +which point the locusts commenced, although the smoke had been let out +of the pit a little previously. For a period of one hundred and fifty +years from this date, they continued their ravages, until A.D. 762. Then +they "built Bagdad, which became their settled seat of empire; and +henceforth they became a settled nation, making no further conquests." +From that date their power began to decline. But during this one hundred +and fifty years they spread over the country like swarms of devouring +locusts. According to the well-known facts of history, "they overran +Arabia, Palestine, Persia, Egypt, and the northern shores of Africa, +from which they passed to the conquest of Portugal and Spain." These +were the countries that had been the most oppressed by a priest-ridden +church and where especially were to be found those "men which have not +the seal of God in their foreheads." Europe was trembling and filled +with apprehension at what her fate might be at the hands of these +fanatic warriors who fought with savage fury, under the promise of their +prophet that, if slain in battle, they should be immediately transported +to Paradise. At the zenith of their power, and confident of success, +they passed from Spain into France four hundred thousand strong. But +here they exceeded their mission. The southern provinces of France +contained many Christians who had the "seal of God" upon them, and this +country became the seat of the Waldenses and Albigenses, of which +interesting people we shall learn more hereafter. The invading host was +met at Tours by Charles, grandfather of Charlemagne, who dealt them such +a crushing blow that he was ever afterward designated by the surname +Martel--the Hammer. This battle was one of the fiercest recorded in +history. The Saracens who had scarcely ever experienced defeat fought +with the fury of despair, until, according to the accounts of that age, +three hundred and seventy-five thousand of their number lay upon the +field of battle with their general. This decisive victory saved Europe +from her threatened subjection to the Mohammedan faith. + +The next point in the vision to claim our attention is the particular +description of these locusts. Some of the points mentioned might find a +literal fulfilment in the personal appearance of the Saracens--such as +the crowns signifying the turbans they wore, etc., but we must adhere +strictly to the symbolic mode of interpretation and look for their +fulfilment in Saracen character. Their being like war-horses denotes +their warlike disposition. The crowns on their heads signify their great +success and triumphs. Their faces of men and hair like women doubtless +signify their boldness on the one hand and their effeminateness on the +other. Their teeth as the teeth of lions show their ferocity of +character. Their breastplates of iron indicate their invincibility or +else their insensibility to injuries inflicted upon them. The sound of +their wings like horses and chariots running to battle denotes the +multitude and rapidity of their conquests. Their tails like scorpions, +containing stings with which to "hurt men"--operating in the religious +world--symbolize their position as propagators of a false faith. Thus +they are set forth in their two-fold character--as invincible warriors +and as the zealous professors of a delusion, whose sting was like that +of a scorpion when he strikes a man. + +"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." The following fact of history will explain +this: "The Saracens had their Caliphs, the successors of Mohammed, who +united in themselves the supreme civil, military and ecclesiastical +powers. They were the high-priests of their religion, the commanders of +their armies, and the emperors of the nation." This king over them +signifies a succession of rulers, and they are well described as "the +angel of the bottomless pit," for that is the very place where the +delusion is said to have originated. Mahomet, as a fallen star, opened +the pit and let out the smoke, and his successors, who grasped his power +and authority, are fitly characterized as angels from the same place, +bearing the name Abaddon or Apollyon, which terms both signify +Destroyer. + +Is not this a wonderful combination of symbols which can be carried out +with surprising accuracy? What human ingenuity could have ever contrived +such a marvelous series of events, and described them under such +appropriate symbols? Finally, let me ask, Where in the whole compass of +universal history can be found another series of events so perfectly +meeting every requirement of the symbols? In this we must acknowledge +the hand of God. + + 12. One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more + hereafter. + +This announcement, that one woe is past, meaning that the period of one +hundred and fifty years during which the Saracens were to continue their +conquests has ended, serves an important purpose in enabling us to fix +the chronology of the events described. It proves that they succeed each +other. + + 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. + + 16. And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred + thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + +At the sounding of the sixth trumpet, or the second woe trumpet, a voice +is heard from the four horns (all the horns) of the golden altar. This +probably denotes that the very same altar where incense was offered up +to God with the prayers of all saints was now crying out to him for +vengeance upon an apostate church. That church had reached the summit of +apostasy and iniquity, the virgin Mary, the saints, and thousands of +idols in the form of miserable relics being worshiped more than God. +Because of these abominable idolatries, a voice is heard crying from the +golden altar for the avenging judgments of Heaven, which were the +loosing of the four angels bound in the river Euphrates. The symbols of +this vision are also of peculiar character and drawn from different +departments. We have four angels bound in the Euphrates, an immense army +of horsemen, then a large number of horses with heads as of lions, and +fire, smoke, and brimstone issuing from their mouths. The horses thus +particularly described are evidently intended to have a definite +symbolical signification, and being objects of nature, they would +indicate a political or military power. The horsemen, being objects from +human life, would point us to some religious body; while the angels +signify the leaders that have control of these agencies. Their being +commissioned "to slay the third part of men" show that they will +overthrow some of the established institutions of society. We are to +look, therefore, for some politico-religious power that should invade +and overthrow the empire. We are, of course, directed to the Eastern +empire; for the Western division was subverted under the symbols of the +first four trumpets. With these specifications before us, we shall have +no difficulty in identifying the power intended--_the Turkish, or +Ottoman, empire_. Its agreement with the symbolic representations of the +vision will be manifest from a statement of the facts of history. + +"The Turks were of Tartar or Scythian origin, from the northern regions +of Asia, whence also the Huns hived upon Europe during the fourth and +fifth centuries. The latter passed to the north of the Black sea from +Russia, and swept the regions of the Danube and the Rhine. The Turks, +passing to the east of the same, fell upon the empire from that quarter. +They took possession of Armenia Major in the ninth century, where they +increased, and in the space of two hundred years became a formidable +power, being at the end of this period combined into four Sultanies, the +heads of which were at Bagdad, Damascus, Aleppo, and Iconium. The first +of these was erected A.D. 1055; the two next A.D. 1079, and the last +A.D. 1080--all of them within twenty-five years, and the three last +within two." + +These four Sultanies are doubtless signified by "the four angels" that +were bound in the river Euphrates. The Euphrates here is employed as a +symbol, not of the Turks themselves--for the horsemen are their symbol, +as we shall see--but of the binding of the angels. The use of this word +as a symbol is derived from a fact of history, being the object, +according to Herodotus, that kept Cyrus back from entering the city of +Babylon. While the Persian monarch surrounded the walls of that ancient +metropolis of the Babylonian empire, with his army, he was held in +restraint by the river Euphrates; and it was not until he had diverted +its waters into an artificial channel that he gained an entrance. So, +also, these Sultanies, or leaders of the Turks, were held under +restraint as if bound by the river Euphrates, until the time appointed +for them to go forth on their mission of conquest. Different causes held +them back. For a long time they were involved in fierce and almost +continuous wars with the neighboring Tartar tribes on the east and the +north, and at the same time the Crusaders of Europe were carrying on a +determined war with the Saracens for the possession of the Holy Land. +For two centuries the armies of Christendom poured into Syria and +Palestine to recover from the hands of the "infidels," as they were +called, the holy sepulchre and the country that gave birth to +Christianity; but when Europe finally abandoned the project, then went +forth the command to loose the four angels, "which were prepared for an +hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of +man." To kill men symbolically, I have already shown, signifies the +destruction either of an empire as a political body or of the church +(that is, the so-called church) as a religious body. The locusts under +the fifth trumpet were to do neither; but the symbolic characters of +this vision are "to slay the third part of men," by which is set forth +the fall and subjugation of the Eastern empire and church; just as, +under the fifth trumpet, the fall of the Western empire was described by +the darkening of a third part of the sun, moon, and stars. + +Before considering the time-prophecy in this vision, we will pass on to +notice a few particulars respecting the horses and their riders. The +horsemen possessed breastplates of fire, jacinth, and brimstone; while +out of the mouths of the horses proceeded fire, smoke, and brimstone. +There is evidently a special design in distinguishing between the horses +and their riders. These symbols, being drawn from different sources--the +former from the natural world and the latter from human life--point out +the two characteristics of the Turks as a politico-religious power. The +symbolic description of the two is almost identical. The horsemen had +breastplates of fire, jacinth (purplish or reddish blue), and brimstone. +This describes the character of the Turks as a religious system. Out of +the horses' mouths proceeded fire, smoke, and brimstone, which +represents the Moslems as a political power. The only difference is that +the smoke is substituted for the jacinth, but they very nearly agree in +color. We are thus brought to the conclusion that the political and the +religious power of the Turks is in harmony and agreement with each +other--united in the closest manner possible, like a horse and its +rider, and both animated by the same spirit. That spirit is perhaps +their fierce, fanatical, aggressive, intolerant character. + +The tails of the horses were like serpents with heads, their power being +in their mouth and in their tails--the one a lion, the other a serpent. +It was by the fire, the smoke, and the brimstone that came from their +lion-heads that the third part of men was killed, or their conquests +were made; then with their serpent-like tails would they torment or +"hurt" all those who would not adopt the Moslem faith, being in this +respect like the scorpion locusts. Their lion-heads would denote their +invincible strength and courage; and their serpent-tails, the tormenting +sting inflicted upon those whom they subdued but who would not accept +their religion. It is not said that the riders were the direct agents of +destruction--not the Moslem faith as a religion--but it was the horses +that accomplished the deadly work--the Ottomans as a political body. +This was the power that extended conquests and established their empire, +although it was accompanied by the religious system, working in perfect +harmony. + +It is said that the "rest of the men which were not killed by these +plagues" repented not. This expression doubtless signifies the Western, +or Latin, church. They saw these judgments of the Euphratean horsemen on +the Eastern empire, and the triumph of the Moslem sword and faith (the +woe fell as a judgment upon the Eastern church); still, they continued +as before in their abominable idolatries, by which is probably meant +their worship of the virgin Mary, saints, relics, and images. There was +no reformation. Error, superstition, and ecclesiastical usurpation +prevailed as before. + +The Turks obtained their first victory over the Christians of the +Eastern, or Greek, empire in A.D. 1281. Within ten years the Latins who +inhabited Palestine were entirely overthrown (see Gibbon, Vol. VI, p. +47), and the way was now clear for Turkish aggression against the Greek +empire. Before the end of the century the four Sultanies mentioned were +combined into one consolidated empire under Osman (corrupted by +Europeans into Ottoman) and from him took the name which it still +retains--the Ottoman empire. From the time they were let loose, the +Turks continued their aggressions until A.D. 1453, when Constantinople +fell before their victorious arms, and the Eastern empire, with the last +of the Constantines, sunk to rise no more. "The Turkish sword and the +religion of the Koran were enthroned in the Christian metropolis of the +Roman emperors; and the proud Moslem had the Christian dog completely +under his foot." The Ottoman power, however, continued to grow and make +new conquests until the year A.D. 1672, when they conducted a successful +campaign against Poland, in which forty-eight towns and villages were +ceded to the Sultan, with promise of an annual tribute of two hundred +and twenty thousand ducats. See Encyclopaedia Britannica, Art. Turkey. +This was the last victory they ever gained wherein the Ottoman empire +obtained any advantage. A little later they marched against Vienna, but +sustained a miserable defeat. "Venice and Russia now declared war +against Turkey; misfortune followed misfortune; city after city was rent +away from the empire; the Austrians were in possession of almost the +whole of Hungary, the Italians of almost all the Morea." Encyclopaedia +Britannica, Art. Turkey. So the power of the Ottomans to extend their +conquests and to add to their empire, ended with the victory over the +Poles in A.D. 1672. This fact is even admitted by Demetrius Cantemir, +prince of Moldavia, one of their historians, in the following language: +"This was the _last_ victory by which any advantage accrued to the +Othman state, or any city or province was annexed to the ancient bounds +of the empire." In accordance with this statement, the same historian +entitles the first part of his history up to the victory over the Poles +in 1672 the History of _the Growth of the Othman Empire_, and the +remaining portion, _The Decay of the Othman Empire_. + +Calculating now the time during which these horsemen were prepared to +extend their conquests--"an hour, and a day, and a month, and a +year"--we find according to prophetic, or symbolic, time--thirty days in +a month, three hundred and sixty in a year--that it signifies three +hundred and ninety-one years and fifteen days. This is exactly the +period of time that elapsed between their first victory in A.D. 1281 and +their last conquest in A.D. 1672. I can not verify the fifteen days, +because no history at my command states the exact days of the month on +which these victories occurred. + +One more point of importance must be considered before we conclude this +chapter, and that is the continuance of the Ottoman power. The first, or +Saracen, woe had power to torment men "five months," or one hundred and +fifty years, during which time they continued their ravages. The second +woe began when the command was given to loose the four angels, or the +beginning of the Ottoman conquests. "An hour, and a day, and a month, +and a year," or three hundred and ninety-one years, marked the time +during which they were "prepared" to extend their conquests. But it is +not stated that the woe itself, or the Ottoman power, would then cease; +for it is not represented as ending until after the death and the +resurrection of the witnesses (chap. 11:14), immediately following which +the coming of Christ and the general judgment, or the third woe, is +described. Verses 15-18. The Turkish power has made no advance for +centuries, but has been on the decline; yet it will endure for its +allotted time. It furnishes us a way-mark by which we can determine our +position along the pathway of time; for when it falls, we may rest +assured that the coming of Christ is imminent. + +For nearly two centuries it has been the wonder of civilized nations how +that corrupt, tyrannical government, which has been described as a +"despotism tempered by assassination," could exist in the increased +light and onward advance of modern civilization. Concerning its position +in Europe, Judson, in his recent history of Europe in the Nineteenth +Century, says: "The Turkish empire has been an element of unrest in +Europe. It has long been plain to all that it is not permanent. It has +taken no root. The Turks are merely encamped in Europe; and it is merely +a question of time when the last of them must return across the +Bosphorus." Pp. 269, 270. But Turkey will continue to hold this +territory of the old Greek empire until the time appointed by the Father +for her overthrow. The nations of Europe have often conspired for her +overthrow. This is what is known as the great Eastern Question, which +has been described by one writer as "the expulsion of the Turk from +Europe, and the scramble for his territory." But it has not yet been +accomplished, for the very reason doubtless, that it _could not_ take +place before the resurrection of the witnesses, of which we will speak +later. Judson thus continues his account of the matter: "As soon as this +idea was realized [that Turkish power in Europe must fall] by the +Western nations, in place of the dread of the Turk which had so long +been part and parcel of European thinking, the question of the disposal +to be made of the Turkish possessions became matter of live interest. +And this is the Eastern Question. The Greek empire vanished forever when +the last Constantine fell in 1453. The only problem is one of partition. +And the heart of it all is the disposal to be made of Constantinople. +That imperial city is a site that, in strong hands, means power and +wealth. What shall become of it? Russia early formed designs of +conquest.... The empress Catherine ... had a grand scheme for a +restoration of the Greek empire under a Russian prince. Alexander I., at +Tilsit, planned a partition of the Ottoman empire with Napoleon, but the +latter declined to see Constantinople in Russian hands. +'Constantinople,' said he, 'is the empire of the world.' In 1844 +Nicholas visited England and made guarded suggestions to the +prime-minister about the Turkish lands. The Ottoman empire, said he, was +a sick man, nearly at the last extremity.... England declined to plan +for a share of the inheritance, and nothing was done. In 1853 Nicholas +resumed the subject with the British ambassador at St. Petersburg. The +sick man, he now held, was at the point of death.... But again England +declined and, indeed, the next year went to war with Russia to save the +sick man from a premature end at the hands of the would-be administrator +of the estate. Another power doubly interested in the future of the +Turkish dominions is Austria. That empire has been the traditional enemy +of the Turk, and at the end of the seventeenth century was the actual +bulwark of Europe against Mohammedan conquest. When the tide of war +rolled the other way, Austria was ready to share in the spoils. Twice +near the end of the eighteenth century, was an alliance made between +Russia and Austria for the partition of Turkey," etc. Pp. 270, 271. +Thus, we find that these designs of nations for the overthrow of Turkey +have so far been overruled; for God will not allow that power to come to +"a _premature end_." + + + + +CHAPTER X. + + + 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, + + 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. + + 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: + + 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. + + 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. + + 11. And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many + peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings. + +In the preceding chapter we had a history of the two great woes that +befell apostate Christendom. In this chapter we have in contrast a +portion of the history of God's true church, to show us that all was not +lost even though the Eastern church was greviously tormented by the +serpent-tails of the horses and the Western church still continued as +before in her sorceries, fornications, and abominable idolatries. + +The symbol is that of an angel from heaven. This is not the seventh, or +the third woe angel, who ushers in the general judgment (chap. +11:15-18), but it is a special messenger appearing on earth with the +awful message that the end of time is near and that when the seventh +angel soon begins to sound the mystery of God shall be finished and +there shall be time no longer. This mighty angel is symbolical of some +human agencies of distinguished character; for it stands in striking +contrast with the destructive powers described under the preceding +trumpets. When angels appear on the panoramic scene only in the temple +above, they themselves are not symbolic characters, but only the +conductors of the Revelation; but whenever they appear on earth, they +represent distinguished agencies among men. In the present vision the +symbol is drawn, not from the natural world, but from the heavenly, and +the scene is laid upon earth; therefore we must look to the history of +the church to find its fulfilment in some distinguished agencies +appearing for the defence of Christ and his truth. The cloud, rainbow, +face as the sun, and feet as pillars of fire, are doubtless intended to +set forth their beautiful, benignant character, and to show that the +angel is not such an one as those that were bound in the river +Euphrates. This one has the bow of covenant promise upon his head, and +his face shines as the sun. + +Where, then, in the history of God's true church do we find the agencies +corresponding to the symbol? We find them in the _holy ministry_ that he +has raised up and is now sending forth to preach the pure gospel and to +declare the speedy sounding of the seventh trumpet and the coming of the +Lord Jesus Christ to earth again. + + "Lo, the angel now is standing on the sea and on the land; + How his voice the air is rending as to God he lifts his hand! + What an awful, awful message! Help us, Lord, this truth to see: + When the seventh trumpet thunders, then shall time no longer be. + + "One more trumpet yet to summon us before the judgment seat, + Then the time of our frail planet will be said to be complete. + How the wicked will be wailing and the righteous overjoyed + When with fire the heav'ns are burning and the earth shall be destroyed!" + +This angel "set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the +earth," that his lion-like voice might be heard over all the world. This +shows that the earth (the Apocalyptic earth--the territory of the Roman +empire) was not the only place where the message was to be borne; it was +to be sounded upon the sea, which would indicate its promulgation among +all nations. + +When his mighty voice sounded, "seven thunders uttered their voices"; +and when about to record what they said, John was commanded to "seal up +those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not." The +fact that they were not to be recorded shows that they were to +constitute no part of this Revelation. John evidently thought so at +first; for they had the appearance of revelation, something clothed with +divine authority, but they were not to be delivered to the church. What, +then, were they? The most probable supposition is, that they were things +that God for some reason did not choose to have revealed. Their sayings +may have described events just prior to the end so perfectly as to leave +the world in no doubt respecting the nearness of Christ's second coming; +whereas it appears in the Scriptures that God has designed that it +should be a matter of considerable uncertainty, especially to the +unsaved. However, we can obtain no satisfactory explanation of the +things uttered by the seven thunders; for we can not identify positively +what John was commanded to "seal up." + +This angel had in his hand a little book that John was required to take +and eat. In advancing and taking the book, John himself becomes an actor +in the symbolic scene, the same as was the book and the angel from whose +hand he took it. Therefore we must now consider John a symbol of +something in this vision. Some of the commentators have supposed that +this book signified the remainder of the book of Revelation. But John +was commanded to _write_ the Revelations, not to _eat_ them. And if he +ate them, how, then, could they constitute the remainder of the book? +Its true signification is undoubtedly the word of God. In making such an +application we do not necessarily make one book merely a symbol of a +larger one, as the Bible is, but of God's _revealed will_, just the same +as the sealed book of chapter V was the symbol of the divine purposes. +When we come to explain the resurrection of the witnesses in chapter XI, +it will be found that this is the time when the word of God is again +taught in all its purity, being restored for the first time, in its +perfect sense, since the morning time of this dispensation. A great +spiritual famine has for centuries overspread the earth. Since the time +the black horse of the third seal entered on his career, the people have +been starving for spiritual food. The few crumbs that have been dropped +during the reign of Protestantism have been eagerly gathered up by the +spiritually-minded; but, thank God! the time has now arrived when the +messengers appear with food from heaven, and the multitudes of earth's +starving millions can "eat in plenty, and be satisfied, and praise the +name of the Lord God." Joel 2:26. Halleluiah! + +In taking the book from the hand of the angel and eating it, John became +a symbol of the church, or people of God, who receive the Word from the +hand of his ministers. The sweetness of its taste signifies the +eagerness with which people receive it and the gladness experienced when +they first partake of the heavenly manna; while the bitterness resulting +therefrom probably symbolizes the bitter persecutions and oppositions of +which it is the occasion. "Yea, and _all_ that will live godly in Christ +Jesus shall suffer persecution." 2 Tim. 3:12. + +John was told to "prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and +tongues, and kings," which signifies that the people of God must again +be witnesses of his saving grace throughout all the world. In the +beginning of this dispensation all his people prophesied among the +nations; for Christ had said unto them, "Ye shall be _witnesses_ unto +me, both in Jerusalem, and in Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the +uttermost parts of the earth." Acts 1:8. So, also, in this evening time +we go forth again on the same mission, inspired by the soon-coming of +our Savior. + +"Even so come, Lord Jesus." + + + + +CHAPTER XI. + + + 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. + + 3. And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall + prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in + sackcloth. + + 4. These are the two olive-trees, and the two candlesticks + standing before the God of the earth. + + 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. + + 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. + +The two principal objects of this vision is the city of Jerusalem with +its holy temple and worshipers, and two witnesses prophesying for twelve +hundred and sixty days. These are not objects from the natural world; +therefore we may conclude that we have not here to do with political +events, while the character of the symbols point us with certainty to +the history of the church. + +There is a possibility that the speaker here is not the angel of the +preceding chapter; for the words in verse 1 "and the angel stood" may be +an interpolation, they being found in very few manuscripts. See the +Revised Version and the Emphatic Diaglott, Greek and English. If not, +then he must be the angel through whom the Revelation was given. Chap. +1:1; 22:8. Whether the angel is the same as the one in the preceding +chapter or not, it is evident that that series of prophecy ends with +chapter 10, and that he here introduces a new line of events running +over the entire gospel dispensation[7], in which John as an active agent +in the panoramic vision still stands as a symbol of the people of God, +who, in striking contrast with the blind devotees of an apostate church, +are commanded to "measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them +that worship therein." The temple with its altar and court and the holy +city itself, here used as symbols, are representative of something +analagous, and refer to no other than the outward, visible church of God +with its doctrines and worshipers. Its measurement is designed to show +how far it conforms to the true church; while the rod is a symbol of the +revealed will of God, by which the measurement is brought as to a true +standard. + +[Footnote 7: This statement may seem to conflict with the classification +of events in the "Diagram of the Revelation," where this prophecy is +treated, not as an independent series, but as part of a compound series +beginning with chapter 8 and ending with chapter 11. For thus +classifying it my reason is, that the line of prophecy beginning with +chapter 8 introduces the seven trumpets, and therefore the series is not +complete until the seventh trumpet is given, which event concludes the +line of truth given in the present chapter.] + +By noticing briefly the arrangement of the temple and the purposes to +which the different apartments were put, we shall be able to understand +better the design of this vision. The temple proper consisted of two +apartments. In the first stood the altar of incense and other things; in +the second, the ark of the covenant, etc. The priests officiated in the +first apartment regularly, while into the second went the high-priest +alone once every year. This, Paul informs us, was a shadow of a greater +and more perfect tabernacle. Heb. 9:1-11; 8:2. The altar that is +mentioned and that John was to measure is a symbol of the great cardinal +doctrine of the church--the atonement and mediation of Christ. He was +the sacrifice made for sin, through whom we have redemption and access +unto God. John was also told to measure those who worshiped therein--the +officiating ministers in the sanctuary--who were thus made symbols of +the ministers and the teachers in the church. To measure the temple of +God, then, was to ascertain the great doctrines taught in the Scriptures +and symbolized by the sanctuary, the altar, and the priests; namely, the +doctrines of the New Testament concerning God as the supreme lawgiver, +the atonement of Jesus Christ as the only ground for justification, and +the ministers whom he appointed to officiate in his church. + +These are the great principles corrupted by the Papacy. Instead of the +one supreme God, we find another in the temple of God, "showing himself +that _he_ is God." Christ was not recognized as the supreme and only +head of the church; but instead the Pope claimed the title of universal +head and legislated supreme, while his decrees and anathemas were +accepted as from Jehovah himself. Christ was not regarded as the only +mediator between God and man, but the virgin Mary and the saints were +exalted to share the mediatorial throne, the mother being more honored +than the Son. Penance, counting of beads, works of supererogation, were +believed to be more effectual in obtaining forgiveness of sin than +living faith in our only Redeemer. Finally, in place of the humble +ministers of Christ whom he appointed to officiate in his church, there +were haughty lords and rulers, making the most extravagant claims to +power and authority over the minds and consciences of men. The court of +the temple was the space outside of the sanctuary occupied by the +congregation while the worship within was conducted by the priests. John +was told to leave this out and measure it not; for it was given to the +Gentiles to tread under foot, or profane, for the space of forty and two +months, or twelve hundred and sixty days. In the estimation of a Jew, +the Gentiles were all idolaters and outside of God's covenant favor. As +a symbol, then, we are to understand that the great body of worshipers +thus brought to view are not the true children of God at all, but are, +as it were, uncircumcised, idolatrous Gentiles, having no connection +whatever with the great head of the church and no part in the covenant +of his mercy. The whole city of Jerusalem was to be given over to this +profane multitude and by them desecrated for forty-two months, denoting +that this great company of worshipers was to constitute the visible, +external church during the period specified. It is as though the city of +Jerusalem were occupied by the idolatrous heathen, and the Jews driven +out as aliens. These Gentiles, then, were to constitute the one great +(so-called) universal church--the Church of Rome. + +Forty and two months, or twelve hundred and sixty days, are symbolic +time, signifying twelve hundred and sixty years, during which time the +power of apostasy was to reign supreme over the minds of men. The same +period is also referred to frequently in subsequent chapters. It is +necessary, then, for us to ascertain at what period of time the church +was given over to a profane multitude that was not the true people of +God. Some have supposed that this must refer to the time when Popery +became fully established. Such, however, could not be the case (although +the time-period includes that important event); for the power of +apostasy was greatly developed centuries before the final supremacy of +the Popes was established, and was necessary in order to prepare the way +for their exaltation. The Popes obtained their authority by degrees. In +A.D. 606 the emperor Phocas conferred the title "Universal Bishop" upon +the Pope of Rome. In A.D. 756 the Pope became a temporal sovereign. Yet +the power of Papal usurpation did not reach the summit until the reign +of the impious Hildebrand, who succeeded to the Popedom in A.D. 1073, +under the title of Gregory VII. But according to the symbols before us, +we must look for a period not so much when the Popes were enabled to +definitely enforce their arrogant claims, as when the ministry became +corrupted and when the inhabitants of the city, or the devotees of the +visible church, became a profane multitude entirely estranged from the +covenant of promise. The usurpations of the ministry that accompanied +this great change in the external church have been considered already +under the symbols of chapter VI. This mighty transformation to a church +containing nothing but uncircumcised Gentiles was fully accomplished +during the latter half of the third century, from which date we must +look for the true disciples of the Lord as entirely separate from the +hierarchy. A few quotations from standard and ecclesiastical histories +will show this important epoch in the rise of the Papacy that plunged +the world into almost universal apostasy. + +"The living church retiring gradually within the lonely sanctuary of a +few solitary hearts, an external church was substituted in its place, +and all its forms were declared to be of divine appointment. Salvation +no longer flowing from the Word, which was henceforward put out of +sight, the priests affirmed that it was conveyed by means of the forms +they had themselves invented, and that no one could obtain it but by +these channels.... The doctrine of the church and the necessity of its +visible unity, which had begun to gain ground in the _third century_, +favored the pretensions of Rome." D'Aubigne's History of the +Reformation, Book I, Chap. 1. + +"At the end of the third century almost half the inhabitants of the +Roman empire, and of several neighboring countries, professed the faith +of Christ. About this time endeavors to preserve a unity of belief, and +of church discipline, occasioned numberless disputes among those of +different opinions, and led to the establishment of an ecclesiastical +tyranny." Encyclopaedia of Religious Knowledge. + +Concerning the Roman diocese, the Encyclopaedia Britannica says, "Before +the termination of the third century the office was held to be of such +importance that its succession was a matter of interest to ecclesiastics +living in distant sees." Vol. XIX, p. 488. + +"Almost proportionate with the extension of Christianity was the +decrease in the church of vital piety. A philosophizing spirit among the +higher, and a wild monkish superstition among the lower orders, fast +took the place in the third century of the faith and humility of the +first Christians. Many of the clergy became very corrupt, and +excessively ambitious. In consequence of this there was an awful +defection of Christianity." Marsh's Church History, p. 185. + +"We have found it almost necessary to separate, and indeed widely to +distinguish the events of the two first, from those of the third +century, for nearly at this point we are disposed to place the FIRST +CRISIS in the internal history of the church." Waddington's Church +History. + +"This season of external prosperity was improved by the ministers of the +church for the exertion of new claims, and the assumption of powers with +which they had not been previously invested. At first these claims were +modestly urged, and gradually allowed; but they laid a foundation for +the encroachments which were afterwards made upon the rights of the +whole Christian community, and for lofty pretensions to the right of +supremacy and spiritual dominion.... Several alterations in the form of +church government appear to have been introduced during the third +century. Some degree of pomp was thought necessary.... The external +dignity of the ministers of religion was accompanied by a still greater +change in its discipline.... Many of the Jewish and Pagan proselytes ... +languished in the absence of ceremonies which were naturally adapted to +the taste of the unreflecting multitude, while the insolent infidel +haughtily insisted upon the inanity of a religion which was not +manifested by an external symbol or decoration. In order to accommodate +Christianity to these prejudices, a number of rites were instituted; and +while the dignified titles of the Jewish priesthood were through a +compliance with the prejudices of that people, conferred upon the +Christian teachers, many ceremonies were introduced which coincided with +the genius of Paganism. The true gospels were taught by sensible images, +and many of the ceremonies employed in celebrating the heathen mysteries +were observed in the institutions of Christ, which soon in their turn +obtained the name of mysteries, and served as a melancholy precedent for +future innovations, and as a foundation for that structure of absurdity +and superstition which deformed and disgraced the church." Rutter's +History of the Church, pp. 52-56. + +This "season of external prosperity" mentioned by Rutter began with the +accession of Gallienus to the imperial throne in A.D. 260. Up to this +time the hand of persecution had been raised against the church almost +incessantly; but from 260 until the reign of Diocletian persecution +almost ceased, during this space of about forty years. But this period +also marked the greatest decline in spiritual things and a marvelous +development of the hierarchy. Speaking of the bishop of Rome in these +times, Dowling says, "He far surpassed all his brethren in the +magnificence and splendor of the church over which he presided; in the +riches of his revenues and possessions; in the number and variety of his +ministers; in his credit with the people; and in his sumptuous and +splendid manner of living." History of Romanism, p. 34. + +Ammianus Marcellinus, a Roman historian, who lived during these times, +adverting to this subject, says: "It was no wonder to see those who were +ambitious of human greatness, contending with so much heat and animosity +for that dignity, because when they had obtained it, they were sure to +be enriched by the offerings of the matrons, and of appearing abroad in +great splendor, of being admired for their costly coaches, and sumptuous +feasts, outdoing sovereign princes in the expenses of their table." This +led Proetextatus, a heathen, who was praefect of the city, to say, "Make +me bishop of Rome, and I'll be a Christian too!" + +Speaking of the period now under consideration, Eusebius, "the father of +church history," "mentions one Paul, who was at this time bishop of +Antioch; who lived in luxury and licentiousness, and who was a teacher +of erroneous doctrines, and usurped so great authority that the people +feared to venture to accuse him. In the conclusion of the same chapter +in which this is found, he shows that after a general council was held +at Antioch, this Paul was excommunicated and robbed of his bishopric by +the bishops of Rome and Italy; from this it appears that they possessed +an authority still greater than that usurped by Paul." The following are +his words: "Paul, therefore, having thus fallen from the episcopate, +together with the true faith as already said, Domnus succeeded in +administration of the church at Antioch. But Paul being unwilling to +leave the building of the church, an appeal was made to the emperor +Aurelian, who decided most equitably on the business, ordering the +building to be given up to those whom the Christian bishops of Italy and +Rome should write." Eccl. History, Book VII, Chap. 30. The Encyclopaedia +Britannica says that this council at which Paul was excommunicated was +held "probably in the year 268," and that "Paul continued in his office +until the year 272, when the city was taken by the emperor Aurelian, who +decided in person that the church-building belonged to the bishop who +was in epistolary communication with the bishops of Rome and Italy." +Vol. XVIII, p. 429. + +The above extracts show not only the development of error in the church, +but also the great power already obtained by the hierarchy. Geo. Fisher +says, "The accession of Constantine [A.D. 312] found the church so +firmly organized under the hierarchy that it could not lose its identity +by being absolutely merged in the state." History of the Christian +Church, p. 99. + +In the year A.D. 270 Anthony, an Egyptian, the founder of the monastic +institution, fixed his abode in the deserts of Egypt and formed monks +into organized bodies. "Influenced by these eminent examples [Anthony, +Hilarion, et al.] immense multitudes betook themselves to the desert, +and innumerable monasteries were fixed in Egypt, Ethiopia, Lybia and +Syria. Some of the Egyptian abbots are spoken of as having had five, +seven, or even ten thousand monks under their personal direction; and +the Thebias, as well as certain spots in Arabia, are reported to have +been literally crowded with solitaries. Nearly a hundred thousand of all +classes, it is said, were at one time to be found in Egypt.... Although +the enthusiasm might be at a lower ebb in one country than in another, +it _actually affected the church universal_, so far as the extant +materials of ecclesiastical history enables us to trace its rise and +progress.... The more rigid and heroic of the Christian anchorets +dispensed with all clothing except a rug, or a few palm leaves round the +loins. Most of them abstained from the use of water for ablution; nor +did they usually wash or change the garments they had once put on; thus +_St. Anthony_ [the founder of this order] bequeathed to Athanasius a +skin in which his sacred person had been wrapped for half a century. +They also allowed their beards and nails to grow, and sometimes became +so hirsute, as to be actually mistaken for hyaenas or bears." Hist. of +Romanism, pp. 88, 89. Reader, what was the condition of the so-called +church in A.D. 270 that could make the introduction of such abominations +possible? Although many more historical quotations on this point might +be added, I will conclude with the two following extracts from Joseph +Milner. + +"We shall, for the present, leave Anthony propagating the monastic +dispositions, and extending its influence not only into the next +century, but for many ages after, and conclude this view of the state of +the _third century_, with expressing our regret that the faith and love +of the gospel received toward the close of it a dreadful blow from the +encouragement of this unchristian practise." Cen. III, Chap. 20. + +"Moral, and philosophical, and monastic instructions will not effect for +men what is to be expected from evangelical doctrine. And if the faith +of Christ was so much declined (and its decayed state _ought to be dated +from about the year 270_), we need not wonder that such scenes as +Eusebius hints at without any circumstantial details took place in the +Christian world." Cent. IV, Chap. 1. + +After reading the foregoing statements of historians, the reader will, I +believe, agree with me that the year 270 is a consistent date to mark +the time when the visible external church was wholly given over to the +profane multitude of uncircumcised, idolatrous Gentiles to tread under +foot. Measuring forward the allotted period of twelve hundred and sixty +years brings us to the exact date of the first Protestant creed (_the +Augsburg Confession_) in A.D. 1530. We must point to this date both for +the end of Rome's universal spiritual supremacy and for the rise of +Protestantism. D'Aubigne, in his History of the Reformation, when he +comes to this period, says: "The conflicts hitherto described have been +only partial; we are entering upon a new period, that of general +battles. Spires (1529) and Ausburg (1530) are names that shine forth +with more immortal glory than Marathon, Pavia, or Marengo. Forces that +up to the present time were separate, are now uniting into one energetic +band." Book XVIII, Chap. 1. "The first two books of this volume contain +the most important epochs of the reformation--the Protest of Spires, and +the Confession of Augsburg.... I determined on bringing the reformation +of Germany and German Switzerland to the _decisive epochs_ of 1530 and +1531. The history of the reformation, properly so called, is then in my +opinion almost complete in those countries. The work of faith has there +attained its apogee: that of conferences, of interims, of diplomacy +begins.... The movement of the sixteenth century has there made its +effort. I said from the very first, It is the history of the reformation +and not of Protestantism that I am relating." D'Aubigne, Preface to Vol. +V. + +The next important object in the vision is the "two witnesses" that +prophecied in sackcloth. From the description given, it would appear at +first that these witnesses were active intelligent agents; and as such, +belonging to the department of human life, they would symbolize the +church, the number two denoting the ministry and the people of God. But +the church is already symbolized in this chapter, the angel representing +the ministry, as in the preceding chapter, and John, who is clearly one +of the symbolic agents in this vision, representing the church; +therefore the two witnesses must be representative of something else. +Since the actions ascribed to them are drawn from the department of +human life, it is evident that their interpretation is to be found in +connection with the affairs of the church. By way of explanation, verse +4 represents them to be "the two olive-trees, and the two candle-sticks +standing before the God of the earth," although it is not stated that +any olive-trees and candle-sticks were shown in this prophetic vision. +In this reference is made to the fourth chapter of Zechariah, where two +olive-trees are represented as standing one on each side of a golden +candle-stick, distilling into it their oil for light. When asked for the +signification of the two olive-trees and the candlestick, the angel +answered, "This is the _Word_ of the Lord ... by my _Spirit_, saith the +Lord." Ver. 6. That the Word of God and the Spirit of God are special +witnesses is proved by many texts. Jesus said, "Search the Scriptures +... they are they which _testify_ of me." John 6:39. "This gospel of the +kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a _witness_ unto all +nations." Mat. 24:14. "The Holy Ghost also is a _witness_." Heb. 10:15. +"The Spirit itself beareth _witness_." Rom. 8:16. "It is the Spirit that +beareth _witness_." 1 John 5:6. It is the Spirit acting in conjunction +with the Word of God that gives spiritual life, through regeneration, +unto men, and which opens their understanding that they may know the +things of God. 2 Cor. 2:9-15. + +God may have given us the explanation that these two witnesses were the +same as the olive-trees and the candle-sticks to prevent our being led +astray with the supposition that they were actually intelligent agents. +(I speak humanly.) Accepting this statement, the actions of these +witnesses here described can be explained only by the figure of speech +known as Personification, by which it is proper, under certain +conditions, to attribute life, action, and intelligence to inanimate +objects. Thus, the blood of Abel is said to have cried from the ground. +Gen. 4:9, 10. "The stone shall cry out of the wall, and the beam out of +the timber shall answer it." Hab. 2:11. "The hire of the laborers ... +which is of you kept back by fraud crieth: and the cries ... are entered +into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth." Jas. 5:4. "The mountains and the +hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of +the field shall clap their hands." Isa. 55:12. I would not attempt to +vary from the general order and explain these two witnesses by the +figure of personification, were it not for the fact that the two +olive-trees and the two candle-sticks are here given as a means of +explanation; and trees and candle-sticks, we know, are not active, +intelligent agents, and consequently do not necessarily symbolize such. + +To "hurt" the Word and Spirit of God is to oppose, corrupt, or pervert +their testimony and to turn people away from them; and the judgments of +Heaven are pronounced in that Word and by that Spirit against such as +turn away from the truth unto fables. They shall have their part in the +lake that burns with fire and brimstone. Rev. 20:15; 22:8. It is also +said of them: "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." +This indicates the fact that these were God's own special witnesses sent +in his name and by his authority, as were the prophets of old. Elijah +shut up heaven by prayer; Moses called down the plagues upon Egypt; and +these were God's attestations that they were his divinely commissioned +servants. So these two witnesses had power to shut heaven and to smite +the earth with plagues, not literally, but herein is symbolically set +forth the fact that they were God's appointed agents, even though +despised and rejected, like Elijah in the midst of apostate Israel and +Moses amid idolatrous Egypt, yet, like them, with the seal of Heaven +upon their ministry. + +In the beginning of this dispensation these two witnesses were the +vicars of Christ in his church upon earth. The word of God and the +Spirit of God were the Governors of his people. At that time they had +perfect freedom of action among the children of God; but when the +apostasy arose, the governing power of the Word and Spirit of God in the +church was gradually usurped by the rising hierarchy, until, finally, +men had entire authority in what was called the visible church. This was +brought about when, to quote Mosheim's words, the bishops grasped the +power and authority "to prescribe authoritative rules of faith and +manners." D'Aubigne explains it thus: "Salvation no longer flowing from +the _Word_, which was henceforward put out of sight, the priests +affirmed that it was conveyed by means of the forms they had themselves +invented, and that no one could attain it except by these channels.... +Christ communicated to the apostles, and these to the bishops, the +unction of the _Holy Spirit_; and this Spirit is to be procured only in +that order of succession.... Faith in the heart no longer connected the +members of the church, and they were united by means of bishops, +archbishops, popes, mitres, canons and ceremonies." History of the +Reformation, Book I, Chap. 1. Thus, the Word and Spirit of God as the +true vicars of Christ in his church were finally expelled from what was +looked upon as the one visible church, and with them the true worshipers +also were driven out; and nothing remained in the public view except the +great company of profane idolaters already referred to. The same is +referred to in a subsequent chapter as the flight of the true church +into the wilderness, where, hidden from sight, she had a place prepared +of God for twelve hundred and sixty days. So after all, God had a true +church during the Dark Ages--a people that stood in opposition to the +abounding corruption and iniquity of the church of Rome; a people that +rejected the established hierarchy and gave heed to the Word and Spirit +of God. But their numbers were so few, comparatively, that the +operations of the two witnesses were greatly limited; hence they are +represented as being clothed in sackcloth, a symbol of melancholy and +mourning. + +Among those who opposed the teachings of that apostate church were the +Cathari, Poor Men of Lyons, Lombards, Albigenses, Waldenses, Vaudois, +etc. The name Waldenses and Albigenses have frequently been loosely +applied to all the bands of people that passed under various titles in +different countries and that opposed the doctrines and ecclesiastical +tyranny of Rome. Speaking of the twelfth century, Bowling says: "There +existed at that dark period, when 'all the world wondered after the +beast,' a numerous body of the disciples of Christ, who took the New +Testament for their guidance and direction in all the affairs of +religion, rejecting the doctrines and commandments of men. Their appeal +was from the decisions of councils, and the authority of popes, +cardinals, and prelates, to the law and the testimony--the words of +Christ and his holy apostles." History of Romanism, p. 272. Egbert, a +monkish writer of that age, speaking of them, says that he had often +disputed with these heretics, "a sort of people," he adds, "who are very +pernicious to the Catholic faith, which, like moths, they corrupt and +destroy. They are armed," says he, "_with the words of Scripture_ which +in any way seem to favor their sentiments, and with these they know how +to defend their errors, and to oppose the Catholic truth. They are +increased to great multitudes throughout all countries, to the great +danger of the church [of Rome]." + +For lack of space, an extensive history of these interesting people can +not be given; but a few references to them by their most inveterate +enemies, the Papists themselves, are of such importance that I can not +pass them by unnoticed. The testimony given by Evervinus, a zealous +Catholic, in a letter he wrote to the celebrated Bernard, at the +beginning of the twelfth century, relative to the doctrine and manners +of these so-called _heretics_, is exceedingly valuable. Says he: "There +have lately been some heretics discovered among us, near Colonge [sic: +Cologne], of whom some have, with satisfaction returned again to the +church. One that was a bishop among them, and his companions, openly +opposed us, in the assembly of the clergy and laity, the lord-archbishop +himself being present, with many of the nobility, maintaining their +heresy from _the words of Christ and his apostles_. But, finding that +they made no impression, they desired that a day might be fixed, upon +which they might bring along with them men skilful in their faith, +promising to return to the church, provided their teachers were unable +to answer their opponents; but that otherwise, they would rather die +than depart from their judgment. + +"Upon this declaration, having been admonished to repent, and three days +allowed them for that purpose, they were seized by the people, in their +excess of zeal, _and committed to the flames_! and, what is most +astonishing, they came to the stake and endured the torment not only +with patience, but even with joy. In this case, O holy father, were I +present with you, I should be glad to ask you, how these members of +Satan could persist in their heresy with such constancy and courage as +is rarely to be found among the most religious in the faith of Christ?" + +He then proceeds: "Their heresy is this: They say that the church (of +Christ) is only among themselves, because they alone follow the ways of +Christ, and imitate the apostles, not seeking secular gains.... Whereas +they say to us, 'Ye join house to house, and field to field, seeking the +things of this world.'... They represent themselves as the poor of +Christ's flock, who have no certain abode, fleeing from one city to +another, like sheep in the midst of wolves, enduring persecution with +the apostles and martyrs: though strict in their manner of +life--_abstemious, laborious, devoted, and holy_ ... living as men who +are not of the world. But you, say they, lovers of the world, have peace +with the world, because ye are in it. False apostles, who adulterate the +word of God, seeking their own things, have misled you and your +ancestors. Whereas, we and our fathers, having been born and brought up +in the apostolic doctrine, have continued in the grace of Christ, and +shall continue so to the end.... They affirm that the apostolic dignity +is corrupted by indulging itself in secular affairs, while it sits +[professedly] in St Peter's chair. They do not hold with the baptism of +infants, alleging that passage of the gospel, 'He that believeth and is +baptized shall be saved.' They place no confidence in the intercession +of saints and all things observed in the church, which have not been +established by Christ himself, or his apostles, they pronounce to be +superstitious. They do not admit of any purgatory fire after death, +contending, that the souls of men, as soon as they depart out of the +bodies, do enter into rest or punishment ... by which means they make +void all the prayers and oblations of the faithful for the deceased.... +I must inform you also, that those of them who have returned to our +church, tell us that they had great numbers of their persuasion, +scattered almost everywhere.... And as for those who were burnt, they, +in defense they made of themselves, told us that this heresy had been +_concealed from the time of the martyrs_ [by which is meant the early +period of Christianity] and that it had existed in Greece and other +countries." + +Although Bernard began a strenuous opposition to these people, still he +testifies: "If you ask them of their faith, nothing can be more +Christian-like; and if you observe their conversation, nothing can be +more blameless, and what they speak they make good by their actions.... +As to life and manners, he circumvents no man, overreaches no man, does +violence to no man. He fasts much and eats not the bread of idleness; +but works with his hands for his support." + +Claudius, archbishop of Turin, who joined in hunting and persecuting +them to the death, writes, "Their heresy excepted, they generally live a +purer life than other Christians." Again, "In their lives they are +perfect, irreproachable, and without reproach among men, addicting +themselves with all their might to the service of God." + +The sum and substance of their offense is mentioned by Cassini, a +Franciscan friar, where he says, "That ALL THE ERRORS of these Waldenses +consisted in this, that they denied the church of Rome to be the holy +mother church, and _would not obey her traditions_." + +In conclusion I quote from the celebrated Roman Catholic historian +Thuanus. He states their tenets as follows: "That the church of Rome, +because it renounced the true faith of Christ, WAS THE WHORE OF BABYLON +... that consequently _no obedience was to be paid to the Pope_, or to +the bishops who maintain her errors; that a monastic life was the sink +and dungeon of the church, the vows of which [relating to celibacy] were +vain ... that the orders of the priesthood were marks of the great beast +mentioned in the Apocalypse; that the fire of purgatory, the solemn +mass, the consecration days of churches, the worship of saints, and +propitiations for the dead, were the devices of Satan." Lib. VI, Sec. +16, Lib. XXVII. The chief offense of these so-called heretics seems to +have been that they denounced the Pope as "Antichrist" and the apostate +church of Rome as "the Babylonish harlot." + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + +At the expiration of the twelve hundred and sixty years the scene +changes. The prophecy of the witnesses in their sackcloth state, hidden +away from sight in the wilderness, ends, and they are now brought out +into public view--but only to be killed. Their slaughter takes place at +the hands of the beast. When we come to consider chapter XIII, we shall +see that the Papacy is described as a beast reigning for forty-two +months, or twelve hundred and sixty years, after which time another +beast possessing great power and authority appears on the scene. This +second beast is Protestantism, and through it the murder of the two +witnesses at the close of the Papal supremacy in the vision before us +was effected. + +It would seem, by the similarity of statement that the beast "ascendeth +out of the bottomless pit," that the slaughter of the witnesses was +effected by the Papal beast (chap. 17:7, 8); but the Mohammedan delusion +also is said to have proceeded from "the bottomless pit." Chap. 9:1, 2. +The expression _bottomless pit_ is doubtless used merely to signify the +source of certain powers in contradistinction to the heavenly source +from which others proceeded. Although the Papal beast is said to have +originated in the bottomless pit, the second beast also doubtless +proceeded from the same source, for he possessed many of the +characteristics of the former, and caused the earth to worship the first +beast, as explained in chapter 13. That he was not of heavenly origin is +shown by the statement that he came up "out of the earth." Chap. 13:11. +But the direct proof that it was the Protestant beast, and not the Papal +beast--although the same expression as to its origin is used concerning +it--that slew the two witnesses, is found in the fact that the reign of +the first, or Papal, beast was limited to forty two months (chap. 13:5), +corresponding to the twelve hundred and sixty years in which the +witnesses prophesied in the vision before us; while it was after the +_close_ of this period, at the time when the second, or Protestant, +beast arose (chap. 13:11), that the witnesses were slain. + +To many this may seem a hard saying; but I request that the matter be +given the most careful attention in the light of prophecy and divine +truth. It is true that the Sixteenth Century Reformation at first +brought the witnesses out of the wilderness of seclusion where they had +remained during the long night of Romanism and exhibited them to the +public view; but when thus placed upon exhibition, they were soon robbed +entirely of their position as the Vicars, or Governors, of God's church. +Since creed and sect-making first began, the Word and Spirit have not +possesed governing power and authority in Protestantism; but men have +usurped that place and prescribed authoritative rules of faith and +practise for the people. The principles of Higher Criticism have so far +pervaded the realm of sectarian theology that a vast number of the +clergy no longer regard the Bible as the inspired word of God to man, +but simply as a remarkable piece of religious literature recording the +natural development of the religious consciousness among a peculiarly +sensitive race of people. Protestantism certainly has placed the Bible +on the dissecting table and dismembered it in a manner wholly unknown +before. While Protestants will not for a moment allow the blessed Book +to be hidden out of sight--put "into graves"--still they will not grant +it that place it should occupy as the sole discipline of faith, so it is +a dead letter to them. That all-glorious doctrine of Bible _unity_, +which fills the whole New Testament, strikes a deathblow to all the +carnal divisions and institutions of sectarianism; and so with one +accord they unite in _fighting it_. "Oh, the good old blessed Bible! we +could not do without it," say they; yet, as everybody knows, they are +governed by the discipline and laws that they or their representatives +have formulated. Thus, the Word and Spirit of God are brought under the +public gaze, only to be treated with such indignity in God's sight, and +killed; while infidels look on, and tauntingly remark, "Either the +religion of to-day is no Christianity, or the Word of God is a lie." + +In the beginning of this dispensation the church of God not only +consisted of all those who were spiritual, but constituted a visible, +organic body as well, made up of numerous local congregations that were +separate in the management of their internal affairs, yet interrelated +with each other, and were directed by humble pastors, who were, in +reference to each other, _equal_. The Word of God was their only +discipline, and the Spirit of God, their great Teacher and Guide. Thus, +the two witnesses were active in their official position, in the public +view, as the Vicars or Governors of the church of God on earth. When, +however, men usurped the place of these Vicars by ignoring the Spirit +and rejecting the Word and making their own rules of faith, the effect +was a national hierarchy--the church of Rome, which for twelve hundred +and sixty years stood in the public view. Yet the two witnesses were +still alive, though driven into obscurity and "clothed in sackcloth"; +for they still acted in their official position in the congregations of +the medieval Christians already referred to, who resisted the doctrines +of men and clung tenaciously to the simple, primitive form of church +government and allowed the Spirit and Word authority supreme. + +But during the Protestant era Christians the world over became +identified with the various sects, hence were representing to the world +the beast power instead of the true church. Thus, during the Protestant +period, the church of God, _in its organic form_, was not represented +anywhere on earth; for its members were scattered among those who were +"worshiping the beast and his image." Hence the two witnesses, during +this era, had no place to operate in their official capacity as the +Governors of God's church and are therefore represented as slain. The +government of Protestant sects is not effected by the Word and Spirit; +for the institutions themselves are of human origin, and men are their +law-makers and governors. + +When the two witnesses are deprived of their governing power and the +rules and disciplines of men substituted in their place, a decline into +worldliness is the invariable result. This has been the case repeatedly +in sectarianism. In fact, Protestantism, as a component part of that +great city Babylon, has so given herself over to "revellings, +banquetings, and abominable idolatries," that a voice from heaven has +declared her to be "the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul +spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird." Chap. 18:2. +Witness the shows, festivals, frolics, grab-bag parties, kissing bees, +cake-walk lotteries, and other abominations unnumbered, that are carried +on without shame, under the guise of religion, in the high places of +this modern Babylon! If the Word of God with the full power and +authority of his Spirit could be turned in upon them, it would be like +the torment of fire; but no, it is dead to them, and they rejoice and +make merry and continue in "the same excess of riot." + +In the description before us, this city of sectarianism in which the two +witnesses are slain is "spiritually [or mystically] called Sodom and +Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified." It is a mystical Sodom, Egypt +and Jerusalem--a Sodom for wickedness and lewdness, an Egypt for the +captivity and oppression of God's people, and a Jerusalem for the +crucifying of the Son of God afresh and putting him to an open shame. +Thus, this city mystically combines the wickedness of the three most +wicked places on earth--Sodom, Egypt, and Jerusalem. These facts we +shall notice more particularly hereafter. + +But these two witnesses were not always to remain trampled under foot in +the streets of great Babylon; for a time came when "the spirit of life +from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great +fear fell upon them which saw them." In this is portrayed the +reformation which is now taking place in the world. About the year A.D. +1880 God began to raise up holy men and women whom he commissioned to +preach the everlasting gospel of the kingdom again; and they went forth +in his name calling upon God's people everywhere to come "out of all +places where they had been scattered in the cloudy and dark day" (Ezek. +34:12) and to take up their abode in the one true church of Jesus +Christ, his body, independent of all sectarianism and the creeds and +disciplines of men. In this assembly of the faithful, gathered out of +all nations, no man nor set of men attempts to form laws or regulations +for the supervision of spiritual affairs; but with one consent they +humbly bow before the only true Lawgiver (Jas. 4:12), and say, "The +government shall be upon his shoulder" (Isa. 9:6); and the Word and +Spirit of God have perfect control of his saints. Halleluiah! They can +preach, teach, and believe every word of truth placed in the Sacred +Volume, without a conference or discipline of men forbidding. Standing +upon this apostolic platform of eternal truth, they hurl the thunders of +divine judgment against the hidden works of darkness, causing the +graceless devotees of fallen Babylon to quake with fear and to "gnaw +their tongues for pain." + +After the resurrection of these witnesses, a voice from heaven is heard, +saying, "Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in a cloud; and +their enemies beheld them." This ascension to heaven in the presence of +their enemies, which according to this chapter occurred before the end +of time, has reference undoubtedly to their great exaltation. "Thy +greatness is grown, and _reacheth unto heaven_." Dan. 4:22. We see that +in this text a similar expression signifies great exaltation. So this +work is destined to assume such proportions that the people of earth may +have the privilege of seeing the truth. In the preceding chapter John, +as a symbol of the church at this time, under the living ministry +symbolized by the rain-bow angel, was told that he "must prophesy again +before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings." Verse 11. + +The signification of the time-period of three days and a half claims our +attention next. According to the foregoing explanation, it will be seen +that the writer applies it as three centuries and a half, or three +hundred and fifty years--from A.D. 1530 to A.D. 1880. It will be +necessary to adduce strong reasons for thus applying it. In the first +place, the time-prophecies of the Bible are by no means confined to the +year-day manner of interpretation. Many times in the Old Testament the +expression occurs, "And it shall come to pass _in that day_," which +expression is admitted by all to have reference to the gospel day, or +the entire gospel dispensation. When the church of Philadelphia was +promised deliverance from the _hour_ of temptation which was to come +upon all the world (chap. 3:10), no one supposes that a short period of +only one week is specified. The rulers of the ten kingdoms were to +"receive power as kings _one hour_ with the beast" (chap. 17:12), which +expression will be shown later to really cover many years. We might +point out many such exceptions were it necessary. + +Again, it was the beast that came up at the expiration of the twelve +hundred and sixty years, or Protestantism, that slaughtered the +witnesses, and we could not expect their resurrection during the reign +of Protestantism, which every one will admit was longer than three and +one-half years, according to the year-day application. The events as +they have developed prove that it was just three and one-half centuries +before Protestantism was entirely ignored and the Spirit and Word +recognized as the sole Governors in the church of God. Besides, the +general trend of events following the formation of Protestantism +naturally divide the succeeding centuries into separate periods. The +first (sixteenth) was a fierce conflict for the establishment of +Protestantism; the second (seventeenth) was a violent reaction, wherein +the church of Rome nearly triumphed over her hated opposers; while the +third (eighteenth) is specially noted in history as the period of +infidelity or reason. This division of time was so noticable that +D'Aubigne, who wrote about A.D. 1835, in his famous History of the +Reformation, refers to it in the following remarkable language: "It has +been said that the three last centuries, the sixteenth, the seventeenth, +and the eighteenth, may be conceived as an immense battle of _three +days'_ duration. We willingly adopt this beautiful comparison.... The +first day was the battle of God, the second the battle of the priest, +the third the battle of Reason. What will be the fourth? [1830-1930] In +our opinion, the confused strife, the deadly contest of all these powers +together, TO END IN THE VICTORY OF HIM TO WHOM TRIUMPH BELONGS." Book +XI, Chap. 9. + +The writer is thankful to God that he is permitted to see the fourth day +ending "in the victory of Him to whom triumph belongs." And may we, my +brethren, be grateful to our dear Lord that it is our privilege to have +part in this glorious reformation of divine truth that is now sweeping +over the world and gathering the elect together for the soon-coming of +the Savior. + + 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. + + 14. The second woe is past; and, behold, the third woe cometh + quickly. + +At the time the witnesses reach their greatest exaltation, a great +earthquake takes place upon earth, and the tenth part of the city falls. +The nature of the symbol would point us to some political upheaval. +Since the great city of Babylon is composed of different divisions (as +will be seen hereafter), it is a matter of doubt as to which part of the +city is here referred to; but most probably that of the hierarchy as +embraced in one of the ten divisions or kingdoms. Since the fulfilment +of this prediction is yet future, I speak with hesitation and wait for +the event to make all clear. It is probable, however, that either in +this political revolution, or about that time, the Ottoman power will be +overthrown; for immediately the announcement is made, "The second woe is +past; and, behold, the third woe cometh quickly." + + 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. + + 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 + shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the + saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and + shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth. + + 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 seventh angel that here sounded is the third woe-angel, and +according to the description before us, ushers in the general judgment. +When the temple of God was opened that this mighty event might take +place on earth, there were "lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and +an earthquake, and great hail." Wondrous commotions took place in the +world, for kingdoms and empires were all overthrown, and Jesus Christ +was the only king remaining, and his mission was to raise the dead that +they might be judged, to give reward to the prophets and saints, and to +banish with everlasting destruction those that corrupted the earth. The +description itself is too plain to need further comment. + +"The temple of God" that was opened in heaven is to be understood as +symbolical (as explained in chap. 6:9), and not literal. In other words, +the heavenly world appeared to John symbolized after the sanctuary of +the temple on earth. Chap. 15:5-8; 16:1, 7, 17, etc. This is proved +clearly by the fact that, when the real heaven, the future home of the +redeemed, is described, John says, "I saw _no temple_ therein." Chap. +21:22. + +Before dismissing the visions of this chapter, I wish to call attention +to one more point hitherto referred to--that of parallelism and +contrast. While we have the history of the church apostate described by +the treading down of the holy city, we have also, in immediate contrast +and running parallel therewith, a history of the true church existing +during the same period of twelve hundred and sixty years, although it +was in a sackcloth state. And while the reign of Protestantism is +described as a period during which the two witnesses were in one sense +dead, we have in immediate contrast a history of the last great +reformation, in which the spirit of life from God again enters these +same witnesses, and they stand upright on their feet, to the +consternation of all their adversaries. Amen. + + + + +CHAPTER XII. + + + 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. + + 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. + +The three principal objects of this vision are the woman clothed with +the sun, the man-child born of her, and a red dragon with seven heads +and ten horns. These, being drawn from nature and human life, would +point us both to the church and to the state for their fulfilment. The +symbols, also, are living agents, and we should expect the objects they +represent to be such. + +This woman is an appropriate symbol of the church of God, which is +composed of living, intelligent beings; and that it is the true and not +an apostate one, is shown by the fact that upon her flight into the +wilderness she had a place prepared of God where she was nourished for +twelve hundred and sixty days. In a subsequent portion of the Apocalypse +a vile harlot is taken as the representative of the church apostate. In +this way a proper correspondence of character and quality is kept up. +This woman appeared, not in the temple above, but in the firmament of +heaven, where she was clothed with the sun, the moon under her feet, and +upon her head a crown of twelve stars. Thus the brightest luminaries of +heaven were gathered around her. Arrayed in this splendid manner, she is +easily distinguished from an apostate church, which would not be so +highly favored with such attire in this exalted position. Doubtless the +objects with which she is adorned have some special signification. The +moon is a fit symbol of the old covenant, above which the church had +just risen, only to be clothed in the superior brightness and glory of +the new covenant. And as the moon shines only with a borrowed light, +obtaining its illumination from the sun; so, also, the old covenant was +only a shadow of the good things to come and now stands eclipsed in the +brightness and transcendant glory of that new and better dispensation. +According to the explanation given of the seven stars in the right hand +of Jesus (chap. 1:19), we are authorized to regard stars as a symbol of +Christian ministers, and the twelve that appear most prominently in the +first history of the church are the twelve apostles of the Lamb. + +The dragon, a beast from the natural world, would properly symbolize a +tyrannical, persecuting government. This was a red dragon with seven +heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. In the following +chapter we read that John saw a beast rising up out of the sea with the +same number of heads and horns, but ten crowns on his horns. And the +dragon gave him (the beast) "his power, and his seat, and great +authority." Verse 2. So far as the heads and horns are concerned, the +only difference between the two is that the crowns--a symbol of supreme +authority and power--have been transferred from the heads to the horns. +In chapter 17 John saw the same beast again and there received the +following explanation of the seven heads: "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." Verse 10. Concerning the horns +he was told, "The ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have +received no kingdom as yet." Verse 12. With this explanation before us +it will be easy to identify the dragon of chapter 12 and the beast of +chapters 13 and 17 as the Roman empire, the first under the Pagan and +the second under the Papal form. The seven heads signify the seven +distinct forms of supreme government that ruled successively in the +empire. The five that had already fallen when John received the vision +were the Regal power, the Consular, the Decemvirate, the Military +Tribunes and the Triumvirate. "One is"--the Imperial.[8] The +identification of its seventh and last head we shall leave until later. +The ten horns, or kingdoms, which had not yet arisen when the Revelation +was given, were the ten minor kingdoms that grew out of the Western +Roman empire during its decline and fall. The historian Machiard, in +giving an account of these nations, and without any reference to the +Bible or its prophecies, reckons ten kingdoms, as follows: + +1. The Ostrogoths in Maesia; +2. The Visigoths in Pannonia; +3. Sueves and Alans in Gascoigne and Spain; +4. Vandals in Africa; +5. Franks in France; +6. Burgundians in Burgundy; +7. Heruli and Turings in Italy; +8. Saxons and Anglis in Britain; +9. Huns in Hungary; +10. Lombards, at first on the Danube, and afterwards +in Italy. + +[Footnote 8: The fact that commentators and historians differ in their +enumeration of the forms of government that ruled in Rome is often a +source of confusion to ordinary readers. Hence an explanation is +necessary. Rome was first ruled by kings, and therefore the first form +of government is designated by either the term _Kings_ or the term +_Regal Power_. Upon the expulsion of the kings and the formation of the +republic, the royal power was entrusted to two men who held it for a +year, and were called _consuls_. In times of great public danger the +consuls were superseded by a special officer called a _dictator_, who +had supreme power. As the early life of the republic was often +threatened with grave dangers, Rome was often governed by a dictator; +hence this form of government is sometimes called the Dictatorship. The +third form was the _Decemviri_, a government by ten men, who compiled +the twelve famous Tables of Laws. In 444 B.C. another change was made by +the appointment of _Military Tribunes_ (whose numbers varied) with +consular power. These were frequently called _Consuls_. The fifth form +was the _Triumvirate_, a government by three men. The sixth was the +_Imperial_. Hence the different forms can be enumerated thus: 1. The +Regal Power, or Kings. 2. Consula or Dictators. 3. Decemvirate. 4. +Military Tribunes, Tribunes, or Consuls. 5. Triumvirate. 6. Imperial. +The seventh form will be considered in another place. See remarks on +chap. 17:7-11.] + +Other historians agree substantially with this. These kingdoms all arose +within one hundred and seventy years. The dragon is described with the +horns, although they were not now in existence and did not arise until +nearly the time when the dragon became the beast; likewise, he is +represented with seven heads, although he really possessed only one head +at a time, and five had already fallen and one being yet to come. He is +described with all the heads and horns he ever had or was to have. + +The tail of this dragon "drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and +did cast them to the earth." Some people who have never learned the +nature of symbolic language try to imagine such a literal creature as +the one here described and picture in their minds what an awful thing it +would be to see the third part of the stars falling to the earth. But +real stars that are fixed or planetary never fall, and if they did, they +would be as apt to fall in an opposite direction as toward the earth. +Besides, if one should come tumbling down here, it would knock this +world into oblivion. But with a knowledge of the proper use of symbols +we can easily identify this dragon with the Roman empire under its Pagan +form; and the casting down of the stars, which were doubtless used as +symbols of ministers as in verse 1, signifies the warfare which this +awful beast power waged against the church of God, in which her +ministers were always a shining mark for the first persecution and +suffered terribly for the cause they represented. + +The man-child is the next object that claims our attention. Some have +supposed that it represented Jesus Christ in his first advent to the +world. But this could not be; for Christ is never represented as being +the offspring of the church, but, on the other hand, is declared to be +its originator. Some, also, have supposed that it represented the church +bringing forth Christ to the world in a spiritual sense. This, however, +would be in direct conflict with the known laws of symbolic language. A +visible, living, intelligent agent, such as this man-child evidently +was, could not be the symbol of an invisible spiritual presence. +Besides, it has been clearly shown that Christ always appears in his own +person, unrepresented by another, from the fact that he can not be +symbolized. It is clear that this child can not signify a single +definite personage; for after he is caught up to God, there is still a +remnant of the woman's seed left upon earth. See verse 17. + +What, then, does the man-child signify? It symbolizes the mighty host of +new converts or children that the early church by her earnest travail +brought forth. The seeming incongruity that the church, or mother, and +her children are alike only serves to establish the point in question +when rightly understood. A child is of the same substance as its mother +and is designed to perpetuate the race. So, also, the new-born babes in +the church are just the same spiritually as those who are older, and are +intended to perpetuate the church of God on earth. But this explanation +of itself is not sufficient to entirely satisfy an inquiring mind, and +the question is sure to be asked, Why was it necessary that the church +of God in this dispensation should be represented by two individuals--a +woman and her son? I also will ask a question--Why, on the other hand, +was it necessary that the great apostasy of this dispensation should be +represented by the double-figure of a woman and her daughters? The +answer to the latter question would readily be given--to symbolize two +distinct phases of apostasy. So, also, it was necessary that a +double-symbol, such as a woman and her son, should be chosen to set +forth _two phases_ of the church brought to view in this chapter. If but +a single symbol were used, how could the church be thereby represented +as continuing on earth and fleeing into the wilderness and at the same +time be represented as "overcome," persecuted to the death, and "caught +up unto God and to his throne"? This double-phase of the church--the +experience of the saints on earth and the reign of the martyrs in +Paradise--will be made very clear to the reader hereafter. But it would +be impossible to set forth these two phases under one symbol, and +therefore two are chosen. + +There is also direct Scripture testimony on this point. "Before she +travailed, she brought forth; before her pain came, she was delivered of +a _man-child._ Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? +Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be +born at once? For as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her +children." Isa. 66:7, 8. According to Heb. 12:22, 23, this Zion, or +Sion, referred to is the New Testament church, and the man-child that +she is said to bring forth is interpreted by Isaiah as "a nation born at +once." Such language perfectly describes the rapid increase in the +Christian church on Pentecost and shortly afterward, when thousands were +added in one day. According to the apostle Paul, the host of Jews and +Gentiles reconciled unto God through Jesus Christ constituted "one new +man" in Christ. Eph. 2:15. See also Gal. 3:28. R.V. This man-child was +to rule all nations with a rod of iron. For an explanation of this rule +see remarks on chapter 2:26, 27. The twelve hundred and sixty days will +be referred to later. + + 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. + + 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 east 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. + +In this vision we have a series of events covering exactly the same +period of time as that of the preceeding one; namely, a history of the +church up to and including her flight into the wilderness, and of the +same opposing dragon. In this description, however, the events are more +perfectly detailed. + +Because this dragon was called the Devil and Satan, many have been led +into the idea that it signified the Prince of darkness himself. But +surely we could not suppose that Beelzebub has any such appearance as +this dragon. The foregoing explanation concerning his heads and horns +shows conclusively that the Pagan Roman empire is meant, and not +Beelzebub. Why, then, was it called the Devil and Satan? Among the +Hebrews the term _Satan_ was frequently used in a very liberal sense and +applied to different objects, signifying merely an adversary or opposer. +According to Young's Analytical Concordance the Hebrew word for Satan is +translated _adversary_ in a number of texts, a few of which I will refer +to. Num. 22:22: "And the angel of the Lord stood in the way for an +_adversary_ [Satan, Heb.] against him." Here an angel of the Lord is +called a Satan to Balaam. In 1 Sam. 29:4 David is called an adversary +(Heb. Satan) to the Philistines. In 2 Sam. 19:22 certain opposers are +said to be adversaries (Satans, Heb.) unto David; while in 1 Kings 11:25 +a certain man was said to be an adversary (Satan) to Israel all the days +of Solomon. A number of other instances could be given if necessary. In +the New Testament, also, the term _Satan_ is sometimes used to signify +merely an opposer. "But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind +me, Satan." Mat. 16:23. In 1 Cor. 10:20 Paul declares "that the things +which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to _devils_." Paganism +stood as the great opposer of Christianity, hence was a Satan +(adversary) unto it; while the apostle denominated its religious rites +as devil-worship. I do not question the fact that the spirit of +Beelzebub was manifested in the thing; but the dragon itself was the +empire, as is proved by the heads and the horns. However, the Devil and +the agency through which he works are often used interchangeably. Satan +and the serpent in Eden stand in the same relation as do Satan, or +Beelzebub, and Paganism in the New Testament; hence to bind Paganism was +to bind the Devil and Satan in one important sense. + +The dragon would be a beast from the natural world (if such a creature +actually existed) and as such could represent nothing more than a civil +empire; but in the vision under consideration he is represented as +accompanied by _angels_ actuated by his spirit and defending his cause. +By this combination of symbols is set forth the politico-religious +system of the empire--a religion that denied the doctrine of the one +exclusive God and the divinity of Jesus Christ. It was the religion of +_infidelity_. It was the dragon as a false religious system that +Christianity attacked, and not the State itself. The following quotation +from Butler's Ecclesiastical History will show the relation of +Christians to the empire: + +"The Romans were accustomed to tolerate all new religions if they took +their place by the side of those already existing, and if they did not +cast reproach upon them.... But Christianity, by its very nature +exclusive in its claims ... was offensive to the Romans and to the +State. A religion which cast contempt upon the religions and rites +sanctioned by the laws, and endeavored to draw men away from them, +seemed to express thereby contempt and hostility for the State itself. +Hence Christianity was branded as a malignant superstition, and +Christians spoken of as the enemies of the human race.... From the +letter of Pliny to Trajan, it was evidently recorded as an _religio +illicita_, and the mere fact of being a Christian was counted of itself +a crime.... The exclusiveness of Christianity seemed also to place its +disciples in a position of direct disloyalty to the emperors and the +State. 'The emperor was ex-officio _Pontifex Maximus_; the gods were +national. Cicero declares as a principle of legislation, that no one +should be allowed to worship foreign gods, unless they were recognized +by public statute. Maecenas thus counselled Augustas: Honor the gods +according to the customs of your ancestors, and compel others to worship +them. Hate and punish those who bring in strange gods.' As the Roman +empire was founded on the absolutism of the State, and made nothing of +personal rights, Christianity, which first taught and acknowledged them, +would be peculiarly offensive to the State. Moreover, the conscientious +refusal of Christians to pay divine honor to the emperor and his +statutes, and to take part in idolatrous ceremonies at public festivals +... and their constant assembling themselves together, brought them +under the suspicion and obloquy of the emperors and the people." Pp. 49, +50. + +The dragon was stationed in the same heaven where the woman appeared. +This signifies his exalted position in the world. While the dragon was +in the height of his power and glory, Michael (Jesus Christ--Jude 9; 1 +Thes. 4:16; John 5:28) and his followers appeared on the scene, and a +fierce battle for supremacy ensued, resulting in the final victory of +the hosts of Michael. That it was against the dragon as a religious +system that the Christians fought is proved by the kind of weapons they +employed. "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." Christianity never sought to overturn the civil empire, but did +with all the power of truth oppose the huge system of error sustained by +it and gained such decisive victories that the cry was heard, "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." The Devil himself suffered a +severe defeat when his favorite agents, the dragon and his followers, +were cast down from their lofty position and Christianity was exalted +instead. Says Butler: "The final victory of Christianity over heathenism +and Judaism, and the mightiest empire of the ancient world, a victory +gained without physical force, by the moral power of faith and +perseverance, of faith and love, is one of the sublimest spectacles of +history, and one of the strongest evidences of the divinity and +indestructible life of our holy religion." P. 40. + +But the fact that many Christians lost their lives in this conflict +(verse 11), insomuch that the man-child is represented as being caught +up unto God (verse 5), shows that the dragon employed also the arm of +civil power in his opposition to the growing truth. The rapid increase +of Christianity, despite the violent opposition and persecution of the +Pagan party, can be no better represented than by a quotation from the +notable Apology of Tertullian, who wrote during the persecution by +Septimus Severus, about the end of the second century. + +"Rulers of the Roman Empire," he begins, "you surely can not forbid the +Truth to reach you by the secret pathway of a noiseless book. She knows +that she is but a sojourner on the earth, and as a stranger finds +enemies; and more, her origin, her dwelling-place, her hope, her +rewards, her honors, are above. One thing, meanwhile, she anxiously +desires of earthly rulers--not to be condemned unknown. What harm can it +do to give her a hearing?... The outcry is that the State is filled with +Christians; that they are in the fields, in the citadels, in the +islands. The lament is, as for some calamity, that both sexes, every age +and condition, even high rank, are passing over to the Christian faith. + +"The outcry is a confession and an argument for our cause; for we are a +people of yesterday, and yet we have filled every place belonging to +you--cities, islands, castles, towns, assemblies, your very camp, your +tribes, companies, palace, senate, forum. We leave to you your temples +alone. We can count your armies: our numbers in a single province will +be greater. We have it in our power, without arms and without rebellion, +to fight against you with the weapon of a simple divorce. We can leave +you to wage your wars alone. If such a multitude should withdraw into +some remote corner of the world you would doubtless tremble at your own +solitude, and ask, 'Of whom are we the governors?' + +"It is a human right that every man should worship according to his own +convictions ... a forced religion is no religion at all.... Men say that +the Christians are the cause of every public disaster. If the Tiber +rises as high as the city walls, if the Nile does not rise over the +fields, if the heavens give no rain, if there be an earthquake, if a +famine or pestilence, straightway they cry, Away with the Christians to +the lion.... But go zealously on, ye good governors, you will stand +higher with the people if you kill us, torture us, condemn us, grind us +to the dust; your injustice is the proof that we are innocent. God +permits us to suffer. Your cruelty avails you nothing.... The oftener +you mow us down the more in number we grow; the blood of Christians is +seed. What you call our obstinacy is an instructor. For who that sees it +does not inquire for what we suffer? Who that inquires does not embrace +our doctrines? Who that embraces them is not ready to give his blood for +the fulness of God's grace?" + +Another writer has said: "The church in this period appears poor in +earthly possessions and honors, but rich in heavenly grace, in +world-conquering faith and love and hope; unpopular, even outlawed, +hated and persecuted, yet far more vigorous and expansive than the +philosophies of Greece, or the empire of Rome; composed chiefly of +persons of the lower social ranks, yet attracting the noblest and +deepest minds of the age, and bearing in her bosom the hope of the +world; conquering by apparent defeat and growing on the blood of her +martyrs; great in deeds, greater in sufferings, greatest in death for +the honor of Christ and the benefit of generations to come." + +This triumph of early Christianity over Paganism was a theme worthy of +the song. "Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our +God, and the power of his Christ." Even before the death of the +apostles, according to the younger Pliny, the temples of the gods in +Asia Minor were almost forsaken. No wonder, then, that even the +inhabitants of heaven were called upon to rejoice at so great a victory +attained by the followers of the Lamb. But the same voice also says, +"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." This represents the violence of the Pagan party upon +its defeat, being exasperated to the exercise of greater opposition and +cruelty wherever the means and the power were still in their hands. Cast +down from his exalted position in the heavens--the religious sphere--his +ecclesiastical prestige lost, he had no place to abide but in the +earth--the political kingdom--whence he took up arms, and "woe to the +inhabitants of the earth." But "the days of Paganism in the empire were +numbered." The Devil knew that he had but a short time, therefore he +came down in great wrath. This is in accordance with the facts of +history. Paganism did not die an easy death, but struggled hard and +long. + +When cast from his high position, however, the dragon "persecuted the +woman which brought forth the man-child." The true idea expressed in the +original is that he _pursued_ the woman, and this signification is +indicated by what follows--"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." The _time_ as a definite period signifies one year; hence +a time, times, and half a time would be three and one-half years, or +twelve hundred and sixty days, as before explained. There is an apparent +incongruity or contradiction of statement in reference to the symbols +here; but it is a contradiction that when rightly understood throws +light upon the whole subject. It will be noticed that the woman and +Michael with his angels symbolize the same object--the people of God. +Under the latter figure they were triumphant and the dragon was +defeated. Yet after he was cast down, he turned upon the woman and +pursued her, and thus, the church appeared to be the defeated party. +According to this, then, the Pagan party is represented as _prevailing_ +soon after he met _defeat_ and the church apparently _defeated_ soon +after her period of _triumph_. Here again we have two separate symbols +of the same object in order to represent two of its different phases. + +This is explained satisfactorily by noticing carefully the facts. The +woman, who is always the true church composed of holy people, was at +first identical with the visible church, or the great body of +Christians, and in this condition was successful in spreading the pure +gospel and casting down the powers of iniquity symbolized by the dragon. +But the dragon politically, as symbolized by his being a beast from the +natural world, with heads and horns, remained in power for some time, +his religious prestige only being lost. Christianity did not attempt to +cast down the dragon in the sense of destroying the civil empire. As is +well known, a great spiritual declension followed the period of the +church's greatest triumph, which decline drove the woman, or the true +church, into the wilderness; hence to all appearances the church became +a defeated party. About this same time, the dying cause of Paganism +revived for a season in terrible severity in the latter part of the +third century; hence to all appearances the dragon was triumphant. This +supreme effort of Paganism's to regain its former position will be +better understood in connection with what follows regarding the flood +which he cast out of his mouth. But that the dragon was not permanently +triumphant is shown by the fact that he afterwards resigned his power +and position unto the beast. Chap. 13:2. + +As to the meaning of the "two wings of a great eagle" given the woman to +aid her in her flight, I am not able to say positively. Some apply them +to "the grace and providence of God which watched over the church"; +others to the "spiritual gifts of faith, love," etc., which, like +supporting wings, bore the church above her enemies. But I can not see +how the wings of a great eagle can properly symbolize such things. They +are not drawn from the right source. Perhaps nothing more is intended by +the wings than to denote the fact of her successful flight. That this +idea is the correct one seems quite clear when we consider the fact that +the remarkable deliverance of the Israelites from Egyptian bondage is +set forth under the same figure, that of eagles' wings. "Ye have seen +what I did unto the Egyptians, and how _I bare you on eagles' wings_, +and brought you unto myself." Ex. 19:4. With the wings of such a +powerful bird she was able to escape, so that the dragon could not +overtake her. + +"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. 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." Here is a peculiar +combination of symbols from different departments--the serpent, a flood +of water, the woman, and the earth. The last two as allies is a very +unusual circumstance. Some refer the flood of waters to heresies that +arose in, or was connected with, the hierarchy about this time; but in +that case how could it be said that it was the serpent that cast it out? +Others apply it to errors that the Pagan party introduced baptized with +the name of Christianity, when they professed to become converts at a +later period. It is certainly an appropriate _figure of speech_ to say a +flood of error or of false doctrine; but whether a flood of water is a +proper _symbol_ of the same is another question. I do not think it is. +Water, being an object of nature, would point us to something political. +False doctrines are usually symbolized by something different from +objects in nature. + +There is considerable difficulty in verifying the symbol, but I will +submit what up to the present has seemed to me as the most satisfactory +explanation. It appears from the description that this was about the +last great public effort the dragon made to overwhelm the church and +that he was exasperated to this supreme effort by the humiliating defeat +he had suffered. The means he employed was _water_, an object of nature; +hence we are to look for some great political event by which the dragon +made his master-effort to destroy the woman shortly after her flight +into the wilderness. In A.D. 284 Diocletian, a Pagan, succeeded to the +imperial throne. Before the close of his reign (305), the Christians +suffered the most terrible persecution ever received at the hands of +Pagan Rome. It continued ten years--A.D. 302-312. It was the design of +this emperor to completely extirpate the very name of Christianity, and +his unfortunate victims were slain by the thousands throughout the +empire. "But the master-piece of [his] heathen policy was the order to +seek and burn all copies of the Word of God. Hitherto the enemy had been +lopping off the branches of the tree whose leaves were for the healing +of the nations; now the blow was made at the root. It had once been the +policy of Antiochus Epiphanes, when he madly sought to destroy the +Jewish Scriptures. It was both wise and wicked. It had but one defect, +it could not be carried into complete execution. The sacred treasure was +in too many hands, and too many of its guardians were brave and prudent, +to make extermination possible. An African bishop said, 'Here is my +body, take it, burn it; but I will not deliver up the Word of God.' A +deacon said, 'Never, sir, never! Had I children I would sooner deliver +them to you than the divine word.' He and his wife were burnt together." +Butler's Eccl. History, p. 66. + +But "_the earth_ helped the woman"--another unlooked-for political +event. Worn out with the cares of State, boasting that the very name of +Christ was abolished, and dying with a loathsome disease, the tyrant +abdicated his throne. A number of individuals claimed imperial honors; +but Constantine, the ruler of Gaul, Spain, and Britain, fought his way +against contending rivals and finally entered Rome, the capital, in +triumph. Enthroned as emperor of the West, he immediately issued an +edict of toleration favorable to the Christians (A.D. 313) and soon +became a professed Christian himself and by law made Christianity the +established religion of the empire. In 324, having crushed all rivals, +he became sole emperor of the Roman world, and with a view of promoting +Christianity convened what is known as the First General Council of the +Church, at Nicaea in Asia Minor, A.D. 325. The prestige of Paganism as a +religious power had been overthrown long before by the followers of +Christ, but now its political importance received a death-blow, only a +few expiring struggles appearing subsequently before the final downfall +of Western Rome. Thus, the earth helped the woman and swallowed up the +flood of persecution which the dragon cast out. + +"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." Finding that he could not destroy or exterminate +the church of God, he determined to make war upon its individual +members. + + + + +CHAPTER XIII. + + + 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. + + 4. And they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the + beast: and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto + the beast? who is able to make war with him? + + 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 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. + +In this vision John beheld a beast rise out of the sea. His +appearance--like that of a leopard with the feet of a bear and a mouth +like a lion--indicated that he was some terrible creature. He was also a +persecutor of the saints, the same as the dragon that preceded him. As +before explained, this beast, also, symbolizes the Roman empire; for he +possesses the same heads and horns as the dragon, the only difference +being that the supreme power and authority, as indicated by the crowns, +is now vested in the ten horns, or minor kingdoms, instead of in the +seven heads. The dragon as a political power represented Rome before her +overthrow by the barbarians; the beast as a political power represents +new Rome. + +A careful study of the characteristics of this beast, however, will show +that he represents more than a civil power. As a mere beast from the +natural world he could symbolize nothing more than some political power; +but it will be noticed that, combined with his beastly nature, there are +also certain characteristics that belong exclusively to the department +of human life--a mouth _speaking_ great things; power to magnify himself +against the God of heaven; the ability to single out the saints of God +and kill them, and to set himself up as an object to be worshiped, etc. +This combination of symbols from the two departments--those of animal +and of human life--points us with absolute certainty to Rome as a +politico-religious system. Ask any historian what world-wide power +succeeded Rome Pagan, and he will answer at once, "Rome Papal." + +While it is not my general design to explain the many lines of prophetic +truth described under similar symbols in other parts of the Bible, yet I +will ask the reader here to pardon the slight digression while I call +attention briefly to a few thoughts in the seventh chapter of Daniel +regarding this same Papal power. + +Daniel received a vision of four great beasts, which were interpreted to +symbolize four universal monarchies. Verse 17. These were the +Babylonian, the Medo-Persian, the Greco-Macedonian, and the Roman. The +fourth beast possessed ten horns, which were explained to signify ten +kingdoms to arise out of the fourth empire. This is identical with the +dragon of Rev. 12, except the latter possessed seven heads not mentioned +by Daniel. In the midst of the ten horns (ten minor kingdoms) grew up a +_little_ horn, which soon assumed greater proportions than his fellows, +taking the place of three of the original horns, and into his hand the +saints of the Most High were given for "a time and times and the +dividing of time," or twelve hundred and sixty years. This eleventh horn +differed from the ten in that it possessed a mouth speaking great +things, and the eyes of a man. A horn with eyes and mouth in it is a +very unusual thing, yet it is just such a combination as we might expect +when we possess a correct knowledge of symbols. Being drawn from two +departments--human life and animal life--this double-symbol directs us +to a politico-religious system that came up among the ten horns that +grew out of the old Roman empire. We instantly identify it with the +growing Papacy, which arose to a position of great authority in +conjunction with the new Roman empire. + +Three of the horns, or temporal kingdoms, were overthrown in order to +give room for the complete development of this politico-religious power. +Since great changes have frequently occurred among the nations of Europe +originally embraced in the ten minor kingdoms, different powers have +been referred to as the three described in Daniel's prophecy; but the +most satisfactory explanation to my mind is that of the three kingdoms +in Italy that were overthrown as if to give the hierarchy room for +development, and that gave the Papacy its _first_ temporal sovereignty, +thus completing the symbol by constituting her a civil as well as an +ecclesiastical horn. + +Odoacer, in A.D. 476, overthrew the old empire of the West and +established the kingdom of the Heruli in Italy. Seventeen years later it +was subverted by Theodoric, who established the kingdom of the +Ostrogoths, which continued sixty years; then it, in turn, was +overthrown by Belisarius, but was soon succeeded by the Lombards. The +Lombard kingdom was subverted by Pepin and Charlemagne, who, as +champions of the church, gave a large part of their dominions to the See +of Rome and thus favored the Papacy with her first temporal power. Thus +were the kingdoms of the Heruli, Ostrogoths, and Lombards plucked up by +the roots upon the very territory occupied first by the Papacy as a +temporal power, and as if to give it room. + +The careful student of Daniel 7 will notice immediately the striking +similarity between the politico-religious system symbolized by the +little horn and the leopard beast of Revelation 13 under consideration. +The following parallels between them prove their identity: + +"1. The little horn was a blasphemous power: 'He shall speak great words +against the Most High.' Dan. 7:25. The leopard beast of Rev. 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. Dan. 7:21. This beast also, Rev. 13:7, makes war with the saints, +and overcomes them. + +"3. The little horn had a mouth speaking great things. Dan. 7:8, 20. And +of this beast we read, Rev. 13:5: 'And there was given unto him a mouth +speaking great things and blasphemies.' + +"4. The little horn rose on the cessation of the Pagan form of the Roman +empire. This beast rises 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 twelve hundred and sixty years. Dan. 7:25. +To this beast also power was given for forty and two months, or twelve +hundred and sixty years. Rev. 13:5. + +"6. At the end of the twelve hundred and sixty years the universal +dominion of the little horn was to begin to decline, being consumed and +destroyed unto the end. Dan. 7:26. This beast, also, Rev. 13:10, was to +be led into captivity and 'killed with the sword.'" + +These points prove identity. To quote the words of a certain expositor: +"When we have in prophecy two symbols ... 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 +_same length of time_, and meet the same _fate_, those symbols represent +the same _identical power_." To this all must agree. Hence we have in +the vision before us a description of Papal Rome in her two-fold +character as a temporal and a religious power. The wounding and healing +of the head of the beast will be explained in chapter XVII. + +How the same heads and horns can serve both the dragon and the leopard +beast will be better understood later. For the present it will be +sufficient to state that it is because they are the same beast in +reality, being clothed, in its later form, in a Christian garb, instead +of the worn-out garments of infidelity or heathenism possessed by the +former. This transfer is expressed in the following words: "And the +dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority." Verse 2. +This beast, then, succeeded to the dominion held by the dragon. It was +like an old, established firm retiring and giving its standing and +credit and well-earned reputation to a new partnership, to conduct a +similar business. + +While this beast, as before observed, represents the developed religious +and political power of the Papacy combined, still the actions ascribed +to it show plainly that it is in its character as an _ecclesiastical_ +beast that its terrible features are here delineated. No one would +suppose that a mere political power would set itself up as an object to +be worshiped, exalting itself above the God of heaven, and then single +out and slaughter the saints for not complying therewith. As far as +rendering obedience to civil governments is concerned, the Christians of +all ages have been the most peaceful and obedient servants of all. So we +shall hereafter refer always to the _beast_ as an ecclesiastical power, +unless otherwise stated. + +This beast all the world admired. "And they worshiped the dragon which +gave power unto the beast: and they worshiped the beast, saying, Who is +like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?" The people +worshiped the established hierarchy, and they also worshiped the dragon +from which the beast obtained so much of his power. The expression +"_worshiped_ the dragon" shows plainly that it is the dragon as a +religious system that is referred to, and not the old civil empire. How, +then, could the old heathen worship be perpetuated in the church of Rome +and form a part of her religious services? By adopting rites and +ceremonies purely Pagan in their origin. Since I have already stated +that the beast and the dragon as temporal powers were about the same in +reality, except the change of sovereignty from the heads to the horns, +it will now be necessary to show the remarkable similarity in spirit +that existed between them as religious powers, the one being the +successor of the other. + +1. The high-priest of the Pagan religions was called Pontifex Maximus, +and he claimed spiritual and temporal authority over the affairs of men. +The Pope of Rome possesses the same title and makes the same claims, and +he is clad in the same attire as the Pagan Pontiff. + +2. The heathen were accustomed to wear scapulars, medals, and images to +shield them from the common ills and dangers of life. Romanists wear the +same and for the same purpose. + +3. The Pagans, by an official process called _deification_, frequently +exalted men who had lived among them to a position worthy of special +honor and worship. Papists, by a similar process called _canonisation_, +raise their former men of prominence to the dignity of _saints_ and then +offer up prayers to them. + +The foregoing practises are derived from Paganism; also from Judaism or +Paganism came their practise of burning incense in public worship, the +use of holy water, burning wax candles in the daytime, and votive gifts +and offerings. Other heathen principles are: + +4. Adoration of idols and images, a practise expressly forbidden by the +Mosaic law and unsanctioned by primitive Christianity; + +5. Road gods and saints (in Catholic countries); + +6. Processions of worshipers and self-whippers (especially in Catholic +countries); + +7. Religious orders of monks and nuns. One who has read of the vestal +virgins of old will recognize at once where monkery originated. + +In the city of Rome there still stands an old heathen temple built by +Marcus Agrippa and dedicated in the year B.C. 27 to _all the gods_. In +the year A.D. 610 it was reconsecrated by Pope Boniface IV. to "the +blessed Virgin and all the saints." From that time until the present day +Romanists in the same temple have prostrated themselves before _the very +same images_ and have devoutly emplored them by the same forms of prayer +and for the very same purposes as did the heathen of old. The only +difference is, that instead of calling this idol Jupiter, they call it +Paul; instead of denominating that one Venus, they call it Mary, etc. +Well has Bowling said: "The scholar, familiar as he is with the classic +descriptions of ancient mythology, when he directs his attention to the +ceremonies of Papal worship, can not avoid recognizing their close +resemblance, if not their absolute identity. The temples of Jupiter, +Diana, Venus or Apollo, their 'altars smoking with incense,' their boys +in sacred habits, holding the incense box, and attending upon the +priests, their holy water at the entrance of the temples, with their +_aspergilla_, or sprinkling-brushes, their thuribula, or vessels of +incense, their ever-burning lamps before the statues of their deities, +are irresistibly brought before his mind, whenever he visits a Roman +Catholic place of worship, and witnesses precisely the same things." +History of Romanism, pp. 109, 110. + +Having failed in his direct attacks against the Christian church, with +the accession of Constantine, who established Christianity as the State +religion, the dragon soon clothed his pernicious principles in a +Christian garb and made war against the remnant of the woman's seed that +kept the commandments of God, through the rising hierarchy, under the +name of Christianity; but his heads and horns being visible, and he +being unable to control his tongue, his real sentiments crop out, and he +is easily identified. It is not to be supposed, however, that the beast +would appear suddenly in full possession of the immense power ascribed +to him in this chapter. On the contrary, Daniel represents it as a +_little_ horn at first, whose look finally became "more stout than his +fellows." Dan. 7:8, 20. Such ecclesiastical power was attained only by +the process of gradual development. According to the vision his +universal power was limited to "forty and two months," or twelve hundred +and sixty years. Since this has reference to the beast as an +ecclesiastal power, which according to Daniel grew up by degrees, the +time should be calculated the same as in chapter 11:2, 3--dated from the +time when the external, visible church was wholly in the hands of the +profane multitude of Gentiles and the true church crowded into the +wilderness. The nationalized hierarchy, however, continued to advance to +greater degrees of power over the nations, until it reached its zenith +under the pontificate of Gregory VII., A.D. 1073-1080. + +The great things and blasphemies spoken by this beast are doubtless +fulfilled by the prerogatives and rights belonging to God alone which +this apostate church, especially through her regularly constituted head, +claims. In fact, the Pope is the real mouth of this beast, the one who +dictates her laws with great authority. He claims to be the vicar of +Christ on earth and supreme head of the church, even, as in the case of +Pope Innocent, denominating himself the one before whom every knee must +bow, of things in heaven, and things on earth, and things under the +earth. He claims power over the souls of all men on earth and even after +their departure from earth. If this is not blasphemy against God, his +tabernacle, or church, and "them that dwell in heaven," then I am wholly +unable to imagine what would fulfil the prediction. Among the +blasphemous titles assumed are these: Lord God the Pope, King of the +World, Holy Father, King of kings, and Lord of lords, Vicegerent of the +Son of God. He claims infallibility (which was backed up by the +Ecumenical council of 1870) and has for ages. Further, he claims power +to dispense with God's laws, to forgive sins, to release from purgatory, +to damn, and to save. + +All the inhabitants of the earth were to worship him, except those whose +names were in the book of life. Thank God that even during the dark age +of Romanism a people existed who were owned by the Lord and who refused +to render idolatrous worship to this tyrannical beast. For further +information regarding these medieval Christians, see remarks on chapter +11:3. But these saints who opposed the Papal assumptions were made the +object of fearful persecutions, until Rome glutted herself upon the +blood of millions of God's holy saints. This will be more fully +described in chapter 17, where this apostate church appears under +another symbol, "drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the +blood of the martyrs of Jesus." In all their severe trials, however, +they were comforted with the knowledge that Justice would not always +sleep, but that a time would come when her retributive hand would be +stretched forth to lead into captivity their persecuting enemies and +break their world-wide reign of tyranny and usurpation. "Here is the +patience and the faith of the saints." To a number of people God gave +special foresight of the coming reformation of the sixteenth century, in +which the universal spiritual supremacy of the Papacy ended. A few of +the many examples will be profitable. + +Says D'Aubigne: "John Huss preached in Bohemia a century before Luther +preached in Saxony. He seems to have penetrated deeper than his +predecessors into the essence of Christian truth. He prayed to Christ +for grace to glory only in his cross, and in the inestimable humiliation +of his sufferings.... He was, if we may be allowed the expression, the +John Baptist of the reformation. The flames of his pile kindled a fire +in the church that cast a brilliant light into the surrounding darkness, +and whose glimmerings were not to be so readily extinguished. John Huss +did more: prophetic words issued from the depths of his dungeon. He +foresaw that a real reformation of the church was at hand. When driven +out of Prague and compelled to wander through the fields of Bohemia, +where an immense crowd followed his steps and hung upon his words, he +had cried out: 'The wicked have begun by preparing a treacherous snare +for a goose. But if even the goose, which is only a domestic bird, a +peaceful animal, and whose flight is not very far in the air, has +nevertheless broken through their toils, other birds, soaring more +boldly towards the sky, will break through them with still greater +force. Instead of a feeble goose, the truth will send forth eagles and +keen-eyed vultures.' This prediction was fulfilled by the reformers. + +"When the venerable priest had been summoned by Sigismund's order before +the Council of Constance, and had been thrown into prison, the chapel of +Bethlehem, in which he had proclaimed the gospel and the future triumphs +of Christ, occupied his mind much more than his own defence. One night +the holy martyr saw in imagination, from the depths of his dungeon, the +pictures of Christ which he had painted on the walls of his oratory, +effaced by the Pope and his bishops. This vision distressed him; but on +the next day he saw many painters occupied in restoring these figures in +greater number and in brighter colors. As soon as the task was ended, +the painters, who were surrounded by an immense crowd, exclaimed, 'Now +let the popes and bishops come! they shall never efface them more!' And +many people rejoiced in Bethlehem, and I with them, adds John Huss. +'Busy yourself with your defence rather than with your dreams,' said his +faithful friend, the Knight of Chlum, to whom he had communicated this +vision. 'I am no dreamer,' replied Huss, 'but I maintain this for +certain, that the image of Christ will never be effaced. They have +wished to destroy it, but it shall be painted afresh in all hearts by +much better preachers than myself. The nation that loves Christ will +rejoice at this. And I, awaking from the dead, and rising so to speak, +from my grave, shall leap with great joy.'" History of the Reformation, +Book I, Chap. 6. + +This bold witness for Christ was burned at the stake July 6, 1415, by +order of the General Council of Constance. When the fagots were piled up +around him ready for the torch, he said to the executioner, "You are now +going to burn a goose [Huss signifying goose in the Bohemian language]; +but in a century you will have a swan whom you can neither roast nor +boil." Fox's Book of Martyrs. This was fulfilled in Martin Luther. + +Henry Institorus, an inquisitor, uttered these remarkable words: "'All +the world cries out and demands a council, but there is no human power +that can reform the church by a council. The Most High will find other +means, which are at present unknown to us, although they may be at our +very doors, to bring back the church to its pristine condition.' This +remarkable prophecy, delivered by an inquisitor at the very period of +Luther's birth, is the best apology for the reformation." + +Andrew Proles, provincial of the Augustines, used often to say: "Whence, +then, proceeds so much darkness and such horrible superstitions? O my +brethren! Christianity needs a bold and a great reform, and methinks I +see it already approaching.... I am bent with the weight of years, and +weak in body, and I have not the learning, the ability, and eloquence, +that so great an undertaking requires. But God will raise up a hero, who +by his age, strength, talents, learning, genius and eloquence, shall +hold the foremost place. He will begin the reformation; he will oppose +error, and God will give him boldness to resist the mighty ones of the +earth." + +John Hilten censured the most flagrant abuses of the monastic life, and +the exasperated monks threw him into prison and treated him shamefully. +"The Franciscan, forgetting his malady and groaning heavily, replied: 'I +bear your insults calmly for the love of Christ; for I have said nothing +that can injure the monastic state: I have only censured its most crying +abuses.' 'But,' continued he (according to what Melancthon records in +his Apology for the Augsburg Confession of Faith), 'another man will +rise in the year of our Lord 1516: he will destroy you, and you shall +not be able to resist him.'" + +In 1516 Luther held a public discussion with Feld-kirchen, in which he +upheld certain doctrines of truth that made a great stir among the +Romanists. Says D'Aubigne: "The disputation took place in 1516. This was +Luther's first attack upon the dominion of the sophists and upon the +Papacy, as he himself characterizes it." And again, "This disputation +made a great noise, and it has been considered as the beginning of the +reformation." Book I, Chap. 9. The next year, however, he entered +publicly upon the actual work of reformation. + +Frederick of Saxony, surnamed the Wise, was the most powerful elector of +the German empire at the period of the reformation. A dream he had and +related just before the world was startled by the first great act of +reformation is so striking that I feel justified in repeating it in this +connection. It was as follows: + +"Having gone to bed last night, tired and dispirited, I soon fell asleep +after saying my prayers, and slept calmly for about two hours and a +half. I then awoke, and all kinds of thoughts occupied me until +midnight.... I then fell asleep again, and dreamed the Almighty sent me +a monk, who was a true son of Paul the apostle. He was accompanied by +all the saints, in obedience to God's command, to bear him testimony, +and to assure me that he did not come with any fraudulent design, but +that all he should do was conformable to the will of God. They asked my +gracious permission to let him write something on the doors of the +palace-chapel at Wittemberg, which I conceded through my chancellor. +Upon this, the monk retired thither and began to write; so large were +the characters that I could read from Schweinitz what he was writing +[about 18 miles]. The pen he used was so long that its extremity reached +as far as Rome, where it pierced the ears of a lion which lay there, and +shook the triple crown on the Pope's head. All the cardinals and princes +ran up hastily and endeavored to support it.... I stretched out my arm: +that moment I awoke with my arm extended, in great alarm and very angry +with this monk, who could not guide his pen better. I recovered myself a +little.... It was only a dream. I was still half asleep, and once more +closed my eyes. The dream came again. The lion, still disturbed by the +pen, began to roar with all his might, until the whole city of Rome, and +all the States of the holy empire, ran up to know what was the matter. +The Pope called upon us to oppose this monk, and addressed himself +particularly to me, because the friar was living in my dominions. I +again awoke, repeated the Lord's prayer, entreated God to preserve his +Holiness, and fell asleep.... I then dreamt that all the princes of the +empire, and we along with them, hastened to Rome, and endeavored one +after another to break this pen; but the greater our exertions the +stronger it became: it crackled as if it had been made of iron: we gave +it up as hopeless. I then asked the monk (for I was now at Rome, now at +Wittemberg) where he had got that pen, and how it came to be so strong. +[In those days they used goosequills for pens.] 'This pen,' replied he, +'belonged to a Bohemian goose [Huss] a hundred years old. I had it from +one of my old schoolmasters. It is so strong because no one can take the +pith out of it, and I am myself quite astonished at it.' On a sudden I +heard a loud cry; from the monk's long pen had issued a host of other +pens. I awoke a third time; it was day light." History of the +Reformation, Book III, Chap. 4. + +Frederick related the foregoing to his brother John, the Duke of York, +on the morning of Oct. 31, 1517, stating that he had dreamed it during +the previous night. The same day at noon Martin Luther advanced boldly +to the chapel at Wittemberg and posted upon the door ninety-five theses, +or propositions, against the Papal doctrine of indulgences. This was his +public entrance upon the great work of reformation. The importance of +the Reformation of the Sixteenth Century is incalculable. It gave the +deathblow to the universal spiritual supremacy of Rome. As we have +already seen, the Papacy had for centuries held despotic sway over the +minds and the consciences of men. One potent cause of the Reformation +was the great Revival of Learning that marked the close of the medieval +and the beginning of the modern period of history. This great mental +awakening contrasted sharply with the blind ignorance and superstition +of the Middle Ages, and caused many men to doubt the Scriptural +authority of many of the doctrines and ceremonies of the Church of Rome; +such as invocation of saints, auricular confession, use of images, +worship of the Virgin Mary, etc. + +Scandals and abuses in the Church of Rome also hastened the Reformation. +During the fifteenth century the morals of that church had sunk to the +greatest depths of iniquity. The Popes themselves were, in some cases, +monsters of impurity and iniquity, insomuch that historians are obliged +to draw the vail over many of their dark deeds. + +But the real occasion of the revolt of the northern nations of Europe +against the jurisdiction of Rome was the controversy regarding +indulgences. "These in the Catholic church, are remissions, to penitents +of punishment due for sin, upon the performances of some work of mercy +or piety, or the payment of a sum of money." When Leo X. was elected to +the Papal dignity (1513), he found the church in great need of money for +the building of Saint Peter's and other undertakings, and he had +recourse to a grant of indulgences to fill the coffers of the church. +The power of dispensing these indulgences in Saxony in Germany was given +to a Dominican friar named Tetzel. This fanatic enthusiast entertained +the most exaggerated opinion of the efficacy of indulgences. In his +harrangues he uttered such expressions as the following: + +"Indulgences are the most precious and the most noble of God's gifts." +"There is no sin so great that an indulgence can not remit; ... only let +him pay well, and all will be forgiven him." "Come, and I will give you +letters, all properly sealed, by which even the sins that you intend to +commit may be pardoned." "I would not change my privileges for those of +St. Peter in heaven; for I have saved more souls by my indulgences than +the apostle by his sermons." "The Lord Omnipotent hath ceased to reign; +he has resigned all power to the Pope." See D'Aubigne's History of the +Reformation, Book III, Chap. 1. + +Martin Luther was an Augustine monk and a teacher of theology in the +University of Wittemberg. Before Tetzel appeared in Germany, Luther +possessed a wide reputation for learning and piety, and he had also +entertained doubts respecting many of the doctrines of the church. +During an official visit to Rome in 1510 he was almost overwhelmed with +sorrow because of the moral corruption there; but while penitentially +ascending on his knees the sacred stairs of the Lateran, he seemed to +hear a voice thundering in his soul, "The just shall live by faith!" +This marked an important epoch in his career. + +When Tetzel appeared in Saxony with his indulgences, Luther fearlessly +opposed him. He drew up ninety-five theses against the infamous traffic +and nailed them to the door of the church at Wittemberg, and invited all +scholars to criticise them and point out if they were opposed to the +doctrine of the Word of God or of the early church Fathers. Here the +invention of printing proved to be a powerful agency in advancing the +cause of reformation by scattering copies of these theses everywhere; +and soon the continent of Europe was in a perfect turmoil of +controversy. The Pope excommunicated Luther as a heretic. In reply +Luther burned the Papal bull publicly at Wittemberg. Shortly afterward +Luther produced his celebrated translation of the Bible in the German +language. Even a brief history of the entire Reformation would be too +large for the limits of the present volume, therefore with a few words +respecting the nature of the work of the Reformation we will pass on to +another prophetic vision. + +The great secret of the early success of the reformers was their appeal +from the decisions of councils and regulations of men to the Word of +God. So long as the Word and Spirit of God were allowed their proper +place as the Governors of God's people, the work was a spiritual +blessing. But this happy state of affairs did not long continue. Within +a few years the followers of the reformers were divided into hostile +sects and began to oppose and persecute each other. Luther denounced +Zwingle as a heretic, and "the Calvinists would have no dealings with +the Lutherans." The first Protestant creed was the Augsburg Confession +(1530). This date marks an important epoch. From this time the people +began to lose sight of the Word and Spirit of God as their Governors and +to turn to the disciplines of their sects, which they upheld by every +means possible. Thus we find Calvin at Geneva consenting to the burning +of Servetus, because of a difference of religious views; and in England +the Anglican Protestants waged the most bitter, cruel, and relentless +war not only against Catholics, but against all Protestants who refused +to conform to the Established Church. The Protestants placed armies in +the field and fought for their creeds, as during the Thirty Years' War +in Germany and the long period of the Hugenot wars in France. The real +work of the Reformation, the promulgation of so much of the truth of the +Bible, was an inestimable blessing to the world; but the rise of +Protestantism (organized sectism) in 1530 introduced another period of +apostasy as distinct in many of its features as was that of Romanism +before it. The historian D'Aubigne recognizes an important change at +this period. He says: + +"The first two books of this volume contain the most important epochs of +the Reformation--the Protest of Spires, and the Confession of +Augsburg.... I determined on bringing the reformation of Germany and +German Switzerland to the _decisive epochs of_ 1530 and 1531. The +history of the Reformation, properly so-called, is then in my opinion +almost complete in those countries. The work of faith has there attained +its apogee: that of conferences, of interims, of diplomacy begins.... +The movement of the Sixteenth Century has there made its effort. I said +from the very first, It is the history of the Reformation and not of +Protestantism that I am relating." Preface to Vol. V. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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 symbolic description of this beast directs us also to a political +and a religious system rising at the expiration of the twelve hundred +and sixty years' reign of the first beast, but that he was no such +terrible beast politically as the one before him is proved by the fact +that he had but two horns and they _like a lamb_. This beast rose "out +of the earth"--the Apocalyptic earth, or the territory of the Roman +empire. The first beast rose out of the sea, which, as before shown, +signifies the heart of the empire in an agitated state; for the ten +horns came up through the greatest political convulsions that the page +of history records. When John beheld the second beast "coming up," +however, the empire was in a state of comparative quiet, although fierce +wars followed afterward. He stands as a symbol of _Protestantism_ in +Europe; although his power and influence afterwards extended beyond the +"earth"--the Apocalyptic earth--into "the whole world." Chap. 16:14. +That this beast came up upon the same territory occupied by the Papacy +is proved also by the statement that "he exerciseth all the power of the +first beast before him." It was predicted in a subsequent chapter +(17:16) that the ten horns, or kingdoms of Europe, after supporting the +Papacy during the Dark Ages, would later turn against her. This has met +a remarkable fulfilment under the reign of Protestantism. + +The first two nations to turn violently against Popery were England and +Germany. They have ever since been the chief supporters and defenders of +Protestantism, and they are doubtless the two kingdoms symbolized by the +two horns of the beast. While at one time the Pope was a temporal +sovereign and could, by his political and ecclesiastical power, humble +with ease the mightiest nations of Europe before him, his authority has +been wrested from him by degrees, so that to-day not a vestige of his +temporal power remains, and his anathemas fall harmlessly. The nations +have asserted their rights as kings. When King Victor Emmanuel entered +Rome on the twentieth day of September, 1870, the Pope's temporal sun +set forever, and he does not control even the city in which he +lives--Rome. He is often referred to as "the prisoner of the Vatican." +"He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity," said the +prophecy; "he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the +sword." It was by force of arms that the Popes obtained and maintained +their temporal power over the nations, and by the force of arms they +have had their authority torn from them. Religion has been referred to +as "the basis of government"; for the legislators of any country are to +a great degree influenced in their deliberations by religious +sentiments. In all Protestant countries that greatest of Protestant +principles, religious liberty, is as truly recognized by statute as was +that infernal principle of the Papacy, religious intolerance, when +formerly enforced by law. Protestant principles have so far permeated +the nations of Europe formerly controlled by the Papacy that religious +toleration is generally granted. In Italy, the headquarters of Popedom, +where the Catholics are greatly in the majority, religious liberty is +granted by law. And even Spain, denominated by the Encyclopaedia +Britannica "the most Catholic country in the world," exhibits "a general +indifferentism to religion," meaning that the fanaticism and intolerance +of former ages that caused thousands, and perhaps millions, to be slain, +is rapidly dying out. In the vision before us, however, the special +actions ascribed to this beast--_speaking_, working miracles, deceiving, +making an image and imparting life to it, etc., which all belong +properly to the department of human life--show conclusively that it is +the character of this beast as an _ecclesiastical power_ that is the +chief point under consideration. He was not to become such a terrible +beast politically (for his horns were only _like a lamb_), but "he +_spake_ as a dragon." As soon as we enter the department to which +_speaking_ by analogy refers us, we find this beast to be a great +religious power; and it is in this character alone that he is dilineated +in the remainder of the chapter. That the description of a religious +system is the main burden of this symbol, is shown also by the fact that +it is in every case referred to in subsequent chapters as the "false +prophet." Chap. 16:13; 19:20; 20:10. Therefore every reference I make to +this second beast hereafter should be understood as signifying the +religious system of Protestantism, unless otherwise stated. + +That Protestantism in its many forms can be properly represented by a +single symbol--a beast or false prophet--may seem a little strange at +first; but when we come to consider next the making of an image to the +beast, it will be seen that the Protestant sects, from God's standpoint +of viewing, are all alike in character, as were the multitudinous forms +of heathen worship represented under the single symbol of the dragon. +Hence only one beast, or the making of one image, was necessary to stand +as representative of the entire number. It will be noticed by the reader +that from verse 12 to the close of the chapter the term _beast_ +signifies the first beast, or the Papacy, and that the second beast, or +Protestantism, is designated by the pronoun _he_. + +_Image_ is defined to be "an imitation, representation, similitude of +any person or thing; a copy, a likeness, an effigy." The second beast, +then, is to manufacture something in _imitation_ of the first beast. If +any doubt exists as to which phase of the first beast, political or +ecclesiastical, is copied, it can be settled by considering what is said +of the image made from the original. "The image of the beast +should--_speak_." This directs us by analogy, as heretofore explained, +to the department of religious affairs; hence the second beast forms an +_ecclesiastical organization_ in imitation of the hierarchy of Rome. At +this juncture the Protestant will doubtless exclaim, "Oh, our churches +are nothing like the church of Rome!" But consider a little in the light +of truth. God's Word teaches that they bear the close relationship of +_mother_ and her _daughters_ (Rev. 17:5), and by the help of the Lord we +shall point out a similarity of character in this and subsequent +chapters. The symbol of the church of Rome in chapter 17 is that of a +corrupt _prostitute_, while the symbol of Protestantism is that of her +_harlot daughters_. The Roman church is a humanly organized institution +governed by a set of fallible men, their claims of infallibility to the +contrary notwithstanding. Protestant sects, likewise, are all human +organizations (even though they may sometimes deny it), and are governed +by a man or a conference of men. The Roman Catholic church makes and +prescribes the theology that her members believe. Protestant churches, +also, make their own disciplines and prescribe rules of faith and +practise. The Word of God, inspired by his Spirit, could not be enforced +in Romanism without destroying it; for its main spirit is Antichrist. +So, too, the whole Word in Protestantism would soon annihilate her +God-dishonoring sects; for they are all contrary to its plain teachings, +which condemn divisions and enjoin perfect unity and oneness upon the +redeemed of the Lord. What is said concerning the image of the beast +applies to sectarianism as a whole and the human organization of all her +so-called churches, regardless of the differences that exist between +them as individual institutions; for they may differ as widely as the +various systems of heathen religions symbolized by the dragon, yet they +can be represented by the single symbol of an image to the first beast, +because they are built upon the same general principles--are but human +organizations, falsely called churches of Christ, and are all contrary +to the Scriptures. + +Imparting life to the image of the beast simply signifies the complete +organization of the ecclesiastical institutions so that they are capable +of self-government and their decrees possess authority. Every living +body is animated by a spirit. The sectarian spirit that animates the +Methodist body will lead people into that body, etc.; but the one Spirit +of God will, if permitted, baptize us all into the one body of Christ, +where we can all "drink into one Spirit." 1 Cor. 12:13. "And he spake as +a dragon" signifies the great authority by which his laws are enacted +and enforced upon the people. + +"And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from +heaven on the earth in the sight of men, 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." Fire from heaven upon Elijah's +sacrifice was the attestation of God to his divine mission. Bringing +down fire from heaven, then, symbolically describes the claims of this +beast to being a true prophet of the Lord. + +At this point we must make a distinction which, being true in the facts +of history, must necessarily be intended in the symbolic representation. +According to the symbols of the preceding chapter the woman, or true +church, "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." The time-prophecy is the same and covers the same +period as the reign of the Papal beast; therefore just as an important +change in the Papacy occured at the expiration of the prophetic period, +so also we must expect a radical change with respect to the true church: +it must no longer be completely obscured in the wilderness. + +As the Reformation, and Protestantism as a religion, was the means of +ending Rome's universal spiritual supremacy, so also the same movement +must be regarded as possessing sufficient light and truth to again bring +into prominence the work of the Spirit and the true people of God. "Fire +from heaven" may therefore be regarded as describing the divine work of +reformation, the unfolding of truth accompanied by the saving power of +God. Such spiritual work has accompanied the origin of various religious +movements during the Protestant era. + +The general description of the two-horned beast, however, brings into +prominence an evil characteristic--the disposition to lead people into +deception by making an image to the beast and then worshiping it. The +evil does not inhere in the work of bringing down "fire from heaven," +but in image-making and image-worship, for which the Spiritual work +simply furnished an occasion. The Spiritual work of reformation is +therefore to be distinguished from the later work of creed- and +sect-making. And since the beast takes advantage of Spirit +manifestations, in order to deceive men, he becomes a sort of apostate +and is denominated "the _false prophet_." See Chap. 16:14; 19:20. + +Ecclesiastically considered, the two-horned beast stands as the symbol +of the religious system of Protestantism as a whole--a peculiar +combination of truth and error, of good and bad, of "fire from heaven" +and false, miracle-working power (chap. 16:14); while the "image to the +beast" signifies the sectarian institution--the man-made, +man-controlled, unscriptural sect machinery manufactured in imitation of +the Papal original. To exalt such earth-born churches and lead people to +adore and worship them is but a species of idolatry and the rankest +deception. It is a sad fact that multitudes of people in Protestantism +are more devoted to their particular church than they are to the Lord +Jesus Christ. They can witness the open rejection of God's precious Word +and the vilest profanation of his holy name, without uttering a word of +protest; but let anyone say a word against _their church_, and instantly +they are aroused to the highest pitch of excitement--beast-worshipers! + +The Protestant era has witnessed many wonderful reformations in which +the true fire of God fell upon waiting souls, but this initial work of +the Spirit has in each case been employed as an excuse for taking the +next step--making an image. Thousands of honest souls, lacking better +light, have been induced to submit to such human organization. But the +truly saved have always loved and adored their Lord more than the human +church to which they were attached, therefore they should not be +regarded as beast-worshipers. They are the ones whom the Lord +denominates his people when the voice is heard calling them out of +Babylon. Chap. 18:4. + +The "mark of the beast" next claims our attention. The beast referred to +is the Papacy. How did the Papacy mark its subjects? Undoubtedly, by the +false spirit which animated that organization, branding them all with +its delusive doctrines and errors. In a previous chapter the servants of +God were represented as receiving the seal of God in their foreheads. +This was shown to signify the pure Word and doctrines of the Bible being +planted within them by the Holy Spirit. In making the sect image in +imitation of the Papal original, then, the principle of marking subjects +has also been copied. The members of every sect organization are +indelibly marked. You can not become one of them without solemnly +agreeing to believe the doctrines taught in their discipline and +accepting the government of their man-made institutions. Subscribing to +the rules of faith and practise that originated with the sect shows how +its members worship the image. They are also said to worship the first +beast, the original of the image. How is this fulfilled? In the same +manner that the worshipers of the first beast worshiped the dragon that +preceded it; namely, by accepting and believing false principles of +faith that originated in the system immediately preceding. Protestant +sects have transferred many of the false doctrines of Romanism to their +own creeds, hence they worship the first beast just as truly as the +Papists worshiped the dragon by accepting heathenish principles. The +greatest principle of false doctrine that originated with Catholicism, +and one that has been transferred to _every Protestant sect_, is, that a +human organization is necessary to complete the church of Christ on +earth. The church of Rome has an earthly head and a human government; +and Protestants, also, firmly believe the unscriptural doctrine that +they must bow to an organization of men and thus be under a visible +headship: they receive the mark of the beast. Many sects have also +copied other Popish doctrines, such as infant baptism, the destruction +of all outside of the pales of the church (?), infantile damnation, +sprinkling, and other things too numerous to mention. Thus, they worship +the first beast as well as his image. + +They also receive the "name of the beast." Here again "beast" refers to +the Papacy. The Papal beast was represented as being full of the names +of blasphemy, which blasphemy was shown to signify the usurpation of +prerogatives and rights belonging to God alone. The greatest +ecclesiastical usurpation reached by the Romish hierarchy was that of +claiming to be the head of the church and the right to prescribe and +enforce their doctrines, naming their organization the _Holy Catholic +Church_. In making their sect organizations in imitation, Protestants, +as above stated, have transferred the same principle and make the same +blasphemous claim of a right to make disciplines to govern God's people, +and then name their sect machinery a _church_ of God. The name may be +Methodist, Baptist, Mennonite, Episcopalian, or what not, it is only a +_beast name_, yet a name that you must accept if you desire to become +one of them. + +They not only receive the name of the beast, but also receive the +"number of his name." It will be necessary first to explain what is +meant by the number of a name. "The modern system of notation by the +nine digits and the cipher, was not introduced until the tenth century, +but on account of its superior excellence, has since superseded every +other. Previous to this great discovery, the letters of the alphabet +were used to denote numbers, each letter having the power of a _number_ +as well as a _sound_. The same system is still retained among us for +certain purposes. The Roman letters I. V. X. L. C. D. M., have each the +power of expressing a number. This, however, was the common and the best +mode of notation that the ancients possessed." The number of a name, +therefore, was merely the number denoted by the several letters of that +name. + +The number of the name of the beast--the first beast--is said to be the +number of a _man_. When we enter the Romish hierarchy and search for a +man the number of whose name will be six hundred and sixty-six, where +could we go more appropriately than to the Pope himself, its authorized +head? The Scriptures point him out particularly as the "_man_ of sin," +"the son of perdition." 2 Thes. 2:3, 4. Has the Pope of Rome a name the +letters of which, used as numerals, make six hundred and sixty-six? Yes. +He wears in jeweled letters upon his miter the following blasphemous +inscription: _Vicarius Filii Dei_--Vicar of the Son of God. Taking out +of this name all the letters that the Latins used as numerals, we have +just six hundred and sixty-six. U and V were both formerly used to +denote five. + + V ..... 5 F ..... 0 + I ..... 1 I ..... 1 + C ... 100 L .... 50 + A ..... 0 I ..... 1 + R ..... 0 I ..... 1 + I ..... 1 D ... 500 + U ..... 5 E ..... 0 + S ..... 0 I ..... 1 + --- + 666 + +In some manner the worshipers of Protestant images also receive the +number of this name--six hundred and sixty-six. The name is that of +"Vicar of the Son of God." In all Protestantism (see remarks on chapter +11:7, 8) the true Vicars of Christ on earth--the Word and Spirit of +God--have been set aside, and conferences of men have taken their places +in all the official acts relative to spiritual affairs. Hence the number +of the name applies to them as well. What that number specially +symbolizes I do not know, unless it is, as has been explained by +others--_division_. While the policy of Romanism has been that of unity, +still the false claims made by one individual can be as well made by +another, and by many, which has been the case, as just explained; +therefore it would not be improper at all to make the Pope's number a +symbol of the whole, since his system has been so largely copied by the +rest. The whole structure of sectarianism is built on the principle of +division, and it so happens that there is always enough left to divide +again. So this special number is perhaps the symbol of endless division, +signifying the great number of human organizations claiming to be +churches of Christ. The church of God, however, is built on the +principal of unity; division is destruction to its true nature and life, +for it is Christ's body. + +It is further said 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." To "buy or +sell" is to engage in the ordinary pursuits of life and have intercourse +with human society. Applying this as a symbol to the analagous +department of the church, we have the fact set forth that those without +the special mark have no more recognized standing in the so-called +churches than men that are not allowed to buy or sell have in a +community. But _selling_, as a symbol, would specially indicate the +dealing out of truth, or the preaching of the gospel. A Holy Ghost +minister in the clear light of heaven's truth, independent of all the +creeds of Babylon, will not be allowed the privilege of laboring freely +among sectarians, after the truth for which he stands becomes well +known. And if he holds meetings in the community, the members of the +sects are often warned by their leaders against "buying"--receiving--it +from the Holy Ghost minister, because of his not having the mark or name +of the beast. Their ministers are specially marked, for they come out of +their colleges and theological seminaries with the stamp of their +respective doctrines upon them and a license from the sect to enter its +ministry; and those not thus marked or designated have no place among +them. This may also explain the manner in which the beast causes those +who will not worship the image to be killed--an analagous killing; +namely, an ecclesiastical cutting-off, or excommunication, as explained +in previous chapters.[9] + +[Footnote 9: The early history of Protestantism shows that at that time +the principle of religious intolerance brought over from Romanism +manifested itself in the actual putting to death of numerous dissenters. +For example see pp. 252, 291-294 of the present work. It is possible +that the persecuting principle ascribed to the two-horned beast may +include both the literal and the ecclesiastical cutting-off, reference +being made directly to the intolerant spirit.] + +The facts just stated are well illustrated by the following +circumstances. A few years ago a brother in the ministry went into a +certain town to find a place to conduct a series of holiness meetings. +He was directed by a Presbyterian lady to their pastor, who, she said, +was a believer in the doctrine of holiness. When he called on the +minister and made known his errand, the first question asked him was +this, "Are you a member of the Presbyterian church?" The brother +answered in the negative. He did not have the _name of the beast_. The +next question that greeted him was this, "Do you believe the Westminster +Confession of Faith to be orthodox?" He answered, "No, sir." He did not +have the _mark of the beast_. The last question asked was, "Do you +belong to any of the various orthodox Protestant denominations?" The +brother said, "No." He did not have the _number of his name_. The answer +was, "You can not have our house." + +While on a missionary trip in the Near East, the writer, in company with +another brother, attended a Seventh-Day Adventist service in Bucharest, +Roumania. After the sermon another brother requested that we be given +the opportunity to speak a little, but the request was absolutely +refused. It was explained that we would say nothing against them or +their work but only speak about salvation; but we were not permitted +even to testify in a few words. The difficulty was that we did not have +either the "mark of the beast" or its "name." + + + + +CHAPTER XIV. + + + 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 + firstfruits 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. + +There is no difficulty in identifying this company on Mount Sion as the +true people of God in marked contrast with the worshipers of all corrupt +and false religion. As to the chronology of the event, it is evident +that we have here a continuation of the same series of prophecy +beginning with the apostolic period in chapter XII, describing +alternately the true church and the false church. + +At the beginning of this series the true church, symbolized by the +star-crowned woman, fled into the wilderness and was there lost to view; +while the leopard beast and the two-horned beast of chapter XIII, +symbolizing the two leading forms of organized Christianity, were +brought into prominent view. It is therefore fitting that the true +church should again appear and be given her proper position and work in +the world before the end of all earthly things. + +That the company here brought to view represents the true church is +shown by its agreement with the church of God before the apostasy began. +In the seventh chapter we have seen that before the political calamities +befell the Western Roman Empire the work of sealing God's servants was +accomplished, twelve thousand from each of the twelve tribes of Israel +being sealed, thus representing symbolically the fact that God's church, +comprising the true Israel, was perfect and complete, no part being +omitted. In the chapter under consideration we have this divine sealing +process again after the apostasy, and once more the definite number +144,000 occurs, showing that the church before the end is to be perfect +and complete. + +The contrast of this company with the ecclesiastical powers in the +preceding chapter proclaims in an unmistakeable manner the fact that we +have here described a true reformation and work of God before the end of +time. In the morning-time of the dispensation the redeemed of earth were +represented as singing praises to Christ; so also the company here +brought to view unite in singing a song which only the redeemed can +know. This company is on Mount Sion, not in the darkness of the +wilderness, they are with the Lamb, not wandering after the beast; they +are not even following the beast that was "like a lamb," but they are +with the true Lamb, the Savior of the world; they have the "Father's +name written in their foreheads," not the mark or the name of the beast. +It is said of them that "these are they which were not defiled with +women, for they are virgins." Fornication and adultery, as will be +explained later, is a symbol of spiritual idolatry; and the chastity of +this redeemed company shows that they were free from the abominations of +the apostasy. They "follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth." Their names +are in the book of life, and they do not worship the beast. Chap. 13:8. + +Here, then, we have a symbol of the church of God in the latter days +standing distinct from the great apostasy. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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 his name. + + 12. Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep + the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus. + + 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. + +Another phase of the last reformation is here brought to view--its +communicative genius. It not only stands clear from the apostasy, but it +sounds the warnings of God and proclaims his message. The first +messenger had a very important message to deliver, even "the everlasting +gospel." His message was not limited to the inhabitants of "the +earth"--the Apocalyptic earth--only, but included "every nation, and +kindred, and tongue, and people," showing that it was of universal +importance. It was not a new gospel, but the everlasting gospel, the +same gospel preached before the long period of apostasy. There is one +phase different, however, and that is that the _nearness_ of the second +coming of Christ is a leading feature; the messenger with loud voice +warns the people to prepare for the awful judgment just at hand by +turning to "worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and +the fountains of waters." The apostle Paul cautioned the Thessalonian +brethren not to entertain the idea that the advent of Christ was then +near at hand, for it could not come until after the great period of +apostasy that he predicted; but here is a messenger now claiming that +the "_hour of his judgment is come_"--an event just at hand. He carries +his special message to all people; for Jesus declared, "This gospel of +the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all +nations; and _then shall the end come_." Matt. 24:14. This represents +the restoration of gospel truth in the reformation that was begun about +the year A.D. 1880 and that is now being carried to all nations by a +holy ministry. + +The nature of this restoration work is clearly shown. Its leading +feature is its missionary character, the proclamation of the pure gospel +to "every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people." Since the days +of the apostles the whole gospel has not been boldly declared and +carried forward with burning missionary zeal. Romanism and Protestantism +have conducted their missionary work and, according to chap. 16:14, +their sphere of influence will extend throughout "the whole world"; but +here is clearly set forth the fact that God has authorized another +universal message and world-wide work wholly distinguished from all +others. The contrast between the worshipers of the beast and his image +and those composing the redeemed company on Mount Sion is so clear, also +the nature of the work done by each, that we can not possibly identify +them as being one. + +This work of conducting a world-wide missionary enterprise may appear to +be a gigantic task, but the seeming impossibility vanishes when we +consider the fact (to be more fully developed hereafter) that God calls +into this service all his people who are yet under the sectarian yoke. +With this great host already dispersed over the world, the work of +making known this last message can and will be accomplished. + +The positive statement that the _hour_ of his judgment is come shows +that the end is exceedingly near; hence the second and third angels must +follow the first in the closest proximity possible in order to introduce +their messages before the wrath of God is poured out upon apostate +Christendom. The time is so short that these three messengers can not +possibly refer to three distinct reformations in the world; hence they +must signify three important phases in the one last reformation that +carries the gospel to all nations in the short period of an "hour," +which time also includes the final judgment. + +A careful study of these three messages will show that they are +inseparably connected. The second cry was against Babylon, that she had +fallen. Rev. 18:1, 2 proves this fall of Babylon to be a moral one--a +giving away to ungodliness, iniquity and all manner of deception. +According to chapter 16:19 the great city of Babylon is composed of +three parts, being a confederation of the dragon[10] (heathenism), the +beast (Catholicism), and the false prophet (Protestantism). Chap. 16:13, +14. It is evidently to this latter division of Babylon that this second +message applies; for Paganism was always a false religion, and +Catholicism was always a corrupt one, during whose reign the church of +God, as already shown, was separate. Protestantism, then, was the only +part of the great city that could fall morally or spiritually. During +the space of three hundred and fifty years, from the formation of the +first Protestant creed, she held reign and authority over the people of +God, who were scattered among her hundreds of opposing sects. + +[Footnote 10: That the dragon should be a part of great Babylon seems at +first improbable; but in this statement reference is made, not to the +dragon in his original, or Pagan, state, but to the form in which he is +manifesting himself in these last days to deceive the nations, working +in conjunction with apostate Christendom. This phase of the dragon power +which brings him into harmony with, and, in reality, a part of, modern +Babylon, will be more clearly understood when we come to consider the +three unclean spirits that come out of the mouth of the dragon, the +beast, and the false prophet (chap. 16:13, 14), and the release of the +dragon in chapter 20:7-9.] + +In this condition the faithful children of God, although bearing the +mark and name of the beast, longed for restoration of the divine, +primitive standard; but in the cloudy atmosphere of that period they +could not clearly discern the whole truth. Later, when the full tidings +of the everlasting gospel came, there came also a revelation that +Babylon is fallen and that God is calling his people out of confusion +just before the end of time. + +I call to witness every child of God who has been with the present +reformation from its beginning, if there were not three special phases +of the development of the truth, as follows: 1. A wonderful revival of +spirituality among a few of God's chosen ones, caused by the +"everlasting gospel" being revealed to them as never before. 2. The +knowledge of the truth and deep experience thus obtained prepared the +way for the next step, which was the discovery that the "churches" were +a part of the great Babylon of Revelation and were in a fallen +condition, "a hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and +hateful bird." Chap. 18:2, 3. Hence the cry went up, "Babylon is fallen, +is fallen." 3. Then followed immediately the message to God's people to +"flee out of the midst of Babylon and deliver every man his soul," +warning them that no one could any longer bear the mark of the beast or +worship his image without forfeiting eternal salvation and that the +fearful judgments of heaven would soon descend upon every one who +refused to obey the message and to walk in the light. The last two +phases, which apply to Babylon, are the same and in the same order as +the description given in chapter 18:1-4. First, an angel from heaven +cries mightily with a strong voice, "Babylon the great is fallen, is +fallen"; and then "_another voice_" from heaven says, "COME OUT OF HER, +MY PEOPLE." The three successive phases of the message are now all +combined in one, and God is gathering his holy remnant "out of all +places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day" (Ezek. +34:12) into the one body of Jesus Christ. Halleluiah! John, also, saw +this glorious result of the three messages--"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. And they +sung the song of Moses the servant of God [a song of deliverance], and +the song of the Lamb [the song of redemption], saying, Great and +marvelous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, +thou king of saints." Chap. 15:2, 3. Let all the people of God rejoice! + + "Hail the day so long expected, + Hail the year of full release; + Zion's walls are now erected, + And the watchmen publish peace. + + "Now on Shiloh's wide dominion, + Hear the trumpets loudly roar: + Babylon's fallen, is fallen, is fallen, + Babylon's fallen to rise no more." + +Those of the Lord's people who through lack of sufficient light were +yoked up with unbelievers in Protestantism, labored faithfully to +upbuild the very sectarian institutions that God was against and that +were destined to be destroyed, though they themselves were saved as by +fire; but from the time this reformation began the redeemed die in the +triumphs of a living faith, and their labors in upbuilding the true +cause and kingdom of God are still blessed and fruitful, being +perpetuated in the works that follow them. + +"Here is the patience of the saints; here are they that keep the +commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus." As before mentioned, God's +people during the reign of Romanism expected her universal supremacy to +come to an end, and their patience was greatly exercised in waiting for +the appointed time to arrive. It came with a great spiritual +reformation. Then followed another period of apostasy, during which time +God's people again looked forward to something better in the future. +Many remarkable predictions of this present holiness reformation were +uttered by some of the most spiritual saints during the Protestant era, +and I can not refrain from mentioning a few of them in this connection. + +D'Aubigne: "The nineteenth century is called to resume the work which +the sixteenth century was unable to accomplish." History of the +Reformation, Book XV, Chap. 1. + +Fletcher: "Only He will come with more mercy, and will increase the +light that shall be at eventide, according to his promise in Zech. 14:7. +I should rather think that the visions are not yet plainly disclosed; +and that the day and hour in which the Lord will begin to make bare his +arm openly are still concealed from us. Oh, when will the communion of +saints be complete? Lord, hasten the time; and let me have a place among +them that love thee, and love one another in sincerity." This is an +extract from a letter written by John Fletcher to Mr. Wesley, dated +London, May 26, 1757, as given in Joseph Benson's life of Fletcher, pp. +39, 40. + +D'Aubigne again: "In every age it has been seen how great is the +strength of an idea to penetrate the masses, to stir nations, and to +hurry them, if required, by thousands to the battle-field and to death. +But if so great be the strength of a human idea, what power must not a +heaven-descended idea possess, when God opens to it the gates of the +heart! The world has not often seen so much power at work; it was seen, +however, in the early days of Christianity, and in the time of the +Reformation; and _it will be seen in future_ ages." Book VI, Chap. 12. + +"It has been said that the three last centuries, the sixteenth, the +seventeenth, and the eighteenth, may be conceived as an immense battle +of three days' duration. We willingly adopt this beautiful +comparison.... The first day was the battle of God, the second the +battle of the priest, the third the battle of reason. What will be the +fourth? In our opinion, the confused strife, the deadly contest of all +these powers together, to _end in the victory of Him to whom triumph +belongs_." Book XI, Chap. 9. + +Lorenzo Dow, comment on Rev. 14:6-11; 18:1-5: "The angel, or +extraordinary messenger, with his assistants, proclaiming the fall of +Babylon will be known in his time. Also the one warning the people of +God to come out of Babylon literally, spiritually, and practically, will +be known also, and such other threatening for the omission of compliance +is not to be found in all the Bible." Dow's Works, p. 533. + +The following extracts are from an old book written about 1812 by +Theophilus R. Gates and entitled "Truth Advocated." Through the kindness +of a sister living in Allegan County, Michigan, the writer was enabled +to secure the following from the only copy of this book known to be in +existence--she having borrowed it of her neighbor, a relative of its +author. + +On Rev. 14:11: "I would here gladly drop the subject, lest I give +offense; but duty compels me to remark, what can not be denied, that an +inordinate attachment to certain systems and forms of religion, has +occasioned all the strifes, animosities, and persecutions, that have so +long agitated the Christian world; and if God be just, every one must +drink of the cup of his indignation, according to his offense. The beast +and his image, as it exists in Protestant countries, seems in this place +particularly meant; and our own land is full of the number of his name. +That such a testimony will one day go forth we must believe, or else St. +John saw that which will never be: and the testimony will as certainly +be received; for a company in the next chapter are to be seen that had +gotten the victory over the beast, his image, his mark, and the number +of his name. It is also equally true that as yet it has never gone +forth; and that at the time, great afflictions or suffering of some kind +will be undergone to exercise the patience of the saints.... It is at +this very time, no doubt, that the three unclean spirits, like frogs, +come out of the mouth of the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet; +spirits of devils working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the +earth, and of the whole world, to gather them to the great battle of the +great day of God Almighty. The greatest possible efforts, indeed will +now be made by all the sectarians to keep up their existence ... nor is +it any wonder that hireling ministers and system worshipers, Demetrius +like, should be stirred up and raise no small stir about the way; for it +is evident, not only their craft is in danger of being set at naught by +this testimony, but also the great Diana of systems and forms of +religion to be despised, and their magnificence destroyed, whom now +almost the whole Christian world worshipeth." Pp. 281-283. + +"And now commences an era of light and suffering, when the corrupt +churches (with the kings of the earth and great men united with them) +being about to be wholly brought down, make one general muster against +Christ and his true worshipers. These things are clear to me as a ray of +light; and whoever lives at this time will see as great opposition and +spite to the true way of righteousness then set forth from sectarians +and professors generally, as there was from the Jews towards Christ and +his testimony: and also, like the Jews, at the very time they oppose the +true way of the Lord with all their might, they will no doubt make the +greatest possible show of religion, will think they are the true church, +yea will have a zeal for God, carrying on religion with great success, +forming societies, sending missionaries among the heathen, etc., etc. +That such an event will take place is very clear." Pp. 286-288. + +"This happy period I never expect to see: but known unto the Lord only +are all things. I know that such a time will be; for we are assured by +the angel, these are the true sayings of God: and I also believe that it +will take place _within two centuries_ from this time. But oh! how +corrupt doth the world now appear to me.... Help me, O Lord, I pray +thee, to do thy will. + +"Whenever any body of people come into notice, establish their rules and +institutions, and become a respectable sect, they are the people of God +then only in name; they cease to have the nature any longer; and whoever +unites himself to the same, constitutes himself one of the beast's +party, and so far as his influence extends, he helps to establish the +kingdom of Antichrist in the earth. This is clear from the prophecies of +the Revelation, and it will answer no purpose to take offense when the +truth is spoken. These things will, moreover, sooner or later be +declared with great plainness by some one; and then will the man of sin +put forth all his strength; then will persecution come, and the beast +muster his armies to defend himself and to destroy the assailants, but +in vain; for however few their number may be at first, and however +furious the battle may rage against them, they are destined to conquer. +And herein the words of Christ will fitly apply, 'Fear not, little +flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.'" +P. 313. + +Speaking of sectarianism, he says further: "The same round of things +will continue until the evil is remedied.... When this shall take place, +time only can determine with certainty. It will probably commence +slowly, and not come with any great outward observation. Few will at +first see or embrace the way, being strange to them, and appearing on +account of their prejudices, and the way they have been taught by the +false prophet, to be wrong and improper: moreover, being opposed to all +others, they will have all others to oppose them. But though they are +despised and hated, and few in number, the Lord is with them." Pp. 322, +323. + +On Rev. 16:13, 14: "I have already delivered my views with respect to +these unclean spirits ... and it is not necessary to say much here upon +the subject; only I would just observe, that this will be a time of +greater trial to Christians in general, and in a time in which more will +be deprived of every particle of true religion through the influence of +false ministers belonging to the different societies in Christendom, +than any that has ever yet been in the world. But while they are making +these great exertions, they are only preparing themselves and their +deluded votaries for a more awful and complete destruction. For God +Almighty is against them, and they against Him; though they will know it +not, but think perhaps all the while they are his peculiar favorites, +and that they are employed in maintaining his cause, like the Jews +before them, when it is only their own cause and men's traditions." P. +338. + +"I am but as the voice of one crying in the wilderness of error and of +sin, of wickedness and delusion, testifying according to the best light +given me; and any light that I can possibly communicate will in a little +time become as the feeble shining of the sun, by reason of the greatness +of the light that shall be hereafter." P. 354. + +"A true and living testimony will go forth before this last period of +the awful judgments of God comes to a close, and in consequence of +rejecting it, like the Jews of old, the wrath of God will come upon them +to the uttermost. The testimony against the worshipers of the beast, by +the third angel, Rev. 14:9, is the testimony that effectually overthrows +the kingdom of darkness and establishes the truth as it is in Jesus, +pure and undefiled.... The authors of this testimony will ... unlike to +all who go before them, attack the evil at its root, and expose the +deceit, hypocrisy and wickedness of the different sects in a way that +has never before been done; for which they will suffer the greatest +persecution. You may look upon these things as the reveries of my own +fancy; but some day or other, people will witness to the truth of what I +now write." Pp. 421, 422. + +"All the reformations which go before this last great reform will only +be partial and temporary. They will only lop off the branches, or at the +most, only strike at the body of the corrupt tree, while the roots +remain untouched and uninjured. But when this last testimony goes forth, +the very roots of the corrupt tree will be attacked." P. 426. + +"Every sect is under an idea that whenever the Lord comes to establish +truth in the earth, it will be to establish their creed, raise up their +sect, and bring the whole world into their way. And when the faithful +witnesses whom God will raise up shall openly declare that they have all +gone out of the way, that the greatest professors have so much of guile, +selfishness and party spirit about them as to be nothing but hypocrites, +and that a person must be better than they are or be lost forever; that +sects are an abomination to the Lord; denounce eternal death upon every +advocate and adherent of men-made establishments; ... I say when such a +testimony as this goes forth, as it sooner or later will, no wonder that +the sects, all with one accord, should set themselves against it--should +call it heresy--declare it will ruin the churches if it is not +suppressed.... Although, as I have before testified, I am only as the +voice of one crying in the wilderness--a mere babe in the knowledge of +these things which are to be revealed hereafter, yet I expect to raise a +host of bigots and hypocrites against me.... Nor can it be very long +before the true light, in a very especial manner, will shine.... If +these things do not come to pass, then let me be called an enthusiast or +a deceiver." Pp. 444-446. + + 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 has 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. + + 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 special characters of this vision and their work have been very +difficult for me to identify positively. Until clearer light on the +matter is received, I choose to withhold an explanation rather than to +indulge in speculation. Its usual explanation is to apply the gathering +of the harvest of the earth to the work of the reformation now taking +place and the vintage scene to the final destruction of the wicked, +their punishment being symbolized by the treading of the "winepress of +the wrath of God." This may be its signification. It is certain, +however, that in a subsequent chapter, the final judgment of the wicked +is symbolized by the treading of "the wine-press of the fierceness and +wrath of Almighty God." Beyond this I can not now speak with certainty. + + + +CHAPTER XV. + + + 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 marvellous 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. + +The scene presented to us in this vision is but an introduction to the +solemn scenes of awful judgment immediately following. The first thing +that attracted John's attention was a sign, great and marvelous, "seven +angels having the seven last plagues." The reason why these are +denominated the "last plagues" is because that "in them is filled up the +wrath of God." These are the completion, then, the finishing up of the +work of divine judgment against the persecutors of the church. When the +last one is poured out the work is done, the time of judgment is over. +These angels are not designed to symbolize any agencies on earth, for +they do not appear on earth; they are simply the conductors of the +Revelation. God never commissions his people on earth to perform such +great judgments upon their persecutors as the temporal judgments of the +seven last plagues will be shown to be; but, on the contrary, he has +given them the express command not to avenge themselves, but to suffer +wrong. He himself lays exclusive claim to this prerogative, saying, +"Vengeance is _mine_; I will repay, saith the Lord." Rom. 12:19. + +As soon as the subject of the plagues is introduced and before they are +poured out, the narrative suddenly changes and a short history of God's +redeemed saints is given. This, perhaps, thus occurs for two reasons--to +assist us in fixing the chronology of the events described and to +encourage us with the thought that, even while the awful judgments of +God are being "made manifest" upon the haughty oppressors of earth, God +has a chosen people who have "gotten the victory over the beast, and +over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name." +They stand upon the "sea of glass, having the harps of God"--a symbol of +melody and praise--and sing the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb. +The song of Moses was that sung by the Israelites when they had escaped +to the further side of the Red Sea, thus securing perfect deliverance +from their enemies. So, also, this company of worshipers sing a great +song of deliverance--deliverance from the beast and his image. In +chapters 4 and 5 John saw the great host redeemed before the apostasy +standing on this sea of glass, singing the song of redemption--the song +of the Lamb--but this company are enabled to sing another song as +well--the song of deliverance--for they have "gotten the victory over +the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of +his name." Halleluiah! "Great and marvelous are thy works, Lord God +Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints." + +As before stated (chap. 8:3), the heavenly world as opened up to John +appeared symbolized after the sanctuary of the temple. By "the temple of +the tabernacle of the testimony," out of which the seven angels came +fully prepared for their work, is meant the most holy place of the +sanctuary, called "the tabernacle of the testimony" because there was +deposited in it, beneath the wings of the cherubim, the ark of the +testimony, or God's covenant. It was therefore as from the most holy +place of the sanctuary--from the very presence of the Deity--that these +angels went forth commissioned to execute the seven last plagues. This +shows that they went by the divine command as ministers of vengeance. +The purity and beauty of their attire denoted both the spotless +excellency of their characters and the justice of the work in which they +were to engage. Although theirs was a work of awful avenging judgment, +still the garments they wore would not be soiled thereby; and their +flowing robes of white were girded up with a beautiful golden girdle. +Therefore there is no inconsistency between the purity and love of God +and the work of his vengeance. It would seem to human reasoning that the +two are irreconcilable, but these symbols teach differently. + +These angels received their vials (goblets) of wrath at the hands of one +of the four living creatures, who are symbols of the redeemed sons of +earth. Their deliverance by one of these doubtless denotes that these +judgments were to be executed in their behalf and in answer to their +prayers. For centuries the wrath of deadly persecutors had been poured +out upon God's people, until the cry ascended from the lips of the +martyrs, "How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and +avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?" Chap. 6:10. Now their +prayer is answered, and by their hand, as it were, the vials of wrath +are delivered with the divine sanction unto the seven angels to be +poured out upon these proud oppressors of the Lord's people. These +vials, too, were "full of wrath." What a fearful expression! _Full of +wrath_, even "_the wrath of God_, who liveth forever and ever." There +was nothing in them but wrath and that to the very brim. + +As soon as the vials were delivered, "the temple was filled with smoke +from the glory of God." This symbol is taken from the Shekinah which +filled the ancient tabernacle. We read that when the tabernacle was +finished, "a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory +of the Lord filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter into +the tent of the congregation, because the cloud abode thereon, and the +glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle." Ex. 40:34, 35. The same thing +occurred at the dedication of Solomon's temple. "The cloud filled the +house of the Lord, so that the priests could not stand to minister +because of the cloud: for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of +the Lord." 1 Kings 8:10, 11. So, also, in the symbol before us the glory +of God filled the temple so that no man was able to enter. This is +intended to set forth the fact that these avenging judgments were for +the manifestation of the divine glory and that there was no access to +the throne of God nor to his mercy-seat to alter them or to stay their +execution. Such is the sublime scene presented to our view preparatory +to the pouring out of the seven last great plagues. + + + + +CHAPTER XVI. + + + 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 worshipped his + image. + +A great voice out of the temple, now filled with the glory of the divine +presence, commanded the seven angels to enter upon their mission. It +came, therefore, from God, who alone fixed the time for these judgments +to begin. + +Before an intelligent explanation of these plagues can be given, +however, the following points must be made clear: 1. _Where_ the vials +were poured out. 2. _Upon whom_ they were emptied. 3. _Why_ they were +thus poured out. 4. _When_ they were fulfilled, or, rather, at what time +they began to be fulfilled. These points we will first briefly consider +in the order named, after which we will discuss the _nature_ of the +plagues and their individual application. + +1. The place where these vials of wrath were poured out was "upon the +earth"; that is, the Apocalyptic earth, or that portion of the earth +made the special subject of Apocalyptic vision; namely, the territory of +the ten kingdoms. The last two vials, however, will be found to embrace +a larger territory. + +2. They were poured out upon those "which had the mark of the beast, and +upon them which worshiped his image." It has already been shown that the +image made by the second beast of chapter 13 was the Protestant +ecclesiastical organizations; hence the "beast" here referred to, to +which the image was made, must signify the ecclesiastical hierarchy of +Rome, the original. So the plagues fell upon the adherents of both +organized Romanism and Protestantism in Europe. + +3. The reason why the judgments of the first three vials especially +descended upon them was because "they had shed the blood of saints and +prophets." Verse 6. That Romanism was a fierce oppressor of God's people +has already been noticed: Protestantism as their persecutor, also, must +now be considered further. Protestant sects after they first became +established and got power in their own hands, acted much in the same +manner as the church of Rome did before them, persecuting, banishing, +imprisoning, and even putting to death those who refused to receive +their tenets or to conform to the system of religion they had adopted. +The Lutherans, at first a pious, persecuted people, on becoming numerous +and exalted by the favor of the great, established a certain system of +religion and then, when it was in their power, persecuted, imprisoned, +banished, or put to death all that dissented. As early after the +Reformation as 1574, in a convention at Torgaw, they established the +real presence in the eucharist and instigated the Elector of Saxony to +seize, imprison, and banish all the secret Calvinists that differed from +them in sentiment, and to reduce their followers by every act of +violence, to renounce their sentiments and to confess the ubiquity. +Peucer, for his opinions, suffered ten years of imprisonment in the +severest manner. In 1577 a form of concord was produced in which the +real manducation of Christ's body and blood in the eucharist was +established and heresy and excommunication laid on all that refused this +as an article of faith, with pains and penalties to be enforced by the +secular arm. Crellius, in 1601, was put to death. + +In Switzerland, before the city of Zurich was entirely safe itself from +the encroachments of Romanism, its Protestant council condemned a young +man named Felix Mantz to be drowned because he insisted that the +baby-sprinkling of Romanism was not baptism and that all who had +received the rite ought to be immersed. This sentence was carried into +effect. The severest laws were passed in different countries of Europe +against the Anabaptists, and large numbers were banished or burnt at the +stake. See Encyclopaedia Britannica, Art. Anabaptists. Protestants may +claim this was because of their fanaticism on other lines; but it +remains a fact, nevertheless, that the chief sentiment at the base of +these laws was religious persecution and that Protestants sanctioned and +carried them into execution. + +King Henry VIII., the founder of the Established Church in England, +adopted the most stringent laws to enforce its doctrines. Certain +articles of religion were drawn up, known in history as the "Bloody Six +Articles." Concerning these the People's Cyclopaedia says: "The doctrines +were substantially those of the Roman Catholic Church. Whoever denied +the first articles (that embodying the doctrine of transubstantiation) +was to be declared a heretic, and burnt without opportunity of +abjuration; whoso spoke against the other five articles should, for the +first offense, forfeit his property; and whosoever refused to abjure his +first offense, or committed a second, was to die like a felon." Art. +Henry VIII. "The royal reformer persecuted alike Catholics and +Protestants. Thus, on one occasion, three Catholics who denied that the +king was the rightful head of the church, and three Protestants who +disputed the doctrine of the real presence in the sacrament,... were +dragged on the same sled to the place of execution." In speaking of that +period of history and of the religious persecutions of the times, Myers +says: "Punishment of heresy was then regarded, by both Catholics and +Protestants alike, as a duty which could be neglected by those in +authority only at the peril of Heaven's displeasure. Believing this, +those of that age could consistently do nothing less than labor to +exterminate heresy with axe, sword and fagot." General History, p. 553. + +That religious intolerance even at a later date was practised in +England, witness the twelve years' imprisonment of John Bunyan and the +hundreds confined in jails throughout that country for not conforming to +the established religion. It was such severe persecution by that early +Protestant sect that drove the Puritans from England's fair country to +the then inhospitable shores of America, that they might have an +opportunity to worship God according to the dictates of their own +conscience. In Scotland the Covenanters "insisted on their right to +worship God in their own way. They were therefore subjected to most +cruel and unrelenting persecution. They were hunted by English troopers +over their native moors and among the wild recesses of their mountains, +whither they secretly retired for prayer and worship. The tales of the +suffering of the Scotch Covenanters at the hands of the English +Protestants form a most harrowing chapter of the records of the ages of +religious persecution." This list might be considerably augmented, but +it is unnecessary. However, that Protestant persecution and tyranny +should never reach the enormous extent of the Romanists before them is +proved by the fact that her horns were "like a lamb." Chap. 13:11. + +4. It is very important for us to ascertain the _time_ for the beginning +of these plagues; for they can not be identified unless we understand +the chronology of the events described. It is a fact no one can question +that the seventh plague is the judgment of the last day, for in the +seven "is filled up" the wrath of God; hence they are denominated the +_last_ plagues. It is also a fact, well-known to all who are spiritual +and who understand the truth in the present reformation, that certain +events said to occur under the period of the sixth plague are _now_ +taking place; namely, the confederation of all false religions to oppose +the people of God, led on by the "unclean spirits" that 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." Verses 13, 14. + +Therefore five of the plagues precede the time in which we are now +living. It is evident that the plagues could not begin before the +reformation; for the vials were poured out upon the "image of the +beast"--Protestantism--also. Hence we are directed to some period +between the sixteenth century and the present day for their +commencement. The reason _why_ the first judgments especially were +poured out will assist us in determining the starting-point--"They have +shed the blood of saints and prophets." This expression seems to +indicate that the time for the plagues to begin was after Romanism and +Protestantism ceased putting people to death because of their religious +sentiments. That this is the correct idea is clearly proved by what was +said to the martyrs when they cried unto God for the avenging of their +blood on them that dwell on the earth. "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." Chap. 6:10, 11. For additional information concerning the +terrible persecutions that followed the Sixteenth Century Reformation, +see remarks on chapter 6:10, 11. + +We must now determine about what time the great persecutions referred to +ceased, or nearly ceased, and that will give us the right starting-point +from which to reckon the pouring out of the first vial. In A.D. 1685 the +revocation of the Edict of Nantes, by Louis XIV. of France, took place, +and in the terrible persecutions that occurred during his reign three +hundred thousand are said to have lost their lives. The time that we are +endeavoring to establish, then, must be later than the seventeenth +century. Louis died in 1714. Persecutions continued from time to time in +France, with considerable severity, until about the middle of the +century. "Soon after this ... the flowing of heretic blood ceased, +though an effort was made in 1765 by the Popish clergy to resist the +tendency to toleration by a remonstrance to the king." History of +Romanism, p. 608. A few individual cases of persecution may have +occurred later in other countries; but in the main we are safe in +pointing to about the middle of the eighteenth century for the general +cessation of these religious _murders_. We will now consider the nature +of the first plague. + +The pouring out of this vial produced the most painful malignant ulcers +upon the human body. Such ulcers are evidently not political calamities; +for the symbol is drawn, not from nature, but from human life. Still, it +is not drawn from a human being as a whole (in which case religious +events would be symbolized), but only from his body. What, then, is the +analagous object of which the human body may stand as a proper +representative? Evidently, the mind. We would naturally pass from the +bodily to the mental; and what painful ulcers are to the one, marring +its beauty and filling it with burning anguish, such are blasphemous +opinions and malignant principles to the other. + +Considering the time for this plague pointed out above, the student of +Revelation who is acquainted with the history of the past will scarcely +fail to discern at once, in the striking points of this symbol, those +horrible principles of infidelity, atheism, and licentiousness, which +were spread so extensively over Europe during the latter half of the +eighteenth century, and which were the most efficient causes in bringing +about the fearful convulsions which followed in the French Revolution. +That all may understand this matter in its proper light, however, it +will be necessary to state some of the facts respecting this "noisome +and grievous sore" that fell at that time upon the inhabitants of +Europe. In writing upon the causes that led up to the French Revolution, +Mr. Wickes gathered the following facts of history mainly from the +Encyclopaedia of Religious Knowledge, under the articles headed +_Philosophists_ and _Illuminati_. I will quote his own language, as it +is very pointed. + +"Philosophists was a name given to several persons in France, who +entered into a combination to overthrow the religion of Jesus, and +eradicate from the human heart every religious sentiment. The man more +particularly to whom this idea first occurred, was Voltaire, who being +weary (as he said himself) of hearing it repeated that twelve men were +sufficient to establish Christianity, resolved to prove that one might +be sufficient to overturn it. Full of this project, he swore, before the +year 1730, to devote his life to its accomplishment, and for some time +he flattered himself that he should enjoy alone the glory of destroying +the Christian religion. He found, however, that associates would be +necessary; and from the numerous tribe of his admirers and disciples, he +chose D'Alembert and Diderot, as the most proper persons to co-operate +with him in his designs. He contrived also to enlist Frederick II., king +of Prussia, who became one of his most zealous coadjutors, until he +found that Voltaire was waging war with the throne as well as the altar. +This, indeed, was not originally Voltaire's intention. He was vain; from +natural disposition an aristocrat, and an admirer of royalty. But when +he found that almost every sovereign but Frederick disapproved of his +ambitious designs, as soon as he perceived their issue, he determined to +oppose all the governments on earth rather than forfeit the glory with +which he flattered himself, of vanquishing Christ and his apostles in +the field of controversy. + +"He now set himself, with his associates, D'Alembert and Diderot, to +excite universal discontent with the established order of things. For +this purpose, they formed secret societies, assumed new names, and +employed an enigmatical language. In their secret meetings they +professed to celebrate the mysteries of _Mythra_; and their great +object, as they professed to one another, was to confound the wretch, +meaning Jesus Christ. Hence their secret watchword was 'Crush the +wretch.' The following are some of their doctrines, as found in their +books expressly designed for general circulation. Sometimes standing out +in their naked horror, at other times enveloped in sophistry and +disguise. The Universal Cause, that God of the philosophers, of the +Jews, and of the Christians, is but a chimera and a phantom--The +phenomena of nature only prove the existence of God to a few +prepossessed men--It is more reasonable to admit, with Manes, of a +two-fold God, than of the God of Christianity--We can not know whether a +God really exists, or whether there is any difference between good and +evil, or vice and virtue--Nothing can be more absurd than to believe the +soul a spiritual being--The immortality of the soul, so far from +stimulating men to the practise of virtue, is nothing but a barbarous, +desperate, fatal tenet, and contrary to all legislation--All ideas of +justice and injustice, of virtue and vice, of glory and infamy, are +purely arbitrary, and dependent on custom--Conscience and remorse are +nothing but the foresight of those physical penalties to which crimes +expose us--The man who is above the law, can commit, without remorse, +the dishonest act that may serve his purpose--The fear of God, so far +from being the beginning of wisdom, should be the beginning of +folly--The command to love one's parents is more the work of education +than of nature--Modesty is only an invention of refined +voluptuousness--The law which condemns married people to live together, +becomes barbarous and cruel on the day they cease to love one another. + +"Such were the atrocious sentiments, though sometimes artfully veiled, +which were disseminated in their books, and which, spreading all over +Europe, imperceptibly took possession of the public mind, and prepared +the way for the subversion of religion, morals, and government. As soon +as the sale of the works was sufficient to pay expenses, inferior +editions were printed and given away, or sold at a very low price; +circulating libraries of them were formed, and reading societies +instituted. While they constantly denied these productions to the world, +they contrived to give them a false celebrity through their confidential +agents and correspondents, who were not themselves always trusted with +the entire secret. + +"By degrees they got possession nearly of all the reviews and periodical +publications; established a general intercourse, by means of hawkers and +pedlars, with the distant provinces; and instituted an office to supply +all schools with teachers; and thus did they acquire unprecedented +dominion over every species of literature, over the minds of all ranks +of people, and the education of the youth, without giving any alarm to +the world. The lovers of wit and polite literature were caught by +Voltaire; the men of science were perverted, and children corrupted in +the first rudiments of learning, by D'Alembert and Diderot; stronger +appetites were fed by the secret club of Baron Holbach; the imaginations +of the higher orders were set dangerously afloat by Montesquieu; and the +multitude of all ranks was surprised, confounded, and hurried away by +Rousseau. Thus was the public mind in France completely corrupted, and +the way prepared for the dreadful scenes that followed." + +But there is also another chapter to the dark history of this "noisome +and grievous sore." The same author says again: + +"After Voltaire had broached his system of infidel philosophy, and +brought it unto perfection, it was taken up by the celebrated Dr. Adam +Weishaupt, professor of canon law in the University of Ingolstadt, and +by him perfected as a system of light or illuminism. On the 1st of May, +1776, he founded, among the students of the above-named University, a +secret society under the name of the _Illuminati_, whose avowed object +was to diffuse the light of science, these secret societies being so +many radiating centers of light. But the science taught was the most +atrocious infidelity, and its object the overturning of all government +and religion. Free masonry, being in high repute all over Europe when +Weishaupt first formed the plan of his society, he availed himself of +its secrecy to introduce his new order, which rapidly spread, by the +efforts of its founders and disciples, through all those countries, and +found its way even to the United States. It would not be possible here +to give even an outline of the nature and constitution of this +extraordinary society--of its secrets and mysteries--of the deep +dissimulation, consummate hypocrisy, and shocking impiety of its founder +and his associates--of their Jesuitical arts in concealing their real +objects, and their incredible industry and astonishing exertions in +making converts--of the absolute despotism and complete system of +_espionage_ established throughout the order--of the blind obedience +exacted of the _novices_, and the absolute power of life and death +assumed by the order and conceded by the novices--of the pretended +morality, real blasphemies, and absolute atheism of the founder and his +tried friends. Reference can only be made to these things as +well-established facts. + +"It is important here to bear in mind one or two facts, in order to +realize what an engine of corruption this secret organization of the +_Illuminati_ was. One fact is, the high popularity which these secret +societies at that period enjoyed. It was unbounded. There is something +which commends such secret organizations most powerfully to the depraved +human nature. Men love them because they are secret, and because they +can wield such tremendous power. The other fact to be considered, is the +absence, to a such vast extent, of the controlling elements of true +religion in the European mind, and its predisposition to skepticism. The +Reformation of the Sixteenth Century had broken the shackles of priestly +Papal superstition over the human mind; and [true] evangelical doctrine +not being introduced to supply the vacuum, the mass swung readily over +from the regions of dark superstition to blank atheism. Thus were the +elements ready prepared to hand for such spirits as Voltaire, +D'Alembert, Diderot, Weishaupt, and others, to work upon, and by reason +of their secret powerful agencies, to mould to their own liking. + +"It was now this damning system of infidelity, under the specious name +of philosophy, light, and science, spread with such untiring industry +over the European mind, that unhinged the whole framework of society, +and prepared it, like a vast magazine, for an awful explosion. All the +principles that held society together in the fear of God and future +retribution--regard for human law--respect for magistrates, parents, and +the marriage-tie--yea, in the very distinctions of virtue and vice, had +been unsettled or taken away. They had been reasoned down and laughed +out of the world; and when these only restraints, which God has imposed +upon human selfishness and passion were removed, what was then to hold +back those fierce passions and that deep selfishness from the most +unbounded excesses? God was no more feared--government was no more +sacred--religion was a delusion--immorality was a lie--virtue was a +name--the marriage-tie was a farce--modesty was refined voluptuousness: +and when men were persuaded of these things, society began to roll and +heave under the long swells of that portentous storm of wrath which was +soon to break, in all its desolating fury, over the earth." + +In the facts here presented it may be seen how far we are justified in +applying to them this first vial of wrath. The vial was poured out "upon +the earth"--on the inhabitants of the ten kingdoms when in a state of +tranquility. This was their condition, unsuspicious of danger, when the +dread infection was spread through society. According to the testimony +of Pres. Dwight, within ten years from the first establishment of the +Illuminati, in 1776, "they were established in great numbers through +Germany, Sweden, Prussia, Poland, Austria, Holland, France, Switzerland, +Italy, England, Scotland, and America. They spread with a rapidity which +nothing but fact could have induced any sober mind to believe." + +This system of infidelity is well symbolized by a noisome, grevious +ulcer, which is loathsome to the sight, offensive to the smell, +corrupting to the body, and productive of awful pain. That it appeared +so to others besides the author of the Revelation is shown by the +following epithets which Burke, the celebrated English orator, applied +to the spirit of the French Revolution, which was only the discharged +virus of these ulcers. He styled it "the fever of Jacobinism;" "the +epidemic of atheistical fanaticism;" "an evil lying deep in the +corruptions of human nature;" "such a plague, that the precaution of the +most severe quarantine ought to be established against it." The result, +he says, was "the corruption of all morals," "the decomposition of all +society." What greater plague could fall upon Romanism and Protestantism +than this fearful scourge of infidelity? + +I have dwelt for a considerable length of time upon this subject, +because of its deep interest, and also because I desired to verify the +application of the symbol as much as possible, on account of its close +connection with the pouring out of the vials which follow. + + 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. + +This vial was poured out upon the "sea." The sea is a large body of +water within the earth, subject to violent storms and agitations. As a +symbol it would denote some central power or kingdom within the symbolic +earth in a state of revolution. The effects produced by this vial were +two-fold--the waters were changed into blood as of a dead man, and all +the living creatures in the sea died. The waters of the sea represent +the inhabitants of this kingdom (see a similar explanation of _water_ in +chap. 17:15) as the earth does the inhabitants of the empire, or the ten +kingdoms. The living creatures in the sea, therefore, could signify the +rulers and princes of the kingdom, as they bear an analagous relation to +the people that fishes do to the waters. The statement that the waters +of the sea became "as the blood of a dead man" is doubtless intended to +signify a much more dreadful state of things than if they had simply +been changed to blood. They were converted into black and poisonous, or +corrupt, blood. This denotes the vast slaughter and massacre of the +inhabitants of this kingdom; while the death of the living creatures +denotes the extinction of those in power. + +It may appear at first that making the conversion of water into blood a +symbol of bloodshed is adopting the literal method of interpretation; +but not so, and for the following reason: The symbol is taken from +nature, the waters of the sea representing the inhabitants of the +kingdom. The waters are changed into an unnatural state or element, that +of blood, and this change denotes an analagous one passing upon the +inhabitants. Their continuing in life would be their remaining as +waters: their massacre and destruction would be the waters changed to +blood--a horrible and unnatural element. Likewise, the death of the +living things in the sea is a similar destruction overtaking the kings, +rulers, and princes. + +With our understanding of the nature of the first vial, which prepared +the way for the pouring out of this one, we shall have no difficulty +whatever in identifying this symbol with the terrible convulsions of the +French Revolution. It followed as a necessary consequence of the first. +Voltaire and his coadjutors had insulted and trampled in the dust +everything held sacred in human eyes, and this fully prepared the way +for the scenes of terror that followed. + +In studying these vials the reader should bear in mind constantly the +reason _why_ they were sent as judgments upon the nations of +Europe--because of their former oppression of God's people. From the +days when the Popes received their first temporal authority at the hands +of the Carlovingian king, Pepin and Charlemagne, France[11] constituted +the real backbone of the Papacy, the very center of her power and +authority, as all history will show. In the fourteenth century the Papal +seat was removed from Rome to Avignon, in France, where it remained for +about seventy years. During this period all the Popes were French, and +"all their policies were shaped and controlled by the French kings." To +write a history of the Papacy during the Dark Ages is to outline the +history of France, so closely are their affairs interwoven. Hence it is +only natural that she should be symbolized as the "sea" in this part of +the Apocalypse, with the other nations as tributaries. Ver. 4-6. That +the French Revolution was in its effects a terrible blow to the thrones +of despotism throughout Europe is shown by the following quotation from +the Encyclopaedia Britannica: "We are coming to the verge of the French +Revolution, which _surpasses all other revolutions the world has seen_ +in its completeness, the largeness of its theatre, the long preparation +for it ... its _influence on the modern history of Europe_." Art. +France. + +[Footnote 11: Pepin and Charlemagne were, properly speaking, simply +German princes reigning in Gaul. The kingdom of France is usually dated +from the accession of the first of the Capetian kings, late in the tenth +century, 987. However, the Frankish nation, of whom the Carlovingian +kings were leaders, laid the foundation of the French kingdom and gave a +new name to Gaul--France.] + +This revolution commenced on the fifth of May, 1789, in the Convocation +of the States General, for the redress of grievances and the extrication +of the government and nation from the difficulties under which they were +laboring. A conflict had been going on between despotism and popular +rights, the throne and nobility contending for absolute power, and the +people, for freedom. But when in this encounter the popular party +triumphed, there was no fear of God before the eyes of those who seized +the reins of government. The infidelity of Voltaire and his associates +had removed the last restraint upon human passion, and the scenes of +terror that followed are without a parallel in history. The king was +condemned to death and executed. The barbarous execution of the queen, +Marie Antoinette, followed in about six months, and this was immediately +succeeded by the decree of the National Convention, of the most infamous +character, that of the violation of the tombs of St. Dennis and the +profanation of the sepulchres of the kings of France. I will quote from +Sir A. Alison's noted History of Europe: + +"By a decree of the Convention, these venerable asylums of departed +greatness were ordered to be destroyed.... A furious multitude +precipitated itself out of Paris; the tombs of Henry IV., of Francis I., +and of Louis XII., were ransacked, and their bones scattered in the air. +Even the glorious name of Turenne could not protect his grave from +spoilation. His remains were almost undecayed, as when he received the +fatal wound on the banks of the Lech. The bones of Charles V., the +savior of his country, were dispersed. At his feet was found the coffin +of the faithful Du Gueselin, and the French hands profaned the skeleton +before which English invasion had rolled back. Most of these tombs were +found to be strongly secured. Much time, and no small exertion of skill +and labor, were required to burst their barriers. They would have +resisted forever the decay of time or the violence of enemies; they +yielded to the fury of domestic dissension. This was followed +immediately by a general attack upon the monuments and remains of +antiquity throughout all France. The sepulchres of the great of past +ages, of the barons and generals of the feudal ages, of the +paladins, and of the crusaders, were involved in one undistinguished +ruin. It seemed as if the glories of antiquity were forgotten, or sought +to be buried in oblivion. The tomb of Du Gueselin shared the same fate +as that of Louis XIV. The skulls of monarchs and heroes were tossed +about like foot balls by the profane multitude; like the grave-diggers +in Hamlet, they made a jest of the lips before which the nations had +trembled." + +Having begun by waging this profane warfare upon their own glorious +dead, another scene of the fatal drama immediately succeeded. The same +author continues: "Having massacred the great of the present and +insulted the illustrious of former ages, nothing remained to the +revolutionists but to direct their vengeance against heaven itself. +Pache, Hebert, and Chaumette, the leaders of the municipality publicly +expressed their determination 'to dethrone the God of heaven, as well as +the monarchs of earth.' To accomplish this design, they prevailed on +Gobet, the apostate constitutional bishop of Paris, to appear at the bar +of the Assembly, accompanied by some of the clergy of his diocese, and +there abjure the Christian faith. He declared 'that no other national +religion was now required but that of Liberty, equality, and morality.' +Many of the constitutional bishops and clergy in the Convention joined +in the proposition. Crowds of drunken artisans and shameless prostitutes +crowded to the bar, and trampled under their feet the sacred vases, +consecrated for ages to the holiest purposes of religion. The churches +were stripped of all their ornaments; their plate and valuable contents +brought in heaps to the municipality and the Convention, from whence +they were sent to the mint to be melted down. Trampling under foot the +images of our Savior and the Virgin, they elevated, amid shouts of +applause, the busts of Marat and Lepelletier, and danced around them, +singing parodies on the Halleluiah, and dancing the Carmagnole. + +"Shortly after a still more indecent exhibition took place before the +assembly.... Hebert and Chaumette, and their associates, appeared at the +bar and declared 'that God did not exist, and that the worship of Reason +was to be substituted in his stead.' A veiled female, arrayed in blue +drapery, was brought into the Assembly; and Chaumette, taking her by the +hand, 'Mortals,' said he, 'cease to tremble before the powerless +thunders of a God whom your fears have created. Henceforth acknowledge +no divinity but Reason. I offer you its noblest and purest image; if you +must have idols, sacrifice only to this.' When, letting fall the veil, +he exclaimed, 'Fall before the august Senate of Freedom, O Veil of +Reason!' At the same time, the goddess appeared personified by a +celebrated beauty, the wife of Momoro, a printer, known in more than one +character to most of the Convention. The goddess after being embraced by +the president, was mounted on a magnificent car, and conducted, amid an +immense crowd, to the cathedral of Notre Dame, to take the place of the +Deity. There she was elevated on a high altar, and received the +adoration of all present, while the young women, her attendants, whose +alluring looks already sufficiently indicated their profession, retired +into the chapels around the choir, where every species of licentiousness +and obscenity was indulged in without control, with hardly any veil from +the public gaze. To such a length was this carried, that Robespierre +afterward declared that Chaumette deserved death for the abominations he +had permitted on that occasion. Thenceforward that ancient edifice was +called the _Temple of Reason_." + +Such horrible events are sickening to relate; but as I started out to +describe the condition of this "sea" when it became as the blood of a +dead man, I must be faithful to the task. God was now dethroned; the +services of religion abandoned; every tenth day set apart for the +hellish orgies of atheism and Reason; Marat was deified; the instrument +of death sanctified by the name "the holy Guillotine"; on the public +cemeteries was inscribed, "Death is an Eternal Sleep"; marriage was a +civil contract, binding only during the pleasure of the contracting +parties. Mademoiselle Arnout, a celebrated comedian, expressed the +public feeling when she said, "_Marriage the sacrament of adultery_." +What an awful harvest would be expected of such seed! Alison continues: + +"A Revolutionary Tribunal was formed at Nantes, under the direction of +Carrier, and it soon outstripped even the rapid march of Danton and +Robespierre. Their principle was that it was necessary to destroy _en +masse_, all the prisoners. At their command was formed a corps, called +the Legion of Marat, composed of the most determined and bloodthirsty of +the revolutionists, the members of which were entitled, on their own +authority, to incarcerate any person whom they chose. The number of +their prisoners was soon between three and four thousand, and they +divided among themselves all their property. Whenever a further supply +of captives was wanted, the alarm was spread of a counter-revolution, +the _generale_ beat, the cannon planted; and this was followed +immediately by innumerable arrests. Nor were they long in disposing of +their captives. The miserable wretches were either slain with poinards +in prison, or carried out in a vessel and drowned by wholesale in the +Loire. On one occasion a hundred 'fanatical priests,' as they were +termed, were taken out together, striped of their clothes, and +precipitated into the waters.... Women big with child, infants eight, +nine, and ten years of age, were thrown together into the stream, on the +sides of which men, armed with sabres, were placed to cut off their +heads if the waves should throw them undrowned on the shore. + +"On one occasion, by orders of Carrier, twenty-three of the +revolutionists, on another twenty-four, were guillotined without any +trial. The executioner remonstrated, but in vain. Among them were many +children of seven or eight years of age, and seven women; the +executioner died two or three days after, with horror at what he himself +had done. So great was the multitude of captives who were brought in on +all sides, that the executioners, as well as the company of Marat, +declared themselves exhausted with fatigue; and a new method of +disposing of them was adopted, borrowed from Nero, but improved on the +plan of that tyrant. A hundred or a hundred and fifty victims, for the +most part women and children, were crowded together in a boat, with a +concealed trap-door in the bottom, which was conducted into the middle +of the Loire; at a signal given, the crew leaped into another boast, the +bolts were withdrawn, and the shrieking victims precipitated into the +waters, amid the laughter of the company of Marat, who stood on the +banks to cut down any who approached the shore. This was what Carrier +called his _Republican Baptisms_. The _Republican Marriages_ were, if +possible, a still greater refinement of cruelty. Two persons of +different sexes, bereft of every species of dress, were bound together, +and after being left in torture in that situation for half an hour, +thrown into the river. Such was the quantity of corpses accumulated in +the Loire, that the water of that river was affected, so as to render a +public ordinance necessary, forbidding the use of it to the inhabitants; +and the mariners, when they heaved their anchors, frequently brought up +boats charged with corpses. Birds of prey flocked to the shores and fed +on human flesh; while the very fish became so poisonous, as to induce an +order of the municipality of Nantes, prohibiting them to be taken by the +fishermen. + +"The scenes in the prisons which preceded these horrible executions +exceeded all that romance had figured of the terrible. Many women died +of terror the moment a man entered their cells, conceiving that they +were about to be led out to the noyades; the floors were covered with +the bodies of their infants, numbers of whom were yet quivering in the +agonies of death. On one occasion, the inspector entered the prison to +seek for a child, where, the evening before, he had left above three +hundred infants; they were all gone in the morning, having been drowned +the preceding night. Fifteen thousand persons perished either under the +hands of the executioner, or of disease in prison, in one month: the +total victims of the Reign of Terror at that place exceeded thirty +thousand." + +After narrating scenes of terror in Paris, Alison says again: "Such +accumulated horrors annihilated all the charities and intercourse of +life. Before daybreak the shops of the provision merchants were besieged +by crowds of women and children, clamoring for the food which the law of +the _maximum_ in general prevented them from obtaining. The farmers +trembled to bring their fruits to the market, the shop-keepers to expose +them to sale. The richest quarters of the town were deserted; no +equipages of crowds of passengers were to be seen on the streets; the +sinister words, _Propriete Nationale_, imprinted in large characters on +the walls, everywhere showed how far the work of confiscation had +proceeded. Passengers hesitated to address their most intimate friends +on meeting; the extent of calamity had rendered men suspicious even of +those they loved most. Every one assumed the coarsest dress, and the +most squalid appearance; an elegant exterior would have been the certain +forerunner of destruction. At one hour only were any symptoms of +animation seen: it was when the victims were conveyed to execution; the +humane fled with horror from the sight, the infuriated rushed in crowds +to satiate their eyes with the sight of human agony. + +"Night came, but with it no diminution of the anxiety of the people. +Every family early assembled its members; with trembling looks they +gazed around the room, fearful that the very walls might harbor +traitors. The sound of a foot, the stroke of a hammer, a voice in the +streets, froze all hearts with horror. If a knock was heard at the door, +every one, in agonized suspense, expected his fate. Unable to endure +such protracted misery, numbers committed suicide. 'Had the reign of +Robespierre,' said Freron, 'continued longer, multitudes would have +thrown themselves under the guillotine; the first of social affections, +the love of life, was already extinguished in almost every heart.'" + +With one more quotation from this historian I will dismiss this horrible +theme: "The combination of wicked men who thereafter governed France, is +without parallel in the history of the world. Their power, based on the +organized weight of the multitude, and the ardent co-operation of the +municipalities, everywhere installed by them in the position of power, +was irresistible. All bowed the neck before this gigantic assemblage of +wickedness. The revolutionary excesses daily increased, in consequence +of the union which the constant dread of retribution produced among +their perpetrators. There was no medium between taking part in these +atrocities, and falling a victim to them. Virtue seemed powerless; +energy appeared only in the extremity of resignation; religion in the +heroism of which death was endured. There was not a hope left for +France, had it not been for the dissentions which, as the natural result +of their wickedness, sprung up among the authors of the public +calamities. + +"It is impossible not to be struck, in looking back on the fate of these +different parties, with the singular and providential manner in which +their crimes brought about their own punishment. No foreign +interposition was necessary, no avenging angel was required to vindicate +the justice of divine administration. They fell the victims of their own +atrocity, of the passions which they themselves had let loose, of the +injustice of which they had given the first example to others The +Constitutionalists overthrew the ancient monarchy, and formed a limited +government; but their imprudence in raising popular ambition paved the +way for the tenth of August, and speedily brought themselves to the +scaffold; the Girondists established their favored dream of a republic, +and were the first victims of the fury which it excited; the Dantonists +roused the populace against the Gironde, and soon fell under the axe +which they had prepared for their rivals; the anarchists defied the +power of 'heaven itself,' but scarce were their blasphemies uttered, +when they were swept off by the partners of their bloody triumphs. One +only power remained, alone, terrible, irresistible. This was the power +of Death, wielded by a faction steeled against every feeling of +humanity, dead to every principle of justice. In their iron hands, order +resumed its sway from the influence of terror; obedience became +universal, from the extinction of hope. Silent and unresisted, they led +their victims to the scaffold, dreaded alike by the soldiers who +crouched, the people who trembled, and the victims who suffered. The +history of the world _has no parallel_ to that long night of suffering, +because _it has none to the guilt which preceded it_; tyranny never +assumed so hideous a form, because licentiousness never required so +severe a punishment." + +Prom this awful description, which might be carried to almost any +extent, the reader will understand the force of the prophecy which +declared that the "sea became as the blood of a dead man, and every +living soul died in the sea." + + 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. + +Fountains and rivers are tributaries to the sea, and thus, they +symbolize the inferior communities and nations belonging to the +Apocalyptic earth. France was the great central power and the sea of +revolution upon which the second vial descended. The surrounding nations +were the rivers and fountains upon which the third was poured. It is not +said of them that they became as the blood of a dead man, nor that every +living thing in them died, but only that "they became blood." This +symbol denotes the insurrections and desolating wars in which the +nations of Europe were involved for a number of years, growing out of +the French Revolution. I shall not here take time nor space to enter +into the historical details relating to this statement; the facts are +well known. "The blood-thirsty Jacobinism of France waged war not only +upon its own monarchy, but sought to overturn all the thrones and +fabrics of despotism in Europe. The same system of infidelity and +atheism had been spread through the kingdoms there, though not to so +great an extent as in France, and prepared the elements for revolution +in them likewise." The French republic encouraged these agitations and +by a unanimous decree of the Assembly, in 1792, set itself in open +hostility with all the established governments of Europe. It was in +these words: "The National Convention declares in the name of the French +nation, that it will grant fraternity and assistance to all people who +wish to recover their liberty; and it charges the executive power to +send the necessary orders to the generals, to give succor to such +people, and to defend those citizens who have suffered, or may suffer in +the cause of liberty." "The Revolution, having accomplished its work in +France, having there destroyed royal despotism, ... now set itself about +fulfilling its early promise of giving liberty to all peoples. In a +word, the revolutionists became propagandists. France now exhibits what +her historians call her social, her communicative genius." Napoleon was +right when he said that a revolution in France was sure to be followed +by a revolution throughout Europe. "France conceived the idea that she +had a Divine mission, as the great apostle of liberty, to propagate +republicanism through all the kingdoms of Europe. In her madness of +intoxication she undertook the work, threw down the gauntlet, and the +fierce tocsin of war sounded from nation to nation, until the continent +was converted into one vast battle-field." + +The "angel of the waters" signifies the angel that had charge of the +vial of wrath poured out upon the rivers and fountains of waters. In +full view of the awful plagues sent upon the inhabitants of earth, one +grand thought seemed to occupy his mind--the righteousness of these +judgments. It is not such a thought as humanity would have in mind when +reading the history of these fearful convulsions of society, one scene +of terror only preparing the way for another more horrible, until they +would feel like closing the book and asking, "When will this awful night +of horror be over? When will these avenging judgments cease?" These, +however, were not the thoughts of this angel clothed in spotless +garments; for, draining his vial to the dregs and forcing the nations to +drink it, he said: "Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and +shalt be, because thou hast judged thus. For they have shed the blood of +saints and prophets, and thou hast given them _blood to drink_; for they +are worthy." Truly, in this the Word of God is fulfilled, which says, +"My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways." Isa. +55:8. That class of people who represent God as a kind, loving Father +only, one who will not take vengeance upon the objects of his own +creation--let them visit in the pages of history these nations of +Europe, scathed and blasted with the hot thunderbolts of divine wrath, +until their minds sicken with horror at the sight of human agony and +blood. In full view of these horrifying scenes let them hear the angel +of the waters saying, "Thou art righteous, O Lord ... because thou hast +judged thus; for they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and +thou hast given them blood to drink, for they are worthy"; while another +voice from heaven, even from the altar, replies, "Even so, Lord God +Almighty, _true and righteous_ are thy judgments"--and their theology +must here break down. + +The thoughts just expressed confirm with certainty our interpretation of +the "sea" and "rivers and fountains of waters" as signifying those +nations which had been the persecutors of the saints, and show, also, +the character of the divine judgments as being the shedding of their +blood. They had shed the blood of saints and prophets, and now the same +cup of wrath was placed to their lips, and they were forced to drink it +to the dregs. God remembered the sighs and groans of his faithful +followers; the cry of the martyrs for the avenging of their blood on +"them that dwell on the earth" reached his ear; and now the time of +retribution began. + + 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 sun is the great central luminary of the earth, under whose genial +light and warmth everything rejoices and develops in forms of beauty. +When, however, a scorching power is given to his rays, the earth becomes +as a furnace in which every green thing is burnt up. What the sun is to +this world, such are the ruling powers to a kingdom; and power being +given them to scorch as with fire denotes that the government would be +administered, not for the good of the people, but for the purpose of +oppression. A scorching sun, therefore, is a proper symbol of tyrant +rulers. + +Still keeping in view the object of God in sending these first +plagues--the punishment of the nations embraced within the territory of +the ten former kingdoms of Europe--we are directed with certainty to the +next great scourge that followed as a result of those already +developed--the almost universal military empire of Napoleon. The success +of three of the four greatest military leaders the world has ever +seen--Alexander, Caesar, and Charlemagne--has been so clearly predicted +by inspiration that no believer in the truth of Revelation attempts to +deny it; therefore it is not surprising that the fourth--Napoleon-- +should also be assigned a place in Apocalyptic vision: not so much +because of his all-powerful military genius merely, but because of his +mighty influence and effects upon the very nations that were especially +made the subject of prophecy, as they stand connected with the history +of God's people for centuries. At the close of the Revolution the French +nation had not virtue nor religion necessary to remedy the evils under +which they had long been suffering from the oppression of their +monarchs; for when they undertook the work and demolished the throne, +they let loose all the wildest elements of wrath to rage without +restraint. The nation rejected God, and God rejected the nation. He gave +them up to their own madness, to the fury of the most atrocious +wickedness that was ever developed under heaven. "From the wild excesses +and intolerable calamities of blood-red republicanism, the people were +rejoiced at length to find a refuge in a gigantic military despotism, +which became the terror and scourge of Europe." But the hand of God was +in this thing, also. When the sun scorches the earth with burning heat, +it is God that gives it its power. So Napoleon with his iron will and +towering genius was only an instrument in God's hand for scourging the +guilty nations. In the ordinary sense of the term Napoleon was not a +tyrant to his own nation. Still, his government was a despotism to +France; while to the Apocalyptic earth, or the ten kingdoms, he was a +scorching sun, for his empire extended over the whole. It finally became +a saying that "if Napoleon's cocked hat and gray coat should be raised +on the cliffs of Boulogne, all Europe would run to arms." This agrees +with the statement of the historian Judson, concerning the monarchs of +Europe, that "the mere name of Napoleon was a dread to them." None of +them could stand before his terrible onset. "Europe was shaken from end +to end by such armies as the world had not seen since the days of +Xerxes. Napoleon, whose hands were upheld by a score of distinguished +marshals, performed the miracles of genius. His brilliant achievements +still dazzle, while they amaze, the world." The crowns and scepters of +Europe he held as play-things in his hand, to dispose of at pleasure. +Says Wickes: "Never in the history of Christendom were ancient dynasties +overthrown, and new ones created, kings made and unmade, within so short +a period, as during the unparallelled career of this great conqueror. He +had the crowns and kingdoms of all Europe in his gift, to settle as he +pleased, or bestow as presents upon his relatives and friends. To his +brother Jerome he gave the crown of Westphalia; to his brother Louis, +the crown of Holland; to his brother Joseph, the kingdom of Spain; to +his brother-in-law and general Murat, the kingdom of Naples; and others +he conferred upon his favorite marshals." + +When he invaded Russia, a territory outside of the Apocalyptic earth, he +exceeded his mission, and there met with the most terrible overthrow. +Although he entered that kingdom with the most magnificent army that he +had ever gathered together, yet for suffering and disaster that famous +retreat from burning Moscow stands without a parallel in history. It was +not the Russian armies that prevailed against him; it was God that +fought against him with the blasts of his north wind. These speedily +silenced those tremendous parks of artillery that had thundered upon the +fields of Jena, Friedland, Wagram, Marengo and Austerlitz, and scattered +those invincible battalions that had marched triumphant over Europe. +Ney, at the head of the National Guards, ever before victorious, was +compelled to beat a hasty retreat, glad to escape with the smallest +remnant of his host. Napoleon failed here because God had given him no +mission to perform in that territory. + +Concerning his ambition, the Encyclopaedia Britannica says: "With a frame +of iron, Napoleon could endure any hardships; and in war, in artillery +especially and engineering, he stands unrivalled in the world's +history.... He could not rest, and knew not when he had achieved +success.... He succeeded in alienating the peoples of Europe, in whose +behalf he pretended to be acting. And when they learned by bitter +experience that he had absolutely no love for liberty, and encouraged +equality only so long as it was an equality of subjects under his rule, +they soon began to war against what was in fact a world-destroying +military despotism." He was inspired with the most unbounded ambition, +which was nothing short of despotism over all Europe, if not the world. +Universal empire was his grand object, or, as it has been expressed by +historians, a desire to concentrate "the world in Europe--Europe in +France--France in Paris--Paris in _himself_." Says Wickes: "The empire +which he actually reared in Europe was a vast, oppressive, centralized +despotism.... To build it up, he desolated France through his terrible +conscriptions, requiring the whole strength and flower of the nation to +supply his armies. It is stated that after the wars of Napoleon there +were three times the number of women in France that there were of men. +The fathers, the husbands, the sons, the brothers, had fallen upon the +battle-field, and thus desolated almost every household in the kingdom. +Similar desolation also he carried by his wars into the other kingdoms." + +The dread of Napoleon settled down upon all the nations of Europe. They +could not cope with his mighty genius, and therefore his presence was a +terror to them. When the allied powers secured his first abdication, in +1814, and sent him to the island of Elba, the desolating results of his +long career were shown in the work that the Congress of Vienna was +called upon to perform when it assembled in the fall of 1814. While the +representatives of the powers were laboring to repair the damage that +had been wrought and to adjust the territorial limitations of the +various nations that had been altered or entirely demolished, the +assemblage was suddenly surprised the following spring by the news that +Napoleon had escaped from Elba and was enroute to Paris. The terror and +consternation in Europe then experienced is shown by the following +quotation from Sir James Mackintosh, a man of high reputation as a +jurist, as a historian, and as a far-sighted and candid statesman: + +"Was it in the power of language to describe the evil! Wars which had +raged for more than twenty years throughout Europe, which had spread +blood and desolation from Cadiz to Moscow, and from Naples to +Copenhagen; which had wasted the means of human enjoyment, and destroyed +the instruments of social improvement; which threatened to diffuse among +the European nations the dissolute and ferocious habits of a predatory +soldiery ... had been brought to a close.... Europe seemed to breathe +after her sufferings. In the midst of this fair prospect and of these +consolatory hopes, Napoleon Bonaparte escaped from Elba; three small +vessels reached the coast of Provence; their hopes are instantly +dispelled; the work of our toil and fortitude is undone: the blood of +Europe is spilled in vain." + +The bitterest ingredients in the cup of these nations was the +humiliating overthrow of their own government and their subjection to +the hated _republican_ despotism of France. It was a scorching sun that +they could not endure. Still, they repented not to give God glory; they +continued as before. After Napoleon had accomplished the purpose for +which he was intended, God permitted this stupendous genius to be +subdued; but it required the combined powers of Europe to secure his +downfall. + +Creasy, in his Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World, says concerning +the battle of Waterloo, "The great battle which ended the twenty-three +years' war of the first French revolution, and which quelled the man +whose genius and ambition had so long _disturbed and desolated the +world_, deserves to be regarded by us ... with peculiar gratitude for +the repose which it secured for us and for the greater part of the human +race." + + 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. + +Under this vial the symbols differ somewhat. The "beast" is evidently +the one of whom the image was made, referred to in verse 2--the Papacy. +The seat that the Papacy occupied from the time the dragon resigned in +favor of the beast (chap. 13:2) was his position of temporal power and +authority. In the following chapter the Papacy is described as _seated_ +upon a ten-horned beast, the ten horns of which symbolized the kingdoms +of Europe. In this position it was able to exercise a guiding influence +over the European nations. We have already seen what great power the +Popes exercised in this direction during the Dark Ages. But the "beast" +of chapter 17 himself, as distinguished from his horns, symbolizes the +Holy Roman Empire, which was a revival of the old empire of the Caesars. +This revived "world-empire" was closely allied to the Papacy. When +Charlemagne, the Carlovingian king, restored the empire of the West, he +was crowned "Emperor of the Romans" by Pope Leo III., A.D. 800. "The +Popes made the descendants of Charles Martel kings and emperors; the +grateful Frankish princes defended the Popes against all their enemies, +imperial and barbarian, and dowering them with cities and provinces, +laid the basis of their temporal sovereignty, which continued for more +than a thousand years." After the decline of the Carlovingian power the +imperial authority was again revived by Otto the Great (962), who was +crowned Emperor of the Romans by the Pope. Henceforth the empire of the +West was termed the _Holy Roman Empire_. "From this time on it was the +rule that the German king who was crowned at Aachen had a right to be +crowned ... emperor at Rome." So the general rule was that the Popes +upheld the emperors, and the emperors sustained the Popes in their +position as the spiritual heads of the church and as temporal rulers +over the Papal states, which were granted them originally by the +donations of Pepin and Charlemagne. + +In chapter 13 the civil powers of Europe and the ecclesiastical power of +Rome are not shown by a double symbol--a woman and a beast--as in +chapter 17, but are there represented by a combination of symbols drawn +from the departments of human life and animal life, which shows that a +politico-religious system is intended, as heretofore explained; hence +the term _beast_, as there used, signifies either the Papacy or the +civil power. Thus the term is used in the present chapter under +consideration, and has reference here to the beast as an ecclesiastical +power--the Papacy--and his "seat" refers to his temporal authority. + +This vial, then, being poured out upon his seat, with the result that +his kingdom was filled with darkness--a symbol drawn from nature--points +to the downfall of the Pope as a temporal ruler. Thus he would be +deprived of his "seat." + +We have already seen that each plague prepares the way for a succeeding +one. Under the reign of Napoleon the Holy Roman Empire was dissolved +(1806). This was the beginning of the end of the Pope's temporal +authority; for the two had in a great measure been for ages +interdependent upon each other. Pius VII. was made a prisoner and the +temporal sovereignty of the Roman See declared to be at an end; while +the Pope himself was forced to disown all claim to rank as a temporal +ruler. Of course, this was but a temporary overthrow; for when the +period of Reaction came, the Pope recovered also temporal authority. But +the vast territories of Avignon, Venaissin, Bologna, Ferrara, and the +Romagna--representing fully _a third_ of all the Papal dominions--which +had been forcibly ceded to France under Napoleon, was never restored to +the Roman See. From that time the sun of the Pope's temporal kingdom +rapidly approached the horizon; while the inhabitants of his dominions +continued to blaspheme God through the atheistical Jacobinism that +infested to so great an extent the whole mass of society--symbolized by +their "sores"--and the firm supporters of Popery were filled with +excessive chagrin and mortification of mind--symbolized by their +"pains"--because the power of their leader, who professed temporal +sovereignty over the whole earth, was being suddenly destroyed and his +kingdom left in darkness. Concerning this matter the People's +Cyclopaedia, after speaking of the blow the Pope's spiritual supremacy +received at the Reformation, says: "But in her relations to the State +the Roman church has since passed through _a long and critical +struggle_. The new theories _to which the French Revolution gave +currency_ have still further modified these relations." In the second +revolution of 1848 the Pope's temporal authority was about to be +entirely destroyed by the attempted establishment of the republic of +Italy; but at this juncture France, who, notwithstanding her plagues, +had not repented of her former deeds, not willing to desert entirely the +Papal cause after upholding it faithfully for centuries, interfered, and +the Pope was sustained in his position by a French garrison until 1870 +(except a short time in 1867), at which time the success of King Victor +Emmanuel and his capture of the Eternal City established the free +government of United Italy. The temporal sun of the Pope set forever; +his kingdom was left in darkness. + + 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 symbols under this vial are so different that at first they scarcely +look like anything constituting a plague. By recalling a few +circumstances of history we shall understand why the river Euphrates was +selected as a symbol, and also, its true signification in this +connection. This river was connected with ancient Babylon, and while +running in its own channel was the protection of the city and an +obstacle to its capture. By turning the water of this river from its +course, King Cyrus (according to the account given by Herodotus) +succeeded in overthrowing the city, with the result that God's people +who were at that time in captivity there received permission to return +to their own land and to rebuild the house of God in Jerusalem. Ezra +1:1-3. Under the sixth trumpet this symbol was applied to the four +angels as a symbol of the restraint placed upon their operations, they +being bound in that river. As there are no agents in this vision who are +represented as bound, we must apply it to the city itself, the name of +which is given in verse 19--Babylon--being a symbol of one of its +defenses. According to verse 19 this mystical Babylon is composed of +three parts, being made up of the dragon (in his modern form), the +beast, and the false prophet mentioned in verse 13. And its location is +not confined to the territory of the ten kingdoms; for its field of +operations is not only that of the "earth"--the Apocalyptic earth--but +"_of the whole world_." Ver. 14. In one division of this great city, +that of the false prophet, God's people were long held in captivity; but +its spiritual overthrow was to be accomplished by the drying up of the +Euphrates of its defenses, that the way of the kings of the East might +be prepared.[12] + +[Footnote 12: Applying the Euphrates (an object from nature) as a symbol +of ecclesiastical affairs in this manner appears to be in violation of +the laws of symbolic language laid down; but we should bear in mind the +fact that events of whatever nature connected with the history of God's +chosen people in the old dispensation are of themselves proper symbols +of similar events in the New Testament dispensation. Thus the temple, +altar, candle-sticks, incense, holy city, etc., of the former +dispensation, although of themselves objects from nature, are +nevertheless clearly used to represent affairs of the church, because of +their former significance as connected with the people of God. The fact +that the great city of this chapter is spiritual Babylon (see verse 19) +is positive proof that the river Euphrates is here applied in the proper +manner.] + +To the Hebrews the term _east_ had a much more extensive signification +than with us, to whom its only distinction is that it is the point of +the sun's rising. But beyond this, it was to the Jews the cardinal point +of the compass to which they naturally looked first. Their temple was +built toward the east, its principal entrance being in that direction. +The most powerful and enlightened kingdoms of the world lay to the east +of Judea, and they included them all under the general term, sons or +children of the East (Orientals) and kings of the East, comprehending +not only Arabia and the lands of Moab and Ammon, but also Armenia, +Assyria, Mesopotamia, Babylonia and Chaldea. Travelers from these +countries would all enter Judea from the east, and they were considered +Orientals. These nations were also distinguished for their proficiency +in science and learning. The Magi, or wise men of the East, came to +worship the infant Jesus at Jerusalem. They were eminent in the science +of astrology, which was considered the greatest science of that day. The +East, therefore, was looked to for wise men; and it is a noticeable fact +that the pathway of science, of literature, and of empire has ever been +from that direction, so as to have passed into a proverb, "westward the +star of empire holds its way." "The kings of the East," then, employed +as a symbol of this sixth vial, is not intended to signify any persons +literally from that quarter of the earth, but represents the bringing in +of knowledge and understanding. Thank God that we live in the time when +the defenses of spiritual Babylon have been broken through and when +light and knowledge on the Word of God has reached the hearts of many +redeemed souls held in bondage there! And like the Israelites of old, +when Cyrus, entered the ancient Babylon through the dry river-bed of the +Euphrates, they have come out with rejoicing and made their way to Zion +again. Halleluiah! That the spiritual downfall of Babylon is a real +plague to sectarians there can be no doubt, and it is plainly declared +to be such in chap. 18:8, where the same event is described. + +At the very time when the defenses of Babylon are thrown down, the three +unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon +(Paganism), and out of the mouth of the beast (Romanism), and out of the +mouth of the false prophet (Protestantism), to gather together all the +wicked powers throughout "the whole world" for that last great day of +God Almighty.[13] There is no analagous object to which a _spirit_ can +be made a symbol; therefore we must regard them as being literally +spirits of devils, here appearing under their own appropriate title. +Their mission is to form a confederation of all the gigantic powers of +wickedness, slimy and loathsome as the animal to which they are likened, +and to array themselves against the cause of Christ. + +[Footnote 13: I do not suppose that these three unclean spirits should +be limited in their operations to Paganism, Romanism, and Protestantism; +for that leaves out Mohammedanism, which is neither Pagan, Roman, nor +Protestant, yet is certainly "false prophecy"; and the three spirits +were to gather the "whole world."] + +Armageddon, where the spirits gathered all the enemies of truth and +righteousness together, means the mountain of Megiddo, the memorable +field of the overthrow of Sisera's mighty host by Barak. It was also the +place of great defeat to the Israelites in the time of Josiah and the +scene of his death. The name, therefore, stands as a symbol for a field +of slaughter or defeat and denotes that when the confederation of +wickedness is complete, the united host of God's enemies will be utterly +defeated, as by the overthrow of Megiddo. This great conflict with +powers of wickedness and spirits infernal will be further explained in +chapter XX. + +Simultaneous with the notable events of this vial, the announcement is +made of the near-coming of Christ to the world--"Behold I come as a +thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he +walk naked, and they see his shame." The children of God that have been +gathered out of old Babylon rejoice in the glad announcement and say, +"Even so come, Lord Jesus." + + 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 application of this vial to the judgments of the last great day is +so plain that but little comment is here necessary. It was poured "into +the air," a region of vast extent, not confined to a given locality, but +embracing the whole earth. Hence this plague is universal. When the +seventh angel emptied his vial, "There came a great voice out of the +temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done." All is now +fulfilled. The work of wrath is finished. The description of the plague +follows, but it follows only _as a description_. As actually +accomplished, it preceded that great voice, which was uttered in view of +the thing already brought to pass. + +The dissolution of the earth itself upon which we live is not here +described, although according to the teaching of other scriptures it +occurs at this time; but the symbols, being drawn from the department of +the operations both of humanity and of nature, show the complete and +final overthrow of all the great powers civil and ecclesiastical. The +dominancy of these great powers has been the chief burden of Apocalyptic +vision, and here their utter destruction at last is set forth under +various symbols. The weight of the Jewish talent is said to have been +one hundred and fourteen pounds. Such a mass of ice descending from +heaven would beat down everything in its resistless, desolating fury. +There is no intimation, however, of men being killed under this or the +accompanying symbols; therefore as individuals they survive, while the +storm of wrath falls upon the civil and ecclesiastical institutions of +society, resulting in their utter annihilation. This is the "great day +of his wrath" described under the sixth seal, to the symbols of which +this description bears a striking resemblance, as any one can see at a +glance. Well may the oppressors of earth say to the mountains and hills, +"Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the +throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: for the great day of his wrath +is come; and who shall be able to stand?" Chap. 6:16, 17. + + + + +CHAPTER XVII. + + + 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. + + 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. + +Here again the narrative returns to take up another series of the +history. A number of times we have been taken over the same ground. It +is this feature of the Apocalypse more than any other that has misled +and perplexed commentators. Attempting to explain it as one continuous +narrative from beginning to end, they have been compelled to consider +numerous passages as "digressions," "parentheses," or "episodes," etc. +As already observed, however, the prophecy is not arranged after the +ordinary plan of histories, narrating all the contemporaneous events in +a given period, whether civil, religious, literary, scientific, or +biographical, thus finishing up the history of that period; but it +consists of a number of distinct themes running over the same ground. + +In this chapter a more particular description of the church of Rome, +"that great city which reigneth over the kings of the earth" (verse 18), +is given under the symbol of a drunken harlot. With this vile prostitute +"the kings of the earth have committed fornication"--they have +encouraged her in her corruption and idolatries--"and the inhabitants of +the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication." This +latter symbol is doubtless taken from the cup of drugged wine with which +lewd women were accustomed to inflame their lovers. So had this apostate +church made "the inhabitants of the earth"--of the ten kingdoms--drunken +with her wine-cup and thus rendered them willing partakers in her +abominable idolatries. She is described in two positions--first, as +"sitting upon many waters," which the angel informs us "are peoples, and +multitudes, and nations, and tongues" (verse 15); and second, "upon a +scarlet-colored beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads +and ten horns." The first position denotes her wide supremacy in the +world over distant peoples and nations; the second, the close +relationship that she sustained to the civil power. That beast carried +her in royal state. The civil powers of Europe have usually lent +themselves as a caparisoned hack for this great whore to ride upon and +have considered themselves highly honored thereby. This beast was full +of the names of blasphemy, which were the same as the blasphemous +assumptions of the Papacy, as explained in chapter XIII, showing that he +agreed perfectly with this apostate church in her impious claims and +supported her in them, making himself equally guilty and deserving of +the same name. What is intended exactly by his scarlet color I do not +know. The same power under its Pagan form was represented as a red +dragon. + +The appearance of this woman was that of the most splendid character, +nor are we to suppose the contrary because she was such an infamous +prostitute. She may have been, and according to the description was, all +that, but still her appearance was such as to bewitch her admirers and +votaries. Robes of purple and scarlet, with the most costly profusion of +gold and diamonds, were superb adorning, even regal splendor. All that +skill and wealth could do in magnificence of attire was bestowed upon +her to set forth her charms. The "golden cup in her hand" was as to +richness in harmony with her dress, while as to contents it set forth +her character, for it was "full of abominations and filthiness of her +fornication." This cup was an appropriate symbol of her atrocious +wickedness and idolatries. + +This woman had also a name written on her forehead. It was not, indeed, +placed there by herself nor by her admirers; but He who drew this +symbolic picture placed it there that all might know her true character. +"MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF +THE EARTH." Although this apostate church was only in embryo in the +apostles' day, yet the apostle who gave us a careful delineation of its +terrible characteristics declared that it was then developing and +denominated it a _mystery_. "The mystery of iniquity doth already work." +2 Thes. 2:7. The same apostle regarded as an unquestionable fact that +_godliness_ was a mystery (1 Tim. 3:16); but he who peruses the history +of the Papacy will be forced to declare with emphasis, "Without +controversy great is the mystery of Romanism." She is also styled +Babylon the Great. This name is derived from ancient Babylon. This city +was the center of the earth's idolatry and stood first of all as the +direct enemy of God's people. So, likewise, this church is the center of +earth's spiritual idolatry. There are other harlots, or corrupt +churches, in the world beside her; but she is the _mother_ of them all. +They are all children by her side. Some of them greatly honor her and in +deep veneration call her "_our holy mother church_;" but God brands her +as the "mother of harlots and abominations of the earth." + +But the statement that she was a harlot merely, does not entirely +describe her character. She was a _drunken_ harlot. Drunken with +what--wine? No indeed; that were a very small sin for her. She was +"drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs +of Jesus." Romanists positively declare that their church never +persecutes; but with the picture of this drunken prostitute before our +eyes, we shall be hard to convince. To illustrate this point fully would +be to write a book of martyrs much larger than the present work; so, for +lack of space only, we shall have to content ourselves with merely +bringing forward a few of many historical proofs showing _that they +themselves_ claim the right to exterminate heretics. + +Innumerable provincial and national councils have issued the most cruel +and bloody laws for the extermination of the Waldenses and other +so-called heretics; such as the Councils of Oxford, Toledo, Avignon, +Tours, Lavaur, Albi, Narbonne, Beziers, Tolosa, etc. Since Papists will +assert that these had no authority to establish a doctrine of the church +(although they clearly reflect its spirit), I remind the reader that +some of their _General_ Councils have by their decrees pronounced the +punishment of death for heresy. At least six of these highest judicial +assemblies of the Romish church, with the Pope at their head, have +authoritatively enjoined the persecution and extermination of heretics. +Extracts from the Acts of these Councils could be given if space +permitted. 1. The second General Council of Lateran (1139), in its +twenty-third canon. 2. The third General Council of Lateran (1179), +under Pope Alexander III. 3. The fourth General Council of Lateran +(1215), under the inhuman Pope Innocent III., which exceeded in ferocity +all similar decrees that had preceded it. 4. The sixteenth General +Council, held at Constance in 1414. This Council, with Pope Martin +present in person, condemned the reformers Huss and Jerome to be burned +at the stake and then prevailed on the emperor Sigismund to violate the +safe-conduct that he had given Huss, signed by his own hand, in which he +guaranteed the reformer a safe return to Bohemia; and the inhuman +sentence was carried out, with the haughty prelates standing by to +satiate their eyes on the sight of human agony. This council also +condemned the writings of Wickliffe and _ordered his bones to be dug up +and burnt_, which savage sentence was afterwards carried into effect; +and after lying in their grave for forty years, the remains of this +first translator of the English Bible were reduced to ashes and thrown +into the brook Swift. Well has the historian Fuller said, in reference +to this subject, "The brook Swift did convey his ashes into Avon, the +Avon into Severn, the Severn into the narrow seas, and they into the +main ocean. And thus the ashes of Wickliffe are the emblem of his +doctrie, which is now dispersed all over the world." 5. The Council of +Sienna (1423), which was afterwards continued at Basil. 6. The fifth +General Council of the Lateran (1514). The laws enacted in each +succeeding Council were generally marked, if possible, with augmented +barbarity. + +Says the learned Edgar, in his Variations of Popery: "The principle of +persecution, being sanctioned not only by theologians, Popes and +provincial synods but also by General Councils, _is a necessary and +integral part of Romanism_. The Romish communion has, by its +representatives, declared its right to compel men to renounce heterodoxy +and embrace Catholicism, and to consign the obstinate to the civil power +to be banished, tortured, or killed." St. Aquinas, whom Romanists call +the "angelic Doctor," says, "Heretics are to be compelled by corporeal +punishments, that they may adhere to the faith." Again, "Heretics may +not only be excommunicated, but _justly killed_." He says that "the +church consigns such to the secular judges _to be exterminated from the +world by death_." + +Cardinal Bellarmine is the great champion of Romanism and expounder of +its doctrines. He was the nephew of Pope Marcellus, and he is +acknowledged to be a standard writer with Romanists. In the twenty-first +and twenty-second chapters of the third book of his work entitled _De +Laicis_, he enters into a regular argument to prove that the church has +the right, and should exercise it, of punishing heretics with death. The +heading is his, together with what follows. + +"Chapter XXI. _That heretics, condemned by the church, may be punished +with temporal penalties and even death._ We will briefly show that the +church has the _power and ought_ to cast off incorrigible heretics, +especially those who have elapsed, and that the secular power ought to +inflict on such temporal punishments and even death itself. 1. This may +be proved from the Scripture. 2. It is proved from the opinions and laws +of the emperors, _which the church has always approved_. 3. _It is +proved by the laws of the church ... experience proves that there is no +other remedy;_ for the church has tried step by step all remedies--first +excommunication alone; then pecuniary penalties; afterward banishment; +_and lastly has been forced to put them to death; to send them to their +own place_.... There are three grounds on which reason shows that +heretics should be put to death: the first is, Lest the wicked should +injure the righteous; second, That by the punishment of a few many may +be reformed. For many who were made torpid by impunity, are _roused by +the fear of punishment_; AND THIS WE DAILY SEE IS THE RESULT WHERE THE +INQUISITION FLOURISHES," etc. + +"Chapter XXII. _Objections answered._ It remains to answer the +objections of Luther and other heretics. Argument 1. From the history of +the church at large. 'The church,' says Luther, 'from the beginning even +to this time, _has never burned a heretic_. Therefore it does not seem +to be the mind of the Holy Spirit that they should be burnt!' [He surely +misunderstood Luther.] I reply that 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 not know it, and was therefore ignorant; or if he knew it, he +is convicted of impudence and falsehood,--for _that heretics were often +burnt_ BY THE CHURCH may be proved by adducing a few from many examples. +Argument 2. 'Experience shows that terror is not useful.' I reply +EXPERIENCE PROVES THE CONTRARY--for the Donatists, Manicheans, and +Albigenses WERE ROUTED AND ANNIHILATED BY ARMS," etc. + +So this high dignitary of the Catholic church, a cardinal, a nephew of +one Pope and the special favorite of others, freely admits the charge so +often laid to Popery by creditable historians--the butchering of an +"infinite number" of people that differed from them--and here labors +hard to uphold it as a principle of righteousness. Their bloody crusades +against the innocent, unoffending Waldenses, Albigenses, and other +peoples, in which thousands, and in the aggregate _millions_, were +slaughtered like venomous reptiles, stand out on the page of history +with a prominence that can not be mistaken; and they themselves can not +deny it. Dowling has well said that their "history is written in lines +of blood. Compared with the butcheries of holy men and women by the +Papal Antichrist, the persecutions of the Pagan emperors of the first +three centuries sink into comparative insignificance. For not a tithe of +the blood of martyrs was shed by Paganism, that has been poured forth by +Popery; and the persecutors of Pagan Rome never dreamed of the thousand +ingenious contrivances of torture which the malignity of Popish +inquisitors succeeded in inventing." P. 541. + +If any of my readers suppose that the character of Popery has changed +with the lapse of ages, I must tell you that such is not the ease. +Popery is unchangeable and this her ablest advocates declare. Chas. +Butler, in the work he wrote in reply to Southey's book of the church, +says, "It is most true that the Roman Catholics believe the doctrines of +their church to be unchangeable; and that it is a tenet of their creed, +that what their faith ever has been, such it was from the beginning, +_such it is now_, and SUCH IT EVER WILL BE." A copy of the eleventh +edition of The Faith of Our Fathers, published in Baltimore, Maryland, +in 1883, lies before me. It was written by Archbishop (now Cardinal) +James Gibbons, the highest authority of the Roman Catholic church in +this country. In page 95 he says: "It is a marvelous fact, worthy of +record, that in the whole history of the church, from the nineteenth +century to the first, no solitary example can be adduced to show that +any Pope or General Council ever revoked a decree of faith or morals +enacted by any preceding pontiff or council. Her record in the past +ought to be a sufficient warrant that she will _tolerate no doctrinal +variations in the future_." So the doctrine of her inherent right to +persecute and slay every one who disagrees with her, which has been +enacted by Pontiffs and General Councils and so carried out in the past, +is still in vogue and would now be enforced were it in her power to do +so. + +While this statement of Gibbons' shows the unchangeable spirit of +Popery, still it is the basest presumption upon the historical knowledge +of the reader. The facts are that the _official_ acts of some of their +Popes and General Councils have been so far wrong that Romanists +themselves have been compelled to admit it. Thus the _sixth_ General +Council, which was held at Constantinople in 680, and which every +Catholic accepts as Ecumenical, condemned, in the strongest terms, Pope +Honorius as a Monothelite _heretic_. Let them attempt to deny it, and we +will bring forward our proof. Romish authors themselves admit it, the +well-known Dupin with the rest, as appears by the following extract from +his writings: "The Council had as much reason to censure him as Sergius, +Paulus, Peter, and the other Patriarchs oL Constantinople." He adds in +language yet more emphatic, "This will stand for certain, then, that +Honorius _was condemned_, AND JUSTLY TOO, AS A HERETIC, by the sixth +General Council." Dupin's Eccl. History, Vol. II, p. 16. + +The Decretals of Isodore furnish another example of Papal infallibility +(?). For ages these documents were the chief instrument of the Popes in +extending their power and the proof of the righteousness of their +assumptions to excessive temporal authority. Wickliffe declared them +false and apocryphal. For this he was condemned by the sixteenth +_General Council_, held at Constance in 1414, and his bones ordered dug +up and burnt because of his daring impudence. The spurious character of +these false decretals have since been proved beyond the shadow of a +doubt; and since it is impossible to deny it longer, it is admitted even +by Romanists. So, after all, this _infallible_ Council was wrong, the +Papists themselves being the judges. + +Pope Benedict IX. was guilty of such flagitious crimes that he became an +object of public abhorrence, and he finally _sold_ the Popedom. One of +his infallible (?) successors in the Papal chair, Pope Victor III., +pronounced this infallible (?) profligate a person "abandoned to all +manner of vice. A _successor of_ SIMON THE SORCERER, and NOT OF SIMON +THE APOSTLE." I do not question the truth of this assertion, but what +becomes of their boasted uninterrupted apostolical succession? Baronius, +the Popish annalist, confesses that Pope Sergius III. was "the slave of +every vice, and the most wicked of men." Among other horrid acts Platina +relates that he _rescinded the acts_ of Pope Formosus, compelled those +whom he had ordained to be re-ordained, dragged his dead body from the +sepulchre, beheaded him as though he were alive, and then threw him into +the Tiber! This Pope cohabited with an infamous prostitute named Marozia +and by her had a son named John, who afterwards ascended the Papal +throne, through the influence of his licentious mother, under the name +of John XI. So the unlawful amours of Sergius produced this infallible, +necessary link in the _holy_ chain of uninterrupted apostolical +succession! It must be remembered, also, that the Popes have for ages +laid claim themselves to infallibility; and in the last General Council +of that body, held at the Vatican in 1870, it was declared a dogma of +the church. Romanists will tell us that this decree refers only to his +official acts, and not to his personal character; but official acts have +been the main thing under consideration in the case of Sergius, +Honorius, and Benedict. But if such monsters of vice can produce good, +holy, infallible acts, as Papists declare, then Jesus Christ is +mistaken; for he declared positively that "a corrupt tree _bringeth +forth evil fruit_ ... neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good +fruit." Mat. 7:17, 18. "God forbid: yea, let God be true, but every man +a liar." Rom. 3:4. During these dark ages thousands of priests, who were +by the laws of the church denied their Scriptural right of possessing a +wife (1 Cor. 7:9, etc.), lived openly with concubines; and the Council +of Toledo decreed that they should not be condemned therefor, provided +they were content with one. + +But the devil produced his master-piece of iniquity in the person of +Roderic Borgia, who ascended the Papal throne in 1492 under the name of +Alexander VI. The utmost limits assigned to Papal depravity were +realized in him, so that the very name Borgia has come to be used as a +designation of any person unusually wicked. Says Waddington: "The +ecclesiastical records of fifteen centuries ... contain no name so +loathsome, no crimes so foul as his.... Not one among the many zealous +annalists of the Roman church has breathed a whisper in his praise.... +He publicly cohabited with a Roman matron named Vanozia, by whom he had +five acknowledged children. Neither in his manners nor in his language +did he affect any regard for morality or decency; and one of the +earliest acts of his pontificate was, to celebrate, with scandalous +magnificence, in his own palace, the marriage of his daughter Lucretia. +On one occasion this prodigy of vice gave a splendid entertainment, +within the walls of the Vatican, to no less than fifty public +prostitutes at once, and that in the presence of his daughter Lucretia, +at which entertainment deeds of darkness were done, over which decency +must throw a veil; and yet this monster of vice was, according to Papist +... the vicar of God upon earth, and was addressed by the title of HIS +HOLINESS!!" But why stir this cesspool of filth any longer? Is not that +church of which Alexander VI. was for eleven years the crowned and +anointed head--a necessary link in the boasted chain of _holy_ +apostolical succession, the pretended vicar of Christ upon earth--is it +not, I ask, fitly described by the pen of inspiration "MOTHER OF HARLOTS +AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH," as she reeled onward in the career of +ages, "drunken with the blood of the saints"? + + 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 + carriest her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns. + + 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. + + 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 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 angel promises to explain "the mystery of the woman and of the beast +that carried her." The beast is the same as the secular beast with seven +heads and ten horns, described in chapter 13. An explanation of its +heads and horns has already been given. The expression "the seven heads +are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth, and there are seven +kings," requires further explanation. Many have understood the mountains +to signify the seven mountains on which the city of Rome is said to be +built; but that is adopting the literal mode of interpretation, and is +contrary to the laws of symbolic language. The more obvious meaning is +that the seven heads represent seven mountains and also seven kings; but +this probably is not the idea intended. The heads of a beast are not the +proper symbol of mountains. The fact, too, that the woman is represented +as sitting upon these mountains, shows that they are to be taken as a +symbol, as well as the woman, and not the object symbolized. They are, +then, the same as the heads and denote the seven kings or seven forms of +government under which the Roman empire subsisted. + +The seventh and last head has not yet been identified. Before +considering it, however, I wish to call attention to another point that +has already been referred to. The beast that John here saw, with the +seven heads and ten horns, was Rome under the Papal power. Did new Rome +in reality have the seven heads? No. The dragon John saw in chapter 12 +is represented as having seven heads and ten horns, and signified Rome +under the Pagan power. Did old Rome really possess the ten horns? No. +According to verse 12 in this chapter, they were to arise future of +John's time. But notice carefully that the seven heads, which according +to this description, belonged to the beast sustaining the Papal power in +after years, are here explained by the angel as signifying the very +forms of government by which _Pagan_ Rome subsisted. "Five _are fallen_ +[a past event], one _is_ [exists at this present time], and the other +_is not yet come_." So according to divine interpretation, the same +heads and horns serve for both the dragon and the beast. This could not +possibly be a true representation unless they were both in reality the +_same beast_, they being represented as two only for the purpose of +describing the two phases of Roman history--Pagan and Papal. + +With this point established, that these two forms of Roman history are +the same beast, we are now prepared to understand the statement that the +beast "was and is not, and yet is." This is equivalent to saying that +the beast existed, it ceased to exist, and then it came into existence +again. This was exactly the history of Rome. Its downfall under the +Pagan form was described under the fourth trumpet as an eclipse of the +sun, moon and stars, so that they shone not for a third part of the day +and night. For a time it seemed not to exist. A little later the eclipse +is lifted; the beast exists again under the Papal form. In this is set +forth clearly the wounding and the healing of the beast. The wound was +inflicted on its sixth, or Imperial, head (for the first five had +already fallen, according to the historical facts just related), being +accomplished by the hordes of Northern barbarians overturning the empire +of the West. It appeared for a time that the beast was indeed wounded +unto death; but not so: to the surprise of all, he survived under the +form of the seventh head. At this point the question is sure to be +asked, How could the beast continue to live if its seventh head was to +continue but "a short space"? This is accounted for by the fact that +there was what might be appropriately called an eighth head, but which +was in reality of the seven. "And the beast that was, and is not, even +he is the eighth, and is of the seven." Verse 11. + +The identification of the seventh head will now make the matter +complete. The facts all meet in the Carlovingian empire, or the empire +of Charlemagne. In the year 774 Charlemagne completed the work begun by +Pepin twenty years before and overthrew the kingdom of the Lombards in +Italy, which was the last of the three horns plucked up before the +little horn of Daniel. By this victory he became complete master of +Italy, and he received the title Patrician of Rome. This was not merely +an honorary title, such as had for ages been conferred upon certain +individuals; but it was a distinct form of civil government and supreme, +taking the same rank with that of the Consular, the Decemvirate, the +Triumvirate, etc., in the earlier history of the nation. It lasted, +however, only "a short space," or twenty-six years, when Charlemagne, +having extended his conquests over all the western part of Europe, +assumed the Imperial title and thus revived the empire of Rome in the +West under its Gothic form. In his Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, +Gibbon says: "In the twenty-six years that elapsed between the conquest +of Lombardy and his Imperial coronation, Rome, which had been delivered +by the sword, was subject, as his own, to the scepter, of Charlemagne. +The people swore allegiance to his person and family; in his name, money +was coined, and justice was administered, and the election of Popes was +examined and confirmed by his authority--except an original and +self-inherent claim of sovereignity, there was not any prerogative +remaining which the title of emperor could add to the Patrician of +Rome." This decisive testimony by the highest authority on the subject +shows conclusively that all the power of sovereignty resided in +Charlemagne as the Patrician of Rome, and that this, therefore, is a +proper head to be ranked with the other six that preceded it.[14] + +[Footnote 14: Commentators frequently identify the seventh head with the +Exarchate of Ravenna. After the overthrow of the kingdom of the +Ostrogoths in Italy by Belisarius, the general of Justinian, about the +middle of the sixth century, the territory became subject to the emperor +of the Eastern empire and was ruled by him through an Exarch whose place +of residence was Ravenna. This Exarchate (sometimes called _Patriciate_) +continued until about the middle of the eighth century, when it was +terminated by Astolphus, king of the Lombards, who made Ravenna the +capital of the Lombardic kingdom in 752. Three years later the Lombards +were defeated by Pepin, who made the Holy See a present of the lands he +conquered from them--the origin of the temporal power of the Popes. +Pepin was succeeded by his son Charlemagne, who was appointed +_Patrician_ of Rome, by the Pope, in 774. During the last half century +that the Exarchate of Ravenna remained its existence was but little more +than a name, the real power of government being usurped by the Papacy. +It could hardly be considered an inconsistency were we to interpret the +seventh head as signifying both the Patriciate of Ravenna and the +Patriciate of Charlemagne that closely followed it; but in the present +work I have restricted its application to the latter form because of its +distinctive characteristic as constituting a supreme civil power +entirely independent of the empire of the East, and because of its +importance in the revival of the empire of the West.] + +This head, however, continued only "a short space"; and an eighth arose +on Christmas, the first day of the year 800 (as time was then reckoned), +when Charlemagne was crowned emperor of Rome, and thus revived the +empire of the West. This eighth head, however, was "of the seven"; for +it was the same as the sixth, both being Imperial--the first being in +the Augustan line, and the other in the Carlovingian, and separated from +each other by the seventh, or Patriciate. Considered one way, there were +eight heads, but two of them were alike, hence only seven; for the +eighth was of the seven. According to verse 11 it was under the eighth +head that the beast subsisted at the time he was carrying the woman of +this chapter, which exactly accords with the historical facts in the +case; and the same was continued in a line of emperors reaching down to +the time of the French Revolution. + +The ten horns had "received no kingdom as yet." This signifies that at +the time when the Revelation was given they had not yet arisen. When +they did come into existence they were to receive power as kings with +the beast and were to give to it their power and strength. It is a +singular fact that a distinct head should continue to exist after these +horns had arisen and developed into powerful kingdoms; but herein the +remarkable accuracy of prophecy is clearly shown. It is said that they +should make war with the Lamb and that the Lamb should overcome them. +Some think that this has reference to the persecution of the saints +during the Dark Ages; but it seems to me that it would have been stated +differently if such were its meaning. It may be a prophetical reference +to the battle of Armageddon, which will be terminated by the coming of +the Son of God himself to overthrow completely all the powers of +wickedness. + + 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 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. + +The special thoughts contained in these verses have been so far +explained already that it is unnecessary to go over the same ground +again. Already the civil powers of Europe are beginning to cast this +woman aside as an old, wrinkled, haggard prostitute is cast off by her +lovers. Already they have deprived her of all temporal authority such as +she possessed in guiding this beast of chapter 17, as explained under +the fifth plague in the preceding chapter. Whether they are destined to +become a still greater enemy to her, the future will determine. + + + + +CHAPTER XVIII. + + + 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. + +A movement of mighty power is symbolized in these verses. The chronology +of the events described in the preceding chapter brings us down to the +time when the ten horns turn against the Papacy by depriving her of her +temporal authority. This, as we have already seen, was completely +fulfilled in 1870 and constituted the fifth plague. In the description +of the sixth plague which followed, it was shown that the great city +which was invaded was composed of three parts--Paganism (the modern form +of the dragon power), Catholicism, and Protestantism. The same great +city is here brought to view, and the angel from heaven, with a mighty +voice, cries, "Babylon the Great is fallen, is fallen." This fall of +Babylon can not signify a literal destruction; for there are certain +events to take place in Babylon after her fall which entirely precludes +that idea; for instance, the calling of God's people out of her, in +order that they may not receive of her plagues. In these plagues is +embraced her literal destruction, or complete overthrow. The fall is +therefore a moral 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." + +Protestants who make any attempt to interpret these prophecies usually +limit the designation "Babylon the Great" in these verses to the church +of Rome, because the woman symbolizing the apostate church in the +preceding chapter is denominated "Babylon the Great." Ver. 5. But the +same verse also declares her to be the "_Mother_ of harlots;" and if she +as a degraded woman stands as the representative of a corrupt church, +her unchaste daughters, also, must symbolize churches that are her +descendants; and if the real name of the _mother_ is Babylon, as stated, +the proper name of her harlot daughters must be Babylon also. Whether, +therefore, the mother or the daughters are referred to, it is all +"Babylon the Great," because it is all the same family and is a part of +that "GREAT CITY which reigneth over the kings of the earth." Chap. +17:18. We must, therefore, have something besides the mere title +"Babylon the Great" to determine which division of the great city is +referred to in a given instance--whether Pagan, Papal, or Protestant. + +A careful study of the prophecy now under consideration will show that +it has particular reference to the Protestant division of Babylon. It +contained many of God's children; whereas Paganism was always a false +religion and never held any of God's saints. Under the reign of +Catholicism, the people of God are represented in all the symbols of +this book relating thereto as existing entirely separate from that +communion. The description of this apostate church given in the +preceding chapter shows clearly that instead of being partly composed of +God's saints, she was their most bitter and relentless persecutor, yea, +was "_drunken with the blood of the saints_, and with the blood of the +martyrs of Jesus." This is definite proof that the present phase of +Babylon under consideration is the Protestant division; and her moral +fall is the grand signal for the escape of God's people who have partly +composed her number, as the fall of ancient Babylon was for the escape +of the Israelites. In their younger days the Protestant organizations +(symbolized by the daughters) were of much better character than the +mother church from whom they descended. Many of them started out on +reform. While a spiritual people, God worked with them; but when they +made their image to the beast, they suddenly declined, and this voice +from heaven finally declares them to be in a fallen condition--entirely +void of salvation, except a very few chosen saints that have not defiled +their garments, contained therein. + +That this application of the term _Babylon_ is correct, and also, the +fallen condition ascribed to her in accordance with the facts, I will +prove by the following testimonies of Protestants themselves. The first +is from Vision of the Ages; or, Lectures on the Apocalypse, by B.W. +Johnson, member of the Christian sect. + +"It is needful to inquire what the term _Babylon_ means. It occurs +several times in the New Testament. Here (in the Apocalypse) it is +spoken of as 'that great city,' and her fall is doomed 'because she hath +made all nations drunk with the wine of her fornication.' In Rev. 17:5, +a scarlet harlot is seen sitting upon the seven-headed and ten-horned +monster, and upon her forehead is written, 'Mystery, Babylon the Great.' +With this woman the kings of the earth are said to have committed +fornication. In chapter 18 the fall of the great city, Babylon is +detailed at length, and it is again said that all the kings of the earth +have committed fornication with her. The harlot with Babylon stamped on +her brow, and the great city of fornication styled Babylon, in chapters +14 and 18, are one and the same existence. + +"There is an ancient city of Babylon often mentioned in the Old +Testament, but ages before John wrote, it had ceased to be inhabited, +the only dwellers among its lonely ruins were howling beasts and hissing +serpents. It has never been rebuilt to this day and has passed away +forever. John refers therefore not to old Babylon, but to some power yet +unseen (when he was upon the earth), that should be revealed in due +time, and of which old Babylon was a symbol. Let us notice some of the +features of ancient Babylon. + +"1. On that site took place the confusion of tongues which divided those +who before had been of one speech and one family, into various tribes +and schisms at variance with each other and of various tongues. The word +Babylon, a memorial of this event, means confusion, and is derived from +Babel. + +"2. Old Babylon persecuted the people of God and destroyed the temple in +Jerusalem. + +"3. It carried the people of God into captivity. + +"4. It was a mighty, resistless universal empire. The antitype, the +spiritual Babylon, must correspond. There is a power that exhibits all +these characteristics. By apostasy from the truth it originated the +schism which has divided the family of God into different sects and +parties which speak a different spiritual language. It has carried the +church into a long captivity by binding upon it the thralldom of +superstition. It has been a constant persecutor of the saints, and has +enjoyed an almost universal dominion. That power is the woman that sits +upon the seven-headed beast ... the false woman, symbolical of a false +church, the great apostate spiritual dominion of Rome. And we may add, +out of which have come--directly or indirectly--_all the religious sects +of the present day_." + +Dr. Barnes says: "The word _Babylon_ became the emblem of all that was +haughty and oppressive, and especially of all that persecuted the church +of God. The word here (Rev. 18:4) must be used to denote some power that +resembled the ancient and literal Babylon in these characteristics. The +literal Babylon was no more; but the name might be used properly to +denote a similar power." + +Wm. Kinkade, in Bible Doctrine, page 249, says, "I think Christ has a +true church on earth, but its members are scattered among the various +denominations, and are more or less under the influence of mystery +Babylon and her daughters." + +Alexander Campbell 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 Wesleyanism. 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." On +Baptism, p.15. + +Again, he says: "The worshiping establishments now in operation +throughout Christendom, increased and cemented by their respective +voluminous confessions of faith, and their ecclesiastical constitutions, +are not churches of Jesus Christ, but the legitimate daughters of that +mother of harlots, the church of Rome." How any man could possess as +much light on this subject as did Mr. Campbell, and then build a sect +himself, is more than I can understand. + +Lorenzo Dow says of the Romish Church: "If she be the mother, who are +the daughters? It must be the corrupt, national, established churches +that came out of her." Dow's Life, p. 542. + +In the Religious Encyclopaedia, Article Antichrist, we read: "The writer +of the book of Revelation tells us he heard a voice from heaven saying, +'Come out of her, my people, that ye partake not of her sins, and +receive not of her plagues.' If such persons are to be found in the +'mother of harlots,' with much less hesitation may it be inferred that +they are connected with her unchaste daughters, those national churches +which are founded upon what are called Protestant principles." + +In the Encyclopaedia of Religious Knowledge we read: "An important +question, however, says Mr. Jones, stills remains for inquiry: Is +Antichrist confined to the church of Rome? The answer is readily +returned in the affirmative by Protestants in general; and happy had it +been for the world had that been the case. But although we are fully +warranted to consider that church as 'the mother of harlots,' the truth +is that by whatsoever arguments we succeed in fixing that odius charge +upon her, we shall, by parity of reasoning, be obliged to allow other +national churches to be her unchaste daughters, and for this plain +reason, among others, because in their very constitution and tendency +they are hostile to the nature of the kingdom of Christ." + +One of Martin Luther's guests remarked that the world might continue +fifty years, and he replied: "Pray God that it may not exist so long; +matters would be even worse than they have been. There would rise up +infinite sects and schisms, which are at present hidden in men's hearts +and nature. No; may the Lord come at once, for there is no amendment to +be expected." + +Mr. Hartly, a learned churchman, has remarked as follows: "There are +many prophecies which declare the fall of the ecclesiastical powers of +the Christian world, and though each church seems to flatter itself with +the hope of being exempted, yet it is very plain that the prophetical +characters belong to all. They all have left the true, pure, simple +religion, and teach for doctrines the commandments of men." + +Says Mr. Simpson, in Plea for Religion: "We Protestants, too, read the +declaration of the third angel against the worshipers of the beast and +his image, and make ourselves easy under the awful denunciation by +applying it exclusively to the church of Rome; never dreaming that they +are equally applicable not only to the English, but to every church +establishment in Christendom, which retains any of the marks of the +beast. For though the Pope and the church of Rome is at the head of the +grand twelve hundred and sixty years' delusion, yet all other churches, +of whatever denomination, whether established or tolerated, which +partake of the same spirit, or have instituted doctrines and ceremonies +inimical to the pure and unadulterated gospel of Christ, shall sooner or +later share in the fate of that immense fabric of human ordinances." + +Says Mr. Hopkins: "There is no reason to consider the antichristian +spirit and practices confined to that which is now called the church of +Rome. The Protestant churches have much of Antichrist in them, and are +far from being wholly reformed from the corruptions and wickedness, in +doctrine and practice, in it. Some churches may be more pure and may +have proceeded farther in a reformation than others; but where can the +church be found which is thoroughly purged from her abominations? None +are wholly clear from an antichristian spirit and the fruits of it.... +And as the church of Rome will have a large share in the cup of +indignation and wrath which will be poured out, so all the Christian +world will have a distinguished portion of it: as the inhabitants of it +are much more guilty than others. There is great reason to conclude that +the world, particularly that part of it called Christian and Protestant, +will yet make greater and more rapid advances in all kinds of moral +corruption and open wickedness, till it will come to that state in which +it will be fully ripe and prepared to be cut down by the sickle of +divine justice and wrath." + +Mr. O. Scott (Wesleyan Methodist) says: "The church is as deeply +infected with a desire for worldly gain as the world. Most of the +denominations of the present day might be called _churches of the +world_, with more propriety than churches of Christ. The churches have +so far gone from primitive Christianity that they need a fresh +regeneration--a new kind of religion." + +Said T. DeWitt Talmage: "I simply state a fact when I say that in many +places the church is surrendering, and the world is conquering.... There +is a mighty host in the Christian church, positively professing +Christianity, who do not believe the Bible, out and out and in and +in.... Oh! we have magnificient church machinery in this country; we +have sixty thousand American ministers; we have costly music; we have +great Sunday-schools; and yet I give you the appalling statistics that +in the last twenty-five years, laying aside last year, the statistics of +which I have not yet seen,--within the last twenty-five years the +churches of God in this country have averaged _less than two conversions +a year_ each! There has been an average of four or five deaths in the +churches. How soon, at that rate, will this world be brought to God? We +gain two; we lose four. Eternal God! what will this come to?" + +Bishop Roberts said: "The popular religion of this country is not the +religion of the New Testament. It has some of its features but not all. +It is lacking in grand fundamental elements. It answers many good +purposes--restrains, refines, elevates, and gives to society a high +grade of civilization; but fails to secure the great end which +Christianity is designed to accomplish--the salvation of the soul. It +dazzles but to blind, it promises but to deceive; it allures by worldly +considerations to a heaven of purity, which no worldling can enter; it +gives to its votaries, who long to eat of forbidden fruit, the assurance +of impunity from the threatened evils, and leads them on by siren +strains from the Paradise of purity into the broad road which ends at +last in the blackness of the darkness of an eternal night of despair!" + +Says the Golden Rule: "The Protestants are outdoing the Popes in +splendid, extravagant folly in church building. Thousands on thousands +are expended in gay and costly ornaments to gratify pride and a wicked +ambition, that might and should go to redeem the perishing millions! +Does the evil, the folly, and the madness of these proud, formal, +fashionable worshiper, stop here? These splendid monuments of Popish +pride, upon which millions are squandered in our cities, virtually +exclude the poor for whom Christ died, and for whom he came especially +to preach." + +The report of the Michigan Yearly Conference, even as long ago as 1851, +published in the True Wesleyan of Nov. 15, says: "The world, commercial, +political, and ecclesiastical are alike, and are together going in the +broad way that leads to death. Politics, commerce, and nominal religion, +all connive at sin, reciprocally aid each other, and unite to crush the +poor. Falsehood is unblushingly uttered in the forum and in the pulpit; +and _sins that would shock the moral sensibilities of the heathen, go +unrebuked in all the great denominations of our land_. These churches +are like the Jewish church when the Savior exclaimed, 'Woe unto you, +scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites.'" + +Robert Atkins, in a sermon preached in London, says: "The truly +righteous are diminished from the earth, and no man layeth it to heart. +The professors of religion of the present day, in every church, are +lovers of the world, conformers to the world. Lovers of +creature-comfort, and aspirers after respectability. They are called to +_suffer_ with Christ, but they shrink even from reproach. Apostasy, +_apostasy_, APOSTASY, is engraven on the very front of every church; and +did they know it, and did they feel it, there might be hope; but alas! +they cry 'We are rich, and increased in goods, and stand in need of +nothing.'" + +I have by no means exhausted the supply of similar testimonies of +Protestants now before me, but for lack of space I must conclude. In the +face of these amazing facts can any one deny that Protestantism is a +part of great Babylon and is in a fallen condition? + +"The merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her +delicacies." A certain writer on this text has said: "Who take the lead +in all the extravagancies of the age? Church-members. Who load their +tables with the richest and choicest viands? Church-members. Who are +foremost in extravagance in dress, and all costly attire? +Church-members. Who are the very personification of pride and arrogance? +Church-members. Where shall we look for the very highest exhibition of +the luxury, even show, and pride of life, resulting from the vanity and +sin of the race? Answer, To a modern church-assembly on a pleasant +Sunday." Though this writer interpreted the text literally, yet he spoke +a vast amount of truth, as every one knows. + +Consider, too, the wickedness carried on everywhere in sect Babylon +unrebuked, with the preachers ofttimes in the lead. Shows, festivals, +frolics, grab-bag parties, cake-walk lotteries, kissing-bees, etc., etc. +If the apostle were here to-day and we should inform him of a modern +church entertainment where a bared female foot, projecting from beneath +a curtain, was sold to the highest gentleman bidder, who had the +privilege of kissing its owner and taking her to supper, he would +probably answer, "Have I not told you, 'Babylon is fallen'?" If his +attention was called to the fact that the members of a prominent church, +in a novel entertainment, displayed the likeness of a donkey, minus the +tail, while the members one by one were blindfolded, and, amid the +uproarous laughter of the crowd assembled, were given the detached part +to see who could place it the nearest where it belonged, he would say +with double emphasis, "_Have I not told you_, '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'?" +The "abominations" are by no means confined to the _mother_ in the +Revelation, but are also to be found in abundance in connection with her +harlot daughters. + + 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 yon, 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. + +Here we have a number of important truths brought before us--first, that +God had a people in Babylon who up to this time were free from her +contaminations; second, that they received a positive call from heaven +to "come out"; third, that all who refused to obey the heavenly command +would become partakers of her sins and receive of her plagues; fourth, +that those who came out were to pour the strongest judgments upon +Babylon--"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." It is evident that the "torment and sorrow" which God's +people give Babylon after their departure is not a temporal +retaliation--for they never indulge in such, and the Word of God forbids +it--but is altogether of a spiritual nature; hence the fierce judgment +they inflict is executing the Word of truth, which brings to light all +the wickedness and abominations contained therein. "Death, and mourning, +and famine" only remain. This symbolizes that all spiritual life has +departed, while famine and mourning are left. That such is the actual +fact is shown by the following lamentation of the late Bishop R.S. +Foster concerning his own sect, the Methodist Episcopal: + +"The ball, the theatre, nude and lewd art, social luxuries, with all +their loose moralities, are making inroads into the sacred enclosure of +the church; and as a satisfaction for all this worldliness, Christians +are making a great deal of Lent and Easter and Good Friday, and church +ornamentations. It is the old trick of Satan. The Jewish church struck +on that rock; the Romish church was wrecked on the same; and the +Protestant church is fast reaching the same doom. + +"Our great dangers as we see them, are assimilation to the world, +neglect of the poor, substitution of the form for the fact of godliness, +abandonment of discipline, a hireling ministry, an impure gospel, which +summed up is a fashionable church. That Methodists should be liable to +such an outcome, and that there should be signs of it in a hundred years +from the 'sail-loft,' seems almost the miracle of history; but who that +looks about him to-day can fail to see the fact? + +"Do not Methodists, in violation of God's Word and their own discipline, +dress as extravagantly and as fashionably as any other class? Do not the +ladies, and even the wives and daughters of the ministry, put on 'gold +and pearls and costly array'? Would not the plain dress insisted upon by +John Wesley and Bishop Asbury, and worn by Hester Ann Rodgers, Lady +Huntington, and many others equally distinguished, be now regarded in +Methodist circles as fanaticism? Can any one going into the Methodist +church in any of our chief cities distinguish the attire of the +communicants from that of the theater and ball-goers? Is not worldliness +seen in the music? Elaborately dressed and ornamented choirs, who in +many cases make no profession of religion and are often sneering +skeptics, go through a cold artistic or operatic performance, which is +as much in harmony with spiritual worship as an opera or theater. Under +such worldly performances spirituality is frozen to death. + +"Formerly every Methodist attended class and gave testimony of +experimental religion. Now the class-meeting is attended by very few, +and in many churches abandoned. Seldom the stewards, trustees and elders +of the church attend class. Formerly nearly every Methodist prayed, +testified or exhorted in prayer-meeting. Now but very few are heard. +Formerly shouts and praises were heard; now such demostrations of holy +enthusiasm and joy are regarded as fanaticism. + +"Worldly socials, and fairs, festivals, concerts and such like have +taken the place of religious gatherings, revival meetings, class and +prayer meetings of earlier days. How true that the Methodist discipline +is a dead letter! Its rules forbid the wearing of gold or pearls or +costly array; yet no one ever thinks of disciplining its members for +violating them. They forbid the reading of such books and the taking of +such diversions as do not minister to godliness, yet the church itself +goes to frolics and festivals and fairs, which destroy the spiritual +life of the young, as well as the old. The extent to which this is now +carried on is appalling. The _spiritual death it carries in its train_ +will only be known when _the millions it has swept into hell_ shall +stand before the judgment. + +"The early Methodist ministers went forth to sacrifice and to suffer for +Christ. They sought not places of ease and affluence, but of privation +and suffering. They gloried not in their big salaries, fine parsonages, +and refined congregations, but in the souls that had been won for Jesus. +Oh, _how changed!_ A hireling ministry will be a feeble, a timid, a +truckling, a timeserving ministry, without faith, endurance, and holy +power. Methodism formerly dealt in the great central truth. Now the +pulpits deal largely in the generalities and in popular lectures. The +glorious doctrine of entire sanctification is rarely heard and seldom +witnessed in the pulpits." + +This lengthy quotation shows clearly the spiritual condition of +Methodism, and certainly she is no worse than the rest. God is calling +his people out of "all the places where they have been scattered in the +cloudy and dark day." Ezek. 34:12. Those who refuse to walk in the light +will go into darkness. God help people to "flee out of the midst of +Babylon, and deliver every man his soul." + + 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: + + 12. The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, + and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and + scarlet, and all 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. + + 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. + + 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. + +In this description we have a continuation of the judgments of Babylon +already introduced. It must be borne in mind, however, that this is the +spiritual judgments following her moral fall, and not her final and +everlasting literal destruction. The latter is described under another +symbol a little further on in this series of prophecy. + +The symbol here is that of a great city, the grand metropolis of the +world, the mart of earth's commerce; a superb city, their [_sic_] being +no end to its luxuries and magnificence. In it everything that can +minister to the appetite, gratify the taste, and feed the pride of the +human soul is to be found in profusion, being described at length. This +great city is suddenly afire, and her merchants and the great men of the +world who sustain her are overwhelmed with sorrow at the sight of all +their wealth disappearing. Thus is great sect Babylon represented. She +is a mighty city extending not only over the Apocalyptic earth, but, as +symbolized by the ship-masters, sailors, and foreign traders, over the +whole world. Suddenly she is set on fire by heaven's truth and her +spiritual magnificence destroyed. The apostle Paul describes the great +apostasy as a system that the "Lord shall _consume_ with the spirit of +his mouth, and shall _destroy_ with the brightness of his coming." 2 +Thes. 2:8. That spiritual consumption is now taking place in accordance +with the symbols of this chapter, but the entire literal destruction of +old Babylon will take place coincident "with the brightness of his +coming," as described in the following chapter. + +That sectarians are greatly alarmed over the sad condition of their +fallen churches is clearly shown by the many quotations already given +from Protestant writers. They may not be aware that it is a judgment +from heaven upon man-made organizations; but such we know it to be in +the light of eternal truth. Not only are they bewailing the loss of +spiritual life and the desolating famine in sectdom, as was Bishop +Foster and others, but they are beginning to tremble for their own +safety and to wonder what the final outcome of it all will be. Wherever +the gospel truth has been preached in all its purity, the sectarian +denominations have been left destitute of spiritual life; for the +children of God have heard his call, "Come out of her, my people," and +have made their escape to Zion. Hence the ministers of Babylon cry out +continually, "Stop! you are tearing our churches down," "You are taking +our best members away from us," etc. But we can not withhold the truth; +for the time has come when God is gathering his people together out of +all the "places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark +day" (Ezek. 34:12) into the one church that Jesus built. "Babylon is +fallen, is fallen." + + 20. Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and + prophets; for God hath avenged you on her. + +This verse is so clear that it requires no special explanation. God's +people are delivered from sect Babylon; and while the judgments of +eternal truth are being poured out upon her, all heaven and earth is +called upon to rejoice and to give glory to God. + + "We stand in the glory that Jesus has given, + The moon as the day-spring doth shine; + The light of the sun is now equal to seven, + So bright is the glory divine. + + "Now filled with the Spirit and clad in the armor + Of light and omnipotent truth, + We'll testify ever and Jesus we'll honor, + And stand from sin Babel aloof. + + "The prophet's keen vision transpiercing the ages, + Beheld us to Zion return; + We'll sing of our freedom, though Babylon rages, + We'll shout as her city doth burn." + + 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. + +Following the moral fall of Babylon and the call of God's people out of +her, a mighty angel predicts her eternal doom. "With violence shall that +great city Babylon be thrown down, and _shall be found no more at all_." +This doubtless has reference to the entire city of Babylon in all her +divisions brought to view in this series of prophecy and shows her final +destruction at the coming of Christ, when she shall suddenly be thrown +with terrific force, like a great millstone descending into the sea, and +"shall be found no more at all." According to the symbols here given she +will be like a city completely destroyed, not one inhabitant or living +creature remaining. Thus her eternal doom is pictured and remains to be +yet fulfilled. + +"And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all +that were slain upon the earth." We have already shown that +Protestantism, as well as her mother Romanism, has been guilty of +shedding innocent blood; and as the term Babylon includes both these +divisions, when the great city is thrown down with violence, Romanism +and Protestantism will sink together, and then this awful treasure--the +blood of prophets and of saints--shall be brought to light in that last +great day of God Almighty. + + + + +CHAPTER XIX. + + + 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. + + 4. And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down + and worshipped 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. + + 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 fellowservant, and of thy brethren + that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony + of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. + +The scene of this vision is laid in heaven. John heard a great voice of +much people saying, "Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honor, and +power, unto the Lord our God." This great song of praise doubtless came +from the lips of the angelic throng; for immediately the four living +creatures and the four and twenty elders reechoed the same shout of +praise, saying, "Amen; Alleluia." Then came a voice from the throne +calling upon the servants of God, both small and great, to unite on this +occasion in one grand and sacred song of praise; and this sublime chorus +fell upon the ear of the enraptured apostle "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. Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to him for the +marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife [or bride] hath made herself +ready." Was not here a hearty response to that call, "Rejoice over her +thou heaven"? While this scene shows the interest all heaven takes in +these wondrous scenes of earth, it is doubtless intended especially to +represent the joy and thanksgiving of God's people who have "gotten the +victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over +the number of his name." + +The marriage of the Lamb which was about to take place was a special +theme of joy on this occasion. In the Scripture the term _marriage_ is +frequently used to represent a special union between Christ and his +people. Thus, the early church was represented as being free because of +the death of the law, that they "should be _married_ to another, even to +him who is raised from the dead." Rom. 7:4. So, also, the eternal union +of Christ with his people is here described under the figure of +marriage. In one sense they have been married to Christ all through this +dispensation; in another sense they have not. The church has had the +promise of this eternal union, hence she has been betrothed to Christ; +but left in the world, she has been driven into the wilderness, while a +corrupt and drunken prostitute and her harlot daughters have been in the +public view. Now, however, the judgments of God have descended upon +Babylon, and the bride of Christ appears in all her beauty again, +"arrayed in fine linen, clean and white"; and the next great event is +her public marriage to Christ when he comes to claim her as his own. + +The marriage scene is one of the most joyful that we witness on earth, +and among Eastern nations especially was celebrated with great pomp and +magnificence, the joy and splendor of the occasion being enhanced +according to the rank and wealth of the parties. But earth has never +witnessed such an event as this special _marriage of the Lamb_. Well may +the inhabitants of heaven and earth, in view of this sublime spectacle, +swell the song of praise--"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." The special preparations that the bride is making +represents the glorious holiness reformation that is now sweeping over +the world, gathering God's people together for the splendid event. +"Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the +Lamb." + +"These are the true sayings of God." They are almost too glorious to be +believed; still, they are no idle dreams of fancy: they are true, yea +"the true sayings of God." In the contemplation of such a wonderful +event, the beloved apostle was carried away, as it were, with holy +enthusiasm, and he fell at the feet of the angel to worship. We do not +know just what the motives or impressions were that caused him to do +this. But his soul was full, full to overflowing, and he could not but +adore and worship. The angel, however, refused the homage thus offered, +by the declaration that he himself, also, was the servant of Christ and +one of the brethren that had the testimony of Jesus; "for the testimony +of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." The idea is: "I am a fellowservant +with you, and we both have his testimony. You bear witness to him now in +this present generation; I bear witness to those who are to come. You +witness now of his death and resurrection; I tell of his future glory +and triumphs. We are both, therefore, engaged in the same good work. The +testimony of Jesus and the spirit of prophecy are the same. To God, +therefore, we must both bow." See remarks on chap. 1:1. + + 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. + +That the person described in this vision is Christ is questioned by no +one. He is the same one who appeared to John in the beginning. Then he +stood in the midst of the seven golden candle-sticks, the sure defense +of the churches, holding the seven stars in his right hand. Now, +however, he appears from the opened heavens on a white horse, his +mission "to judge and make war." The description of his person, his +names, and his attributes, unmistakably proclaim him the Son of God. He +is the "faithful and true," the name by which he made himself known to +the churches of Philadelphia and Laodicea. "His eyes as a flame of fire" +denotes omniscience; and as a searcher of all hearts he made himself +known to the church of Thyatira. "Many crowns" are a symbol of supreme +sovereignty and doubtless signify his many victories. "And he had a name +written which no man knew but he himself." He had names by which he +might be known to mortals; but he had one name that no created +intelligence could understand: it was known only to him. What that name +was, of course, is not given; it could not be. If the human mind could +not conceive it, human language could not convey it. We can know him as +the Faithful and true Witness, as the Word of God, and as King of kings +and Lord of lords; but there is one name that we can not know. His +"vesture dipped in blood" refers, not to the blood of atonement, but to +the blood of his enemies sprinkled upon his raiment in treading the +winepress of God's wrath, and denotes that he was going forth to the +dread work of vengeance. To this I shall refer more fully hereafter. His +name is also called "the Word of God," which, when used as a personal +appellation in the Scriptures, always signifies Jesus Christ. + +Before considering his mission further and the armies that accompanied +him, I wish to call special attention to the nature and the chronology +of this event. If the present series of prophetic symbols (which begin +with chap. 17) is a narrative of continuous events reaching to the end, +then the vision before us is a description of the second coming of +Christ, the event which was just previously announced and for which the +bride had made herself ready. The usual interpretation given it is, that +it is a sublime description of the servants of Christ going forth under +his direction to spread the truth everywhere among the nations--in +short, that it is the triumph of gospel truth over error under the +_providential_ government of Christ. That such a meaning can be derived +from the vision by taking it in a _figurative_ sense there can be no +doubt, and this is what commentators generally do. They make the whole a +figurative description of the triumph of the gospel, Christ being +present only by his superintending providence. It is made simply a +highly poetic description of the victory of truth and righteousness. In +this case, however, the principles of symbolic language are clearly +abandoned and a mere ordinary figurative meaning given. If we follow +strictly the laws of symbolic language, as we manifestly ought, we shall +be compelled to take another view of it. + +In the first place, if this does not describe the actual coming of +Christ, then his second coming is nowhere described in the Revelation. +That so great an event should merely be alluded to in a few places and +nowhere symbolically described seems incredible. At the judgment scene +brought to view in the following chapter the presence of Christ is +_assumed_, but it is not stated. Again, there are no victories of love +and mercy described at all in the vision before us; but, on the +contrary, it is a scene of fearful judgment--a terrible treading of "the +winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God," the complete +overthrow of every opposing power; while the beast and the false prophet +are represented as taken and cast alive into a lake of fire burning with +brimstone. Surely, this is not the work of the church of God. But let it +be remembered especially that this last event takes place under the +_seventh_ plague, which is the "filling up" of the wrath of God, and +that Christ previously announced under the sixth vial, "Behold, _I come_ +as a thief." Christ comes in reality when this seventh plague occurs. To +represent the glorious triumphs of Christianity by the mission of the +church, the gospel and the Holy Spirit, under the symbol of Christ, +going forth to judge, to make war, and to tread the winepress of God's +wrath, is at war with every principle of symbolic language. + +But can this vision of Christ upon a white horse denote a mere +providential superintendence, such as Christ constantly exercises over +the church and its spiritual affairs on earth? Certainly not by any +principle of symbolic language. Throughout the whole prophecy thus far +we have seen that whenever any symbolic agent is brought upon the +panorama, whether horseman, or beasts, or locusts, or harlot, or +whatever else, it always denotes some corresponding agents appearing on +earth and beginning their appropriate work. The symbolic agent is real. +But here is a symbolic appearance of Christ. By what law could such a +symbolic appearance represent merely a providential superintendence? And +if his appearance was necessary in this case, why was it not necessary +in every event, to show that it was done under his direction? Again, if +this symbolic appearance of Christ is not his real appearance, how can +we tell that there is any reality in the appearance of the horsemen of +the first four seals, the ten-horned beast, or the harlot woman? What +right have we to remove one agent from the panorama as an actual agent +there any more than another? And if this is not his real appearance, +upon what principle of interpretation can we ever establish the fact of +his second coming? It is evident to all that, if we can turn this agent +into a mere providential one, we can do the same with another, and thus +set aside his second coming altogether. Then, what shall we say in the +next chapter when some one steals our weapons and declares that the +great white throne before which all the dead, small and great, stand is +nothing but that providential government of God under which all sinners +pass condemnation upon themselves and their sins find them out? If we +can deal thus with symbols, we can do anything with them and can make +out any meaning we please. + +The laws of symbolic language require us to take the appearance of +Christ in this vision just as we do the appearance of any other agent, +as a real event. We can not consistently give it any other meaning. His +_symbolic_ appearance must represent his _real_ appearance; otherwise, +it can never be represented by anything. Jesus appears in his own name +and person because there is no other that can represent his infinite +dignity and majesty. And the symbols connected with him denote the +object of his mission and the work which he performs. His white horse +shows him now a glorious conqueror; his crowns denote his supreme +dominion; the sword of his mouth and his vesture dipped in blood denote +the dread work of vengeance upon his enemies; while the army following +him doubtless denotes the "ten thousands of his saints" that accompany +him when he comes. Jude 14. The bride has already prepared herself for +his coming, and now the eternal union takes place. "Blessed are they +which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb." + + 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 worshipped 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. + +The foregoing explanation so nearly covers this ground that little +remains to be said. The symbol is that of vast slaughter on a +battle-field, which gathers all the birds of heaven and the beasts of +the forest to the prey. The enemies gathered for this battle were "the +beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies," together with the +false prophet. This is the grand confederacy of wickedness formed under +the mission of the three unclean spirits that went forth, not only unto +the kings of the earth, but also into the whole world. This is not a +literal collecting of armies, hence not a literal slaughter upon a +battlefield, nor a literal assembling of carrion birds; but it is a +symbolic representation of the final and eternal destruction of the +allied powers of sin. As will be further described in the following +chapter, they were gathered together for the purpose of overthrowing the +church of God and anticipated a complete victory in the battle of +Armageddon; but the sudden appearance of Jesus Christ to rescue his +bride results in their complete overthrow. The special theme of this +series of prophecy has been the history of apostate Christendom; hence +the beast and the false prophet are represented as being taken and +thrown into the lake of fire burning with brimstone. "The remnant" that +were slain refers to the other powers of wickedness not embraced in +Catholicism and Protestantism This series being now traced to its close, +the narrative returns to take up another important theme of prophetic +truth. + + + + +CHAPTER XX. + + + 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. + +It is commonly supposed that the events here described are to occur at +the second advent; but by considering carefully the different things +enumerated in this chapter--the binding of the dragon; then a thousand +years; after that the Armageddon battle; and last of all the judgment +scene, in which all the dead, both small and great, are rewarded, and +all the powers of wickedness cast into the lake of fire--it will be seen +at once that this is not a continuation of the series of prophecy +immediately preceding, but an entirely new theme, running partly +parallel with that series, and both ending at the same point--the second +coming of Christ and the general judgment, in which the lake of fire is +the final doom of the combined powers of wickedness. In that series the +beast and the false prophet--Romanism and Protestantism--were the chief +powers of evil under consideration; in this series the dragon feature +predominates. If this be not true, then there will be two judgment +scenes and the wicked cast into the lake of fire twice. Positive proof +of the position here taken will be given as we proceed. + +The power here referred to as "the Devil and Satan" is also denominated +"the dragon." This use of the definite article shows clearly that a +particular character is designated--_the_ dragon--and implies that the +object has already been introduced. In his first appearance upon the +symbolic panorama (chap. 12:3) he is simply styled _a_ dragon, but in +every subsequent instance he is called _the_ dragon, which proves that +the same character is meant. In addition to the former remarks on +chapter 12:9 relative to the terms applied to this antichristian power, +the following quotation from the People's Cyclopaedia will throw some +light on the subject: "In the mythical history and legendary poetry of +almost every nation, the dragon appears as the emblem of the destructive +and anarchistic principle.... Like the serpent, the dragon is always a +minister of evil ... the object of which is to fight order, harmony, and +progress. In Christian art, the dragon is the emblem of sin.... It is +often represented as crushed under the feet of saints and martyrs.... +Sometimes its prostrate attitude signifies the triumph of Christianity +over Paganism." Art. Dragon. Considering this usage of these terms for +ages, it is not strange that they were applied also to that great +antichristian, persecuting system of Paganism, which stood before +Christianity as its greatest barrier to "order, harmony, and progress." + +The angel that overthrew this public system of Pagan infidelity +symbolizes the primitive host of Christians, the ministers in +particular. Some have supposed that he represented Christ; but, as +already shown conclusively, Christ can not be symbolized by an inferior +intelligence, hence always appears upon the scene in his own character, +proclaiming his own eternal name. The fact that this angel possessed the +key of the bottomless pit is no proof that he is Christ, even though in +chapter 1:18 Jesus is said to have certain keys; for in chapter 9:1 we +find that a _fallen star_--the symbol of Mohammed--is said to have "the +key of the bottomless pit" also. At the most, this expression is only a +symbol of power and authority, be it good or bad. In the gospel the same +figure is applied to God's ministers, where they are given authority to +bind the powers of wickedness on earth. Mat. 16:19; 18:18. The chain is +a symbol of the power to bind. + +When Christianity first commenced its warfare with this huge system of +error, almost the entire then-known world was under its deceptive +influence; but by a long conflict, in which thousands of the noble +followers of the Lamb were slaughtered, this antichristian public system +of Pagan infidelity was at last completely overthrown, and the final +result was, that the civilized world became as completely Christian +(nominally at least) as it ever had been Pagan. This great +transformation could never have been effected without the undying +heroism and whole-hearted consecration of the first disciples of Christ. +From this time the dragon _as such_--as a public deceiver of the nations +throughout the Apocalyptic earth--was overthrown. This marks the +beginning of the thousand years mentioned. + +Since many of the principles of heathenism were copied by the church of +Rome, it may be difficult for some to understand at first why it is said +that the dragon no longer deceived the nations after being cast down by +primitive Christianity; but this becomes clear when we consider what the +dragon really was and what the church of Rome was understood to be. A +time came when the entire civilized world knew that heathenism as such +was wrong and rejected the very idea of a plurality of gods; but they +were led to believe that they could adapt many of their former rites and +ceremonies to the worship of the one true God in whom they believed and +thereby render acceptable service to him, and were sure that the Romish +church was the one true apostolic church. It was not the dragon, or +heathenism, that then deceived them; it was Christianity--_a false +Christianity_. The manner in which the people were deceived during the +time following the casting down of heathenism in the beginning has +already been considered in chapters XII, XIII, XVII, XVIII, etc., +covering the same period of time included in the one thousand years in +the vision before us. + +We can not apply this period specified as literally one thousand years +without varying from every principle of time prophecy in the Revelation, +for they are all symbolic; neither can we apply it according to the +usual year-day method, which, signifying three hundred and sixty +thousand years, would throw this series of events out of harmony with +the time-periods allotted to the other themes of truth running over the +same ground and terminating at the same point--the general judgment. +Therefore, to be consistent, we shall have to apply it as (so far as +human knowledge of the exact dates is concerned) an indefinite length of +time, on the same principle that "the hour of temptation" in chapter +3:10, the three and one-half days in chapter 11:9, and the "hour" in +which the ten kingdoms receive power with the beast (chap. 17:12), etc., +are applied. + + 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. + +We have in this description another division of the subject +introduced--a history of God's people, or one phase of the church, +during the same thousand years following the casting down of the dragon. +"They lived and reigned with Christ." It was those who had "part in the +first resurrection" that were exalted to this honored position with +Christ. Millenarians always _assume_ that this refers to a literal +resurrection at the second coming of Christ, but no such thing is hinted +at. Not one word is said about literally resurrected saints reigning. +John says, "I saw the _souls_ of them which were beheaded for the +witness of Jesus ... and _they_ lived and reigned with Christ a thousand +years." Nothing whatever is said about any reign on earth at all; but +the description shows plainly that it was disembodied spirits that were +reigning with Christ in Paradise during the period that followed the +casting down of the dragon, which was in reality one of long apostasy +and darkness on earth. Before and during this conflict with Paganism the +church of God was publicly triumphant on earth. Afterward, during the +apostasy, a false church was, in the public view, triumphant, while the +church of God was crowded out of sight into the wilderness. However, the +reign of God's saints did not cease; for when they were slaughtered by +their relentless persecutors and deprived of their reign on earth, they +were, as symbolized by the man-child, caught up to God and to his throne +and there "lived and reigned with Christ" during the thousand years +under consideration. + +This same thought concerning the reign of the martyrs in Paradise while +the powers of evil triumphed on earth, was brought to view on the +opening of the fifth seal in chapter 6:9-11. "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: 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? 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 +fellowservants also and their brethren, _that should be killed as they +were_ should be fulfilled." This quotation will make clear one point +concerning the refusal of the martyrs to worship the beast and his +image. We are not to understand that every soul of the martyrs John saw +in these visions reigned during the entire period under consideration; +but he beheld the reign of the saints above during the one thousand +years, and he saw there the souls of all the martyrs--such as had been +slain in the early days of Christianity (chap. 12:11); such as refused +to worship the beast and were martyred therefor (chap. 13:7); and also, +such as "should be killed as they were" (chap. 6:11) and were put to +death shortly after the formation of the image of the beast. Chap. +13:15; 16:6. + +This company of souls that the apostle saw reigning with Christ above +were those who had had part "in the first resurrection," which had made +them "blessed and holy." They were not on earth; they were disembodied +spirits above, hence had not been literally resurrected. The Scriptures +clearly teach that mankind in their ordinary condition are "_dead_ in +trespasses and in sins," and that through salvation, which makes them +"blessed and holy," they are "quickened" to a new life in Christ. Eph. +2:1. That this is Scripturally "the first resurrection" is proved most +positively by the words of Christ--"Verily, verily, I say unto you, the +hour is coming, _and now is_, when the _dead_ shall hear the voice of +the Son of God: and they that hear _shall live_. He that heareth my +word, and believeth on him that sent me, _hath_ everlasting life, and +shall not come into condemnation, but is _passed from death unto life_." +John 5:25, 24. Although many other proofs could easily be given, this of +itself is sufficient to establish the point that the host of early +Christians who had "passed from death unto life" in Christ and who gave +their lives gladly for the sake of Christ, constituted the ones referred +to as having had "part in the first resurrection." According to verse 6 +it was only on those who had part in the first resurrection that the +second death had no power. The church at Smyrna received the sure +promise from Christ himself that they should "not be hurt of the second +death" (chap. 2:11); and this shows beyond all question that even at +that early date they had had part in this first resurrection that makes +men blessed and holy. + +It is the trick of Beelzebub to deceive souls by causing them to +overlook the fact that this first resurrection that made men blessed and +holy is of a spiritual nature and to fix their hopes in two literal +resurrections at the end. There will be but one literal resurrection +then, as is clearly shown by the account given of the judgment in this +chapter, verses 11-15. The writer of the Revelation declared positively, +"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." Chap. 1:7. If this does not prove that there is but one literal +resurrection when Christ comes, then I would not know how to state such +a fact if I desired. Furthermore, Jesus himself, in the same chapter in +which he described "the first resurrection," says most positively that +all the literal dead shall be resurrected at the same time. "Marvel not +at this," he says: "the _hour_ is coming, in the which all that are in +the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have +done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, +unto the resurrection of damnation." John 5:28, 29. This _hour_ +certainly can not signify more than a short period of time. In their +efforts to prove two literal resurrections, millenarians always quote +with emphasis, "The dead in Christ shall rise first." 1 Thes. 4:16. In +doing so they, either ignorantly or wilfully, wrest the Scriptures to +their own destruction; for any one can see at a glance that no such +thing as two resurrections is even hinted at. Verses 15-17 simply teach +this, that the righteous who are living on the earth at the time Christ +appears will not ascend to heaven _before_ the righteous dead are +resurrected, but the dead will rise first, then they will all be caught +up together at one and the same time. The wicked are not mentioned in +this connection; for, as stated, Paul was writing this only for the +comfort and the edification of the church. In the following chapter, +however, their "sudden destruction" at the second coming of Christ is +mentioned as a warning to the church. + +It is evident that the first resurrection as applied in this connection +specified particularly that phase of the church which, as symbolized by +the man-child, was caught up to God through martyrdom and there "lived +and reigned with Christ." The other phase of the church, symbolized by +the woman, is not said to reign with Christ a thousand years, but, on +the other hand, is represented as driven into the wilderness, her public +reign on earth being ended by the holy city being trodden under foot of +a profane multitude of apostate beast-worshipers; and the two witnesses, +clothed in sackcloth, were prophesying only in a few isolated, +individual hearts. + +A careful study of this scripture, taken in connection with others in +the Revelation applying to the same object, will show that all God's +people, both those here brought to view during the thousand years and +those following that period, are spoken of as dead people resurrected +and reigning. They are considered under two phases--those who, as +symbolized by the man-child, were caught up to God through martyrdom and +there lived and reigned with Christ; and those who, as symbolized by the +woman, were deprived of their public reign on earth and were driven into +the wilderness during the same period. The first phase were "priests of +God and of Christ" and reigned with him in Paradise (chap. 6:9-11); but +"the rest," the phase symbolized by the woman, did not live and enjoy +their public reign again, as in the early days of Christianity, until +the expiration of the thousand-year period. It is true that individuals +on earth received life from God and were thus spiritually resurrected +during the thousand-year period; but the dominant beast-power martyred +them by thousands, the two witnesses were then in their sack-cloth +state, and thus the public triumphal reign of the saints on earth +ceased. The statement of verse five that "the rest of the dead lived not +again until the thousand years were finished" should be applied not in +an individual, but in a general sense, the same as the reign above +during the same period is considered. There is also some doubt as to the +authenticity of this sentence. It is not found in the Vatican +Manuscript, which is one of the oldest in existence; and the Syriac +Version, which has come down to us from early days through an entirely +separate channel, does not contain it. However, it is evident that the +phase of the church symbolized by the woman actually reigns triumphantly +on earth after the thousand years is finished; for verses 7-9 of this +chapter show that the dragon, combined with Gog and Magog, goes forth on +the breadth of the earth to compass the camp of the saints just before +the end of time. + +The fact that the reign of God's people on earth is divided into two +distinct periods is shown also by other prophecies. In the seventh +chapter of Daniel is recorded a vision of four great beasts, symbolizing +the Babylonian, Medo-Persian, Grecian, and Roman empires. Verse 18, +connected with Dan. 2:31-44, shows that the saints were to possess the +kingdom of God before the overthrow of all these four kingdoms, which +was actually fulfilled by Jesus Christ appearing during the reign of the +Roman empire and planting the kingdom of God in the earth. See Mark +1:15; Luke 12:32; 16:16; Col. 1:13. Then follows a description of the +rise of the Papacy, which was to "_wear out the saints of the most +High_" for a time, times, and the dividing of times--three and one-half +times, or forty-two months, or, prophetically, twelve hundred and sixty +years. This, as before explained, reaches to the year A.D. 1530. During +this period the public reign of the saints on earth ceased. Then +immediately following it is said, "The judgment shall sit, and they +shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it _unto the +end_." This does not refer to the final judgment; it is a spiritual +judgment that commences before that time and continues "_unto the end_." +For example of a similar _judgment_ see Acts 7:7. + +God had a people during the Protestant era who walked in all the light +they possessed and who were filled with judgment against the beast-power +that had worn out the saints for ages. And though in places some were +put to death for refusing to worship the image of the beast that +lifeless professors had set up, yet there were from time to time +reformations that resurrected many people to life in Christ. A little +later, however, the real spiritual reign of the saints is perfectly +restored in the pure gospel light of the evening time, and now the next +verse is fulfilled, which says, "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." It is only reasonable to suppose that the public reign on +earth would commence gradually and would finally reach its perfect +fulfilment, just the same as it ceased gradually in the beginning. +Therefore we can not point to a definite date exactly marking the end of +the thousand years, any more than we can locate exactly the time of its +commencement; but we must be satisfied just to consider this symbolic +expression as covering a long period of time during which these +important phases of deep truth are considered merely from a general +standpoint. + +This special reign of a thousand years above is doubtless brought to our +view for the express purpose of making the history of the triumph of +Christianity continuous. When interrupted on earth, the scene is +suddenly transferred to Paradise; then when the woman comes out of the +wilderness and the public reign on earth begins again, while the woman +is being prepared as a bride for the coming of the Lamb, the scene, as +the following description in verse 9 also will show, is again +transferred to earth. The reign above does not in reality cease with the +expiration of the thousand years, but we are permitted to obtain a view +of it only for that length of time during the down-trodden state of the +church on earth. This reign of the martyrs' above is placed in direct +contrast with the public reign on earth during the same time, which +consisted of multitudes of people worshiping the beast, recieving his +image and his mark. What the "thrones" on which they sat and the +"judgment" given them signifies, I do not know for certain, but it is +doubtless the same exalted privilege and authority which Christ promised +to all his over-comers--to sit with him on his throne. Chap. 3:21. + + 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. + +The loosing of Satan, or the dragon, is the first important point to be +considered. Before this matter can be rightly understood, however, we +must take into account carefully certain facts regarding his binding. It +was not the dragon as a political power that Christianity attacked (it +did not labor to that end), but it was its huge public system of false +belief that was overthrown. This great system, as opposed to +Christianity, can all be summed up under the one word _infidelity_. +_Infidel_ signifies "a heathen; one who disbelieves in Christ, or the +divine origin and authority of Christianity."--Webster. This system was +positively an antichristian power that sought by every possible means to +destroy the religion of Jesus and to blot out his very name. It failed +in the attempt. It was bound. During the long reign of Popery, when the +doctrine was be-a-Catholic-or-die, infidelity could not publicly lift +its head in the sense in which it was cast down by the early Christians. +It had no power over the nations of the Apocalyptic earth to then +deceive them; but they were greatly deceived by a false Christianity +until almost all the world wondered after the beast. The release of the +dragon, then, in order to be entirely satisfactory and consistent, must +embrace the following points: First, it must at least include the +development of a great public antichristian power whose avowed object is +to destroy the whole fabric of Christianity. Second, being bound by +divine power, his release must be the result of divine permission for a +special purpose. Third, the scene of his imprisonment must necessarily +be the place of his release; namely, the earth--the Apocalyptic +earth--the territory of the Roman empire. + +We find all these requirements meeting a most perfect fulfilment in the +events described under the pouring out of the first vial, which was done +by the direction of Him that sat upon the throne. A sufficient history +of that fearful system of infidelity which, through the labors of +Voltaire and his coadjutors, spread throughout all Europe has already +been given. The very object of the leaders of this movement was the +extermination of the Christian religion, and their secret watchword was +"Crush the wretch," meaning Jesus Christ. The dragon was loose in all +his terrible features. The Pagans upheld a false belief; these modern +worshipers of the dragon did likewise and publicly exalted the "Goddess +of Reason" as an object of devotion, setting aside every tenth day for +their hellish orgies in her honor. The former endeavored to overthrow +the Christian religion; the latter had for its special aim the utter +destruction of everything Christian either in name or in character. This +devilish system spread over all Europe and almost undermined the whole +fabric of society, and threatened to convert the world from Christianity +to the worship of the Goddess of Reason. Its foothold gained was so +extensive and its effects so far-reaching that prominent historians, +D'Aubigne among the number, have denominated the period of its greatest +triumph "the day of Reason." It is one of the three and one-half days +covered by the prophecy in Rev. 11:9. + +I do not wish to be understood, however, as limiting the release of the +dragon and his work to the system of infidelity that had its origin in +France. I merely refer to that unfortunate system as the beginning of +the dragon's release and work--the re-introduction to the world of those +principles of public hostility to Christianity which had lain buried +since the days of Pagan Rome. The dragon in the beginning was a +deceptive system, one that "deceived the whole world"; but its +deceptions were uncovered by the light of Christianity, and then it +became the bitter public opposer of the religion of Christ. In the +release of the dragon the order is reversed. He first appears as the +public enemy of Christianity in the form already mentioned, but +afterwards changes his tactics to milder methods in order the better to +"deceive" the people, as we shall see hereafter. + +But there is another chapter in the history of the dragon's career that +we must not overlook--his partnership with Gog and Magog. The original +signification of the terms _Gog and Magog_ is difficult to ascertain, as +all known accounts are conflicting. The terms occur in Ezek. 38 and 39 +also. In the Revelation, however, it is clear that these terms are +applied to Romanism and Protestantism, and under the special leadership +of this spirit of antichrist they are gathered together to battle +against the saints of the most High. I will again quote the description +of this union as given under the sixth vial, which refers to the present +time: "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. 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.... And he gathered them into a place called in the Hebrew +tongue Armageddon." Chap. 16:13-16. It will be noticed that the field of +operations under this grand confederation of the three unclean spirits +is enlarged so that it includes not merely the Apocalyptic earth, but +"the whole world." + +In order to form a confederation of powers each of which holds its own +distinctive principles, it is necessary that each make certain +concessions, in outward appearance at least, so that they can work +together in harmony against a common foe. In this case it will be +necessary that three points be conceded before the dragon, the beast, +and the false prophet can agree. First, the dragon must not appear in +his true character as antichristian; he must be clothed in some +different attire in order to "deceive." Second, Catholicism must stop +her work of slaying those who disagree with her and cover up her true +principles. Third, Protestantism must cease protesting against the +abominations of Catholicism. We are living in the time when this +confederation of the powers of wickedness is being effected; therefore +we must not expect to see the dragon as a terrible creature with heads +and horns standing as the open adversary of God, but we must look for +him dressed up in a garb "to deceive." If necessary he can place himself +under a Christian garb without violating his conscience--of which he has +none. + +It will perhaps be beneficial to give the reader a short account of some +of the forms under which the dragon is manifesting himself at the +present time in order to "deceive" the people. It will be remembered +that, in the description of the first vial, which represented the awful +system of infidelity that was spread over Europe, Dr. Adam Weishaupt of +the University of Ingolstadt, formed a secret society under the name of +the Illuminati in order the better to spread these wicked principles. A +quotation was also made showing that "_Freemasonry_ being in high repute +all over Europe when Weishaupt first formed the plan of his society, he +availed himself of its secrecy to introduce his new order, which rapidly +spread, by the efforts of its founders and disciples, through all those +countries." Now, if Freemasonry was such an excellent channel for the +dragon to begin his work through, is it not reasonable to suppose that +he would still retain his position in that order, and especially since +_the very name of Christ_ is barred from its rites, rules, and +ceremonies? And this thought is especially convincing when we consider +the fact that Freemasonry is in its very nature and constitution only a +form of Paganism. This vast body is founded on what they call the +"ancient mysteries." The following is taken from Masonic Salvation by +Fred Husted: + +"Warburton says: 'Each of the Pagan gods had (beside the public and +open) a secret worship paid unto him, to which none were admitted but +those who had been selected by preparatory ceremonies called initiation. +This secret worship was called "the mysteries."' + +"Mackey, another member of this order, says: 'These mysteries existed in +every country of heathendom, in each under a different name, and to some +extent under a different form, but always and everywhere with the same +design of inculcating (teaching) by allegorical and symbolical teachings +the great Masonic doctrines of the unity of God and the immortality of +the soul. This one important proposition and the fact which it +enumerates (states) must never be lost sight of, in any inquiry into the +origin of Freemasonry; for the Pagan mysteries were to the spurious +Freemasonry of antiquity precisely what the Masters' lodges are to the +Freemasonry of the present day.' + +"This is certainly a frank statement, coming as it does from a man who +is an acknowledged and highly esteemed authority in matters pertaining +to the craft. Daniel Sickles says, 'In Egypt, Greece, and many other +ancient nations Freemasonry, that is, the Mysteries, was one of the +earliest agencies employed to effect the improvement and enlightenment +of man.' Pierson says, 'The identity of the Masonic institutions with +the ancient Mysteries is obvious,' which means clearly to be seen, +manifest to any and all. + +"Masons say that the order is founded on the Bible--that is, unlearned +Masons say so. Geo. Wingate Chase, in the Digest of Masonic Law, says: +'The Jews, the Turks, each reject either the New Testament or the Old or +both, and yet we see no good reasons why they should not be made Masons. +In fact, Blue Lodge [first three degrees] Masonry has nothing whatever +to do with the Bible. It is not founded on the Bible. If it were, it +would not be Masonry; it would be something else.' + +"Sickles says in speaking of the third, or Master Mason's degree, 'There +are characters impressed upon it which can not be mistaken. _It is +thoroughly Egyptian_.' He further says that the tradition is older by a +thousand years than Solomon. 'That our [Masonic] rites embrace all the +possible circumstances of man, moral, social, and spiritual, and have a +meaning high as the heavens, broad as the universe, and profound as +eternity.' Sickles in Gen. Chiman Rezon. + +"The writer was informed when the charges were given him 'that our +ancient brethren worshiped in high hills and in low vales, and that +guards were placed to keep off cowans or eves-droppers.' By referring to +Scripture we at once find the character of those who worshiped in high +hills and low vales, and why they needed a guard to keep off +eves-droppers. 'Thou saidst, I will not transgress; when upon every high +hill and under every green tree thou wanderest, playing the harlot.' +Jer. 2:20; 3:6. 'Ye shall utterly destroy all the places, wherein the +nations which ye shall possess served other gods, upon the high +mountains, and upon the hills, and under every green tree.' Deut. 12:2. +'Enflaming themselves with idols under every green tree, slaying the +children in the vales under the clifts of the rocks.... Even thither +wentest thou up to offer sacrifice.' Isa. 57:5-7. They were not afraid +of Ahab and Jezebel (2 Kings 7:10; 1 Kings 14:23), and they grew and +multiplied in their reigns, and in the reigns of all those of whom it is +recorded that 'they did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord.' +Some of the kings of Israel and of Judah destroyed their high places for +them and were highly favored of God for so doing. + +"Again, 'The precepts of Jesus could not have been made obligatory upon +a Jew. A Christian would have denied the sanction of the Koran. A +Mohammedan must have rejected the law of Moses, and a disciple of +Zoroaster would have turned from all, to the teaching of his +Zend-Avesta. The universal law of nature, which the authors of the old +charges have properly called the moral, is therefore the _only law_ +suited in every respect to be adopted as the Masonic code.' Mackeys' +Textbook, Masonic Jurisprudence. If the statements just quoted do not +place the secret society of Masonry on a footing decidedly Pagan, it is +difficult to say just where it does stand.... + +"Tammuz, or Osiris of Egypt, who is declared to be the original of Hiram +Abiff the temple-builder, is still mourned for. Ezek. 8:14. See Young's +Analytical Concordance or any standard Greek Mythology. Now see +Piersons' Traditions of Freemasonry. 'The Masonic legend stands by +itself, unsupported by history, or other than its own traditions. Yet we +readily recognize in Hiram Abiff the Osiris of the Egyptians, the +Mithras of the Persians, the Bacchus of the Greeks [god of drunkenness, +or feasts and the like], the Dionysis of the fraternity of artificers, +and the Atys of the Phrygians, whose passions, deaths, and resurrections +were celebrated by these people respectively.' Thus it is clearly shown +that each of these ancient nations had its counterfeit Savior and +Redeemer, and it is here proved by the words of Masonic Grand Masters, +authors, and authorities, that Masonry is of Pagan origin." + +When we think of the millions of devotees of this form of Paganism, +multitudes of church-members and preachers, surely it is not difficult +to see that the dragon is loose in deceiving power again. That he is +meeting with great success in forming his confederation of all false +religions, is obvious. The world's Parliament of Religions, held in +Chicago in the year 1893, is an illustration of this statement. The +dragon, the beast, and the false prophet met in "mutual confidence and +respect," a "brotherhood" of religions. Theism, Judaism, Mohammedanism, +Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Shintoism, Zoroastrianism, +Catholicism, the Greek Church, and Protestantism in many forms--all +these were represented. And the devotees of these religions met, as they +said, "To unite all religion against all irreligion; to make the golden +rule the basis of this union; and to present to the world _substantial +unity of many religions_." The following are a few extracts from +addresses made before the Parliament. + +President Charles Carroll Bonney, in the opening address, said: +"Worshipers of God and lovers of man: Let us rejoice that we have lived +to see this glorious day.... That we are permitted to take part in this +solemn and majestic event of a World's Congress of Religions. The +importance of this event can not be overestimated. Its influence on the +future relations of the various races of men, can not be too highly +esteemed. If this Congress shall faithfully execute its duties with +which it has been charged, it shall become the joy of the whole earth, +and stand in human history like a _new Mount Zion_, crowned with glory, +and marking the actual beginning of a _new epoch of brotherhood_ and +peace. _For when the religious faiths of the world recognize each other +as brothers, children of one Father_, whom all profess to love and +serve, then, and not until then, will the nations of the earth yield to +the spirit of concord and learn war no more.... We meet on the mountain +height of absolute respect for the religious convictions of each +other.... This day the sun of a new era of religious peace and progress +arises over the world, dispelling the dark clouds of sectarian strife. +_It is the brotherhood of religions._" + +Chairman John Henry Barrows, in his address, said: "We are here not as +Baptists and Buddhists, Catholics and Confucians, Parsees and +Presbyterians, Methodists and Moslems; we are here as members of a +Parliament of Religions, over which flies no sectarian flag, ... but +where for the first time in large council is lifted up the banner of +love, fellowship, brotherhood.... Welcome, one and all, thrice welcome +to the world's first Parliament of Religions! Welcome to the men and +women of Israel, the standing miracle of nations and religions! Welcome +to the disciples of Prince Siddartha, the many millions who worship +their lord Buddha as the light of Asia! Welcome to the high-priests of +the national religion of Japan! This city has every reason to be +grateful to the enlightened ruler of 'the sunrise kingdom.' Welcome to +the men of India, and all faiths! Welcome to all the disciples of +Christ! ... It seems to me that the spirits of just and good men hover +over this assembly. I believe the spirit of Paul is here. I believe the +spirit of the wise and humane Buddha is here, and of Socrates the +searcher after truth.... When a few days ago I met for the first time +the delegates who have come to us from Japan, and shortly after the +delegates who have come to us from India, I felt that the arms of human +brotherhood had reached almost around the globe." World's Parliament of +Religions, Chap. III. Similar congresses have since been held. While I +never expect to see all these principles of evil under one organized +form, yet it is evident that the spirits of devils that have gone forth +into "all the world" are uniting them all under one _spirit_--that of +Antichrist. + +Another form in which the old dragon is manifesting himself and uniting +thousands of people against the truth, and one in which the "miracles" +ascribed to this latest confederation of Satan are performed, is that of +"Christian Science." Attracted by its healing doctrine, multitudes are +lured into this deceptive communion of Mrs. Eddy's. At the very best her +system is, as every historian knows, only a slight revision of the +Oriental Philosophy; and notwithstanding its forged name _Christian_, it +is truly subversive of the doctrine of Christ. Her grand central +doctrine of the "allness" of mind and the unreality of matter is a true +copy of the "fantastic idealism" of the Gnostics. Gnosticism was based +on "speculative knowledge." So is Mrs. Eddy's theory. Gnosticism denied +the "_true humanity_ of the Redeemer, and made his person a mere +phantom, and his work a mere illusion." So does Christian Science. +Although Mrs. Eddy clamours loudly that her work is _Christian_ and her +multitude of followers believe her claim, still a careful study of her +work Science and Health will convince any unprejudiced person that she +utterly repudiates the atonement-work of Jesus Christ by denying his +person and the reality of sin and matter. Though the system may contain +some good moral principles, yet it has no power to save men from sin, +since it denies the existence of actual sin. Her denial of the one +personal God--"all is infinite mind, and its infinite manifestations,"-- +is but a swing of the pendulum from the godless and graceless system of +the materialistic philosophy propounded by Darwin and Haeckel and is as +absurd and unscriptural (although opposite) as the rankest Pantheism. + +The salvation of the soul through faith in Jesus Christ has absolutely +no place in the Christian Science creed. It is nothing but a species of +universalism. Individuals of every evil class and character-- +self-lovers, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to +parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, +false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, +traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God, +profane, murderers of fathers and mothers, man-slayers, whoremongers, +liars, drunkards, sorcerers, perjured persons, backbiters, haters of +God, despiteful, inventors of evil things, implacable, unmerciful, +abominable, and those unto every good work reprobate--any and all of +these characters can and do come to the healers of Christian Science, +and _not one word is said to them about getting salvation_ through +repentance and living faith in the Savior; but, on the other hand, they +are received as follows: "As _children of God_ you have a right to the +healing of your bodies"! The dragon is in it! I warn people to beware. +"They are the spirits of devils, working miracles," and form an +important proof that we are near the end of time. + +Another form in which the dragon is manifesting his power on the +deceptive and miracle-working line is modern Spiritualism. Multitudes of +people of all classes are believers in this soul-destroying doctrine. +The system is generally acknowledged to be but a modern form of what was +anciently styled witchcraft, necromancy, magic, etc., while the mediums +of to-day are of the same class as those formerly known as "witches," +"sorcerers," "magicians." This they themselves often admit. The system +is so well known both in doctrine and in its pernicious effects that I +will not devote further space to the matter.[15] In many other forms the +dragon is working his deceptions upon the people. + +[Footnote 15: For further consideration of this subject read the book +"Modern Spiritualism Exposed," by the publishers of this work.] + +Millions of church-members and thousands of preachers are numbered among +these antichristian organizations of Freemasonry, Christian Science, +Spiritualism, etc., etc., gathered together under the influence of the +spirits of devils working miracles, mighty signs, and wonders. On the +other hand, the churches are filled with persons who in spirit are +nothing but skeptics and infidels. Said T. De Witt Talmage on one +occasion, "There is a mighty host in the Christian church, positively +professing Christianity, who _do not believe the Bible_, out and out, in +and in, from the first word of the first verse of the first chapter of +the Book of Genesis, down to the last word of the last verse of the last +chapter of the Book of Revelation." Is it any wonder that such is the +case when a large number of the preachers themselves are in reality +skeptics? A newspaper clipping before me contains the following, uttered +on March 28, 1905, by the Rev. B.A. Green, pastor of the First Baptist +Church, of Evanstown, Ill., before about a hundred of his fellow +ministers: "All the truth in the world is not contained in one book, nor +in books of theology, God was too big for one temple and he is also too +big for one book. God is everywhere. His truth is found in all good +books. The pastor of to-day should read the modern psychology and modern +literature, _especially the works of fiction_ which deal with religious +or social phases of modern life." A large portion of the sectarian +ministry reject entirely the Mosaic account of the creation, and accept +instead the modern theory of evolution. + +The following quotation is from the Rev. Minton J. Savage, pastor of the +Church of the Messiah, New York, N.Y., who is an acknowledged leader in +the "higher criticism." This was in answer to an attack made on the +higher critics by a convention of the American Bible League. "The men +who are leading in the higher criticism of the Bible and who are now +being assailed so bitterly by the American Bible League, are +representative scholars of the world, scientific thinkers, leaders, +teachers, who have given us a new universe, a new conception of God, a +new idea concerning the origin and nature of man. They are not seeking +to support or to undermine anything. They are seeking for the truth as +the only sacred thing on earth. + +"I would like to consider what this book is about over which all this +controversy is raging. It is really not one book, but sixty-six small +volumes. They were written during a period of nearly a thousand years, +in different countries, by different people. The first book was written +about eight hundred years before Christ. The first five books of the +Bible were written between five and six hundred years before Christ. The +historical books tell us about the day of Judges, then of Kings, the +wars of Israel, until the time of captivity. Then the book of Job, +purely anonymous, and no one knows who wrote it. Then the book of the +Psalms, the hymn-book of the people of Israel, and the books of the +prophets. It would be more proper to call them preachers, for they make +no effort to foretell anything, but merely told the people that if they +followed certain lines of conduct certain things would happen. + +"No book was placed in the Bible by anything that claimed to be divine +authority. No law concerning the Biblical canon was ever issued by the +church earlier than the sixteenth century and that changed nothing; it +simply recognized what had come to be a fact. These books drifted +together and came to be bound as one, by force of gravity, by common +consent, and there are one or two books in the New Testament which +scholars could miss without feeling any the poorer. + +"Nobody, then, is assaulting the Bible, for the simple reason that the +Bible as such has never made any claim. The Bible does not claim to be +inspired; it does not claim to be infallible. No writer of one book is +authorized to speak for the author of any other book. One verse is +sometimes referred to as meaning something. The writer of the last book +in the Bible utters a curse against anybody who should presume to add to +or take from the words of that book. He does not say that the book is +infallible; he simple curses anybody that interferes with it, as +Shakespeare uttered a curse against anybody who interfered with his +bones. I suppose that God might have given us an infallible book, if he +had chosen, and if he had given us such a book he would have made us +sure that it was infallible." + +"If I were compelled to believe that God holds me responsible for Adam's +sin and that the immense majority of the world is doomed to everlasting +torment, and that only a selected few here and there are to enter +eternal felicity, I might bow my head and accept it, but I could not +rejoice in it. It is barbarous. Men who try to make us accept such +dogmas are the real infidels of the world, and it is infidelity which +they are creating--infidelity a hundred times worse than that which they +call by the name. If you would blot out every Bible in the world to-day +you would not even endanger its life, nor would you destroy religion." +From _The Toledo News-Bee_, May 14, 1904. + +All these allied powers of wickedness in conflict with the few of God's +saints who serve him acceptably, constitute the battle of +Armageddon--that battle of the last great day. It is not a literal +collecting of armies nor a literal conflict, but a fierce battle between +truth and error. The outward indications are that the enemies of God +will triumph; but let us remember that it is destined to "end in the +victory of Him unto whom triumph belongs." Fire will come down from God +out of heaven and devour them. This symbol is doubtless taken from the +circumstance of Elijah where he commanded fire to come down and destroy +his enemies; and it will be as with such an overthrow that the powers of +wickedness shall meet their doom in that last great day of God Almighty. + + 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. + +This series of events, as far as it pertains to the doom of evil men, +ends properly with verse 10, where the combined powers of wickedness are +represented as being cast into the lake of fire. This last event, +however, is in the present scene more fully described. It is fitting +that the judgment scene should be more fully described; for with this +chapter we have the last special history of the powers of evil given. +Many times we have been led up to the time of the final overthrow of all +the powers of wickedness, but the manner in which that great event +occurs has not been perfectly detailed. + +Here we have another illustration of that principle of symbolic language +laid down in the beginning--that objects and events whose nature forbids +their symbolization appear under their own names or titles and their +description must of necessity be literal. The appearance of the great +God must be considered an actual event; for, as clearly shown, he can +not be symbolized, neither can he appear as the symbol of some other +object, from the fact that there is no other object of analagous nature +of which he could stand as the representative. The resurrection of +itself is an event of such a peculiar nature as to forbid its +symbolization. What is there analagous to it which could here be +employed? There are, perhaps, analagous changes in the vegetable and +animal kingdoms; but symbols drawn from that quarter would indicate some +political change instead. Paul may, indeed, speak of the decay and the +growth of seeds to _illustrate_ the resurrection; but the decay of a +seed does not _symbolize_ the death of a saint, neither does its +germination _symbolize_ his resurrection. Nor is there any change that +can do it. There is the same necessity of speaking of the resurrection +in its literal meaning as there was of representing the spirits of the +martyrs under their own appropriate titles. + +The earth and the heaven fleeing away from before God's presence so that +no place is found for them, must be understood as describing the literal +dissolution of this world when Christ comes; for it is clear from the +Scriptures that such an event will occur at that time. Peter says that +"the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which +_the heavens shall pass away_ with a great noise, and the elements shall +melt with fervent heat, _the earth also_ and the works that are therein +_shall be burned up_." 2 Pet. 3:10. Nothing can be found to symbolize +perfectly such a mighty event; hence it appears as a literal description +of the final catastrophe of this old world. + +It is evident that there are symbols connected with this appearance of +God, as truly as there were symbols connected with Christ in his +appearance in chap. 19. The _throne_ is a symbol of judgment and of +supreme sovereignty, its dazzling whiteness indicating the impartiality +and justice of the proceedings. The _books_, likewise, are symbols. We +are not to suppose that there are literal books in heaven, in which +Christ or some angelic secretary notes down all the affairs of earth. +The language and the symbols of Scripture are accommodated to the human +understanding, hence books are used as a symbol to denote that the +character and the actions of men are all as perfectly known and +remembered as if they had been recorded in the archives of heaven. The +_book of life_, in which the names of the faithful are often said to be +inscribed, denotes that God knows all his chosen people. In the +following chapter it is called the Lamb's book of life. + +This scene, then, as a whole, is a sublime description of the +resurrection and the final judgment of all men and the dissolution of +the earth on which we now live. That the righteous will be judged at +this time is shown by the fact that the book of life, in which the names +of the righteous only are recorded (Chap. 21:27; Exod. 32:33), will also +be opened; and verse fifteen implies that the names of some during this +judgment scene were found recorded in that book. The wicked receive +their eternal portion by being cast into the lake of fire; while the +reward of the righteous is described in the remaining part of this +series, contained in the two following chapters. + + + + +CHAPTER XXI. + + + 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. + + 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 events of this chapter are a continuation of the series of prophecy +considered in the preceding one, only describing an entirely different +phase--the final reward and eternal home of God's people. We have traced +many series of prophecies through the long weary pathway of centuries, +only to find the termination of the powers of wickedness in the lake of +fire at the end of time or their overthrow otherwise set forth under +appropriate symbols; but in no instance has the final reward of God's +people after the judgment been fully described. That glorious event of +the future was referred to in chap. 7 as the final in-gathering of the +redeemed "of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues." The +description however, was incomplete. Since the eternal abode of the +wicked is referred to often, the subject would seem incomplete without a +description of the final glories and triumphs of the redeemed in their +future and eternal home. Though their earthly pilgrimage is fraught with +sorrow, death, pain, wretchedness, and misery, by the hands of their +violent oppressors, yet they shall witness the complete overthrow of all +their enemies in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, and they +themselves shall be rewarded eternally; for "God shall wipe away all +tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, +neither crying, neither shall there be any more pain; for the former +things are passed away." It is fitting that such a sublime theme should +be reserved as the grand climax of the book of Revelation. + +With the dissolution of the earth on which we live, which event has just +been described, it is evident that the many lines of prophecy leading up +to that great event are no longer under special consideration, but that +a new theme subsequent to the judgment scene is introduced with the +words of the Revelator immediately following--"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." The heaven, earth, and sea that passed away +certainly refers to the earth that now is and to the aerial heaven +surrounding it; therefore the new heaven and the new earth brought to +view must signify the future and eternal home that Jesus went to +prepare. We could not consistently make the one literal and the other +symbolical. This accords perfectly with the teaching of the apostle +Peter where he says: "The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the +night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and +the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works +that are therein shall be burned up.... Nevertheless we, according to +his promise, look for _new heavens and a new earth_, wherein dwelleth +righteousness." 2 Pet. 3:10-13. + +The holy city of God, the New Jerusalem, is next introduced. Since this +meets its fulfilment in the new order of things subsequent to the +judgment scene, it must have special reference to the future abode of +the saints in the new earth. Many of the symbols here describing the New +Jerusalem, and even New Jerusalem itself, are often used to set forth +the church of God in the New Testament dispensation. The church on earth +and the church of God in heaven are in one important sense the same +thing, as they constitute but one family (Eph. 3:15); yet in another +sense there is a difference, and the proper distinction must be observed +even when the same symbols or titles are used to describe or designate +both phases. A similar two-foldness is seen in many lines of truth. In +Heb. 12:22, 23, we are represented as dwelling in the city of God in +this dispensation; yet verse 27 of this chapter and the fourteenth of +the following chapter plainly show our entrance into the city at the +end. The Scriptures represent God as dwelling on earth in his church, +which, of course, is considered in a spiritual sense; but his actual +throne and place of abode is in heaven. A new creation brought about by +Christ in his first advent is set forth by various texts; still, it +remains a fact that a new creation will actually be brought to view +after the present world is no more and that the same will be our eternal +home. We obtain spiritual life through Christ now, hence have right to +the tree of life; yet in another sense our access to the tree of life is +at the end and we then enter in through the gates into the city. Chap. +22:14. Hence it is proper to speak of the city of God as both present +and future, by observing the proper distinction, just as the Scriptures +speak of the church in a twofold sense as being both on earth and in +heaven, or of the spiritual kingdom in the present and the eternal +kingdom in the end. It is Scriptural to speak of God's throne as being +on earth in the midst of his saints in a spiritual sense and also of its +being located in heaven. The tree of life is a present realization +spiritually and also a future reality. We dwell in the city of God +now--in the suburbs, as it were--but we shall "have a right" to it in +the future state when we are ushered into the very heart of the great +metropolis and stand before the actual throne of the Deity, in the +presence of his August Majesty. + +In the New Testament dispensation the heavenly elements of the New +Jerusalem have descended to earth in the form of the new covenant, and +God's people obtain a foretaste of heaven's glory and are made pure even +as Christ is pure, and are therefore represented as having "come unto +Mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem" +(Heb. 12:22, 23); and God dwells with them in a very important sense. 2 +Cor. 6:16. They are one with the redeemed above, and together they +constitute one "family in heaven and earth," all loving the same Father, +adoring the same King, drinking from the same fountain of life eternal, +and all basking in the same divine light that beams from the throne of +God. In another sense, however, there is a difference between them; for +they are separated by the line of mortality, one phase being located on +earth and the other in heaven. But when at the last day the redeemed of +earth have access to the tree of life in its perfect sense, there will +be henceforth only one phase to the New Jerusalem, or church of God, +which will be in its relation to the new earth, as specially described +in the prophecy under consideration, when "_all things_" are made new +and "the former things are passed away." + + 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. + + 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 declarations contained in these verses proceed from God himself and +announce the fact that he hath now fulfilled all that he designed. His +promises to his faithful children are brought to pass, as well as his +threatening to his foes. All things are made new and the former things +are passed away. Not only has the strife, the commotion, and the sin in +the old order of things passed away, but the new creation, wherein +dwelleth righteousness, has been introduced, the grand long-looked-for +era of eternal blessedness to the saints. Oh, halleluiah! "And he said +unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful." + +"And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning +and the end." When the seventh angel of chap. 16:17 poured out his vial, +the voice of God from the throne said, "It is done," signifying that the +last judgments were complete. Here again the same voice is heard as +before, referring to the same thing--the accomplishment of God's great +purposes. The enemies of the church have been overthrown, her long +period of warfare has ended, and the eternal day of Zion's glory has +come. Then follow his blessed promises held out to the faithful, and +also the reward to the wicked. These are to be understood as referring +to these classes, not at the day of judgment, but when the Revelation +was given to John and therefore to us. "I will give unto him that is +athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. He that overcometh +shall inherit all things [in the margin, _these things_]: and I will be +his God, and he shall be my son." "This is the reward in reserve for +those who endure through this period of trial and overcome at last. They +shall drink of living waters, which will be sweet and refreshing indeed +to those who have toiled through this fight; and they shall inherit +these things--these new heavens and earth. God shall be their God, and +they his sons. Oh, what an honor! what a destiny in reserve for the +faithful! with what glorious anticipations may the believer look forward +to the revelations of that day, and with Paul say, 'If by any means I +may attain unto the resurrection of the dead.' + +"What warning also to the wicked! The same voice that utters the +promise, pronounces also the threatening. '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.' God says, +'These words are true and faithful.' They came from him who sat upon the +throne, the Alpha and Omega. He has put his everlasting seal to them, +and pledged his veracity to their truth." Dear reader, will you accept +the word of Him who can not lie and choose to suffer affliction with the +people of God until our Lord shall come to call his ransomed home? Or +will you decide to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season, only to be +resurrected at the last great day to "shame and everlasting contempt"? +There is no intimation of future salvation for the transgressor. The +lake of fire still stands as the symbol of eternal destruction, and into +it the fearful and unbelieving and wicked of every name are cast. + + 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. + + 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. + + 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, + chrysolyte; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a + chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst. + + 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. + + 22. And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and + the Lamb are the temple of it. + + 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. + +We have here a magnificent description of the New Jerusalem, +representing the home of the redeemed. The various symbols employed in +its description must of course he understood as symbolical. We have no +means of knowing just what our future home will be like; but that it +will be a place of wondrous beauty and transcendent glory is shown by +the fact that everything which is considered grand and glorious in this +world is here chosen to represent the home of the redeemed. The symbols +selected to describe it are objects of such priceless worth, even +exceeding royal splendor, that we pause in astonishment and exclaim, +"What must the reality be?" The conditions upon which entrance to this +city may be obtained (ver. 27; chap. 22:14) show clearly that our future +and eternal home is the chief burden of this vision and not merely our +spiritual inheritance in this world. + +"In approaching Jerusalem, the traveller is not aware of its proximity, +until, ascending an eminence, the glorious city bursts upon his +astonished vision, when he is ready to exclaim with the +Psalmist--'Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth is Mount +Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the great king.'" Psa. +48:2. John was carried to "a great and high mountain," from which +commanding point of view he was enabled to survey in all its boundless +extent the surpassing glories of the New Jerusalem. Never did +imagination conceive anything approaching the sublimity and grandeur of +the scene here described by the pen of inspiration. It was "a great +city"--how great we shall soon discover--the _holy_ Jerusalem, +descending out of heaven from God. + +The ancient city of Jerusalem was regarded as sacred because in it God +had recorded his name, and it contained his holy temple, his place of +residence on earth. Thither the tribes of Israel went up to worship; +"Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship." So, also, this New +Jerusalem was "_the holy city_," an antitype of the former. It is +described as "having the glory of God, and her light was like unto a +stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal." "The +glory of God" was that visible manifestation, called the Shekinah, which +Jehovah made of himself in the tabernacle of his ancient people. The +following facts concerning it will give us an understanding of its +signification as connected with the New Jerusalem: + +"Jehovah was the accepted King and Lawgiver of his people Israel, and he +had his tabernacle among them, where he abode by his presence, where he +might be approached and consulted, and make communications of his will. +That visible presence was 'the glory of God' or the Shekinah; and the +Jews regarded it with the highest possible veneration, as the embodiment +of the Deity. The sacred writers often speak of it in the same terms as +of Jehovah himself. They refer to this when they speak of _seeing God_. +'Then went up Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the +elders of Israel, _and they saw the God of Israel_.' Ex. 24:9, 10. 'I +saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his +train filled the temple.' Isa. 6:1. And again in verse 5: 'For mine eyes +_have seen_ the King, the Lord of hosts.' The spiritual essence of God +can not, of course, be revealed to mortal vision, yet there was a +manifestation of the Deity which was made visible to the eyes of men, +and which Moses and Isaiah speak of as _seeing God_. It is spoken of as +the _presence_ and _face_ of Jehovah. 'And he said, _My presence_ shall +go with thee, and I will give thee rest.' Ex. 33:14. 'And the Lord spake +unto Moses _face to face_, as a man speaketh unto his friend.' Ex. +33:11." + +The New Jerusalem that John saw descending from God--which denotes its +heavenly origin--had "the glory of God: and her light was like unto a +stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal." It +dazzled as the purest diamond. In verse 23 we are informed that it +illuminated the whole city so that there was "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_." In ancient times "the glory of +God" filled the _tabernacle_, the place of his abode; but here it filled +_the whole city_. In that tabernacle the Shekinah was the manifestation +of the divine glory of Jehovah. In the New Jerusalem Jesus Christ, who +is "the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person," +illuminates the entire city of God. Oh, halleluiah! + +In olden times the cities were surrounded with walls, designed as a +defense against all enemies. The more important the city, the higher and +stronger were the walls built. Having walls, it was necessary also to +have gates to furnish ingress and egress to the inhabitants. These gates +were in charge of faithful guardians, who had authority to open and to +close them according to the regulations of the city. In accordance with +this idea the city of God is represented as having "a wall great and +high." This wall represents the security of Zion, whose inhabitants +within can rest in peace and safety. The three gates on each side +represent the free and easy access into the city from every quarter. +Anciently, it was customary to give names to the gates of a city, just +as we now do to our streets. The gates of this holy city were named +after the twelve tribes of the children of Israel, which embraced all +God's ancient covenant people, and which denotes the perfection and +completeness of our heavenly home as including all the spiritual Israel. + +"And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names +of the twelve apostles of the Lamb." The twelve foundations, or rather +the twelve courses of stone in the foundation, are more fully described +hereafter. The names of the twelve tribes were on the gates to denote +that the city was composed of God's true and complete Israel, and the +names of the twelve apostles are on the foundation to denote that this +contains the church which was "built upon the foundation of the apostles +and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone." Eph. +2:20. The system of truth that they preached to the world forms the +doctrinal basis of the church of God, they having received it from +heaven "by inspiration of God," and their names all appear; and together +they constitute one harmonious, solid foundation upon which the church +shall stand forever. + +The dimensions of the city as measured by the angel are next given as +twelve thousand furlongs, or one thousand five hundred miles. By the +statement that the length, the breadth and the height are equal, some +have supposed that the city was one thousand five hundred miles high. To +quote the words of a certain commentator: "The language, however, will +bear another meaning, which is far more natural. It is not that the +length and breadth and height were severally equal to _each other_, but +_equal with themselves_; that is the length was everywhere the same, the +breadth everywhere the same, and the height the same. It was perfect and +symmetrical in all its proportions. This is confirmed by the fact +distinctly stated, that the wall was one hundred and forty and four +cubits high, or two hundred and sixteen feet, a proper height for a +wall; while it is said only that 'the length is as large as the +breadth.'" This writer reckoned but eighteen inches for a cubit, whereas +some figure twenty-two. A city one thousand and five hundred miles high +with a wall only two hundred and sixteen or two hundred and sixty four +feet high, would be altogether out of proportion. + +The wondrous dimensions of this city set forth the fact that our future +home far exceeds in grandeur and extent everything that is looked upon +as glorious upon earth. Who ever heard of a city one thousand and five +hundred miles square? We have had empires so large, but no such cities. +In this representation the city does not encompass the entire earth as +she in one sense really does, because it would be impossible thus to +represent her and at the same time she be represented as a city within +the earth, into which the nations bring their "glory and honor." The +ancient city of Babylon with its beautiful hanging-gardens, the very +triumph of human skill, and the city itself lying in a foursquare, being +fifteen miles on each side, was unsurpassed in human loveliness. But the +city of God is represented as _fifteen hundred_ miles square, which +dimensions are out of all proportion with anything existing on earth; +hence its beauty and magnificence must be ascribed to God only. + +"And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure +gold like unto clear glass." The jasper is the same crystal gem before +mentioned. What a wondrous wall it must have been! It was not made of +such common material as granite, freestone, or marble, which can make +the most imposing structures that human pride can rear, and which are +fit for the residence of lofty kings; but it was of jasper, clear as +crystal. Think of the wall of this holy city being nearly three hundred +feet high and stretching around the city six thousand miles, all built +of the purest diamond! No stretch of the human imagination can properly +compass such a vision. In rearing earthly structures men seek such +material as combine durability, cheapness, beauty, and ease of being +wrought. Look at this wall! For _durability_, it has the most +indestructible material that can be found on earth. For _beauty_, the +language of man can not even convey a meagre description of its amazing +loveliness. For _cheapness_--God's riches were inexhaustible, hence it +was not necessary to take this into consideration. For _ease of being +wrought_--think of the vast amount of labor it requires to cut and shape +even one large diamond, it being said to require in some cases years of +incessant toil; yet God could afford to build the wall of this city of +such material. Oh, wonders of God's handiwork! How inexpressibly +glorious! This, my dear reader, symbolizes the priceless worth of our +eternal home, secured through the atonement. Study the plan of +redemption. There is nothing equal to it in the universe. "What is a man +profited, if he gain the whole world, and _lose his own soul_?" + +Men become greatly agitated over the announcement of the discovery of +gold in the Klondyke, in the Australian continent, in California, and +with feverish excitement they abandon their homes and rush headlong to +the reputed El Dorado, fearing neither famine, storms, deserts, nor the +icy northern blasts. But all the gold ever mined from the bowels of the +earth is insignificant and forms no comparison with the representation +of this city. Its streets and mansions were built, not of common cement, +lumber, nor even granite and marble, but _of pure gold_. + +The twelve courses of stone in the foundation of the wall have already +been mentioned. It is here particularly described. One might suppose +that, according to human custom, rougher material would be selected for +the foundation. Not so, however. The most brilliant and costly gems were +chosen to lay these courses. Nothing cheap nor common had anything to do +in the construction of this marvelous city. It was altogether beyond the +reach of men to imitate: it was God's own handiwork; and we can not but +admire its wondrous beauty. It is unnecessary to give a minute +description of the gems of which these foundation-courses were composed. +They were the most beautiful and costly of which men possess any +knowledge. In appearance they represent various colors of the most +delicate shades. Royal persons wear even the smallest of these gems upon +their persons and imagine themselves richly adorned; but in this city of +God they appear in such abundance that they are even selected to form +the basis, or foundation, of the wall. "And the twelve gates were twelve +pearls; every several gate was of one pearl." We have rich necklaces of +pearl; but where is the individual that was ever blessed with such a +profusion of wealth that he could ornament the gates of a city with +pearls? The gates of the New Jerusalem, however, were not merely +ornamented or studded with pearls--that were a very small thing for +her--but each gate was of one solid pearl. To conceive the immensity of +this representation we must consider the size of the gates required to +accommodate the multitudes constantly entering and departing from a +city. To be in proportion to the wall they would have to be of immense +size, and also of prodigious strength in order to resist the assaults of +enemies, as they would be the first places attacked. The gate of the +temple called Beautiful, mentioned in the Book of Acts, which was in the +wall surrounding the temple, is said to have been seventy-five feet high +and sixty in width, built of Corinthian brass. Yet immense as they were, +those in the New Jerusalem were each of one solid pearl. Oh, beautiful +city of God, the home of the saints! + +The most prominent object within the walls of the ancient Jerusalem was +the magnificent temple on Mount Zion. It was the chief ornament and +glory of the city. In the New Jerusalem, however, no temple is seen. +Alas! is not this a great defect? What is Jerusalem without a temple +where the tribes may go up and worship before the Lord? Oh, they need no +temple in this glorious city of God; for there is one there greater than +the temple: "the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it." +This doubtless sets forth the fact that the worship of God is pure and +spiritual and of free access to all. Under the old dispensation the high +priest alone, and he but once a year, was permitted to enter the sacred +precincts of the Deity as limited to the inner sanctuary of the temple. +Now God's people need no mediating priest to offer up a special +sacrifice that the will of God might be known; but all are kings and +priests who offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus +Christ (1 Pet. 2:5); yea, as saith the prophet, "they _shall all know +me_ from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord." +Jer. 31:34. No temple is needed that the Shekinah of the divine presence +may take up its abode between the cherubim in the most holy place, but +"the glory of the Lord" fills the entire city. It can not be confined to +a given locality. "The Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of +it," and they constitute the glory of the New Jerusalem as did the +temple on Mount Zion that of the old. + +"The nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it." Can +any one conceive the grandeur and the sublimity of the scene when a +light that eclipses the sun and the moon is reflected from streets and +mansions of gold, or comes streaming through a wall composed of the most +brilliant gems of different hues, with gates of solid pearl? No wonder, +then, that the poet has denominated it "the beautiful light of God"! The +gates are open continuously, for they are not closed by day, and "there +shall be no night there." But "there shall in no wise enter into it +anything that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or +maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of Life." +This, my dear reader, is the reward of the New Testament church, "the +church of God." + + + + +CHAPTER XXII. + + + And he showed me a pure river of water of life, dear 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. + + 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: + + 4. And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their + foreheads. + + 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. + +The description of the New Jerusalem continues in the first five verses +of this chapter. By the "river of the water of life" is doubtless meant +full salvation, which as a mighty flowing stream issues "out of the +throne of God and of the Lamb." To this fountain of living waters an +invitation is now given to all to come and partake to their +satisfaction. "The Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that +heareth say, Come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life +freely." Verse 17. As a defense to God's people in this world salvation +is represented as a great wall surrounding them (Isa. 26:12); but as a +source of joy, holiness and happiness, it is a living stream whereof all +may partake. While this symbol meets an appropriate fulfilment in the +present dispensation, yet salvation will also be the eternal possession +of the saints in the world to come, when "they shall hunger no more, +neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any +heat. For the Lamb, which is in the midst thereof, shall feed them, and +shall _lead them unto living fountains of waters_; and God shall wipe +away all tears from their eyes." Chap. 7:16, 17. + +In a most appropriate place, upon the banks of the river, grew "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 tree of life in the garden of Eden was a symbol of man's immortality +or incorruption, or rather the _means_ of it; for after his fall it was +securely guarded and he driven from the garden, "lest he put forth his +hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever" +(Gen. 3:22) and thus frustrate the decree of God just uttered--that he +should return unto dust and corruption. In the New Jerusalem, however, +that tree of life blooms again and bears fruit abundantly, yea +continuously, as symbolized by "every month," and no cherubim with +flaming sword are placed to guard all approach to it. The privilege is +open; for it is added immediately, "There _shall be no more curse_." +This, then, symbolizes the removal of spiritual death and the +impartation of everlasting life in this world and immortality in the +next. The tree of life grew on both sides of the river. On this side of +the line of mortality we have access to it in one important sense, while +those in the future world are preserved also by its healing benefits. + +The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit abide in this city. God reveals +himself, not to a few chosen priests only through the Shekinah of his +presence, but to all his servants--"they all see his face." As in the +ancient tabernacle he manifested himself by "the glory of the Lord," or +the Shekinah, which was represented as "seeing his face"; so, also, the +"glory of the Lord" abides in the New Jerusalem, filling the entire city +with the holy manifestation of the divine presence. His people are +"sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise," by which they possess the +name of their Father--not the name of the beast nor of his image, but +_the name of the Father_. + +"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 forever and ever." This city has no need of natural or artificial +light, "for the Lamb is the light thereof." Chap. 21:23. The light of +the sun stands connected with the light of a candle and both are +represented as unnecessary, which denotes that "there shall be no night +there," but one clear eternal day. + + 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. + +The language of symbols is discontinued. With the description of the New +Jerusalem closes the grand panoramic scene of this book. Wondrous indeed +have been the events of earth prophetically outlined, but we have the +assurance that "these things are faithful and true." A continuous +political and ecclesiastical history of that portion of the earth made +the subject of Apocalyptic vision, from the dawn of Christianity until +the last day, was here written down in advance. After the permanent +division of the empire, which occurred under Valens and Valentinian[16] +in A.D. 364, it was necessary that the political and the ecclesiastical +history of the empire should be divided in the prophecy. This +inspiration has done. The downfall of the Western empire is clearly +predicted in the symbols under the first four trumpets; but the eclipse +is afterwards lifted, and the same Western empire again appears in +Imperial form under the control of the Papacy. After giving their power +and strength unto the beast during the Dark Ages, the horns afterward +turn against the Papacy and rob her of all her temporal authority and +power, thus pointing us clearly to the history of modern Europe, in +which the prophecy has been actually fulfilled. They themselves end at +the judgment of the last day. Thus, the political history of the Western +empire is carried through to the end. The Eastern division of the empire +is also made a subject of prophecy, and its overthrow is described under +the sixth trumpet. This was effected by the second woe, or the rise of +the Ottoman power, and that woe is represented as continuing until after +the death and the resurrection of the two witnesses and terminating +shortly before the end of time. Therefore the political history of the +Eastern empire, which has been under the power of the Turks for +centuries, is outlined until the end. The ecclesiastical history of the +Eastern empire is also given, its most prominent feature being the rise +and the development of that pest of Mohammedanism, which rests like a +dark cloud over that fair country until this day. In the Western +division the rise of the Papacy, its continuation, the rise of +Protestantism and its duration, are all clearly outlined, reaching down +to these last days. Then the scene is suddenly enlarged and is carried +beyond the limits of the earth--the Apocalyptic earth--into "the whole +world," when the powers of wickedness are combined in spirit to +antagonize the reformation of holiness and truth which God is using to +gather his faithful ones together in preparation for the coming of the +Son of God to judgment. In view of these wonderful events of the last +days, how comforting the words of the text before us--"Behold, _I come +quickly:_ blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this +book"! + +[Footnote 16: Some historians give A.D. 395 as the date of the permanent +division of the empire. The government of the Eastern and Western +divisions was separate from the accession of Valens and Valentinian, in +364, until during the reign of Theodosius the Great, when the West, +through the jealous rivalries of different competitors for the throne, +had fallen into great disorder. Theodosius twice interposed to right +matters and finally took the government into his own hands for the space +of four months, in 395, when he died, after arranging for the division +of the empire between his two sons Arcadius and Honorius.] + + 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 + fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them + which keep the sayings of this book: worship God. + +The mind of the apostle was so enraptured with the visions he beheld +that he could not but adore and worship; but the angel that had been the +chosen instrument to reveal these prophecies refused his act of homage +and instructed him to "worship God." Created intelligences are not +worthy of such respect; to God alone all honor and praise belongs. Jesus +Christ our Redeemer is God--God over all, blessed forever. As such he is +worthy of the homage supreme of all our hearts, the praises of all our +lips. + + 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. + + 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. + + 15. For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and + murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie. + +The popular opinion is that this book of the Revelation is sealed; but +John received the direct command, "_Seal not_ the sayings of the +prophecy of this book." The majority of the teachers of Babylon to-day +are fulfilling Isaiah 29:9-11, and that is the reason why it has become +to them a sealed book. God makes known the blessed truths of the +prophecies of this book to his own beloved children, who walk before him +in sincerity and truth. A blessing is pronounced upon us if we keep +them. His coming is near at hand, and his reward is with him to render +unto every man according as his work shall be. No offers of salvation +will be extended when Christ appears to give us access to the tree of +immortal life and an abundant entrance into the eternal city beyond; but +it will then be said, "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." +"Dogs" are left without. This term as applied to a person is one of +great reproach. It is so among us, and much more so among the Jews, by +whom that animal was regarded as unclean. It signifies evil workers. +Evil characters of every class will have no part in the heavenly realm, +but will be cast into the lake of fire. It will be the perfection of +misery to be banished forever from the presence of God and the +companionship of all that is good and holy. "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." + + 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. + + 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 statements of these verses have been considered heretofore, hence +there is no necessity of further comment on them in this connection. + + 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. + +Here is the most solemn warning against any one who should presume to +corrupt the prophecies of the Revelation by adding to or taking away +from them. Nor was such a warning needless. This book contains the long +history of God's church, and also the history of all her persecutors, +painted in colors of deepest infamy, and the final doom that awaits +them. These enemies were to ride in triumph over the earth during a long +career of centuries, when the children of God should be trodden down +beneath their feet, as it were, while they boasted themselves as being +the true church, the anointed of heaven. These Revelations were to be +handed down to succeeding generations through these very persecutors. +The great whore of Babylon had her likeness taken and then committed to +her for preservation. Would she not falsify them? Nearly all the early +records of the church have been corrupted by the church of Rome. For +ages it has been a doctrine of that institution that pious fraud was +consistent and even commendable when practised to further the influence +of that church. Yea, she has proclaimed openly and unblushingly that if +her cause could be promoted by deception and lies they were perfectly +justifiable; and her practise has been consistent with her teachings. In +view of the fact that God's Word was to pass through the depths of this +"mystery of iniquity," it is not surprising that we find annexed to this +concluding portion of Holy Writ the awful anathema: "If any man shall +add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are +written in this book: 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." + + 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. + +What importance is attached to the second coming of Christ! Over and +over again it is stated distinctly. It is the grand climax unto which +all the series of events in this book leads. + + "Are you ready, waiting for the Lord? + See, the signs proclaim him near; + In the awful thunders of his Word, + Now his coming steps we hear. + + "Now are many running to and fro, + Spreading holiness around; + And the evening light begins to glow, + Soon we'll hear the trumpet's sound. + + "Hark! the solemn warning unto all, + Judgment's coming, oh, how soon! + Flee, O man, at Mercy's final call, + Heaven trembles at your doom. + + "Christ is coming, oh, the heavenly sight! + Our Beloved can't delay, + For his bride is robed in snowy white, + Ready for the marriage-day." + +Amen. "Even so come, Lord Jesus." Then will appear the great "Alpha and +Omega, the beginning and the ending." In the beginning he "created the +heaven and the earth." In the end, John said, "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." In the beginning Satan entered the domain of +God's people to deceive and destroy. In the end he is cast out, and will +deceive the nations no more. In the beginning sickness, pain, sorrow, +and wretchedness found entrance to the world. In the end "God shall wipe +away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more sorrow, nor +crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are +passed away." In the beginning the people of earth were placed under the +iron hand of death, who has claimed his teeming millions. In the end, "I +saw the dead, small and great, stand before God.... And the sea gave up +the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead +which were in them ... and death and hell were cast into the lake of +fire." In the beginning was a blooming garden containing the tree of +immortal life. In the end we find the tree of life again "in the midst +of the Paradise of God." In the beginning a curse was placed upon this +earth. In the world to come "there shall be no more curse: but the +throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it." In the beginning the +first Adam lost his universal dominion over the earth. In the end we +find Jesus Christ, the second Adam, crowned King of kings and Lord of +lords, and reigning in triumph and glory forever. In the beginning man +was barred from the tree of life and driven from the garden of Eden. In +the end, "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." + + + + +INDEX + + +A + +Aachen, 326. +Abaddon, 162. +Abubekr, first caliph, 155. +Aegean Sea, 36, 46. +Africa, conquered by Saracens, 160. +Ahab, 53. +Alani, 145. +Alans, 146, 215. +Alaric, invades Italy, 136-141, 149. +Ala-Shehr, 63. +Albi, council of, 339. +Albigenses, 113, 161, 196, 270, 342. +Aleppo, 165. +Alexander I., 172. +Alexander the Great, 320. +Alexander VI., Pope, 346, 347. +Alexandria, 109, 110. +Alison, A., quoted, 307-315. +Ammianus Marcellinus, quoted, 188. +Amiens, 140. +Ammon, 330. +Anabaptists, 292. +Anglo-Saxons, 215. +Anthony, founder of monasticism, 189, 190. +Antioch, 104, 109, 110. +Antioch Epiphanes, 230. +Antipas, 49. +Apollo, 241. +Apollyon, 162. +Aquinas, Thos., 340, 341. +Arabia, 330; conquered by Saracens, 160. +Arras, 140. +Arcadius, Roman emp., 137, 138, 440, n. +Argos, 137. +Armageddon, 332. +Armenia, 330; conquered by Turks, 165. +Arnout, Mme., quoted, 310. +Asbury, Bishop, 368. +Assyria, 330. +Astolphus, k. of Lombards, 352, n. +Athanasius, 190. +Athens, 137. +Attalus, 139. +Atkins, Robert, quoted, 365. +Attica, 137. +Attila, 142, 145, 146, 149. +Atys, 407. +Augsburg, 191. +Augsburg Confession (A.D. 1530), 191, 247, 252, 253. +Augustine, 96. +Augustines, Order of, 246, 251. +Augustulus, Roman emp., 148. +Augustus Caesar, first Roman emp., 222. +Aurelian, Roman emp., 189. +Aurelius, Marcus, Roman emp., 46, 98. +Austerlitz, battle of, 322. +Avignon, 327; removal of Papal chair to, 305, 306; + council of, 339. + + +B + +Babylon, taken by Cyrus, 166, 329, 331; + great edifices of, 432. +Babylonian empire, 330, 397. +Bacchus, 407. +Bagdad, founded (A.D. 762), 160, 165. +Balaam, 49, 50. +Balak, 50. +Barak, 332. +Barnes, Dr., quoted, 359. +Baronius, quoted, 345. +Barrows, John Henry, quoted, 409, 410. +Basil, council of, 340. +Bayazid, Sultan, 61. +Bedford jail, 36 +Beethoven, 88. +Behiston rock, noted inscription on, 18, n. +Belisarius, general of Justinian, 148, 236, 351, n. +Bellarmine, Cardinal, quoted, 341, 342. +Benedict IX., Pope, 345, 346. +Bernard, 197; quoted, 199. +Beziers, council of, 339. +Boetia, 137. +Bohemia, 244, 339. +Bologna, 327. +Bonaparte, Jerome, 321. +Bonaparte, Louis, 321. +Bonaparte, Joseph, 321. +Bonaparte, Napoleon, 172, 317, 320-325, 327. +Boniface IV., Pope, 240. +Bonney, Chas. Carroll, quoted, 408, 409. +Borgia, Roderick, 346, 347. +Bosphorus, 171. +Bouchard, M., 18, n. +Buddha, 409. +Bunyan, John, his imprisonment, 36, n., 293. +Burgundians, 215. +Burgundy, 215. +Burke, quoted, 303. +Butler, quoted, 222, 223, 224, 230, 231. + + +C + +Cadiz, 324. +Caesar, 320. +Caesar Augustus, Roman emp., 222. +Calcedon, council of, 110. +Calvin, John, reformer, 252 +Calvinists, 252, 291. +Campbell, Alexander, quoted, 359, 360. +Canoosa, 111. +Canterbury, See of, 112, n. +Carlovingian dynasty, 325, 326, 350-352. +Carrier, 310, 311. +Cassini, quoted, 200. +Cathari, 196. +Catherine de Medici, 118. +Catherine the Great of Russia, 172. +Chaldea, 330. +Chalons, 146. +Charlemagne, 236, 305, 320, 325; + restores the Western empire, 325, 326, 350-352; + patriciate of, 350, 351, also n. +Charles Martel, 161, 325. +Charles V., k. of France, 307. +Charles IX., k. of France, 118. +Chase, Chas. Wingate, quoted, 405. +Chaumette, 308, 309. +Christians, + persecutions of, 97, 295; + by the Roman emperors (ten seasons of), 98, 116, 230, 231; + by the Papacy, 113, 116-118, 196-200, 243, 295, 338-344; + by Protestants, 252, 291-294. +Christian Science, 410, 411. +Chrysostom, 96. +Cicero, 222. +Claudius, quoted, 199. +Clement of Rome, 95. +Cologne (wrongly spelled Colonge in text), 197. +Constance, council of, 244, 245, 339, 345. +Constantine the Great, 189, 231, 241. +Constantinople, 158; + captured by the Turks (A.D. 1453), 169; + council of, 109, 344. +Constitutionalists, 314. +Consular power, 214, also n., 351. +Copenhagen, 324. +Corinth, 137. +Council, first of church, 231. +Councils, general, of church, 109, 231, 321, 339, 340, 345, 346. +Covenanters, Scotch, 293, 294. +Creasy, quoted, 324. +Crellius, 292. +Croesus, k. of Lydia, 56. +Crusades, 166. +Cyprian, 107. +Cyrus the Great, his capture of Babylon, 166, 329, 331. + + +D + +Dacia, 137. +D'Alembert, 297-303. +Dalmatia, 136. +Damascus, 165. +Daniel, prophecies of, 235-238. +Danton, 310. +Dantonists, 315. +Darwin, 411. +D'Aubigne, quoted, 96, 185, 191, 192, 195, 208, 209, 244, 245, 247, 253, + 276, 277. +Decemvirate, 214, also n., 351. +Decius, Roman emp., 98. +Decretals of Isodore, 344. +Demetrius, 43. +Demetrius Cantemir, quoted, 170. +Diana, 241; + temple of at Ephesus, 42, 64. +Diderot, 297-808. +Dictator, office of, at Rome, 214, n. +Diocletian, Roman emp., 48, 98, 230. +Dionysis, 407. +Diotrephes, 102, 103. +Donatists, 342. +Domitian, Roman emp., 36, 98. +Domnus, 189. +Dow, Lorenzo, quoted, 278, 360. +Dowling, quoted, 187, 188, 189, 190, 196, 241, 243. +Duke of Alva, 118. +Du Guesclin, 307. +Dupin, quoted, 344. +Dwight, Pres., quoted, 303. + + +E + +Easter, 105. +Eastern Empire, See _Roman Empire_. +Eastern Question, 172, 173. +Edgar, quoted, 340. +Edict of Nantes, 118, 295. +Egbert, quoted, 196, 197. +Egypt, conquered by Saracens, 160. +Elba, Island of, 323, 324. +Ephesus, fate of, 45, 64, 68; temple at, 42. +Eudoxia, 143. +Euphrates, 164, 166; turned by Cyrus, 166, 329, 331. +Eusebius, quoted, 188, 189. +Evervinus, quoted. 197-199. + + +F + +Farrara, 327. +Feldkirchen, 247. +Fisher, Geo., quoted, 103, 189. +Fletcher, John, quoted, 277. +Formosus, Pope, 345. +Foster, Bishop R.S., quoted, 368-370. +France, invaded by Saracens, 161. +Francis I., of France, 307. +Franks, 146, 215. +Frederick of Saxony, quoted, 247-249. +Frederick II., k. of Prussia, 297. +French Revolution, 305-315, 324, 352. +Freron, quoted, 313, 314. +Friedland, battle of, 322. +Fuller, quoted, 340. + + +G + +Gallienus, Roman emp., 187 +Gallus, Roman emp., 98. +Gascoigne, 215. +Gates, Theophilus R., quoted, 278-283. +Geneva, 252. +Genseric, k. of Vandals, 25, 142, 143, 149. +Germania, 139. +Gepidae, 145. +Gibbon, quoted, 64, 136-138, 142, 143, 145, 158, 351. +Gibbons, Cardinal, quoted 343, 344. +Gieseler, quoted, 103. +Girondists, 315. +Gnostics, 410. +Gobet, 308. +Goddess of Reason, 209, 401. +Goths, 136, 141. +Greek Empire (Eastern Empire), See _Roman Empire_. +Green, B.A., quoted, 412, 413. +Gregory VII., Pope, 111, 184, 242. + + +H + +Haeckel, 411. +Hamlet, 307. +Handel, 88. +Hartley, quoted, 361. +Heads, seven, of dragon and Papal beasts, + signifying seven forms of government, + 214, also n., 235, 349, 350. +Hebert, 308, 309. +Henry VIII., k. of England, 292. +Henry IV., k. of France, 307. +Henry IV., emperor of Holy Roman empire, 111. +Henry, k. of Navarre, 118. +Hera, 154. +Hermus, 56. +Herod Agrippa, 240. +Herodotus, 166, 329. +Heruli, 145, 148, 215, 236. +Hieroglyphics, 18, 19, n. +Hilarion, 189. +Hildebrand, See _Gregory VII_. +Hilton, John, quoted, 246, 247. +Hiram Abiff, 407. +Holbach, Baron, 300. +Holland, 321. +Holy Roman Empire, 325, 326, 351; + dissolved (A.D. 1806), 327. +Honorius, Roman emp., 136, 138, 139, 440, n. +Honorius, Pope, 344, 346. +Hopkins, quoted, 362. +Horn, the little, of Daniel 7, + a symbol of the Papacy, 235-238, 350, 357. +Horn, of the goat, symbol of Alexander, 20. +Horns, ten, of the Dragon and Papal beast, + signifying ten kingdoms, 14, 215, 235, 236, 349. +Horns, three, plucked up before the little horn, + 236, 350, 351. +Horns, four, of the goat, + symbolizing four divisions of Alexander's empire, 20. +Hugenots, 118. +Hugenot wars, 252. +Hungary, 169, 215. +Huns, 141, 145, 146, 215. +Huntington, Lady, 369. +Huss, John, 62, 244, 245, 249, 339. + + +I + +Iconium, 165. +Ignatius, his epistles, extracts from, 104. +Illuminati, 297-303, 404. +Illyricum, 137. +Indulgences, 250, 251. +Imperial power, 214, also n. +Innocent III., Pope, 111, n., 339. +Innocent XI., Pope, 118. +Institorus, Henry, quoted, 246. +Interdicts, 111, also n., 112, also n. +Ionia, 64. +Isodore, false Decretals of, 344, 345. +Islam, See _Mohammedanism_. + + +J + +Jena, battle of, 322. +Jerome, 36, 96. +Jerome of Prague, 62, 339. +Jerusalem, captured by Saracens, 110. +Jezebel, 53. +John XI., Pope, 345. +John, k. of England, + his quarrel with Innocent III., 112, n. +Johnson, B.W., quoted, 357-359. +Judson, quoted, 171, 172, 321. +Jupiter, 241. +Justinian, Roman emp., 148, 351, n. + + +K + +Kinkade, Wm., quoted, 359. +Klondyke, 433. +Koran, 158, 406. +Kurtz, quoted, 95, 96. + + +L + +Laodicea, fate of, 64, 67, 68. +Lateran, councils of, 329, 339, 340. +Lavaur, council of, 339. +Leo III., Pope, 325. +Leo X., Pope, 250. +Lepelletier, 308. +Liszt, 88. +Lombards, 196. +Lombards (barbarians), 215, 236, 350. +Lombardy, 351. +Lord, Mr., quoted, 100. +Louis XII., k. of France, 307. +Louis, XIV., k. of France, 118, 295, 307. +Lucretia, 347. +Luther, Martin, reformer, + 62, 244, 246, 247, 249, 251, + 252, 342; quoted, 361. +Lutherans, 252, 291. +Lydia, 56, 64. + + +M + +Machiard, 215. +Mackey, quoted, 405. +Mackintosh, Sir James, quoted, 323, 324. +Maecenas, 222. +Maesia, 215. +Mahomet, See _Mohammed_. +Manes, 298. +Manicheans, 342. +Mantz, Felix, 292. +Marat, 308, 310, 311. +Marathon, battle of, 191. +Marcellus, Pope, 341. +Marcus Aurelius, Roman emp., 46, 98. +Marengo, battle of, 191, 322. +Marie Antoinette, q. of France, her execution, 306. +Marozia, 345. +Marsh, quoted, 186. +Martin, Pope, 339. +Mary Tudor, 117. +Maximus, Roman emp., 98, 143. +Mecca, 154. +Megara, 137. +Megiddo, 332. +Melanchthon, Philip, 247. +Mentz, 140. +Mesopotamia, 330. +Metropolitan, office of, 105, 106. +Military Tribunes, 214, also n. +Milman, quoted, 95. +Milner, Joseph, quoted, 190, 191. +Mithras, 407. +Moab, 330. +Mohammed, 61, 154-162, 389. +Mohammedanism, 25, 61, 134, 154-173, 331, 341. +Moldavia, prince of, 170. +Momoro, 309. +Momyllus Augustulus, Roman emp., 148. +Montanism, 105. +Monasticism, rise of, 189, 190. +Montesquieu, 300. +Morea, 170. +Moscow, 322, 324. +Mosheim, quoted, 94, 105, 106, 109. +Mozart, 87. +Murat, 321. +Myers, quoted, 293. +Mysia, 49. +Mythra, mysteries of, 298. + + +N + +Nantes, 310; edict of, 118, 295. +Naples, 324. +Napoleon, See _Bonaparte_. +Narbonne, council of, 339. +National Convention of France, 307, 317. +Nero, Roman emp., 98, 311. +Nerva, Roman emp., 36. +Ney, Marshal, 322. +Niagara Falls, 87. +Nicaea, council of, 109, 231. +Nicolaitans, 44, 49, 50. +Nicholas, 172. +Nicolas, 44. +Notre Dame, 309. + + +O + +Odoacer, 148, 236. +Oppede, 117. +Oriental Philosophy, 410. +Origen, 107. +Osiris, 407. +Ostrogoths, 141, 145, 148, 215, 236, 351, n. +Othman, See _Ottoman_. +Otto the Great, 326 +Ottoman, 61, 169. +Ottoman empire, 64, 165, 173, 441. +Oxford, council of, 339. + + +P + +Pactolus, 56. +Pache, 308. +Paderewski, 88. +Paganism, 97, 214-232, 331, 388-390. +Palestine, conquered by Saracens, 160; + invaded by Crusaders, 166. +Pannonia, 215. +Papacy, first steps to apostasy, + 102, 184, 185; growth of its power, + 103-107, 108, 110, 111, 184, 236-243, 352, n.; + Pope styled Universal Bishop, 110, 184; + blasphemous titles of, 242, 243, 264, 337; + its war against the saints, See _Christians, + persecutions of;_ at its height, 111, + also n., 184, 236, 305, 326, 236-243; + temporal power of, 184, 236, 305, 326, 336, 352, n.; + removal of Papal chair to Avignon, 305, 306; + spiritual supremacy lost at the Reformation, + 191, 249-251; + revolt of the temporal princes, 255, 355; + end of its temporal power, 255, 327, 328; + decree of Papal infallibility, 243, 346. +Papal States, See _Papacy, temporal power of._ +Patmos, 36. +Patriarch, office of, 109, 110. +Patriciate, 350, 351, also n. +Paul of Antioch, 188, 189. +Paulus, 344. +Pavia, battle of, 191. +Pepin, Carlovingian king, 236, 305, 326, 350. +Pergamus, fate of, 64, 68. +Persecutions, See _Christians, persecutions of._ +Persia, conquered by Saracens, 160. +Petrus Lombardus, 96. +Peucer, 292. +Philadelphia, remarkable preservation of, 61-64, 68. +Philip Augustus, 111. +Philosophists, 297-303. +Phocas, Roman emp. 184. +Phocis, 137. +Pius IV., Pope, 327. +Platina, 345. +Pliny, 222, 226. +Poland, 169. +Polycarp, 46. +Pontifex Maxima, 222, 239. +Poor Men of Lyons, 198. +Popes, power of, See _Papacy_. +Portugal overrun by Saracens, 160. +Prague, 244. +Proles, Andrew, quoted, 246. +Protestantism, rise of, 191, 252, 254; + its false miracles, 259-261; + its persecutions, See _Christians, + persecutions of._ +Proetextatus, 188. +Puritans, 293. + + +R + +Ravenna, 148, 351, 352, n.; + exarchate of, 351, n. +Reformation, the, 249-252; + predictions of by medieval Christians, 243-249. +Regal power, 214, also n. +Reign of Terror in France, 306-315. +Revival of Learning, 249. +Rheims, 140. +Roberts, Bishop, quoted, 364. +Robespierre, 307, 309, 313. +Rodgers, Hester Ann, 368. +Romagna, 327. +Roman Empire, forms of, See _Heads, seven_, and _Horns, ten_; + Christianity the State religion under Constantine, 116, 231; + division of under Valens and Valentinian, 440; + overrun by barbarians, 25, 125, 136-141, 142, 143, 145, 146, 148; + fall of Western division (A.D. 476), 133, 148, 236, 440; + fall of Eastern division (A.D. 1453), 167, 169, 172, 440, 441. +Rome, 109, 138, 139, 143. +Rosetta stone, 18, n. +Rosseau, 300. +Rubenstein, 88. +Rutter, quoted, 186. + + +S + +St. Anthony, 189, 190. +St. Aquinas, quoted, 340. +St. Bartholomew, massacre of, 117. +St. Dennis, 307. +St. Petersburg, 172. +Salutaris Vibius, 42. +Saracens, 26, 61, 110, 156-163. +Sardinia, 143. +Sardis, capital of Lydia, 56; + fate of, 58, 64, 68. +Savage, Minton J., quoted, 413-415. +Saxons, See _Anglo-Saxons._ +Saxony, 244, 250, 251. +Schweinitz, 248. +Scott, 0., quoted, 363. +Scythia, 136, 139. +Septimus Severus, Roman emp., 98, 224. +Sergius, Pope, 344, 345, 346. +Sickles, Daniel, quoted, 405. +Siddartha, 409. +Sienna, council of, 340. +Simpson, quoted, 362. +Sisera, 332. +Smyrna, preservation of, 48, 64, 68. +Socrates, 409. +Spain, overrun by Saracens, 160. +Sparta, 137. +Spires, 140, 191; + diet of, 191, 253. +Spiritualism, 411, 412. +States-General, of France, 306. +Strasburg, 140. +Suevi, 215. +Sultanies, Turkish, names of, 165. +Sunium, 137. +Symbols, See _Hieroglyphics_. + + +T + +Tables of Laws, Roman, 214. +Talmage, T. DeWitt, quoted, 363, 412. +Temple of Reason, 309. +Tertullian, 107; + quoted, 134, 224-226. +Tetzel, 250, 251. +Theodoret, 96. +Theodoric, 148, 236. +Theodosius the Great, Roman emp., 136, 440, n. +Thermopylae, 137. +Thrace, 137. +Thuanus, quoted, 200. +Thyatira, fate of, 64, 68. +Tiberius Caesar, Roman emp., 66. +Tilsit, 172. +Tmolus, Mount, 56. +Toledo, council of, 339, 346. +Toloso, council of, 339. +Torgaw, 291. +Tournay, 140. +Tours, 161; + council of, 339. +Trajan, Roman emp., 98, 104, 222. +Trent, council of, 96. +Tribunes, 214, also n. +Tripoli, 143. +Triumvirate, 214, also n., 351. +Turenne, 307. +Turin, 199. +Turings, 215. +Turks, See _Ottoman empire._ + + +U + +Universal Bishop, Pope styled, See _Papacy._ +Urban II., 96. + + +V + +Valens, Roman emp., 440, also n. +Valentinian, Roman emp., 143, 440, also n. +Valerian, Roman emp., 98. +Vandals, 25, 142, 143, 215. +Vanosia, 347. +Vatican, council of, 346. +Vaudois, 196. +Venaissin, 327. +Venus, 241. +Vicarius Filii Dei, blasphemous title of the Pope, 264. +Victor Emmanuel, 255, 328. +Victor III., Pope, 345. +Vienna, attacked by Turks, 169; + congress of, 323. +Visigoths, 138, 141, 146, 215. +Voltaire, 297-302, 305, 306, 401. + + +W + +Waddington, quoted, 94, 186, 346, 347. +Wagram, battle of, 322. +Waldenses, 113, 117, 161, 196, 200, 270, 339, 342. +Warburton, quoted, 404. +Waterloo, battle of, 324. +Weishaupt, Dr. Adam, 300, 302, 403. +Wesley, John, 368. +Western Empire, See _Roman Empire_ also _Charlemagne_ + and _Holy Roman Empire._ +Westphalia, 321. +Wicks, Thos., quoted, 297-303, 321, 323. +Wittemberg, 248, 249; + university of, 251. +Wurms, 140. +Wycliffe, 61, 340, 344. + + +X + +Xerxes, 321. + + +Y + +Yellowstone Park, 87. +Yosemite Valley, 87. +Yuruks, 58. + + +Z + +Zend-Avesta, 406. +Zoroaster, 406. +Zurich, 292. +Zwingle, Ulrich, reformer, 252. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Revelation Explained, by F. 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