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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Our Day, by W. A. Spicer
+
+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: Our Day
+       In the Light of Prophecy
+
+Author: W. A. Spicer
+
+Release Date: June 5, 2006 [EBook #18503]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK OUR DAY ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Marilynda Fraser-Cunliffe, Josephine Paolucci
+and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at
+http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+OUR DAY
+
+In the Light of Prophecy
+
+[Illustration: JESUS WEEPING OVER JERUSALEM
+
+"If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things
+which belong unto thy peace!" Luke 19:42.]
+
+
+
+
+OUR DAY
+
+In the Light of Prophecy
+
+
+By W.A. SPICER
+
+
+     "Whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our
+     learning, that we through patience and comfort of the
+     Scriptures might have hope." Rom. 15:4.
+
+
+SOUTHERN PUBLISHING ASSOCIATION
+NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE
+FORT WORTH, TEXAS     ATLANTA, GEORGIA
+
+Copyrighted, 1917, by
+REVIEW AND HERALD PUBLISHING ASSOCIATION
+
+Copyrighted in London, England
+All Rights Reserved
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+THE BOOK THAT SPEAKS TO OUR DAY                            13
+
+THE WITNESS OF THE CENTURIES                               25
+
+PROPHETIC OUTLINE OF THE WORLD'S HISTORY                   39
+
+THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST                                51
+
+SIGNS OF THE APPROACHING END                               65
+
+THE LISBON EARTHQUAKE OF 1755                              79
+
+THE DARK DAY OF 1780                                       85
+
+THE FALLING STARS OF 1833                                  93
+
+THE MEANING OF PRESENT-DAY CONDITIONS                     105
+
+THE HISTORIC PROPHECY OF DANIEL 7                         117
+
+THE 1260 YEARS OF DANIEL'S PROPHECY                       131
+
+DAWN OF A NEW ERA                                         139
+
+THE WORK OF THE "LITTLE HORN" POWER                       145
+
+THE BIBLE SABBATH                                         159
+
+GLIMPSES OF SABBATH KEEPING AFTER NEW TESTAMENT TIMES     173
+
+THE LAW OF GOD                                            183
+
+JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH                                    191
+
+BAPTISM                                                   199
+
+THE PROPHECY OF DANIEL 8                                  205
+
+THE CLEANSING OF THE SANCTUARY IN TYPE AND ANTITYPE       213
+
+A GREAT PROPHETIC PERIOD                                  219
+
+THE PROPHECY FULFILLED                                    229
+
+A WORLD-WIDE MOVEMENT                                     239
+
+THE JUDGMENT-HOUR MESSAGE                                 247
+
+THE ORIGIN OF EVIL                                        257
+
+SPIRITUALISM: ANCIENT AND MODERN                          265
+
+LIFE ONLY IN CHRIST                                       275
+
+THE END OF THE WICKED                                     287
+
+ANGELS: THEIR MINISTRY                                    295
+
+THE TIME OF THE END                                       303
+
+THE EASTERN QUESTION                                      321
+
+ARMAGEDDON                                                337
+
+THE MILLENNIUM                                            351
+
+THE HOME OF THE SAVED                                     361
+
+
+
+
+FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS
+
+
+JESUS WEEPING OVER JERUSALEM                     _Frontispiece_
+
+THE GOOD SHEPHERD                                          12
+
+HEALING THE CENTURION'S SERVANT                            16
+
+CHRIST'S WEAPON OF DEFENSE--THE WORD OF GOD                19
+
+ON THE WAY TO EMMAUS                                       24
+
+THE GREAT IMAGE                                            38
+
+BABYLON IN HER GLORY                                       40
+
+THE HANDWRITING ON THE WALL                                42
+
+THE ASCENSION OF CHRIST                                    50
+
+CHRIST COMING IN GLORY                                     58
+
+CHRIST ANSWERING HIS DISCIPLES' QUESTIONS                  64
+
+THE SIEGE OF JERUSALEM BY THE ROMANS UNDER TITUS, A.D. 70  68
+
+THE CATACOMBS NEAR ROME                                    72
+
+LISBON FROM ACROSS THE BAY                                 78
+
+MIDDAY AT SEA, MAY 19, 1780                                84
+
+THE GREAT METEORIC SHOWER, NOV. 13, 1833                   92
+
+THE SIGN OF FIRE                                           98
+
+SATAN OFFERS GOLD, AND THE WORLD STAMPEDES TO ITS
+DESTRUCTION                                                   104
+
+A FAITHFUL AND WISE SERVANT                               108
+
+THE SUNSET HOUR                                           114
+
+PHILIP AND THE EUNUCH                                     116
+
+ROME ON THE TIBER                                         124
+
+THE INVASION OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE BY THE HUNS              128
+
+RAISING THE SIEGE OF ROME, A.D. 538                       130
+
+STORMING OF THE BASTILLE PRISON IN PARIS                  138
+
+THE TRIPLE CROWN                                          144
+
+THE LOVE OF POWER--THE POWER OF LOVE                      146
+
+CHRISTIANS IN PRISON BENEATH THE COLOSSEUM AWAITING
+MARTYRDOM                                                     148
+
+THE SHAME OF RELIGIOUS WARS                               152
+
+CHRIST AND THE SCRIBES                                    158
+
+THE SABBATH FROM EDEN TO EDEN                             168
+
+CHRIST AND HIS DISCIPLES IN THE CORN-FIELDS               172
+
+WALDENSES HUNTED BY THE ARMIES OF ROME                    176
+
+THE GIFT OF GOD                                           190
+
+THE BAPTISM OF CHRIST                                     198
+
+SYMBOLS OF MEDO-PERSIA AND GRECIA                         204
+
+THE CAMP OF ISRAEL IN THE WILDERNESS                      210
+
+OUR GREAT HIGH PRIEST                                     212
+
+ARTAXERXES SENDING THE JEWS TO REBUILD
+JERUSALEM, B.C. 457                                           218
+
+REBUILDING JERUSALEM                                      224
+
+THE ANOINTING OF JESUS AT HIS BAPTISM                     228
+
+THE CRUCIFIXION OF CHRIST                                 232
+
+THE THIRD ANGEL'S MESSAGE                                 238
+
+A CHRISTIAN MOTHER EXHORTING HER DAUGHTER TO
+MARTYRDOM                                                     246
+
+LUCIFER PLOTTING AGAINST THE GOVERNMENT OF GOD            256
+
+THE REDEMPTION PRICE                                      260
+
+SAUL AND THE WITCH OF ENDOR                               264
+
+THE SALEM WITCHCRAFT                                      270
+
+"HE IS RISEN"                                             274
+
+LOT FLEEING FROM SODOM                                    286
+
+PETER DELIVERED FROM PRISON                               294
+
+JACOB'S DREAM IN BETHEL                                   298
+
+MODERN INVENTIONS FULFILLING PROPHECY                     302
+
+THE HOE DOUBLE OCTUPLE PRESS                              316
+
+FORTIFICATIONS ON THE BOSPORUS                            320
+
+MODERN JERUSALEM                                          329
+
+THE GREAT BATTLE OF ARMAGEDDON                            336
+
+UNITED STATES BATTLESHIP "NEVADA"                         340
+
+MOSES VIEWING THE PROMISED LAND                           360
+
+THE SAINTS' ETERNAL HOME                                  366
+
+THE MASTER AT THE DOOR                                    369
+
+
+[Illustration: "FOUNDED UPON A ROCK"
+
+"Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path." Ps.
+119:105.]
+
+
+
+
+FOREWORD
+
+
+These are eventful times. With history-making changes passing rapidly
+before men's eyes, the questions press upon thoughtful minds in all
+lands, What do these things mean? What next in the program of
+world-shaping events?
+
+Like a great searchlight shining across the centuries, the sure Word of
+Prophecy focuses its bright beams upon Our Day. In this light we see
+clearly the trend of events, and may understand what comes next in the
+program of history fulfilling prophecy.
+
+In the Volume of the Book the living God speaks to Our Day of events of
+the past that have a lesson for the present, and of things to come.
+Divine prophecy fulfilled before men's eyes is God's challenge to
+unbelief. The Word of Holy Writ has been the guiding light through all
+the ages. It is the lamp to our feet today.
+
+    "Steadfast, serene, unmovable, the same,
+    Year after year,...
+    Burns on forevermore that quenchless flame;
+    Shines on that inextinguishable light."
+
+[Illustration: THE GOOD SHEPHERD
+
+"The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us." John 1:14.]
+
+[Illustration: "PEACE BE TO THIS HOUSE"
+
+"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." Rev. 3:20.]
+
+
+
+
+THE BOOK THAT SPEAKS TO OUR DAY
+
+
+Man may write a true book, but only God, the source of life, can write a
+living book. "The word of God ... liveth and abideth forever." 1 Peter
+1:23. The Bible is the living word of God. We look at the volume; we
+hold it in our hands. It is like other books in form and printer's art.
+But the voice of God speaks from these pages, and the word spoken is
+alive. It is able to do in the heart that receives it what can be done
+only by divine power.
+
+
+The Book That Talks
+
+Far in the heart of Africa a missionary read to the people in their own
+language from the translated Word of God. "See!" they cried; "see! the
+book talks! The white man has a book that talks!" With that simplicity
+of speech so common to children of nature, they had exactly described
+it. This is a book that talks. What the wise man says of its counsels
+through parents to children, is true of all the book: "When thou goest,
+it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when
+thou awakest, it shall talk with thee." Prov. 6:22.
+
+Here is companionship, faithful and true, a blessed guide and guardian
+and friend.
+
+    "Holy Bible! book divine!
+    Precious treasure, thou art mine!"
+
+
+God Its Author
+
+The sixty-six books of Holy Scripture were written by many penmen, over
+a space of fifteen centuries; yet it is one book, and one voice speaks
+through all its pages. Spurgeon once said of his experience with this
+book:
+
+     "When I see it, I seem to hear a voice springing up from it,
+     saying, 'I am the book of God; man, read me. I am God's
+     writing; open my leaf, for I was penned by God; read it, for He
+     is my author.'"
+
+This book declares of itself: "All scripture is given by inspiration of
+God." 2 Tim. 3:16. "The prophecy came not in old time by the will of
+man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." 2
+Peter 1:21. As the rugged verse of the old hymn puts it:
+
+    "Let all the heathen writers join
+      To form one perfect book:
+    Great God, if once compared with Thine,
+      How mean their writings look!
+
+    "Not the most perfect rules they gave
+      Could show one sin forgiven,
+    Nor lead a step beyond the grave;
+      But Thine conducts to heaven."
+
+It is the voice of the Almighty. Very different it is from the sacred
+books of the non-Christian religions. In those writings it is man
+speaking about God; in the Holy Scriptures it is God speaking to man.
+The difference is as great as heaven is higher than earth. Here it is
+not man groping in the darkness after God. In this book of God's
+revelation we see the divine arm reaching down to save the lost, and
+hear the voice of the loving Father calling to His children, every one
+and everywhere. "Incline your ear," He calls; "hear, and your soul shall
+live." Isa. 55:3.
+
+
+The Word That Creates
+
+We must have something more than instruction; we must have a word of
+power that is able to tell of sins forgiven, and to conduct us beyond
+the grave to heaven. One of the greatest of China's sages, Mencius,
+said, "Instruction can impart information, but not the power to
+execute." That touches the crucial point. We must have instruction that
+can come with power divine to execute. We have it only in God's words.
+Christ said: "It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth
+nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are
+life." John 6:63.
+
+The words of God are living words. When God spoke in the beginning, "Let
+there be light," lo, the light sprang out of the darkness. There was
+power in the word spoken to bring forth. "Let the earth bring forth
+grass," was the word of the Lord: and the earth was carpeted with its
+first rich greensward. So through all the work of creation, the creative
+power was in the word spoken.
+
+"By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them
+by the breath of His mouth." "He spake, and it was done; He commanded,
+and it stood fast." Ps. 33:6, 9.
+
+Even so, when this word speaks instruction to man, there is creative
+power in the word, if received, to work mightily in the soul that is
+dead in trespasses and sins. Man must be born again, be re-created. That
+we know; for Christ says, "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man
+be born again ["from above," margin], he cannot see the kingdom of God."
+John 3:3.
+
+And the word of God--the Bible from heaven--received by faith, is the
+agency by which this new birth "from above" is wrought. This is the
+declaration of our text: "Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but
+of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever."
+1 Peter 1:23.
+
+[Illustration: HEALING THE CENTURION'S SERVANT
+
+"Speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed." Matt. 8:8.]
+
+
+The Word That Works Within
+
+Not only does the word of God give the new birth, making the believer a
+new man,--the past forgiven and a new heart within,--but the word that
+re-creates abides in the believing heart that studies it and clings to
+it, to work in the life with actual power that is not of the man
+himself. To the Thessalonians, who had "turned to God from idols to
+serve the living and true God," the apostle wrote:
+
+"For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye
+received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the
+word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually
+worketh also in you that believe." 1 Thess. 2:13.
+
+The word itself works within, and works effectually. There is nothing
+mechanical about it. The mere letter profits nothing. The Bible on the
+center table, unstudied and unloved, has no magic power. But God
+promises to abide by His Spirit of power in the heart that listens to
+His voice and trembles at His word. Jesus Himself tells us the secret of
+this power of the word to work in the believing heart:
+
+"If a man love Me, he will keep My words: and My Father will love him,
+and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him." John 14:23.
+
+No wonder, then, that believing and receiving the word brings divine
+power into the life, making it possible for transformations of character
+to be wrought, for victories to be won and obedience rendered to every
+command of God.
+
+Simply believing God's word touches the current of everlasting power,
+even as the trolley arm of the electric car reaches up and touches the
+current of power flowing through the wire overhead. The faith that
+takes the living word brings the power divine into the heart to move all
+the spiritual mechanism of life's service.
+
+
+The Word Our Safety and Defense
+
+When Christ came to live as our example in the flesh, and to give His
+life a sacrifice for sin, He, the divine Son of God, made Himself like
+unto His brethren. "I can of Mine own self do nothing," He said. John
+5:30. Tempted and tried, He found His defense in the Holy Scriptures.
+When Satan came to tempt Him to sin, the Saviour said, "It is written."
+He clung to the sure defense. Again the tempter came. He was met with
+the word, "It is written again." The third time it was the same weapon
+of defense, "It is written." Matt. 4:1-11.
+
+Christ found safety only in the Scriptures of truth. So the Bible is the
+Christian's shield against the enemy's attacks. As Jesus studied the
+Scriptures and kept the words ever in His heart for a defense against
+temptation, so must every Christian study and meditate upon God's Holy
+Word if its counsels and precepts are to be his defense in the moment of
+sudden temptation to sin. "Thy word have I hid in mine heart," said the
+psalmist, "that I might not sin against Thee." Ps. 119:11. It was the
+only way for Christ, our Pattern; it is the only way for us.
+
+
+The Bread of Life
+
+The word of God is the daily food for the soul. "It is written, Man
+shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of
+the mouth of God." Matt. 4:4.
+
+Who has not, in hurried times, missed a meal, working on through the
+day, never thinking of the prolonged fast? But after a time there came a
+sense of weakening force, a lack of physical power. What was the
+trouble? At once the reason was evident--one had not taken food, and
+the system was calling for a renewal of its forces. Just so the
+spiritual life must needs be fed by the word of God.
+
+[Illustration: CHRIST'S WEAPON OF DEFENSE--THE WORD OF GOD
+
+"Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord
+thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve." Matt. 4:10.]
+
+Do we at times feel a sense of weakening of the spiritual power, a
+letting down of the vital forces of the soul? Ah, in the hurry of life
+we have neglected to feed upon the living bread. We can no more sustain
+spiritual vigor and health without feeding daily upon God's Holy Word
+than we can maintain physical power without eating our daily bread. Eat
+of the life-giving word. The taste for it grows with the partaking.
+
+There is life in "every word." The psalmist found the Lord's testimonies
+"sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb," or, as the marginal reading
+has it, than "the dropping of honeycombs." Ps. 19:10. We get the picture
+of the honeycomb inverted, the cell caps broken open, the sweetness
+dripping down. Just so every word of the Lord is a cell full of
+sweetness and life for the soul that feasts upon the Holy Scriptures.
+
+
+The Source of All Doctrine
+
+The Bible is the complete and perfect rule of faith and doctrine. Here
+every doctrine of salvation is found. Inspiration has declared it in the
+words of the apostle Paul to Timothy:
+
+"From a child thou hast known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to
+make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
+All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for
+doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
+that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good
+works." 2 Tim. 3:15-17.
+
+The divine command is, "Study." For every generation there has been a
+message borne by this living word, making call to reformation of life,
+or giving warning and comfort. "The Bible is not a collection of truths
+formulated in propositions," said Dr. Samuel Harris, of Yale, "but
+God's majestic march through history, redeeming men from sin."
+
+In every age God has been ruling and overruling, witnessing by His
+Spirit through the living word. The experiences recorded of past ages
+have their special lesson for the present time:
+
+"Whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning,
+that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope."
+Rom. 15:4.
+
+"Let vs therfore all with feruent desyre," as the Old English of 1549
+spelled the exhortation of Erasmus, "thyrste after these spirituall
+sprynges.... Let vs kisse these swete wordes of Christ with a pure
+affeccion. Let vs be newe transformed into them, for soche are oure
+maners as oure studies be."
+
+
+The Book for All Mankind
+
+It speaks in every tongue to the human heart. Its power to transform has
+been shown through all the centuries in every clime and among every
+race. One of the Gospels was put into the Chiluba tongue of Central
+Africa. After a time a Garenganze chief came to Dan Crawford, the
+missionary, changed from the spirit of a fierce, wicked barbarian to
+that of a teachable child. Explaining his conversion, the chief said: "I
+was startled to find that Christ could speak Chiluba. I heard him speak
+to me out of the printed page, and what he said was, 'Follow me!'"
+
+Of the Bible's universal speech to all mankind, Dr. Henry van Dyke has
+said:
+
+     "Born in the East, and clothed in Oriental form and imagery,
+     the Bible walks the ways of all the world with familiar feet,
+     and enters land after land to find its own everywhere. It has
+     learned to speak in hundreds of languages to the heart of man.
+     It comes into the palace to tell the monarch that he is the
+     servant of the Most High, and into the cottage to assure the
+     peasant that he is the son of God. Children listen to its
+     stories with wonder and delight, and wise men ponder them as
+     parables of life. It has a word of peace for the time of
+     peril, a word of comfort for the day of calamity, a word of
+     light for the hour of darkness. Its oracles are repeated in the
+     assembly of the people, and its counsels whispered in the ear
+     of the lonely. The wise and the proud tremble at its warnings,
+     but to the wounded and penitent it has a mother's voice....
+
+     "Its great words grow richer, as pearls do when they are worn
+     near the heart. No man is poor or desolate who has this
+     treasure for his own. When the landscape darkens and the
+     trembling pilgrim comes to the valley named the Shadow, he is
+     not afraid to enter; he takes the rod and staff of Scripture in
+     his hand; he says to friend and comrade, 'Good-by, we shall
+     meet again,' and comforted by that support, he goes toward the
+     lonely pass as one who climbs through darkness into
+     light."--_The Century Magazine._
+
+[Illustration: RAISING JARIUS'S DAUGHTER
+
+"In Him was life; and the life was the light of men." John 1:4.]
+
+In the days of His life on earth, Jesus was a welcome guest in humble
+homes in Judea and Galilee. "The common people heard Him gladly." His
+presence brought peace and comfort to the home. He is no longer with us
+in bodily presence; but He is the same Saviour still--"Jesus Christ the
+same yesterday, and today, and forever." Heb. 13:8. By His Spirit,
+through the living word of Holy Scripture, He enters the home where
+faith receives Him, and speaks again the gracious salutation, "Peace be
+to this house."
+
+
+Christ the Central Theme
+
+All the Bible bears witness of Christ as the Saviour of the world. He
+Himself said of the Scriptures, "They are they which testify of Me."
+John 5:39. "To Him give all the prophets witness." Acts 10:43. We see
+Him as the coming Messiah in promise and prophecy, in type and shadow.
+His is the divine, living personality standing out in every book that
+makes up the Sacred Volume. As we read with loving heart, the Author
+seems near in every page.
+
+    "Reading, methinks I bend
+      Before the cross
+    Where died my King, my Friend.
+      The whole world's loss
+    For love of Him is gain."
+
+And having beheld Him giving His life as the divine sacrifice, and
+rising in triumph over death to be our great High Priest in the heavenly
+temple, as we read these Sacred Scriptures yet again, in every book,
+from Genesis to Revelation, we see Him as the coming King of kings,
+coming to take His children to the eternal home of the saved. The whole
+book is a bright window through which we gaze on coming glory.
+
+    "And yet again I stand
+      Where the seer stood,
+    Gazing across the strand,
+      Beyond the flood:
+    The gates of pearl afar,
+      The streets of gold,
+    The bright and morning Star
+      Mine eyes behold."
+
+"The Word of God ... liveth and abideth forever." 1 Peter 1:23. "Heaven
+and earth shall pass away, but My words shall not pass away." Matt.
+24:35.
+
+[Illustration: ON THE WAY TO EMMAUS
+
+"Beginning at Moses and all the prophets, He expounded unto them in all
+the Scriptures the things concerning Himself." Luke 24:27.]
+
+[Illustration: THE STAR OF BETHLEHEM
+
+"I am God,... declaring ... from ancient times the things that are not
+yet done." Isa. 46:9, 10.]
+
+
+
+
+THE WITNESS OF THE CENTURIES
+
+
+The Sure Word of Prophecy
+
+"We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye
+take heed." 2 Peter 1:19.
+
+The prophetic scriptures afford infallible evidence that the voice of
+the living God speaks in Holy Writ. One of the distinguishing marks of
+divinity is the power that foretells and records the course of history
+long ages before the events come to pass.
+
+
+God's Challenge
+
+God's challenge to false religious systems in olden time was this:
+
+"Declare us things for to come. Show the things that are to come
+hereafter, that we may know that ye are gods." Isa. 41:22, 23.
+
+And all the gods of the nations were silent; for they are no gods. The
+Lord alone, the one who speaks by the Holy Scriptures, is able to tell
+the end from the beginning.
+
+"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,
+saying, My counsel shall stand." Isa. 46:9, 10.
+
+By this means God has borne witness of Himself through the ages, that it
+might be known that the Most High rules above all the kingdoms of men,
+and that men might recognize His purpose to put an end to sin and bring
+eternal salvation to His people. "I have spoken it," He declares, "I
+will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it."
+
+The fulfilment of the word of prophecy in history is a fascinating
+story. To the Lord, the future is an open book, even as the present. The
+word is spoken, telling of the event to come; it is written on the
+parchment scroll by the prophet's pen. Time passes; centuries come and
+go. Then, when the hour of the prophecy arrives, lo, there appears the
+fulfilment. And it is seen in matters pertaining to individuals, as well
+as in the affairs of cities and empires.
+
+
+The Word Fulfilled after Long Waiting
+
+In the dream divinely given to the lad Joseph, it was plainly foretold
+that his brothers would one day come as suppliants before him. His
+father rebuked him for telling the dream, saying, "Shall I and thy
+mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the
+earth?" Gen. 37:10. The brothers sold the lad into slavery, to be well
+rid of him. Yet twenty years later, all unconscious of his identity,
+these same brethren presented themselves before the prime minister of
+Egypt, and "fell before him on the ground." Gen. 44:14.
+
+Again: the wicked stronghold of Jericho had been utterly destroyed.
+Joshua declared:
+
+"Cursed be the man ... that riseth up and buildeth this city Jericho: he
+shall lay the foundation thereof in his first-born, and in his youngest
+son shall he set up the gates of it." Joshua 6:26.
+
+The hands of angels had thrown down its walls, and its ruin was to stand
+as a memorial. More than five hundred years later, when the apostate
+Ahab was ruling, and Israel and Judah had departed from the Lord, Hiel
+the Bethelite set out to rebuild Jericho. "He laid the foundation
+thereof in Abiram his first-born."
+
+But accident and death may come at any time. The work on the walls went
+on, no one thinking of the neglected Scriptures with their warning of
+long ago. So the full account runs:
+
+"He laid the foundation thereof in Abiram his first-born, and set up the
+gates thereof in his youngest son Segub, according to the word of the
+Lord, which He spake by Joshua the son of Nun." 1 Kings 16:34.
+
+The fate of some of the mightiest cities the world ever saw has borne
+testimony through the centuries to the fulfilment of the prophetic word.
+
+
+The Witness of Nineveh
+
+Nineveh was founded by Nimrod. He built not only his capital here by the
+Tigris, but other towns round about, conceiving first of all the idea of
+grouping the capital and its suburbs into one great city, the "Greater
+Nineveh," as we would say in these days of Greater London and Greater
+New York. At the dawn of history Nineveh was "a great city." Gen. 10:11,
+12. In Jonah's day it was an "exceeding great city."[A] Sennacherib, of
+the Bible story, was its beautifier. Rawlinson says:
+
+     "The great palace which he raised at Nineveh surpassed in size
+     and splendor all earlier edifices."--_"Second Monarchy," chap.
+     9._
+
+A description is preserved on the clay cylinder in the king's own words:
+
+    "For the wonderment of multitudes of men
+    I raised its head--'the palace which has no rival'
+    I called its name."--_Taylor Cylinder, "Records of the Past."
+    Vol. XII, part 1_.
+
+At the preaching of Jonah the city had repented; but in later years
+pride of conquest and luxury and wealth were filling it with blood. The
+prophet Nahum warned it of certain doom, appealing to those who had any
+fear of God to turn to Him. The message was:
+
+[Illustration: THE SITE OF NINEVEH
+
+"How is she become a desolation!" Zeph. 2:15.]
+
+"The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; and He knoweth
+them that trust in Him." Nahum 1:7.
+
+Some, no doubt, heeded the warning and turned to God for refuge. But the
+city's life of sin ran on. Then the prophet Zephaniah spoke the word,
+just as the stroke was to fall:
+
+"Woe to her that is filthy and polluted, to the oppressing city! She
+obeyed not the voice; she received not correction; she trusted not in
+the Lord; she drew not near to her God." Zeph. 3:1, 2.
+
+Prophecies uttered against the mighty city had declared:
+
+"He will make an utter end of the place thereof." "The palace shall be
+dissolved ["molten," margin]." "She is empty, and void, and waste."
+Nahum 1:8; 2:6, 10. "How is she become a desolation, a place for beasts
+to lie down in!" Zeph. 2:15.
+
+The Medes and the Babylonians overthrew Nineveh. The king immolated
+himself in his burning ("molten") palace. Nineveh became a desolation.
+Describing a battle that took place there in the seventh century of our
+era, between the Romans and the Persians, the historian Gibbon bears
+testimony to the fact that it has indeed become "empty, and void, and
+waste:"
+
+     "Eastward of the Tigris, at the end of the bridge of Mosul, the
+     great Nineveh had formerly been erected: the city, and even the
+     ruins of the city, had long since disappeared; the vacant place
+     afforded a spacious field for the operations of the two
+     armies."--_"The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman
+     Empire," chap. 46, par. 24._
+
+And to this day, the site of Nineveh is pointed out across the river
+from Mosul, only mounds of ruins, these almost obliterated by the
+drifting sands of centuries. The word spoken is fulfilled, though at the
+time it was spoken it little seemed to proud and prosperous Nineveh that
+such a fate could ever be hers.
+
+    "Before me rise the walls
+    Of the Titanic city,--brazen gates,
+    Towers, temples, palaces enormous piled,--
+    Imperial Nineveh, the earthly queen!
+    In all her golden pomp I see her now,
+    Her swarming streets, her splendid festivals.
+
+           *       *       *       *       *
+
+    "Again I look,--and lo!...
+    Her walls are gone, her palaces are dust,--
+    The desert is around her, and within
+    Like shadows have the mighty passed away."
+
+From Nineveh's mounds we seem to hear a voice that says: "All flesh is
+as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass
+withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: but the word of the Lord
+endureth forever." 1 Peter 1:24, 25.
+
+
+The Burden of Tyre
+
+[Illustration: TYRE BY THE SEA
+
+"They shall destroy the walls of Tyrus, and break down her towers." Eze.
+26:4.]
+
+Tyre was the greatest maritime city of antiquity. Its inhabitants, the
+Phoenicians, traded in the ports of all the known world. Ezekiel
+describes the heart of the seas as its borders. "Thy builders have
+perfected thy beauty," he says. He tells how all countries traded in its
+marts and contributed to its wealth. And then, obeying the word of the
+Lord, the prophet bears a message of rebuke and warning,--"the burden of
+Tyre,"--and pronounces the coming judgment:
+
+"Thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I am against thee, O Tyrus, and will
+cause many nations to come up against thee.... And they shall destroy
+the walls of Tyrus, and break down her towers: I will also scrape her
+dust from her, and make her like the top of a rock. It shall be a place
+for the spreading of nets in the midst of the sea: for I have spoken it,
+saith the Lord God." Eze. 26:3-5.
+
+The accounts of travelers bear witness that the prophecy has been
+fulfilled. As to the site of the island city of Ezekiel's day, Bruce,
+nearly a century ago, said that he found it a "rock whereon fishers dry
+their nets." (See "Keith on the Prophecies," p. 329.)
+
+In more recent times, Dr. W.M. Thomson found the whole region of Tyre
+suggestive only of departed glory:
+
+     "There is nothing here, certainly, of that which led Joshua to
+     call it 'the strong city' more than three thousand years ago
+     (Joshua 19:29),--nothing of that mighty metropolis which
+     baffled the proud Nebuchadnezzar and all his power for thirteen
+     years, until 'every head' in his army 'was made bald, and every
+     shoulder was peeled,' in the hard service against Tyrus (Eze.
+     29:18),--nothing in this wretched roadstead and empty harbor to
+     remind one of the times when merry mariners did sing in her
+     markets--no visible trace of those towering ramparts which so
+     long resisted the utmost efforts of the great Alexander. All
+     have vanished utterly like a troubled dream, and Tyre has sunk
+     under the burden of prophecy.... As she is now, and has long
+     been, Tyre is God's witness; but great, powerful, and populous,
+     she would be the infidel's boast. This, however, she cannot be.
+     Tyre will never rise from her dust to falsify the voice of
+     prophecy.
+
+    "Dim is her glory, gone her fame,
+      Her boasted wealth has fled;
+    On her proud rock, alas! her shame,
+      The fisher's net is spread.
+    The Tyrian harp has slumbered long,
+      And Tyria's mirth is low;
+    The timbrel, dulcimer, and song
+      Are hushed, or wake to woe."
+
+    --_"The Land and the Book," Vol. II, pp. 626, 627._
+
+
+The Desolation of Babylon
+
+Yet another city of ancient times there was, the mightiest of them all,
+whose fate was a subject of prophecy, and whose history bears special
+testimony for us today; for, more than any other, the Lord used that
+city as a symbol of the pride of life and the exaltation of the selfish
+heart against God.
+
+Let us study briefly the desolations pronounced upon Babylon of old.
+
+[Illustration: BABYLON IN THE DUST
+
+"Babylon shall become heaps,... without an inhabitant." Jer. 51:37.]
+
+While Babylon was still the mightiest city of the world, with the period
+of greatest glory yet before it, the Lord revealed its ignoble end. By
+the prophet Isaiah He declared:
+
+"Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees' excellency,
+shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. It shall never be
+inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation:
+neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there; neither shall the shepherds
+make their fold there. But wild beasts of the desert shall lie there;
+and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures; and owls shall
+dwell there, and satyrs shall dance there. And the wild beasts of the
+islands shall cry in their desolate houses, and dragons in their
+pleasant palaces: and her time is near to come, and her days shall not
+be prolonged." Isa. 13:19-22.
+
+Never could a more doleful future have been pictured for a city full of
+splendor, the metropolis of the world. About one hundred and
+seventy-five years after this word was written on the parchment scroll,
+the Medes and Persians were at the gates of Babylon. Her time had come,
+and Chaldea's rule was ended.
+
+    "Fallen is the golden city! in the dust,
+      Spoiled of her crown, dismantled of her state.
+    She that hath made the Strength of Towers her trust,
+      Weeps by her dead, supremely desolate!
+
+    "She that beheld the nations at her gate
+      Thronging in homage, shall be called no more
+    'Lady of Kingdoms!'--Who shall mourn her fate?
+      Her guilt is full, her march of triumph o'er."
+
+But still, under Medo-Persia, and later under the Greeks, the city
+itself was populous and prosperous and beautiful. The skeptic of the
+time may have pointed to it as evidence that here, at least, the Hebrew
+prophet had missed the mark.
+
+Apollonius, the sage of Tyana, who lived in the days of Nero and the
+apostles, has left an account of Babylon as he saw it, as late as the
+first century of our era. Still the Euphrates swept beneath its walls,
+dividing the city into halves, with great palaces on either side. He
+says:
+
+     "The palaces are roofed with bronze, and a glitter goes off
+     from them; but the chambers of the women and of the men and the
+     porticoes are adorned partly with silver, and partly with
+     golden tapestries or curtains, and partly with solid gold in
+     the form of pictures."
+
+And of the king's judgment hall he reported:
+
+     "The roof had been carried up in the form of a dome, to
+     resemble in a manner the heavens, and that it was roofed with
+     sapphire, a stone that is very blue and like heaven to the eye;
+     and there were images of the gods, which they worship, fixed
+     aloft, and looking like golden figures shining out of the
+     ether."--_Philostratus, "Life of Apollonius," book 1, chap.
+     25._
+
+Evidently Babylon was still "the land of graven images," and the
+desolation foretold by the prophet had not yet befallen its palaces. But
+that prophetic word, written eight hundred years before, was still upon
+the scroll of the Book, the sure Word of God, who sees the end from the
+beginning.
+
+[Illustration: EGYPT'S GLORY DEPARTED
+
+"The idols of Egypt shall be moved." Isa. 19:1.]
+
+The view given us by Apollonius is perhaps the last glimpse we have of
+Babylon's passing glory. Even then for centuries the walls had been a
+quarry from which stones were drawn for Babylon's rival, Seleucia, on
+the Tigris. And Strabo, the Greek geographer, who also wrote in the
+first century, had described Babylon as "in great part deserted,"
+adding,
+
+     "No one would hesitate to apply to it what one of the comic
+     writers said of Megalopolitæ, in Arcadia, 'The great city is a
+     great desert.'"--_"Geography," book 16, chap. 1._
+
+Already pagan writers had begun to describe its condition in the terms
+of the prophecy uttered so long before. And now what is its state? The
+doom foretold has fallen heavy upon the city, upon its palaces, and
+"upon the graven images of Babylon." For a century and more, travelers'
+accounts have frequently borne witness to the exact fulfilment of the
+prophecy in the remarkable desolations of that city, once mistress of
+the world.
+
+"Babylon shall become heaps," said the prophecy, "and owls shall dwell
+there." This is what Mr. Layard, the English archeologist, found on his
+visit in 1845:
+
+     "Shapeless heaps of rubbish cover for many an acre the face of
+     the land.... On all sides, fragments of glass, marble, pottery,
+     and inscribed brick are mingled with that peculiar nitrous and
+     blanched soil, which, bred from the remains of ancient
+     habitations, checks or destroys vegetation, and renders the
+     site of Babylon a naked and a hideous waste. Owls [which are of
+     a large gray kind, and often found in flocks of nearly a
+     hundred] start from the scanty thickets, and the foul jackal
+     skulks through the furrows."--_"Discoveries Among the Ruins of
+     Nineveh and Babylon," chap. 21, p. 413._
+
+The prophecy said, "Neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there." The
+words might be construed to mean that the famous site would never become
+the place of a Bedouin village. But it is literally true, say travelers,
+that the Arabs avoid the place even for the temporary pitching of their
+tents. They consider the spot under a curse. They call the ruins
+_Mudjelibe_, "the Overturned." (See "Encyclopedia of Islam," art.
+"Babil.")
+
+As late as 1913, Missionary W.C. Ising visited the site where Professor
+Koldeway was excavating the ruins of Nebuchadnezzar's palace. He wrote:
+
+     "Involuntarily one is reminded of the prophecy in the
+     thirteenth of Isaiah and many other places, which, in course of
+     time, have been fulfilled to the letter. No one is living on
+     the site of ancient Babylon, and whatever Arabs are employed by
+     the excavators have built their mud huts in the bed of the
+     ancient river, which at the present time is shifted half a mile
+     farther west."--_European Division Quarterly, Fourth Quarter,
+     1913._
+
+
+Egypt and Edom
+
+The massive ruins by the Nile bear witness to prophecy fulfilled. When
+Egypt rivaled Babylon, the word was spoken: "It shall be the basest of
+the kingdoms; neither shall it exalt itself any more above the nations."
+Eze. 29:15. It was not utterly to pass, as Babylon, but to continue in
+inferior state. Thus it came to pass. Once populous Edom, famed for
+wisdom and counsel, now lies desolate, according to the word: "Edom
+shall be a desolation: every one that goeth by it shall be astonished."
+Jer. 49:17.
+
+
+The Testimony of History
+
+[Illustration: RUINS OF EDOM
+
+"Edom shall be a desolate wilderness." Joel 3:19.]
+
+Thus the centuries bear testimony to the fulfilment of the prophetic
+word. The panorama of all human history moves before us in these
+writings of the prophets. Flinging their "colossal shadows" across the
+pages of Holy Writ, as Farrar says, we see--
+
+    "The giant forms of empires on their way
+    To ruin."
+
+It is no human book that thus from primitive times forecasts the march
+of history through the ages.
+
+The Lord not only spoke the word in warning and entreaty for those to
+whom it first came, but it is written in the Scriptures of truth as a
+testimony to all time, that the Bible is the word of God, and that all
+His purposes revealed therein and all the promises of the blessed Book
+are certain and sure. The prophets who bore messages from God to
+Nineveh, and Babylon, and Tyre, spoke messages also for our day.
+
+Fulfilled prophecy is the testimony of the centuries to the living God.
+The evidence of prophecy and its fulfilment is God's challenge and
+appeal to men to acknowledge Him as the true God and the Holy Scriptures
+as His word from heaven.
+
+"I have declared the former things from the beginning; and they went
+forth out of My mouth, and I showed them; I did them suddenly, and they
+came to pass. Because I knew that thou art obstinate, and thy neck is an
+iron sinew, and thy brow brass; I have even from the beginning declared
+it to thee; before it came to pass I showed it thee.... Thou hast heard,
+see all this; and will not ye declare it?" Isa. 48:3-6.
+
+Surely no one can look at the evidence in history of the fulfilment of
+prophecy without seeing that of a truth the One who spoke these words
+knew the end from the beginning; and finding the living God in the sure
+word of prophecy, one must be prepared to listen to His voice in all the
+Scriptures, when it speaks of sin and the way of salvation through Jesus
+Christ.
+
+Further, the prophetic word also has much to say of events yet future,
+of the course of history in modern times. It behooves us to give heed to
+what that word speaks concerning our own times and the events that are
+to take place upon the earth before the end. The apostle Peter exhorts
+us to the study in these words:
+
+"We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye
+take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day
+dawn, and the day-star arise in your hearts." 2 Peter 1:19.
+
+[Illustration: THE GREAT IMAGE
+
+"He that revealeth secrets maketh known to thee what shall come to
+pass." Dan. 2:29.]
+
+[Illustration: DANIEL INTERPRETING NEBUCHADNEZZAR'S DREAM
+
+"Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great Image." Dan. 2:31.]
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[A] "In the book of Jonah," says _Records of the Past_, "Nineveh is
+stated to have been an exceeding great city of three days' journey; and
+that being the case, the explanation that Calah on the south and
+Khorsabad on the north were included seems very probable. The distance
+between these two extreme points is about thirty miles, which, at ten
+miles a day, would take the time required."--_Vol. XII, part 1, January
+and February, 1913_.
+
+
+
+
+PROPHETIC OUTLINE OF THE WORLD'S HISTORY
+
+THE PROPHECY OF DANIEL 2
+
+
+"There is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to
+the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days."
+
+In a dream by night the Lord gave to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, a
+clear historical outline of the course of world empire to the end of
+time and the coming of the eternal kingdom.
+
+The king was a thoughtful monarch; and having reached the height of his
+power, he was one night meditating upon "what should come to pass
+hereafter." Not for his sake alone, but for the enlightenment and
+instruction of men in all time, the Lord answered the wondering question
+of the king's meditation by giving him the dream. "He that revealeth
+secrets," said Daniel the prophet, "maketh known to thee what shall come
+to pass."
+
+[Illustration: BABYLON IN HER GLORY
+
+"Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees'
+excellency." Isa. 13:19.]
+
+And that we may know at the beginning that there is nothing fanciful and
+uncertain about this great historic outline reaching to the end of the
+world, we note first the assurance with which the prophet closed his
+interpretation: "The dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof
+sure."
+
+The details of the dream had been taken from the king's mind, while
+conviction as to the wondrous import of it remained. This was in God's
+providence, to show the folly of the worldly-wise men of Babylon, and to
+bring before the king the prophet of the Lord with a divine message. The
+prophet Daniel, under the inspiration of God, brought his dream again to
+the king's mind:
+
+"Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose
+brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was
+terrible.
+
+"This image's head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver,
+his belly and his thighs of brass, his legs of iron, his feet part of
+iron and part of clay.
+
+"Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote
+the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to
+pieces. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the
+gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer
+threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was
+found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great
+mountain, and filled the whole earth."
+
+The prophet next declared the interpretation. And now follows the
+history of the world in miniature.
+
+
+Babylon
+
+"Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given
+thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. And wheresoever the
+children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the
+heaven hath He given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them
+all. Thou art this head of gold."
+
+[Illustration: THE HANDWRITING ON THE WALL
+
+"Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians." Dan.
+5:28.]
+
+The parts of the image, then, of various metals, from head to feet,
+represented successive empires, beginning with Babylon; and the kingdom
+of Babylon, represented by Nebuchadnezzar, was the head of gold.
+
+History shows how fitly the golden head symbolizes the Babylonian
+kingdom. Long before, the prophet Isaiah had described it as "the glory
+of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees' excellency." Isa. 13:19. And
+now, in Nebuchadnezzar's day, it was the golden age of the Babylonian
+kingdom. No such gorgeous city as its capital ever before stood on
+earth. And Nebuchadnezzar was the great leader of its conquests, and the
+beautifier and builder of its walls and palaces. "For the astonishment
+of men I have built this house," one tablet reads; and hundreds repeat
+the story.
+
+    "Those portals
+    for the astonishment of multitudes of people
+    with beauty I adorned.
+    In order that the battle storm
+    to Imgur-Bel
+    the wall of Babylon might
+    not reach;
+    what no king before me
+    had done."--_East India House Inscription._
+
+Thus Nebuchadnezzar's records of stone today repeat the proud boast
+faithfully reported in the Scripture, "Is not this great Babylon, that I
+have built?" Dan. 4:30. To the king it seemed that such a city could
+never fall. One inscription reads:
+
+     "Thus I completely made strong the defenses of Babylon. May it
+     last forever."--_Rawlinson, "Fourth Monarchy," Appendix A._
+
+
+Medo-Persia
+
+But the prophet Daniel, proceeding with the divine interpretation,
+interrupted all such proud thoughts with the declaration, "After thee
+shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee."
+
+Now the look was forward into the future. And the word came to pass.
+Babylon's decline was swift after Nebuchadnezzar's death. Daniel the
+prophet himself lived to interpret the handwriting on the wall at
+Belshazzar's feast:
+
+"God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it.... Thou art weighed in
+the balances and art found wanting.... Thy kingdom is divided, and given
+to the Medes and Persians." Dan. 5:26-28.
+
+The breast and arms of silver, in the great image, represented the
+Medo-Persian kingdom, which followed the Babylonian, "inferior" to it in
+brilliancy and grandeur, as silver is inferior to gold. Medo-Persia,
+however, enlarged the borders of the world empire; and the names of
+Cyrus and Darius are written among the mightiest conquerors of history.
+
+But the prophet does not stop to dwell upon the grandeur of fleeting
+earthly kingdoms. The interpretation hastens on to reach the setting up
+of a kingdom that shall not pass away. Following Medo-Persia, a third
+power was to rise,
+
+
+Grecia
+
+"And another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the
+earth."
+
+The "third kingdom" after Babylon was Grecia, which overthrew the empire
+of the Medes and Persians. And Grecia's dominion fulfilled the
+specifications of the prophecy, which indicated a yet wider expansion of
+empire. Its sway was to be over "all the earth," said Daniel the
+prophet, foretelling its history. Arrian, the Greek historian, writing
+afterward, said that Alexander of Greece seemed truly "lord of all the
+earth;" and he adds:
+
+     "I am persuaded there was no nation, city, nor people then in
+     being whither his name did not reach; for which reason,
+     whatever origin he might boast of, or claim to himself, there
+     seems to me to have been some divine hand presiding both over
+     his birth and actions."--_"History of the Expedition of
+     Alexander the Great," book 7, chap. 30._
+
+The sides of brass in the great image represented Grecia, the brazen
+metal itself being a fitting symbol of those "brazen-mailed" Greeks,
+celebrated in ancient poetry and song,
+
+     "Among the foremost, armed in glittering brass."
+
+
+A Power Rising in the West
+
+While Grecia's supremacy under Alexander was disputed by none, there was
+a power rising in the West that was soon to enter the lists for the
+prize of world dominion.
+
+Some of the ancient writers say that at the time of his death Alexander
+had in mind to push westward to strike down the growing power of the
+city of Rome, of which he had heard. Plutarch says that this man
+Alexander,
+
+     "who shot like a star, with incredible swiftness, from the
+     rising to the setting sun, was meditating to bring the luster
+     of his arms into Italy.... He had heard of the Roman power in
+     Italy."--_"Morals," chap. on "Fortune of the Romans," par. 13._
+
+Lucan, the ancient Roman poet, repeats the thought:
+
+    "Driven headlong on by Fate's resistless force,
+    Through Asia's realms he took his dreadful course:
+    His ruthless sword laid human nature waste,
+    And desolation followed where he passed....
+
+    "Ev'n to the utmost west he would have gone,
+    Where Tethys' lap receives the setting sun."
+
+    --"_Pharsalia._"
+
+But in the prime of his years, Alexander was cut down, and Rome had yet
+more time in which to develop its strength preparatory to the deciding
+contest for the mastery of all the world. Sure it is that after Grecia,
+there followed the Roman Empire, the strongest and mightiest and most
+crushing of them all. This fourth universal empire the prophet proceeded
+to describe, as represented by the legs of iron in Nebuchadnezzar's
+dream of the great image.
+
+
+Rome
+
+"The fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh
+in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these,
+shall it break in pieces and bruise."
+
+How appropriately the iron of the image fits the character of the fourth
+great empire! Gibbon, the historian, calls it "the iron monarchy of
+Rome." It broke in pieces the kingdoms, subduing all, just as prophecy
+had declared so long before. As iron is strongest of the common metals,
+so according to the prophecy--"as iron that breaketh all these"--this
+fourth kingdom was to be more powerful than any before it. Strabo, the
+geographer, who lived in the days of Tiberius Cæsar, said,
+
+     "The Romans have surpassed (in power) all former rulers of whom
+     we have any record."--_"Geography," book 17, chap. 3._
+
+Hippolytus, bishop and martyr, who lived in Rome in the third
+century,--under the "iron monarchy,"--wrote thus of this prophecy:
+
+     "Already the iron rules; already it subdues and breaks all in
+     pieces; already it brings all the unwilling into subjection;
+     already we see these things ourselves."--_"Treatise on Christ
+     and Antichrist," sec. 33._
+
+Hippolytus also saw clearly from the prophecy that the empire of his day
+would be divided, and he wrote of the kingdoms that were "yet to rise"
+out of it. For Daniel's interpretation explained clearly the meaning of
+the mingling of clay with the iron in the feet and toes of the great
+image.
+
+
+The Kingdoms of Modern Europe
+
+"Whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part
+of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the
+strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry
+clay.
+
+"And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the
+kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken.
+
+"And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle
+themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to
+another, even as iron is not mixed with clay."
+
+"The kingdom shall be divided." So declared the prophet of God. In the
+height of its power, Rome scouted the thought that so mighty a fabric
+could ever be broken up. Horace sang in his "Odes,"
+
+    "How, added to a conquered world,
+      Euphrates 'bates his tide,
+    And Huns, beyond our frontiers hurled,
+      O'er straitened deserts ride.
+
+           *       *       *       *       *
+
+    "The Goths beyond the sea may plot,
+      The warlike Basques may plan;
+    Friend, never heed them! vex thee not;
+      For this our mortal span
+     Of little wants."
+
+    --_Book 2, Marris's Translation._
+
+But the words were written on the ancient parchment in the days of
+Babylon, "The kingdom shall be divided;" and true to the word of the
+prophet, the Roman Empire fell apart with the mixture of nations and
+peoples that swept into it. The elements did not hold together, even as
+the mixture of iron and clay in the image did not cleave together.
+Broken up by the invasions of fresh nations from the north, the Western
+Empire was divided into lesser kingdoms, out of which have grown the
+modern nations of western Europe.
+
+Not one word in the outline of the prophecy thus far has failed of
+fulfilment. These modern kingdoms growing out of divided Rome have never
+been reunited. "They shall mingle themselves with the seed of men," said
+the prophecy. Nearly all the reigning houses of Europe today are related
+by intermarriage; the prophecy said it would be so; but "they shall not
+cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay." So we see
+it. No statesman, no master of legions, has been able to join these
+nations together again in one great empire. Charles V had the thought in
+mind, some think. Napoleon dreamed of doing it. But it was not to be.
+Nevermore was there to be one universal monarchy.
+
+We may know that as surely as the course of world empire has followed
+the exact outline of the prophecy put on the inspired record in the days
+of Babylon of old, just so surely the specifications of the closing
+portion of the outline will be fulfilled.
+
+The fourth great kingdom was to be divided. Rome was the fourth empire:
+it was divided. The kingdoms of the divided empire are acting their part
+before our eyes today.
+
+
+The Next Great Event
+
+And what next? That is the question for us. Now the prophetic outline
+that began with ancient Babylon touches the things of our own day. The
+word spoken before Nebuchadnezzar so long ago is now spoken especially
+to us:
+
+"In the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom,
+which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to
+other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these
+kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.
+
+"Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain
+without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the
+clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the
+king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and
+the interpretation thereof sure."
+
+"In the days of these kings,"--these kingdoms of our own time,--the next
+great world-changing event is to be the coming of Christ to begin the
+setting up of his everlasting kingdom. That is the grand climax toward
+which all the course of history has been tending. At last the end is to
+come.
+
+    "Down in the feet of iron and of clay,
+    Weak and divided, soon to pass away;
+    What will the next great, glorious drama be?--
+    Christ and His coming, and eternity."
+
+As the stone, cut out of the mountain "without hands," smote the image,
+so that all its parts, representative of earthly dominion, were ground
+to dust and blown away, so Christ's coming kingdom, set up "without
+hands," by no human power, but by the power of the eternal God, will end
+all earthly dominion and bring the utter destruction of sin and sinners
+out of the earth.
+
+"The dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure."
+
+Then may all eyes well be turned toward the next great step foretold in
+the prophetic outline--the coming of Christ's glorious everlasting
+kingdom, which shall not pass away.
+
+    "Look for the waymarks as you journey on,
+    Look for the waymarks, passing one by one,
+    Down through the ages, past the kingdoms four,--
+    Where are we standing? Look the waymarks o'er."
+
+[Illustration: PHOTOGRAPH BY MISSIONARY W.C. ISING
+
+Ruins of the Palace of Nebuchadnezzar, in which was the hall of
+Belshazzar's Feast.]
+
+[Illustration: THE ASCENSION OF CHRIST
+
+"This same Jesus ... shall so come in like manner." Acts 1:11.
+
+COPYRIGHT STANDARD PUB. CO.]
+
+[Illustration: THE TRIUMPHAL ENTRY INTO JERUSALEM
+
+"Behold, thy King cometh,... lowly, and riding upon an ass." Zech.
+9:9.]
+
+
+
+
+THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST
+
+
+"Unto them that look for Him shall He appear the second time without sin
+unto salvation." Heb. 9:28.
+
+Too often the second coming of Christ is looked upon simply as a
+doctrine. It is, however, more than a doctrine merely to be believed; it
+is an impending event, something that is to take place on earth, and the
+most stupendous, all-transcendent event for the world since Christ came
+the first time to die on Calvary for the sins of men.
+
+This second coming of Christ, like His first coming, has been the theme
+of divine prophecy from the beginning. This was emphasized by the
+apostle Peter in his second recorded sermon. He pressed upon the people
+of Jerusalem the fact that the things "which God before had showed by
+the mouth of all His prophets, that Christ should suffer" (Acts 3:18),
+had been fulfilled to the letter before their eyes. Not a word had
+failed. Just so, he said, all that the prophets had spoken of His second
+coming would be fulfilled:
+
+"He shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: whom
+the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things,
+which God hath spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the
+world began." Acts 3:20, 21.
+
+
+The Promise of His Coming
+
+As iniquity began to abound, God sent a message to the antediluvian
+world, declaring that Christ's coming in glory would end the reign of
+sin:
+
+"Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold,
+the Lord cometh with ten thousands of His saints, to execute judgment
+upon all." Jude 14, 15.
+
+The promise of Christ's coming was the "blessed hope" in the patriarchal
+age. In Job's dark hour of trial his heart clung to the promise, and he
+was kept from despair:
+
+"I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that He shall stand at the latter
+day upon the earth: ... whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall
+behold, and not another." Job 19:25-27.
+
+The psalmist sang of it:
+
+"Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence: a fire shall devour
+before Him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about Him." Ps. 50:3.
+
+And the prophets of later times were unceasingly moved upon to talk of
+the glory of that coming, of events preceding it, and of the preparation
+for it.
+
+"I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold
+their peace day nor night: ye that make mention of the Lord, keep not
+silence." "Behold, the Lord hath proclaimed unto the end of the world,
+Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy salvation cometh; behold,
+His reward is with Him, and His work before Him." Isa. 62:6, 11.
+
+The message of His coming is to be heralded to the ends of the earth;
+for it is "good tidings of great joy" to every one who will receive it.
+
+On that last night with His disciples before the crucifixion, when His
+heart was sorrowful even unto death, as the burden of all our
+iniquities was about to be laid upon Him, Christ's love for His own made
+precious to Him the thought of His second coming to gather them home at
+last, safe from all sin and trouble; and He said:
+
+"Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in Me.
+In My Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have
+told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a
+place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that
+where I am, there ye may be also." John 14:1-3.
+
+In that assurance the heart finds rest. O the preciousness of the
+promise, "I will come again"! "I am coming for you," is the cheering
+message. "Yes, Lord," we reply, "we will wait, and watch, and be ready,
+by Thy grace."
+
+
+The Manner of His Coming
+
+Christ's second coming is to be visible to all the world. There is to be
+nothing secret or mystical about it. The revelator says:
+
+"Behold, He cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see Him." Rev. 1:7.
+
+Christ Himself described the scene to His disciples as it will appear to
+the eyes of all:
+
+"As the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the
+west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be." Matt. 24:27. "Then
+shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and
+glory." Mark 13:26.
+
+The day of the Lord--the close of probation, the initial outpouring of
+the judgments of God--will come "as a thief in the night," but Christ's
+personal appearing will be visible to all. The heavens will open, the
+earth quake, the trump of God resound, and such glory as mortal eye has
+never seen will burst upon the world when He comes as King of kings and
+Lord of lords.
+
+    "He comes not an infant in Bethlehem born,
+      He comes not to lie in a manger;
+    He comes not again to be treated with scorn,
+      He comes not a shelterless stranger;
+    He comes not to Gethsemane,
+      To weep and sweat blood in the garden;
+    He comes not to die on the tree,
+      To purchase for rebels a pardon.
+     Oh, no; glory, bright glory,
+     Environs Him now."
+
+[Illustration: THE TRANSFIGURATION A TYPE OF HIS COMING
+
+"Behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with Him."
+Matt. 17:3.]
+
+
+"This Same Jesus"
+
+The Lord would have His children understand that this One who comes in
+power and glory is the same Saviour of men who once walked by blue
+Galilee. As the disciples were watching their Saviour, and ours,
+ascending bodily into heaven from Olivet, until "a cloud received Him
+out of their sight," suddenly two angels stood by them, who said:
+
+"Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus,
+which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as
+ye have seen Him go into heaven." Acts 1:9, 11.
+
+[Illustration: CHRIST SET AT NAUGHT BY THE ROMANS
+
+"Behold your King!" John 19:14.]
+
+"This same Jesus"! It was the loving Friend and Elder Brother, Son of
+man as well as Son of God, who was passing from their sight. He will
+come back the "same Jesus," though in glory indescribable, having "all
+the holy angels with Him."
+
+The prophet Habakkuk thus described Christ's glorious appearing, as it
+was represented to him in vision:
+
+    "His glory covered the heavens,
+    And the earth was full of His praise.
+    And His brightness was as the light;
+    He had rays coming forth from His hand;
+    And there was the hiding of His power."
+
+    Hab. 3:3, 4, A.R.V.
+
+Surely it is the "same Jesus," and the mark of the cruel nails is the
+shining badge of His power to save.
+
+    "I shall know Him
+    By the print of the nails in His hands."
+
+As the redeemed see Him who was crucified for them coming in glory, they
+will cry, "Lo, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save
+us: this is the Lord; we have waited for Him, we will be glad and
+rejoice in His salvation." Isa. 25:9.
+
+But that day will be a day of darkness as well as of light. The unready,
+the unrepentant, will realize too late that in rejecting Christ's pardon
+and love and sacrifice, they have rejected the only means by which they
+might have been prepared to meet the coming King, before whose face no
+sin can endure. "Every eye shall see Him," the apostle says, and he
+describes the terror of that day to the unprepared:
+
+"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; 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: for
+the great day of His wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?"
+Rev. 6:15-17.
+
+The scenes of that great day are so beyond human comprehension that it
+is difficult to realize that such a time is actually before us.
+
+    "Then, O my Lord, prepare
+    My soul for that great day."
+
+
+The Purpose of His Coming
+
+The Scriptures make very clear the purpose of Christ's second coming and
+the events of that great day. It has been the hope of the children of
+God through all the ages. The apostle Paul calls it the "blessed hope."
+
+"The grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
+teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live
+soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; looking for that
+blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our
+Saviour Jesus Christ." Titus 2:11-13.
+
+The saints of God have fallen asleep in death with their faith reaching
+forward to Christ's glorious appearing. So the veteran apostle fell,
+with eyes upon "that day."
+
+"I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand.
+I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the
+faith: henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness,
+which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at that day: and not
+to me only, but unto all them also that love His appearing." 2 Tim.
+4:6-8.
+
+Christ's second coming is the grand climax of the plan of salvation. Not
+till then are the children of God ushered into the eternal kingdom. Then
+the crowns of life are bestowed, and the saved all go together through
+the gates into the city--patriarch and prophet, apostle and reformer,
+and the child of God of this last generation. Of the ancient worthies it
+is written:
+
+"These all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not
+the promise: God having provided some better thing for us, that they
+without us should not be made perfect." Heb. 11:39, 40.
+
+What a glorious day it will be when the ransomed of all the ages, march
+in together through the gates into the city!
+
+It is to take His children to their eternal home that Christ comes the
+second time. This was His promise to the disciples:
+
+"I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for
+you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am,
+there ye may be also." John 14:2, 3.
+
+Not in detail, but in their general order, let us follow the events of
+that great day.
+
+[Illustration: CHRIST COMING IN GLORY
+
+"The Son of man shall come in His glory, and all the holy angels with
+Him." Matt. 25:31.]
+
+
+The Prelude to His Coming
+
+as the revelator saw it and heard it in a vision of the last day:
+
+"There came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne,
+saying, It is done. And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings;
+and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon
+the earth,... and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon
+came in remembrance before God." Rev. 16:17-19.
+
+"The heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every
+mountain and island were moved out of their places." Rev. 6:14.
+
+
+His Glorious Appearing
+
+Then bursts upon the world the glory of our Saviour's coming:
+
+"Then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall
+all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man
+coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He shall
+send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet." Matt. 24:30, 31.
+
+"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. And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a
+loud voice to Him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in Thy sickle, and reap:
+for the time is come for Thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is
+ripe." Rev. 14:14, 15.
+
+
+The Resurrection of the Just, and the Translation of the Living
+Righteous
+
+The time to reap has come, and the wheat is gathered at last into the
+garner of the Lord:
+
+"We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in
+the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall
+sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be
+changed." 1 Cor. 15:51, 52.
+
+"He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they
+shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of
+heaven to the other." Matt. 24:31.
+
+"This we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive
+and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are
+asleep. For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout,
+with the voice of the Archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead
+in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be
+caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air:
+and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another
+with these words." 1 Thess. 4:15-18.
+
+[Illustration: THE EMPTY TOMB
+
+"Christ the first fruits; afterward they that are Christ's at His
+coming." 1 Cor. 15:23.]
+
+The righteous dead are raised to life as the trump of God sounds and the
+voice of the Archangel calls to His sleeping saints, and the living
+righteous are transformed from mortality to immortality. Then all
+together, with the escort of the angels, they follow the Saviour to the
+heavenly mansions that He has prepared in the city of God.
+
+
+The Destruction of the Wicked
+
+Before the glorious majesty of the coming King no sin can endure; for
+true it is that "our God is a consuming fire"--now, in the day of His
+mercy, consuming sin out of the heart that by faith approaches the
+throne of grace, but in that day consuming the unrepentant sinner with
+his sin.
+
+    "Where will the sinner hide in that day, in that day?
+    Where will the sinner hide in that day?
+      It will be in vain to call,
+      'Ye mountains on us fall!'
+    For His hand will find out all in that day."
+
+It is the great day long foretold by seer and prophet.
+
+Again let us read the description of what it will mean to the unsaved to
+see Christ coming in glory; for the terror of that day must warn us now
+to keep within the refuge of the Saviour's loving grace:
+
+"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; 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: for
+the great day of His wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?"
+Rev. 6:15-17.
+
+The same glory that transforms the righteous is a consuming fire to
+those who have rejected Christ's salvation:
+
+"Then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with
+the spirit of His mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of His
+coming." 2 Thess. 2:8.
+
+"When the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty
+angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and
+that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: who shall be punished
+with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the
+glory of His power." 2 Thess. 1:7-9.
+
+
+The Climax of Human History
+
+Thus the second coming of Christ brings the resurrection and translation
+of the righteous, the death of the wicked, and the end of the world. The
+resurrection of the wicked does not then take place, but only that of
+the just; save for some of the wicked dead who had a special part in
+warring against Christ,--"they also which pierced Him" (Rev. 1:7). These
+are raised to see His coming, necessarily to fall again before the
+consuming glory of His presence.
+
+The righteous are taken to reign with Christ in the heavenly city for a
+thousand years, and during the same period the earth lies in desolation
+and chaos, uninhabited by man, a dark abyss, the dreary prison house of
+Satan. Of the two resurrections, first of the just and then of the
+unjust, we are told:
+
+"They [the righteous] lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
+But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were
+finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that
+hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no
+power." Rev. 20:4-6.
+
+It is at the end of the thousand years that the resurrection of the
+wicked takes place. Then the city of God descends, "the holy city, New
+Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven," and the wicked come
+forth to condemnation and the second death, from which there is no
+waking.
+
+
+"Now is the Accepted Time"
+
+Now is the day of salvation, when by Christ's grace we may prepare for
+that great day. To be found among His redeemed ones in that day will be
+of infinitely greater worth than anything this world can give, of
+pleasure, or possessions, or honor. Nothing will count then but the
+blessed hope.
+
+Selina, Countess of Huntingdon, found the personal Saviour in the days
+of the Methodist revival in England. All her wealth and all her social
+influence were devoted to Christ, even though titled friends took
+umbrage at her close association with the poor and the humble who gave
+heed to the message of the hour, and pressed into the kingdom. She wrote
+of her joy in being numbered with the children of God:
+
+    "I love to meet among them now,
+    Before Thy gracious throne to bow,
+      Though weakest of them all;
+    Nor can I bear the piercing thought,
+    To have my worthless name left out,
+      When Thou for them shalt call.
+
+    "Prevent, prevent it by Thy grace.
+    Be Thou, dear Lord, my hiding place
+      In that expected day.
+    Thy pardoning voice, O let me hear,
+    To still each unbelieving fear,
+      Nor let me fall, I pray."
+
+One night, at a royal ball, the Prince of Wales asked a titled lady
+where the Countess of Huntingdon was. "Oh, I suppose she is praying with
+some of her beggars somewhere!" was the flippant answer. "Ah," said the
+crown prince, "in the last day I think I should be glad to hold the hem
+of Lady Huntingdon's mantle." True it is that the greatest gift of grace
+now, as it will be then, is to be numbered among the obedient children
+of God.
+
+    "Let me among Thy saints be found,
+    Whene'er the Archangel's trump shall sound,
+      To see Thy smiling face;
+    Then joyfully Thy praise I'll sing,
+    While heaven's resounding mansions ring
+      With shouts of endless grace."
+
+[Illustration: CHRIST ANSWERING HIS DISCIPLES' QUESTIONS
+
+"When shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of Thy coming,
+and of the end of the world?" Matt. 24:3.]
+
+[Illustration: THE DESTRUCTION OF THE TEMPLE FORETOLD
+
+"There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be
+thrown down." Matt. 24:2.]
+
+
+
+
+SIGNS OF THE APPROACHING END
+
+OUR SAVIOUR'S GREAT PROPHECY
+
+
+Part I
+
+Christ had spoken of the coming desolation of the sacred temple at
+Jerusalem. The disciples were astonished. "Master, see," said one, "what
+manner of stones and what buildings are here!" The Saviour replied:
+
+"Seest thou these great buildings? there shall not be left one stone
+upon another, that shall not be thrown down" Mark 13:2.
+
+
+"What Shall be the Sign?"
+
+As soon as they were alone on the Mount of Olives overlooking the city,
+the disciples came to Jesus, saying:
+
+"Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of Thy
+coming, and of the end of the world?" Matt. 24:3.
+
+Replying to this question, the Saviour spoke first of the fall of
+Jerusalem; He foretold in a sentence the experiences of His church
+through dark ages to follow; then He described the events of the latter
+days, the signs showing His second advent near at hand; and, finally, He
+pictured the scenes of His own glorious appearing in the clouds of
+heaven. The fullest record of the discourse is found in the
+twenty-fourth chapter of Matthew.
+
+
+A Striking Parallel
+
+The first portion of the prophetic discourse (verses 4-14) deals with
+general conditions that were to prevail both in the last days of the
+Jewish state, and on a yet larger scale in the course of history leading
+to the last days of the world. There was so close a parallel between
+these times that Christ, in one description, answered both questions
+asked, When shall these things come upon Jerusalem? and, What shall be
+the signs of the end of the world?
+
+The prophetic word foretold the rise of false Christs, the coming of
+wars, famines, and earthquakes in "divers places." The believers saw
+these things fulfilled in that generation before Jerusalem fell; but as
+we read the prophecy, we see the wider application and yet larger
+fulfilment through the course of history since that day, these
+calamities increasing in the earth as the end draws near. Before the end
+of the Jewish state, the believers carried the gospel to all the known
+world of their day. (See Col. 1:23.) In these latter days we are seeing
+the yet wider proclamation of the gospel, as foretold in the fourteenth
+verse, "This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world
+for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come."
+
+
+The Last Days of Jerusalem
+
+We may note briefly some of the events of Jerusalem's last days. Christ
+had forewarned the believers:
+
+"Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in My name,
+saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many."
+
+Having rejected the true Christ, the nation was open to deception by the
+false. We catch just a glimpse of the fulfilment in the book of Acts; in
+secular history the full story is told. Ridpath says:
+
+     "Never was a people so turbulent, so excited with expectation
+     of a deliverer who should restore the ancient kingdom, so fired
+     with bigotry and fanaticism, as were the wretched Jews of this
+     period. One Christ came after another. Revolt was succeeded by
+     revolt, instigated by some pseudo-prophet or pretended
+     king."--_"History of the World," Vol. I, p. 849 (Part III,
+     chap. 19)._
+
+During the Saviour's life and ministry a divine hand had to a great
+extent held the elements of violence in check, but as the light was
+rejected more and more, the spirit of evil came to hold sway
+unrestrained. Dr. Mears well describes the changed conditions in these
+words:
+
+     "The narrative of the evangelists presents a tranquil scene, a
+     succession of attractive pictures, in striking contrast to the
+     bloody and tumultuous events which crowd each other in the
+     pages of Josephus."--_"From Exile to Overthrow," pp. 256, 257._
+
+Thus the events led rapidly on toward the day of Jerusalem's fall, so
+long foretold by the prophets.
+
+
+The Sign to the Believers
+
+The disciples had asked for a sign, and Christ gave them a token by
+which they might know when the time to flee from Jerusalem had come.
+Here Luke's Gospel gives the fullest record:
+
+"When ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the
+desolation thereof is nigh. Then let them which are in Judea flee to the
+mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let
+not them that are in the countries enter thereinto. For these be the
+days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled."
+Luke 21:20-22.
+
+[Illustration: THE SIEGE OF JERUSALEM BY THE ROMANS UNDER TITUS,
+A.D. 70
+
+"When ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the
+desolation thereof is nigh." Luke 21:20.]
+
+The unbelieving in Jerusalem and Judea could not conceive that their
+city, so long protected and favored of God, could be destroyed. Not even
+the appearance of the Roman armies could shake their blind
+self-confidence. But at the first sight of the encircling armies, the
+Christians knew that the time for flight was at hand. But how to flee
+was the question, with the compassing lines drawn close about the city.
+Moreover, the Zealots, the furious war party in power, would be little
+likely to allow any number to pass out to the Roman forces.
+
+Just here God's providence made a way of escape. Cestius, the Roman
+commander, after having partially undermined one of the temple walls,
+suddenly decided to defer pushing the attack. "He retired from the
+city," says Josephus, "without any reason in the world." (See "Wars,"
+book 2, chap. 19.) And the Zealots flew out after the retiring Romans,
+furiously attacking the rear guards.
+
+Then those watching Christians knew that the time for quick flight had
+come, according to Christ's prophecy uttered many years before. They
+fled out of the city and out of the country round about.
+
+Through all the years, Christ's prophecy had exhorted them, "Pray ye
+that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the Sabbath day."
+Matt. 24:20. The prayer was answered, for it was in the autumn and on a
+week day that the flight was made.[B] Watching for the sign, and
+instantly obeying, they were delivered.
+
+Thus it was that when the Romans returned later to the siege, never to
+give up till the city fell, none of the Christians were overwhelmed in
+its destruction. Even so are we to watch the signs of our own times,
+that we may escape those things that are coming upon the earth, and be
+ready to "stand before the Son of man."
+
+
+The Prophetic Word Fulfilled
+
+Christ had declared that the temple, the pride of the nation, would be
+utterly destroyed. In the last siege, the Roman commander tried to spare
+the magnificent pile. When the Jews made it their chief fortress,
+because of its massive strength, Titus remonstrated with them, saying:
+
+     "If you will but change the place whereon you fight, no Roman
+     shall either come near your sanctuary, or offer any affront to
+     it; nay, I will endeavor to preserve you your holy house,
+     whether you will or not."--_Josephus, "Wars of the Jews," book
+     6, chap. 2._
+
+But the prophecy was fulfilled to the letter. The people seemed
+possessed with fury. The hardened Roman pagans were astonished at their
+suicidal rashness. Titus's efforts to save the temple failed, and it
+went down in ruin, as Christ had foretold.
+
+[Illustration: A PANEL FROM THE ARCH OF TITUS
+
+Showing the golden candlestick and other sacred vessels of the temple
+being carried in triumph through the streets of Rome.]
+
+The disciples of Christ had called His attention to the immense blocks
+of stone that composed the temple walls. "See, what manner of stones,"
+one said. When Titus examined these same stones, after the fall of the
+city, he is said to have declared:
+
+     "We have certainly had God for our assistant in this war, and
+     it was no other than God who ejected the Jews out of these
+     fortifications."[C]--_Id., book 6, chap. 9._
+
+Rather, we would say, in the light of Scripture teaching, the
+destruction that came upon the city was but the fruit of its own way.
+God's guardian care had long protected the city of David. When His
+protection was finally thrust aside and the people put themselves in the
+power of the great destroyer, divine justice could no longer save the
+city from the judgments that were bound to fall upon persistent
+transgression against light.
+
+The lesson is one of those written "for our admonition upon whom the
+ends of the world are come." Jerusalem, in that generation of great
+light and high privilege, fell because it knew not the time of its
+visitation. Still Christ's sad lament bears its warning to the ears of
+men: "If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the
+things which belong unto thy peace!" Luke 19:42.
+
+
+Part II
+
+Having foretold the destruction of Jerusalem, and given to the believers
+signs by which they might find deliverance in the day of its overthrow,
+Christ yet more fully answered the second part of the disciples'
+question, "What shall be the sign of Thy coming, and of the end of the
+world?" Matt. 24:3.
+
+[Illustration: THE CATACOMBS NEAR ROME
+
+In these underground passages persecuted Christians found a hiding
+place, held their services, and buried their dead.]
+
+
+The Period of Tribulation
+
+Quickly He passed to the events of the latter days. But first He
+sketched, in a few words, the tribulations through which His church was
+to pass during the intervening centuries. Daniel the prophet had written
+of this experience, foretelling the long period during which the papal
+power was to "wear out the saints of the Most High." Dan. 7:25. Of these
+times, Christ said in His prophetic discourse:
+
+"Then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of
+the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days
+should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's
+sake those days shall be shortened." Matt. 24:21, 22.
+
+It is evident that Christ referred to the time of tribulation foretold
+by Daniel, not to the trials attending the flight of the Christians from
+Jerusalem, for their flight was a deliverance of the elect from trial.
+However much the weak may have suffered temporarily in fleeing from
+their homes, the great suffering of that time came upon the unbelieving,
+who had no shelter.
+
+This prophecy given by our Saviour presents the picture of a
+long-continued persecution of His own elect, and foretells the
+shortening of the allotted time. God was to intervene in some special
+way to save His people. And it was even so. The elect did suffer all
+through the centuries of intolerance, until the rise of the Reformation
+and the spreading abroad of God's Word broke the power of
+ecclesiasticism, thus shortening the days of bitter tribulation.
+
+
+The End Drawing Near
+
+According to Daniel's further prophecy, the period of trial and
+persecution was to reach "even to the time of the end." Dan. 11:35.
+Naturally, then, we should look for the signs of the latter days to
+begin to appear following these days of tribulation. And so we find the
+next words of Christ's discourse introducing the topic of His second
+coming. From now on the prophetic outline deals with events leading
+down to the end of the age.
+
+First the Saviour utters a warning against false ideas concerning His
+second coming. That no theories of a secret coming or of a mystic coming
+might deceive the unwary, He says in plain words:
+
+"If any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it
+not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall
+show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they
+shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before. Wherefore
+if they shall say unto you, Behold, He is in the desert; go not forth:
+behold, He is in the secret chambers; believe it not. For as the
+lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so
+shall also the coming of the Son of man be." Matt. 24:23-27.
+
+Today we see the need of this warning. Some of the most subtle
+deceptions are found in the teaching that Christ has already come,
+secretly, or that He comes in the chamber of death, or in the
+spiritualistic séance. Against all these errors we are forewarned, as
+well as against any agencies that may come showing marvelous signs and
+wonders. The close of human probation, the coming of the day of God,
+will be as a thief in the night; and Christ's coming itself will
+overtake the unwatchful all unprepared. Nevertheless, when He comes,
+"every eye shall see Him," and all the glory of heaven will burst upon a
+quaking world.
+
+
+Signs in the Heavens and the Earth
+
+Now the Saviour's outline of prophecy presents the signs which were to
+show when the coming of the Lord was near. Referring again to the days
+of tribulation foretold by the prophet Daniel, Christ says:
+
+"Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be
+darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall
+fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: and
+then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven." Matt. 24:29,
+30.
+
+In Luke's record of the same prophetic discourse, additional signs are
+given, describing conditions in the earth as Christ's coming draws near.
+His account reads:
+
+"There shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and
+upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the
+waves roaring; men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after
+those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven
+shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a
+cloud with power and great glory. And when these things begin to come to
+pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth
+nigh." Luke 21:25-28.
+
+Yet again, the prophet John, in the Revelation, foretells these signs in
+the sun and moon and stars, as they were presented to him in a vision of
+the last days. But his record shows that this series of signs was to be
+preceded by a great earthquake. He describes the order of events as
+follows:
+
+"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; 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." Rev. 6:12, 13.
+
+In these scriptures four great signs of Christ's approaching advent are
+listed for our study, as follows:
+
+    1. The great earthquake.
+    2. The darkening of the sun and moon.
+    3. The falling of the stars.
+    4. Distress of nations, and other signs.
+
+
+The Time When the Signs Begin
+
+Christ's prophecy points out approximately the time when the first of
+the signs that He gave, the darkening of the sun, should
+appear,--"immediately after the tribulation of those days." And the
+"great earthquake" of John's vision was to precede this sign in the
+heavens.
+
+The Reformation of the sixteenth century began to cut short the days of
+tribulation; but some countries shut out the liberalizing influences of
+the Word of God, and there the persecution continued.
+
+Even as late as near the end of the seventeenth century, in 1685, France
+revoked the Edict of Nantes, that had granted toleration, and
+persecution raged as of old. The church was driven again to the desert.
+Speaking of the early decades of the eighteenth century, Kurtz says:
+
+     "In France the persecution of the Huguenots continued.... The
+     'pastors of the desert' performed their duties at the risk of
+     their lives."--_"Church History," Vol. III, p. 88._
+
+There was severe persecution of the Moravians in Austria, in these
+times, many of the persecuted finding refuge in Saxony. It was in 1722
+that Christian David led the first band of Moravian refugees to settle
+on the estates of Count Zinzendorf, who organized through them the great
+pioneer movement of modern missions.
+
+But by the middle of the century, the era of enlightenment and the force
+of world opinion, in the good providence of God, had so permeated the
+Catholic states of Europe that general violent persecution had ceased.
+One incident will suffice as evidence of this.
+
+The scene was in France, where alone, of all the Catholic states, there
+were any great numbers of Protestants. In 1762 a Huguenot of Toulouse,
+unjustly charged with crime, was put to torture and to death, under the
+pressure of the old persecuting spirit. Many Huguenots thought the
+persecutions of former times were reviving, and prepared to flee to
+Switzerland. But Voltaire took up the matter, and so wrought upon public
+opinion that the Paris parliament reviewed the case, and the king paid
+the man's family a large indemnity.
+
+This shows that by the middle of that century the days of any general
+persecution had ceased. In the nature of the case, we may not point to
+the exact year and say, Here the days of tribulation ended.
+
+From these times, then, we are to scan the record of history to learn if
+the appointed signs began to appear. As we look, we find the events
+recorded, following on in the order predicted:
+
+    1. The Lisbon earthquake, cf 1755.
+    2. The dark day, cf 1780.
+    3. The falling stars, cf 1833.
+    4. General conditions and movements betokening the end.
+
+"There shall be signs," the Saviour said. We are to study the record of
+events, watching to catch the signs of the approaching end as earnestly
+as the mariner watches the beacon lights when he nears the longed-for
+haven on a dark and stormy night.
+
+[Illustration: AN ANCIENT FLOUR MILL
+
+"Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and
+the other left." Matt. 24:41.]
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[B] It was in the autumn that the army of Cestius closed in upon
+Jerusalem. According to the careful record of Graetz, the Jewish
+historian, it was evidently on a Wednesday that the Roman army retired,
+pursued by all the forces of the city. This was the instant for the
+flight of the Christians. Next day "the Zealots, shouting exultant war
+songs, returned to Jerusalem (8th October)."--_"History of the Jews,"
+Vol. II, p. 268._ The day before was the time for unhindered flight.
+
+[C] Apollonius, the friend and counselor of Titus, left a similar
+testimony to the latter's conviction that there was something
+supernatural about the forces of destruction let loose upon Jerusalem:
+"After Titus had taken Jerusalem, and when the country all round was
+filled with corpses, the neighboring races offered him a crown: but he
+disclaimed any such honor to himself, saying that it was not he himself
+that had accomplished this exploit, but that he had merely lent his arms
+to God, who had so manifested His wrath."--_Philostratus, "Life of
+Apollonius," book 6, chap. 29._
+
+
+[Illustration: LISBON FROM ACROSS THE BAY
+
+The scene of the great earthquake and tidal wave, Nov. 1, 1755, when in
+six minutes sixty thousand people perished.]
+
+
+
+
+THE LISBON EARTHQUAKE OF 1755
+
+
+"Lo, There Was a Great Earthquake"
+
+The first of a series of signs of the approaching end is thus described
+by the revelator:
+
+"I beheld when He had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great
+earthquake." Rev. 6:12.
+
+[Illustration: THE LISBON EARTHQUAKE
+
+"There shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers
+places." Matt. 24:7.]
+
+The verses immediately preceding this scripture plainly describe the
+days of persecution of the saints of God, and the era of protest and
+reform that cut short that time of tribulation. Then this first sign
+appears. This is in harmony with Christ's statement that the signs of
+His second coming should begin to appear following the tribulation of
+those days.
+
+Just about the close of the days of tribulation occurred the Lisbon
+earthquake, as it is called, though its effects reached far beyond
+Portugal. Prof. W.H. Hobbs, geologist, says of it:
+
+     "Among the earth movements which in historic times have
+     affected the kingdom of Portugal, that of Nov. 1, 1755, takes
+     first rank, as it does, also, in some respects, among all
+     recorded earthquakes.... In six minutes sixty thousand people
+     perished."--_"Earthquakes," pp. 142, 143._
+
+"Lo, there was a great earthquake," the revelator said. It was indeed "a
+great earthquake," and great was its influence. In all the world, men's
+hearts were mightily stirred. James Parton, an English author, says of
+it:
+
+     "The Lisbon earthquake of Nov. 1, 1755, appears to have put
+     both the theologians and philosophers on the defensive.... At
+     twenty minutes to ten that morning, Lisbon was firm and
+     magnificent, on one of the most picturesque and commanding
+     sites in the world,--a city of superb approach, placed
+     precisely where every circumstance had concurred to say to the
+     founders, Build here! In six minutes the city was in ruins....
+     Half the world felt the convulsion.... For many weeks, as we
+     see in the letters and memoirs of that time, people in distant
+     parts of Europe went to bed in alarm, relieved in the morning
+     to find that they had escaped the fate of Lisbon one night
+     more."--_"Life of Voltaire," Vol. II, pp. 208, 209._
+
+
+The World Set to Thinking
+
+This earthquake set men to thinking of the great day of God. Voltaire,
+the French philosopher, was "profoundly moved" by it, we are told. "It
+was the last judgment for that region," he wrote; "nothing was wanting
+to it except the trumpet." More than a month afterward, while still the
+perturbations of the earth were continuing, this skeptic wrote a poem
+upon the problem presented, voicing the sentiment:
+
+      "My heart oppress'd demands
+    Aid of the God who formed me with his hands.
+    Sons of the God supreme to suffer all
+    Fated alike, we on our Father call....
+    Sad is the present if no future state,
+    No blissful retribution mortals wait,
+    If fate's decrees the thinking being doom
+    To lose existence in the silent tomb.
+    _All may be well_; that hope can man sustain.
+    _All now is well_; 'tis an illusion vain.
+    The sages held me forth delusive light,
+    Divine instructions only can be right.
+    Humbly I sigh, submissive suffer pain,
+    Nor more the ways of Providence arraign."
+
+    --"_Poem on the Destruction of Lisbon,_"
+    _Smollet's translation; Works, Vol. XXXIII, ed. 1761._
+
+Just at the time, plans were under way for the opening of a theater at
+Lausanne for the special performance of some of Voltaire's rationalistic
+dramas. But the enterprise was deferred. One writer says:
+
+     "The earthquake had made all men thoughtful. They mistrusted
+     their love of the drama, and filled the churches
+     instead."--_Tallentyre, "Life of Voltaire," p. 319._
+
+So, in an age of rationalism and unbelief, men's thoughts were turned
+toward God, and human helplessness and earth's instability were
+recognized.
+
+
+Extent of the Lisbon Earthquake
+
+As to the extent of the earthquake, a writer of the period shows that it
+was felt in Sweden and in Africa and in the West Indies, adding:
+
+     "The effects were distributed over very nearly four millions of
+     square English miles of the earth's surface, and greatly
+     surpassed anything of the kind ever recorded in
+     history."--_"History and Philosophy of Earthquakes" (London,
+     1757), p. 333._
+
+The commander of an English ship, lying off Lisbon at the time, thus
+described the scene in a letter to the ship's owners:
+
+     "Almost all the palaces and large churches were rent down, or
+     part fallen, and scarce one house of this vast city is left
+     habitable. Everybody that was not crushed to death ran out into
+     the large places, and those near the river ran down to save
+     themselves by boats, or any other floating convenience,
+     running, crying, and calling to the ships for assistance; but
+     whilst the multitude were gathered near the riverside, the
+     water rose to such a height that it overflowed the lower part
+     of the city, which so terrified the miserable and already
+     dismayed inhabitants, who ran to and fro with dreadful cries,
+     which we heard plainly on board, that it made them believe the
+     dissolution of the world was at hand; every one falling on his
+     knees and entreating the Almighty for His assistance.... By two
+     o'clock the ships' boats began to ply, and took multitudes on
+     board.... The fear, the sorrow, the cries and lamentations of
+     the poor inhabitants are unexpressible; every one begging
+     pardon, and embracing each other, crying, Forgive me, friend,
+     brother, sister! Oh! what will become of us! neither water nor
+     land will protect us, and the third element, fire, seems now
+     to threaten our total destruction! as in effect it happened.
+     The conflagration lasted a whole week."--_Thomas Hunter,
+     "Historical Account of Earthquakes" (Liverpool, 1756), pp.
+     72-74._
+
+
+Recognized as a Sign
+
+Looking down through the ages, the prophet of the Revelation saw the
+coming of the latter days, when signs of the approaching end were to
+begin to appear. Just there he beheld "a great earthquake." The terrible
+event was noted by inspiration as a sign of the coming of the final
+judgment. Earthquakes there had been before, and increasing earthquakes
+were to follow after,--"earthquakes in divers places,"--as Christ
+foretold, speaking of the signs of His second coming. But as befitted
+this first of the series of signs of the approaching end, a conviction
+from God seemed to come into the hearts of men in that generation, that
+this was indeed a token to remind the world of a coming day of doom.
+
+In the year of the disaster, an English poet, John Biddolf, published a
+book of verse, pointing some of the lessons of the hour, from which we
+quote a few descriptive stanzas:
+
+    "Calm was the sky; the sun serenely bright
+    Shot o'er the sea long dazzling streams of light.
+    Through orange groves soft breathing breezes play'd
+    And gathered sweets like bees where'er they stray'd.
+    In fair relievo stood the lofty town,
+    Set off by radiant lights and shadows brown.
+
+    "Ill-fated city! there were revels kept;
+    Devoid of fear, they ate, they drank, they slept.
+    No friendly voice like that of ancient Rome
+    Was sent to give them warning of their doom:
+    No airy warriors to each other clung,
+    Such as 'tis said o'er destin'd Sion hung,
+    But like a nightly thief their dreadful fate
+    Unlooked for came and undermined their state....
+
+    "Lo, what a sudden change! On ruin's brink
+    The proud turn humble, and the thoughtless think.
+    Dark, gloomy sadness overclouds the gay,
+    And hypocrites for once sincerely pray....
+    But let it not be thought their horrid deeds
+    Had pulled this dreadful judgment on their heads,
+    Or that for crimes too horrible to tell,
+    Like guilty Sodom, thunderstruck they fell....
+
+    "Who can with curious eyes this globe survey,
+    And not behold it tottering with decay?
+    All things created, God's designs fulfil,
+    And natural causes work His destined will.
+    And that eternal Word, which cannot lie,
+    To mortals hath revealed in prophecy
+    That in these latter days such signs should come,
+    Preludes and prologues to the general doom.
+    But not the Son of man can tell that day;
+    Then, lest it find you sleeping, watch and pray."
+
+Thus this first of the predicted latter-day signs bore its message to
+men. Its immediate scene was set in the Old World, but its warning was
+world-wide. The next sign foretold was to appear in the New World, but
+like the Lisbon earthquake, its message of warning was for all men.
+
+[Illustration: THE FLOOD
+
+"So shall also the coming of the Son of man be." Matt. 24:39.]
+
+[Illustration: MIDDAY AT SEA MAY 19, 1780
+
+"Between one and two he was obliged to light a large candle to steer
+by." See p. 89.]
+
+[Illustration: SIGNS IN THE HEAVENS
+
+"Can ye not discern the signs of the times?" Matt. 16:3.]
+
+
+
+
+THE DARK DAY OF 1780
+
+
+"The Sun Shall be Darkened"
+
+We recall that in the vision of latter-day signs given to the prophet
+John, he saw the "great earthquake" followed by a sign in the heavens:
+
+"The sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as
+blood." Rev. 6:12.
+
+Of this event our Saviour spoke, in giving the signs of His second
+coming which were to begin to appear following the cutting short of the
+days of persecution. We repeat His words:
+
+"Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be
+darkened, and the moon shall not give her light." Matt. 24:29.
+
+
+The Prophecy Fulfilled
+
+True to the order of the prophecy, following the great earthquake of
+1755 in Europe, there came, in America, the second sign of the
+approaching end, the wonderful darkening of the sun, known in history as
+"The Dark Day."
+
+This sign appeared at the time indicated in the prophecy, "immediately
+after the tribulation of those days;" or as Mark has it, "in those days,
+after that tribulation." On May 19, 1780, the sun was darkened, and the
+following night the moon did not give her light. Whatever explanation
+men may have to offer as to the cause of the phenomenon, the fact
+remains that when the time of the prophecy came, the sign appeared.
+
+The first volume of the "Memoirs of the American Academy of Arts and
+Sciences," published in Boston in 1785, contains a paper entitled, "An
+Account of a Very Uncommon Darkness in the States of New England, May
+19, 1780. By Samuel Williams, A.M., Hollis Professor of Mathematics and
+Philosophy in the University at Cambridge [Massachusetts]."
+
+Of the extent, duration, and degree of darkness on that occasion, this
+scientific observer said:
+
+     "The extent of this darkness was very remarkable.... From the
+     accounts that have been received, it seems to have extended all
+     over the New England States. It was observed as far east as
+     Falmouth [Portland, Maine]. To the westward, we hear of its
+     reaching to the furthest parts of Connecticut, and Albany. To
+     the southward, it was observed all along the seacoasts. And to
+     the north as far as our settlements extend....
+
+     "With regard to its duration, it continued in this place at
+     least fourteen hours: but it is probable this was not exactly
+     the same in different parts of the country. The appearance and
+     effects were such as tended to make the prospect extremely dull
+     and gloomy. Candles were lighted up in the houses; the birds
+     having sung their evening songs, disappeared, and became
+     silent; the fowls retired to roost; the cocks were crowing all
+     around as at break of day; objects could not be distinguished
+     but at a very little distance; and everything bore the
+     appearance and gloom of night." (See pages 234-246.)
+
+Whittier has commemorated it in the poem, "Abraham Davenport:"
+
+    "'Twas on a May day of the far old year
+    Seventeen hundred eighty, that there fell
+    Over the bloom and sweet life of the spring,
+    Over the fresh earth and the heaven of noon,
+    A horror of great darkness....
+
+    "Birds ceased to sing, and all the barnyard fowls
+    Roosted; the cattle at the pasture bars
+    Lowed, and looked homeward; bats on leathern wings
+    Flitted abroad; the sounds of labor died;
+    Men prayed, and women wept; all ears grew sharp
+    To hear the doom blast of the trumpet shatter
+    The black sky."
+
+The words of the poet are substantiated by the plain prose of the
+dictionary maker. In the department explanatory of "Noted Names,"
+Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (edition 1883) says:
+
+     "_The Dark Day_, May 19, 1780--so called on account of a
+     remarkable darkness on that day extending over all New
+     England.... The obscuration began about ten o'clock in the
+     morning, and continued till the middle of the next night, but
+     with difference of degree and duration in different places....
+     The true cause of this remarkable phenomenon is not known."
+
+
+Cause Unknown
+
+At the time, some explained the darkness as being due to smoke from
+forest fires, others to the exceptional rise of vapors and atmospheric
+dust in the warm spring following the melting of unusually heavy winter
+snows. But forest fires were not of extraordinary occurrence in these
+regions, and many a springtime since has seen the melting of heavy
+winter snows and the rise of vapors; yet May 19, 1780, still stands
+unique in the annals of modern times as "the dark day." However
+observers and writers disagreed as to the nature of the mantle of
+darkness that was drawn over New England that day, they were _one_ in
+recognizing the extraordinary character of the event.
+
+The facts are fully covered by the statement in the dictionary, "The
+true cause of this remarkable phenomenon is not known."
+
+What we do know is that the Saviour's prophecy declared, "Immediately
+after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the
+moon shall not give her light." And when the time for it came, the sign
+appeared.
+
+
+Contemporary Records
+
+Though the comparatively small-sized newspapers of the day were crowded
+with news of the progress of the Revolutionary War, then raging, no
+little space was given to reports and discussions of this remarkable
+darkening of the sun.
+
+A correspondent of the Boston _Gazette and Country Journal_ (of May 29,
+1780) reported observations made at Ipswich Hamlet, Mass., "by several
+gentlemen of liberal education:"
+
+     "About eleven o'clock the darkness was such as to demand our
+     attention, and put us upon making observations. At half past
+     eleven, in a room with three windows, twenty-four panes each,
+     all open toward the southeast and south, large print could not
+     be read by persons of good eyes.
+
+     "About twelve o'clock, the windows being still open, a candle
+     cast a shade so well defined on the wall, as that profiles were
+     taken with as much ease as they could have been in the night.
+
+     "About one o'clock a glint of light which had continued to this
+     time in the east, shut in, and the darkness was greater than it
+     had been for any time before.... We dined about two, the
+     windows all open, and two candles burning on the table.
+
+     "In the time of the greatest darkness some of the ... fowls
+     went to their roost. Cocks crowed in answer to one another as
+     they commonly do in the night. Woodcocks, which are night
+     birds, whistled as they do _only_ in the dark. Frogs peeped. In
+     short, there was the appearance of midnight at noonday.
+
+     "About three o'clock the light in the west increased, the
+     motion of the clouds [became] more quick, their color higher
+     and more brassy than at any time before. There appeared to be
+     quick flashes or coruscations, not unlike the aurora
+     borealis.... About half past four our company, which had passed
+     an unexpected night very cheerfully together, broke up."
+
+Of the night following, this gentleman (then at Salem) wrote:
+
+     "Perhaps it never was darker since the children of Israel left
+     the house of bondage. This gross darkness held till about one
+     o'clock, although the moon had fulled but the day before."
+
+The Boston _Independent Chronicle_ of June 8 quoted from Thomas's
+_Massachusetts Spy_:
+
+     "During the whole time a sickly, melancholy gloom overcast the
+     face of nature. Nor was the darkness of the night less uncommon
+     and terrifying than that of the day; notwithstanding there was
+     almost a full moon, no object was discernible, but by the help
+     of some artificial light, which when seen from the neighboring
+     houses and other places at a distance, appeared through a kind
+     of Egyptian darkness, which seemed almost impervious to the
+     rays.
+
+     "This unusual phenomenon excited the fears and apprehensions of
+     many people. Some considered it as a portentous omen of the
+     wrath of Heaven in vengeance denounced against the land, others
+     as the immediate harbinger of the last day, when 'the sun shall
+     be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light.'"
+
+Not only over the land, but out at sea also, the unnatural darkness of
+the day and night of May 19, 1780, was observed. In the _Independent
+Chronicle_ of June 15, 1780, a correspondent, telling of interviews with
+various observers, said:
+
+     "I have also seen a very sensible captain of a vessel, who was
+     that morning about forty leagues southeast of Boston. He says
+     the cloud which appeared at the west was the blackest he ever
+     saw. About eleven o'clock there was a little rain, and it grew
+     dark. Between one and two he was obliged to light a large
+     candle to steer by.... Between nine and ten at night, he
+     ordered his men to take in some of the sails, but it was so
+     dark that they could not find the way from one mast to the
+     other."
+
+
+Thoughts Turned to the Judgment
+
+This writer commented as follows concerning the feelings awakened by the
+event:
+
+     "Various have been the sentiments of people concerning the
+     designs of Providence in spreading the unusual darkness over
+     us. Some suppose it portentous of the last scene. I wish it may
+     have some good effect on the minds of the wicked, and that they
+     may be excited to prepare for that solemn day."
+
+The _Independent Chronicle_ of June 22, 1780, printed a letter from Dr.
+Samuel Stearns, who had been appealed to because of his knowledge "in
+philosophy and astronomy." First, he disposed of one suggestion that had
+been made:
+
+     "That the darkness was not caused by an eclipse is manifest by
+     the various positions of the planets of our system at that
+     time; for the moon was more than one hundred and fifty degrees
+     from the sun all that day."
+
+Then, in the rather heavy language of the science of that period, this
+writer told how the action of the sun's heat was continually projecting
+into the atmosphere particles of earthy matter; and in his opinion it
+was some "vast collection of such particles that caused the late
+uncommon darkness." But as to the real accounting for the phenomenon he
+wrote:
+
+     "The primary cause must be imputed to Him that walketh through
+     the circuit of heaven, who stretcheth out the heaven like a
+     curtain, who maketh the clouds His chariot, who walketh upon
+     the wings of the wind. It was He, at whose voice the stormy
+     winds are obedient, that commanded these exhalations to be
+     collected and condensed together, that with them He might
+     darken both the day and the night; which darkness was, perhaps,
+     not only a token of His indignation against the crying
+     iniquities and abominations of the people, but an omen of some
+     future destruction."
+
+Thus men's minds were exercised by this sign "in the sun, and in the
+moon."
+
+The early records of New York City tell of the interest excited there,
+though evidently the darkness was not so marked as it was farther north.
+
+
+In the Connecticut Legislature
+
+President Timothy Dwight, of Yale College, a contemporary, left the
+following account of one of the historic incidents of the day:
+
+     "The legislature of Connecticut was then in session at
+     Hartford. A very general opinion prevailed that the day of
+     judgment was at hand. The house of representatives, being
+     unable to transact their business, adjourned. A proposal to
+     adjourn the council [a second legislative body called the
+     Governor's Council] was under consideration. When the opinion
+     of Colonel Davenport was asked, he answered, 'I am against an
+     adjournment. The day of judgment is either approaching or it is
+     not. If it is not, there is no cause for an adjournment; if it
+     is, I choose to be found doing my duty. I wish therefore that
+     candles may be brought.'"--_Barber, "Connecticut Historical
+     Collections," p. 403._
+
+It was this striking incident that Whittier described with the poet's
+pen:
+
+    "Meanwhile in the old Statehouse, dim as ghosts,
+    Sat the lawgivers of Connecticut,
+    Trembling beneath their legislative robes.
+    'It is the Lord's great day! Let us adjourn,'
+    Some said; and then, as with one accord,
+    All eyes were turned to Abraham Davenport.
+    He rose, slow cleaving with his steady voice
+    The intolerable hush. 'This well may be
+    The day of judgment which the world awaits;
+    But be it so or not, I only know
+    My present duty, and my Lord's command
+    To occupy till He come. So at the post
+    Where He hath set me in His providence
+    I choose, for one, to meet Him face to face,--
+    No faithless servant, frightened from my task,
+    But ready when the Lord of the harvest calls;
+    And therefore, with all reverence, I would say,
+    Let God do His work, we will see to ours.
+    Bring in the candles.'"
+
+Thus, in a manner that arrested the attention of men and put awe and
+solemnity into their hearts, with thoughts of the coming of the great
+day of God, the first of the predicted signs in the heavens was
+revealed.
+
+At a later time, when students of the Bible seemed moved upon
+simultaneously, in both Europe and America, to give attention to the
+doctrine of Christ's second coming, it was more generally understood
+that these signs had come in fulfilment of prophecy.
+
+As we look to the past, we see how truly the tokens of the coming King
+began to appear as the church of Christ emerged fully from the long,
+dark period of tribulation. A new era was dawning, in which the Lord was
+to fill the earth with light before His second appearing, according to
+His word to Daniel the prophet:
+
+"Thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time
+of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be
+increased." Dan. 12:4.
+
+At last the time of the end was at hand, and the signs of the latter
+days had begun to appear in the earth and in the heavens. The Lord was
+preparing to send to all the world the closing gospel message of
+Christ's soon coming in glory.
+
+[Illustration: THE GREAT METEORIC SHOWER NOVEMBER 13, 1833
+
+"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." Rev. 6:13.]
+
+[Illustration: A STAR HERALDS HIS FIRST ADVENT
+
+"We have seen His star in the east, and are come to worship Him." Matt.
+2:2.]
+
+
+
+
+THE FALLING STARS OF 1833
+
+
+"The Stars Shall Fall from Heaven"
+
+A great impetus was given to the study of divine prophecy by the events
+of the closing years of the eighteenth century. Observers had seen the
+papal power receive a "deadly wound" in the events and effects of the
+French Revolution; and it was understood that the world was entering a
+new era of enlightenment and liberty.
+
+Bible students began to see more clearly the lesson of the great
+outlines of historic prophecy, and hearts were stirred with the
+evidences that the coming of the Lord was drawing near. In Europe and
+America, in the early decades of the nineteenth century, there was the
+beginning of a revival of the study and preaching of the advent idea.
+
+
+Another Sign in the Heavens
+
+Just here appeared another great sign in the heavens, foretold by the
+word of prophecy. Of the sign that was to follow the darkening of the
+sun and moon, Christ's prophecy says:
+
+"The stars shall fall from heaven." Matt. 24:29.
+
+The prophet John beheld the spectacle in a vision of the last days, and
+described it in these words:
+
+"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." Rev. 6:13.
+
+On Nov. 13, 1833, came the wondrous celestial exhibition of falling
+stars, which is listed as one of the most remarkable phenomena of the
+astronomical story.
+
+Meteoric displays, swarms of shooting stars, have been observed at
+various times all through the ages; but this phenomenon, coming in the
+order given by the prophecy, that is, following the darkening of the
+sun, constituted the sublime display answering to the pen-picture of the
+Apocalypse,--as if all the stars of heaven were falling to the earth.
+
+The essential thing about a sign is that it shall be seen, that the
+circumstances of its appearance shall fasten attention. Not in America
+alone, but equally in all the civilized world, as a topic of study, this
+sign in the heavens commanded the attention of men.
+
+An English scientist, Rev. Thomas Milner, F.R.G.S., wrote:
+
+     "The attention of astronomers in Europe, and all over the
+     world, was, as may be imagined, strongly roused by intelligence
+     of this celestial display on the Western continent."--_"The
+     Gallery of Nature" (London, 1852), p. 141._
+
+This writer called it "by far the most splendid display on
+record."--_Id., p. 139._
+
+Another English astronomical writer of more recent date says:
+
+     "Once for all, then, as the result of the star fall of 1833,
+     the study of luminous meteors became an integral part of
+     astronomy."--_Clerke, "History of Astronomy in the Nineteenth
+     Century," p. 329._
+
+This same work describes the extent of the display as follows:
+
+     "On the night of Nov. 12-13, 1833, a tempest of falling stars
+     broke over the earth. North America bore the brunt of its
+     pelting. From the Gulf of Mexico to Halifax, until daylight
+     with some difficulty put an end to the display, the sky was
+     scored in every direction with shining tracks and illuminated
+     with majestic fireballs."--_Page 328._
+
+
+The Spectacle Described
+
+The closest scientific observations were made by Prof. Denison Olmsted,
+professor of astronomy at Yale, who wrote in the _American Journal of
+Science_:
+
+     "The morning of Nov. 13, 1833, was rendered memorable by an
+     exhibition of the phenomenon called shooting stars, which was
+     probably more extensive and magnificent than any similar one
+     hitherto recorded.... Probably no celestial phenomenon has ever
+     occurred in this country, since its first settlement, which was
+     viewed with so much admiration and delight by one class of
+     spectators, or with so much astonishment and fear by another
+     class. For some time after the occurrence, the 'meteoric
+     phenomenon' was the principal topic of conversation in every
+     circle."--_Volume XXV (1834), pp. 363, 364._
+
+Prof. Simon Newcomb, the astronomer, declares this phenomenal exhibition
+of falling stars "the most remarkable one ever observed." (See
+"Astronomy for Everybody," p. 280.)
+
+This was not merely a display of an unusual number of falling stars,
+such as Humboldt observed in South America in 1799, or such as we find
+recorded of other times before and since. It was a "shower" of falling
+stars, just such a spectacle as one must picture from the words of the
+prophecy, "And the stars of heaven fell."
+
+The French astronomer Flammarion says of the density of the shower:
+
+     "The Boston observer, Olmsted, compared them, at the moment of
+     maximum, to half the number of flakes which we perceive in the
+     air during an ordinary shower of snow."--_"Popular Astronomy,"
+     p. 536._
+
+This affords us a better idea of the scene than the estimate of 34,640
+stars an hour, which was made by Professor Olmsted after the rain of the
+stars had greatly abated, so that he was able to make an attempt at
+counting.
+
+Dr. Humphreys, president of St. John's College, Annapolis, said of the
+appearance at the Maryland capital:
+
+     "In the words of most, they fell _like flakes of
+     snow_."--_American Journal of Science, Vol. XXV (1834), p.
+     372._
+
+Nothing less than this could have presented the counterpart of the
+prophetic picture.
+
+Thoughtful hearts were solemnized by the unwonted spectacle. Prof.
+Alexander Twining, civil engineer, "late tutor in Yale College," giving
+his views as to the nature of the flaming visitants from space, wrote:
+
+     "Had they held on their course unabated for three seconds
+     longer, half a continent must, to all appearance, have been
+     involved in unheard-of calamity. But that almighty Being who
+     made the world, and knew its dangers, gave it also its
+     armature--endowing the atmospheric medium around it with
+     protecting, no less than with life-sustaining, properties....
+
+     "Considered as one of the rare and wonderful displays of the
+     Creator's preserving care, as well as the terrible magnitude
+     and power of His agencies, it is not meet that such occurrences
+     as those of November 13 should leave no more solid and
+     permanent effect upon the human mind than the impression of a
+     splendid scene."--_American Journal of Science, Vol. XXVI
+     (1834), p. 351._
+
+Multitudes felt that the great Creator had spoken to men in this notable
+wonder of His heavens. Again and again in the records and reminiscences
+of that time, testimony is borne to the fact that observers were
+impressed with the likeness of the scene to that described in the divine
+prophecy as one of the signs of the end of the world.
+
+
+The Prophetic Picture Reproduced
+
+The New York _Journal of Commerce_ emphasized the exactness of detail
+with which the prophecy described the scene as it appeared in 1833. This
+is the apocalyptic picture, as the ancient prophet saw it in vision:
+
+"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." Rev. 6:13.
+
+A correspondent of the _Journal of Commerce_ draws the picture as it was
+seen nearly eighteen centuries later, the likeness to the prophetic
+description being emphasized in every line:
+
+     "No philosopher or scholar has told or recorded an event like
+     that of yesterday morning. A prophet eighteen hundred years ago
+     foretold it exactly, if we will be at the trouble of
+     understanding stars falling to mean falling stars."--_New York
+     Journal of Commerce, Nov. 14, 1833._
+
+In this connection was noted by the same writer the special
+appropriateness of the prophet's figure of the fig tree casting the
+green figs in a mighty wind:
+
+     "Here is the exactness of the prophet. The falling stars did
+     not come as if from _several_ trees shaken, but from _one_.
+     Those which appeared in the east fell toward the east: those
+     which appeared in the north fell toward the north; those which
+     appeared in the west fell toward the west; and those which
+     appeared in the south (for I went out of my residence into the
+     park) fell toward the south; and they fell not as ripe fruit
+     falls; far from it; but they _flew_, they were _cast_, like the
+     unripe fig, which at first refuses to leave the branch; and
+     when it does break its hold, flies swiftly, straight off,
+     descending; and in the multitude falling, some cross the track
+     of others, as they are thrown with more or less force."
+
+Professor Olmsted's long and carefully elaborated account in the
+_American Journal of Science_, gave a report from a correspondent in
+Bowling Green, Mo., as follows:
+
+     "Though there was no moon, when we first observed them; their
+     brilliancy was so great that we could, at times, read
+     common-sized print without much difficulty, and the light which
+     they afforded was much whiter than that of the moon, in the
+     clearest and coldest night, when the ground is covered with
+     snow. The air itself, the face of the earth as far as we could
+     behold it, all the surrounding objects, and the very
+     countenances of men, wore the aspect and hue of death,
+     occasioned by the continued, pallid glare of these countless
+     meteors, which in all their grandeur flamed 'lawless through
+     the sky.'
+
+     "There was a grand and indescribable gloom on all around, an
+     awe-inspiring sublimity on all above;  while--
+
+      "'The sanguine flood
+    Rolled a broad slaughter o'er the plains of heaven,
+    And nature's self did seem to totter on the brink of time!'
+
+     "... There was scarcely a space in the firmament which was not
+     filled at every instant with these falling stars, nor on it
+     could you in general perceive any particular difference in
+     appearance; still at times they seemed to shower down in
+     groups--calling to mind the fig tree, casting her untimely figs
+     when shaken by a mighty wind."--_Volume XXV (1834), p. 382._
+
+[Illustration: THE SIGN OF FIRE
+
+"As this sign of fire in the watchtower was a signal to God's people
+anciently to flee from the coming danger (see Jer. 6:1), so the signs
+appearing now in the heavens and in the earth are God's signals of
+warning to the people of our day."]
+
+
+A Sign to All the World
+
+It was not in North America alone, but in all the civilized world, that
+the attention of men was called to the prophetic word by the discussions
+of this event. Thus the English scientific writer, Thomas Milner,
+writing for the British public, spoke as follows of the profound
+impression made:
+
+     "In many districts, the mass of the population were
+     terror-struck, and the more enlightened were awed at
+     contemplating so vivid a picture of the apocalyptic image--that
+     of the stars of heaven falling to the earth, even as a fig tree
+     casting her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty
+     wind."--_"The Gallery of Nature" (London, 1852), p. 140._
+
+So the sign in the heavens made its solemn appeal to all the world. It
+brought to the multitudes who saw it, thoughts of God and the last great
+day. An observer living at the time in Georgia, wrote, "Everybody felt
+that it was the judgment, and that the end of the world had come."
+Another, in Kentucky, wrote, "In every direction I could hear men,
+women, and children screaming, 'The judgment day is come!'"
+
+Rather, it was a signal that the hour of God's judgment was drawing
+near. The signs so long foretold were appearing, one by one, to register
+their enduring mark on the record of fulfilling prophecy.
+
+Immediately following these times, there began an awakening concerning
+the vital Bible doctrine of the second coming of Christ, which has grown
+into the definite advent movement that is carrying the gospel message of
+preparation for the coming of the Lord to every nation and tongue and
+people.
+
+
+The Sign of 1833 Emphasized by Other Displays
+
+We have mentioned the fact that Humboldt had observed an extraordinary
+fall of meteorites in South America, thirty-three years, before, in
+1799. And he reported at the time that the oldest inhabitants there had
+a recollection of a similar display in 1766.
+
+From these reports, scientists deduced the theory that these showers
+were to be expected every thirty-three years. Hence in 1866 they were
+watching for a repetition of the 1833 display.
+
+That there was a measure of truth in the deduction was made evident by
+an unusual fall of meteorites Nov. 14, 1866. This time Europe was the
+scene of the display. But the event was not to be compared with that of
+1833. This appears plain from the account of observations made by Sir
+Robert Ball and Lord Rosse, the British astronomers.
+
+Sir Robert Ball says that when the meteorites began to fall, he and Lord
+Rosse went out upon the wall of the observatory housing Lord Rosse's
+great reflecting telescope:
+
+     "There, for the next two or three hours, we witnessed a
+     spectacle which can never fade from my memory. The shooting
+     stars gradually increased in number until sometimes several
+     were seen at once."--_"Story of the Heavens," p. 380._
+
+Grand as the spectacle was, it was but a reminder, apparently, of the
+star shower of 1833, when not "several" meteorites fell at a time, nor
+many, merely, but, as it appeared, "the stars of heaven fell unto the
+earth."
+
+However, the spectacle of 1866, which was observed over a great part of
+the Old World,[D] served to direct renewed attention to the incomparable
+event of 1833, as well as to the prophetic descriptions of the "wonders
+in the heavens" (Joel 2:30) which were to appear as the end drew near.
+
+[Illustration: CHRIST'S PROMISE TO RETURN
+
+"I will come again, and receive you unto Myself." John 14:3.]
+
+Textbooks and astronomical works thereupon began to count it as fully
+established that every thirty-three years the displays would be
+repeated. It was confidently predicted that 1899 would witness a
+repetition, possibly on the scale of 1833.
+
+Professor Langley's "New Astronomy" (published in 1888) said:
+
+     "The great November shower, which is coming once more in this
+     century, and which every reader may hope to see toward 1899, is
+     of particular interest to us as the first whose movements were
+     subject to analysis."
+
+Chambers's Astronomy, published in 1889, said:
+
+     "The meteors of November 13 may be expected to reappear with
+     great brilliancy in 1899."---_Volume I, p. 635._
+
+But the November date passed in 1899, and the years have passed; and the
+wondrous scene of 1833 has not been repeated. Clerke's "History of
+Astronomy in the Nineteenth Century" says:
+
+     "We can no longer count upon the Leonids [as the meteorites of
+     1833 were called, because they seemed to fall from a point in
+     the constellation of Leo]. Their glory, for scenic purposes, is
+     departed."--_Page 338._
+
+
+The Lord's Signal to Watch
+
+Thus the wisest astronomical predictions made shortly before 1899, based
+upon the apparently recurrent regularity of the phenomenon, failed; but
+the predictions of the sure word of prophecy, set down on the sacred
+record eighteen centuries before, were fulfilled to the letter.
+
+At the close of the days of the predicted tribulation of the church, the
+signs began to appear--the sun was darkened, the moon withheld its
+light, and the stars of heaven fell.
+
+The series began at the time specified, the signs came in the order
+given in Christ's prophecy. The record of history bears witness that the
+prophecy was fulfilled.
+
+It may be that on a yet more awful and universal scale these phenomena
+will be seen again in that last shaking of the powers of heaven which is
+to attend the rolling back of the heavens as a scroll, the immediate
+prelude to Christ's glorious appearing. But Christ's prophecy, at this
+point, was not giving a description of events at the very end of the
+world, but signs by which it might be known when the end was drawing
+near.
+
+As the signs should be recognized, the Saviour intended that those who
+loved His appearing should be quickened with hope, and inspired to
+hasten to the world with the gospel message preparing the way of the
+Lord. The Lord's word for His children was,
+
+"When these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your
+heads; for your redemption draweth nigh." Luke 21:28.
+
+Long ago these signs began to come to pass. Now may the Lord's believing
+children well look up and rejoice, knowing that the day of eternal
+redemption is indeed nigh at hand.
+
+
+He Will Come for His Own
+
+    In the glad time of the harvest,
+      In the grand millennial year,
+    When the King shall take His scepter,
+      And to judge the world appear,
+    Earth and sea shall yield their treasure,
+      All shall stand before the throne;
+    Just awards will then be given,
+      When the King shall claim His own.
+
+    O the rapture of His people!
+      Long they've dwelt on earth's low sod,
+    With their hearts e'er turning homeward,
+      Rich in faith and love to God.
+    They will share the life immortal,
+      They will know as they are known,
+    They will pass the pearly portal,
+      When the King shall claim His own.
+
+    Long they've toiled within the harvest,
+      Sown the precious seed with tears;
+    Soon they'll drop their heavy burdens
+      In the glad millennial years;
+    They will share the bliss of heaven,
+      Nevermore to sigh or moan;
+    Starry crowns will then be given,
+      When the King shall claim His own.
+
+    We shall greet the loved and loving,
+      Who have left us lonely here;
+    Every heartache will be banished
+      When the Saviour shall appear;
+    Never grieved with sin or sorrow,
+      Never weary or alone;
+    O, we long for that glad morrow
+      When the King shall claim His own!
+
+    --_L.D. Santee._
+
+[Illustration: SATAN OFFERS GOLD, AND THE WORLD STAMPEDES TO ITS
+DESTRUCTION
+
+"Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come
+upon you." James 5:1.]
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[D] The display was most brilliant, apparently, in Western Asia. The
+veteran missionary, Dr. H.H. Jessup, of the Presbyterian Missionary
+College, of Beirut, describes the scene in his "Fifty-Three Years in
+Syria:" "On the morning of the fourteenth [November], at three o'clock,
+I was roused from a deep sleep by the voice of one of the young men
+calling, 'The stars are all coming down.' ... The meteors poured down
+like a rain of fire. Many of them were large and varicolored, and left
+behind them a long train of fire. One immense green meteor came down
+over Lebanon, seeming as large as the moon, and exploded with a large
+noise, leaving a green pillar of light in its train. It was vain to
+attempt to count them, and the display continued until dawn, when their
+light was obscured by the king of day.... The Mohammedans gave the call
+to prayer from the minarets, and the common people were in
+terror."--_Volume I, pp. 316, 317._
+
+
+[Illustration: THE MISER
+
+"Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days." James 5:3.]
+
+
+
+
+THE MEANING OF PRESENT-DAY CONDITIONS
+
+"THERE SHALL BE SIGNS ... UPON THE EARTH"
+
+
+From the specific signs in the heavens, which were to herald the coming
+of the latter days and awaken the church to look for its coming Lord,
+our Saviour's prophecy passed on to designate certain general conditions
+in the world which were to continue until the great day of God comes:
+
+"There shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and
+upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the
+waves roaring; men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after
+those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven
+shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a
+cloud with power and great glory." Luke 21:25-27.
+
+Among the developments here foretold, and which contribute to the
+"distress of nations, with perplexity," we may list the following:
+
+[Illustration: THE ARMING OF THE NATIONS
+
+"Prepare war,... beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning
+hooks into spears." Joel 3: 9, 10.]
+
+
+1. Political Unrest--the Arming of the Nations
+
+Following on closely with the signs in the heavens, there appears also
+the awakening to national aspirations and rivalries in Europe, out of
+which has grown the arming of the nations. The beginning of the modern
+race of armaments may be dated from those stirring and eventful years of
+1830 to 1848. We have seen the resources of the soil and the inventive
+genius of man devoted to preparations for war on a scale never before
+thought of. The prophet Joel foretold these conditions in the last days:
+
+"Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles ["the nations," R.V.]: Prepare war,
+wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come
+up: beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning hooks into
+spears: let the weak say, I am strong.... Let the heathen be
+wakened.... Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision [or
+"cutting off"]: for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of
+decision." Joel 3: 9-14.
+
+[Illustration: READY FOR THE CONFLICT
+
+"For the day of the Lord is near." Joel 3: 14.
+
+PHOTO FROM UNDERWOOD & UNDERWOOD, N.Y.]
+
+Another prophecy forewarns of the "peace and safety" cry that is to be
+heard as the end draws near. We are told that many people in the last
+days will be saying that swords are to be beaten into plowshares, and
+that the nations will cease from war (Isa. 2:3, 4); but the actual
+conditions are repeatedly described in prophecy as warlike and perilous.
+Thus the revelator saw the closing days:
+
+"The nations were angry, and Thy wrath is come, and the time of the
+dead, that they should be judged, and that Thou shouldst give reward
+unto Thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear
+Thy name, small and great; and shouldst destroy them which destroy the
+earth." Rev. 11: 18.
+
+[Illustration: A FAITHFUL AND WISE SERVANT
+
+"Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come." Matt.
+24: 42.]
+
+What we see then among the nations proclaims the approaching end.
+
+
+2. Signs in the Social World
+
+A New Testament prophecy of the latter days says:
+
+"In the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of
+their own selves, 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, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of
+God." 2 Tim. 3: 1-4.
+
+The "perilous times" have come, when, as never before, the world is
+pleasure mad.
+
+"Unrestrained passion for pleasure," said M. Comte, editor of the French
+_Relèvement Social_, writing just before the European war, is bringing a
+terrible train of evils into modern society. Along with it he put "the
+hunt for money without regard for means," adding:
+
+     "This is the theme which manufacturers, business men, men in
+     the public administration, continually harp on with ever the
+     same conviction and ever the same wealth of proof.
+
+     "The note is ever the same, and the conclusion identical: _Nous
+     sommes perdus!_ [We are lost!]"--_Quoted in Record of Christian
+     Work, July, 1914._
+
+Many agencies for social and temperance reform are rendering the
+greatest human service; but for lost humanity the only hope is Christ,
+the divine Saviour. With an urgency born of the last call, His gospel is
+sounding to a world on the verge of eternity. Yet with divine love
+longing to save, the world sweeps on, less and less mindful of eternal
+interests. Christ's prophecy foretold it as it is:
+
+"As the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
+For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and
+drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe
+entered into the ark, and knew not until the flood came, and took them
+all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be." Matt. 24:
+37-39.
+
+Who can look out upon mankind today without the conviction that this
+scripture is being fulfilled? The drift is strong toward the world and
+away from God; but we are bidden to watch and pray, lest the coming day
+find us unprepared.
+
+
+3. Signs in the Industrial World
+
+Industrial conditions today add their contribution to the "distress of
+nations, with perplexity." Through the word of prophecy the Lord long
+ago foretold these conditions, with a warning to the careless rich, and
+a warning to the laborer and the poor, not to be drawn into contention
+over the things of this world, for the Judge is at the door. The
+prophecy, it will be seen, refers specifically to latter-day conditions.
+
+[Illustration: "AM I MY BROTHER'S KEEPER?"
+
+A night scene on the Thames embankment, London.]
+
+"Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come
+upon you. Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten.
+Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a
+witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have
+heaped treasure together for the last days. Behold, the hire of the
+laborers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by
+fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into
+the ears of the Lord of sabaoth. Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth,
+and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of
+slaughter. Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist
+you.
+
+[Illustration: THE RICH YOUNG MAN
+
+"Sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure
+in heaven." Matt. 19: 21.]
+
+"Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold,
+the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath
+long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. Be ye
+also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth
+nigh. Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned:
+behold, the Judge standeth before the door." James 5: 1-9.
+
+There is no need to argue that the issues with which the prophecy deals
+are pressing upon the world with ever-increasing perplexity. We quote
+but two statements, by men not engaged in agitation, but calmly and
+thoughtfully setting down the signs of the times.
+
+The late Lord Avebury (Sir John Lubbock) wrote a few years ago in the
+_Review of Internationalism_:
+
+     "The religion of Europe is not Christianity, but the worship of
+     the god of war.... Unless something is done, the condition of
+     the poor in Europe will grow worse and worse. It is no use
+     shutting our eyes. Revolution may not come soon, not probably
+     in our time, but come it will, and as sure as fate there will
+     be an explosion such as the world has never seen."
+
+Of the rapid growth of discontent and its propaganda, Mr. Frederick
+Townsend Martin, of New York, wrote:
+
+     "Fifty years ago there was scarcely a voice of protest; indeed,
+     there was hardly anything to protest against. Twenty-five years
+     ago the protest was clear and distinct, and we understood it.
+     Ten years ago the protest found expression in a dozen weekly
+     publications, but today the protest is circulated not by
+     hundreds or thousands of printed copies of books, pamphlets,
+     magazines, and newspapers, but actually by the million.
+
+     "This propaganda of protest has its daily papers that are
+     distinctive and published for that purpose, and that purpose
+     only. It has its magazines and tens of thousands of weekly
+     papers. Only a fool sneers at such a volume of publicity as
+     that....
+
+     "The warnings that hundreds of us are uttering may be ignored.
+     The squandering may go on, the vulgar bacchanalia may be
+     prolonged, the poor may have to writhe under the iron heel of
+     the iron lord--the dance of death may go on until society's E
+     string snaps, and then the Vesuvius of the underworld will
+     belch forth its lava of death and destruction."--_Hearst's
+     Magazine, September, 1913._
+
+Thus hearts grow faint "for looking after those things which are coming
+on the earth." But while the increasing "distress of nations, with
+perplexity," abounds, the Lord sends the steadying, assuring message
+that soon Christ will come to end the reign of sin and strife. He would
+have His children keep the gospel light glowing, and wait patiently for
+Him.
+
+
+4. The Great Missionary Movement
+
+The Saviour's prophecy of the signs of His second coming places the work
+of world evangelization as the culminating sign. This in itself is a
+joyful token of the approaching end, a bright signal of hope in a
+suffering world. He said:
+
+"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.
+
+Before the end, the light of the gospel was to shine into every dark
+corner of the earth. True to the sure word of prophecy, when the latter
+days began,--"the time of the end,"--there sprang up the great movement
+of modern missions which has been one of the leading characteristics of
+the last century. Here are a few facts showing the missionary
+developments of a single century:
+
+     "In 1800 the foreign missionary societies numbered seven. In
+     1900 they numbered over 500.
+
+     "In 1800 the income of seven societies amounted to about
+     $50,000. In 1900 the income was over $15,000,000.
+
+     "In 1800 the number of native communicants enrolled in
+     Protestant mission churches was 7,000. In 1900 there were
+     1,500,000 native communicants.
+
+     "In 1800 the adherents of Protestant churches in heathen lands
+     were estimated at 15,000. In 1900 they numbered 3,500,000.
+
+     "In 1800 only one fifth of the human family had the Bible in
+     languages they could read. In 1900 nine tenths of the people of
+     the world had the Word of God in languages and dialects known
+     to them."
+
+Since 1900 the missionary movement has remarkably increased in extent
+and activity. It is estimated that now there are about 22,000 foreign
+missionaries in the fields, with many thousands of trained native
+evangelists and helpers.
+
+The prophecy is fulfilling before our eyes. It is not the conversion of
+the world that Christ's words foretold, but the evangelization of the
+world; and when all the world has heard the gospel of the kingdom, "then
+shall the end come."
+
+Another prophecy--that of Rev. 14: 6-14--shows that the closing phase of
+this world-wide missionary movement is to be the proclamation of the
+special gospel message of preparation for the coming of the Lord,
+calling all men to worship God and keep His commandments, and warning
+them against following the traditions of men that make void the Word of
+God.
+
+[Illustration: THE SUNSET HOUR
+
+"The work that centuries might have done Must crowd the hour of setting
+sun."]
+
+With the coming of this generation there has come just such a message,
+in the rise and progress of the advent movement, the burden of the
+message being expressed in the very language of the prophecy--"Fear God,
+and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come." Rev. 14:
+7. And the movement is spreading rapidly "to every nation, and kindred,
+and tongue, and people." Thus in vision the prophet on Patmes heard the
+message given; and when its warning cry had reached all nations, he saw
+Christ coming in the clouds of heaven to reap the harvest of the earth.
+
+
+"Even at the Doors"
+
+Of the beginning of the special signs of the last days, Christ said:
+
+"When these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your
+heads; for your redemption draweth nigh." Luke 21: 28.
+
+But of the time when these signs should all be seen fulfilled or in
+process of fulfilment, the Saviour said:
+
+"Now learn a parable of the fig tree: When his branch is yet tender, and
+putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: so likewise ye, when
+ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.
+Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these
+things be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My words
+shall not pass away." Matt. 24: 32-35.
+
+In this generation we see these things. All about us the signs have
+appeared. We know, then, by the word that shall not pass away, that the
+generation has at last appeared that is to see the Saviour coming in
+power and great glory. "Of that day and hour knoweth no man," but we may
+know "that it is near, even at the doors"--the day for which the saints
+of God have hoped through all the ages.
+
+[Illustration: PHILIP AND THE EUNUCH
+
+"Understandest thou what thou readest?" Acts 8:30.]
+
+[Illustration: THE ROYAL PALACE OF BABYLON
+
+"The God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and
+glory." Dan. 2:37]
+
+
+
+
+THE HISTORIC PROPHECY OF DANIEL 7
+
+FOUR GREAT UNIVERSAL EMPIRES
+
+
+Part I
+
+So important is it that we understand the events leading on to the end,
+that repeatedly the "sure word of prophecy" outlines the course of this
+world's history, and sets up waymarks along the highway to the
+everlasting kingdom.
+
+In the light of prophecy we see the hand of God guiding and overruling
+through all history, shaping events for the carrying out of His purpose
+to end the reign of sin and to bring in the reign of eternal
+righteousness. His prophetic word foretells events of history, that we
+may know that He is the living God over all, and that we may understand
+that the divine purpose will surely be fulfilled. Above a wicked world
+there is a God in heaven, waiting only the appointed time for the
+accomplishment of His purposes.
+
+"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,
+saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure.... I have
+spoken it, I also will bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also
+do it.... My salvation shall not tarry: and I will place salvation in
+Zion." Isa. 46:9-13.
+
+In the dream of Nebuchadnezzar, recorded in the second chapter of
+Daniel, the Lord revealed in brief but graphic outline the course of
+history from the days of Babylon to the end of the world. The four great
+universal monarchies,--Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome--were
+represented by the various parts of the metallic image. That prophecy
+described particularly the division of the Roman Empire into the
+kingdoms of western Europe. "In the days of these kings," declared the
+word of the Lord, the God of heaven was to set up His kingdom, bringing
+an end to all earthly powers.
+
+In the seventh chapter we are taken over the same course of history, in
+Daniel's vision of the four beasts. Here also chief attention is devoted
+to the fourth great kingdom; and especially to its divided state; for
+the events taking place at this time are of the deepest eternal interest
+to all men.
+
+In this vision Daniel saw four universal empires represented by great
+beasts. One after another the symbolic beasts arose, did their work, and
+gave place to the next scenes in the history. The angel clearly
+explained to Daniel the meaning of the vision:
+
+"These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise
+out of the earth. But the saints of the Most High shall take the
+kingdom, and possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever."
+
+Of necessity, then, it is a repetition of the story of the four
+universal monarchies dealt with in the second chapter, and ending with
+the setting up of the everlasting kingdom.
+
+Let us place the view given the prophet in vision alongside the record
+of history.
+
+First, however, a word as to the manner in which the great beasts
+appeared to the prophet:
+
+"I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the heaven
+strove upon the great sea. And four great beasts came up from the sea,
+diverse one from another."
+
+Again and again, in the figurative language of Scripture, winds are used
+as the symbol for wars; and the sea, or waters, for nations or peoples.
+(See Jer. 25:31-33; Rev. 17:15.) The prophet saw the clashing of the
+nations in war, and out of these conflicts arose the kingdoms described
+in the prophecy.
+
+[Illustration: THE FIRST BEAST
+
+"The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings." Dan. 7:4.]
+
+
+Babylon
+
+Note the prophetic picture of the prophecy and the corresponding
+representation in history.
+
+_Prophecy._--"The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings: I beheld
+till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the
+earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man's heart was
+given to it."
+
+_History._--As the lion is king of beasts, it was a fitting symbol of
+Babylon, "the glory of kingdoms." Isa. 13:19. The eagle's wings suggest
+rapidity of movement and far-reaching conquest. The prophet Habakkuk
+said of it, "Their horsemen shall come from far; they shall fly as the
+eagle." This was the characteristic of Babylon under the earlier kings,
+but especially under Nebuchadnezzar. Berosus, the ancient Chaldean
+historian, wrote of him:
+
+     "This Babylonian king conquered Egypt, and Syria, and Phenicia,
+     and Arabia; and exceeded in his exploits all that had reigned
+     before him in Babylon." (See Flavius Josephus "Against Apion,"
+     book 1, par. 19.)
+
+[Illustration: THE SECOND BEAST
+
+"And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear." Dan. 7:5.]
+
+But now, at the time of Daniel's vision, degeneracy had come; the empire
+was tottering. The lion heart was gone, the eagle's wings were plucked,
+and within three years from the time the vision was given, Babylon was
+overthrown.
+
+
+Medo-Persia
+
+As the dominion passed from Babylon to the next great power, the prophet
+says:
+
+_Prophecy._--"Behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it
+raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth of it
+between the teeth of it: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much
+flesh."
+
+_History._--The Medes and Persians overthrew Babylon. Medo-Persia was a
+dual kingdom, lifting itself up on one side, first the Median branch the
+stronger, then the Persian, under Cyrus and his successors, rising
+higher. This two-sided characteristic, noted as a distinguishing mark in
+the prophecy, was emphasized by the ancient writers also. Æschylus, the
+Greek poet, who lived in the time of Persia, wrote:
+
+    "Asia's brave host,
+    A Mede first led. The virtues of his son
+    Fixed firm the empire....
+    ... Cyrus third, by fortune graced,
+    Adorned the throne."
+
+    --"_Persoe._"
+
+The word spoken in the vision, "Arise, devour much flesh," describes the
+history from the time when the Persian side rose uppermost. Rawlinson
+says, "Cyrus proceeded with scarcely a pause on a long career of
+conquest."
+
+An alliance against Persia was formed by Lydia, Egypt, and Babylon
+(Herodotus 1:77); and as these three great provinces were subdued, they
+may well be represented by the three ribs in the mouth of the
+Medo-Persian bear.
+
+
+Grecia
+
+Yet another kingdom was to follow, and strikingly the symbol pictures
+the characteristics of the Greek conquest.
+
+_Prophecy._--"After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which
+had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; and the beast had also
+four heads; and dominion was given to it."
+
+_History._--The third kingdom was Grecia. Under Alexander the Great, the
+Greeks swept into Asia with the quickness of the leopard's spring. And
+the four wings on the leopard must represent astonishing fleetness.
+Plutarch speaks of the "incredible swiftness" of Alexander's conquests.
+Appian wrote:
+
+     "The empire of Alexander was splendid in its magnitude, in its
+     armies, in the success and rapidity of its conquests, and it
+     wanted little of being boundless and unexampled, yet in its
+     shortness of duration it was like a brilliant flash of
+     lightning. Although broken into several satrapies, even the
+     parts were splendid."--_"History of Rome," preface, par. 10._
+
+[Illustration: THE THIRD BEAST
+
+"After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard." Dan. 7:6.]
+
+Thus the ancient Roman writer pictured the career of Grecia just as
+represented by the prophetic symbol--the fleetness, the great dominion
+given it, the division of the empire into satrapies, as suggested by the
+four heads of the leopard. Out of the conflicts following Alexander's
+death, there came the fourfold headship of the empire. Rawlinson says,
+"A quadripartite division of Alexander's domain was recognized." (See
+"Sixth Monarchy," chap. 3.) The real situation is best represented, as
+Dr. Albert Barnes says, by "one animal with four heads," just as the
+prophetic symbol described it centuries before.
+
+Thus the course of empire followed the outline of the "sure word of
+prophecy" from age to age.
+
+    "Armies were ranged in battle's dread array:
+    They fought--their glory withered in its bud;
+    They perished--with them ceased their tyrants' sway;
+    New wars, new heroes came--their story passed away."
+
+There was to be no abiding kingdom till the time came for God's glorious
+kingdom to be set up.
+
+[Illustration: THE FOURTH BEAST
+
+"After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast,
+dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly." Dan. 7:7.]
+
+
+Rome
+
+As the prophet watched the moving panorama of history, foretold in
+symbols, he said:
+
+_Prophecy._--"After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth
+beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great
+iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue
+with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were
+before it; and it had ten horns. I considered the horns, and, behold,
+there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were
+three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this
+horn were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great
+things."
+
+[Illustration: ROME ON THE TIBER
+
+The palace of the Cæsars appears high on the hill at the left.]
+
+_History._--As the iron of the image of Nebuchadnezzar's dream fitly
+represented the "iron monarchy of Rome," so here the dreadful beast,
+with its iron teeth, can be none other than Rome, which followed Grecia
+in world dominion. It was the most powerful, the most dominating, of all
+the beasts in the prophetic series. A Roman Catholic writer, Cardinal
+Manning, compresses into a paragraph the correspondence of history to
+the likeness of the prophecy:
+
+[Illustration: BATTLE OF ZAMA, B.C. 202
+
+By which Rome broke the power of Carthage, its rival, and "began the
+conquest of the world."]
+
+     "The legions of Rome occupied the circumference of the world.
+     The military roads which sprang from Rome traversed all the
+     earth; the whole world was, as it were, held in peace and in
+     tranquillity by the universal presence of this mighty heathen
+     empire. It was 'exceedingly terrible,' according to the
+     prophecies of Daniel; it was as it were of iron, beating down
+     and subduing the nations."--_"The Temporal Power of the Pope"
+     (London, 1862), p. 122._
+
+Thus far every symbol of the prophet's vision finds its exact and clear
+counterpart in history. A writer living in the third century, in the
+days of imperial Rome, rejoiced to see how exactly the prophecy was
+being fulfilled. Hippolytus (counted a saint by the Catholic Church)
+wrote:
+
+     "Rejoice, blessed Daniel! thou hast not been in error! All
+     these things have come to pass. After this again thou hast told
+     us of the beast, dreadful and terrible. It has iron teeth and
+     claws of brass; it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped
+     the residue with the feet of it. Already the iron rules;
+     already it subdues and breaks all in pieces; already it brings
+     all the unwilling into subjection; already we see these things
+     ourselves. Now we glorify God, being instructed by
+     thee."--_"Treatise on Christ and Antichrist," sec. 33._
+
+Now the prophetic outline comes to the time of the division of the Roman
+Empire, introducing events of deepest personal interest to us today.
+
+
+Part II
+
+The Fourth Kingdom and the "Little Horn"
+
+It was the fourth great monarchy, Imperial Rome, and the events to
+follow it, that engaged the anxious inquiry of the prophet. He says:
+
+"Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast, which was diverse from
+all the others, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were of iron, and his
+nails of brass; which devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue
+with his feet; and of the ten horns that were in his head, and of the
+other which came up, and before whom three fell; even of that horn that
+had eyes, and a mouth that spake very great things, whose look was more
+stout than his fellows. I beheld, and the same horn made war with the
+saints, and prevailed against them; until the Ancient of days came, and
+judgment was given to the saints of the Most High; and the time came
+that the saints possessed the kingdom."
+
+The prophet wanted to know the truth about it; and the angel told him
+the truth. First, the angel said:
+
+"The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be
+diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall
+tread it down, and break it in pieces."
+
+The fourth kingdom, as we have seen, was Rome. As Cardinal Manning said
+of the empire, "It was 'exceeding terrible,' according to the prophecies
+of Daniel; it was as it were of iron, breaking down and subduing the
+nations."
+
+Of the ten horns that arose out of this fourth great empire, the angel
+said:
+
+"The ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and
+another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first,
+and he shall subdue three kings."
+
+We look to the history of the Roman Empire, and what do we see?--Just
+the picture of the prophecy. We see the original Roman Empire of the
+West divided into lesser kingdoms. We see the barbarian peoples of the
+North sweeping down upon the empire, breaking it up, and establishing
+within its boundaries the various kingdoms that are to this day
+represented by the kingdoms of western Europe.
+
+And as we watch the history at this point, we surely see "another little
+horn," another land of power, rising among the horns representing the
+kingdoms of divided Rome--a kingdom, yet a kingdom "diverse" from the
+others. The work of this power riveted the attention of the prophet; and
+it is of the greatest importance that we also should watch closely to
+catch the lesson of the divine prophecy.
+
+
+Prophetic and Historic Pictures of the "Little Horn"
+
+This is plainly the picture presented by the prophet, as we look again,
+observing details more closely.
+
+The prophet beheld the division of the Roman Empire into lesser
+kingdoms. Then, springing up among these kingdoms, he saw the
+little-horn power subduing three of the ten kingdoms, speaking great
+words, and making war with the saints of God. It was to be a religious
+power, then, ruling among the kings of the earth, and asserting
+religious dominion over the faith and consciences of men. "The same horn
+made war with the saints, and prevailed against them."
+
+[Illustration: THE INVASION OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE BY THE HUNS
+
+"We see the barbarian peoples of the North sweeping down upon the
+empire, breaking it up, and establishing within its boundaries the
+various kingdoms that are to this day represented by the kingdoms of
+Western Europe."--_Page 127._]
+
+We look to history, and this is what plainly appears:
+
+We see, as described in the prophecy, a time when ten contemporaneous
+kingdoms filled the territory of the original Western Empire. Just there
+we see an ecclesiastical kingly power rise to religious supremacy--the
+Roman Papacy. We see, through its influence, three of the ten kingdoms
+overthrown, "plucked up by the roots"--three Arian or heretical
+kingdoms. And as we watch the history, we find this power making "war
+with the saints" and prevailing against them through long ages.
+
+A Roman Catholic writer describes it in a paragraph:
+
+     "Long ages ago, when Rome through the neglect of the Western
+     emperors was left to the mercy of the barbarous hordes, the
+     Romans turned to one figure for aid and protection, and asked
+     him to rule them; and thus, in this simple manner, the best
+     title of all to kingly right, commenced the temporal
+     sovereignty of the popes. And meekly stepping to the throne of
+     Cæsar, the vicar of Christ took up the scepter to which the
+     emperors and kings of Europe were to bow in reverence through
+     so many ages."--_Rev. James P. Conroy, in American Catholic
+     Quarterly Review, April, 1911._
+
+Yet again we look at the picture presented in prophecy. Then we turn to
+history; and precisely where and when the prophet saw the "little horn"
+coming up, we see the Roman Papacy rising to supremacy. We see this
+ecclesiastical power wielding a kingly scepter among the kingdoms of
+divided Rome, exalting itself above them, with a look "more stout than
+his fellows." We hear it speaking great words, and we see it carrying on
+warfare against the saints.
+
+Clearly, there was no other power in history, rising at that time and in
+that place, which suggests the slightest correspondence to the prophecy.
+In every detail the Roman Papacy does correspond to it.
+
+The prophetic outline has brought us to the rise of the great apostasy,
+so fully dealt with in the New Testament prophecy; but there are further
+specifications in this prophecy of the seventh of Daniel which demand
+brief study.
+
+[Illustration: RAISING THE SIEGE OF ROME, A.D. 538
+
+The crushing defeat of the Goths by the armies of Justinian, who placed
+Vigilius in the papal chair under the military protection of his famous
+general, Belisarius.]
+
+[Illustration: ST. PETER'S AND THE VATICAN
+
+The magnificent headquarters of the papal system.]
+
+
+
+
+THE 1260 YEARS OF DANIEL'S PROPHECY
+
+
+Compressed into forty-four words, the age-long story of the workings of
+the Roman Papacy is thus told by the angel who interpreted Daniel's
+vision of the little horn:
+
+"He shall speak great words against the Most High, and shall wear out
+the saints of the Most High, and think to change times and laws: and
+they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the
+dividing of time." Dan. 7:25.
+
+The spirit of this apostasy was abroad in apostolic days. "The mystery
+of iniquity doth already work," said the apostle Paul. 2 Thess. 2:7. And
+this power is to continue to work until the end, when it will be
+destroyed by the brightness of Christ's coming. Verse 8.
+
+
+A Prophetic Period
+
+But according to the word of the angel to Daniel, there was to be a
+period during which, in a special sense, the Papacy was to hold
+supremacy over the saints and the times and the laws of the Most High.
+
+"They shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the
+dividing of time." In the Scriptures the word "time," used in this
+manner, means a year: "at the end of times, even years." Dan. 11:13,
+margin. Therefore a time (one year) and times (two years) and the
+dividing of time (half a year) means three years and a half. The same
+period is mentioned twice in the twelfth chapter of Revelation, once
+(verse 14) as "a time, and times, and half a time," and again (verse 6)
+as "a thousand two hundred and threescore days."
+
+[Illustration]
+
+But in the symbolic representations of time in prophecy, a day stands
+for a year (see Eze. 4:5, 6, and other scriptures). Thus the prophecy
+foretold a long period of 1260 years during which papal supremacy would
+continue.
+
+Now we may ask, When was this supremacy to begin? what would mark the
+rise of the Papacy to acknowledged supremacy? and what events mark the
+ending of the 1260 years?
+
+
+A Pivotal Point in History
+
+The answer of history to the voice of prophecy is clear.
+
+The sixth century was a pivotal period in the history of the world. The
+bishops of Rome had been asserting the claims of that seat (or "see")
+above all others. Justinian was emperor of the East. Of Justinian and
+his time Bury says:
+
+     "He may be likened to a colossal Janus bestriding the way of
+     passage between the ancient and medieval worlds.... His
+     military achievements decided the course of the history of
+     Italy, and affected the development of Western Europe;... and
+     his ecclesiastical authority influenced the distant future of
+     Christendom."--_"History of the Later Roman Empire," Vol. I,
+     pp. 351-353._
+
+Of this turning point in the world's history, Finlay says:
+
+     "The changes of centuries passed in rapid succession before the
+     eyes of one generation."--_"Greece under the Romans," p. 231._
+
+Just here we find the Papacy lifted definitely into acknowledged
+supremacy. Imperial Rome had already left its ancient seat to the
+Papacy, the imperial throne being no longer maintained at Rome. The
+Bishop of Rome was left the chief figure in the ancient seat of the
+Cæsars. The prophecy of Rev. 13:2 had said of the relation of the old
+imperial power to the Papacy, "The dragon gave him his power, and his
+seat, and great authority." The seat was given, and now imperial Rome
+was to give to papal Rome the definite recognition of its supreme power
+and "great authority."
+
+
+Papal Supremacy Officially Recognized
+
+In A.D. 533 the emperor Justinian promulgated a letter, having
+the force of an imperial decree, recognizing the absolute headship of
+the Bishop of Rome over the churches. It declared:
+
+     "We have been sedulous to subject and unite all the priests of
+     the Orient throughout its whole extent to the see of Your
+     Holiness.... For we do not suffer that anything which is
+     mooted, however clear and unquestionable, pertaining to the
+     state of the churches, should fail to be made known to Your
+     Holiness, as being the head of all the churches. For, as we
+     have said before, we are zealous for the increase of the honor
+     and authority of your see in all respects."--_Cod. Justin.,
+     lib. 1, title 1, Baronii "Annales Ecclesiastici," Tom. VII, an.
+     533, sec. 12 (Translation as given in "The Petrine Claims," by
+     R.F. Littledale, p. 293)._
+
+From this decree (for such it really was) the Roman authorities date the
+official recognition of the supremacy of the Papacy. Some have taken a
+later decree by Emperor Phocas (A.D. 606) as a starting point.
+But Dr. Croly says:
+
+     "The highest authorities among the civilians and annalists of
+     Rome spurn the idea that Phocas was the founder of the
+     supremacy of Rome; they ascend to Justinian as the only
+     legitimate source, and rightly date the title from the
+     memorable year 533."--_"The Apocalypse of St. John," pp. 172,
+     173._
+
+
+The Sword of Empire Cleaves the Way
+
+The "great authority" had been recognized. But at this time heretical
+Arian powers compassed the papal seat about. The Arian Vandals were
+persecuting Catholics in Africa, Corsica, and Sardinia, and an Arian
+Gothic king ruled Italy from Ravenna, his capital. The imperial arms,
+however, were at the service of orthodoxy. In 533-534 Justinian's
+famous general, Belisarius, uprooted the Vandals. The war for the faith
+and the empire was carried into Italy also, against the Arian Goths. In
+536 Belisarius, unopposed, entered Rome at the invitation of the Pope.
+But the next year the Goths rallied all their forces to retake the city.
+It was a crisis in the struggle for Italy. "If a single post had given
+way," says Gibbon, "the Romans, and Rome itself, were irrecoverably
+lost." The Goths withdrew, defeated, in 538; and this defeat, says
+Hodgkin, dug "the grave of the Gothic monarchy in Italy."
+
+[Illustration: THE POPE ENTERING ST. PETER'S FROM THE VATICAN
+
+The famous statue of St. Peter may be seen on the right.]
+
+Though the conflict went on for years before the Goths were rooted up,
+this defeat of 538 was a crucial hour in their history. Finlay says:
+
+     "With the conquest of Rome by Belisarius, the history of the
+     ancient city may be considered as terminating; and with his
+     defense against Witiges [538] commences the history of the
+     Middle Ages."--_"Greece under the Romans," p 295._
+
+Roughly speaking, the Middle Ages and the age of papal supremacy and
+power were the same.
+
+
+A New Order of Popes
+
+[Illustration: THE VATICAN
+
+A bird's-eye view from the dome of St. Peter's. COPYRIGHT BY UNDERWOOD &
+UNDERWOOD, N.Y.]
+
+Not only was there this telling stroke by the imperial sword in 538,
+helping to clear the way before the Papacy, but at this same time the
+first of a new order of popes was placed upon the papal throne by the
+imperial arms. Pope Silverius, accused of sympathy with the Goths, was
+deposed by Belisarius in 537. The emperor intervened, and the question
+of the validity of his deposition was held up by the emperor until 538.
+In that year, as Schaff says:
+
+     "Vigilius, a pliant creature of Theodora, ascended the papal
+     chair under the military protection of Belisarius
+     (538-554)."--_"History of the Christian Church," Vol. III, p.
+     327._
+
+[Illustration: THE FAMOUS SACRED STAIRWAY IN ROME
+
+Here Luther, climbing the stairway on his knees, heard the message, "The
+just shall live by faith."]
+
+With him begins a new order. Though personally he was humiliated by the
+emperor's demands, and the Papacy itself was brought into a state of
+subjection that it had not known even under heretical Gothic kings, yet
+this very arbitrary use of the papal prerogative by Justinian,
+strengthened the idea that the Pope of Rome was the supreme authority
+in religion, to speak for the universal church. In Bemont and Monod's
+textbook on "Medieval Europe," page 120, we read:
+
+     "Down to the sixth century all popes are declared saints in the
+     martyrologies. Vigilius (537[E]-555) is the first of a series
+     of popes who no longer bear this title, which is henceforth
+     sparingly conferred. From this time on the popes, more and more
+     involved in worldly events, no longer belong solely to the
+     church; they are men of the state, and then rulers of the
+     state."
+
+
+A Persecuting Power
+
+Following Vigilius came Pelagius I (556-560), who ascended the throne by
+"the military aid of Narses," then the imperial general in Italy. And
+Pelagius, who had been set in the papal see by imperial power, began to
+demand that the sword of the empire should be used against bishops or
+members in the church who did not give way to the authority of the Pope.
+His letters on this subject "are an unqualified defense of the
+principles of persecution." (See "Dictionary of Christian Biography," by
+Smith and Wace, art. "Pope Pelagius.")
+
+The prophecy declared that the Papacy would be given special supremacy
+during a period of 1260 years.
+
+In A.D. 533 came the memorable imperial declaration recognizing
+that supremacy, and in A.D. 538 came the stroke with the sword
+of Rome, cleaving the way; and there began the new order of popes--"men
+of the state, and then rulers of the state."
+
+Thus decisive events clearly mark the beginning of the prophetic period
+of the 1260 years. And just 1260 years from the decree of 533, in
+recognition of the papal supremacy, came a decree, in 1793, aimed
+against that supremacy; and just 1260 years from that stroke with the
+sword at Rome in behalf of the Papacy, came a stroke with the sword at
+Rome against the Papacy.
+
+[Illustration: STORMING OF THE BASTILLE PRISON IN PARIS
+
+An event in the French Revolution which marked the ending of the old
+autocratic order.]
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[E] The exact date should be 538, as given in the quotation from
+Schaff's history. "From the death of Silverius [June, 538] the Roman
+Catholic writers date the episcopacy of Vigilius."--_Bower, "History of
+the Popes," under year 538._
+
+
+[Illustration: TAKING THE POPE PRISONER
+
+This was accomplished by Berthier, the French general, in 1798.]
+
+
+
+
+THE DAWN OF A NEW ERA
+
+THE END OF THE 1260 YEARS
+
+
+As the generation in which the papal power rose to supremacy was a
+turning-point in the history of the world, so, too, was the generation
+in which the 1260 years of its supremacy came to an end.
+
+This measuring line of prophecy does more than run from date to date. It
+connects two great crises in human history, the events of the first
+tending to establish the papal rule over men, the events of the second
+signalizing a breaking of those bands.
+
+
+A Crisis in History
+
+Papal supremacy came at that time of which Finlay says, "The changes of
+centuries passed in rapid succession before the eyes of one generation."
+The measuring line of 1260 years runs on through the centuries till, lo,
+its end touches another time of crisis,--Europe in the convulsions of
+the French Revolution, when again changes, ordinarily requiring
+centuries, were wrought out before the eyes of men within the space of a
+few years. Lamartine wrote of that time:
+
+     "These five years are five centuries for France."--_"History of
+     the Girondists," book 61, sec. 16 (Vol. III), p. 544._
+
+And the events of these times proclaimed the prophetic period of papal
+supremacy ended at last.
+
+Thus, in A.D. 533 came the notable decree of the Papacy's
+powerful supporter, recognizing its supremacy; and then the decisive
+stroke by the sword at Rome in A.D. 538, cleaving the way for
+the new order of popes--the rulers of state.
+
+Exactly 1260 years later, in 1793, came the notable decree of the
+Papacy's once powerful supporter, France,--"the eldest son of the
+church,"--aiming to abolish church and religion, followed by a decisive
+stroke with the sword at Rome against the Papacy, in 1798.
+
+
+Significant Events of the French Revolution
+
+Of the decree of 1793, W.H. Hutton says:--
+
+     "On Nov. 26, 1793, the Convention, of which seventeen bishops
+     and some clergy were members, decreed the abolition of all
+     religion."--_"Age of Revolution," p. 156._
+
+The frenzy of the days of the Terror presented the spectacle of outraged
+humanity, goaded to desperation by centuries of oppression in the name
+of religion and divine right, rising up and madly breaking every
+restraint. Because in the minds of the people the Papacy stood for
+religion, they blindly struck at religion itself, and at God, in whose
+name the papal church had done its cruel work through the centuries.
+
+In the prophecy of Rev. 11:3-13 these events of the wild days of the
+French Revolution are specifically referred to as coming at the close of
+the prophetic period of the 1260 years. The prophetic picture was so
+clear that over a hundred years before the time, Jurieu, an eminent
+French student of prophecy, wrote that he could "not doubt that 'tis
+France," the chief supporter of the Papacy, that would give the shock
+as of an earthquake to the great spiritual Babylonian city. He wrote of
+France, one of the ten parts of divided Rome:
+
+     "This tenth part of the city shall fall, with respect to the
+     Papacy; it shall break with Rome, and the Roman
+     religion."--_"The Accomplishment of the Prophecies" (London,
+     1687), part 2, p. 265._
+
+And so it came to pass. Far beyond France the movement reached. Canon
+Trevor says of the wave of revolt against absolutism that passed over
+Europe:
+
+     "It is worthy of observation that only those nations which
+     eschewed popery were able to resist the tide. Every throne and
+     every church, without exception, that owned the supremacy of
+     Rome, was prostrated in the dust."--_"Rome and Its Papal
+     Rulers," p. 436._
+
+The decree of the French Convention in 1793 was followed by the stroke
+with the sword at Rome in 1798. The full history is told in fewest words
+by a Roman Catholic writer, Rev. Joseph Rickaby, of the Jesuit Society:
+
+     "When, in 1797, Pope Pius VI fell grievously ill, Napoleon gave
+     orders that in the event of his death no successor should be
+     elected to his office, and that the Papacy should be
+     discontinued.
+
+     "But the Pope recovered. The peace was soon broken; Berthier
+     entered Rome on the tenth of February, 1798, and proclaimed a
+     republic. The aged pontiff refused to violate his oath by
+     recognizing it, and was hurried from prison to prison in
+     France. Broken with fatigue and sorrows, he died on the
+     nineteenth of August, 1799, in the French fortress of Valence,
+     aged eighty-two years. No wonder that half Europe thought
+     Napoleon's veto would be obeyed, and that with the Pope the
+     Papacy was dead."--_"The Modern Papacy," p. 1 (Catholic Truth
+     Society, London)._
+
+These events of the French Revolution marked the ending of the prophetic
+period of papal supremacy. A "deadly wound" had been given the Papacy.
+And the blow with the sword at Rome was struck in 1798, just 1260 years
+from the year 538, when the sword of empire struck that decisive blow
+against the Goths at Rome, and prepared the way for the new order of
+popes, the kingly rulers of church and state.
+
+Of the condition of the Papacy at this time Canon Trevor says:
+
+     "The Papacy was extinct: not a vestige of its existence
+     remained; and among all the Roman Catholic powers not a finger
+     was stirred in its defense. The Eternal City had no longer
+     prince or pontiff; its bishop was a dying captive in foreign
+     lands; and the decree was already announced that no successor
+     would be allowed in his place."--_"Rome and Its Papal Rulers,"
+     p. 440._
+
+"No wonder that half Europe," the Jesuit writer says, "thought
+Napoleon's veto would be obeyed, and that with the Pope the Papacy was
+dead." But he adds that "since then the Papacy has been lifted to a
+pinnacle of spiritual power" unreached before.
+
+The stroke dealt the Papacy by the French Revolution was not to be the
+ending of it, by any means, according to the prophecy. These events
+proclaimed the ending of the prophetic period of special supremacy.
+Another prophecy distinctly indicates that following the deadly blow
+there would come a revival of the Papacy's influence, just as the
+Catholic writer describes it. The prophet John, speaking of this same
+power, says:
+
+"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.... And
+they worshiped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is
+able to make war with him?" Rev. 13:3, 4.
+
+We see the healing process still going on, with evidences multiplying
+that the world is more and more wondering after the papal power.
+
+
+A New Era of Liberty and Enlightenment
+
+With the ending of the 1260 years of papal supremacy, a new order was
+ushered in. The Papacy had stood for absolutism in state as well as
+church. Now the power of absolutism was broken. "Absolute monarchy,"
+Edmund Burke said at the time, "breathed its last without a struggle."
+There came the dawn of an era of greater religious liberty and
+enlightenment, that has spread blessings over all lands.
+
+The prophecy had said of the Papacy, that the saints and the times and
+laws of the Most High were to be "given into his hand" for 1260 years.
+As foretold in Christ's prophecy (Matt. 24:22), these days of the
+tribulation of God's saints were "shortened." The power of the
+Reformation weakened the oppressing hand, even before the prophetic
+period ran out. And when the full 1260 years closed, the world saw the
+grip of that papal hand yet further loosened, and God's providence at
+work preparing the way for a world-wide proclamation of His gospel,
+bearing witness against the perversions of the papal apostasy, and
+restoring to men the Word and laws of the Most High.
+
+The record of history witnesses that this time prophecy of the 1260
+years of papal supremacy was exactly fulfilled. The Lord speaks in
+prophecy that men may know that He is the living God. In these time
+prophecies of His Word, He gives assurance not only that this troubled
+world has not escaped from the hand of its Maker, but that its times are
+in His hand also; and that when the time of His divine purpose fully
+comes, He will surely cut His work short in righteousness, and end the
+reign of sin on earth.
+
+As the prophetic period of Dan. 7:25 meets its fulfilment in the history
+of the Papacy, even so, we shall see, the work of the Roman Church
+answers to the further specifications regarding the doings of this
+"little horn" of Daniel's prophecy.
+
+[Illustration: THE TRIPLE CROWN
+
+The Pope's Tiara, from a photograph taken in the Vatican at Rome.]
+
+[Illustration: HUGUENOTS IN PRISON FOR THEIR FAITH
+
+"Others had trial ... of bonds and imprisonment." Heb. 11:36.]
+
+
+
+
+THE WORK OF THE "LITTLE HORN" POWER
+
+
+The prophetic picture of the rise and work of the "little horn" finds
+its exact counterpart in the history of the Roman Papacy:
+
+_The Place._--The little horn was seen by the prophet rising in the
+field of the Roman Empire. That was the very place where the great
+kingdom of the Papacy appeared, taking the name of Roman.
+
+_The Time._--The rise of the ecclesiastical kingdom of the little-horn
+power in the prophecy followed the breaking up of the Roman Empire into
+the ten kingdoms. Just so the ecclesiastical kingdom of the Roman Papacy
+rises to view in history immediately following the division of the
+empire.
+
+_The Period of Supremacy._--The prophecy allotted 1260 years to the full
+supremacy of this power. History responds that from the beginning of the
+papal supremacy, in the days of Justinian, a period of 1260 years brings
+us into the stirring events of the last decade of the eighteenth
+century, that gave to the Papacy a deadly wound.
+
+[Illustration: THE LOVE OF POWER
+
+"He shall speak great words against the Most High." Dan. 7:25.
+
+THE POWER OF LOVE]
+
+One further set of specifications remains for study:
+
+_The Work._--Of the nature and work of the power represented by the
+little horn, the prophecy declares:
+
+"He shall speak great words against the Most High, and shall wear out
+the saints of the Most High, and think to change times and laws: and
+they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the
+dividing of time." Dan. 7:25.
+
+Do we find in the record that the Church of Rome has fulfilled these
+specifications also? The Scripture prophecy is absolutely a
+word-photograph of the workings of the papal church. Look at the main
+features:
+
+    1. Speaking great words against the Most High.
+    2. Wearing out the saints of the Most High.
+    3. Thinking to change the times and the laws of the Most High.
+
+Every count in the indictment may be clearly proved, and that by
+testimony from Roman Catholic sources
+
+
+"He Shall Speak Great Words Against the Most High"
+
+As Daniel observed the little-horn power, he heard it speaking "very
+great things." The angel declared that these great swelling words were
+really against the Most High. And what could be more against the honor
+of the Most High than that to mortal man should be ascribed the titles
+and attributes of divinity? Here are some of the "great words:"
+
+     "All the names which are attributed to Christ in Scripture,
+     implying His supremacy over the church, are also attributed to
+     the Pope."--_Bellarmine, "On the Authority of Councils," book
+     2, chap. 17._
+
+This ruling has been actually applied through the ages. Says Elliott:
+
+     "Look at the Sicilian ambassadors prostrated before him [Pope
+     Martin IV] with the cry, 'Lamb of God! that takest away the
+     sins of the world!'"--_"Horæ Apocalypticæ," part 4, chap. 5,
+     sec. 2._
+
+[Illustration: CHRISTIANS IN PRISON BENEATH THE COLOSSEUM AWAITING
+MARTYRDOM
+
+"And shall wear out the saints of the Most High." Dan. 7:25.]
+
+     "The Pope is of so great dignity and excellence, that he is not
+     merely man, but as if God, and the vicar of God (_non sit
+     simplex homo, sed quasi Deus, et Dei vicarius_). The Pope alone
+     is called most holy,... divine monarch, and supreme emperor,
+     and king of kings.... The Pope is of so great dignity and power
+     that he constitutes one and the same tribunal with Christ
+     (_faciat unum et idem tribunal cum Christo_), so that
+     whatsoever the Pope does seems to proceed from the mouth of God
+     (_abore Dei_)."--_"Prompta Bibliotheca" (Ferraris), art.
+     "Papa;" Ferraris's Ecclesiastical Dictionary (Roman Catholic),
+     art. "The Pope." Quoted in Guinness's "Romanism and the
+     Reformation," p. 16._
+
+These are no merely extravagant adulations of the Dark Ages, to be
+repudiated by the moderns; these terms express the unchanging doctrinal
+claims of the Roman Church, that put man in the place of God. The modern
+Pope Leo XIII, in an encyclical letter dated June 20, 1894, repeated the
+claim:
+
+     "We hold upon this earth the place of God Almighty."--_"The
+     Great Encyclical Letters of Leo XIII" (New York, Benziger
+     Brothers), p. 304._
+
+Thus does the Papacy "speak great words against the Most High."
+
+
+"And Shall Wear Out the Saints of the Most High"
+
+All through the Dark Ages we catch glimpses of the ruthless hand of Rome
+laid upon simple believers in God's Holy Word; but plans for wholesale
+wearing out of the saints of God were devised as the Waldenses and
+others rose to a widespread work of witnessing, heralds of the dawn of
+the coming Reformation,--
+
+    "These who gave earliest notice,
+     As the lark
+    Springs from the ground the morn to gratulate;
+    Who, rather, rose the day to antedate,
+    By striking out a solitary spark,
+    When all the world with midnight gloom was dark--
+    The harbingers of good whom bitter hate
+    In vain endeavored to exterminate."
+
+    --_Wordsworth._
+
+Pope Innocent III gave orders concerning them as follows:
+
+     "Therefore by this present apostolical writing, we give you a
+     strict command that, by whatever means you can, you destroy all
+     these heresies and expel from your diocese all who are polluted
+     with them. You shall exercise the rigor of ecclesiastical power
+     against them and all those who have made themselves suspected
+     by associating with them. They may not appeal from your
+     judgments, and, if necessary, you may cause the princes and
+     people to suppress them with the sword."--_Quoted from Migne,
+     214, col. 71, in Thatcher and McNeal's "Source Book for
+     Medieval History," p. 210._
+
+As the truth spread, so also the papal church redoubled its efforts by
+sword and flame. The historian Lecky says:
+
+     "That the Church of Rome has shed more innocent blood than any
+     other institution that has ever existed among mankind, will be
+     questioned by no Protestant who has a competent knowledge of
+     history. The memorials, indeed, of many of her persecutions are
+     now so scanty that it is impossible to form a complete
+     conception of the multitude of her victims, and it is quite
+     certain that no powers of imagination can adequately realize
+     their sufferings."--_"History of the Rise and Influence of the
+     Spirit of Rationalism in Europe," Vol. II, p. 32._
+
+Motley, in his "Rise of the Dutch Republic" (part 3, chap. 2), tells how
+Philip II of Spain--who declared that he would "never consent to be the
+sovereign of heretics"--sent the Duke of Alva to take over the
+Netherlands:
+
+     "Early in the year the most sublime sentence of death was
+     promulgated which has ever been pronounced since the creation
+     of the world. The Roman tyrant [Nero] wished that his enemies'
+     heads were all upon a single neck, that he might strike them
+     off at a blow; the Inquisition assisted Philip to place the
+     heads of all his Netherlands subjects upon a single neck for
+     the same fell purpose. Upon February 16, 1568, a sentence of
+     the Holy Office condemned all the inhabitants of the
+     Netherlands to death as heretics. From this universal doom only
+     a few persons, especially named, were excepted. A proclamation
+     of the king, dated ten days later, confirmed this decree of the
+     Inquisition, and ordered it to be carried into instant
+     execution, without regard to age, sex, or condition. This is
+     probably the most concise death warrant that was ever framed.
+     Three millions of people, men, women, and children, were
+     sentenced to the scaffold in three lines."
+
+Roman Catholic writers admit that the papal church has sought to
+exterminate what it calls heresy, by the power of the sword.
+
+The _Western Watchman_ (St. Louis), Dec. 24, 1908, says:
+
+     "The church has persecuted.... Protestants were persecuted in
+     France and Spain with the full approval of the church
+     authorities. We have always defended the persecution of the
+     Huguenots, and the Spanish Inquisition. Wherever and whenever
+     there is honest Catholicity, there will be a clear distinction
+     drawn between truth and error, and Catholicity and all forms of
+     error. When she thinks it good to use physical force, she will
+     use it."
+
+Prof. Alfred Baudrillart, rector of the Catholic Institute of Paris,
+says:
+
+     "The Catholic Church is a respecter of conscience and of
+     liberty.... She has, and she loudly proclaims that she has, a
+     'horror of blood.' Nevertheless, when confronted by heresy, she
+     does not content herself with persuasion; arguments of an
+     intellectual and moral order appear to her insufficient, and
+     she has recourse to force, to corporal punishment, to torture.
+     She creates tribunals like those of the Inquisition, she calls
+     the laws of the state to her aid, if necessary she encourages a
+     crusade, or a religious war, and all her 'horror of blood'
+     practically culminates into urging the secular power to shed
+     it, which proceeding is almost more odious--for it is less
+     frank--than shedding it herself. Especially did she act thus in
+     the sixteenth century with regard to Protestants. Not content
+     to reform morally, to preach by example, to convert people by
+     eloquent and holy missionaries, she lit in Italy, in the Low
+     Countries, and above all in Spain, the funeral piles of the
+     Inquisition. In France under Francis I and Henry II, in England
+     under Mary Tudor, she tortured the heretics, whilst both in
+     France and Germany during the second half of the sixteenth and
+     the first half of the seventeenth century if she did not
+     actually begin, at any rate she encouraged and actively aided,
+     the religious wars."--_"The Catholic Church, the Renaissance
+     and Protestantism" (London, Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co.,
+     Ltd., 1908), pp. 182, 183._
+
+She has done it--the Church of Rome has worn out the saints of the Most
+High. The prophet in vision saw an ecclesiastical kingly power rise
+among the kingdoms of the divided Roman Empire. Its look was more stout
+than its fellows, and the prophet heard it speaking "very great things,"
+and saw it wearing out the saints of the Most High through the long
+centuries.
+
+[Illustration: THE SHAME OF RELIGIOUS WARS
+
+Christ viewing the battle fields of history, where millions of His
+followers have been slain in His name.]
+
+"Guilty!" is the clear verdict of history, against the Church of Rome on
+these two counts of the prophetic indictment.
+
+
+"And Think to Change Times and Laws"
+
+The power that was to speak great words against the Most High, and to
+wear out the saints of the Most High, was further--in its self-exalting
+opposition to God--to assume to lay hands upon times and laws, evidently
+the times and the laws of the Most High; for to say that such a power
+would lay hands on the laws of men, changing or setting aside human
+legislation, would signify less than the preceding counts. This third
+specification states a climax in the indictment--the self-exalting,
+persecuting power was to lay hands upon the very law of the Most High.
+It is clearly the same power that the apostle Paul said would rise to
+dominion after his time: "Then shall be revealed the lawless one." 2
+Thess. 2:8, A.R.V.
+
+
+God's Law Unchangeable
+
+Just as the laws of a government express its character, so the law of
+God is a reflection of the divine character. "The law of the Lord is
+perfect." Ps. 19:7. "Wherefore the law is holy," said the apostle, "and
+the commandment holy, and just, and good." Rom. 7:12.
+
+Jesus declared, "I delight to do Thy will, O My God: yea, Thy law is
+within My heart." Ps. 40:8. And He maintained the unchangeable, enduring
+integrity of that law: "Verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth
+pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all
+be fulfilled." Matt. 5:18.
+
+But in Daniel's prophecy is foretold the rise of this power that was to
+_think_ to change the times and the laws of the Most High.
+
+Here, again, the evidence points straight to the Church of Rome; for it
+is a fact that the Papacy has laid violent hands on the law of God--upon
+the precept, too, that deals with sacred time--and has _thought_ to
+change it.
+
+In a volume to be seen in the British Museum, dated 1545, the following
+comment on Dan. 7:25 is attributed to Philipp Melanchthon, the Reformer,
+associate of Luther (reproduced with the old English spelling):
+
+     "He changeth the tymes and lawes that any of the sixe worke
+     dayes commanded of God will make them unholy and idle dayes
+     when he lyste, or of their owne holy dayes abolished make worke
+     dayes agen, or when they changed ye Saterday into Sondaye....
+     They have changed God's lawes and turned them into their owne
+     tradicions to be kept above God's precepts."--_"Exposition of
+     Daniel the Prophete," Gathered out of Philipp Melanchthon,
+     Johan Ecolampadius, etc., by George Joye, 1545, p. 119._
+
+This is exactly what the power represented by the little horn was to
+assume to do. The commandment of God is plain:
+
+"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor,
+and do all thy work: but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy
+God: in it thou shalt not do any work.... For in six days the Lord made
+heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the
+seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed
+it." Ex. 20:8-11.
+
+
+A Change in Practice
+
+But in general practice there has been a change--the first day is
+commonly observed instead of the seventh day, which the Lord declares he
+blessed and made holy. The Roman Catholic Church points exultingly to
+the fact that this change, so universally allowed today, has come about
+solely through church tradition without Scriptural authority. For
+instance, one Catholic writer says:
+
+     "You will tell me that Saturday was the _Jewish_ Sabbath, but
+     that the _Christian_ Sabbath has been changed to Sunday.
+     Changed! but by whom? Who has authority to change an express
+     commandment of Almighty God? When God has spoken and said,
+     Thou shalt keep holy the seventh day, who shall dare to say,
+     Nay, thou mayest work and do all manner of worldly business on
+     the seventh day; but thou shalt keep holy the first day in its
+     stead? This is a most important question, which I know not how
+     you can answer.
+
+     "You are a Protestant, and you profess to go by the Bible and
+     the Bible only; and yet in so important a matter as the
+     observance of one day in seven as a holy day, you go against
+     the plain letter of the Bible, and put another day in the place
+     of that day which the Bible has commanded. The command to keep
+     holy the seventh day is one of the ten commandments; you
+     believe that the other nine are still binding; who gave you
+     authority to tamper with the fourth? If you are consistent with
+     your own principles, if you really follow the Bible and the
+     Bible only, you ought to be able to produce some portion of the
+     New Testament in which this fourth commandment is expressly
+     altered."--_"Library of Christian Doctrine: Why Don't You Keep
+     the Holy Sabbath Day?" (Burns and Oates London), p. 3._
+
+Every one who studies the question must recognize the fact that there is
+no change authorized in Scripture. As Canon Eyton, of the Church of
+England, says:
+
+     "There is no word, no hint, in the New Testament about
+     abstaining from work on Sunday.... Into the rest of Sunday no
+     divine law enters."--_"The Ten Commandments" (Trübner & Co.),
+     London._
+
+Dr. Heylyn, of the Church of England, wrote:
+
+     "Take which you will, either the Fathers or the moderns, and we
+     shall find no Lord's day instituted by any apostolical mandate;
+     no Sabbath set on foot by them upon the first day of the
+     week."--_"History of the Sabbath," part 2, chap. 1._
+
+Authorities, both Protestant and Catholic, freely acknowledge that there
+is no divine authority for Sunday keeping. There has been a change in
+practice and teaching, but with no Scriptural authority.
+
+
+What the Papacy Claims
+
+The prophecy of Daniel 7 forewarned all that the ecclesiastical power
+that was to rise upon the division of the Roman Empire would _think_ to
+change the times and the laws of the Most High. The Papacy steps forward
+and claims boldly that the church has power to set aside Scripture, to
+institute holy times, and even to change the day made holy and
+commanded by the Almighty as the day of rest for His people.
+
+In a Catholic work, "An Abridgment of the Christian Doctrine," by Dr.
+Henry Turberville, page 61, we read:
+
+     "_Question._--By whom was the change [of the Sabbath] made?
+
+     "_Answer._--By the rulers of the church, the apostles who kept
+     the Lord's day....
+
+     "_Ques._--How do you prove that the church hath power to
+     establish feasts and holy days?
+
+     "_Ans._--By the very fact of changing the Sabbath to Sunday;
+     this change Protestants allow; and therefore they contradict
+     themselves by keeping Sunday strictly and breaking most other
+     feasts commanded by the same church.
+
+     "_Ques._--How prove you that?
+
+     "_Ans._--Because by keeping Sunday they acknowledge the
+     church's power to ordain feasts and to command them under sin;
+     and by not keeping the rest commanded by her, they deny that
+     she has power."
+
+It is the doctrine taught in the standard catechisms of the Roman
+Church:
+
+     "_Question._--Have you any other way of proving that the church
+     has power to institute festivals of precept?
+
+     "_Answer._--Had she not such power, she could not have done
+     that in which all modern religionists agree with her,--she
+     could not have substituted the observance of Sunday the first
+     day of the week, for the observance of Saturday the seventh
+     day, a change for which there is no Scriptural
+     authority."--_Keenan's "Doctrinal Catechism," p. 174._
+
+Thus the Papacy proclaims itself the power that has _thought_ to change
+the precepts of the Most High.
+
+On every count, the Roman Church is the counterpart of the little horn
+of Daniel 7. Before our eyes--in the common practice of Christendom--the
+commandment of God regarding sacred time is made void by the traditions
+of men.
+
+The prophecy indicated that there would come a call for a reformation in
+this matter. Speaking of the warfare against the saints and the times
+and laws of the Most High, to be waged by the little-horn power, the
+angel said:
+
+"They shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the
+dividing of time." Dan. 7:25.
+
+In other words, when the 1260 years should expire, we should expect,
+according to the prophecy, to see a breaking of the Papacy's persecuting
+power over believers, a spreading abroad of the Holy Scriptures, and a
+work of reformation that would lift up the truths of God's Word, and
+call believers to keep once again the holy time and the holy law of the
+Most High.
+
+The prophecy of Daniel 7 is one of God's special messages for all men in
+these last days, picturing the rise and history of the Papacy, and
+warning all against accepting its perversions of God's truth or
+recognizing its attempted change in the law of the Most High. Thank God
+for the "sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed,
+as unto a light that shineth in a dark place." We are to follow the Lord
+and obey him, not this power that has risen up in opposition to him.
+
+The angel's interpretation in this chapter does not leave the apostasy
+triumphant:
+
+"The judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to
+consume and to destroy it unto the end."
+
+Then the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdoms of the Most
+High, "and all dominions shall serve and obey Him."
+
+
+    "O, how shall we stand that moment of searching,
+    When all our sins those books reveal?
+    When from that court, each case decided,
+    Shall be granted no appeal?"
+
+[Illustration: CHRIST AND THE SCRIBES
+
+"In vain they do worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of
+men." Matt. 15:9.]
+
+[Illustration: CREATION
+
+"In six days the Lord made heaven and earth,... and rested the seventh
+day." Ex. 20:11.]
+
+
+
+
+THE BIBLE SABBATH
+
+
+"He answered and said, Every plant, which My heavenly Father hath not
+planted, shall be rooted up." Matt. 15:13.
+
+The scribes had come to Jesus with the complaint, "Why do Thy disciples
+transgress the tradition of the elders?" Jesus answered them with
+another question, "Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by
+your tradition?"
+
+They had thought that Christ was introducing novelties, preaching new
+things, contrary to established church custom and practice. He showed
+them that He really stood for the old and established things of God's
+Word, and that their own religious customs, however old, were really the
+novelties, without divine authority. He said,
+
+"In vain do they worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of
+men." And finally He added the words quoted above, "Every plant, which
+My heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up."
+
+Let the principles be applied to the question of Sabbath observance.
+Sometimes in our day those who preach the word of God regarding the
+abiding holiness of the seventh-day Sabbath are accused of preaching new
+doctrines, contrary to the traditions and customs of the church. But
+really, the observance of Sunday, the first day, is the innovation; the
+seventh-day Sabbath is of ancient foundation.
+
+Is the Seventh-day Sabbath a Plant of Our Heavenly Father's Planting?
+
+Which of these two institutions has our heavenly Father planted? It is
+possible to ascertain to a surety; for every plant of His planting,
+every doctrine of His truth, will be found rooted in the Holy
+Scriptures. 2 Tim. 3:16, 17.
+
+
+The Old Testament Record
+
+_From the Beginning._--When the Creator made the earth and man upon it,
+He made the seventh day of the weekly cycle His holy Sabbath.
+
+"Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of
+them.... And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because
+that in it He had rested from all His work which God created and made."
+Gen. 2:1-3.
+
+To sanctify is "to set apart," and so the day made holy and blessed by
+God was set apart for man. Then it was, as Jesus said, that "the Sabbath
+was made for man." Mark 2:27. Here the Sabbath institution was planted
+at the beginning of the world.
+
+_At the Exodus._--The people of Israel, in their bondage in Egypt, had
+fallen away from the knowledge of God and become corrupted by the
+idolatrous worship of Egypt, Hence, as the Lord called them out to be
+His people, He tested their loyalty to His law by observing how they
+regarded His holy Sabbath:
+
+"Then said the Lord unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven
+for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every
+day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in My law, or no."
+Ex. 16:4.
+
+So through the forty years the Lord sent the manna for them to gather on
+the six working days, withholding it on the Sabbath. (This scripture
+shows also that the Sabbath was a part of God's law before He spoke it
+from Sinai.)
+
+[Illustration: HOREB, THE SACRED MOUNT
+
+A modern view of the summit of Mt. Sinai.]
+
+_At Sinai._--When the time came that the Lord would speak His holy law
+from heaven, the eternal foundation of His moral government, the Sabbath
+precept was enshrined in the heart of it:
+
+"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor,
+and do all thy work: but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy
+God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy
+daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy
+stranger that is within thy gates: for in six days the Lord made heaven
+and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day:
+wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it." Ex.
+20:8-11.
+
+_Through Israel's History._--Sabbath keeping was the great mark of
+loyalty to God. When Israel fell into idolatry, they "observed times"
+(see 2 Kings 21:6),--doubtless such heathen festivals to the sun god and
+other deities as were common among the idolatrous nations. These
+observances of other days meant Sabbath breaking. "Neither shall ye ...
+observe times.... Ye shall keep My Sabbaths." Lev. 19:26-30. The Lord
+had promised concerning Jerusalem:
+
+"If ye diligently hearken unto Me, saith the Lord, to bring in no burden
+through the gates of this city on the Sabbath day, but hallow the
+Sabbath day, to do no work therein; then shall there enter into the
+gates of this city kings and princes sitting upon the throne of David,...
+and this city shall remain forever." Jer. 17:24, 25.
+
+The divine pleading was slighted, and Jerusalem's fall and the
+Babylonian captivity came as the result of the Israelites' disregard of
+God's holy day.
+
+Thus throughout the inspired record of the Old Testament the seventh-day
+Sabbath appears as a plant of the heavenly Father's own planting.
+
+
+The New Testament Record
+
+_The Example and Teaching of Jesus._--It was Christ's "custom" to
+worship on the seventh day. Luke 4:16.
+
+Jesus, who Himself made the Sabbath at creation (John 1:3), taught that
+it was "made for man,"--for the human race,--and declared, "The Son of
+man is Lord also of the Sabbath." Mark 2:27, 28. It is, therefore, "the
+Lord's day." Rev. 1:10.
+
+He did on the Sabbath only that which was "lawful," or according to the
+law of God's holy day. Matt. 12:12.
+
+He kept His Father's commandments throughout His earthly life. John
+15:10.
+
+And giving instruction regarding events to take place many years after
+His ascension, He showed that He recognized the continued existence of
+the Sabbath in the command, "Pray ye that your flight be not in the
+winter, neither on the Sabbath day." Matt. 24:20.
+
+[Illustration: CHRIST HEALING THE MAN WITH A WITHERED HAND
+
+"It is lawful to do well on the Sabbath days." Matt. 12:12.]
+
+_Among New Testament Disciples._--The women, after the crucifixion,
+"rested the Sabbath day according to the commandment." Luke 23:56.
+
+Inspiration says that the apostle Paul's custom was to preach the gospel
+publicly Sabbath after Sabbath. Acts 13:14; 16:13; 17:1, 2; 18:4. When
+the Gentiles of Antioch heard the gospel preached by the apostle one
+Sabbath, they "besought that these words might be preached to them the
+next Sabbath." Acts 13:42.
+
+Throughout the New Testament, written years after Christ's ascension,
+the Holy Spirit, speaking of the seventh day, calls it "the Sabbath"
+upwards of fifty times. "Sabbath" means rest; therefore when the Holy
+Spirit, in the Christian age, calls the seventh day the rest day, it
+must infallibly be the day of rest for Christians, the Christian
+Sabbath.
+
+In the Levitical or sacrificial ordinances of the sanctuary services
+there were annual sabbaths and feasts, associated with meats and drinks
+and ceremonial observances. But in appointing these the Lord
+specifically distinguished between them and the one and only weekly
+Sabbath, which was from the beginning. "These are the feasts of the
+Lord," He said, "beside the Sabbaths of the Lord." Lev. 23:37, 38.
+
+The annual festivals and sabbaths, like all the ordinances of the
+Levitical service, were shadows of things to come, and found their
+fulfilment in the great sacrifice of Calvary. Col. 2:16, 17.
+
+But the Sabbath of the Lord was made blessed and holy by God at the
+creation, before sin had entered the world, before any sacrificial or
+shadowy service was instituted to point to a coming Redeemer. It is a
+fundamental and primary institution, a part of the moral order of God's
+government for man, the same as the obligations set forth in each of the
+other commandments.
+
+And Inspiration declares the eternal perpetuity of the blessed Sabbath
+day in the future home of the saved, when the prophet describes the
+felicity of the redeemed, as from month to month, and "from one Sabbath
+to another," all flesh shall come to worship before the Lord. Isa.
+66:23.
+
+Thus we find the seventh-day Sabbath a plant of the heavenly Father's
+planting, rooted deep in all Holy Scripture, and abiding eternally in
+the world to come.
+
+
+Is the First-day Rest an Institution of God's Planting?
+
+In the beginning, the first day was employed by God in the work of
+creation. Gen. 1:1-5.
+
+Throughout all the Old Testament history it was one of "the six working
+days." Eze. 46:1.
+
+It was the day of Christ's resurrection; but Inspiration says
+specifically that "the Sabbath was past" when that "first day of the
+week" came. Mark 16:1, 2. Inspiration called this first day merely by
+the ordinary secular name in common business use, with never a
+suggestion of attaching any sacredness to the day. For some of the
+disciples it was a day of journeying, in which the risen Christ joined
+them. Luke 24:13-29. Later He appeared to the other disciples in
+Jerusalem, gathered not in meeting, but at supper in their common
+dwelling house. Mark 16:14.
+
+The only religious meeting recorded as occurring on the first day of the
+week was that held at Troas. (See Acts 20:6-13.) The context shows that
+it was an evening meeting, after the Sabbath,--Saturday night, as we
+would call it, for the Bible reckoning is from evening to evening. It
+was the last time the believers were ever to see the apostle's face, and
+as they lingered after the close of the Sabbath, he held an all-night
+farewell meeting, breaking bread with the believers, and leaving at
+daybreak Sunday morning for the eighteen- or twenty-mile journey afoot,
+across country to Assos. And while he spent the first day traveling
+afoot, his companions were journeying by boat.
+
+Conybeare and Howson (of the Church of England), in that standard work,
+"Life and Epistles of St. Paul," tell the plain fact of the inspired
+record, save that manifestly they should not have applied the title
+"Jewish" to God's Sabbath; for it was not the Sabbath of the Jews, but
+"the Sabbath of the Lord thy God:"
+
+     "It was the evening which succeeded the Jewish Sabbath. On the
+     Sunday morning the vessel was about to sail."--_Chapter 20, p.
+     520._
+
+Describing the road between Troas and Assos, they add:
+
+     "Strength and peace were surely sought and obtained by the
+     apostle from the Redeemer as he pursued his lonely road that
+     Sunday afternoon in spring among the oak woods and the streams
+     of Ida."--_Id., p. 522._
+
+Once again the "first day of the week" is mentioned, in 1 Cor. 16:2. But
+that scripture says no word of any sacredness of the day or of any
+religious observance of it. The apostle was gathering a fund for the
+poor at Jerusalem, and asked every believer to "lay by" something every
+first day of the week, so that the money would be ready when he came. As
+Dean Stanley (Church of England) comments:
+
+     "There is nothing to prove public assemblies, inasmuch as the
+     phrase [Greek: par heautô] ('by himself, at his own house')
+     implies that the collection was to be made individually and in
+     private."
+
+And Neander's Church History says:
+
+     "All mentioned here is easily explained, if one simply thinks
+     of the ordinary beginning of the week in secular life."--_Vol.
+     I, p. 339 (German ed.)._
+
+To meet the emergency of need in Judea, these believers were asked to
+look over their business affairs at the beginning of each week, until
+Paul should come, laying aside a gift as God had prospered them.
+
+
+No Sunday Sacredness in the New Testament
+
+This is the record--not one suggestion in all the New Testament of
+Sunday sacredness, to say nothing of precept or commandment of the Lord.
+The late R.W. Dale, D.D., a leading Congregationalist of England, wrote:
+
+     "It is quite clear that, however rigidly or devotedly we may
+     spend Sunday, we are not keeping the Sabbath.... The Sabbath
+     was founded on a specific, divine command. We can plead no such
+     command for the observance of Sunday.... There is not a single
+     line in the New Testament to suggest that we incur any penalty
+     by violating the supposed sanctity of Sunday."--_"The Ten
+     Commandments," pp. 106, 107._
+
+That religious classic, Smith and Cheetham's "Dictionary of Christian
+Antiquities," says that the "notion of a formal substitution" of the
+first day for the seventh,
+
+     "and the transference to it, perhaps in a spiritualized form,
+     of the Sabbatical obligation established by the promulgation of
+     the fourth commandment, has no basis whatever, either in Holy
+     Scripture or in Christian antiquity."--_Article "Sabbath."_
+
+Dr. E.F. Hiscox, author of "The Baptist Manual," says:
+
+     "There was and is a commandment to 'keep holy the Sabbath day,'
+     but that Sabbath was not Sunday. It will, however, be readily
+     said, and with some show of triumph, that the Sabbath was
+     transferred from the seventh to the first day of the week....
+     Where can the record of such a transaction be found? Not in the
+     New Testament--absolutely not."--_The New York Examiner, Nov.
+     16, 1893._
+
+Such declarations by well-known scholars might be multiplied, but it is
+not necessary. The record is open--any one may see it. There is not a
+word in the Holy Scripture of any first-day sacredness. The Sunday
+institution is not a plant of our heavenly Father's planting.
+
+
+How the Change Came About
+
+There has been no change of the Sabbath by divine authority. Men may
+choose to rest on any other day, but that cannot make such a day God's
+rest day, His holy Sabbath. One cannot change one's birthday by
+celebrating another day as such. It is a fact of history that on a
+certain day of the month one was born. That fact cannot be changed by
+choosing to celebrate another day as the birthday. Just so it is a fact
+of divine history that God rested on a given day of the week, and on no
+other. That made the seventh day His rest day.
+
+It is different from other days in character also, for He blessed it and
+made it holy. To deny the difference between common days and the holy
+day is to say that when the great Creator blesses and makes holy, it is
+a vain performance. That cannot be. It would take away all hope of
+holiness or salvation for men. The blessing is upon the day, as every
+soul finds who keeps it by faith.
+
+When men choose to set apart another day than that blessed and
+sanctified of God, it is plainly a setting up of the humanly appointed
+time against the divinely appointed time. It is exalting man's sabbath
+against God's Sabbath. It is man exalting himself "above all that is
+called God." 2 Thess. 2:4.
+
+This was what made the Roman Papacy. The apostle Paul wrote that in his
+day the spirit of lawlessness was already working. He said it would lead
+to a "falling away" from the truth of God, and the full exaltation of
+the man of sin. 2 Thessalonians 2. The falling away came. As Dr. Killen
+(Presbyterian), of Ireland, says in the preface to his "Ancient
+Church:"
+
+[Illustration: THE SABBATH FROM EDEN TO EDEN
+
+Blessed and sanctified in Eden. Gen. 2:3. Christ the Lord of the
+Sabbath. Mark 2:28.
+
+Written by God in His law. Ex. 20:8-11. To be observed in the new earth.
+Isa. 66:23.]
+
+     "In the interval between the days of the apostles and the
+     conversion of Constantine, the Christian commonwealth changed
+     its aspect.... Rites and ceremonies, of which neither Paul nor
+     Peter ever heard, crept into use, and then claimed the rank of
+     divine institutions."
+
+In his "Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine," Cardinal Newman
+(Roman Catholic) tells how rites and ceremonies were borrowed from
+paganism:
+
+     "Confiding then in the power of Christianity to resist the
+     infection of evil, and to transmute the very instruments and
+     appendages of demon worship to an evangelical use,... the
+     rulers of the church from early times were prepared, should the
+     occasion arise, to adopt, or imitate, or sanction the existing
+     rites and customs of the populace, as well as the philosophy of
+     the educated class."--_Pages 371, 372._
+
+Thus along with other adaptations came "the venerable day of the sun"
+(Sunday). It was by gradual process that it supplanted the Sabbath. Sir
+William Domville wrote:
+
+     "Centuries of the Christian era passed away before Sunday was
+     observed by the Christian church as a Sabbath. History does not
+     furnish us with a single proof or indication that it was at any
+     time so observed previous to the Sabbatical edict of
+     Constantine in A.D. 321."--_"Examination of Six
+     Texts," p. 291._
+
+This law of Constantine's was as follows:
+
+     "On the venerable day of the sun let the magistrates and people
+     residing in cities rest, and let all workshops be closed. In
+     the country, however, persons engaged in agriculture may freely
+     and lawfully continue their pursuits; because it often happens
+     that another day is not so suitable for grain sowing or for
+     vine planting; lest by neglecting the proper moment for such
+     operations, the bounty of heaven should be lost. (Given the 7th
+     day of March, Crispus and Constantine being consuls each of
+     them for the second time.)"--_Schaff, "History of the Christian
+     Church," Vol. III, chap. 5, sec. 75._
+
+Commenting on this law, Prof. Hutton Webster, of the University of
+Nebraska, says:
+
+     "This legislation by Constantine probably bore no relation to
+     Christianity; it appears, on the contrary, that the emperor, in
+     his capacity of Pontifex Maximus, was only adding the day of
+     the sun, the worship of which was then firmly established in
+     the Roman Empire, to the other ferial days of the sacred
+     calendar."
+
+     "What began, however, as a pagan ordinance, ended as a
+     Christian regulation; and a long series of imperial decrees,
+     during the fourth, fifth, and sixth centuries, enjoined with
+     increasing stringency abstinence from labor on Sunday."--_"Rest
+     Days," pp. 122, 270._
+
+Dean Stanley (Church of England) writes:
+
+     "The retention of the old pagan name _Dies Solis_, or Sunday,
+     for the weekly Christian festival, is, in a great measure,
+     owing to the union of pagan and Christian sentiment with which
+     the first day of the week was recommended by Constantine to his
+     subjects, pagan and Christian alike, as the 'venerable day of
+     the sun.'"--_"History of the Eastern Church," lecture 6, par.
+     15._
+
+Thus the Sunday institution comes in, marked by its pagan origin, and
+adapted to ecclesiastical purposes by the church of the "falling away"
+that grew into the Roman Papacy. To quote again from the Baptist author,
+Dr. Hiscox:
+
+     "Of course, I quite well know that Sunday did come into use in
+     early Christian history as a religious day, as we learn from
+     the Christian Fathers and other sources. But what a pity that
+     it comes branded with the mark of paganism, and christened with
+     the name of the sun god, when adopted and sanctioned by the
+     papal apostasy, and bequeathed as a sacred legacy to
+     Protestantism."--_New York Examiner, Nov. 16, 1893._
+
+No wonder that with the coming of the latter days, and the proclamation
+of the message of preparation for Christ's second coming, there should
+come a call to Christians to follow Christ and Holy Scripture in keeping
+God's holy Sabbath.
+
+Again the voice of Jesus is heard in protest against traditions that
+make void the commandment of God.
+
+"Every plant," He says, "which My heavenly Father hath not planted,
+shall be rooted up." Matt. 15:13.
+
+
+Made for Man
+
+    The God that made the earth,
+     And all the worlds on high,
+    Who gave all creatures birth,
+     In earth, and sea, and sky,
+    After six days in work employed,
+    Upon the seventh a rest enjoyed.
+
+      The Sabbath day was blessed,
+    Hallowed, and sanctified;
+      It was Jehovah's rest,
+    And so it must abide;
+    'Twas set apart before the fall,
+    'Twas made for man, 'twas made for all.
+
+      And when from Sinai's mount,
+    Amidst the fire and smoke,
+      Jehovah did recount,
+    And all His precepts spoke,
+    He claimed the rest day as His own,
+    And wrote it with His law on stone.
+
+      The Son of God appeared
+    With tidings of great joy;
+      God's precepts He revered,
+    He came not to destroy;
+    None of the law was set aside,
+    But every tittle ratified.
+
+      Our Saviour did not die
+    To render null and void
+      The law of the Most High,
+    Which cannot be destroyed;
+    But, bruised for us, our stripes He bore,--
+    We'll go in peace and sin no more.
+
+    --_R.F. Cottrell._
+
+[Illustration: CHRIST AND HIS DISCIPLES IN THE CORN-FIELDS
+
+"The Son of man is Lord even of the Sabbath day." Matt. 12:8.]
+
+[Illustration: RETURNING FROM THE SAVIOUR'S TOMB
+
+"They returned,... and rested the Sabbath day according to the
+commandment." Luke 23:56.]
+
+
+
+
+GLIMPSES OF SABBATH KEEPING AFTER NEW TESTAMENT TIMES
+
+
+Not at once did the innovation of Sunday observance set aside the
+Sabbath of the Lord in the practice of even the general church. And
+through history, when the general church had fallen away, we catch
+glimpses here and there of faithful witnesses to God's holy Sabbath
+truth.
+
+
+First Centuries
+
+An old English writer, Professor Brerewood, of Gresham College, London,
+put in shortest phrase what many writers say:
+
+     "They know little who do not know that the ancient Sabbath did
+     remain and was observed by the Eastern churches three hundred
+     years after our Saviour's passion."--_"Treatise on the
+     Sabbath," p. 77._
+
+
+Fourth Century
+
+Canon 29, of the Council of Laodicea (A.D. 364), shows that the
+ecclesiastical system was laboring to put an end to Sabbath keeping:
+
+     "Christians shall not Judaize and be idle on Saturday [the
+     Sabbath], but shall work on that day; but the Lord's day [as
+     they called Sunday] they shall especially honor, and, as being
+     Christians, shall, if possible, do no work on that day. If,
+     however, they be found Judaizing, they shall be shut out from
+     Christ."--_Hefele, "History of the Councils of the Church,"
+     Vol. II, book 6, sec. 93, canon 29._
+
+
+Fifth Century
+
+Sozomen's Ecclesiastical History shows Rome evidently leading in the
+effort to abolish any recognition whatever of the Sabbath:
+
+     "The people of Constantinople, and of several other cities,
+     assemble together on the Sabbath, as well as on the next day;
+     which custom is never observed at Rome, or at
+     Alexandria."--_Book 7, chap. 19._
+
+
+Seventh Century
+
+There were true Sabbath keepers in Rome itself, teaching the truth of
+God among the people, and bringing upon themselves the denunciation of
+Pope Gregory the Great, who wrote "to his most beloved sons the Roman
+citizens:"
+
+     "It has come to my ears that certain men of perverse spirit
+     have sown among you some things that are wrong and opposed to
+     the holy faith, so as to forbid any work being done on the
+     Sabbath day. What else can I call these but preachers of
+     Antichrist?"--_"History of the Councils" (Labbe and Cossart),
+     Vol. V, col. 1511; see also "Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers,"
+     Vol. XIII, book 13, epistle 1._
+
+
+Eleventh Century
+
+The Pope's legates at Constantinople (A.D. 1054) were called to
+discuss with Nicetas, "one of the most learned men at that time in the
+East," says Bower, whose position was "that the Sabbath ought to be kept
+holy, and that priests should be allowed to marry."--_"History of the
+Popes," Vol. II, p. 358._
+
+The people of north Scotland, the ancient Culdee church founded by
+Columba and his followers, far removed from direct papal influence, was
+still keeping the seventh-day Sabbath in the eleventh century. Of this
+church Andrew Lang says in his "History of Scotland:"
+
+     "They worked on Sunday, but kept Saturday in a Sabbatical
+     manner."--_Volume I, p. 96._
+
+Skene, in his classic work, "Celtic Scotland," says of these Sabbath
+keepers:
+
+     "They seemed to have followed a custom of which we find traces
+     in the early monastic church of Ireland, by which they held
+     Saturday to be the Sabbath, on which they rested from all their
+     labors."--_Book 2, chap. 8._
+
+Margaret, of England, married Malcolm the Great, the Scottish king, in
+1069. An ardent Catholic, Queen Margaret at once set about Romanizing
+the Celtic church. She called in the church leaders, and held long
+discussions with them. At last, with the help and authority of her royal
+husband, and quoting the instructions of "the blessed Pope Gregory," she
+succeeded in turning the ancient Culdee church in Scotland away from the
+Sabbath. (See "Life of St. Margaret," by Turgot, her confessor.)
+
+
+Twelfth to Fourteenth Century
+
+Among the numerous sects of southern Europe and the Alpine valleys, that
+were pursued and persecuted by Rome, were at least some who saw and
+obeyed the Sabbath truth. Thus, of one of these bodies, the historian
+Goldastus says:
+
+     "They were called Insabbatati, not because they were
+     circumcised, but because they kept the Sabbath according to the
+     Jewish law."--_"Deutsche Biographie," Vol. IX, art. "Goldast.,"
+     p. 327._
+
+
+Fifteenth Century
+
+Sabbath keepers in Norway drew the condemnation of a church council held
+in 1435:
+
+     "The archbishop and the clergy assembled in this provincial
+     council at Bergen do decide that the keeping of Saturday must
+     never be permitted to exist, except as granted in the church
+     law."--_Keyser's "Norske Kirkes Historie," Vol. II, p. 488._
+
+
+Sixteenth Century
+
+With the setting free of the Word of God by the Reformation, and the
+protest against the doctrine of papal tradition, multitudes saw that the
+Sunday institution was not of divine origin; while not a few went
+farther, recognizing the claims of God's Sabbath. Moravia was a refuge,
+in those early Reformation days, for many believers in the Reformed
+doctrines, and among these were Sabbath-keeping Christians:
+
+[Illustration: WALDENSES HUNTED BY THE ARMIES OF ROME
+
+"Destitute, afflicted, tormented;... they wandered in deserts, and in
+mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth." Heb. 11:37, 38.]
+
+     "Even most prominent men, as the princes of Lichtenstein, held
+     to the observance of the true Sabbath. When persecution finally
+     scattered them, the seeds of truth must have been sown by them
+     in the different portions of the Continent which they
+     visited.... We have found them [Sabbath keepers] in Bohemia.
+     They were also known in Silesia and Poland. Likewise they were
+     in Holland and northern Germany.... There were at this time
+     Sabbath keepers in France,... 'among whom were M. de la Roque,
+     who wrote in defense of the Sabbath against Bossuet, Catholic
+     bishop of Meaux.' That Sabbatarians again appeared in England
+     by the time of the Reformation, during the reign of Queen
+     Elizabeth (A.D. 1533-1603), Dr. Chambers testifies in
+     his Cyclopedia [art. 'Sabbath']."--_Andrews and Conradi,
+     "History of the Sabbath," pp. 649, 650._
+
+In this century also, Sabbath keepers appeared in Norway, Sweden, and
+Finland. In 1554 King Gustavus Vasa, of Sweden, addressed a letter of
+remonstrance "to the common people in Finland," because so many were
+turning to keep the seventh day.
+
+
+Seventeenth Century
+
+There was much discussion in England over the authority for Sunday
+observance. When other church festivals were ignored, as Easter, King
+Charles I wanted to know why Sunday should be kept. He wrote:
+
+     "It will not be found in Scripture where Saturday is discharged
+     to be kept, or turned into the Sunday; wherefore it must be the
+     church's authority that changed the one and instituted the
+     other; therefore my opinion is that those who will not keep
+     this feast [Easter] may as well return to the observation of
+     Saturday, and refuse the weekly Sunday."--_Cox, "Sabbath Laws,"
+     p. 333._
+
+It was during this time that the idea first obtained of enforcing Sunday
+obligation by the fourth commandment and calling it the Sabbath. It was
+argued that any "one day in seven" was what the commandment meant. Of
+this argument, John Milton, the statesman-poet, wrote:
+
+     "It is impossible to extort such a sense from the words of the
+     commandment; seeing that the reason for which the command
+     itself was originally given, namely, as a memorial of God's
+     having rested from the creation of the world, cannot be
+     transferred from the seventh day to the first; nor can any new
+     motive be substituted in its place, whether the resurrection of
+     our Lord or any other, without the sanction of a divine
+     commandment."--_"Prose Works" (Bohn), pp. 70, 71._
+
+Again Milton wrote, in a manuscript which his publishers at the time
+feared to print:
+
+     "If we under the gospel are to regulate the time of our public
+     worship by the prescriptions of the decalogue, it will surely
+     be far safer to observe the seventh day, according to the
+     express commandment of God, than on the authority of mere human
+     conjecture to adopt the first."--_Cox, "Sabbath Literature,"
+     Vol. II, p. 54._
+
+While kings and poets and ecclesiastics discussed, here and there
+believers began to follow the plain Word of God and Christ's example in
+Sabbath keeping.
+
+
+"Loved Not Their Lives unto the Death"
+
+In 1618 John Traske and his wife, of London, were condemned for keeping
+the Sabbath of the Lord, the man being whipped from Westminster to the
+old Fleet Prison, near Ludgate Circus. Both were imprisoned. Mr. Traske
+recanted under the pressure, after a year, but Mrs. Traske, a gifted
+school-teacher, was given grace to hold out for sixteen years,--for a
+time in Maiden Lane prison, and then in the Gate House, by
+Westminster,--dying in prison for the word of the Lord. An estimable
+woman she was, says one old chronicler, save for this "whimsy" of hers,
+that she would keep the seventh day. All that she asked of men, on her
+prison deathbed, was that she might be buried "in the fields."
+
+By 1661 Sabbath keepers in London had further increased. In that year
+John James was minister to a considerable congregation, meeting in East
+London, off the Whitechapel Road. As part of the stern proceedings
+against dissenting sects after the restoration of the monarchy, he was
+arrested and condemned to death on "Tyburn Tree." His wife knelt at the
+feet of King Charles II as he came out of St. James's Palace one day,
+and pleaded for her husband's life; but the king scornfully rejected her
+plea, and said that the man should hang. Bogue says:
+
+     "For once the king remembered his promise, and Mr. James was
+     sent to join the noble army of martyrs."--_"History of
+     Dissenters," Vol. I, p. 155._
+
+Nothing daunted, the number of Sabbath keepers increased. In a letter by
+Edward Stennet (between 1668 and 1670), it is stated.
+
+     "Here in England are about nine or ten churches that keep the
+     Sabbath, besides many scattered disciples, who have been
+     eminently preserved in this tottering day, when many once
+     eminent churches have been shattered in pieces."--_Cox,
+     "Sabbath Literature," Vol. I, p. 268._
+
+Francis Bampfield was formerly an influential minister of the Church of
+England, and prebendary of Exeter Cathedral, but later pastor of a
+Sabbath-keeping congregation meeting in the Pinners Hall, off Broad
+Street, near the Bank of England. Calamy said of him:
+
+     "He was one of the most celebrated preachers in the west of
+     England, and extremely admired by his hearers, till he fell
+     into the Sabbatarian notion, of which he was a zealous
+     asserter."--_"Non-Conformist Memorial," Vol. II, p. 152._
+
+He was arrested while in the pulpit preaching, and in 1683 died of
+hardships in Newgate prison, for the Sabbath of the Lord. An old writer
+says that his body was followed to burial by "a very great company of
+factious and schismatical people;" in other words, dissenters from the
+state church.
+
+Thomas Bampfield, his brother, Speaker of the House of Parliament at one
+time, under Cromwell, published a book in defense of the Sabbath of the
+Lord. In fact, many published the truth in this manner, and doctors of
+divinity and even bishops wrote replies.
+
+"Sabbatarian Baptists," these English witnesses to God's Sabbath were
+first called in those times, and then "Seventh Day Baptists." In 1664
+Stephen Mumford, from one of these London congregations, was sent over
+to New England. He settled in Rhode Island, where the Baptist pioneer of
+religious liberty, Roger Williams, had founded his colony. In 1671 the
+first Sabbatarian church in America was formed in Rhode Island.
+Evidently this movement created a stir; for the report went over to
+England that the Rhode Island colony did not keep the "Sabbath"--meaning
+Sunday. Roger Williams wrote to his friends in England denying the
+report, but calling attention to the fact that there was no Scripture
+for "abolishing the seventh day," and adding:
+
+     "You know yourselves do not keep the Sabbath, that is the
+     seventh day."--_"Letters of Roger Williams," Vol. VI, p. 346
+     (Narragansett Club Publications)._
+
+Through the following century numbers of Seventh Day Baptist churches
+were founded in America.[F]
+
+Sabbath keepers were springing up also on the continent of Europe, in
+Bohemia, Moravia, Transylvania, and Russia, where here and there Bible
+believers saw that tradition had made void one of the commandments of
+God. Then, as the events at the end of the long period of papal
+supremacy had moved Bible students to the earnest study of the
+prophecies, and as the predicted signs of the near approach of Christ's
+coming began to appear, there arose the great advent awakening in the
+earlier decades of the nineteenth century.
+
+The prophecies regarding the work of the Papacy in seeking to change the
+law of God began to be understood, and it was seen that the last message
+of the everlasting gospel was a call to turn from human traditions to
+the New Testament standard--"the commandments of God, and the faith of
+Jesus." Rev. 14:12. Then began the great movement for Sabbath reform and
+the proclamation of Christ's second coming, which has given rise to the
+Seventh-day Adventist people, with a work spreading through all lands,
+leading thousands every year to keep the Lord's blessed Sabbath day.
+
+Soon Christ is to be revealed in righteousness and judgment. One burden
+of God's message for the last days is:
+
+"Thus saith the Lord, Keep ye judgment, and do justice: for My salvation
+is near to come, and My righteousness to be revealed. Blessed is the man
+that doeth this, and the son of man that layeth hold on it; that keepeth
+the Sabbath from polluting it, and keepeth his hand from doing any
+evil." Isa. 56:1, 2.
+
+Through all the dark centuries, the Lord had somewhere a little remnant
+keeping the light of the Sabbath truth glowing. They, too, overcame by
+the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony, loving not their
+lives unto the death. Now, with the clear light shining from the open
+Book, it is for Christians everywhere to turn from tradition to the way
+of God's commandments and the example of Jesus Christ.
+
+[Illustration:
+
+    "Closing Sabbath! Ah, how soon
+    Have thy sacred moments passed!"]
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[F] In connection with this topic of Sabbath observance in colonial
+America, it is of interest to note that Count Zinzendorf, the leader of
+the Moravian missionary movement, was a believer in the sanctity of the
+Sabbath of God's appointment. In his life, by Bishop Spangenberg, it is
+stated that the Sabbath question was discussed by Zinzendorf with the
+Moravians, on his visit to Pennsylvania in 1741. The record states:--
+
+"As a special circumstance it is to be remarked that he determined, with
+the church in Bethlehem, to celebrate the seventh day as a rest day. The
+matter was previously fully gone over in the church council, with
+consideration of all the reasons for and against it, when the unanimous
+agreement was reached to observe the day Sabbatically.... The Count had
+already long held the seventh day of the week in special
+honor."--_Zinzendorfs "Leben," band 5, pp. 1421, 1422._
+
+The Bethlehem congregation evidently did not follow the practice long.
+"But as for himself," says Spangenberg, "with his house, he adhered
+firmly to this aforementioned practice until his end."--_Id., p. 1437._
+
+
+
+
+THE LAW OF GOD
+
+
+I
+
+Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
+
+II
+
+Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of
+anything: that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or
+that is in the water under the earth: thou shalt not bow down thyself to
+them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting
+the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth
+generation of them that hate me; and showing mercy unto thousands of
+them that love me, and keep my commandments.
+
+III
+
+Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord
+will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
+
+IV
+
+Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor,
+and do all thy work: but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy
+God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy
+daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy
+stranger that is within thy gates: for in six days the Lord made heaven
+and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day:
+wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.
+
+V
+
+Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land
+which the Lord thy God giveth thee.
+
+VI
+
+Thou shalt not kill.
+
+VII
+
+Thou shalt not commit adultery.
+
+VIII
+
+Thou shalt not steal.
+
+IX
+
+Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
+
+X
+
+Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house, thou shalt not covet thy
+neighbor's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox,
+nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbor's.
+
+[Illustration: CHRIST'S SERMON ON THE MOUNT
+
+"Whosoever shall do and teach them ... shall be called great in the
+kingdom of heaven." Matt. 5:19.]
+
+
+THE LAW OF GOD
+
+It is a common saying, "The majesty of the law." It means that the
+character and genius of a government are embodied and expressed in its
+laws. The words of Inspiration declare to us the majesty of the law of
+the Most High.
+
+
+The Character of God's Law
+
+The infinite perfection of the divine character is reflected in it.
+
+"The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul." Ps. 19:7.
+
+As God is holiness and justice and goodness, so also is His law.
+
+"Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and
+good." Rom. 7:12.
+
+
+Its Office
+
+The law of God gives knowledge of the righteousness of its great
+Author.
+
+"Hearken unto Me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart
+is My law." Isa. 51:7.
+
+It marks every departure from righteousness as sin.
+
+"Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the
+transgression of the law." 1 John 3:4.
+
+It is not a code merely for the regulation of outward conduct. It is the
+moral law--the primal standard of righteousness established by the
+Creator for His creatures. There is not an impulse of the inmost soul
+that is not reached by it. It is the word which, living and powerful, is
+"sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder
+of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of
+the thoughts and intents of the heart." Heb. 4:12.
+
+Face to face with this holy law, we hear in it the voice of God saying,
+"Be ye holy; for I am holy." Every soul must confess its guilt before
+the searching power of God's law. All things are naked and open to the
+eyes of Him with whom we have to do. "Guilty!" we confess. Left alone
+with our guilt, there could be no ray of hope.
+
+    "The threatenings of the broken law
+      Impress the soul with dread;
+    If God His sword of vengeance draw,
+      It strikes the spirit dead."
+
+Thank God, we are not left alone; help is laid upon One mighty to save.
+
+    "But Thine illustrious sacrifice
+      Hath answered these demands,
+    And peace and pardon from the skies
+      Are offered by Thy hands."
+
+
+God's Law from the Beginning
+
+The law of God existed from the beginning. When Adam sinned, he
+transgressed this holy law; for "sin is the transgression of the law."
+God's law was not committed to writing until the days of Moses, when the
+Lord began to make His written revelations to the children of men. But
+from Adam to Moses the precepts of the law of God were teaching
+righteousness and convicting of sin.
+
+"Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin;
+and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: (for until
+the law [the giving of it at Sinai] sin was in the world: but sin is not
+imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to
+Moses.)" Rom. 5:12-14.
+
+The declaration of this scripture is: Without the law there can be no
+sin. But sin and death were from Adam to Moses, in whose day the law was
+spoken on Sinai; therefore the law of God was in force from the
+beginning. Its precepts were witnessed to by every preacher of
+righteousness raised up by God in the days before the deluge and in the
+patriarchal age following. Of Abraham the Lord says,
+
+"Abraham obeyed My voice, and kept My charge, My commandments, My
+statutes, and My laws." Gen. 26:5.
+
+The Lord called His people out of Egypt, that they might keep his law.
+His message to Pharaoh was, "Let my people go, that they may serve Me."
+Ex. 9:1. He delivered them from bondage by His mighty arm, and cleft the
+Red Sea to lead them forth to obedience, as the psalmist said,
+
+"He brought forth His people with joy, and His chosen with gladness:...
+that they might observe His statutes, and keep His laws." Ps. 105:43-45.
+
+In Egyptian bondage the children of Abraham must have lost much of the
+purity of God's truth; yet the Lord held them under obligation to know
+His law--the Sabbath precept particularly--before they came to Sinai, or
+ever He had proclaimed the law in their hearing. He tested them in the
+matter by the giving of the manna, as He said,
+
+"That I may prove them, whether they will walk in My law, or no." Ex.
+16:4.
+
+From the beginning, God's holy law demanded the loyal obedience of every
+human being.
+
+
+Proclaimed Anew at Sinai
+
+The Lord had delivered the people of Israel from Egyptian bondage that
+they might serve Him and make His ways known to the nations. This was
+according to the promise made to Abraham. To them was committed the
+written revelation of God, and through them was to come in the fulness
+of time the promised Messiah.
+
+[Illustration: MOSES BREAKING THE TABLES OF THE LAW
+
+"He wrote them upon two tables of stone." Deut. 4:13.]
+
+While the Lord at this time "made known His ways unto Moses," and there
+was begun the written revelation which grew into "the volume of the
+book," the Holy Scriptures, one portion of revelation was not left for
+the prophet of God to speak or for the inspired pen to write. The Lord
+proclaimed His holy law with His own voice, and gave to men a copy
+"written with the finger of God." Moses said of this:
+
+"The Lord spake unto you out of the midst of the fire: ye heard the
+voice of the words, but saw no similitude; only ye heard a voice. And He
+declared unto you His covenant, which He commanded you to perform, even
+ten commandments; and He wrote them upon two tables of stone." Deut.
+4:12, 13.
+
+This display of majesty and glory indescribable was designed to teach
+how sacred and holy is the law, and to cause men to fear to transgress
+its precepts. Ex. 20:20.
+
+It was not for themselves alone that the law was committed to Israel.
+They were to teach the truth to others. As the New Testament says, it
+was greatly to their advantage that "unto them were committed the
+oracles of God." Rom. 3:2. But they "received the lively oracles to give
+unto us." Through obedience to the divine law, they were to be a light
+to the nations.
+
+"Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your
+understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these
+statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding
+people. For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto
+them?" Deut. 4:6, 7.
+
+An interesting comment upon these words is supplied by a speech of
+Phalerius, librarian to Ptolemy Philadelphus, king of Egypt. Urging the
+king by all means to secure copies of the sacred books of the Jews for
+his great library in Alexandria, Phalerius said:
+
+     "Now it is necessary that thou shouldst have accurate copies of
+     them. And indeed this legislation is full of hidden wisdom, and
+     entirely blameless, as being the legislation of God; for which
+     cause it is, as Hecateus of Abdera says, that the poets and
+     historians make no mention of it, nor of those men who lead
+     their lives according to it, since it is a holy law, and ought
+     not to be published by profane mouths."--_Josephus,
+     "Antiquities," book 12, chap. 2, sec. 4._
+
+Unfaithful as the Jewish people oftentimes were, yet through their
+testimony and the dealings of God with them, the fame of the living
+oracles was spread abroad among the ancient nations.
+
+
+One God--One Moral Standard
+
+"There is one Lawgiver." James 4:12. He is ever the same, and His law is
+the standard of righteousness for all mankind. There was not one moral
+standard before Christ and another after. Christ's death upon the cross
+because man had broken the law, is the divine testimony to all the
+universe that God's law can never be set aside nor its force suspended.
+Jesus opened His public teaching with the declaration:
+
+"Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not
+come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven
+and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the
+law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these
+least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least
+in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the
+same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven." Matt. 5:17-19.
+
+The moral law of ten commandments is one code, every precept equally
+sacred and equally binding:
+
+"Whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is
+guilty of all. For He that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do
+not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art
+become a transgressor of the law. So speak ye, and so do, as they that
+shall be judged by the law of liberty." James 2:10-12.
+
+The law of God still speaks with all the force of that voice from Sinai,
+and it speaks to every soul on earth:
+
+"Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who
+are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world
+may become guilty before God." Rom. 3:19.
+
+Thus the law of God convicts all men of sin, and would drive every one
+to Christ for pardon and for the divine gift of the grace and power of
+obedience.
+
+The ceremonial law--the precepts and ordinances commanded for the
+sacrificial system--ceased with the sacrifice of Calvary, as all these
+ceremonial observances pointed forward to the cross. There can be no
+confounding of the moral law and the ceremonial law. The ceremonial law
+of types and shadows showed in itself that a primary or higher law--the
+moral law--had been violated, making necessary a divine sacrifice if
+transgressors were to be saved from death and restored to obedience.
+
+
+The Standard in the Judgment
+
+The law of God's moral government, which is the rule of life for every
+creature, must necessarily be the standard in the great judgment day.
+The Scripture states the sum of all human obligation and responsibility
+in the words:
+
+"Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep His
+commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring
+every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good,
+or whether it be evil." Eccl. 12:13, 14.
+
+Every son and daughter of Adam's lost race is judgment bound, to answer
+before the bar of God the demands of the perfect law. Divine justice
+cannot abate one jot or tittle of the requirements of the holy law, nor
+by any means clear the guilty. But divine mercy has provided the way by
+which God can "be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in
+Jesus."
+
+[Illustration: THE GIFT OF GOD
+
+"God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son." John
+3:16.]
+
+[Illustration: CHILDLIKE FAITH
+
+"Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not
+enter into the kingdom of heaven." Matt. 18:3.]
+
+
+
+
+JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH
+
+
+"How should man be just [righteous] with God?" asked the patriarch Job.
+It has been the vital question ever since Adam sinned, and lost his
+righteousness and forfeited his life. The answer of Scripture is:--
+
+"Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our
+Lord Jesus Christ." Rom 5:1 "By grace are ye saved through faith; and
+that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any
+man should boast." Eph. 2:8, 9.
+
+In the beginning, life and righteousness were the gift of God to man.
+Only the Creator could bestow the gift at the first; when lost, only
+creative power can restore it.
+
+
+Man Cannot Justify Himself
+
+The law of God declares all men sinners. Not only did Adam's posterity
+inherit of necessity a sinful nature, but every soul of man has wrought
+sin as the fruit of that nature.
+
+"As by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so
+death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned." Rom. 5:12.
+
+"There is no difference," Jew or Gentile, bond or free, they are in the
+same lost condition; "for all have sinned, and come short of the glory
+of God." Rom. 10:12; 3:23.
+
+The sinner finds himself a transgressor, condemned to death by a holy
+law. He turns to it with the thought, "I will do what it says, and
+become righteous and win life." But he cannot undo the fact that he has
+sinned. A holy law can only cry, "Guilty! guilty!" to one who has
+transgressed it. The law declares righteousness; it cannot give it. As
+the Scripture says:
+
+"We know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are
+under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may
+become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall
+no flesh be justified in His sight: for by the law is the knowledge of
+sin." Rom. 3:19, 20.
+
+The guilt exists. No deeds that man can do can undo it or cover it from
+a righteous law. Not only that, but as soon as the law declares what
+righteousness is, the sinner finds that its demands are altogether
+beyond the power of his flesh to meet. It calls for a kind of work that
+fallen human nature cannot so much as approach. Paul cried out, when
+struggling under conviction, "We know that the law is spiritual: but I
+am carnal, sold under sin." Rom. 7:14.
+
+The carnal cannot bring forth the spiritual. But the law demands a
+spiritual work of righteousness. It is impossible for the carnal mind to
+undertake it. The Scripture says:
+
+"The carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law
+of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot
+please God." Rom. 8:7, 8.
+
+But the awakened sinner is yet in the flesh. He finds the law thundering
+his guilt and condemning him to death. He cannot wash away the past, nor
+hide it; he cannot obey God's law with a carnal mind, and that is all
+the mind he has. He is lost, and helpless of himself, but longs for a
+way of escape. Paul's cry in the same position is the cry of the
+despairing heart that has not found the Saviour, "O wretched man that I
+am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" Rom. 7:24. Thank
+God, there is an answer to that cry, for every sinner.
+
+    "Plunged in a gulf of dark despair,
+      We wretched sinners lay,
+    Without one cheering beam of hope,
+      Or spark of glimmering day.
+
+    "With pitying eyes the Prince of grace
+      Beheld our helpless grief:
+    He saw, and, O amazing love!
+      He came to our relief."
+
+
+The Free Gift of Christ
+
+Following that despairing cry of human helplessness, "Who shall deliver
+me?" there came the believer's shout of praise, "I thank God through
+Jesus Christ our Lord." He is the deliverer; for He "gave Himself for
+our sins, that He might deliver us." Rom. 7:25; Gal. 1:4.
+
+The way of escape and salvation is the gift of God's love. "God so loved
+the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth
+in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16.
+
+No sinner has need to plead that God may be willing to forgive him; the
+Lord's infinite love that gave His Son to die, is pleading with the
+sinner to believe and accept salvation.
+
+In order to be the sinner's Saviour, the divine Son of God must take
+man's place before the broken law. He came in human flesh, with all its
+weakness. "I can of Mine own self," He said, "do nothing." He trusted
+the Father, and lived a life of perfect righteousness in human flesh. He
+who knew no sin, bore man's sin in His body on the cross. "The Lord hath
+laid on Him the iniquity of us all." For man's sin He died, "that He by
+the grace of God should taste death for every man." In Him was met the
+penalty of the law. But it was a sinless sacrifice. He "through the
+eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God." Heb. 9:14.
+Therefore death could not hold Him. He rose in the power of an endless
+life to be man's advocate and priest and savior, ministering His grace
+and righteousness and life to every one who will receive them.
+
+The righteousness that He wrought out for man in human flesh He longs to
+put into every human heart. As in His own flesh in Judea He walked and
+lived the life of righteousness, so now, by the Holy Spirit, He walks in
+human lives today. That means forgiveness, and deliverance from the
+power of the flesh, and a new life of power, and righteousness and
+justification wrought within by the divine indwelling Saviour. How may
+we receive Him with all this great salvation?--By faith; by believing
+His promises; "that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith." Eph.
+3:17.
+
+Christ in all His fulness abiding within,--this is the wonder and
+mystery of the gospel, "which is Christ in you, the hope of glory." It
+means an ever-present, ever-living Saviour, able to save to the
+uttermost.
+
+What abundance of grace is received with His indwelling presence!
+
+_Forgiveness._--"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to
+forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1 John
+1:9.
+
+_Deliverance from the Flesh._--The cleansing by Christ's indwelling
+power means that the old life of self is subdued. "Our old man is
+crucified with Him." Rom. 6:6. "Ye are not in the flesh, but in the
+Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you.... And if Christ
+be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life
+because of righteousness." Rom. 8:9, 10.
+
+_A New Heart._--"A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will
+I put within you." Eze. 36:26.
+
+_A New Life._--"Be renewed in the spirit of your mind; and that ye put
+on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true
+holiness." Eph. 4:23, 24. It is in blessed fact Christ Jesus living the
+life in the believer by faith, as the apostle Paul says:
+
+"I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ
+liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the
+faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me." Gal.
+2:20.
+
+_Righteousness and Justification._--"This is His name whereby He shall
+be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS." Jer. 23:6. Well does the King
+James Version print the blessed name in capital letters. It is the great
+name of salvation to every believer. By faith we receive Him, and by
+faith His righteousness is imputed unto us. His life of obedience covers
+all the believer's surrendered life, past and continuous, and in God's
+sight the life of the believer in Jesus is justified from all sin. It is
+the triumph of Him who was not only "delivered for our offenses," but
+was also "raised again for our justification:"
+
+"Therefore as by the offense of one judgment came upon all men to
+condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came
+upon all men unto justification of life. For as by one man's
+disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall
+many be made righteous." Rom. 5:18, 19.
+
+Christ died and rose again to bring this experience to sinners who have
+struggled helplessly under condemnation. As Christ Jesus with all His
+righteousness is received by faith, "there is therefore now no
+condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the
+flesh, but after the Spirit." Rom. 8:1.
+
+Praise the Lord! It is all of Christ, and not of any works that we have
+done. Therefore it is as sure as the oath and promise of God. We can
+lose the experience only as we let Christ go out of the life by
+unbelief. God forbid that we should do this; and help us to be quick to
+repent and again lay hold of Him by faith if ever we find we have let
+Him go and have lost the covering of His righteousness.
+
+    "Jesus, Thy blood and righteousness
+    My beauty are, my glorious dress;
+    'Mid hosts of sin, in these arrayed,
+    My soul shall never be afraid."
+
+[Illustration: THE LAST PRAYER
+
+"That whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting
+life." John 3:16.]
+
+Christ's righteousness is, of necessity, the righteousness demanded by
+the law of God. He lives that law in the believer. This is what
+justification is. "Not the hearers of the law are just before God, but
+the doers of the law shall be justified." Rom. 2:13. Justification by
+faith makes the man a doer of the law by faith, Christ living every one
+of its sacred precepts in the believer's life. This is what He died to
+accomplish, to bring the righteousness of the law to the sinner who
+could never attain to it himself.
+
+"What the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God
+sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin,
+condemned sin in the flesh: that the righteousness of the law might be
+fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit."
+Rom. 8:3, 4.
+
+Christ writes God's law in the new heart: "I will put My laws into their
+mind, and write them in their hearts." Heb. 8:10. It is the rule of His
+own righteousness. For before He came into the world to work out perfect
+righteousness for us in human flesh, He said, through the psalmist, "I
+delight to do Thy will, O My God: yea, Thy law is within My heart." Ps.
+40:8.
+
+It is a perfect righteousness and a full salvation that Christ brings
+into every believer's heart. In Him all fulness dwells, "and ye are
+complete in Him."
+
+The wondrous plan of salvation is so deep that only "in the ages to
+come" will God be able to "show the exceeding riches of His grace in His
+kindness toward us through Christ Jesus." Eph. 2:7. But thank God, even
+here below sinners saved by grace may "know the love of Christ, which
+passeth knowledge."
+
+    "The wonders of redeeming love
+      Our highest thoughts exceed;
+    The Son of God comes from above,
+      For sinful man to bleed.
+
+    "He knows the frailties of our frame,
+      For He has borne our grief;
+    Our great High Priest once felt the same,
+      And He can send relief.
+
+    "His love will not be satisfied
+      Till He in glory see
+    The faithful ones for whom He died
+      From sin forever free."
+
+    --_R.F. Cottrell._
+
+[Illustration: THE BAPTISM OF CHRIST
+
+"Thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness." Matt. 3:15.]
+
+[Illustration: THE FORD OF JORDAN
+
+"John also was baptizing in Ænon near to Salim, because there was much
+water there." John 3:23.]
+
+
+
+
+BAPTISM
+
+THE MEMORIAL OF THE RESURRECTION
+
+
+Baptism is the divinely appointed memorial of the resurrection of
+Christ. The great fact of the gospel is that "Christ died for our sins
+according to the Scriptures; and that He was buried, and that He rose
+again the third day according to the Scriptures" (1 Cor. 15:3, 4), to be
+our great High Priest and Saviour.
+
+Baptism is a profession of faith in the Saviour, who went into the grave
+for us, and rose again to life. It is the great object-lesson to teach
+the truth that the sinner must die to sin and the world, and have a
+resurrection by the power of divine grace to a new life of obedience.
+The ordinance is the sign of an actual experience, the means by which
+the believer confesses the work of grace in the soul.
+
+The Scriptures teach the essential conditions necessary to baptism:
+
+"Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He
+that believeth and is baptized shall be saved." Mark 16:15, 16.
+
+"What doth hinder me to be baptized? And Philip said, If thou believest
+with all thine heart, thou mayest." Acts 8:36, 37.
+
+"Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in
+the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins." Acts 2:38.
+
+Thus it is seen that instruction in the gospel, belief in Christ, and
+repentance are conditions to precede baptism.
+
+
+Baptism for Believers
+
+The experience of which baptism is the sign is thus stated:
+
+"We are buried with Him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was
+raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also
+should walk in newness of life." Rom. 6:4.
+
+"As many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ."
+Gal. 3:27.
+
+"Buried with Him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with Him through
+the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised Him from the dead."
+Col. 2:12.
+
+In this ordinance, commanded of God, the believer is following the
+example of Christ, who, when baptized by John in Jordan, said, "Thus it
+becometh us to fulfil all righteousness."
+
+    "Thus through the emblematic grave
+      The glorious suffering Saviour trod;
+    Thou art our Pattern, through the wave
+      We follow Thee, blest Son of God."
+
+
+The Form of Baptism
+
+The Scriptural form of baptism is shown in these texts:
+
+"Jesus, when He was baptized, went up straightway out of the water."
+Matt. 3:16.
+
+"They went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he
+baptized him." Acts 8:38.
+
+"Buried with Him by baptism.... For if we have been planted together in
+the likeness of His death, we shall be also in the likeness of His
+resurrection." Rom. 6:4, 5.
+
+While the outward form of a religious service, without the spirit and
+the experience which the form professes, must ever be unacceptable to
+God, yet when the Lord prescribes a form, it is imperative that His
+instruction should be followed. The form of the ordinance as commanded
+by God emphasizes the divine meaning of the service.
+
+Scriptural baptism is a burial "in the likeness" of Christ's burial, as
+the lifting up of the believer from the watery grave is a likeness of
+the resurrection of Christ. Of the meaning of the word "baptism," Luther
+wrote:
+
+     "Baptism is a Greek word; in Latin it can be translated
+     immersion, as when we plunge something into water that it may
+     be completely covered with water."--_Opera Lutheri, De Sac.
+     Bap. 1, p. 319 (Baptist Encyclopedia, art. "Baptism")._
+
+Calvin, after arguing that the form is an indifferent matter, says:
+
+     "The very word 'baptize,' however, signifies to immerse; and it
+     is certain that immersion was observed by the ancient
+     church."--_"Institutes," lib. 4, cap. 15 (Baptist Encyclopedia,
+     art. "Baptism")._
+
+Of the practice in primitive times, Neander, the church historian, says:
+
+     "In respect to the manner of baptizing, in conformity with the
+     original institution and the original import of the symbol, it
+     was generally administered by immersion."--_"History of the
+     Christian Church," Torrey's translation (London edition), Vol.
+     I, p. 429._
+
+The perversion of the ordinance into sprinkling, and that in infancy,
+takes away the divinely ordained object-lesson; and in the case of the
+infant must of necessity substitute mere ceremonialism for experience,
+for the child of unaccountable years can have had no experience of
+believing and repenting, which are the necessary conditions to fulfil
+the meaning of baptism. The change in the ordinance, like most of the
+changes that came about in the days of the "falling away" from the
+primitive faith and practice, was by gradual process.
+
+Dean Stanley, in his "Christian Institutions," page 24, says that it is
+not till the third century that "we find one case of the baptism of
+infants." Of the change from immersion to sprinkling, he says:
+
+     "What is the justification of this almost universal departure
+     from the primitive usage? There may have been many reasons,
+     some bad, some good. One, no doubt, was the superstitious
+     feeling already mentioned which regarded baptism as a charm,
+     indispensable to salvation, and which insisted on imparting it
+     to every human being who could be touched with water, however
+     unconscious."
+
+The common practice as late as the twelfth century is thus described by
+a Roman Catholic cardinal of that time, named Pullus:
+
+     "Whilst the candidate for baptism in water is immersed, the
+     death of Christ is suggested; whilst immersed and covered with
+     water, the burial of Christ is shown forth; whilst he is raised
+     from the waters, the resurrection of Christ is
+     proclaimed."--_Patrol. Lat., Vol. CXXX, p. 315 (Baptist
+     Encyclopedia, art. "Baptism")._
+
+Dean Stanley, of Westminster, one of the first scholars of the Church of
+England, wrote:
+
+     "For the first thirteen centuries the almost universal practice
+     of baptism was that of which we read in the New Testament, and
+     which is the very meaning of the word 'baptize,'--that those
+     who were baptized were plunged, submerged, immersed into the
+     water. That practice is still, as we have seen, continued in
+     Eastern churches. In the Western church it still lingers among
+     Roman Catholics in the solitary instance of the Cathedral of
+     Milan; among Protestants in the numerous sects of the Baptists.
+     It lasted long into the Middle Ages.... But since the beginning
+     of the seventeenth century, the practice has become exceedingly
+     rare. With the few exceptions just mentioned, the whole of the
+     Western churches have now substituted for the ancient bath the
+     ceremony of letting fall a few drops of water on the face. The
+     reason of the change is obvious. The practice of immersion,
+     though peculiarly suitable to the Southern and Eastern
+     countries for which it was designed, was not found seasonable
+     in the countries of the North and West. Not by any decree of
+     council or parliament, but by the general sentiment of
+     Christian liberty, this remarkable change was effected.
+     Beginning in the thirteenth century, it has gradually driven
+     the ancient catholic usage out of the whole of
+     Europe."--_"Christian Institutions," pp. 21, 22._
+
+The facts are undeniable, and emphasize the importance of reformation
+and return in practice to the plain instructions of the Word of God. As
+the record shows, it was not the spirit of the New Testament church that
+made this change in the divine ordinance; rather it is the spirit of the
+church of the "falling away," against which the Lord warns all
+believers, "because they have transgressed the laws, changed the
+ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant."
+
+
+The Path He Trod
+
+    Our Saviour bowed beneath the wave,
+    And meekly sought a watery grave;
+    Come, see the sacred path He trod--
+    A path well pleasing to our God.
+
+    His voice we hear, His footsteps trace.
+    And hither come to seek His face,
+    To do His will, to feel His love,
+    And join our songs with those above.
+
+    --_Adoniram Judson._
+
+[Illustration: SYMBOLS OF MEDO-PERSIA AND GRECIA
+
+"The ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of Media and
+Persia. And the rough goat is the king of Grecia." Dan. 8:20, 21.]
+
+[Illustration: COINS OF THE MEDO-PERSIAN AND GRECIAN EMPIRES
+
+The ram, symbol of Persia; and the goat, symbol of Grecia.]
+
+
+
+
+THE PROPHECY OF DANIEL 8
+
+A HISTORIC OUTLINE AND A VITAL QUESTION
+
+
+Another view of the history of empires and kingdoms was brought before
+the prophet Daniel in the vision of the eighth chapter. In this vision a
+great prophetic period is given, the end of which reaches to the latter
+days, touching events of our own times that are of direct interest and
+importance to every one today.
+
+The vision was given in the third year of Belshazzar, the last king of
+Babylon. Again, as in moving panorama, there passed before the prophet's
+vision the scenes of history. Earthly kingdoms were represented under
+the symbols of beasts.
+
+We shall find the prophecy and the history corresponding in every
+detail, revealing the overruling hand of God, who knows the end from the
+beginning, and whose living Word of truth bears its witness through all
+the ages.
+
+    "Truth never dies. The ages come and go;
+      The mountains wear away; the seas retire;
+    Destruction lays earth's mighty cities low,
+      And empires, states, and dynasties expire;
+    But caught and handed onward by the wise,
+      Truth never dies."
+
+The opening scene of this vision, given by the river Ulai, in Persia, is
+thus described:
+
+_Prophecy._--"Then I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and, behold, there
+stood before the river a ram which had two horns: and the two horns were
+high; but one was higher than the other, and the higher came up last. I
+saw the ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward; so that no
+beast might stand before him, neither was there any that could deliver
+out of his hand; but he did according to his will, and became great."
+Verses 3, 4.
+
+In the angel's interpretation of the vision Daniel was told: "The ram
+which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia."
+Verse 20. "The higher came up last."
+
+The two horns represented the dual character of the empire: first the
+Medes in ascendancy, then the Persians rising to yet greater power. "So
+that no beast might stand before him," says the prophecy.
+
+_History._--Xenophon says of Cyrus the Persian:
+
+     "He was able to extend the fear of himself over so great a part
+     of the world that he astonished all, and no one attempted
+     anything against him."--_"The Cyropædia," book 1, chap. 1._
+
+The line of Medo-Persian conquest was "westward, and northward, and
+southward," just as the prophet saw the ram pushing its way. As one pen
+wrote in the days of Persia's supremacy:
+
+    "He [Darius] showed the world arms glory-crowned."
+    "Towns untold before him fell."
+    "Burgs over sea ... heard from his lips their fate."
+
+    --_"The Persians," by Æschylus._
+
+But the ram pushing westward stirred up an antagonist that was
+eventually to overcome him. The prophet continues:
+
+_Prophecy._--"As I was considering, behold, a he goat came from the west
+on the face of the whole earth, and touched not the ground: and the goat
+had a notable horn between his eyes. And he came to the ram that had two
+horns,... and ran unto him in the fury of his power.... And there was
+no power in the ram to stand before him, but he cast him down to the
+ground, and stamped upon him: and there was none that could deliver the
+ram out of his hand." Verses 5-7.
+
+The angel's interpretation continued: "The rough goat is the king of
+Grecia: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king."
+Verse 21.
+
+_History._--This "first king" of united Grecia was Alexander the Great.
+
+     "With Alexander the New Greece begins."--_Harrison, "Story of
+     Greece," p. 499._
+
+     "And it happened, after that Alexander ... had smitten Darius
+     king of the Persians and Medes, that he reigned in his stead,
+     the first over Greece." 1 Maccabees 1:1.
+
+Under Alexander, the Grecian goat ran upon the Persian ram "in the fury
+of his power." At Arbela, wrote Arrian, the Macedonians charged "with
+great fury." None was able to deliver the Persian ram. "Wherever you
+fly," wrote Alexander to the retreating Darius, "thither I will surely
+pursue you." (See "Anabasis of Alexander the Great," by Arrian, book 2,
+chap. 14.) Medo-Persia fell before Grecia, as this sure word of prophecy
+had foretold two hundred years before Alexander's day.
+
+Grecia's expansion and its later history were next unfolded before the
+prophet's vision:
+
+_Prophecy._--"Therefore the he goat waxed very great: and when he was
+strong, the great horn was broken; and for it came up four notable ones
+toward the four winds of heaven." Verse 8.
+
+Of the ram (Persia) it was said it became "great;" of the goat (Grecia);
+that it became "very great."
+
+_History._--Justin, the Roman, wrote of Alexander:
+
+     "So much was the whole world awed by the terror of his name,
+     that all nations came to pay their obedience to
+     him."--_"History of the World," book 12, chap. 13._
+
+    "Vain in his hopes, the youth had grasped at all,
+    And his vast thought took in the vanquished ball."
+
+    --_Lucan's "Pharsalia" (Nicholas Rowe's translation), book 3._
+
+But the unerring prophecy had said that "when he was strong, the great
+horn was broken." Suddenly the youthful conqueror was cut down by death,
+just as he was preparing to celebrate at Babylon a "convention of the
+whole universe,"
+
+     "being thus taken off in the flower of his age, and in the
+     height of his victories."--_Justin, "History of the World,"
+     book 13, chap. 1._
+
+The ancient pagan writers, in telling the story, make use of language
+very similar to that used by divine prophecy in foretelling it.
+Following Alexander's death the empire was divided "toward the four
+winds of heaven." Myers says:
+
+     "Four well-defined and important monarchies arose out of the
+     ruins.... The great horn was broken; and instead of it came up
+     four notable ones toward the four winds of heaven."--_"History
+     of Greece" (edition 1902), p. 457._
+
+As the prophet watched these four kingdoms of divided Greece, he beheld
+another power coming into the field of his vision through one of the
+four kingdoms, and extending its authority more than any before it:
+
+_Prophecy._--"Out of one of them [one of the four kingdoms] came forth a
+little horn, which waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toward
+the east, and toward the pleasant land." Verse 9.
+
+_History._--Medo-Persia was "great," Grecia was "very great," but this
+power was to be "exceeding great." Rome followed Grecia. Polybius, the
+Roman, says:
+
+     "Almost the whole inhabited world was conquered, and brought
+     under the dominion of the single city of Rome."--_"Histories of
+     Polybius" (Evelyn Shuckburgh's translation), book 1, chap. 1._
+
+One of the odes of Horace tells how the name of Rome grew to might:
+
+    "Till her superb dominion spread
+    East, where the sun comes forth in light,
+    And west to where he lays his head."
+
+    --_Ode 15, "To Augustus," book 4._
+
+Lucan's lines measured its exceeding greatness from the other points of
+the compass:
+
+    "Though from the frozen pole our empire run,
+    Far as the journeys of the southern sun."
+
+    --_"Pharsalia," book 10._
+
+"The empire of the Romans filled the world," says Gibbon. It was
+"exceeding great," according to the prophecy. In the vision the little
+horn that grew so great came into the prophet's view as proceeding out
+of one of the four horns that he had been watching. Rome rose to
+unquestioned supremacy out of its conquest of Macedonia, one of the four
+notable kingdoms into which Grecia was divided. It spread forth toward
+the south, and toward the east, and "toward the pleasant land,"
+Palestine becoming a province of the empire in the century before
+Christ. And it was a Roman force that destroyed Jerusalem and devastated
+the pleasant land.
+
+Thus the "sure word of prophecy," with exactness in detail, carries the
+history through the centuries to the last great universal monarchy,
+Rome.
+
+But this prophecy does not deal so much with the earlier history of Rome
+as with the developments of later times. It was the same in the
+prophetic outline of Daniel 7. After briefly identifying Rome as the
+last universal monarchy, the vision of the seventh chapter dealt with
+the rise of papal Rome, described its exaltation of itself against God,
+and its warfare against the truth and the saints of God. And here again,
+in the eighth chapter, the same persecuting power is seen developing,
+exalting itself, and persecuting the saints of God. The prophecy says
+that "it cast down the truth to the ground; and it practiced, and
+prospered." Dan. 8:12. The papal history, as given in the study on
+Daniel 7, need not be repeated here.
+
+[Illustration: THE CAMP OF ISRAEL IN THE WILDERNESS
+
+"Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be
+cleansed." Dan. 8:14.]
+
+As the prophet watched the work of this lawless power, his heart must
+have cried out to know how long it was to be allowed to prosper in its
+evil way; for next he heard the voice of a holy one asking the question
+for him,
+
+"How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the
+transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to
+be trodden underfoot?" Dan. 8:13.
+
+The answer was,
+
+"Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be
+cleansed." Verse 14.
+
+In symbolic prophecy a day stands for a year. Eze. 4:6. This is a long
+period, therefore, of 2300 years. It reaches to the latter days; for the
+angel said of it, "At the time of the end shall be the vision." Dan.
+8:17.
+
+The question was, "How long?" or literally, "Until when?" and the answer
+was, "Until two thousand and three hundred days." Then what was to come
+to deal with the great apostasy?--"Then shall the sanctuary be
+cleansed." The cleansing of the sanctuary, therefore, must have
+something to do with meeting the great apostasy, lifting up God's truth
+that has been trampled underfoot, and cutting short the reign of evil.
+The cleansing of the sanctuary, with all that is involved in it, must be
+God's answer to this lawless power.
+
+Error may prosper for a time; but the just balances of the sanctuary
+will at last pronounce righteous judgment, and the prosperity of evil
+will be cut short. "I was envious ... when I saw the prosperity of the
+wicked," said the psalmist, "until I went into the sanctuary of God;
+then understood I their end." Ps. 73:3, 17.
+
+What, then, is involved in the cleansing of the sanctuary, the time of
+which is marked by the long prophetic period? It is for us to
+understand; for it is a work pertaining to the latter days.
+
+[Illustration: OUR GREAT HIGH PRIEST
+
+"We have such a high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne
+of the Majesty in the heavens." Heb. 8:1.]
+
+[Illustration: THE INTERIOR OF THE SANCTUARY
+
+"A figure for time then present, in which were offered both gifts and
+sacrifices." Heb. 9:9.]
+
+
+
+
+THE CLEANSING OF THE SANCTUARY IN TYPE AND ANTITYPE
+
+
+The Bible teaching concerning the sanctuary of the Levitical service
+shows clearly that the cleansing of the sanctuary is God's answer to
+error and apostasy.
+
+The priestly service of the earthly sanctuary, or temple, in the days of
+Israel, was typical of the work of Christ, our High Priest, in the
+heavenly temple. The earthly priests served after "the example and
+shadow of heavenly things." Heb. 8:5. And of Christ's ministry in the
+heavenly temple we are told:
+
+"Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such a
+high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty
+in the heavens; a minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle,
+which the Lord pitched, and not man." Heb. 8:1, 2.
+
+In the earthly service, the cleansing of the sanctuary was the closing
+work of the high priest, marking the end of the yearly round of
+mediatory ministry. The cleansing of the sanctuary in the time of the
+end must, therefore, according to the sure teaching of the type, be the
+closing ministry of our great High Priest in the heavenly temple, before
+He lays aside His priestly work to come in glory.
+
+
+The Service of the Earthly Tabernacle
+
+There were two distinct phases in the priestly ministry of the
+tabernacle in Israel. The sanctuary was built with two apartments, the
+holy place and the most holy.
+
+In the holy place were the candlestick with its seven lights, the table
+with its ever-renewed "bread of the presence," and the altar of incense,
+on which sweet incense, symbol of Christ's continual intercession, was
+burned morning and night.
+
+Within the inner veil was the most holy place, where was the ark
+containing the tables of the law, written with the finger of God. The
+cover of the ark was the golden mercy-seat, above which, at either end,
+stood two cherubim of gold, their wings meeting on high, their faces
+looking ever toward the mercy-seat. It was a type of the throne of
+God--the angels about the throne, the law the foundation of His
+government, the mercy-seat typifying the interposition of mercy and
+pardon for the sinner; and above it the visible glory of the Lord, the
+Shekinah.
+
+"There I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above
+the mercy-seat, from between the two cherubim which are upon the ark of
+the testimony." Ex. 25:22.
+
+Of the service in the first apartment it is stated:
+
+"When these things were thus ordained, the priests went always into the
+first tabernacle, accomplishing the service of God." Heb. 9:6.
+
+"Day by day the sacrificial victims were slain at the altar before the
+outer veil, and the blood was 'brought into the sanctuary' by the
+priest." This was an acknowledgment of transgression of God's law,
+meriting death, and a confession of faith in the Lamb of God who was to
+suffer death in the sinner's stead, and whose atoning blood would plead
+for him before the righteous law.
+
+Thus day by day, either by the sprinkling of the blood "before the Lord"
+or by eating a portion of the flesh of the burnt offering in the holy
+place, the ministry of the priests transferred the sin in type to the
+sanctuary, and the sinner was pardoned.
+
+For a full year, lacking one day, the ministry was in the first
+apartment, or holy place only. But on that last day of the yearly round
+of service--"the tenth day of the seventh month"--the high priest
+entered the second apartment, or most holy place.
+
+"Into the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without
+blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people."
+Heb. 9:7.
+
+In this service the high priest sprinkled the blood upon the mercy-seat
+and in the holy place, "because of the uncleanness of the children of
+Israel." The sanctuary was to be reconciled or cleansed from all the
+sins registered there in type through the blood of the offerings brought
+day by day during the year.
+
+As the high priest came out, bearing the sins, he transferred them all
+to the head of the scapegoat, which was sent away into the wilderness;
+and thus "all their iniquities" were borne away from the camp into the
+wilderness, and the sanctuary was cleansed. See Leviticus 16.
+
+This was a solemn time of judgment in Israel. Every man's life came in
+review that day. Was every sin confessed? Whosoever was not found right
+with God, when that service was performed, was cut off from having a
+part with God's people.
+
+"It is a day of atonement, to make an atonement for you before the Lord
+your God. For whatsoever soul it be that shall not be afflicted in that
+same day, he shall be cut off from among his people." Lev. 23:28, 29.
+
+It was indeed an annual day of judgment in Israel. And all this was an
+"example and shadow of heavenly things." Heb. 8:5.
+
+
+Christ's Closing Work in Heaven
+
+Therefore the last phase of Christ's ministry as our high priest in the
+sanctuary of God above, must be a work of judgment, a review of the
+heavenly record, corresponding to the final ministry in the second
+apartment of the earthly tabernacle, when that sanctuary was cleansed.
+
+[Illustration: THE MEMORIAL OF HIS SACRIFICE
+
+"As often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the
+Lord's death till He come." 1 Cor. 11:26.]
+
+Daniel the prophet was shown in vision this change in the ministry of
+our High Priest, namely, from the first to the second apartment of the
+heavenly temple. He describes the wondrous scene, as God's living
+throne, with its wheels flaming with glory, moved into the most holy
+place of the heavenly sanctuary, for the closing work of Christ's
+ministry:
+
+"I beheld till the thrones were cast down ["placed," R.V.], and the
+Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair
+of His head like the pure wool: His throne was like the fiery flame, and
+His wheels as burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from
+before Him: thousand thousands ministered unto Him, and ten thousand
+times ten thousand stood before Him: the judgment was set, and the books
+were opened." Dan. 7:9, 10.
+
+This scene, as the next verse shows, opens while still on earth the
+apostasy is exalting itself. But during this same time a solemn judgment
+work is going forward in heaven above, the finishing of which will give
+God's answer to the apostasy, and bring the second coming of Christ in
+glory to end the reign of sin. It is the cleansing of the
+sanctuary,--the time when in reality and not in type every case
+registered in the sanctuary comes in final review before God. When that
+work closes, according to the type, whosoever is not found right with
+God will be cut off from having any part with His redeemed people.
+
+Then the priestly ministry of Christ will close, and the destiny of
+every soul will be fixed for all eternity. To that time must apply the
+words spoken by Jesus:
+
+"He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: ... and he that is
+righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be
+holy still. And, behold, I come quickly." Rev. 22:11, 12.
+
+But now the Saviour, from His place of ministry on high, speaks to all
+the encouraging exhortation and assurance:
+
+"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." Rev. 3:5.
+
+To let men on earth know when this judgment work, the cleansing of the
+sanctuary, began in heaven, the prophetic period of 2300 years was
+given. It is of most solemn importance that we know when that period
+begins and ends.
+
+[Illustration: ARTAXERXES SENDING THE JEWS TO REBUILD JERUSALEM,
+B.C. 457
+
+"From the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build
+Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and
+threescore and two weeks." Dan. 9:25.]
+
+[Illustration: NEHEMIAH, THE KING'S CUPBEARER
+
+"Send me unto Judah, unto the city of my fathers' sepulchers, that I may
+build it." Neh. 2:5.]
+
+
+
+
+A GREAT PROPHETIC PERIOD
+
+
+THE 2300 YEARS OF DANIEL 8:14
+
+The commission to the angel Gabriel was, "Make this man to understand
+the vision" (Dan. 8:16); therefore in the angel's explanation of the
+vision of Daniel 8, we must assuredly find the interpretation of the
+prophetic period of 2300 years, the close of which marks the opening of
+the judgment work in heaven, or the cleansing of the sanctuary.
+
+The eighth chapter closes, however, with no reference to the beginning
+of this period of time, a most important measuring line of prophecy. The
+angel had explained the symbols representing Medo-Persia, Grecia, and
+Rome, and had dwelt upon the antichristian work of the apostasy that was
+to develop; but he left the time of the prophetic period unexplained,
+save to say that it was "true," and that it would be "for many
+days"--far in the future. Here the angel stopped, for Daniel fainted. In
+spirit the prophet had been gazing upon the warfare of the great
+apostasy against God's truth through the ages, and evidently it took all
+strength from him. Daniel closes the account of this vision with the
+words, "I was astonished at the vision, but none understood it." Verse
+27.
+
+[Illustration: THE 2300 DAYS
+
+The heavy line represents the full 2300 year-day period, the longest
+prophetic period in the Bible. Beginning in B.C. 457 when the
+decree was given to restore and build Jerusalem (Ezra 7:11-26; Dan.
+9:25), seven weeks (49 years) are measured off to indicate the time
+occupied in this work of restoration. These, however, are a part of the
+sixty-nine weeks (483 years) that were to reach to Messiah, the Anointed
+One. Christ was anointed in 27 A.D., at His baptism. Matt.
+3:13-17; Acts 10:38. In the midst of the seventieth week (31
+A.D.), Christ was crucified or "cut off," which marked the time
+when the sacrifices and oblations of the earthly sanctuary were to
+cease. Dan. 9:25, 27. The remaining three and one-half years of this
+week reach to 34 A.D., or to the stoning of Stephen, and the
+great persecution of the church at Jerusalem which followed. Acts 7:59;
+8:1. This marked the close of the seventy weeks, or 490 years, allotted
+to the Jewish people.
+
+But the seventy weeks are a part of the 2300 days; and as they (the
+seventy weeks) reach to 34 A.D., the remaining 1810 years of
+the 2300-day period must reach to 1844, when the work of judgment, or
+cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary, was to begin. Rev. 14:6, 7. Then
+special light began to shine upon the whole sanctuary subject, and
+Christ's mediatorial or priestly work in it.
+
+Four great events, therefore, are located by this great prophetic
+period,--the first advent, the crucifixion, the rejection of the Jewish
+people as a nation, and the beginning of the work of final judgment.]
+
+But the angel had been commanded, "Make this man to understand the
+vision;" and soon after, as recorded in the next chapter,--possibly
+within a year,[G]--Gabriel appeared to the prophet with the words:
+
+"O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding....
+Therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision." Dan. 9:22,
+23.
+
+Thereupon the angel began to deal with the matter of time in the
+prophecy, the very feature of the vision of the eighth chapter that he
+had not yet made Daniel understand. Therefore the vision of the 2300
+years must be the topic.
+
+
+The Starting-Point
+
+First of all, the angel said that a short period was to be cut off from
+the long period, and allotted to the Jewish people; this short period
+was to reach to the coming of the promised Messiah and the filling up of
+the measure of Jerusalem's transgressions. The angel's own words are:
+
+"Seventy weeks [490 days, prophetic time, or 490 literal years] are
+determined [cut off, as the word means] upon thy people and upon thy
+holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and
+to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting
+righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint
+the Most Holy." Verse 24.
+
+This 490-year period "cut off" was to cover the history of the people of
+Jerusalem until that city had filled out the measure of its
+transgression. The only prophetic period from which this 490 years can
+properly be said to be "cut off" is, assuredly, the longer period of
+2300 years, which stretches far onward to "the time of the end." The 490
+years and the 2300 years, then, must begin at the same time.
+
+It was the time period that the angel Gabriel was yet to explain; and he
+begins the explanation by showing that the first 490 years of it would
+reach to the days of the Messiah. Then he gives the event that marks the
+beginning of the 490 years, which event must necessarily mark the
+beginning of the 2300 years as well.
+
+This is what he was commissioned to make Daniel "understand" when first
+the vision of the 2300 years was given. Now he tells him to "understand"
+it:
+
+"Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the
+commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the
+Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street
+shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. And after
+threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for Himself:
+and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and
+the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the
+end of the war desolations are determined." Dan. 9:25, 26.
+
+The date of the going forth of the commandment to restore and rebuild
+Jerusalem is the date, therefore, from which the great prophetic
+measuring line runs; the first 490 years of it to reach to the time and
+work of the Messiah, at the first advent, the full 2300 years running on
+to mark the time when the judgment hour in heaven opens. Once the
+starting-point is fixed, all the events of the long period must follow
+exactly as scheduled in the time-table of divine prophecy.
+
+
+Date of the Commencement to Restore Jerusalem
+
+There were several commands issued concerning the restoration of
+Jerusalem after the Babylonish captivity. Cyrus, and Darius, and
+Artaxerxes Longimanus each issued such a decree. Which one answers to
+the language of the prophecy as "the commandment to restore and to build
+Jerusalem"?
+
+[Illustration: THE JEWS MOURNING OVER THE RUINS OF JERUSALEM
+
+"I went out by night,... and viewed the walls of Jerusalem, which were
+broken down." Neh. 2:13.]
+
+The decree of Artaxerxes was most comprehensive (Ezra 7), authorizing
+the full restoration of the civil and religious administration of
+Jerusalem and Judea. And Inspiration specifically sums up all the
+decrees as completed only in that of Artaxerxes, which thus constituted
+"the commandment:"
+
+"They builded, and finished it, according to the commandment of the God
+of Israel, and according to the commandment of Cyrus, and Darius, and
+Artaxerxes king of Persia." Ezra 6:14.
+
+[Illustration: REBUILDING JERUSALEM
+
+"They builded, and finished it, according to the commandment of the God
+of Israel, and according to the commandment of Cyrus, and Darius, and
+Artaxerxes king of Persia." Ezra 6:14.]
+
+According to this scripture, the full "going forth of the commandment to
+restore and to build," dates from this decree of Artaxerxes. And this
+decree went forth "in the seventh year of Artaxerxes the king." Ezra
+7:7.
+
+What year was this seventh year of Artaxerxes--a date so important to
+fix to a certainty?
+
+The great chronological standard for the kings of the ancient empires is
+the canon, or historical rule, of Ptolemy. Ptolemy was a Greek
+historian, geographer, and astronomer, who lived in the temple of
+Serapis, near Alexandria, Egypt. From ancient records he prepared a
+chronological table of the kings of Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome
+(carrying the Roman list to his own time, which was the second century
+after Christ). Along with his list of kings and the years of their
+succession, Ptolemy compiled a record of ancient observations of
+eclipses. In such and such a year of a king, for instance, on a given
+day of the month, an eclipse of the sun or moon would be recorded.
+Astronomers have worked out these observations, and verified them. The
+learned Dr. William Hales said:
+
+     "To the authenticity of these copies of Ptolemy's canon, the
+     strongest testimony is given by their exact agreement
+     throughout, with above twenty dates and computations of
+     eclipses in Ptolemy's Almagest."--_"Chronology," Vol. I, p.
+     166._
+
+Thus, says James B. Lindsay, an English chronologist, "a foundation is
+laid for chronology sure as the stars." So the sun and the stars, the
+divinely appointed timekeepers, bear their witness to the accuracy of
+the historical record.
+
+We thank God for this, as we desire to know if we may depend upon
+Ptolemy's canon to help us fix to a certainty the seventh year of
+Artaxerxes.
+
+According to Ptolemy, Artaxerxes succeeded to the throne in the two
+hundred and eighty-fourth year of the canon. In modern reckoning, this
+two hundred and eighty-fourth year runs from Dec. 17, 465 B.C., to Dec.
+17, 464 B.C. The canon does not tell at what part of the year a king
+succeeded to the throne; it only deals with whole years. The question
+is, to be exact, Did Artaxerxes come to the throne in December, 465
+B.C., or at some time in the year 464 B.C.? At what season of the year
+did the king take the throne? Some historians, dealing with the matter
+roughly, date the succession from the year 465. But in dealing with
+divine prophecy, we require certainty upon which to base the reckoning
+of the seventh year of Artaxerxes, from which date the prophetic period
+runs.
+
+And in God's providence we do have certainty. Of all the kings of
+Assyria, Babylon, and Medo-Persia, in Ptolemy's long list, there is but
+one concerning whose succession the Scriptures give us the very time of
+the year--and that one is Artaxerxes. The one case in which we need to
+know to a certainty the season of the year, in order to fix an important
+date in prophecy, is the one case in which Inspiration gives exactly the
+particulars. Who cannot see the hand of God in this?
+
+The combined record of Neh. 1:1; 2:1 and Ezra 7:7-9,[H] shows that
+Artaxerxes came to the throne between the fifth month of the Jewish year
+and the ninth month,--roughly, between August and December,--or in the
+autumn. The Bible gives one part of the record, and Ptolemy's canon
+gives another part; and by the combined record we know that Artaxerxes
+came to the throne late in the year 464 B.C., and thus the seventh year
+of his reign would be 457 B.C. This is the date fixed by other sources
+of reliable chronology also, Sir Isaac Newton having worked out several
+lines of evidence from ancient authorities, in each case reaching the
+year 464 B.C. as the first of Artaxerxes, which makes the seventh to be
+457 B.C.
+
+In the seventh year of Artaxerxes the commandment went forth to restore
+and to build Jerusalem, and this event fixes the beginning of the 2300
+years, as also of the 490 years cut off from it upon the Jewish people.
+
+That year, 457 B.C., therefore, is a date of profound
+importance. It stands like the golden milestone in the ancient Forum at
+Rome, from which ran out all the measurements of distance to the ends of
+the empire. From this date, 457 B.C., run out the golden
+threads of time prophecy that touch events in the earthly life and the
+heavenly ministry of Jesus that are of deepest eternal interest to all
+mankind today.
+
+
+The Ransom Paid
+
+    Lord, I believe Thy precious blood,
+    Which, at the mercy-seat of God,
+    Forever doth for sinners plead,
+    Can cleanse my guilty soul indeed.
+
+    Lord, I believe were sinners more
+    Than sands upon the ocean shore,
+    Thou hast for all a ransom paid,
+    For all a full provision made.
+
+    --_Nikolaus Zinzendorf._
+
+[Illustration: THE ANOINTING OF JESUS AT HIS BAPTISM
+
+"God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power."
+Acts 10:38. (See Matt. 3:16.)]
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[G] The dates placed in the margin of the King James Version indicate a
+period of fifteen years between the eighth and ninth chapters of Daniel.
+This was because in former days it was thought that Belshazzar was the
+Bible name of Nabonidus, the last king of Babylon, who reigned seventeen
+years. In that case, from "the third year" of his reign, when the
+prophecy of Daniel 8 was given, to the "first year of Darius," who
+succeeded him, when the angel appeared again to Daniel, would be fifteen
+years. But the unearthing of the buried records of Babylonia during the
+last half century, reveals the fact that Belshazzar was the son of
+Nabonidus, associated with him on the throne as king for a few years
+before the fall of Babylon. The third year of his reign may very likely
+have been the last year; and Darius immediately followed Belshazzar. The
+explanation of the ninth chapter might have been within a few weeks or
+months following the vision of chapter 8, and probably was.
+
+[H] These texts show that the king came to the throne in the autumn, so
+that the actual years of his reign would run from autumn to autumn. Neh.
+1:1 begins the record: "In the month Chisleu, in the _twentieth year_."
+Neh. 2:1 continues: "It came to pass in the month Nisan, in the
+_twentieth year_ of Artaxerxes." Thus it is plain that in the monthly
+calendar of the king's actual reign the month Chisleu came first in
+order, and then Nisan. Chisleu was the ninth month of the Jewish sacred
+year, roughly, December. Nisan is the first month, April. And these
+months, December, April,--in that order,--came in the first year of the
+king, of course, the same as in his twentieth year. And in the same year
+also came the fifth month, August; for Ezra 7:7-9 shows that the first
+and fifth months--in that order--also fell in the same year of his
+reign. Then we know of a certainty that his reign began somewhere
+between August and December, that is, in the autumn. The first year of
+Artaxerxes was from the latter part of 464 B.C. to the latter part of
+463, and the seventh year, as readily counted off, would be from near
+the end of 458 to near the end of 457. Under the commission to Ezra, the
+people began to go up to Jerusalem in the spring of that year, 457 B.C.
+(in the first month, or April), and they "came to Jerusalem in the fifth
+month" (August). Ezra 7:8, 9. Ezra and his associates soon thereafter
+"delivered the kings commissions unto the king's lieutenants, and to the
+governors on this side the river: and they furthered the people, and the
+house of God." Ezra 8:36. With this delivery of the commissions to the
+king's officers, the commandment to restore and to build had, most
+certainly, fully gone forth. And from this date, 457 B.C., extends the
+great prophetic period.
+
+
+[Illustration: DANIEL'S PRAYER ANSWERED
+
+"I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding." Dan. 9:22.]
+
+
+
+
+THE PROPHECY FULFILLED
+
+EVENTS OF THE "SEVENTY WEEKS" AND END OF THE 2300 YEARS
+
+
+The angel explained to Daniel the events of the seventy weeks allotted
+to Jerusalem and its people "to finish the transgression." Seven weeks
+and threescore and two weeks (69 weeks) of the seventy were to reach to
+the Messiah. The angel's words were:
+
+"Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to
+finish the transgression.... Know therefore and understand, that from
+the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem
+unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two
+weeks [69 weeks, or 483 days]." Dan. 9:24, 25.
+
+The sixty-nine weeks, symbolic time, are 483 years, which were to reach
+from the commandment to restore and build Jerusalem to Messiah the
+Prince.
+
+
+The Time of the Messiah's Coming
+
+The commandment of Artaxerxes to restore and build Jerusalem, as we have
+seen, went forth in 457 B.C. Reckoning from that date, 483 full
+years bring us to A.D. 27, when, according to the prophecy, the
+Messiah should appear.
+
+Messiah means "anointed." The anointing of Jesus, and His manifestation
+as the Anointed One, was at His baptism:
+
+"Jesus, when He was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and,
+lo, the heavens were opened unto Him, and He saw the Spirit of God
+descending like a dove, and lighting upon Him: and lo a voice from
+heaven, saying, This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."
+Matt. 3:16, 17.
+
+Thus Jesus was anointed as the Messiah (see Acts 10:38), and John
+proclaimed: "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the
+world." John 1:29.
+
+When did this baptism and anointing take place? The Gospel of Luke
+supplies the historical facts for fixing the year:
+
+"In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Cæsar, Pontius Pilate
+being governor of Judea," etc. Luke 3:1-3.
+
+Tiberius followed Augustus, who died in A.D. 14. But before the
+latter's death, Tiberius was associated with him on the throne. Some
+modern historians date this appointment of Tiberius as Cæsar from
+A.D. 13; but the "History of Rome," by Dion Cassius, a Roman
+senator, born in the second century, shows, under events of
+A.D. 12, that Augustus recognized Tiberius as holding the
+imperial dignity at that time. (Book 56, chap. 26.) Again, Dr. Philip
+Schaff says:
+
+     "There are coins from Antioch in Syria of the date A.U. 765
+     [A.D. 12], with the head of Tiberius and the
+     inscription, _Kaisar, Sebastos (Augustus)."_--_"History of the
+     Christian Church," Vol. I, p. 120, footnote._
+
+These coins from Syria bear certain witness that the first year of
+Tiberius should be counted from A.D. 12. Therefore "the
+fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Cæsar" would be A.D.
+27, just 483 years from the going forth of the commandment to restore
+Jerusalem. The prophecy of the sixty-nine weeks was fulfilled--the
+Messiah had come.
+
+
+Confirming the Covenant
+
+But "one week" of the seventy remained--seven years. Of the Messiah's
+work during this time the angel said:
+
+"He shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst
+of the week He shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease."
+Dan. 9:27.
+
+Christ's death upon the cross made "the sacrifice and the oblation to
+cease," so far as their appointed force was concerned. After three years
+and a half of ministry, "in the midst" of this seven-year period, the
+prophetic week, the Messiah was lifted up on Calvary. For centuries the
+sure word of prophecy had pointed to this supreme hour in the working
+out of the plan of salvation. When the time was fulfilled, the promise
+of God was fulfilled also, and the divine Sacrifice was offered.
+
+    "Paschal Lamb, by God appointed,
+      All our sins on Thee were laid;
+    By Almighty Love anointed,
+      Thou redemption's price hast paid.
+    All Thy people are forgiven
+      Through the virtue of Thy blood;
+    Opened is the gate of heaven,
+      Peace is made 'twixt man and God."
+
+With the offering of the great Sacrifice, all the typical offerings
+ceased to have significance. The veil of the temple was rent when the
+Lamb of God expired upon the cross,--sign to all that He had caused "the
+sacrifice and the oblation to cease."
+
+[Illustration: THE CRUCIFIXION OF CHRIST
+
+"In the midst of the week He shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation
+to cease." Dan. 9:27.]
+
+[Illustration: THE RENT VEIL
+
+"The veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom."
+Mark 15:38.]
+
+The Messiah was to "confirm the covenant with many for one week,"
+filling out the seventy weeks allotted in God's merciful patience
+especially to the people of the Jews. Three and a half years of Christ's
+personal ministry on earth had been devoted to the chosen people. Now,
+after His ascension, He was still, in the persons of His disciples, to
+press the gospel of the new covenant especially upon the Jewish
+people--"to the Jew first," and "beginning at Jerusalem."
+
+
+[Illustration: PETER PREACHING IN THE HOUSE OF CORNELIUS
+
+"They that were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the word."
+Acts 8:4.]
+
+This last seven-year period, beginning in A.D. 27, ended in
+A.D. 34. By that time the opposition of the Jews was becoming
+exceedingly bitter. As a people they were rejecting again the divine
+invitation extended by the risen Christ through His witnesses. About
+A.D. 34 Stephen was martyred. The same council that, against
+all evidence, had rejected the Messiah, again rejected the appeal of the
+Holy Ghost shining visibly on Stephen's countenance.
+
+The believers in Jerusalem were driven out by persecution; and "they
+that were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the word." Acts
+8:4. The Gentiles gave heed in Samaria, and the Ethiopian received the
+gospel on the road to Gaza. The gospel message had fairly passed the
+boundaries of Jerusalem and was on its way to the "uttermost parts of
+the earth."
+
+Though the seventy weeks cut off upon the Jewish people and upon the
+holy city had ended, to the world's end the gospel of Christ's salvation
+is for that people as well as for all other nations.
+
+
+The Ending of the 2300 Years
+
+It must not be forgotten that the angel was explaining to Daniel the
+vision and prophecy of the long prophetic period that was to reach to
+the cleansing of the sanctuary at the time of the end.
+
+These events of the first seventy weeks of that period were "to seal up
+the vision and prophecy." Dan. 9:24. The shedding of the blood of the
+divine Sacrifice "to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in
+everlasting righteousness," set Heaven's seal to the vision. As surely
+as the great Offering had been made, so surely the cleansing of the
+sanctuary would be accomplished by the ministry of our High Priest in
+heaven.
+
+And the exact fulfilment of the time schedule for this first portion of
+the prophetic period, set seal to the declaration that when the full
+2300 years should run out, the closing ministry of Christ would surely
+begin in the heavenly sanctuary.
+
+From 457 B.C., when the commandment of Artaxerxes to restore
+Jerusalem went forth, the measuring line of the 2300 years reaches to
+the year A.D. 1844. In that year the time of the prophecy came.
+Then the cleansing of the sanctuary was to begin.
+
+The prophet John, in the Revelation, beheld the opening of this last
+phase of the ministry of Christ in the most holy place of the temple of
+God. "The temple of God was opened in heaven," he says, "and there was
+seen in His temple the ark of His testament." Rev. 11:19. The prophet
+heard voices saying, "The nations were angry, and Thy wrath is come, and
+the time of the dead, that they should be judged." Verse 18.
+
+Again we must quote Daniel's description of the opening of this ministry
+in the most holy place of the heavenly temple. He saw thrones of
+judgment set up. He saw the moving throne of the Almighty, with its
+wheels of naming glory, take its position for the final work of our High
+Priest in the holy of holies above:
+
+"I beheld till the thrones were cast down [placed], and the Ancient of
+days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of His head
+like the pure wool: His throne was like the fiery flame, and His wheels
+as burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before Him:
+thousand thousands ministered unto Him, and ten thousand times ten
+thousand stood before Him: the judgment was set, and the books were
+opened." Dan. 7:9, 10.
+
+This was the scene enacted in the heavenly temple when the year 1844
+brought the judgment hour. Then began in heaven the work of the
+investigative judgment, or the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary,
+during which the case of every individual will come in review before
+God.
+
+When that work of investigation is finished, the ministry of Christ for
+sin will end, human probation will close, and our Lord will quickly come
+as King of kings and Lord of lords, to gather His redeemed, while all
+sinners will be destroyed by "the brightness of His coming." 2 Thess.
+2:8.
+
+In the vision of Daniel 8, as the great apostasy was seen warring
+against God's truth, the question was asked, "How long shall be the
+vision,... to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden
+underfoot?" The answer was, in effect, In 1844 the cleansing of the
+sanctuary will begin in heaven,--the hour of God's judgment, that will
+give God's answer to sin and apostasy.
+
+We are living in the great antitypical day of atonement, for which all
+heaven has been waiting. The end is at hand. And while that work is
+proceeding in heaven above, the Lord proclaims a special message on
+earth, lifting up again truths long trodden underfoot, and calling men
+to prepare for the coming of the Lord.
+
+
+    _How Shall We Stand?
+    "For the hour of His judgment is come."_
+
+    "The judgment is set, the books have been opened;
+      How shall we stand in that great day
+    When every thought, and word, and action,
+      God, the righteous Judge, shall weigh?
+
+    "The work is begun with those who are sleeping,
+      Soon will the living here be tried,
+    Out of the books of God's remembrance,
+      His decision to abide.
+
+    "O, how shall we stand that moment of searching,
+      When all our sins those books reveal?
+    When from that court, each case decided,
+      Shall be granted no appeal?"
+
+[Illustration: THE THIRD ANGEL'S MESSAGE
+
+"Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the
+commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus." Rev. 14:12.]
+
+[Illustration: THE GOSPEL COMMISSION
+
+"Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature."
+Mark 16:15.]
+
+
+
+
+A WORLD-WIDE MOVEMENT
+
+FORETOLD IN THE PROPHECY OF REVELATION 14
+
+
+While the work of the judgment hour, or period,--the cleansing of the
+sanctuary,--is proceeding in the heavenly temple above, the Lord sends
+to the world a special message of preparation for the coming of the
+Lord.
+
+It would not be the divine way to let this solemn judgment in heaven
+come unheralded to men. Daniel's prophecy had fixed the time of its
+beginning; and the question asked in the prophet's hearing, "How long
+shall be the vision ... to give both the sanctuary and the host to be
+trodden underfoot?" suggested that when the time came, the truths of God
+that had been trodden underfoot through the ages would be lifted up and
+proclaimed anew to all the world.
+
+With the coming of the judgment hour, in the year 1844, there arose just
+such a work, a definite gospel movement, that has ever since been
+carrying the message for the hour to the ends of the earth.
+
+
+The Way Prepared for the Rise of the Movement
+
+But there was a preliminary work to be done, to prepare the way for the
+definite advent movement and message.
+
+In the days of Israel of old, as the time for the cleansing of the
+sanctuary drew near, the people were forewarned of the approach of the
+solemn hour. The day of atonement--"the tenth day of the seventh
+month"--was a typical hour of judgment. All the people were to prepare
+their hearts for that great day.
+
+To this end, the Lord appointed the first day of the seventh month a day
+of sounding of the trumpets. Lev. 23:24. The silver trumpets, pealing
+forth on that day, proclaimed to all that the day of atonement was near
+at hand, when every case would be brought in review before the
+mercy-seat by the ministry of the high priest in the most holy place of
+the earthly sanctuary.
+
+True to the type, as the year 1844 drew near, when the great antitypical
+day of atonement was to open and the closing work of Christ to begin in
+the most holy place of the heavenly temple, the trumpet call of the
+approaching judgment hour was set pealing through all Christendom.
+
+Events of the closing years of the eighteenth century and the early
+decades of the nineteenth, had stirred up Bible students to give greater
+attention to the study of the prophetic scriptures. It was seen that
+signs of the latter days were appearing, and that every line of historic
+prophecy pointed to the near approach of Christ's second coming.
+
+Here and there students of the Word saw that the 2300-year period of
+Dan. 8:14, as explained in the ninth chapter, would end soon; and some
+arrived at the correct date, and looked to the year 1844 as the time
+when the judgment hour would come.
+
+Witnesses were raised up in Europe--in Holland, Germany, Russia, and the
+Scandinavian countries. Joseph Wolff, the missionary to the Levant,
+preached in Greece, Palestine, Turkey, Afghanistan, and other regions
+the coming of the judgment hour. William Miller and many associates
+preached the message throughout America.
+
+Writing in the days just before 1844, Mourant Brock, a clergyman of the
+Church of England, said:
+
+     "It is not merely in Great Britain that the expectation of the
+     near return of the Redeemer is entertained, and the voice of
+     warning raised, but also in America, India, and on the
+     continent of Europe. In America, about three hundred ministers
+     of the word are thus preaching 'this gospel of the kingdom;'
+     whilst in this country, about seven hundred of the Church of
+     England are raising the same cry."--_"Advent Tracts_," _Vol.
+     II, p. 135 (1844)._
+
+Not all who joined in the awakening cry at this time explained the
+prophecies alike, or emphasized the definite year 1844 as the beginning
+of the hour of God's judgment; though in America, Europe, and Asia the
+clear message of the ending of the prophetic time in 1844 was proclaimed
+with power by many voices. And as the time came, the world was ringing
+with the call to prepare to meet the judgment hour, even as the hosts of
+Israel were called by trumpet peals to prepare for the typical day of
+atonement.
+
+The nature of the event to come at the end of the 2300 years was not
+understood by these early heralds of the advent hope. The general
+expectation was that the judgment hour meant the end of the world and
+the coming of the Lord. Though the word of prophecy indicated clearly
+that there was a special work to be done on earth while the judgment
+hour was proceeding in heaven, this was not clear to Bible students at
+the time. So when the prophetic period ended and the Lord did not come,
+believers in the prophetic truths were disappointed and unbelievers
+scoffed. But the call to prepare for the judgment hour was the message
+due to the world at that time, and the awakening cry was raised on every
+continent.
+
+In the days of the Saviour's first advent, the disciples and the
+populace had proclaimed the triumphal entry of Christ into Jerusalem.
+They were at once disappointed; instead of enthroning Him as king, they
+witnessed His crucifixion. But in proclaiming the coming of Zion's King
+to Jerusalem, they were fulfilling the prophecy that had been uttered,
+and were giving the message for that day, notwithstanding their mistaken
+view as to the events that would follow.
+
+Just so the trumpet call of the coming judgment hour was the message for
+the days of 1844; and the message was given, attended by the power of
+God. When the hour was at hand, the providence of God raised up faithful
+witnesses to proclaim it.
+
+All this was preparatory to the rise of the definite advent movement of
+the prophecy, when the hour of God's judgment should begin.
+
+
+The Closing Work
+
+In vision, on the Isle of Patmos, the prophet John was given a view of
+the closing work of the gospel on earth, while the closing ministry of
+Christ was proceeding in heaven above. The prophet wrote:
+
+"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, 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." Rev. 14:6, 7.
+
+The message further warned against following the ways of the great
+apostasy; and in the vision the prophet was shown people in all lands
+taking their stand at the call of the message. The angel described them
+in these words:
+
+"Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the
+commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus." Verse 12.
+
+Much as pictures appear to us when thrown in succession upon a screen,
+these scenes must have passed before the vision of the prophet. He saw
+the coming of the hour, the rise of the movement, and its extension into
+all lands; he heard the message sounding, and saw the kind of people
+doing the work--a people keeping "the commandments of God, and the faith
+of Jesus."
+
+[Illustration: PAUL WRITING TO TIMOTHY FROM ROME
+
+"There is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord ...
+shall give me at that day: and ... unto all them also that love His
+appearing." 2 Tim. 4:8.]
+
+Centuries had passed, after this word was written in the Book, when the
+flight of time at last brought the hour of the prophecy--the year 1844.
+That very year witnessed the rise of the definite advent movement which
+is still proclaiming the very message of the prophecy to the world.
+
+It was in the year 1844, in New England, that a little group of
+believers in the blessed hope of Christ's soon coming, saw clearly, from
+their study of the Bible, that the New Testament platform of "the
+commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus," emphasized in this
+prophecy of the judgment hour, meant the keeping of the fourth
+commandment as well as the other nine. Thereupon they began to keep and
+to teach the Sabbath of the Lord, the seventh day of the week, made holy
+and blessed and commanded by God.
+
+One member of this group of commandment-keeping Adventists was Frederick
+Wheeler, from whose dictation the following statement was prepared,
+fixing exactly the facts as to the time:
+
+     "As a Methodist minister he was convinced of the advent truth
+     by reading William Miller's works in 1842, and joined in
+     preaching the first message [that of the judgment hour]. In
+     March, 1844, he began to keep the true Sabbath, in Washington,
+     N.H."--_Review and Herald (Washington, D.C.), Oct. 4, 1906._
+
+They were but a little band, those believers in New Hampshire, but the
+time of the prophecy had come, and with the coming of the hour there was
+the nucleus of the movement forming, believers in the near coming of the
+Lord, preaching the message of the prophecy, "The hour of His judgment
+is come," and keeping "the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus."
+
+From that small beginning has grown the movement that Seventh-day
+Adventists stand for, spreading through all the world today.
+
+It was in the year following 1844 that Joseph Bates, of Massachusetts, a
+retired sea captain, and a preacher of the advent hope, began to keep
+the Sabbath. Captain Bates wrote and published, and soon others,
+following his example, embraced the Bible Sabbath.
+
+As the Scripture teaching concerning the sanctuary was studied, light
+came flooding in. It was seen that the great prophetic period of Daniel
+8, which ended in 1844, marked the opening of Christ's ministry in the
+most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary, the work of the judgment hour
+in heaven; and there, plainly revealed in Revelation 14, was a special
+gospel message to be carried to all the world while the judgment hour
+still continued.
+
+The little company that began to keep the commandments of God as
+Adventist believers in 1844, did not understand that they were beginning
+the definite movement foretold by the prophecy. They only determined to
+turn from traditions that had made void God's law, and to obey the law
+of the Most High, whose servants they were.
+
+But in the light of the Scripture prophecy and of events, we can see
+clearly the hand of God leading that little baud into the right pathway
+when the year of 1844 came; and the work there begun has grown into the
+world-wide movement of today.
+
+Nearly two thousand years before, it had been written in the "sure word
+of prophecy" that when the hour of God's judgment came, a people keeping
+God's commandments would arise and spread forth into all the world with
+the last gospel message. The long prophetic period of Daniel 8 had fixed
+the year 1844 as the time when the judgment hour would begin and when
+the people of the prophecy must appear.
+
+When the year came, that people appeared, keeping "the commandments of
+God, and the faith of Jesus." When the hour struck, the work began. This
+advent movement was born of God in fulfilment of prophecy. And the
+mission of the movement is to lift up again the standard of truths
+obscured by tradition and trodden underfoot, and to call all men to the
+New Testament platform of the "commandments of God, and the faith of
+Jesus," where every believing soul may find safe refuge in these closing
+moments of the judgment hour in the courts above.
+
+[Illustration: A CHRISTIAN MOTHER EXHORTING HER DAUGHTER TO MARTYRDOM
+
+"Choose you this day whom ye will serve;... as for me and my house, we
+will serve the Lord." Joshua 24:15.]
+
+
+
+
+THE JUDGMENT-HOUR MESSAGE
+
+THE GOSPEL FOR OUR DAY
+
+
+The gospel message for this time of the judgment hour is set forth in
+the vision of Revelation 14:
+
+[Illustration: THE TWO BEASTS OF REVELATION 13
+
+"Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come."
+Rev. 14:7.]
+
+"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, 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.
+
+"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.
+
+"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, 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: and the smoke of their
+torment ascendeth up forever 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.
+
+"Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the
+commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus." Rev. 14:6-12.
+
+When this message has been heralded to all nations, according to
+prophecy the end will come, for the next scene brought before the
+prophet's vision was the coming of Christ to reap the harvest of the
+earth:
+
+"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." Verse 14.
+
+The outline of the message given here reveals certain main features:
+
+
+1. A Gospel Message
+
+It is not a new or another gospel. There is but one gospel. This message
+is "the everlasting gospel" in terms that meet the situation in the time
+of the judgment hour. The advent movement carries the blessed message of
+full salvation from sin by faith in Jesus Christ.
+
+
+2. A Solemn Warning
+
+The message is God's final answer to the age-long perversions of His
+truth. Even the warnings uttered vibrate with the saving grace and
+winning power of God's love in Christ Jesus our Lord.
+
+In the vision of Daniel 8, the prophet was shown the working of apostasy
+in the latter times, as it "cast down the truth to the ground" and
+"practiced and prospered." But in answer to the question, "How long?"
+the great prophetic period of the 2300 years was given, at the end of
+which (in 1844) the judgment work in heaven was to begin. When that
+work is finished, Christ's glorious appearing will end the reign of sin
+and error.
+
+And while the closing judgment work is proceeding in heaven, this
+message of the judgment hour lifts up on earth the standard of truths
+trodden underfoot, and the Lord utters His last warning against sin and
+apostasy. It is a terrible word that He speaks. Bengelius described it
+as--
+
+     "that threatening pronounced which is the greatest in all the
+     Scriptures, and which shall resound powerfully from the mouth
+     of the third angel."--_"Introduction to Apocalypse," Preface
+     xxix (London, 1757)._
+
+The Lord is in earnest with men in this hour when the judgment, now
+passing on the dead, must also soon seal the eternal destiny of all the
+living. Hence the message challenges every soul to a decision.
+
+Looking forward to the time when this message should be due, John Wesley
+wrote:--
+
+     "Happy are they who make the right use of these divine
+     messages."--_"Notes on New Testament," on Revelation 14._
+
+These warnings are part of the "everlasting gospel." Whosoever,
+therefore, preaches the full gospel of Christ in these last days must
+sound this solemn call.
+
+
+3. A Call to Loyalty to God
+
+"Fear God," is the call, "Worship Him." In the preceding vision of the
+thirteenth chapter, the Lord had shown the prophet the work of an
+ecclesiastical power, symbolized by a leopardlike beast, that was to
+speak great things, and that was to persecute believers through long
+centuries, warring against God's truth and His sanctuary. "All the world
+wondered after the beast." The prophet said,
+
+"All that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not
+written in the book of life of the Lamb." Rev. 13:8.
+
+While worldly influence and the voice of popular religion exalt this
+ecclesiastical power and give glory to it, the gospel message calls all
+men to worship God.
+
+"Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come:
+and worship Him.... If any man worship the beast and his image, and
+receive his mark,[I] ... the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath
+of God."
+
+The issue, it is clear, involves the question of authority. Shall God be
+recognized as supreme? or shall this ecclesiastical power, whose rise
+and work were foretold in the prophecy, be recognized as the great
+authority?
+
+
+The Work of the Papal Power
+
+Any comparison between this leopard beast of Revelation 13 and the
+"little horn" of the fourth beast of Daniel 7, shows plainly that the
+same power is represented in each. The same voice is heard "speaking
+great things," the same persecuting spirit is shown, the same warfare
+against God's truth. It is the Roman Papacy, in its exaltation of human
+authority above the divine, that "lawless one" of Paul's prophecy,
+setting itself forth as God in the temple of God, treading underfoot the
+word and the law of the Most High, as foretold by Daniel:
+
+"He shall speak great words against the Most High, and shall wear out
+the saints of the Most High, and think to change times and laws." Dan.
+7:25.
+
+Against the recognition of the assumed authority of this power, the
+gospel message of Revelation 14 sounds its solemn warning: "If any man
+worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark."
+
+
+The Image to the Papacy
+
+What is this image? Plainly an image to the Papacy must be some
+religious authority or federation not organically of the Papacy itself,
+but adopting papal principles and seeking to enforce these principles by
+civil power, just as the Papacy has ever done, where possible. This
+development in likeness of the Papacy was shown the prophet in the
+latter part of the vision of Revelation 13. He saw the image formed, and
+in vision witnessed its determined efforts to enforce upon men the mark,
+or sign, of the Papacy:
+
+"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.... 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: and that no man might buy or sell, save he that had
+the mark, or the name of the beast." Rev. 13:12-17.
+
+
+The Mark, or Sign, of Papal Authority
+
+The Roman Papacy sets forth the Sunday institution as the mark of the
+authority of the church to substitute ecclesiastical tradition and
+custom for the Word of God. Thus, Monsignor Ségur, in "Plain Talks about
+the Protestantism of Today," says:
+
+     "The observance of Sunday by Protestants is an homage they pay,
+     in spite of themselves, to the authority of the church."--_Page
+     213._
+
+It was to this change in the Sabbath by tradition, contrary to the plain
+command of God to keep holy the seventh day, that the famous Council of
+Trent appealed when it gave Rome's answer to the Reformation cry of "The
+Bible and the Bible only." The council had long debated the ground of
+its answer. The historian says:
+
+     "Finally, at the last opening on the eighteenth of January,
+     1562, their last scruple was set aside; the archbishop of
+     Rheggio made a speech in which he openly declared that
+     tradition stood above Scripture. The authority of the church
+     could therefore not be bound to the authority of the
+     Scriptures, because the church had changed Sabbath into Sunday,
+     not by the command of Christ, but by its own authority. With
+     this, to be sure, the last illusion was destroyed, and it was
+     declared that tradition does not signify antiquity, but
+     continual inspiration."--_Dr. J.H. Holtzman, "Canon and
+     Tradition," p. 263._
+
+Ever since this memorable council, the Sunday institution has been held
+forth as the mark of the power of the church to command religious
+observances. Thus, again, Keenan's "Doctrinal Catechism" says:
+
+     "_Question._--Have you any other way of proving that the church
+     has power to institute festivals of precept?"
+
+     "_Answer._--Had she not such power, she could not have done
+     that in which all modern religionists agree with her,--she
+     could not have substituted the observance of Sunday, the first
+     day of the week, for the observance of Saturday, the seventh
+     day, a change for which there is no Scriptural
+     authority."--_Page 174._
+
+The prophecy of Daniel declared that this power would "think" to change
+the times and laws of the Most High; and the change of the Sabbath
+commandment is set forth as the mark of the church's authority above the
+written law of the Most High.
+
+Most remarkable of all, Protestant organizations are defending the
+unscriptural observance of the humanly established first-day sabbath in
+contradiction to the law of God, which declares that "the seventh day is
+the Sabbath of the Lord thy God." And these organizations, in denial of
+the Protestant principle of religious liberty, are seeking power to
+enforce Sunday observance by civil law. But this is to make a very image
+to the Roman Papacy--a church using the power of the state to enforce
+religious observance.
+
+It was all foretold in the prophetic word. The prophet was shown (Rev.
+13:11-17) this likeness or image to the Papacy--ecclesiastical
+organizations not of the Papacy itself, but following papal principles
+in this matter--seeking to compel men to receive the mark of the papal
+apostasy.
+
+Against the workings of both the Papacy and this image to the Papacy,
+the last message of the "everlasting gospel" lifts its warning cry:
+
+"If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his
+forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath
+of God."
+
+It is the time of the judgment hour, when God was to lift up the
+standard of truths long trodden underfoot. In the heavenly sanctuary
+Christ's closing judgment work is going forward, preparatory to His
+coming in consuming glory to end the reign of sin. On earth the Lord is
+sending the last gospel message to men, warning against sin and error,
+and calling all men to worship God, and to keep "the commandments of
+God, and the faith of Jesus."
+
+
+The Sign of Jehovah's Authority
+
+God also has His sign, or mark, of authority. He bases His claims to
+supreme authority upon the fact of His creative power. As Creator, His
+is the authority and the power.
+
+"The Lord is the true God.... He hath made the earth by His power." Jer.
+10:10-12.
+
+And the divinely established memorial of this creative power is the holy
+Sabbath. The Sabbath is the mark, or sign, of the true God:
+
+"Hallow My Sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between Me and you, that
+ye may know that I am the Lord your God." Eze. 20:20.
+
+On one side is the mark, or sign, of apostasy from God; on the other the
+mark, or sign, of loyalty to God. Which mark will men receive, as the
+issue is pressed upon every soul for decision? On which side shall we
+stand? Under whose banner shall we be found when the judgment hour
+closes?
+
+[Illustration: PILATE'S FATAL DECISION IN THE HOUR OF TRIAL
+
+"Pilate saith unto them, What shall I do then with Jesus which is called
+Christ?" Matt. 27:22.]
+
+The test that came to Pilate comes anew to men as Christ's message
+presses for acceptance. "What shall I do then with Jesus?" asked the
+Roman governor--and yielded to popular clamor. His fatal decision in the
+time of testing warns us to decide for Christ and for the word of his
+salvation now, in this hour of God's judgment.
+
+The message of Rev. 14:6-14 is going to all the world now. Every year
+thousands of new voices join in telling it. Printing presses are
+printing it in many languages. Schools and colleges in every continent
+are educating thousands of Seventh-day Adventist youth, keeping before
+them, as the highest aim of life, the hastening of the advent message to
+the world. Sanitariums in many lands, while training medical missionary
+evangelists, are at the same time ministering to the sick, and teaching
+the principles of Bible health and temperance. The movement necessarily
+emphasizes every principle of "the everlasting gospel," while pressing
+upon all the solemn issue that loyalty to Christ now means to turn from
+unscriptural tradition and custom to the commandments of God and the
+faith of Jesus. However ancient the custom of observing Sunday, it is
+but an innovation, setting aside the Word of God and the example of
+Jesus Christ. As St. Cyprian said: "Usage without truth is only an
+antiquated error." The clear light of Holy Scripture now calls the
+believer away from the path of error to the way of light.
+
+    "The older error is, it is the worse,
+    Continuation may provoke a curse;
+    If the Dark Age obscured our fathers' sight,
+    Must their sons shut their eyes against the light?"
+
+    --_Bishop Ken._
+
+In times past Christian believers have been unwittingly following the
+lead of the Papacy in this matter. The Lord holds no man accountable for
+light that he did not have. Reformation is a progressive work. Of the
+past we may say with Paul:
+
+"The times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men
+everywhere to repent: because He hath appointed a day, in the which He
+will judge the world in righteousness." Acts 17:30, 31.
+
+Now, with this "hour of God's judgment" already come, the entire
+covering of papal tradition is to be torn aside, and when Jesus comes in
+glory, in every land will be found believers having the faith and
+keeping the commandments of God.
+
+All this was shown to John on the Isle of Patmos,--the coming of the
+judgment hour, the rise of the advent movement, and the heralding of the
+last message to the nations.
+
+What John saw in vision nearly two thousand years ago, we see fulfilling
+before our eyes today. But it is not enough to see it; we must have a
+part in it, be a part of it.
+
+[Illustration: LUCIFER PLOTTING AGAINST THE GOVERNMENT OF GOD
+
+"I will exalt my throne above the stars of God;... I will be like the
+Most High." Isa. 14:13, 14]
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[I] The use of a mark, or sign, to designate the divinity worshiped, is
+common in non-Christian religions. One may see the Hindu returning from
+the temple with the mark of Vishnu or other deity freshly painted upon
+the forehead. Of the ancient usage, from which this Bible symbol of the
+"mark" is taken, Dr. John Potter says, in his "Antiquities of Greece:"
+
+"Slaves were not only branded with stigmata for a punishment of their
+offenses, but (which was the common end of these marks) to distinguish
+them, in case they should desert their masters; for which purpose it was
+common to brand their soldiers; only with this difference, that whereas
+slaves were commonly stigmatized in their forehead, and with the name or
+some peculiar character belonging to their masters, soldiers were
+branded in the hand, and with the name or character of their general.
+After the same manner, it was likewise customary to stigmatize the
+worshipers and votaries of some of the gods: whence Lucian, speaking of
+the votaries of the Syrian goddess, affirms, 'They were all branded with
+certain marks, some in the palms of their hands, and others in their
+necks: whence it became customary for all the Assyrians thus to
+stigmatize themselves.' And Theodoret is of opinion that the Jews were
+forbidden to brand themselves with stigmata [Lev. 19:28], because the
+idolaters by that ceremony used to consecrate themselves to their false
+deities.
+
+"The marks used on these occasions were various. Sometimes they
+contained the name of the god, sometimes his particular ensign; such
+were the thunderbolt of Jupiter, the trident of Neptune, the ivy of
+Bacchus: whence Ptolemy Philopater was by some nicknamed Gallus, because
+his body was marked with the figures of ivy leaves. Or, lastly, they
+marked themselves with some mystical number, whereby the god's name was
+described. Thus the sun, which was signified by the number DCVIII, is
+said to have been represented by these two numeral letters XH (Conf.
+Martianus Capello). These three ways of stigmatizing are all expressed
+by St. John in the book of Revelation: '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: 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.'"--_Vol. I, pp. 65, 66 (London, 1728)._
+
+
+[Illustration: SATAN ENTERS THE GARDEN OF EDEN
+
+"The wages of sin is death." Rom. 6:23.]
+
+
+
+
+THE ORIGIN OF EVIL
+
+
+The Beginning of the Great Controversy Between Christ and Satan
+
+The great controversy between good and evil, that has been waged on
+earth ever since man's fall, had its origin in heaven. Certain angels
+rebelled against God and His government.
+
+"There was war in heaven: Michael and His angels fought against the
+dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed not; neither
+was their place found any more in heaven. 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." Rev. 12:7-9.
+
+Thus came the forces of evil into this world, which have been working
+through all the ages to draw men from allegiance to God, and to infuse
+into human hearts the same spirit of disobedience which wrought the ruin
+of Satan and his angels.
+
+
+The Cause of the Downfall
+
+Christ stated the principle: "If therefore the light that is in thee be
+darkness, how great is that darkness!" Matt. 6:23.
+
+The principle finds its utmost application in the great reversal, by
+which Lucifer, the light bearer in heaven, became Satan, the adversary,
+the prince of darkness.
+
+[Illustration: CHRIST AND NICODEMUS
+
+"Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." John
+3:3.]
+
+In the pride and self-exaltation of Tyre, of old, the Lord saw
+manifested the spirit of the god of this world; so, in declaring His
+message of rebuke to the prince of Tyre, the Lord describes the cause
+and history of Satan's fall:
+
+"Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God.... Thou art the anointed
+cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy
+mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones
+of fire. Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast
+created, till iniquity was found in thee.... Thine heart was lifted up
+because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy
+brightness." Eze. 28:13-17.
+
+Likewise, in the swelling pride of Babylon the Lord recognized the
+spirit of the leader of the rebellious angels. In one of the messages to
+Babylon is this reference to the vaulting ambition of Lucifer in heaven:
+
+"How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer ["day-star," margin], son of
+the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the
+nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I
+will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the
+mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend
+above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High." Isa.
+14:12-14.
+
+Lucifer, his powers now perverted to evil, deceived many of the angels,
+persuading them to join him in rebellion against the government of God;
+with the result that Satan and all his host were cast out. Christ said,
+"I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven." Luke 10:18.
+
+    "Him the Almighty Power
+    Hurled headlong flaming from the ethereal sky."
+
+
+The Earth as the Battle Ground
+
+Then the great controversy which began in heaven was transferred to this
+earth, and now centers around man. For "that old serpent," the leader of
+the fallen angels, deceived man, and persuaded him to distrust God and
+to choose his own way in preference to God's way. Thus came sin and
+death into the world. And Satan, who had overcome man at the forbidden
+tree, became by his own usurpation and by man's perfidy, "the prince of
+this world."
+
+But Christ gave himself to save man, to deliver him from the bondage of
+sin, and to restore him to the glorious liberty of the sons of God. The
+same mighty power that overcame Satan and his angels in heaven is able
+to overcome his power in human hearts and lives. The controversy is
+still between Christ and Satan, and man's salvation or destruction is
+the aim of the contending forces.
+
+[Illustration: THE REDEMPTION PRICE
+
+"That through death He might destroy him that had the power of death,
+that is, the devil." Heb. 2:14.]
+
+There is no neutral ground. Every soul must choose as to which side he
+will yield allegiance. In this choice lies his eternal destiny.
+
+"Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his
+servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of
+obedience unto righteousness?" Rom. 6:16.
+
+Therefore the Lord pleads with men, "Choose life." Every soul that
+chooses life has the promise of it, for Christ "is able ... to save them
+to the uttermost that come unto God by Him." Heb. 7:25.
+
+
+The Judgment upon Satan
+
+From the time of Satan's rebellion it was assured, by the very
+omnipotence of God, that there would come a last judgment when evil
+would be destroyed from the universe. This execution of judgment upon
+the fallen angels is thus referred to by Jude:
+
+"The angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own
+habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto
+the judgment of the great day." Verse 6.
+
+The evil spirits themselves know that this day is coming. When Christ
+was about to cast certain of them out of one who was possessed, they
+cried out, "Art Thou come hither to torment us before the time?" Matt.
+8:29.
+
+Though the judgment of that last day was originally set for Satan and
+his angels, unrepentant men will have a part in it, because they have
+joined Satan in his lawless rebellion. To the wicked it will be said:
+
+"Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the
+devil and his angels." Matt. 25:41.
+
+Satan sees that the day is hastening; and the shorter the time in which
+to work, the greater his fury in seeking to draw souls to perdition.
+
+The warning comes to us in these last days:
+
+"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." Rev. 12:12.
+
+Christ's second coming ends the reign of Satan in this world. The wicked
+are slain by the consuming glory of Christ's coming (2 Thess. 2:8); and
+the righteous are taken to heaven, beyond the reach of Satan's arts (1
+Thess. 4:16, 17). The archenemy and his angels are thus left upon an
+earth devoid of human beings. Here he is chained for a thousand years,
+in this pit of desolation (Rev. 20:2, 5), his only companions the angels
+who fell with him, his only occupation the contemplation of the ruin he
+has wrought and the destruction that still awaits him.
+
+By the second resurrection--that of the wicked dead, after the thousand
+years--Satan is again set free to ply his arts upon his subjects. As the
+holy city comes down out of heaven from God, with all the saints, Satan
+gathers his angels and all the forces of the lost of all the ages, to
+make an assault upon the city. The result was shown to the prophet in
+vision:
+
+"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. And the devil that deceiveth them was cast
+into the lake of fire." Rev. 20:9, 10.
+
+That is the fate awaiting the author of sin. In the account of Satan's
+pride and self-exaltation, uttered by the prophet in the message to
+Tyre, there occurs also this prophecy of the utter destruction that
+awaits him, when he shall bring his forces against the city of God in
+that last conflict:
+
+"I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that
+behold thee. All they that know thee among the people shall be
+astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any
+more." Eze. 28:18, 19.
+
+This is the final victory of Christ over evil, in the great controversy
+that began in heaven. Satan exalted himself--and lost. Christ humbled
+Himself, even unto the death--and won the eternal triumph.
+
+"Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He
+also Himself likewise took part of the same; that through death He might
+destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil." Heb. 2:14.
+
+[Illustration: JESUS BY THE SEA
+
+    "O Galilee, sweet Galilee,
+    What mem'ries rise at thought of thee!"]
+
+[Illustration: SAUL AND THE WITCH OF ENDOR
+
+"When they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar
+spirits,... should not a people seek unto their God?" Isa. 8:19.]
+
+[Illustration: SATAN'S FIRST LIE
+
+"Ye shall not surely die." Gen. 3:4.]
+
+
+
+
+SPIRITUALISM: ANCIENT AND MODERN
+
+
+The essential claim of Spiritualism is its assertion of power to hold
+communication with the spirits of the dead; or rather, it claims to have
+demonstrated that really there is no death.
+
+    "There is no death;
+    What seems so is transition."
+
+The late Prof. Alfred Russel Wallace, the English scientist, said of
+Spiritualism:--
+
+     "It demonstrates, as completely as the fact can be
+     demonstrated, that the so-called dead are still alive."--_"On
+     Miracles and Modern Spiritualism" (London, 1875), p. 212._
+
+
+First Declaration of the Doctrine
+
+In the very first book of the Bible is a similar claim: "Ye shall not
+surely die." Gen. 3:4.
+
+But this declaration, while recorded in the Scriptures, is not the word
+of God. The Lord had declared to man that disobedience would bring
+death. But Satan, as the tempter in Eden, caused the woman to doubt the
+word of God: "The serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely
+die." And the woman believed the tempter rather than God, and so sinned
+against the Creator.
+
+Having tempted man to disobedience, so bringing death into the world,
+what more natural, in the course of deception, than to endeavor to
+persuade the human family that, after all, there is no death; that what
+appears so is only an introduction to fuller life and activity? "Ye
+shall not surely die."
+
+[Illustration: PHARAOH'S SORCERERS COUNTERFEITING THE WORK OF GOD
+
+"Now the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their
+enchantments." Ex. 7:11.]
+
+As mankind departed from right and lost the knowledge of God, dead
+heroes were deified as gods, and much of the pagan worship consisted in
+sacrifices to the spirits of the dead, supposed to be living still and
+concerned with affairs in the land of the living. When Israel fell away
+from God and joined the Moabites in the worship of Baal-peor, the record
+says of the nature of the service:
+
+"They joined themselves also unto Baal-peor, and ate the sacrifices of
+the dead." "Yea, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters unto
+devils." Ps. 106:28, 37.
+
+Instead of dealing with the spirits of the dead, the idolatrous
+worshipers were really putting themselves in direct touch with the
+agencies of Satan, the fallen angels.
+
+
+Divine Warnings
+
+This explains the severity of the divine warnings against the ancient
+practice of necromancy, or mediumship. The Lord said:
+
+"Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards,
+to be defiled by them: I am the Lord your God." Lev. 19:31.
+
+[Illustration: DEMONISM IN THE DAYS OF CHRIST
+
+"He said unto him, Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit." Mark 5:8.]
+
+"When thou art come into the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee,
+thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations.
+There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his
+daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an
+observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, or a charmer, or a
+consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For all
+that do these things are an abomination unto the Lord." Deut. 18:9-12.
+
+The ancient séance, where the living sought unto the dead for knowledge,
+was denounced by the prophet Isaiah:
+
+"When they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits
+and unto the wizards, that chirp and that mutter: should not a people
+seek unto their God? on behalf of the living should they seek unto the
+dead?" Isa. 8:19, A.R.V.
+
+"To the law and to the testimony!" the prophet cries. To seek unto the
+dead for knowledge is to turn from the law and the testimony, and to
+take the counsel of the direct agencies of Satan, the great deceiver.
+
+
+Modern Spiritualism
+
+What Spiritualism is may best be understood by the prophetic warnings
+concerning the revival of this great deception in the last days. The
+apostle spoke of these days as a time when seducing spirits would lead
+many away from the faith:
+
+"Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall
+depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of
+devils." 1 Tim. 4:1.
+
+This deceptive working is an indication of the nearness of Christ's
+second coming:
+
+"Whose coming is according to the working of Satan with all power and
+signs and lying wonders." 2 Thess. 2:9, A.R.V.
+
+True to the sure word, now that the last days have come, there has
+arisen the movement of modern Spiritualism, with its signs and wonders,
+purporting to be wrought by the spirits of the dead. Professor Wallace
+says:
+
+     "Modern Spiritualism dates from March, 1848; it being then
+     that, for the first time, intelligent communications were held
+     with the unknown cause of the mysterious knockings and other
+     sounds similar to those which had disturbed the Mompesson and
+     Wesley families in the seventeenth and eighteenth
+     centuries."--_"On Miracles and Modern Spiritualism" (London,
+     1875), p. 146._
+
+It was in Hydeville, N.Y., in the family of Mr. Fox, that the modern
+cult originated, it being found that by mysterious but clear sounds of
+knocking, unseen intelligences were able to communicate answers to
+questions asked. The rapidity of the spread of the great deception was
+remarkable. One of the Fox sisters, Mrs. A. Leah Underhill, wrote:
+
+     "Since that day, starting from a small country village of
+     western New York, Spiritualism has made its way--against
+     tremendous obstacles and resistance, but under an impulse and a
+     guidance from higher spheres--round the civilized globe.
+     Starting from three sisters, two of them children, and the
+     eldest a little beyond that age,... its ranks of believers,
+     privately or publicly avowed, have grown within thirty-six
+     years to millions."--_"The Missing Link in Modern
+     Spiritualism," Introduction._
+
+Many at the time thought, as have many since, that the "rappings" with
+which the manifestations began were caused by some trickery on the part
+of the Fox sisters, but men of unimpeachable standing and intelligence
+certified to the contrary. Horace Greeley, famous editor of the New York
+_Tribune_, wrote in his paper that the sisters had visited him in his
+home and courted the fullest investigation as to "the alleged
+manifestations from the spirit world." As the result of his
+observations, he wrote:
+
+     "Whatever may be the origin or the cause of the 'rappings,' the
+     ladies in whose presence they occur do not make them. We tested
+     this thoroughly and to our entire satisfaction."--_Id., pp.
+     160, 161._
+
+It was no mere sleight of hand that launched this cult upon the world as
+the last days came. Beyond all the physical manifestations, the
+religious idea in Spiritualism has leavened the religious thought of
+millions. No one can deny that the basic idea is the one that the
+serpent promulgated in Eden, "Ye shall not surely die."
+
+Mrs. Emma Hardinge Britten, another of the Fox sisters, says of the
+discovery of 1848:
+
+     "On the night of the thirty-first of March, 1848, we found
+     beyond a shadow of a doubt or peradventure, that death had no
+     power over the spirit.... In a word, we found our so-called
+     dead were all living."--_"Nineteenth Century Miracles"
+     (Manchester, England), p. 554._
+
+[Illustration: THE SALEM WITCHCRAFT
+
+One of the historical settings of Spiritualism. A poor woman accused by
+her neighbors of practicing witchcraft.]
+
+Now the Scriptures teach plainly what these agencies in Spiritualism are
+not, and what they are.
+
+
+What They Are Not
+
+They are not the spirits of the dead communicating messages to the
+living.
+
+In one of the earliest written portions of Holy Scripture, the Lord
+declared plainly that the dead have no knowledge of the living:
+
+"He passeth: Thou changest his countenance, and sendest him away. His
+sons come to honor, and he knoweth it not; and they are brought low, but
+he perceiveth it not of them." Job 14:20, 21.
+
+The dead have no part in any communications with the living on earth:
+
+"Neither have they any more a portion forever in anything that is done
+under the sun." Eccl. 9:6
+
+
+What They Are
+
+Already we have told what they are in quoting the warnings of prophecy
+concerning the special deceptions of Satan in the last days.
+
+"The working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders." 2
+Thess. 2:9.
+
+"Seducing spirits." 1 Tim. 4:1.
+
+And as they were shown to the prophet John in a vision of the very end,
+he declared:
+
+"They are the spirits of devils, working miracles." Rev. 16:14.
+
+These are the agencies through which come the supernatural
+manifestations of Spiritualism. It is a terrible deception that leads
+men and women to seek to satanic agencies, supposing that they are
+communicating with the spirits of their dead friends. Satan and his
+angels can readily simulate the personality of the dead, and so deceive
+those who disobey God in seeking to the dead for knowledge.
+
+
+The Climax of Deception
+
+That the marvels of Spiritualism would increase as the end nears, was
+plainly taught by our Saviour in describing the workings of Satan just
+before the second advent. He left us the warning:
+
+"Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there;
+believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets,
+and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were
+possible, they shall deceive the very elect." Matt. 24:23, 24.
+
+Evidently, then, by the miracle-working power that he possesses, Satan
+will work mighty deceptions through both human and supernatural
+agencies. And the crowning deception will be his own manifestation as
+the Promised One, simulating Christ's second coming. But the power and
+glory that will fill all earth and the heavens at Christ's coming,
+cannot be copied by Satan, with all his miracle-working skill. That is
+why it is so important that we understand the Bible teaching as to the
+nature and manner of Christ's second advent. The doctrine of the silent,
+secret, mystical coming is all abroad in the world, the teaching exactly
+calculated to prepare the way for Satan's purposes of deception.
+Therefore Christ forewarns us:
+
+"Behold, I have told you before. Wherefore if they shall say unto you,
+Behold, He is in the desert; go not forth: behold, He is in the secret
+chambers; believe it not. For as the lightning cometh out of the east,
+and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of
+man be." Matt. 24:25-27.
+
+The teachings of ancient theosophy and spiritualism--the mysticism of
+the East--have been permeating Christendom in recent years. Mme. Jean
+Delaire, writing in a London review, said some years ago:
+
+     "India has apparently still a mission to fulfil, for her
+     thought is slowly beginning to mold the thought of Europe and
+     of America; our keenest minds are today studying her
+     philosophy; our New Theology is founded upon the old, old
+     Vedanta."--_National Review, September, 1908, p. 131._
+
+This flood of ancient spiritualism from the East has come about
+according to Isaiah's prophecy of things that were to "come to pass in
+the latter days:"
+
+"Thou hast forsaken Thy people the house of Jacob, because they are
+filled with customs from the East, and are soothsayers like the
+Philistines." Isa. 2:6, A.R.V.
+
+In 1909 one of the leading representatives of theosophical thought, Mrs.
+Annie Besant, of India, toured America with the message of a coming
+messiah. She announced:
+
+     "My message is very simple: 'Prepare for the coming Christ.' We
+     stand at the cradle of a new subrace, and each race or subrace
+     has its own messiah. Hermes is followed by Zoroaster; Zoroaster
+     by Orpheus; Orpheus by Buddha; Buddha by Christ. We now await
+     with confidence a manifestation of the Supreme Teacher of the
+     world, who was last manifested in Palestine. Everywhere in the
+     West, not less than in the East, the heart of man is throbbing
+     with the glad expectation of the new avatar."
+
+The leaven of the spiritualistic philosophy has been working its way
+through Christendom during this generation. We see clearly that the evil
+one is preparing the way for his final work of deception.
+
+[Illustration: HOME OF THE FOX FAMILY, HYDESVILLE, N.Y.
+
+Spiritualism originated in this house March 31, 1848.]
+
+[Illustration: "HE IS RISEN"
+
+"Because I live, ye shall live also." John 14:19.
+
+COPYRIGHT, STANDARD PUB. CO.]
+
+[Illustration: MARY MEETS HER RISEN LORD
+
+"He that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live." John
+11:25.]
+
+
+
+
+LIFE ONLY IN CHRIST
+
+MAN'S NATURE AND STATE IN DEATH
+
+
+A wide-open door for Spiritualism is afforded by the teaching that man
+has life in himself--immortality by nature; and that death is not really
+death, but another form of life.
+
+The Scriptures close this door of false hope, teaching us that man is
+mortal, that death is really death, and that immortality is the gift of
+God through Christ by the resurrection from the dead.
+
+Clearly and definitely the Bible teaches that God only has immortality,
+styling Him "the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord
+of lords; who only hath immortality." 1 Tim. 6:15, 16.
+
+This scripture disposes of every idea that man is immortal by nature,
+and opens the way for a consideration of the Scripture teaching
+concerning man's nature, his state in death, and the promise of life and
+immortality in Christ.
+
+
+Man by Nature Mortal
+
+The word "mortal," as used in that ancient question by Eliphaz,
+describes man's nature:
+
+"Shall mortal man be more just than God?" Job 4:17.
+
+In the creation, life was conditional upon the creature's relation to
+Christ the Creator, in whom all things consist:
+
+"All things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that
+was made. In Him was life." John 1:3,4.
+
+He was, and is, as the psalmist says, "the fountain of life." Cut off
+from vital connection with Him, there could be no continuance of life.
+The Lord warned Adam that his life was conditional upon obedience. "In
+the day that thou eatest thereof," He said of the forbidden tree, "thou
+shalt surely die." Gen. 2:17. It was a declaration that man was not
+immortal, but was dependent upon God for life.
+
+When by unbelief and sin man rejected God, the sentence--death
+eternal--must have been executed had not the plan of salvation
+intervened. But as the stroke of divine justice was falling upon the
+sinner, the Son of God interposed Himself and received the blow. "He was
+bruised for our iniquities." In the divine plan, the great sacrifice for
+man was as sure then as when, later, it was actually made on Calvary.
+Christ was "the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world."
+
+And there Adam, the sinner, now with a fallen human nature, which would
+be perpetuated in his descendants in all subsequent time, was granted an
+extension of life, every moment of which, whether for him or for his
+posterity, was the purchase of Christ by His own death, in order that in
+this time of probation man might find forgiveness of sin and assurance
+of life to come. Adam was not created immortal, but was placed on
+probation, and had he continued faithful, the gift of immortality must
+have been given him at some later time, after he had passed the test. As
+the original plan is carried out through Christ, "the second Adam," the
+gift of immortality is bestowed finally upon all who pass the test of
+the judgment and are found in Christ, in whom alone is life.
+
+Having fallen, Adam, now possessed of a sinful nature, must die. "The
+wages of sin is death." Rom. 6:23. It was impossible that sin or sinners
+should be immortalized in God's universe. So, inasmuch as the tree of
+life in Eden had been made the channel of continuance of life to man,
+the Lord said:
+
+"Now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and
+eat, and live forever: therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the
+garden of Eden." Gen. 3:22, 23.
+
+This negatives the idea that there could ever be an immortal sinner, who
+should mar God's creation forever. Sin works out nothing but death.
+"Sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death." James 1:15. Fallen
+himself, Adam could bequeath to his posterity only a fallen, mortal
+nature. So began the sad history summed up in the text:
+
+"Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin;
+and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned." Rom. 5:12.
+
+
+Mortality Universal
+
+Mortality is written upon all creation. Ages ago the wise man wrote,
+"There is one event unto all: ... they go to the dead." Eccl. 9:3. Human
+hearts everywhere and in all time have cried out against the
+remorselessness of the great enemy. "Do people die with you?" was the
+question met by Livingstone in the untraveled wilds of Africa. "Have you
+no charm against death?" The Greek as well as the barbarian confessed to
+the helplessness of man before the great enemy. Centuries before Christ,
+Sophocles the Athenian wrote:
+
+    "Wonders are many! and none is there greater than man, who
+    Steers his ship over the sea, driven on by the south wind,
+    Cleaving the threatening swell of the waters around him.
+
+    "He captures the gay-hearted birds; he entangles adroitly
+    Creatures that live on the land and the brood of the ocean,
+    Spreading his well-woven nets. Man full of devices!
+
+    "Speech and swift thought free as wind, the building of cities;
+    Shelters to ward off the arrows of rain, and to temper
+    Sharp-biting frost--all these hath he taught himself. Surely
+    Stratagem hath he for all that comes! Never the future
+    Finds him resourceless! Deftly he combats grievous diseases,
+    Oft from their grip doth he free himself. Death alone vainly--
+    Vainly he seeks to escape; 'gainst death he is helpless."
+
+    --_Chorus from Antigone._
+
+What unspeakable pathos in the cry of humanity's helplessness before
+death, the great enemy! But when Adam went out of Eden, it was with the
+assurance of life from the dead through the promised Seed, if faithful.
+It is the message of the one gospel for all time--everlasting life in
+Christ.
+
+[Illustration: JESUS RAISING THE SON OF THE WIDOW OF NAIN
+
+"The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Rom.
+6:23.]
+
+"God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that
+whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting
+life." John 3:16.
+
+As there is none other name under heaven by which men can be saved, so
+there is no other way of everlasting life or immortality, save in Christ
+Jesus our Lord.
+
+
+When Immortality is Bestowed
+
+Christ said, "I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in
+Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live." John 11:25.
+
+He has turned death, that would have been eternal, into a little time of
+sleep, from which he will awaken the believer. In the resurrection of
+the last day immortality is bestowed, "in a moment, in the twinkling of
+an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead
+shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this
+corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on
+immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption,
+and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to
+pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory." 1
+Cor. 15:52-54.
+
+    "There is a blessed hope,
+      More precious and more bright
+    Than all the joyless mockery
+      The world esteems delight.
+
+    "There is a lovely star
+      That lights the darkest gloom,
+    And sheds a peaceful radiance o'er
+      The prospects of the tomb."
+
+Not until the resurrection, "at the last trump," is immortality
+conferred upon the redeemed. Note that it is not something immortal
+putting on immortality; but this "mortal" puts on immortality. Mark
+this: there is no life after death, save by the resurrection. "If there
+be no resurrection of the dead,... then they also which are fallen
+asleep in Christ are perished." 1 Cor. 15:13-18.
+
+This resurrection, as stated by the apostle Paul, is not at death, but
+in the last day, when Christ shall come, and all His children that are
+in their graves shall hear His voice. Jesus says:
+
+"This is the will of Him that sent Me, that every one which seeth the
+Son, and believeth on Him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise
+him up at the last day." John 6:40.
+
+That is why the coming of Christ has been the "blessed hope" of all the
+ages.
+
+
+Man's State in Death
+
+Between death and the resurrection, the dead sleep. Jesus declares that
+death is a sleep. Lazarus was dead, but Jesus said, "Our friend Lazarus
+sleepeth." John 11:11. It is the language of Inspiration throughout. The
+patriarch Job said:
+
+"Man dieth, and wasteth away: yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is
+he? As the waters fail from the sea, and the flood decayeth and drieth
+up: so man lieth down, and riseth not: till the heavens be no more [the
+heavens will be rolled back as a scroll at Christ's coming], they shall
+not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep." Job 14:10-12.
+
+This hope of the resurrection at the last day was no indistinct hope to
+the believer in God's promises. The patriarch continued:
+
+"If a man die, shall he live again? all the days of my appointed time
+will I wait, till my change come. Thou shalt call, and I will answer
+thee: Thou wilt have a desire to the work of Thine hands." Verses 14,
+15.
+
+Job tells us of the place of his waiting for the Life-giver's call: "If
+I wait, the grave is mine house." Job 17:13. It is thence that Christ
+will call His own when He comes. "The hour is coming, in the which all
+that are in the graves shall hear His voice, and shall come forth." John
+5:28, 29.
+
+Death is an unconscious sleep. It must of necessity be so; for death is
+the opposite of life. Therefore there is no consciousness of the passing
+of time to those who sleep in the grave. It is as if the eyes closed in
+death one instant, and the next instant, to the believer's
+consciousness, he awakens to hear the animating voice of Jesus calling
+him to glad immortality, and to see the angels catching up his loved
+ones to meet Jesus in the air.
+
+These scriptures, out of many, will suffice to show that man is not
+conscious in death:
+
+"His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his
+thoughts perish." Ps. 146:4.
+
+"The living know that they shall die: but the dead know not anything....
+Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished;
+neither have they any more a portion forever in anything that is done
+under the sun." Eccl. 9:5, 6.
+
+Death is a sleep, which will continue until the resurrection. Then the
+Lord will bring forth from the dust the same person who was laid away in
+death.
+
+Some have said that this Bible doctrine of the sleep of the dead until
+the resurrection is a gloomy one. Popular tradition thinks of the
+blessed dead as going at once to heaven, which, say some, is a beautiful
+thought. But they forget that the same teaching consigns their
+unbelieving friends to immediate torment--and that, too, while awaiting
+the judgment of the last day.
+
+No; the Bible teaching is the cheering doctrine, the "blessed hope." All
+the faithful of all the ages are going into the kingdom together. This
+blessed truth appeals to the spirit that loves to wait and share joys
+and good things with loved ones. Of the faithful of past ages the
+apostle says:
+
+"These all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not
+the promise: God having provided some better thing for us, that they
+without us should not be made perfect." Heb. 11:39, 40.
+
+They are waiting, that all together the saved may enter in. And the time
+of waiting is but an instant to those who "sleep in Jesus."
+
+David was a man of God, but the apostle Peter, speaking by the Spirit on
+the day of Pentecost, declared to the people of the city of David: "He
+is both dead and buried, and his sepulcher is with us unto this day....
+For David is not ascended into the heavens." Acts 2:29-34. They without
+us have not been made perfect. They are all awaiting that glad day
+toward which the apostle Paul turned the last look of his mortal vision:
+
+"I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the
+faith: henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness,
+which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at that day: and not
+to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing." 2 Tim. 4:7,
+8.
+
+What joy in that day to march in through the gates into the eternal
+city, with Adam, and Abel, and Noah, and Abraham, and Paul, and all the
+faithful, and the loved ones of our own home circles, and dear comrades
+in service, every one clothed with immortality, the gift of God in
+Christ Jesus our Redeemer! Horatius Bonar's hymn sings the joyful hope
+as the loved are laid away to "sleep in Jesus:"
+
+    "Softly within that peaceful resting place
+      We lay their wearied limbs, and bid the clay
+    Press lightly on them till the night be past,
+      And the far east give note of coming day.
+
+    "The shout is heard, the Archangel's voice goes forth;
+      The trumpet sounds, the dead awake and sing;
+    The living put on glory; one glad band,
+      They hasten up to meet their coming King."
+
+In a word, the Scripture teaches that God alone has immortality, that
+man is mortal, that death is a sleep, that life after death comes only
+by the resurrection of the last day, that the righteous are then given
+immortality. Further, the Scripture teaches that later there will be a
+resurrection of the unjust, not unto life, but unto death, the second
+death, from which there is no release.
+
+Every doctrine of Scripture and of the gospel is in accord with this
+Bible teaching as to man's nature and his state in death. But the
+traditional view of the natural immortality of the soul and of life in
+death, nullifies the Bible doctrines of life only in Christ, and the
+resurrection, and the judgment, and the giving of rewards at Christ's
+coming, and the final judgment upon the wicked and its execution.
+
+
+A Few Questions Briefly Considered
+
+_1. The "Living Soul"_
+
+Says one, "Did not the Lord put into man an immortal soul?"
+
+No; the Scripture says:
+
+"The Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into
+his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul." Gen.
+2:7.
+
+The soul was not put into the man, but when the life-giving breath was
+breathed into his nostrils, the man himself became a living soul, a
+living being. The ordinary version (King James) gives "a living soul" in
+the margin of Gen. 1:30, showing that the same expression is used of all
+the animal creation in the Hebrew text. The famous Methodist
+commentator, Dr. Adam Clarke, says on this phrase, "living soul:"
+
+     "A general term to express all creatures endued with animal
+     life, in any of its infinitely varied gradations."
+
+_2. Are "Soul" and "Spirit" Deathless?_
+
+"Are not the soul and spirit said to be deathless?" questions another.
+
+No. One writer says of the Scriptural use of the words "soul" and
+"spirit:"
+
+     "The Hebrew and Greek words from which they are translated,
+     occur in the Bible, as we have seen, seventeen hundred times.
+     Surely, once at least in that long list we shall be told that
+     the soul is immortal, if this is its high prerogative.
+     Seventeen hundred times we inquire if the soul is once said to
+     be immortal, or the spirit deathless. And the invariable and
+     overwhelming response we meet is, _Not once!"_--_"Here and
+     Hereafter" by U. Smith, p. 65._
+
+On the contrary, the Lord declares, "The soul that sinneth, it shall
+die." Eze. 18:20. It means that the person who sins shall die; for the
+words "soul," "mind," "heart," and "spirit" are used to express life or
+the seat of the affections or of the intellect. One may commend his soul
+to God, or his spirit to God (really his life into the keeping of God),
+until the great day of the resurrection. The word "soul" is used of all
+animal life in New Testament usage, as well as in the Old; as, "Every
+living soul died in the sea." Rev. 16:3.
+
+_3. The Thief on the Cross_
+
+"Did not Christ promise the thief on the cross that he would be with Him
+that day in Paradise?"
+
+No; for Paradise is where God's throne is, and the tree of life, and the
+city of God, the capital of Christ's kingdom; and three days later
+Christ had not yet ascended to the Father. "Touch Me not," He said to
+Mary after His resurrection; "for I am not yet ascended to My Father."
+John 20:17. The dying thief, therefore, was not with Him in Paradise
+three days before.
+
+Nor did the thief's question suggest such a thought. His faith grasped
+Christ's resurrection, the resurrection of His children, and the coming
+kingdom; and that day on the cross, in the moment of the deepest
+humiliation of the Son of God, the repentant sinner cried, "Lord,
+remember me when Thou comest into Thy kingdom." And the Saviour replied,
+"Verily I say unto thee today"--this day, when the world scoffs and the
+darkness presses upon Me, this day I say it--"shalt thou be with Me in
+Paradise." Luke 23:42, 43.
+
+The punctuation that makes it read, "Today shalt thou be with Me in
+Paradise," is not a part of the sacred text, and puts the Saviour's
+promise in contradiction with the facts of the whole narrative and the
+teaching of Scripture.
+
+_4. The Rich Man and Lazarus_
+
+"Then there is the parable of the rich man and Lazarus," one says,
+"where Lazarus and Dives are talking, though dead--Lazarus in Abraham's
+bosom and the rich man in torment."
+
+But that is a parable; and no one can set the figures of a parable
+against the facts of positive Scripture. In parables, lessons are often
+taught by figurative language and imaginary scenes which could never be
+real, though the lesson is emphasized the more forcefully.
+
+In the parable of Judges 9, the trees are represented as holding a
+council and talking with one another. No one mistakes the lesson of the
+parable, or supposes that the trees actually talked. So in the parable
+of the rich man and Lazarus, the lesson is taught that uprightness in
+this life, even though under deepest poverty, will be rewarded in the
+future life; while uncharitable selfishness will surely bring one to
+ruin and destruction.
+
+In the face of the Bible teaching, no one can turn this parable into
+actual narrative, representing that the saved in glory are now looking
+over the battlements of heaven and talking with the lost writhing before
+their eyes in agony amid the flames of unending torment. This is not the
+picture that the Scriptures give us of heaven, nor of the state of the
+dead, nor of the time and circumstances of the final rewards or
+punishments.
+
+[Illustration: From an inscription on an Egyptian monument, representing
+the weighing of a soul after death.]
+
+[Illustration: LOT FLEEING FROM SODOM
+
+"Even as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about them ... are set forth
+for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire." Jude 7.]
+
+[Illustration: SATAN'S FINAL ASSAULT UPON THE KINGDOM OF GOD
+
+"They went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the
+saints about." Rev. 20:9]
+
+
+
+
+THE END OF THE WICKED
+
+
+So soon as ever Lucifer introduced sin into heaven, it was certain, in
+the righteousness and omnipotence of God, that the day would come when
+sin would be blotted out of the perfect creation. Inspiration tells us
+that a time of final reckoning with sin was assured when Satan and a
+host of the angels with him lifted up the standard of mysterious
+rebellion against the law and harmony of heaven:
+
+"The angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own
+habitation, He hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto
+the judgment of the great day." Jude 6.
+
+Punishment for sin is assured. By listening to Satan's temptation, man
+became involved in sin. Then a divine Saviour was provided, through whom
+every soul might escape from the kingdom of darkness, and find salvation
+and life. But it is inevitable that those who refuse the way of life
+and reject the salvation of God, must finally be involved with Satan and
+sin in the day when sin is visited.
+
+By Adam's sin, all his posterity inherited a sinful, dying nature. "In
+Adam all die," the Scripture says. But not a soul in the last day can
+plead Adam's sin and the inheritance of a fallen nature as an excuse for
+his own transgressions. By Christ's gift of His life for us, the sinner,
+with all his weaknesses, may become a partaker of the divine nature, and
+escape the power of the fleshly nature. By virtue of Christ's death for
+all, all recover from the death they die in Adam--the first death. All
+have a resurrection, the unjust as well as the just; and then every one
+gives account of himself to God, according to his own life and the use
+he has made of the light given him of God.
+
+
+The Two Resurrections
+
+The Scriptures emphasize the fact that there are to be two
+resurrections. Paul, before Felix, declared his belief the same as that
+of all the prophets,--"that there shall be a resurrection of the dead,
+both of the just and unjust." Acts 24:15.
+
+Jesus declared it in these words:
+
+"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.
+
+The first resurrection is that of the just, at Christ's second coming.
+It is written of this:
+
+"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." Rev. 20:6.
+
+After this, the righteous return with Christ to heaven, and remain there
+during the thousand years. The wicked living at the time of His coming
+are slain by the consuming glory of His presence; and they, with all the
+unjust of all the ages, await in the grave the second resurrection, at
+the end of the thousand years.
+
+"The rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were
+finished." Rev. 20:5.
+
+At the end of the thousand years the city of God, with the saved, comes
+down out of heaven and settles upon the earth.
+
+Then the wicked are raised--the second resurrection. Under Satan's
+leadership they march up to attack the city of God. How naturally, we
+infer, may Satan persuade the lost that, after all, he was right when he
+declared to Adam, "Ye shall not surely die." Here are all his servants
+of all the ages--living. Why may they not be immortal, beyond the power
+of God to destroy? The old battle that began in heaven is on again.
+Satan, the archrebel, marshals his hosts of fallen angels and the
+myriads of fallen men, his legions stretching wide over the earth.
+
+"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." Rev. 20:9.
+
+"This is the second death," the Scripture says. Verse 14. The great day
+has come when the sinner receives his wages--death--and sin is
+destroyed.
+
+
+The Punishment Everlasting
+
+"The wages of sin is death." And the second death is everlasting. There
+is no resurrection from this death. The Scriptures describe it in terms
+that affirm utter destruction, resulting in nonexistence.
+
+"Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of
+the Lord, and from the glory of his power." 2 Thess. 1:9.
+
+"Behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud,
+yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh
+shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them
+neither root nor branch." Mal. 4:1.
+
+"They shall be ashes," the third verse of this chapter says. Every
+expression possible to language is employed to denote utter destruction,
+everlasting death. That means nonexistence. Sin and sinners are blotted
+out. The prophet Obadiah, speaking of the visitation upon the
+heathen--the unbelieving--in "the day of the Lord," says:
+
+"They shall drink, and they shall swallow down, and they shall be as
+though they had not been." Verse 16.
+
+This is the utter end of sin and all sinners, and of the author of sin.
+Root and branch they are gone, "as though they had not been." All this
+is in the description of the last judgment, so fully set forth in the
+twentieth chapter of Revelation.
+
+"Death and hell [_hades_, the grave] were cast into the lake of fire.
+This is the second death." Rev. 20:14. Death and the prison house of
+death are gone forever. Sin is wiped out of a perfect universe, and not
+even a trace will remain of the place of the fiery judgment.
+
+"Yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt
+diligently consider his place, and it shall not be." Ps. 37:10.
+
+The fires of the last day purify the earth, which comes forth in
+Eden-like beauty. In the whole creation of God there is no sin, no
+sinner, but all is harmonious again, as before sin entered the universe.
+The prophet was given a view of this glorious consummation, and the
+triumph of the Son of God over sin.
+
+"Every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the
+earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I
+saying, Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto him that
+sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever." Rev.
+5:13.
+
+
+Some Opinions Briefly Considered
+
+The doctrine of the immortality, the indestructibility, of the soul is
+responsible for the traditional view that the wicked are kept alive in
+unending misery through all eternity. How different this picture from
+that which Holy Scripture gives of the second death! Terrible and awful
+it is, but it results in the utter destruction of sin and sinners,
+leaving a clean universe. The doctrine of the immortality of the soul
+came in from pagan philosophy. Herodotus, "the father of history," said:
+
+     "The Egyptians ... were also the first to broach the opinion,
+     that the soul of man is immortal."--_Book 2, par. 123._
+
+Evidently, they passed the doctrine on to the Greeks. Its origin was in
+the words of Satan in Eden, "Ye shall not surely die." The pagans had
+their nether world of spirits, or their transmigration of souls with its
+ceaseless round from body to body, and the Roman Catholics their
+purgatory with its purifying fires. From these sources and not from the
+Word of God, the traditional view has come into modern Christendom,
+representing the Lord as unable or unwilling to end sin, but keeping the
+sinner alive throughout eternity, to suffer torture that can bring no
+remedy. The Scripture teaching is far otherwise. However, there are
+certain Scripture phrases that emphasize the severity of the punishment
+of sin, which are often taken as supporting the doctrine of never-ending
+conscious torment.
+
+_1. "Forever and Ever."_--In Rev. 20:10 it is said that the devil and
+his chief agencies "shall be tormented day and night forever and ever."
+The phrase emphasizes the surety of their utter destruction.
+
+"Forever" means age-lasting, or life-lasting--so long as a thing exists
+by its nature. Thus in Ex. 21:6 the servant who loved his master and did
+not wish to leave his service was to have his ear pierced, "and he shall
+serve him forever," that is, without release as long as he lives. So the
+fiery judgment of that last day holds the wicked until life ends; there
+is no release until life is consumed.
+
+_2. "Everlasting Punishment."_--"These shall go away into everlasting
+punishment." Matt. 25:46. It is everlasting punishment, not everlasting
+punishing. The punishment is everlasting death--"who shall be punished
+with everlasting destruction." 2 Thess. 1:9.
+
+The truth of the utter destruction of sinners is awful enough, but it
+commends itself to every thought of justice and mercy; for sin must be
+cleansed from a perfect universe. But the unscriptural view of
+everlasting conscious torment that never reaches the point of full
+punishment, is unthinkable. Yet it is urged as a doctrine, and contended
+for as vital to Christianity.
+
+The following description is taken from a book written for children,
+entitled "The Sight of Hell." It is printed in Dublin--for children.
+
+     "Little child, if you go to hell, there will be a devil at your
+     side to strike you. He will go on striking you every day,
+     forever and ever, without ever stopping. The first stroke will
+     make your body as bad as Job's, covered from head to foot with
+     sores and ulcers. The second stroke will make your body twice
+     as bad as the body of Job.... How then will your body be after
+     the devil has been striking it every moment for a hundred
+     million years without stopping?"--_Quoted in the London Present
+     Truth, April 30, 1914._
+
+What a relief to turn from this to the Bible doctrine of the
+"everlasting destruction" of the second death, terrible though it be!
+
+_3. "Everlasting Fire," "Eternal Fire," "Unquenchable Fire."_--All these
+expressions are used in describing the fiery judgment upon sin and
+sinners. The effect of the fire is everlasting and eternal, and by a
+common usage in language the adjective that describes the effect is
+applied to the agent by which the effect is wrought.
+
+A specific example of everlasting fire in the punishment of evil is
+given in Scripture. Sodom and Gomorrah, those wicked "cities of the
+plain," were destroyed by a rain of fire from heaven. These cities,
+Inspiration says, "are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance
+of eternal fire." Jude 7. The fire was everlasting, eternal, in its
+effects. The cities of the plain were everlastingly consumed. But the
+fire went out when the destruction was complete. Unquenchable fire is
+fire that cannot be quenched. It consumes utterly, until nothing is
+left; then it goes out of its own accord.
+
+_4. "Where Their Worm Dieth Not."_--Jesus warned of the certain
+destruction of sin and sinners in the fire of Gehenna; for this is the
+word translated "hell" in Mark 9:43.
+
+Hades, which is often translated "hell," is the grave, not the place of
+punishment. Gehenna, here used of the place of punishment, was the name
+of the valley where the refuse of Jerusalem was cast for burning. The
+map of Jerusalem, in any ordinary Bible with maps, shows just outside
+the southern wall a gorge marked "Valley of Hinnom" (Gehenna). It was
+here that the people, in the olden times, had sacrificed their children
+to Moloch.
+
+     "In order to put an end to these abominations, Josiah polluted
+     it with human bones and other corruptions. 2 Kings 23:10, 13,
+     14."--_Hastings's "Dictionary of the Bible."_
+
+Here the fires consumed the refuse, and the fire and worms utterly
+destroyed the carcasses of beasts flung into the place of destruction.
+It was regarded as a place accursed, and the smoldering fires became
+symbolical of the fires of the judgment.
+
+The use of this illustration, instead of arguing that the wicked are
+never destroyed but always live, conveys the opposite idea. What went
+into the fires of Gehenna was utterly consumed, nothing being left. This
+was used by Christ as a figure illustrative of the utter destruction of
+the unrepentant sinner in the day of visitation.
+
+This must suffice. The positive teaching of Holy Scripture is that sin
+and sinners will be blotted out of existence. There will be a clean
+universe again when the great controversy between Christ and Satan is
+ended.
+
+[Illustration: PETER DELIVERED FROM PRISON
+
+"The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear Him, and
+delivereth them." Ps. 34:7.]
+
+[Illustration: DANIEL IN THE DEN OF LIONS
+
+"My God hath sent His angel, and hath shut the lions' mouths, that they
+have not hurt me." Dan. 6:22.]
+
+
+
+
+ANGELS: THEIR MINISTRY
+
+
+The one verse of Scripture which, perhaps, most comprehensively sums up
+the ministry of the angels of God, is this:
+
+"Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them
+who shall be heirs of salvation?" Heb. 1:14.
+
+This scripture shows us how truly all heaven is engaged in working for
+the salvation of this poor world, which has wandered from the fold of
+God. It will surely be a time of rejoicing among all the angelic host
+when Christ, the Good Shepherd, brings back this lost world, cleansed
+from sin, once more to the fold of God's perfect creation.
+
+The angels rejoiced when this world was created. The Lord said to Job:
+
+"Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth?... when the
+morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?"
+Job 38:4-7.
+
+Before ever this world was created, or man upon it, the angels had been
+created by the eternal Son, in whom all things consist. For angels are
+not redeemed men, neither will the redeemed in the world to come ever
+become angels. Angels are a different order of beings from men, a higher
+order in creation. We read:
+
+"What is man, that Thou art mindful of him? or the son of man, that Thou
+visitest him? Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; Thou
+crownedst him with glory and honor." Heb. 2:6, 7.
+
+In the life to come, by the wondrous power of Christ's transforming
+grace, redeemed men are to be made equal to the angels, as Christ
+stated:
+
+"Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and
+are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection." Luke
+20:36.
+
+This lifting of sinful man to an equality with the angels, at least in
+the possession of life and immortality, is an illustration of the gospel
+principle, "Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound." Rom. 5:20.
+But the declaration of equality with angels is a denial of identity with
+angels. Angels existed before man, and redeemed man will still be man,
+distinct from the angelic order, though the associate of angels in the
+service of God.
+
+
+Attendants at the Throne of God
+
+When the prophet Isaiah was given a view of the heavenly temple, he saw
+different orders of angels attending the throne of God:
+
+"I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and His
+train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphim: each one had six
+wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his
+feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said,
+Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts." Isa. 6:1-3.
+
+Ezekiel beheld them in glory, attending the moving throne of the
+Almighty. "The living creatures ran and returned as the appearance of a
+flash of lightning." Eze. 1:14.
+
+Daniel beheld the angelic host gathered in the most holy place of the
+temple above, as the time came for the opening of the work of the
+investigative judgment, the cleansing of the sanctuary. Seeing the
+throne of God set for this final work of Christ's ministry, the prophet
+says:
+
+"Thousand thousands ministered unto Him, and ten thousand times ten
+thousand stood before Him: the judgment was set, and the books were
+opened." Dan. 7:10.
+
+
+God's Messengers
+
+The word "angel" means messenger. To and fro these angelic messengers
+have gone in the service of their Creator. A view of their ever-watchful
+service is given in the words of the psalmist:
+
+"Bless the Lord, ye His angels, that excel in strength, that do His
+commandments, hearkening unto the voice of His word." Ps. 103:20.
+
+
+Bearers of Tidings
+
+They visited Abraham's tent with warning of Sodom's overthrow. Genesis
+18.
+
+They visited Lot in the city, and urged him to get his family out.
+Genesis 19.
+
+As Jacob, in fear but repentance, was about to meet Esau, whom he had
+deceived, "the angels of God met him." Genesis 32. "This is God's host,"
+he said, and he knew that the God of Abraham and Isaac, and his God,
+also, had not forsaken him.
+
+At a discouraging time in the history of Israel, an angel appeared to
+Gideon, bringing the message, "The Lord is with thee," and calling him
+to the work of delivering his people. Judges 6.
+
+[Illustration: JACOB'S DREAM IN BETHEL
+
+"Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them
+who shall be heirs of salvation?" Heb. 1:14.]
+
+As Daniel's prayer reached heaven, even while he still prayed, the angel
+Gabriel "being caused to fly swiftly," touched him, and said:
+
+"O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding. At
+the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth, and I am
+come to show thee." Dan. 9:21-23.
+
+So close is the communication between heaven and earth.
+
+The gladdest tidings ever brought from heaven to earth since the promise
+of the Deliverer to Adam in Eden, were brought by angels to the
+shepherds of Bethlehem. First, one angel appeared, saying:
+
+"I bring you good tidings of great joy.... For unto you is born this day
+in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord."
+
+Such tidings to earth could never be the mission of one lone angel, when
+all heaven longed to cry the news to a lost world.
+
+"And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host
+praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth
+peace, good will toward men." Luke 2:13, 14.
+
+
+Unseen in Halls of Government
+
+One incident related in the book of Daniel draws aside the curtain, and
+shows how angels doubtless often have worked unseen in kingly courts or
+halls of legislation. Daniel had prayed for three weeks for light in
+certain matters that the angel Gabriel had begun to unfold to him. When
+at last the angel came, overpowering the prophet with the glory of his
+presence, it was with a statement, first, of the reason for the delay in
+responding to his prayer. The angel said:
+
+"From the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and
+to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come
+for thy words. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one
+and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to
+help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia. Now I am come to
+make thee understand what shall befall thy people in the latter days."
+Dan. 10:12-14.
+
+
+Messengers of Deliverance
+
+The story of deliverance wrought by angels is too long to tell. One need
+only think of the angels' taking slow-moving Lot by the arms and setting
+him out of Sodom (Genesis 19); of the angel finding Elijah under a bush
+in the desert, and first baking a cake for the hungry man before
+speaking the word to his discouraged heart (1 Kings 19); of Elisha
+praying that the young man's eyes might be opened to see that there were
+more angels with them round about than all the Syrians encamped against
+them:
+
+"The Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the
+mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha." 2
+Kings 6:17.
+
+An angel shut the mouths of the lions when Daniel was cast into their
+den. Daniel 6. An angel smote off Peter's irons in the prison at
+Jerusalem, opened the doors, and led him forth. Acts 12. Amid the angry
+waves sweeping over the foundering ship in the Adriatic, Paul the
+apostle bade the despairing crew be of good courage, "for there stood by
+me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve, saying,
+Fear not." Acts 27:23, 24.
+
+All through the ages, the angels of God have been standing by. Daniel,
+and Peter, and Paul are dead; but the angels still live. "Are they not
+all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be
+heirs of salvation?" Heb. 1:14.
+
+
+Guardian Angels
+
+That means that every child of God is under the guardianship of the
+angels. "The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear Him,
+and delivereth them." Ps. 34:7.
+
+Thank God, we are never left alone. Every child of God has a guardian
+angel commissioned by the loving Father to watch over him. Christ said:
+
+"Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto
+you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of My Father
+which is in heaven." Matt. 18:10.
+
+This does not mean that trials never will come, or troubles. In the
+midst of the trial, the angel of the Lord will stand by to strengthen
+and to bring help from the God of all comfort. It was in the midst of
+the fiery furnace that the "form of the Fourth" appeared, walking with
+the three Hebrew children--Jesus Himself treading the fiery way with
+them. And when Jesus, in the days of His flesh, was sinking under the
+crushing burden in Gethsemane, "there appeared an angel unto Him from
+heaven, strengthening Him." Luke 22:43.
+
+Our Saviour, who knows the comforting power of angel ministry, is the
+Captain of the heavenly host, and has commissioned them all as
+ministering spirits to the heirs of salvation.
+
+When He comes in glory for His people, Christ will have "all the holy
+angels with Him." As the voice of Jesus awakens His sleeping saints and
+they rise immortal from the opened graves, "He shall send His angels,
+... and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from
+one end of heaven to the other." Matt. 24:31.
+
+The angels who have watched over the heirs of salvation through all the
+ages, know where they are, and they know how to gather them, with their
+loved ones, to meet the Lord.
+
+The angels who rejoiced when the Lord laid the foundations of the earth,
+who mourned when man fell, who have all along been working with Christ,
+their leader, to rescue the lost, will yet rejoice when the Lord brings
+home His own. What a day will that be in heaven!
+
+[Illustration: MODERN INVENTIONS FULFILLING PROPHECY
+
+"Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased." Dan.
+12:4.]
+
+[Illustration: CAREY IN INDIA TRANSLATING THE BIBLE
+
+"So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed." Acts 19:20.]
+
+
+
+
+THE TIME OF THE END
+
+
+"Thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time
+of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be
+increased." Dan. 12:4.
+
+Thus the words of the angel, spoken nearly twenty-five hundred years
+ago, announced the opening of a new era of enlightenment when the latter
+days should come.
+
+
+The Time
+
+At the end of the long period of predicted tribulation of the
+church--the twelve hundred and sixty years of Daniel's prophecy--the
+world entered upon this era of "the time of the end."
+
+"They shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil,
+many days.... And some of them of understanding shall fall, to try them,
+and to purge, and to make them white, even to the time of the end:
+because it is yet for a time appointed." Dan. 11:33-35.
+
+In practically every outline of prophecy touching this time, the events
+of the last days are represented as following the end of the prophetic
+period of tribulation. Christ's prophecy of Matthew 24 so declares. Our
+Saviour showed that this period of tribulation, would be shortened, "for
+the elect's sake," and that "immediately after the tribulation of those
+days" the signs of the end would begin to appear.
+
+Thus, while the full period of the twelve hundred and sixty years ended
+amid the scenes of the French Revolution, which gave the papal power a
+deadly wound in the last decade of the eighteenth century, the
+shortening of the days of tribulation had begun even earlier to spread
+increasing knowledge and enlightenment over the earth.
+
+
+The Prophecy Unsealed
+
+The angel's words to Daniel were,
+
+"Shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many
+shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased." Dan. 12:4.
+
+"The words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end." Verse 9.
+
+This means that as the time of the end came, men would be impelled to
+search diligently for light in the prophetic word. Events taking place
+in fulfilment of the prophecy would be recognized, and with the coming
+of the time there would come the opening up, or unsealing, of the
+prophetic scriptures, with their message for men in the last days.
+
+As the time drew near, Bible students were led more and more to search
+the word of prophecy. Sir Isaac Newton, called "the greatest of
+philosophers," wrote of prophetic study:
+
+     "The giving ear to the prophets is a fundamental character of
+     the true church. For God has so ordered the prophecies, that in
+     the latter days 'the wise may understand, but the wicked shall
+     do wickedly, and none of the wicked shall understand.' Dan.
+     12:9, 10."--_"Observations on the Prophecies of Daniel"
+     (London, 1733), part 1, chap. 1._
+
+Again, this man who had delved so deeply into the laws of nature, but
+who bowed his heart in childlike faith to listen to the voice of
+Inspiration, declared his hope that the time of the end was near at hand
+in his day (he died in 1727). Of this prophecy of the unsealing of the
+book he wrote:
+
+     "'Tis therefore a part of this prophecy, that it should not be
+     understood before the last age of the world; and therefore it
+     makes for the credit of the prophecy that it is not yet
+     understood. But if the last age, the age of opening these
+     things, be now approaching, as by the great successes of late
+     interpreters it seems to be, we have more encouragement than
+     ever to look into these things. If the general preaching of the
+     gospel be approaching, it is to us and to our posterity that
+     those words mainly belong: In the time of the end the wise
+     shall understand, but none of the wicked shall understand....
+     'Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of
+     this prophecy, and keep those things which are written
+     therein.'"--_"Observations on the Apocalypse" (London, 1733),
+     chap. 1._
+
+True to the word of the angel, the events of the ending of the twelve
+hundred and sixty years of papal supremacy, amid the scenes of the
+French Revolution, drew the attention of Bible students everywhere. It
+was seen that prophecy was being fulfilled before men's eyes. It gave
+great impetus to the study of the prophetic scriptures. The great
+historic prophecies began to be opened up--unsealed--to the
+understanding. An English historian of that period, John Adolphus,
+though writing a secular history, remarks upon this awakening interest
+in prophetic study:
+
+     "The downfall of the papal government [in 1798], by whatever
+     means effected, excited perhaps less sympathy than that of any
+     other in Europe: the errors, the oppressions, the tyranny of
+     Rome over the whole Christian world, were remembered with
+     bitterness; many rejoiced, through religious antipathy, in the
+     overthrow of a church which they considered as idolatrous,
+     though attended with the immediate triumph of infidelity; and
+     many saw in these events the accomplishment of prophecies, and
+     the exhibition of signs promised in the most mystical parts of
+     the Holy Scriptures."--_"History of France from 1790 to 1802"
+     (London, 1803), Vol. II, p. 379._
+
+From those tunes of fulfilling prophecy, there arose a distinct
+movement, reviving the teaching of the doctrine of Christ's second
+coming, and directly preparing the way for the advent movement that was
+to come with the days of 1844, when yet fuller light was to break forth
+from the unsealed prophecies of the book of Daniel. Of the angel that
+symbolizes the special gospel work for these last days, it is written,
+"He had in his hand a little book open." Rev. 10:2. The "time of the
+end" came, and with it has come the opening of the sealed book. The
+"sure word of prophecy" speaks its message full and clear to the ears of
+all mankind today.
+
+
+Increase of Knowledge
+
+"Many shall run to and fro," the prophecy said, "and knowledge shall be
+increased." It is knowledge of the prophecy and of the things of God
+that is primarily the topic; but the era that we are discussing has been
+one of general enlightenment and extension of knowledge.[J] "The
+entrance of Thy words giveth light," says the psalmist: and when the
+Reformation of the sixteenth century broke the bands of age-long
+superstition and error, and set free the Word of God, the way was
+preparing for the coming of this wonderful era of the diffusion of
+general knowledge.
+
+The era of reform movement was an era of world exploration and
+discovery. Diaz had founded the south African cape, and Columbus had
+given to future generations the New World. The result was voyage after
+voyage of discovery, and then awakening, colonization, and expansion.
+
+The famous and learned Francis Bacon, who died in 1626, felt in his day
+that the time spoken of by Daniel's prophecy was drawing near. He
+wrote:
+
+     "Nor should the prophecy of Daniel be forgotten, touching the
+     last ages of the world: 'Many shall go to and fro, and
+     knowledge shall be increased;' clearly intimating that the
+     thorough passage of the world (which now by so many distant
+     voyages seems to be accomplished, or in course of
+     accomplishment), and the advancement of the sciences, are
+     destined by fate, that is, by divine Providence, to meet in the
+     same age."--_"Novum Organum," book 1, xciii. (Bacon's Works,
+     Spedding and Ellis, Vol. IV, p. 92.)_
+
+When the time indicated in the prophecy fully came, with the last decade
+of the eighteenth century, there was witnessed the upspringing of
+movements that have wrought mightily for the enlightenment and
+evangelization of the world. As the events of the French Revolution
+announced the closing of the long era of papal supremacy, so also
+another series of events at the same time announced the opening of the
+era of increasing knowledge. Speaking of these developments, Lorimer, a
+Scottish writer, said:
+
+     "At the very time when Satan is hoping for, and the timid are
+     fearing, an utter overturn of true religion, there is a
+     revival, and the gospel expands its wings and prepares for a
+     new flight. It is worthy of remembrance that the year 1792, the
+     very year of the French Revolution, was also the year when the
+     Baptist Missionary Society was formed, a society which was
+     followed during the succeeding, and they the worst, years of
+     the Revolution, with new societies of unwonted energy and
+     union, all aiming, and aiming successfully, at the propagation
+     of the gospel of Christ, both at home and abroad. What
+     withering contempt did the great Head of the church thus pour
+     upon the schemes of infidels! And how did He arouse the
+     careless and instruct His own people, by alarming providences,
+     at a season when they greatly needed such a
+     stimulus."--_"Historical Sketches of the Protestant Church in
+     France," p. 522._
+
+Another writer, Dr. D.L. Leonard, historian of the century of missions,
+says:
+
+     "The closing years of the eighteenth century constitute in the
+     history of Protestant missions an epoch indeed, since they
+     witnessed nothing less than a revolution, a renaissance, an
+     effectual and manifold ending of the old, a substantial
+     inauguration of the new. It was then that for the first time
+     since the apostolic period, occurred an outburst of general
+     missionary zeal and activity. Beginning in Great Britain, it
+     soon spread to the Continent and across the Atlantic. It was no
+     mere push of fervor, but a mighty tide set in, which from that
+     day to this has been steadily rising and spreading."--_"A
+     Hundred Years of Missions," p. 69._
+
+The time of the prophecy had come, and the hand of providence was
+bringing into being agencies that have spread light and knowledge over
+all lands.
+
+    "Look where the missionary's feet have trod--
+    Flowers in the desert bloom; and fields, for God,
+    Are white to harvest. Skeptics may ignore;
+    Yet on the conquering Word, from shore to shore,
+    Like flaming chariot, rolls. Ask ocean isles,
+    And plains of Ind, where ceaseless summer smiles;
+    Speak to far frozen wastes, where winter's blight
+    Remains;--they tell the love, attest the might
+    Of Him whose messengers across the wave
+    To them salvation bore, hope, freedom gave."
+
+    --_Horace D. Woolley._
+
+The organization of foreign missionary enterprise was quickly
+accompanied by the establishment of Bible societies for a systematic
+work of translating and world-wide distribution of the Scriptures. In
+1804 the British and Foreign Bible Society was organized. Students of
+the prophetic word felt at the time that these agencies were coming in
+fulfilment of the prophecy. One writer of those times said:
+
+     "The stupendous endeavors of one gigantic community to convey
+     the Scriptures in every language to every part of the globe may
+     well deserve to be considered as an eminent sign even of these
+     eventful times. Unless I be much mistaken, such endeavors are
+     preparatory to the final grand diffusion of Christianity, which
+     is the theme of so many inspired prophets, and which cannot be
+     very far distant in the present day."--_G.S. Faber, D.D.,
+     "Dissertation on the Prophecies," Vol. II, p. 406 (1844)._
+
+Now the Word of God, in whole or in part, is speaking in more than five
+hundred languages, and it is estimated that these tongues, at least in
+their spoken form, can make the divine message comprehensible to
+ninety-five per cent of the inhabitants of the earth.
+
+The work of modern missions, that had its birth as the time of the end
+came, is one of the great world factors today. Nearly thirty million
+dollars a year are given for Protestant missions, and a force of more
+than twenty thousand foreign missionaries is in the field, not counting
+the many thousands of native missionaries and helpers. Truly the time of
+the end is proving to be an era of increasing light and knowledge.
+
+
+The Opening of All Lands
+
+As the time came for knowledge to be increased, it was necessary that
+all lands should be open to receive the enlightening agencies. Thus, as
+the time of the end came, we see distinctly the hand of Providence
+swinging open the doors into all countries. It has been an era of world
+survey and development. Particularly is this true of the last sixty or
+seventy years. It was in 1844 that the time referred to in the prophecy
+came for the special advent movement, bearing the judgment-hour message
+to the world. The range of the movement is thus described in the
+prophecy:
+
+"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." Rev. 14:6.
+
+This was a declaration that as the time came for the closing gospel work
+to be done, the doors of access to every nation and tongue and people
+would be thrown open. In 1844, or but a few years before, much of the
+world was closed to missionary endeavor; but as the prophecy indicates,
+the years following have witnessed the swift and systematic opening of
+all lands to the gospel message.
+
+It was in 1842 that five treaty ports in China were opened to commerce
+and to missions,--advance steps in the opening of all China to the
+gospel. In 1844 Turkey was prevailed upon to recognize the right of
+Moslems to become Christians, reversing all Moslem tradition. In 1844
+Allen Gardiner established the South American Mission. In 1845
+Livingstone's determination was formed to open up the African interior.
+
+Dr. A.T. Pierson, speaking of the wonderful way in which Providence
+opened the doors of access in those times, wrote as follows:
+
+     "Most countries shut out Christian missions by organized
+     opposition, so that to attempt to bear the good tidings was
+     simply to dare death for Christ's sake; the only welcome
+     awaiting God's messengers was that of cannibal ovens, merciless
+     prisons, or martyr graves. But, as the little band advanced, on
+     every hand the walls of Jericho fell, and the iron gates opened
+     of their own accord. India, Siam, Burma, China, Japan, Turkey,
+     Africa, Mexico, South America, the Papal States, and Korea were
+     successively and successfully entered. Within five years, from
+     1853 to 1858, new facilities were given to the entrance and
+     occupation of seven different countries, together embracing
+     half the world's population."--_"Modern Mission Century," p.
+     25._
+
+[Illustration: INTO THE HEART OF AFRICA
+
+The Victoria Falls railroad bridge over the Zambezi.]
+
+God's providence has laid under tribute every force and every resource
+for the opening of all lands--missionary endeavor, love of adventure,
+commercial enterprise, and scientific interest. Railways have been built
+through regions that were undiscovered seventy years ago, and among the
+passengers traveling now over the iron trail are men and women of tribes
+unknown fifty years ago. But the gospel message was to go to every
+tribe and tongue before the end; and wonderfully Providence has been
+opening the doors throughout all this "time of the end," and
+particularly in our generation.
+
+
+Material Agencies for the Work
+
+The prophecy represents not only a world-wide work, but a quick work in
+proclaiming the gospel message in the last days. The movement is
+symbolized in the Revelation by an angel flying in the midst of heaven,
+from land to land. And as to the closing work, when the end is near at
+hand, the Scripture says:
+
+"He will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness: because a
+short work will the Lord make upon the earth." Rom. 9:28.
+
+"Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts."
+This is the hope for a quickly finished work in all the earth in our
+time. Yet the Lord lays hold of material things for service; and
+wonderfully the hand of Providence has wrought in bringing into
+existence material agencies for a quick work in carrying the gospel to
+the world--such agencies as no generation before ours ever had.
+
+Consider the marvelous facilities for world-travel. They are the product
+of this time of the end. "Many shall run to and fro," said the prophecy.
+Some interpreters have restricted the Hebrew phrase to a "searching" to
+and fro for knowledge. Even this would include a literal running to and
+fro; for the light of increasing knowledge was to be diffused over all
+the earth. But the best authority on the Hebrew declares for the plain
+meaning of our English translation: "Many shall run to and fro." In two
+recent works, Dr. C.H.H. Wright, the English scholar, says of this text:
+
+     "The natural meaning must be upheld, i.e., wandering to and
+     fro."--_"Critical Commentary on Daniel," p. 209._
+
+     "Why should not that expression be used in the sense in which
+     it is employed in Jeremiah 5:1, namely, of rapid movement
+     hither and thither?"--_"Daniel and His Prophecies," p. 321._
+
+At the time when the first foreign missionary movement was being
+launched in America, Robert Fulton's steamship, the "Clermont," was
+making its first trip on the Hudson.
+
+[Illustration: HIEROGLYPHICS
+
+The "Ox Song" of the Egyptian threshing-floor.]
+
+In 1838 the first ships to cross the Atlantic under steam power
+alone--the "Sirius" and the "Great Western"--came into New York from
+Liverpool, a few hours apart, forerunners of the fleets that furrow all
+the seas today, making quick pathways for the gospel messengers to all
+lands. Verily, they are a gift of God's providence to this generation,
+when all the world is to hear the gospel message.
+
+[Illustration: CUNEIFORM WRITING
+
+An account of the capture of Babylon, B.C. 538. From the
+cylinder of Cyrus.]
+
+    "He hath made the deep as dry,
+    He hath smote for us a pathway to the ends of all the earth."
+
+In 1825 Stephenson built his first railway passenger locomotive, which
+may still be seen in the Darlington railway station, in England. It was
+the beginning of the great revolution in land travel. The late Prof.
+Alfred Russel Wallace, scientist, wrote:
+
+     "From the earliest historic and even prehistoric times till the
+     construction of our great railways in the second quarter of the
+     present century [the nineteenth], there had been absolutely no
+     change in the methods of human locomotion."--_"The Wonderful
+     Century," p. 7._
+
+[Illustration: MANUSCRIPT WRITING
+
+The process by which the books of the great library of Alexandria,
+Egypt, were made.]
+
+For nearly six thousand years men had traveled in the old way. Why
+should these revolutionary changes in travel by sea and land come
+abruptly just at this time?--Because the time foretold in the prophecy
+was at hand, when the last gospel message was to be carried quickly to
+all the world--"to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people."
+We see the hand of the living God opening the doors into all lands, and
+His wonderful providence laying at the feet of this generation agencies
+for quickly covering the whole earth.
+
+[Illustration: GUTENBERG'S FIRST TYPES
+
+Reproduced from the first edition of the famous forty-two-line Latin
+Bible, printed by Gutenberg.]
+
+Later came the electric telegraph, for the quick transmission of news.
+It was in 1837 that Cooke and Wheatstone in England, and Morse in the
+United States, made their application for patents on the electric
+telegraph. It was in 1844 that the first long-distance system was
+successfully demonstrated--when the historic message was sent from
+Baltimore to Washington, "What hath God wrought!" Now news of events
+fulfilling prophecy, and news of progress and conditions in all lands,
+are daily spread before the world by this agency of our wonderful time.
+
+[Illustration: THE GUTENBERG PRINTING PRESS
+
+On which was produced the first printed Bible, in 1456 A.D.]
+
+[Illustration: THE FRANKLIN PRESS
+
+Operated by two men, it has a maximum speed of 250 impressions per
+hour.]
+
+As the closing events take place, the Lord has in His providence so
+ordered it that no one need be ignorant of the signs of the times
+fulfilling before the eyes of men.
+
+    "Speak the word and think the thought,
+    Quick 'tis as with lightning caught--
+    Over, under, lands or seas
+    To the far antipodes."
+
+Here is an incident illustrating the way in which the electric telegraph
+may multiply and spread abroad the witness borne to the truth of God in
+some obscure corner of the earth:
+
+[Illustration: THE HOE DOUBLE OCTUPLE PRESS
+
+The largest printing press in the world. Length, 48 feet; height, 19-1/2
+feet; weight, 175 tons; number of parts, 65,000; revolutions, 300 per
+minute; paper used per hour, 18 tons, or 216 miles of paper three feet
+wide; production per hour, 300,000 eight-page folded newspapers.]
+
+
+    The Mighty Press
+
+    "When old Gutenberg, inventor
+     Of the printing press, and mentor
+    Of the clumsy-fingered typos
+      In a sleepy German town,
+     Used to spread the sheets of vellum
+     On the form, and plainly tell them
+    That the art was then perfected,
+      As he pressed the platen down,
+     He had not the faintest notion
+     Of the rhythmical commotion,
+    Of the brabble and the clamor
+      And the unremitting roar
+     Of the mighty triple decker,
+     While the steel rods flicker,
+    And the papers, ready folded,
+      Fall in thousands to the floor."
+
+Some years ago a young man in Europe--a Seventh-day Adventist--was
+giving answer for his faith. His conscience would not allow him to do
+ordinary labor on God's holy Sabbath. He had declared to the court that
+the oath of loyalty which had been required of him forbade his breaking
+the Sabbath. "How is that?" asked the judge. The young man replied:
+
+     "I was sworn in with a Christian oath, and therefore cannot be
+     under an obligation to violate the commandments of God and work
+     on the Sabbath. One must regard God as the highest authority,
+     and obey Him in the first place."
+
+This witness was borne in a little courtroom, before a small group of
+men; but the press dispatches took it up, and the description of the
+scene and report of the words spoken were carried by electric telegraph
+to the press of at least four continents, and millions read the
+testimony of the young man to the faith that was in him.
+
+In the days to come, with great events taking place and solemn issues
+calling upon men to make decision for God and His truth, how quickly, in
+some great crisis, all the world may be warned, and the last individual
+decisions be made for eternity!
+
+
+Modern Printing
+
+The invention of the printer's art had come just in time to give wings
+to Reformation truth. Luther said of it:
+
+     "Printing is the latest and greatest gift by which God enables
+     us to advance the things of the gospel. It is the last bright
+     flame, manifesting itself just previous to the extinction of
+     the world. Thanks be to God, it came before the last day
+     came."--_Michelet's "Life of Luther," p. 291._
+
+While improvements in the art were made through the centuries, it was a
+slow process, even up to the opening of our generation. During our day,
+however, inventions have revolutionized the printing process.
+
+In this, as in other things, the methods have been speeded up to meet
+the necessities of this time of rapid accomplishment. The printing press
+is one of the chief of the marvelous enlightening agencies of this time
+of the end. By it the printed pages of truth are set falling over the
+earth "like the leaves of autumn."
+
+Time fails us to speak of all the wonderful material developments of our
+day, when knowledge has been increased, and when men are not only
+searching to and fro, but literally running to and fro. The whole earth
+is brought within the range of human knowledge, and the light of saving
+truth is streaming out toward every dark place where the children of men
+dwell.
+
+Nearly twenty-five hundred years ago it was written upon the prophetic
+page,
+
+"Shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many
+shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased."
+
+There the word stood on the scroll of prophecy through more than two
+millenniums. Then, as the time of the end came, lo, the book of prophecy
+was unsealed, and the new era of increasing knowledge began to spread in
+wondrous blessing over the earth.
+
+So surely, also, the prophecies of the last events will be accomplished.
+In the occurrences taking place before our eyes, we see that God is
+indeed finishing His work in the earth, and cutting it short in
+righteousness.
+
+[Illustration: FORTIFICATIONS ON THE BOSPORUS
+
+The strategic waterway involved in the Eastern Question.]
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[J] It is not designed to give the reader the idea that this running "to
+and fro" refers wholly to turning to and fro through the pages of a
+book. The times in which we live have been characterized by a great
+increase in Bible study, and consequently in knowledge of the
+Scriptures; but it is equally true that this has been due in large
+measure to the fact that there are no longer any "hermit" kingdoms.
+Travel, a real physical running "to and fro" through the earth, has
+contributed mightily to the modern increase of knowledge, and in no
+other field of investigation has this been more true than in the study
+of the Bible. By increased facilities for travel, all nations have been
+brought close together physically. Different races and nationalities
+have become acquainted, missionary zeal has been quickened, and peoples
+formerly beyond the reach of missionary operations have become easily
+accessible. In this sense, as well as by private searching of the
+Scriptures, knowledge has increased.
+
+
+[Illustration: THE MOSQUE OF ST. SOPHIA IN CONSTANTINOPLE
+
+The most famous of all Mohammedan temples.
+
+COPYRIGHT BY UNDERWOOD & UNDERWOOD, N.Y.]
+
+
+
+
+THE EASTERN QUESTION
+
+MODERN HISTORY IN THE LIGHT OF ANCIENT PROPHECY
+
+
+Not alone of the history of ancient nations does the "sure word of
+prophecy" bear witness. Political events of our own and coming days are
+described.
+
+The nations of the latter day are pictured as preparing war, gathering
+their forces for the great Armageddon, the battle of the day of God.
+
+As a signal of the last great struggle, the fall, or "drying up," of the
+power ruling the territory watered by the river Euphrates is foretold.
+Rev. 16:12. The Euphrates in all modern history has been suggestive of
+the dominions of the Turkish or Ottoman Empire. And Armageddon,
+designated as the meeting place of armies in the last clash of nations,
+is in Palestine, which, through all modern times, has been in possession
+of the Turkish power.
+
+The index finger of prophecy points, therefore, to this region of the
+eastern Mediterranean as the pivotal point in the closing history of
+nations; and with Turkey's fate is wrapped up the fate of all the
+nations of the world.
+
+All this adds deepest and most solemn import to the study of what is
+known as the Eastern Question, a question that has been to the fore in
+international politics much of the time throughout this generation. Wars
+have been fought over it, cabinets have wrestled with it, and still it
+holds its place in the first rank of living issues of today.
+
+As every one knows, the Eastern Question involves the dominion or
+supremacy in the Near East. This region was a pivotal point in the
+struggles of the nations in ancient times--the meeting place of East and
+West. Maspero, historian of ancient empires, says of it:
+
+     "Some countries seem destined from their origin to become the
+     battle fields of the contending nations.... The nations around
+     are eager for the possession of a country thus situated....
+     From remote antiquity Syria was in the condition just
+     described. By its position it formed a kind of meeting place,
+     where most of the military nations of the ancient world were
+     bound sooner or later to come violently into
+     collision."--_"Struggle of the Nations," chap. 1._
+
+It is not strange, therefore, that one of the great outlines of historic
+prophecy should deal with events centering around this pivotal region.
+The prophecy of Daniel 11 does so, outlining the course of history from
+ancient times to the final solution of the Eastern Question amid the
+scenes of the end.
+
+
+Rise and Fall of Ancient Empires
+
+The prophetic outline of Daniel 11 begins with Persia, in the third year
+of Cyrus, the conqueror of Babylon. (See Dan. 10:1.) The angel of God
+appeared to Daniel, and in the longest and most detailed single prophecy
+in all the Bible, told the story of events connected with this region of
+the Near East for the centuries to come, until the end. Putting the word
+of prophecy and the record of history side by side, we see how exactly
+history has fulfilled prophecy; and we may know certainly that the brief
+portion of the prophecy yet unfulfilled will surely come to pass.
+
+
+Persia
+
+_Prophecy._--"Now will I show thee the truth. Behold, there shall stand
+up yet three kings in Persia; and the fourth shall be far richer than
+they all: and by his strength through his riches he shall stir up all
+against the realm of Grecia." Dan. 11:2
+
+_History._--The three kings following Cyrus were (1) Cambyses, (2)
+Smerdis, (3) Darius; the fourth, Xerxes, was "far richer than they all."
+He had the treasures of his father, Darius, who was called the
+"merchant" or "hoarder" by his own people, and Xerxes gathered stores of
+wealth in addition. When Xerxes was on his way to invade Grecia, a
+Lydian named Pythius entertained the whole Persian army with feasts, and
+offered to aid in bearing the expense of the campaign. Xerxes asked who
+this man of such wealth was. He was answered:
+
+     "This is the man, O king! who gave thy father Darius the golden
+     plane tree, and likewise the golden vine; and he is still the
+     wealthiest man we know of in all the world, excepting
+     thee."--_Herodotus, book 7, par. 27._
+
+"Richer than they all," Xerxes, "through his riches," was able, as the
+prophecy had foretold, to "stir up all against the realm of Grecia."
+Forty-nine nations marched under his banners to the attack. The Greek
+poet, Æschylus, who himself fought against the Persians, wrote of
+Xerxes' mighty host,
+
+    "And myriad-peopled Asia's king, a battle-eager lord,
+    From utmost east to utmost west sped on his countless horde,
+    In unnumbered squadrons marching, in fleets of keels untold,
+    Knowing none dared disobey,
+    For stern overseers were they
+    Of the godlike king begotten of the ancient race of Gold."
+
+    --_"Persæ," Way's translation._
+
+Xerxes boasted that he was leading "the whole race of mankind to the
+destruction of Greece." But his invasion ended in the total rout of his
+forces by land and by sea. It was an advertisement to the world that
+Persia's might was broken. The prophecy treats it so, and deals no
+further with Persian history.
+
+Æschylus at the time celebrated the passing of Persia's prestige in the
+lines,--
+
+      "With sacred awe
+      The Persian law
+    No more shall Asia's realms revere;
+      To their lord's hand
+      At his command,
+    No more the exacted tribute bear.
+
+           *       *       *       *       *
+
+    Before the Ionian squadrons Persia flies,
+    Or sinks engulfed beneath the main;
+    Fallen! fallen! is her imperial power,
+    And conquest on her banners waits no more."
+
+    --_"Persæ," Potter's translation._
+
+The next great world change was to be the rise of Grecia to dominion.
+So, although a number of kings followed Xerxes in Persia, the prophecy
+passes from his disastrous invasion directly to the coming of Grecia
+under its "mighty king," Alexander the Great.
+
+
+Grecia
+
+_Prophecy._--"A mighty king shall stand up, that shall rule with great
+dominion, and do according to his will. And when he shall stand up, his
+kingdom shall be broken, and shall be divided toward the four winds of
+heaven; and not to his posterity." Dan. 11:3, 4.
+
+_History._--Alexander the Great stood up and ruled with great dominion,
+over a kingdom stretching from India to Grecia, with kings yet farther
+west sending embassies to Babylon to make submission. But in the height
+of his power, as the prophecy suggests, he was suddenly cut down by
+death. All his posterity perished, and out of the struggles of his
+generals for supremacy came (301 B.C.) the division of the
+empire toward "the four winds," as the prophecy had declared so long
+before. Rawlinson, the historian, says:
+
+     "A quadripartite division of Alexander's dominion was
+     recognized: Macedonia [west], Egypt [south], Asia Minor
+     [north], and Syria [stretching eastward beyond the
+     Euphrates]."--_"Sixth Monarchy," chap. 3._
+
+
+The Kings of the North and South
+
+Next, a rearrangement of these powers is noted; and it is this that
+gives us the key to the study of the closing portion of the long
+prophetic outline dealing with events of our own day. The narrative
+continues:
+
+_Prophecy._--"The king of the south shall be strong, and one of his
+princes ... shall be strong above him;... his dominion shall be a great
+dominion." Verse 5.
+
+_History._--The history testifies that the king of the south (Egypt,
+under Ptolemy) was strong; but one of the four princes was "strong above
+him." Seleucus, of Syria and the east, pushed his dominion northward,
+subduing most of Asia Minor, and extending his boundary into Thrace, on
+the European side, beyond the Dardanelles. Henceforward, as Mahaffy
+says,
+
+     "there were three great kingdoms--Macedonia, Egypt,
+     Syria--which lasted, each under its own dynasty, till Rome
+     swallowed them up."--_"Alexander's Empire," p. 89._
+
+Thus Seleucus took the territory of the north, and the Syrian power
+became king of the north, its empire extending from Thrace, in Europe,
+through Asia Minor to Syria and the Euphrates. The seat of empire was
+removed from the east, and Antioch, in northern Syria, "once the third
+city of the world," became the famous capital.
+
+The prophecy next foretold in remarkable detail the contests between
+these two strong powers, the king of the north (Syria and Asia Minor)
+and the king of the south (Egypt). The conflict raged back and forth
+till the coming of the Romans. The Holy Land was the frequent meeting
+place of the contending armies. The Encyclopedia Britannica describes
+it:
+
+     "Palestine was as of old the battle field for the king of the
+     north and the king of the south.... The history of these times
+     is lost in its details."--_Ninth edition, Vol. XV, art.
+     "Macedonian Empire," p. 144._
+
+We shall not follow the details of this contest as foretold in the
+prophecy, nor yet the outline of events after the coming of the Roman
+power ended the rivalry between Syria and Egypt. It is necessary only
+that we fix the events and geographic terms of this early portion of the
+prophecy. Then we shall have the key to the closing portion, dealing
+with events of the last days, when the king of the north again appears.
+
+
+The Modern King of the North
+
+In the last verses of the chapter we find the king of the north a chief
+actor in this same region, "at the time of the end." Verse 40. And we
+are told that when this power comes to its end, it is the signal that
+the great day of God is at hand. (See Dan. 12:1.)
+
+It becomes a vital question, therefore, what power in these last days is
+the king of the north, whose end is the signal of the swift ending of
+the world. Inspiration gives the basis for the answer. The king of the
+north in the early portion of the prophecy was the power that ruled in
+Syria and Asia Minor, from the Euphrates to the shores of the
+Dardanelles. The king of the north, then, of the later portion of the
+prophecy, must be the power that has been ruling in this same region
+during the time of the end.
+
+What power has held dominion over this territory in modern times?--The
+Turkish or Ottoman Empire. At this time Turkey holds almost the
+identical dominion of the ancient king of the north--from the Euphrates
+to the sea, and northward over Asia Minor and the shores of the
+Dardanelles.
+
+Then today Turkey is certainly the king of the north, according to the
+prophecy of Daniel 11.
+
+Of the later history of the king of the north and his end and the events
+following it, the prophecy says:
+
+"Tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him:
+therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to
+make away many.
+
+"And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in
+the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall
+help him.
+
+"And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great Prince which
+standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of
+trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same
+time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that
+shall be found written in the book." Dan. 11:44, 45; 12:1.
+
+[Illustration: CITY OF CONSTANTINOPLE
+
+The capital of the Turkish government.
+
+COPYRIGHT BY UNDERWOOD & UNDERWOOD, N, Y.]
+
+The opening verse of this scripture describes exactly the history of
+Turkey in modern times. Turkey's disquietude has come because of tidings
+out of the east and out of the north. In both these directions there has
+been a pushing back of the Turkish frontier, particularly in the north.
+Again and again, during this time of the end, Turkey has gone forth
+with fury to resist these encroachments and prevent the loss of
+territory.
+
+The prophecy indicates that in some of these struggles the king of the
+north will yet transfer his capital:
+
+"He shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the
+glorious holy mountain."
+
+
+Removal to Jerusalem
+
+This prophecy can mean nothing else than that the king of the north will
+eventually set up his headquarters in Jerusalem; for Jerusalem is "the
+holy mountain" of the Scriptures. Zech. 8:3.
+
+It is a wise counsel that says, "Tread lightly in the details of
+unfulfilled prophecy." Just how events are to turn, by what route or
+processes the steps are to be taken, it is useless to conjecture. But
+there the prophecy stands. Every word of the early portion of the
+prophetic outline has been fulfilled to the letter in the history of the
+ancient empires battling century after century over this region. Every
+word spoken of the final scenes will as certainly be fulfilled.
+
+In view of this prophecy,--that Jerusalem is yet to be made the
+headquarters of the king of the north,--it becomes highly significant
+that the Mohammedans regard Jerusalem as a sacred city. According to
+Mohammedan tradition, Jerusalem is to play a leading part in the closing
+history of that people. Hughes, in his "Dictionary of Islam," article
+"Jerusalem," summarizes the teaching:
+
+     "In the last days there will be a general flight to Jerusalem."
+
+Speaking of Jerusalem, an old Arab commentator on the Koran, Mukaddasi
+(A.D. 985), said:
+
+     "As to the excellence of the city. Why, is not this to be the
+     place of marshaling on the day of judgment, where the gathering
+     together and the appointment will take place? Verily Makkah
+     [Mecca] and Al Madina have their superiority by reason of the
+     Ka'abah and the prophet,--the blessing of Allah be upon him and
+     his family!--but, in truth, on the day of judgment both cities
+     will come to Jerusalem, and the excellencies of them all will
+     then be united."--_Le Strange, "Palestine under the Moslems,"
+     p. 85._
+
+[Illustration: MODERN JERUSALEM
+
+"He shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the
+glorious holy mountain." Dan. 11:45.]
+
+Thus Moslem doctrinal teaching and tradition both point out Jerusalem as
+the rallying place of Moslems before the end. Again and again in recent
+years, as the pressure has threatened the Turkish hold on
+Constantinople, the thoughts of Moslems have turned toward Jerusalem as
+a possible capital. A few years ago a Seventh-day Adventist missionary
+in Constantinople wrote to his home board:
+
+[Illustration: THE MOSQUE OF OMAR
+
+Situated in Jerusalem, on Mt. Moriah, the site of Solomon's Temple.]
+
+     "Within the past few months quite a company of people from the
+     Transcaucasus district have come to Ismid,--old
+     Nicodemia,--bringing all they possess with them. Some of them
+     possess considerable wealth. When asked if they were going to
+     settle in Ismid, they replied that they would settle nowhere
+     permanently at present. They stated that they had come to be
+     prepared to go with their leader when he left Constantinople to
+     go to Jerusalem."
+
+Wherever the capital may first be set up following the forsaking of
+Constantinople,--and Turkish authorities, we are told, have discussed a
+number of possible locations in Asia Minor,--there stands the ancient
+prophecy as to the eventual seat of the king of the north,
+
+"He shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the
+glorious holy mountain."
+
+Following that, what comes? The prophecy declares,
+
+"Yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him."
+
+
+What Comes When Turkey Falls
+
+The fury of his goings forth "utterly to make away many," the moving of
+his capital from one place to another, avail nothing in the end. "He
+shall come to his end, and none shall help him."
+
+The suggestion of the prophecy is that this power has hitherto been
+helped to stand. Here again every suggestion of the prophetic language
+finds its response in history. Through these later years of the time of
+the end the Ottoman Empire has been helped to stand, by either one power
+or another, or by some combination of powers. The late Lord Salisbury,
+while premier of Britain, thus stated the reasons for this policy of
+helping Turkey:
+
+     "Turkey is in that remarkable condition in which it has now
+     stood for half a century, mainly because the great powers of
+     the world have resolved that for the peace of Christendom it is
+     necessary that the Ottoman Empire should stand. They came to
+     that conclusion nearly half a century ago. I do not think they
+     have altered it now. The danger, if the Ottoman Empire should
+     fall, would not merely be the danger that would threaten the
+     territories of which that empire consists; it would be the
+     danger that the fire there lit should spread to other nations,
+     and should involve all that is most powerful and civilized in
+     Europe in a dangerous and calamitous contest. That was the
+     danger that was present to the minds of our fathers when they
+     resolved to make the integrity and independence of the Ottoman
+     Empire a matter of European treaty, and that is a danger which
+     has not passed away."--_Mansion House speech, Nov. 9, 1895._
+
+The veteran premier stated the fear of modern statesmen that Turkey's
+fall would involve all civilization in a calamitous conflict. The
+prophecy pictures just such a catastrophe, in these words:
+
+"He shall come to his end, and none shall help him. And at that time
+shall Michael stand up, the great Prince which standeth for the children
+of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was
+since there was a nation even to that same time."
+
+What modern statesmen have seen impending and have sought to ward off,
+the ancient prophecy says will surely come to pass when the king of the
+north comes to his end,--a time of trouble for the nations such as never
+was.
+
+
+In the New Testament
+
+In the prophecy of Revelation 16, the last great clash of the nations is
+represented as following the fall of the power that rules the territory
+drained by the Euphrates. Describing the last events in human history,
+under the pouring out of the vials of judgment upon the world, the
+prophet says:
+
+"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." Rev. 16:12.
+
+The water of the Euphrates represents the people or power ruling by it.
+When anciently the Assyrians dwelt by that river and were about to
+invade Israel, the prophet said, "The Lord bringeth up upon them the
+waters of the river, strong and many, even the king of Assyria." Isa.
+8:7. The waters of the Euphrates meant the Assyrian power.
+
+Just so in this prophecy, the river stands for the people. As the Nile
+stood for Egypt, and the Tiber for Rome, so in all modern times the
+Euphrates has stood for Turkey. The "drying up" of the Euphrates must
+mean the ending of the Turkish power. And in the verses immediately
+following, Revelation pictures the gathering of the nations of the whole
+world to Armageddon--"the battle of that great day of God Almighty."
+Following Turkey's end comes the final clash of nations. The earth
+quakes, the cities of the nations fall, and the last judgments of God
+come upon a warring world.
+
+Here, as in Daniel 12, is pictured a time of trouble for the nations
+such as never was, and the end of the world, when the power ruling in
+Syria, by the Euphrates, comes to its end.
+
+
+The Approaching End
+
+For years statesmen and observers have discussed the approaching
+dissolution of the Ottoman Empire. Travelers in Turkey have reported
+that thoughtful Turkish people held the conviction that the crisis of
+their nation was near at hand. Years ago Mr. Charles MacFarlane wrote:
+
+     "The Turks themselves seem generally to be convinced that their
+     final hour is approaching. 'We are no longer Mussulmans,--the
+     Mussulman saber is broken,--the Osmanlis will be driven out of
+     Europe by the _gaiours_, and driven through Asia to the regions
+     from which they first sprang. It is Kismet! We cannot resist
+     destiny!' I heard words to this effect from many Turks, as well
+     in Asia as in Europe."--_"Kismet; or the Doom of Turkey"
+     (London, 1853), p. 409._
+
+A later Turkish traveler, Mr. Wilfred Scawen Blunt, says:
+
+     "Ancient prophecy and modern superstition alike point to the
+     return of the Crescent into Asia as an event at hand, and to
+     the doom of the Turks.... A well-known prediction to this
+     effect, which has for ages exercised its influence on the
+     vulgar and even on the learned Mohammedan mind,... places the
+     scene of the last struggle in northern Syria, at Homs, on the
+     Orontes. Islam is then finally to retire from the north, and
+     the Turkish rule to cease. Such prophecies often work their own
+     fulfilment."--_"Future of Islam," p. 95._
+
+Thus native tradition and human forebodings have contemplated the
+break-up of the Turkish power, as the course of the years has witnessed
+the shrinkage of its territory and the ever-increasing difficulty of its
+position.
+
+Now and then there has been a renewal of Turkey's vigor and prestige;
+then again its situation has been rendered yet more precarious. It has
+been a buffer between the clashing interests of the great powers.
+Speaking of Turkey's difficult position in this respect, the London
+_Fortnightly Review_, May, 1915, expressed a common view thus:
+
+     "When once the nations of Europe set foot in Asia Minor, the
+     pace of Turkey's further downfall will be set not so much by
+     Turkey's strength or weakness as by the mutual jealousies of
+     the occupying powers."
+
+The storm clouds hang ever low over the Near East; while above all the
+din of wars and rumors of wars, the voice of divine prophecy declares
+that when this power comes to its end, the closing events in human
+history will quickly follow.
+
+[Illustration: CONSTANTINOPLE THE KEY CITY OF THE WORLD
+
+The cross on which the peace of the world has been crucified.]
+
+The solemn truth rings in our ears like a trumpet peal; the age-long
+Eastern Question is hastening on to its final solution, and its solution
+brings the end of the world.
+
+In the light of the "sure word of prophecy" the developments of our day
+in the East become more than matters of grave political concern to
+statesmen and observers of affairs generally; they are matters of
+deepest personal, eternal interest to every soul. In watching the trend
+of international affairs, we are watching the doing of the last things
+among the nations.
+
+As these things are seen coming to pass exactly as the prophecy
+foretold, we recognize them as God's call to men in the last generation
+to turn to Him and prepare their hearts to meet the coming Lord. Let no
+one think to wait until he sees Turkey come to its end before making his
+peace with God. The end of this power, as described in Revelation 16,
+comes during the falling of the seven last plagues. And the last verse
+of the preceding chapter shows that Christ's ministry for sinners in the
+heavenly temple has ended before the plagues begin to fall. Human
+probation will already have closed. The solemn decree will then have
+been issued in heaven:
+
+"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. And, behold, I come
+quickly." Rev. 22:11, 12.
+
+"Now is the accepted time," calls the Spirit; "now is the day of
+salvation." 2 Cor. 6:2. We have not to make ourselves ready. "If we
+confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to
+cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9. Our part is to believe
+and confess; His part is to forgive and cleanse and make us ready for
+the coming kingdom.
+
+
+The Sinner's Plea
+
+    With broken heart and contrite sigh,
+    A trembling sinner, Lord, I cry;
+    Thy pardoning grace is rich and free:
+    O God, be merciful to me!
+
+    Nor alms, nor deeds that I have done,
+    Can for a single sin atone;
+    To Calvary alone I flee:
+    O God, be merciful to me!
+
+    And when, redeemed from sin and hell,
+    With all the ransomed throng I dwell,
+    My raptured song shall ever be,
+    "God has been merciful to me!"
+
+    --_Cornelius Elven._
+
+[Illustration: THE GREAT BATTLE OF ARMAGEDDON
+
+The whole world involved in the last great clash of nations. "The
+nations were angry, and Thy wrath is come." Rev. 11:18.]
+
+[Illustration: THE PLAIN OF ESDRAELON AND MT. MEGIDDO
+
+"He gathered them together into a place called ... Armageddon." Rev.
+16:16.]
+
+
+
+
+ARMAGEDDON
+
+THE FINAL CLASH OF EARTHLY EMPIRES
+
+
+    "We are living, we are dwelling,
+      In a grand and awful time,
+    In an age on ages telling,
+      To be living is sublime.
+    Hark! the waking up of nations,
+      Gog and Magog to the fray;
+    Hark! what soundeth? Is creation
+      Groaning for her latter day?"
+
+The sure word of prophecy that foretold the rise and fall of ancient
+empires, and outlined the general course of world history through the
+ages, describes also the last great struggle of the nations.
+
+The proverb says, "Peace is the dream of the wise, but war is the
+history of man." And divine prophecy assures us that the history of this
+present world will end amid scenes of conflict.
+
+Many in our time have come to think that civilization must reach a
+better way of composing the rivalries of the nations. The prophecy
+forewarns us otherwise. In fact, the prophetic word points to the talk
+of peace and safety amid preparations for war, as a distinct sign of the
+latter days.
+
+"In the last days," Isaiah says, "many people shall go and say:"
+
+"They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into
+pruning hooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither
+shall they learn war any more." Isa. 2:2-4.
+
+This is what "many people" were to be saying. But the real conditions in
+the last days are described as exactly the opposite. The prophet Joel
+describes the real spirit of the world in these times:
+
+"Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles [the nations]: Prepare war, wake up
+the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up: beat
+your plowshares into swords, and your pruning hooks into spears: let the
+weak say, I am strong." Joel 3:9, 10.
+
+The context shows that the prophet is speaking of the last times, when
+"the day of the Lord is near." Verse 14.
+
+
+The Prophecy Fulfilling
+
+This is what we have seen in our time, as never before in the history of
+man,--the product of the plowshare and the pruning hook being turned
+into instruments of war.
+
+About twenty-five years ago the late Marquis of Salisbury, speaking as a
+man grown gray in the service of the state, asked a London audience the
+question, "What is the great change that marks this time as different
+from the times when most of us were young men?" The aged statesman
+answered his own question, saying that it was the arming of the nations,
+the swift race upon which the powers had then recently entered, to
+increase their naval and military armaments. It is a sign of our times,
+answering to the prophetic forecast.
+
+Throughout the present generation the thoughtful have watched with grave
+forebodings the preparations of the nations for war. Queen Alexandra, of
+Britain, once said of it:
+
+     "I was educated in the school of a king who was, before all
+     things, just; and I have tried, like him, always to preach love
+     and charity, I have always mistrusted warlike preparations, of
+     which nations seem never to tire. Some day this accumulated
+     material of soldiers and guns will burst into flames in a
+     frightful war that will throw humanity into mourning on earth
+     and grieve our universal Father in heaven."
+
+As the race of armaments went forward on a scale never before thought
+of, statesmen and writers began to make use of the word "Armageddon" to
+describe the conflict that they saw was inevitable. Years ago the London
+_Contemporary Review_ said:
+
+     "Odd things are happening everywhere.... Russia, Germany,
+     England--these are great names; they palpitate with great
+     ideas; they have vast destinies before them, and millions of
+     armed men in their pay, all awaiting Armageddon."
+
+In June, 1909, Lord Rosebery, in a speech before a press convention in
+London, commented gravely upon the significance of the feverish haste
+with which the nations were arming themselves, "as if for some great
+Armageddon, and that in a time of the profoundest peace."
+
+To quote from a popular American magazine, of the same year:
+
+     "Today all Europe is divided into two armed camps, waiting
+     breathlessly for the morrow with its Armageddon."--_Everybody's
+     Magazine, November, 1909._
+
+Thus, everywhere, observers saw that the rivalry of interests among the
+nations was leading to a conflict so overwhelmingly vast that only the
+Scriptural word "Armageddon," with its appeal to the imagination, seemed
+adequately suggestive of its proportions.
+
+Every passing year added to the intensity of feeling and the antagonism
+of interests. In 1911 the London _Nineteenth Century and After_ said:
+
+[Illustration: UNITED STATES BATTLESHIP "NEVADA"
+
+Photograph taken from the Manhattan Bridge. New York.
+
+COPYRIGHT BY UNDERWOOD & UNDERWOOD. N.Y.]
+
+     "Never was national and racial feeling stronger upon earth than
+     it is now. Never was preparation for war so tremendous and so
+     sustained. Never was striking power so swift and so terribly
+     formidable.... The shadow of conflict and of displacement
+     greater than any which mankind has known since Attila and his
+     Huns were stayed at Châlons, is visibly impending over the
+     world. Almost can the ear of imagination hear the gathering of
+     the legions for the fiery trial of peoples, a sound vast as the
+     trumpet of the Lord of hosts."--_Quoted in the Literary Digest,
+     May 6, 1911._
+
+[Illustration: COMRADES AFTER THE BATTLE
+
+Soldiers bringing in two wounded captives.
+
+PHOTO BY CENTRAL PHOTO SERVICE. N.Y.]
+
+What the ancient prophecy foretold--the preparing of war in the last
+days, the waking up and arming of the nations--we have seen fulfilling
+before our eyes in this generation.
+
+
+Satanic Agencies at Work
+
+In prophecies of the gathering of the nations for the last great
+struggle, Inspiration draws aside the veil, and allows us to see the
+agencies that have been stirring up the world for the war. As the
+prophet John was shown in vision the scenes of the last days, he saw the
+invisible powers of Satan, "the spirits of devils," going 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." Rev. 16:14.
+
+Earnest-minded statesmen have lamented their helplessness to combat the
+forces and influences pressing the world on toward conflict. In one of
+his last speeches as premier of Great Britain, the late Marquis of
+Salisbury was defending yet further calls for army and navy
+appropriations. He said:
+
+     "For years public opinion was in favor of a pacific policy, but
+     now that state of opinion has passed away. The tide has turned,
+     and who am I, and who are we, that we should attempt to stem
+     the tide? If the tide has turned, we shall have to go with it.
+     We are in the presence of forces far larger than we can wield."
+
+What those forces were, the aged statesman did not recognize, but the
+prophecy tells us. The prophet was shown the evil spirits from Satan
+going forth everywhere as the end nears, to stir up the whole world to
+the last great conflict.
+
+Sir Edward Grey, British foreign secretary, described these agencies
+very accurately. Speaking in the House of Commons, Nov. 27, 1911, he
+said:
+
+     "It is really as if in the atmosphere of the world there were
+     some mischievous influence at work, which troubles and excites
+     every part of it."
+
+It is all coming to pass exactly as the sure word of prophecy foretold.
+
+The conviction that great and decisive events are at hand has taken
+possession of many hearts in all the world. When the European war broke
+out in 1914, on a scale unprecedented in human history, it was no wonder
+that the question sprang to many lips, "Is it Armageddon?"
+
+The question was not lightly asked. The committee of the Church
+Missionary Society (Church of England), one of the greatest missionary
+organizations in the world, sent a message to its missionaries in all
+lands at the outbreak of the war. In this message was a call to prepare
+for the coming of the Lord:
+
+     "It may be that these events will quickly usher in the return
+     of Christ to gather His saints together from the four quarters
+     of the earth.... Many see in the events preceding and
+     accompanying this terrible cataclysm of war the signs of our
+     Lord's near return. If so, blessed will that servant be whom
+     his Lord when He cometh shall find giving 'their food in due
+     season' to those fellow servants who have been put in his
+     charge."--_Church Missionary Review, November, 1914._
+
+Timely as this call was, it was evident, from the prophetic scriptures,
+that the conflict then opening could not be the Armageddon of the
+Apocalypse, for the prelude to that final clash of nations is an event
+yet in the future--the downfall of a nation whose part in the closing
+scenes is clearly described in the prophecy of the coming Armageddon.
+
+The end of the power which rules over the territory through which the
+river Euphrates flows, is the prelude to Armageddon. The prophecy says:
+
+"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." Rev. 16:12.
+
+Next follows the gathering of "the whole world" to "the battle of that
+great day of God Almighty." Verse 14.
+
+Through all modern times Turkey has been identified with the Euphrates.
+The region of Syria and Asia Minor, long held by Turkey, has been the
+historic meeting place of the East and the West. In the London
+_Fortnightly Review_, May, 1915, Mr. J.B. Firth wrote:
+
+     "When, with the fall of Ottoman sovereignty at Constantinople,
+     the Turk is driven out of Europe, there will arise once more
+     the eternal question of the possession of Asia Minor. That land
+     is the corridor between Europe and Asia, along which have
+     passed most of the European conquerors--the Russians alone
+     excepted--who have invaded Asia, and most of the Asiatic
+     conquerors who have invaded Europe."
+
+The fall of the Turkish power in this Euphrates region will, in some
+manner, prepare the way for "the kings of the East" to come up to the
+final conflict.
+
+
+The Awakening of the East
+
+The same spirit that has been stirring up the West in preparation for
+the contest has been working in the East also. Year after year observers
+have pointed out the great changes taking place in Asia. September,
+1909, the London _Contemporary Review_ said:
+
+     "The whole of Asia is in the throes of rebirth. At last we may
+     see these three--the yellow race, the Indian race, and the
+     Arab-Persian Mohammedan race. And all that is making for the
+     Armageddon."
+
+A writer in the May, 1913, issue of the London _Nineteenth Century and
+After_, reviewing the situation at the close of the Balkan War, said:
+
+     "A new spirit is abroad in the East. It arose on the shores of
+     the Pacific when Japan proved that the great powers of Europe
+     are not invulnerable. North and south and west it has spread,
+     rousing China out of centuries of slumber, stirring India into
+     ominous questioning, reviving memories of past glory in Persia,
+     breeding discontent in Egypt, and luring Turkey onto the
+     rocks."
+
+With all the nations stirred up by the spirit agencies of the god of
+this world, the prophet next saw the armies of earth gathering to the
+last great battle. The prophecy continues:
+
+"And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue
+Armageddon." Rev. 16:16.
+
+Armageddon means the hill, or mount, of Megiddo, which overlooks the
+plain of Esdraelon, the historic battle ground of northern Palestine.
+Carmack says of it:
+
+     "Megiddo was the military key of Syria; it commanded at once
+     the highway northward to Phoenicia and Coele-Syria and the
+     road across Galilee to Damascus and the valley of the
+     Euphrates. It was moreover the chief town in a district of
+     great fertility, the contested possession of many races. The
+     vale of Kishon and the region of Megiddo were inevitable battle
+     fields. Through all history they retained that qualification;
+     there many of the great contests of southwestern Asia have been
+     decided. In the history of Israel it was the scene of frequent
+     battles. From such association the district achieved a dark
+     nobility; it was regarded as a pre-destined place of blood and
+     strife; the poet of the Apocalypse has clothed it with awe as
+     the ground of the final conflict between the powers of light
+     and darkness."--_"Pre-Biblical Syria and Palestine," p. 82._
+
+Thus Armageddon, as the "military key of Syria," marks Palestine and the
+Near East as the great international storm center in the final conflict.
+
+
+The Political Storm Center
+
+In vision, nearly two thousand years ago, the prophet saw the forces of
+the last days gathering around this pivotal region. Today observers
+recognize the eastern Mediterranean as indeed the pivotal point around
+which international interests involving East and West naturally revolve.
+
+Some years ago, in discussing railway development in Asia and Africa,
+and the great highways of sea transportation, the London _Fortnightly
+Review_ said:
+
+     "Palestine is the great center, the meeting of the roads.
+     Whoever holds Palestine, commands the great lines of
+     communication, not only by land, but also by sea."
+
+Again, the Manchester _Guardian_, emphasizing the importance attaching
+to this strategic center, said during the great war:
+
+     "Egypt, as things are,--and the fact cannot be too often
+     emphasized,--is the weak spot in our system of imperial defense
+     by sea power. Not until Palestine is in our possession can
+     Egypt be regarded as safe."--_Quoted in Literary Digest, Feb.
+     12, 1916, p. 369._
+
+Other nations have recognized the strategic value of a territory so
+situated. Thus political considerations make this region pointed out by
+the prophecy a center of conflicting interests. Hogarth, in his book,
+"The Near East," calls it "the time-honored storm center of the eastern
+Mediterranean."
+
+
+The Religious Storm Center
+
+To the conflict of political interests is added the rivalry of religious
+sentiment. Commenting on the religious associations of Palestine in
+relation to the international political situation, the London
+_Spectator_ some years ago stated the matter thus:
+
+     "People often ask how it is that the future of Palestine
+     presents such difficulties. The reason is simply that
+     Jerusalem--you cannot separate Jerusalem from Palestine--is
+     the sacred city of so many creeds and warring faiths. Not only
+     is it the holy place of all the Christian churches,--and two of
+     them quarrel bitterly over it, the Greeks and the Latins,--but
+     it is also one of the most sacred places in the Mohammedan
+     world. Mecca and Medina are hardly more sacred than the Mosque
+     of Omar. That is a fact which is often ignored by Europeans,
+     who forget that to turn the Mohammedans out of the temple
+     inclosure would disturb the whole Moslem world, from the
+     Straits Settlements to Albania. We must never forget that
+     Mohammedan pilgrims from India visit Jerusalem, just as
+     Christian pilgrims visit it from Europe. Lastly, Jerusalem is
+     profoundly sacred to the Jews, and the Jews are beginning to be
+     locally numerous and important. Most certainly there are no
+     elements of difficulty wanting in the problem of the future of
+     Palestine."
+
+History records the fact that rivalry over the care of the traditional
+holy places helped to precipitate one European war--that of the Crimea.
+
+In the study of the Eastern Question, we have seen that the prophecy of
+Daniel 11 marks Jerusalem as still a storm center in the closing scenes.
+A British consul in Jerusalem, in the days following the Crimean War,
+set forth suggestively his view of one of the factors in the Eastern
+Question. He wrote:
+
+     "The very heart and kernel of the Eastern Question can only be
+     reached in the Holy City, Jerusalem, where the Eastern and
+     Western churches are still wrestling as of old for the
+     mastery.... Now as heretofore, disguise the object as they may,
+     they are striving for a prize which has not been destined by
+     divine Providence for either; and this prize is no less than a
+     virtual dominion over the Christian world, from a throne of
+     government within the sanctuaries of the Holy City; and the
+     possession of that throne would involve possession of the key
+     to universal dominion."--_"Stirring Times: Records from
+     Jerusalem Consulate Chronicles," by James Finn, introductory
+     note by editor, p. xxiii._
+
+
+Foretold in Prophecy
+
+By every consideration--political, racial, and religious--the Near East
+supplies all the elements for involving the whole world when once the
+sweeping displacements begin which the prophecy foretold, and for which
+statesmen in our day have sought to prepare.
+
+Long ages ago the prophet of God, in vision on the Isle of Patmos, was
+shown the clash of interests and the gathering of the nations around
+this historic center. Before our eyes today we see events tending to
+give to this region the very character assigned to it by the prophecy.
+It was written in the sure word of prophecy in order that, as the events
+foretold are seen approaching, men may believe and turn to God, and find
+salvation from the things coming upon the earth.
+
+Into the prophecy of this sixteenth chapter of Revelation, describing
+the gathering of forces to Armageddon, our Saviour interjects the
+warning and the appeal:
+
+"Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his
+garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame." Verse 15.
+
+The last earthly events that the prophecy is dealing with--the pouring
+out of the seven last plagues, and the clash of Armageddon--come after
+probation closes. The close of probation, the passing of the ministry of
+Christ in the heavenly temple, will come as a thief, unannounced. Our
+only safety is in yielding heart and life to him now for cleansing, and
+accepting from his hand the garments of his own righteousness, freely
+offered to every one.
+
+
+What Comes with Armageddon
+
+Whatever ambitions or aims may be the impelling motives when the
+gathering to the great conflict comes, one thing is certain: Armageddon
+is to bring triumph and world dominion to no earthly power. As the
+nations gather, the Lord intervenes from heaven, and the history of the
+kingdoms of this world is closed at last. The prophet tells the sequel
+to Armageddon:
+
+"He gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue
+Armageddon. 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. 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. 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. And every island fled away, and the
+mountains were not found. 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." Rev. 16:16-21.
+
+The fall of the Turkish power is the prelude to the gathering of the
+nations to the battle of Armageddon. And Armageddon is the prelude to
+the end of the world and Christ's glorious coming as King of kings and
+Lord of lords. The armies gathered to battle for supremacy find
+themselves suddenly arrayed against the armies of heaven. Another
+prophecy describes the scene when Christ is revealed:
+
+"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; 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: for
+the great day of His wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?"
+Rev. 6:15-17.
+
+Again, as the great searchlight of divine prophecy lights up the way
+before us, we see by the course of present-day events that the end is
+drawing very near. By what sudden turn of affairs the last things to be
+done in history may be set in motion, none can foresee. The Saviour
+admonishes every soul, "Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour
+as ye think not the Son of man cometh." Matt. 24:44.
+
+It is for this time of waiting, especially, that Christ spoke the
+parable of the ten virgins who waited for the bridegroom. All sincerely
+wanted to meet him; all expected to be ready. But when the cry was
+raised, "Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him!" only
+five were ready. The others lacked the oil that was to give them light.
+We know what the oil represents--the genuine heart experience of the
+grace and love of Christ.
+
+[Illustration: THE TEN VIRGINS
+
+"They that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was
+shut." Matt. 25:10.]
+
+Those overtaken unready, hastened away to get oil. "And while they went
+to buy, the bridegroom came; and _they that were ready_ went in with him
+to the marriage: and the door was shut." Matt. 25:10. Those that were
+ready went in; those that were getting ready were too late. How came
+some to be ready?--They were ready all the time; they kept ready. This
+lesson is for us now. Our only safety is in being ready every day,
+keeping sins forgiven, the life surrendered to God.
+
+[Illustration: THE MILLENNIUM
+
+The millennium is the closing period of God's great week of time--a
+great sabbath of rest to the earth and to the people of God.
+
+It follows the close of the gospel age, and precedes the setting up of
+the everlasting kingdom of God on earth.
+
+It comprehends what in the Scriptures is frequently spoken of as "the
+day of the Lord."
+
+It is bounded at each end by a resurrection.
+
+Its beginning is marked by the pouring out of the seven last plagues,
+the second coming of Christ, the resurrection of the righteous dead, the
+binding of Satan, and the translation of the saints to heaven; and its
+close, by the descent of the New Jerusalem, with Christ and the saints,
+from heaven, the resurrection of the wicked dead, the loosing of Satan,
+and the final destruction of the wicked.
+
+During the one thousand years the earth lies desolate; Satan and his
+angels are confined here; and the saints, with Christ, sit in judgment
+on the wicked, preparatory to their final punishment.
+
+The wicked dead are then raised; Satan is loosed for a little season,
+and he and the host of the wicked encompass the camp of the saints and
+the holy city, when fire comes down from God out of heaven and devours
+them. The earth is cleansed by the same fire that destroys the wicked,
+and, renewed, becomes the eternal abode of the saints.
+
+The millennium is one of "the ages to come." Its close will mark the
+beginning of the new earth state.]
+
+[Illustration: CHRIST COMING FOR HIS OWN
+
+"They lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years," Rev. 20:4.]
+
+
+
+
+THE MILLENNIUM
+
+
+The word "millennium" means "a thousand years." This definite period is
+referred to specifically in but one chapter of the Bible, the twentieth
+of Revelation; and in that chapter it is spoken of repeatedly. We find
+it to be:
+
+The period during which the saints reign with Christ in judgment.
+
+The period during which Satan is bound.
+
+The measure of time between the two resurrections, that of the just and
+that of the unjust.
+
+An examination of the scriptures bearing upon the millennium will show:
+
+1. The events that mark its beginning.
+
+2. The events that occur during the thousand years.
+
+3. The events that come at the end of the period.
+
+We shall find it clearly taught in these scriptures:
+
+That the millennium begins at the second coming of Christ.
+
+That the reign of the saints with Him in judgment is not on this earth,
+but in heaven.
+
+That this earth, void of human inhabitants, is Satan's prison house
+during the thousand years.
+
+That at the end of the thousand years the judgment determined is
+executed upon Satan and all the wicked.
+
+That this earth, purified by the fires of the last judgment, and
+renewed, becomes the eternal home of the saved.
+
+
+1. Events at the Beginning of the Thousand Years
+
+The key to the time is furnished by the declaration that the millennium
+begins with--
+
+
+The Resurrection of the Just
+
+Speaking of the risen saints, the Scripture says:
+
+"They lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of
+the dead [the wicked] lived not again until the thousand years were
+finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that
+hath part in the first resurrection." Rev. 20:4-6.
+
+There are to be two resurrections. The apostle Paul said that this was
+the teaching of all Scripture: "There shall be a resurrection of the
+dead, both of the just and unjust." Acts 24:15. The first resurrection,
+that of the just, marks the beginning of the thousand years.
+
+
+Christ's Second Coming
+
+When is this first resurrection, in the order of events in this "day of
+the Lord"? It is at the second advent of Christ. One scripture, out of
+many, will suffice to state it:
+
+"The Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice
+of the Archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ
+shall rise first." 1 Thess. 4:16.
+
+As the Saviour comes in glory, with all the holy angels, the graves are
+opened, and His voice awakens His children who sleep in the dust.
+
+"He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they
+shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of
+heaven to the other." Matt. 24:31.
+
+The time of Christ's second coming, therefore, is the beginning of the
+millennium.
+
+
+The Righteous Taken to Heaven
+
+The living righteous are translated, and, together with the risen
+saints, are taken to heaven, as the apostle says:
+
+"Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with
+them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be
+with the Lord." 1 Thess. 4:17.
+
+This was the Saviour's promise:
+
+"In My Father's house are many mansions.... I go to prepare a place for
+you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and
+receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also." John
+14:2, 3.
+
+
+The Destruction of the Wicked
+
+At Christ's second coming the wicked are slain. The unbelieving left
+without shelter in that day, cannot endure the presence of such glory as
+will burst upon the world:
+
+"The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in
+flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey
+not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ." 2 Thess. 1:7, 8.
+
+
+The Binding of Satan
+
+With the saints in heaven, beyond the reach of Satan's wiles, and with
+the wicked dead, not to live again till the thousand years are finished,
+Satan is "bound"--confined by divine power to this earth, which becomes
+his prison house, there being neither saint nor sinner upon whom to ply
+his arts of deception. No prisoner was ever more effectually chained.
+The symbolical language of the prophet pictures the scene:
+
+"I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless
+pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that
+old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand
+years, 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." Rev. 20:1-3.
+
+These are the events that mark the beginning of the thousand years:
+Christ's second coming, the resurrection of the just, the ascent of all
+the redeemed to the city of God, the death of the wicked, and, in
+consequence, the binding of Satan.
+
+
+2. Events During the Thousand Years
+
+
+In Heaven
+
+Scene after scene of glory is spread before us in the visions the
+prophets were given of the redeemed in the city of God. The prophet John
+says:
+
+"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.... Therefore are they before the throne of God,
+and serve Him day and night in His temple." Rev. 7:9-15.
+
+They "serve" in the temple of the Lord, the prophet says; while the poet
+sings:
+
+    "Whence came the armies of the sky,
+      John saw in vision bright?
+    Whence came their crowns, their robes, their palms,
+      Too pure for mortal sight?
+
+    "From desert waste, and cities full,
+      From dungeons dark, they've come,
+    And now they claim their mansion fair,
+      They've found their long-sought home."
+
+One service in which the saved have part during the thousand years is
+the work of judgment that still remains, preparatory to the final
+visitation of sin and the destruction of Satan and all his works. The
+prophet saw this work going forward in the heavenly courts, the
+redeemed associated with Christ in the service:
+
+"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 worshiped 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." Rev. 20:4.
+
+It was to this work of judging the wicked and the evil angels, that the
+apostle Paul referred in the counsel to the Corinthians: "Do ye not know
+that the saints shall judge the world?... Know ye not that we shall
+judge angels?" 1 Cor. 6:2, 3.
+
+
+On Earth
+
+While in heaven above the saved are with Christ and the holy angels
+before the throne, and follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth, it is to
+be remembered that on earth all is desolation and emptiness. The wicked
+have been slain by the glory of Christ's coming. By the quaking of the
+earth the cities of the nations have fallen in ruin, islands have been
+removed, and mountains cast into the depths of the sea. The condition of
+the earth during this time of desolation is thus described by the
+prophet:
+
+"I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the
+heavens, and they had no light. I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they
+trembled, and all the hills moved lightly. I beheld, and, lo, there was
+no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled. I beheld, and, lo,
+the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were
+broken down at the presence of the Lord, and by His fierce anger." Jer.
+4:23-26.
+
+"Without form, and void," said the prophet. This is the same phrase that
+is used in the opening verses of Genesis to describe the chaotic state
+of the earth in the beginning. At the beginning of creation week the
+earth was in a state of emptiness and chaos--an "abyss," as it is
+called in the Greek translation of Genesis. Again, during this
+thousand-year period, the earth is an "abyss," or a desolate waste.
+"Abyss" is the meaning of the word translated "bottomless pit" in the
+text telling of the binding of Satan by the mighty angel of God:
+
+"He laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and
+Satan, and bound him a thousand years, and cast him into the bottomless
+pit." Rev. 20:2, 3. The Revised Version says, "And cast him into the
+abyss."
+
+Confined to this pit or abyss of desolation, as a prisoner in a prison
+house, with none to tempt, the author of sin has a thousand years in
+which to view the ruin that sin has wrought in the earth that once left
+its Maker's hand beautiful and perfect, unmarred by any curse.
+
+
+3. Events at the End of the Thousand Years
+
+At the end of the millennium, this earth becomes the scene of events
+that close the great controversy between Christ and Satan.
+
+
+The Descent of the Holy City
+
+The judgment work in heaven having been accomplished, the hour has come
+for the execution of the judgment upon sin and sinners. The holy city
+comes down out of heaven. The prophet saw its descent in vision:
+
+"I John saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of
+heaven." Rev. 21:2.
+
+
+The Loosing of Satan
+
+"When the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his
+prison, and shall go out to deceive the nations." Rev. 20:7, 8.
+
+With all the wicked destroyed by the glory of Christ's second coming,
+Satan had been effectually bound; but now, as the city descends, the
+voice of Christ calls forth the wicked dead, and Satan is thus loosed,
+and assumes control again of those who have chosen him as their master.
+
+It is the time of which the Scripture speaks: "The rest of the dead
+lived not again until the thousand years were finished." Verse 5. The
+prophet saw the hosts of the lost called forth. "The sea gave up the
+dead which were in it; and death and hell [the "grave," margin]
+delivered up the dead which were in them." Verse 13.
+
+Thus Satan's subjects come forth to the last judgment. The resurrection
+of the wicked of all the ages is the loosing of Satan. Here again is his
+kingdom, and again he plies his deceptions and takes up anew his fight
+against God. How very natural that Satan should persuade the wicked that
+he has raised them to life, that his word in the beginning was true, "Ye
+shall not surely die"! If they are immortal, why may they not yet
+prevail against God? Satan rallies his angels and the hosts of the
+wicked, in numbers "as the sand of the sea," to make an attack upon the
+city of God.
+
+    "How vast the concourse! not in number more
+    The waves that break on the resounding shore,
+    The leaves that tremble in the shady grove,
+    The lamps that gild the spangled vaults above;
+    Those overwhelming armies, whose command
+    Said to one empire, Fall; another, Stand;
+    Whose rear lay wrap't in night, while breaking dawn
+    Rous'd the broad front, and called the battle on;
+    Great Xerxes' world in arms, proud Cannæ's field,
+    Where Carthage taught victorious Rome to yield,
+    Immortal Blenheim, fam'd Ramillia's host;--
+    They all are here, and here they all are lost;
+    Their millions swell, to be discerned in vain,
+    Lost as a billow in th' unbounded main."
+
+    --_Edward Young's "Last Day."_
+
+"They went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the
+saints about, and the beloved city." Verse 9.
+
+
+The Wicked Before the Bar of God
+
+But as the hosts of evil compass the city, they are halted by the glory
+and majesty of the Redeemer's presence, enthroned as eternal victor over
+sin. Just here must apply the prophet's words:
+
+"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.
+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." Rev. 20:11, 12.
+
+[Illustration: THE HOLY CITY DESCENDS
+
+"Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men." Rev 21:3.]
+
+During the thousand years the records in heaven have been reviewed, and
+the degrees of guilt established. Now the judgment is to be pronounced
+and executed. But first the record of the books and the eternal
+righteousness of God's holy law are flashed by divine power upon the
+consciences of all the lost--"their conscience also bearing witness"
+(Rom. 2:15) that they are without excuse.
+
+
+The Destruction of Sin
+
+Sin is now to be blotted from the universe of God; and those who have
+chosen to be identified with sin perish with it. All that Infinite Love
+can do has been done in the gift of Christ to save men from the
+transgression of the holy law of God. That salvation rejected, there is
+nothing remaining that heaven can offer. There is no further sacrifice
+that can be made. "There remaineth no more sacrifice for sins." Heb.
+10:26.
+
+Then follows the last scene in the conflict with evil:
+
+"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. And the devil that deceived them was cast
+into the lake of fire.... And death and hell [the grave] were cast into
+the lake of fire. This is the second death." Rev. 20:9-14.
+
+The second death ends sin and the author of sin, and death itself. The
+controversy is ended. Christ's death has purged sin from the universe of
+God.
+
+
+The Earth Purified and Made New
+
+The fires that consume the wicked melt the earth and purify it from all
+trace of the curse. It is the day of which Peter wrote:
+
+"Wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements
+shall melt with fervent heat." But after this cleansing of every element
+of this sin-cursed earth, the promise of God will be fulfilled in the
+earth made new, as the eternal home of the saved. As Peter says, after
+telling of the day of burning, "Nevertheless we, according to His
+promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth
+righteousness." 2 Peter 3:12, 13.
+
+    "O sweet and blessed country,
+      The home of God's elect!
+    O sweet and blessed country,
+      That eager hearts expect!
+    Jesus, in mercy bring us
+      To that dear land of rest;
+    Who art, with God the Father,
+      And Spirit, ever blest."
+
+[Illustration: MOSES VIEWING THE PROMISED LAND
+
+"Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth." Matt. 5:5.]
+
+[Illustration: THE SPIES' RETURN
+
+"The land, which we passed through to search it, is an exceeding good
+land." Num. 14:7.]
+
+
+
+
+THE HOME OF THE SAVED
+
+
+The Land of Peace
+
+The Bible opens with a new heaven and a new earth, perfect from the
+Creator's hand; with man sinless and having access to the tree of life
+in the midst of the Eden paradise, out of which flowed a river that
+spread its life-giving waters through the earth.
+
+The Bible closes with a new heaven and a new earth; with man upright and
+sinless, having right to the tree of life growing in the midst of Eden;
+with the river of life flowing out from the garden of God, clear as
+crystal.
+
+Between the two scenes spreads out the panorama of six thousand years of
+conflict with sin. It is a story of the fall of man, of the loss of his
+Eden home, of the curse that marred the earth, of sin and sorrow and
+death overspreading all.
+
+
+The Restorer
+
+But from the hour when the shadow of sin fell upon the earth, there has
+been a light shining in the darkness. Amid the ruin that sin had
+wrought, there appeared the great Restorer.
+
+The inspired record gives a word-picture of Jesus taking man's place to
+win back the lost dominion:
+
+"Unto the angels hath He not put in subjection the world to come,
+whereof we speak. But one in a certain place testified, saying, What is
+man, that Thou art mindful of him? or the son of man, that Thou visitest
+him? Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; Thou crownedst him
+with glory and honor, and didst set him over the works of Thy hands:
+Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that He
+put all in subjection under Him, He left nothing that is not put under
+Him. But now we see not yet all things put under him. But we see Jesus."
+Heb. 2:5-9.
+
+Just where Adam fell and lost his dominion over the earth, we see Jesus,
+the second Adam, taking man's place and winning back the lost
+inheritance. That is why the picture of the new earth and man's sinless
+state depicted in the first two chapters of the Bible is repeated in the
+last two chapters with even greater fulness of glory. God's original
+plan and purpose will be carried out, and this earth, renewed, will be
+the eternal home of sinless men and women, redeemed by grace.
+
+Sin will be found not to have frustrated, but only to have delayed, the
+purpose of God. And what is six thousand years in working out the divine
+plan? In our brief span we may divide human history into ancient,
+medieval, and modern; but in heaven's life a thousand years are but as
+"a watch in the night;" and these six watches are to heaven but as one
+night of grief and of loving ministry in rescuing the lost.
+
+It has cost all that heaven had to give. But the infinite Gift was made,
+and all heaven has wrought at the work. Of the angels it is written,
+"Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them
+who shall be heirs of salvation?" Heb. 1:14.
+
+
+Bringing Back the Lost Dominion
+
+Of all the worlds that shine in the heavens, declaring the glory of God,
+this earth is the one that was lost. Its light went out in darkness. It
+wandered from the fold of God's perfect creation.
+
+Then the divine Shepherd came to find it and bring it back. And the
+angels that rejoiced when they saw this earth created,--"when the
+morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for
+joy,"--will again rejoice as the Lord brings back His own,--this earth,
+redeemed from the curse, shining in the bright universe again with the
+perfection of the glory of God.
+
+Christ not only redeems lost men, but He is to redeem this lost earth.
+"The Son of man," He said, "is come to seek and to save that which was
+lost." Luke 19:10.
+
+By sinning, man lost not only his righteousness and his life, but his
+dominion as well. Originally man had dominion "over all the earth." Gen.
+1:26. As the psalmist says, "Thou madest him to have dominion over the
+works of Thy hands." Ps. 8:6. He was prince and ruler of the earth. But
+when he yielded to Satan's temptation, he yielded up that dominion to
+the enemy, thus placing himself in the power of his foe. Satan thus
+became the "prince of this world," exercising the dominion wrested from
+man.
+
+But through Christ, this dominion is to be restored. The prophet of old
+said:
+
+"Thou, O tower of the flock, the stronghold of the daughter of Zion,
+unto thee shall it come, even the first dominion; the kingdom shall come
+to the daughter of Jerusalem." Micah 4:8.
+
+
+The Hope of the Promise
+
+The promise of the gospel of salvation is the promise not only of life
+eternal through faith, but of an eternal inheritance in the earth made
+new, the fulfilment of the Creator's plan when He made this world to be
+the home of man. This was the star of hope that shone before Adam and
+Eve as they stepped forth from Eden into a dying world. It was the
+promise to Abraham, "the promise, that he should be the heir of the
+world." Rom. 4:13.
+
+It was not the promise of the world in its present state. For the Lord
+gave Abraham "none inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot
+on." Acts 7:5. Abraham himself did not look for the promise to be
+fulfilled in this sinful earth, but in the earth made new, redeemed from
+sin. The Scripture says of his hope:
+
+"By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country:
+... for he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and
+maker is God." Heb. 11:9, 10.
+
+It was in the new earth and the New Jerusalem that Abraham, the father
+of the faithful, expected to receive the eternal inheritance promised to
+him and to his seed. And there all the faithful will find their
+inheritance.
+
+"If ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to
+the promise." Gal. 3:29.
+
+The psalmist said, "The meek shall inherit the earth." Ps. 37:11. Christ
+repeated it: "Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth."
+Matt. 5:5.
+
+
+The New Earth and the New Jerusalem
+
+Through the prophet Isaiah the Lord described the re-creation of this
+earth to be the home of the saved:
+
+"Behold, I create a new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall
+not be remembered, nor come into mind. But be ye glad and rejoice
+forever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a
+rejoicing, and her people a joy. And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and
+joy in My people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in
+her, nor the voice of crying." Isa. 65:17-19.
+
+It is not of old Jerusalem that the prophet is speaking, but of the New
+Jerusalem, which John saw coming down, with the saints, from God out of
+heaven. He saw it descending upon the earth at the end of the thousand
+years, and saw the wicked come forth from their graves to judgment. Then
+he saw the fires of the last day falling upon the lost, consuming sin
+and sinners, and purifying the earth itself from every trace of the
+curse. It is the day of which Peter wrote, "Wherein the heavens being on
+fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat."
+But he adds, "Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new
+heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness." 2 Peter 3:12,
+13.
+
+Out from the dissolved elements of the earth and the atmospheric heavens
+the Creator's power again calls forth new heavens and a new earth, the
+old creation cleansed and renewed in the perfection of the original Eden
+paradise. It is coming; for John saw it in vision. "I saw," he says, "a
+new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth
+were passed away." Rev. 21:1.
+
+He saw the city which had come down from heaven--those mansions that
+Christ is now gone to prepare--the New Jerusalem, the holy capital of
+the eternal kingdom of the saints, where Christ's own throne is set.
+
+"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. 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. 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." Rev. 21:3-5.
+
+It passes comprehension; but it is true. And the life of the saved in
+their eternal inheritance will be just as real as is life upon this
+present earth.
+
+[Illustration: THE SAINTS' ETERNAL HOME
+
+"I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first
+earth were passed away." Rev. 21:1.]
+
+"They shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant
+vineyards, and eat the fruit of them." "The wolf and the lamb shall feed
+together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall
+be the serpent's meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy
+mountain, saith the Lord." Isa. 65:21, 25.
+
+The whole earth will be as the Eden paradise planted by God in the
+beginning. And from week to week and from month to month the saved will
+gather to worship before the glorious throne in the holy city.
+
+"As the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain
+before Me, saith the Lord, so shall your seed and your name remain. And
+it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one
+Sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before Me, saith the
+Lord." Isa. 66:22, 23.
+
+
+The Glories of the Saints' Eternal Home
+
+As the first two chapters of the Bible tell of earth's original
+perfection, so the last two chapters constitute one psalm of ecstasy
+over the indescribable glories of the earth made new, with its city of
+light, the walls of jasper, the gates of pearl, the river of life
+flowing from the throne of the Lamb, clear as crystal, with the
+widespreading tree of life on either side of the river. And supreme
+above all, Jesus Himself, "the King in His beauty," without whom there
+would be no glory even in that city foursquare; "for the glory of God
+did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof."
+
+    "Oh, heaven without my Saviour
+      Would be no heaven to me;
+    Dim were the walls of jasper,
+      Rayless the crystal sea!
+
+    "He gilds earth's darkest valleys
+      With light and joy and peace;
+    Then what must be the radiance
+      Where sin and death shall cease?"
+
+Next to the loveliness and grace of Christ our Saviour, the glories of
+this world to come have inspired the sweetest hymns of hope for longing
+hearts. How often has the spirit been lifted above earth's trials as we
+have sung,
+
+    "O that home of the soul! in my visions and dreams
+      Its bright, jasper walls I can see
+    Till I fancy but thinly the veil intervenes
+      Between the fair city and me.
+
+    "That unchangeable home is for you and for me,
+      Where Jesus of Nazareth stands;
+    The King of all kingdoms forever is He,
+      And He holdeth our crowns in His hands.
+
+    "O how sweet it will be in that beautiful land,
+      So free from all sorrow and pain,
+    With songs on our lips and with harps in our hands,
+      To meet one another again!"
+
+"But as it is written, 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."
+
+Through the ages, the children of the promise have been journeying
+toward the city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker
+is God, and they have confessed themselves pilgrims and
+strangers in this present world. As they have followed the way of
+righteousness,--oftentimes a thorny path,--it has been with the shining
+city ever before their vision. As they have fallen in death, it has been
+with closing eyes fixed upon "that day" when Christ shall come to take
+His people to the New Jerusalem preparing above
+
+    "The Lamb there in His beauty
+      Without a veil is seen.
+    It were a well-spent journey
+      Though seven deaths lay between."
+
+Now earth's course is nearly run. It is but a little way to the holy
+city, where the water of life flows clear as crystal from the midst of
+the throne. The water of life is really there; for the Lord showed it to
+the prophet John in vision, that he might tell us that he saw it. "I
+John saw the holy city," he says, "and he showed me a pure river of
+water of life, clear as crystal." Rev. 21:2; 22:1.
+
+[Illustration: THE MASTER AT THE DOOR
+
+"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." Rev 3:20.]
+
+Christ invites every one to share the eternal inheritance, giving
+assurance of His power to save to the uttermost all that come unto God
+by Him. He is knocking at the door of every heart, asking admittance, in
+order that He may take away all sin, and prepare the soul for the
+heavenly home.
+
+And the glories of the holy city invite us to come:
+
+"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." Rev. 22:17.
+
+"He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen.
+Even so, come, Lord Jesus."
+
+[Illustration: EVENTIDE
+
+Home to the fold.]
+
+
+
+
+INDEX OF SUBJECTS AND AUTHORITIES
+
+
+Abraham, parable of rich man and Lazarus, 284
+
+"Abridgment of Christian Doctrine," on change of Sabbath, 156
+
+Adolphus, on study of prophecy, 305
+
+Advent message, Bates as advocate of, 244
+
+Advent movement, extent of, Brock on, 241
+
+Advent movement of 1844, 240
+
+Æschylus, on Medo-Persia, 121
+
+Æschylus, on Xerxes' host, 323
+
+Alexander, conquests of, Plutarch on, 121, 122
+
+Alexander, dominion of, Rawlinson on, 324, 325
+
+Alexander, empire of, Appian on, 122
+
+Alexander, first king of Greece, 207
+
+Alexander, greatness of, Arrian on, 44
+
+Alexander, Justin on, 207
+
+Alexander, Lucan on, 45
+
+Alexandra, Queen, on preparations for war, 339
+
+Alexandria, library at, sacred books of Jews in, 187
+
+Angels attending throne of God, 296
+
+Angels, God's messengers, 297
+
+Angels, guardian, 300
+
+Angels in kingly courts, 299
+
+Angels, messengers of deliverance, 300
+
+Angels, their ministry, 295-301
+
+Antitypical day of atonement, 237, 240, 241
+
+Apollonius, description of Babylon by, 33
+
+Apostasy in last days, Daniel 8, 248
+
+Appearing of Christ, 59
+
+Appian, on Alexander's empire, 122
+
+Arian kingdoms plucked up, 129
+
+Arian powers uprooted by Belisarius, 134
+
+Armageddon, "Contemporary Review" on, 339
+
+Armageddon, "Everybody's Magazine" on, 339
+
+Armageddon, final clash of empires, 337-349
+
+Armageddon, foretold in prophecy, 346, 347
+
+Armageddon, Lord Rosebery on, 339
+
+Armageddon, or Mt. Megiddo, Carmack, on 344
+
+Armageddon, prelude to, 343
+
+Armageddon, sequel of, 347, 348
+
+Arming of the nations, 106, 107
+
+Arrian, on Alexander's greatness, 44
+
+Artaxerxes, date of decree to rebuild Jerusalem, 223
+
+Artaxerxes, date of reign of, 225-227
+
+"Astronomy," Chambers, on falling stars, 101
+
+Atonement, antitypical day of, 237, 240, 241
+
+Avebury, Lord, on war, 112
+
+
+Babylon, description of, by Apollonius, 33, 34
+
+Babylon, desolation of, 31-35
+
+Babylon, desolation of, Layard on, 35
+
+Babylon, "Encyclopedia of Islam" on, 35
+
+Babylon in prophecy and history, 119, 120
+
+Babylon, prophecy concerning, 39-41
+
+Babylon, prophecy of, confirmed by history, 41-43
+
+Babylon, Strabo on, 34
+
+Bacon, Francis, on increase of knowledge, 306, 307
+
+Ball, Sir Robert, on falling stars, 100
+
+Bampfield, died in prison for Sabbath keeping, 179
+
+Baptism, conditions necessary to, 199, 200
+
+Baptism for believers, 200
+
+Baptism, form of, 200-203
+
+Baptism, manner of, Dean Stanley on, 202
+
+Baptism, manner of, Neander on, 201
+
+Baptism, manner of, Pullus on, 202
+
+"Baptism," meaning of word, Calvin on, 201
+
+"Baptism," meaning of word, Luther on, 201
+
+Baptism, memorial of resurrection, 199-203
+
+Baptism of infants, Dean Stanley on, 202
+
+Baptism of Jesus, time of, 230, 231
+
+Baptists, Sabbatarian, 179
+
+Baptists, Seventh Day, in America, 179, 180
+
+Barnes, Dr. Albert, on division of Grecia, 122
+
+Bates, as a Sabbath keeper, 244
+
+Baudrillart, on papal persecution, 151
+
+Beast, the fourth, of Daniel 7, 126-129
+
+Beasts, empires represented by, 118
+
+Belisarius, Arian powers uprooted by, 134
+
+Bellarmine, on great words of little horn, 147
+
+Bemont and Monod, "Medieval Europe", 137
+
+Bengelius, on judgment-hour warning, 249
+
+Berosus, on exploits of Nebuchadnezzar, 120
+
+Berthier enters Rome, Rickaby on, 141
+
+Besant, Mrs. Annie, on spiritualism of the East, 273
+
+Bible, agency in the new birth, 15, 17
+
+Bible and tradition, 251, 252
+
+Bible, Christ the central theme of, 23
+
+Bible, Dr. Harris on, 20, 21
+
+Bible, Erasmus on, 21
+
+Bible for all mankind, 21
+
+Bible, given to the world, Faber on, 308
+
+Bible, God its author, 14
+
+Bible, language of, Van Dyke on, 21, 22
+
+Bible, our safety and defense, 18
+
+Bible societies, organization of, 308
+
+Bible, source of all doctrine, 20
+
+Bible, speaks to our day, 13
+
+Bible, Spurgeon on authorship of, 14
+
+Bible, Spurgeon's experience with, 14
+
+Bible, the book that talks, 13
+
+Bible, the bread of life, 18
+
+Bible, the Christian's shield, 18
+
+Bible, the living word, 15
+
+Bible, the word that creates, 15
+
+Bible, the word that works within, 17
+
+Biddolf, on lessons from Lisbon earthquake, 82
+
+Bishop of Rome as head of church, Justinian on, 133
+
+Blunt, on doom of Turks, 333
+
+Bogue, on persecution for Sabbath keeping, 178, 179
+
+Bonar's hymn, on state of dead, 282
+
+Bower, on Sabbath observance, 174
+
+Bread of life, Bible as the, 18
+
+Brerewood, on Sabbath in first centuries, 173
+
+Britten, Mrs. Emma, on Spiritualism, 269
+
+Brock, on extent of the advent movement, 241
+
+Bruce, on desolation of Tyre, 31
+
+Bury, on achievements of Justinian, 132
+
+
+Calamy, on Bampfield as a Sabbatarian, 179
+
+Calvin, on meaning of word "baptism", 201
+
+Canon, Ptolemy's, Lindsay on, 225
+
+Carmack, on Armageddon, or Mt. Megiddo, 344
+
+Chambers, Dr., on Sabbath in England, 177
+
+Chambers, on falling stars, 101
+
+Change of Sabbath, 153-167
+
+Charles I, on Sabbath observance, 177
+
+China open to the gospel, 309
+
+Christ and Satan, controversy between, 257-263
+
+Christ, central theme of Bible, 23
+
+Christ, closing work of, in heaven, 216
+
+Christ, death of, 231
+
+Christ, glorious appearing of, 59
+
+Christ, lost dominion redeemed by, 363
+
+Christ, second coming of, 51-63, 352
+
+Christ, the restorer, 362
+
+Christian work of Countess of Huntingdon, 63
+
+Christs, false, 74
+
+"Church Missionary Review," on war a sign of end, 343
+
+Clarke, Dr. Adam, on "living soul", 283
+
+Cleansing of the sanctuary, 211, 213-217
+
+Clerke, on glory of falling stars, 101, 102
+
+Clerke, on star shower of 1833, 94, 95
+
+Coming of Christ at the door, 115
+
+Coming of Christ, beginning of signs of, 75-77
+
+Coming of Christ, love of pleasure a sign of, 109
+
+Coming of Christ, manner of, 53-55
+
+Coming of Christ, political unrest a sign of, 106
+
+Coming of Christ, prelude to, 59
+
+Coming of Christ, promise of, 52
+
+Coming of Christ, purpose of, 56, 57
+
+Coming of Christ, signs of, 74, 75
+
+Coming of Christ, signs of, in industrial world, 110
+
+Coming of Christ, signs of, in Matthew 24, 65, 66, 112, 113
+
+Coming of Christ, signs of, in the social world, 109
+
+Coming of Christ, signs of, upon the earth, 105
+
+Coming of Christ, the Saviour's prophecy of, 65-77
+
+Coming of Christ, to be as in days of Noah, 109
+
+Coming of Christ, world evangelization a sign of, 112
+
+Commandments, the ten, 182
+
+Comte, M., on passion for pleasure, 10
+
+Connecticut Legislature, Dark Day in, 90
+
+Conroy, on temporal sovereignty of popes, 129
+
+Constantine, Sunday law of, 16
+
+"Contemporary Review," on Armageddon, 339
+
+"Contemporary Review," on awakening of East, 344
+
+Controversy between Christ and Satan, 257
+
+Controversy, earth the battle-ground of, 259
+
+Conybeare and Howson, on the Sabbath, 165
+
+Cottrell, R.F., poem by, 171
+
+Countess of Huntingdon, Christian work of, 63
+
+Covenant, confirming of the, 231
+
+Creative power of the Word, 15
+
+Croly, on Justinian as founder of papal supremacy, 133
+
+Cuneiform writing, 312
+
+Cyrus, conquests of, Rawlinson on, 121
+
+Cyrus, Xenophon on, 206
+
+Dale, on non-sacredness of Sunday, 166
+
+Daniel, book of, unsealed, 304
+
+Daniel 2, prophecy of, 39-49
+
+Daniel 7, prophecy of, 117-129
+
+Daniel 8, prophecy of, 205-211
+
+Daniel, prophecy of 1260 years, 131, 132
+
+Daniel, vision of great beasts, 118
+
+Dark Day, Boston "Gazette" on, 88
+
+Dark Day, cause of unknown, 87
+
+Dark Day, contemporary records of, 88, 89
+
+Dark Day, Dr. Samuel Stearns on, 89, 90
+
+Dark Day, effect on Connecticut Legislature, 90
+
+Dark Day, "Independent Chronicle" on, 88, 89
+
+Dark Day in New England, Williams on, 86
+
+Dark Day, prophecy of, fulfilled, 85
+
+Dark Day, Timothy Dwight on, 90
+
+Dark Day, Webster on, 87
+
+Dark Day, Whittier on, 86, 87, 90, 91
+
+Darkening of the sun, 85
+
+Dead, not agencies of Spiritualism, 271
+
+Dead, sleep of, 280-282
+
+Dead, righteous, raised to life, 60
+
+Death, man's state in, 275, 280-282
+
+Delaire, Mme. Jean, on Theosophy and Spiritualism, 272, 273
+
+Desolation of Babylon, 31
+
+Destruction of the wicked, 61, 353
+
+"Dictionary of Christian Antiquities," on Change of Sabbath, 166
+
+Discontent, F.T. Martin on growth of, 112
+
+Doctrinal Catechism, on change of Sabbath, 156
+
+Doctrinal Catechism, on power of church, 252
+
+Doctrine, Bible the source of, 20
+
+Dominion, bring back the lost, 363
+
+Dream of Nebuchadnezzar, 39, 40
+
+Dwight, on Dark Day, 90
+
+
+Earth, cleansed and renewed, 364-367
+
+Earth, purified, 359
+
+East, awakening of, 344
+
+East, "Nineteenth Century and After," on new spirit in, 344
+
+Eastern Question, Jerusalem heart of, Finn on, 346
+
+Eastern Question, Maspero on, 322
+
+Eastern Question, relation to end of world, 334
+
+Eastern Question, the, 321-335
+
+Eighteen forty-four, Advent movement in, 240-244
+
+Elliott, on great words of little horn, 147
+
+Elven, Cornelius, poem by, 335
+
+Empires, four great universal, 117-129
+
+Encyclopedia Britannica, on Palestine as battle field, 325, 326
+
+Encyclopedia of Islam, on Babylon, 35
+
+End of the wicked, 287-293
+
+End, time of the, 303-317
+
+Erasmus, on the Bible, 21
+
+Eternal fire, 292, 293
+
+Euphrates dried up, 332
+
+Europe, kingdoms of modern, 46-48
+
+Everlasting fire, 292
+
+Everlasting punishment, 289-293
+
+"Everybody's Magazine," on Armageddon, 339
+
+Evil, origin of, 257-263
+
+Executive judgment, 261-263
+
+
+Faber, G.S., on Bible given to the world, 308
+
+Faith, justification by, 191-197
+
+Falling stars, 93
+
+Falling stars, sign to world, 99
+
+False Christs, 74
+
+Farrar, on prophecy fulfilled, 35, 36
+
+Ferraris, on titles assumed by Pope, 149
+
+Fig tree, parable of, 115
+
+Finlay, on beginning of history of Middle Ages, 134, 135
+
+Finlay, on rapid changes in sixth century, 132
+
+Fire, everlasting, 292, 293
+
+Fire, lake of, 290
+
+Fire, unquenchable, 292, 293
+
+First angel's message, 239
+
+First day rest, 164-166
+
+Firth, on fall of Ottoman power, 343
+
+Flammarion, on density of star shower, 95
+
+"Forever and ever," meaning of, 291, 292
+
+"Fortnightly Review," on Turkey's position, 333, 334
+
+Fox family, origin of modern Spiritualism, 269
+
+France, decree of, to abolish religion, 140
+
+French Revolution, Lamartine on, 140
+
+French Revolution, significant events of, 140
+
+
+"Gazette and Country Journal" on dark day, 88
+
+Gehenna, a valley near Jerusalem, 293
+
+Gentiles, gospel carried to, 234, 235
+
+Gibbon, on power of Rome, 46
+
+Gibbon, on Roman Empire, 209
+
+Gibbon, on site of Nineveh, 29
+
+Gibbon, on struggle for Italy, 134
+
+God's challenge to false religious systems, 25
+
+Goldastus, on Sabbath keepers in Alpine valleys, 175
+
+Gospel, agencies for work of, 311
+
+Gospel, China, opened to the, 309
+
+Gospel, doors open to, in all world, 309
+
+Gospel for our day, the, 247, 248
+
+Gospel message, solemn warning in, 248, 249
+
+Gospel, open doors for, Dr. Pierson on, 310
+
+Gospel, printing press an agency of, 318
+
+Gospel, telegraph used in carrying, 318
+
+Gospel, the everlasting, 248
+
+Gospel to the Gentiles, 234, 235
+
+Goths, defeat of, 134
+
+Great controversy, earth the battle ground of, 259
+
+Grecia, Alexander first king of, 207
+
+Grecia, conquests of, under Alexander, 121, 122
+
+Grecia, division of, Dr. Albert Barnes on, 122
+
+Grecia, prophecy and history of, 206, 207, 121, 324
+
+Grecia, prophecy concerning, in Daniel, 244
+
+Greece, division of, 208
+
+Greeley, Spiritualism tested by, 269
+
+Grey, Sir Edward, on Satanic agencies, 342
+
+Guardian angels, 300
+
+Gutenberg's first types, 314
+
+
+Hales, on authenticity of Ptolemy's canon, 225
+
+Harris, on the Bible, 20-21
+
+Hastings, on Valley of Hinnom, 293
+
+"Hearst's Magazine," on growth of discontent, 112
+
+Heresies, papal order against, 150
+
+Herodotus, on doctrine of immortality, 291
+
+Herodotus, on Pythius, the Lydian, 323
+
+Hieroglyphics, the "Ox Song", 312
+
+Hinnom, Valley of, 293
+
+Hippolytus, on power of Rome, 46
+
+Hippolytus, on prophecy of Rome fulfilled, 126
+
+Hiscox, on change of Sabbath, 166, 167
+
+Hiscox, on Sunday mark of paganism, 170
+
+History, prophecy confirmed by, 35-37
+
+Hobbs, Professor, on Lisbon earthquake, 79
+
+Holtzman, on Bible and tradition, 252
+
+Home of the saved, 361-370
+
+Horace, ode on Rome, 47
+
+Horace, on might of Rome, 208
+
+Hughes, on Jerusalem's part in closing history, 328
+
+Huguenots, persecution of, Kurtz on, 76
+
+Humboldt, on other displays of falling stars, 99
+
+Humphreys, on appearance of falling stars, 96
+
+Hutton, on abolition of religion in France, 140
+
+Hymn on state of dead, by Horatius Bonar, 282
+
+
+Image of Daniel 2, 118
+
+Image to the Papacy, 251
+
+Immortality, doctrine of, 291
+
+Immortality, doctrine of, Herodotus on, 291
+
+Immortality, God only has, 282
+
+Immortality of the soul, 275-285
+
+Immortality, the gift of God, 275, 282
+
+Immortality, when bestowed, 279
+
+Increase of knowledge, 306-317
+
+"Independent Chronicle," on Dark Day, 88, 89
+
+Infant baptism, Dean Stanley on, 202
+
+Ising, visit of, to site of Nebuchadnezzar's palace, 35
+
+Italy, struggle for, Gibbon on, 134
+
+
+Jerusalem, Artaxerxes' decree to rebuild, 223-225
+
+Jerusalem, date of decree to restore, 223
+
+Jerusalem, destruction of temple at, 70
+
+Jerusalem, headquarters of king of the North, 328
+
+Jerusalem, heart of Eastern Question, Finn on, 346
+
+Jerusalem, last days of, 66
+
+Jerusalem, last gathering place, Mukaddasi on, 328
+
+Jerusalem, Moslems turn toward, 330
+
+Jerusalem, part of, in closing history, Hughes on, 328
+
+Jerusalem, signs of approaching doom of, 67-69
+
+Jessup on falling stars, 100
+
+Jesus, the restorer, 362
+
+Jesus, time of baptism of, 230
+
+Jews, fanaticism of, Ridpath on, 67
+
+Joseph, prophecy fulfilled to, 26
+
+Josephus, on destruction of temple, 70
+
+Judgment, Christ's work in sanctuary, 216, 217
+
+Judgment hour, many witnesses proclaim, 240, 241
+
+Judgment-hour message, 247-255
+
+Judgment-hour message, a call to loyalty, 249
+
+Judgment-hour message, John Wesley on, 249
+
+Judgment-hour warning, Bengelius on, 249
+
+Judgment, law of God the standard in, 189
+
+Judgment, message of, in 1844, 239
+
+Judgment, the hour of God's, 237
+
+Judgment, time of the investigative, 235-237
+
+Judgment upon Satan, 261-263
+
+Jurieu, on fall of the Papacy, 140, 141
+
+Justification and righteousness, 195
+
+Justification by faith, 191
+
+Justification not by works, 192
+
+Justification, what it is, 196, 197
+
+Justinian, achievements of, Bury on, 132
+
+Justinian as source of papal power, Croly on, 133
+
+Justinian, decree of, in A.D. 533, 133
+
+Justin, on Alexander, 207
+
+
+Keyser, on Sabbath keeping in Norway, 175
+
+Killen, on change of Sabbath, 169
+
+Kingdom of God, when to be set up, 48
+
+Kingdoms of modern Europe, 46
+
+King of the North, the modern, 326
+
+King of the North, removal of, to Jerusalem, 328
+
+Kings of the North and South, 325
+
+Knowledge, increase of, 306
+
+Knowledge, increase of, Francis Bacon on, 306, 307
+
+Knowledge, increase of, Lorimer on, 307
+
+Kurtz, on persecution of Huguenots, 76
+
+
+Lake of fire, the, 290
+
+Lamartine, on French Revolution, 140
+
+Langley, on falling stars, 101
+
+Lang, on Sabbath in Scotland, 174
+
+Laodicea, Council of, on Sabbath keeping, 173, 174
+
+Lawgiver, only one, 188
+
+Law of God changed by Papacy, Melanchthon on, 154
+
+Law of God, character of, 183
+
+Law of God, existed from the beginning, 184, 185
+
+Law of God, given anew at Sinai, 186
+
+Law of God, given with his own voice, 187
+
+Law of God, office of, 183, 184
+
+Law of God, relation of, to justification, 191, 193
+
+Law of God, standard in the judgment, 189
+
+Law of God, standard of righteousness, 188
+
+Law of God, the, 182-189
+
+Law of God unchangeable, 153
+
+Layard, on the desolation of Babylon, 35
+
+Lazarus, parable of rich man and, 284, 285
+
+Lecky, on papal persecution, 150
+
+Leo XIII, encyclical letter of, 149
+
+Leonard, Dr., on missionary activity, 307
+
+"Library of Christian Doctrine," on change of Sabbath, 154, 155
+
+Life only in Christ, 275-285
+
+Lindsay, on Ptolemy's Canon, 225
+
+Lisbon earthquake, extent of, 81
+
+Lisbon earthquake, James Parton on, 80
+
+Lisbon earthquake, lessons from, John Biddolf on, 82
+
+Lisbon earthquake, Professor Hobbs on, 79
+
+Lisbon earthquake recognized as a sign, 82
+
+Lisbon earthquake, Voltaire on, 80
+
+Lisbon earthquake, world set to thinking by, 80
+
+Little horn, 208
+
+Little horn and fourth kingdom, 126, 127
+
+Little horn, great words of, Bellarmine on, 147
+
+Little horn, great words of, Elliott on, 147
+
+Little horn in prophecy and history, 127
+
+Little horn, period of supremacy of, 145
+
+Little horn, time of rise of, 145
+
+Little horn, work of, 145-147
+
+Lorimer, on increase of knowledge, 307
+
+Lucan, on Alexander, 45
+
+Lucan, on greatness of Rome, 209
+
+Lucifer, the light-bearer, 258
+
+Luther, on meaning of word "baptism", 201
+
+Luther, on use of printing art, 318
+
+
+MacFarlane, on approaching end of Turks, 333
+
+Mahaffy, on kingdoms of north and south, 325
+
+Man, nature of, and state in death, 275-285
+
+Manner of Christ's coming, 53
+
+Manning, Cardinal, on power of Rome, 125
+
+Mark, or sign, of papal authority, 251-253
+
+Mark, or sign, use of, Potter on, 250
+
+Martin, on growth of discontent, 112
+
+Maspero, on Eastern Question, 322
+
+Matthew 24, prophecy of, 65-77
+
+Mears, Dr., on conditions after Christ, 67
+
+"Medieval Europe," Bemont and Monod, 137
+
+Medo-Persia, Æschylus on, 121
+
+Medo-Persia in prophecy and history, 120, 121, 206
+
+Medo-Persia, prophecy of, Daniel 2, 43, 44
+
+Megiddo, or Armageddon, Carmack on, 344
+
+Melanchthon, on change of law by Papacy, 154
+
+Message of the judgment hour, 247-255
+
+Messengers of deliverance, angels as, 300
+
+Messiah, covenant confirmed by, 231-235
+
+Messiah, time of baptism of, 230
+
+Michael, standing up of, 327
+
+Middle Ages, beginning of history of, Finlay on, 134, 135
+
+Millennium, beginning of, 351, 352
+
+Millennium, diagram of, 350
+
+Millennium, events at beginning of, 352
+
+Millennium, events at end of, 356
+
+Millennium, events in heaven during, 354
+
+Millennium, events on earth during, 355
+
+Millennium, the, 351-359
+
+Milner, on falling stars, 94
+
+Milton, on Sabbath observance, 177, 178
+
+Missionary activity, Dr. Leonard on, 307
+
+Missionary developments of century, 113
+
+Missionary movement, a sign of Christ's coming, 112
+
+Missionary movement, increased activity of, 113
+
+Missions, open doors for, 309
+
+Missions, Pierson on open doors for, 310
+
+Monarchies, the four universal, 118
+
+Monod, Bemont and, "Medieval Europe", 137
+
+Mortal, the natural state of man, 276
+
+Mortality, universal, 277
+
+Moslems, Jerusalem as capital for, 330
+
+Motley, on persecution in Netherlands, 150
+
+Mukaddasi, on Jerusalem as last gathering place of nations, 328
+
+Myers, on history of Greece, 208
+
+
+Nations, anger of, 107
+
+Neander, on first-day collections, 166
+
+Neander, on manner of baptism, 201
+
+Nebuchadnezzar, dream of, 39-41
+
+Nebuchadnezzar, exploits of, Berosus on, 120
+
+Nebuchadnezzar, palace of, Ising on, 35
+
+Nebuchadnezzar, stone records of, 43
+
+Necromancy, divine warnings against, 267
+
+Netherlands, persecution in, Motley on, 150
+
+New birth, Bible an agency of, 15
+
+Newcomb, on falling stars, 95
+
+New earth, the, 364-370
+
+New Jerusalem, descent of, 356
+
+New Jerusalem, the, 364-367
+
+Newman, Cardinal, on rites borrowed from paganism, 169
+
+Newton, Sir Isaac, on prophetic study, 304, 305
+
+"Nineteenth Century and After," on new spirit in East, 344
+
+"Nineteenth Century and After," on preparation for war, 339, 341
+
+Nineveh, Rawlinson on, 27
+
+Nineveh, site of, Gibbon on, 29
+
+Nineveh, the witness of, 27
+
+
+Olmsted, on brilliancy of falling stars, 97
+
+Olmsted, on shooting stars, 95
+
+Origin of evil, 257-263
+
+Ottoman empire, 326
+
+Ottoman power, fall of, Firth on, 343
+
+Our day, gospel for, 247
+
+
+Paganism, rites borrowed from, Cardinal Newman on 169
+
+Palestine as battle field, Encyclopedia Britannica on, 325, 326
+
+Palestine as great center, "Fortnightly Review" on, 345
+
+Palestine, as political storm center, 345
+
+Palestine, as religious storm center, "Spectator" on, 345
+
+Papacy, a persecuting power, 137
+
+Papacy, change of times and laws by, 153
+
+Papacy, claims of, 155, 156
+
+Papacy, counterpart of little horn, 145, 147
+
+Papacy, end of supremacy of, 139
+
+Papacy, extinction of, Canon Trevor on, 141, 142
+
+Papacy, fall of, Jurieu on, 140, 141
+
+Papacy, France strikes against, 140
+
+Papacy, great words of, Elliott on, 147
+
+Papacy, image to the, 251
+
+Papacy, law changed by, Melanchthon on, 154
+
+Papacy, orders of, to destroy heresy, 150
+
+Papacy, persecution by, Lecky on, 150
+
+Papacy plucked up Arian kingdoms, 129
+
+Papacy, power of, Leo XIII on, 149
+
+Papacy shall wear out saints, 149
+
+Papacy, sign of authority of, 156
+
+Papacy, supremacy of, 129
+
+Papacy, supremacy of acknowledged, 132, 133
+
+Papacy, time of its supremacy, 131, 132
+
+Papal authority, mark of, 251
+
+Papal claims in encyclical letter of Leo XIII, 149
+
+Papal persecution, Baudrillart on, 151
+
+Papal persecution, Lecky on, 150
+
+Papal persecutions, "Western Watchman" on, 151
+
+Papal power, Sunday the mark of, 252
+
+Papal power, work of the, 250
+
+Papal supremacy, beginning of, 132
+
+Papal supremacy, end of, 139
+
+Papal supremacy officially recognized, 133
+
+Parable of the fig tree, 115
+
+Parable of the rich man and Lazarus, 284, 285
+
+Parable of the ten virgins, 348, 349
+
+Parton, on Lisbon earthquake, 80
+
+Peace and safety, 107
+
+Peace prophecies, 338
+
+Persecution after Christ's death, 235
+
+Persecution for Sabbath observance, 178
+
+Persecution in Netherlands, Motley on, 150
+
+Persecution in time of the end 73
+
+Persecution, papal, Baudrillart, on 151
+
+Persecution, papal, Lecky on 150
+
+Persecution, signs of end follow, 73-75
+
+Persecution under Papacy, 149-153
+
+Persecutions, papal, "Western Watchman" on, 151
+
+Persia, rise and fall of, 322-324
+
+Phalerius, king urged by, to secure Jewish sacred books, 187, 188
+
+Pierson, Dr., on open doors for gospel, 310
+
+"Plain Talks," on Sunday observance, 251
+
+Pleasure, passion for, M. Comte on, 109
+
+Pleasure, passion for, sign of Christ's coming, 109
+
+Plutarch, on Alexander, 45
+
+Plutarch, on Alexander's conquests, 121, 122
+
+Political unrest, 106, 107
+
+Polybius, on dominion of Rome, 208
+
+Pope Gregory, on Sabbath observance, 174
+
+Pope Innocent II, orders of, to destroy heresies, 150
+
+Pope Leo XIII, encyclical letter of, 149
+
+Pope Leo XIII, on power of Papacy, 149
+
+Pope taken prisoner, Joseph Rickaby on, 141
+
+Pope, titles assumed by, Ferraris on, 149
+
+Pope Vigilius, date of reign of, Schaff on, 137
+
+Popes, a new order of, 135
+
+Popes declared saints, 137
+
+Popes no longer declared saints, 137
+
+Popes, temporal power of, Conroy on, 129
+
+Potter, on use of a mark, or sign, 250
+
+Present-day conditions, meaning of, 105-115
+
+Press, the Mighty (poem), 317
+
+Pride, cause of Satan's fall, 258
+
+Prince of Tyre, 258
+
+Printing, Gutenberg's first types, 314
+
+Printing, Luther on art of, 318
+
+Printing press, a gospel agency, 318
+
+Printing press, illustrations of, 315, 316
+
+Printing press, the mighty, 317
+
+Prophecies of Christ's coming, 52
+
+Prophecy, Armageddon foretold in, 346, 347
+
+Prophecy concerning Babylon, 31-33, 40
+
+Prophecy fulfilled, Farrar on, 36
+
+Prophecy fulfilled to Joseph, 26
+
+Prophecy fulfilling, Marquis of Salisbury on, 338
+
+Prophecy of Daniel 7, 117-129
+
+Prophecy of Daniel 8, 205-211
+
+Prophecy of Daniel unsealed, 304
+
+Prophecy, of increase of knowledge, 306
+
+Prophecy of Matthew 24, 65-77
+
+Prophecy of the judgment, Revelation 14, 239
+
+Prophecy of Tyre, 30, 31
+
+Prophecy of 2300 years fulfilled, 229-237
+
+Prophecy, study of, John Adolphus on, 305
+
+Prophecy, the sure word of, 25
+
+Prophecy, witness of the centuries to, 25-37
+
+Prophetic outline of world's history, 39-49
+
+Prophetic period, a great, 219-227
+
+Prophetic study, Sir Isaac Newton on, 304, 305
+
+Prophetic word, testimony of history to, 35-37
+
+Protestants, persecution of, the "Western Watchman" on, 151
+
+Ptolemy's canon, authenticity of, Hales on, 225
+
+Ptolemy's canon, Lindsay on, 225
+
+Pullus, on manner of baptism, 202
+
+Punishment, everlasting, 289, 292
+
+Purification of the earth, 359
+
+Pythius, the Lydian, Herodotus on, 323
+
+
+Railroads, construction of, Wallace on, 313
+
+Rawlinson, on Alexander's dominion, 324, 325
+
+Rawlinson, on Cyrus's conquests, 121
+
+Rawlinson, on division of Alexander's kingdom, 122
+
+Rawlinson, on Nineveh, 27
+
+Reformation a progressive work, 255
+
+Religion, abolition of, by French, Hutton on, 140
+
+Resurrection, baptism the memorial of, 199
+
+Resurrection of the just, 59, 61, 352
+
+Resurrection of the wicked, 62
+
+Resurrection, the second, Satan freed at, 262
+
+Resurrections, the two, 288, 289
+
+Rich man and Lazarus, parable of, 284, 285
+
+Rickaby, on Berthier entering Rome, 141
+
+Ridpath, on fanaticism of Jews, 67
+
+Righteousness and justification, 195-197
+
+Righteousness, God's law the standard of, 188
+
+Righteousness, the gift of Christ, 193, 194
+
+Righteous taken to heaven, 353
+
+Righteous, translation of living, 59-61
+
+Righteous, with Christ a thousand years, 62
+
+Roman Empire divided, 47, 127
+
+Roman Empire, Gibbon on, 209
+
+Roman Papacy, rise of, to supremacy, 129
+
+Romans, power of, Strabo on, 46
+
+Rome, Alexander's plans for conquest of, Plutarch on, 44
+
+Rome, Bishop of, head of church, 133
+
+Rome divided, 48
+
+Rome, dominion of, Polybius on, 208
+
+Rome, greatness of, Lucan on, 209
+
+Rome, in prophecy and history, 123-125, 208
+
+Rome, might of, Horace on, 208
+
+Rome, ode of Horace on, 47
+
+Rome, power of, Cardinal Manning on, 125
+
+Rome, power of, Gibbon on, 46
+
+Rome, power of, Hippolytus on, 46
+
+Rome, prophecy of, in Daniel 2, 45, 46
+
+Rome, prophecy of, fulfilled, 125
+
+Rome, prophecy of, fulfilled, Hippolytus on, 126
+
+Rome, rise of, in West, 44
+
+Rosebery, Lord, on Armageddon, 339
+
+Rosse, astronomical observations by, 100
+
+"Run to and fro," Wright on meaning of, 311
+
+
+Sabbatarian Baptists, 179
+
+Sabbath, and the first day, 164-166
+
+Sabbath, at time of exodus, 160
+
+Sabbath, change of, "Abridgment of the Christian Doctrine" on, 156
+
+Sabbath, change of, "Dictionary of Christian Antiquities" on, 166
+
+Sabbath, change of, Hiscox on, 166, 167
+
+Sabbath, change of, "Library of Christian Doctrine" on, 154, 155
+
+Sabbath, Conybeare and Howson on, 165
+
+Sabbath, example and teaching of Jesus regarding, 162
+
+Sabbath, given at Sinai, 161
+
+Sabbath, how changed, 167
+
+Sabbath in Alpine valleys, Goldastus on, 175
+
+Sabbath in England, Stennet on, 179
+
+Sabbath in Europe, Dr. Chambers on, 177
+
+Sabbath, in time of disciples, 163
+
+Sabbath keepers in Norway, Keyser on, 175
+
+Sabbath keepers in Scotland, Lang on, 174
+
+Sabbath keepers in Scotland, Skene on, 175
+
+Sabbath keeping, action of Council of Laodicea on, 173, 174
+
+Sabbath keeping after New Testament times, 173-181
+
+Sabbath keeping among Moravians, 180
+
+Sabbath keeping, Bampfield died for, 179
+
+Sabbath keeping, persecution for, Bogue on, 178, 179
+
+Sabbath keeping, Roger Williams on, 180
+
+Sabbath, Killen on change of, 169
+
+Sabbath observance, Bower on, 174
+
+Sabbath observance, Brerewood on, 173
+
+Sabbath observance, Charles I on, 177
+
+Sabbath observance, John Milton on, 177, 178
+
+Sabbath observance, Pope Gregory on, 174
+
+Sabbath observance, Sozomen's Ecclesiastical History on, 174
+
+Sabbath, persecution for keeping, 178
+
+Sabbath, seventh-day, record of, 160-164
+
+Sabbath, the sign of God's authority,253
+
+Sabbath, the Bible,159-170
+
+Sabbath, through Israel's history, 162
+
+Saints, eternal home of, 361, 367
+
+Saints, Papacy to wear out, 149
+
+Saints, time of resurrection of, 352
+
+Salisbury, Lord, on policy of helping Turkey, 331
+
+Salisbury, Marquis of, on preparation for war, 342
+
+Salisbury, Marquis of, on prophecy fulfilling, 338
+
+Sanctuary, Christ's ministry in, 216
+
+Sanctuary, cleansing of, 211, 213-217
+
+Santee, L.D., poem by, 103
+
+Satan, binding of, 353
+
+Satan, cause of fall of, 258
+
+Satan, end of reign of, 262
+
+Satan, judgment upon, 261-263
+
+Satan, the loosing of, 356
+
+Satanic agencies at work, 341-343
+
+Satanic agencies, Sir Edward Grey on, 342
+
+Saved, home of the, 361-370
+
+Schaff, on date of Tiberius's reign, 230
+
+Schaff, on Vigilius made Pope, 135
+
+Second coming of Christ, 51-63
+
+Second coming of Christ, see Coming of Christ.
+
+Ségur, on observance of Sunday by Protestants, 251
+
+Seventh-day Adventists, origin of, 243, 244
+
+Seventh-day Baptists in America, 179, 180
+
+Seventh-day Sabbath, Bible record of, 160-164
+
+Seventy weeks, events of, 229
+
+Seventy weeks, starting point of, 221, 222
+
+Signs in the heavens, 74
+
+Signs of Christ's coming, 74-77
+
+Signs of Christ's coming, given in Matthew 24, 65, 66
+
+Signs of Christ's coming, in industrial world, 110
+
+Signs of Christ's coming, in social world, 109
+
+Signs of the end, 65
+
+Signs of the end, signal to watch, 102
+
+Signs of the last days, 73, 74
+
+Signs upon the earth, 74, 105
+
+Sinai, law of God given anew at, 186
+
+Sinai, Sabbath given at, 161
+
+Sin, the end of, 358
+
+Sin, the origin of, 257
+
+Sin, the wages of, 289
+
+Skene, on Sabbath in Scotland, 175
+
+Sleep of the dead, 280-282
+
+Sophocles, on universal mortality, 277, 278
+
+"Soul" and "spirit," Scriptural use of, 283
+
+Soul, immortality of, 275
+
+Soul, living, Dr. Clarke on, 283
+
+Soul, the "living," comments on, 283
+
+Sozomen's Ecclesiastical History, on Sabbath observance, 174
+
+Spangenberg, on Sabbath-keeping Moravians, 180
+
+"Spirit" and "soul," Scriptural use of, 283
+
+Spirit, death declared to have no power over, 269
+
+Spirits, angels as ministering, 295
+
+Spiritualism, ancient and modern, 265-273
+
+Spiritualism and theosophy, Mme. Jean Delaire on, 272, 273
+
+Spiritualism, first declaration of, 265-267
+
+Spiritualism, modern, originated in Fox family, 269
+
+Spiritualism, modern, Prof. Wallace on, 265, 268
+
+Spiritualism of East, taught by Mrs. Besant, 273
+
+Spiritualism, progress of, Mrs. Underhill on, 269
+
+Spiritualism, satanic agencies of, 271
+
+Spiritualism tested by Greeley, 269
+
+Spiritualism, the climax of deception, 272
+
+Spiritualism, the dead not agencies of, 271
+
+Spiritualism, warnings against, 267
+
+Spurgeon, on authorship of Bible, 14
+
+Spurgeon's experience with Bible, 14
+
+Stanley, Dean, on baptism of infants, 202
+
+Stanley, Dean, on collection on first day, 166
+
+Stanley, Dean, on manner of baptism, 202
+
+Stanley, Dean, on Sunday, day of the sun, 170
+
+Star shower, density of, Flammarion on, 95
+
+Stars, falling, a sign to the world, 99
+
+Stars, falling, brilliancy of, Olmsted on, 97
+
+Stars, falling, Chambers's Astronomy on, 101
+
+Stars, falling, described by Jessup, 100
+
+Stars, falling, glory of, Clerke on, 101, 102
+
+Stars, falling, Humphreys on, 96
+
+Stars, falling, impression made by, Milner on, 99
+
+Stars, falling, "Journal of Commerce" on, 97
+
+Stars, falling, nature of, Twining on, 96
+
+Stars, falling, other displays of, Humboldt on, 99, 100
+
+Stars, falling, Professor Langley on, 101
+
+Stars, falling, Sir Robert Ball on, 100
+
+Stars, falling, Thomas Milner on, 94
+
+Stars, shooting, Olmsted on, 95
+
+Stars, the falling, 93-102
+
+Stearns, Dr. Samuel, on dark day, 89, 90
+
+Stennet, on Sabbath in England, 179
+
+Stephen, stoning of, 234
+
+Stoning of Stephen, 234
+
+Strabo, on desolation of Babylon, 34
+
+Strabo, on power of Romans, 46
+
+Sun, darkening of, 85
+
+Sunday, day of the sun, Dean Stanley on, 170
+
+Sunday, Dean Stanley on collection on, 166
+
+Sunday law, Constantine's, 169
+
+Sunday law, Constantine's, Webster on, 169, 170
+
+Sunday, mark of paganism, Hiscox on, 170
+
+Sunday, mark of papal power, 252
+
+Sunday, Neander on collection on, 166
+
+Sunday, not sacred, Dale on, 166
+
+Sunday observance by Protestants, Ségur on, 251
+
+Sunday observance, "Doctrinal Catechism" on, 252
+
+Sunday previous to Constantine, 169
+
+Sunday rest, not of God, 165
+
+Sunday, sign of papal authority, 156
+
+
+Tabernacle, service of earthly, 214
+
+Telegraph, first demonstrated, 314
+
+Telegraph, used in carrying gospel, 318
+
+Temple at Jerusalem, destruction of, as predicted, 70
+
+Ten horns of beast, Daniel 7, 127
+
+Ten kingdoms, Daniel 2, 46-48
+
+Ten virgins, parable of, 348, 349
+
+Testimony of history to fulfilment of prophecy, 36
+
+Theosophy and Spiritualism, Mme. Delaire on, 272
+
+Thief on the cross, the, 284
+
+This Same Jesus, 54-56
+
+Thomson, on Tyre's departed glory, 31
+
+Thousand years, diagram of, 350
+
+Thousand years, end of, 289
+
+Thousand years, righteous with Christ, 62
+
+Thwaites, Clara, "The Last Hour," poem, 114
+
+Tiberius Cæsar, time of reign of, 230, 231
+
+Time of the end, 303-317
+
+Times and laws, Papacy to think to change, 153
+
+Tradition and the Bible, Council of Trent on, 252
+
+Translation of the righteous, 59-61
+
+Travel, revolution in, 313
+
+Trent, Council of, on tradition and the Bible, 252
+
+Trevor, Canon, on revolt against absolutism, 141
+
+Tribulation, the period of, 73
+
+Turkey, Lord Salisbury on helping of, 331
+
+Turkey, position of, "Fortnightly Review" on, 333, 334
+
+Turkish power, fall of, prelude to Armageddon, 348
+
+Turks, doom of, Blunt on, 333
+
+Turks, end of, near, MacFarlane on, 333
+
+Twelve hundred and sixty years, 131-137
+
+Twelve hundred and sixty years, end of, 139
+
+Twenty-three hundred days, diagram of, 220
+
+Twenty-three hundred years, ending of, 235
+
+Twenty-three hundred years of Daniel 8, 219
+
+Twenty-three hundred years, prophecy fulfilled, 229-237
+
+Twining, on nature of falling stars, 96
+
+Two resurrections, the, 288, 289
+
+Tyre, desolation of, Bruce on, 31
+
+Tyre, glory departed, Thomson on, 31
+
+Tyre, prophecy concerning, 30, 31
+
+
+Underhill, Mrs. A.L., on progress of Spiritualism, 269
+
+Universal empires, four great, 117
+
+Unquenchable fire, 292, 293
+
+
+Valley of Hinnom, Hastings on, 293
+
+Van Dyke, Dr. Henry, on language of Bible, 21, 22
+
+Veil, rending of, 231
+
+Vigilius, Pope, date of reign, Schaff on, 135, 137
+
+Voltaire, on Lisbon earthquake, 80
+
+
+Wages of sin, 289
+
+Wallace, Alfred Russel, on revolution in travel, 313
+
+Wallace, Alfred Russel, on Spiritualism, 265, 268
+
+War, god of, Lord Avebury on, 112
+
+War, preparation for, Marquis of Salisbury on, 342
+
+War, preparation for, "Nineteenth Century and After", 339-341
+
+War, preparation for, Queen Alexandra on, 339
+
+War, sign of end, "Church Missionary Review" on, 343
+
+Webster, Noah, on dark day, 87
+
+Webster, Prof. Hutton, on Constantine's Sunday law, 169, 170
+
+Weeks, the seventy, starting point of, 221, 222
+
+Wesley, John, on judgment-hour message, 249
+
+"Western Watchman," on persecution of Protestants, 151
+
+Whittier, on dark day, 86, 90
+
+Wicked, before bar of God, 357
+
+Wicked, destruction of, 61, 353
+
+Wicked, end of, 287-293
+
+Wicked, final destruction of, 356-359
+
+Wicked, resurrection of, 62
+
+Williams, on dark day in New England, 86
+
+Williams, Roger, on Sabbath keeping, 180
+
+Word, see Bible.
+
+Word that creates, the, 15
+
+Wordsworth, on dawn of Reformation, 149
+
+World-wide movement, a, 239-245
+
+Wright, on meaning of "run to and fro", 311
+
+
+Xenophon, on Cyrus, 206
+
+Xerxes' host, Æschylus on, 323
+
+
+Years, the 1260, of Daniel's prophecy, 131-137
+
+
+Zinzendorf, a Sabbath keeper, 180
+
+Zinzendorf, Nikolaus, poem by, 227
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Our Day, by W. A. Spicer
+
+*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK OUR DAY ***
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+      The Project Gutenberg eBook of Our Day, by W.A. Spicer.
+    </title>
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+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Our Day, by W. A. Spicer
+
+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: Our Day
+       In the Light of Prophecy
+
+Author: W. A. Spicer
+
+Release Date: June 5, 2006 [EBook #18503]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK OUR DAY ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Marilynda Fraser-Cunliffe, Josephine Paolucci
+and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at
+http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+
+<p><a name="Frontispiece" id="Frontispiece"></a></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;">
+<img src="images/p004.jpg" width="300" height="448" alt="JESUS WEEPING OVER JERUSALEM
+
+&quot;If thou hadst known, even thou, at least
+in this thy day, the things which belong
+unto thy peace!&quot; Luke 19:42." title="" />
+<span class="caption">JESUS WEEPING OVER JERUSALEM<br />
+
+&quot;If thou hadst known, even thou, at least
+in this thy day, the things which belong
+unto thy peace!&quot; Luke 19:42.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<h1>OUR DAY</h1>
+
+<h2>In the Light of Prophecy</h2>
+
+
+<h3>By W.A. SPICER</h3>
+
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Whatsoever things were written aforetime
+were written for our learning, that we through
+patience and comfort of the Scriptures might
+have hope." Rom. 15:4.</p></div>
+
+
+<p class="center">
+SOUTHERN PUBLISHING ASSOCIATION<br />
+NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE<br />
+<span class="smcap">Fort Worth, Texas</span>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <span class="smcap">Atlanta, Georgia</span><br />
+</p>
+
+<p class="center">
+Copyrighted, 1917, by<br />
+<span class="smcap">Review and Herald Publishing Association</span><br />
+<br />
+Copyrighted in London, England<br />
+All Rights Reserved<br />
+</p>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_vii" id="Page_vii">[Pg vii]</a></span></p>
+<h2>CONTENTS</h2>
+
+
+<div class='center'>
+<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
+<tr><td align='left'>The Book That Speaks to Our Day</td><td align='left'><a href='#Page_13'>13</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>The Witness of the Centuries</td><td align='left'><a href='#Page_25'>25</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>Prophetic Outline of the World's History</td><td align='left'><a href='#Page_39'>39</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>The Second Coming of Christ</td><td align='left'><a href='#Page_51'>51</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>Signs of the Approaching End</td><td align='left'><a href='#Page_65'>65</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>The Lisbon Earthquake of 1755</td><td align='left'><a href='#Page_79'>79</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>The Dark Day of 1780</td><td align='left'><a href='#Page_85'>85</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>The Falling Stars of 1833</td><td align='left'><a href='#Page_93'>93</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>The Meaning of Present-Day Conditions</td><td align='left'><a href='#Page_105'>105</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>The Historic Prophecy of Daniel 7</td><td align='left'><a href='#Page_117'>117</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>The 1260 Years of Daniel's Prophecy</td><td align='left'><a href='#Page_131'>131</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>Dawn of a New Era</td><td align='left'><a href='#Page_139'>139</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>The Work of the "Little Horn" Power</td><td align='left'><a href='#Page_145'>145</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>The Bible Sabbath</td><td align='left'><a href='#Page_159'>159</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>Glimpses of Sabbath Keeping after New Testament Times</td><td align='left'><a href='#Page_173'>173</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>The Law of God</td><td align='left'><a href='#Page_183'>183</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>Justification by Faith</td><td align='left'><a href='#Page_191'>191</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>Baptism</td><td align='left'><a href='#Page_199'>199</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>The Prophecy of Daniel 8</td><td align='left'><a href='#Page_205'>205</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>The Cleansing of the Sanctuary in Type And Antitype</td><td align='left'><a href='#Page_213'>213</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>A Great Prophetic Period</td><td align='left'><a href='#Page_219'>219</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>The Prophecy Fulfilled</td><td align='left'><a href='#Page_229'>229</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>A World-wide Movement</td><td align='left'><a href='#Page_239'>239</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>The Judgment-Hour Message</td><td align='left'><a href='#Page_247'>247</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>The Origin of Evil</td><td align='left'><a href='#Page_257'>257</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>Spiritualism: Ancient and Modern</td><td align='left'><a href='#Page_265'>265</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>Life Only in Christ</td><td align='left'><a href='#Page_275'>275</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>The End of the Wicked</td><td align='left'><a href='#Page_287'>287</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>Angels: Their Ministry</td><td align='left'><a href='#Page_295'>295</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>The Time of the End</td><td align='left'><a href='#Page_303'>303</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>The Eastern Question</td><td align='left'><a href='#Page_321'>321</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>Armageddon</td><td align='left'><a href='#Page_337'>337</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>The Millennium</td><td align='left'><a href='#Page_351'>351</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>The Home of the Saved</td><td align='left'><a href='#Page_361'>361</a></td></tr>
+</table></div>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_ix" id="Page_ix">[Pg ix]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2>FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS</h2>
+
+
+<div class='center'>
+<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="">
+<tr><td align='left'>Jesus Weeping over Jerusalem</td><td align='left'><i><a href="#Frontispiece">Frontispiece</a></i></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>The Good Shepherd</td><td align='left'><a href='#Page_12'>12</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>Healing the Centurion's Servant</td><td align='left'><a href='#Page_16'>16</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>Christ's Weapon of Defense&mdash;The Word of God</td><td align='left'><a href='#Page_19'>19</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>On the Way to Emmaus</td><td align='left'><a href='#Page_24'>24</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>The Great Image</td><td align='left'><a href='#Page_38'>38</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>Babylon in Her Glory</td><td align='left'><a href='#Page_40'>40</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>The Handwriting on the Wall</td><td align='left'><a href='#Page_42'>42</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>The Ascension of Christ</td><td align='left'><a href='#Page_50'>50</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>Christ Coming in Glory</td><td align='left'><a href='#Page_58'>58</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>Christ Answering His Disciples' Questions</td><td align='left'><a href='#Page_64'>64</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>The Siege of Jerusalem by the Romans under Titus, A.D. 70</td><td align='left'><a href='#Page_68'>68</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>The Catacombs near Rome</td><td align='left'><a href='#Page_72'>72</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>Lisbon from Across the Bay</td><td align='left'><a href='#Page_78'>78</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>Midday at Sea, May 19, 1780</td><td align='left'><a href='#Page_84'>84</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>The Great Meteoric Shower, Nov. 13, 1833</td><td align='left'><a href='#Page_92'>92</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>The Sign of Fire</td><td align='left'><a href='#Page_98'>98</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>Satan Offers Gold, and the World Stampedes to Its Destruction</td><td align='left'><a href='#Page_104'>104</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>A Faithful and Wise Servant</td><td align='left'><a href='#Page_108'>108</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>The Sunset Hour</td><td align='left'><a href='#Page_114'>114</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>Philip and the Eunuch</td><td align='left'><a href='#Page_116'>116</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>Rome on the Tiber</td><td align='left'><a href='#Page_124'>124</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>The Invasion of the Roman Empire by the Huns</td><td align='left'><a href='#Page_128'>128</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>Raising the Siege of Rome, A.D. 538</td><td align='left'><a href='#Page_130'>130</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>Storming of the Bastille Prison in Paris</td><td align='left'><a href='#Page_138'>138</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>The Triple Crown</td><td align='left'><a href='#Page_144'>144</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>The Love of Power&mdash;The Power of Love</td><td align='left'><a href='#Page_146'>146</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>Christians in Prison Beneath the Colosseum Awaiting Martyrdom</td><td align='left'><a href='#Page_148'>148</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>The Shame of Religious Wars</td><td align='left'><a href='#Page_152'>152</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>Christ and the Scribes</td><td align='left'><a href='#Page_158'>158</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>The Sabbath from Eden To Eden</td><td align='left'><a href='#Page_168'>168</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>Christ and His Disciples in the Corn-fields</td><td align='left'><a href='#Page_172'>172</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>Waldenses Hunted by the Armies of Rome</td><td align='left'><a href='#Page_176'>176</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>The Gift of God</td><td align='left'><a href='#Page_190'>190</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>The Baptism of Christ</td><td align='left'><a href='#Page_198'>198</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>Symbols of Medo-Persia and Grecia</td><td align='left'><a href='#Page_204'>204</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>The Camp of Israel in the Wilderness</td><td align='left'><a href='#Page_210'>210</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>Our Great High Priest</td><td align='left'><a href='#Page_212'>212</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>Artaxerxes Sending the Jews to Rebuild Jerusalem, B.C. 457</td><td align='left'><a href='#Page_218'>218</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>Rebuilding Jerusalem</td><td align='left'><a href='#Page_224'>224</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>The Anointing of Jesus at His Baptism</td><td align='left'><a href='#Page_228'>228</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>The Crucifixion of Christ</td><td align='left'><a href='#Page_232'>232</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>The Third Angel's Message</td><td align='left'><a href='#Page_238'>238</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>A Christian Mother Exhorting Her Daughter To Martyrdom</td><td align='left'><a href='#Page_246'>246</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>Lucifer Plotting Against the Government of God</td><td align='left'><a href='#Page_256'>256</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>The Redemption Price</td><td align='left'><a href='#Page_260'>260</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>Saul and the Witch of Endor</td><td align='left'><a href='#Page_264'>264</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>The Salem Witchcraft</td><td align='left'><a href='#Page_270'>270</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>"He Is Risen"</td><td align='left'><a href='#Page_274'>274</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>Lot Fleeing From Sodom</td><td align='left'><a href='#Page_286'>286</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>Peter Delivered from Prison</td><td align='left'><a href='#Page_294'>294</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>Jacob's Dream in Bethel</td><td align='left'><a href='#Page_298'>298</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>Modern Inventions Fulfilling Prophecy</td><td align='left'><a href='#Page_302'>302</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>The Hoe Double Octuple Press</td><td align='left'><a href='#Page_316'>316</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>Fortifications on the Bosporus</td><td align='left'><a href='#Page_320'>320</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>Modern Jerusalem</td><td align='left'><a href='#Page_329'>329</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>The Great Battle of Armageddon</td><td align='left'><a href='#Page_336'>336</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>United States Battleship "Nevada"</td><td align='left'><a href='#Page_340'>340</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>Moses Viewing the Promised Land</td><td align='left'><a href='#Page_360'>360</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>The Saints' Eternal Home</td><td align='left'><a href='#Page_366'>366</a></td></tr>
+<tr><td align='left'>The Master at the Door</td><td align='left'><a href='#Page_369'>369</a></td></tr>
+</table></div>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 448px;">
+<img src="images/p011.jpg" width="448" height="295" alt="&quot;FOUNDED UPON A ROCK&quot;
+
+&quot;Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, and
+a light unto my path.&quot; Ps. 119:105." title="" />
+<span class="caption">&quot;FOUNDED UPON A ROCK&quot;<br />
+
+&quot;Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, and
+a light unto my path.&quot; Ps. 119:105.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="FOREWORD" id="FOREWORD"></a>FOREWORD</h2>
+
+
+<p>These are eventful times. With history-making changes
+passing rapidly before men's eyes, the questions press upon
+thoughtful minds in all lands, What do these things mean?
+What next in the program of world-shaping events?</p>
+
+<p>Like a great searchlight shining across the centuries, the
+sure Word of Prophecy focuses its bright beams upon Our
+Day. In this light we see clearly the trend of events, and
+may understand what comes next in the program of history
+fulfilling prophecy.</p>
+
+<p>In the Volume of the Book the living God speaks to Our
+Day of events of the past that have a lesson for the present,
+and of things to come. Divine prophecy fulfilled before
+men's eyes is God's challenge to unbelief. The Word of Holy
+Writ has been the guiding light through all the ages. It is
+the lamp to our feet today.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Steadfast, serene, unmovable, the same,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Year after year,...<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Burns on forevermore that quenchless flame;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Shines on that inextinguishable light."<br /></span>
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</a></span></div></div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 299px;">
+<img src="images/p012.jpg" width="299" height="448" alt="THE GOOD SHEPHERD
+
+&quot;The Word was made flesh, and dwelt
+among us.&quot; John 1:14." title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE GOOD SHEPHERD<br />
+
+&quot;The Word was made flesh, and dwelt
+among us.&quot; John 1:14.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 448px;">
+<img src="images/p013.jpg" width="448" height="282" alt="&quot;PEACE BE TO THIS HOUSE&quot;
+
+&quot;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.&quot;
+Rev. 3:20." title="" />
+<span class="caption">&quot;PEACE BE TO THIS HOUSE&quot;<br />
+
+&quot;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.&quot;
+Rev. 3:20.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="THE_BOOK_THAT_SPEAKS_TO_OUR_DAY" id="THE_BOOK_THAT_SPEAKS_TO_OUR_DAY"></a>THE BOOK THAT SPEAKS TO OUR DAY</h2>
+
+
+<p>Man may write a true book, but only God, the source of
+life, can write a living book. "The word of God ... liveth
+and abideth forever." 1 Peter 1:23. The Bible is the living
+word of God. We look at the volume; we hold it in our hands.
+It is like other books in form and printer's art. But the
+voice of God speaks from these pages, and the word spoken
+is alive. It is able to do in the heart that receives it what
+can be done only by divine power.</p>
+
+
+<h4>The Book That Talks</h4>
+
+<p>Far in the heart of Africa a missionary read to the people
+in their own language from the translated Word of God.
+"See!" they cried; "see! the book talks! The white man
+has a book that talks!" With that simplicity of speech so
+common to children of nature, they had exactly described it.
+This is a book that talks. What the wise man says of its
+counsels through parents to children, is true of all the book:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</a></span>
+"When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest,
+it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with
+thee." Prov. 6:22.</p>
+
+<p>Here is companionship, faithful and true, a blessed guide
+and guardian and friend.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Holy Bible! book divine!<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Precious treasure, thou art mine!"<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+
+<h4>God Its Author</h4>
+
+<p>The sixty-six books of Holy Scripture were written by
+many penmen, over a space of fifteen centuries; yet it is one
+book, and one voice speaks through all its pages. Spurgeon
+once said of his experience with this book:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"When I see it, I seem to hear a voice springing up from it, saying,
+'I am the book of God; man, read me. I am God's writing; open my
+leaf, for I was penned by God; read it, for He is my author.'"</p></div>
+
+<p>This book declares of itself: "All scripture is given by
+inspiration of God." 2 Tim. 3:16. "The prophecy came
+not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God
+spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." 2 Peter
+1:21. As the rugged verse of the old hymn puts it:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Let all the heathen writers join<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">To form one perfect book:<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Great God, if once compared with Thine,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">How mean their writings look!<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Not the most perfect rules they gave<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Could show one sin forgiven,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Nor lead a step beyond the grave;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">But Thine conducts to heaven."<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>It is the voice of the Almighty. Very different it is from
+the sacred books of the non-Christian religions. In those
+writings it is man speaking about God; in the Holy Scriptures
+it is God speaking to man. The difference is as great
+as heaven is higher than earth. Here it is not man groping
+in the darkness after God. In this book of God's revelation
+we see the divine arm reaching down to save the lost,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</a></span>
+and hear the voice of the loving Father calling to His children,
+every one and everywhere. "Incline your ear," He
+calls; "hear, and your soul shall live." Isa. 55:3.</p>
+
+
+<h4>The Word That Creates</h4>
+
+<p>We must have something more than instruction; we must
+have a word of power that is able to tell of sins forgiven,
+and to conduct us beyond the grave to heaven. One of the
+greatest of China's sages, Mencius, said, "Instruction can impart
+information, but not the power to execute." That
+touches the crucial point. We must have instruction that
+can come with power divine to execute. We have it only
+in God's words. Christ said: "It is the spirit that quickeneth;
+the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak
+unto you, they are spirit, and they are life." John 6:63.</p>
+
+<p>The words of God are living words. When God spoke
+in the beginning, "Let there be light," lo, the light sprang
+out of the darkness. There was power in the word spoken
+to bring forth. "Let the earth bring forth grass," was the
+word of the Lord: and the earth was carpeted with its first
+rich greensward. So through all the work of creation, the
+creative power was in the word spoken.</p>
+
+<p>"By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all
+the host of them by the breath of His mouth." "He spake,
+and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast." Ps.
+33:6, 9.</p>
+
+<p>Even so, when this word speaks instruction to man, there
+is creative power in the word, if received, to work mightily
+in the soul that is dead in trespasses and sins. Man must
+be born again, be re-created. That we know; for Christ
+says, "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born
+again ["from above," margin], he cannot see the kingdom
+of God." John 3:3.</p>
+
+<p>And the word of God&mdash;the Bible from heaven&mdash;received
+by faith, is the agency by which this new birth "from<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</a></span>
+above" is wrought. This is the declaration of our text:
+"Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible,
+by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever."
+1 Peter 1:23.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;">
+<img src="images/p016.jpg" width="300" height="448" alt="HEALING THE CENTURION&#39;S
+SERVANT
+
+&quot;Speak the word only, and my servant
+shall be healed.&quot; Matt. 8:8." title="" />
+<span class="caption">HEALING THE CENTURION&#39;S<br />
+SERVANT
+
+&quot;Speak the word only, and my servant
+shall be healed.&quot; Matt. 8:8.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</a></span></p>
+
+<h4><b>The Word That Works Within</b></h4>
+
+<p>Not only does the word of God give the new birth, making
+the believer a new man,&mdash;the past forgiven and a new heart
+within,&mdash;but the word that re-creates abides in the believing
+heart that studies it and clings to it, to work in the life with
+actual power that is not of the man himself. To the Thessalonians,
+who had "turned to God from idols to serve the
+living and true God," the apostle wrote:</p>
+
+<p>"For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because,
+when ye received the word of God which ye heard of
+us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth,
+the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that
+believe." 1 Thess. 2:13.</p>
+
+<p>The word itself works within, and works effectually.
+There is nothing mechanical about it. The mere letter profits
+nothing. The Bible on the center table, unstudied and
+unloved, has no magic power. But God promises to abide
+by His Spirit of power in the heart that listens to His voice
+and trembles at His word. Jesus Himself tells us the secret
+of this power of the word to work in the believing heart:</p>
+
+<p>"If a man love Me, he will keep My words: and My Father
+will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our
+abode with him." John 14:23.</p>
+
+<p>No wonder, then, that believing and receiving the word
+brings divine power into the life, making it possible for transformations
+of character to be wrought, for victories to be
+won and obedience rendered to every command of God.</p>
+
+<p>Simply believing God's word touches the current of everlasting
+power, even as the trolley arm of the electric car
+reaches up and touches the current of power flowing through<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</a></span>
+the wire overhead. The faith that takes the living word
+brings the power divine into the heart to move all the spiritual
+mechanism of life's service.</p>
+
+
+<h4><b>The Word Our Safety and Defense</b></h4>
+
+<p>When Christ came to live as our example in the flesh,
+and to give His life a sacrifice for sin, He, the divine Son of
+God, made Himself like unto His brethren. "I can of Mine
+own self do nothing," He said. John 5:30. Tempted and
+tried, He found His defense in the Holy Scriptures. When
+Satan came to tempt Him to sin, the Saviour said, "It is
+written." He clung to the sure defense. Again the tempter
+came. He was met with the word, "It is written again."
+The third time it was the same weapon of defense, "It is
+written." Matt. 4:1-11.</p>
+
+<p>Christ found safety only in the Scriptures of truth. So
+the Bible is the Christian's shield against the enemy's attacks.
+As Jesus studied the Scriptures and kept the words
+ever in His heart for a defense against temptation, so must
+every Christian study and meditate upon God's Holy Word
+if its counsels and precepts are to be his defense in the moment
+of sudden temptation to sin. "Thy word have I hid in
+mine heart," said the psalmist, "that I might not sin against
+Thee." Ps. 119:11. It was the only way for Christ, our
+Pattern; it is the only way for us.</p>
+
+
+<h4><b>The Bread of Life</b></h4>
+
+<p>The word of God is the daily food for the soul. "It is
+written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word
+that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." Matt. 4:4.</p>
+
+<p>Who has not, in hurried times, missed a meal, working
+on through the day, never thinking of the prolonged fast?
+But after a time there came a sense of weakening force, a
+lack of physical power. What was the trouble? At once
+the reason was evident&mdash;one had not taken food, and the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</a></span>
+system was calling for a renewal of its forces. Just so the
+spiritual life must needs be fed by the word of God.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 298px;">
+<img src="images/p019.jpg" width="298" height="448" alt="CHRIST&#39;S WEAPON OF DEFENSE&mdash;THE
+WORD OF GOD
+
+&quot;Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written,
+Thou shalt worship the Lord thy
+God, and Him only shalt thou serve.&quot;
+Matt. 4:10." title="" />
+<span class="caption">CHRIST&#39;S WEAPON OF DEFENSE&mdash;THE
+WORD OF GOD<br />
+
+&quot;Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written,
+Thou shalt worship the Lord thy
+God, and Him only shalt thou serve.&quot;
+Matt. 4:10.</span>
+</div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Do we at times feel a sense of weakening of the spiritual
+power, a letting down of the vital forces of the soul? Ah,
+in the hurry of life we have neglected to feed upon the living
+bread. We can no more sustain spiritual vigor and health
+without feeding daily upon God's Holy Word than we can
+maintain physical power without eating our daily bread.
+Eat of the life-giving word. The taste for it grows with the
+partaking.</p>
+
+<p>There is life in "every word." The psalmist found the
+Lord's testimonies "sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb,"
+or, as the marginal reading has it, than "the dropping
+of honeycombs." Ps. 19:10. We get the picture of
+the honeycomb inverted, the cell caps broken open, the sweetness
+dripping down. Just so every word of the Lord is a
+cell full of sweetness and life for the soul that feasts upon
+the Holy Scriptures.</p>
+
+
+<h4><b>The Source of All Doctrine</b></h4>
+
+<p>The Bible is the complete and perfect rule of faith and
+doctrine. Here every doctrine of salvation is found. Inspiration
+has declared it in the words of the apostle Paul to
+Timothy:</p>
+
+<p>"From a child thou hast known the Holy Scriptures,
+which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through
+faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is given by inspiration
+of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof,
+for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man
+of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good
+works." 2 Tim. 3:15-17.</p>
+
+<p>The divine command is, "Study." For every generation
+there has been a message borne by this living word, making
+call to reformation of life, or giving warning and comfort.
+"The Bible is not a collection of truths formulated in propositions,"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</a></span>
+said Dr. Samuel Harris, of Yale, "but God's
+majestic march through history, redeeming men from sin."</p>
+
+<p>In every age God has been ruling and overruling, witnessing
+by His Spirit through the living word. The experiences
+recorded of past ages have their special lesson for the present
+time:</p>
+
+<p>"Whatsoever things were written aforetime were written
+for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the
+Scriptures might have hope." Rom. 15:4.</p>
+
+<p>"Let vs therfore all with feruent desyre," as the Old
+English of 1549 spelled the exhortation of Erasmus, "thyrste
+after these spirituall sprynges.... Let vs kisse these swete
+wordes of Christ with a pure affeccion. Let vs be newe
+transformed into them, for soche are oure maners as oure
+studies be."</p>
+
+
+<h4><b>The Book for All Mankind</b></h4>
+
+<p>It speaks in every tongue to the human heart. Its power
+to transform has been shown through all the centuries in
+every clime and among every race. One of the Gospels was
+put into the Chiluba tongue of Central Africa. After a time
+a Garenganze chief came to Dan Crawford, the missionary,
+changed from the spirit of a fierce, wicked barbarian to that
+of a teachable child. Explaining his conversion, the chief
+said: "I was startled to find that Christ could speak Chiluba.
+I heard him speak to me out of the printed page, and what
+he said was, 'Follow me!'"</p>
+
+<p>Of the Bible's universal speech to all mankind, Dr. Henry
+van Dyke has said:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Born in the East, and clothed in Oriental form and imagery, the
+Bible walks the ways of all the world with familiar feet, and enters land
+after land to find its own everywhere. It has learned to speak in hundreds
+of languages to the heart of man. It comes into the palace to tell
+the monarch that he is the servant of the Most High, and into the cottage
+to assure the peasant that he is the son of God. Children listen to
+its stories with wonder and delight, and wise men ponder them as parables<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</a></span>
+of life. It has a word of peace for the time of peril, a word of comfort
+for the day of calamity, a word of light for the hour of darkness.
+Its oracles are repeated in the assembly of the people, and its counsels
+whispered in the ear of the lonely. The wise and the proud tremble
+at its warnings, but to the wounded and penitent it has a mother's
+voice....</p>
+
+<p>"Its great words grow richer, as pearls do when they are worn near
+the heart. No man is poor or desolate who has this treasure for his own.
+When the landscape darkens and the trembling pilgrim comes to the
+valley named the Shadow, he is not afraid to enter; he takes the rod and
+staff of Scripture in his hand; he says to friend and comrade, 'Good-by,
+we shall meet again,' and comforted by that support, he goes toward the
+lonely pass as one who climbs through darkness into light."&mdash;<i>The Century
+Magazine.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 448px;">
+<img src="images/p022.jpg" width="448" height="291" alt="RAISING JARIUS&#39;S DAUGHTER
+
+&quot;In Him was life; and the life was the
+light of men.&quot; John 1:4." title="" />
+<span class="caption">RAISING JARIUS&#39;S DAUGHTER<br />
+
+&quot;In Him was life; and the life was the
+light of men.&quot; John 1:4.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>In the days of His life on earth, Jesus was a welcome
+guest in humble homes in Judea and Galilee. "The common
+people heard Him gladly." His presence brought peace and
+comfort to the home. He is no longer with us in bodily presence;
+but He is the same Saviour still&mdash;"Jesus Christ the
+same yesterday, and today, and forever." Heb. 13:8. By<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</a></span>
+His Spirit, through the living word of Holy Scripture, He
+enters the home where faith receives Him, and speaks again
+the gracious salutation, "Peace be to this house."</p>
+
+
+<h4><b>Christ the Central Theme</b></h4>
+
+<p>All the Bible bears witness of Christ as the Saviour of
+the world. He Himself said of the Scriptures, "They are
+they which testify of Me." John 5:39. "To Him give all
+the prophets witness." Acts 10:43. We see Him as the
+coming Messiah in promise and prophecy, in type and shadow.
+His is the divine, living personality standing out in every
+book that makes up the Sacred Volume. As we read with
+loving heart, the Author seems near in every page.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Reading, methinks I bend<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Before the cross<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Where died my King, my Friend.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The whole world's loss<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">For love of Him is gain."<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>And having beheld Him giving His life as the divine sacrifice,
+and rising in triumph over death to be our great High
+Priest in the heavenly temple, as we read these Sacred Scriptures
+yet again, in every book, from Genesis to Revelation,
+we see Him as the coming King of kings, coming to take His
+children to the eternal home of the saved. The whole book
+is a bright window through which we gaze on coming glory.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"And yet again I stand<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Where the seer stood,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Gazing across the strand,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Beyond the flood:<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The gates of pearl afar,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The streets of gold,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The bright and morning Star<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Mine eyes behold."<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>"The Word of God ... liveth and abideth forever."
+1 Peter 1:23. "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but
+My words shall not pass away." Matt. 24:35.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 299px;">
+<img src="images/p024.jpg" width="299" height="448" alt="ON THE WAY TO EMMAUS
+
+&quot;Beginning at Moses and all the prophets,
+He expounded unto them in all the
+Scriptures the things concerning Himself.&quot;
+Luke 24:27." title="" />
+<span class="caption">ON THE WAY TO EMMAUS<br />
+
+&quot;Beginning at Moses and all the prophets,
+He expounded unto them in all the
+Scriptures the things concerning Himself.&quot;
+Luke 24:27.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 446px;">
+<img src="images/p025.jpg" width="446" height="289" alt="THE STAR OF BETHLEHEM
+
+&quot;I am God,... declaring ... from
+ancient times the things that are not
+yet done.&quot; Isa. 46:9, 10." title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE STAR OF BETHLEHEM<br />
+
+&quot;I am God,... declaring ... from
+ancient times the things that are not
+yet done.&quot; Isa. 46:9, 10.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<h2>THE WITNESS OF THE CENTURIES</h2>
+
+<h4><b>The Sure Word of Prophecy</b></h4>
+
+
+<p>"We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto
+ye do well that ye take heed." 2 Peter 1:19.</p>
+
+<p>The prophetic scriptures afford infallible evidence that
+the voice of the living God speaks in Holy Writ. One of
+the distinguishing marks of divinity is the power that foretells
+and records the course of history long ages before the
+events come to pass.</p>
+
+
+<h4><b>God's Challenge</b></h4>
+
+<p>God's challenge to false religious systems in olden time
+was this:</p>
+
+<p>"Declare us things for to come. Show the things that
+are to come hereafter, that we may know that ye are gods."
+Isa. 41:22, 23.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>And all the gods of the nations were silent; for they are
+no gods. The Lord alone, the one who speaks by the Holy
+Scriptures, is able to tell the end from the beginning.</p>
+
+<p>"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, saying, My counsel shall stand." Isa. 46:9, 10.</p>
+
+<p>By this means God has borne witness of Himself through
+the ages, that it might be known that the Most High rules
+above all the kingdoms of men, and that men might recognize
+His purpose to put an end to sin and bring eternal salvation
+to His people. "I have spoken it," He declares, "I
+will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it."</p>
+
+<p>The fulfilment of the word of prophecy in history is a
+fascinating story. To the Lord, the future is an open book,
+even as the present. The word is spoken, telling of the
+event to come; it is written on the parchment scroll by the
+prophet's pen. Time passes; centuries come and go. Then,
+when the hour of the prophecy arrives, lo, there appears the
+fulfilment. And it is seen in matters pertaining to individuals,
+as well as in the affairs of cities and empires.</p>
+
+
+<h4><b>The Word Fulfilled after Long Waiting</b></h4>
+
+<p>In the dream divinely given to the lad Joseph, it was
+plainly foretold that his brothers would one day come as suppliants
+before him. His father rebuked him for telling the
+dream, saying, "Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren
+indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the earth?"
+Gen. 37:10. The brothers sold the lad into slavery, to be
+well rid of him. Yet twenty years later, all unconscious of
+his identity, these same brethren presented themselves before
+the prime minister of Egypt, and "fell before him on the
+ground." Gen. 44:14.</p>
+
+<p>Again: the wicked stronghold of Jericho had been utterly
+destroyed. Joshua declared:</p>
+
+<p>"Cursed be the man ... that riseth up and buildeth this
+city Jericho: he shall lay the foundation thereof in his first-born,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</a></span>
+and in his youngest son shall he set up the gates of it."
+Joshua 6:26.</p>
+
+<p>The hands of angels had thrown down its walls, and its
+ruin was to stand as a memorial. More than five hundred
+years later, when the apostate Ahab was ruling, and Israel
+and Judah had departed from the Lord, Hiel the Bethelite
+set out to rebuild Jericho. "He laid the foundation thereof
+in Abiram his first-born."</p>
+
+<p>But accident and death may come at any time. The
+work on the walls went on, no one thinking of the neglected
+Scriptures with their warning of long ago. So the full account
+runs:</p>
+
+<p>"He laid the foundation thereof in Abiram his first-born,
+and set up the gates thereof in his youngest son Segub, according
+to the word of the Lord, which He spake by Joshua
+the son of Nun." 1 Kings 16:34.</p>
+
+<p>The fate of some of the mightiest cities the world ever
+saw has borne testimony through the centuries to the fulfilment
+of the prophetic word.</p>
+
+
+<h4>The Witness of Nineveh</h4>
+
+<p>Nineveh was founded by Nimrod. He built not only his
+capital here by the Tigris, but other towns round about,
+conceiving first of all the idea of grouping the capital and its
+suburbs into one great city, the "Greater Nineveh," as we
+would say in these days of Greater London and Greater New
+York. At the dawn of history Nineveh was "a great city."
+Gen. 10:11, 12. In Jonah's day it was an "exceeding great
+city."<a name="FNanchor_A_1" id="FNanchor_A_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_A_1" class="fnanchor">[A]</a> Sennacherib, of the Bible story, was its beautifier.
+Rawlinson says:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"The great palace which he raised at Nineveh surpassed in size and
+splendor all earlier edifices."&mdash;<i>"Second Monarchy," chap. 9.</i></p></div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>A description is preserved on the clay cylinder in the
+king's own words:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"For the wonderment of multitudes of men<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">I raised its head&mdash;'the palace which has no rival'<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">I called its name."&mdash;<i>Taylor Cylinder, "Records of the Past." Vol. XII, part 1</i>.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>At the preaching of Jonah the city had repented; but in
+later years pride of conquest and luxury and wealth were
+filling it with blood. The prophet Nahum warned it of certain
+doom, appealing to those who had any fear of God to
+turn to Him. The message was:</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 448px;">
+<img src="images/p028.jpg" width="448" height="280" alt="THE SITE OF NINEVEH
+
+&quot;How is she become a desolation!&quot;
+Zeph. 2:15." title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE SITE OF NINEVEH<br />
+
+&quot;How is she become a desolation!&quot;
+Zeph. 2:15.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>"The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble;
+and He knoweth them that trust in Him." Nahum 1:7.</p>
+
+<p>Some, no doubt, heeded the warning and turned to God
+for refuge. But the city's life of sin ran on. Then the prophet
+Zephaniah spoke the word, just as the stroke was to fall:</p>
+
+<p>"Woe to her that is filthy and polluted, to the oppressing
+city! She obeyed not the voice; she received not correction;<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</a></span>
+she trusted not in the Lord; she drew not near to her God."
+Zeph. 3:1, 2.</p>
+
+<p>Prophecies uttered against the mighty city had declared:</p>
+
+<p>"He will make an utter end of the place thereof." "The
+palace shall be dissolved ["molten," margin]." "She is
+empty, and void, and waste." Nahum 1:8; 2:6, 10. "How
+is she become a desolation, a place for beasts to lie down in!"
+Zeph. 2:15.</p>
+
+<p>The Medes and the Babylonians overthrew Nineveh. The
+king immolated himself in his burning ("molten") palace.
+Nineveh became a desolation. Describing a battle that took
+place there in the seventh century of our era, between the
+Romans and the Persians, the historian Gibbon bears testimony
+to the fact that it has indeed become "empty, and
+void, and waste:"</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Eastward of the Tigris, at the end of the bridge of Mosul, the great
+Nineveh had formerly been erected: the city, and even the ruins of the
+city, had long since disappeared; the vacant place afforded a spacious
+field for the operations of the two armies."&mdash;<i>"The History of the Decline
+and Fall of the Roman Empire," chap. 46, par. 24.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>And to this day, the site of Nineveh is pointed out across
+the river from Mosul, only mounds of ruins, these almost
+obliterated by the drifting sands of centuries. The word
+spoken is fulfilled, though at the time it was spoken it little
+seemed to proud and prosperous Nineveh that such a fate
+could ever be hers.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Before me rise the walls<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Of the Titanic city,&mdash;brazen gates,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Towers, temples, palaces enormous piled,&mdash;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Imperial Nineveh, the earthly queen!<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">In all her golden pomp I see her now,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Her swarming streets, her splendid festivals.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;*&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;*&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;*&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;*&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;*<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Again I look,&mdash;and lo!...<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Her walls are gone, her palaces are dust,&mdash;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The desert is around her, and within<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Like shadows have the mighty passed away."<br /></span>
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</a></span></div></div>
+
+<p>From Nineveh's mounds we seem to hear a voice that
+says: "All flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the
+flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof
+falleth away: but the word of the Lord endureth forever."
+1 Peter 1:24, 25.</p>
+
+
+<h4>The Burden of Tyre</h4>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 448px;">
+<img src="images/p030.jpg" width="448" height="298" alt="TYRE BY THE SEA
+
+&quot;They shall destroy the walls of Tyrus, and
+break down her towers.&quot; Eze. 26:4." title="" />
+<span class="caption">TYRE BY THE SEA<br />
+
+&quot;They shall destroy the walls of Tyrus, and
+break down her towers.&quot; Eze. 26:4.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Tyre was the greatest maritime city of antiquity. Its inhabitants,
+the Ph&#339;nicians, traded in the ports of all the known
+world. Ezekiel describes the heart of the seas as its borders.
+"Thy builders have perfected thy beauty," he says. He
+tells how all countries traded in its marts and contributed to
+its wealth. And then, obeying the word of the Lord, the
+prophet bears a message of rebuke and warning,&mdash;"the burden
+of Tyre,"&mdash;and pronounces the coming judgment:</p>
+
+<p>"Thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I am against thee,
+O Tyrus, and will cause many nations to come up against
+thee.... And they shall destroy the walls of Tyrus, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</a></span>
+break down her towers: I will also scrape her dust from her,
+and make her like the top of a rock. It shall be a place for
+the spreading of nets in the midst of the sea: for I have
+spoken it, saith the Lord God." Eze. 26:3-5.</p>
+
+<p>The accounts of travelers bear witness that the prophecy
+has been fulfilled. As to the site of the island city of
+Ezekiel's day, Bruce, nearly a century ago, said that he found
+it a "rock whereon fishers dry their nets." (See "Keith on
+the Prophecies," p. 329.)</p>
+
+<p>In more recent times, Dr. W.M. Thomson found the
+whole region of Tyre suggestive only of departed glory:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"There is nothing here, certainly, of that which led Joshua to call it
+'the strong city' more than three thousand years ago (Joshua 19:29),&mdash;nothing
+of that mighty metropolis which baffled the proud Nebuchadnezzar
+and all his power for thirteen years, until 'every head' in his army
+'was made bald, and every shoulder was peeled,' in the hard service
+against Tyrus (Eze. 29:18),&mdash;nothing in this wretched roadstead and
+empty harbor to remind one of the times when merry mariners did sing
+in her markets&mdash;no visible trace of those towering ramparts which so
+long resisted the utmost efforts of the great Alexander. All have vanished
+utterly like a troubled dream, and Tyre has sunk under the burden
+of prophecy.... As she is now, and has long been, Tyre is God's witness;
+but great, powerful, and populous, she would be the infidel's boast. This,
+however, she cannot be. Tyre will never rise from her dust to falsify
+the voice of prophecy.</p></div>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Dim is her glory, gone her fame,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Her boasted wealth has fled;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">On her proud rock, alas! her shame,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The fisher's net is spread.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The Tyrian harp has slumbered long,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And Tyria's mirth is low;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The timbrel, dulcimer, and song<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Are hushed, or wake to woe."<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">&mdash;<i>"The Land and the Book," Vol. II, pp. 626, 627.</i><br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+
+<h4>The Desolation of Babylon</h4>
+
+<p>Yet another city of ancient times there was, the mightiest
+of them all, whose fate was a subject of prophecy, and whose
+history bears special testimony for us today; for, more than<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</a></span>
+any other, the Lord used that city as a symbol of the pride
+of life and the exaltation of the selfish heart against God.</p>
+
+<p>Let us study briefly the desolations pronounced upon
+Babylon of old.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 448px;">
+<img src="images/p032.jpg" width="448" height="292" alt="BABYLON IN THE DUST
+
+&quot;Babylon shall become heaps,...
+without an inhabitant.&quot; Jer. 51:37." title="" />
+<span class="caption">BABYLON IN THE DUST<br />
+
+&quot;Babylon shall become heaps,...
+without an inhabitant.&quot; Jer. 51:37.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>While Babylon was still the mightiest city of the world,
+with the period of greatest glory yet before it, the Lord revealed
+its ignoble end. By the prophet Isaiah He declared:</p>
+
+<p>"Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees'
+excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and
+Gomorrah. It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be
+dwelt in from generation to generation: neither shall the
+Arabian pitch tent there; neither shall the shepherds make
+their fold there. But wild beasts of the desert shall lie there;
+and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures; and owls
+shall dwell there, and satyrs shall dance there. And the
+wild beasts of the islands shall cry in their desolate houses,
+and dragons in their pleasant palaces: and her time is near to
+come, and her days shall not be prolonged." Isa. 13:19-22.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Never could a more doleful future have been pictured
+for a city full of splendor, the metropolis of the world. About
+one hundred and seventy-five years after this word was written
+on the parchment scroll, the Medes and Persians were
+at the gates of Babylon. Her time had come, and Chaldea's
+rule was ended.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Fallen is the golden city! in the dust,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Spoiled of her crown, dismantled of her state.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">She that hath made the Strength of Towers her trust,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Weeps by her dead, supremely desolate!<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"She that beheld the nations at her gate<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Thronging in homage, shall be called no more<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">'Lady of Kingdoms!'&mdash;Who shall mourn her fate?<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Her guilt is full, her march of triumph o'er."<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>But still, under Medo-Persia, and later under the Greeks,
+the city itself was populous and prosperous and beautiful.
+The skeptic of the time may have pointed to it as evidence
+that here, at least, the Hebrew prophet had missed the mark.</p>
+
+<p>Apollonius, the sage of Tyana, who lived in the days of
+Nero and the apostles, has left an account of Babylon as he
+saw it, as late as the first century of our era. Still the Euphrates
+swept beneath its walls, dividing the city into halves,
+with great palaces on either side. He says:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"The palaces are roofed with bronze, and a glitter goes off from them;
+but the chambers of the women and of the men and the porticoes are
+adorned partly with silver, and partly with golden tapestries or curtains,
+and partly with solid gold in the form of pictures."</p></div>
+
+<p>And of the king's judgment hall he reported:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"The roof had been carried up in the form of a dome, to resemble
+in a manner the heavens, and that it was roofed with sapphire, a stone
+that is very blue and like heaven to the eye; and there were images of the
+gods, which they worship, fixed aloft, and looking like golden figures
+shining out of the ether."&mdash;<i>Philostratus, "Life of Apollonius," book 1,
+chap. 25.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>Evidently Babylon was still "the land of graven images,"
+and the desolation foretold by the prophet had not yet befallen
+its palaces. But that prophetic word, written eight<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</a></span>
+hundred years before, was still upon the scroll of the Book,
+the sure Word of God, who sees the end from the beginning.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 448px;">
+<img src="images/p034.jpg" width="448" height="282" alt="EGYPT&#39;S GLORY DEPARTED
+
+&quot;The idols of Egypt shall be moved.&quot;
+Isa. 19:1." title="" />
+<span class="caption">EGYPT&#39;S GLORY DEPARTED<br />
+
+&quot;The idols of Egypt shall be moved.&quot;
+Isa. 19:1.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The view given us by Apollonius is perhaps the last glimpse
+we have of Babylon's passing glory. Even then for centuries
+the walls had been a quarry from which stones were
+drawn for Babylon's rival, Seleucia, on the Tigris. And
+Strabo, the Greek geographer, who also wrote in the first
+century, had described Babylon as "in great part deserted,"
+adding,</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"No one would hesitate to apply to it what one of the comic writers
+said of Megalopolit&aelig;, in Arcadia, 'The great city is a great
+desert.'"&mdash;<i>"Geography," book 16, chap. 1.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>Already pagan writers had begun to describe its condition
+in the terms of the prophecy uttered so long before. And
+now what is its state? The doom foretold has fallen heavy
+upon the city, upon its palaces, and "upon the graven images
+of Babylon." For a century and more, travelers' accounts
+have frequently borne witness to the exact fulfilment of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</a></span>
+prophecy in the remarkable desolations of that city, once
+mistress of the world.</p>
+
+<p>"Babylon shall become heaps," said the prophecy, "and
+owls shall dwell there." This is what Mr. Layard, the English
+archeologist, found on his visit in 1845:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Shapeless heaps of rubbish cover for many an acre the face of the
+land.... On all sides, fragments of glass, marble, pottery, and inscribed
+brick are mingled with that peculiar nitrous and blanched soil, which,
+bred from the remains of ancient habitations, checks or destroys vegetation,
+and renders the site of Babylon a naked and a hideous waste.
+Owls [which are of a large gray kind, and often found in flocks of nearly
+a hundred] start from the scanty thickets, and the foul jackal skulks
+through the furrows."&mdash;<i>"Discoveries Among the Ruins of Nineveh and
+Babylon," chap. 21, p. 413.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>The prophecy said, "Neither shall the Arabian pitch tent
+there." The words might be construed to mean that the
+famous site would never become the place of a Bedouin village.
+But it is literally true, say travelers, that the Arabs
+avoid the place even for the temporary pitching of their
+tents. They consider the spot under a curse. They call
+the ruins <i>Mudjelibe</i>, "the Overturned." (See "Encyclopedia
+of Islam," art. "Babil.")</p>
+
+<p>As late as 1913, Missionary W.C. Ising visited the site
+where Professor Koldeway was excavating the ruins of Nebuchadnezzar's
+palace. He wrote:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Involuntarily one is reminded of the prophecy in the thirteenth of
+Isaiah and many other places, which, in course of time, have been fulfilled
+to the letter. No one is living on the site of ancient Babylon, and whatever
+Arabs are employed by the excavators have built their mud huts
+in the bed of the ancient river, which at the present time is shifted half a
+mile farther west."&mdash;<i>European Division Quarterly, Fourth Quarter, 1913.</i></p></div>
+
+
+<h4>Egypt and Edom</h4>
+
+<p>The massive ruins by the Nile bear witness to prophecy
+fulfilled. When Egypt rivaled Babylon, the word was spoken:
+"It shall be the basest of the kingdoms; neither shall it
+exalt itself any more above the nations." Eze. 29:15. It
+was not utterly to pass, as Babylon, but to continue in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</a></span>
+inferior state. Thus it came to pass. Once populous Edom,
+famed for wisdom and counsel, now lies desolate, according
+to the word: "Edom shall be a desolation: every one that
+goeth by it shall be astonished." Jer. 49:17.</p>
+
+
+<h4>The Testimony of History</h4>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 448px;">
+<img src="images/p036.jpg" width="448" height="293" alt="RUINS OF EDOM
+
+&quot;Edom shall be a desolate wilderness.&quot;
+Joel 3:19." title="" />
+<span class="caption">RUINS OF EDOM<br />
+
+&quot;Edom shall be a desolate wilderness.&quot;
+Joel 3:19.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Thus the centuries bear testimony to the fulfilment of the
+prophetic word. The panorama of all human history moves
+before us in these writings of the prophets. Flinging their
+"colossal shadows" across the pages of Holy Writ, as Farrar
+says, we see&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"The giant forms of empires on their way<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">To ruin."<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>It is no human book that thus from primitive times forecasts
+the march of history through the ages.</p>
+
+<p>The Lord not only spoke the word in warning and entreaty
+for those to whom it first came, but it is written in the
+Scriptures of truth as a testimony to all time, that the Bible<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</a></span>
+is the word of God, and that all His purposes revealed therein
+and all the promises of the blessed Book are certain and sure.
+The prophets who bore messages from God to Nineveh, and
+Babylon, and Tyre, spoke messages also for our day.</p>
+
+<p>Fulfilled prophecy is the testimony of the centuries to the
+living God. The evidence of prophecy and its fulfilment is
+God's challenge and appeal to men to acknowledge Him as
+the true God and the Holy Scriptures as His word from heaven.</p>
+
+<p>"I have declared the former things from the beginning;
+and they went forth out of My mouth, and I showed them;
+I did them suddenly, and they came to pass. Because I
+knew that thou art obstinate, and thy neck is an iron sinew,
+and thy brow brass; I have even from the beginning declared
+it to thee; before it came to pass I showed it thee.... Thou
+hast heard, see all this; and will not ye declare it?" Isa.
+48:3-6.</p>
+
+<p>Surely no one can look at the evidence in history of the
+fulfilment of prophecy without seeing that of a truth the
+One who spoke these words knew the end from the beginning;
+and finding the living God in the sure word of prophecy,
+one must be prepared to listen to His voice in all the
+Scriptures, when it speaks of sin and the way of salvation
+through Jesus Christ.</p>
+
+<p>Further, the prophetic word also has much to say of
+events yet future, of the course of history in modern times.
+It behooves us to give heed to what that word speaks concerning
+our own times and the events that are to take place
+upon the earth before the end. The apostle Peter exhorts
+us to the study in these words:</p>
+
+<p>"We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto
+ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in
+a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day-star arise in
+your hearts." 2 Peter 1:19.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 299px;">
+<img src="images/p038.jpg" width="299" height="448" alt="THE GREAT IMAGE
+
+&quot;He that revealeth secrets maketh known to
+thee what shall come to pass.&quot; Dan. 2:29." title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE GREAT IMAGE<br />
+
+&quot;He that revealeth secrets maketh known to
+thee what shall come to pass.&quot; Dan. 2:29.</span>
+</div>
+
+<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_A_1" id="Footnote_A_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_A_1"><span class="label">[A]</span></a> "In the book of Jonah," says <i>Records of the Past</i>, "Nineveh
+is stated
+to have been an exceeding great city of three days' journey; and that being
+the case, the explanation that Calah on the south and Khorsabad on the
+north were included seems very probable. The distance between these two
+extreme points is about thirty miles, which, at ten miles a day, would take
+the time required."&mdash;<i>Vol. XII, part 1, January and February, 1913</i>.</p></div>
+</div>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 448px;">
+<img src="images/p039.jpg" width="448" height="291" alt="DANIEL INTERPRETING
+NEBUCHADNEZZAR&#39;S DREAM
+
+&quot;Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a
+great Image.&quot; Dan. 2:31." title="" />
+<span class="caption">DANIEL INTERPRETING
+NEBUCHADNEZZAR&#39;S DREAM<br />
+
+&quot;Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a
+great Image.&quot; Dan. 2:31.</span>
+</div>
+
+<h2><a name="PROPHETIC_OUTLINE_OF_THE_WORLDS_HISTORY" id="PROPHETIC_OUTLINE_OF_THE_WORLDS_HISTORY"></a>PROPHETIC OUTLINE OF THE WORLD'S HISTORY</h2>
+
+<h3>THE PROPHECY OF DANIEL 2</h3>
+
+
+<p>"There is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and
+maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be
+in the latter days."</p>
+
+<p>In a dream by night the Lord gave to Nebuchadnezzar,
+king of Babylon, a clear historical outline of the course of
+world empire to the end of time and the coming of the eternal
+kingdom.</p>
+
+<p>The king was a thoughtful monarch; and having reached
+the height of his power, he was one night meditating upon
+"what should come to pass hereafter." Not for his sake
+alone, but for the enlightenment and instruction of men in
+all time, the Lord answered the wondering question of the
+king's meditation by giving him the dream. "He that revealeth
+secrets," said Daniel the prophet, "maketh known
+to thee what shall come to pass."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 442px;">
+<img src="images/p040.jpg" width="442" height="262" alt="BABYLON IN HER GLORY
+
+&quot;Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the
+Chaldees&#39; excellency.&quot; Isa. 13:19." title="" />
+<span class="caption">BABYLON IN HER GLORY<br />
+
+&quot;Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the
+Chaldees&#39; excellency.&quot; Isa. 13:19.</span>
+</div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>And that we may know at the beginning that there is
+nothing fanciful and uncertain about this great historic
+outline reaching to the end of the world, we note first the
+assurance with which the prophet closed his interpretation:
+"The dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure."</p>
+
+<p>The details of the dream had been taken from the king's
+mind, while conviction as to the wondrous import of it remained.
+This was in God's providence, to show the folly
+of the worldly-wise men of Babylon, and to bring before the
+king the prophet of the Lord with a divine message. The
+prophet Daniel, under the inspiration of God, brought his
+dream again to the king's mind:</p>
+
+<p>"Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This
+great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before
+thee; and the form thereof was terrible.</p>
+
+<p>"This image's head was of fine gold, his breast and his
+arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, his legs of iron,
+his feet part of iron and part of clay.</p>
+
+<p>"Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands,
+which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and
+clay, and brake them to pieces. Then was the iron, the
+clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together,
+and became like the chaff of the summer threshing
+floors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was
+found for them: and the stone that smote the image became
+a great mountain, and filled the whole earth."</p>
+
+<p>The prophet next declared the interpretation. And now
+follows the history of the world in miniature.</p>
+
+
+<h4>Babylon</h4>
+
+<p>"Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven
+hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory.
+And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the
+field and the fowls of the heaven hath He given into thine
+hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art
+this head of gold."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 302px;">
+<img src="images/p042.jpg" width="302" height="448" alt="THE HANDWRITING
+ON THE WALL
+
+&quot;Thy kingdom is divided, and given to
+the Medes and Persians.&quot; Dan. 5:28." title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE HANDWRITING
+ON THE WALL<br />
+
+&quot;Thy kingdom is divided, and given to
+the Medes and Persians.&quot; Dan. 5:28.</span>
+</div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The parts of the image, then, of various metals, from
+head to feet, represented successive empires, beginning with
+Babylon; and the kingdom of Babylon, represented by Nebuchadnezzar,
+was the head of gold.</p>
+
+<p>History shows how fitly the golden head symbolizes the
+Babylonian kingdom. Long before, the prophet Isaiah had
+described it as "the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the
+Chaldees' excellency." Isa. 13:19. And now, in Nebuchadnezzar's
+day, it was the golden age of the Babylonian kingdom.
+No such gorgeous city as its capital ever before stood
+on earth. And Nebuchadnezzar was the great leader of its
+conquests, and the beautifier and builder of its walls and
+palaces. "For the astonishment of men I have built this
+house," one tablet reads; and hundreds repeat the story.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Those portals<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">for the astonishment of multitudes of people<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">with beauty I adorned.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">In order that the battle storm<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">to Imgur-Bel<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">the wall of Babylon might<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">not reach;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">what no king before me<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">had done."&mdash;<i>East India House Inscription.</i><br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>Thus Nebuchadnezzar's records of stone today repeat the
+proud boast faithfully reported in the Scripture, "Is not this
+great Babylon, that I have built?" Dan. 4:30. To the
+king it seemed that such a city could never fall. One inscription
+reads:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Thus I completely made strong the defenses of Babylon. May it
+last forever."&mdash;<i>Rawlinson, "Fourth Monarchy," Appendix A.</i></p></div>
+
+
+<h4>Medo-Persia</h4>
+
+<p>But the prophet Daniel, proceeding with the divine interpretation,
+interrupted all such proud thoughts with the declaration,
+"After thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to
+thee."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Now the look was forward into the future. And the word
+came to pass. Babylon's decline was swift after Nebuchadnezzar's
+death. Daniel the prophet himself lived to interpret
+the handwriting on the wall at Belshazzar's feast:</p>
+
+<p>"God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it....
+Thou art weighed in the balances and art found wanting....
+Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and
+Persians." Dan. 5:26-28.</p>
+
+<p>The breast and arms of silver, in the great image, represented
+the Medo-Persian kingdom, which followed the Babylonian,
+"inferior" to it in brilliancy and grandeur, as silver
+is inferior to gold. Medo-Persia, however, enlarged the borders
+of the world empire; and the names of Cyrus and Darius
+are written among the mightiest conquerors of history.</p>
+
+<p>But the prophet does not stop to dwell upon the grandeur
+of fleeting earthly kingdoms. The interpretation hastens
+on to reach the setting up of a kingdom that shall not pass
+away. Following Medo-Persia, a third power was to rise,</p>
+
+
+<h4>Grecia</h4>
+
+<p>"And another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear
+rule over all the earth."</p>
+
+<p>The "third kingdom" after Babylon was Grecia, which
+overthrew the empire of the Medes and Persians. And
+Grecia's dominion fulfilled the specifications of the prophecy,
+which indicated a yet wider expansion of empire. Its sway
+was to be over "all the earth," said Daniel the prophet, foretelling
+its history. Arrian, the Greek historian, writing afterward,
+said that Alexander of Greece seemed truly "lord of
+all the earth;" and he adds:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"I am persuaded there was no nation, city, nor people then in being
+whither his name did not reach; for which reason, whatever origin he
+might boast of, or claim to himself, there seems to me to have been some
+divine hand presiding both over his birth and actions."&mdash;<i>"History of the
+Expedition of Alexander the Great," book 7, chap. 30.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>The sides of brass in the great image represented Grecia,
+the brazen metal itself being a fitting symbol of those<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</a></span>
+"brazen-mailed" Greeks, celebrated in ancient poetry and
+song,</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Among the foremost, armed in glittering brass."</p></div>
+
+
+<h4>A Power Rising in the West</h4>
+
+<p>While Grecia's supremacy under Alexander was disputed
+by none, there was a power rising in the West that was soon
+to enter the lists for the prize of world dominion.</p>
+
+<p>Some of the ancient writers say that at the time of his
+death Alexander had in mind to push westward to strike down
+the growing power of the city of Rome, of which he had heard.
+Plutarch says that this man Alexander,</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"who shot like a star, with incredible swiftness, from the rising to the
+setting sun, was meditating to bring the luster of his arms into Italy....
+He had heard of the Roman power in Italy."&mdash;<i>"Morals," chap. on
+"Fortune of the Romans," par. 13.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>Lucan, the ancient Roman poet, repeats the thought:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Driven headlong on by Fate's resistless force,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Through Asia's realms he took his dreadful course:<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">His ruthless sword laid human nature waste,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And desolation followed where he passed....<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Ev'n to the utmost west he would have gone,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Where Tethys' lap receives the setting sun."<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">&mdash;"<i>Pharsalia.</i>"<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>But in the prime of his years, Alexander was cut down,
+and Rome had yet more time in which to develop its strength
+preparatory to the deciding contest for the mastery of all the
+world. Sure it is that after Grecia, there followed the Roman
+Empire, the strongest and mightiest and most crushing of
+them all. This fourth universal empire the prophet proceeded
+to describe, as represented by the legs of iron in Nebuchadnezzar's
+dream of the great image.</p>
+
+
+<h4>Rome</h4>
+
+<p>"The fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch
+as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron
+that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>How appropriately the iron of the image fits the character
+of the fourth great empire! Gibbon, the historian, calls it
+"the iron monarchy of Rome." It broke in pieces the kingdoms,
+subduing all, just as prophecy had declared so long
+before. As iron is strongest of the common metals, so according
+to the prophecy&mdash;"as iron that breaketh all these"&mdash;this
+fourth kingdom was to be more powerful than any before
+it. Strabo, the geographer, who lived in the days of Tiberius
+C&aelig;sar, said,</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"The Romans have surpassed (in power) all former rulers of whom
+we have any record."&mdash;<i>"Geography," book 17, chap. 3.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>Hippolytus, bishop and martyr, who lived in Rome in
+the third century,&mdash;under the "iron monarchy,"&mdash;wrote thus
+of this prophecy:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Already the iron rules; already it subdues and breaks all in pieces;
+already it brings all the unwilling into subjection; already we see these
+things ourselves."&mdash;<i>"Treatise on Christ and Antichrist," sec. 33.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>Hippolytus also saw clearly from the prophecy that the
+empire of his day would be divided, and he wrote of the kingdoms
+that were "yet to rise" out of it. For Daniel's interpretation
+explained clearly the meaning of the mingling of
+clay with the iron in the feet and toes of the great image.</p>
+
+
+<h4>The Kingdoms of Modern Europe</h4>
+
+<p>"Whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters'
+clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there
+shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou
+sawest the iron mixed with miry clay.</p>
+
+<p>"And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of
+clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken.</p>
+
+<p>"And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay,
+they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they
+shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed
+with clay."</p>
+
+<p>"The kingdom shall be divided." So declared the prophet
+of God. In the height of its power, Rome scouted the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</a></span>
+thought that so mighty a fabric could ever be broken up.
+Horace sang in his "Odes,"</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"How, added to a conquered world,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Euphrates 'bates his tide,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And Huns, beyond our frontiers hurled,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">O'er straitened deserts ride.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;*&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;*&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;*&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;*&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;*<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"The Goths beyond the sea may plot,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The warlike Basques may plan;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Friend, never heed them! vex thee not;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">For this our mortal span<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Of little wants."<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">&mdash;<i>Book 2, Marris's Translation.</i><br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>But the words were written on the ancient parchment in
+the days of Babylon, "The kingdom shall be divided;" and
+true to the word of the prophet, the Roman Empire fell apart
+with the mixture of nations and peoples that swept into it.
+The elements did not hold together, even as the mixture of
+iron and clay in the image did not cleave together. Broken
+up by the invasions of fresh nations from the north, the Western
+Empire was divided into lesser kingdoms, out of which
+have grown the modern nations of western Europe.</p>
+
+<p>Not one word in the outline of the prophecy thus far has
+failed of fulfilment. These modern kingdoms growing out
+of divided Rome have never been reunited. "They shall
+mingle themselves with the seed of men," said the prophecy.
+Nearly all the reigning houses of Europe today are related by
+intermarriage; the prophecy said it would be so; but "they
+shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with
+clay." So we see it. No statesman, no master of legions, has
+been able to join these nations together again in one great
+empire. Charles V had the thought in mind, some think.
+Napoleon dreamed of doing it. But it was not to be. Nevermore
+was there to be one universal monarchy.</p>
+
+<p>We may know that as surely as the course of world empire
+has followed the exact outline of the prophecy put on the inspired
+record in the days of Babylon of old, just so surely the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</a></span>
+specifications of the closing portion of the outline will be fulfilled.</p>
+
+<p>The fourth great kingdom was to be divided. Rome was
+the fourth empire: it was divided. The kingdoms of the divided
+empire are acting their part before our eyes today.</p>
+
+
+<h4>The Next Great Event</h4>
+
+<p>And what next? That is the question for us. Now the
+prophetic outline that began with ancient Babylon touches the
+things of our own day. The word spoken before Nebuchadnezzar
+so long ago is now spoken especially to us:</p>
+
+<p>"In the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set
+up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom
+shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in
+pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.</p>
+
+<p>"Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of
+the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the
+iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great
+God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass
+hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation
+thereof sure."</p>
+
+<p>"In the days of these kings,"&mdash;these kingdoms of our
+own time,&mdash;the next great world-changing event is to be the
+coming of Christ to begin the setting up of his everlasting
+kingdom. That is the grand climax toward which all the
+course of history has been tending. At last the end is to come.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Down in the feet of iron and of clay,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Weak and divided, soon to pass away;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">What will the next great, glorious drama be?&mdash;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Christ and His coming, and eternity."<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>As the stone, cut out of the mountain "without hands,"
+smote the image, so that all its parts, representative of earthly
+dominion, were ground to dust and blown away, so Christ's
+coming kingdom, set up "without hands," by no human
+power, but by the power of the eternal God, will end all<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</a></span>
+earthly dominion and bring the utter destruction of sin and
+sinners out of the earth.</p>
+
+<p>"The dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure."</p>
+
+<p>Then may all eyes well be turned toward the next great
+step foretold in the prophetic outline&mdash;the coming of Christ's
+glorious everlasting kingdom, which shall not pass away.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Look for the waymarks as you journey on,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Look for the waymarks, passing one by one,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Down through the ages, past the kingdoms four,&mdash;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Where are we standing? Look the waymarks o'er."<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 448px;">
+<img src="images/p049.jpg" width="448" height="285" alt="PHOTOGRAPH BY MISSIONARY W.C. ISING
+
+Ruins of the Palace of Nebuchadnezzar, in which was the hall of Belshazzar&#39;s
+Feast." title="" />
+<span class="caption">PHOTOGRAPH BY MISSIONARY W.C. ISING<br />
+
+Ruins of the Palace of Nebuchadnezzar, in which was the hall of Belshazzar&#39;s
+Feast.</span>
+</div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;">
+<img src="images/p050.jpg" width="300" height="448" alt="THE ASCENSION
+OF CHRIST
+
+&quot;This same Jesus ... shall
+so come in like manner.&quot; Acts
+1:11.
+
+COPYRIGHT STANDARD PUB. CO." title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE ASCENSION
+OF CHRIST<br />
+
+&quot;This same Jesus ... shall
+so come in like manner.&quot; Acts
+1:11.
+
+COPYRIGHT STANDARD PUB. CO.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 448px;">
+<img src="images/p051.jpg" width="448" height="274" alt="THE TRIUMPHAL ENTRY INTO
+JERUSALEM
+
+&quot;Behold, thy King cometh,... lowly,
+and riding upon an ass.&quot; Zech. 9:9." title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE TRIUMPHAL ENTRY INTO
+JERUSALEM<br />
+
+&quot;Behold, thy King cometh,... lowly,
+and riding upon an ass.&quot; Zech. 9:9.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<h2>THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST</h2>
+
+
+<p>"Unto them that look for Him shall He appear the second
+time without sin unto salvation." Heb. 9:28.</p>
+
+<p>Too often the second coming of Christ is looked upon
+simply as a doctrine. It is, however, more than a doctrine
+merely to be believed; it is an impending event, something
+that is to take place on earth, and the most stupendous, all-transcendent
+event for the world since Christ came the first
+time to die on Calvary for the sins of men.</p>
+
+<p>This second coming of Christ, like His first coming, has
+been the theme of divine prophecy from the beginning. This
+was emphasized by the apostle Peter in his second recorded
+sermon. He pressed upon the people of Jerusalem the fact
+that the things "which God before had showed by the mouth
+of all His prophets, that Christ should suffer" (Acts 3:18),
+had been fulfilled to the letter before their eyes. Not a word
+had failed. Just so, he said, all that the prophets had spoken
+of His second coming would be fulfilled:</p>
+
+<p>"He shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached
+unto you: whom the heaven must receive until the times of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</a></span>
+restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth
+of all His holy prophets since the world began." Acts 3:20, 21.</p>
+
+
+<h4>The Promise of His Coming</h4>
+
+<p>As iniquity began to abound, God sent a message to the
+antediluvian world, declaring that Christ's coming in glory
+would end the reign of sin:</p>
+
+<p>"Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these,
+saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of His
+saints, to execute judgment upon all." Jude 14, 15.</p>
+
+<p>The promise of Christ's coming was the "blessed hope"
+in the patriarchal age. In Job's dark hour of trial his heart
+clung to the promise, and he was kept from despair:</p>
+
+<p>"I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that He shall
+stand at the latter day upon the earth: ... whom I shall see
+for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another."
+Job 19:25-27.</p>
+
+<p>The psalmist sang of it:</p>
+
+<p>"Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence: a fire
+shall devour before Him, and it shall be very tempestuous
+round about Him." Ps. 50:3.</p>
+
+<p>And the prophets of later times were unceasingly moved
+upon to talk of the glory of that coming, of events preceding
+it, and of the preparation for it.</p>
+
+<p>"I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which
+shall never hold their peace day nor night: ye that make mention
+of the Lord, keep not silence." "Behold, the Lord hath
+proclaimed unto the end of the world, Say ye to the daughter
+of Zion, Behold, thy salvation cometh; behold, His reward is
+with Him, and His work before Him." Isa. 62:6, 11.</p>
+
+<p>The message of His coming is to be heralded to the ends
+of the earth; for it is "good tidings of great joy" to every
+one who will receive it.</p>
+
+<p>On that last night with His disciples before the crucifixion,
+when His heart was sorrowful even unto death, as the burden<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</a></span>
+of all our iniquities was about to be laid upon Him, Christ's
+love for His own made precious to Him the thought of His
+second coming to gather them home at last, safe from all sin
+and trouble; and He said:</p>
+
+<p>"Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe
+also in Me. In My Father's house are many mansions:
+if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a
+place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will
+come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am,
+there ye may be also." John 14:1-3.</p>
+
+<p>In that assurance the heart finds rest. O the preciousness
+of the promise, "I will come again"! "I am coming for you,"
+is the cheering message. "Yes, Lord," we reply, "we will
+wait, and watch, and be ready, by Thy grace."</p>
+
+
+<h4>The Manner of His Coming</h4>
+
+<p>Christ's second coming is to be visible to all the world.
+There is to be nothing secret or mystical about it. The revelator
+says:</p>
+
+<p>"Behold, He cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see
+Him." Rev. 1:7.</p>
+
+<p>Christ Himself described the scene to His disciples as it
+will appear to the eyes of all:</p>
+
+<p>"As the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth
+even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of
+man be." Matt. 24:27. "Then shall they see the Son of
+man coming in the clouds with great power and glory." Mark
+13:26.</p>
+
+<p>The day of the Lord&mdash;the close of probation, the initial
+outpouring of the judgments of God&mdash;will come "as a thief
+in the night," but Christ's personal appearing will be visible
+to all. The heavens will open, the earth quake, the trump
+of God resound, and such glory as mortal eye has never seen
+will burst upon the world when He comes as King of kings
+and Lord of lords.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"He comes not an infant in Bethlehem born,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">He comes not to lie in a manger;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">He comes not again to be treated with scorn,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">He comes not a shelterless stranger;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">He comes not to Gethsemane,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">To weep and sweat blood in the garden;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">He comes not to die on the tree,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">To purchase for rebels a pardon.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Oh, no; glory, bright glory,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Environs Him now."<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 448px;">
+<img src="images/p054.jpg" width="448" height="303" alt="THE TRANSFIGURATION A
+TYPE OF HIS COMING
+
+&quot;Behold, there appeared unto them Moses
+and Elias talking with Him.&quot; Matt. 17:3." title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE TRANSFIGURATION A
+TYPE OF HIS COMING<br />
+
+&quot;Behold, there appeared unto them Moses
+and Elias talking with Him.&quot; Matt. 17:3.</span>
+</div>
+
+<h4>"This Same Jesus"</h4>
+
+<p>The Lord would have His children understand that this
+One who comes in power and glory is the same Saviour of
+men who once walked by blue Galilee. As the disciples were
+watching their Saviour, and ours, ascending bodily into heaven
+from Olivet, until "a cloud received Him out of their sight,"
+suddenly two angels stood by them, who said:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven?
+this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven,
+shall so come in like manner as ye have seen Him go into
+heaven." Acts 1:9, 11.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 448px;">
+<img src="images/p055.jpg" width="448" height="289" alt="CHRIST SET AT NAUGHT
+BY THE ROMANS
+
+&quot;Behold your King!&quot; John 19:14." title="" />
+<span class="caption">CHRIST SET AT NAUGHT
+BY THE ROMANS<br />
+
+&quot;Behold your King!&quot; John 19:14.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>"This same Jesus"! It was the loving Friend and Elder
+Brother, Son of man as well as Son of God, who was passing
+from their sight. He will come back the "same Jesus,"
+though in glory indescribable, having "all the holy angels
+with Him."</p>
+
+<p>The prophet Habakkuk thus described Christ's glorious
+appearing, as it was represented to him in vision:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"His glory covered the heavens,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And the earth was full of His praise.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And His brightness was as the light;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">He had rays coming forth from His hand;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And there was the hiding of His power."<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Hab. 3:3, 4, A.R.V.<br /></span>
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</a></span></div></div>
+
+<p>Surely it is the "same Jesus," and the mark of the cruel nails
+is the shining badge of His power to save.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"I shall know Him<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">By the print of the nails in His hands."<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>As the redeemed see Him who was crucified for them coming
+in glory, they will cry, "Lo, this is our God; we have
+waited for Him, and He will save us: this is the Lord; we
+have waited for Him, we will be glad and rejoice in His
+salvation." Isa. 25:9.</p>
+
+<p>But that day will be a day of darkness as well as of light.
+The unready, the unrepentant, will realize too late that in
+rejecting Christ's pardon and love and sacrifice, they have
+rejected the only means by which they might have been prepared
+to meet the coming King, before whose face no sin can
+endure. "Every eye shall see Him," the apostle says, and
+he describes the terror of that day to the unprepared:</p>
+
+<p>"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; 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: for the
+great day of His wrath is come; and who shall be able to
+stand?" Rev. 6:15-17.</p>
+
+<p>The scenes of that great day are so beyond human comprehension
+that it is difficult to realize that such a time is
+actually before us.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Then, O my Lord, prepare<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">My soul for that great day."<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<h4>The Purpose of His Coming</h4>
+
+<p>The Scriptures make very clear the purpose of Christ's
+second coming and the events of that great day. It has been
+the hope of the children of God through all the ages. The
+apostle Paul calls it the "blessed hope."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"The grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared
+to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly
+lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this
+present world; looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious
+appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ."
+Titus 2:11-13.</p>
+
+<p>The saints of God have fallen asleep in death with their
+faith reaching forward to Christ's glorious appearing. So the
+veteran apostle fell, with eyes upon "that day."</p>
+
+<p>"I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure
+is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished
+my course, I have kept the faith: henceforth there is
+laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the
+righteous Judge, shall give me at that day: and not to
+me only, but unto all them also that love His appearing."
+2 Tim. 4:6-8.</p>
+
+<p>Christ's second coming is the grand climax of the plan of
+salvation. Not till then are the children of God ushered into
+the eternal kingdom. Then the crowns of life are bestowed,
+and the saved all go together through the gates into the city&mdash;patriarch
+and prophet, apostle and reformer, and the child
+of God of this last generation. Of the ancient worthies it is
+written:</p>
+
+<p>"These all, having obtained a good report through faith,
+received not the promise: God having provided some better
+thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect."
+Heb. 11:39, 40.</p>
+
+<p>What a glorious day it will be when the ransomed of all
+the ages, march in together through the gates into the city!</p>
+
+<p>It is to take His children to their eternal home that Christ
+comes the second time. This was His promise to the disciples:</p>
+
+<p>"I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare
+a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself;
+that where I am, there ye may be also." John 14:2, 3.</p>
+
+<p>Not in detail, but in their general order, let us follow the
+events of that great day.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 299px;">
+<img src="images/p058.jpg" width="299" height="448" alt="CHRIST COMING IN GLORY
+
+&quot;The Son of man shall come in His glory,
+and all the holy angels with Him.&quot; Matt.
+25:31." title="" />
+<span class="caption">CHRIST COMING IN GLORY<br />
+
+&quot;The Son of man shall come in His glory,
+and all the holy angels with Him.&quot; Matt.
+25:31.</span>
+</div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<h4>The Prelude to His Coming</h4>
+
+<p>as the revelator saw it and heard it in a vision of the last
+day:</p>
+
+<p>"There came a great voice out of the temple of heaven,
+from the throne, saying, It is done. And there were voices,
+and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake,
+such as was not since men were upon the earth,...
+and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon came in
+remembrance before God." Rev. 16:17-19.</p>
+
+<p>"The heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together;
+and every mountain and island were moved out of
+their places." Rev. 6:14.</p>
+
+
+<h4>His Glorious Appearing</h4>
+
+<p>Then bursts upon the world the glory of our Saviour's
+coming:</p>
+
+<p>"Then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven:
+and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they
+shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with
+power and great glory. And He shall send His angels with
+a great sound of a trumpet." Matt. 24:30, 31.</p>
+
+<p>"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. And another angel
+came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to Him that
+sat on the cloud, Thrust in Thy sickle, and reap: for the
+time is come for Thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth
+is ripe." Rev. 14:14, 15.</p>
+
+
+<h4>The Resurrection of the Just, and the Translation
+of the Living Righteous</h4>
+
+<p>The time to reap has come, and the wheat is gathered at
+last into the garner of the Lord:</p>
+
+<p>"We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a
+moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</a></span>
+trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible,
+and we shall be changed." 1 Cor. 15:51, 52.</p>
+
+<p>"He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet,
+and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds,
+from one end of heaven to the other." Matt. 24:31.</p>
+
+<p>"This we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we
+which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall
+not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord Himself
+shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the
+Archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ
+shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be
+caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord
+in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore
+comfort one another with these words." 1 Thess. 4:15-18.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 448px;">
+<img src="images/p060.jpg" width="448" height="293" alt="THE EMPTY TOMB
+
+&quot;Christ the first fruits; afterward they
+that are Christ&#39;s at His coming.&quot; 1 Cor. 15:23." title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE EMPTY TOMB<br />
+
+&quot;Christ the first fruits; afterward they
+that are Christ&#39;s at His coming.&quot; 1 Cor. 15:23.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The righteous dead are raised to life as the trump of God
+sounds and the voice of the Archangel calls to His sleeping
+saints, and the living righteous are transformed from mortality<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</a></span>
+to immortality. Then all together, with the escort of the
+angels, they follow the Saviour to the heavenly mansions that
+He has prepared in the city of God.</p>
+
+
+<h4>The Destruction of the Wicked</h4>
+
+<p>Before the glorious majesty of the coming King no sin can
+endure; for true it is that "our God is a consuming fire"&mdash;now,
+in the day of His mercy, consuming sin out of the heart
+that by faith approaches the throne of grace, but in that
+day consuming the unrepentant sinner with his sin.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Where will the sinner hide in that day, in that day?<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Where will the sinner hide in that day?<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">It will be in vain to call,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">'Ye mountains on us fall!'<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">For His hand will find out all in that day."<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>It is the great day long foretold by seer and prophet.</p>
+
+<p>Again let us read the description of what it will mean to
+the unsaved to see Christ coming in glory; for the terror of
+that day must warn us now to keep within the refuge of the
+Saviour's loving grace:</p>
+
+<p>"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; 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: for
+the great day of His wrath is come; and who shall be able to
+stand?" Rev. 6:15-17.</p>
+
+<p>The same glory that transforms the righteous is a consuming
+fire to those who have rejected Christ's salvation:</p>
+
+<p>"Then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord
+shall consume with the spirit of His mouth, and shall destroy
+with the brightness of His coming." 2 Thess. 2:8.</p>
+
+<p>"When the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with
+His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</a></span>
+that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord
+Jesus Christ: who shall be punished with everlasting destruction
+from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory
+of His power." 2 Thess. 1:7-9.</p>
+
+
+<h4>The Climax of Human History</h4>
+
+<p>Thus the second coming of Christ brings the resurrection
+and translation of the righteous, the death of the wicked, and
+the end of the world. The resurrection of the wicked does
+not then take place, but only that of the just; save for some
+of the wicked dead who had a special part in warring against
+Christ,&mdash;"they also which pierced Him" (Rev. 1:7). These
+are raised to see His coming, necessarily to fall again before
+the consuming glory of His presence.</p>
+
+<p>The righteous are taken to reign with Christ in the heavenly
+city for a thousand years, and during the same period
+the earth lies in desolation and chaos, uninhabited by man, a
+dark abyss, the dreary prison house of Satan. Of the two
+resurrections, first of the just and then of the unjust, we
+are told:</p>
+
+<p>"They [the righteous] lived and reigned with Christ a
+thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again
+until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
+Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first
+resurrection: on such the second death hath no power." Rev.
+20:4-6.</p>
+
+<p>It is at the end of the thousand years that the resurrection
+of the wicked takes place. Then the city of God descends,
+"the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from
+God out of heaven," and the wicked come forth to condemnation
+and the second death, from which there is no waking.</p>
+
+
+<h4>"Now is the Accepted Time"</h4>
+
+<p>Now is the day of salvation, when by Christ's grace we
+may prepare for that great day. To be found among His
+redeemed ones in that day will be of infinitely greater worth<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</a></span>
+than anything this world can give, of pleasure, or possessions,
+or honor. Nothing will count then but the blessed hope.</p>
+
+<p>Selina, Countess of Huntingdon, found the personal Saviour
+in the days of the Methodist revival in England. All
+her wealth and all her social influence were devoted to Christ,
+even though titled friends took umbrage at her close association
+with the poor and the humble who gave heed to the
+message of the hour, and pressed into the kingdom. She
+wrote of her joy in being numbered with the children of God:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"I love to meet among them now,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Before Thy gracious throne to bow,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Though weakest of them all;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Nor can I bear the piercing thought,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">To have my worthless name left out,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">When Thou for them shalt call.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Prevent, prevent it by Thy grace.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Be Thou, dear Lord, my hiding place<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">In that expected day.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Thy pardoning voice, O let me hear,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">To still each unbelieving fear,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Nor let me fall, I pray."<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>One night, at a royal ball, the Prince of Wales asked a
+titled lady where the Countess of Huntingdon was. "Oh, I
+suppose she is praying with some of her beggars somewhere!"
+was the flippant answer. "Ah," said the crown prince, "in
+the last day I think I should be glad to hold the hem of Lady
+Huntingdon's mantle." True it is that the greatest gift of
+grace now, as it will be then, is to be numbered among the
+obedient children of God.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Let me among Thy saints be found,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Whene'er the Archangel's trump shall sound,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">To see Thy smiling face;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Then joyfully Thy praise I'll sing,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">While heaven's resounding mansions ring<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">With shouts of endless grace."<br /></span>
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</a></span></div></div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 299px;">
+<img src="images/p064.jpg" width="299" height="442" alt="CHRIST ANSWERING HIS
+DISCIPLES&#39; QUESTIONS
+
+&quot;When shall these things be? and what
+shall be the sign of Thy coming, and of
+the end of the world?&quot; Matt. 24:3." title="" />
+<span class="caption">CHRIST ANSWERING HIS
+DISCIPLES&#39; QUESTIONS<br />
+
+&quot;When shall these things be? and what
+shall be the sign of Thy coming, and of
+the end of the world?&quot; Matt. 24:3.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 448px;">
+<img src="images/p065.jpg" width="448" height="294" alt="THE DESTRUCTION OF THE
+TEMPLE FORETOLD
+
+&quot;There shall not be left here one stone
+upon another, that shall not be thrown
+down.&quot; Matt. 24:2." title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE DESTRUCTION OF THE
+TEMPLE FORETOLD<br />
+
+&quot;There shall not be left here one stone
+upon another, that shall not be thrown
+down.&quot; Matt. 24:2.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<h2><a name="SIGNS_OF_THE_APPROACHING_END" id="SIGNS_OF_THE_APPROACHING_END"></a>SIGNS OF THE APPROACHING END</h2>
+
+
+<h3>OUR SAVIOUR'S GREAT PROPHECY</h3>
+
+<h4>Part I</h4>
+
+<p>Christ had spoken of the coming desolation of the sacred
+temple at Jerusalem. The disciples were astonished. "Master,
+see," said one, "what manner of stones and what buildings
+are here!" The Saviour replied:</p>
+
+<p>"Seest thou these great buildings? there shall not be left
+one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down"
+Mark 13:2.</p>
+
+
+<h4>"What Shall be the Sign?"</h4>
+
+<p>As soon as they were alone on the Mount of Olives overlooking
+the city, the disciples came to Jesus, saying:</p>
+
+<p>"Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be
+the sign of Thy coming, and of the end of the world?" Matt.
+24:3.</p>
+
+<p>Replying to this question, the Saviour spoke first of the
+fall of Jerusalem; He foretold in a sentence the experiences of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</a></span>
+His church through dark ages to follow; then He described
+the events of the latter days, the signs showing His second
+advent near at hand; and, finally, He pictured the scenes of
+His own glorious appearing in the clouds of heaven. The
+fullest record of the discourse is found in the twenty-fourth
+chapter of Matthew.</p>
+
+
+<h4>A Striking Parallel</h4>
+
+<p>The first portion of the prophetic discourse (verses 4-14)
+deals with general conditions that were to prevail both in the
+last days of the Jewish state, and on a yet larger scale in the
+course of history leading to the last days of the world. There
+was so close a parallel between these times that Christ, in one
+description, answered both questions asked, When shall these
+things come upon Jerusalem? and, What shall be the signs
+of the end of the world?</p>
+
+<p>The prophetic word foretold the rise of false Christs, the
+coming of wars, famines, and earthquakes in "divers places."
+The believers saw these things fulfilled in that generation before
+Jerusalem fell; but as we read the prophecy, we see the
+wider application and yet larger fulfilment through the course
+of history since that day, these calamities increasing in the
+earth as the end draws near. Before the end of the Jewish
+state, the believers carried the gospel to all the known world
+of their day. (See Col. 1:23.) In these latter days we are
+seeing the yet wider proclamation of the gospel, as foretold
+in the fourteenth verse, "This gospel of the kingdom shall
+be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations;
+and then shall the end come."</p>
+
+
+<h4>The Last Days of Jerusalem</h4>
+
+<p>We may note briefly some of the events of Jerusalem's
+last days. Christ had forewarned the believers:</p>
+
+<p>"Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall
+come in My name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive
+many."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Having rejected the true Christ, the nation was open to
+deception by the false. We catch just a glimpse of the fulfilment
+in the book of Acts; in secular history the full story is
+told. Ridpath says:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Never was a people so turbulent, so excited with expectation of a
+deliverer who should restore the ancient kingdom, so fired with bigotry
+and fanaticism, as were the wretched Jews of this period. One Christ
+came after another. Revolt was succeeded by revolt, instigated by some
+pseudo-prophet or pretended king."&mdash;<i>"History of the World," Vol. I, p. 849
+(Part III, chap. 19).</i></p></div>
+
+<p>During the Saviour's life and ministry a divine hand had
+to a great extent held the elements of violence in check, but
+as the light was rejected more and more, the spirit of evil
+came to hold sway unrestrained. Dr. Mears well describes
+the changed conditions in these words:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"The narrative of the evangelists presents a tranquil scene, a succession
+of attractive pictures, in striking contrast to the bloody and tumultuous
+events which crowd each other in the pages of Josephus."&mdash;<i>"From
+Exile to Overthrow," pp. 256, 257.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>Thus the events led rapidly on toward the day of Jerusalem's
+fall, so long foretold by the prophets.</p>
+
+
+<h4>The Sign to the Believers</h4>
+
+<p>The disciples had asked for a sign, and Christ gave them
+a token by which they might know when the time to flee
+from Jerusalem had come. Here Luke's Gospel gives the
+fullest record:</p>
+
+<p>"When ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then
+know that the desolation thereof is nigh. Then let them
+which are in Judea flee to the mountains; and let them which
+are in the midst of it depart out; and let not them that are
+in the countries enter thereinto. For these be the days of
+vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled."
+Luke 21:20-22.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 448px;">
+<img src="images/p068.jpg" width="448" height="262" alt="THE SIEGE OF JERUSALEM BY THE
+ROMANS UNDER TITUS, a.d. 70
+
+&quot;When ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then
+know that the desolation thereof is nigh.&quot; Luke 21:20." title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE SIEGE OF JERUSALEM BY THE
+ROMANS UNDER TITUS, A.D. 70<br />
+
+&quot;When ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then
+know that the desolation thereof is nigh.&quot; Luke 21:20.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The unbelieving in Jerusalem and Judea could not conceive
+that their city, so long protected and favored of God,
+could be destroyed. Not even the appearance of the Roman<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</a></span>
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</a></span>armies could shake their blind self-confidence. But at the
+first sight of the encircling armies, the Christians knew that
+the time for flight was at hand. But how to flee was the question,
+with the compassing lines drawn close about the city.
+Moreover, the Zealots, the furious war party in power, would
+be little likely to allow any number to pass out to the Roman
+forces.</p>
+
+<p>Just here God's providence made a way of escape. Cestius,
+the Roman commander, after having partially undermined
+one of the temple walls, suddenly decided to defer pushing
+the attack. "He retired from the city," says Josephus,
+"without any reason in the world." (See "Wars," book 2,
+chap. 19.) And the Zealots flew out after the retiring Romans,
+furiously attacking the rear guards.</p>
+
+<p>Then those watching Christians knew that the time for
+quick flight had come, according to Christ's prophecy uttered
+many years before. They fled out of the city and out of the
+country round about.</p>
+
+<p>Through all the years, Christ's prophecy had exhorted
+them, "Pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither
+on the Sabbath day." Matt. 24:20. The prayer was answered,
+for it was in the autumn and on a week day that the
+flight was made.<a name="FNanchor_B_2" id="FNanchor_B_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_B_2" class="fnanchor">[B]</a> Watching for the sign, and instantly obeying,
+they were delivered.</p>
+
+<p>Thus it was that when the Romans returned later to the
+siege, never to give up till the city fell, none of the Christians
+were overwhelmed in its destruction. Even so are we to
+watch the signs of our own times, that we may escape those
+things that are coming upon the earth, and be ready to "stand
+before the Son of man."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<h4>The Prophetic Word Fulfilled</h4>
+
+<p>Christ had declared that the temple, the pride of the nation,
+would be utterly destroyed. In the last siege, the Roman
+commander tried to spare the magnificent pile. When
+the Jews made it their chief fortress, because of its massive
+strength, Titus remonstrated with them, saying:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"If you will but change the place whereon you fight, no Roman
+shall either come near your sanctuary, or offer any affront to it; nay, I
+will endeavor to preserve you your holy house, whether you will or
+not."&mdash;<i>Josephus, "Wars of the Jews," book 6, chap. 2.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>But the prophecy was fulfilled to the letter. The people
+seemed possessed with fury. The hardened Roman pagans
+were astonished at their suicidal rashness. Titus's efforts to
+save the temple failed, and it went down in ruin, as Christ
+had foretold.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 443px;">
+<img src="images/p070.jpg" width="443" height="288" alt="A PANEL FROM THE
+ARCH OF TITUS
+
+Showing the golden candlestick and other
+sacred vessels of the temple being carried
+in triumph through the streets of Rome." title="" />
+<span class="caption">A PANEL FROM THE
+ARCH OF TITUS<br />
+
+Showing the golden candlestick and other
+sacred vessels of the temple being carried
+in triumph through the streets of Rome.</span>
+</div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The disciples of Christ had called His attention to the immense
+blocks of stone that composed the temple walls. "See,
+what manner of stones," one said. When Titus examined
+these same stones, after the fall of the city, he is said to have
+declared:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"We have certainly had God for our assistant in this war, and it was
+no other than God who ejected the Jews out of these
+fortifications."<a name="FNanchor_C_3" id="FNanchor_C_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_C_3" class="fnanchor">[C]</a>&mdash;<i>Id., book 6, chap. 9.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>Rather, we would say, in the light of Scripture teaching,
+the destruction that came upon the city was but the fruit of
+its own way. God's guardian care had long protected the
+city of David. When His protection was finally thrust aside
+and the people put themselves in the power of the great destroyer,
+divine justice could no longer save the city from the
+judgments that were bound to fall upon persistent transgression
+against light.</p>
+
+<p>The lesson is one of those written "for our admonition
+upon whom the ends of the world are come." Jerusalem, in
+that generation of great light and high privilege, fell because
+it knew not the time of its visitation. Still Christ's sad lament
+bears its warning to the ears of men: "If thou hadst
+known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which
+belong unto thy peace!" Luke 19:42.</p>
+
+
+<h4>Part II</h4>
+
+<p>Having foretold the destruction of Jerusalem, and given
+to the believers signs by which they might find deliverance
+in the day of its overthrow, Christ yet more fully answered
+the second part of the disciples' question, "What shall be the
+sign of Thy coming, and of the end of the world?" Matt.
+24:3.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 302px;">
+<img src="images/p072.jpg" width="302" height="448" alt="THE CATACOMBS
+NEAR ROME
+
+In these underground passages persecuted
+Christians found a hiding place, held their
+services, and buried their dead." title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE CATACOMBS
+NEAR ROME<br />
+
+In these underground passages persecuted
+Christians found a hiding place, held their
+services, and buried their dead.</span>
+</div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<h4>The Period of Tribulation</h4>
+
+<p>Quickly He passed to the events of the latter days. But
+first He sketched, in a few words, the tribulations through
+which His church was to pass during the intervening centuries.
+Daniel the prophet had written of this experience, foretelling
+the long period during which the papal power was to
+"wear out the saints of the Most High." Dan. 7:25. Of
+these times, Christ said in His prophetic discourse:</p>
+
+<p>"Then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since
+the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
+And except those days should be shortened, there should no
+flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be
+shortened." Matt. 24:21, 22.</p>
+
+<p>It is evident that Christ referred to the time of tribulation
+foretold by Daniel, not to the trials attending the flight of
+the Christians from Jerusalem, for their flight was a deliverance
+of the elect from trial. However much the weak may
+have suffered temporarily in fleeing from their homes, the
+great suffering of that time came upon the unbelieving, who
+had no shelter.</p>
+
+<p>This prophecy given by our Saviour presents the picture
+of a long-continued persecution of His own elect, and foretells
+the shortening of the allotted time. God was to intervene
+in some special way to save His people. And it was
+even so. The elect did suffer all through the centuries of
+intolerance, until the rise of the Reformation and the spreading
+abroad of God's Word broke the power of ecclesiasticism,
+thus shortening the days of bitter tribulation.</p>
+
+
+<h4>The End Drawing Near</h4>
+
+<p>According to Daniel's further prophecy, the period of trial
+and persecution was to reach "even to the time of the end."
+Dan. 11:35. Naturally, then, we should look for the signs
+of the latter days to begin to appear following these days of
+tribulation. And so we find the next words of Christ's discourse
+introducing the topic of His second coming. From<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</a></span>
+now on the prophetic outline deals with events leading down
+to the end of the age.</p>
+
+<p>First the Saviour utters a warning against false ideas concerning
+His second coming. That no theories of a secret
+coming or of a mystic coming might deceive the unwary,
+He says in plain words:</p>
+
+<p>"If any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or
+there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and
+false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch
+that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very
+elect. Behold, I have told you before. Wherefore if they
+shall say unto you, Behold, He is in the desert; go not forth:
+behold, He is in the secret chambers; believe it not. For as
+the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto
+the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be."
+Matt. 24:23-27.</p>
+
+<p>Today we see the need of this warning. Some of the most
+subtle deceptions are found in the teaching that Christ has
+already come, secretly, or that He comes in the chamber of
+death, or in the spiritualistic s&eacute;ance. Against all these errors
+we are forewarned, as well as against any agencies that may
+come showing marvelous signs and wonders. The close of
+human probation, the coming of the day of God, will be as a
+thief in the night; and Christ's coming itself will overtake the
+unwatchful all unprepared. Nevertheless, when He comes,
+"every eye shall see Him," and all the glory of heaven will
+burst upon a quaking world.</p>
+
+
+<h4>Signs in the Heavens and the Earth</h4>
+
+<p>Now the Saviour's outline of prophecy presents the signs
+which were to show when the coming of the Lord was near.
+Referring again to the days of tribulation foretold by the
+prophet Daniel, Christ says:</p>
+
+<p>"Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the
+sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and
+the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</a></span>
+shall be shaken: and then shall appear the sign of the Son of
+man in heaven." Matt. 24:29, 30.</p>
+
+<p>In Luke's record of the same prophetic discourse, additional
+signs are given, describing conditions in the earth as
+Christ's coming draws near. His account reads:</p>
+
+<p>"There shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and
+in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity;
+the sea and the waves roaring; men's hearts failing
+them for fear, and for looking after those things which are
+coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.
+And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud
+with power and great glory. And when these things begin
+to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for
+your redemption draweth nigh." Luke 21:25-28.</p>
+
+<p>Yet again, the prophet John, in the Revelation, foretells
+these signs in the sun and moon and stars, as they were presented
+to him in a vision of the last days. But his record
+shows that this series of signs was to be preceded by a great
+earthquake. He describes the order of events as follows:</p>
+
+<p>"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; 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."
+Rev. 6:12, 13.</p>
+
+<p>In these scriptures four great signs of Christ's approaching
+advent are listed for our study, as follows:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">1. The great earthquake.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">2. The darkening of the sun and moon.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">3. The falling of the stars.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">4. Distress of nations, and other signs.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+
+<h4>The Time When the Signs Begin</h4>
+
+<p>Christ's prophecy points out approximately the time
+when the first of the signs that He gave, the darkening of
+the sun, should appear,&mdash;"immediately after the tribulation<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</a></span>
+of those days." And the "great earthquake" of John's vision
+was to precede this sign in the heavens.</p>
+
+<p>The Reformation of the sixteenth century began to cut
+short the days of tribulation; but some countries shut out
+the liberalizing influences of the Word of God, and there the
+persecution continued.</p>
+
+<p>Even as late as near the end of the seventeenth century,
+in 1685, France revoked the Edict of Nantes, that had
+granted toleration, and persecution raged as of old. The
+church was driven again to the desert. Speaking of the early
+decades of the eighteenth century, Kurtz says:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"In France the persecution of the Huguenots continued.... The
+'pastors of the desert' performed their duties at the risk of their
+lives."&mdash;<i>"Church
+History," Vol. III, p. 88.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>There was severe persecution of the Moravians in Austria,
+in these times, many of the persecuted finding refuge in Saxony.
+It was in 1722 that Christian David led the first band
+of Moravian refugees to settle on the estates of Count Zinzendorf,
+who organized through them the great pioneer movement
+of modern missions.</p>
+
+<p>But by the middle of the century, the era of enlightenment
+and the force of world opinion, in the good providence
+of God, had so permeated the Catholic states of Europe that
+general violent persecution had ceased. One incident will
+suffice as evidence of this.</p>
+
+<p>The scene was in France, where alone, of all the Catholic
+states, there were any great numbers of Protestants. In 1762
+a Huguenot of Toulouse, unjustly charged with crime, was
+put to torture and to death, under the pressure of the old
+persecuting spirit. Many Huguenots thought the persecutions
+of former times were reviving, and prepared to flee to
+Switzerland. But Voltaire took up the matter, and so wrought
+upon public opinion that the Paris parliament reviewed the
+case, and the king paid the man's family a large indemnity.</p>
+
+<p>This shows that by the middle of that century the days
+of any general persecution had ceased. In the nature of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</a></span>
+case, we may not point to the exact year and say, Here the
+days of tribulation ended.</p>
+
+<p>From these times, then, we are to scan the record of history
+to learn if the appointed signs began to appear. As we
+look, we find the events recorded, following on in the order
+predicted:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">1. The Lisbon earthquake, cf 1755.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">2. The dark day, cf 1780.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">3. The falling stars, cf 1833.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">4. General conditions and movements betokening the end.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>"There shall be signs," the Saviour said. We are to study
+the record of events, watching to catch the signs of the approaching
+end as earnestly as the mariner watches the beacon
+lights when he nears the longed-for haven on a dark and
+stormy night.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 441px;">
+<img src="images/p077.jpg" width="441" height="336" alt="AN ANCIENT FLOUR MILL
+
+&quot;Two women shall be grinding at the mill;
+the one shall be taken, and the other left.&quot;
+Matt. 24:41." title="" />
+<span class="caption">AN ANCIENT FLOUR MILL<br />
+
+&quot;Two women shall be grinding at the mill;
+the one shall be taken, and the other left.&quot;
+Matt. 24:41.</span>
+</div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_B_2" id="Footnote_B_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_B_2"><span class="label">[B]</span></a> It was in the autumn that the army of Cestius closed in upon
+Jerusalem.
+According to the careful record of Graetz, the Jewish historian, it was
+evidently
+on a Wednesday that the Roman army retired, pursued by all the forces
+of the city. This was the instant for the flight of the Christians. Next day
+"the Zealots, shouting exultant war songs, returned to Jerusalem (8th
+October)."&mdash;<i>"History
+of the Jews," Vol. II, p. 268.</i> The day before was the time
+for unhindered flight.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_C_3" id="Footnote_C_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_C_3"><span class="label">[C]</span></a> Apollonius, the friend and counselor of Titus, left a similar
+testimony to
+the latter's conviction that there was something supernatural about the forces
+of destruction let loose upon Jerusalem: "After Titus had taken Jerusalem,
+and when the country all round was filled with corpses, the neighboring races
+offered him a crown: but he disclaimed any such honor to himself, saying that
+it was not he himself that had accomplished this exploit, but that he had
+merely lent his arms to God, who had so manifested His wrath."&mdash;<i>Philostratus,
+"Life of Apollonius," book 6, chap. 29.</i></p></div></div>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 448px;">
+<img src="images/p078.jpg" width="448" height="271" alt="LISBON FROM ACROSS THE BAY
+
+The scene of the great earthquake and tidal wave, Nov. 1, 1755,
+when in six minutes sixty thousand people perished." title="" />
+<span class="caption">LISBON FROM ACROSS THE BAY<br />
+
+The scene of the great earthquake and tidal wave, Nov. 1, 1755,
+when in six minutes sixty thousand people perished.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+
+<h2><a name="THE_LISBON_EARTHQUAKE_OF_1755" id="THE_LISBON_EARTHQUAKE_OF_1755"></a>THE LISBON EARTHQUAKE OF 1755</h2>
+
+
+<h4>"Lo, There Was a Great Earthquake"</h4>
+
+<p>The first of a series of signs of the approaching end is
+thus described by the revelator:</p>
+
+<p>"I beheld when He had opened the sixth seal, and, lo,
+there was a great earthquake." Rev. 6:12.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 448px;">
+<img src="images/p079.jpg" width="448" height="285" alt="THE LISBON EARTHQUAKE
+
+&quot;There shall be famines, and pestilences, and
+earthquakes, in divers places.&quot; Matt. 24:7." title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE LISBON EARTHQUAKE<br />
+
+&quot;There shall be famines, and pestilences, and
+earthquakes, in divers places.&quot; Matt. 24:7.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The verses immediately preceding this scripture plainly
+describe the days of persecution of the saints of God, and the
+era of protest and reform that cut short that time of tribulation.
+Then this first sign appears. This is in harmony with
+Christ's statement that the signs of His second coming should
+begin to appear following the tribulation of those days.</p>
+
+<p>Just about the close of the days of tribulation occurred
+the Lisbon earthquake, as it is called, though its effects
+reached far beyond Portugal. Prof. W.H. Hobbs, geologist,
+says of it:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Among the earth movements which in historic times have affected
+the kingdom of Portugal, that of Nov. 1, 1755, takes first rank, as it does,
+also, in some respects, among all recorded earthquakes.... In six minutes
+sixty thousand people perished."&mdash;<i>"Earthquakes," pp. 142, 143.</i></p></div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Lo, there was a great earthquake," the revelator said.
+It was indeed "a great earthquake," and great was its influence.
+In all the world, men's hearts were mightily stirred.
+James Parton, an English author, says of it:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"The Lisbon earthquake of Nov. 1, 1755, appears to have put both
+the theologians and philosophers on the defensive.... At twenty minutes
+to ten that morning, Lisbon was firm and magnificent, on one of the most
+picturesque and commanding sites in the world,&mdash;a city of superb approach,
+placed precisely where every circumstance had concurred to say
+to the founders, Build here! In six minutes the city was in ruins....
+Half the world felt the convulsion.... For many weeks, as we see in the
+letters and memoirs of that time, people in distant parts of Europe went
+to bed in alarm, relieved in the morning to find that they had escaped the
+fate of Lisbon one night more."&mdash;<i>"Life of Voltaire," Vol. II, pp. 208,
+209.</i></p></div>
+
+
+<h4>The World Set to Thinking</h4>
+
+<p>This earthquake set men to thinking of the great day of
+God. Voltaire, the French philosopher, was "profoundly
+moved" by it, we are told. "It was the last judgment for
+that region," he wrote; "nothing was wanting to it except
+the trumpet." More than a month afterward, while still the
+perturbations of the earth were continuing, this skeptic wrote
+a poem upon the problem presented, voicing the sentiment:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"My heart oppress'd demands<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Aid of the God who formed me with his hands.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Sons of the God supreme to suffer all<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Fated alike, we on our Father call....<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Sad is the present if no future state,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">No blissful retribution mortals wait,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">If fate's decrees the thinking being doom<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">To lose existence in the silent tomb.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0"><i>All may be well</i>; that hope can man sustain.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0"><i>All now is well</i>; 'tis an illusion vain.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The sages held me forth delusive light,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Divine instructions only can be right.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Humbly I sigh, submissive suffer pain,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Nor more the ways of Providence arraign."<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">&mdash;"<i>Poem on the Destruction of Lisbon,</i>"<br /></span>
+<span class="i0"><i>Smollet's translation; Works, Vol. XXXIII, ed. 1761.</i><br /></span>
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</a></span></div></div>
+
+<p>Just at the time, plans were under way for the opening
+of a theater at Lausanne for the special performance of some
+of Voltaire's rationalistic dramas. But the enterprise was
+deferred. One writer says:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"The earthquake had made all men thoughtful. They mistrusted
+their love of the drama, and filled the churches instead."&mdash;<i>Tallentyre,
+"Life of Voltaire," p. 319.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>So, in an age of rationalism and unbelief, men's thoughts
+were turned toward God, and human helplessness and earth's
+instability were recognized.</p>
+
+
+<h4>Extent of the Lisbon Earthquake</h4>
+
+<p>As to the extent of the earthquake, a writer of the period
+shows that it was felt in Sweden and in Africa and in the
+West Indies, adding:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"The effects were distributed over very nearly four millions of
+square English miles of the earth's surface, and greatly surpassed anything
+of the kind ever recorded in history."&mdash;<i>"History and Philosophy
+of Earthquakes" (London, 1757), p. 333.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>The commander of an English ship, lying off Lisbon at
+the time, thus described the scene in a letter to the ship's
+owners:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Almost all the palaces and large churches were rent down, or part
+fallen, and scarce one house of this vast city is left habitable. Everybody
+that was not crushed to death ran out into the large places, and those
+near the river ran down to save themselves by boats, or any other floating
+convenience, running, crying, and calling to the ships for assistance; but
+whilst the multitude were gathered near the riverside, the water rose to
+such a height that it overflowed the lower part of the city, which so terrified
+the miserable and already dismayed inhabitants, who ran to and fro
+with dreadful cries, which we heard plainly on board, that it made them
+believe the dissolution of the world was at hand; every one falling on his
+knees and entreating the Almighty for His assistance.... By two o'clock
+the ships' boats began to ply, and took multitudes on board.... The
+fear, the sorrow, the cries and lamentations of the poor inhabitants are
+unexpressible; every one begging pardon, and embracing each other, crying,
+Forgive me, friend, brother, sister! Oh! what will become of us!
+neither water nor land will protect us, and the third element, fire, seems<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</a></span>
+now to threaten our total destruction! as in effect it happened. The
+conflagration
+lasted a whole week."&mdash;<i>Thomas Hunter, "Historical Account
+of Earthquakes" (Liverpool, 1756), pp. 72-74.</i></p></div>
+
+
+<h4>Recognized as a Sign</h4>
+
+<p>Looking down through the ages, the prophet of the Revelation
+saw the coming of the latter days, when signs of the
+approaching end were to begin to appear. Just there he beheld
+"a great earthquake." The terrible event was noted by
+inspiration as a sign of the coming of the final judgment.
+Earthquakes there had been before, and increasing earthquakes
+were to follow after,&mdash;"earthquakes in divers places,"&mdash;as
+Christ foretold, speaking of the signs of His second coming.
+But as befitted this first of the series of signs of the approaching
+end, a conviction from God seemed to come into
+the hearts of men in that generation, that this was indeed a
+token to remind the world of a coming day of doom.</p>
+
+<p>In the year of the disaster, an English poet, John Biddolf,
+published a book of verse, pointing some of the lessons of the
+hour, from which we quote a few descriptive stanzas:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Calm was the sky; the sun serenely bright<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Shot o'er the sea long dazzling streams of light.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Through orange groves soft breathing breezes play'd<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And gathered sweets like bees where'er they stray'd.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">In fair relievo stood the lofty town,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Set off by radiant lights and shadows brown.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Ill-fated city! there were revels kept;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Devoid of fear, they ate, they drank, they slept.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">No friendly voice like that of ancient Rome<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Was sent to give them warning of their doom:<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">No airy warriors to each other clung,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Such as 'tis said o'er destin'd Sion hung,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">But like a nightly thief their dreadful fate<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Unlooked for came and undermined their state....<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Lo, what a sudden change! On ruin's brink<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The proud turn humble, and the thoughtless think.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Dark, gloomy sadness overclouds the gay,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And hypocrites for once sincerely pray....</span><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</a></span><br />
+<span class="i0">But let it not be thought their horrid deeds<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Had pulled this dreadful judgment on their heads,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Or that for crimes too horrible to tell,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Like guilty Sodom, thunderstruck they fell....<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Who can with curious eyes this globe survey,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And not behold it tottering with decay?<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">All things created, God's designs fulfil,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And natural causes work His destined will.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And that eternal Word, which cannot lie,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">To mortals hath revealed in prophecy<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">That in these latter days such signs should come,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Preludes and prologues to the general doom.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">But not the Son of man can tell that day;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Then, lest it find you sleeping, watch and pray."<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>Thus this first of the predicted latter-day signs bore its
+message to men. Its immediate scene was set in the Old
+World, but its warning was world-wide. The next sign foretold
+was to appear in the New World, but like the Lisbon
+earthquake, its message of warning was for all men.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 448px;">
+<img src="images/p083.jpg" width="448" height="299" alt="THE FLOOD
+
+&quot;So shall also the coming of the Son
+of man be.&quot; Matt. 24:39." title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE FLOOD<br />
+
+&quot;So shall also the coming of the Son
+of man be.&quot; Matt. 24:39.</span>
+</div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 298px;">
+<img src="images/p084.jpg" width="298" height="448" alt="MIDDAY AT SEA
+MAY 19, 1780
+
+&quot;Between one and two he was obliged to light a
+large candle to steer by.&quot; See p. 89." title="" />
+<span class="caption">MIDDAY AT SEA
+MAY 19, 1780<br />
+
+&quot;Between one and two he was obliged to light a
+large candle to steer by.&quot; See p. 89.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 448px;">
+<img src="images/p085.jpg" width="448" height="276" alt="SIGNS IN THE HEAVENS
+
+&quot;Can ye not discern the signs of the
+times?&quot; Matt. 16:3." title="" />
+<span class="caption">SIGNS IN THE HEAVENS<br />
+
+&quot;Can ye not discern the signs of the
+times?&quot; Matt. 16:3.</span>
+</div>
+
+<h2><a name="THE_DARK_DAY_OF_1780" id="THE_DARK_DAY_OF_1780"></a>THE DARK DAY OF 1780</h2>
+
+
+<h4>"The Sun Shall be Darkened"</h4>
+
+<p>We recall that in the vision of latter-day signs given to the
+prophet John, he saw the "great earthquake" followed by
+a sign in the heavens:</p>
+
+<p>"The sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon
+became as blood." Rev. 6:12.</p>
+
+<p>Of this event our Saviour spoke, in giving the signs of His
+second coming which were to begin to appear following the
+cutting short of the days of persecution. We repeat His
+words:</p>
+
+<p>"Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the
+sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light."
+Matt. 24:29.</p>
+
+
+<h4>The Prophecy Fulfilled</h4>
+
+<p>True to the order of the prophecy, following the great
+earthquake of 1755 in Europe, there came, in America, the
+second sign of the approaching end, the wonderful darkening
+of the sun, known in history as "The Dark Day."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>This sign appeared at the time indicated in the prophecy,
+"immediately after the tribulation of those days;" or as Mark
+has it, "in those days, after that tribulation." On May 19,
+1780, the sun was darkened, and the following night the moon
+did not give her light. Whatever explanation men may have
+to offer as to the cause of the phenomenon, the fact remains
+that when the time of the prophecy came, the sign appeared.</p>
+
+<p>The first volume of the "Memoirs of the American Academy
+of Arts and Sciences," published in Boston in 1785,
+contains a paper entitled, "An Account of a Very Uncommon
+Darkness in the States of New England, May 19, 1780. By
+Samuel Williams, A.M., Hollis Professor of Mathematics
+and Philosophy in the University at Cambridge [Massachusetts]."</p>
+
+<p>Of the extent, duration, and degree of darkness on that
+occasion, this scientific observer said:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"The extent of this darkness was very remarkable.... From the
+accounts that have been received, it seems to have extended all over the
+New England States. It was observed as far east as Falmouth [Portland,
+Maine]. To the westward, we hear of its reaching to the furthest
+parts of Connecticut, and Albany. To the southward, it was observed
+all along the seacoasts. And to the north as far as our settlements extend....</p>
+
+<p>"With regard to its duration, it continued in this place at least fourteen
+hours: but it is probable this was not exactly the same in different
+parts of the country. The appearance and effects were such as tended
+to make the prospect extremely dull and gloomy. Candles were lighted
+up in the houses; the birds having sung their evening songs, disappeared,
+and became silent; the fowls retired to roost; the cocks were crowing all
+around as at break of day; objects could not be distinguished but at a
+very little distance; and everything bore the appearance and gloom of
+night." (See pages 234-246.)</p></div>
+
+<p>Whittier has commemorated it in the poem, "Abraham
+Davenport:"</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"'Twas on a May day of the far old year<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Seventeen hundred eighty, that there fell<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Over the bloom and sweet life of the spring,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Over the fresh earth and the heaven of noon,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">A horror of great darkness....<br /></span><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</a></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Birds ceased to sing, and all the barnyard fowls<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Roosted; the cattle at the pasture bars<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Lowed, and looked homeward; bats on leathern wings<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Flitted abroad; the sounds of labor died;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Men prayed, and women wept; all ears grew sharp<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">To hear the doom blast of the trumpet shatter<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The black sky."<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>The words of the poet are substantiated by the plain prose
+of the dictionary maker. In the department explanatory of
+"Noted Names," Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (edition
+1883) says:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"<i>The Dark Day</i>, May 19, 1780&mdash;so called on account of a remarkable
+darkness on that day extending over all New England.... The obscuration
+began about ten o'clock in the morning, and continued till the middle
+of the next night, but with difference of degree and duration in different
+places.... The true cause of this remarkable phenomenon is not known."</p></div>
+
+
+<h4>Cause Unknown</h4>
+
+<p>At the time, some explained the darkness as being due
+to smoke from forest fires, others to the exceptional rise of
+vapors and atmospheric dust in the warm spring following
+the melting of unusually heavy winter snows. But forest
+fires were not of extraordinary occurrence in these regions,
+and many a springtime since has seen the melting of heavy
+winter snows and the rise of vapors; yet May 19, 1780, still
+stands unique in the annals of modern times as "the dark
+day." However observers and writers disagreed as to the
+nature of the mantle of darkness that was drawn over New
+England that day, they were <i>one</i> in recognizing the extraordinary
+character of the event.</p>
+
+<p>The facts are fully covered by the statement in the dictionary,
+"The true cause of this remarkable phenomenon is
+not known."</p>
+
+<p>What we do know is that the Saviour's prophecy declared,
+"Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the
+sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light."
+And when the time for it came, the sign appeared.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<h4>Contemporary Records</h4>
+
+<p>Though the comparatively small-sized newspapers of the
+day were crowded with news of the progress of the Revolutionary
+War, then raging, no little space was given to reports and
+discussions of this remarkable darkening of the sun.</p>
+
+<p>A correspondent of the Boston <i>Gazette and Country Journal</i>
+(of May 29, 1780) reported observations made at Ipswich
+Hamlet, Mass., "by several gentlemen of liberal education:"</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"About eleven o'clock the darkness was such as to demand our attention,
+and put us upon making observations. At half past eleven, in
+a room with three windows, twenty-four panes each, all open toward the
+southeast and south, large print could not be read by persons of good eyes.</p>
+
+<p>"About twelve o'clock, the windows being still open, a candle cast
+a shade so well defined on the wall, as that profiles were taken with as
+much ease as they could have been in the night.</p>
+
+<p>"About one o'clock a glint of light which had continued to this time
+in the east, shut in, and the darkness was greater than it had been for any
+time before.... We dined about two, the windows all open, and two
+candles burning on the table.</p>
+
+<p>"In the time of the greatest darkness some of the ... fowls went
+to their roost. Cocks crowed in answer to one another as they commonly
+do in the night. Woodcocks, which are night birds, whistled as they do
+<i>only</i> in the dark. Frogs peeped. In short, there was the appearance
+of midnight at noonday.</p>
+
+<p>"About three o'clock the light in the west increased, the motion of
+the clouds [became] more quick, their color higher and more brassy than
+at any time before. There appeared to be quick flashes or coruscations,
+not unlike the aurora borealis.... About half past four our company,
+which had passed an unexpected night very cheerfully together,
+broke up."</p></div>
+
+<p>Of the night following, this gentleman (then at Salem)
+wrote:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Perhaps it never was darker since the children of Israel left the
+house of bondage. This gross darkness held till about one o'clock, although
+the moon had fulled but the day before."</p></div>
+
+<p>The Boston <i>Independent Chronicle</i> of June 8 quoted from
+Thomas's <i>Massachusetts Spy</i>:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"During the whole time a sickly, melancholy gloom overcast the face
+of nature. Nor was the darkness of the night less uncommon and terrifying
+than that of the day; notwithstanding there was almost a full<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</a></span>
+moon, no object was discernible, but by the help of some artificial light,
+which when seen from the neighboring houses and other places at a distance,
+appeared through a kind of Egyptian darkness, which seemed almost
+impervious to the rays.</p>
+
+<p>"This unusual phenomenon excited the fears and apprehensions of
+many people. Some considered it as a portentous omen of the wrath of
+Heaven in vengeance denounced against the land, others as the immediate
+harbinger of the last day, when 'the sun shall be darkened, and the moon
+shall not give her light.'"</p></div>
+
+<p>Not only over the land, but out at sea also, the unnatural
+darkness of the day and night of May 19, 1780, was observed.
+In the <i>Independent Chronicle</i> of June 15, 1780, a correspondent,
+telling of interviews with various observers, said:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"I have also seen a very sensible captain of a vessel, who was that
+morning about forty leagues southeast of Boston. He says the cloud
+which appeared at the west was the blackest he ever saw. About eleven
+o'clock there was a little rain, and it grew dark. Between one and two
+he was obliged to light a large candle to steer by.... Between nine
+and ten at night, he ordered his men to take in some of the sails, but it
+was so dark that they could not find the way from one mast to the other."</p></div>
+
+
+<h4>Thoughts Turned to the Judgment</h4>
+
+<p>This writer commented as follows concerning the feelings
+awakened by the event:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Various have been the sentiments of people concerning the designs
+of Providence in spreading the unusual darkness over us. Some suppose
+it portentous of the last scene. I wish it may have some good effect on
+the minds of the wicked, and that they may be excited to prepare for that
+solemn day."</p></div>
+
+<p>The <i>Independent Chronicle</i> of June 22, 1780, printed a
+letter from Dr. Samuel Stearns, who had been appealed to
+because of his knowledge "in philosophy and astronomy."
+First, he disposed of one suggestion that had been made:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"That the darkness was not caused by an eclipse is manifest by the
+various positions of the planets of our system at that time; for the moon
+was more than one hundred and fifty degrees from the sun all that day."</p></div>
+
+<p>Then, in the rather heavy language of the science of that
+period, this writer told how the action of the sun's heat was
+continually projecting into the atmosphere particles of earthy<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</a></span>
+matter; and in his opinion it was some "vast collection of
+such particles that caused the late uncommon darkness."
+But as to the real accounting for the phenomenon he wrote:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"The primary cause must be imputed to Him that walketh through
+the circuit of heaven, who stretcheth out the heaven like a curtain, who
+maketh the clouds His chariot, who walketh upon the wings of the wind.
+It was He, at whose voice the stormy winds are obedient, that commanded
+these exhalations to be collected and condensed together, that
+with them He might darken both the day and the night; which darkness
+was, perhaps, not only a token of His indignation against the crying
+iniquities and abominations of the people, but an omen of some future
+destruction."</p></div>
+
+<p>Thus men's minds were exercised by this sign "in the sun,
+and in the moon."</p>
+
+<p>The early records of New York City tell of the interest
+excited there, though evidently the darkness was not so marked
+as it was farther north.</p>
+
+
+<h4>In the Connecticut Legislature</h4>
+
+<p>President Timothy Dwight, of Yale College, a contemporary,
+left the following account of one of the historic incidents
+of the day:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"The legislature of Connecticut was then in session at Hartford. A
+very general opinion prevailed that the day of judgment was at hand.
+The house of representatives, being unable to transact their business,
+adjourned. A proposal to adjourn the council [a second legislative body
+called the Governor's Council] was under consideration. When the opinion
+of Colonel Davenport was asked, he answered, 'I am against an
+adjournment. The day of judgment is either approaching or it is not.
+If it is not, there is no cause for an adjournment; if it is, I choose to be
+found doing my duty. I wish therefore that candles may be brought.'"&mdash;<i>Barber,
+"Connecticut Historical Collections," p. 403.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>It was this striking incident that Whittier described with
+the poet's pen:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Meanwhile in the old Statehouse, dim as ghosts,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Sat the lawgivers of Connecticut,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Trembling beneath their legislative robes.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">'It is the Lord's great day! Let us adjourn,'<br /></span><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</a></span>
+<span class="i0">Some said; and then, as with one accord,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">All eyes were turned to Abraham Davenport.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">He rose, slow cleaving with his steady voice<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The intolerable hush. 'This well may be<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The day of judgment which the world awaits;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">But be it so or not, I only know<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">My present duty, and my Lord's command<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">To occupy till He come. So at the post<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Where He hath set me in His providence<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">I choose, for one, to meet Him face to face,&mdash;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">No faithless servant, frightened from my task,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">But ready when the Lord of the harvest calls;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And therefore, with all reverence, I would say,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Let God do His work, we will see to ours.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Bring in the candles.'"<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>Thus, in a manner that arrested the attention of men and
+put awe and solemnity into their hearts, with thoughts of
+the coming of the great day of God, the first of the predicted
+signs in the heavens was revealed.</p>
+
+<p>At a later time, when students of the Bible seemed
+moved upon simultaneously, in both Europe and America,
+to give attention to the doctrine of Christ's second coming,
+it was more generally understood that these signs had come
+in fulfilment of prophecy.</p>
+
+<p>As we look to the past, we see how truly the tokens of the
+coming King began to appear as the church of Christ emerged
+fully from the long, dark period of tribulation. A new era
+was dawning, in which the Lord was to fill the earth with light
+before His second appearing, according to His word to Daniel
+the prophet:</p>
+
+<p>"Thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book,
+even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and
+knowledge shall be increased." Dan. 12:4.</p>
+
+<p>At last the time of the end was at hand, and the signs of
+the latter days had begun to appear in the earth and in the
+heavens. The Lord was preparing to send to all the world
+the closing gospel message of Christ's soon coming in glory.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 298px;">
+<img src="images/p092.jpg" width="298" height="443" alt="THE GREAT METEORIC SHOWER
+NOVEMBER 13, 1833
+
+&quot;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.&quot; Rev. 6:13." title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE GREAT METEORIC SHOWER
+NOVEMBER 13, 1833<br />
+
+&quot;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.&quot; Rev. 6:13.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 448px;">
+<img src="images/p093.jpg" width="448" height="282" alt="A STAR HERALDS HIS
+FIRST ADVENT
+
+&quot;We have seen His star in the east, and
+are come to worship Him.&quot; Matt. 2:2." title="" />
+<span class="caption">A STAR HERALDS HIS
+FIRST ADVENT<br />
+
+&quot;We have seen His star in the east, and
+are come to worship Him.&quot; Matt. 2:2.</span>
+</div>
+
+<h2><a name="THE_FALLING_STARS_OF_1833" id="THE_FALLING_STARS_OF_1833"></a>THE FALLING STARS OF 1833</h2>
+
+
+<h4>"The Stars Shall Fall from Heaven"</h4>
+
+<p>A great impetus was given to the study of divine prophecy
+by the events of the closing years of the eighteenth century.
+Observers had seen the papal power receive a "deadly wound"
+in the events and effects of the French Revolution; and it was
+understood that the world was entering a new era of enlightenment
+and liberty.</p>
+
+<p>Bible students began to see more clearly the lesson of the
+great outlines of historic prophecy, and hearts were stirred
+with the evidences that the coming of the Lord was drawing
+near. In Europe and America, in the early decades of the
+nineteenth century, there was the beginning of a revival of
+the study and preaching of the advent idea.</p>
+
+
+<h4>Another Sign in the Heavens</h4>
+
+<p>Just here appeared another great sign in the heavens,
+foretold by the word of prophecy. Of the sign that was to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</a></span>
+follow the darkening of the sun and moon, Christ's prophecy
+says:</p>
+
+<p>"The stars shall fall from heaven." Matt. 24:29.</p>
+
+<p>The prophet John beheld the spectacle in a vision of the
+last days, and described it in these words:</p>
+
+<p>"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." Rev. 6:13.</p>
+
+<p>On Nov. 13, 1833, came the wondrous celestial exhibition
+of falling stars, which is listed as one of the most remarkable
+phenomena of the astronomical story.</p>
+
+<p>Meteoric displays, swarms of shooting stars, have been
+observed at various times all through the ages; but this phenomenon,
+coming in the order given by the prophecy, that is,
+following the darkening of the sun, constituted the sublime
+display answering to the pen-picture of the Apocalypse,&mdash;as
+if all the stars of heaven were falling to the earth.</p>
+
+<p>The essential thing about a sign is that it shall be seen,
+that the circumstances of its appearance shall fasten attention.
+Not in America alone, but equally in all the civilized world,
+as a topic of study, this sign in the heavens commanded the
+attention of men.</p>
+
+<p>An English scientist, Rev. Thomas Milner, F.R.G.S.,
+wrote:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"The attention of astronomers in Europe, and all over the world,
+was, as may be imagined, strongly roused by intelligence of this celestial
+display on the Western continent."&mdash;<i>"The Gallery of Nature" (London,
+1852), p. 141.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>This writer called it "by far the most splendid display on
+record."&mdash;<i>Id., p. 139.</i></p>
+
+<p>Another English astronomical writer of more recent date
+says:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Once for all, then, as the result of the star fall of 1833, the study of
+luminous meteors became an integral part of astronomy."&mdash;<i>Clerke,
+"History of Astronomy in the Nineteenth Century," p. 329.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>This same work describes the extent of the display as follows:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"On the night of Nov. 12-13, 1833, a tempest of falling stars broke
+over the earth. North America bore the brunt of its pelting. From the
+Gulf of Mexico to Halifax, until daylight with some difficulty put an end
+to the display, the sky was scored in every direction with shining tracks
+and illuminated with majestic fireballs."&mdash;<i>Page 328.</i></p></div>
+
+
+<h4>The Spectacle Described</h4>
+
+<p>The closest scientific observations were made by Prof.
+Denison Olmsted, professor of astronomy at Yale, who wrote
+in the <i>American Journal of Science</i>:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"The morning of Nov. 13, 1833, was rendered memorable by an
+exhibition of the phenomenon called shooting stars, which was probably
+more extensive and magnificent than any similar one hitherto recorded....
+Probably no celestial phenomenon has ever occurred in this country,
+since its first settlement, which was viewed with so much admiration and
+delight by one class of spectators, or with so much astonishment and fear
+by another class. For some time after the occurrence, the 'meteoric
+phenomenon' was the principal topic of conversation in every circle."&mdash;<i>Volume
+XXV (1834), pp. 363, 364.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>Prof. Simon Newcomb, the astronomer, declares this
+phenomenal exhibition of falling stars "the most remarkable
+one ever observed." (See "Astronomy for Everybody,"
+p. 280.)</p>
+
+<p>This was not merely a display of an unusual number of
+falling stars, such as Humboldt observed in South America
+in 1799, or such as we find recorded of other times before and
+since. It was a "shower" of falling stars, just such a spectacle
+as one must picture from the words of the prophecy, "And
+the stars of heaven fell."</p>
+
+<p>The French astronomer Flammarion says of the density
+of the shower:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"The Boston observer, Olmsted, compared them, at the moment
+of maximum, to half the number of flakes which we perceive in the air
+during an ordinary shower of snow."&mdash;<i>"Popular Astronomy," p. 536.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>This affords us a better idea of the scene than the estimate
+of 34,640 stars an hour, which was made by Professor Olmsted
+after the rain of the stars had greatly abated, so that he was
+able to make an attempt at counting.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Dr. Humphreys, president of St. John's College, Annapolis,
+said of the appearance at the Maryland capital:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"In the words of most, they fell <i>like flakes of snow</i>."&mdash;<i>American
+Journal of Science, Vol. XXV (1834), p. 372.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>Nothing less than this could have presented the counterpart
+of the prophetic picture.</p>
+
+<p>Thoughtful hearts were solemnized by the unwonted spectacle.
+Prof. Alexander Twining, civil engineer, "late tutor in
+Yale College," giving his views as to the nature of the flaming
+visitants from space, wrote:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Had they held on their course unabated for three seconds longer,
+half a continent must, to all appearance, have been involved in unheard-of
+calamity. But that almighty Being who made the world, and knew
+its dangers, gave it also its armature&mdash;endowing the atmospheric medium
+around it with protecting, no less than with life-sustaining, properties....</p>
+
+<p>"Considered as one of the rare and wonderful displays of the Creator's
+preserving care, as well as the terrible magnitude and power of His
+agencies, it is not meet that such occurrences as those of November 13
+should leave no more solid and permanent effect upon the human mind
+than the impression of a splendid scene."&mdash;<i>American Journal of Science,
+Vol. XXVI (1834), p. 351.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>Multitudes felt that the great Creator had spoken to men
+in this notable wonder of His heavens. Again and again in
+the records and reminiscences of that time, testimony is borne
+to the fact that observers were impressed with the likeness
+of the scene to that described in the divine prophecy as one of
+the signs of the end of the world.</p>
+
+
+<h4>The Prophetic Picture Reproduced</h4>
+
+<p>The New York <i>Journal of Commerce</i> emphasized the exactness
+of detail with which the prophecy described the scene as
+it appeared in 1833. This is the apocalyptic picture, as the
+ancient prophet saw it in vision:</p>
+
+<p>"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." Rev. 6:13.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>A correspondent of the <i>Journal of Commerce</i> draws the
+picture as it was seen nearly eighteen centuries later, the likeness
+to the prophetic description being emphasized in every
+line:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"No philosopher or scholar has told or recorded an event like that
+of yesterday morning. A prophet eighteen hundred years ago foretold
+it exactly, if we will be at the trouble of understanding stars falling to
+mean falling stars."&mdash;<i>New York Journal of Commerce, Nov. 14, 1833.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>In this connection was noted by the same writer the special
+appropriateness of the prophet's figure of the fig tree casting
+the green figs in a mighty wind:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Here is the exactness of the prophet. The falling stars did not
+come as if from <i>several</i> trees shaken, but from <i>one</i>. Those which
+appeared
+in the east fell toward the east: those which appeared in the north fell
+toward the north; those which appeared in the west fell toward the west;
+and those which appeared in the south (for I went out of my residence
+into the park) fell toward the south; and they fell not as ripe fruit falls;
+far from it; but they <i>flew</i>, they were <i>cast</i>, like the unripe fig,
+which at first
+refuses to leave the branch; and when it does break its hold, flies swiftly,
+straight off, descending; and in the multitude falling, some cross the track
+of others, as they are thrown with more or less force."</p></div>
+
+<p>Professor Olmsted's long and carefully elaborated account
+in the <i>American Journal of Science</i>, gave a report from
+a correspondent in Bowling Green, Mo., as follows:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Though there was no moon, when we first observed them; their
+brilliancy was so great that we could, at times, read common-sized print
+without much difficulty, and the light which they afforded was much
+whiter than that of the moon, in the clearest and coldest night, when the
+ground is covered with snow. The air itself, the face of the earth as far
+as we could behold it, all the surrounding objects, and the very countenances
+of men, wore the aspect and hue of death, occasioned by the continued,
+pallid glare of these countless meteors, which in all their grandeur
+flamed 'lawless through the sky.'</p>
+
+<p>"There was a grand and indescribable gloom on all around, an awe-inspiring
+sublimity on all above; while&mdash;</p></div>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"'The sanguine flood<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Rolled a broad slaughter o'er the plains of heaven,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And nature's self did seem to totter on the brink of time!'<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>" ... There was scarcely a space in the firmament which was not
+filled at every instant with these falling stars, nor on it could you in general
+perceive any particular difference in appearance; still at times they
+seemed to shower down in groups&mdash;calling to mind the fig tree, casting
+her untimely figs when shaken by a mighty wind."&mdash;<i>Volume XXV (1834),
+p. 382.</i></p></div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 301px;">
+<img src="images/p098.jpg" width="301" height="448" alt="THE SIGN OF FIRE
+
+&quot;As this sign of fire in the watchtower was a signal to God&#39;s
+people anciently to flee from the coming danger (see Jer.
+6:1), so the signs appearing now in the heavens and in the
+earth are God&#39;s signals of warning to the people of our day.&quot;" title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE SIGN OF FIRE<br />
+
+&quot;As this sign of fire in the watchtower was a signal to God&#39;s
+people anciently to flee from the coming danger (see Jer.
+6:1), so the signs appearing now in the heavens and in the
+earth are God&#39;s signals of warning to the people of our day.&quot;</span>
+</div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<h4>A Sign to All the World</h4>
+
+<p>It was not in North America alone, but in all the civilized
+world, that the attention of men was called to the prophetic
+word by the discussions of this event. Thus the English
+scientific writer, Thomas Milner, writing for the British public,
+spoke as follows of the profound impression made:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"In many districts, the mass of the population were terror-struck, and
+the more enlightened were awed at contemplating so vivid a picture of
+the apocalyptic image&mdash;that of the stars of heaven falling to the earth,
+even as a fig tree casting her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty
+wind."&mdash;<i>"The Gallery of Nature" (London, 1852), p. 140.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>So the sign in the heavens made its solemn appeal to all
+the world. It brought to the multitudes who saw it, thoughts
+of God and the last great day. An observer living at the time
+in Georgia, wrote, "Everybody felt that it was the judgment,
+and that the end of the world had come." Another, in Kentucky,
+wrote, "In every direction I could hear men, women,
+and children screaming, 'The judgment day is come!'"</p>
+
+<p>Rather, it was a signal that the hour of God's judgment
+was drawing near. The signs so long foretold were appearing,
+one by one, to register their enduring mark on the record
+of fulfilling prophecy.</p>
+
+<p>Immediately following these times, there began an awakening
+concerning the vital Bible doctrine of the second coming
+of Christ, which has grown into the definite advent movement
+that is carrying the gospel message of preparation for the coming
+of the Lord to every nation and tongue and people.</p>
+
+
+<h4>The Sign of 1833 Emphasized by Other Displays</h4>
+
+<p>We have mentioned the fact that Humboldt had observed
+an extraordinary fall of meteorites in South America, thirty-three
+years, before, in 1799. And he reported at the time<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</a></span>
+that the oldest inhabitants there had a recollection of a similar
+display in 1766.</p>
+
+<p>From these reports, scientists deduced the theory that
+these showers were to be expected every thirty-three years.
+Hence in 1866 they were watching for a repetition of the 1833
+display.</p>
+
+<p>That there was a measure of truth in the deduction was
+made evident by an unusual fall of meteorites Nov. 14, 1866.
+This time Europe was the scene of the display. But the event
+was not to be compared with that of 1833. This appears
+plain from the account of observations made by Sir Robert
+Ball and Lord Rosse, the British astronomers.</p>
+
+<p>Sir Robert Ball says that when the meteorites began to
+fall, he and Lord Rosse went out upon the wall of the observatory
+housing Lord Rosse's great reflecting telescope:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"There, for the next two or three hours, we witnessed a spectacle
+which can never fade from my memory. The shooting stars gradually
+increased in number until sometimes several were seen at once."&mdash;<i>"Story
+of the Heavens," p. 380.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>Grand as the spectacle was, it was but a reminder, apparently,
+of the star shower of 1833, when not "several" meteorites
+fell at a time, nor many, merely, but, as it appeared,
+"the stars of heaven fell unto the earth."</p>
+
+<p>However, the spectacle of 1866, which was observed over
+a great part of the Old World,<a name="FNanchor_D_4" id="FNanchor_D_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_D_4" class="fnanchor">[D]</a> served to direct renewed attention
+to the incomparable event of 1833, as well as to the
+prophetic descriptions of the "wonders in the heavens" (Joel
+2:30) which were to appear as the end drew near.</p>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 443px;">
+<img src="images/p101.jpg" width="443" height="290" alt="CHRIST&#39;S PROMISE TO RETURN
+
+&quot;I will come again, and receive you
+unto Myself.&quot; John 14:3." title="" />
+<span class="caption">CHRIST&#39;S PROMISE TO RETURN<br />
+
+&quot;I will come again, and receive you
+unto Myself.&quot; John 14:3.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Textbooks and astronomical works thereupon began to
+count it as fully established that every thirty-three years the
+displays would be repeated. It was confidently predicted
+that 1899 would witness a repetition, possibly on the scale
+of 1833.</p>
+
+<p>Professor Langley's "New Astronomy" (published in 1888)
+said:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"The great November shower, which is coming once more in this
+century, and which every reader may hope to see toward 1899, is of particular
+interest to us as the first whose movements were subject to analysis."</p></div>
+
+<p>Chambers's Astronomy, published in 1889, said:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"The meteors of November 13 may be expected to reappear with
+great brilliancy in 1899."&mdash;-<i>Volume I, p. 635.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>But the November date passed in 1899, and the years
+have passed; and the wondrous scene of 1833 has not been
+repeated. Clerke's "History of Astronomy in the Nineteenth
+Century" says:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"We can no longer count upon the Leonids [as the meteorites of 1833
+were called, because they seemed to fall from a point in the constellation of
+Leo]. Their glory, for scenic purposes, is departed."&mdash;<i>Page 338.</i></p></div>
+
+
+<h4>The Lord's Signal to Watch</h4>
+
+<p>Thus the wisest astronomical predictions made shortly
+before 1899, based upon the apparently recurrent regularity
+of the phenomenon, failed; but the predictions of the sure
+word of prophecy, set down on the sacred record eighteen
+centuries before, were fulfilled to the letter.</p>
+
+<p>At the close of the days of the predicted tribulation of
+the church, the signs began to appear&mdash;the sun was darkened,
+the moon withheld its light, and the stars of heaven fell.</p>
+
+<p>The series began at the time specified, the signs came in
+the order given in Christ's prophecy. The record of history
+bears witness that the prophecy was fulfilled.</p>
+
+<p>It may be that on a yet more awful and universal scale
+these phenomena will be seen again in that last shaking of
+the powers of heaven which is to attend the rolling back of
+the heavens as a scroll, the immediate prelude to Christ's
+glorious appearing. But Christ's prophecy, at this point, was
+not giving a description of events at the very end of the
+world, but signs by which it might be known when the end
+was drawing near.</p>
+
+<p>As the signs should be recognized, the Saviour intended
+that those who loved His appearing should be quickened with
+hope, and inspired to hasten to the world with the gospel
+message preparing the way of the Lord. The Lord's word
+for His children was,</p>
+
+<p>"When these things begin to come to pass, then look up,
+and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh."
+Luke 21:28.</p>
+
+<p>Long ago these signs began to come to pass. Now may
+the Lord's believing children well look up and rejoice, knowing
+that the day of eternal redemption is indeed nigh at hand.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<h4>He Will Come for His Own</h4>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">In the glad time of the harvest,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">In the grand millennial year,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">When the King shall take His scepter,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And to judge the world appear,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Earth and sea shall yield their treasure,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">All shall stand before the throne;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Just awards will then be given,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">When the King shall claim His own.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">O the rapture of His people!<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Long they've dwelt on earth's low sod,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">With their hearts e'er turning homeward,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Rich in faith and love to God.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">They will share the life immortal,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">They will know as they are known,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">They will pass the pearly portal,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">When the King shall claim His own.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Long they've toiled within the harvest,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Sown the precious seed with tears;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Soon they'll drop their heavy burdens<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">In the glad millennial years;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">They will share the bliss of heaven,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Nevermore to sigh or moan;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Starry crowns will then be given,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">When the King shall claim His own.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">We shall greet the loved and loving,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Who have left us lonely here;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Every heartache will be banished<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">When the Saviour shall appear;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Never grieved with sin or sorrow,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Never weary or alone;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">O, we long for that glad morrow<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">When the King shall claim His own!<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">&mdash;<i>L.D. Santee.</i><br /></span>
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</a></span></div></div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 445px;">
+<img src="images/p104.jpg" width="445" height="269" alt="SATAN OFFERS GOLD, AND THE WORLD
+STAMPEDES TO ITS DESTRUCTION
+
+&quot;Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for
+your miseries that shall come upon you.&quot;
+James 5:1." title="" />
+<span class="caption">SATAN OFFERS GOLD, AND THE WORLD
+STAMPEDES TO ITS DESTRUCTION<br />
+
+&quot;Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for
+your miseries that shall come upon you.&quot;
+James 5:1.</span>
+</div>
+
+<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_D_4" id="Footnote_D_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_D_4"><span class="label">[D]</span></a>
+The display was most brilliant, apparently, in Western Asia. The veteran
+missionary, Dr. H.H. Jessup, of the Presbyterian Missionary College, of
+Beirut, describes the scene in his "Fifty-Three Years in Syria:" "On the
+morning of the fourteenth [November], at three o'clock, I was roused from a
+deep sleep by the voice of one of the young men calling, 'The stars are all
+coming down.' ... The meteors poured down like a rain of fire. Many of
+them were large and varicolored, and left behind them a long train of fire.
+One immense green meteor came down over Lebanon, seeming as large as the
+moon, and exploded with a large noise, leaving a green pillar of light in its
+train. It was vain to attempt to count them, and the display continued until
+dawn, when their light was obscured by the king of day.... The Mohammedans
+gave the call to prayer from the minarets, and the common people
+were in terror."&mdash;<i>Volume I, pp. 316, 317.</i></p></div>
+</div>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 448px;">
+<img src="images/p105.jpg" width="448" height="331" alt="THE MISER
+
+&quot;Ye have heaped treasure together for
+the last days.&quot; James 5:3." title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE MISER<br />
+
+&quot;Ye have heaped treasure together for
+the last days.&quot; James 5:3.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<h2>THE MEANING OF PRESENT-DAY CONDITIONS</h2>
+
+<h3>"THERE SHALL BE SIGNS ... UPON THE EARTH"</h3>
+
+
+<p>From the specific signs in the heavens, which were to
+herald the coming of the latter days and awaken the church
+to look for its coming Lord, our Saviour's prophecy passed
+on to designate certain general conditions in the world which
+were to continue until the great day of God comes:</p>
+
+<p>"There shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in
+the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity;
+the sea and the waves roaring; men's hearts failing
+them for fear, and for looking after those things which are
+coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.
+And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud
+with power and great glory." Luke 21:25-27.</p>
+
+<p>Among the developments here foretold, and which contribute
+to the "distress of nations, with perplexity," we may
+list the following:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 444px;">
+<img src="images/p106.jpg" width="444" height="336" alt="THE ARMING OF THE NATIONS
+
+&quot;Prepare war,... beat your plowshares
+into swords, and your pruning hooks
+into spears.&quot; Joel 3: 9, 10." title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE ARMING OF THE NATIONS<br />
+
+&quot;Prepare war,... beat your plowshares
+into swords, and your pruning hooks
+into spears.&quot; Joel 3: 9, 10.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<h4>1. Political Unrest&mdash;the Arming of the Nations</h4>
+
+<p>Following on closely with the signs in the heavens, there
+appears also the awakening to national aspirations and rivalries
+in Europe, out of which has grown the arming of the nations.
+The beginning of the modern race of armaments may
+be dated from those stirring and eventful years of 1830 to
+1848. We have seen the resources of the soil and the inventive
+genius of man devoted to preparations for war on a scale
+never before thought of. The prophet Joel foretold these
+conditions in the last days:</p>
+
+<p>"Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles ["the nations,"
+R.V.]: Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men
+of war draw near; let them come up: beat your plowshares
+into swords, and your pruning hooks into spears: let the weak
+say, I am strong.... Let the heathen be wakened....<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</a></span>
+Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision [or "cutting
+off"]: for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision."
+Joel 3: 9-14.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 448px;">
+<img src="images/p107.jpg" width="448" height="334" alt="READY FOR THE CONFLICT
+
+&quot;For the day of the Lord is near.&quot;
+Joel 3: 14.
+
+PHOTO FROM UNDERWOOD &amp; UNDERWOOD, N.Y." title="" />
+<span class="caption">READY FOR THE CONFLICT<br />
+
+&quot;For the day of the Lord is near.&quot;
+Joel 3: 14.
+
+PHOTO FROM UNDERWOOD &amp; UNDERWOOD, N.Y.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Another prophecy forewarns of the "peace and safety"
+cry that is to be heard as the end draws near. We are told
+that many people in the last days will be saying that swords
+are to be beaten into plowshares, and that the nations will
+cease from war (Isa. 2:3, 4); but the actual conditions are
+repeatedly described in prophecy as warlike and perilous.
+Thus the revelator saw the closing days:</p>
+
+<p>"The nations were angry, and Thy wrath is come, and
+the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that
+Thou shouldst give reward unto Thy servants the prophets,
+and to the saints, and them that fear Thy name, small and
+great; and shouldst destroy them which destroy the earth."
+Rev. 11: 18.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 300px;">
+<img src="images/p108.jpg" width="300" height="448" alt="A FAITHFUL AND WISE
+SERVANT
+
+&quot;Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour
+your Lord doth come.&quot; Matt. 24: 42." title="" />
+<span class="caption">A FAITHFUL AND WISE
+SERVANT<br />
+
+&quot;Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour
+your Lord doth come.&quot; Matt. 24: 42.</span>
+</div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>What we see then among the nations proclaims the approaching
+end.</p>
+
+
+<h4>2. Signs in the Social World</h4>
+
+<p>A New Testament prophecy of the latter days says:</p>
+
+<p>"In the last days perilous times shall come. For men
+shall be lovers of their own selves, 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,
+high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God."
+2 Tim. 3: 1-4.</p>
+
+<p>The "perilous times" have come, when, as never before,
+the world is pleasure mad.</p>
+
+<p>"Unrestrained passion for pleasure," said M. Comte,
+editor of the French <i>Rel&egrave;vement Social</i>, writing just before the
+European war, is bringing a terrible train of evils into modern
+society. Along with it he put "the hunt for money without
+regard for means," adding:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"This is the theme which manufacturers, business men, men in the
+public administration, continually harp on with ever the same conviction
+and ever the same wealth of proof.</p>
+
+<p>"The note is ever the same, and the conclusion identical: <i>Nous sommes
+perdus!</i> [We are lost!]"&mdash;<i>Quoted in Record of Christian Work, July,
+1914.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>Many agencies for social and temperance reform are rendering
+the greatest human service; but for lost humanity the
+only hope is Christ, the divine Saviour. With an urgency
+born of the last call, His gospel is sounding to a world on the
+verge of eternity. Yet with divine love longing to save, the
+world sweeps on, less and less mindful of eternal interests.
+Christ's prophecy foretold it as it is:</p>
+
+<p>"As the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the
+Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood
+they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage,
+until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and knew
+not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall
+also the coming of the Son of man be." Matt. 24: 37-39.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Who can look out upon mankind today without the conviction
+that this scripture is being fulfilled? The drift is strong
+toward the world and away from God; but we are bidden
+to watch and pray, lest the coming day find us unprepared.</p>
+
+
+<h4>3. Signs in the Industrial World</h4>
+
+<p>Industrial conditions today add their contribution to the
+"distress of nations, with perplexity." Through the word
+of prophecy the Lord long ago foretold these conditions, with
+a warning to the careless rich, and a warning to the laborer
+and the poor, not to be drawn into contention over the things
+of this world, for the Judge is at the door. The prophecy,
+it will be seen, refers specifically to latter-day conditions.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 448px;">
+<img src="images/p110.jpg" width="448" height="285" alt="&quot;AM I MY BROTHER&#39;S KEEPER?&quot;
+
+A night scene on the Thames
+embankment, London." title="" />
+<span class="caption">&quot;AM I MY BROTHER&#39;S KEEPER?&quot;<br />
+
+A night scene on the Thames
+embankment, London.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries
+that shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted, and
+your garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver is cankered;
+and the rust of them shall be a witness against you,
+and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure
+together for the last days. Behold, the hire of the laborers<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</a></span>
+who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept
+back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have
+reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth. Ye
+have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton;
+ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter. Ye
+have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 429px;">
+<img src="images/p111.jpg" width="429" height="329" alt="THE RICH YOUNG MAN
+
+&quot;Sell that thou hast, and give to the poor,
+and thou shalt have treasure in heaven.&quot;
+Matt. 19: 21." title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE RICH YOUNG MAN<br />
+
+&quot;Sell that thou hast, and give to the poor,
+and thou shalt have treasure in heaven.&quot;
+Matt. 19: 21.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>"Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the
+Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious
+fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive
+the early and latter rain. Be ye also patient; stablish
+your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh. Grudge
+not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned:
+behold, the Judge standeth before the door." James 5: 1-9.</p>
+
+<p>There is no need to argue that the issues with which the
+prophecy deals are pressing upon the world with ever-increasing<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</a></span>
+perplexity. We quote but two statements, by men not
+engaged in agitation, but calmly and thoughtfully setting
+down the signs of the times.</p>
+
+<p>The late Lord Avebury (Sir John Lubbock) wrote a few
+years ago in the <i>Review of Internationalism</i>:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"The religion of Europe is not Christianity, but the worship of the god
+of war.... Unless something is done, the condition of the poor in Europe
+will grow worse and worse. It is no use shutting our eyes. Revolution
+may not come soon, not probably in our time, but come it will, and as
+sure as fate there will be an explosion such as the world has never seen."</p></div>
+
+<p>Of the rapid growth of discontent and its propaganda,
+Mr. Frederick Townsend Martin, of New York, wrote:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Fifty years ago there was scarcely a voice of protest; indeed, there
+was hardly anything to protest against. Twenty-five years ago the protest
+was clear and distinct, and we understood it. Ten years ago the
+protest found expression in a dozen weekly publications, but today the
+protest is circulated not by hundreds or thousands of printed copies of
+books, pamphlets, magazines, and newspapers, but actually by the million.</p>
+
+<p>"This propaganda of protest has its daily papers that are distinctive
+and published for that purpose, and that purpose only. It has
+its magazines and tens of thousands of weekly papers. Only a fool sneers
+at such a volume of publicity as that....</p>
+
+<p>"The warnings that hundreds of us are uttering may be ignored.
+The squandering may go on, the vulgar bacchanalia may be prolonged,
+the poor may have to writhe under the iron heel of the iron lord&mdash;the
+dance of death may go on until society's E string snaps, and then the
+Vesuvius of the underworld will belch forth its lava of death and
+destruction."&mdash;<i>Hearst's Magazine, September, 1913.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>Thus hearts grow faint "for looking after those things
+which are coming on the earth." But while the increasing
+"distress of nations, with perplexity," abounds, the Lord sends
+the steadying, assuring message that soon Christ will come
+to end the reign of sin and strife. He would have His children
+keep the gospel light glowing, and wait patiently for Him.</p>
+
+
+<h4>4. The Great Missionary Movement</h4>
+
+<p>The Saviour's prophecy of the signs of His second coming
+places the work of world evangelization as the culminating
+sign. This in itself is a joyful token of the approaching<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</a></span>
+end, a bright signal of hope in a suffering world. He said:</p>
+
+<p>"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.</p>
+
+<p>Before the end, the light of the gospel was to shine into
+every dark corner of the earth. True to the sure word of
+prophecy, when the latter days began,&mdash;"the time of the end,"&mdash;there
+sprang up the great movement of modern missions
+which has been one of the leading characteristics of the last
+century. Here are a few facts showing the missionary developments
+of a single century:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"In 1800 the foreign missionary societies numbered seven. In 1900
+they numbered over 500.</p>
+
+<p>"In 1800 the income of seven societies amounted to about $50,000.
+In 1900 the income was over $15,000,000.</p>
+
+<p>"In 1800 the number of native communicants enrolled in Protestant
+mission churches was 7,000. In 1900 there were 1,500,000 native communicants.</p>
+
+<p>"In 1800 the adherents of Protestant churches in heathen lands were
+estimated at 15,000. In 1900 they numbered 3,500,000.</p>
+
+<p>"In 1800 only one fifth of the human family had the Bible in languages
+they could read. In 1900 nine tenths of the people of the world
+had the Word of God in languages and dialects known to them."</p></div>
+
+<p>Since 1900 the missionary movement has remarkably increased
+in extent and activity. It is estimated that now there
+are about 22,000 foreign missionaries in the fields, with many
+thousands of trained native evangelists and helpers.</p>
+
+<p>The prophecy is fulfilling before our eyes. It is not the
+conversion of the world that Christ's words foretold, but the
+evangelization of the world; and when all the world has heard
+the gospel of the kingdom, "then shall the end come."</p>
+
+<p>Another prophecy&mdash;that of Rev. 14: 6-14&mdash;shows that
+the closing phase of this world-wide missionary movement is
+to be the proclamation of the special gospel message of preparation
+for the coming of the Lord, calling all men to worship
+God and keep His commandments, and warning them
+against following the traditions of men that make void the
+Word of God.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 296px;">
+<img src="images/p114.jpg" width="296" height="443" alt="THE SUNSET HOUR
+
+&quot;The work that centuries might have done
+Must crowd the hour of setting sun.&quot;" title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE SUNSET HOUR<br />
+
+&quot;The work that centuries might have done
+Must crowd the hour of setting sun.&quot;</span>
+</div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>With the coming of this generation there has come just
+such a message, in the rise and progress of the advent movement,
+the burden of the message being expressed in the very
+language of the prophecy&mdash;"Fear God, and give glory to
+Him; for the hour of His judgment is come." Rev. 14: 7.
+And the movement is spreading rapidly "to every nation,
+and kindred, and tongue, and people." Thus in vision the
+prophet on Patmes heard the message given; and when its
+warning cry had reached all nations, he saw Christ coming
+in the clouds of heaven to reap the harvest of the earth.</p>
+
+
+<h4>"Even at the Doors"</h4>
+
+<p>Of the beginning of the special signs of the last days, Christ
+said:</p>
+
+<p>"When these things begin to come to pass, then look up,
+and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh."
+Luke 21: 28.</p>
+
+<p>But of the time when these signs should all be seen fulfilled
+or in process of fulfilment, the Saviour said:</p>
+
+<p>"Now learn a parable of the fig tree: When his branch is
+yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer
+is nigh: so likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things,
+know that it is near, even at the doors. Verily I say unto
+you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be
+fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My words
+shall not pass away." Matt. 24: 32-35.</p>
+
+<p>In this generation we see these things. All about us the
+signs have appeared. We know, then, by the word that shall
+not pass away, that the generation has at last appeared that
+is to see the Saviour coming in power and great glory. "Of
+that day and hour knoweth no man," but we may know "that
+it is near, even at the doors"&mdash;the day for which the saints
+of God have hoped through all the ages.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 296px;">
+<img src="images/p116.jpg" width="296" height="443" alt="PHILIP AND THE EUNUCH
+
+&quot;Understandest thou what thou
+readest?&quot; Acts 8:30." title="" />
+<span class="caption">PHILIP AND THE EUNUCH<br />
+
+&quot;Understandest thou what thou
+readest?&quot; Acts 8:30.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 442px;">
+<img src="images/p117.jpg" width="442" height="301" alt="THE ROYAL PALACE OF
+BABYLON
+
+&quot;The God of heaven hath given thee
+a kingdom, power, and strength, and
+glory.&quot; Dan. 2:37" title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE ROYAL PALACE OF
+BABYLON<br />
+
+&quot;The God of heaven hath given thee
+a kingdom, power, and strength, and
+glory.&quot; Dan. 2:37</span>
+</div>
+
+<h2><a name="THE_HISTORIC_PROPHECY_OF_DANIEL_7" id="THE_HISTORIC_PROPHECY_OF_DANIEL_7"></a>THE HISTORIC PROPHECY OF DANIEL 7</h2>
+
+<h3>FOUR GREAT UNIVERSAL EMPIRES</h3>
+
+
+<h4>Part I</h4>
+
+<p>So important is it that we understand the events leading
+on to the end, that repeatedly the "sure word of prophecy"
+outlines the course of this world's history, and sets up waymarks
+along the highway to the everlasting kingdom.</p>
+
+<p>In the light of prophecy we see the hand of God guiding
+and overruling through all history, shaping events for the
+carrying out of His purpose to end the reign of sin and to bring
+in the reign of eternal righteousness. His prophetic word
+foretells events of history, that we may know that He is the
+living God over all, and that we may understand that the divine
+purpose will surely be fulfilled. Above a wicked world
+there is a God in heaven, waiting only the appointed time
+for the accomplishment of His purposes.</p>
+
+<p>"I am God, and there is none like Me, declaring the end
+from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</a></span>
+are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will
+do all My pleasure.... I have spoken it, I also will bring
+it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it.... My salvation
+shall not tarry: and I will place salvation in Zion."
+Isa. 46:9-13.</p>
+
+<p>In the dream of Nebuchadnezzar, recorded in the second
+chapter of Daniel, the Lord revealed in brief but graphic
+outline the course of history from the days of Babylon to the
+end of the world. The four great universal monarchies,&mdash;Babylon,
+Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome&mdash;were represented
+by the various parts of the metallic image. That prophecy
+described particularly the division of the Roman Empire into
+the kingdoms of western Europe. "In the days of these
+kings," declared the word of the Lord, the God of heaven was
+to set up His kingdom, bringing an end to all earthly powers.</p>
+
+<p>In the seventh chapter we are taken over the same course
+of history, in Daniel's vision of the four beasts. Here also
+chief attention is devoted to the fourth great kingdom; and
+especially to its divided state; for the events taking place at
+this time are of the deepest eternal interest to all men.</p>
+
+<p>In this vision Daniel saw four universal empires represented
+by great beasts. One after another the symbolic
+beasts arose, did their work, and gave place to the next scenes
+in the history. The angel clearly explained to Daniel the
+meaning of the vision:</p>
+
+<p>"These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which
+shall arise out of the earth. But the saints of the Most High
+shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom forever,
+even forever and ever."</p>
+
+<p>Of necessity, then, it is a repetition of the story of the four
+universal monarchies dealt with in the second chapter, and
+ending with the setting up of the everlasting kingdom.</p>
+
+<p>Let us place the view given the prophet in vision alongside
+the record of history.</p>
+
+<p>First, however, a word as to the manner in which the great
+beasts appeared to the prophet:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds
+of the heaven strove upon the great sea. And four great
+beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another."</p>
+
+<p>Again and again, in the figurative language of Scripture,
+winds are used as the symbol for wars; and the sea, or waters,
+for nations or peoples. (See Jer. 25:31-33; Rev. 17:15.) The
+prophet saw the clashing of the nations in war, and out of
+these conflicts arose the kingdoms described in the prophecy.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 448px;">
+<img src="images/p119.jpg" width="448" height="297" alt="THE FIRST BEAST
+
+&quot;The first was like a lion, and had
+eagle&#39;s wings.&quot; Dan. 7:4." title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE FIRST BEAST<br />
+
+&quot;The first was like a lion, and had
+eagle&#39;s wings.&quot; Dan. 7:4.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<h4>Babylon</h4>
+
+<p>Note the prophetic picture of the prophecy and the corresponding
+representation in history.</p>
+
+<p><i>Prophecy.</i>&mdash;"The first was like a lion, and had eagle's
+wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it
+was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon the feet as
+a man, and a man's heart was given to it."</p>
+
+<p><i>History.</i>&mdash;As the lion is king of beasts, it was a fitting
+symbol of Babylon, "the glory of kingdoms." Isa. 13:19.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</a></span>
+The eagle's wings suggest rapidity of movement and far-reaching
+conquest. The prophet Habakkuk said of it, "Their
+horsemen shall come from far; they shall fly as the eagle."
+This was the characteristic of Babylon under the earlier kings,
+but especially under Nebuchadnezzar. Berosus, the ancient
+Chaldean historian, wrote of him:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"This Babylonian king conquered Egypt, and Syria, and Phenicia,
+and Arabia; and exceeded in his exploits all that had reigned before him
+in Babylon." (See Flavius Josephus "Against Apion," book 1, par. 19.)</p></div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 443px;">
+<img src="images/p120.jpg" width="443" height="278" alt="THE SECOND BEAST
+
+&quot;And behold another beast, a second,
+like to a bear.&quot; Dan. 7:5." title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE SECOND BEAST<br />
+
+&quot;And behold another beast, a second,
+like to a bear.&quot; Dan. 7:5.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>But now, at the time of Daniel's vision, degeneracy had
+come; the empire was tottering. The lion heart was gone,
+the eagle's wings were plucked, and within three years from
+the time the vision was given, Babylon was overthrown.</p>
+
+
+<h4>Medo-Persia</h4>
+
+<p>As the dominion passed from Babylon to the next great
+power, the prophet says:</p>
+
+<p><i>Prophecy.</i>&mdash;"Behold another beast, a second, like to a bear,
+and it raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</a></span>
+mouth of it between the teeth of it: and they said thus unto
+it, Arise, devour much flesh."</p>
+
+<p><i>History.</i>&mdash;The Medes and Persians overthrew Babylon.
+Medo-Persia was a dual kingdom, lifting itself up on one side,
+first the Median branch the stronger, then the Persian, under
+Cyrus and his successors, rising higher. This two-sided characteristic,
+noted as a distinguishing mark in the prophecy,
+was emphasized by the ancient writers also. &AElig;schylus, the
+Greek poet, who lived in the time of Persia, wrote:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Asia's brave host,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">A Mede first led. The virtues of his son<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Fixed firm the empire....<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">... Cyrus third, by fortune graced,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Adorned the throne."<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">&mdash;"<i>Pers&#339;.</i>"<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>The word spoken in the vision, "Arise, devour much flesh,"
+describes the history from the time when the Persian side
+rose uppermost. Rawlinson says, "Cyrus proceeded with
+scarcely a pause on a long career of conquest."</p>
+
+<p>An alliance against Persia was formed by Lydia, Egypt,
+and Babylon (Herodotus 1:77); and as these three great
+provinces were subdued, they may well be represented by
+the three ribs in the mouth of the Medo-Persian bear.</p>
+
+
+<h4>Grecia</h4>
+
+<p>Yet another kingdom was to follow, and strikingly the
+symbol pictures the characteristics of the Greek conquest.</p>
+
+<p><i>Prophecy.</i>&mdash;"After this I beheld, and lo another, like a
+leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl;
+and the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given
+to it."</p>
+
+<p><i>History.</i>&mdash;The third kingdom was Grecia. Under Alexander
+the Great, the Greeks swept into Asia with the quickness
+of the leopard's spring. And the four wings on the leopard
+must represent astonishing fleetness. Plutarch speaks of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</a></span>
+the "incredible swiftness" of Alexander's conquests. Appian
+wrote:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"The empire of Alexander was splendid in its magnitude, in its
+armies, in the success and rapidity of its conquests, and it wanted little
+of being boundless and unexampled, yet in its shortness of duration it
+was like a brilliant flash of lightning. Although broken into several
+satrapies, even the parts were splendid."&mdash;<i>"History of Rome," preface,
+par. 10.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 442px;">
+<img src="images/p122.jpg" width="442" height="275" alt="THE THIRD BEAST
+
+&quot;After this I beheld, and lo another,
+like a leopard.&quot; Dan. 7:6." title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE THIRD BEAST<br />
+
+&quot;After this I beheld, and lo another,
+like a leopard.&quot; Dan. 7:6.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Thus the ancient Roman writer pictured the career of
+Grecia just as represented by the prophetic symbol&mdash;the
+fleetness, the great dominion given it, the division of the empire
+into satrapies, as suggested by the four heads of the leopard.
+Out of the conflicts following Alexander's death, there
+came the fourfold headship of the empire. Rawlinson says,
+"A quadripartite division of Alexander's domain was recognized."
+(See "Sixth Monarchy," chap. 3.) The real situation
+is best represented, as Dr. Albert Barnes says, by "one
+animal with four heads," just as the prophetic symbol described
+it centuries before.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Thus the course of empire followed the outline of the
+"sure word of prophecy" from age to age.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Armies were ranged in battle's dread array:<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">They fought&mdash;their glory withered in its bud;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">They perished&mdash;with them ceased their tyrants' sway;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">New wars, new heroes came&mdash;their story passed away."<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>There was to be no abiding kingdom till the time came
+for God's glorious kingdom to be set up.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 448px;">
+<img src="images/p123.jpg" width="448" height="286" alt="THE FOURTH BEAST
+
+&quot;After this I saw in the night visions, and behold
+a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and
+strong exceedingly.&quot; Dan. 7:7." title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE FOURTH BEAST<br />
+
+&quot;After this I saw in the night visions, and behold
+a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and
+strong exceedingly.&quot; Dan. 7:7.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<h4>Rome</h4>
+
+<p>As the prophet watched the moving panorama of history,
+foretold in symbols, he said:</p>
+
+<p><i>Prophecy.</i>&mdash;"After this I saw in the night visions, and
+behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly;
+and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake
+in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it
+was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had
+ten horns. I considered the horns, and, behold, there came
+up among them another little horn, before whom there were
+three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold,
+in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth
+speaking great things."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 448px;">
+<img src="images/p124.jpg" width="448" height="271" alt="ROME ON THE TIBER
+
+The palace of the C&aelig;sars appears high on the
+hill at the left." title="" />
+<span class="caption">ROME ON THE TIBER<br />
+
+The palace of the C&aelig;sars appears high on the
+hill at the left.</span>
+</div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</a></span></p>
+
+<p><i>History.</i>&mdash;As the iron of the image of Nebuchadnezzar's
+dream fitly represented the "iron monarchy of Rome," so
+here the dreadful beast, with its iron teeth, can be none other
+than Rome, which followed Grecia in world dominion. It was
+the most powerful, the most dominating, of all the beasts in
+the prophetic series. A Roman Catholic writer, Cardinal
+Manning, compresses into a paragraph the correspondence
+of history to the likeness of the prophecy:</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 446px;">
+<img src="images/p125.jpg" width="446" height="296" alt="BATTLE OF ZAMA,
+B.C. 202
+
+By which Rome broke the power of Carthage, its
+rival, and &quot;began the conquest of the world.&quot;" title="" />
+<span class="caption">BATTLE OF ZAMA,
+B.C. 202<br />
+
+By which Rome broke the power of Carthage, its
+rival, and &quot;began the conquest of the world.&quot;</span>
+</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"The legions of Rome occupied the circumference of the world.
+The military roads which sprang from Rome traversed all the earth; the
+whole world was, as it were, held in peace and in tranquillity by the
+universal presence of this mighty heathen empire. It was 'exceedingly
+terrible,' according to the prophecies of Daniel; it was as it were of iron,
+beating down and subduing the nations."&mdash;<i>"The Temporal Power of the
+Pope" (London, 1862), p. 122.</i></p></div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Thus far every symbol of the prophet's vision finds its
+exact and clear counterpart in history. A writer living in
+the third century, in the days of imperial Rome, rejoiced to
+see how exactly the prophecy was being fulfilled. Hippolytus
+(counted a saint by the Catholic Church) wrote:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Rejoice, blessed Daniel! thou hast not been in error! All these
+things have come to pass. After this again thou hast told us of the beast,
+dreadful and terrible. It has iron teeth and claws of brass; it devoured
+and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it. Already
+the iron rules; already it subdues and breaks all in pieces; already it
+brings all the unwilling into subjection; already we see these things ourselves.
+Now we glorify God, being instructed by thee."&mdash;<i>"Treatise on
+Christ and Antichrist," sec. 33.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>Now the prophetic outline comes to the time of the division
+of the Roman Empire, introducing events of deepest
+personal interest to us today.</p>
+
+
+<h4>Part II</h4>
+
+<h4>The Fourth Kingdom and the "Little Horn"</h4>
+
+<p>It was the fourth great monarchy, Imperial Rome, and the
+events to follow it, that engaged the anxious inquiry of the
+prophet. He says:</p>
+
+<p>"Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast, which
+was diverse from all the others, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth
+were of iron, and his nails of brass; which devoured, brake in
+pieces, and stamped the residue with his feet; and of the ten
+horns that were in his head, and of the other which came up,
+and before whom three fell; even of that horn that had eyes,
+and a mouth that spake very great things, whose look was
+more stout than his fellows. I beheld, and the same horn
+made war with the saints, and prevailed against them; until
+the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the
+saints of the Most High; and the time came that the saints
+possessed the kingdom."</p>
+
+<p>The prophet wanted to know the truth about it; and the
+angel told him the truth. First, the angel said:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth,
+which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour
+the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces."</p>
+
+<p>The fourth kingdom, as we have seen, was Rome. As
+Cardinal Manning said of the empire, "It was 'exceeding
+terrible,' according to the prophecies of Daniel; it was as it
+were of iron, breaking down and subduing the nations."</p>
+
+<p>Of the ten horns that arose out of this fourth great empire,
+the angel said:</p>
+
+<p>"The ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that
+shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall
+be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings."</p>
+
+<p>We look to the history of the Roman Empire, and what
+do we see?&mdash;Just the picture of the prophecy. We see the
+original Roman Empire of the West divided into lesser kingdoms.
+We see the barbarian peoples of the North sweeping
+down upon the empire, breaking it up, and establishing within
+its boundaries the various kingdoms that are to this day represented
+by the kingdoms of western Europe.</p>
+
+<p>And as we watch the history at this point, we surely see
+"another little horn," another land of power, rising among
+the horns representing the kingdoms of divided Rome&mdash;a
+kingdom, yet a kingdom "diverse" from the others. The
+work of this power riveted the attention of the prophet; and
+it is of the greatest importance that we also should watch
+closely to catch the lesson of the divine prophecy.</p>
+
+
+<h4>Prophetic and Historic Pictures of the "Little Horn"</h4>
+
+<p>This is plainly the picture presented by the prophet, as
+we look again, observing details more closely.</p>
+
+<p>The prophet beheld the division of the Roman Empire
+into lesser kingdoms. Then, springing up among these kingdoms,
+he saw the little-horn power subduing three of the ten
+kingdoms, speaking great words, and making war with the
+saints of God. It was to be a religious power, then, ruling
+among the kings of the earth, and asserting religious dominion
+over the faith and consciences of men. "The same horn made
+war with the saints, and prevailed against them."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 445px;">
+<img src="images/p128.jpg" width="445" height="269" alt="THE INVASION OF THE ROMAN
+EMPIRE BY THE HUNS
+
+&quot;We see the barbarian peoples of the North sweeping down upon the
+empire, breaking it up, and establishing within its boundaries the
+various kingdoms that are to this day represented by the kingdoms
+of Western Europe.&quot;&mdash;Page 127." title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE INVASION OF THE ROMAN
+EMPIRE BY THE HUNS<br />
+
+&quot;We see the barbarian peoples of the North sweeping down upon the
+empire, breaking it up, and establishing within its boundaries the
+various kingdoms that are to this day represented by the kingdoms
+of Western Europe.&quot;&mdash;Page 127.</span>
+</div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[Pg 129]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>We look to history, and this is what plainly appears:</p>
+
+<p>We see, as described in the prophecy, a time when ten
+contemporaneous kingdoms filled the territory of the original
+Western Empire. Just there we see an ecclesiastical kingly
+power rise to religious supremacy&mdash;the Roman Papacy. We
+see, through its influence, three of the ten kingdoms overthrown,
+"plucked up by the roots"&mdash;three Arian or heretical
+kingdoms. And as we watch the history, we find this
+power making "war with the saints" and prevailing against
+them through long ages.</p>
+
+<p>A Roman Catholic writer describes it in a paragraph:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Long ages ago, when Rome through the neglect of the Western emperors
+was left to the mercy of the barbarous hordes, the Romans turned
+to one figure for aid and protection, and asked him to rule them; and thus,
+in this simple manner, the best title of all to kingly right, commenced the
+temporal sovereignty of the popes. And meekly stepping to the throne of
+C&aelig;sar, the vicar of Christ took up the scepter to which the emperors and
+kings of Europe were to bow in reverence through so many ages."&mdash;<i>Rev.
+James P. Conroy, in American Catholic Quarterly Review, April, 1911.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>Yet again we look at the picture presented in prophecy.
+Then we turn to history; and precisely where and when the
+prophet saw the "little horn" coming up, we see the Roman
+Papacy rising to supremacy. We see this ecclesiastical power
+wielding a kingly scepter among the kingdoms of divided
+Rome, exalting itself above them, with a look "more stout
+than his fellows." We hear it speaking great words, and we
+see it carrying on warfare against the saints.</p>
+
+<p>Clearly, there was no other power in history, rising at
+that time and in that place, which suggests the slightest correspondence
+to the prophecy. In every detail the Roman
+Papacy does correspond to it.</p>
+
+<p>The prophetic outline has brought us to the rise of the
+great apostasy, so fully dealt with in the New Testament
+prophecy; but there are further specifications in this prophecy
+of the seventh of Daniel which demand brief study.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[Pg 130]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 448px;">
+<img src="images/p130.jpg" width="448" height="270" alt="RAISING THE SIEGE OF ROME,
+A.D. 538
+
+The crushing defeat of the Goths by the armies of Justinian,
+who placed Vigilius in the papal chair under the military
+protection of his famous general, Belisarius." title="" />
+<span class="caption">RAISING THE SIEGE OF ROME,
+A.D. 538<br />
+
+The crushing defeat of the Goths by the armies of Justinian,
+who placed Vigilius in the papal chair under the military
+protection of his famous general, Belisarius.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[Pg 131]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 448px;">
+<img src="images/p131.jpg" width="448" height="278" alt="ST. PETER&#39;S AND THE
+VATICAN
+
+The magnificent headquarters
+of the papal system." title="" />
+<span class="caption">ST. PETER&#39;S AND THE
+VATICAN<br />
+
+The magnificent headquarters
+of the papal system.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<h2><a name="THE_1260_YEARS_OF_DANIELS" id="THE_1260_YEARS_OF_DANIELS"></a>THE 1260 YEARS OF DANIEL'S PROPHECY</h2>
+
+
+<p>Compressed into forty-four words, the age-long story of
+the workings of the Roman Papacy is thus told by the angel
+who interpreted Daniel's vision of the little horn:</p>
+
+<p>"He shall speak great words against the Most High, and
+shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and think to change
+times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a
+time and times and the dividing of time." Dan. 7:25.</p>
+
+<p>The spirit of this apostasy was abroad in apostolic days.
+"The mystery of iniquity doth already work," said the apostle
+Paul. 2 Thess. 2:7. And this power is to continue to work
+until the end, when it will be destroyed by the brightness of
+Christ's coming. Verse 8.</p>
+
+
+<h4>A Prophetic Period</h4>
+
+<p>But according to the word of the angel to Daniel, there
+was to be a period during which, in a special sense, the Papacy
+was to hold supremacy over the saints and the times and the
+laws of the Most High.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[Pg 132]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"They shall be given into his hand until a time and times
+and the dividing of time." In the Scriptures the word
+"time," used in this manner, means a year: "at the end of
+times, even years." Dan. 11:13, margin. Therefore a time
+(one year) and times (two years) and the dividing of time
+(half a year) means three years and a half. The same period
+is mentioned twice in the twelfth chapter of Revelation, once
+(verse 14) as "a time, and times, and half a time," and again
+(verse 6) as "a thousand two hundred and threescore days."</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 448px;">
+<img src="images/p132.jpg" width="448" height="42" alt="" title="" />
+</div>
+
+<p>But in the symbolic representations of time in prophecy,
+a day stands for a year (see Eze. 4:5, 6, and other scriptures).
+Thus the prophecy foretold a long period of 1260 years during
+which papal supremacy would continue.</p>
+
+<p>Now we may ask, When was this supremacy to begin?
+what would mark the rise of the Papacy to acknowledged supremacy?
+and what events mark the ending of the 1260 years?</p>
+
+
+<h4>A Pivotal Point in History</h4>
+
+<p>The answer of history to the voice of prophecy is clear.</p>
+
+<p>The sixth century was a pivotal period in the history of
+the world. The bishops of Rome had been asserting the
+claims of that seat (or "see") above all others. Justinian was
+emperor of the East. Of Justinian and his time Bury says:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"He may be likened to a colossal Janus bestriding the way of passage
+between the ancient and medieval worlds.... His military achievements
+decided the course of the history of Italy, and affected the development
+of Western Europe;... and his ecclesiastical authority influenced
+the distant future of Christendom."&mdash;<i>"History of the Later Roman
+Empire," Vol. I, pp. 351-353.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>Of this turning point in the world's history, Finlay says:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"The changes of centuries passed in rapid succession before the eyes
+of one generation."&mdash;<i>"Greece under the Romans," p. 231.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>Just here we find the Papacy lifted definitely into acknowledged
+supremacy. Imperial Rome had already left its ancient<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[Pg 133]</a></span>
+seat to the Papacy, the imperial throne being no longer maintained
+at Rome. The Bishop of Rome was left the chief
+figure in the ancient seat of the C&aelig;sars. The prophecy of
+Rev. 13:2 had said of the relation of the old imperial power
+to the Papacy, "The dragon gave him his power, and his seat,
+and great authority." The seat was given, and now imperial
+Rome was to give to papal Rome the definite recognition of
+its supreme power and "great authority."</p>
+
+
+<h4>Papal Supremacy Officially Recognized</h4>
+
+<p>In <span class="smcap">a.d.</span> 533 the emperor Justinian promulgated a letter, having
+the force of an imperial decree, recognizing the absolute headship
+of the Bishop of Rome over the churches. It declared:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"We have been sedulous to subject and unite all the priests of the
+Orient throughout its whole extent to the see of Your Holiness.... For
+we do not suffer that anything which is mooted, however clear and
+unquestionable,
+pertaining to the state of the churches, should fail to be made
+known to Your Holiness, as being the head of all the churches. For, as we
+have said before, we are zealous for the increase of the honor and authority
+of your see in all respects."&mdash;<i>Cod. Justin., lib. 1, title 1, Baronii
+"Annales Ecclesiastici," Tom. VII, an. 533, sec. 12 (Translation as given
+in "The Petrine Claims," by R.F. Littledale, p. 293).</i></p></div>
+
+<p>From this decree (for such it really was) the Roman authorities
+date the official recognition of the supremacy of the
+Papacy. Some have taken a later decree by Emperor Phocas
+(<span class="smcap">a.d.</span> 606) as a starting point. But Dr. Croly says:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"The highest authorities among the civilians and annalists of Rome
+spurn the idea that Phocas was the founder of the supremacy of Rome;
+they ascend to Justinian as the only legitimate source, and rightly date
+the title from the memorable year 533."&mdash;<i>"The Apocalypse of St. John,"
+pp. 172, 173.</i></p></div>
+
+
+<h4>The Sword of Empire Cleaves the Way</h4>
+
+<p>The "great authority" had been recognized. But at this
+time heretical Arian powers compassed the papal seat about.
+The Arian Vandals were persecuting Catholics in Africa,
+Corsica, and Sardinia, and an Arian Gothic king ruled Italy
+from Ravenna, his capital. The imperial arms, however,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[Pg 134]</a></span>
+were at the service of orthodoxy. In 533-534 Justinian's
+famous general, Belisarius, uprooted the Vandals. The war
+for the faith and the empire was carried into Italy also,
+against the Arian Goths. In 536 Belisarius, unopposed, entered
+Rome at the invitation of the Pope. But the next year
+the Goths rallied all their forces to retake the city. It was
+a crisis in the struggle for Italy. "If a single post had given
+way," says Gibbon, "the Romans, and Rome itself, were
+irrecoverably lost." The Goths withdrew, defeated, in 538;
+and this defeat, says Hodgkin, dug "the grave of the Gothic
+monarchy in Italy."</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 445px;">
+<img src="images/p134.jpg" width="445" height="336" alt="THE POPE ENTERING ST. PETER&#39;S
+FROM THE VATICAN
+
+The famous statue of St. Peter
+may be seen on the right." title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE POPE ENTERING ST. PETER&#39;S
+FROM THE VATICAN<br />
+
+The famous statue of St. Peter
+may be seen on the right.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Though the conflict went on for years before the Goths
+were rooted up, this defeat of 538 was a crucial hour in their
+history. Finlay says:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"With the conquest of Rome by Belisarius, the history of the ancient
+city may be considered as terminating; and with his defense against<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[Pg 135]</a></span>
+Witiges [538] commences the history of the Middle Ages."&mdash;<i>"Greece
+under the Romans," p 295.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>Roughly speaking, the Middle Ages and the age of papal
+supremacy and power were the same.</p>
+
+
+<h4>A New Order of Popes</h4>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 448px;">
+<img src="images/p135.jpg" width="448" height="300" alt="THE VATICAN
+
+A bird&#39;s-eye view from the dome of St. Peter&#39;s.
+COPYRIGHT BY UNDERWOOD &amp; UNDERWOOD, N.Y." title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE VATICAN<br />
+
+A bird&#39;s-eye view from the dome of St. Peter&#39;s.<br />
+COPYRIGHT BY UNDERWOOD &amp; UNDERWOOD, N.Y.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Not only was there this telling stroke by the imperial
+sword in 538, helping to clear the way before the Papacy, but
+at this same time the first of a new order of popes was placed
+upon the papal throne by the imperial arms. Pope Silverius,
+accused of sympathy with the Goths, was deposed by Belisarius
+in 537. The emperor intervened, and the question of
+the validity of his deposition was held up by the emperor
+until 538. In that year, as Schaff says:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Vigilius, a pliant creature of Theodora, ascended the papal chair
+under the military protection of Belisarius (538-554)."&mdash;<i>"History of the
+Christian Church," Vol. III, p. 327.</i></p></div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[Pg 136]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 336px;">
+<img src="images/p136.jpg" width="336" height="423" alt="THE FAMOUS SACRED STAIRWAY
+IN ROME
+
+Here Luther, climbing the stairway on
+his knees, heard the message, &quot;The
+just shall live by faith.&quot;" title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE FAMOUS SACRED STAIRWAY
+IN ROME<br />
+
+Here Luther, climbing the stairway on
+his knees, heard the message, &quot;The
+just shall live by faith.&quot;</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>With him begins a new order. Though personally he was
+humiliated by the emperor's demands, and the Papacy itself
+was brought into a state of subjection that it had not known
+even under heretical Gothic kings, yet this very arbitrary
+use of the papal prerogative by Justinian, strengthened the
+idea that the Pope of Rome was the supreme authority in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[Pg 137]</a></span>
+religion, to speak for the universal church. In Bemont and
+Monod's textbook on "Medieval Europe," page 120, we read:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Down to the sixth century all popes are declared saints in the
+martyrologies. Vigilius (537<a name="FNanchor_E_5" id="FNanchor_E_5"></a><a href="#Footnote_E_5" class="fnanchor">[E]</a>-555) is the first of a series of popes who no
+longer bear this title, which is henceforth sparingly conferred. From this
+time on the popes, more and more involved in worldly events, no longer
+belong solely to the church; they are men of the state, and then rulers
+of the state."</p></div>
+
+
+<h4>A Persecuting Power</h4>
+
+<p>Following Vigilius came Pelagius I (556-560), who ascended
+the throne by "the military aid of Narses," then the
+imperial general in Italy. And Pelagius, who had been set in
+the papal see by imperial power, began to demand that the
+sword of the empire should be used against bishops or members
+in the church who did not give way to the authority of the
+Pope. His letters on this subject "are an unqualified defense
+of the principles of persecution." (See "Dictionary of Christian
+Biography," by Smith and Wace, art. "Pope Pelagius.")</p>
+
+<p>The prophecy declared that the Papacy would be given
+special supremacy during a period of 1260 years.</p>
+
+<p>In <span class="smcap">a.d.</span> 533 came the memorable imperial declaration
+recognizing that supremacy, and in <span class="smcap">a.d.</span> 538 came the stroke
+with the sword of Rome, cleaving the way; and there began
+the new order of popes&mdash;"men of the state, and then rulers
+of the state."</p>
+
+<p>Thus decisive events clearly mark the beginning of the
+prophetic period of the 1260 years. And just 1260 years
+from the decree of 533, in recognition of the papal supremacy,
+came a decree, in 1793, aimed against that supremacy; and
+just 1260 years from that stroke with the sword at Rome in
+behalf of the Papacy, came a stroke with the sword at Rome
+against the Papacy.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[Pg 138]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 448px;">
+<img src="images/p138.jpg" width="448" height="271" alt="STORMING OF THE BASTILLE
+PRISON IN PARIS
+
+An event in the French Revolution which marked
+the ending of the old autocratic order." title="" />
+<span class="caption">STORMING OF THE BASTILLE
+PRISON IN PARIS<br />
+
+An event in the French Revolution which marked
+the ending of the old autocratic order.</span>
+</div>
+
+<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_E_5" id="Footnote_E_5"></a><a href="#FNanchor_E_5"><span class="label">[E]</span></a> The exact date should be 538, as given in the quotation from
+Schaff's
+history. "From the death of Silverius [June, 538] the Roman Catholic writers
+date the episcopacy of Vigilius."&mdash;<i>Bower, "History of the Popes," under
+year 538.</i></p></div></div>
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[Pg 139]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 448px;">
+<img src="images/p139.jpg" width="448" height="296" alt="TAKING THE POPE PRISONER
+
+This was accomplished by Berthier,
+the French general, in 1798." title="" />
+<span class="caption">TAKING THE POPE PRISONER<br />
+
+This was accomplished by Berthier,
+the French general, in 1798.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<h2><a name="THE_DAWN_OF_A_NEW_ERA" id="THE_DAWN_OF_A_NEW_ERA"></a>THE DAWN OF A NEW ERA</h2>
+
+<h3>THE END OF THE 1260 YEARS</h3>
+
+
+<p>As the generation in which the papal power rose to supremacy
+was a turning-point in the history of the world, so,
+too, was the generation in which the 1260 years of its supremacy
+came to an end.</p>
+
+<p>This measuring line of prophecy does more than run from
+date to date. It connects two great crises in human history,
+the events of the first tending to establish the papal rule over
+men, the events of the second signalizing a breaking of those
+bands.</p>
+
+
+<h4>A Crisis in History</h4>
+
+<p>Papal supremacy came at that time of which Finlay says,
+"The changes of centuries passed in rapid succession before
+the eyes of one generation." The measuring line of 1260
+years runs on through the centuries till, lo, its end touches
+another time of crisis,&mdash;Europe in the convulsions of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[Pg 140]</a></span>
+French Revolution, when again changes, ordinarily requiring
+centuries, were wrought out before the eyes of men within
+the space of a few years. Lamartine wrote of that time:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"These five years are five centuries for France."&mdash;<i>"History of the
+Girondists," book 61, sec. 16 (Vol. III), p. 544.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>And the events of these times proclaimed the prophetic period
+of papal supremacy ended at last.</p>
+
+<p>Thus, in <span class="smcap">a.d.</span> 533 came the notable decree of the Papacy's
+powerful supporter, recognizing its supremacy; and then the
+decisive stroke by the sword at Rome in <span class="smcap">a.d.</span> 538, cleaving
+the way for the new order of popes&mdash;the rulers of state.</p>
+
+<p>Exactly 1260 years later, in 1793, came the notable decree
+of the Papacy's once powerful supporter, France,&mdash;"the eldest
+son of the church,"&mdash;aiming to abolish church and religion,
+followed by a decisive stroke with the sword at Rome against
+the Papacy, in 1798.</p>
+
+
+<h4>Significant Events of the French Revolution</h4>
+
+<p>Of the decree of 1793, W.H. Hutton says:&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"On Nov. 26, 1793, the Convention, of which seventeen bishops and
+some clergy were members, decreed the abolition of all religion."&mdash;<i>"Age
+of Revolution," p. 156.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>The frenzy of the days of the Terror presented the spectacle
+of outraged humanity, goaded to desperation by centuries
+of oppression in the name of religion and divine right,
+rising up and madly breaking every restraint. Because in
+the minds of the people the Papacy stood for religion, they
+blindly struck at religion itself, and at God, in whose name
+the papal church had done its cruel work through the centuries.</p>
+
+<p>In the prophecy of Rev. 11:3-13 these events of the wild
+days of the French Revolution are specifically referred to as
+coming at the close of the prophetic period of the 1260 years.
+The prophetic picture was so clear that over a hundred years
+before the time, Jurieu, an eminent French student of prophecy,
+wrote that he could "not doubt that 'tis France," the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[Pg 141]</a></span>
+chief supporter of the Papacy, that would give the shock as
+of an earthquake to the great spiritual Babylonian city. He
+wrote of France, one of the ten parts of divided Rome:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"This tenth part of the city shall fall, with respect to the Papacy;
+it shall break with Rome, and the Roman religion."&mdash;<i>"The Accomplishment
+of the Prophecies" (London, 1687), part 2, p. 265.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>And so it came to pass. Far beyond France the movement
+reached. Canon Trevor says of the wave of revolt against
+absolutism that passed over Europe:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"It is worthy of observation that only those nations which eschewed
+popery were able to resist the tide. Every throne and every church,
+without exception, that owned the supremacy of Rome, was prostrated
+in the dust."&mdash;<i>"Rome and Its Papal Rulers," p. 436.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>The decree of the French Convention in 1793 was followed
+by the stroke with the sword at Rome in 1798. The full
+history is told in fewest words by a Roman Catholic writer,
+Rev. Joseph Rickaby, of the Jesuit Society:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"When, in 1797, Pope Pius VI fell grievously ill, Napoleon gave
+orders that in the event of his death no successor should be elected to his
+office, and that the Papacy should be discontinued.</p>
+
+<p>"But the Pope recovered. The peace was soon broken; Berthier
+entered Rome on the tenth of February, 1798, and proclaimed a republic.
+The aged pontiff refused to violate his oath by recognizing it, and was
+hurried from prison to prison in France. Broken with fatigue and sorrows,
+he died on the nineteenth of August, 1799, in the French fortress
+of Valence, aged eighty-two years. No wonder that half Europe thought
+Napoleon's veto would be obeyed, and that with the Pope the Papacy
+was dead."&mdash;<i>"The Modern Papacy," p. 1 (Catholic Truth Society, London).</i></p></div>
+
+<p>These events of the French Revolution marked the ending
+of the prophetic period of papal supremacy. A "deadly
+wound" had been given the Papacy. And the blow with
+the sword at Rome was struck in 1798, just 1260 years from
+the year 538, when the sword of empire struck that decisive
+blow against the Goths at Rome, and prepared the way for
+the new order of popes, the kingly rulers of church and state.</p>
+
+<p>Of the condition of the Papacy at this time Canon Trevor
+says:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[Pg 142]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"The Papacy was extinct: not a vestige of its existence remained;
+and among all the Roman Catholic powers not a finger was stirred in its
+defense. The Eternal City had no longer prince or pontiff; its bishop
+was a dying captive in foreign lands; and the decree was already announced
+that no successor would be allowed in his place."&mdash;<i>"Rome and
+Its Papal Rulers," p. 440.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>"No wonder that half Europe," the Jesuit writer says,
+"thought Napoleon's veto would be obeyed, and that with
+the Pope the Papacy was dead." But he adds that "since
+then the Papacy has been lifted to a pinnacle of spiritual
+power" unreached before.</p>
+
+<p>The stroke dealt the Papacy by the French Revolution
+was not to be the ending of it, by any means, according to
+the prophecy. These events proclaimed the ending of the
+prophetic period of special supremacy. Another prophecy
+distinctly indicates that following the deadly blow there would
+come a revival of the Papacy's influence, just as the Catholic
+writer describes it. The prophet John, speaking of this same
+power, says:</p>
+
+<p>"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.... And they worshiped the beast, saying,
+Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with
+him?" Rev. 13:3, 4.</p>
+
+<p>We see the healing process still going on, with evidences
+multiplying that the world is more and more wondering after
+the papal power.</p>
+
+
+<h4>A New Era of Liberty and Enlightenment</h4>
+
+<p>With the ending of the 1260 years of papal supremacy, a
+new order was ushered in. The Papacy had stood for absolutism
+in state as well as church. Now the power of absolutism
+was broken. "Absolute monarchy," Edmund Burke
+said at the time, "breathed its last without a struggle." There
+came the dawn of an era of greater religious liberty and enlightenment,
+that has spread blessings over all lands.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[Pg 143]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The prophecy had said of the Papacy, that the saints
+and the times and laws of the Most High were to be "given
+into his hand" for 1260 years. As foretold in Christ's prophecy
+(Matt. 24:22), these days of the tribulation of God's
+saints were "shortened." The power of the Reformation
+weakened the oppressing hand, even before the prophetic
+period ran out. And when the full 1260 years closed, the
+world saw the grip of that papal hand yet further loosened,
+and God's providence at work preparing the way for a world-wide
+proclamation of His gospel, bearing witness against the
+perversions of the papal apostasy, and restoring to men the
+Word and laws of the Most High.</p>
+
+<p>The record of history witnesses that this time prophecy
+of the 1260 years of papal supremacy was exactly fulfilled.
+The Lord speaks in prophecy that men may know that He is
+the living God. In these time prophecies of His Word, He
+gives assurance not only that this troubled world has not
+escaped from the hand of its Maker, but that its times are in
+His hand also; and that when the time of His divine purpose
+fully comes, He will surely cut His work short in righteousness,
+and end the reign of sin on earth.</p>
+
+<p>As the prophetic period of Dan. 7:25 meets its fulfilment
+in the history of the Papacy, even so, we shall see, the work
+of the Roman Church answers to the further specifications
+regarding the doings of this "little horn" of Daniel's prophecy.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[Pg 144]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 301px;">
+<img src="images/p144.jpg" width="301" height="444" alt="THE TRIPLE CROWN
+
+The Pope&#39;s Tiara, from a photograph taken
+in the Vatican at Rome." title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE TRIPLE CROWN<br />
+
+The Pope&#39;s Tiara, from a photograph taken
+in the Vatican at Rome.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[Pg 145]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 444px;">
+<img src="images/p145.jpg" width="444" height="293" alt="HUGUENOTS IN PRISON
+FOR THEIR FAITH
+
+&quot;Others had trial ... of bonds and
+imprisonment.&quot; Heb. 11:36." title="" />
+<span class="caption">HUGUENOTS IN PRISON
+FOR THEIR FAITH<br />
+
+&quot;Others had trial ... of bonds and
+imprisonment.&quot; Heb. 11:36.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<h2>THE WORK OF THE "LITTLE HORN" POWER</h2>
+
+
+<p>The prophetic picture of the rise and work of the "little
+horn" finds its exact counterpart in the history of the Roman
+Papacy:</p>
+
+<p><i>The Place.</i>&mdash;The little horn was seen by the prophet
+rising in the field of the Roman Empire. That was the very
+place where the great kingdom of the Papacy appeared, taking
+the name of Roman.</p>
+
+<p><i>The Time.</i>&mdash;The rise of the ecclesiastical kingdom of
+the little-horn power in the prophecy followed the breaking
+up of the Roman Empire into the ten kingdoms. Just so the
+ecclesiastical kingdom of the Roman Papacy rises to view in
+history immediately following the division of the empire.</p>
+
+<p><i>The Period of Supremacy.</i>&mdash;The prophecy allotted 1260
+years to the full supremacy of this power. History responds
+that from the beginning of the papal supremacy, in the days
+of Justinian, a period of 1260 years brings us into the stirring
+events of the last decade of the eighteenth century, that gave
+to the Papacy a deadly wound.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[Pg 146]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 448px;">
+<img src="images/p146.jpg" width="448" height="269" alt="THE LOVE OF POWER
+
+&quot;He shall speak great words against
+the Most High.&quot; Dan. 7:25.
+
+THE POWER OF LOVE" title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE LOVE OF POWER &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;THE POWER OF LOVE<br />
+
+&quot;He shall speak great words against
+the Most High.&quot; Dan. 7:25.
+
+</span>
+</div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[Pg 147]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>One further set of specifications remains for study:</p>
+
+<p><i>The Work.</i>&mdash;Of the nature and work of the power represented
+by the little horn, the prophecy declares:</p>
+
+<p>"He shall speak great words against the Most High, and
+shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and think to
+change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand
+until a time and times and the dividing of time." Dan. 7:25.</p>
+
+<p>Do we find in the record that the Church of Rome has
+fulfilled these specifications also? The Scripture prophecy
+is absolutely a word-photograph of the workings of the papal
+church. Look at the main features:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">1. Speaking great words against the Most High.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">2. Wearing out the saints of the Most High.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">3. Thinking to change the times and the laws of the Most High.<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>Every count in the indictment may be clearly proved,
+and that by testimony from Roman Catholic sources</p>
+
+
+<h4>"He Shall Speak Great Words Against the
+Most High"</h4>
+
+<p>As Daniel observed the little-horn power, he heard it
+speaking "very great things." The angel declared that these
+great swelling words were really against the Most High. And
+what could be more against the honor of the Most High than
+that to mortal man should be ascribed the titles and attributes
+of divinity? Here are some of the "great words:"</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"All the names which are attributed to Christ in Scripture, implying
+His supremacy over the church, are also attributed to the Pope."&mdash;<i>Bellarmine,
+"On the Authority of Councils," book 2, chap. 17.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>This ruling has been actually applied through the ages.
+Says Elliott:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Look at the Sicilian ambassadors prostrated before him [Pope
+Martin IV] with the cry, 'Lamb of God! that takest away the sins of
+the world!'"&mdash;<i>"Hor&aelig; Apocalyptic&aelig;," part 4, chap. 5, sec. 2.</i></p></div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[Pg 148]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 448px;">
+<img src="images/p148.jpg" width="448" height="273" alt="CHRISTIANS IN PRISON BENEATH THE
+COLOSSEUM AWAITING MARTYRDOM
+
+&quot;And shall wear out the saints of the
+Most High.&quot; Dan. 7:25." title="" />
+<span class="caption">CHRISTIANS IN PRISON BENEATH THE
+COLOSSEUM AWAITING MARTYRDOM<br />
+
+&quot;And shall wear out the saints of the
+Most High.&quot; Dan. 7:25.</span>
+</div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[Pg 149]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"The Pope is of so great dignity and excellence, that he is not merely
+man, but as if God, and the vicar of God (<i>non sit simplex homo, sed
+quasi Deus, et Dei vicarius</i>). The Pope alone is called most holy,...
+divine monarch, and supreme emperor, and king of kings.... The Pope is
+of so great dignity and power that he constitutes one and the same
+tribunal with Christ (<i>faciat unum et idem tribunal cum Christo</i>), so
+that whatsoever the Pope does seems to proceed from the mouth of God
+(<i>abore Dei</i>)."&mdash;<i>"Prompta Bibliotheca" (Ferraris), art. "Papa;"
+Ferraris's Ecclesiastical Dictionary (Roman Catholic), art. "The Pope."
+Quoted in Guinness's "Romanism and the Reformation," p. 16.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>These are no merely extravagant adulations of the Dark
+Ages, to be repudiated by the moderns; these terms express
+the unchanging doctrinal claims of the Roman Church, that
+put man in the place of God. The modern Pope Leo XIII,
+in an encyclical letter dated June 20, 1894, repeated the
+claim:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"We hold upon this earth the place of God Almighty."&mdash;<i>"The Great
+Encyclical Letters of Leo XIII" (New York, Benziger Brothers), p. 304.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>Thus does the Papacy "speak great words against the
+Most High."</p>
+
+
+<h4>"And Shall Wear Out the Saints of the
+Most High"</h4>
+
+<p>All through the Dark Ages we catch glimpses of the ruthless
+hand of Rome laid upon simple believers in God's Holy
+Word; but plans for wholesale wearing out of the saints of
+God were devised as the Waldenses and others rose to a widespread
+work of witnessing, heralds of the dawn of the coming
+Reformation,&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"These who gave earliest notice,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">As the lark<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Springs from the ground the morn to gratulate;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Who, rather, rose the day to antedate,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">By striking out a solitary spark,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">When all the world with midnight gloom was dark&mdash;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The harbingers of good whom bitter hate<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">In vain endeavored to exterminate."<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">&mdash;<i>Wordsworth.</i><br /></span>
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[Pg 150]</a></span></div></div>
+
+<p>Pope Innocent III gave orders concerning them as follows:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Therefore by this present apostolical writing, we give you a strict
+command that, by whatever means you can, you destroy all these heresies
+and expel from your diocese all who are polluted with them. You
+shall exercise the rigor of ecclesiastical power against them and all those
+who have made themselves suspected by associating with them. They
+may not appeal from your judgments, and, if necessary, you may cause
+the princes and people to suppress them with the sword."&mdash;<i>Quoted from
+Migne, 214, col. 71, in Thatcher and McNeal's "Source Book for Medieval
+History," p. 210.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>As the truth spread, so also the papal church redoubled
+its efforts by sword and flame. The historian Lecky
+says:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"That the Church of Rome has shed more innocent blood than any
+other institution that has ever existed among mankind, will be questioned
+by no Protestant who has a competent knowledge of history. The memorials,
+indeed, of many of her persecutions are now so scanty that it is
+impossible to form a complete conception of the multitude of her victims,
+and it is quite certain that no powers of imagination can adequately
+realize their sufferings."&mdash;<i>"History of the Rise and Influence of the Spirit
+of Rationalism in Europe," Vol. II, p. 32.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>Motley, in his "Rise of the Dutch Republic" (part 3,
+chap. 2), tells how Philip II of Spain&mdash;who declared that
+he would "never consent to be the sovereign of heretics"&mdash;sent
+the Duke of Alva to take over the Netherlands:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Early in the year the most sublime sentence of death was promulgated
+which has ever been pronounced since the creation of the world.
+The Roman tyrant [Nero] wished that his enemies' heads were all upon
+a single neck, that he might strike them off at a blow; the Inquisition
+assisted Philip to place the heads of all his Netherlands subjects upon a
+single neck for the same fell purpose. Upon February 16, 1568, a sentence
+of the Holy Office condemned all the inhabitants of the Netherlands
+to death as heretics. From this universal doom only a few persons,
+especially named, were excepted. A proclamation of the king, dated
+ten days later, confirmed this decree of the Inquisition, and ordered
+it to be carried into instant execution, without regard to age, sex, or
+condition.
+This is probably the most concise death warrant that was ever
+framed. Three millions of people, men, women, and children, were sentenced
+to the scaffold in three lines."</p></div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[Pg 151]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Roman Catholic writers admit that the papal church has
+sought to exterminate what it calls heresy, by the power of
+the sword.</p>
+
+<p>The <i>Western Watchman</i> (St. Louis), Dec. 24, 1908, says:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"The church has persecuted.... Protestants were persecuted in
+France and Spain with the full approval of the church authorities. We
+have always defended the persecution of the Huguenots, and the Spanish
+Inquisition. Wherever and whenever there is honest Catholicity, there
+will be a clear distinction drawn between truth and error, and Catholicity
+and all forms of error. When she thinks it good to use physical
+force, she will use it."</p></div>
+
+<p>Prof. Alfred Baudrillart, rector of the Catholic Institute
+of Paris, says:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"The Catholic Church is a respecter of conscience and of liberty....
+She has, and she loudly proclaims that she has, a 'horror of
+blood.' Nevertheless, when confronted by heresy, she does not content
+herself with persuasion; arguments of an intellectual and moral order
+appear to her insufficient, and she has recourse to force, to corporal
+punishment,
+to torture. She creates tribunals like those of the Inquisition,
+she calls the laws of the state to her aid, if necessary she encourages a
+crusade, or a religious war, and all her 'horror of blood' practically
+culminates
+into urging the secular power to shed it, which proceeding is
+almost more odious&mdash;for it is less frank&mdash;than shedding it herself.
+Especially did she act thus in the sixteenth century with regard to Protestants.
+Not content to reform morally, to preach by example, to convert
+people by eloquent and holy missionaries, she lit in Italy, in the Low
+Countries, and above all in Spain, the funeral piles of the Inquisition.
+In France under Francis I and Henry II, in England under Mary Tudor,
+she tortured the heretics, whilst both in France and Germany during the
+second half of the sixteenth and the first half of the seventeenth century
+if she did not actually begin, at any rate she encouraged and
+actively aided, the religious wars."&mdash;<i>"The Catholic Church, the Renaissance
+and Protestantism" (London, Kegan Paul, Trench, Tr&uuml;bner &amp; Co., Ltd.,
+1908), pp. 182, 183.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>She has done it&mdash;the Church of Rome has worn out the
+saints of the Most High. The prophet in vision saw an ecclesiastical
+kingly power rise among the kingdoms of the divided
+Roman Empire. Its look was more stout than its fellows,
+and the prophet heard it speaking "very great things," and
+saw it wearing out the saints of the Most High through the
+long centuries.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[Pg 152]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 448px;">
+<img src="images/p152.jpg" width="448" height="272" alt="THE SHAME OF RELIGIOUS WARS
+
+Christ viewing the battle fields of history, where millions
+of His followers have been slain in His name." title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE SHAME OF RELIGIOUS WARS<br />
+
+Christ viewing the battle fields of history, where millions
+of His followers have been slain in His name.</span>
+</div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[Pg 153]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Guilty!" is the clear verdict of history, against the
+Church of Rome on these two counts of the prophetic indictment.</p>
+
+
+<h4>"And Think to Change Times and Laws"</h4>
+
+<p>The power that was to speak great words against the
+Most High, and to wear out the saints of the Most High,
+was further&mdash;in its self-exalting opposition to God&mdash;to assume
+to lay hands upon times and laws, evidently the
+times and the laws of the Most High; for to say that such
+a power would lay hands on the laws of men, changing or
+setting aside human legislation, would signify less than the
+preceding counts. This third specification states a climax
+in the indictment&mdash;the self-exalting, persecuting power was
+to lay hands upon the very law of the Most High. It is
+clearly the same power that the apostle Paul said would rise
+to dominion after his time: "Then shall be revealed the lawless
+one." 2 Thess. 2:8, A.R.V.</p>
+
+
+<h4>God's Law Unchangeable</h4>
+
+<p>Just as the laws of a government express its character,
+so the law of God is a reflection of the divine character. "The
+law of the Lord is perfect." Ps. 19:7. "Wherefore the law
+is holy," said the apostle, "and the commandment holy, and
+just, and good." Rom. 7:12.</p>
+
+<p>Jesus declared, "I delight to do Thy will, O My God: yea,
+Thy law is within My heart." Ps. 40:8. And He maintained
+the unchangeable, enduring integrity of that law: "Verily I
+say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle
+shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled." Matt.
+5:18.</p>
+
+<p>But in Daniel's prophecy is foretold the rise of this power
+that was to <i>think</i> to change the times and the laws of the
+Most High.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[Pg 154]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Here, again, the evidence points straight to the Church of
+Rome; for it is a fact that the Papacy has laid violent hands
+on the law of God&mdash;upon the precept, too, that deals with
+sacred time&mdash;and has <i>thought</i> to change it.</p>
+
+<p>In a volume to be seen in the British Museum, dated 1545,
+the following comment on Dan. 7:25 is attributed to Philipp
+Melanchthon, the Reformer, associate of Luther (reproduced
+with the old English spelling):</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"He changeth the tymes and lawes that any of the sixe worke dayes
+commanded of God will make them unholy and idle dayes when he lyste,
+or of their owne holy dayes abolished make worke dayes agen, or when
+they changed ye Saterday into Sondaye.... They have changed God's
+lawes and turned them into their owne tradicions to be kept above God's
+precepts."&mdash;<i>"Exposition of Daniel the Prophete," Gathered out of Philipp
+Melanchthon, Johan Ecolampadius, etc., by George Joye, 1545, p. 119.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>This is exactly what the power represented by the little
+horn was to assume to do. The commandment of God is
+plain:</p>
+
+<p>"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days
+shalt thou labor, and do all thy work: but the seventh day is
+the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any
+work.... For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth,
+the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day:
+wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed
+it." Ex. 20:8-11.</p>
+
+
+<h4>A Change in Practice</h4>
+
+<p>But in general practice there has been a change&mdash;the
+first day is commonly observed instead of the seventh day,
+which the Lord declares he blessed and made holy. The Roman
+Catholic Church points exultingly to the fact that this
+change, so universally allowed today, has come about solely
+through church tradition without Scriptural authority. For
+instance, one Catholic writer says:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"You will tell me that Saturday was the <i>Jewish</i> Sabbath, but that
+the <i>Christian</i> Sabbath has been changed to Sunday. Changed! but by
+whom? Who has authority to change an express commandment of Almighty<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[Pg 155]</a></span>
+God? When God has spoken and said, Thou shalt keep holy
+the seventh day, who shall dare to say, Nay, thou mayest work and
+do all manner of worldly business on the seventh day; but thou shalt
+keep holy the first day in its stead? This is a most important question,
+which I know not how you can answer.</p>
+
+<p>"You are a Protestant, and you profess to go by the Bible and the
+Bible only; and yet in so important a matter as the observance of one day
+in seven as a holy day, you go against the plain letter of the Bible, and put
+another day in the place of that day which the Bible has commanded.
+The command to keep holy the seventh day is one of the ten commandments;
+you believe that the other nine are still binding; who gave you
+authority to tamper with the fourth? If you are consistent with your
+own principles, if you really follow the Bible and the Bible only, you
+ought to be able to produce some portion of the New Testament in which
+this fourth commandment is expressly altered."&mdash;<i>"Library of Christian
+Doctrine: Why Don't You Keep the Holy Sabbath Day?" (Burns and Oates
+London), p. 3.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>Every one who studies the question must recognize the
+fact that there is no change authorized in Scripture. As
+Canon Eyton, of the Church of England, says:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"There is no word, no hint, in the New Testament about abstaining
+from work on Sunday.... Into the rest of Sunday no divine law enters."&mdash;<i>"The
+Ten Commandments" (Tr&uuml;bner &amp; Co.), London.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>Dr. Heylyn, of the Church of England, wrote:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Take which you will, either the Fathers or the moderns, and we
+shall find no Lord's day instituted by any apostolical mandate; no Sabbath
+set on foot by them upon the first day of the week."&mdash;<i>"History
+of the Sabbath," part 2, chap. 1.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>Authorities, both Protestant and Catholic, freely acknowledge
+that there is no divine authority for Sunday keeping.
+There has been a change in practice and teaching, but with
+no Scriptural authority.</p>
+
+
+<h4>What the Papacy Claims</h4>
+
+<p>The prophecy of Daniel 7 forewarned all that the ecclesiastical
+power that was to rise upon the division of the Roman
+Empire would <i>think</i> to change the times and the laws of the
+Most High. The Papacy steps forward and claims boldly
+that the church has power to set aside Scripture, to institute<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[Pg 156]</a></span>
+holy times, and even to change the day made holy and commanded
+by the Almighty as the day of rest for His people.</p>
+
+<p>In a Catholic work, "An Abridgment of the Christian
+Doctrine," by Dr. Henry Turberville, page 61, we read:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"<i>Question.</i>&mdash;By whom was the change [of the Sabbath] made?</p>
+
+<p>"<i>Answer.</i>&mdash;By the rulers of the church, the apostles who kept the
+Lord's day....</p>
+
+<p>"<i>Ques.</i>&mdash;How do you prove that the church hath power to establish
+feasts and holy days?</p>
+
+<p>"<i>Ans.</i>&mdash;By the very fact of changing the Sabbath to Sunday; this
+change Protestants allow; and therefore they contradict themselves by
+keeping Sunday strictly and breaking most other feasts commanded by
+the same church.</p>
+
+<p>"<i>Ques.</i>&mdash;How prove you that?</p>
+
+<p>"<i>Ans.</i>&mdash;Because by keeping Sunday they acknowledge the church's
+power to ordain feasts and to command them under sin; and by not keeping
+the rest commanded by her, they deny that she has power."</p></div>
+
+<p>It is the doctrine taught in the standard catechisms of the
+Roman Church:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"<i>Question.</i>&mdash;Have you any other way of proving that the church
+has power to institute festivals of precept?</p>
+
+<p>"<i>Answer.</i>&mdash;Had she not such power, she could not have done that
+in which all modern religionists agree with her,&mdash;she could not have
+substituted the observance of Sunday the first day of the week, for the
+observance of Saturday the seventh day, a change for which there is no
+Scriptural authority."&mdash;<i>Keenan's "Doctrinal Catechism," p. 174.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>Thus the Papacy proclaims itself the power that has
+<i>thought</i> to change the precepts of the Most High.</p>
+
+<p>On every count, the Roman Church is the counterpart of
+the little horn of Daniel 7. Before our eyes&mdash;in the common
+practice of Christendom&mdash;the commandment of God
+regarding sacred time is made void by the traditions of men.</p>
+
+<p>The prophecy indicated that there would come a call for
+a reformation in this matter. Speaking of the warfare against
+the saints and the times and laws of the Most High, to be
+waged by the little-horn power, the angel said:</p>
+
+<p>"They shall be given into his hand until a time and times
+and the dividing of time." Dan. 7:25.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[Pg 157]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>In other words, when the 1260 years should expire, we
+should expect, according to the prophecy, to see a breaking
+of the Papacy's persecuting power over believers, a spreading
+abroad of the Holy Scriptures, and a work of reformation
+that would lift up the truths of God's Word, and call believers
+to keep once again the holy time and the holy law
+of the Most High.</p>
+
+<p>The prophecy of Daniel 7 is one of God's special messages
+for all men in these last days, picturing the rise and history
+of the Papacy, and warning all against accepting its perversions
+of God's truth or recognizing its attempted change in
+the law of the Most High. Thank God for the "sure word
+of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto
+a light that shineth in a dark place." We are to follow the
+Lord and obey him, not this power that has risen up in opposition
+to him.</p>
+
+<p>The angel's interpretation in this chapter does not leave
+the apostasy triumphant:</p>
+
+<p>"The judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his
+dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end."</p>
+
+<p>Then the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdoms
+of the Most High, "and all dominions shall serve and obey
+Him."</p>
+
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"O, how shall we stand that moment of searching,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">When all our sins those books reveal?<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">When from that court, each case decided,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Shall be granted no appeal?"<br /></span>
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[Pg 158]</a></span></div></div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 301px;">
+<img src="images/p158.jpg" width="301" height="448" alt="CHRIST AND THE
+SCRIBES
+
+&quot;In vain they do worship Me, teaching
+for doctrines the commandments of
+men.&quot; Matt. 15:9." title="" />
+<span class="caption">CHRIST AND THE
+SCRIBES<br />
+
+&quot;In vain they do worship Me, teaching
+for doctrines the commandments of
+men.&quot; Matt. 15:9.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[Pg 159]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 448px;">
+<img src="images/p159.jpg" width="448" height="270" alt="CREATION
+
+&quot;In six days the Lord made heaven
+and earth,... and rested the seventh
+day.&quot; Ex. 20:11." title="" />
+<span class="caption">CREATION<br />
+
+&quot;In six days the Lord made heaven
+and earth,... and rested the seventh
+day.&quot; Ex. 20:11.</span>
+</div>
+
+<h2><a name="THE_BIBLE_SABBATH" id="THE_BIBLE_SABBATH"></a>THE BIBLE SABBATH</h2>
+
+
+<p>"He answered and said, Every plant, which My heavenly
+Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up." Matt. 15:13.</p>
+
+<p>The scribes had come to Jesus with the complaint, "Why
+do Thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders?"
+Jesus answered them with another question, "Why do ye also
+transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?"</p>
+
+<p>They had thought that Christ was introducing novelties,
+preaching new things, contrary to established church custom
+and practice. He showed them that He really stood for
+the old and established things of God's Word, and that their
+own religious customs, however old, were really the novelties,
+without divine authority. He said,</p>
+
+<p>"In vain do they worship Me, teaching for doctrines the
+commandments of men." And finally He added the words
+quoted above, "Every plant, which My heavenly Father hath
+not planted, shall be rooted up."</p>
+
+<p>Let the principles be applied to the question of Sabbath
+observance. Sometimes in our day those who preach the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[Pg 160]</a></span>
+word of God regarding the abiding holiness of the seventh-day
+Sabbath are accused of preaching new doctrines, contrary
+to the traditions and customs of the church. But really,
+the observance of Sunday, the first day, is the innovation;
+the seventh-day Sabbath is of ancient foundation.</p>
+
+<h4>Is the Seventh-day Sabbath a Plant of Our Heavenly
+Father's Planting?</h4>
+
+<p>Which of these two institutions has our heavenly Father
+planted? It is possible to ascertain to a surety; for every
+plant of His planting, every doctrine of His truth, will be
+found rooted in the Holy Scriptures. 2 Tim. 3:16, 17.</p>
+
+
+<h4>The Old Testament Record</h4>
+
+<p><i>From the Beginning.</i>&mdash;When the Creator made the earth
+and man upon it, He made the seventh day of the weekly
+cycle His holy Sabbath.</p>
+
+<p>"Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all
+the host of them.... And God blessed the seventh day, and
+sanctified it: because that in it He had rested from all His
+work which God created and made." Gen. 2:1-3.</p>
+
+<p>To sanctify is "to set apart," and so the day made holy
+and blessed by God was set apart for man. Then it was, as
+Jesus said, that "the Sabbath was made for man." Mark
+2:27. Here the Sabbath institution was planted at the beginning
+of the world.</p>
+
+<p><i>At the Exodus.</i>&mdash;The people of Israel, in their bondage in
+Egypt, had fallen away from the knowledge of God and become
+corrupted by the idolatrous worship of Egypt, Hence,
+as the Lord called them out to be His people, He tested their
+loyalty to His law by observing how they regarded His holy
+Sabbath:</p>
+
+<p>"Then said the Lord unto Moses, Behold, I will rain
+bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and
+gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them,
+whether they will walk in My law, or no." Ex. 16:4.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[Pg 161]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>So through the forty years the Lord sent the manna for
+them to gather on the six working days, withholding it on the
+Sabbath. (This scripture shows also that the Sabbath was a
+part of God's law before He spoke it from Sinai.)</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 442px;">
+<img src="images/p161.jpg" width="442" height="293" alt="HOREB, THE SACRED MOUNT
+
+A modern view of the summit
+of Mt. Sinai." title="" />
+<span class="caption">HOREB, THE SACRED MOUNT<br />
+
+A modern view of the summit
+of Mt. Sinai.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p><i>At Sinai.</i>&mdash;When the time came that the Lord would
+speak His holy law from heaven, the eternal foundation of
+His moral government, the Sabbath precept was enshrined in
+the heart of it:</p>
+
+<p>"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days
+shalt thou labor, and do all thy work: but the seventh day
+is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do
+any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant,
+nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger
+that is within thy gates: for in six days the Lord made heaven
+and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the
+seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day,
+and hallowed it." Ex. 20:8-11.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[Pg 162]</a></span></p>
+
+<p><i>Through Israel's History.</i>&mdash;Sabbath keeping was the great
+mark of loyalty to God. When Israel fell into idolatry, they
+"observed times" (see 2 Kings 21:6),&mdash;doubtless such heathen
+festivals to the sun god and other deities as were common
+among the idolatrous nations. These observances of
+other days meant Sabbath breaking. "Neither shall ye ...
+observe times.... Ye shall keep My Sabbaths." Lev. 19:26-30.
+The Lord had promised concerning Jerusalem:</p>
+
+<p>"If ye diligently hearken unto Me, saith the Lord, to
+bring in no burden through the gates of this city on the Sabbath
+day, but hallow the Sabbath day, to do no work therein;
+then shall there enter into the gates of this city kings and
+princes sitting upon the throne of David,... and this city
+shall remain forever." Jer. 17:24, 25.</p>
+
+<p>The divine pleading was slighted, and Jerusalem's fall and
+the Babylonian captivity came as the result of the Israelites'
+disregard of God's holy day.</p>
+
+<p>Thus throughout the inspired record of the Old Testament
+the seventh-day Sabbath appears as a plant of the
+heavenly Father's own planting.</p>
+
+
+<h4>The New Testament Record</h4>
+
+<p><i>The Example and Teaching of Jesus.</i>&mdash;It was Christ's
+"custom" to worship on the seventh day. Luke 4:16.</p>
+
+<p>Jesus, who Himself made the Sabbath at creation (John
+1:3), taught that it was "made for man,"&mdash;for the human
+race,&mdash;and declared, "The Son of man is Lord also of the
+Sabbath." Mark 2:27, 28. It is, therefore, "the Lord's
+day." Rev. 1:10.</p>
+
+<p>He did on the Sabbath only that which was "lawful,"
+or according to the law of God's holy day. Matt. 12:12.</p>
+
+<p>He kept His Father's commandments throughout His
+earthly life. John 15:10.</p>
+
+<p>And giving instruction regarding events to take place
+many years after His ascension, He showed that He recognized<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[Pg 163]</a></span>
+the continued existence of the Sabbath in the command,
+"Pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on
+the Sabbath day." Matt. 24:20.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 448px;">
+<img src="images/p163.jpg" width="448" height="334" alt="CHRIST HEALING THE MAN
+WITH A WITHERED HAND
+
+&quot;It is lawful to do well on the Sabbath
+days.&quot; Matt. 12:12." title="" />
+<span class="caption">CHRIST HEALING THE MAN
+WITH A WITHERED HAND<br />
+
+&quot;It is lawful to do well on the Sabbath
+days.&quot; Matt. 12:12.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p><i>Among New Testament Disciples.</i>&mdash;The women, after the
+crucifixion, "rested the Sabbath day according to the commandment."
+Luke 23:56.</p>
+
+<p>Inspiration says that the apostle Paul's custom was to
+preach the gospel publicly Sabbath after Sabbath. Acts
+13:14; 16:13; 17:1, 2; 18:4. When the Gentiles of Antioch
+heard the gospel preached by the apostle one Sabbath, they
+"besought that these words might be preached to them the
+next Sabbath." Acts 13:42.</p>
+
+<p>Throughout the New Testament, written years after Christ's
+ascension, the Holy Spirit, speaking of the seventh day, calls
+it "the Sabbath" upwards of fifty times. "Sabbath" means<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[Pg 164]</a></span>
+rest; therefore when the Holy Spirit, in the Christian age,
+calls the seventh day the rest day, it must infallibly be the
+day of rest for Christians, the Christian Sabbath.</p>
+
+<p>In the Levitical or sacrificial ordinances of the sanctuary
+services there were annual sabbaths and feasts, associated
+with meats and drinks and ceremonial observances. But in
+appointing these the Lord specifically distinguished between
+them and the one and only weekly Sabbath, which was from
+the beginning. "These are the feasts of the Lord," He said,
+"beside the Sabbaths of the Lord." Lev. 23:37, 38.</p>
+
+<p>The annual festivals and sabbaths, like all the ordinances
+of the Levitical service, were shadows of things to come, and
+found their fulfilment in the great sacrifice of Calvary. Col.
+2:16, 17.</p>
+
+<p>But the Sabbath of the Lord was made blessed and holy
+by God at the creation, before sin had entered the world,
+before any sacrificial or shadowy service was instituted to
+point to a coming Redeemer. It is a fundamental and primary
+institution, a part of the moral order of God's government
+for man, the same as the obligations set forth in each
+of the other commandments.</p>
+
+<p>And Inspiration declares the eternal perpetuity of the
+blessed Sabbath day in the future home of the saved, when the
+prophet describes the felicity of the redeemed, as from month
+to month, and "from one Sabbath to another," all flesh shall
+come to worship before the Lord. Isa. 66:23.</p>
+
+<p>Thus we find the seventh-day Sabbath a plant of the
+heavenly Father's planting, rooted deep in all Holy Scripture,
+and abiding eternally in the world to come.</p>
+
+
+<h4>Is the First-day Rest an Institution of God's
+Planting?</h4>
+
+<p>In the beginning, the first day was employed by God in
+the work of creation. Gen. 1:1-5.</p>
+
+<p>Throughout all the Old Testament history it was one of
+"the six working days." Eze. 46:1.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[Pg 165]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>It was the day of Christ's resurrection; but Inspiration says
+specifically that "the Sabbath was past" when that "first
+day of the week" came. Mark 16:1, 2. Inspiration called
+this first day merely by the ordinary secular name in common
+business use, with never a suggestion of attaching any sacredness
+to the day. For some of the disciples it was a day of
+journeying, in which the risen Christ joined them. Luke
+24:13-29. Later He appeared to the other disciples in Jerusalem,
+gathered not in meeting, but at supper in their common
+dwelling house. Mark 16:14.</p>
+
+<p>The only religious meeting recorded as occurring on the
+first day of the week was that held at Troas. (See Acts 20:6-13.)
+The context shows that it was an evening meeting,
+after the Sabbath,&mdash;Saturday night, as we would call it,
+for the Bible reckoning is from evening to evening. It was
+the last time the believers were ever to see the apostle's face,
+and as they lingered after the close of the Sabbath, he held
+an all-night farewell meeting, breaking bread with the believers,
+and leaving at daybreak Sunday morning for the
+eighteen- or twenty-mile journey afoot, across country to
+Assos. And while he spent the first day traveling afoot,
+his companions were journeying by boat.</p>
+
+<p>Conybeare and Howson (of the Church of England), in that
+standard work, "Life and Epistles of St. Paul," tell the plain
+fact of the inspired record, save that manifestly they should not
+have applied the title "Jewish" to God's Sabbath; for it was
+not the Sabbath of the Jews, but "the Sabbath of the Lord
+thy God:"</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"It was the evening which succeeded the Jewish Sabbath. On the
+Sunday morning the vessel was about to sail."&mdash;<i>Chapter 20, p. 520.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>Describing the road between Troas and Assos, they add:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Strength and peace were surely sought and obtained by the apostle
+from the Redeemer as he pursued his lonely road that Sunday afternoon
+in spring among the oak woods and the streams of Ida."&mdash;<i>Id., p. 522.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>Once again the "first day of the week" is mentioned, in
+1 Cor. 16:2. But that scripture says no word of any sacredness<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[Pg 166]</a></span>
+of the day or of any religious observance of it. The
+apostle was gathering a fund for the poor at Jerusalem, and
+asked every believer to "lay by" something every first day
+of the week, so that the money would be ready when he came.
+As Dean Stanley (Church of England) comments:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"There is nothing to prove public assemblies, inasmuch as the phrase &#960;&#945;&#961; &#949;&#945;&#965;&#964;&#969; ('by himself, at his own house') implies that the collection was
+to be made individually and in private."</p></div>
+
+<p>And Neander's Church History says:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"All mentioned here is easily explained, if one simply thinks of the
+ordinary beginning of the week in secular life."&mdash;<i>Vol. I, p. 339 (German
+ed.).</i></p></div>
+
+<p>To meet the emergency of need in Judea, these believers
+were asked to look over their business affairs at the beginning
+of each week, until Paul should come, laying aside a gift as
+God had prospered them.</p>
+
+
+<h4>No Sunday Sacredness in the New Testament</h4>
+
+<p>This is the record&mdash;not one suggestion in all the New
+Testament of Sunday sacredness, to say nothing of precept
+or commandment of the Lord. The late R.W. Dale, D.D.,
+a leading Congregationalist of England, wrote:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"It is quite clear that, however rigidly or devotedly we may spend
+Sunday, we are not keeping the Sabbath.... The Sabbath was founded
+on a specific, divine command. We can plead no such command for the
+observance of Sunday.... There is not a single line in the New Testament
+to suggest that we incur any penalty by violating the supposed
+sanctity of Sunday."&mdash;<i>"The Ten Commandments," pp. 106, 107.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>That religious classic, Smith and Cheetham's "Dictionary
+of Christian Antiquities," says that the "notion of a formal
+substitution" of the first day for the seventh,</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"and the transference to it, perhaps in a spiritualized form, of the
+Sabbatical obligation established by the promulgation of the fourth
+commandment, has no basis whatever, either in Holy Scripture or in
+Christian antiquity."&mdash;<i>Article "Sabbath."</i></p></div>
+
+<p>Dr. E.F. Hiscox, author of "The Baptist Manual," says:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"There was and is a commandment to 'keep holy the Sabbath day,'
+but that Sabbath was not Sunday. It will, however, be readily said,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[Pg 167]</a></span>
+and with some show of triumph, that the Sabbath was transferred from
+the seventh to the first day of the week.... Where can the record of
+such a transaction be found? Not in the New Testament&mdash;absolutely
+not."&mdash;<i>The New York Examiner, Nov. 16, 1893.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>Such declarations by well-known scholars might be multiplied,
+but it is not necessary. The record is open&mdash;any
+one may see it. There is not a word in the Holy Scripture
+of any first-day sacredness. The Sunday institution is not
+a plant of our heavenly Father's planting.</p>
+
+
+<h4>How the Change Came About</h4>
+
+<p>There has been no change of the Sabbath by divine authority.
+Men may choose to rest on any other day, but that cannot
+make such a day God's rest day, His holy Sabbath. One
+cannot change one's birthday by celebrating another day as
+such. It is a fact of history that on a certain day of the month
+one was born. That fact cannot be changed by choosing to
+celebrate another day as the birthday. Just so it is a fact
+of divine history that God rested on a given day of the week,
+and on no other. That made the seventh day His rest day.</p>
+
+<p>It is different from other days in character also, for He
+blessed it and made it holy. To deny the difference between
+common days and the holy day is to say that when the great
+Creator blesses and makes holy, it is a vain performance.
+That cannot be. It would take away all hope of holiness
+or salvation for men. The blessing is upon the day, as every
+soul finds who keeps it by faith.</p>
+
+<p>When men choose to set apart another day than that
+blessed and sanctified of God, it is plainly a setting up of
+the humanly appointed time against the divinely appointed
+time. It is exalting man's sabbath against God's Sabbath.
+It is man exalting himself "above all that is called God."
+2 Thess. 2:4.</p>
+
+<p>This was what made the Roman Papacy. The apostle
+Paul wrote that in his day the spirit of lawlessness was already
+working. He said it would lead to a "falling away" from the
+truth of God, and the full exaltation of the man of sin.
+2 Thessalonians 2. The falling away came. As Dr. Killen
+(Presbyterian), of Ireland, says in the preface to his "Ancient
+Church:"<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[Pg 168]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 448px;">
+<img src="images/p168.jpg" width="448" height="284" alt="THE SABBATH FROM
+EDEN TO EDEN
+
+Blessed and sanctified in Eden. Gen. 2:3.
+Christ the Lord of the Sabbath. Mark 2:28.
+
+Written by God in His law. Ex. 20:8-11.
+To be observed in the new earth. Isa. 66:23." title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE SABBATH FROM
+EDEN TO EDEN<br />
+
+Blessed and sanctified in Eden. Gen. 2:3.
+Christ the Lord of the Sabbath. Mark 2:28.
+
+Written by God in His law. Ex. 20:8-11.
+To be observed in the new earth. Isa. 66:23.</span>
+</div>
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[Pg 169]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"In the interval between the days of the apostles and the conversion
+of Constantine, the Christian commonwealth changed its aspect....
+Rites and ceremonies, of which neither Paul nor Peter ever heard, crept
+into use, and then claimed the rank of divine institutions."</p></div>
+
+<p>In his "Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine,"
+Cardinal Newman (Roman Catholic) tells how rites and ceremonies
+were borrowed from paganism:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Confiding then in the power of Christianity to resist the infection
+of evil, and to transmute the very instruments and appendages of demon
+worship to an evangelical use,... the rulers of the church from early
+times were prepared, should the occasion arise, to adopt, or imitate, or
+sanction the existing rites and customs of the populace, as well as the
+philosophy of the educated class."&mdash;<i>Pages 371, 372.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>Thus along with other adaptations came "the venerable
+day of the sun" (Sunday). It was by gradual process that
+it supplanted the Sabbath. Sir William Domville wrote:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Centuries of the Christian era passed away before Sunday was
+observed by the Christian church as a Sabbath. History does not furnish
+us with a single proof or indication that it was at any time so observed
+previous to the Sabbatical edict of Constantine in <span class="smcap">a.d.</span>
+321."&mdash;<i>"Examination
+of Six Texts," p. 291.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>This law of Constantine's was as follows:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"On the venerable day of the sun let the magistrates and people
+residing in cities rest, and let all workshops be closed. In the country,
+however, persons engaged in agriculture may freely and lawfully continue
+their pursuits; because it often happens that another day is not so suitable
+for grain sowing or for vine planting; lest by neglecting the proper
+moment for such operations, the bounty of heaven should be lost. (Given
+the 7th day of March, Crispus and Constantine being consuls each of them
+for the second time.)"&mdash;<i>Schaff, "History of the Christian Church," Vol.
+III, chap. 5, sec. 75.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>Commenting on this law, Prof. Hutton Webster, of the
+University of Nebraska, says:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"This legislation by Constantine probably bore no relation to Christianity;
+it appears, on the contrary, that the emperor, in his capacity of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[Pg 170]</a></span>
+Pontifex Maximus, was only adding the day of the sun, the worship of
+which was then firmly established in the Roman Empire, to the other
+ferial days of the sacred calendar."</p>
+
+<p>"What began, however, as a pagan ordinance, ended as a Christian
+regulation; and a long series of imperial decrees, during the fourth, fifth,
+and sixth centuries, enjoined with increasing stringency abstinence from
+labor on Sunday."&mdash;<i>"Rest Days," pp. 122, 270.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>Dean Stanley (Church of England) writes:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"The retention of the old pagan name <i>Dies Solis</i>, or Sunday, for the
+weekly Christian festival, is, in a great measure, owing to the union of
+pagan and Christian sentiment with which the first day of the week was
+recommended by Constantine to his subjects, pagan and Christian alike,
+as the 'venerable day of the sun.'"&mdash;<i>"History of the Eastern Church,"
+lecture 6, par. 15.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>Thus the Sunday institution comes in, marked by its
+pagan origin, and adapted to ecclesiastical purposes by the
+church of the "falling away" that grew into the Roman Papacy.
+To quote again from the Baptist author, Dr. Hiscox:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Of course, I quite well know that Sunday did come into use in early
+Christian history as a religious day, as we learn from the Christian Fathers
+and other sources. But what a pity that it comes branded with the mark
+of paganism, and christened with the name of the sun god, when adopted
+and sanctioned by the papal apostasy, and bequeathed as a sacred legacy
+to Protestantism."&mdash;<i>New York Examiner, Nov. 16, 1893.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>No wonder that with the coming of the latter days, and
+the proclamation of the message of preparation for Christ's
+second coming, there should come a call to Christians to follow
+Christ and Holy Scripture in keeping God's holy Sabbath.</p>
+
+<p>Again the voice of Jesus is heard in protest against traditions
+that make void the commandment of God.</p>
+
+<p>"Every plant," He says, "which My heavenly Father hath
+not planted, shall be rooted up." Matt. 15:13.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[Pg 171]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i2"><b>Made for Man</b><br /></span>
+<span class="i0">&nbsp;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The God that made the earth,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And all the worlds on high,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Who gave all creatures birth,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">In earth, and sea, and sky,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">After six days in work employed,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Upon the seventh a rest enjoyed.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">The Sabbath day was blessed,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Hallowed, and sanctified;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">It was Jehovah's rest,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And so it must abide;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">'Twas set apart before the fall,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">'Twas made for man, 'twas made for all.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">And when from Sinai's mount,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Amidst the fire and smoke,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Jehovah did recount,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And all His precepts spoke,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">He claimed the rest day as His own,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And wrote it with His law on stone.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">The Son of God appeared<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">With tidings of great joy;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">God's precepts He revered,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">He came not to destroy;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">None of the law was set aside,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">But every tittle ratified.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Our Saviour did not die<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">To render null and void<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The law of the Most High,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Which cannot be destroyed;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">But, bruised for us, our stripes He bore,&mdash;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">We'll go in peace and sin no more.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">&mdash;<i>R.F. Cottrell.</i><br /></span>
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[Pg 172]</a></span></div></div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 448px;">
+<img src="images/p172.jpg" width="448" height="269" alt="CHRIST AND HIS DISCIPLES IN
+THE CORN-FIELDS
+
+&quot;The Son of man is Lord even of the
+Sabbath day.&quot; Matt. 12:8." title="" />
+<span class="caption">CHRIST AND HIS DISCIPLES IN
+THE CORN-FIELDS<br />
+
+&quot;The Son of man is Lord even of the
+Sabbath day.&quot; Matt. 12:8.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[Pg 173]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 448px;">
+<img src="images/p173.jpg" width="448" height="326" alt="RETURNING FROM THE
+SAVIOUR&#39;S TOMB
+
+&quot;They returned,... and rested the
+Sabbath day according to the commandment.&quot;
+Luke 23:56." title="" />
+<span class="caption">RETURNING FROM THE
+SAVIOUR&#39;S TOMB<br />
+
+&quot;They returned,... and rested the
+Sabbath day according to the commandment.&quot;
+Luke 23:56.</span>
+</div>
+
+<h2>GLIMPSES OF SABBATH KEEPING AFTER NEW TESTAMENT TIMES</h2>
+
+
+<p>Not at once did the innovation of Sunday observance
+set aside the Sabbath of the Lord in the practice of even the
+general church. And through history, when the general
+church had fallen away, we catch glimpses here and there of
+faithful witnesses to God's holy Sabbath truth.</p>
+
+
+<h4>First Centuries</h4>
+
+<p>An old English writer, Professor Brerewood, of Gresham
+College, London, put in shortest phrase what many writers say:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"They know little who do not know that the ancient Sabbath did
+remain and was observed by the Eastern churches three hundred years
+after our Saviour's passion."&mdash;<i>"Treatise on the Sabbath," p. 77.</i></p></div>
+
+
+<h4>Fourth Century</h4>
+
+<p>Canon 29, of the Council of Laodicea (<span class="smcap">a.d.</span> 364), shows
+that the ecclesiastical system was laboring to put an end to
+Sabbath keeping:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[Pg 174]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Christians shall not Judaize and be idle on Saturday [the Sabbath],
+but shall work on that day; but the Lord's day [as they called Sunday]
+they shall especially honor, and, as being Christians, shall, if possible,
+do no work on that day. If, however, they be found Judaizing, they
+shall be shut out from Christ."&mdash;<i>Hefele, "History of the Councils of the
+Church," Vol. II, book 6, sec. 93, canon 29.</i></p></div>
+
+
+<h4>Fifth Century</h4>
+
+<p>Sozomen's Ecclesiastical History shows Rome evidently
+leading in the effort to abolish any recognition whatever of
+the Sabbath:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"The people of Constantinople, and of several other cities, assemble
+together on the Sabbath, as well as on the next day; which custom is
+never observed at Rome, or at Alexandria."&mdash;<i>Book 7, chap. 19.</i></p></div>
+
+
+<h4>Seventh Century</h4>
+
+<p>There were true Sabbath keepers in Rome itself, teaching
+the truth of God among the people, and bringing upon
+themselves the denunciation of Pope Gregory the Great, who
+wrote "to his most beloved sons the Roman citizens:"</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"It has come to my ears that certain men of perverse spirit have sown
+among you some things that are wrong and opposed to the holy faith,
+so as to forbid any work being done on the Sabbath day. What else
+can I call these but preachers of Antichrist?"&mdash;<i>"History of the Councils"
+(Labbe and Cossart), Vol. V, col. 1511; see also "Nicene and Post-Nicene
+Fathers," Vol. XIII, book 13, epistle 1.</i></p></div>
+
+
+<h4>Eleventh Century</h4>
+
+<p>The Pope's legates at Constantinople (<span class="smcap">a.d.</span> 1054) were
+called to discuss with Nicetas, "one of the most learned men
+at that time in the East," says Bower, whose position was "that
+the Sabbath ought to be kept holy, and that priests should
+be allowed to marry."&mdash;<i>"History of the Popes," Vol. II, p. 358.</i></p>
+
+<p>The people of north Scotland, the ancient Culdee church
+founded by Columba and his followers, far removed from
+direct papal influence, was still keeping the seventh-day Sabbath
+in the eleventh century. Of this church Andrew Lang
+says in his "History of Scotland:"</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"They worked on Sunday, but kept Saturday in a Sabbatical manner."&mdash;<i>Volume
+I, p. 96.</i></p></div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[Pg 175]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Skene, in his classic work, "Celtic Scotland," says of these
+Sabbath keepers:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"They seemed to have followed a custom of which we find traces in
+the early monastic church of Ireland, by which they held Saturday to be
+the Sabbath, on which they rested from all their labors."&mdash;<i>Book 2, chap.
+8.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>Margaret, of England, married Malcolm the Great, the
+Scottish king, in 1069. An ardent Catholic, Queen Margaret
+at once set about Romanizing the Celtic church. She called
+in the church leaders, and held long discussions with them.
+At last, with the help and authority of her royal husband, and
+quoting the instructions of "the blessed Pope Gregory," she
+succeeded in turning the ancient Culdee church in Scotland
+away from the Sabbath. (See "Life of St. Margaret," by
+Turgot, her confessor.)</p>
+
+
+<h4>Twelfth to Fourteenth Century</h4>
+
+<p>Among the numerous sects of southern Europe and the
+Alpine valleys, that were pursued and persecuted by Rome,
+were at least some who saw and obeyed the Sabbath truth.
+Thus, of one of these bodies, the historian Goldastus says:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"They were called Insabbatati, not because they were circumcised,
+but because they kept the Sabbath according to the Jewish law."&mdash;<i>"Deutsche
+Biographie," Vol. IX, art. "Goldast.," p. 327.</i></p></div>
+
+
+<h4>Fifteenth Century</h4>
+
+<p>Sabbath keepers in Norway drew the condemnation of a
+church council held in 1435:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"The archbishop and the clergy assembled in this provincial council
+at Bergen do decide that the keeping of Saturday must never be permitted
+to exist, except as granted in the church law."&mdash;<i>Keyser's "Norske Kirkes
+Historie," Vol. II, p. 488.</i></p></div>
+
+
+<h4>Sixteenth Century</h4>
+
+<p>With the setting free of the Word of God by the Reformation,
+and the protest against the doctrine of papal tradition,
+multitudes saw that the Sunday institution was not of divine
+origin; while not a few went farther, recognizing the claims
+of God's Sabbath. Moravia was a refuge, in those early Reformation days, for
+many believers in the Reformed doctrines,
+and among these were Sabbath-keeping Christians:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[Pg 176]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 448px;">
+<img src="images/p176.jpg" width="448" height="269" alt="WALDENSES HUNTED BY THE
+ARMIES OF ROME
+
+&quot;Destitute, afflicted, tormented;... they wandered in
+deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the
+earth.&quot; Heb. 11:37, 38." title="" />
+<span class="caption">WALDENSES HUNTED BY THE
+ARMIES OF ROME<br />
+
+&quot;Destitute, afflicted, tormented;... they wandered in
+deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the
+earth.&quot; Heb. 11:37, 38.</span>
+</div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[Pg 177]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Even most prominent men, as the princes of Lichtenstein, held to
+the observance of the true Sabbath. When persecution finally scattered
+them, the seeds of truth must have been sown by them in the different
+portions of the Continent which they visited.... We have found them
+[Sabbath keepers] in Bohemia. They were also known in Silesia and
+Poland. Likewise they were in Holland and northern Germany....
+There were at this time Sabbath keepers in France,... 'among whom
+were M. de la Roque, who wrote in defense of the Sabbath against Bossuet,
+Catholic bishop of Meaux.' That Sabbatarians again appeared in
+England by the time of the Reformation, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth
+(<span class="smcap">a.d.</span> 1533-1603), Dr. Chambers testifies in his Cyclopedia [art.
+'Sabbath']."&mdash;<i>Andrews and Conradi, "History of the Sabbath," pp. 649,
+650.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>In this century also, Sabbath keepers appeared in Norway,
+Sweden, and Finland. In 1554 King Gustavus Vasa, of
+Sweden, addressed a letter of remonstrance "to the common
+people in Finland," because so many were turning to keep
+the seventh day.</p>
+
+
+<h4>Seventeenth Century</h4>
+
+<p>There was much discussion in England over the authority
+for Sunday observance. When other church festivals were
+ignored, as Easter, King Charles I wanted to know why Sunday
+should be kept. He wrote:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"It will not be found in Scripture where Saturday is discharged to be
+kept, or turned into the Sunday; wherefore it must be the church's authority
+that changed the one and instituted the other; therefore my opinion
+is that those who will not keep this feast [Easter] may as well return
+to the observation of Saturday, and refuse the weekly Sunday."&mdash;<i>Cox,
+"Sabbath Laws," p. 333.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>It was during this time that the idea first obtained of enforcing
+Sunday obligation by the fourth commandment and
+calling it the Sabbath. It was argued that any "one day in
+seven" was what the commandment meant. Of this argument,
+John Milton, the statesman-poet, wrote:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"It is impossible to extort such a sense from the words of the commandment;
+seeing that the reason for which the command itself was
+originally given, namely, as a memorial of God's having rested from<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[Pg 178]</a></span>
+the creation of the world, cannot be transferred from the seventh day to
+the first; nor can any new motive be substituted in its place, whether the
+resurrection of our Lord or any other, without the sanction of a divine
+commandment."&mdash;<i>"Prose Works" (Bohn), pp. 70, 71.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>Again Milton wrote, in a manuscript which his publishers
+at the time feared to print:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"If we under the gospel are to regulate the time of our public worship
+by the prescriptions of the decalogue, it will surely be far safer to observe
+the seventh day, according to the express commandment of God, than on
+the authority of mere human conjecture to adopt the first."&mdash;<i>Cox, "Sabbath
+Literature," Vol. II, p. 54.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>While kings and poets and ecclesiastics discussed, here
+and there believers began to follow the plain Word of God
+and Christ's example in Sabbath keeping.</p>
+
+
+<h4>"Loved Not Their Lives unto the Death"</h4>
+
+<p>In 1618 John Traske and his wife, of London, were condemned
+for keeping the Sabbath of the Lord, the man being
+whipped from Westminster to the old Fleet Prison, near Ludgate
+Circus. Both were imprisoned. Mr. Traske recanted
+under the pressure, after a year, but Mrs. Traske, a gifted
+school-teacher, was given grace to hold out for sixteen years,&mdash;for
+a time in Maiden Lane prison, and then in the Gate House,
+by Westminster,&mdash;dying in prison for the word of the Lord.
+An estimable woman she was, says one old chronicler, save
+for this "whimsy" of hers, that she would keep the seventh
+day. All that she asked of men, on her prison deathbed,
+was that she might be buried "in the fields."</p>
+
+<p>By 1661 Sabbath keepers in London had further increased.
+In that year John James was minister to a considerable congregation,
+meeting in East London, off the Whitechapel Road.
+As part of the stern proceedings against dissenting sects
+after the restoration of the monarchy, he was arrested and
+condemned to death on "Tyburn Tree." His wife knelt at
+the feet of King Charles II as he came out of St. James's
+Palace one day, and pleaded for her husband's life; but the
+king scornfully rejected her plea, and said that the man should
+hang. Bogue says:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[Pg 179]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"For once the king remembered his promise, and Mr. James was
+sent to join the noble army of martyrs."&mdash;<i>"History of Dissenters," Vol.
+I, p. 155.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>Nothing daunted, the number of Sabbath keepers increased.
+In a letter by Edward Stennet (between 1668 and
+1670), it is stated.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Here in England are about nine or ten churches that keep the
+Sabbath, besides many scattered disciples, who have been eminently
+preserved in this tottering day, when many once eminent churches have
+been shattered in pieces."&mdash;<i>Cox, "Sabbath Literature," Vol. I, p. 268.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>Francis Bampfield was formerly an influential minister of
+the Church of England, and prebendary of Exeter Cathedral,
+but later pastor of a Sabbath-keeping congregation meeting
+in the Pinners Hall, off Broad Street, near the Bank of England.
+Calamy said of him:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"He was one of the most celebrated preachers in the west of England,
+and extremely admired by his hearers, till he fell into the Sabbatarian
+notion, of which he was a zealous asserter."&mdash;<i>"Non-Conformist Memorial,"
+Vol. II, p. 152.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>He was arrested while in the pulpit preaching, and in 1683
+died of hardships in Newgate prison, for the Sabbath of the
+Lord. An old writer says that his body was followed to
+burial by "a very great company of factious and schismatical
+people;" in other words, dissenters from the state church.</p>
+
+<p>Thomas Bampfield, his brother, Speaker of the House of
+Parliament at one time, under Cromwell, published a book
+in defense of the Sabbath of the Lord. In fact, many published
+the truth in this manner, and doctors of divinity and
+even bishops wrote replies.</p>
+
+<p>"Sabbatarian Baptists," these English witnesses to God's
+Sabbath were first called in those times, and then "Seventh
+Day Baptists." In 1664 Stephen Mumford, from one of these
+London congregations, was sent over to New England. He
+settled in Rhode Island, where the Baptist pioneer of religious
+liberty, Roger Williams, had founded his colony. In 1671
+the first Sabbatarian church in America was formed in Rhode
+Island. Evidently this movement created a stir; for the report<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[Pg 180]</a></span>
+went over to England that the Rhode Island colony did
+not keep the "Sabbath"&mdash;meaning Sunday. Roger Williams
+wrote to his friends in England denying the report, but
+calling attention to the fact that there was no Scripture for
+"abolishing the seventh day," and adding:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"You know yourselves do not keep the Sabbath, that is the seventh
+day."&mdash;<i>"Letters of Roger Williams," Vol. VI, p. 346 (Narragansett Club
+Publications).</i></p></div>
+
+<p>Through the following century numbers of Seventh Day
+Baptist churches were founded in America.<a name="FNanchor_F_6" id="FNanchor_F_6"></a><a href="#Footnote_F_6" class="fnanchor">[F]</a></p>
+
+<p>Sabbath keepers were springing up also on the continent
+of Europe, in Bohemia, Moravia, Transylvania, and Russia,
+where here and there Bible believers saw that tradition had
+made void one of the commandments of God. Then, as the
+events at the end of the long period of papal supremacy had
+moved Bible students to the earnest study of the prophecies,
+and as the predicted signs of the near approach of Christ's
+coming began to appear, there arose the great advent awakening
+in the earlier decades of the nineteenth century.</p>
+
+<p>The prophecies regarding the work of the Papacy in seeking
+to change the law of God began to be understood, and it
+was seen that the last message of the everlasting gospel was
+a call to turn from human traditions to the New Testament
+standard&mdash;"the commandments of God, and the faith of
+Jesus." Rev. 14:12. Then began the great movement for
+Sabbath reform and the proclamation of Christ's second coming,
+which has given rise to the Seventh-day Adventist people,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[Pg 181]</a></span>
+with a work spreading through all lands, leading thousands
+every year to keep the Lord's blessed Sabbath day.</p>
+
+<p>Soon Christ is to be revealed in righteousness and judgment.
+One burden of God's message for the last days is:</p>
+
+<p>"Thus saith the Lord, Keep ye judgment, and do justice:
+for My salvation is near to come, and My righteousness to
+be revealed. Blessed is the man that doeth this, and the
+son of man that layeth hold on it; that keepeth the Sabbath
+from polluting it, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil."
+Isa. 56:1, 2.</p>
+
+<p>Through all the dark centuries, the Lord had somewhere
+a little remnant keeping the light of the Sabbath truth glowing.
+They, too, overcame by the blood of the Lamb and the
+word of their testimony, loving not their lives unto the death.
+Now, with the clear light shining from the open Book, it is
+for Christians everywhere to turn from tradition to the way
+of God's commandments and the example of Jesus Christ.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 447px;">
+<img src="images/p181.jpg" width="447" height="264" alt="&quot;Closing Sabbath! Ah, how soon
+Have thy sacred moments passed!&quot;" title="" />
+<span class="caption">&quot;Closing Sabbath! Ah, how soon<br />
+Have thy sacred moments passed!&quot;</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_F_6" id="Footnote_F_6"></a><a href="#FNanchor_F_6"><span class="label">[F]</span></a> In connection with this topic of Sabbath observance in colonial
+America,
+it is of interest to note that Count Zinzendorf, the leader of the Moravian
+missionary movement, was a believer in the sanctity of the Sabbath of God's
+appointment. In his life, by Bishop Spangenberg, it is stated that the Sabbath
+question was discussed by Zinzendorf with the Moravians, on his visit to
+Pennsylvania in 1741. The record states:&mdash;
+</p><p>
+"As a special circumstance it is to be remarked that he determined, with
+the church in Bethlehem, to celebrate the seventh day as a rest day. The matter
+was previously fully gone over in the church council, with consideration
+of all the reasons for and against it, when the unanimous agreement was
+reached to observe the day Sabbatically.... The Count had already long
+held the seventh day of the week in special honor."&mdash;<i>Zinzendorfs "Leben,"
+band 5, pp. 1421, 1422.</i>
+</p><p>
+The Bethlehem congregation evidently did not follow the practice long.
+"But as for himself," says Spangenberg, "with his house, he adhered firmly
+to this aforementioned practice until his end."&mdash;<i>Id., p. 1437.</i></p></div>
+</div>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[Pg 182]</a></span></p>
+
+<h2><a name="THE_LAW_OF_GOD" id="THE_LAW_OF_GOD"></a>THE LAW OF GOD</h2>
+
+
+<h4>I</h4>
+
+<p>Thou shalt have no other gods before me.</p>
+
+<h4>II</h4>
+
+<p>Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or
+any likeness of anything: that is in heaven above, or that
+is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the
+earth: thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve
+them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting
+the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third
+and fourth generation of them that hate me; and showing
+mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep
+my commandments.</p>
+
+<h4>III</h4>
+
+<p>Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in
+vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh
+his name in vain.</p>
+
+<h4>IV</h4>
+
+<p>Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days
+shalt thou labor, and do all thy work: but the seventh day
+is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not
+do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy
+manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy
+stranger that is within thy gates: for in six days the
+Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them
+is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed
+the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.</p>
+
+<h4>V</h4>
+
+<p>Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may
+be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.</p>
+
+<h4>VI</h4>
+
+<p>Thou shalt not kill.</p>
+
+<h4>VII</h4>
+
+<p>Thou shalt not commit adultery.</p>
+
+<h4>VIII</h4>
+
+<p>Thou shalt not steal.</p>
+
+<h4>IX</h4>
+
+<p>Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.</p>
+
+<h4>X</h4>
+
+<p>Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house, thou shalt
+not covet thy neighbor's wife, nor his manservant, nor his
+maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is
+thy neighbor's.</p>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[Pg 183]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 448px;">
+<img src="images/p183.jpg" width="448" height="291" alt="CHRIST&#39;S SERMON ON THE
+MOUNT
+
+&quot;Whosoever shall do and teach them ...
+shall be called great in the kingdom of
+heaven.&quot; Matt. 5:19." title="" />
+<span class="caption">CHRIST&#39;S SERMON ON THE
+MOUNT<br />
+
+&quot;Whosoever shall do and teach them ...
+shall be called great in the kingdom of
+heaven.&quot; Matt. 5:19.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<h4>THE LAW OF GOD</h4>
+
+<p>It is a common saying, "The majesty of the law." It
+means that the character and genius of a government are embodied
+and expressed in its laws. The words of Inspiration
+declare to us the majesty of the law of the Most High.</p>
+
+
+<h4>The Character of God's Law</h4>
+
+<p>The infinite perfection of the divine character is reflected
+in it.</p>
+
+<p>"The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul."
+Ps. 19:7.</p>
+
+<p>As God is holiness and justice and goodness, so also is
+His law.</p>
+
+<p>"Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy,
+and just, and good." Rom. 7:12.</p>
+
+
+<h4>Its Office</h4>
+
+<p>The law of God gives knowledge of the righteousness
+of its great Author.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[Pg 184]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Hearken unto Me, ye that know righteousness, the
+people in whose heart is My law." Isa. 51:7.</p>
+
+<p>It marks every departure from righteousness as sin.</p>
+
+<p>"Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law:
+for sin is the transgression of the law." 1 John 3:4.</p>
+
+<p>It is not a code merely for the regulation of outward conduct.
+It is the moral law&mdash;the primal standard of righteousness
+established by the Creator for His creatures. There
+is not an impulse of the inmost soul that is not reached by it.
+It is the word which, living and powerful, is "sharper than
+any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder
+of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a
+discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." Heb.
+4:12.</p>
+
+<p>Face to face with this holy law, we hear in it the voice of
+God saying, "Be ye holy; for I am holy." Every soul
+must confess its guilt before the searching power of God's
+law. All things are naked and open to the eyes of Him with
+whom we have to do. "Guilty!" we confess. Left alone
+with our guilt, there could be no ray of hope.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"The threatenings of the broken law<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Impress the soul with dread;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">If God His sword of vengeance draw,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">It strikes the spirit dead."<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>Thank God, we are not left alone; help is laid upon One
+mighty to save.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"But Thine illustrious sacrifice<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Hath answered these demands,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And peace and pardon from the skies<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Are offered by Thy hands."<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+
+<h4>God's Law from the Beginning</h4>
+
+<p>The law of God existed from the beginning. When Adam
+sinned, he transgressed this holy law; for "sin is the transgression
+of the law." God's law was not committed to writing
+until the days of Moses, when the Lord began to make
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[Pg 185]</a></span>His written revelations to the children of men. But from
+Adam to Moses the precepts of the law of God were teaching
+righteousness and convicting of sin.</p>
+
+<p>"Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world,
+and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that
+all have sinned: (for until the law [the giving of it at Sinai]
+sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no
+law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses.)"
+Rom. 5:12-14.</p>
+
+<p>The declaration of this scripture is: Without the law there
+can be no sin. But sin and death were from Adam to Moses,
+in whose day the law was spoken on Sinai; therefore the law
+of God was in force from the beginning. Its precepts were
+witnessed to by every preacher of righteousness raised up by
+God in the days before the deluge and in the patriarchal age
+following. Of Abraham the Lord says,</p>
+
+<p>"Abraham obeyed My voice, and kept My charge, My
+commandments, My statutes, and My laws." Gen. 26:5.</p>
+
+<p>The Lord called His people out of Egypt, that they might
+keep his law. His message to Pharaoh was, "Let my people
+go, that they may serve Me." Ex. 9:1. He delivered them
+from bondage by His mighty arm, and cleft the Red Sea to
+lead them forth to obedience, as the psalmist said,</p>
+
+<p>"He brought forth His people with joy, and His chosen
+with gladness:... that they might observe His statutes,
+and keep His laws." Ps. 105:43-45.</p>
+
+<p>In Egyptian bondage the children of Abraham must have
+lost much of the purity of God's truth; yet the Lord held
+them under obligation to know His law&mdash;the Sabbath precept
+particularly&mdash;before they came to Sinai, or ever He
+had proclaimed the law in their hearing. He tested them in
+the matter by the giving of the manna, as He said,</p>
+
+<p>"That I may prove them, whether they will walk in My
+law, or no." Ex. 16:4.</p>
+
+<p>From the beginning, God's holy law demanded the loyal
+obedience of every human being.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[Pg 186]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<h4>Proclaimed Anew at Sinai</h4>
+
+<p>The Lord had delivered the people of Israel from Egyptian
+bondage that they might serve Him and make His ways
+known to the nations. This was according to the promise
+made to Abraham. To them was committed the written
+revelation of God, and through them was to come in the fulness
+of time the promised Messiah.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 336px;">
+<img src="images/p186.jpg" width="336" height="347" alt="MOSES BREAKING THE TABLES
+OF THE LAW
+
+&quot;He wrote them upon two tables of
+stone.&quot; Deut. 4:13." title="" />
+<span class="caption">MOSES BREAKING THE TABLES
+OF THE LAW<br />
+
+&quot;He wrote them upon two tables of
+stone.&quot; Deut. 4:13.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>While the Lord at this time "made known His ways unto
+Moses," and there was begun the written revelation which<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[Pg 187]</a></span>
+grew into "the volume of the book," the Holy Scriptures,
+one portion of revelation was not left for the prophet of God
+to speak or for the inspired pen to write. The Lord proclaimed
+His holy law with His own voice, and gave to men a
+copy "written with the finger of God." Moses said of this:</p>
+
+<p>"The Lord spake unto you out of the midst of the fire:
+ye heard the voice of the words, but saw no similitude; only
+ye heard a voice. And He declared unto you His covenant,
+which He commanded you to perform, even ten commandments;
+and He wrote them upon two tables of stone." Deut.
+4:12, 13.</p>
+
+<p>This display of majesty and glory indescribable was designed
+to teach how sacred and holy is the law, and to cause
+men to fear to transgress its precepts. Ex. 20:20.</p>
+
+<p>It was not for themselves alone that the law was committed
+to Israel. They were to teach the truth to others.
+As the New Testament says, it was greatly to their advantage
+that "unto them were committed the oracles of God."
+Rom. 3:2. But they "received the lively oracles to give
+unto us." Through obedience to the divine law, they were
+to be a light to the nations.</p>
+
+<p>"Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom
+and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which
+shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation
+is a wise and understanding people. For what nation
+is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them?" Deut.
+4:6, 7.</p>
+
+<p>An interesting comment upon these words is supplied by
+a speech of Phalerius, librarian to Ptolemy Philadelphus, king
+of Egypt. Urging the king by all means to secure copies of
+the sacred books of the Jews for his great library in Alexandria,
+Phalerius said:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Now it is necessary that thou shouldst have accurate copies of them.
+And indeed this legislation is full of hidden wisdom, and entirely blameless,
+as being the legislation of God; for which cause it is, as Hecateus
+of Abdera says, that the poets and historians make no mention of it, nor<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[Pg 188]</a></span>
+of those men who lead their lives according to it, since it is a holy law, and
+ought not to be published by profane mouths."&mdash;<i>Josephus, "Antiquities,"
+book 12, chap. 2, sec. 4.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>Unfaithful as the Jewish people oftentimes were, yet
+through their testimony and the dealings of God with them,
+the fame of the living oracles was spread abroad among the
+ancient nations.</p>
+
+
+<h4>One God&mdash;One Moral Standard</h4>
+
+<p>"There is one Lawgiver." James 4:12. He is ever the
+same, and His law is the standard of righteousness for all
+mankind. There was not one moral standard before Christ
+and another after. Christ's death upon the cross because
+man had broken the law, is the divine testimony to all the
+universe that God's law can never be set aside nor its force
+suspended. Jesus opened His public teaching with the declaration:</p>
+
+<p>"Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the
+prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily
+I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one
+tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.
+Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments,
+and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in
+the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach
+them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven."
+Matt. 5:17-19.</p>
+
+<p>The moral law of ten commandments is one code, every
+precept equally sacred and equally binding:</p>
+
+<p>"Whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in
+one point, he is guilty of all. For He that said, Do not commit
+adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no
+adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of
+the law. So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged
+by the law of liberty." James 2:10-12.</p>
+
+<p>The law of God still speaks with all the force of that voice
+from Sinai, and it speaks to every soul on earth:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[Pg 189]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Now we know that what things soever the law saith,
+it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth
+may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before
+God." Rom. 3:19.</p>
+
+<p>Thus the law of God convicts all men of sin, and would
+drive every one to Christ for pardon and for the divine gift of
+the grace and power of obedience.</p>
+
+<p>The ceremonial law&mdash;the precepts and ordinances commanded
+for the sacrificial system&mdash;ceased with the sacrifice
+of Calvary, as all these ceremonial observances pointed forward
+to the cross. There can be no confounding of the moral
+law and the ceremonial law. The ceremonial law of types
+and shadows showed in itself that a primary or higher law&mdash;the
+moral law&mdash;had been violated, making necessary a divine
+sacrifice if transgressors were to be saved from death and restored
+to obedience.</p>
+
+
+<h4>The Standard in the Judgment</h4>
+
+<p>The law of God's moral government, which is the rule of
+life for every creature, must necessarily be the standard in
+the great judgment day. The Scripture states the sum of all
+human obligation and responsibility in the words:</p>
+
+<p>"Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear
+God, and keep His commandments: for this is the whole duty
+of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment,
+with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be
+evil." Eccl. 12:13, 14.</p>
+
+<p>Every son and daughter of Adam's lost race is judgment
+bound, to answer before the bar of God the demands of the
+perfect law. Divine justice cannot abate one jot or tittle
+of the requirements of the holy law, nor by any means clear
+the guilty. But divine mercy has provided the way by which
+God can "be just, and the justifier of him which believeth
+in Jesus."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[Pg 190]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 302px;">
+<img src="images/p190.jpg" width="302" height="448" alt="THE GIFT OF GOD
+
+&quot;God so loved the world, that He gave
+His only begotten Son.&quot; John 3:16." title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE GIFT OF GOD<br />
+
+&quot;God so loved the world, that He gave
+His only begotten Son.&quot; John 3:16.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[Pg 191]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 448px;">
+<img src="images/p191.jpg" width="448" height="293" alt="CHILDLIKE FAITH
+
+&quot;Except ye be converted, and become as
+little children, ye shall not enter into
+the kingdom of heaven.&quot; Matt. 18:3." title="" />
+<span class="caption">CHILDLIKE FAITH<br />
+
+&quot;Except ye be converted, and become as
+little children, ye shall not enter into
+the kingdom of heaven.&quot; Matt. 18:3.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<h2><a name="JUSTIFICATION_BY_FAITH" id="JUSTIFICATION_BY_FAITH"></a>JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH</h2>
+
+
+<p>"How should man be just [righteous] with God?" asked
+the patriarch Job. It has been the vital question ever since
+Adam sinned, and lost his righteousness and forfeited his
+life. The answer of Scripture is:&mdash;</p>
+
+<p>"Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with
+God through our Lord Jesus Christ." Rom 5:1 "By
+grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves:
+it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man
+should boast." Eph. 2:8, 9.</p>
+
+<p>In the beginning, life and righteousness were the gift of
+God to man. Only the Creator could bestow the gift at the
+first; when lost, only creative power can restore it.</p>
+
+
+<h4>Man Cannot Justify Himself</h4>
+
+<p>The law of God declares all men sinners. Not only did
+Adam's posterity inherit of necessity a sinful nature, but
+every soul of man has wrought sin as the fruit of that nature.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[Pg 192]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"As by one man sin entered into the world, and death
+by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have
+sinned." Rom. 5:12.</p>
+
+<p>"There is no difference," Jew or Gentile, bond or free,
+they are in the same lost condition; "for all have sinned, and
+come short of the glory of God." Rom. 10:12; 3:23.</p>
+
+<p>The sinner finds himself a transgressor, condemned to
+death by a holy law. He turns to it with the thought, "I
+will do what it says, and become righteous and win life."
+But he cannot undo the fact that he has sinned. A holy law
+can only cry, "Guilty! guilty!" to one who has transgressed
+it. The law declares righteousness; it cannot give it. As
+the Scripture says:</p>
+
+<p>"We know that what things soever the law saith, it saith
+to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be
+stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.
+Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified
+in His sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin."
+Rom. 3:19, 20.</p>
+
+<p>The guilt exists. No deeds that man can do can undo it
+or cover it from a righteous law. Not only that, but as soon
+as the law declares what righteousness is, the sinner finds
+that its demands are altogether beyond the power of his flesh
+to meet. It calls for a kind of work that fallen human nature
+cannot so much as approach. Paul cried out, when struggling
+under conviction, "We know that the law is spiritual:
+but I am carnal, sold under sin." Rom. 7:14.</p>
+
+<p>The carnal cannot bring forth the spiritual. But the law
+demands a spiritual work of righteousness. It is impossible
+for the carnal mind to undertake it. The Scripture says:</p>
+
+<p>"The carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not
+subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then
+they that are in the flesh cannot please God." Rom. 8:7, 8.</p>
+
+<p>But the awakened sinner is yet in the flesh. He finds the
+law thundering his guilt and condemning him to death. He
+cannot wash away the past, nor hide it; he cannot obey God's<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[Pg 193]</a></span>
+law with a carnal mind, and that is all the mind he has. He
+is lost, and helpless of himself, but longs for a way of escape.
+Paul's cry in the same position is the cry of the despairing
+heart that has not found the Saviour, "O wretched man that
+I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?"
+Rom. 7:24. Thank God, there is an answer to that cry, for
+every sinner.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Plunged in a gulf of dark despair,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">We wretched sinners lay,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Without one cheering beam of hope,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Or spark of glimmering day.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"With pitying eyes the Prince of grace<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Beheld our helpless grief:<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">He saw, and, O amazing love!<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">He came to our relief."<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+
+<h4>The Free Gift of Christ</h4>
+
+<p>Following that despairing cry of human helplessness, "Who
+shall deliver me?" there came the believer's shout of praise,
+"I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord." He is the
+deliverer; for He "gave Himself for our sins, that He might
+deliver us." Rom. 7:25; Gal. 1:4.</p>
+
+<p>The way of escape and salvation is the gift of God's love.
+"God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten
+Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but
+have everlasting life." John 3:16.</p>
+
+<p>No sinner has need to plead that God may be willing to
+forgive him; the Lord's infinite love that gave His Son to die,
+is pleading with the sinner to believe and accept salvation.</p>
+
+<p>In order to be the sinner's Saviour, the divine Son of God
+must take man's place before the broken law. He came in
+human flesh, with all its weakness. "I can of Mine own
+self," He said, "do nothing." He trusted the Father, and
+lived a life of perfect righteousness in human flesh. He who
+knew no sin, bore man's sin in His body on the cross. "The
+Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all." For man's<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[Pg 194]</a></span>
+sin He died, "that He by the grace of God should taste death
+for every man." In Him was met the penalty of the law.
+But it was a sinless sacrifice. He "through the eternal Spirit
+offered Himself without spot to God." Heb. 9:14. Therefore
+death could not hold Him. He rose in the power of an
+endless life to be man's advocate and priest and savior,
+ministering His grace and righteousness and life to every one
+who will receive them.</p>
+
+<p>The righteousness that He wrought out for man in human
+flesh He longs to put into every human heart. As in
+His own flesh in Judea He walked and lived the life of righteousness,
+so now, by the Holy Spirit, He walks in human lives
+today. That means forgiveness, and deliverance from the
+power of the flesh, and a new life of power, and righteousness
+and justification wrought within by the divine indwelling
+Saviour. How may we receive Him with all this great salvation?&mdash;By
+faith; by believing His promises; "that Christ
+may dwell in your hearts by faith." Eph. 3:17.</p>
+
+<p>Christ in all His fulness abiding within,&mdash;this is the wonder
+and mystery of the gospel, "which is Christ in you, the
+hope of glory." It means an ever-present, ever-living Saviour,
+able to save to the uttermost.</p>
+
+<p>What abundance of grace is received with His indwelling
+presence!</p>
+
+<p><i>Forgiveness.</i>&mdash;"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and
+just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
+1 John 1:9.</p>
+
+<p><i>Deliverance from the Flesh.</i>&mdash;The cleansing by Christ's indwelling
+power means that the old life of self is subdued.
+"Our old man is crucified with Him." Rom. 6:6. "Ye are
+not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God
+dwell in you.... And if Christ be in you, the body is dead
+because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness."
+Rom. 8:9, 10.</p>
+
+<p><i>A New Heart.</i>&mdash;"A new heart also will I give you, and a
+new spirit will I put within you." Eze. 36:26.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[Pg 195]</a></span></p>
+
+<p><i>A New Life.</i>&mdash;"Be renewed in the spirit of your mind;
+and that ye put on the new man, which after God is created
+in righteousness and true holiness." Eph. 4:23, 24. It is in
+blessed fact Christ Jesus living the life in the believer by
+faith, as the apostle Paul says:</p>
+
+<p>"I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not
+I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the
+flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and
+gave Himself for me." Gal. 2:20.</p>
+
+<p><i>Righteousness and Justification.</i>&mdash;"This is His name
+whereby He shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS."
+Jer. 23:6. Well does the King James Version print
+the blessed name in capital letters. It is the great name of
+salvation to every believer. By faith we receive Him, and by
+faith His righteousness is imputed unto us. His life of obedience
+covers all the believer's surrendered life, past and continuous,
+and in God's sight the life of the believer in Jesus is
+justified from all sin. It is the triumph of Him who was not
+only "delivered for our offenses," but was also "raised again
+for our justification:"</p>
+
+<p>"Therefore as by the offense of one judgment came upon
+all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one
+the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. For
+as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by
+the obedience of one shall many be made righteous." Rom.
+5:18, 19.</p>
+
+<p>Christ died and rose again to bring this experience to sinners
+who have struggled helplessly under condemnation. As
+Christ Jesus with all His righteousness is received by faith,
+"there is therefore now no condemnation to them which are
+in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the
+Spirit." Rom. 8:1.</p>
+
+<p>Praise the Lord! It is all of Christ, and not of any works
+that we have done. Therefore it is as sure as the oath and
+promise of God. We can lose the experience only as we let<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[Pg 196]</a></span>
+Christ go out of the life by unbelief. God forbid that we
+should do this; and help us to be quick to repent and again
+lay hold of Him by faith if ever we find we have let Him go
+and have lost the covering of His righteousness.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Jesus, Thy blood and righteousness<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">My beauty are, my glorious dress;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">'Mid hosts of sin, in these arrayed,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">My soul shall never be afraid."<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 448px;">
+<img src="images/p196.jpg" width="448" height="296" alt="THE LAST PRAYER
+
+&quot;That whosoever believeth in Him
+should not perish, but have everlasting
+life.&quot; John 3:16." title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE LAST PRAYER<br />
+
+&quot;That whosoever believeth in Him
+should not perish, but have everlasting
+life.&quot; John 3:16.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Christ's righteousness is, of necessity, the righteousness
+demanded by the law of God. He lives that law in the believer.
+This is what justification is. "Not the hearers of
+the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall
+be justified." Rom. 2:13. Justification by faith makes the
+man a doer of the law by faith, Christ living every one of its
+sacred precepts in the believer's life. This is what He died
+to accomplish, to bring the righteousness of the law to the
+sinner who could never attain to it himself.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[Pg 197]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"What the law could not do, in that it was weak through
+the flesh, God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful
+flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: that the righteousness
+of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not
+after the flesh, but after the Spirit." Rom. 8:3, 4.</p>
+
+<p>Christ writes God's law in the new heart: "I will put
+My laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts."
+Heb. 8:10. It is the rule of His own righteousness. For
+before He came into the world to work out perfect righteousness
+for us in human flesh, He said, through the psalmist,
+"I delight to do Thy will, O My God: yea, Thy law is within
+My heart." Ps. 40:8.</p>
+
+<p>It is a perfect righteousness and a full salvation that Christ
+brings into every believer's heart. In Him all fulness dwells,
+"and ye are complete in Him."</p>
+
+<p>The wondrous plan of salvation is so deep that only "in
+the ages to come" will God be able to "show the exceeding
+riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ
+Jesus." Eph. 2:7. But thank God, even here below sinners
+saved by grace may "know the love of Christ, which passeth
+knowledge."</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"The wonders of redeeming love<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Our highest thoughts exceed;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The Son of God comes from above,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">For sinful man to bleed.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"He knows the frailties of our frame,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">For He has borne our grief;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Our great High Priest once felt the same,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And He can send relief.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"His love will not be satisfied<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Till He in glory see<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The faithful ones for whom He died<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">From sin forever free."<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">&mdash;<i>R.F. Cottrell.</i><br /></span>
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[Pg 198]</a></span></div></div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 297px;">
+<img src="images/p198.jpg" width="297" height="443" alt="THE BAPTISM OF CHRIST
+
+&quot;Thus it becometh us to fulfil all
+righteousness.&quot; Matt. 3:15." title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE BAPTISM OF CHRIST<br />
+
+&quot;Thus it becometh us to fulfil all
+righteousness.&quot; Matt. 3:15.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[Pg 199]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 448px;">
+<img src="images/p199.jpg" width="448" height="289" alt="THE FORD OF JORDAN
+
+&quot;John also was baptizing in &AElig;non near to
+Salim, because there was much water
+there.&quot; John 3:23." title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE FORD OF JORDAN<br />
+
+&quot;John also was baptizing in &AElig;non near to
+Salim, because there was much water
+there.&quot; John 3:23.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<h2><a name="BAPTISM" id="BAPTISM"></a>BAPTISM</h2>
+
+<h3>THE MEMORIAL OF THE RESURRECTION</h3>
+
+
+<p>Baptism is the divinely appointed memorial of the resurrection
+of Christ. The great fact of the gospel is that "Christ
+died for our sins according to the Scriptures; and that He
+was buried, and that He rose again the third day according
+to the Scriptures" (1 Cor. 15:3, 4), to be our great High
+Priest and Saviour.</p>
+
+<p>Baptism is a profession of faith in the Saviour, who went
+into the grave for us, and rose again to life. It is the great
+object-lesson to teach the truth that the sinner must die to
+sin and the world, and have a resurrection by the power of
+divine grace to a new life of obedience. The ordinance is the
+sign of an actual experience, the means by which the believer
+confesses the work of grace in the soul.</p>
+
+<p>The Scriptures teach the essential conditions necessary
+to baptism:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[Pg 200]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every
+creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved."
+Mark 16:15, 16.</p>
+
+<p>"What doth hinder me to be baptized? And Philip said,
+If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest." Acts
+8:36, 37.</p>
+
+<p>"Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized
+every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission
+of sins." Acts 2:38.</p>
+
+<p>Thus it is seen that instruction in the gospel, belief in
+Christ, and repentance are conditions to precede baptism.</p>
+
+
+<h4>Baptism for Believers</h4>
+
+<p>The experience of which baptism is the sign is thus
+stated:</p>
+
+<p>"We are buried with Him by baptism into death: that
+like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of
+the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life."
+Rom. 6:4.</p>
+
+<p>"As many of you as have been baptized into Christ have
+put on Christ." Gal. 3:27.</p>
+
+<p>"Buried with Him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen
+with Him through the faith of the operation of God, who
+hath raised Him from the dead." Col. 2:12.</p>
+
+<p>In this ordinance, commanded of God, the believer is following
+the example of Christ, who, when baptized by John in
+Jordan, said, "Thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness."</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Thus through the emblematic grave<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The glorious suffering Saviour trod;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Thou art our Pattern, through the wave<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">We follow Thee, blest Son of God."<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+
+<h4>The Form of Baptism</h4>
+
+<p>The Scriptural form of baptism is shown in these texts:</p>
+
+<p>"Jesus, when He was baptized, went up straightway out
+of the water." Matt. 3:16.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[Pg 201]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"They went down both into the water, both Philip and
+the eunuch; and he baptized him." Acts 8:38.</p>
+
+<p>"Buried with Him by baptism.... For if we have been
+planted together in the likeness of His death, we shall be also
+in the likeness of His resurrection." Rom. 6:4, 5.</p>
+
+<p>While the outward form of a religious service, without
+the spirit and the experience which the form professes, must
+ever be unacceptable to God, yet when the Lord prescribes
+a form, it is imperative that His instruction should be followed.
+The form of the ordinance as commanded by God
+emphasizes the divine meaning of the service.</p>
+
+<p>Scriptural baptism is a burial "in the likeness" of Christ's
+burial, as the lifting up of the believer from the watery grave
+is a likeness of the resurrection of Christ. Of the meaning
+of the word "baptism," Luther wrote:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Baptism is a Greek word; in Latin it can be translated immersion,
+as when we plunge something into water that it may be completely covered
+with water."&mdash;<i>Opera Lutheri, De Sac. Bap. 1, p. 319 (Baptist Encyclopedia,
+art. "Baptism").</i></p></div>
+
+<p>Calvin, after arguing that the form is an indifferent matter,
+says:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"The very word 'baptize,' however, signifies to immerse; and it is
+certain that immersion was observed by the ancient church."&mdash;<i>"Institutes,"
+lib. 4, cap. 15 (Baptist Encyclopedia, art. "Baptism").</i></p></div>
+
+<p>Of the practice in primitive times, Neander, the church
+historian, says:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"In respect to the manner of baptizing, in conformity with the original
+institution and the original import of the symbol, it was generally
+administered by immersion."&mdash;<i>"History of the Christian Church," Torrey's
+translation (London edition), Vol. I, p. 429.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>The perversion of the ordinance into sprinkling, and that
+in infancy, takes away the divinely ordained object-lesson;
+and in the case of the infant must of necessity substitute
+mere ceremonialism for experience, for the child of unaccountable
+years can have had no experience of believing and
+repenting, which are the necessary conditions to fulfil the
+meaning of baptism. The change in the ordinance, like<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[Pg 202]</a></span>
+most of the changes that came about in the days of the "falling
+away" from the primitive faith and practice, was by
+gradual process.</p>
+
+<p>Dean Stanley, in his "Christian Institutions," page 24,
+says that it is not till the third century that "we find one
+case of the baptism of infants." Of the change from immersion
+to sprinkling, he says:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"What is the justification of this almost universal departure from the
+primitive usage? There may have been many reasons, some bad, some
+good. One, no doubt, was the superstitious feeling already mentioned
+which regarded baptism as a charm, indispensable to salvation, and which
+insisted on imparting it to every human being who could be touched with
+water, however unconscious."</p></div>
+
+<p>The common practice as late as the twelfth century is thus
+described by a Roman Catholic cardinal of that time, named
+Pullus:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Whilst the candidate for baptism in water is immersed, the death
+of Christ is suggested; whilst immersed and covered with water, the burial
+of Christ is shown forth; whilst he is raised from the waters, the resurrection
+of Christ is proclaimed."&mdash;<i>Patrol. Lat., Vol. CXXX, p. 315 (Baptist
+Encyclopedia, art. "Baptism").</i></p></div>
+
+<p>Dean Stanley, of Westminster, one of the first scholars
+of the Church of England, wrote:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"For the first thirteen centuries the almost universal practice of baptism
+was that of which we read in the New Testament, and which is the
+very meaning of the word 'baptize,'&mdash;that those who were baptized
+were plunged, submerged, immersed into the water. That practice is
+still, as we have seen, continued in Eastern churches. In the Western
+church it still lingers among Roman Catholics in the solitary instance
+of the Cathedral of Milan; among Protestants in the numerous sects of
+the Baptists. It lasted long into the Middle Ages.... But since the
+beginning of the seventeenth century, the practice has become exceedingly
+rare. With the few exceptions just mentioned, the whole of the Western
+churches have now substituted for the ancient bath the ceremony of letting
+fall a few drops of water on the face. The reason of the change is
+obvious. The practice of immersion, though peculiarly suitable to the
+Southern and Eastern countries for which it was designed, was not found
+seasonable in the countries of the North and West. Not by any decree
+of council or parliament, but by the general sentiment of Christian liberty,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[Pg 203]</a></span>
+this remarkable change was effected. Beginning in the thirteenth century,
+it has gradually driven the ancient catholic usage out of the whole
+of Europe."&mdash;<i>"Christian Institutions," pp. 21, 22.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>The facts are undeniable, and emphasize the importance
+of reformation and return in practice to the plain instructions
+of the Word of God. As the record shows, it was not the
+spirit of the New Testament church that made this change
+in the divine ordinance; rather it is the spirit of the church
+of the "falling away," against which the Lord warns all believers,
+"because they have transgressed the laws, changed the
+ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant."</p>
+
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i4"><b>The Path He Trod</b><br /></span>
+<span class="i0">&nbsp;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Our Saviour bowed beneath the wave,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And meekly sought a watery grave;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Come, see the sacred path He trod&mdash;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">A path well pleasing to our God.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">His voice we hear, His footsteps trace.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And hither come to seek His face,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">To do His will, to feel His love,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And join our songs with those above.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">&mdash;<i>Adoniram Judson.</i><br /></span>
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[Pg 204]</a></span></div></div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 448px;">
+<img src="images/p204.jpg" width="448" height="271" alt="SYMBOLS OF MEDO-PERSIA
+AND GRECIA
+
+&quot;The ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings
+of Media and Persia. And the rough goat is the king of
+Grecia.&quot; Dan. 8:20, 21." title="" />
+<span class="caption">SYMBOLS OF MEDO-PERSIA
+AND GRECIA<br />
+
+&quot;The ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings
+of Media and Persia. And the rough goat is the king of
+Grecia.&quot; Dan. 8:20, 21.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[Pg 205]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 448px;">
+<img src="images/p205.jpg" width="448" height="168" alt="COINS OF THE MEDO-PERSIAN
+AND GRECIAN EMPIRES
+
+The ram, symbol of Persia; and the
+goat, symbol of Grecia." title="" />
+<span class="caption">COINS OF THE MEDO-PERSIAN
+AND GRECIAN EMPIRES<br />
+
+The ram, symbol of Persia; and the
+goat, symbol of Grecia.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<h2><a name="THE_PROPHECY_OF_DANIEL_8" id="THE_PROPHECY_OF_DANIEL_8"></a>THE PROPHECY OF DANIEL 8</h2>
+
+<h3>A HISTORIC OUTLINE AND A VITAL QUESTION</h3>
+
+
+<p>Another view of the history of empires and kingdoms
+was brought before the prophet Daniel in the vision of the
+eighth chapter. In this vision a great prophetic period is
+given, the end of which reaches to the latter days, touching
+events of our own times that are of direct interest and importance
+to every one today.</p>
+
+<p>The vision was given in the third year of Belshazzar, the
+last king of Babylon. Again, as in moving panorama, there
+passed before the prophet's vision the scenes of history.
+Earthly kingdoms were represented under the symbols of
+beasts.</p>
+
+<p>We shall find the prophecy and the history corresponding
+in every detail, revealing the overruling hand of God, who
+knows the end from the beginning, and whose living Word of
+truth bears its witness through all the ages.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Truth never dies. The ages come and go;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The mountains wear away; the seas retire;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Destruction lays earth's mighty cities low,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And empires, states, and dynasties expire;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">But caught and handed onward by the wise,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Truth never dies."<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>The opening scene of this vision, given by the river Ulai,
+in Persia, is thus described:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[Pg 206]</a></span></p>
+
+<p><i>Prophecy.</i>&mdash;"Then I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and,
+behold, there stood before the river a ram which had two
+horns: and the two horns were high; but one was higher than
+the other, and the higher came up last. I saw the ram pushing
+westward, and northward, and southward; so that no
+beast might stand before him, neither was there any that
+could deliver out of his hand; but he did according to his
+will, and became great." Verses 3, 4.</p>
+
+<p>In the angel's interpretation of the vision Daniel was told:
+"The ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings
+of Media and Persia." Verse 20. "The higher came up
+last."</p>
+
+<p>The two horns represented the dual character of the empire:
+first the Medes in ascendancy, then the Persians rising
+to yet greater power. "So that no beast might stand before
+him," says the prophecy.</p>
+
+<p><i>History.</i>&mdash;Xenophon says of Cyrus the Persian:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"He was able to extend the fear of himself over so great a part of the
+world that he astonished all, and no one attempted anything against
+him."&mdash;<i>"The Cyrop&aelig;dia," book 1, chap. 1.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>The line of Medo-Persian conquest was "westward, and
+northward, and southward," just as the prophet saw the ram
+pushing its way. As one pen wrote in the days of Persia's
+supremacy:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"He [Darius] showed the world arms glory-crowned."<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">"Towns untold before him fell."<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">"Burgs over sea ... heard from his lips their fate."<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">&mdash;<i>"The Persians," by &AElig;schylus.</i><br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>But the ram pushing westward stirred up an antagonist
+that was eventually to overcome him. The prophet continues:</p>
+
+<p><i>Prophecy.</i>&mdash;"As I was considering, behold, a he goat came
+from the west on the face of the whole earth, and touched not
+the ground: and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes.
+And he came to the ram that had two horns,... and ran<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[Pg 207]</a></span>
+unto him in the fury of his power.... And there was no
+power in the ram to stand before him, but he cast him down
+to the ground, and stamped upon him: and there was none
+that could deliver the ram out of his hand." Verses 5-7.</p>
+
+<p>The angel's interpretation continued: "The rough goat is
+the king of Grecia: and the great horn that is between his
+eyes is the first king." Verse 21.</p>
+
+<p><i>History.</i>&mdash;This "first king" of united Grecia was Alexander
+the Great.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"With Alexander the New Greece begins."&mdash;<i>Harrison, "Story of
+Greece," p. 499.</i></p>
+
+<p>"And it happened, after that Alexander ... had smitten Darius
+king of the Persians and Medes, that he reigned in his stead, the first
+over Greece." 1 Maccabees 1:1.</p></div>
+
+<p>Under Alexander, the Grecian goat ran upon the Persian
+ram "in the fury of his power." At Arbela, wrote Arrian, the
+Macedonians charged "with great fury." None was able to
+deliver the Persian ram. "Wherever you fly," wrote Alexander
+to the retreating Darius, "thither I will surely pursue
+you." (See "Anabasis of Alexander the Great," by Arrian,
+book 2, chap. 14.) Medo-Persia fell before Grecia, as this
+sure word of prophecy had foretold two hundred years before
+Alexander's day.</p>
+
+<p>Grecia's expansion and its later history were next unfolded
+before the prophet's vision:</p>
+
+<p><i>Prophecy.</i>&mdash;"Therefore the he goat waxed very great: and
+when he was strong, the great horn was broken; and for it
+came up four notable ones toward the four winds of heaven."
+Verse 8.</p>
+
+<p>Of the ram (Persia) it was said it became "great;" of the
+goat (Grecia); that it became "very great."</p>
+
+<p><i>History.</i>&mdash;Justin, the Roman, wrote of Alexander:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"So much was the whole world awed by the terror of his name, that
+all nations came to pay their obedience to him."&mdash;<i>"History of the World,"
+book 12, chap. 13.</i></p></div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[Pg 208]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Vain in his hopes, the youth had grasped at all,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And his vast thought took in the vanquished ball."<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">&mdash;<i>Lucan's "Pharsalia" (Nicholas Rowe's translation), book 3.</i><br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>But the unerring prophecy had said that "when he was
+strong, the great horn was broken." Suddenly the youthful
+conqueror was cut down by death, just as he was preparing to
+celebrate at Babylon a "convention of the whole universe,"</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"being thus taken off in the flower of his age, and in the height of his
+victories."&mdash;<i>Justin, "History of the World," book 13, chap. 1.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>The ancient pagan writers, in telling the story, make use
+of language very similar to that used by divine prophecy in
+foretelling it. Following Alexander's death the empire was
+divided "toward the four winds of heaven." Myers says:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Four well-defined and important monarchies arose out of the
+ruins.... The great horn was broken; and instead of it came up four
+notable ones toward the four winds of heaven."&mdash;<i>"History of Greece"
+(edition 1902), p. 457.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>As the prophet watched these four kingdoms of divided
+Greece, he beheld another power coming into the field of his
+vision through one of the four kingdoms, and extending its
+authority more than any before it:</p>
+
+<p><i>Prophecy.</i>&mdash;"Out of one of them [one of the four kingdoms]
+came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great,
+toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the pleasant
+land." Verse 9.</p>
+
+<p><i>History.</i>&mdash;Medo-Persia was "great," Grecia was "very
+great," but this power was to be "exceeding great." Rome
+followed Grecia. Polybius, the Roman, says:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Almost the whole inhabited world was conquered, and brought under
+the dominion of the single city of Rome."&mdash;<i>"Histories of Polybius" (Evelyn
+Shuckburgh's translation), book 1, chap. 1.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>One of the odes of Horace tells how the name of Rome
+grew to might:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Till her superb dominion spread<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">East, where the sun comes forth in light,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And west to where he lays his head."<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">&mdash;<i>Ode 15, "To Augustus," book 4.</i><br /></span>
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[Pg 209]</a></span></div></div>
+
+<p>Lucan's lines measured its exceeding greatness from the
+other points of the compass:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Though from the frozen pole our empire run,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Far as the journeys of the southern sun."<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">&mdash;<i>"Pharsalia," book 10.</i><br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>"The empire of the Romans filled the world," says Gibbon.
+It was "exceeding great," according to the prophecy.
+In the vision the little horn that grew so great came into the
+prophet's view as proceeding out of one of the four horns that
+he had been watching. Rome rose to unquestioned supremacy
+out of its conquest of Macedonia, one of the four notable
+kingdoms into which Grecia was divided. It spread forth
+toward the south, and toward the east, and "toward the
+pleasant land," Palestine becoming a province of the empire
+in the century before Christ. And it was a Roman force that
+destroyed Jerusalem and devastated the pleasant land.</p>
+
+<p>Thus the "sure word of prophecy," with exactness in
+detail, carries the history through the centuries to the last
+great universal monarchy, Rome.</p>
+
+<p>But this prophecy does not deal so much with the earlier
+history of Rome as with the developments of later times. It
+was the same in the prophetic outline of Daniel 7. After
+briefly identifying Rome as the last universal monarchy, the
+vision of the seventh chapter dealt with the rise of papal Rome,
+described its exaltation of itself against God, and its warfare
+against the truth and the saints of God. And here again,
+in the eighth chapter, the same persecuting power is seen developing,
+exalting itself, and persecuting the saints of God.
+The prophecy says that "it cast down the truth to the ground;
+and it practiced, and prospered." Dan. 8:12. The papal history,
+as given in the study on Daniel 7, need not be repeated
+here.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[Pg 210]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 448px;">
+<img src="images/p210.jpg" width="448" height="270" alt="THE CAMP OF ISRAEL IN THE
+WILDERNESS
+
+&quot;Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall
+the sanctuary be cleansed.&quot; Dan. 8:14." title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE CAMP OF ISRAEL IN THE
+WILDERNESS<br />
+
+&quot;Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall
+the sanctuary be cleansed.&quot; Dan. 8:14.</span>
+</div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[Pg 211]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>As the prophet watched the work of this lawless power,
+his heart must have cried out to know how long it was to be
+allowed to prosper in its evil way; for next he heard the voice
+of a holy one asking the question for him,</p>
+
+<p>"How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice,
+and the transgression of desolation, to give both the
+sanctuary and the host to be trodden underfoot?" Dan. 8:13.</p>
+
+<p>The answer was,</p>
+
+<p>"Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall
+the sanctuary be cleansed." Verse 14.</p>
+
+<p>In symbolic prophecy a day stands for a year. Eze. 4:6.
+This is a long period, therefore, of 2300 years. It reaches to
+the latter days; for the angel said of it, "At the time of the
+end shall be the vision." Dan. 8:17.</p>
+
+<p>The question was, "How long?" or literally, "Until when?"
+and the answer was, "Until two thousand and three hundred
+days." Then what was to come to deal with the great apostasy?&mdash;"Then
+shall the sanctuary be cleansed." The cleansing
+of the sanctuary, therefore, must have something to do
+with meeting the great apostasy, lifting up God's truth that
+has been trampled underfoot, and cutting short the reign of
+evil. The cleansing of the sanctuary, with all that is involved
+in it, must be God's answer to this lawless power.</p>
+
+<p>Error may prosper for a time; but the just balances of
+the sanctuary will at last pronounce righteous judgment, and
+the prosperity of evil will be cut short. "I was envious ...
+when I saw the prosperity of the wicked," said the psalmist,
+"until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood
+I their end." Ps. 73:3, 17.</p>
+
+<p>What, then, is involved in the cleansing of the sanctuary,
+the time of which is marked by the long prophetic period?
+It is for us to understand; for it is a work pertaining to the
+latter days.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[Pg 212]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 297px;">
+<img src="images/p212.jpg" width="297" height="440" alt="OUR GREAT HIGH PRIEST
+
+&quot;We have such a high priest, who is set on
+the right hand of the throne of the Majesty
+in the heavens.&quot; Heb. 8:1." title="" />
+<span class="caption">OUR GREAT HIGH PRIEST<br />
+
+&quot;We have such a high priest, who is set on
+the right hand of the throne of the Majesty
+in the heavens.&quot; Heb. 8:1.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[Pg 213]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 447px;">
+<img src="images/p213.jpg" width="447" height="288" alt="THE INTERIOR OF THE
+SANCTUARY
+
+&quot;A figure for time then present, in
+which were offered both gifts and sacrifices.&quot;
+Heb. 9:9." title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE INTERIOR OF THE
+SANCTUARY<br />
+
+&quot;A figure for time then present, in
+which were offered both gifts and sacrifices.&quot;
+Heb. 9:9.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<h2>THE CLEANSING OF THE SANCTUARY IN TYPE AND ANTITYPE</h2>
+
+
+<p>The Bible teaching concerning the sanctuary of the Levitical
+service shows clearly that the cleansing of the sanctuary
+is God's answer to error and apostasy.</p>
+
+<p>The priestly service of the earthly sanctuary, or temple,
+in the days of Israel, was typical of the work of Christ, our
+High Priest, in the heavenly temple. The earthly priests
+served after "the example and shadow of heavenly things."
+Heb. 8:5. And of Christ's ministry in the heavenly temple
+we are told:</p>
+
+<p>"Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum:
+We have such a high priest, who is set on the right hand of
+the throne of the Majesty in the heavens; a minister of the
+sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched,
+and not man." Heb. 8:1, 2.</p>
+
+<p>In the earthly service, the cleansing of the sanctuary was
+the closing work of the high priest, marking the end of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[Pg 214]</a></span>
+yearly round of mediatory ministry. The cleansing of the
+sanctuary in the time of the end must, therefore, according
+to the sure teaching of the type, be the closing ministry of
+our great High Priest in the heavenly temple, before He lays
+aside His priestly work to come in glory.</p>
+
+
+<h4>The Service of the Earthly Tabernacle</h4>
+
+<p>There were two distinct phases in the priestly ministry
+of the tabernacle in Israel. The sanctuary was built with
+two apartments, the holy place and the most holy.</p>
+
+<p>In the holy place were the candlestick with its seven lights,
+the table with its ever-renewed "bread of the presence," and
+the altar of incense, on which sweet incense, symbol of Christ's
+continual intercession, was burned morning and night.</p>
+
+<p>Within the inner veil was the most holy place, where was
+the ark containing the tables of the law, written with the
+finger of God. The cover of the ark was the golden mercy-seat,
+above which, at either end, stood two cherubim of gold,
+their wings meeting on high, their faces looking ever toward
+the mercy-seat. It was a type of the throne of God&mdash;the
+angels about the throne, the law the foundation of His government,
+the mercy-seat typifying the interposition of mercy
+and pardon for the sinner; and above it the visible glory of
+the Lord, the Shekinah.</p>
+
+<p>"There I will meet with thee, and I will commune with
+thee from above the mercy-seat, from between the two cherubim
+which are upon the ark of the testimony." Ex. 25:22.</p>
+
+<p>Of the service in the first apartment it is stated:</p>
+
+<p>"When these things were thus ordained, the priests went
+always into the first tabernacle, accomplishing the service of
+God." Heb. 9:6.</p>
+
+<p>"Day by day the sacrificial victims were slain at the altar
+before the outer veil, and the blood was 'brought into the
+sanctuary' by the priest." This was an acknowledgment
+of transgression of God's law, meriting death, and a confession
+of faith in the Lamb of God who was to suffer death in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[Pg 215]</a></span>
+the sinner's stead, and whose atoning blood would plead for
+him before the righteous law.</p>
+
+<p>Thus day by day, either by the sprinkling of the blood
+"before the Lord" or by eating a portion of the flesh of the
+burnt offering in the holy place, the ministry of the priests
+transferred the sin in type to the sanctuary, and the sinner
+was pardoned.</p>
+
+<p>For a full year, lacking one day, the ministry was in the
+first apartment, or holy place only. But on that last day
+of the yearly round of service&mdash;"the tenth day of the seventh
+month"&mdash;the high priest entered the second apartment, or
+most holy place.</p>
+
+<p>"Into the second went the high priest alone once every
+year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for
+the errors of the people." Heb. 9:7.</p>
+
+<p>In this service the high priest sprinkled the blood upon
+the mercy-seat and in the holy place, "because of the uncleanness
+of the children of Israel." The sanctuary was to
+be reconciled or cleansed from all the sins registered there
+in type through the blood of the offerings brought day by
+day during the year.</p>
+
+<p>As the high priest came out, bearing the sins, he transferred
+them all to the head of the scapegoat, which was sent
+away into the wilderness; and thus "all their iniquities"
+were borne away from the camp into the wilderness, and the
+sanctuary was cleansed. See Leviticus 16.</p>
+
+<p>This was a solemn time of judgment in Israel. Every
+man's life came in review that day. Was every sin confessed?
+Whosoever was not found right with God, when that service
+was performed, was cut off from having a part with God's
+people.</p>
+
+<p>"It is a day of atonement, to make an atonement for you
+before the Lord your God. For whatsoever soul it be that
+shall not be afflicted in that same day, he shall be cut off
+from among his people." Lev. 23:28, 29.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[Pg 216]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>It was indeed an annual day of judgment in Israel. And
+all this was an "example and shadow of heavenly things."
+Heb. 8:5.</p>
+
+
+<h4>Christ's Closing Work in Heaven</h4>
+
+<p>Therefore the last phase of Christ's ministry as our high
+priest in the sanctuary of God above, must be a work of judgment,
+a review of the heavenly record, corresponding to the
+final ministry in the second apartment of the earthly tabernacle,
+when that sanctuary was cleansed.</p>
+
+<hr style="width: 95%;" /><div class="figcenter" style="width: 447px;">
+<img src="images/p216.jpg" width="447" height="323" alt="THE MEMORIAL OF HIS SACRIFICE
+
+&quot;As often as ye eat this bread, and drink
+this cup, ye do show the Lord&#39;s death
+till He come.&quot; 1 Cor. 11:26." title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE MEMORIAL OF HIS SACRIFICE<br />
+
+&quot;As often as ye eat this bread, and drink
+this cup, ye do show the Lord&#39;s death
+till He come.&quot; 1 Cor. 11:26.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Daniel the prophet was shown in vision this change in
+the ministry of our High Priest, namely, from the first to
+the second apartment of the heavenly temple. He describes
+the wondrous scene, as God's living throne, with its wheels
+flaming with glory, moved into the most holy place of the
+heavenly sanctuary, for the closing work of Christ's ministry:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[Pg 217]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"I beheld till the thrones were cast down ["placed,"
+R.V.], and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was
+white as snow, and the hair of His head like the pure wool:
+His throne was like the fiery flame, and His wheels as burning
+fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before Him:
+thousand thousands ministered unto Him, and ten thousand
+times ten thousand stood before Him: the judgment was set,
+and the books were opened." Dan. 7:9, 10.</p>
+
+<p>This scene, as the next verse shows, opens while still on
+earth the apostasy is exalting itself. But during this same
+time a solemn judgment work is going forward in heaven
+above, the finishing of which will give God's answer to the
+apostasy, and bring the second coming of Christ in glory to
+end the reign of sin. It is the cleansing of the sanctuary,&mdash;the
+time when in reality and not in type every case registered
+in the sanctuary comes in final review before God. When
+that work closes, according to the type, whosoever is not
+found right with God will be cut off from having any part
+with His redeemed people.</p>
+
+<p>Then the priestly ministry of Christ will close, and the
+destiny of every soul will be fixed for all eternity. To that
+time must apply the words spoken by Jesus:</p>
+
+<p>"He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: ... and he
+that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is
+holy, let him be holy still. And, behold, I come quickly."
+Rev. 22:11, 12.</p>
+
+<p>But now the Saviour, from His place of ministry on high,
+speaks to all the encouraging exhortation and assurance:</p>
+
+<p>"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." Rev. 3:5.</p>
+
+<p>To let men on earth know when this judgment work, the
+cleansing of the sanctuary, began in heaven, the prophetic
+period of 2300 years was given. It is of most solemn importance
+that we know when that period begins and ends.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[Pg 218]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 289px;">
+<img src="images/p218.jpg" width="289" height="440" alt="ARTAXERXES SENDING
+THE JEWS TO REBUILD
+JERUSALEM, b.c. 457
+
+&quot;From the going forth of the commandment to restore
+and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the
+Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and
+two weeks.&quot; Dan. 9:25." title="" />
+<span class="caption">ARTAXERXES SENDING
+THE JEWS TO REBUILD
+JERUSALEM, B.C. 457<br />
+
+&quot;From the going forth of the commandment to restore
+and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the
+Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and
+two weeks.&quot; Dan. 9:25.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[Pg 219]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 448px;">
+<img src="images/p219.jpg" width="448" height="279" alt="NEHEMIAH, THE KING&#39;S
+CUPBEARER
+
+&quot;Send me unto Judah, unto the city of
+my fathers&#39; sepulchers, that I may
+build it.&quot; Neh. 2:5." title="" />
+<span class="caption">NEHEMIAH, THE KING&#39;S
+CUPBEARER<br />
+
+&quot;Send me unto Judah, unto the city of
+my fathers&#39; sepulchers, that I may
+build it.&quot; Neh. 2:5.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<h2><a name="A_GREAT_PROPHETIC_PERIOD" id="A_GREAT_PROPHETIC_PERIOD"></a>A GREAT PROPHETIC PERIOD</h2>
+
+
+<h3>THE 2300 YEARS OF DANIEL 8:14</h3>
+
+<p>The commission to the angel Gabriel was, "Make this
+man to understand the vision" (Dan. 8:16); therefore in the
+angel's explanation of the vision of Daniel 8, we must assuredly
+find the interpretation of the prophetic period of 2300
+years, the close of which marks the opening of the judgment
+work in heaven, or the cleansing of the sanctuary.</p>
+
+<p>The eighth chapter closes, however, with no reference to
+the beginning of this period of time, a most important measuring
+line of prophecy. The angel had explained the symbols
+representing Medo-Persia, Grecia, and Rome, and had dwelt
+upon the antichristian work of the apostasy that was to develop;
+but he left the time of the prophetic period unexplained,
+save to say that it was "true," and that it would
+be "for many days"&mdash;far in the future. Here the angel
+stopped, for Daniel fainted. In spirit the prophet had been
+gazing upon the warfare of the great apostasy against God's
+truth through the ages, and evidently it took all strength
+from him. Daniel closes the account of this vision with the
+words, "I was astonished at the vision, but none understood
+it." Verse 27.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[Pg 220]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 448px;">
+<img src="images/p220.jpg" width="448" height="133" alt="THE 2300 DAYS" title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE 2300 DAYS</span>
+</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>The heavy line represents the full 2300 year-day period, the longest prophetic
+period in the Bible. Beginning in <span class="smcap">b.c.</span> 457
+when the decree was given to restore and build Jerusalem (Ezra 7:11-26; Dan.
+9:25), seven weeks (49 years) are measured off
+to indicate the time occupied in this work of restoration. These, however, are a
+part of the sixty-nine weeks (483 years) that
+were to reach to Messiah, the Anointed One. Christ was anointed in 27
+<span class="smcap">a.d.</span>, at His baptism. Matt. 3:13-17; Acts 10:38.
+In the midst of the seventieth week (31 <span class="smcap">a.d.</span>), Christ was crucified or
+"cut off," which marked the time when the sacrifices and
+oblations of the earthly sanctuary were to cease. Dan. 9:25, 27. The remaining
+three and one-half years of this week reach
+to 34 <span class="smcap">a.d.</span>, or to the stoning of Stephen, and the great persecution of
+the church at Jerusalem which followed. Acts 7:59;
+8:1. This marked the close of the seventy weeks, or 490 years, allotted to the
+Jewish people.</p></div>
+
+<p>But the seventy weeks are a part of the 2300 days; and as they (the seventy
+weeks) reach to 34 <span class="smcap">A.D.</span>, the remaining
+1810 years of the 2300-day period must reach to 1844, when the work of judgment,
+or cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary,
+was to begin. Rev. 14:6, 7. Then special light began to shine upon the whole
+sanctuary subject, and Christ's mediatorial
+or priestly work in it.</p>
+
+<p>Four great events, therefore, are located by this great prophetic period,&mdash;the
+first advent, the crucifixion, the rejection of
+the Jewish people as a nation, and the beginning of the work of final judgment.]<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[Pg 221]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>But the angel had been commanded, "Make this man to
+understand the vision;" and soon after, as recorded in the
+next chapter,&mdash;possibly within a year,<a name="FNanchor_G_7" id="FNanchor_G_7"></a><a href="#Footnote_G_7" class="fnanchor">[G]</a>&mdash;Gabriel appeared
+to the prophet with the words:</p>
+
+<p>"O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and
+understanding.... Therefore understand the matter, and
+consider the vision." Dan. 9:22, 23.</p>
+
+<p>Thereupon the angel began to deal with the matter of
+time in the prophecy, the very feature of the vision of the
+eighth chapter that he had not yet made Daniel understand.
+Therefore the vision of the 2300 years must be the topic.</p>
+
+
+<h4>The Starting-Point</h4>
+
+<p>First of all, the angel said that a short period was to be
+cut off from the long period, and allotted to the Jewish people;
+this short period was to reach to the coming of the promised
+Messiah and the filling up of the measure of Jerusalem's
+transgressions. The angel's own words are:</p>
+
+<p>"Seventy weeks [490 days, prophetic time, or 490 literal
+years] are determined [cut off, as the word means] upon thy
+people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression,
+and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for
+iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[Pg 222]</a></span>
+up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy."
+Verse 24.</p>
+
+<p>This 490-year period "cut off" was to cover the history
+of the people of Jerusalem until that city had filled out the
+measure of its transgression. The only prophetic period
+from which this 490 years can properly be said to be "cut
+off" is, assuredly, the longer period of 2300 years, which
+stretches far onward to "the time of the end." The 490
+years and the 2300 years, then, must begin at the same time.</p>
+
+<p>It was the time period that the angel Gabriel was yet to
+explain; and he begins the explanation by showing that the
+first 490 years of it would reach to the days of the Messiah.
+Then he gives the event that marks the beginning of the 490
+years, which event must necessarily mark the beginning of
+the 2300 years as well.</p>
+
+<p>This is what he was commissioned to make Daniel "understand"
+when first the vision of the 2300 years was given.
+Now he tells him to "understand" it:</p>
+
+<p>"Know therefore and understand, that from the going
+forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem
+unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore
+and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the
+wall, even in troublous times. And after threescore and two
+weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for Himself: and the
+people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city
+and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood,
+and unto the end of the war desolations are determined."
+Dan. 9:25, 26.</p>
+
+<p>The date of the going forth of the commandment to restore
+and rebuild Jerusalem is the date, therefore, from which
+the great prophetic measuring line runs; the first 490 years of
+it to reach to the time and work of the Messiah, at the first
+advent, the full 2300 years running on to mark the time when
+the judgment hour in heaven opens. Once the starting-point
+is fixed, all the events of the long period must follow
+exactly as scheduled in the time-table of divine prophecy.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[Pg 223]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<h4>Date of the Commencement to Restore Jerusalem</h4>
+
+<p>There were several commands issued concerning the restoration
+of Jerusalem after the Babylonish captivity. Cyrus,
+and Darius, and Artaxerxes Longimanus each issued such a
+decree. Which one answers to the language of the prophecy
+as "the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem"?</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 448px;">
+<img src="images/p223.jpg" width="448" height="335" alt="THE JEWS MOURNING OVER
+THE RUINS OF JERUSALEM
+
+&quot;I went out by night,... and viewed
+the walls of Jerusalem, which were
+broken down.&quot; Neh. 2:13." title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE JEWS MOURNING OVER
+THE RUINS OF JERUSALEM<br />
+
+&quot;I went out by night,... and viewed
+the walls of Jerusalem, which were
+broken down.&quot; Neh. 2:13.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The decree of Artaxerxes was most comprehensive (Ezra
+7), authorizing the full restoration of the civil and religious
+administration of Jerusalem and Judea. And Inspiration
+specifically sums up all the decrees as completed only in that
+of Artaxerxes, which thus constituted "the commandment:"</p>
+
+<p>"They builded, and finished it, according to the commandment
+of the God of Israel, and according to the commandment
+of Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes king of
+Persia." Ezra 6:14.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[Pg 224]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 298px;">
+<img src="images/p224.jpg" width="298" height="448" alt="REBUILDING JERUSALEM
+
+&quot;They builded, and finished it, according
+to the commandment of the God of Israel,
+and according to the commandment of
+Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes king
+of Persia.&quot; Ezra 6:14." title="" />
+<span class="caption">REBUILDING JERUSALEM<br />
+
+&quot;They builded, and finished it, according
+to the commandment of the God of Israel,
+and according to the commandment of
+Cyrus, and Darius, and Artaxerxes king
+of Persia.&quot; Ezra 6:14.</span>
+</div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[Pg 225]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>According to this scripture, the full "going forth of the
+commandment to restore and to build," dates from this decree
+of Artaxerxes. And this decree went forth "in the seventh
+year of Artaxerxes the king." Ezra 7:7.</p>
+
+<p>What year was this seventh year of Artaxerxes&mdash;a date
+so important to fix to a certainty?</p>
+
+<p>The great chronological standard for the kings of the
+ancient empires is the canon, or historical rule, of Ptolemy.
+Ptolemy was a Greek historian, geographer, and astronomer,
+who lived in the temple of Serapis, near Alexandria, Egypt.
+From ancient records he prepared a chronological table of
+the kings of Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome (carrying
+the Roman list to his own time, which was the second century
+after Christ). Along with his list of kings and the years of
+their succession, Ptolemy compiled a record of ancient observations
+of eclipses. In such and such a year of a king,
+for instance, on a given day of the month, an eclipse of the
+sun or moon would be recorded. Astronomers have worked
+out these observations, and verified them. The learned Dr.
+William Hales said:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"To the authenticity of these copies of Ptolemy's canon, the strongest
+testimony is given by their exact agreement throughout, with above
+twenty dates and computations of eclipses in Ptolemy's
+Almagest."&mdash;<i>"Chronology,"
+Vol. I, p. 166.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>Thus, says James B. Lindsay, an English chronologist,
+"a foundation is laid for chronology sure as the stars." So
+the sun and the stars, the divinely appointed timekeepers,
+bear their witness to the accuracy of the historical record.</p>
+
+<p>We thank God for this, as we desire to know if we may
+depend upon Ptolemy's canon to help us fix to a certainty
+the seventh year of Artaxerxes.</p>
+
+<p>According to Ptolemy, Artaxerxes succeeded to the throne
+in the two hundred and eighty-fourth year of the canon. In
+modern reckoning, this two hundred and eighty-fourth year
+runs from Dec. 17, 465 <span class="smcap">b.c.</span>, to Dec. 17, 464 <span class="smcap">b.c.</span> The canon
+does not tell at what part of the year a king succeeded to the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[Pg 226]</a></span>
+throne; it only deals with whole years. The question is, to
+be exact, Did Artaxerxes come to the throne in December,
+465 <span class="smcap">b.c.</span>, or at some time in the year 464 <span class="smcap">b.c.</span>? At what
+season of the year did the king take the throne? Some historians,
+dealing with the matter roughly, date the succession
+from the year 465. But in dealing with divine prophecy, we
+require certainty upon which to base the reckoning of the seventh
+year of Artaxerxes, from which date the prophetic period
+runs.</p>
+
+<p>And in God's providence we do have certainty. Of all
+the kings of Assyria, Babylon, and Medo-Persia, in Ptolemy's
+long list, there is but one concerning whose succession the
+Scriptures give us the very time of the year&mdash;and that one
+is Artaxerxes. The one case in which we need to know to a
+certainty the season of the year, in order to fix an important
+date in prophecy, is the one case in which Inspiration gives
+exactly the particulars. Who cannot see the hand of God in
+this?</p>
+
+<p>The combined record of Neh. 1:1; 2:1 and Ezra 7:7-9,<a name="FNanchor_H_8" id="FNanchor_H_8"></a><a href="#Footnote_H_8" class="fnanchor">[H]</a>
+shows that Artaxerxes came to the throne between the fifth
+month of the Jewish year and the ninth month,&mdash;roughly,
+between August and December,&mdash;or in the autumn. The
+Bible gives one part of the record, and Ptolemy's canon gives<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[Pg 227]</a></span>
+another part; and by the combined record we know that
+Artaxerxes came to the throne late in the year 464 <span class="smcap">b.c.</span>, and
+thus the seventh year of his reign would be 457 <span class="smcap">b.c.</span> This is
+the date fixed by other sources of reliable chronology also, Sir
+Isaac Newton having worked out several lines of evidence
+from ancient authorities, in each case reaching the year 464
+<span class="smcap">b.c.</span> as the first of Artaxerxes, which makes the seventh to
+be 457 <span class="smcap">b.c.</span></p>
+
+<p>In the seventh year of Artaxerxes the commandment went
+forth to restore and to build Jerusalem, and this event fixes
+the beginning of the 2300 years, as also of the 490 years cut
+off from it upon the Jewish people.</p>
+
+<p>That year, 457 <span class="smcap">b.c.</span>, therefore, is a date of profound importance.
+It stands like the golden milestone in the ancient
+Forum at Rome, from which ran out all the measurements
+of distance to the ends of the empire. From this date, 457
+<span class="smcap">b.c.</span>, run out the golden threads of time prophecy that touch
+events in the earthly life and the heavenly ministry of Jesus
+that are of deepest eternal interest to all mankind today.</p>
+
+
+
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i2"><b>The Ransom Paid</b><br /></span>
+<span class="i0">&nbsp;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Lord, I believe Thy precious blood,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Which, at the mercy-seat of God,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Forever doth for sinners plead,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Can cleanse my guilty soul indeed.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Lord, I believe were sinners more<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Than sands upon the ocean shore,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Thou hast for all a ransom paid,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">For all a full provision made.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">&mdash;<i>Nikolaus Zinzendorf.</i><br /></span>
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[Pg 228]</a></span></div></div>
+
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 303px;">
+<img src="images/p228.jpg" width="303" height="448" alt="THE ANOINTING OF JESUS
+AT HIS BAPTISM
+
+&quot;God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the
+Holy Ghost and with power.&quot; Acts 10:38.
+(See Matt. 3:16.)" title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE ANOINTING OF JESUS
+AT HIS BAPTISM<br />
+
+&quot;God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the
+Holy Ghost and with power.&quot; Acts 10:38.
+(See Matt. 3:16.)</span>
+</div>
+
+<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_G_7" id="Footnote_G_7"></a><a href="#FNanchor_G_7"><span class="label">[G]</span></a> The dates placed in the margin of the King James Version indicate a
+period of fifteen years between the eighth and ninth chapters of Daniel. This
+was because in former days it was thought that Belshazzar was the Bible
+name of Nabonidus, the last king of Babylon, who reigned seventeen years.
+In that case, from "the third year" of his reign, when the prophecy of Daniel
+8 was given, to the "first year of Darius," who succeeded him, when the
+angel appeared again to Daniel, would be fifteen years. But the unearthing
+of the buried records of Babylonia during the last half century, reveals the
+fact that Belshazzar was the son of Nabonidus, associated with him on the
+throne as king for a few years before the fall of Babylon. The third year of
+his reign may very likely have been the last year; and Darius immediately
+followed Belshazzar. The explanation of the ninth chapter might have been
+within a few weeks or months following the vision of chapter 8, and probably
+was.</p></div>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_H_8" id="Footnote_H_8"></a><a href="#FNanchor_H_8"><span class="label">[H]</span></a> These texts show that the king came to the throne in the autumn, so
+that the actual years of his reign would run from autumn to autumn. Neh.
+1:1 begins the record: "In the month Chisleu, in the <i>twentieth year</i>."
+Neh.
+2:1 continues: "It came to pass in the month Nisan, in the <i>twentieth year</i>
+of Artaxerxes." Thus it is plain that in the monthly calendar of the king's
+actual reign the month Chisleu came first in order, and then Nisan. Chisleu
+was the ninth month of the Jewish sacred year, roughly, December. Nisan
+is the first month, April. And these months, December, April,&mdash;in that
+order,&mdash;came
+in the first year of the king, of course, the same as in his twentieth
+year. And in the same year also came the fifth month, August; for Ezra
+7:7-9 shows that the first and fifth months&mdash;in that order&mdash;also fell in the
+same year of his reign. Then we know of a certainty that his reign began
+somewhere between August and December, that is, in the autumn. The first
+year of Artaxerxes was from the latter part of 464 <span class="smcap">b.c.</span> to the latter
+part of
+463, and the seventh year, as readily counted off, would be from near the end
+of 458 to near the end of 457. Under the commission to Ezra, the people
+began to go up to Jerusalem in the spring of that year, 457 <span class="smcap">b.c.</span> (in
+the first
+month, or April), and they "came to Jerusalem in the fifth month" (August).
+Ezra 7:8, 9. Ezra and his associates soon thereafter "delivered the kings
+commissions unto the king's lieutenants, and to the governors on this side the
+river: and they furthered the people, and the house of God." Ezra 8:36.
+With this delivery of the commissions to the king's officers, the commandment
+to restore and to build had, most certainly, fully gone forth. And from this
+date, 457 <span class="smcap">b.c.</span>, extends the great prophetic period.</p></div></div>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[Pg 229]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 448px;">
+<img src="images/p229.jpg" width="448" height="336" alt="DANIEL&#39;S PRAYER ANSWERED
+
+&quot;I am now come forth to give thee skill
+and understanding.&quot; Dan. 9:22." title="" />
+<span class="caption">DANIEL&#39;S PRAYER ANSWERED<br />
+
+&quot;I am now come forth to give thee skill
+and understanding.&quot; Dan. 9:22.</span>
+</div>
+
+<h2><a name="THE_PROPHECY_FULFILLED" id="THE_PROPHECY_FULFILLED"></a>THE PROPHECY FULFILLED</h2>
+
+<h3>EVENTS OF THE "SEVENTY WEEKS" AND END OF THE
+2300 YEARS</h3>
+
+
+<p>The angel explained to Daniel the events of the seventy
+weeks allotted to Jerusalem and its people "to finish the
+transgression." Seven weeks and threescore and two weeks
+(69 weeks) of the seventy were to reach to the Messiah. The
+angel's words were:</p>
+
+<p>"Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and
+upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression.... Know
+therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the
+commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the
+Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and
+two weeks [69 weeks, or 483 days]." Dan. 9:24, 25.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[Pg 230]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The sixty-nine weeks, symbolic time, are 483 years, which
+were to reach from the commandment to restore and build
+Jerusalem to Messiah the Prince.</p>
+
+
+<h4>The Time of the Messiah's Coming</h4>
+
+<p>The commandment of Artaxerxes to restore and build
+Jerusalem, as we have seen, went forth in 457 <span class="smcap">b.c.</span> Reckoning
+from that date, 483 full years bring us to <span class="smcap">A.D.</span> 27, when,
+according to the prophecy, the Messiah should appear.</p>
+
+<p>Messiah means "anointed." The anointing of Jesus, and
+His manifestation as the Anointed One, was at His baptism:</p>
+
+<p>"Jesus, when He was baptized, went up straightway out
+of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto Him,
+and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting
+upon Him: and lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is
+My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." Matt. 3:16, 17.</p>
+
+<p>Thus Jesus was anointed as the Messiah (see Acts 10:38),
+and John proclaimed: "Behold the Lamb of God, which
+taketh away the sin of the world." John 1:29.</p>
+
+<p>When did this baptism and anointing take place? The
+Gospel of Luke supplies the historical facts for fixing the
+year:</p>
+
+<p>"In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius C&aelig;sar,
+Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea," etc. Luke 3:1-3.</p>
+
+<p>Tiberius followed Augustus, who died in <span class="smcap">A.D.</span> 14. But
+before the latter's death, Tiberius was associated with him
+on the throne. Some modern historians date this appointment
+of Tiberius as C&aelig;sar from <span class="smcap">A.D.</span> 13; but the "History of
+Rome," by Dion Cassius, a Roman senator, born in the second
+century, shows, under events of <span class="smcap">A.D.</span> 12, that Augustus recognized
+Tiberius as holding the imperial dignity at that time.
+(Book 56, chap. 26.) Again, Dr. Philip Schaff says:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"There are coins from Antioch in Syria of the date A.U. 765 [<span class="smcap">A.D.</span> 12],
+with the head of Tiberius and the inscription, <i>Kaisar, Sebastos
+(Augustus)."</i>&mdash;<i>"History
+of the Christian Church," Vol. I, p. 120, footnote.</i></p></div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[Pg 231]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>These coins from Syria bear certain witness that the first
+year of Tiberius should be counted from <span class="smcap">A.D.</span> 12. Therefore
+"the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius C&aelig;sar" would be
+<span class="smcap">A.D.</span> 27, just 483 years from the going forth of the commandment
+to restore Jerusalem. The prophecy of the sixty-nine
+weeks was fulfilled&mdash;the Messiah had come.</p>
+
+
+<h4>Confirming the Covenant</h4>
+
+<p>But "one week" of the seventy remained&mdash;seven years.
+Of the Messiah's work during this time the angel said:</p>
+
+<p>"He shall confirm the covenant with many for one week:
+and in the midst of the week He shall cause the sacrifice and
+the oblation to cease." Dan. 9:27.</p>
+
+<p>Christ's death upon the cross made "the sacrifice and the
+oblation to cease," so far as their appointed force was concerned.
+After three years and a half of ministry, "in the
+midst" of this seven-year period, the prophetic week, the Messiah
+was lifted up on Calvary. For centuries the sure word
+of prophecy had pointed to this supreme hour in the working
+out of the plan of salvation. When the time was fulfilled,
+the promise of God was fulfilled also, and the divine
+Sacrifice was offered.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Paschal Lamb, by God appointed,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">All our sins on Thee were laid;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">By Almighty Love anointed,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Thou redemption's price hast paid.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">All Thy people are forgiven<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Through the virtue of Thy blood;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Opened is the gate of heaven,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Peace is made 'twixt man and God."<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>With the offering of the great Sacrifice, all the typical
+offerings ceased to have significance. The veil of the temple
+was rent when the Lamb of God expired upon the cross,&mdash;sign
+to all that He had caused "the sacrifice and the oblation
+to cease."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[Pg 232]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 299px;">
+<img src="images/p232.jpg" width="299" height="448" alt="THE CRUCIFIXION
+OF CHRIST
+
+&quot;In the midst of the week He shall cause
+the sacrifice and the oblation to cease.&quot;
+Dan. 9:27." title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE CRUCIFIXION
+OF CHRIST<br />
+
+&quot;In the midst of the week He shall cause
+the sacrifice and the oblation to cease.&quot;
+Dan. 9:27.</span>
+</div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[Pg 233]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 329px;">
+<img src="images/p233.jpg" width="329" height="409" alt="THE RENT VEIL
+
+&quot;The veil of the temple was rent in
+twain from the top to the bottom.&quot;
+Mark 15:38." title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE RENT VEIL<br />
+
+&quot;The veil of the temple was rent in
+twain from the top to the bottom.&quot;
+Mark 15:38.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The Messiah was to "confirm the covenant with many for
+one week," filling out the seventy weeks allotted in God's
+merciful patience especially to the people of the Jews. Three
+and a half years of Christ's personal ministry on earth had<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[Pg 234]</a></span>
+been devoted to the chosen people. Now, after His ascension,
+He was still, in the persons of His disciples, to press
+the gospel of the new covenant especially upon the Jewish
+people&mdash;"to the Jew first," and "beginning at Jerusalem."</p>
+
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 399px;">
+<img src="images/p234.jpg" width="399" height="336" alt="PETER PREACHING IN THE
+HOUSE OF CORNELIUS
+
+&quot;They that were scattered abroad went
+everywhere preaching the word.&quot; Acts
+8:4." title="" />
+<span class="caption">PETER PREACHING IN THE
+HOUSE OF CORNELIUS<br />
+
+&quot;They that were scattered abroad went
+everywhere preaching the word.&quot; Acts
+8:4.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>This last seven-year period, beginning in <span class="smcap">A.D.</span> 27, ended
+in <span class="smcap">A.D.</span> 34. By that time the opposition of the Jews was becoming
+exceedingly bitter. As a people they were rejecting
+again the divine invitation extended by the risen Christ
+through His witnesses. About <span class="smcap">A.D.</span> 34 Stephen was martyred.
+The same council that, against all evidence, had rejected
+the Messiah, again rejected the appeal of the Holy
+Ghost shining visibly on Stephen's countenance.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[Pg 235]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The believers in Jerusalem were driven out by persecution;
+and "they that were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching
+the word." Acts 8:4. The Gentiles gave heed in Samaria,
+and the Ethiopian received the gospel on the road to
+Gaza. The gospel message had fairly passed the boundaries
+of Jerusalem and was on its way to the "uttermost parts of
+the earth."</p>
+
+<p>Though the seventy weeks cut off upon the Jewish people
+and upon the holy city had ended, to the world's end the
+gospel of Christ's salvation is for that people as well as for
+all other nations.</p>
+
+
+<h4>The Ending of the 2300 Years</h4>
+
+<p>It must not be forgotten that the angel was explaining
+to Daniel the vision and prophecy of the long prophetic period
+that was to reach to the cleansing of the sanctuary at the
+time of the end.</p>
+
+<p>These events of the first seventy weeks of that period
+were "to seal up the vision and prophecy." Dan. 9:24. The
+shedding of the blood of the divine Sacrifice "to make reconciliation
+for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness,"
+set Heaven's seal to the vision. As surely as the great
+Offering had been made, so surely the cleansing of the sanctuary
+would be accomplished by the ministry of our High
+Priest in heaven.</p>
+
+<p>And the exact fulfilment of the time schedule for this
+first portion of the prophetic period, set seal to the declaration
+that when the full 2300 years should run out, the closing ministry
+of Christ would surely begin in the heavenly sanctuary.</p>
+
+<p>From 457 <span class="smcap">b.c.</span>, when the commandment of Artaxerxes
+to restore Jerusalem went forth, the measuring line of the
+2300 years reaches to the year <span class="smcap">A.D.</span> 1844. In that year the
+time of the prophecy came. Then the cleansing of the sanctuary
+was to begin.</p>
+
+<p>The prophet John, in the Revelation, beheld the opening
+of this last phase of the ministry of Christ in the most holy<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[Pg 236]</a></span>
+place of the temple of God. "The temple of God was
+opened in heaven," he says, "and there was seen in His
+temple the ark of His testament." Rev. 11:19. The
+prophet heard voices saying, "The nations were angry, and
+Thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they
+should be judged." Verse 18.</p>
+
+<p>Again we must quote Daniel's description of the opening
+of this ministry in the most holy place of the heavenly temple.
+He saw thrones of judgment set up. He saw the moving
+throne of the Almighty, with its wheels of naming glory, take
+its position for the final work of our High Priest in the holy
+of holies above:</p>
+
+<p>"I beheld till the thrones were cast down [placed], and
+the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow,
+and the hair of His head like the pure wool: His throne was
+like the fiery flame, and His wheels as burning fire. A fiery
+stream issued and came forth from before Him: thousand
+thousands ministered unto Him, and ten thousand times ten
+thousand stood before Him: the judgment was set, and the
+books were opened." Dan. 7:9, 10.</p>
+
+<p>This was the scene enacted in the heavenly temple when
+the year 1844 brought the judgment hour. Then began in
+heaven the work of the investigative judgment, or the cleansing
+of the heavenly sanctuary, during which the case of every
+individual will come in review before God.</p>
+
+<p>When that work of investigation is finished, the ministry
+of Christ for sin will end, human probation will close, and our
+Lord will quickly come as King of kings and Lord of lords, to
+gather His redeemed, while all sinners will be destroyed by
+"the brightness of His coming." 2 Thess. 2:8.</p>
+
+<p>In the vision of Daniel 8, as the great apostasy was seen
+warring against God's truth, the question was asked, "How
+long shall be the vision,... to give both the sanctuary and
+the host to be trodden underfoot?" The answer was, in
+effect, In 1844 the cleansing of the sanctuary will begin in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[Pg 237]</a></span>
+heaven,&mdash;the hour of God's judgment, that will give God's
+answer to sin and apostasy.</p>
+
+<p>We are living in the great antitypical day of atonement,
+for which all heaven has been waiting. The end is at hand.
+And while that work is proceeding in heaven above, the Lord
+proclaims a special message on earth, lifting up again truths
+long trodden underfoot, and calling men to prepare for the
+coming of the Lord.</p>
+
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i2"><b>How Shall We Stand?</b><br /></span>
+<span class="i0"><i><b>"For the hour of His judgment is come."</b></i><br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"The judgment is set, the books have been opened;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">How shall we stand in that great day<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">When every thought, and word, and action,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">God, the righteous Judge, shall weigh?<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"The work is begun with those who are sleeping,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Soon will the living here be tried,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Out of the books of God's remembrance,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">His decision to abide.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"O, how shall we stand that moment of searching,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">When all our sins those books reveal?<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">When from that court, each case decided,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Shall be granted no appeal?"<br /></span>
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[Pg 238]</a></span></div></div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 297px;">
+<img src="images/p238.jpg" width="297" height="448" alt="THE THIRD ANGEL&#39;S
+MESSAGE
+
+&quot;Here is the patience of the saints: here are
+they that keep the commandments of God,
+and the faith of Jesus.&quot; Rev. 14:12." title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE THIRD ANGEL&#39;S
+MESSAGE<br />
+
+&quot;Here is the patience of the saints: here are
+they that keep the commandments of God,
+and the faith of Jesus.&quot; Rev. 14:12.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[Pg 239]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 448px;">
+<img src="images/p239.jpg" width="448" height="271" alt="THE GOSPEL COMMISSION
+
+&quot;Go ye into all the world, and preach
+the gospel to every creature.&quot; Mark
+16:15." title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE GOSPEL COMMISSION<br />
+
+&quot;Go ye into all the world, and preach
+the gospel to every creature.&quot; Mark
+16:15.</span>
+</div>
+
+<h2><a name="A_WORLD-WIDE_MOVEMENT" id="A_WORLD-WIDE_MOVEMENT"></a>A WORLD-WIDE MOVEMENT</h2>
+
+<h3>FORETOLD IN THE PROPHECY OF REVELATION 14</h3>
+
+
+<p>While the work of the judgment hour, or period,&mdash;the
+cleansing of the sanctuary,&mdash;is proceeding in the heavenly
+temple above, the Lord sends to the world a special message
+of preparation for the coming of the Lord.</p>
+
+<p>It would not be the divine way to let this solemn judgment
+in heaven come unheralded to men. Daniel's prophecy
+had fixed the time of its beginning; and the question asked
+in the prophet's hearing, "How long shall be the vision ...
+to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden underfoot?"
+suggested that when the time came, the truths of God
+that had been trodden underfoot through the ages would be
+lifted up and proclaimed anew to all the world.</p>
+
+<p>With the coming of the judgment hour, in the year 1844,
+there arose just such a work, a definite gospel movement,
+that has ever since been carrying the message for the hour
+to the ends of the earth.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[Pg 240]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<h4>The Way Prepared for the Rise of the Movement</h4>
+
+<p>But there was a preliminary work to be done, to prepare
+the way for the definite advent movement and message.</p>
+
+<p>In the days of Israel of old, as the time for the cleansing
+of the sanctuary drew near, the people were forewarned of
+the approach of the solemn hour. The day of atonement&mdash;"the
+tenth day of the seventh month"&mdash;was a typical
+hour of judgment. All the people were to prepare their
+hearts for that great day.</p>
+
+<p>To this end, the Lord appointed the first day of the seventh
+month a day of sounding of the trumpets. Lev. 23:24. The
+silver trumpets, pealing forth on that day, proclaimed to all
+that the day of atonement was near at hand, when every case
+would be brought in review before the mercy-seat by the
+ministry of the high priest in the most holy place of the
+earthly sanctuary.</p>
+
+<p>True to the type, as the year 1844 drew near, when the
+great antitypical day of atonement was to open and the closing
+work of Christ to begin in the most holy place of the
+heavenly temple, the trumpet call of the approaching judgment
+hour was set pealing through all Christendom.</p>
+
+<p>Events of the closing years of the eighteenth century and
+the early decades of the nineteenth, had stirred up Bible
+students to give greater attention to the study of the prophetic
+scriptures. It was seen that signs of the latter days were appearing,
+and that every line of historic prophecy pointed to
+the near approach of Christ's second coming.</p>
+
+<p>Here and there students of the Word saw that the 2300-year
+period of Dan. 8:14, as explained in the ninth chapter,
+would end soon; and some arrived at the correct date, and
+looked to the year 1844 as the time when the judgment hour
+would come.</p>
+
+<p>Witnesses were raised up in Europe&mdash;in Holland, Germany,
+Russia, and the Scandinavian countries. Joseph Wolff,
+the missionary to the Levant, preached in Greece, Palestine,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[Pg 241]</a></span>
+Turkey, Afghanistan, and other regions the coming of the
+judgment hour. William Miller and many associates preached
+the message throughout America.</p>
+
+<p>Writing in the days just before 1844, Mourant Brock, a
+clergyman of the Church of England, said:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"It is not merely in Great Britain that the expectation of the near
+return of the Redeemer is entertained, and the voice of warning raised,
+but also in America, India, and on the continent of Europe. In America,
+about three hundred ministers of the word are thus preaching 'this gospel
+of the kingdom;' whilst in this country, about seven hundred of the
+Church of England are raising the same cry."&mdash;<i>"Advent Tracts</i>," <i>Vol.
+II, p. 135 (1844).</i></p></div>
+
+<p>Not all who joined in the awakening cry at this time explained
+the prophecies alike, or emphasized the definite year
+1844 as the beginning of the hour of God's judgment; though
+in America, Europe, and Asia the clear message of the ending
+of the prophetic time in 1844 was proclaimed with power by
+many voices. And as the time came, the world was ringing
+with the call to prepare to meet the judgment hour, even as
+the hosts of Israel were called by trumpet peals to prepare
+for the typical day of atonement.</p>
+
+<p>The nature of the event to come at the end of the 2300
+years was not understood by these early heralds of the advent
+hope. The general expectation was that the judgment hour
+meant the end of the world and the coming of the Lord.
+Though the word of prophecy indicated clearly that there
+was a special work to be done on earth while the judgment
+hour was proceeding in heaven, this was not clear to Bible
+students at the time. So when the prophetic period ended
+and the Lord did not come, believers in the prophetic truths
+were disappointed and unbelievers scoffed. But the call to
+prepare for the judgment hour was the message due to the
+world at that time, and the awakening cry was raised on
+every continent.</p>
+
+<p>In the days of the Saviour's first advent, the disciples
+and the populace had proclaimed the triumphal entry of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[Pg 242]</a></span>
+Christ into Jerusalem. They were at once disappointed; instead
+of enthroning Him as king, they witnessed His crucifixion.
+But in proclaiming the coming of Zion's King to
+Jerusalem, they were fulfilling the prophecy that had been
+uttered, and were giving the message for that day, notwithstanding
+their mistaken view as to the events that would
+follow.</p>
+
+<p>Just so the trumpet call of the coming judgment hour was
+the message for the days of 1844; and the message was given,
+attended by the power of God. When the hour was at hand,
+the providence of God raised up faithful witnesses to proclaim
+it.</p>
+
+<p>All this was preparatory to the rise of the definite advent
+movement of the prophecy, when the hour of God's judgment
+should begin.</p>
+
+
+<h4>The Closing Work</h4>
+
+<p>In vision, on the Isle of Patmos, the prophet John was
+given a view of the closing work of the gospel on earth, while
+the closing ministry of Christ was proceeding in heaven above.
+The prophet wrote:</p>
+
+<p>"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, 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." Rev. 14:6, 7.</p>
+
+<p>The message further warned against following the ways
+of the great apostasy; and in the vision the prophet was shown
+people in all lands taking their stand at the call of the message.
+The angel described them in these words:</p>
+
+<p>"Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that
+keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus."
+Verse 12.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[Pg 243]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Much as pictures appear to us when thrown in succession
+upon a screen, these scenes must have passed before the vision
+of the prophet. He saw the coming of the hour, the rise of
+the movement, and its extension into all lands; he heard the
+message sounding, and saw the kind of people doing the work&mdash;a
+people keeping "the commandments of God, and the
+faith of Jesus."</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 448px;">
+<img src="images/p243.jpg" width="448" height="297" alt="PAUL WRITING TO TIMOTHY
+FROM ROME
+
+&quot;There is laid up for me a crown of righteousness,
+which the Lord ... shall give me at that
+day: and ... unto all them also that love His
+appearing.&quot; 2 Tim. 4:8." title="" />
+<span class="caption">PAUL WRITING TO TIMOTHY
+FROM ROME<br />
+
+&quot;There is laid up for me a crown of righteousness,
+which the Lord ... shall give me at that
+day: and ... unto all them also that love His
+appearing.&quot; 2 Tim. 4:8.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Centuries had passed, after this word was written in the
+Book, when the flight of time at last brought the hour of
+the prophecy&mdash;the year 1844. That very year witnessed
+the rise of the definite advent movement which is still proclaiming
+the very message of the prophecy to the world.</p>
+
+<p>It was in the year 1844, in New England, that a little
+group of believers in the blessed hope of Christ's soon coming,
+saw clearly, from their study of the Bible, that the New Testament
+platform of "the commandments of God, and the faith<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[Pg 244]</a></span>
+of Jesus," emphasized in this prophecy of the judgment hour,
+meant the keeping of the fourth commandment as well as the
+other nine. Thereupon they began to keep and to teach the
+Sabbath of the Lord, the seventh day of the week, made holy
+and blessed and commanded by God.</p>
+
+<p>One member of this group of commandment-keeping Adventists
+was Frederick Wheeler, from whose dictation the
+following statement was prepared, fixing exactly the facts as
+to the time:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"As a Methodist minister he was convinced of the advent truth by
+reading William Miller's works in 1842, and joined in preaching the first
+message [that of the judgment hour]. In March, 1844, he began to keep
+the true Sabbath, in Washington, N.H."&mdash;<i>Review and Herald (Washington,
+D.C.), Oct. 4, 1906.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>They were but a little band, those believers in New Hampshire,
+but the time of the prophecy had come, and with the
+coming of the hour there was the nucleus of the movement
+forming, believers in the near coming of the Lord, preaching
+the message of the prophecy, "The hour of His judgment
+is come," and keeping "the commandments of God, and the
+faith of Jesus."</p>
+
+<p>From that small beginning has grown the movement that
+Seventh-day Adventists stand for, spreading through all the
+world today.</p>
+
+<p>It was in the year following 1844 that Joseph Bates, of
+Massachusetts, a retired sea captain, and a preacher of the
+advent hope, began to keep the Sabbath. Captain Bates
+wrote and published, and soon others, following his example,
+embraced the Bible Sabbath.</p>
+
+<p>As the Scripture teaching concerning the sanctuary was
+studied, light came flooding in. It was seen that the great
+prophetic period of Daniel 8, which ended in 1844, marked
+the opening of Christ's ministry in the most holy place of the
+heavenly sanctuary, the work of the judgment hour in heaven;
+and there, plainly revealed in Revelation 14, was a special<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">[Pg 245]</a></span>
+gospel message to be carried to all the world while the judgment
+hour still continued.</p>
+
+<p>The little company that began to keep the commandments
+of God as Adventist believers in 1844, did not understand
+that they were beginning the definite movement foretold
+by the prophecy. They only determined to turn from
+traditions that had made void God's law, and to obey the law
+of the Most High, whose servants they were.</p>
+
+<p>But in the light of the Scripture prophecy and of events,
+we can see clearly the hand of God leading that little baud
+into the right pathway when the year of 1844 came; and the
+work there begun has grown into the world-wide movement
+of today.</p>
+
+<p>Nearly two thousand years before, it had been written in
+the "sure word of prophecy" that when the hour of God's
+judgment came, a people keeping God's commandments
+would arise and spread forth into all the world with the last
+gospel message. The long prophetic period of Daniel 8 had
+fixed the year 1844 as the time when the judgment hour would
+begin and when the people of the prophecy must appear.</p>
+
+<p>When the year came, that people appeared, keeping "the
+commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus." When the
+hour struck, the work began. This advent movement was
+born of God in fulfilment of prophecy. And the mission of
+the movement is to lift up again the standard of truths obscured
+by tradition and trodden underfoot, and to call all men
+to the New Testament platform of the "commandments
+of God, and the faith of Jesus," where every believing soul
+may find safe refuge in these closing moments of the judgment
+hour in the courts above.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">[Pg 246]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 448px;">
+<img src="images/p246.jpg" width="448" height="269" alt="A CHRISTIAN MOTHER EXHORTING HER
+DAUGHTER TO MARTYRDOM
+
+&quot;Choose you this day whom ye will serve;... as for me
+and my house, we will serve the Lord.&quot; Joshua 24:15." title="" />
+<span class="caption">A CHRISTIAN MOTHER EXHORTING HER
+DAUGHTER TO MARTYRDOM<br />
+
+&quot;Choose you this day whom ye will serve;... as for me
+and my house, we will serve the Lord.&quot; Joshua 24:15.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">[Pg 247]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 445px;">
+<img src="images/p247.jpg" width="445" height="282" alt="THE TWO BEASTS OF
+REVELATION 13
+
+&quot;Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour
+of His judgment is come.&quot; Rev. 14:7." title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE TWO BEASTS OF
+REVELATION 13<br />
+
+&quot;Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour
+of His judgment is come.&quot; Rev. 14:7.</span>
+</div>
+
+<h2><a name="THE_JUDGMENT-HOUR_MESSAGE" id="THE_JUDGMENT-HOUR_MESSAGE"></a>THE JUDGMENT-HOUR MESSAGE</h2>
+
+<h3>THE GOSPEL FOR OUR DAY</h3>
+
+
+<p>The gospel message for this time of the judgment hour
+is set forth in the vision of Revelation 14:</p>
+
+<p>"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, 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.</p>
+
+<p>"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.</p>
+
+<p>"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, the same shall
+drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">[Pg 248]</a></span>
+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: and the smoke
+of their torment ascendeth up forever 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.</p>
+
+<p>"Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that
+keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus."
+Rev. 14:6-12.</p>
+
+<p>When this message has been heralded to all nations, according
+to prophecy the end will come, for the next scene
+brought before the prophet's vision was the coming of Christ
+to reap the harvest of the earth:</p>
+
+<p>"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." Verse 14.</p>
+
+<p>The outline of the message given here reveals certain main
+features:</p>
+
+
+<h4>1. A Gospel Message</h4>
+
+<p>It is not a new or another gospel. There is but one gospel.
+This message is "the everlasting gospel" in terms that meet
+the situation in the time of the judgment hour. The advent
+movement carries the blessed message of full salvation from
+sin by faith in Jesus Christ.</p>
+
+
+<h4>2. A Solemn Warning</h4>
+
+<p>The message is God's final answer to the age-long perversions
+of His truth. Even the warnings uttered vibrate with
+the saving grace and winning power of God's love in Christ
+Jesus our Lord.</p>
+
+<p>In the vision of Daniel 8, the prophet was shown the
+working of apostasy in the latter times, as it "cast down the
+truth to the ground" and "practiced and prospered." But
+in answer to the question, "How long?" the great prophetic
+period of the 2300 years was given, at the end of which (in
+1844) the judgment work in heaven was to begin. When that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">[Pg 249]</a></span>
+work is finished, Christ's glorious appearing will end the reign
+of sin and error.</p>
+
+<p>And while the closing judgment work is proceeding in
+heaven, this message of the judgment hour lifts up on earth
+the standard of truths trodden underfoot, and the Lord utters
+His last warning against sin and apostasy. It is a terrible
+word that He speaks. Bengelius described it as&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"that threatening pronounced which is the greatest in all the Scriptures,
+and which shall resound powerfully from the mouth of the third
+angel."&mdash;<i>"Introduction
+to Apocalypse," Preface xxix (London, 1757).</i></p></div>
+
+<p>The Lord is in earnest with men in this hour when the
+judgment, now passing on the dead, must also soon seal the
+eternal destiny of all the living. Hence the message challenges
+every soul to a decision.</p>
+
+<p>Looking forward to the time when this message should
+be due, John Wesley wrote:&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Happy are they who make the right use of these divine messages."&mdash;<i>"Notes
+on New Testament," on Revelation 14.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>These warnings are part of the "everlasting gospel."
+Whosoever, therefore, preaches the full gospel of Christ in
+these last days must sound this solemn call.</p>
+
+
+<h4>3. A Call to Loyalty to God</h4>
+
+<p>"Fear God," is the call, "Worship Him." In the preceding
+vision of the thirteenth chapter, the Lord had shown
+the prophet the work of an ecclesiastical power, symbolized
+by a leopardlike beast, that was to speak great things, and
+that was to persecute believers through long centuries, warring
+against God's truth and His sanctuary. "All the world
+wondered after the beast." The prophet said,</p>
+
+<p>"All that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose
+names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb." Rev.
+13:8.</p>
+
+<p>While worldly influence and the voice of popular religion
+exalt this ecclesiastical power and give glory to it, the gospel
+message calls all men to worship God.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">[Pg 250]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His
+judgment is come: and worship Him.... If any man worship
+the beast and his image, and receive his mark,<a name="FNanchor_I_9" id="FNanchor_I_9"></a><a href="#Footnote_I_9" class="fnanchor">[I]</a> ...
+the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God."</p>
+
+<p>The issue, it is clear, involves the question of authority.
+Shall God be recognized as supreme? or shall this ecclesiastical
+power, whose rise and work were foretold in the prophecy,
+be recognized as the great authority?</p>
+
+
+<h4>The Work of the Papal Power</h4>
+
+<p>Any comparison between this leopard beast of Revelation
+13 and the "little horn" of the fourth beast of Daniel 7, shows
+plainly that the same power is represented in each. The same
+voice is heard "speaking great things," the same persecuting
+spirit is shown, the same warfare against God's truth. It is the
+Roman Papacy, in its exaltation of human authority above the
+divine, that "lawless one" of Paul's prophecy, setting itself
+forth as God in the temple of God, treading underfoot the word
+and the law of the Most High, as foretold by Daniel:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">[Pg 251]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"He shall speak great words against the Most High, and
+shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and think to
+change times and laws." Dan. 7:25.</p>
+
+<p>Against the recognition of the assumed authority of this
+power, the gospel message of Revelation 14 sounds its solemn
+warning: "If any man worship the beast and his image, and
+receive his mark."</p>
+
+
+<h4>The Image to the Papacy</h4>
+
+<p>What is this image? Plainly an image to the Papacy
+must be some religious authority or federation not organically
+of the Papacy itself, but adopting papal principles and
+seeking to enforce these principles by civil power, just as the
+Papacy has ever done, where possible. This development in
+likeness of the Papacy was shown the prophet in the latter
+part of the vision of Revelation 13. He saw the image formed,
+and in vision witnessed its determined efforts to enforce upon
+men the mark, or sign, of the Papacy:</p>
+
+<p>"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....
+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: and that no man might buy or sell, save he that
+had the mark, or the name of the beast." Rev. 13:12-17.</p>
+
+
+<h4>The Mark, or Sign, of Papal Authority</h4>
+
+<p>The Roman Papacy sets forth the Sunday institution as
+the mark of the authority of the church to substitute ecclesiastical
+tradition and custom for the Word of God. Thus,
+Monsignor S&eacute;gur, in "Plain Talks about the Protestantism of
+Today," says:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"The observance of Sunday by Protestants is an homage they pay, in
+spite of themselves, to the authority of the church."&mdash;<i>Page 213.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>It was to this change in the Sabbath by tradition, contrary
+to the plain command of God to keep holy the seventh<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">[Pg 252]</a></span>
+day, that the famous Council of Trent appealed when it gave
+Rome's answer to the Reformation cry of "The Bible and
+the Bible only." The council had long debated the ground
+of its answer. The historian says:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Finally, at the last opening on the eighteenth of January, 1562,
+their last scruple was set aside; the archbishop of Rheggio made a speech
+in which he openly declared that tradition stood above Scripture. The
+authority of the church could therefore not be bound to the authority of
+the Scriptures, because the church had changed Sabbath into Sunday,
+not by the command of Christ, but by its own authority. With this, to
+be sure, the last illusion was destroyed, and it was declared that tradition
+does not signify antiquity, but continual inspiration."&mdash;<i>Dr. J.H. Holtzman,
+"Canon and Tradition," p. 263.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>Ever since this memorable council, the Sunday institution
+has been held forth as the mark of the power of the church to
+command religious observances. Thus, again, Keenan's "Doctrinal
+Catechism" says:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"<i>Question.</i>&mdash;Have you any other way of proving that the church has
+power to institute festivals of precept?"</p>
+
+<p>"<i>Answer.</i>&mdash;Had she not such power, she could not have done that in
+which all modern religionists agree with her,&mdash;she could not have substituted
+the observance of Sunday, the first day of the week, for the observance
+of Saturday, the seventh day, a change for which there is no
+Scriptural authority."&mdash;<i>Page 174.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>The prophecy of Daniel declared that this power would
+"think" to change the times and laws of the Most High; and
+the change of the Sabbath commandment is set forth as the
+mark of the church's authority above the written law of the
+Most High.</p>
+
+<p>Most remarkable of all, Protestant organizations are defending
+the unscriptural observance of the humanly established
+first-day sabbath in contradiction to the law of God,
+which declares that "the seventh day is the Sabbath of the
+Lord thy God." And these organizations, in denial of the
+Protestant principle of religious liberty, are seeking power
+to enforce Sunday observance by civil law. But this is to
+make a very image to the Roman Papacy&mdash;a church using
+the power of the state to enforce religious observance.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">[Pg 253]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>It was all foretold in the prophetic word. The prophet
+was shown (Rev. 13:11-17) this likeness or image to the
+Papacy&mdash;ecclesiastical organizations not of the Papacy itself,
+but following papal principles in this matter&mdash;seeking
+to compel men to receive the mark of the papal apostasy.</p>
+
+<p>Against the workings of both the Papacy and this image
+to the Papacy, the last message of the "everlasting gospel"
+lifts its warning cry:</p>
+
+<p>"If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive
+his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink
+of the wine of the wrath of God."</p>
+
+<p>It is the time of the judgment hour, when God was to lift
+up the standard of truths long trodden underfoot. In the
+heavenly sanctuary Christ's closing judgment work is going
+forward, preparatory to His coming in consuming glory to end
+the reign of sin. On earth the Lord is sending the last gospel
+message to men, warning against sin and error, and calling
+all men to worship God, and to keep "the commandments of
+God, and the faith of Jesus."</p>
+
+
+<h4>The Sign of Jehovah's Authority</h4>
+
+<p>God also has His sign, or mark, of authority. He bases
+His claims to supreme authority upon the fact of His creative
+power. As Creator, His is the authority and the power.</p>
+
+<p>"The Lord is the true God.... He hath made the
+earth by His power." Jer. 10:10-12.</p>
+
+<p>And the divinely established memorial of this creative
+power is the holy Sabbath. The Sabbath is the mark, or sign,
+of the true God:</p>
+
+<p>"Hallow My Sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between
+Me and you, that ye may know that I am the Lord your
+God." Eze. 20:20.</p>
+
+<p>On one side is the mark, or sign, of apostasy from God;
+on the other the mark, or sign, of loyalty to God. Which
+mark will men receive, as the issue is pressed upon every soul<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">[Pg 254]</a></span>
+for decision? On which side shall we stand? Under whose
+banner shall we be found when the judgment hour closes?</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 444px;">
+<img src="images/p254.jpg" width="444" height="305" alt="PILATE&#39;S FATAL DECISION IN
+THE HOUR OF TRIAL
+
+&quot;Pilate saith unto them, What shall I
+do then with Jesus which is called
+Christ?&quot; Matt. 27:22." title="" />
+<span class="caption">PILATE&#39;S FATAL DECISION IN
+THE HOUR OF TRIAL<br />
+
+&quot;Pilate saith unto them, What shall I
+do then with Jesus which is called
+Christ?&quot; Matt. 27:22.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The test that came to Pilate comes anew to men as Christ's
+message presses for acceptance. "What shall I do then with
+Jesus?" asked the Roman governor&mdash;and yielded to popular
+clamor. His fatal decision in the time of testing warns us
+to decide for Christ and for the word of his salvation now, in
+this hour of God's judgment.</p>
+
+<p>The message of Rev. 14:6-14 is going to all the world now.
+Every year thousands of new voices join in telling it. Printing
+presses are printing it in many languages. Schools and
+colleges in every continent are educating thousands of Seventh-day
+Adventist youth, keeping before them, as the highest
+aim of life, the hastening of the advent message to the world.
+Sanitariums in many lands, while training medical missionary
+evangelists, are at the same time ministering to the sick,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">[Pg 255]</a></span>
+and teaching the principles of Bible health and temperance.
+The movement necessarily emphasizes every principle of "the
+everlasting gospel," while pressing upon all the solemn issue
+that loyalty to Christ now means to turn from unscriptural
+tradition and custom to the commandments of God and the
+faith of Jesus. However ancient the custom of observing Sunday,
+it is but an innovation, setting aside the Word of God and
+the example of Jesus Christ. As St. Cyprian said: "Usage
+without truth is only an antiquated error." The clear light
+of Holy Scripture now calls the believer away from the path
+of error to the way of light.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"The older error is, it is the worse,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Continuation may provoke a curse;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">If the Dark Age obscured our fathers' sight,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Must their sons shut their eyes against the light?"<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">&mdash;<i>Bishop Ken.</i><br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>In times past Christian believers have been unwittingly
+following the lead of the Papacy in this matter. The Lord
+holds no man accountable for light that he did not have.
+Reformation is a progressive work. Of the past we may
+say with Paul:</p>
+
+<p>"The times of this ignorance God winked at; but now
+commandeth all men everywhere to repent: because He hath
+appointed a day, in the which He will judge the world in
+righteousness." Acts 17:30, 31.</p>
+
+<p>Now, with this "hour of God's judgment" already come,
+the entire covering of papal tradition is to be torn aside, and
+when Jesus comes in glory, in every land will be found believers
+having the faith and keeping the commandments of
+God.</p>
+
+<p>All this was shown to John on the Isle of Patmos,&mdash;the
+coming of the judgment hour, the rise of the advent movement,
+and the heralding of the last message to the nations.</p>
+
+<p>What John saw in vision nearly two thousand years ago,
+we see fulfilling before our eyes today. But it is not enough
+to see it; we must have a part in it, be a part of it.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">[Pg 256]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 304px;">
+<img src="images/p256.jpg" width="304" height="448" alt="LUCIFER PLOTTING AGAINST
+THE GOVERNMENT OF GOD
+
+&quot;I will exalt my throne above the stars
+of God;... I will be like the Most
+High.&quot; Isa. 14:13, 14" title="" />
+<span class="caption">LUCIFER PLOTTING AGAINST
+THE GOVERNMENT OF GOD<br />
+
+&quot;I will exalt my throne above the stars
+of God;... I will be like the Most
+High.&quot; Isa. 14:13, 14</span>
+</div>
+
+<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_I_9" id="Footnote_I_9"></a><a href="#FNanchor_I_9"><span class="label">[I]</span></a>
+The use of a mark, or sign, to designate the divinity worshiped, is common
+in non-Christian religions. One may see the Hindu returning from the
+temple with the mark of Vishnu or other deity freshly painted upon the forehead.
+Of the ancient usage, from which this Bible symbol of the "mark" is
+taken, Dr. John Potter says, in his "Antiquities of Greece:"
+</p><p>
+"Slaves were not only branded with stigmata for a punishment of their
+offenses, but (which was the common end of these marks) to distinguish them,
+in case they should desert their masters; for which purpose it was common
+to brand their soldiers; only with this difference, that whereas slaves were
+commonly stigmatized in their forehead, and with the name or some peculiar
+character belonging to their masters, soldiers were branded in the hand, and
+with the name or character of their general. After the same manner, it was
+likewise customary to stigmatize the worshipers and votaries of some of the
+gods: whence Lucian, speaking of the votaries of the Syrian goddess, affirms,
+'They were all branded with certain marks, some in the palms of their hands,
+and others in their necks: whence it became customary for all the Assyrians
+thus to stigmatize themselves.' And Theodoret is of opinion that the Jews
+were forbidden to brand themselves with stigmata [Lev. 19:28], because the
+idolaters by that ceremony used to consecrate themselves to their false deities.
+</p><p>
+"The marks used on these occasions were various. Sometimes they contained
+the name of the god, sometimes his particular ensign; such were the
+thunderbolt of Jupiter, the trident of Neptune, the ivy of Bacchus: whence
+Ptolemy Philopater was by some nicknamed Gallus, because his body was
+marked with the figures of ivy leaves. Or, lastly, they marked themselves
+with some mystical number, whereby the god's name was described. Thus
+the sun, which was signified by the number DCVIII, is said to have been
+represented
+by these two numeral letters XH (Conf. Martianus Capello). These
+three ways of stigmatizing are all expressed by St. John in the book of
+Revelation:
+'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: 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.'"&mdash;<i>Vol. I, pp. 65, 66 (London, 1728).</i></p></div></div>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257">[Pg 257]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 448px;">
+<img src="images/p257.jpg" width="448" height="282" alt="SATAN ENTERS THE GARDEN OF EDEN
+
+&quot;The wages of sin is death.&quot;
+Rom. 6:23." title="" />
+<span class="caption">SATAN ENTERS THE GARDEN OF EDEN<br />
+
+&quot;The wages of sin is death.&quot;
+Rom. 6:23.</span>
+</div>
+
+<h2><a name="THE_ORIGIN_OF_EVIL" id="THE_ORIGIN_OF_EVIL"></a>THE ORIGIN OF EVIL</h2>
+
+
+<p>The Beginning of the Great Controversy Between
+Christ and Satan</p>
+
+<p>The great controversy between good and evil, that has
+been waged on earth ever since man's fall, had its origin in
+heaven. Certain angels rebelled against God and His government.</p>
+
+<p>"There was war in heaven: Michael and His angels fought
+against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,
+and prevailed not; neither was their place found any more
+in heaven. 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." Rev. 12:7-9.</p>
+
+<p>Thus came the forces of evil into this world, which have
+been working through all the ages to draw men from allegiance
+to God, and to infuse into human hearts the same spirit of
+disobedience which wrought the ruin of Satan and his angels.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">[Pg 258]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<h4>The Cause of the Downfall</h4>
+
+<p>Christ stated the principle: "If therefore the light that is
+in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!" Matt. 6:23.</p>
+
+<p>The principle finds its utmost application in the great
+reversal, by which Lucifer, the light bearer in heaven, became
+Satan, the adversary, the prince of darkness.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 448px;">
+<img src="images/p258.jpg" width="448" height="335" alt="CHRIST AND NICODEMUS
+
+&quot;Except a man be born again, he cannot see
+the kingdom of God.&quot; John 3:3." title="" />
+<span class="caption">CHRIST AND NICODEMUS<br />
+
+&quot;Except a man be born again, he cannot see
+the kingdom of God.&quot; John 3:3.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>In the pride and self-exaltation of Tyre, of old, the Lord
+saw manifested the spirit of the god of this world; so, in declaring
+His message of rebuke to the prince of Tyre, the Lord
+describes the cause and history of Satan's fall:</p>
+
+<p>"Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God.... Thou
+art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee
+so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast
+walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. Thou
+wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259">[Pg 259]</a></span>
+till iniquity was found in thee.... Thine heart was lifted
+up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom
+by reason of thy brightness." Eze. 28:13-17.</p>
+
+<p>Likewise, in the swelling pride of Babylon the Lord recognized
+the spirit of the leader of the rebellious angels. In
+one of the messages to Babylon is this reference to the vaulting
+ambition of Lucifer in heaven:</p>
+
+<p>"How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer ["day-star,"
+margin], son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the
+ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said
+in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne
+above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the
+congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above
+the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High."
+Isa. 14:12-14.</p>
+
+<p>Lucifer, his powers now perverted to evil, deceived many
+of the angels, persuading them to join him in rebellion against
+the government of God; with the result that Satan and all
+his host were cast out. Christ said, "I beheld Satan as lightning
+fall from heaven." Luke 10:18.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Him the Almighty Power<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Hurled headlong flaming from the ethereal sky."<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+
+<h4>The Earth as the Battle Ground</h4>
+
+<p>Then the great controversy which began in heaven was
+transferred to this earth, and now centers around man. For
+"that old serpent," the leader of the fallen angels, deceived
+man, and persuaded him to distrust God and to choose his
+own way in preference to God's way. Thus came sin and
+death into the world. And Satan, who had overcome man
+at the forbidden tree, became by his own usurpation and by
+man's perfidy, "the prince of this world."</p>
+
+<p>But Christ gave himself to save man, to deliver him from
+the bondage of sin, and to restore him to the glorious liberty
+of the sons of God. The same mighty power that overcame
+Satan and his angels in heaven is able to overcome his power
+in human hearts and lives. The controversy is still between
+Christ and Satan, and man's salvation or destruction is the
+aim of the contending forces.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">[Pg 260]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 448px;">
+<img src="images/p260.jpg" width="448" height="270" alt="THE REDEMPTION PRICE
+
+&quot;That through death He might destroy him that had the
+power of death, that is, the devil.&quot; Heb. 2:14." title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE REDEMPTION PRICE<br />
+
+&quot;That through death He might destroy him that had the
+power of death, that is, the devil.&quot; Heb. 2:14.</span>
+</div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261">[Pg 261]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>There is no neutral ground. Every soul must choose as
+to which side he will yield allegiance. In this choice lies
+his eternal destiny.</p>
+
+<p>"Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants
+to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin
+unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?" Rom. 6:16.</p>
+
+<p>Therefore the Lord pleads with men, "Choose life."
+Every soul that chooses life has the promise of it, for Christ
+"is able ... to save them to the uttermost that come unto
+God by Him." Heb. 7:25.</p>
+
+
+<h4>The Judgment upon Satan</h4>
+
+<p>From the time of Satan's rebellion it was assured, by the
+very omnipotence of God, that there would come a last
+judgment when evil would be destroyed from the universe.
+This execution of judgment upon the fallen angels is thus referred
+to by Jude:</p>
+
+<p>"The angels which kept not their first estate, but left
+their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains
+under darkness unto the judgment of the great day." Verse 6.</p>
+
+<p>The evil spirits themselves know that this day is coming.
+When Christ was about to cast certain of them out of one who
+was possessed, they cried out, "Art Thou come hither to
+torment us before the time?" Matt. 8:29.</p>
+
+<p>Though the judgment of that last day was originally set
+for Satan and his angels, unrepentant men will have a part
+in it, because they have joined Satan in his lawless rebellion.
+To the wicked it will be said:</p>
+
+<p>"Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared
+for the devil and his angels." Matt. 25:41.</p>
+
+<p>Satan sees that the day is hastening; and the shorter the
+time in which to work, the greater his fury in seeking to draw
+souls to perdition.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262">[Pg 262]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>The warning comes to us in these last days:</p>
+
+<p>"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." Rev. 12:12.</p>
+
+<p>Christ's second coming ends the reign of Satan in this
+world. The wicked are slain by the consuming glory of
+Christ's coming (2 Thess. 2:8); and the righteous are taken
+to heaven, beyond the reach of Satan's arts (1 Thess. 4:16,
+17). The archenemy and his angels are thus left upon an
+earth devoid of human beings. Here he is chained for a
+thousand years, in this pit of desolation (Rev. 20:2, 5), his
+only companions the angels who fell with him, his only occupation
+the contemplation of the ruin he has wrought and the
+destruction that still awaits him.</p>
+
+<p>By the second resurrection&mdash;that of the wicked dead,
+after the thousand years&mdash;Satan is again set free to ply his
+arts upon his subjects. As the holy city comes down out of
+heaven from God, with all the saints, Satan gathers his angels
+and all the forces of the lost of all the ages, to make an
+assault upon the city. The result was shown to the prophet
+in vision:</p>
+
+<p>"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. And the devil that deceiveth them was cast into the
+lake of fire." Rev. 20:9, 10.</p>
+
+<p>That is the fate awaiting the author of sin. In the account
+of Satan's pride and self-exaltation, uttered by the
+prophet in the message to Tyre, there occurs also this prophecy
+of the utter destruction that awaits him, when he shall
+bring his forces against the city of God in that last conflict:</p>
+
+<p>"I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of
+all them that behold thee. All they that know thee among
+the people shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror,
+and never shalt thou be any more." Eze. 28:18, 19.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">[Pg 263]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>This is the final victory of Christ over evil, in the great
+controversy that began in heaven. Satan exalted himself&mdash;and
+lost. Christ humbled Himself, even unto the death&mdash;and
+won the eternal triumph.</p>
+
+<p>"Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh
+and blood, He also Himself likewise took part of the same;
+that through death He might destroy him that had the power
+of death, that is, the devil." Heb. 2:14.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 444px;">
+<img src="images/p263.jpg" width="444" height="331" alt="JESUS BY THE SEA
+
+
+&quot;O Galilee, sweet Galilee,
+What mem&#39;ries rise at thought of thee!&quot;" title="" />
+<span class="caption">JESUS BY THE SEA<br />
+
+
+&quot;O Galilee, sweet Galilee,
+What mem&#39;ries rise at thought of thee!&quot;</span>
+</div>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">[Pg 264]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 297px;">
+<img src="images/p264.jpg" width="297" height="448" alt="SAUL AND THE WITCH
+OF ENDOR
+
+&quot;When they shall say unto you, Seek unto them
+that have familiar spirits,... should not a
+people seek unto their God?&quot; Isa. 8:19." title="" />
+<span class="caption">SAUL AND THE WITCH
+OF ENDOR<br />
+
+&quot;When they shall say unto you, Seek unto them
+that have familiar spirits,... should not a
+people seek unto their God?&quot; Isa. 8:19.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_265" id="Page_265">[Pg 265]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 448px;">
+<img src="images/p265.jpg" width="448" height="295" alt="SATAN&#39;S FIRST LIE
+
+&quot;Ye shall not surely die.&quot; Gen. 3:4." title="" />
+<span class="caption">SATAN&#39;S FIRST LIE<br />
+
+&quot;Ye shall not surely die.&quot; Gen. 3:4.</span>
+</div>
+
+<h2><a name="SPIRITUALISM_ANCIENT_AND_MODERN" id="SPIRITUALISM_ANCIENT_AND_MODERN"></a>SPIRITUALISM: ANCIENT AND MODERN</h2>
+
+
+<p>The essential claim of Spiritualism is its assertion of
+power to hold communication with the spirits of the dead; or
+rather, it claims to have demonstrated that really there is
+no death.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"There is no death;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">What seems so is transition."<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>The late Prof. Alfred Russel Wallace, the English scientist,
+said of Spiritualism:&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"It demonstrates, as completely as the fact can be demonstrated,
+that the so-called dead are still alive."&mdash;<i>"On Miracles and Modern
+Spiritualism"
+(London, 1875), p. 212.</i></p></div>
+
+
+<h4>First Declaration of the Doctrine</h4>
+
+<p>In the very first book of the Bible is a similar claim: "Ye
+shall not surely die." Gen. 3:4.</p>
+
+<p>But this declaration, while recorded in the Scriptures, is
+not the word of God. The Lord had declared to man that
+disobedience would bring death. But Satan, as the tempter
+in Eden, caused the woman to doubt the word of God: "The<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_266" id="Page_266">[Pg 266]</a></span>
+serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die." And
+the woman believed the tempter rather than God, and so
+sinned against the Creator.</p>
+
+<p>Having tempted man to disobedience, so bringing death
+into the world, what more natural, in the course of deception,
+than to endeavor to persuade the human family that, after
+all, there is no death; that what appears so is only an introduction
+to fuller life and activity? "Ye shall not surely die."</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 445px;">
+<img src="images/p266.jpg" width="445" height="283" alt="PHARAOH&#39;S SORCERERS COUNTERFEITING
+THE WORK OF GOD
+
+&quot;Now the magicians of Egypt, they also
+did in like manner with their enchantments.&quot;
+Ex. 7:11." title="" />
+<span class="caption">PHARAOH&#39;S SORCERERS COUNTERFEITING
+THE WORK OF GOD<br />
+
+&quot;Now the magicians of Egypt, they also
+did in like manner with their enchantments.&quot;
+Ex. 7:11.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>As mankind departed from right and lost the knowledge
+of God, dead heroes were deified as gods, and much of the
+pagan worship consisted in sacrifices to the spirits of the dead,
+supposed to be living still and concerned with affairs in the
+land of the living. When Israel fell away from God and
+joined the Moabites in the worship of Baal-peor, the record
+says of the nature of the service:</p>
+
+<p>"They joined themselves also unto Baal-peor, and ate
+the sacrifices of the dead." "Yea, they sacrificed their sons
+and their daughters unto devils." Ps. 106:28, 37.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_267" id="Page_267">[Pg 267]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Instead of dealing with the spirits of the dead, the idolatrous
+worshipers were really putting themselves in direct
+touch with the agencies of Satan, the fallen angels.</p>
+
+
+<h4>Divine Warnings</h4>
+
+<p>This explains the severity of the divine warnings against the
+ancient practice of necromancy, or mediumship. The Lord said:</p>
+
+<p>"Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek
+after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the Lord your
+God." Lev. 19:31.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 448px;">
+<img src="images/p267.jpg" width="448" height="329" alt="DEMONISM IN THE DAYS
+OF CHRIST
+
+&quot;He said unto him, Come out of the man,
+thou unclean spirit.&quot; Mark 5:8." title="" />
+<span class="caption">DEMONISM IN THE DAYS
+OF CHRIST<br />
+
+&quot;He said unto him, Come out of the man,
+thou unclean spirit.&quot; Mark 5:8.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>"When thou art come into the land which the Lord thy
+God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations
+of those nations. There shall not be found among you
+any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through
+the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or
+an enchanter, or a witch, or a charmer, or a consulter with<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_268" id="Page_268">[Pg 268]</a></span>
+familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For all that do
+these things are an abomination unto the Lord." Deut. 18:9-12.</p>
+
+<p>The ancient s&eacute;ance, where the living sought unto the dead
+for knowledge, was denounced by the prophet Isaiah:</p>
+
+<p>"When they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that
+have familiar spirits and unto the wizards, that chirp and
+that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? on
+behalf of the living should they seek unto the dead?" Isa.
+8:19, A.R.V.</p>
+
+<p>"To the law and to the testimony!" the prophet cries.
+To seek unto the dead for knowledge is to turn from the law
+and the testimony, and to take the counsel of the direct agencies
+of Satan, the great deceiver.</p>
+
+
+<h4>Modern Spiritualism</h4>
+
+<p>What Spiritualism is may best be understood by the prophetic
+warnings concerning the revival of this great deception
+in the last days. The apostle spoke of these days as a time
+when seducing spirits would lead many away from the faith:</p>
+
+<p>"Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter
+times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing
+spirits, and doctrines of devils." 1 Tim. 4:1.</p>
+
+<p>This deceptive working is an indication of the nearness
+of Christ's second coming:</p>
+
+<p>"Whose coming is according to the working of Satan
+with all power and signs and lying wonders." 2 Thess. 2:9,
+A.R.V.</p>
+
+<p>True to the sure word, now that the last days have come,
+there has arisen the movement of modern Spiritualism, with
+its signs and wonders, purporting to be wrought by the spirits
+of the dead. Professor Wallace says:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Modern Spiritualism dates from March, 1848; it being then that,
+for the first time, intelligent communications were held with the unknown
+cause of the mysterious knockings and other sounds similar to those which
+had disturbed the Mompesson and Wesley families in the seventeenth
+and eighteenth centuries."&mdash;<i>"On Miracles and Modern Spiritualism"
+(London, 1875), p. 146.</i></p></div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_269" id="Page_269">[Pg 269]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>It was in Hydeville, N.Y., in the family of Mr. Fox, that
+the modern cult originated, it being found that by mysterious
+but clear sounds of knocking, unseen intelligences were
+able to communicate answers to questions asked. The rapidity
+of the spread of the great deception was remarkable.
+One of the Fox sisters, Mrs. A. Leah Underhill, wrote:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Since that day, starting from a small country village of western
+New York, Spiritualism has made its way&mdash;against tremendous obstacles
+and resistance, but under an impulse and a guidance from higher spheres&mdash;round
+the civilized globe. Starting from three sisters, two of them
+children, and the eldest a little beyond that age,... its ranks of believers,
+privately or publicly avowed, have grown within thirty-six years to
+millions."&mdash;<i>"The Missing Link in Modern Spiritualism," Introduction.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>Many at the time thought, as have many since, that the
+"rappings" with which the manifestations began were caused
+by some trickery on the part of the Fox sisters, but men of
+unimpeachable standing and intelligence certified to the contrary.
+Horace Greeley, famous editor of the New York <i>Tribune</i>,
+wrote in his paper that the sisters had visited him in his
+home and courted the fullest investigation as to "the alleged
+manifestations from the spirit world." As the result of his
+observations, he wrote:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Whatever may be the origin or the cause of the 'rappings,' the ladies
+in whose presence they occur do not make them. We tested this thoroughly
+and to our entire satisfaction."&mdash;<i>Id., pp. 160, 161.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>It was no mere sleight of hand that launched this cult
+upon the world as the last days came. Beyond all the physical
+manifestations, the religious idea in Spiritualism has leavened
+the religious thought of millions. No one can deny that the
+basic idea is the one that the serpent promulgated in Eden,
+"Ye shall not surely die."</p>
+
+<p>Mrs. Emma Hardinge Britten, another of the Fox sisters,
+says of the discovery of 1848:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"On the night of the thirty-first of March, 1848, we found beyond
+a shadow of a doubt or peradventure, that death had no power over the
+spirit.... In a word, we found our so-called dead were all living."&mdash;<i>"Nineteenth
+Century Miracles" (Manchester, England), p. 554.</i></p></div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_270" id="Page_270">[Pg 270]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 448px;">
+<img src="images/p270.jpg" width="448" height="268" alt="THE SALEM WITCHCRAFT
+
+One of the historical settings of Spiritualism. A poor woman
+accused by her neighbors of practicing witchcraft." title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE SALEM WITCHCRAFT<br />
+
+One of the historical settings of Spiritualism. A poor woman
+accused by her neighbors of practicing witchcraft.</span>
+</div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_271" id="Page_271">[Pg 271]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Now the Scriptures teach plainly what these agencies in
+Spiritualism are not, and what they are.</p>
+
+
+<h4>What They Are Not</h4>
+
+<p>They are not the spirits of the dead communicating messages
+to the living.</p>
+
+<p>In one of the earliest written portions of Holy Scripture,
+the Lord declared plainly that the dead have no knowledge
+of the living:</p>
+
+<p>"He passeth: Thou changest his countenance, and sendest
+him away. His sons come to honor, and he knoweth it
+not; and they are brought low, but he perceiveth it not of
+them." Job 14:20, 21.</p>
+
+<p>The dead have no part in any communications with the
+living on earth:</p>
+
+<p>"Neither have they any more a portion forever in anything
+that is done under the sun." Eccl. 9:6</p>
+
+
+<h4>What They Are</h4>
+
+<p>Already we have told what they are in quoting the warnings
+of prophecy concerning the special deceptions of Satan
+in the last days.</p>
+
+<p>"The working of Satan with all power and signs and lying
+wonders." 2 Thess. 2:9.</p>
+
+<p>"Seducing spirits." 1 Tim. 4:1.</p>
+
+<p>And as they were shown to the prophet John in a vision
+of the very end, he declared:</p>
+
+<p>"They are the spirits of devils, working miracles." Rev.
+16:14.</p>
+
+<p>These are the agencies through which come the supernatural
+manifestations of Spiritualism. It is a terrible deception
+that leads men and women to seek to satanic agencies,
+supposing that they are communicating with the spirits of
+their dead friends. Satan and his angels can readily simulate
+the personality of the dead, and so deceive those who
+disobey God in seeking to the dead for knowledge.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_272" id="Page_272">[Pg 272]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<h4>The Climax of Deception</h4>
+
+<p>That the marvels of Spiritualism would increase as the
+end nears, was plainly taught by our Saviour in describing
+the workings of Satan just before the second advent. He left
+us the warning:</p>
+
+<p>"Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ,
+or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs,
+and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders;
+insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very
+elect." Matt. 24:23, 24.</p>
+
+<p>Evidently, then, by the miracle-working power that he
+possesses, Satan will work mighty deceptions through both
+human and supernatural agencies. And the crowning deception
+will be his own manifestation as the Promised One,
+simulating Christ's second coming. But the power and glory
+that will fill all earth and the heavens at Christ's coming,
+cannot be copied by Satan, with all his miracle-working skill.
+That is why it is so important that we understand the Bible
+teaching as to the nature and manner of Christ's second advent.
+The doctrine of the silent, secret, mystical coming is
+all abroad in the world, the teaching exactly calculated to
+prepare the way for Satan's purposes of deception. Therefore
+Christ forewarns us:</p>
+
+<p>"Behold, I have told you before. Wherefore if they shall
+say unto you, Behold, He is in the desert; go not forth: behold,
+He is in the secret chambers; believe it not. For as
+the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto
+the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be."
+Matt. 24:25-27.</p>
+
+<p>The teachings of ancient theosophy and spiritualism&mdash;the
+mysticism of the East&mdash;have been permeating Christendom
+in recent years. Mme. Jean Delaire, writing in a London
+review, said some years ago:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"India has apparently still a mission to fulfil, for her thought is slowly
+beginning to mold the thought of Europe and of America; our keenest<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_273" id="Page_273">[Pg 273]</a></span>
+minds are today studying her philosophy; our New Theology is founded
+upon the old, old Vedanta."&mdash;<i>National Review, September, 1908, p. 131.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>This flood of ancient spiritualism from the East has come
+about according to Isaiah's prophecy of things that were to
+"come to pass in the latter days:"</p>
+
+<p>"Thou hast forsaken Thy people the house of Jacob, because
+they are filled with customs from the East, and are
+soothsayers like the Philistines." Isa. 2:6, A.R.V.</p>
+
+<p>In 1909 one of the leading representatives of theosophical
+thought, Mrs. Annie Besant, of India, toured America with
+the message of a coming messiah. She announced:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"My message is very simple: 'Prepare for the coming Christ.' We
+stand at the cradle of a new subrace, and each race or subrace has its
+own messiah. Hermes is followed by Zoroaster; Zoroaster by Orpheus;
+Orpheus by Buddha; Buddha by Christ. We now await with confidence
+a manifestation of the Supreme Teacher of the world, who was last manifested
+in Palestine. Everywhere in the West, not less than in the East,
+the heart of man is throbbing with the glad expectation of the new avatar."</p></div>
+
+<p>The leaven of the spiritualistic philosophy has been working
+its way through Christendom during this generation. We
+see clearly that the evil one is preparing the way for his final
+work of deception.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 448px;">
+<img src="images/p273.jpg" width="448" height="237" alt="HOME OF THE FOX FAMILY,
+HYDESVILLE, N.Y.
+
+Spiritualism originated in this house
+March 31, 1848." title="" />
+<span class="caption">HOME OF THE FOX FAMILY,
+HYDESVILLE, N.Y.<br />
+
+Spiritualism originated in this house
+March 31, 1848.</span>
+</div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_274" id="Page_274">[Pg 274]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 294px;">
+<img src="images/p274.jpg" width="294" height="443" alt="&quot;HE IS RISEN&quot;
+
+&quot;Because I live, ye shall live
+also.&quot; John 14:19.
+
+COPYRIGHT, STANDARD PUB. CO." title="" />
+<span class="caption">&quot;HE IS RISEN&quot;<br />
+
+&quot;Because I live, ye shall live
+also.&quot; John 14:19.<br />
+
+COPYRIGHT, STANDARD PUB. CO.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_275" id="Page_275">[Pg 275]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 442px;">
+<img src="images/p275.jpg" width="442" height="279" alt="MARY MEETS HER RISEN LORD
+
+&quot;He that believeth in Me, though he
+were dead, yet shall he live.&quot; John
+11:25." title="" />
+<span class="caption">MARY MEETS HER RISEN LORD<br />
+
+&quot;He that believeth in Me, though he
+were dead, yet shall he live.&quot; John
+11:25.</span>
+</div>
+
+<h2><a name="LIFE_ONLY_IN_CHRIST" id="LIFE_ONLY_IN_CHRIST"></a>LIFE ONLY IN CHRIST</h2>
+
+<h3>MAN'S NATURE AND STATE IN DEATH</h3>
+
+
+<p>A wide-open door for Spiritualism is afforded by the
+teaching that man has life in himself&mdash;immortality by nature;
+and that death is not really death, but another form
+of life.</p>
+
+<p>The Scriptures close this door of false hope, teaching us
+that man is mortal, that death is really death, and that
+immortality is the gift of God through Christ by the resurrection
+from the dead.</p>
+
+<p>Clearly and definitely the Bible teaches that God only
+has immortality, styling Him "the blessed and only Potentate,
+the King of kings, and Lord of lords; who only hath
+immortality." 1 Tim. 6:15, 16.</p>
+
+<p>This scripture disposes of every idea that man is immortal
+by nature, and opens the way for a consideration of the
+Scripture teaching concerning man's nature, his state in
+death, and the promise of life and immortality in Christ.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_276" id="Page_276">[Pg 276]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<h4>Man by Nature Mortal</h4>
+
+<p>The word "mortal," as used in that ancient question by
+Eliphaz, describes man's nature:</p>
+
+<p>"Shall mortal man be more just than God?" Job 4:17.</p>
+
+<p>In the creation, life was conditional upon the creature's
+relation to Christ the Creator, in whom all things consist:</p>
+
+<p>"All things were made by Him; and without Him was not
+anything made that was made. In Him was life." John 1:3,4.</p>
+
+<p>He was, and is, as the psalmist says, "the fountain of life."
+Cut off from vital connection with Him, there could be no continuance
+of life. The Lord warned Adam that his life was
+conditional upon obedience. "In the day that thou eatest
+thereof," He said of the forbidden tree, "thou shalt surely
+die." Gen. 2:17. It was a declaration that man was not
+immortal, but was dependent upon God for life.</p>
+
+<p>When by unbelief and sin man rejected God, the sentence&mdash;death
+eternal&mdash;must have been executed had not the plan
+of salvation intervened. But as the stroke of divine justice
+was falling upon the sinner, the Son of God interposed Himself
+and received the blow. "He was bruised for our iniquities."
+In the divine plan, the great sacrifice for man was
+as sure then as when, later, it was actually made on Calvary.
+Christ was "the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world."</p>
+
+<p>And there Adam, the sinner, now with a fallen human
+nature, which would be perpetuated in his descendants in
+all subsequent time, was granted an extension of life, every
+moment of which, whether for him or for his posterity, was
+the purchase of Christ by His own death, in order that in
+this time of probation man might find forgiveness of sin
+and assurance of life to come. Adam was not created immortal,
+but was placed on probation, and had he continued
+faithful, the gift of immortality must have been given him
+at some later time, after he had passed the test. As the
+original plan is carried out through Christ, "the second Adam,"
+the gift of immortality is bestowed finally upon all who pass<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_277" id="Page_277">[Pg 277]</a></span>
+the test of the judgment and are found in Christ, in whom
+alone is life.</p>
+
+<p>Having fallen, Adam, now possessed of a sinful nature, must
+die. "The wages of sin is death." Rom. 6:23. It was impossible
+that sin or sinners should be immortalized in God's
+universe. So, inasmuch as the tree of life in Eden had been
+made the channel of continuance of life to man, the Lord said:</p>
+
+<p>"Now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the
+tree of life, and eat, and live forever: therefore the Lord God
+sent him forth from the garden of Eden." Gen. 3:22, 23.</p>
+
+<p>This negatives the idea that there could ever be an immortal
+sinner, who should mar God's creation forever. Sin
+works out nothing but death. "Sin, when it is finished, bringeth
+forth death." James 1:15. Fallen himself, Adam could
+bequeath to his posterity only a fallen, mortal nature. So
+began the sad history summed up in the text:</p>
+
+<p>"Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world,
+and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that
+all have sinned." Rom. 5:12.</p>
+
+
+<h4>Mortality Universal</h4>
+
+<p>Mortality is written upon all creation. Ages ago the wise
+man wrote, "There is one event unto all: ... they go to the
+dead." Eccl. 9:3. Human hearts everywhere and in all
+time have cried out against the remorselessness of the great
+enemy. "Do people die with you?" was the question met by
+Livingstone in the untraveled wilds of Africa. "Have you no
+charm against death?" The Greek as well as the barbarian
+confessed to the helplessness of man before the great enemy.
+Centuries before Christ, Sophocles the Athenian wrote:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Wonders are many! and none is there greater than man, who<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Steers his ship over the sea, driven on by the south wind,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Cleaving the threatening swell of the waters around him.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"He captures the gay-hearted birds; he entangles adroitly<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Creatures that live on the land and the brood of the ocean,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Spreading his well-woven nets. Man full of devices!<br /></span><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_278" id="Page_278">[Pg 278]</a></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Speech and swift thought free as wind, the building of cities;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Shelters to ward off the arrows of rain, and to temper<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Sharp-biting frost&mdash;all these hath he taught himself. Surely<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Stratagem hath he for all that comes! Never the future<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Finds him resourceless! Deftly he combats grievous diseases,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Oft from their grip doth he free himself. Death alone vainly&mdash;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Vainly he seeks to escape; 'gainst death he is helpless."<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">&mdash;<i>Chorus from Antigone.</i><br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>What unspeakable pathos in the cry of humanity's helplessness
+before death, the great enemy! But when Adam
+went out of Eden, it was with the assurance of life from the
+dead through the promised Seed, if faithful. It is the message
+of the one gospel for all time&mdash;everlasting life in Christ.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 448px;">
+<img src="images/p278.jpg" width="448" height="285" alt="JESUS RAISING THE SON OF
+THE WIDOW OF NAIN
+
+&quot;The gift of God is eternal life through
+Jesus Christ our Lord.&quot; Rom. 6:23." title="" />
+<span class="caption">JESUS RAISING THE SON OF
+THE WIDOW OF NAIN<br />
+
+&quot;The gift of God is eternal life through
+Jesus Christ our Lord.&quot; Rom. 6:23.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>"God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten
+Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but
+have everlasting life." John 3:16.</p>
+
+<p>As there is none other name under heaven by which men
+can be saved, so there is no other way of everlasting life or
+immortality, save in Christ Jesus our Lord.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_279" id="Page_279">[Pg 279]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<h4>When Immortality is Bestowed</h4>
+
+<p>Christ said, "I am the resurrection, and the life: he that
+believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live."
+John 11:25.</p>
+
+<p>He has turned death, that would have been eternal, into a
+little time of sleep, from which he will awaken the believer.
+In the resurrection of the last day immortality is bestowed,
+"in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last
+trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be
+raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this
+corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must
+put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have
+put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality,
+then shall be brought to pass the saying that is
+written, Death is swallowed up in victory." 1 Cor. 15:52-54.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"There is a blessed hope,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">More precious and more bright<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Than all the joyless mockery<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The world esteems delight.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"There is a lovely star<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">That lights the darkest gloom,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And sheds a peaceful radiance o'er<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The prospects of the tomb."<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>Not until the resurrection, "at the last trump," is immortality
+conferred upon the redeemed. Note that it is not
+something immortal putting on immortality; but this "mortal"
+puts on immortality. Mark this: there is no life after
+death, save by the resurrection. "If there be no resurrection
+of the dead,... then they also which are fallen asleep in
+Christ are perished." 1 Cor. 15:13-18.</p>
+
+<p>This resurrection, as stated by the apostle Paul, is not at
+death, but in the last day, when Christ shall come, and all
+His children that are in their graves shall hear His voice.
+Jesus says:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_280" id="Page_280">[Pg 280]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"This is the will of Him that sent Me, that every one
+which seeth the Son, and believeth on Him, may have everlasting
+life: and I will raise him up at the last day." John 6:40.</p>
+
+<p>That is why the coming of Christ has been the "blessed
+hope" of all the ages.</p>
+
+
+<h4>Man's State in Death</h4>
+
+<p>Between death and the resurrection, the dead sleep. Jesus
+declares that death is a sleep. Lazarus was dead, but Jesus
+said, "Our friend Lazarus sleepeth." John 11:11. It is the
+language of Inspiration throughout. The patriarch Job said:</p>
+
+<p>"Man dieth, and wasteth away: yea, man giveth up the
+ghost, and where is he? As the waters fail from the sea,
+and the flood decayeth and drieth up: so man lieth down,
+and riseth not: till the heavens be no more [the heavens will
+be rolled back as a scroll at Christ's coming], they shall not
+awake, nor be raised out of their sleep." Job 14:10-12.</p>
+
+<p>This hope of the resurrection at the last day was no indistinct
+hope to the believer in God's promises. The patriarch
+continued:</p>
+
+<p>"If a man die, shall he live again? all the days of my appointed
+time will I wait, till my change come. Thou shalt
+call, and I will answer thee: Thou wilt have a desire to the
+work of Thine hands." Verses 14, 15.</p>
+
+<p>Job tells us of the place of his waiting for the Life-giver's
+call: "If I wait, the grave is mine house." Job 17:13. It is
+thence that Christ will call His own when He comes. "The
+hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves
+shall hear His voice, and shall come forth." John 5:28, 29.</p>
+
+<p>Death is an unconscious sleep. It must of necessity be
+so; for death is the opposite of life. Therefore there is no consciousness
+of the passing of time to those who sleep in the
+grave. It is as if the eyes closed in death one instant, and
+the next instant, to the believer's consciousness, he awakens
+to hear the animating voice of Jesus calling him to glad immortality,
+and to see the angels catching up his loved ones
+to meet Jesus in the air.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_281" id="Page_281">[Pg 281]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>These scriptures, out of many, will suffice to show that
+man is not conscious in death:</p>
+
+<p>"His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in
+that very day his thoughts perish." Ps. 146:4.</p>
+
+<p>"The living know that they shall die: but the dead know
+not anything.... Also their love, and their hatred, and their
+envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion
+forever in anything that is done under the sun." Eccl. 9:5, 6.</p>
+
+<p>Death is a sleep, which will continue until the resurrection.
+Then the Lord will bring forth from the dust the same
+person who was laid away in death.</p>
+
+<p>Some have said that this Bible doctrine of the sleep of the
+dead until the resurrection is a gloomy one. Popular tradition
+thinks of the blessed dead as going at once to heaven,
+which, say some, is a beautiful thought. But they forget
+that the same teaching consigns their unbelieving friends to
+immediate torment&mdash;and that, too, while awaiting the judgment
+of the last day.</p>
+
+<p>No; the Bible teaching is the cheering doctrine, the "blessed
+hope." All the faithful of all the ages are going into the
+kingdom together. This blessed truth appeals to the spirit
+that loves to wait and share joys and good things with loved
+ones. Of the faithful of past ages the apostle says:</p>
+
+<p>"These all, having obtained a good report through faith,
+received not the promise: God having provided some better
+thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect."
+Heb. 11:39, 40.</p>
+
+<p>They are waiting, that all together the saved may enter
+in. And the time of waiting is but an instant to those who
+"sleep in Jesus."</p>
+
+<p>David was a man of God, but the apostle Peter, speaking
+by the Spirit on the day of Pentecost, declared to the people
+of the city of David: "He is both dead and buried, and his
+sepulcher is with us unto this day.... For David is not
+ascended into the heavens." Acts 2:29-34. They without
+us have not been made perfect. They are all awaiting<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_282" id="Page_282">[Pg 282]</a></span>
+that glad day toward which the apostle Paul turned the last
+look of his mortal vision:</p>
+
+<p>"I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course,
+I have kept the faith: henceforth there is laid up for me a
+crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge,
+shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all
+them also that love his appearing." 2 Tim. 4:7, 8.</p>
+
+<p>What joy in that day to march in through the gates into
+the eternal city, with Adam, and Abel, and Noah, and Abraham,
+and Paul, and all the faithful, and the loved ones of our
+own home circles, and dear comrades in service, every one
+clothed with immortality, the gift of God in Christ Jesus our
+Redeemer! Horatius Bonar's hymn sings the joyful hope as
+the loved are laid away to "sleep in Jesus:"</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Softly within that peaceful resting place<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">We lay their wearied limbs, and bid the clay<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Press lightly on them till the night be past,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And the far east give note of coming day.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"The shout is heard, the Archangel's voice goes forth;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The trumpet sounds, the dead awake and sing;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The living put on glory; one glad band,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">They hasten up to meet their coming King."<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>In a word, the Scripture teaches that God alone has immortality,
+that man is mortal, that death is a sleep, that life
+after death comes only by the resurrection of the last day,
+that the righteous are then given immortality. Further, the
+Scripture teaches that later there will be a resurrection of the
+unjust, not unto life, but unto death, the second death, from
+which there is no release.</p>
+
+<p>Every doctrine of Scripture and of the gospel is in accord
+with this Bible teaching as to man's nature and his state in
+death. But the traditional view of the natural immortality
+of the soul and of life in death, nullifies the Bible doctrines
+of life only in Christ, and the resurrection, and the judgment,
+and the giving of rewards at Christ's coming, and the final
+judgment upon the wicked and its execution.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_283" id="Page_283">[Pg 283]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<h4>A Few Questions Briefly Considered</h4>
+
+<p><i>1. The "Living Soul"</i></p>
+
+<p>Says one, "Did not the Lord put into man an immortal
+soul?"</p>
+
+<p>No; the Scripture says:</p>
+
+<p>"The Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground,
+and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became
+a living soul." Gen. 2:7.</p>
+
+<p>The soul was not put into the man, but when the life-giving
+breath was breathed into his nostrils, the man himself
+became a living soul, a living being. The ordinary version
+(King James) gives "a living soul" in the margin of Gen. 1:30,
+showing that the same expression is used of all the animal
+creation in the Hebrew text. The famous Methodist commentator,
+Dr. Adam Clarke, says on this phrase, "living
+soul:"</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"A general term to express all creatures endued with animal life, in
+any of its infinitely varied gradations."</p></div>
+
+<p><i>2. Are "Soul" and "Spirit" Deathless?</i></p>
+
+<p>"Are not the soul and spirit said to be deathless?" questions
+another.</p>
+
+<p>No. One writer says of the Scriptural use of the words
+"soul" and "spirit:"</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"The Hebrew and Greek words from which they are translated, occur
+in the Bible, as we have seen, seventeen hundred times. Surely, once at
+least in that long list we shall be told that the soul is immortal, if this is
+its high prerogative. Seventeen hundred times we inquire if the soul is
+once said to be immortal, or the spirit deathless. And the invariable
+and overwhelming response we meet is, <i>Not once!"</i>&mdash;<i>"Here and Hereafter"
+by U. Smith, p. 65.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>On the contrary, the Lord declares, "The soul that sinneth,
+it shall die." Eze. 18:20. It means that the person
+who sins shall die; for the words "soul," "mind," "heart,"
+and "spirit" are used to express life or the seat of the affections
+or of the intellect. One may commend his soul to God, or his<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_284" id="Page_284">[Pg 284]</a></span>
+spirit to God (really his life into the keeping of God), until
+the great day of the resurrection. The word "soul" is used
+of all animal life in New Testament usage, as well as in the
+Old; as, "Every living soul died in the sea." Rev. 16:3.</p>
+
+<p><i>3. The Thief on the Cross</i></p>
+
+<p>"Did not Christ promise the thief on the cross that he
+would be with Him that day in Paradise?"</p>
+
+<p>No; for Paradise is where God's throne is, and the tree of
+life, and the city of God, the capital of Christ's kingdom;
+and three days later Christ had not yet ascended to the Father.
+"Touch Me not," He said to Mary after His resurrection;
+"for I am not yet ascended to My Father." John 20:17.
+The dying thief, therefore, was not with Him in Paradise
+three days before.</p>
+
+<p>Nor did the thief's question suggest such a thought. His
+faith grasped Christ's resurrection, the resurrection of His children,
+and the coming kingdom; and that day on the cross,
+in the moment of the deepest humiliation of the Son of God,
+the repentant sinner cried, "Lord, remember me when Thou
+comest into Thy kingdom." And the Saviour replied, "Verily
+I say unto thee today"&mdash;this day, when the world scoffs and
+the darkness presses upon Me, this day I say it&mdash;"shalt thou
+be with Me in Paradise." Luke 23:42, 43.</p>
+
+<p>The punctuation that makes it read, "Today shalt thou
+be with Me in Paradise," is not a part of the sacred text, and
+puts the Saviour's promise in contradiction with the facts
+of the whole narrative and the teaching of Scripture.</p>
+
+<p><i>4. The Rich Man and Lazarus</i></p>
+
+<p>"Then there is the parable of the rich man and Lazarus,"
+one says, "where Lazarus and Dives are talking, though dead&mdash;Lazarus
+in Abraham's bosom and the rich man in torment."</p>
+
+<p>But that is a parable; and no one can set the figures of a
+parable against the facts of positive Scripture. In parables,
+lessons are often taught by figurative language and imaginary<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_285" id="Page_285">[Pg 285]</a></span>
+scenes which could never be real, though the lesson is emphasized
+the more forcefully.</p>
+
+<p>In the parable of Judges 9, the trees are represented as
+holding a council and talking with one another. No one
+mistakes the lesson of the parable, or supposes that the trees
+actually talked. So in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus,
+the lesson is taught that uprightness in this life, even
+though under deepest poverty, will be rewarded in the future
+life; while uncharitable selfishness will surely bring one to
+ruin and destruction.</p>
+
+<p>In the face of the Bible teaching, no one can turn this
+parable into actual narrative, representing that the saved
+in glory are now looking over the battlements of heaven and
+talking with the lost writhing before their eyes in agony amid
+the flames of unending torment. This is not the picture
+that the Scriptures give us of heaven, nor of the state of the
+dead, nor of the time and circumstances of the final rewards
+or punishments.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 448px;">
+<img src="images/p285.jpg" width="448" height="203" alt="From an inscription on an Egyptian monument, representing the
+weighing
+of a soul after death." title="" />
+<span class="caption">From an inscription on an Egyptian monument, representing the
+weighing
+of a soul after death.</span>
+</div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_286" id="Page_286">[Pg 286]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 448px;">
+<img src="images/p286.jpg" width="448" height="271" alt="LOT FLEEING FROM
+SODOM
+
+&quot;Even as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about
+them ... are set forth for an example, suffering the
+vengeance of eternal fire.&quot; Jude 7." title="" />
+<span class="caption">LOT FLEEING FROM
+SODOM<br />
+
+&quot;Even as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about
+them ... are set forth for an example, suffering the
+vengeance of eternal fire.&quot; Jude 7.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_287" id="Page_287">[Pg 287]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 448px;">
+<img src="images/p287.jpg" width="448" height="330" alt="SATAN&#39;S FINAL ASSAULT UPON
+THE KINGDOM OF GOD
+
+&quot;They went up on the breadth of the
+earth, and compassed the camp of the
+saints about.&quot; Rev. 20:9" title="" />
+<span class="caption">SATAN&#39;S FINAL ASSAULT UPON
+THE KINGDOM OF GOD<br />
+
+&quot;They went up on the breadth of the
+earth, and compassed the camp of the
+saints about.&quot; Rev. 20:9</span>
+</div>
+
+
+<h2><a name="THE_END_OF_THE_WICKED" id="THE_END_OF_THE_WICKED"></a><b>THE END OF THE WICKED</b></h2>
+
+
+<p>So soon as ever Lucifer introduced sin into heaven, it was
+certain, in the righteousness and omnipotence of God, that
+the day would come when sin would be blotted out of the
+perfect creation. Inspiration tells us that a time of final
+reckoning with sin was assured when Satan and a host of the
+angels with him lifted up the standard of mysterious rebellion
+against the law and harmony of heaven:</p>
+
+<p>"The angels which kept not their first estate, but left their
+own habitation, He hath reserved in everlasting chains under
+darkness unto the judgment of the great day." Jude 6.</p>
+
+<p>Punishment for sin is assured. By listening to Satan's
+temptation, man became involved in sin. Then a divine
+Saviour was provided, through whom every soul might escape
+from the kingdom of darkness, and find salvation and
+life. But it is inevitable that those who refuse the way of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_288" id="Page_288">[Pg 288]</a></span>
+life and reject the salvation of God, must finally be involved
+with Satan and sin in the day when sin is visited.</p>
+
+<p>By Adam's sin, all his posterity inherited a sinful, dying
+nature. "In Adam all die," the Scripture says. But not a
+soul in the last day can plead Adam's sin and the inheritance
+of a fallen nature as an excuse for his own transgressions. By
+Christ's gift of His life for us, the sinner, with all his weaknesses,
+may become a partaker of the divine nature, and escape
+the power of the fleshly nature. By virtue of Christ's
+death for all, all recover from the death they die in Adam&mdash;the
+first death. All have a resurrection, the unjust as well as
+the just; and then every one gives account of himself to God,
+according to his own life and the use he has made of the light
+given him of God.</p>
+
+
+<h4>The Two Resurrections</h4>
+
+<p>The Scriptures emphasize the fact that there are to be
+two resurrections. Paul, before Felix, declared his belief the
+same as that of all the prophets,&mdash;"that there shall be a resurrection
+of the dead, both of the just and unjust." Acts 24:15.</p>
+
+<p>Jesus declared it in these words:</p>
+
+<p>"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.</p>
+
+<p>The first resurrection is that of the just, at Christ's second
+coming. It is written of this:</p>
+
+<p>"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." Rev. 20:6.</p>
+
+<p>After this, the righteous return with Christ to heaven,
+and remain there during the thousand years. The wicked
+living at the time of His coming are slain by the consuming
+glory of His presence; and they, with all the unjust of all the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_289" id="Page_289">[Pg 289]</a></span>
+ages, await in the grave the second resurrection, at the end
+of the thousand years.</p>
+
+<p>"The rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand
+years were finished." Rev. 20:5.</p>
+
+<p>At the end of the thousand years the city of God, with
+the saved, comes down out of heaven and settles upon the
+earth.</p>
+
+<p>Then the wicked are raised&mdash;the second resurrection.
+Under Satan's leadership they march up to attack the city
+of God. How naturally, we infer, may Satan persuade the
+lost that, after all, he was right when he declared to Adam,
+"Ye shall not surely die." Here are all his servants of all
+the ages&mdash;living. Why may they not be immortal, beyond
+the power of God to destroy? The old battle that began in
+heaven is on again. Satan, the archrebel, marshals his hosts
+of fallen angels and the myriads of fallen men, his legions
+stretching wide over the earth.</p>
+
+<p>"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."
+Rev. 20:9.</p>
+
+<p>"This is the second death," the Scripture says. Verse 14.
+The great day has come when the sinner receives his wages&mdash;death&mdash;and
+sin is destroyed.</p>
+
+
+<h4>The Punishment Everlasting</h4>
+
+<p>"The wages of sin is death." And the second death is
+everlasting. There is no resurrection from this death. The
+Scriptures describe it in terms that affirm utter destruction,
+resulting in nonexistence.</p>
+
+<p>"Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from
+the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power."
+2 Thess. 1:9.</p>
+
+<p>"Behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and
+all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble:
+and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_290" id="Page_290">[Pg 290]</a></span>
+of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch."
+Mal. 4:1.</p>
+
+<p>"They shall be ashes," the third verse of this chapter
+says. Every expression possible to language is employed to
+denote utter destruction, everlasting death. That means nonexistence.
+Sin and sinners are blotted out. The prophet
+Obadiah, speaking of the visitation upon the heathen&mdash;the
+unbelieving&mdash;in "the day of the Lord," says:</p>
+
+<p>"They shall drink, and they shall swallow down, and they
+shall be as though they had not been." Verse 16.</p>
+
+<p>This is the utter end of sin and all sinners, and of the author
+of sin. Root and branch they are gone, "as though
+they had not been." All this is in the description of the last
+judgment, so fully set forth in the twentieth chapter of Revelation.</p>
+
+<p>"Death and hell [<i>hades</i>, the grave] were cast into the lake
+of fire. This is the second death." Rev. 20:14. Death and
+the prison house of death are gone forever. Sin is wiped
+out of a perfect universe, and not even a trace will remain of
+the place of the fiery judgment.</p>
+
+<p>"Yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea,
+thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be."
+Ps. 37:10.</p>
+
+<p>The fires of the last day purify the earth, which comes
+forth in Eden-like beauty. In the whole creation of God
+there is no sin, no sinner, but all is harmonious again, as before
+sin entered the universe. The prophet was given a view
+of this glorious consummation, and the triumph of the Son
+of God over sin.</p>
+
+<p>"Every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth,
+and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that
+are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honor, and glory,
+and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto
+the Lamb forever and ever." Rev. 5:13.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_291" id="Page_291">[Pg 291]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<h4>Some Opinions Briefly Considered</h4>
+
+<p>The doctrine of the immortality, the indestructibility, of
+the soul is responsible for the traditional view that the wicked
+are kept alive in unending misery through all eternity. How
+different this picture from that which Holy Scripture gives
+of the second death! Terrible and awful it is, but it results
+in the utter destruction of sin and sinners, leaving a clean
+universe. The doctrine of the immortality of the soul came
+in from pagan philosophy. Herodotus, "the father of history,"
+said:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"The Egyptians ... were also the first to broach the opinion, that
+the soul of man is immortal."&mdash;<i>Book 2, par. 123.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>Evidently, they passed the doctrine on to the Greeks. Its
+origin was in the words of Satan in Eden, "Ye shall not surely
+die." The pagans had their nether world of spirits, or their
+transmigration of souls with its ceaseless round from body to
+body, and the Roman Catholics their purgatory with its purifying
+fires. From these sources and not from the Word of
+God, the traditional view has come into modern Christendom,
+representing the Lord as unable or unwilling to end sin,
+but keeping the sinner alive throughout eternity, to suffer
+torture that can bring no remedy. The Scripture teaching
+is far otherwise. However, there are certain Scripture phrases
+that emphasize the severity of the punishment of sin, which
+are often taken as supporting the doctrine of never-ending
+conscious torment.</p>
+
+<p><i>1. "Forever and Ever."</i>&mdash;In Rev. 20:10 it is said that
+the devil and his chief agencies "shall be tormented day and
+night forever and ever." The phrase emphasizes the surety
+of their utter destruction.</p>
+
+<p>"Forever" means age-lasting, or life-lasting&mdash;so long as a
+thing exists by its nature. Thus in Ex. 21:6 the servant who
+loved his master and did not wish to leave his service was to
+have his ear pierced, "and he shall serve him forever," that
+is, without release as long as he lives. So the fiery judgment<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_292" id="Page_292">[Pg 292]</a></span>
+of that last day holds the wicked until life ends; there is no
+release until life is consumed.</p>
+
+<p><i>2. "Everlasting Punishment."</i>&mdash;"These shall go away into
+everlasting punishment." Matt. 25:46. It is everlasting
+punishment, not everlasting punishing. The punishment is
+everlasting death&mdash;"who shall be punished with everlasting
+destruction." 2 Thess. 1:9.</p>
+
+<p>The truth of the utter destruction of sinners is awful
+enough, but it commends itself to every thought of justice
+and mercy; for sin must be cleansed from a perfect universe.
+But the unscriptural view of everlasting conscious torment
+that never reaches the point of full punishment, is unthinkable.
+Yet it is urged as a doctrine, and contended for as
+vital to Christianity.</p>
+
+<p>The following description is taken from a book written
+for children, entitled "The Sight of Hell." It is printed in
+Dublin&mdash;for children.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Little child, if you go to hell, there will be a devil at your side to
+strike you. He will go on striking you every day, forever and ever, without
+ever stopping. The first stroke will make your body as bad as Job's,
+covered from head to foot with sores and ulcers. The second stroke will
+make your body twice as bad as the body of Job.... How then will
+your body be after the devil has been striking it every moment for a hundred
+million years without stopping?"&mdash;<i>Quoted in the London Present
+Truth, April 30, 1914.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>What a relief to turn from this to the Bible doctrine of
+the "everlasting destruction" of the second death, terrible
+though it be!</p>
+
+<p><i>3. "Everlasting Fire," "Eternal Fire," "Unquenchable Fire."</i>&mdash;All
+these expressions are used in describing the fiery judgment
+upon sin and sinners. The effect of the fire is everlasting
+and eternal, and by a common usage in language the
+adjective that describes the effect is applied to the agent by
+which the effect is wrought.</p>
+
+<p>A specific example of everlasting fire in the punishment of
+evil is given in Scripture. Sodom and Gomorrah, those wicked<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_293" id="Page_293">[Pg 293]</a></span>
+"cities of the plain," were destroyed by a rain of fire from
+heaven. These cities, Inspiration says, "are set forth for an
+example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire." Jude 7. The
+fire was everlasting, eternal, in its effects. The cities of the
+plain were everlastingly consumed. But the fire went out
+when the destruction was complete. Unquenchable fire is
+fire that cannot be quenched. It consumes utterly, until nothing
+is left; then it goes out of its own accord.</p>
+
+<p><i>4. "Where Their Worm Dieth Not."</i>&mdash;Jesus warned of the
+certain destruction of sin and sinners in the fire of Gehenna;
+for this is the word translated "hell" in Mark 9:43.</p>
+
+<p>Hades, which is often translated "hell," is the grave,
+not the place of punishment. Gehenna, here used of the
+place of punishment, was the name of the valley where the
+refuse of Jerusalem was cast for burning. The map of Jerusalem,
+in any ordinary Bible with maps, shows just outside
+the southern wall a gorge marked "Valley of Hinnom" (Gehenna).
+It was here that the people, in the olden times, had
+sacrificed their children to Moloch.</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"In order to put an end to these abominations, Josiah polluted it with
+human bones and other corruptions. 2 Kings 23:10, 13, 14."&mdash;<i>Hastings's
+"Dictionary of the Bible."</i></p></div>
+
+<p>Here the fires consumed the refuse, and the fire and worms
+utterly destroyed the carcasses of beasts flung into the place
+of destruction. It was regarded as a place accursed, and the
+smoldering fires became symbolical of the fires of the judgment.</p>
+
+<p>The use of this illustration, instead of arguing that the
+wicked are never destroyed but always live, conveys the opposite
+idea. What went into the fires of Gehenna was utterly
+consumed, nothing being left. This was used by Christ as a
+figure illustrative of the utter destruction of the unrepentant
+sinner in the day of visitation.</p>
+
+<p>This must suffice. The positive teaching of Holy Scripture
+is that sin and sinners will be blotted out of existence.
+There will be a clean universe again when the great controversy
+between Christ and Satan is ended.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_294" id="Page_294">[Pg 294]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 297px;">
+<img src="images/p294.jpg" width="297" height="439" alt="PETER DELIVERED
+FROM PRISON
+
+&quot;The angel of the Lord encampeth round about
+them that fear Him, and delivereth them.&quot;
+Ps. 34:7." title="" />
+<span class="caption">PETER DELIVERED
+FROM PRISON<br />
+
+&quot;The angel of the Lord encampeth round about
+them that fear Him, and delivereth them.&quot;
+Ps. 34:7.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_295" id="Page_295">[Pg 295]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 440px;">
+<img src="images/p295.jpg" width="440" height="331" alt="DANIEL IN THE DEN OF
+LIONS
+
+&quot;My God hath sent His angel, and hath
+shut the lions&#39; mouths, that they have
+not hurt me.&quot; Dan. 6:22." title="" />
+<span class="caption">DANIEL IN THE DEN OF
+LIONS<br />
+
+&quot;My God hath sent His angel, and hath
+shut the lions&#39; mouths, that they have
+not hurt me.&quot; Dan. 6:22.</span>
+</div>
+
+<h2><a name="ANGELS_THEIR_MINISTRY" id="ANGELS_THEIR_MINISTRY"></a>ANGELS: THEIR MINISTRY</h2>
+
+
+<p>The one verse of Scripture which, perhaps, most comprehensively
+sums up the ministry of the angels of God, is
+this:</p>
+
+<p>"Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister
+for them who shall be heirs of salvation?" Heb. 1:14.</p>
+
+<p>This scripture shows us how truly all heaven is engaged
+in working for the salvation of this poor world, which has
+wandered from the fold of God. It will surely be a time of
+rejoicing among all the angelic host when Christ, the Good
+Shepherd, brings back this lost world, cleansed from sin, once
+more to the fold of God's perfect creation.</p>
+
+<p>The angels rejoiced when this world was created. The
+Lord said to Job:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_296" id="Page_296">[Pg 296]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the
+earth?... when the morning stars sang together, and all
+the sons of God shouted for joy?" Job 38:4-7.</p>
+
+<p>Before ever this world was created, or man upon it, the
+angels had been created by the eternal Son, in whom all things
+consist. For angels are not redeemed men, neither will the
+redeemed in the world to come ever become angels. Angels
+are a different order of beings from men, a higher order in
+creation. We read:</p>
+
+<p>"What is man, that Thou art mindful of him? or the son
+of man, that Thou visitest him? Thou madest him a little
+lower than the angels; Thou crownedst him with glory and
+honor." Heb. 2:6, 7.</p>
+
+<p>In the life to come, by the wondrous power of Christ's
+transforming grace, redeemed men are to be made equal to
+the angels, as Christ stated:</p>
+
+<p>"Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto
+the angels; and are the children of God, being the children
+of the resurrection." Luke 20:36.</p>
+
+<p>This lifting of sinful man to an equality with the angels,
+at least in the possession of life and immortality, is an illustration
+of the gospel principle, "Where sin abounded, grace
+did much more abound." Rom. 5:20. But the declaration
+of equality with angels is a denial of identity with angels.
+Angels existed before man, and redeemed man will still be
+man, distinct from the angelic order, though the associate
+of angels in the service of God.</p>
+
+
+<h4>Attendants at the Throne of God</h4>
+
+<p>When the prophet Isaiah was given a view of the heavenly
+temple, he saw different orders of angels attending the throne
+of God:</p>
+
+<p>"I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted
+up, and His train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphim:
+each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face,
+and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_297" id="Page_297">[Pg 297]</a></span>
+And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is
+the Lord of hosts." Isa. 6:1-3.</p>
+
+<p>Ezekiel beheld them in glory, attending the moving throne
+of the Almighty. "The living creatures ran and returned as
+the appearance of a flash of lightning." Eze. 1:14.</p>
+
+<p>Daniel beheld the angelic host gathered in the most holy
+place of the temple above, as the time came for the opening
+of the work of the investigative judgment, the cleansing of
+the sanctuary. Seeing the throne of God set for this final
+work of Christ's ministry, the prophet says:</p>
+
+<p>"Thousand thousands ministered unto Him, and ten thousand
+times ten thousand stood before Him: the judgment
+was set, and the books were opened." Dan. 7:10.</p>
+
+
+<h4>God's Messengers</h4>
+
+<p>The word "angel" means messenger. To and fro these
+angelic messengers have gone in the service of their Creator.
+A view of their ever-watchful service is given in the words
+of the psalmist:</p>
+
+<p>"Bless the Lord, ye His angels, that excel in strength,
+that do His commandments, hearkening unto the voice of
+His word." Ps. 103:20.</p>
+
+
+<h4>Bearers of Tidings</h4>
+
+<p>They visited Abraham's tent with warning of Sodom's
+overthrow. Genesis 18.</p>
+
+<p>They visited Lot in the city, and urged him to get his
+family out. Genesis 19.</p>
+
+<p>As Jacob, in fear but repentance, was about to meet Esau,
+whom he had deceived, "the angels of God met him." Genesis
+32. "This is God's host," he said, and he knew that the
+God of Abraham and Isaac, and his God, also, had not forsaken
+him.</p>
+
+<p>At a discouraging time in the history of Israel, an angel
+appeared to Gideon, bringing the message, "The Lord is with
+thee," and calling him to the work of delivering his people.
+Judges 6.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_298" id="Page_298">[Pg 298]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 292px;">
+<img src="images/p298.jpg" width="292" height="441" alt="JACOB&#39;S DREAM
+IN BETHEL
+
+&quot;Are they not all ministering spirits, sent
+forth to minister for them who shall be
+heirs of salvation?&quot; Heb. 1:14." title="" />
+<span class="caption">JACOB&#39;S DREAM
+IN BETHEL<br />
+
+&quot;Are they not all ministering spirits, sent
+forth to minister for them who shall be
+heirs of salvation?&quot; Heb. 1:14.</span>
+</div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_299" id="Page_299">[Pg 299]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>As Daniel's prayer reached heaven, even while he still
+prayed, the angel Gabriel "being caused to fly swiftly,"
+touched him, and said:</p>
+
+<p>"O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and
+understanding. At the beginning of thy supplications the
+commandment came forth, and I am come to show thee."
+Dan. 9:21-23.</p>
+
+<p>So close is the communication between heaven and earth.</p>
+
+<p>The gladdest tidings ever brought from heaven to earth
+since the promise of the Deliverer to Adam in Eden, were
+brought by angels to the shepherds of Bethlehem. First, one
+angel appeared, saying:</p>
+
+<p>"I bring you good tidings of great joy.... For unto you
+is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ
+the Lord."</p>
+
+<p>Such tidings to earth could never be the mission of one
+lone angel, when all heaven longed to cry the news to a lost
+world.</p>
+
+<p>"And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of
+the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God
+in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men."
+Luke 2:13, 14.</p>
+
+
+<h4>Unseen in Halls of Government</h4>
+
+<p>One incident related in the book of Daniel draws aside the
+curtain, and shows how angels doubtless often have worked
+unseen in kingly courts or halls of legislation. Daniel had
+prayed for three weeks for light in certain matters that the
+angel Gabriel had begun to unfold to him. When at last
+the angel came, overpowering the prophet with the glory of
+his presence, it was with a statement, first, of the reason for
+the delay in responding to his prayer. The angel said:</p>
+
+<p>"From the first day that thou didst set thine heart to
+understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words
+were heard, and I am come for thy words. But the prince
+of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_300" id="Page_300">[Pg 300]</a></span>
+but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me;
+and I remained there with the kings of Persia. Now I am
+come to make thee understand what shall befall thy people
+in the latter days." Dan. 10:12-14.</p>
+
+
+<h4>Messengers of Deliverance</h4>
+
+<p>The story of deliverance wrought by angels is too long to
+tell. One need only think of the angels' taking slow-moving
+Lot by the arms and setting him out of Sodom (Genesis 19);
+of the angel finding Elijah under a bush in the desert, and
+first baking a cake for the hungry man before speaking the
+word to his discouraged heart (1 Kings 19); of Elisha praying
+that the young man's eyes might be opened to see that there
+were more angels with them round about than all the Syrians
+encamped against them:</p>
+
+<p>"The Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he
+saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots
+of fire round about Elisha." 2 Kings 6:17.</p>
+
+<p>An angel shut the mouths of the lions when Daniel was
+cast into their den. Daniel 6. An angel smote off Peter's
+irons in the prison at Jerusalem, opened the doors, and led him
+forth. Acts 12. Amid the angry waves sweeping over the
+foundering ship in the Adriatic, Paul the apostle bade the
+despairing crew be of good courage, "for there stood by me
+this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve,
+saying, Fear not." Acts 27:23, 24.</p>
+
+<p>All through the ages, the angels of God have been standing
+by. Daniel, and Peter, and Paul are dead; but the angels
+still live. "Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to
+minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?" Heb. 1:14.</p>
+
+
+<h4>Guardian Angels</h4>
+
+<p>That means that every child of God is under the guardianship
+of the angels. "The angel of the Lord encampeth
+round about them that fear Him, and delivereth them."
+Ps. 34:7.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_301" id="Page_301">[Pg 301]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Thank God, we are never left alone. Every child of God
+has a guardian angel commissioned by the loving Father to
+watch over him. Christ said:</p>
+
+<p>"Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones;
+for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold
+the face of My Father which is in heaven." Matt. 18:10.</p>
+
+<p>This does not mean that trials never will come, or troubles.
+In the midst of the trial, the angel of the Lord will stand by
+to strengthen and to bring help from the God of all comfort.
+It was in the midst of the fiery furnace that the "form of
+the Fourth" appeared, walking with the three Hebrew children&mdash;Jesus
+Himself treading the fiery way with them. And
+when Jesus, in the days of His flesh, was sinking under the
+crushing burden in Gethsemane, "there appeared an angel
+unto Him from heaven, strengthening Him." Luke 22:43.</p>
+
+<p>Our Saviour, who knows the comforting power of angel
+ministry, is the Captain of the heavenly host, and has commissioned
+them all as ministering spirits to the heirs of salvation.</p>
+
+<p>When He comes in glory for His people, Christ will have
+"all the holy angels with Him." As the voice of Jesus
+awakens His sleeping saints and they rise immortal from the
+opened graves, "He shall send His angels,... and they
+shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from one
+end of heaven to the other." Matt. 24:31.</p>
+
+<p>The angels who have watched over the heirs of salvation
+through all the ages, know where they are, and they know
+how to gather them, with their loved ones, to meet the Lord.</p>
+
+<p>The angels who rejoiced when the Lord laid the foundations
+of the earth, who mourned when man fell, who have
+all along been working with Christ, their leader, to rescue
+the lost, will yet rejoice when the Lord brings home His own.
+What a day will that be in heaven!<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_302" id="Page_302">[Pg 302]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 293px;">
+<img src="images/p302.jpg" width="293" height="444" alt="MODERN INVENTIONS FULFILLING
+PROPHECY
+
+&quot;Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge
+shall be increased.&quot; Dan. 12:4." title="" />
+<span class="caption">MODERN INVENTIONS FULFILLING
+PROPHECY<br />
+
+&quot;Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge
+shall be increased.&quot; Dan. 12:4.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_303" id="Page_303">[Pg 303]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 443px;">
+<img src="images/p303.jpg" width="443" height="298" alt="CAREY IN INDIA TRANSLATING
+THE BIBLE
+
+&quot;So mightily grew the word of God
+and prevailed.&quot; Acts 19:20." title="" />
+<span class="caption">CAREY IN INDIA TRANSLATING
+THE BIBLE<br />
+
+&quot;So mightily grew the word of God
+and prevailed.&quot; Acts 19:20.</span>
+</div>
+
+<h2><a name="THE_TIME_OF_THE_END" id="THE_TIME_OF_THE_END"></a>THE TIME OF THE END</h2>
+
+
+<p>"Thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book,
+even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and
+knowledge shall be increased." Dan. 12:4.</p>
+
+<p>Thus the words of the angel, spoken nearly twenty-five
+hundred years ago, announced the opening of a new era of
+enlightenment when the latter days should come.</p>
+
+
+<h4>The Time</h4>
+
+<p>At the end of the long period of predicted tribulation of
+the church&mdash;the twelve hundred and sixty years of Daniel's
+prophecy&mdash;the world entered upon this era of "the time of
+the end."</p>
+
+<p>"They shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity,
+and by spoil, many days.... And some of them of understanding
+shall fall, to try them, and to purge, and to make
+them white, even to the time of the end: because it is yet for
+a time appointed." Dan. 11:33-35.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_304" id="Page_304">[Pg 304]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>In practically every outline of prophecy touching this
+time, the events of the last days are represented as following
+the end of the prophetic period of tribulation. Christ's prophecy
+of Matthew 24 so declares. Our Saviour showed that
+this period of tribulation, would be shortened, "for the elect's
+sake," and that "immediately after the tribulation of those
+days" the signs of the end would begin to appear.</p>
+
+<p>Thus, while the full period of the twelve hundred and
+sixty years ended amid the scenes of the French Revolution,
+which gave the papal power a deadly wound in the last decade
+of the eighteenth century, the shortening of the days of tribulation
+had begun even earlier to spread increasing knowledge
+and enlightenment over the earth.</p>
+
+
+<h4>The Prophecy Unsealed</h4>
+
+<p>The angel's words to Daniel were,</p>
+
+<p>"Shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time
+of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be
+increased." Dan. 12:4.</p>
+
+<p>"The words are closed up and sealed till the time of the
+end." Verse 9.</p>
+
+<p>This means that as the time of the end came, men would
+be impelled to search diligently for light in the prophetic word.
+Events taking place in fulfilment of the prophecy would be
+recognized, and with the coming of the time there would come
+the opening up, or unsealing, of the prophetic scriptures, with
+their message for men in the last days.</p>
+
+<p>As the time drew near, Bible students were led more and
+more to search the word of prophecy. Sir Isaac Newton,
+called "the greatest of philosophers," wrote of prophetic
+study:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"The giving ear to the prophets is a fundamental character of the
+true church. For God has so ordered the prophecies, that in the latter
+days 'the wise may understand, but the wicked shall do wickedly, and
+none of the wicked shall understand.' Dan. 12:9, 10."&mdash;<i>"Observations
+on the Prophecies of Daniel" (London, 1733), part 1, chap. 1.</i></p></div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_305" id="Page_305">[Pg 305]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Again, this man who had delved so deeply into the laws of
+nature, but who bowed his heart in childlike faith to listen
+to the voice of Inspiration, declared his hope that the time of
+the end was near at hand in his day (he died in 1727). Of
+this prophecy of the unsealing of the book he wrote:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"'Tis therefore a part of this prophecy, that it should not be understood
+before the last age of the world; and therefore it makes for the credit
+of the prophecy that it is not yet understood. But if the last age, the age
+of opening these things, be now approaching, as by the great successes of
+late interpreters it seems to be, we have more encouragement than ever
+to look into these things. If the general preaching of the gospel be
+approaching,
+it is to us and to our posterity that those words mainly belong:
+In the time of the end the wise shall understand, but none of the wicked
+shall understand.... 'Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear
+the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written
+therein.'"&mdash;<i>"Observations on the Apocalypse" (London, 1733), chap. 1.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>True to the word of the angel, the events of the ending
+of the twelve hundred and sixty years of papal supremacy,
+amid the scenes of the French Revolution, drew the attention
+of Bible students everywhere. It was seen that prophecy was
+being fulfilled before men's eyes. It gave great impetus to
+the study of the prophetic scriptures. The great historic
+prophecies began to be opened up&mdash;unsealed&mdash;to the understanding.
+An English historian of that period, John Adolphus,
+though writing a secular history, remarks upon this awakening
+interest in prophetic study:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"The downfall of the papal government [in 1798], by whatever means
+effected, excited perhaps less sympathy than that of any other in Europe:
+the errors, the oppressions, the tyranny of Rome over the whole Christian
+world, were remembered with bitterness; many rejoiced, through religious
+antipathy, in the overthrow of a church which they considered as idolatrous,
+though attended with the immediate triumph of infidelity; and
+many saw in these events the accomplishment of prophecies, and the
+exhibition of signs promised in the most mystical parts of the Holy
+Scriptures."&mdash;<i>"History
+of France from 1790 to 1802" (London, 1803),
+Vol. II, p. 379.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>From those tunes of fulfilling prophecy, there arose a
+distinct movement, reviving the teaching of the doctrine of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_306" id="Page_306">[Pg 306]</a></span>
+Christ's second coming, and directly preparing the way for
+the advent movement that was to come with the days of 1844,
+when yet fuller light was to break forth from the unsealed
+prophecies of the book of Daniel. Of the angel that symbolizes
+the special gospel work for these last days, it is written,
+"He had in his hand a little book open." Rev. 10:2. The
+"time of the end" came, and with it has come the opening of
+the sealed book. The "sure word of prophecy" speaks its
+message full and clear to the ears of all mankind today.</p>
+
+
+<h4>Increase of Knowledge</h4>
+
+<p>"Many shall run to and fro," the prophecy said, "and
+knowledge shall be increased." It is knowledge of the prophecy
+and of the things of God that is primarily the topic; but
+the era that we are discussing has been one of general enlightenment
+and extension of knowledge.<a name="FNanchor_J_10" id="FNanchor_J_10"></a><a href="#Footnote_J_10" class="fnanchor">[J]</a> "The entrance of Thy
+words giveth light," says the psalmist: and when the Reformation
+of the sixteenth century broke the bands of age-long superstition
+and error, and set free the Word of God, the way was
+preparing for the coming of this wonderful era of the diffusion
+of general knowledge.</p>
+
+<p>The era of reform movement was an era of world exploration
+and discovery. Diaz had founded the south African
+cape, and Columbus had given to future generations the New
+World. The result was voyage after voyage of discovery,
+and then awakening, colonization, and expansion.</p>
+
+<p>The famous and learned Francis Bacon, who died in 1626,
+felt in his day that the time spoken of by Daniel's prophecy
+was drawing near. He wrote:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_307" id="Page_307">[Pg 307]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Nor should the prophecy of Daniel be forgotten, touching the last
+ages of the world: 'Many shall go to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased;'
+clearly intimating that the thorough passage of the world (which
+now by so many distant voyages seems to be accomplished, or in course
+of accomplishment), and the advancement of the sciences, are destined
+by fate, that is, by divine Providence, to meet in the same age."&mdash;<i>"Novum
+Organum," book 1, xciii. (Bacon's Works, Spedding and Ellis, Vol. IV,
+p. 92.)</i></p></div>
+
+<p>When the time indicated in the prophecy fully came,
+with the last decade of the eighteenth century, there was
+witnessed the upspringing of movements that have wrought
+mightily for the enlightenment and evangelization of the
+world. As the events of the French Revolution announced
+the closing of the long era of papal supremacy, so also another
+series of events at the same time announced the opening of the
+era of increasing knowledge. Speaking of these developments,
+Lorimer, a Scottish writer, said:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"At the very time when Satan is hoping for, and the timid are fearing,
+an utter overturn of true religion, there is a revival, and the gospel
+expands its wings and prepares for a new flight. It is worthy of remembrance
+that the year 1792, the very year of the French Revolution, was
+also the year when the Baptist Missionary Society was formed, a society
+which was followed during the succeeding, and they the worst, years of
+the Revolution, with new societies of unwonted energy and union, all
+aiming, and aiming successfully, at the propagation of the gospel of Christ,
+both at home and abroad. What withering contempt did the great Head
+of the church thus pour upon the schemes of infidels! And how did He
+arouse the careless and instruct His own people, by alarming providences,
+at a season when they greatly needed such a stimulus."&mdash;<i>"Historical
+Sketches of the Protestant Church in France," p. 522.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>Another writer, Dr. D.L. Leonard, historian of the century
+of missions, says:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"The closing years of the eighteenth century constitute in the history
+of Protestant missions an epoch indeed, since they witnessed nothing less
+than a revolution, a renaissance, an effectual and manifold ending of the
+old, a substantial inauguration of the new. It was then that for the first
+time since the apostolic period, occurred an outburst of general missionary
+zeal and activity. Beginning in Great Britain, it soon spread to the
+Continent and across the Atlantic. It was no mere push of fervor, but a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_308" id="Page_308">[Pg 308]</a></span>
+mighty tide set in, which from that day to this has been steadily rising
+and spreading."&mdash;<i>"A Hundred Years of Missions," p. 69.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>The time of the prophecy had come, and the hand of providence
+was bringing into being agencies that have spread
+light and knowledge over all lands.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Look where the missionary's feet have trod&mdash;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Flowers in the desert bloom; and fields, for God,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Are white to harvest. Skeptics may ignore;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Yet on the conquering Word, from shore to shore,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Like flaming chariot, rolls. Ask ocean isles,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And plains of Ind, where ceaseless summer smiles;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Speak to far frozen wastes, where winter's blight<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Remains;&mdash;they tell the love, attest the might<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Of Him whose messengers across the wave<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">To them salvation bore, hope, freedom gave."<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">&mdash;<i>Horace D. Woolley.</i><br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>The organization of foreign missionary enterprise was
+quickly accompanied by the establishment of Bible societies
+for a systematic work of translating and world-wide distribution
+of the Scriptures. In 1804 the British and Foreign Bible
+Society was organized. Students of the prophetic word felt
+at the time that these agencies were coming in fulfilment of
+the prophecy. One writer of those times said:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"The stupendous endeavors of one gigantic community to convey the
+Scriptures in every language to every part of the globe may well deserve
+to be considered as an eminent sign even of these eventful times. Unless
+I be much mistaken, such endeavors are preparatory to the final grand
+diffusion of Christianity, which is the theme of so many inspired prophets,
+and which cannot be very far distant in the present day."&mdash;<i>G.S. Faber,
+D.D., "Dissertation on the Prophecies," Vol. II, p. 406 (1844).</i></p></div>
+
+<p>Now the Word of God, in whole or in part, is speaking in
+more than five hundred languages, and it is estimated that
+these tongues, at least in their spoken form, can make the
+divine message comprehensible to ninety-five per cent of the
+inhabitants of the earth.</p>
+
+<p>The work of modern missions, that had its birth as the
+time of the end came, is one of the great world factors today.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_309" id="Page_309">[Pg 309]</a></span>
+Nearly thirty million dollars a year are given for Protestant
+missions, and a force of more than twenty thousand foreign
+missionaries is in the field, not counting the many thousands
+of native missionaries and helpers. Truly the time of the end
+is proving to be an era of increasing light and knowledge.</p>
+
+
+<h4>The Opening of All Lands</h4>
+
+<p>As the time came for knowledge to be increased, it was
+necessary that all lands should be open to receive the enlightening
+agencies. Thus, as the time of the end came, we see distinctly
+the hand of Providence swinging open the doors into
+all countries. It has been an era of world survey and development.
+Particularly is this true of the last sixty or seventy
+years. It was in 1844 that the time referred to in the prophecy
+came for the special advent movement, bearing the judgment-hour
+message to the world. The range of the movement
+is thus described in the prophecy:</p>
+
+<p>"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." Rev. 14:6.</p>
+
+<p>This was a declaration that as the time came for the closing
+gospel work to be done, the doors of access to every nation
+and tongue and people would be thrown open. In 1844, or
+but a few years before, much of the world was closed to missionary
+endeavor; but as the prophecy indicates, the years
+following have witnessed the swift and systematic opening
+of all lands to the gospel message.</p>
+
+<p>It was in 1842 that five treaty ports in China were opened
+to commerce and to missions,&mdash;advance steps in the opening
+of all China to the gospel. In 1844 Turkey was prevailed
+upon to recognize the right of Moslems to become Christians,
+reversing all Moslem tradition. In 1844 Allen Gardiner
+established the South American Mission. In 1845 Livingstone's
+determination was formed to open up the African interior.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_310" id="Page_310">[Pg 310]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Dr. A.T. Pierson, speaking of the wonderful way in which
+Providence opened the doors of access in those times, wrote
+as follows:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Most countries shut out Christian missions by organized opposition,
+so that to attempt to bear the good tidings was simply to dare death for
+Christ's sake; the only welcome awaiting God's messengers was that of
+cannibal ovens, merciless prisons, or martyr graves. But, as the little
+band advanced, on every hand the walls of Jericho fell, and the iron gates
+opened of their own accord. India, Siam, Burma, China, Japan, Turkey,
+Africa, Mexico, South America, the Papal States, and Korea were successively
+and successfully entered. Within five years, from 1853 to 1858,
+new facilities were given to the entrance and occupation of seven different
+countries, together embracing half the world's population."&mdash;<i>"Modern
+Mission Century," p. 25.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 448px;">
+<img src="images/p310.jpg" width="448" height="267" alt="INTO THE HEART OF
+AFRICA
+
+The Victoria Falls railroad bridge
+over the Zambezi." title="" />
+<span class="caption">INTO THE HEART OF
+AFRICA<br />
+
+The Victoria Falls railroad bridge
+over the Zambezi.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>God's providence has laid under tribute every force and
+every resource for the opening of all lands&mdash;missionary endeavor,
+love of adventure, commercial enterprise, and scientific
+interest. Railways have been built through regions that
+were undiscovered seventy years ago, and among the passengers
+traveling now over the iron trail are men and women of
+tribes unknown fifty years ago. But the gospel message was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_311" id="Page_311">[Pg 311]</a></span>
+to go to every tribe and tongue before the end; and wonderfully
+Providence has been opening the doors throughout all
+this "time of the end," and particularly in our generation.</p>
+
+
+<h4>Material Agencies for the Work</h4>
+
+<p>The prophecy represents not only a world-wide work, but
+a quick work in proclaiming the gospel message in the last
+days. The movement is symbolized in the Revelation by an
+angel flying in the midst of heaven, from land to land. And
+as to the closing work, when the end is near at hand, the
+Scripture says:</p>
+
+<p>"He will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness:
+because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth."
+Rom. 9:28.</p>
+
+<p>"Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith
+the Lord of hosts." This is the hope for a quickly finished
+work in all the earth in our time. Yet the Lord lays hold
+of material things for service; and wonderfully the hand of
+Providence has wrought in bringing into existence material
+agencies for a quick work in carrying the gospel to the world&mdash;such
+agencies as no generation before ours ever had.</p>
+
+<p>Consider the marvelous facilities for world-travel. They
+are the product of this time of the end. "Many shall run
+to and fro," said the prophecy. Some interpreters have restricted
+the Hebrew phrase to a "searching" to and fro for
+knowledge. Even this would include a literal running to and
+fro; for the light of increasing knowledge was to be diffused
+over all the earth. But the best authority on the Hebrew
+declares for the plain meaning of our English translation:
+"Many shall run to and fro." In two recent works, Dr.
+C.H.H. Wright, the English scholar, says of this text:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"The natural meaning must be upheld, i.e., wandering to and fro."&mdash;<i>"Critical
+Commentary on Daniel," p. 209.</i></p>
+
+<p>"Why should not that expression be used in the sense in which it
+is employed in Jeremiah 5:1, namely, of rapid movement hither and
+thither?"&mdash;<i>"Daniel and His Prophecies," p. 321.</i></p></div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_312" id="Page_312">[Pg 312]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>At the time when the first foreign missionary movement
+was being launched in America, Robert Fulton's steamship,
+the "Clermont," was making its first trip on the Hudson.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 446px;">
+<img src="images/p312a.jpg" width="446" height="127" alt="HIEROGLYPHICS
+
+The &quot;Ox Song&quot; of the Egyptian threshing-floor." title="" />
+<span class="caption">HIEROGLYPHICS<br />
+
+The &quot;Ox Song&quot; of the Egyptian threshing-floor.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>In 1838 the first ships to cross the Atlantic under steam power
+alone&mdash;the "Sirius" and the "Great Western"&mdash;came into
+New York from Liverpool, a few hours apart, forerunners of
+the fleets that furrow all the seas today, making quick pathways
+for the gospel messengers to all lands. Verily, they are
+a gift of God's providence to this generation, when all the
+world is to hear the gospel message.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 442px;">
+<img src="images/p312b.jpg" width="442" height="239" alt="CUNEIFORM WRITING
+
+An account of the capture of Babylon,
+b.c. 538. From the cylinder of Cyrus." title="" />
+<span class="caption">CUNEIFORM WRITING<br />
+
+An account of the capture of Babylon,
+b.c. 538. From the cylinder of Cyrus.</span>
+</div>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"He hath made the deep as dry,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">He hath smote for us a pathway to the ends of all the earth."<br /></span>
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_313" id="Page_313">[Pg 313]</a></span></div></div>
+
+<p>In 1825 Stephenson built his first railway passenger locomotive,
+which may still be seen in the Darlington railway
+station, in England. It was the beginning of the great revolution
+in land travel. The late Prof. Alfred Russel Wallace,
+scientist, wrote:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"From the earliest historic and even prehistoric times till the construction
+of our great railways in the second quarter of the present century
+[the nineteenth], there had been absolutely no change in the methods of
+human locomotion."&mdash;<i>"The Wonderful Century," p. 7.</i></p></div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 442px;">
+<img src="images/p313.jpg" width="442" height="286" alt="MANUSCRIPT WRITING
+
+The process by which the books of the great
+library of Alexandria, Egypt, were made." title="" />
+<span class="caption">MANUSCRIPT WRITING<br />
+
+The process by which the books of the great
+library of Alexandria, Egypt, were made.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>For nearly six thousand years men had traveled in the
+old way. Why should these revolutionary changes in travel
+by sea and land come abruptly just at this time?&mdash;Because
+the time foretold in the prophecy was at hand, when the last
+gospel message was to be carried quickly to all the world&mdash;"to
+every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people."
+We see the hand of the living God opening the doors into all
+lands, and His wonderful providence laying at the feet of
+this generation agencies for quickly covering the whole earth.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_314" id="Page_314">[Pg 314]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 446px;">
+<img src="images/p314a.jpg" width="446" height="158" alt="GUTENBERG&#39;S FIRST
+TYPES
+
+Reproduced from the first edition of the famous
+forty-two-line Latin Bible, printed by Gutenberg." title="" />
+<span class="caption">GUTENBERG&#39;S FIRST
+TYPES<br />
+
+Reproduced from the first edition of the famous
+forty-two-line Latin Bible, printed by Gutenberg.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Later came the electric telegraph, for the quick transmission
+of news. It was in 1837 that Cooke and Wheatstone
+in England, and Morse in the United States, made their application
+for patents on the electric telegraph. It was in 1844
+that the first long-distance system was successfully demonstrated&mdash;when
+the historic message was sent from Baltimore
+to Washington, "What hath God wrought!" Now news of
+events fulfilling prophecy, and news of progress and conditions
+in all lands, are daily spread before the world by this
+agency of our wonderful time.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 441px;">
+<img src="images/p314b.jpg" width="441" height="261" alt="THE GUTENBERG
+PRINTING PRESS
+
+On which was produced the first
+printed Bible, in 1456 a.d." title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE GUTENBERG
+PRINTING PRESS<br />
+
+On which was produced the first
+printed Bible, in 1456 A.D.</span>
+</div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_315" id="Page_315">[Pg 315]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 336px;">
+<img src="images/p315.jpg" width="336" height="374" alt="THE FRANKLIN PRESS
+
+Operated by two men, it has a maximum
+speed of 250 impressions per hour." title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE FRANKLIN PRESS<br />
+
+Operated by two men, it has a maximum
+speed of 250 impressions per hour.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>As the closing events take place, the Lord has in His
+providence so ordered it that no one need be ignorant of the
+signs of the times fulfilling before the eyes of men.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Speak the word and think the thought,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Quick 'tis as with lightning caught&mdash;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Over, under, lands or seas<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">To the far antipodes."<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>Here is an incident illustrating the way in which the
+electric telegraph may multiply and spread abroad the witness
+borne to the truth of God in some obscure corner of
+the earth:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_316" id="Page_316">[Pg 316]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 448px;">
+<img src="images/p316.jpg" width="448" height="270" alt="THE HOE DOUBLE
+OCTUPLE PRESS" title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE HOE DOUBLE
+OCTUPLE PRESS</span>
+</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>The largest printing press in the world. Length, 48 feet; height, 19-1/2 feet;
+weight, 175 tons; number
+of parts, 65,000; revolutions, 300 per minute; paper used per hour, 18 tons, or
+216 miles of paper
+three feet wide; production per hour, 300,000 eight-page folded newspapers.</p></div>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_317" id="Page_317">[Pg 317]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i2"><b>The Mighty Press</b><br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"When old Gutenberg, inventor<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Of the printing press, and mentor<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Of the clumsy-fingered typos<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">In a sleepy German town,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Used to spread the sheets of vellum<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">On the form, and plainly tell them<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">That the art was then perfected,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">As he pressed the platen down,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">He had not the faintest notion<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Of the rhythmical commotion,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Of the brabble and the clamor<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And the unremitting roar<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Of the mighty triple decker,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">While the steel rods flicker,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And the papers, ready folded,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Fall in thousands to the floor."<br /></span>
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_318" id="Page_318">[Pg 318]</a></span></div></div>
+
+<p>Some years ago a young man in Europe&mdash;a Seventh-day
+Adventist&mdash;was giving answer for his faith. His conscience
+would not allow him to do ordinary labor on God's holy Sabbath.
+He had declared to the court that the oath of loyalty
+which had been required of him forbade his breaking the
+Sabbath. "How is that?" asked the judge. The young
+man replied:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"I was sworn in with a Christian oath, and therefore cannot be under
+an obligation to violate the commandments of God and work on the Sabbath.
+One must regard God as the highest authority, and obey Him
+in the first place."</p></div>
+
+<p>This witness was borne in a little courtroom, before a
+small group of men; but the press dispatches took it up, and
+the description of the scene and report of the words spoken
+were carried by electric telegraph to the press of at least four
+continents, and millions read the testimony of the young
+man to the faith that was in him.</p>
+
+<p>In the days to come, with great events taking place and
+solemn issues calling upon men to make decision for God and
+His truth, how quickly, in some great crisis, all the world
+may be warned, and the last individual decisions be made
+for eternity!</p>
+
+
+<h4>Modern Printing</h4>
+
+<p>The invention of the printer's art had come just in time
+to give wings to Reformation truth. Luther said of it:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Printing is the latest and greatest gift by which God enables us to
+advance the things of the gospel. It is the last bright flame, manifesting
+itself just previous to the extinction of the world. Thanks be to God,
+it came before the last day came."&mdash;<i>Michelet's "Life of Luther," p. 291.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>While improvements in the art were made through the
+centuries, it was a slow process, even up to the opening of
+our generation. During our day, however, inventions have
+revolutionized the printing process.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_319" id="Page_319">[Pg 319]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>In this, as in other things, the methods have been speeded
+up to meet the necessities of this time of rapid accomplishment.
+The printing press is one of the chief of the marvelous
+enlightening agencies of this time of the end. By it the
+printed pages of truth are set falling over the earth "like
+the leaves of autumn."</p>
+
+<p>Time fails us to speak of all the wonderful material developments
+of our day, when knowledge has been increased, and
+when men are not only searching to and fro, but literally running
+to and fro. The whole earth is brought within the range
+of human knowledge, and the light of saving truth is streaming
+out toward every dark place where the children of men
+dwell.</p>
+
+<p>Nearly twenty-five hundred years ago it was written upon
+the prophetic page,</p>
+
+<p>"Shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time
+of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall
+be increased."</p>
+
+<p>There the word stood on the scroll of prophecy through
+more than two millenniums. Then, as the time of the end
+came, lo, the book of prophecy was unsealed, and the new era
+of increasing knowledge began to spread in wondrous blessing
+over the earth.</p>
+
+<p>So surely, also, the prophecies of the last events will be
+accomplished. In the occurrences taking place before our
+eyes, we see that God is indeed finishing His work in the
+earth, and cutting it short in righteousness.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_320" id="Page_320">[Pg 320]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 448px;">
+<img src="images/p320.jpg" width="448" height="270" alt="FORTIFICATIONS ON THE
+BOSPORUS
+
+The strategic waterway involved in the Eastern Question." title="" />
+<span class="caption">FORTIFICATIONS ON THE
+BOSPORUS<br />
+
+The strategic waterway involved in the Eastern Question.</span>
+</div>
+
+<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3>
+
+<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_J_10" id="Footnote_J_10"></a><a href="#FNanchor_J_10"><span class="label">[J]</span></a> It is not designed to give the reader the idea that this running
+"to and fro"
+refers wholly to turning to and fro through the pages of a book. The times in
+which we live have been characterized by a great increase in Bible study, and
+consequently in knowledge of the Scriptures; but it is equally true that this
+has
+been due in large measure to the fact that there are no longer any "hermit"
+kingdoms. Travel, a real physical running "to and fro" through the earth, has
+contributed mightily to the modern increase of knowledge, and in no other field
+of investigation has this been more true than in the study of the Bible. By
+increased facilities for travel, all nations have been brought close together
+physically.
+Different races and nationalities have become acquainted, missionary zeal
+has been quickened, and peoples formerly beyond the reach of missionary
+operations
+have become easily accessible. In this sense, as well as by private searching
+of the Scriptures, knowledge has increased.</p></div>
+</div>
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_321" id="Page_321">[Pg 321]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 448px;">
+<img src="images/p321.jpg" width="448" height="261" alt="THE MOSQUE OF ST. SOPHIA IN CONSTANTINOPLE
+
+The most famous of all Mohammedan
+temples.
+
+COPYRIGHT BY UNDERWOOD &amp; UNDERWOOD, N.Y." title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE MOSQUE OF ST. SOPHIA IN CONSTANTINOPLE<br />
+
+The most famous of all Mohammedan
+temples.<br />
+
+COPYRIGHT BY UNDERWOOD &amp; UNDERWOOD, N.Y.</span>
+</div>
+<h2><a name="THE_EASTERN_QUESTION" id="THE_EASTERN_QUESTION"></a>THE EASTERN QUESTION</h2>
+
+<h3>MODERN HISTORY IN THE LIGHT OF ANCIENT PROPHECY</h3>
+
+
+<p>Not alone of the history of ancient nations does the "sure
+word of prophecy" bear witness. Political events of our own
+and coming days are described.</p>
+
+<p>The nations of the latter day are pictured as preparing
+war, gathering their forces for the great Armageddon, the
+battle of the day of God.</p>
+
+<p>As a signal of the last great struggle, the fall, or "drying
+up," of the power ruling the territory watered by the river
+Euphrates is foretold. Rev. 16:12. The Euphrates in all
+modern history has been suggestive of the dominions of the
+Turkish or Ottoman Empire. And Armageddon, designated
+as the meeting place of armies in the last clash of nations, is
+in Palestine, which, through all modern times, has been in
+possession of the Turkish power.</p>
+
+<p>The index finger of prophecy points, therefore, to this
+region of the eastern Mediterranean as the pivotal point in
+the closing history of nations; and with Turkey's fate is
+wrapped up the fate of all the nations of the world.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_322" id="Page_322">[Pg 322]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>All this adds deepest and most solemn import to the study
+of what is known as the Eastern Question, a question that
+has been to the fore in international politics much of the time
+throughout this generation. Wars have been fought over it,
+cabinets have wrestled with it, and still it holds its place
+in the first rank of living issues of today.</p>
+
+<p>As every one knows, the Eastern Question involves the
+dominion or supremacy in the Near East. This region was
+a pivotal point in the struggles of the nations in ancient times&mdash;the
+meeting place of East and West. Maspero, historian
+of ancient empires, says of it:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Some countries seem destined from their origin to become the
+battle fields of the contending nations.... The nations around are
+eager for the possession of a country thus situated.... From remote
+antiquity Syria was in the condition just described. By its position it
+formed a kind of meeting place, where most of the military nations of
+the ancient world were bound sooner or later to come violently into
+collision."&mdash;<i>"Struggle of the Nations," chap. 1.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>It is not strange, therefore, that one of the great outlines
+of historic prophecy should deal with events centering around
+this pivotal region. The prophecy of Daniel 11 does so,
+outlining the course of history from ancient times to the
+final solution of the Eastern Question amid the scenes of
+the end.</p>
+
+
+<h4>Rise and Fall of Ancient Empires</h4>
+
+<p>The prophetic outline of Daniel 11 begins with Persia,
+in the third year of Cyrus, the conqueror of Babylon. (See
+Dan. 10:1.) The angel of God appeared to Daniel, and in
+the longest and most detailed single prophecy in all the Bible,
+told the story of events connected with this region of the
+Near East for the centuries to come, until the end. Putting
+the word of prophecy and the record of history side by side,
+we see how exactly history has fulfilled prophecy; and we may
+know certainly that the brief portion of the prophecy yet unfulfilled
+will surely come to pass.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_323" id="Page_323">[Pg 323]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<h4>Persia</h4>
+
+<p><i>Prophecy.</i>&mdash;"Now will I show thee the truth. Behold,
+there shall stand up yet three kings in Persia; and the fourth
+shall be far richer than they all: and by his strength through
+his riches he shall stir up all against the realm of Grecia."
+Dan. 11:2</p>
+
+<p><i>History.</i>&mdash;The three kings following Cyrus were (1) Cambyses,
+(2) Smerdis, (3) Darius; the fourth, Xerxes, was "far
+richer than they all." He had the treasures of his father, Darius,
+who was called the "merchant" or "hoarder" by his
+own people, and Xerxes gathered stores of wealth in addition.
+When Xerxes was on his way to invade Grecia, a Lydian
+named Pythius entertained the whole Persian army with
+feasts, and offered to aid in bearing the expense of the campaign.
+Xerxes asked who this man of such wealth was. He
+was answered:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"This is the man, O king! who gave thy father Darius the golden
+plane tree, and likewise the golden vine; and he is still the wealthiest
+man we know of in all the world, excepting thee."&mdash;<i>Herodotus, book 7,
+par. 27.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>"Richer than they all," Xerxes, "through his riches," was
+able, as the prophecy had foretold, to "stir up all against the
+realm of Grecia." Forty-nine nations marched under his banners
+to the attack. The Greek poet, &AElig;schylus, who himself
+fought against the Persians, wrote of Xerxes' mighty host,</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"And myriad-peopled Asia's king, a battle-eager lord,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">From utmost east to utmost west sped on his countless horde,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">In unnumbered squadrons marching, in fleets of keels untold,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Knowing none dared disobey,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">For stern overseers were they<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Of the godlike king begotten of the ancient race of Gold."<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">&mdash;<i>"Pers&aelig;," Way's translation.</i><br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>Xerxes boasted that he was leading "the whole race of
+mankind to the destruction of Greece." But his invasion
+ended in the total rout of his forces by land and by sea. It
+was an advertisement to the world that Persia's might was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_324" id="Page_324">[Pg 324]</a></span>
+broken. The prophecy treats it so, and deals no further with
+Persian history.</p>
+
+<p>&AElig;schylus at the time celebrated the passing of Persia's
+prestige in the lines,&mdash;</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"With sacred awe<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The Persian law<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">No more shall Asia's realms revere;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">To their lord's hand<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">At his command,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">No more the exacted tribute bear.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;*&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;*&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;*&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;*&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;*<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Before the Ionian squadrons Persia flies,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Or sinks engulfed beneath the main;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Fallen! fallen! is her imperial power,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And conquest on her banners waits no more."<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">&mdash;<i>"Pers&aelig;," Potter's translation.</i><br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>The next great world change was to be the rise of Grecia
+to dominion. So, although a number of kings followed
+Xerxes in Persia, the prophecy passes from his disastrous
+invasion directly to the coming of Grecia under its "mighty
+king," Alexander the Great.</p>
+
+
+<h4>Grecia</h4>
+
+<p><i>Prophecy.</i>&mdash;"A mighty king shall stand up, that shall
+rule with great dominion, and do according to his will. And
+when he shall stand up, his kingdom shall be broken, and
+shall be divided toward the four winds of heaven; and not to
+his posterity." Dan. 11:3, 4.</p>
+
+<p><i>History.</i>&mdash;Alexander the Great stood up and ruled with
+great dominion, over a kingdom stretching from India to
+Grecia, with kings yet farther west sending embassies to
+Babylon to make submission. But in the height of his power,
+as the prophecy suggests, he was suddenly cut down by death.
+All his posterity perished, and out of the struggles of his
+generals for supremacy came (301 <span class="smcap">b.c.</span>) the division of
+the empire toward "the four winds," as the prophecy had
+declared so long before. Rawlinson, the historian, says:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_325" id="Page_325">[Pg 325]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"A quadripartite division of Alexander's dominion was recognized:
+Macedonia [west], Egypt [south], Asia Minor [north], and Syria [stretching
+eastward beyond the Euphrates]."&mdash;<i>"Sixth Monarchy," chap. 3.</i></p></div>
+
+
+<h4>The Kings of the North and South</h4>
+
+<p>Next, a rearrangement of these powers is noted; and it
+is this that gives us the key to the study of the closing portion
+of the long prophetic outline dealing with events of our own
+day. The narrative continues:</p>
+
+<p><i>Prophecy.</i>&mdash;"The king of the south shall be strong, and
+one of his princes ... shall be strong above him;... his
+dominion shall be a great dominion." Verse 5.</p>
+
+<p><i>History.</i>&mdash;The history testifies that the king of the south
+(Egypt, under Ptolemy) was strong; but one of the four
+princes was "strong above him." Seleucus, of Syria and the
+east, pushed his dominion northward, subduing most of Asia
+Minor, and extending his boundary into Thrace, on the European
+side, beyond the Dardanelles. Henceforward, as Mahaffy
+says,</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"there were three great kingdoms&mdash;Macedonia, Egypt, Syria&mdash;which
+lasted, each under its own dynasty, till Rome swallowed them up."&mdash;<i>"Alexander's
+Empire," p. 89.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>Thus Seleucus took the territory of the north, and the
+Syrian power became king of the north, its empire extending
+from Thrace, in Europe, through Asia Minor to Syria and the
+Euphrates. The seat of empire was removed from the east,
+and Antioch, in northern Syria, "once the third city of the
+world," became the famous capital.</p>
+
+<p>The prophecy next foretold in remarkable detail the contests
+between these two strong powers, the king of the north
+(Syria and Asia Minor) and the king of the south (Egypt).
+The conflict raged back and forth till the coming of the Romans.
+The Holy Land was the frequent meeting place of
+the contending armies. The Encyclopedia Britannica describes
+it:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_326" id="Page_326">[Pg 326]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Palestine was as of old the battle field for the king of the north and
+the king of the south.... The history of these times is lost in its
+details."&mdash;<i>Ninth
+edition, Vol. XV, art. "Macedonian Empire," p. 144.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>We shall not follow the details of this contest as foretold
+in the prophecy, nor yet the outline of events after the coming
+of the Roman power ended the rivalry between Syria and
+Egypt. It is necessary only that we fix the events and geographic
+terms of this early portion of the prophecy. Then
+we shall have the key to the closing portion, dealing with
+events of the last days, when the king of the north again
+appears.</p>
+
+
+<h4>The Modern King of the North</h4>
+
+<p>In the last verses of the chapter we find the king of the
+north a chief actor in this same region, "at the time of the
+end." Verse 40. And we are told that when this power
+comes to its end, it is the signal that the great day of God is
+at hand. (See Dan. 12:1.)</p>
+
+<p>It becomes a vital question, therefore, what power in these
+last days is the king of the north, whose end is the signal of
+the swift ending of the world. Inspiration gives the basis
+for the answer. The king of the north in the early portion of
+the prophecy was the power that ruled in Syria and Asia
+Minor, from the Euphrates to the shores of the Dardanelles.
+The king of the north, then, of the later portion of the prophecy,
+must be the power that has been ruling in this same
+region during the time of the end.</p>
+
+<p>What power has held dominion over this territory in
+modern times?&mdash;The Turkish or Ottoman Empire. At this
+time Turkey holds almost the identical dominion of the ancient
+king of the north&mdash;from the Euphrates to the sea, and
+northward over Asia Minor and the shores of the Dardanelles.</p>
+
+<p>Then today Turkey is certainly the king of the north,
+according to the prophecy of Daniel 11.</p>
+
+<p>Of the later history of the king of the north and his end
+and the events following it, the prophecy says:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_327" id="Page_327">[Pg 327]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"Tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble
+him: therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy,
+and utterly to make away many.</p>
+
+<p>"And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between
+the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to
+his end, and none shall help him.</p>
+
+<p>"And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great
+Prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and
+there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there
+was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy
+people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written
+in the book." Dan. 11:44, 45; 12:1.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 448px;">
+<img src="images/p327.jpg" width="448" height="311" alt="CITY OF CONSTANTINOPLE
+
+The capital of the Turkish government.
+
+COPYRIGHT BY UNDERWOOD &amp; UNDERWOOD, N, Y." title="" />
+<span class="caption">CITY OF CONSTANTINOPLE<br />
+
+The capital of the Turkish government.<br />
+
+COPYRIGHT BY UNDERWOOD &amp; UNDERWOOD, N, Y.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The opening verse of this scripture describes exactly the
+history of Turkey in modern times. Turkey's disquietude
+has come because of tidings out of the east and out of the
+north. In both these directions there has been a pushing
+back of the Turkish frontier, particularly in the north. Again<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_328" id="Page_328">[Pg 328]</a></span>
+and again, during this time of the end, Turkey has gone forth
+with fury to resist these encroachments and prevent the loss
+of territory.</p>
+
+<p>The prophecy indicates that in some of these struggles
+the king of the north will yet transfer his capital:</p>
+
+<p>"He shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between
+the seas in the glorious holy mountain."</p>
+
+
+<h4>Removal to Jerusalem</h4>
+
+<p>This prophecy can mean nothing else than that the king
+of the north will eventually set up his headquarters in Jerusalem;
+for Jerusalem is "the holy mountain" of the Scriptures.
+Zech. 8:3.</p>
+
+<p>It is a wise counsel that says, "Tread lightly in the details
+of unfulfilled prophecy." Just how events are to turn, by
+what route or processes the steps are to be taken, it is useless
+to conjecture. But there the prophecy stands. Every
+word of the early portion of the prophetic outline has been
+fulfilled to the letter in the history of the ancient empires
+battling century after century over this region. Every word
+spoken of the final scenes will as certainly be fulfilled.</p>
+
+<p>In view of this prophecy,&mdash;that Jerusalem is yet to be
+made the headquarters of the king of the north,&mdash;it becomes
+highly significant that the Mohammedans regard Jerusalem
+as a sacred city. According to Mohammedan tradition, Jerusalem
+is to play a leading part in the closing history of that
+people. Hughes, in his "Dictionary of Islam," article "Jerusalem,"
+summarizes the teaching:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"In the last days there will be a general flight to Jerusalem."</p></div>
+
+<p>Speaking of Jerusalem, an old Arab commentator on the
+Koran, Mukaddasi (<span class="smcap">A.D.</span> 985), said:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"As to the excellence of the city. Why, is not this to be the place
+of marshaling on the day of judgment, where the gathering together and
+the appointment will take place? Verily Makkah [Mecca] and Al Madina
+have their superiority by reason of the Ka'abah and the prophet,&mdash;the
+blessing of Allah be upon him and his family!&mdash;but, in truth, on the
+day of judgment both cities will come to Jerusalem, and the excellencies
+of them all will then be united."&mdash;<i>Le Strange, "Palestine under the Moslems,"
+p. 85.</i></p></div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_329" id="Page_329">[Pg 329]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 297px;">
+<img src="images/p329.jpg" width="297" height="439" alt="MODERN JERUSALEM
+
+&quot;He shall plant the tabernacles of his
+palace between the seas in the glorious
+holy mountain.&quot; Dan. 11:45." title="" />
+<span class="caption">MODERN JERUSALEM<br />
+
+&quot;He shall plant the tabernacles of his
+palace between the seas in the glorious
+holy mountain.&quot; Dan. 11:45.</span>
+</div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_330" id="Page_330">[Pg 330]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Thus Moslem doctrinal teaching and tradition both point
+out Jerusalem as the rallying place of Moslems before the end.
+Again and again in recent years, as the pressure has threatened
+the Turkish hold on Constantinople, the thoughts of
+Moslems have turned toward Jerusalem as a possible capital.
+A few years ago a Seventh-day Adventist missionary in Constantinople
+wrote to his home board:</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 444px;">
+<img src="images/p330.jpg" width="444" height="278" alt="THE MOSQUE OF OMAR
+
+Situated in Jerusalem, on Mt. Moriah,
+the site of Solomon&#39;s Temple." title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE MOSQUE OF OMAR<br />
+
+Situated in Jerusalem, on Mt. Moriah,
+the site of Solomon&#39;s Temple.</span>
+</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Within the past few months quite a company of people from the
+Transcaucasus district have come to Ismid,&mdash;old Nicodemia,&mdash;bringing
+all they possess with them. Some of them possess considerable wealth.
+When asked if they were going to settle in Ismid, they replied that they
+would settle nowhere permanently at present. They stated that they
+had come to be prepared to go with their leader when he left Constantinople
+to go to Jerusalem."</p></div>
+
+<p>Wherever the capital may first be set up following the
+forsaking of Constantinople,&mdash;and Turkish authorities, we are<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_331" id="Page_331">[Pg 331]</a></span>
+told, have discussed a number of possible locations in Asia
+Minor,&mdash;there stands the ancient prophecy as to the eventual
+seat of the king of the north,</p>
+
+<p>"He shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the
+seas in the glorious holy mountain."</p>
+
+<p>Following that, what comes? The prophecy declares,</p>
+
+<p>"Yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him."</p>
+
+
+<h4>What Comes When Turkey Falls</h4>
+
+<p>The fury of his goings forth "utterly to make away many,"
+the moving of his capital from one place to another, avail
+nothing in the end. "He shall come to his end, and none
+shall help him."</p>
+
+<p>The suggestion of the prophecy is that this power has
+hitherto been helped to stand. Here again every suggestion
+of the prophetic language finds its response in history.
+Through these later years of the time of the end the Ottoman
+Empire has been helped to stand, by either one power or
+another, or by some combination of powers. The late Lord
+Salisbury, while premier of Britain, thus stated the reasons for
+this policy of helping Turkey:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Turkey is in that remarkable condition in which it has now stood for
+half a century, mainly because the great powers of the world have resolved
+that for the peace of Christendom it is necessary that the Ottoman Empire
+should stand. They came to that conclusion nearly half a century ago.
+I do not think they have altered it now. The danger, if the Ottoman
+Empire should fall, would not merely be the danger that would threaten
+the territories of which that empire consists; it would be the danger that
+the fire there lit should spread to other nations, and should involve all
+that is most powerful and civilized in Europe in a dangerous and calamitous
+contest. That was the danger that was present to the minds of our
+fathers when they resolved to make the integrity and independence of
+the Ottoman Empire a matter of European treaty, and that is a danger
+which has not passed away."&mdash;<i>Mansion House speech, Nov. 9, 1895.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>The veteran premier stated the fear of modern statesmen
+that Turkey's fall would involve all civilization in a calamitous
+conflict. The prophecy pictures just such a catastrophe,
+in these words:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_332" id="Page_332">[Pg 332]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"He shall come to his end, and none shall help him. And
+at that time shall Michael stand up, the great Prince which
+standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a
+time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation
+even to that same time."</p>
+
+<p>What modern statesmen have seen impending and have
+sought to ward off, the ancient prophecy says will surely come
+to pass when the king of the north comes to his end,&mdash;a time
+of trouble for the nations such as never was.</p>
+
+
+<h4>In the New Testament</h4>
+
+<p>In the prophecy of Revelation 16, the last great clash of
+the nations is represented as following the fall of the power
+that rules the territory drained by the Euphrates. Describing
+the last events in human history, under the pouring out
+of the vials of judgment upon the world, the prophet says:</p>
+
+<p>"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." Rev. 16:12.</p>
+
+<p>The water of the Euphrates represents the people or power
+ruling by it. When anciently the Assyrians dwelt by that
+river and were about to invade Israel, the prophet said, "The
+Lord bringeth up upon them the waters of the river, strong
+and many, even the king of Assyria." Isa. 8:7. The waters
+of the Euphrates meant the Assyrian power.</p>
+
+<p>Just so in this prophecy, the river stands for the people.
+As the Nile stood for Egypt, and the Tiber for Rome, so in
+all modern times the Euphrates has stood for Turkey. The
+"drying up" of the Euphrates must mean the ending of the
+Turkish power. And in the verses immediately following,
+Revelation pictures the gathering of the nations of the whole
+world to Armageddon&mdash;"the battle of that great day of
+God Almighty." Following Turkey's end comes the final
+clash of nations. The earth quakes, the cities of the nations
+fall, and the last judgments of God come upon a warring
+world.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_333" id="Page_333">[Pg 333]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Here, as in Daniel 12, is pictured a time of trouble for
+the nations such as never was, and the end of the world,
+when the power ruling in Syria, by the Euphrates, comes to
+its end.</p>
+
+
+<h4>The Approaching End</h4>
+
+<p>For years statesmen and observers have discussed the approaching
+dissolution of the Ottoman Empire. Travelers
+in Turkey have reported that thoughtful Turkish people
+held the conviction that the crisis of their nation was near
+at hand. Years ago Mr. Charles MacFarlane wrote:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"The Turks themselves seem generally to be convinced that their
+final hour is approaching. 'We are no longer Mussulmans,&mdash;the Mussulman
+saber is broken,&mdash;the Osmanlis will be driven out of Europe by the
+<i>gaiours</i>, and driven through Asia to the regions from which they first
+sprang. It is Kismet! We cannot resist destiny!' I heard words to
+this effect from many Turks, as well in Asia as in Europe."&mdash;<i>"Kismet;
+or the Doom of Turkey" (London, 1853), p. 409.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>A later Turkish traveler, Mr. Wilfred Scawen Blunt, says:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Ancient prophecy and modern superstition alike point to the return
+of the Crescent into Asia as an event at hand, and to the doom of the
+Turks.... A well-known prediction to this effect, which has for ages
+exercised its influence on the vulgar and even on the learned Mohammedan
+mind,... places the scene of the last struggle in northern Syria,
+at Homs, on the Orontes. Islam is then finally to retire from the north,
+and the Turkish rule to cease. Such prophecies often work their own
+fulfilment."&mdash;<i>"Future of Islam," p. 95.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>Thus native tradition and human forebodings have contemplated
+the break-up of the Turkish power, as the course
+of the years has witnessed the shrinkage of its territory and
+the ever-increasing difficulty of its position.</p>
+
+<p>Now and then there has been a renewal of Turkey's vigor
+and prestige; then again its situation has been rendered yet
+more precarious. It has been a buffer between the clashing
+interests of the great powers. Speaking of Turkey's difficult
+position in this respect, the London <i>Fortnightly Review</i>, May,
+1915, expressed a common view thus:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_334" id="Page_334">[Pg 334]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"When once the nations of Europe set foot in Asia Minor, the pace of
+Turkey's further downfall will be set not so much by Turkey's strength
+or weakness as by the mutual jealousies of the occupying powers."</p></div>
+
+<p>The storm clouds hang ever low over the Near East; while
+above all the din of wars and rumors of wars, the voice of
+divine prophecy declares that when this power comes to its
+end, the closing events in human history will quickly follow.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 448px;">
+<img src="images/p334.jpg" width="448" height="336" alt="CONSTANTINOPLE THE KEY CITY OF THE WORLD
+
+The cross on which the peace of the
+world has been crucified." title="" />
+<span class="caption">CONSTANTINOPLE THE KEY CITY OF THE WORLD<br />
+
+The cross on which the peace of the
+world has been crucified.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>The solemn truth rings in our ears like a trumpet peal;
+the age-long Eastern Question is hastening on to its final solution,
+and its solution brings the end of the world.</p>
+
+<p>In the light of the "sure word of prophecy" the developments
+of our day in the East become more than matters of
+grave political concern to statesmen and observers of affairs
+generally; they are matters of deepest personal, eternal interest
+to every soul. In watching the trend of international
+affairs, we are watching the doing of the last things among
+the nations.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_335" id="Page_335">[Pg 335]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>As these things are seen coming to pass exactly as the
+prophecy foretold, we recognize them as God's call to men in
+the last generation to turn to Him and prepare their hearts
+to meet the coming Lord. Let no one think to wait until
+he sees Turkey come to its end before making his peace with
+God. The end of this power, as described in Revelation 16,
+comes during the falling of the seven last plagues. And the
+last verse of the preceding chapter shows that Christ's ministry
+for sinners in the heavenly temple has ended before
+the plagues begin to fall. Human probation will already have
+closed. The solemn decree will then have been issued in
+heaven:</p>
+
+<p>"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.
+And, behold, I come quickly." Rev. 22:11, 12.</p>
+
+<p>"Now is the accepted time," calls the Spirit; "now is the
+day of salvation." 2 Cor. 6:2. We have not to make ourselves
+ready. "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just
+to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
+1 John 1:9. Our part is to believe and confess;
+His part is to forgive and cleanse and make us ready for
+the coming kingdom.</p>
+
+
+<p>The Sinner's Plea</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">With broken heart and contrite sigh,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">A trembling sinner, Lord, I cry;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Thy pardoning grace is rich and free:<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">O God, be merciful to me!<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">Nor alms, nor deeds that I have done,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Can for a single sin atone;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">To Calvary alone I flee:<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">O God, be merciful to me!<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">And when, redeemed from sin and hell,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">With all the ransomed throng I dwell,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">My raptured song shall ever be,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">"God has been merciful to me!"<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">&mdash;<i>Cornelius Elven.</i><br /></span>
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_336" id="Page_336">[Pg 336]</a></span></div></div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 448px;">
+<img src="images/p336.jpg" width="448" height="284" alt="THE GREAT BATTLE OF ARMAGEDDON
+
+The whole world involved in the last great clash of nations.
+&quot;The nations were angry, and Thy wrath is come.&quot; Rev. 11:18." title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE GREAT BATTLE OF ARMAGEDDON<br />
+
+The whole world involved in the last great clash of nations.
+&quot;The nations were angry, and Thy wrath is come.&quot; Rev. 11:18.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_337" id="Page_337">[Pg 337]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 448px;">
+<img src="images/p337.jpg" width="448" height="281" alt="THE PLAIN OF ESDRAELON
+AND MT. MEGIDDO
+
+&quot;He gathered them together into a place
+called ... Armageddon.&quot; Rev. 16:16." title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE PLAIN OF ESDRAELON
+AND MT. MEGIDDO<br />
+
+&quot;He gathered them together into a place
+called ... Armageddon.&quot; Rev. 16:16.</span>
+</div>
+
+<h2><a name="ARMAGEDDON" id="ARMAGEDDON"></a>ARMAGEDDON</h2>
+
+<h3>THE FINAL CLASH OF EARTHLY EMPIRES</h3>
+
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"We are living, we are dwelling,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">In a grand and awful time,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">In an age on ages telling,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">To be living is sublime.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Hark! the waking up of nations,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Gog and Magog to the fray;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Hark! what soundeth? Is creation<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Groaning for her latter day?"<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>The sure word of prophecy that foretold the rise and fall
+of ancient empires, and outlined the general course of world
+history through the ages, describes also the last great struggle
+of the nations.</p>
+
+<p>The proverb says, "Peace is the dream of the wise, but
+war is the history of man." And divine prophecy assures us
+that the history of this present world will end amid scenes
+of conflict.</p>
+
+<p>Many in our time have come to think that civilization must
+reach a better way of composing the rivalries of the nations.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_338" id="Page_338">[Pg 338]</a></span>
+The prophecy forewarns us otherwise. In fact, the prophetic
+word points to the talk of peace and safety amid
+preparations for war, as a distinct sign of the latter days.</p>
+
+<p>"In the last days," Isaiah says, "many people shall go
+and say:"</p>
+
+<p>"They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their
+spears into pruning hooks: nation shall not lift up sword
+against nation, neither shall they learn war any more." Isa.
+2:2-4.</p>
+
+<p>This is what "many people" were to be saying. But the
+real conditions in the last days are described as exactly
+the opposite. The prophet Joel describes the real spirit of
+the world in these times:</p>
+
+<p>"Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles [the nations]: Prepare
+war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war
+draw near; let them come up: beat your plowshares into
+swords, and your pruning hooks into spears: let the weak say,
+I am strong." Joel 3:9, 10.</p>
+
+<p>The context shows that the prophet is speaking of the
+last times, when "the day of the Lord is near." Verse 14.</p>
+
+
+<h4>The Prophecy Fulfilling</h4>
+
+<p>This is what we have seen in our time, as never before
+in the history of man,&mdash;the product of the plowshare and the
+pruning hook being turned into instruments of war.</p>
+
+<p>About twenty-five years ago the late Marquis of Salisbury,
+speaking as a man grown gray in the service of the
+state, asked a London audience the question, "What is the
+great change that marks this time as different from the times
+when most of us were young men?" The aged statesman
+answered his own question, saying that it was the arming of
+the nations, the swift race upon which the powers had then
+recently entered, to increase their naval and military armaments.
+It is a sign of our times, answering to the prophetic
+forecast.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_339" id="Page_339">[Pg 339]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Throughout the present generation the thoughtful have
+watched with grave forebodings the preparations of the nations
+for war. Queen Alexandra, of Britain, once said of it:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"I was educated in the school of a king who was, before all things,
+just; and I have tried, like him, always to preach love and charity, I have
+always mistrusted warlike preparations, of which nations seem never to
+tire. Some day this accumulated material of soldiers and guns will
+burst into flames in a frightful war that will throw humanity into mourning
+on earth and grieve our universal Father in heaven."</p></div>
+
+<p>As the race of armaments went forward on a scale never
+before thought of, statesmen and writers began to make use
+of the word "Armageddon" to describe the conflict that they
+saw was inevitable. Years ago the London <i>Contemporary
+Review</i> said:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Odd things are happening everywhere.... Russia, Germany, England&mdash;these
+are great names; they palpitate with great ideas; they have
+vast destinies before them, and millions of armed men in their pay, all
+awaiting Armageddon."</p></div>
+
+<p>In June, 1909, Lord Rosebery, in a speech before a press
+convention in London, commented gravely upon the significance
+of the feverish haste with which the nations were arming
+themselves, "as if for some great Armageddon, and that
+in a time of the profoundest peace."</p>
+
+<p>To quote from a popular American magazine, of the same
+year:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Today all Europe is divided into two armed camps, waiting breathlessly
+for the morrow with its Armageddon."&mdash;<i>Everybody's Magazine,
+November, 1909.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>Thus, everywhere, observers saw that the rivalry of interests
+among the nations was leading to a conflict so
+overwhelmingly vast that only the Scriptural word "Armageddon,"
+with its appeal to the imagination, seemed adequately
+suggestive of its proportions.</p>
+
+<p>Every passing year added to the intensity of feeling and
+the antagonism of interests. In 1911 the London <i>Nineteenth
+Century and After</i> said:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_340" id="Page_340">[Pg 340]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 299px;">
+<img src="images/p340.jpg" width="299" height="448" alt="UNITED STATES
+BATTLESHIP &quot;NEVADA&quot;
+
+Photograph taken from the Manhattan
+Bridge. New York." title="" />
+<span class="caption">UNITED STATES
+BATTLESHIP &quot;NEVADA&quot;<br />
+
+Photograph taken from the Manhattan
+Bridge. New York.<br />
+COPYRIGHT BY UNDERWOOD &amp; UNDERWOOD. N.Y.
+</span></div>
+
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_341" id="Page_341">[Pg 341]</a></span></p>
+<p>"Never was national and racial feeling stronger upon earth than it
+is now. Never was preparation for war so tremendous and so sustained.
+Never was striking power so swift and so terribly formidable.... The
+shadow of conflict and of displacement greater than any which mankind
+has known since Attila and his Huns were stayed at Ch&acirc;lons, is visibly
+impending over the world. Almost can the ear of imagination hear the
+gathering of the legions for the fiery trial of peoples, a sound vast as the
+trumpet of the Lord of hosts."&mdash;<i>Quoted in the Literary Digest, May 6,
+1911.</i></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 410px;">
+<img src="images/p341.jpg" width="410" height="336" alt="COMRADES AFTER
+THE BATTLE
+
+Soldiers bringing in two wounded captives.
+
+PHOTO BY CENTRAL PHOTO SERVICE. N.Y." title="" />
+<span class="caption">COMRADES AFTER
+THE BATTLE<br />
+
+Soldiers bringing in two wounded captives.
+
+PHOTO BY CENTRAL PHOTO SERVICE. N.Y.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>What the ancient prophecy foretold&mdash;the preparing of
+war in the last days, the waking up and arming of the nations&mdash;we
+have seen fulfilling before our eyes in this generation.</p>
+
+
+<h4>Satanic Agencies at Work</h4>
+
+<p>In prophecies of the gathering of the nations for the last
+great struggle, Inspiration draws aside the veil, and allows
+us to see the agencies that have been stirring up the world<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_342" id="Page_342">[Pg 342]</a></span>
+for the war. As the prophet John was shown in vision the
+scenes of the last days, he saw the invisible powers of Satan,
+"the spirits of devils," going 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." Rev. 16:14.</p>
+
+<p>Earnest-minded statesmen have lamented their helplessness
+to combat the forces and influences pressing the world
+on toward conflict. In one of his last speeches as premier
+of Great Britain, the late Marquis of Salisbury was defending
+yet further calls for army and navy appropriations. He
+said:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"For years public opinion was in favor of a pacific policy, but now
+that state of opinion has passed away. The tide has turned, and who
+am I, and who are we, that we should attempt to stem the tide? If the
+tide has turned, we shall have to go with it. We are in the presence of
+forces far larger than we can wield."</p></div>
+
+<p>What those forces were, the aged statesman did not recognize,
+but the prophecy tells us. The prophet was shown
+the evil spirits from Satan going forth everywhere as the end
+nears, to stir up the whole world to the last great conflict.</p>
+
+<p>Sir Edward Grey, British foreign secretary, described these
+agencies very accurately. Speaking in the House of Commons,
+Nov. 27, 1911, he said:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"It is really as if in the atmosphere of the world there were some
+mischievous influence at work, which troubles and excites every part of it."</p></div>
+
+<p>It is all coming to pass exactly as the sure word of prophecy
+foretold.</p>
+
+<p>The conviction that great and decisive events are at hand
+has taken possession of many hearts in all the world. When
+the European war broke out in 1914, on a scale unprecedented
+in human history, it was no wonder that the question sprang
+to many lips, "Is it Armageddon?"</p>
+
+<p>The question was not lightly asked. The committee of
+the Church Missionary Society (Church of England), one of
+the greatest missionary organizations in the world, sent a
+message to its missionaries in all lands at the outbreak of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_343" id="Page_343">[Pg 343]</a></span>
+war. In this message was a call to prepare for the coming
+of the Lord:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"It may be that these events will quickly usher in the return of Christ
+to gather His saints together from the four quarters of the earth....
+Many see in the events preceding and accompanying this terrible cataclysm
+of war the signs of our Lord's near return. If so, blessed will that
+servant be whom his Lord when He cometh shall find giving 'their food
+in due season' to those fellow servants who have been put in his
+charge."&mdash;<i>Church Missionary Review, November, 1914.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>Timely as this call was, it was evident, from the prophetic
+scriptures, that the conflict then opening could not be the
+Armageddon of the Apocalypse, for the prelude to that final
+clash of nations is an event yet in the future&mdash;the downfall
+of a nation whose part in the closing scenes is clearly described
+in the prophecy of the coming Armageddon.</p>
+
+<p>The end of the power which rules over the territory through
+which the river Euphrates flows, is the prelude to Armageddon.
+The prophecy says:</p>
+
+<p>"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." Rev. 16:12.</p>
+
+<p>Next follows the gathering of "the whole world" to "the
+battle of that great day of God Almighty." Verse 14.</p>
+
+<p>Through all modern times Turkey has been identified
+with the Euphrates. The region of Syria and Asia Minor,
+long held by Turkey, has been the historic meeting place of
+the East and the West. In the London <i>Fortnightly Review</i>,
+May, 1915, Mr. J.B. Firth wrote:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"When, with the fall of Ottoman sovereignty at Constantinople,
+the Turk is driven out of Europe, there will arise once more the eternal
+question of the possession of Asia Minor. That land is the corridor between
+Europe and Asia, along which have passed most of the European
+conquerors&mdash;the Russians alone excepted&mdash;who have invaded Asia,
+and most of the Asiatic conquerors who have invaded Europe."</p></div>
+
+<p>The fall of the Turkish power in this Euphrates region
+will, in some manner, prepare the way for "the kings of the
+East" to come up to the final conflict.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_344" id="Page_344">[Pg 344]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<h4>The Awakening of the East</h4>
+
+<p>The same spirit that has been stirring up the West in preparation
+for the contest has been working in the East also.
+Year after year observers have pointed out the great changes
+taking place in Asia. September, 1909, the London <i>Contemporary
+Review</i> said:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"The whole of Asia is in the throes of rebirth. At last we may see
+these three&mdash;the yellow race, the Indian race, and the Arab-Persian
+Mohammedan race. And all that is making for the Armageddon."</p></div>
+
+<p>A writer in the May, 1913, issue of the London <i>Nineteenth
+Century and After</i>, reviewing the situation at the close of the
+Balkan War, said:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"A new spirit is abroad in the East. It arose on the shores of the
+Pacific when Japan proved that the great powers of Europe are not invulnerable.
+North and south and west it has spread, rousing China out
+of centuries of slumber, stirring India into ominous questioning, reviving
+memories of past glory in Persia, breeding discontent in Egypt, and luring
+Turkey onto the rocks."</p></div>
+
+<p>With all the nations stirred up by the spirit agencies of
+the god of this world, the prophet next saw the armies of earth
+gathering to the last great battle. The prophecy continues:</p>
+
+<p>"And he gathered them together into a place called in
+the Hebrew tongue Armageddon." Rev. 16:16.</p>
+
+<p>Armageddon means the hill, or mount, of Megiddo, which
+overlooks the plain of Esdraelon, the historic battle ground
+of northern Palestine. Carmack says of it:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Megiddo was the military key of Syria; it commanded at once
+the highway northward to Ph&#339;nicia and C&#339;le-Syria and the road across
+Galilee to Damascus and the valley of the Euphrates. It was moreover
+the chief town in a district of great fertility, the contested possession of
+many races. The vale of Kishon and the region of Megiddo were inevitable
+battle fields. Through all history they retained that qualification;
+there many of the great contests of southwestern Asia have been decided.
+In the history of Israel it was the scene of frequent battles. From such
+association the district achieved a dark nobility; it was regarded as a pre-destined
+place of blood and strife; the poet of the Apocalypse has clothed
+it with awe as the ground of the final conflict between the powers of light
+and darkness."&mdash;<i>"Pre-Biblical Syria and Palestine," p. 82.</i></p></div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_345" id="Page_345">[Pg 345]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Thus Armageddon, as the "military key of Syria," marks
+Palestine and the Near East as the great international storm
+center in the final conflict.</p>
+
+
+<h4>The Political Storm Center</h4>
+
+<p>In vision, nearly two thousand years ago, the prophet
+saw the forces of the last days gathering around this pivotal
+region. Today observers recognize the eastern Mediterranean
+as indeed the pivotal point around which international
+interests involving East and West naturally revolve.</p>
+
+<p>Some years ago, in discussing railway development in Asia
+and Africa, and the great highways of sea transportation,
+the London <i>Fortnightly Review</i> said:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Palestine is the great center, the meeting of the roads. Whoever
+holds Palestine, commands the great lines of communication, not only
+by land, but also by sea."</p></div>
+
+<p>Again, the Manchester <i>Guardian</i>, emphasizing the importance
+attaching to this strategic center, said during the great
+war:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"Egypt, as things are,&mdash;and the fact cannot be too often emphasized,&mdash;is
+the weak spot in our system of imperial defense by sea power.
+Not until Palestine is in our possession can Egypt be regarded as safe."&mdash;<i>Quoted
+in Literary Digest, Feb. 12, 1916, p. 369.</i></p></div>
+
+<p>Other nations have recognized the strategic value of a
+territory so situated. Thus political considerations make this
+region pointed out by the prophecy a center of conflicting
+interests. Hogarth, in his book, "The Near East," calls it
+"the time-honored storm center of the eastern Mediterranean."</p>
+
+
+<h4>The Religious Storm Center</h4>
+
+<p>To the conflict of political interests is added the rivalry
+of religious sentiment. Commenting on the religious associations
+of Palestine in relation to the international political
+situation, the London <i>Spectator</i> some years ago stated the
+matter thus:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"People often ask how it is that the future of Palestine presents such
+difficulties. The reason is simply that Jerusalem&mdash;you cannot separate<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_346" id="Page_346">[Pg 346]</a></span>
+Jerusalem from Palestine&mdash;is the sacred city of so many creeds and warring
+faiths. Not only is it the holy place of all the Christian churches,&mdash;and
+two of them quarrel bitterly over it, the Greeks and the Latins,&mdash;but
+it is also one of the most sacred places in the Mohammedan world.
+Mecca and Medina are hardly more sacred than the Mosque of Omar.
+That is a fact which is often ignored by Europeans, who forget that to
+turn the Mohammedans out of the temple inclosure would disturb the
+whole Moslem world, from the Straits Settlements to Albania. We must
+never forget that Mohammedan pilgrims from India visit Jerusalem, just
+as Christian pilgrims visit it from Europe. Lastly, Jerusalem is profoundly
+sacred to the Jews, and the Jews are beginning to be locally
+numerous and important. Most certainly there are no elements of difficulty
+wanting in the problem of the future of Palestine."</p></div>
+
+<p>History records the fact that rivalry over the care of the
+traditional holy places helped to precipitate one European
+war&mdash;that of the Crimea.</p>
+
+<p>In the study of the Eastern Question, we have seen that
+the prophecy of Daniel 11 marks Jerusalem as still a storm
+center in the closing scenes. A British consul in Jerusalem,
+in the days following the Crimean War, set forth suggestively
+his view of one of the factors in the Eastern Question. He
+wrote:</p>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>"The very heart and kernel of the Eastern Question can only be
+reached in the Holy City, Jerusalem, where the Eastern and Western
+churches are still wrestling as of old for the mastery.... Now as heretofore,
+disguise the object as they may, they are striving for a prize which
+has not been destined by divine Providence for either; and this prize is
+no less than a virtual dominion over the Christian world, from a throne
+of government within the sanctuaries of the Holy City; and the possession
+of that throne would involve possession of the key to universal
+dominion."&mdash;<i>"Stirring
+Times: Records from Jerusalem Consulate Chronicles," by
+James Finn, introductory note by editor, p. xxiii.</i></p></div>
+
+
+<h4>Foretold in Prophecy</h4>
+
+<p>By every consideration&mdash;political, racial, and religious&mdash;the
+Near East supplies all the elements for involving the
+whole world when once the sweeping displacements begin
+which the prophecy foretold, and for which statesmen in our
+day have sought to prepare.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_347" id="Page_347">[Pg 347]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Long ages ago the prophet of God, in vision on the Isle
+of Patmos, was shown the clash of interests and the gathering
+of the nations around this historic center. Before our eyes
+today we see events tending to give to this region the very
+character assigned to it by the prophecy. It was written in
+the sure word of prophecy in order that, as the events foretold
+are seen approaching, men may believe and turn to God,
+and find salvation from the things coming upon the earth.</p>
+
+<p>Into the prophecy of this sixteenth chapter of Revelation,
+describing the gathering of forces to Armageddon, our Saviour
+interjects the warning and the appeal:</p>
+
+<p>"Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth,
+and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see
+his shame." Verse 15.</p>
+
+<p>The last earthly events that the prophecy is dealing with&mdash;the
+pouring out of the seven last plagues, and the clash of
+Armageddon&mdash;come after probation closes. The close of probation,
+the passing of the ministry of Christ in the heavenly
+temple, will come as a thief, unannounced. Our only safety
+is in yielding heart and life to him now for cleansing, and
+accepting from his hand the garments of his own righteousness,
+freely offered to every one.</p>
+
+
+<h4>What Comes with Armageddon</h4>
+
+<p>Whatever ambitions or aims may be the impelling motives
+when the gathering to the great conflict comes, one
+thing is certain: Armageddon is to bring triumph and world
+dominion to no earthly power. As the nations gather, the
+Lord intervenes from heaven, and the history of the kingdoms
+of this world is closed at last. The prophet tells the sequel
+to Armageddon:</p>
+
+<p>"He gathered them together into a place called in the
+Hebrew tongue Armageddon. 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.
+And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings; and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_348" id="Page_348">[Pg 348]</a></span>
+there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were
+upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great. 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. And every island fled away, and the
+mountains were not found. 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." Rev. 16:16-21.</p>
+
+<p>The fall of the Turkish power is the prelude to the gathering
+of the nations to the battle of Armageddon. And Armageddon
+is the prelude to the end of the world and Christ's
+glorious coming as King of kings and Lord of lords. The
+armies gathered to battle for supremacy find themselves
+suddenly arrayed against the armies of heaven. Another
+prophecy describes the scene when Christ is revealed:</p>
+
+<p>"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; 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: for
+the great day of His wrath is come; and who shall be able to
+stand?" Rev. 6:15-17.</p>
+
+<p>Again, as the great searchlight of divine prophecy lights
+up the way before us, we see by the course of present-day
+events that the end is drawing very near. By what sudden
+turn of affairs the last things to be done in history may be
+set in motion, none can foresee. The Saviour admonishes
+every soul, "Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour
+as ye think not the Son of man cometh." Matt. 24:44.</p>
+
+<p>It is for this time of waiting, especially, that Christ spoke
+the parable of the ten virgins who waited for the bridegroom.
+All sincerely wanted to meet him; all expected to be ready.
+But when the cry was raised, "Behold, the bridegroom cometh;<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_349" id="Page_349">[Pg 349]</a></span>
+go ye out to meet him!" only five were ready. The
+others lacked the oil that was to give them light. We know
+what the oil represents&mdash;the genuine heart experience of the
+grace and love of Christ.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 372px;">
+<img src="images/p349.jpg" width="372" height="336" alt="THE TEN VIRGINS
+
+&quot;They that were ready went in with him to the
+marriage: and the door was shut.&quot; Matt. 25:10." title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE TEN VIRGINS<br />
+
+&quot;They that were ready went in with him to the
+marriage: and the door was shut.&quot; Matt. 25:10.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>Those overtaken unready, hastened away to get oil. "And
+while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and <i>they that
+were ready</i> went in with him to the marriage: and the door
+was shut." Matt. 25:10. Those that were ready went in;
+those that were getting ready were too late. How came some
+to be ready?&mdash;They were ready all the time; they kept ready.
+This lesson is for us now. Our only safety is in being ready
+every day, keeping sins forgiven, the life surrendered to God.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_350" id="Page_350">[Pg 350]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 450px;">
+<img src="images/p350.jpg" width="450" height="124" alt="THE MILLENNIUM" title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE MILLENNIUM</span>
+</div>
+
+<div class="blockquot"><p>The millennium is the closing period of God's great week of time&mdash;a great
+sabbath of rest to the earth and to the people
+of God.</p>
+
+<p>It follows the close of the gospel age, and precedes the setting up of the
+everlasting kingdom of God on earth.</p>
+
+<p>It comprehends what in the Scriptures is frequently spoken of as "the day of the
+Lord."</p>
+
+<p>It is bounded at each end by a resurrection.</p>
+
+<p>Its beginning is marked by the pouring out of the seven last plagues, the second
+coming of Christ, the resurrection of
+the righteous dead, the binding of Satan, and the translation of the saints to
+heaven; and its close, by the descent of the New
+Jerusalem, with Christ and the saints, from heaven, the resurrection of the
+wicked dead, the loosing of Satan, and the final
+destruction of the wicked.</p>
+
+<p>During the one thousand years the earth lies desolate; Satan and his angels are
+confined here; and the saints, with Christ,
+sit in judgment on the wicked, preparatory to their final punishment.</p>
+
+<p>The wicked dead are then raised; Satan is loosed for a little season, and he and
+the host of the wicked encompass the
+camp of the saints and the holy city, when fire comes down from God out of
+heaven and devours them. The earth is cleansed
+by the same fire that destroys the wicked, and, renewed, becomes the eternal
+abode of the saints.</p>
+
+<p>The millennium is one of "the ages to come." Its close will mark the beginning
+of the new earth state.</p></div>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_351" id="Page_351">[Pg 351]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 442px;">
+<img src="images/p351.jpg" width="442" height="309" alt="CHRIST COMING FOR
+HIS OWN
+
+&quot;They lived and reigned with Christ a
+thousand years,&quot; Rev. 20:4." title="" />
+<span class="caption">CHRIST COMING FOR
+HIS OWN<br />
+
+&quot;They lived and reigned with Christ a
+thousand years,&quot; Rev. 20:4.</span>
+</div>
+
+<h2><a name="THE_MILLENNIUM" id="THE_MILLENNIUM"></a><b>THE MILLENNIUM</b></h2>
+
+
+<p>The word "millennium" means "a thousand years."
+This definite period is referred to specifically in but one chapter
+of the Bible, the twentieth of Revelation; and in that
+chapter it is spoken of repeatedly. We find it to be:</p>
+
+<p>The period during which the saints reign with Christ in
+judgment.</p>
+
+<p>The period during which Satan is bound.</p>
+
+<p>The measure of time between the two resurrections, that
+of the just and that of the unjust.</p>
+
+<p>An examination of the scriptures bearing upon the millennium
+will show:</p>
+
+<p>1. The events that mark its beginning.</p>
+
+<p>2. The events that occur during the thousand years.</p>
+
+<p>3. The events that come at the end of the period.</p>
+
+<p>We shall find it clearly taught in these scriptures:</p>
+
+<p>That the millennium begins at the second coming of Christ.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_352" id="Page_352">[Pg 352]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>That the reign of the saints with Him in judgment is not
+on this earth, but in heaven.</p>
+
+<p>That this earth, void of human inhabitants, is Satan's
+prison house during the thousand years.</p>
+
+<p>That at the end of the thousand years the judgment determined
+is executed upon Satan and all the wicked.</p>
+
+<p>That this earth, purified by the fires of the last judgment,
+and renewed, becomes the eternal home of the saved.</p>
+
+
+<h4>1. Events at the Beginning of the Thousand Years</h4>
+
+<p>The key to the time is furnished by the declaration that
+the millennium begins with&mdash;</p>
+
+
+<h4>The Resurrection of the Just</h4>
+
+<p>Speaking of the risen saints, the Scripture says:</p>
+
+<p>"They lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
+But the rest of the dead [the wicked] lived not again until
+the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
+Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection."
+Rev. 20:4-6.</p>
+
+<p>There are to be two resurrections. The apostle Paul said
+that this was the teaching of all Scripture: "There shall be
+a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust."
+Acts 24:15. The first resurrection, that of the just, marks
+the beginning of the thousand years.</p>
+
+
+<h4>Christ's Second Coming</h4>
+
+<p>When is this first resurrection, in the order of events in
+this "day of the Lord"? It is at the second advent of Christ.
+One scripture, out of many, will suffice to state it:</p>
+
+<p>"The Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a
+shout, with the voice of the Archangel, and with the trump
+of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first." 1 Thess. 4:16.</p>
+
+<p>As the Saviour comes in glory, with all the holy angels,
+the graves are opened, and His voice awakens His children
+who sleep in the dust.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_353" id="Page_353">[Pg 353]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet,
+and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds,
+from one end of heaven to the other." Matt. 24:31.</p>
+
+<p>The time of Christ's second coming, therefore, is the beginning
+of the millennium.</p>
+
+
+<h4>The Righteous Taken to Heaven</h4>
+
+<p>The living righteous are translated, and, together with
+the risen saints, are taken to heaven, as the apostle says:</p>
+
+<p>"Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up
+together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air:
+and so shall we ever be with the Lord." 1 Thess. 4:17.</p>
+
+<p>This was the Saviour's promise:</p>
+
+<p>"In My Father's house are many mansions.... I go to
+prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place
+for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself;
+that where I am, there ye may be also." John 14:2, 3.</p>
+
+
+<h4>The Destruction of the Wicked</h4>
+
+<p>At Christ's second coming the wicked are slain. The unbelieving
+left without shelter in that day, cannot endure the
+presence of such glory as will burst upon the world:</p>
+
+<p>"The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His
+mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that
+know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus
+Christ." 2 Thess. 1:7, 8.</p>
+
+
+<h4>The Binding of Satan</h4>
+
+<p>With the saints in heaven, beyond the reach of Satan's
+wiles, and with the wicked dead, not to live again till the
+thousand years are finished, Satan is "bound"&mdash;confined by
+divine power to this earth, which becomes his prison house,
+there being neither saint nor sinner upon whom to ply his arts
+of deception. No prisoner was ever more effectually chained.
+The symbolical language of the prophet pictures the scene:</p>
+
+<p>"I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key
+of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_354" id="Page_354">[Pg 354]</a></span>
+he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the
+Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, 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." Rev. 20:1-3.</p>
+
+<p>These are the events that mark the beginning of the thousand
+years: Christ's second coming, the resurrection of the
+just, the ascent of all the redeemed to the city of God, the
+death of the wicked, and, in consequence, the binding of Satan.</p>
+
+
+<h4>2. Events During the Thousand Years</h4>
+
+
+<h4>In Heaven</h4>
+
+<p>Scene after scene of glory is spread before us in the visions
+the prophets were given of the redeemed in the city of God.
+The prophet John says:</p>
+
+<p>"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....
+Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve Him
+day and night in His temple." Rev. 7:9-15.</p>
+
+<p>They "serve" in the temple of the Lord, the prophet says;
+while the poet sings:</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Whence came the armies of the sky,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">John saw in vision bright?<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Whence came their crowns, their robes, their palms,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Too pure for mortal sight?<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"From desert waste, and cities full,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">From dungeons dark, they've come,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And now they claim their mansion fair,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">They've found their long-sought home."<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>One service in which the saved have part during the thousand
+years is the work of judgment that still remains, preparatory
+to the final visitation of sin and the destruction of
+Satan and all his works. The prophet saw this work going<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_355" id="Page_355">[Pg 355]</a></span>
+forward in the heavenly courts, the redeemed associated with
+Christ in the service:</p>
+
+<p>"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 worshiped 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." Rev. 20:4.</p>
+
+<p>It was to this work of judging the wicked and the evil
+angels, that the apostle Paul referred in the counsel to the
+Corinthians: "Do ye not know that the saints shall judge
+the world?... Know ye not that we shall judge angels?"
+1 Cor. 6:2, 3.</p>
+
+
+<h4>On Earth</h4>
+
+<p>While in heaven above the saved are with Christ and the
+holy angels before the throne, and follow the Lamb whithersoever
+He goeth, it is to be remembered that on earth all is
+desolation and emptiness. The wicked have been slain by
+the glory of Christ's coming. By the quaking of the earth
+the cities of the nations have fallen in ruin, islands have been
+removed, and mountains cast into the depths of the sea. The
+condition of the earth during this time of desolation is thus
+described by the prophet:</p>
+
+<p>"I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and
+void; and the heavens, and they had no light. I beheld the
+mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved
+lightly. I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the
+birds of the heavens were fled. I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful
+place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken
+down at the presence of the Lord, and by His fierce anger."
+Jer. 4:23-26.</p>
+
+<p>"Without form, and void," said the prophet. This is the
+same phrase that is used in the opening verses of Genesis to
+describe the chaotic state of the earth in the beginning. At
+the beginning of creation week the earth was in a state of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_356" id="Page_356">[Pg 356]</a></span>
+emptiness and chaos&mdash;an "abyss," as it is called in the
+Greek translation of Genesis. Again, during this thousand-year
+period, the earth is an "abyss," or a desolate waste.
+"Abyss" is the meaning of the word translated "bottomless
+pit" in the text telling of the binding of Satan by the mighty
+angel of God:</p>
+
+<p>"He laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is
+the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, and
+cast him into the bottomless pit." Rev. 20:2, 3. The Revised
+Version says, "And cast him into the abyss."</p>
+
+<p>Confined to this pit or abyss of desolation, as a prisoner
+in a prison house, with none to tempt, the author of sin has
+a thousand years in which to view the ruin that sin has wrought
+in the earth that once left its Maker's hand beautiful and
+perfect, unmarred by any curse.</p>
+
+
+<h4>3. Events at the End of the Thousand Years</h4>
+
+<p>At the end of the millennium, this earth becomes the
+scene of events that close the great controversy between
+Christ and Satan.</p>
+
+
+<h4>The Descent of the Holy City</h4>
+
+<p>The judgment work in heaven having been accomplished,
+the hour has come for the execution of the judgment upon
+sin and sinners. The holy city comes down out of heaven.
+The prophet saw its descent in vision:</p>
+
+<p>"I John saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down
+from God out of heaven." Rev. 21:2.</p>
+
+
+<h4>The Loosing of Satan</h4>
+
+<p>"When the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be
+loosed out of his prison, and shall go out to deceive the nations."
+Rev. 20:7, 8.</p>
+
+<p>With all the wicked destroyed by the glory of Christ's
+second coming, Satan had been effectually bound; but now,
+as the city descends, the voice of Christ calls forth the wicked
+dead, and Satan is thus loosed, and assumes control again of
+those who have chosen him as their master.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_357" id="Page_357">[Pg 357]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>It is the time of which the Scripture speaks: "The rest of
+the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished."
+Verse 5. The prophet saw the hosts of the lost called forth.
+"The sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and
+hell [the "grave," margin] delivered up the dead which were
+in them." Verse 13.</p>
+
+<p>Thus Satan's subjects come forth to the last judgment.
+The resurrection of the wicked of all the ages is the loosing
+of Satan. Here again is his kingdom, and again he plies his
+deceptions and takes up anew his fight against God. How
+very natural that Satan should persuade the wicked that he
+has raised them to life, that his word in the beginning was
+true, "Ye shall not surely die"! If they are immortal, why
+may they not yet prevail against God? Satan rallies his
+angels and the hosts of the wicked, in numbers "as the sand
+of the sea," to make an attack upon the city of God.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"How vast the concourse! not in number more<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The waves that break on the resounding shore,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The leaves that tremble in the shady grove,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The lamps that gild the spangled vaults above;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Those overwhelming armies, whose command<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Said to one empire, Fall; another, Stand;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Whose rear lay wrap't in night, while breaking dawn<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Rous'd the broad front, and called the battle on;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Great Xerxes' world in arms, proud Cann&aelig;'s field,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Where Carthage taught victorious Rome to yield,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Immortal Blenheim, fam'd Ramillia's host;&mdash;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">They all are here, and here they all are lost;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Their millions swell, to be discerned in vain,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Lost as a billow in th' unbounded main."<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">&mdash;<i>Edward Young's "Last Day."</i><br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>"They went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed
+the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city." Verse 9.</p>
+
+<h4>The Wicked Before the Bar of God</h4>
+
+<p>But as the hosts of evil compass the city, they are halted
+by the glory and majesty of the Redeemer's presence, enthroned
+as eternal victor over sin. Just here must apply
+the prophet's words:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_358" id="Page_358">[Pg 358]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"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. 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." Rev. 20:11, 12.</p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 445px;">
+<img src="images/p358.jpg" width="445" height="298" alt="THE HOLY CITY DESCENDS
+
+&quot;Behold, the tabernacle of God is with
+men.&quot; Rev 21:3." title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE HOLY CITY DESCENDS<br />
+
+&quot;Behold, the tabernacle of God is with
+men.&quot; Rev 21:3.</span>
+</div>
+
+<p>During the thousand years the records in heaven have
+been reviewed, and the degrees of guilt established. Now the
+judgment is to be pronounced and executed. But first the
+record of the books and the eternal righteousness of God's
+holy law are flashed by divine power upon the consciences
+of all the lost&mdash;"their conscience also bearing witness" (Rom.
+2:15) that they are without excuse.</p>
+
+<h4>The Destruction of Sin</h4>
+
+<p>Sin is now to be blotted from the universe of God; and
+those who have chosen to be identified with sin perish with<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_359" id="Page_359">[Pg 359]</a></span>
+it. All that Infinite Love can do has been done in the gift
+of Christ to save men from the transgression of the holy law
+of God. That salvation rejected, there is nothing remaining
+that heaven can offer. There is no further sacrifice that can
+be made. "There remaineth no more sacrifice for sins."
+Heb. 10:26.</p>
+
+<p>Then follows the last scene in the conflict with evil:</p>
+
+<p>"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. And the devil that deceived them was cast into the
+lake of fire.... And death and hell [the grave] were cast into
+the lake of fire. This is the second death." Rev. 20:9-14.</p>
+
+<p>The second death ends sin and the author of sin, and
+death itself. The controversy is ended. Christ's death has
+purged sin from the universe of God.</p>
+
+
+<h4>The Earth Purified and Made New</h4>
+
+<p>The fires that consume the wicked melt the earth and
+purify it from all trace of the curse. It is the day of which
+Peter wrote:</p>
+
+<p>"Wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and
+the elements shall melt with fervent heat." But after this
+cleansing of every element of this sin-cursed earth, the promise
+of God will be fulfilled in the earth made new, as the eternal
+home of the saved. As Peter says, after telling of the day
+of burning, "Nevertheless we, according to His promise,
+look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness."
+2 Peter 3:12, 13.</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"O sweet and blessed country,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The home of God's elect!<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">O sweet and blessed country,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">That eager hearts expect!<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Jesus, in mercy bring us<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">To that dear land of rest;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Who art, with God the Father,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And Spirit, ever blest."<br /></span>
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_360" id="Page_360">[Pg 360]</a></span></div></div>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 298px;">
+<img src="images/p360.jpg" width="298" height="439" alt="MOSES VIEWING THE
+PROMISED LAND
+
+&quot;Blessed are the meek: for they shall
+inherit the earth.&quot; Matt. 5:5." title="" />
+<span class="caption">MOSES VIEWING THE
+PROMISED LAND<br />
+
+&quot;Blessed are the meek: for they shall
+inherit the earth.&quot; Matt. 5:5.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_361" id="Page_361">[Pg 361]</a></span></p>
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 445px;">
+<img src="images/p361.jpg" width="445" height="323" alt="THE SPIES&#39; RETURN
+
+&quot;The land, which we passed through to search
+it, is an exceeding good land.&quot; Num. 14:7." title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE SPIES&#39; RETURN<br />
+
+&quot;The land, which we passed through to search
+it, is an exceeding good land.&quot; Num. 14:7.</span>
+</div>
+
+<h2><a name="THE_HOME_OF_THE_SAVED" id="THE_HOME_OF_THE_SAVED"></a>THE HOME OF THE SAVED</h2>
+
+
+<h4>The Land of Peace</h4>
+
+<p>The Bible opens with a new heaven and a new earth,
+perfect from the Creator's hand; with man sinless and having
+access to the tree of life in the midst of the Eden paradise,
+out of which flowed a river that spread its life-giving waters
+through the earth.</p>
+
+<p>The Bible closes with a new heaven and a new earth;
+with man upright and sinless, having right to the tree of
+life growing in the midst of Eden; with the river of life flowing
+out from the garden of God, clear as crystal.</p>
+
+<p>Between the two scenes spreads out the panorama of six
+thousand years of conflict with sin. It is a story of the fall
+of man, of the loss of his Eden home, of the curse that marred
+the earth, of sin and sorrow and death overspreading all.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_362" id="Page_362">[Pg 362]</a></span></p>
+
+
+<h4>The Restorer</h4>
+
+<p>But from the hour when the shadow of sin fell upon the
+earth, there has been a light shining in the darkness. Amid
+the ruin that sin had wrought, there appeared the great Restorer.</p>
+
+<p>The inspired record gives a word-picture of Jesus taking
+man's place to win back the lost dominion:</p>
+
+<p>"Unto the angels hath He not put in subjection the world
+to come, whereof we speak. But one in a certain place testified,
+saying, What is man, that Thou art mindful of him?
+or the son of man, that Thou visitest him? Thou madest
+him a little lower than the angels; Thou crownedst him with
+glory and honor, and didst set him over the works of Thy
+hands: Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet.
+For in that He put all in subjection under Him, He left nothing
+that is not put under Him. But now we see not yet all
+things put under him. But we see Jesus." Heb. 2:5-9.</p>
+
+<p>Just where Adam fell and lost his dominion over the earth,
+we see Jesus, the second Adam, taking man's place and winning
+back the lost inheritance. That is why the picture of
+the new earth and man's sinless state depicted in the first
+two chapters of the Bible is repeated in the last two chapters
+with even greater fulness of glory. God's original plan and
+purpose will be carried out, and this earth, renewed, will be
+the eternal home of sinless men and women, redeemed by
+grace.</p>
+
+<p>Sin will be found not to have frustrated, but only to have
+delayed, the purpose of God. And what is six thousand
+years in working out the divine plan? In our brief span we
+may divide human history into ancient, medieval, and modern;
+but in heaven's life a thousand years are but as "a watch
+in the night;" and these six watches are to heaven but as one
+night of grief and of loving ministry in rescuing the lost.</p>
+
+<p>It has cost all that heaven had to give. But the infinite
+Gift was made, and all heaven has wrought at the work. Of
+the angels it is written, "Are they not all ministering spirits,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_363" id="Page_363">[Pg 363]</a></span>
+sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?"
+Heb. 1:14.</p>
+
+
+<h4>Bringing Back the Lost Dominion</h4>
+
+<p>Of all the worlds that shine in the heavens, declaring the
+glory of God, this earth is the one that was lost. Its light
+went out in darkness. It wandered from the fold of God's
+perfect creation.</p>
+
+<p>Then the divine Shepherd came to find it and bring it
+back. And the angels that rejoiced when they saw this earth
+created,&mdash;"when the morning stars sang together, and all
+the sons of God shouted for joy,"&mdash;will again rejoice as the
+Lord brings back His own,&mdash;this earth, redeemed from
+the curse, shining in the bright universe again with the perfection
+of the glory of God.</p>
+
+<p>Christ not only redeems lost men, but He is to redeem
+this lost earth. "The Son of man," He said, "is come to seek
+and to save that which was lost." Luke 19:10.</p>
+
+<p>By sinning, man lost not only his righteousness and his
+life, but his dominion as well. Originally man had dominion
+"over all the earth." Gen. 1:26. As the psalmist says,
+"Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of Thy
+hands." Ps. 8:6. He was prince and ruler of the earth.
+But when he yielded to Satan's temptation, he yielded up that
+dominion to the enemy, thus placing himself in the power
+of his foe. Satan thus became the "prince of this world,"
+exercising the dominion wrested from man.</p>
+
+<p>But through Christ, this dominion is to be restored. The
+prophet of old said:</p>
+
+<p>"Thou, O tower of the flock, the stronghold of the daughter
+of Zion, unto thee shall it come, even the first dominion;
+the kingdom shall come to the daughter of Jerusalem."
+Micah 4:8.</p>
+
+
+<h4>The Hope of the Promise</h4>
+
+<p>The promise of the gospel of salvation is the promise not
+only of life eternal through faith, but of an eternal inheritance<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_364" id="Page_364">[Pg 364]</a></span>
+in the earth made new, the fulfilment of the Creator's
+plan when He made this world to be the home of man. This
+was the star of hope that shone before Adam and Eve as they
+stepped forth from Eden into a dying world. It was the
+promise to Abraham, "the promise, that he should be the
+heir of the world." Rom. 4:13.</p>
+
+<p>It was not the promise of the world in its present state.
+For the Lord gave Abraham "none inheritance in it, no, not
+so much as to set his foot on." Acts 7:5. Abraham himself
+did not look for the promise to be fulfilled in this sinful
+earth, but in the earth made new, redeemed from sin. The
+Scripture says of his hope:</p>
+
+<p>"By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a
+strange country: ... for he looked for a city which hath
+foundations, whose builder and maker is God." Heb. 11:9, 10.</p>
+
+<p>It was in the new earth and the New Jerusalem that Abraham,
+the father of the faithful, expected to receive the eternal
+inheritance promised to him and to his seed. And there all
+the faithful will find their inheritance.</p>
+
+<p>"If ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs
+according to the promise." Gal. 3:29.</p>
+
+<p>The psalmist said, "The meek shall inherit the earth."
+Ps. 37:11. Christ repeated it: "Blessed are the meek: for
+they shall inherit the earth." Matt. 5:5.</p>
+
+<h4>The New Earth and the New Jerusalem</h4>
+
+<p>Through the prophet Isaiah the Lord described the re-creation
+of this earth to be the home of the saved:</p>
+
+<p>"Behold, I create a new heavens and a new earth: and
+the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind.
+But be ye glad and rejoice forever in that which I create:
+for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a
+joy. And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in My people:
+and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her,
+nor the voice of crying." Isa. 65:17-19.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_365" id="Page_365">[Pg 365]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>It is not of old Jerusalem that the prophet is speaking,
+but of the New Jerusalem, which John saw coming down,
+with the saints, from God out of heaven. He saw it descending
+upon the earth at the end of the thousand years, and saw
+the wicked come forth from their graves to judgment. Then
+he saw the fires of the last day falling upon the lost, consuming
+sin and sinners, and purifying the earth itself from every
+trace of the curse. It is the day of which Peter wrote, "Wherein
+the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements
+shall melt with fervent heat." But he adds, "Nevertheless
+we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a
+new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness." 2 Peter 3:12, 13.</p>
+
+<p>Out from the dissolved elements of the earth and the atmospheric
+heavens the Creator's power again calls forth new
+heavens and a new earth, the old creation cleansed and renewed
+in the perfection of the original Eden paradise. It
+is coming; for John saw it in vision. "I saw," he says, "a
+new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the
+first earth were passed away." Rev. 21:1.</p>
+
+<p>He saw the city which had come down from heaven&mdash;those
+mansions that Christ is now gone to prepare&mdash;the
+New Jerusalem, the holy capital of the eternal kingdom of
+the saints, where Christ's own throne is set.</p>
+
+<p>"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. 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. 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."
+Rev. 21:3-5.</p>
+
+<p>It passes comprehension; but it is true. And the life of
+the saved in their eternal inheritance will be just as real as
+is life upon this present earth.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_366" id="Page_366">[Pg 366]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 298px;">
+<img src="images/p366.jpg" width="298" height="443" alt="THE SAINTS&#39; ETERNAL
+HOME
+
+&quot;I saw a new heaven and a new earth:
+for the first heaven and the first earth
+were passed away.&quot; Rev. 21:1." title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE SAINTS&#39; ETERNAL
+HOME<br />
+
+&quot;I saw a new heaven and a new earth:
+for the first heaven and the first earth
+were passed away.&quot; Rev. 21:1.</span>
+</div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_367" id="Page_367">[Pg 367]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>"They shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they
+shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them." "The
+wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat
+straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent's meat.
+They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain,
+saith the Lord." Isa. 65:21, 25.</p>
+
+<p>The whole earth will be as the Eden paradise planted by
+God in the beginning. And from week to week and from
+month to month the saved will gather to worship before the
+glorious throne in the holy city.</p>
+
+<p>"As the new heavens and the new earth, which I will
+make, shall remain before Me, saith the Lord, so shall your seed
+and your name remain. And it shall come to pass, that from
+one new moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another,
+shall all flesh come to worship before Me, saith the Lord."
+Isa. 66:22, 23.</p>
+
+
+<h4>The Glories of the Saints' Eternal Home</h4>
+
+<p>As the first two chapters of the Bible tell of earth's original
+perfection, so the last two chapters constitute one psalm of
+ecstasy over the indescribable glories of the earth made new,
+with its city of light, the walls of jasper, the gates of pearl,
+the river of life flowing from the throne of the Lamb, clear as
+crystal, with the widespreading tree of life on either side of
+the river. And supreme above all, Jesus Himself, "the King
+in His beauty," without whom there would be no glory even
+in that city foursquare; "for the glory of God did lighten it,
+and the Lamb is the light thereof."</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"Oh, heaven without my Saviour<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Would be no heaven to me;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Dim were the walls of jasper,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Rayless the crystal sea!<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"He gilds earth's darkest valleys<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">With light and joy and peace;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Then what must be the radiance<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Where sin and death shall cease?"<br /></span>
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_368" id="Page_368">[Pg 368]</a></span></div></div>
+
+<p>Next to the loveliness and grace of Christ our Saviour,
+the glories of this world to come have inspired the sweetest
+hymns of hope for longing hearts. How often has the spirit
+been lifted above earth's trials as we have sung,</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"O that home of the soul! in my visions and dreams<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Its bright, jasper walls I can see<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Till I fancy but thinly the veil intervenes<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Between the fair city and me.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"That unchangeable home is for you and for me,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Where Jesus of Nazareth stands;<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">The King of all kingdoms forever is He,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">And He holdeth our crowns in His hands.<br /></span>
+</div><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"O how sweet it will be in that beautiful land,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">So free from all sorrow and pain,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">With songs on our lips and with harps in our hands,<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">To meet one another again!"<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>"But as it is written, 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."</p>
+
+<p>Through the ages, the children of the promise have been
+journeying toward the city which hath foundations, whose
+builder and maker is God, and they have confessed themselves
+pilgrims and strangers in this present world. As they
+have followed the way of righteousness,&mdash;oftentimes a thorny
+path,&mdash;it has been with the shining city ever before their
+vision. As they have fallen in death, it has been with closing
+eyes fixed upon "that day" when Christ shall come to take
+His people to the New Jerusalem preparing above</p>
+
+<div class="poem"><div class="stanza">
+<span class="i0">"The Lamb there in His beauty<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Without a veil is seen.<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">It were a well-spent journey<br /></span>
+<span class="i0">Though seven deaths lay between."<br /></span>
+</div></div>
+
+<p>Now earth's course is nearly run. It is but a little way to
+the holy city, where the water of life flows clear as crystal
+from the midst of the throne. The water of life is really there;
+for the Lord showed it to the prophet John in vision, that
+he might tell us that he saw it. "I John saw the holy city,"
+he says, "and he showed me a pure river of water of life,
+clear as crystal." Rev. 21:2; 22:1.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_369" id="Page_369">[Pg 369]</a></span></p>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 299px;">
+<img src="images/p369.jpg" width="299" height="443" alt="THE MASTER AT
+THE DOOR
+
+&quot;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.&quot; Rev 3:20." title="" />
+<span class="caption">THE MASTER AT
+THE DOOR<br />
+
+&quot;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.&quot; Rev 3:20.</span>
+</div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_370" id="Page_370">[Pg 370]</a></span></p>
+
+<p>Christ invites every one to share the eternal inheritance,
+giving assurance of His power to save to the uttermost all
+that come unto God by Him. He is knocking at the door of
+every heart, asking admittance, in order that He may take
+away all sin, and prepare the soul for the heavenly home.</p>
+
+<p>And the glories of the holy city invite us to come:</p>
+
+<p>"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." Rev.
+22:17.</p>
+
+<h4>"He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come
+quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus."</h4>
+
+<div class="figcenter" style="width: 444px;">
+<img src="images/p370.jpg" width="444" height="292" alt="EVENTIDE
+
+Home to the fold." title="" />
+<span class="caption">EVENTIDE<br />
+
+Home to the fold.</span>
+</div>
+
+
+
+<hr style="width: 65%;" />
+<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_371" id="Page_371">[Pg 371]</a></span></p>
+<h2><a name="INDEX_OF_SUBJECTS_AND_AUTHORITIES" id="INDEX_OF_SUBJECTS_AND_AUTHORITIES"></a>INDEX OF SUBJECTS AND AUTHORITIES</h2>
+
+
+<p>
+Abraham, parable of rich man and Lazarus, <a href='#Page_284'>284</a><br />
+<br />
+"Abridgment of Christian Doctrine," on change of Sabbath, <a href='#Page_156'>156</a><br />
+<br />
+Adolphus, on study of prophecy, <a href='#Page_305'>305</a><br />
+<br />
+Advent message, Bates as advocate of, <a href='#Page_244'>244</a><br />
+<br />
+Advent movement, extent of, Brock on, <a href='#Page_241'>241</a><br />
+<br />
+Advent movement of 1844, <a href='#Page_240'>240</a><br />
+<br />
+&AElig;schylus, on Medo-Persia, <a href='#Page_121'>121</a><br />
+<br />
+&AElig;schylus, on Xerxes' host, <a href='#Page_323'>323</a><br />
+<br />
+Alexander, conquests of, Plutarch on, <a href='#Page_121'>121</a>, <a href='#Page_122'>122</a><br />
+<br />
+Alexander, dominion of, Rawlinson on, <a href='#Page_324'>324</a>, <a href='#Page_325'>325</a><br />
+<br />
+Alexander, empire of, Appian on, <a href='#Page_122'>122</a><br />
+<br />
+Alexander, first king of Greece, <a href='#Page_207'>207</a><br />
+<br />
+Alexander, greatness of, Arrian on, <a href='#Page_44'>44</a><br />
+<br />
+Alexander, Justin on, <a href='#Page_207'>207</a><br />
+<br />
+Alexander, Lucan on, <a href='#Page_45'>45</a><br />
+<br />
+Alexandra, Queen, on preparations for war, <a href='#Page_339'>339</a><br />
+<br />
+Alexandria, library at, sacred books of Jews in, <a href='#Page_187'>187</a><br />
+<br />
+Angels attending throne of God, <a href='#Page_296'>296</a><br />
+<br />
+Angels, God's messengers, <a href='#Page_297'>297</a><br />
+<br />
+Angels, guardian, <a href='#Page_300'>300</a><br />
+<br />
+Angels in kingly courts, <a href='#Page_299'>299</a><br />
+<br />
+Angels, messengers of deliverance, <a href='#Page_300'>300</a><br />
+<br />
+Angels, their ministry, <a href='#Page_295'>295</a>-301<br />
+<br />
+Antitypical day of atonement, <a href='#Page_237'>237</a>, <a href='#Page_240'>240</a>, <a href='#Page_241'>241</a><br />
+<br />
+Apollonius, description of Babylon by, <a href='#Page_33'>33</a><br />
+<br />
+Apostasy in last days, Daniel 8, <a href='#Page_248'>248</a><br />
+<br />
+Appearing of Christ, <a href='#Page_59'>59</a><br />
+<br />
+Appian, on Alexander's empire, <a href='#Page_122'>122</a><br />
+<br />
+Arian kingdoms plucked up, <a href='#Page_129'>129</a><br />
+<br />
+Arian powers uprooted by Belisarius, <a href='#Page_134'>134</a><br />
+<br />
+Armageddon, "Contemporary Review" on, <a href='#Page_339'>339</a><br />
+<br />
+Armageddon, "Everybody's Magazine" on, <a href='#Page_339'>339</a><br />
+<br />
+Armageddon, final clash of empires, <a href='#Page_337'>337</a>-349<br />
+<br />
+Armageddon, foretold in prophecy, <a href='#Page_346'>346</a>, <a href='#Page_347'>347</a><br />
+<br />
+Armageddon, Lord Rosebery on, <a href='#Page_339'>339</a><br />
+<br />
+Armageddon, or Mt. Megiddo, Carmack, on <a href='#Page_344'>344</a><br />
+<br />
+Armageddon, prelude to, <a href='#Page_343'>343</a><br />
+<br />
+Armageddon, sequel of, <a href='#Page_347'>347</a>, <a href='#Page_348'>348</a><br />
+<br />
+Arming of the nations, <a href='#Page_106'>106</a>, <a href='#Page_107'>107</a><br />
+<br />
+Arrian, on Alexander's greatness, <a href='#Page_44'>44</a><br />
+<br />
+Artaxerxes, date of decree to rebuild Jerusalem, <a href='#Page_223'>223</a><br />
+<br />
+Artaxerxes, date of reign of, <a href='#Page_225'>225</a>-227<br />
+<br />
+"Astronomy," Chambers, on falling stars, <a href='#Page_101'>101</a><br />
+<br />
+Atonement, antitypical day of, <a href='#Page_237'>237</a>, <a href='#Page_240'>240</a>, <a href='#Page_241'>241</a><br />
+<br />
+Avebury, Lord, on war, <a href='#Page_112'>112</a><br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Babylon, description of, by Apollonius, <a href='#Page_33'>33</a>, <a href='#Page_34'>34</a><br />
+<br />
+Babylon, desolation of, <a href='#Page_31'>31</a>-35<br />
+<br />
+Babylon, desolation of, Layard on, <a href='#Page_35'>35</a><br />
+<br />
+Babylon, "Encyclopedia of Islam" on, <a href='#Page_35'>35</a><br />
+<br />
+Babylon in prophecy and history, <a href='#Page_119'>119</a>, <a href='#Page_120'>120</a><br />
+<br />
+Babylon, prophecy concerning, <a href='#Page_39'>39</a>-41<br />
+<br />
+Babylon, prophecy of, confirmed by history, <a href='#Page_41'>41</a>-43<br />
+<br />
+Babylon, Strabo on, <a href='#Page_34'>34</a><br />
+<br />
+Bacon, Francis, on increase of knowledge, <a href='#Page_306'>306</a>, <a href='#Page_307'>307</a><br />
+<br />
+Ball, Sir Robert, on falling stars, <a href='#Page_100'>100</a><br />
+<br />
+Bampfield, died in prison for Sabbath keeping, <a href='#Page_179'>179</a><br />
+<br />
+Baptism, conditions necessary to, <a href='#Page_199'>199</a>, <a href='#Page_200'>200</a><br />
+<br />
+Baptism for believers, <a href='#Page_200'>200</a><br />
+<br />
+Baptism, form of, <a href='#Page_200'>200</a>-203<br />
+<br />
+Baptism, manner of, Dean Stanley on, <a href='#Page_202'>202</a><br />
+<br />
+Baptism, manner of, Neander on, <a href='#Page_201'>201</a><br />
+<br />
+Baptism, manner of, Pullus on, <a href='#Page_202'>202</a><br />
+<br />
+"Baptism," meaning of word, Calvin on, <a href='#Page_201'>201</a><br />
+<br />
+"Baptism," meaning of word, Luther on, <a href='#Page_201'>201</a><br />
+<br />
+Baptism, memorial of resurrection, <a href='#Page_199'>199</a>-203<br />
+<br />
+Baptism of infants, Dean Stanley on, <a href='#Page_202'>202</a><br />
+<br />
+Baptism of Jesus, time of, <a href='#Page_230'>230</a>, <a href='#Page_231'>231</a><br />
+<br />
+Baptists, Sabbatarian, <a href='#Page_179'>179</a><br />
+<br />
+Baptists, Seventh Day, in America, <a href='#Page_179'>179</a>, <a href='#Page_180'>180</a><br />
+<br />
+Barnes, Dr. Albert, on division of Grecia, <a href='#Page_122'>122</a><br />
+<br />
+Bates, as a Sabbath keeper, <a href='#Page_244'>244</a><br />
+<br />
+Baudrillart, on papal persecution, <a href='#Page_151'>151</a><br />
+<br />
+Beast, the fourth, of Daniel 7, <a href='#Page_126'>126</a>-129<br />
+<br />
+Beasts, empires represented by, <a href='#Page_118'>118</a><br />
+<br />
+Belisarius, Arian powers uprooted by, <a href='#Page_134'>134</a><br />
+<br />
+Bellarmine, on great words of little horn, <a href='#Page_147'>147</a><br />
+<br />
+Bemont and Monod, "Medieval Europe", <a href='#Page_137'>137</a><br />
+<br />
+Bengelius, on judgment-hour warning, <a href='#Page_249'>249</a><br />
+<br />
+Berosus, on exploits of Nebuchadnezzar, <a href='#Page_120'>120</a><br />
+<br />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_372" id="Page_372">[Pg 372]</a></span>Berthier enters Rome, Rickaby on, <a href='#Page_141'>141</a><br />
+<br />
+Besant, Mrs. Annie, on spiritualism of the East, <a href='#Page_273'>273</a><br />
+<br />
+Bible, agency in the new birth, <a href='#Page_15'>15</a>, <a href='#Page_17'>17</a><br />
+<br />
+Bible and tradition, <a href='#Page_251'>251</a>, <a href='#Page_252'>252</a><br />
+<br />
+Bible, Christ the central theme of, <a href='#Page_23'>23</a><br />
+<br />
+Bible, Dr. Harris on, <a href='#Page_20'>20</a>, <a href='#Page_21'>21</a><br />
+<br />
+Bible, Erasmus on, <a href='#Page_21'>21</a><br />
+<br />
+Bible for all mankind, <a href='#Page_21'>21</a><br />
+<br />
+Bible, given to the world, Faber on, <a href='#Page_308'>308</a><br />
+<br />
+Bible, God its author, <a href='#Page_14'>14</a><br />
+<br />
+Bible, language of, Van Dyke on, <a href='#Page_21'>21</a>, <a href='#Page_22'>22</a><br />
+<br />
+Bible, our safety and defense, <a href='#Page_18'>18</a><br />
+<br />
+Bible societies, organization of, <a href='#Page_308'>308</a><br />
+<br />
+Bible, source of all doctrine, <a href='#Page_20'>20</a><br />
+<br />
+Bible, speaks to our day, <a href='#Page_13'>13</a><br />
+<br />
+Bible, Spurgeon on authorship of, <a href='#Page_14'>14</a><br />
+<br />
+Bible, Spurgeon's experience with, <a href='#Page_14'>14</a><br />
+<br />
+Bible, the book that talks, <a href='#Page_13'>13</a><br />
+<br />
+Bible, the bread of life, <a href='#Page_18'>18</a><br />
+<br />
+Bible, the Christian's shield, <a href='#Page_18'>18</a><br />
+<br />
+Bible, the living word, <a href='#Page_15'>15</a><br />
+<br />
+Bible, the word that creates, <a href='#Page_15'>15</a><br />
+<br />
+Bible, the word that works within, <a href='#Page_17'>17</a><br />
+<br />
+Biddolf, on lessons from Lisbon earthquake, <a href='#Page_82'>82</a><br />
+<br />
+Bishop of Rome as head of church, Justinian on, <a href='#Page_133'>133</a><br />
+<br />
+Blunt, on doom of Turks, <a href='#Page_333'>333</a><br />
+<br />
+Bogue, on persecution for Sabbath keeping, <a href='#Page_178'>178</a>, <a href='#Page_179'>179</a><br />
+<br />
+Bonar's hymn, on state of dead, <a href='#Page_282'>282</a><br />
+<br />
+Bower, on Sabbath observance, <a href='#Page_174'>174</a><br />
+<br />
+Bread of life, Bible as the, <a href='#Page_18'>18</a><br />
+<br />
+Brerewood, on Sabbath in first centuries, <a href='#Page_173'>173</a><br />
+<br />
+Britten, Mrs. Emma, on Spiritualism, <a href='#Page_269'>269</a><br />
+<br />
+Brock, on extent of the advent movement, <a href='#Page_241'>241</a><br />
+<br />
+Bruce, on desolation of Tyre, <a href='#Page_31'>31</a><br />
+<br />
+Bury, on achievements of Justinian, <a href='#Page_132'>132</a><br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Calamy, on Bampfield as a Sabbatarian, <a href='#Page_179'>179</a><br />
+<br />
+Calvin, on meaning of word "baptism", <a href='#Page_201'>201</a><br />
+<br />
+Canon, Ptolemy's, Lindsay on, <a href='#Page_225'>225</a><br />
+<br />
+Carmack, on Armageddon, or Mt. Megiddo, <a href='#Page_344'>344</a><br />
+<br />
+Chambers, Dr., on Sabbath in England, <a href='#Page_177'>177</a><br />
+<br />
+Chambers, on falling stars, <a href='#Page_101'>101</a><br />
+<br />
+Change of Sabbath, <a href='#Page_153'>153</a>-167<br />
+<br />
+Charles I, on Sabbath observance, <a href='#Page_177'>177</a><br />
+<br />
+China open to the gospel, <a href='#Page_309'>309</a><br />
+<br />
+Christ and Satan, controversy between, <a href='#Page_257'>257</a>-263<br />
+<br />
+Christ, central theme of Bible, <a href='#Page_23'>23</a><br />
+<br />
+Christ, closing work of, in heaven, <a href='#Page_216'>216</a><br />
+<br />
+Christ, death of, <a href='#Page_231'>231</a><br />
+<br />
+Christ, glorious appearing of, <a href='#Page_59'>59</a><br />
+<br />
+Christ, lost dominion redeemed by, <a href='#Page_363'>363</a><br />
+<br />
+Christ, second coming of, <a href='#Page_51'>51</a>-63, <a href='#Page_352'>352</a><br />
+<br />
+Christ, the restorer, <a href='#Page_362'>362</a><br />
+<br />
+Christian work of Countess of Huntingdon, <a href='#Page_63'>63</a><br />
+<br />
+Christs, false, <a href='#Page_74'>74</a><br />
+<br />
+"Church Missionary Review," on war a sign of end, <a href='#Page_343'>343</a><br />
+<br />
+Clarke, Dr. Adam, on "living soul", <a href='#Page_283'>283</a><br />
+<br />
+Cleansing of the sanctuary, <a href='#Page_211'>211</a>, <a href='#Page_213'>213</a>-217<br />
+<br />
+Clerke, on glory of falling stars, <a href='#Page_101'>101</a>, <a href='#Page_102'>102</a><br />
+<br />
+Clerke, on star shower of 1833, <a href='#Page_94'>94</a>, <a href='#Page_95'>95</a><br />
+<br />
+Coming of Christ at the door, <a href='#Page_115'>115</a><br />
+<br />
+Coming of Christ, beginning of signs of, <a href='#Page_75'>75</a>-77<br />
+<br />
+Coming of Christ, love of pleasure a sign of, <a href='#Page_109'>109</a><br />
+<br />
+Coming of Christ, manner of, <a href='#Page_53'>53</a>-55<br />
+<br />
+Coming of Christ, political unrest a sign of, <a href='#Page_106'>106</a><br />
+<br />
+Coming of Christ, prelude to, <a href='#Page_59'>59</a><br />
+<br />
+Coming of Christ, promise of, <a href='#Page_52'>52</a><br />
+<br />
+Coming of Christ, purpose of, <a href='#Page_56'>56</a>, <a href='#Page_57'>57</a><br />
+<br />
+Coming of Christ, signs of, <a href='#Page_74'>74</a>, <a href='#Page_75'>75</a><br />
+<br />
+Coming of Christ, signs of, in industrial world, <a href='#Page_110'>110</a><br />
+<br />
+Coming of Christ, signs of, in Matthew 24, <a href='#Page_65'>65</a>, <a href='#Page_66'>66</a>, <a href='#Page_112'>112</a>, <a href='#Page_113'>113</a><br />
+<br />
+Coming of Christ, signs of, in the social world, <a href='#Page_109'>109</a><br />
+<br />
+Coming of Christ, signs of, upon the earth, <a href='#Page_105'>105</a><br />
+<br />
+Coming of Christ, the Saviour's prophecy of, <a href='#Page_65'>65</a>-77<br />
+<br />
+Coming of Christ, to be as in days of Noah, <a href='#Page_109'>109</a><br />
+<br />
+Coming of Christ, world evangelization a sign of, <a href='#Page_112'>112</a><br />
+<br />
+Commandments, the ten, <a href='#Page_182'>182</a><br />
+<br />
+Comte, M., on passion for pleasure, <a href='#Page_109'>109</a><br />
+<br />
+Connecticut Legislature, Dark Day in, <a href='#Page_90'>90</a><br />
+<br />
+Conroy, on temporal sovereignty of popes, <a href='#Page_129'>129</a><br />
+<br />
+Constantine, Sunday law of, <a href='#Page_16'>16</a><br />
+<br />
+"Contemporary Review," on Armageddon, <a href='#Page_339'>339</a><br />
+<br />
+"Contemporary Review," on awakening of East, <a href='#Page_344'>344</a><br />
+<br />
+Controversy between Christ and Satan, <a href='#Page_257'>257</a><br />
+<br />
+Controversy, earth the battle-ground of, <a href='#Page_259'>259</a><br />
+<br />
+Conybeare and Howson, on the Sabbath, <a href='#Page_165'>165</a><br />
+<br />
+Cottrell, R.F., poem by, <a href='#Page_171'>171</a><br />
+<br />
+Countess of Huntingdon, Christian work of, <a href='#Page_63'>63</a><br />
+<br />
+Covenant, confirming of the, <a href='#Page_231'>231</a><br />
+<br />
+Creative power of the Word, <a href='#Page_15'>15</a><br />
+<br />
+Croly, on Justinian as founder of papal supremacy, <a href='#Page_133'>133</a><br />
+<br />
+Cuneiform writing, <a href='#Page_312'>312</a><br />
+<br />
+Cyrus, conquests of, Rawlinson on, <a href='#Page_121'>121</a><br />
+<br />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_373" id="Page_373">[Pg 373]</a></span>Cyrus, Xenophon on, <a href='#Page_206'>206</a><br />
+<br />
+Dale, on non-sacredness of Sunday, <a href='#Page_166'>166</a><br />
+<br />
+Daniel, book of, unsealed, <a href='#Page_304'>304</a><br />
+<br />
+Daniel 2, prophecy of, <a href='#Page_39'>39</a>-49<br />
+<br />
+Daniel 7, prophecy of, <a href='#Page_117'>117</a>-129<br />
+<br />
+Daniel 8, prophecy of, <a href='#Page_205'>205</a>-211<br />
+<br />
+Daniel, prophecy of 1260 years, <a href='#Page_131'>131</a>, <a href='#Page_132'>132</a><br />
+<br />
+Daniel, vision of great beasts, <a href='#Page_118'>118</a><br />
+<br />
+Dark Day, Boston "Gazette" on, <a href='#Page_88'>88</a><br />
+<br />
+Dark Day, cause of unknown, <a href='#Page_87'>87</a><br />
+<br />
+Dark Day, contemporary records of, <a href='#Page_88'>88</a>, <a href='#Page_89'>89</a><br />
+<br />
+Dark Day, Dr. Samuel Stearns on, <a href='#Page_89'>89</a>, <a href='#Page_90'>90</a><br />
+<br />
+Dark Day, effect on Connecticut Legislature, <a href='#Page_90'>90</a><br />
+<br />
+Dark Day, "Independent Chronicle" on, <a href='#Page_88'>88</a>, <a href='#Page_89'>89</a><br />
+<br />
+Dark Day in New England, Williams on, <a href='#Page_86'>86</a><br />
+<br />
+Dark Day, prophecy of, fulfilled, <a href='#Page_85'>85</a><br />
+<br />
+Dark Day, Timothy Dwight on, <a href='#Page_90'>90</a><br />
+<br />
+Dark Day, Webster on, <a href='#Page_87'>87</a><br />
+<br />
+Dark Day, Whittier on, <a href='#Page_86'>86</a>, <a href='#Page_87'>87</a>, <a href='#Page_90'>90</a>, <a href='#Page_91'>91</a><br />
+<br />
+Darkening of the sun, <a href='#Page_85'>85</a><br />
+<br />
+Dead, not agencies of Spiritualism, <a href='#Page_271'>271</a><br />
+<br />
+Dead, sleep of, <a href='#Page_280'>280</a>-282<br />
+<br />
+Dead, righteous, raised to life, <a href='#Page_60'>60</a><br />
+<br />
+Death, man's state in, <a href='#Page_275'>275</a>, <a href='#Page_280'>280</a>-282<br />
+<br />
+Delaire, Mme. Jean, on Theosophy and Spiritualism, <a href='#Page_272'>272</a>, <a href='#Page_273'>273</a><br />
+<br />
+Desolation of Babylon, <a href='#Page_31'>31</a><br />
+<br />
+Destruction of the wicked, <a href='#Page_61'>61</a>, <a href='#Page_353'>353</a><br />
+<br />
+"Dictionary of Christian Antiquities," on Change of Sabbath, <a href='#Page_166'>166</a><br />
+<br />
+Discontent, F.T. Martin on growth of, <a href='#Page_112'>112</a><br />
+<br />
+Doctrinal Catechism, on change of Sabbath, <a href='#Page_156'>156</a><br />
+<br />
+Doctrinal Catechism, on power of church, <a href='#Page_252'>252</a><br />
+<br />
+Doctrine, Bible the source of, <a href='#Page_20'>20</a><br />
+<br />
+Dominion, bring back the lost, <a href='#Page_363'>363</a><br />
+<br />
+Dream of Nebuchadnezzar, <a href='#Page_39'>39</a>, <a href='#Page_40'>40</a><br />
+<br />
+Dwight, on Dark Day, <a href='#Page_90'>90</a><br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Earth, cleansed and renewed, <a href='#Page_364'>364</a>-367<br />
+<br />
+Earth, purified, <a href='#Page_359'>359</a><br />
+<br />
+East, awakening of, <a href='#Page_344'>344</a><br />
+<br />
+East, "Nineteenth Century and After," on new spirit in, <a href='#Page_344'>344</a><br />
+<br />
+Eastern Question, Jerusalem heart of, Finn on, <a href='#Page_346'>346</a><br />
+<br />
+Eastern Question, Maspero on, <a href='#Page_322'>322</a><br />
+<br />
+Eastern Question, relation to end of world, <a href='#Page_334'>334</a><br />
+<br />
+Eastern Question, the, <a href='#Page_321'>321</a>-335<br />
+<br />
+Eighteen forty-four, Advent movement in, <a href='#Page_240'>240</a>-244<br />
+<br />
+Elliott, on great words of little horn, <a href='#Page_147'>147</a><br />
+<br />
+Elven, Cornelius, poem by, <a href='#Page_335'>335</a><br />
+<br />
+Empires, four great universal, <a href='#Page_117'>117</a>-129<br />
+<br />
+Encyclopedia Britannica, on Palestine as battle field, <a href='#Page_325'>325</a>, <a href='#Page_326'>326</a><br />
+<br />
+Encyclopedia of Islam, on Babylon, <a href='#Page_35'>35</a><br />
+<br />
+End of the wicked, <a href='#Page_287'>287</a>-293<br />
+<br />
+End, time of the, <a href='#Page_303'>303</a>-317<br />
+<br />
+Erasmus, on the Bible, <a href='#Page_21'>21</a><br />
+<br />
+Eternal fire, <a href='#Page_292'>292</a>, <a href='#Page_293'>293</a><br />
+<br />
+Euphrates dried up, <a href='#Page_332'>332</a><br />
+<br />
+Europe, kingdoms of modern, <a href='#Page_46'>46</a>-48<br />
+<br />
+Everlasting fire, <a href='#Page_292'>292</a><br />
+<br />
+Everlasting punishment, <a href='#Page_289'>289</a>-293<br />
+<br />
+"Everybody's Magazine," on Armageddon, <a href='#Page_339'>339</a><br />
+<br />
+Evil, origin of, <a href='#Page_257'>257</a>-263<br />
+<br />
+Executive judgment, <a href='#Page_261'>261</a>-263<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Faber, G.S., on Bible given to the world, <a href='#Page_308'>308</a><br />
+<br />
+Faith, justification by, <a href='#Page_191'>191</a>-197<br />
+<br />
+Falling stars, <a href='#Page_93'>93</a><br />
+<br />
+Falling stars, sign to world, <a href='#Page_99'>99</a><br />
+<br />
+False Christs, <a href='#Page_74'>74</a><br />
+<br />
+Farrar, on prophecy fulfilled, <a href='#Page_35'>35</a>, <a href='#Page_36'>36</a><br />
+<br />
+Ferraris, on titles assumed by Pope, <a href='#Page_149'>149</a><br />
+<br />
+Fig tree, parable of, <a href='#Page_115'>115</a><br />
+<br />
+Finlay, on beginning of history of Middle Ages, <a href='#Page_134'>134</a>, <a href='#Page_135'>135</a><br />
+<br />
+Finlay, on rapid changes in sixth century, <a href='#Page_132'>132</a><br />
+<br />
+Fire, everlasting, <a href='#Page_292'>292</a>, <a href='#Page_293'>293</a><br />
+<br />
+Fire, lake of, <a href='#Page_290'>290</a><br />
+<br />
+Fire, unquenchable, <a href='#Page_292'>292</a>, <a href='#Page_293'>293</a><br />
+<br />
+First angel's message, <a href='#Page_239'>239</a><br />
+<br />
+First day rest, <a href='#Page_164'>164</a>-166<br />
+<br />
+Firth, on fall of Ottoman power, <a href='#Page_343'>343</a><br />
+<br />
+Flammarion, on density of star shower, <a href='#Page_95'>95</a><br />
+<br />
+"Forever and ever," meaning of, <a href='#Page_291'>291</a>, <a href='#Page_292'>292</a><br />
+<br />
+"Fortnightly Review," on Turkey's position, <a href='#Page_333'>333</a>, <a href='#Page_334'>334</a><br />
+<br />
+Fox family, origin of modern Spiritualism, <a href='#Page_269'>269</a><br />
+<br />
+France, decree of, to abolish religion, <a href='#Page_140'>140</a><br />
+<br />
+French Revolution, Lamartine on, <a href='#Page_140'>140</a><br />
+<br />
+French Revolution, significant events of, <a href='#Page_140'>140</a><br />
+<br />
+<br />
+"Gazette and Country Journal" on dark day, <a href='#Page_88'>88</a><br />
+<br />
+Gehenna, a valley near Jerusalem, <a href='#Page_293'>293</a><br />
+<br />
+Gentiles, gospel carried to, <a href='#Page_234'>234</a>, <a href='#Page_235'>235</a><br />
+<br />
+Gibbon, on power of Rome, <a href='#Page_46'>46</a><br />
+<br />
+Gibbon, on Roman Empire, <a href='#Page_209'>209</a><br />
+<br />
+Gibbon, on site of Nineveh, <a href='#Page_29'>29</a><br />
+<br />
+Gibbon, on struggle for Italy, <a href='#Page_134'>134</a><br />
+<br />
+God's challenge to false religious systems, <a href='#Page_25'>25</a><br />
+<br />
+Goldastus, on Sabbath keepers in Alpine valleys, <a href='#Page_175'>175</a><br />
+<br />
+Gospel, agencies for work of, <a href='#Page_311'>311</a><br />
+<br />
+Gospel, China, opened to the, <a href='#Page_309'>309</a><br />
+<br />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_374" id="Page_374">[Pg 374]</a></span>Gospel, doors open to, in all world, <a href='#Page_309'>309</a><br />
+<br />
+Gospel for our day, the, <a href='#Page_247'>247</a>, <a href='#Page_248'>248</a><br />
+<br />
+Gospel message, solemn warning in, <a href='#Page_248'>248</a>, <a href='#Page_249'>249</a><br />
+<br />
+Gospel, open doors for, Dr. Pierson on, <a href='#Page_310'>310</a><br />
+<br />
+Gospel, printing press an agency of, <a href='#Page_318'>318</a><br />
+<br />
+Gospel, telegraph used in carrying, <a href='#Page_318'>318</a><br />
+<br />
+Gospel, the everlasting, <a href='#Page_248'>248</a><br />
+<br />
+Gospel to the Gentiles, <a href='#Page_234'>234</a>, <a href='#Page_235'>235</a><br />
+<br />
+Goths, defeat of, <a href='#Page_134'>134</a><br />
+<br />
+Great controversy, earth the battle ground of, <a href='#Page_259'>259</a><br />
+<br />
+Grecia, Alexander first king of, <a href='#Page_207'>207</a><br />
+<br />
+Grecia, conquests of, under Alexander, <a href='#Page_121'>121</a>, <a href='#Page_122'>122</a><br />
+<br />
+Grecia, division of, Dr. Albert Barnes on, <a href='#Page_122'>122</a><br />
+<br />
+Grecia, prophecy and history of, <a href='#Page_206'>206</a>, <a href='#Page_207'>207</a>, <a href='#Page_121'>121</a>, <a href='#Page_324'>324</a><br />
+<br />
+Grecia, prophecy concerning, in Daniel, <a href='#Page_244'>244</a><br />
+<br />
+Greece, division of, <a href='#Page_208'>208</a><br />
+<br />
+Greeley, Spiritualism tested by, <a href='#Page_269'>269</a><br />
+<br />
+Grey, Sir Edward, on Satanic agencies, <a href='#Page_342'>342</a><br />
+<br />
+Guardian angels, <a href='#Page_300'>300</a><br />
+<br />
+Gutenberg's first types, <a href='#Page_314'>314</a><br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Hales, on authenticity of Ptolemy's canon, <a href='#Page_225'>225</a><br />
+<br />
+Harris, on the Bible, <a href='#Page_20'>20</a>-21<br />
+<br />
+Hastings, on Valley of Hinnom, <a href='#Page_293'>293</a><br />
+<br />
+"Hearst's Magazine," on growth of discontent, <a href='#Page_112'>112</a><br />
+<br />
+Heresies, papal order against, <a href='#Page_150'>150</a><br />
+<br />
+Herodotus, on doctrine of immortality, <a href='#Page_291'>291</a><br />
+<br />
+Herodotus, on Pythius, the Lydian, <a href='#Page_323'>323</a><br />
+<br />
+Hieroglyphics, the "Ox Song", <a href='#Page_312'>312</a><br />
+<br />
+Hinnom, Valley of, <a href='#Page_293'>293</a><br />
+<br />
+Hippolytus, on power of Rome, <a href='#Page_46'>46</a><br />
+<br />
+Hippolytus, on prophecy of Rome fulfilled, <a href='#Page_126'>126</a><br />
+<br />
+Hiscox, on change of Sabbath, <a href='#Page_166'>166</a>, <a href='#Page_167'>167</a><br />
+<br />
+Hiscox, on Sunday mark of paganism, <a href='#Page_170'>170</a><br />
+<br />
+History, prophecy confirmed by, <a href='#Page_35'>35</a>-37<br />
+<br />
+Hobbs, Professor, on Lisbon earthquake, <a href='#Page_79'>79</a><br />
+<br />
+Holtzman, on Bible and tradition, <a href='#Page_252'>252</a><br />
+<br />
+Home of the saved, <a href='#Page_361'>361</a>-370<br />
+<br />
+Horace, ode on Rome, <a href='#Page_47'>47</a><br />
+<br />
+Horace, on might of Rome, <a href='#Page_208'>208</a><br />
+<br />
+Hughes, on Jerusalem's part in closing history, <a href='#Page_328'>328</a><br />
+<br />
+Huguenots, persecution of, Kurtz on, <a href='#Page_76'>76</a><br />
+<br />
+Humboldt, on other displays of falling stars, <a href='#Page_99'>99</a><br />
+<br />
+Humphreys, on appearance of falling stars, <a href='#Page_96'>96</a><br />
+<br />
+Hutton, on abolition of religion in France, <a href='#Page_140'>140</a><br />
+<br />
+Hymn on state of dead, by Horatius Bonar, <a href='#Page_282'>282</a><br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Image of Daniel 2, <a href='#Page_118'>118</a><br />
+<br />
+Image to the Papacy, <a href='#Page_251'>251</a><br />
+<br />
+Immortality, doctrine of, <a href='#Page_291'>291</a><br />
+<br />
+Immortality, doctrine of, Herodotus on, <a href='#Page_291'>291</a><br />
+<br />
+Immortality, God only has, <a href='#Page_282'>282</a><br />
+<br />
+Immortality of the soul, <a href='#Page_275'>275</a>-285<br />
+<br />
+Immortality, the gift of God, <a href='#Page_275'>275</a>, <a href='#Page_282'>282</a><br />
+<br />
+Immortality, when bestowed, <a href='#Page_279'>279</a><br />
+<br />
+Increase of knowledge, <a href='#Page_306'>306</a>-317<br />
+<br />
+"Independent Chronicle," on Dark Day, <a href='#Page_88'>88</a>, <a href='#Page_89'>89</a><br />
+<br />
+Infant baptism, Dean Stanley on, <a href='#Page_202'>202</a><br />
+<br />
+Ising, visit of, to site of Nebuchadnezzar's palace, <a href='#Page_35'>35</a><br />
+<br />
+Italy, struggle for, Gibbon on, <a href='#Page_134'>134</a><br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Jerusalem, Artaxerxes' decree to rebuild, <a href='#Page_223'>223</a>-225<br />
+<br />
+Jerusalem, date of decree to restore, <a href='#Page_223'>223</a><br />
+<br />
+Jerusalem, destruction of temple at, <a href='#Page_70'>70</a><br />
+<br />
+Jerusalem, headquarters of king of the North, <a href='#Page_328'>328</a><br />
+<br />
+Jerusalem, heart of Eastern Question, Finn on, <a href='#Page_346'>346</a><br />
+<br />
+Jerusalem, last days of, <a href='#Page_66'>66</a><br />
+<br />
+Jerusalem, last gathering place, Mukaddasi on, <a href='#Page_328'>328</a><br />
+<br />
+Jerusalem, Moslems turn toward, <a href='#Page_330'>330</a><br />
+<br />
+Jerusalem, part of, in closing history, Hughes on, <a href='#Page_328'>328</a><br />
+<br />
+Jerusalem, signs of approaching doom of, <a href='#Page_67'>67</a>-69<br />
+<br />
+Jessup on falling stars, <a href='#Page_100'>100</a><br />
+<br />
+Jesus, the restorer, <a href='#Page_362'>362</a><br />
+<br />
+Jesus, time of baptism of, <a href='#Page_230'>230</a><br />
+<br />
+Jews, fanaticism of, Ridpath on, <a href='#Page_67'>67</a><br />
+<br />
+Joseph, prophecy fulfilled to, <a href='#Page_26'>26</a><br />
+<br />
+Josephus, on destruction of temple, <a href='#Page_70'>70</a><br />
+<br />
+Judgment, Christ's work in sanctuary, <a href='#Page_216'>216</a>, <a href='#Page_217'>217</a><br />
+<br />
+Judgment hour, many witnesses proclaim, <a href='#Page_240'>240</a>, <a href='#Page_241'>241</a><br />
+<br />
+Judgment-hour message, <a href='#Page_247'>247</a>-255<br />
+<br />
+Judgment-hour message, a call to loyalty, <a href='#Page_249'>249</a><br />
+<br />
+Judgment-hour message, John Wesley on, <a href='#Page_249'>249</a><br />
+<br />
+Judgment-hour warning, Bengelius on, <a href='#Page_249'>249</a><br />
+<br />
+Judgment, law of God the standard in, <a href='#Page_189'>189</a><br />
+<br />
+Judgment, message of, in 1844, <a href='#Page_239'>239</a><br />
+<br />
+Judgment, the hour of God's, <a href='#Page_237'>237</a><br />
+<br />
+Judgment, time of the investigative, <a href='#Page_235'>235</a>-237<br />
+<br />
+Judgment upon Satan, <a href='#Page_261'>261</a>-263<br />
+<br />
+Jurieu, on fall of the Papacy, <a href='#Page_140'>140</a>, <a href='#Page_141'>141</a><br />
+<br />
+Justification and righteousness, <a href='#Page_195'>195</a><br />
+<br />
+Justification by faith, <a href='#Page_191'>191</a><br />
+<br />
+Justification not by works, <a href='#Page_192'>192</a><br />
+<br />
+Justification, what it is, <a href='#Page_196'>196</a>, <a href='#Page_197'>197</a><br />
+<br />
+Justinian, achievements of, Bury on, <a href='#Page_132'>132</a><br />
+<br />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_375" id="Page_375">[Pg 375]</a></span>Justinian as source of papal power, Croly on, <a href='#Page_133'>133</a><br />
+<br />
+Justinian, decree of, in <span class="smcap">a.d.</span> 533, <a href='#Page_133'>133</a><br />
+<br />
+Justin, on Alexander, <a href='#Page_207'>207</a><br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Keyser, on Sabbath keeping in Norway, <a href='#Page_175'>175</a><br />
+<br />
+Killen, on change of Sabbath, <a href='#Page_169'>169</a><br />
+<br />
+Kingdom of God, when to be set up, <a href='#Page_48'>48</a><br />
+<br />
+Kingdoms of modern Europe, <a href='#Page_46'>46</a><br />
+<br />
+King of the North, the modern, <a href='#Page_326'>326</a><br />
+<br />
+King of the North, removal of, to Jerusalem, <a href='#Page_328'>328</a><br />
+<br />
+Kings of the North and South, <a href='#Page_325'>325</a><br />
+<br />
+Knowledge, increase of, <a href='#Page_306'>306</a><br />
+<br />
+Knowledge, increase of, Francis Bacon on, <a href='#Page_306'>306</a>, <a href='#Page_307'>307</a><br />
+<br />
+Knowledge, increase of, Lorimer on, <a href='#Page_307'>307</a><br />
+<br />
+Kurtz, on persecution of Huguenots, <a href='#Page_76'>76</a><br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Lake of fire, the, <a href='#Page_290'>290</a><br />
+<br />
+Lamartine, on French Revolution, <a href='#Page_140'>140</a><br />
+<br />
+Langley, on falling stars, <a href='#Page_101'>101</a><br />
+<br />
+Lang, on Sabbath in Scotland, <a href='#Page_174'>174</a><br />
+<br />
+Laodicea, Council of, on Sabbath keeping, <a href='#Page_173'>173</a>, <a href='#Page_174'>174</a><br />
+<br />
+Lawgiver, only one, <a href='#Page_188'>188</a><br />
+<br />
+Law of God changed by Papacy, Melanchthon on, <a href='#Page_154'>154</a><br />
+<br />
+Law of God, character of, <a href='#Page_183'>183</a><br />
+<br />
+Law of God, existed from the beginning, <a href='#Page_184'>184</a>, <a href='#Page_185'>185</a><br />
+<br />
+Law of God, given anew at Sinai, <a href='#Page_186'>186</a><br />
+<br />
+Law of God, given with his own voice, <a href='#Page_187'>187</a><br />
+<br />
+Law of God, office of, <a href='#Page_183'>183</a>, <a href='#Page_184'>184</a><br />
+<br />
+Law of God, relation of, to justification, <a href='#Page_191'>191</a>, <a href='#Page_193'>193</a><br />
+<br />
+Law of God, standard in the judgment, <a href='#Page_189'>189</a><br />
+<br />
+Law of God, standard of righteousness, <a href='#Page_188'>188</a><br />
+<br />
+Law of God, the, <a href='#Page_182'>182</a>-189<br />
+<br />
+Law of God unchangeable, <a href='#Page_153'>153</a><br />
+<br />
+Layard, on the desolation of Babylon, <a href='#Page_35'>35</a><br />
+<br />
+Lazarus, parable of rich man and, <a href='#Page_284'>284</a>, <a href='#Page_285'>285</a><br />
+<br />
+Lecky, on papal persecution, <a href='#Page_150'>150</a><br />
+<br />
+Leo XIII, encyclical letter of, <a href='#Page_149'>149</a><br />
+<br />
+Leonard, Dr., on missionary activity, <a href='#Page_307'>307</a><br />
+<br />
+"Library of Christian Doctrine," on change of Sabbath, <a href='#Page_154'>154</a>, <a href='#Page_155'>155</a><br />
+<br />
+Life only in Christ, <a href='#Page_275'>275</a>-285<br />
+<br />
+Lindsay, on Ptolemy's Canon, <a href='#Page_225'>225</a><br />
+<br />
+Lisbon earthquake, extent of, <a href='#Page_81'>81</a><br />
+<br />
+Lisbon earthquake, James Parton on, <a href='#Page_80'>80</a><br />
+<br />
+Lisbon earthquake, lessons from, John Biddolf on, <a href='#Page_82'>82</a><br />
+<br />
+Lisbon earthquake, Professor Hobbs on, <a href='#Page_79'>79</a><br />
+<br />
+Lisbon earthquake recognized as a sign, <a href='#Page_82'>82</a><br />
+<br />
+Lisbon earthquake, Voltaire on, <a href='#Page_80'>80</a><br />
+<br />
+Lisbon earthquake, world set to thinking by, <a href='#Page_80'>80</a><br />
+<br />
+Little horn, <a href='#Page_208'>208</a><br />
+<br />
+Little horn and fourth kingdom, <a href='#Page_126'>126</a>, <a href='#Page_127'>127</a><br />
+<br />
+Little horn, great words of, Bellarmine on, <a href='#Page_147'>147</a><br />
+<br />
+Little horn, great words of, Elliott on, <a href='#Page_147'>147</a><br />
+<br />
+Little horn in prophecy and history, <a href='#Page_127'>127</a><br />
+<br />
+Little horn, period of supremacy of, <a href='#Page_145'>145</a><br />
+<br />
+Little horn, time of rise of, <a href='#Page_145'>145</a><br />
+<br />
+Little horn, work of, <a href='#Page_145'>145</a>-147<br />
+<br />
+Lorimer, on increase of knowledge, <a href='#Page_307'>307</a><br />
+<br />
+Lucan, on Alexander, <a href='#Page_45'>45</a><br />
+<br />
+Lucan, on greatness of Rome, <a href='#Page_209'>209</a><br />
+<br />
+Lucifer, the light-bearer, <a href='#Page_258'>258</a><br />
+<br />
+Luther, on meaning of word "baptism", <a href='#Page_201'>201</a><br />
+<br />
+Luther, on use of printing art, <a href='#Page_318'>318</a><br />
+<br />
+<br />
+MacFarlane, on approaching end of Turks, <a href='#Page_333'>333</a><br />
+<br />
+Mahaffy, on kingdoms of north and south, <a href='#Page_325'>325</a><br />
+<br />
+Man, nature of, and state in death, <a href='#Page_275'>275</a>-285<br />
+<br />
+Manner of Christ's coming, <a href='#Page_53'>53</a><br />
+<br />
+Manning, Cardinal, on power of Rome, <a href='#Page_125'>125</a><br />
+<br />
+Mark, or sign, of papal authority, <a href='#Page_251'>251</a>-253<br />
+<br />
+Mark, or sign, use of, Potter on, <a href='#Page_250'>250</a><br />
+<br />
+Martin, on growth of discontent, <a href='#Page_112'>112</a><br />
+<br />
+Maspero, on Eastern Question, <a href='#Page_322'>322</a><br />
+<br />
+Matthew 24, prophecy of, <a href='#Page_65'>65</a>-77<br />
+<br />
+Mears, Dr., on conditions after Christ, <a href='#Page_67'>67</a><br />
+<br />
+"Medieval Europe," Bemont and Monod, <a href='#Page_137'>137</a><br />
+<br />
+Medo-Persia, &AElig;schylus on, <a href='#Page_121'>121</a><br />
+<br />
+Medo-Persia in prophecy and history, <a href='#Page_120'>120</a>, <a href='#Page_121'>121</a>, <a href='#Page_206'>206</a><br />
+<br />
+Medo-Persia, prophecy of, Daniel 2, <a href='#Page_43'>43</a>, <a href='#Page_44'>44</a><br />
+<br />
+Megiddo, or Armageddon, Carmack on, <a href='#Page_344'>344</a><br />
+<br />
+Melanchthon, on change of law by Papacy, <a href='#Page_154'>154</a><br />
+<br />
+Message of the judgment hour, <a href='#Page_247'>247</a>-255<br />
+<br />
+Messengers of deliverance, angels as, <a href='#Page_300'>300</a><br />
+<br />
+Messiah, covenant confirmed by, <a href='#Page_231'>231</a>-235<br />
+<br />
+Messiah, time of baptism of, <a href='#Page_230'>230</a><br />
+<br />
+Michael, standing up of, <a href='#Page_327'>327</a><br />
+<br />
+Middle Ages, beginning of history of, Finlay on, <a href='#Page_134'>134</a>, <a href='#Page_135'>135</a><br />
+<br />
+Millennium, beginning of, <a href='#Page_351'>351</a>, <a href='#Page_352'>352</a><br />
+<br />
+Millennium, diagram of, <a href='#Page_350'>350</a><br />
+<br />
+Millennium, events at beginning of, <a href='#Page_352'>352</a><br />
+<br />
+Millennium, events at end of, <a href='#Page_356'>356</a><br />
+<br />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_376" id="Page_376">[Pg 376]</a></span>Millennium, events in heaven during, <a href='#Page_354'>354</a><br />
+<br />
+Millennium, events on earth during, <a href='#Page_355'>355</a><br />
+<br />
+Millennium, the, <a href='#Page_351'>351</a>-359<br />
+<br />
+Milner, on falling stars, <a href='#Page_94'>94</a><br />
+<br />
+Milton, on Sabbath observance, <a href='#Page_177'>177</a>, <a href='#Page_178'>178</a><br />
+<br />
+Missionary activity, Dr. Leonard on, <a href='#Page_307'>307</a><br />
+<br />
+Missionary developments of century, <a href='#Page_113'>113</a><br />
+<br />
+Missionary movement, a sign of Christ's coming, <a href='#Page_112'>112</a><br />
+<br />
+Missionary movement, increased activity of, <a href='#Page_113'>113</a><br />
+<br />
+Missions, open doors for, <a href='#Page_309'>309</a><br />
+<br />
+Missions, Pierson on open doors for, <a href='#Page_310'>310</a><br />
+<br />
+Monarchies, the four universal, <a href='#Page_118'>118</a><br />
+<br />
+Monod, Bemont and, "Medieval Europe", <a href='#Page_137'>137</a><br />
+<br />
+Mortal, the natural state of man, <a href='#Page_276'>276</a><br />
+<br />
+Mortality, universal, <a href='#Page_277'>277</a><br />
+<br />
+Moslems, Jerusalem as capital for, <a href='#Page_330'>330</a><br />
+<br />
+Motley, on persecution in Netherlands, <a href='#Page_150'>150</a><br />
+<br />
+Mukaddasi, on Jerusalem as last gathering place of nations, <a href='#Page_328'>328</a><br />
+<br />
+Myers, on history of Greece, <a href='#Page_208'>208</a><br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Nations, anger of, <a href='#Page_107'>107</a><br />
+<br />
+Neander, on first-day collections, <a href='#Page_166'>166</a><br />
+<br />
+Neander, on manner of baptism, <a href='#Page_201'>201</a><br />
+<br />
+Nebuchadnezzar, dream of, <a href='#Page_39'>39</a>-41<br />
+<br />
+Nebuchadnezzar, exploits of, Berosus on, <a href='#Page_120'>120</a><br />
+<br />
+Nebuchadnezzar, palace of, Ising on, <a href='#Page_35'>35</a><br />
+<br />
+Nebuchadnezzar, stone records of, <a href='#Page_43'>43</a><br />
+<br />
+Necromancy, divine warnings against, <a href='#Page_267'>267</a><br />
+<br />
+Netherlands, persecution in, Motley on, <a href='#Page_150'>150</a><br />
+<br />
+New birth, Bible an agency of, <a href='#Page_15'>15</a><br />
+<br />
+Newcomb, on falling stars, <a href='#Page_95'>95</a><br />
+<br />
+New earth, the, <a href='#Page_364'>364</a>-370<br />
+<br />
+New Jerusalem, descent of, <a href='#Page_356'>356</a><br />
+<br />
+New Jerusalem, the, <a href='#Page_364'>364</a>-367<br />
+<br />
+Newman, Cardinal, on rites borrowed from paganism, <a href='#Page_169'>169</a><br />
+<br />
+Newton, Sir Isaac, on prophetic study, <a href='#Page_304'>304</a>, <a href='#Page_305'>305</a><br />
+<br />
+"Nineteenth Century and After," on new spirit in East, <a href='#Page_344'>344</a><br />
+<br />
+"Nineteenth Century and After," on preparation for war, <a href='#Page_339'>339</a>, <a href='#Page_341'>341</a><br />
+<br />
+Nineveh, Rawlinson on, <a href='#Page_27'>27</a><br />
+<br />
+Nineveh, site of, Gibbon on, <a href='#Page_29'>29</a><br />
+<br />
+Nineveh, the witness of, <a href='#Page_27'>27</a><br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Olmsted, on brilliancy of falling stars, <a href='#Page_97'>97</a><br />
+<br />
+Olmsted, on shooting stars, <a href='#Page_95'>95</a><br />
+<br />
+Origin of evil, <a href='#Page_257'>257</a>-263<br />
+<br />
+Ottoman empire, <a href='#Page_326'>326</a><br />
+<br />
+Ottoman power, fall of, Firth on, <a href='#Page_343'>343</a><br />
+<br />
+Our day, gospel for, <a href='#Page_247'>247</a><br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Paganism, rites borrowed from, Cardinal Newman on <a href='#Page_169'>169</a><br />
+<br />
+Palestine as battle field, Encyclopedia Britannica on, <a href='#Page_325'>325</a>, <a href='#Page_326'>326</a><br />
+<br />
+Palestine as great center, "Fortnightly Review" on, <a href='#Page_345'>345</a><br />
+<br />
+Palestine, as political storm center, <a href='#Page_345'>345</a><br />
+<br />
+Palestine, as religious storm center, "Spectator" on, <a href='#Page_345'>345</a><br />
+<br />
+Papacy, a persecuting power, <a href='#Page_137'>137</a><br />
+<br />
+Papacy, change of times and laws by, <a href='#Page_153'>153</a><br />
+<br />
+Papacy, claims of, <a href='#Page_155'>155</a>, <a href='#Page_156'>156</a><br />
+<br />
+Papacy, counterpart of little horn, <a href='#Page_145'>145</a>, <a href='#Page_147'>147</a><br />
+<br />
+Papacy, end of supremacy of, <a href='#Page_139'>139</a><br />
+<br />
+Papacy, extinction of, Canon Trevor on, <a href='#Page_141'>141</a>, <a href='#Page_142'>142</a><br />
+<br />
+Papacy, fall of, Jurieu on, <a href='#Page_140'>140</a>, <a href='#Page_141'>141</a><br />
+<br />
+Papacy, France strikes against, <a href='#Page_140'>140</a><br />
+<br />
+Papacy, great words of, Elliott on, <a href='#Page_147'>147</a><br />
+<br />
+Papacy, image to the, <a href='#Page_251'>251</a><br />
+<br />
+Papacy, law changed by, Melanchthon on, <a href='#Page_154'>154</a><br />
+<br />
+Papacy, orders of, to destroy heresy, <a href='#Page_150'>150</a><br />
+<br />
+Papacy, persecution by, Lecky on, <a href='#Page_150'>150</a><br />
+<br />
+Papacy plucked up Arian kingdoms, <a href='#Page_129'>129</a><br />
+<br />
+Papacy, power of, Leo XIII on, <a href='#Page_149'>149</a><br />
+<br />
+Papacy shall wear out saints, <a href='#Page_149'>149</a><br />
+<br />
+Papacy, sign of authority of, <a href='#Page_156'>156</a><br />
+<br />
+Papacy, supremacy of, <a href='#Page_129'>129</a><br />
+<br />
+Papacy, supremacy of acknowledged, <a href='#Page_132'>132</a>, <a href='#Page_133'>133</a><br />
+<br />
+Papacy, time of its supremacy, <a href='#Page_131'>131</a>, <a href='#Page_132'>132</a><br />
+<br />
+Papal authority, mark of, <a href='#Page_251'>251</a><br />
+<br />
+Papal claims in encyclical letter of Leo XIII, <a href='#Page_149'>149</a><br />
+<br />
+Papal persecution, Baudrillart on, <a href='#Page_151'>151</a><br />
+<br />
+Papal persecution, Lecky on, <a href='#Page_150'>150</a><br />
+<br />
+Papal persecutions, "Western Watchman" on, <a href='#Page_151'>151</a><br />
+<br />
+Papal power, Sunday the mark of, <a href='#Page_252'>252</a><br />
+<br />
+Papal power, work of the, <a href='#Page_250'>250</a><br />
+<br />
+Papal supremacy, beginning of, <a href='#Page_132'>132</a><br />
+<br />
+Papal supremacy, end of, <a href='#Page_139'>139</a><br />
+<br />
+Papal supremacy officially recognized, <a href='#Page_133'>133</a><br />
+<br />
+Parable of the fig tree, <a href='#Page_115'>115</a><br />
+<br />
+Parable of the rich man and Lazarus, <a href='#Page_284'>284</a>, <a href='#Page_285'>285</a><br />
+<br />
+Parable of the ten virgins, <a href='#Page_348'>348</a>, <a href='#Page_349'>349</a><br />
+<br />
+Parton, on Lisbon earthquake, <a href='#Page_80'>80</a><br />
+<br />
+Peace and safety, <a href='#Page_107'>107</a><br />
+<br />
+Peace prophecies, <a href='#Page_338'>338</a><br />
+<br />
+Persecution after Christ's death, <a href='#Page_235'>235</a><br />
+<br />
+Persecution for Sabbath observance, <a href='#Page_178'>178</a><br />
+<br />
+Persecution in Netherlands, Motley on, <a href='#Page_150'>150</a><br />
+<br />
+Persecution in time of the end <a href='#Page_73'>73</a><br />
+<br />
+Persecution, papal, Baudrillart, on <a href='#Page_151'>151</a><br />
+<br />
+Persecution, papal, Lecky on <a href='#Page_150'>150</a><br />
+<br />
+Persecution, signs of end follow, <a href='#Page_73'>73</a>-75<br />
+<br />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_377" id="Page_377">[Pg 377]</a></span>Persecution under Papacy, <a href='#Page_149'>149</a>-153<br />
+<br />
+Persecutions, papal, "Western Watchman" on, <a href='#Page_151'>151</a><br />
+<br />
+Persia, rise and fall of, <a href='#Page_322'>322</a>-324<br />
+<br />
+Phalerius, king urged by, to secure Jewish sacred books, <a href='#Page_187'>187</a>, <a href='#Page_188'>188</a><br />
+<br />
+Pierson, Dr., on open doors for gospel, <a href='#Page_310'>310</a><br />
+<br />
+"Plain Talks," on Sunday observance, <a href='#Page_251'>251</a><br />
+<br />
+Pleasure, passion for, M. Comte on, <a href='#Page_109'>109</a><br />
+<br />
+Pleasure, passion for, sign of Christ's coming, <a href='#Page_109'>109</a><br />
+<br />
+Plutarch, on Alexander, <a href='#Page_45'>45</a><br />
+<br />
+Plutarch, on Alexander's conquests, <a href='#Page_121'>121</a>, <a href='#Page_122'>122</a><br />
+<br />
+Political unrest, <a href='#Page_106'>106</a>, <a href='#Page_107'>107</a><br />
+<br />
+Polybius, on dominion of Rome, <a href='#Page_208'>208</a><br />
+<br />
+Pope Gregory, on Sabbath observance, <a href='#Page_174'>174</a><br />
+<br />
+Pope Innocent II, orders of, to destroy heresies, <a href='#Page_150'>150</a><br />
+<br />
+Pope Leo XIII, encyclical letter of, <a href='#Page_149'>149</a><br />
+<br />
+Pope Leo XIII, on power of Papacy, <a href='#Page_149'>149</a><br />
+<br />
+Pope taken prisoner, Joseph Rickaby on, <a href='#Page_141'>141</a><br />
+<br />
+Pope, titles assumed by, Ferraris on, <a href='#Page_149'>149</a><br />
+<br />
+Pope Vigilius, date of reign of, Schaff on, <a href='#Page_137'>137</a><br />
+<br />
+Popes, a new order of, <a href='#Page_135'>135</a><br />
+<br />
+Popes declared saints, <a href='#Page_137'>137</a><br />
+<br />
+Popes no longer declared saints, <a href='#Page_137'>137</a><br />
+<br />
+Popes, temporal power of, Conroy on, <a href='#Page_129'>129</a><br />
+<br />
+Potter, on use of a mark, or sign, <a href='#Page_250'>250</a><br />
+<br />
+Present-day conditions, meaning of, <a href='#Page_105'>105</a>-115<br />
+<br />
+Press, the Mighty (poem), <a href='#Page_317'>317</a><br />
+<br />
+Pride, cause of Satan's fall, <a href='#Page_258'>258</a><br />
+<br />
+Prince of Tyre, <a href='#Page_258'>258</a><br />
+<br />
+Printing, Gutenberg's first types, <a href='#Page_314'>314</a><br />
+<br />
+Printing, Luther on art of, <a href='#Page_318'>318</a><br />
+<br />
+Printing press, a gospel agency, <a href='#Page_318'>318</a><br />
+<br />
+Printing press, illustrations of, <a href='#Page_315'>315</a>, <a href='#Page_316'>316</a><br />
+<br />
+Printing press, the mighty, <a href='#Page_317'>317</a><br />
+<br />
+Prophecies of Christ's coming, <a href='#Page_52'>52</a><br />
+<br />
+Prophecy, Armageddon foretold in, <a href='#Page_346'>346</a>, <a href='#Page_347'>347</a><br />
+<br />
+Prophecy concerning Babylon, <a href='#Page_31'>31</a>-33, <a href='#Page_40'>40</a><br />
+<br />
+Prophecy fulfilled, Farrar on, <a href='#Page_36'>36</a><br />
+<br />
+Prophecy fulfilled to Joseph, <a href='#Page_26'>26</a><br />
+<br />
+Prophecy fulfilling, Marquis of Salisbury on, <a href='#Page_338'>338</a><br />
+<br />
+Prophecy of Daniel 7, <a href='#Page_117'>117</a>-129<br />
+<br />
+Prophecy of Daniel 8, <a href='#Page_205'>205</a>-211<br />
+<br />
+Prophecy of Daniel unsealed, <a href='#Page_304'>304</a><br />
+<br />
+Prophecy, of increase of knowledge, <a href='#Page_306'>306</a><br />
+<br />
+Prophecy of Matthew 24, <a href='#Page_65'>65</a>-77<br />
+<br />
+Prophecy of the judgment, Revelation 14, <a href='#Page_239'>239</a><br />
+<br />
+Prophecy of Tyre, <a href='#Page_30'>30</a>, <a href='#Page_31'>31</a><br />
+<br />
+Prophecy of 2300 years fulfilled, <a href='#Page_229'>229</a>-237<br />
+<br />
+Prophecy, study of, John Adolphus on, <a href='#Page_305'>305</a><br />
+<br />
+Prophecy, the sure word of, <a href='#Page_25'>25</a><br />
+<br />
+Prophecy, witness of the centuries to, <a href='#Page_25'>25</a>-37<br />
+<br />
+Prophetic outline of world's history, <a href='#Page_39'>39</a>-49<br />
+<br />
+Prophetic period, a great, <a href='#Page_219'>219</a>-227<br />
+<br />
+Prophetic study, Sir Isaac Newton on, <a href='#Page_304'>304</a>, <a href='#Page_305'>305</a><br />
+<br />
+Prophetic word, testimony of history to, <a href='#Page_35'>35</a>-37<br />
+<br />
+Protestants, persecution of, the "Western Watchman" on, <a href='#Page_151'>151</a><br />
+<br />
+Ptolemy's canon, authenticity of, Hales on, <a href='#Page_225'>225</a><br />
+<br />
+Ptolemy's canon, Lindsay on, <a href='#Page_225'>225</a><br />
+<br />
+Pullus, on manner of baptism, <a href='#Page_202'>202</a><br />
+<br />
+Punishment, everlasting, <a href='#Page_289'>289</a>, <a href='#Page_292'>292</a><br />
+<br />
+Purification of the earth, <a href='#Page_359'>359</a><br />
+<br />
+Pythius, the Lydian, Herodotus on, <a href='#Page_323'>323</a><br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Railroads, construction of, Wallace on, <a href='#Page_313'>313</a><br />
+<br />
+Rawlinson, on Alexander's dominion, <a href='#Page_324'>324</a>, <a href='#Page_325'>325</a><br />
+<br />
+Rawlinson, on Cyrus's conquests, <a href='#Page_121'>121</a><br />
+<br />
+Rawlinson, on division of Alexander's kingdom, <a href='#Page_122'>122</a><br />
+<br />
+Rawlinson, on Nineveh, <a href='#Page_27'>27</a><br />
+<br />
+Reformation a progressive work, <a href='#Page_255'>255</a><br />
+<br />
+Religion, abolition of, by French, Hutton on, <a href='#Page_140'>140</a><br />
+<br />
+Resurrection, baptism the memorial of, <a href='#Page_199'>199</a><br />
+<br />
+Resurrection of the just, <a href='#Page_59'>59</a>, <a href='#Page_61'>61</a>, <a href='#Page_352'>352</a><br />
+<br />
+Resurrection of the wicked, <a href='#Page_62'>62</a><br />
+<br />
+Resurrection, the second, Satan freed at, <a href='#Page_262'>262</a><br />
+<br />
+Resurrections, the two, <a href='#Page_288'>288</a>, <a href='#Page_289'>289</a><br />
+<br />
+Rich man and Lazarus, parable of, <a href='#Page_284'>284</a>, <a href='#Page_285'>285</a><br />
+<br />
+Rickaby, on Berthier entering Rome, <a href='#Page_141'>141</a><br />
+<br />
+Ridpath, on fanaticism of Jews, <a href='#Page_67'>67</a><br />
+<br />
+Righteousness and justification, <a href='#Page_195'>195</a>-197<br />
+<br />
+Righteousness, God's law the standard of, <a href='#Page_188'>188</a><br />
+<br />
+Righteousness, the gift of Christ, <a href='#Page_193'>193</a>, <a href='#Page_194'>194</a><br />
+<br />
+Righteous taken to heaven, <a href='#Page_353'>353</a><br />
+<br />
+Righteous, translation of living, <a href='#Page_59'>59</a>-61<br />
+<br />
+Righteous, with Christ a thousand years, <a href='#Page_62'>62</a><br />
+<br />
+Roman Empire divided, <a href='#Page_47'>47</a>, <a href='#Page_127'>127</a><br />
+<br />
+Roman Empire, Gibbon on, <a href='#Page_209'>209</a><br />
+<br />
+Roman Papacy, rise of, to supremacy, <a href='#Page_129'>129</a><br />
+<br />
+Romans, power of, Strabo on, <a href='#Page_46'>46</a><br />
+<br />
+Rome, Alexander's plans for conquest of, Plutarch on, <a href='#Page_44'>44</a><br />
+<br />
+Rome, Bishop of, head of church, <a href='#Page_133'>133</a><br />
+<br />
+Rome divided, <a href='#Page_48'>48</a><br />
+<br />
+Rome, dominion of, Polybius on, <a href='#Page_208'>208</a><br />
+<br />
+Rome, greatness of, Lucan on, <a href='#Page_209'>209</a><br />
+<br />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_378" id="Page_378">[Pg 378]</a></span>Rome, in prophecy and history, <a href='#Page_123'>123</a>-125, <a href='#Page_208'>208</a><br />
+<br />
+Rome, might of, Horace on, <a href='#Page_208'>208</a><br />
+<br />
+Rome, ode of Horace on, <a href='#Page_47'>47</a><br />
+<br />
+Rome, power of, Cardinal Manning on, <a href='#Page_125'>125</a><br />
+<br />
+Rome, power of, Gibbon on, <a href='#Page_46'>46</a><br />
+<br />
+Rome, power of, Hippolytus on, <a href='#Page_46'>46</a><br />
+<br />
+Rome, prophecy of, in Daniel 2, <a href='#Page_45'>45</a>, <a href='#Page_46'>46</a><br />
+<br />
+Rome, prophecy of, fulfilled, <a href='#Page_125'>125</a><br />
+<br />
+Rome, prophecy of, fulfilled, Hippolytus on, <a href='#Page_126'>126</a><br />
+<br />
+Rome, rise of, in West, <a href='#Page_44'>44</a><br />
+<br />
+Rosebery, Lord, on Armageddon, <a href='#Page_339'>339</a><br />
+<br />
+Rosse, astronomical observations by, <a href='#Page_100'>100</a><br />
+<br />
+"Run to and fro," Wright on meaning of, <a href='#Page_311'>311</a><br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Sabbatarian Baptists, <a href='#Page_179'>179</a><br />
+<br />
+Sabbath, and the first day, <a href='#Page_164'>164</a>-166<br />
+<br />
+Sabbath, at time of exodus, <a href='#Page_160'>160</a><br />
+<br />
+Sabbath, change of, "Abridgment of the Christian Doctrine" on, <a href='#Page_156'>156</a><br />
+<br />
+Sabbath, change of, "Dictionary of Christian Antiquities" on, <a href='#Page_166'>166</a><br />
+<br />
+Sabbath, change of, Hiscox on, <a href='#Page_166'>166</a>, <a href='#Page_167'>167</a><br />
+<br />
+Sabbath, change of, "Library of Christian Doctrine" on, <a href='#Page_154'>154</a>, <a href='#Page_155'>155</a><br />
+<br />
+Sabbath, Conybeare and Howson on, <a href='#Page_165'>165</a><br />
+<br />
+Sabbath, example and teaching of Jesus regarding, <a href='#Page_162'>162</a><br />
+<br />
+Sabbath, given at Sinai, <a href='#Page_161'>161</a><br />
+<br />
+Sabbath, how changed, <a href='#Page_167'>167</a><br />
+<br />
+Sabbath in Alpine valleys, Goldastus on, <a href='#Page_175'>175</a><br />
+<br />
+Sabbath in England, Stennet on, <a href='#Page_179'>179</a><br />
+<br />
+Sabbath in Europe, Dr. Chambers on, <a href='#Page_177'>177</a><br />
+<br />
+Sabbath, in time of disciples, <a href='#Page_163'>163</a><br />
+<br />
+Sabbath keepers in Norway, Keyser on, <a href='#Page_175'>175</a><br />
+<br />
+Sabbath keepers in Scotland, Lang on, <a href='#Page_174'>174</a><br />
+<br />
+Sabbath keepers in Scotland, Skene on, <a href='#Page_175'>175</a><br />
+<br />
+Sabbath keeping, action of Council of Laodicea on, <a href='#Page_173'>173</a>, <a href='#Page_174'>174</a><br />
+<br />
+Sabbath keeping after New Testament times, <a href='#Page_173'>173</a>-181<br />
+<br />
+Sabbath keeping among Moravians, <a href='#Page_180'>180</a><br />
+<br />
+Sabbath keeping, Bampfield died for, <a href='#Page_179'>179</a><br />
+<br />
+Sabbath keeping, persecution for, Bogue on, <a href='#Page_178'>178</a>, <a href='#Page_179'>179</a><br />
+<br />
+Sabbath keeping, Roger Williams on, <a href='#Page_180'>180</a><br />
+<br />
+Sabbath, Killen on change of, <a href='#Page_169'>169</a><br />
+<br />
+Sabbath observance, Bower on, <a href='#Page_174'>174</a><br />
+<br />
+Sabbath observance, Brerewood on, <a href='#Page_173'>173</a><br />
+<br />
+Sabbath observance, Charles I on, <a href='#Page_177'>177</a><br />
+<br />
+Sabbath observance, John Milton on, <a href='#Page_177'>177</a>, <a href='#Page_178'>178</a><br />
+<br />
+Sabbath observance, Pope Gregory on, <a href='#Page_174'>174</a><br />
+<br />
+Sabbath observance, Sozomen's Ecclesiastical History on, <a href='#Page_174'>174</a><br />
+<br />
+Sabbath, persecution for keeping, <a href='#Page_178'>178</a><br />
+<br />
+Sabbath, seventh-day, record of, <a href='#Page_160'>160</a>-164<br />
+<br />
+Sabbath, the sign of God's authority,253<br />
+<br />
+Sabbath, the Bible,159-170<br />
+<br />
+Sabbath, through Israel's history, <a href='#Page_162'>162</a><br />
+<br />
+Saints, eternal home of, <a href='#Page_361'>361</a>, <a href='#Page_367'>367</a><br />
+<br />
+Saints, Papacy to wear out, <a href='#Page_149'>149</a><br />
+<br />
+Saints, time of resurrection of, <a href='#Page_352'>352</a><br />
+<br />
+Salisbury, Lord, on policy of helping Turkey, <a href='#Page_331'>331</a><br />
+<br />
+Salisbury, Marquis of, on preparation for war, <a href='#Page_342'>342</a><br />
+<br />
+Salisbury, Marquis of, on prophecy fulfilling, <a href='#Page_338'>338</a><br />
+<br />
+Sanctuary, Christ's ministry in, <a href='#Page_216'>216</a><br />
+<br />
+Sanctuary, cleansing of, <a href='#Page_211'>211</a>, <a href='#Page_213'>213</a>-217<br />
+<br />
+Santee, L.D., poem by, <a href='#Page_103'>103</a><br />
+<br />
+Satan, binding of, <a href='#Page_353'>353</a><br />
+<br />
+Satan, cause of fall of, <a href='#Page_258'>258</a><br />
+<br />
+Satan, end of reign of, <a href='#Page_262'>262</a><br />
+<br />
+Satan, judgment upon, <a href='#Page_261'>261</a>-263<br />
+<br />
+Satan, the loosing of, <a href='#Page_356'>356</a><br />
+<br />
+Satanic agencies at work, <a href='#Page_341'>341</a>-343<br />
+<br />
+Satanic agencies, Sir Edward Grey on, <a href='#Page_342'>342</a><br />
+<br />
+Saved, home of the, <a href='#Page_361'>361</a>-370<br />
+<br />
+Schaff, on date of Tiberius's reign, <a href='#Page_230'>230</a><br />
+<br />
+Schaff, on Vigilius made Pope, <a href='#Page_135'>135</a><br />
+<br />
+Second coming of Christ, <a href='#Page_51'>51</a>-63<br />
+<br />
+Second coming of Christ, see Coming of Christ.<br />
+<br />
+S&eacute;gur, on observance of Sunday by Protestants, <a href='#Page_251'>251</a><br />
+<br />
+Seventh-day Adventists, origin of, <a href='#Page_243'>243</a>, <a href='#Page_244'>244</a><br />
+<br />
+Seventh-day Baptists in America, <a href='#Page_179'>179</a>, <a href='#Page_180'>180</a><br />
+<br />
+Seventh-day Sabbath, Bible record of, <a href='#Page_160'>160</a>-164<br />
+<br />
+Seventy weeks, events of, <a href='#Page_229'>229</a><br />
+<br />
+Seventy weeks, starting point of, <a href='#Page_221'>221</a>, <a href='#Page_222'>222</a><br />
+<br />
+Signs in the heavens, <a href='#Page_74'>74</a><br />
+<br />
+Signs of Christ's coming, <a href='#Page_74'>74</a>-77<br />
+<br />
+Signs of Christ's coming, given in Matthew <a href='#Page_24'>24</a>, <a href='#Page_65'>65</a>, <a href='#Page_66'>66</a><br />
+<br />
+Signs of Christ's coming, in industrial world, <a href='#Page_110'>110</a><br />
+<br />
+Signs of Christ's coming, in social world, <a href='#Page_109'>109</a><br />
+<br />
+Signs of the end, <a href='#Page_65'>65</a><br />
+<br />
+Signs of the end, signal to watch, <a href='#Page_102'>102</a><br />
+<br />
+Signs of the last days, <a href='#Page_73'>73</a>, <a href='#Page_74'>74</a><br />
+<br />
+Signs upon the earth, <a href='#Page_74'>74</a>, <a href='#Page_105'>105</a><br />
+<br />
+Sinai, law of God given anew at, <a href='#Page_186'>186</a><br />
+<br />
+Sinai, Sabbath given at, <a href='#Page_161'>161</a><br />
+<br />
+Sin, the end of, <a href='#Page_358'>358</a><br />
+<br />
+Sin, the origin of, <a href='#Page_257'>257</a><br />
+<br />
+Sin, the wages of, <a href='#Page_289'>289</a><br />
+<br />
+Skene, on Sabbath in Scotland, <a href='#Page_175'>175</a><br />
+<br />
+Sleep of the dead, <a href='#Page_280'>280</a>-282<br />
+<br />
+Sophocles, on universal mortality, <a href='#Page_277'>277</a>, <a href='#Page_278'>278</a><br />
+<br />
+"Soul" and "spirit," Scriptural use of, <a href='#Page_283'>283</a><br />
+<br />
+Soul, immortality of, <a href='#Page_275'>275</a><br />
+<br />
+Soul, living, Dr. Clarke on, <a href='#Page_283'>283</a><br />
+<br />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_379" id="Page_379">[Pg 379]</a></span>Soul, the "living," comments on, <a href='#Page_283'>283</a><br />
+<br />
+Sozomen's Ecclesiastical History, on Sabbath observance, <a href='#Page_174'>174</a><br />
+<br />
+Spangenberg, on Sabbath-keeping Moravians, <a href='#Page_180'>180</a><br />
+<br />
+"Spirit" and "soul," Scriptural use of, <a href='#Page_283'>283</a><br />
+<br />
+Spirit, death declared to have no power over, <a href='#Page_269'>269</a><br />
+<br />
+Spirits, angels as ministering, <a href='#Page_295'>295</a><br />
+<br />
+Spiritualism, ancient and modern, <a href='#Page_265'>265</a>-273<br />
+<br />
+Spiritualism and theosophy, Mme. Jean Delaire on, <a href='#Page_272'>272</a>, <a href='#Page_273'>273</a><br />
+<br />
+Spiritualism, first declaration of, <a href='#Page_265'>265</a>-267<br />
+<br />
+Spiritualism, modern, originated in Fox family, <a href='#Page_269'>269</a><br />
+<br />
+Spiritualism, modern, Prof. Wallace on, <a href='#Page_265'>265</a>, <a href='#Page_268'>268</a><br />
+<br />
+Spiritualism of East, taught by Mrs. Besant, <a href='#Page_273'>273</a><br />
+<br />
+Spiritualism, progress of, Mrs. Underhill on, <a href='#Page_269'>269</a><br />
+<br />
+Spiritualism, satanic agencies of, <a href='#Page_271'>271</a><br />
+<br />
+Spiritualism tested by Greeley, <a href='#Page_269'>269</a><br />
+<br />
+Spiritualism, the climax of deception, <a href='#Page_272'>272</a><br />
+<br />
+Spiritualism, the dead not agencies of, <a href='#Page_271'>271</a><br />
+<br />
+Spiritualism, warnings against, <a href='#Page_267'>267</a><br />
+<br />
+Spurgeon, on authorship of Bible, <a href='#Page_14'>14</a><br />
+<br />
+Spurgeon's experience with Bible, <a href='#Page_14'>14</a><br />
+<br />
+Stanley, Dean, on baptism of infants, <a href='#Page_202'>202</a><br />
+<br />
+Stanley, Dean, on collection on first day, <a href='#Page_166'>166</a><br />
+<br />
+Stanley, Dean, on manner of baptism, <a href='#Page_202'>202</a><br />
+<br />
+Stanley, Dean, on Sunday, day of the sun, <a href='#Page_170'>170</a><br />
+<br />
+Star shower, density of, Flammarion on, <a href='#Page_95'>95</a><br />
+<br />
+Stars, falling, a sign to the world, <a href='#Page_99'>99</a><br />
+<br />
+Stars, falling, brilliancy of, Olmsted on, <a href='#Page_97'>97</a><br />
+<br />
+Stars, falling, Chambers's Astronomy on, <a href='#Page_101'>101</a><br />
+<br />
+Stars, falling, described by Jessup, <a href='#Page_100'>100</a><br />
+<br />
+Stars, falling, glory of, Clerke on, <a href='#Page_101'>101</a>, <a href='#Page_102'>102</a><br />
+<br />
+Stars, falling, Humphreys on, <a href='#Page_96'>96</a><br />
+<br />
+Stars, falling, impression made by, Milner on, <a href='#Page_99'>99</a><br />
+<br />
+Stars, falling, "Journal of Commerce" on, <a href='#Page_97'>97</a><br />
+<br />
+Stars, falling, nature of, Twining on, <a href='#Page_96'>96</a><br />
+<br />
+Stars, falling, other displays of, Humboldt on, <a href='#Page_99'>99</a>, <a href='#Page_100'>100</a><br />
+<br />
+Stars, falling, Professor Langley on, <a href='#Page_101'>101</a><br />
+<br />
+Stars, falling, Sir Robert Ball on, <a href='#Page_100'>100</a><br />
+<br />
+Stars, falling, Thomas Milner on, <a href='#Page_94'>94</a><br />
+<br />
+Stars, shooting, Olmsted on, <a href='#Page_95'>95</a><br />
+<br />
+Stars, the falling, <a href='#Page_93'>93</a>-102<br />
+<br />
+Stearns, Dr. Samuel, on dark day, <a href='#Page_89'>89</a>, <a href='#Page_90'>90</a><br />
+<br />
+Stennet, on Sabbath in England, <a href='#Page_179'>179</a><br />
+<br />
+Stephen, stoning of, <a href='#Page_234'>234</a><br />
+<br />
+Stoning of Stephen, <a href='#Page_234'>234</a><br />
+<br />
+Strabo, on desolation of Babylon, <a href='#Page_34'>34</a><br />
+<br />
+Strabo, on power of Romans, <a href='#Page_46'>46</a><br />
+<br />
+Sun, darkening of, <a href='#Page_85'>85</a><br />
+<br />
+Sunday, day of the sun, Dean Stanley on, <a href='#Page_170'>170</a><br />
+<br />
+Sunday, Dean Stanley on collection on, <a href='#Page_166'>166</a><br />
+<br />
+Sunday law, Constantine's, <a href='#Page_169'>169</a><br />
+<br />
+Sunday law, Constantine's, Webster on, <a href='#Page_169'>169</a>, <a href='#Page_170'>170</a><br />
+<br />
+Sunday, mark of paganism, Hiscox on, <a href='#Page_170'>170</a><br />
+<br />
+Sunday, mark of papal power, <a href='#Page_252'>252</a><br />
+<br />
+Sunday, Neander on collection on, <a href='#Page_166'>166</a><br />
+<br />
+Sunday, not sacred, Dale on, <a href='#Page_166'>166</a><br />
+<br />
+Sunday observance by Protestants, S&eacute;gur on, <a href='#Page_251'>251</a><br />
+<br />
+Sunday observance, "Doctrinal Catechism" on, <a href='#Page_252'>252</a><br />
+<br />
+Sunday previous to Constantine, <a href='#Page_169'>169</a><br />
+<br />
+Sunday rest, not of God, <a href='#Page_165'>165</a><br />
+<br />
+Sunday, sign of papal authority, <a href='#Page_156'>156</a><br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Tabernacle, service of earthly, <a href='#Page_214'>214</a><br />
+<br />
+Telegraph, first demonstrated, <a href='#Page_314'>314</a><br />
+<br />
+Telegraph, used in carrying gospel, <a href='#Page_318'>318</a><br />
+<br />
+Temple at Jerusalem, destruction of, as predicted, <a href='#Page_70'>70</a><br />
+<br />
+Ten horns of beast, Daniel 7, <a href='#Page_127'>127</a><br />
+<br />
+Ten kingdoms, Daniel 2, <a href='#Page_46'>46</a>-48<br />
+<br />
+Ten virgins, parable of, <a href='#Page_348'>348</a>, <a href='#Page_349'>349</a><br />
+<br />
+Testimony of history to fulfilment of prophecy, <a href='#Page_36'>36</a><br />
+<br />
+Theosophy and Spiritualism, Mme. Delaire on, <a href='#Page_272'>272</a><br />
+<br />
+Thief on the cross, the, <a href='#Page_284'>284</a><br />
+<br />
+This Same Jesus, <a href='#Page_54'>54</a>-56<br />
+<br />
+Thomson, on Tyre's departed glory, <a href='#Page_31'>31</a><br />
+<br />
+Thousand years, diagram of, <a href='#Page_350'>350</a><br />
+<br />
+Thousand years, end of, <a href='#Page_289'>289</a><br />
+<br />
+Thousand years, righteous with Christ, <a href='#Page_62'>62</a><br />
+<br />
+Thwaites, Clara, "The Last Hour," poem, <a href='#Page_114'>114</a><br />
+<br />
+Tiberius C&aelig;sar, time of reign of, <a href='#Page_230'>230</a>, <a href='#Page_231'>231</a><br />
+<br />
+Time of the end, <a href='#Page_303'>303</a>-317<br />
+<br />
+Times and laws, Papacy to think to change, <a href='#Page_153'>153</a><br />
+<br />
+Tradition and the Bible, Council of Trent on, <a href='#Page_252'>252</a><br />
+<br />
+Translation of the righteous, <a href='#Page_59'>59</a>-61<br />
+<br />
+Travel, revolution in, <a href='#Page_313'>313</a><br />
+<br />
+Trent, Council of, on tradition and the Bible, <a href='#Page_252'>252</a><br />
+<br />
+Trevor, Canon, on revolt against absolutism, <a href='#Page_141'>141</a><br />
+<br />
+Tribulation, the period of, <a href='#Page_73'>73</a><br />
+<br />
+Turkey, Lord Salisbury on helping of, <a href='#Page_331'>331</a><br />
+<br />
+Turkey, position of, "Fortnightly Review" on, <a href='#Page_333'>333</a>, <a href='#Page_334'>334</a><br />
+<br />
+Turkish power, fall of, prelude to Armageddon, <a href='#Page_348'>348</a><br />
+<br />
+Turks, doom of, Blunt on, <a href='#Page_333'>333</a><br />
+<br />
+<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_380" id="Page_380">[Pg 380]</a></span>Turks, end of, near, MacFarlane on, <a href='#Page_333'>333</a><br />
+<br />
+Twelve hundred and sixty years, <a href='#Page_131'>131</a>-137<br />
+<br />
+Twelve hundred and sixty years, end of, <a href='#Page_139'>139</a><br />
+<br />
+Twenty-three hundred days, diagram of, <a href='#Page_220'>220</a><br />
+<br />
+Twenty-three hundred years, ending of, <a href='#Page_235'>235</a><br />
+<br />
+Twenty-three hundred years of Daniel 8, <a href='#Page_219'>219</a><br />
+<br />
+Twenty-three hundred years, prophecy fulfilled, <a href='#Page_229'>229</a>-237<br />
+<br />
+Twining, on nature of falling stars, <a href='#Page_96'>96</a><br />
+<br />
+Two resurrections, the, <a href='#Page_288'>288</a>, <a href='#Page_289'>289</a><br />
+<br />
+Tyre, desolation of, Bruce on, <a href='#Page_31'>31</a><br />
+<br />
+Tyre, glory departed, Thomson on, <a href='#Page_31'>31</a><br />
+<br />
+Tyre, prophecy concerning, <a href='#Page_30'>30</a>, <a href='#Page_31'>31</a><br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Underhill, Mrs. A.L., on progress of Spiritualism, <a href='#Page_269'>269</a><br />
+<br />
+Universal empires, four great, <a href='#Page_117'>117</a><br />
+<br />
+Unquenchable fire, <a href='#Page_292'>292</a>, <a href='#Page_293'>293</a><br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Valley of Hinnom, Hastings on, <a href='#Page_293'>293</a><br />
+<br />
+Van Dyke, Dr. Henry, on language of Bible, <a href='#Page_21'>21</a>, <a href='#Page_22'>22</a><br />
+<br />
+Veil, rending of, <a href='#Page_231'>231</a><br />
+<br />
+Vigilius, Pope, date of reign, Schaff on, <a href='#Page_135'>135</a>, <a href='#Page_137'>137</a><br />
+<br />
+Voltaire, on Lisbon earthquake, <a href='#Page_80'>80</a><br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Wages of sin, <a href='#Page_289'>289</a><br />
+<br />
+Wallace, Alfred Russel, on revolution in travel, <a href='#Page_313'>313</a><br />
+<br />
+Wallace, Alfred Russel, on Spiritualism, <a href='#Page_265'>265</a>, <a href='#Page_268'>268</a><br />
+<br />
+War, god of, Lord Avebury on, <a href='#Page_112'>112</a><br />
+<br />
+War, preparation for, Marquis of Salisbury on, <a href='#Page_342'>342</a><br />
+<br />
+War, preparation for, "Nineteenth Century and After", <a href='#Page_339'>339</a>-341<br />
+<br />
+War, preparation for, Queen Alexandra on, <a href='#Page_339'>339</a><br />
+<br />
+War, sign of end, "Church Missionary Review" on, <a href='#Page_343'>343</a><br />
+<br />
+Webster, Noah, on dark day, <a href='#Page_87'>87</a><br />
+<br />
+Webster, Prof. Hutton, on Constantine's Sunday law, <a href='#Page_169'>169</a>, <a href='#Page_170'>170</a><br />
+<br />
+Weeks, the seventy, starting point of, <a href='#Page_221'>221</a>, <a href='#Page_222'>222</a><br />
+<br />
+Wesley, John, on judgment-hour message, <a href='#Page_249'>249</a><br />
+<br />
+"Western Watchman," on persecution of Protestants, <a href='#Page_151'>151</a><br />
+<br />
+Whittier, on dark day, <a href='#Page_86'>86</a>, <a href='#Page_90'>90</a><br />
+<br />
+Wicked, before bar of God, <a href='#Page_357'>357</a><br />
+<br />
+Wicked, destruction of, <a href='#Page_61'>61</a>, <a href='#Page_353'>353</a><br />
+<br />
+Wicked, end of, <a href='#Page_287'>287</a>-293<br />
+<br />
+Wicked, final destruction of, <a href='#Page_356'>356</a>-359<br />
+<br />
+Wicked, resurrection of, <a href='#Page_62'>62</a><br />
+<br />
+Williams, on dark day in New England, <a href='#Page_86'>86</a><br />
+<br />
+Williams, Roger, on Sabbath keeping, <a href='#Page_180'>180</a><br />
+<br />
+Word, see Bible.<br />
+<br />
+Word that creates, the, <a href='#Page_15'>15</a><br />
+<br />
+Wordsworth, on dawn of Reformation, <a href='#Page_149'>149</a><br />
+<br />
+World-wide movement, a, <a href='#Page_239'>239</a>-245<br />
+<br />
+Wright, on meaning of "run to and fro", <a href='#Page_311'>311</a><br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Xenophon, on Cyrus, <a href='#Page_206'>206</a><br />
+<br />
+Xerxes' host, &AElig;schylus on, <a href='#Page_323'>323</a><br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Years, the 1260, of Daniel's prophecy, <a href='#Page_131'>131</a>-137<br />
+<br />
+<br />
+Zinzendorf, a Sabbath keeper, <a href='#Page_180'>180</a><br />
+<br />
+Zinzendorf, Nikolaus, poem by, <a href='#Page_227'>227</a><br />
+</p>
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Our Day, by W. A. Spicer
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@@ -0,0 +1,13667 @@
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of Our Day, by W. A. Spicer
+
+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: Our Day
+       In the Light of Prophecy
+
+Author: W. A. Spicer
+
+Release Date: June 5, 2006 [EBook #18503]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK OUR DAY ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Marilynda Fraser-Cunliffe, Josephine Paolucci
+and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at
+http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+OUR DAY
+
+In the Light of Prophecy
+
+[Illustration: JESUS WEEPING OVER JERUSALEM
+
+"If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things
+which belong unto thy peace!" Luke 19:42.]
+
+
+
+
+OUR DAY
+
+In the Light of Prophecy
+
+
+By W.A. SPICER
+
+
+     "Whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our
+     learning, that we through patience and comfort of the
+     Scriptures might have hope." Rom. 15:4.
+
+
+SOUTHERN PUBLISHING ASSOCIATION
+NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE
+FORT WORTH, TEXAS     ATLANTA, GEORGIA
+
+Copyrighted, 1917, by
+REVIEW AND HERALD PUBLISHING ASSOCIATION
+
+Copyrighted in London, England
+All Rights Reserved
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+
+THE BOOK THAT SPEAKS TO OUR DAY                            13
+
+THE WITNESS OF THE CENTURIES                               25
+
+PROPHETIC OUTLINE OF THE WORLD'S HISTORY                   39
+
+THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST                                51
+
+SIGNS OF THE APPROACHING END                               65
+
+THE LISBON EARTHQUAKE OF 1755                              79
+
+THE DARK DAY OF 1780                                       85
+
+THE FALLING STARS OF 1833                                  93
+
+THE MEANING OF PRESENT-DAY CONDITIONS                     105
+
+THE HISTORIC PROPHECY OF DANIEL 7                         117
+
+THE 1260 YEARS OF DANIEL'S PROPHECY                       131
+
+DAWN OF A NEW ERA                                         139
+
+THE WORK OF THE "LITTLE HORN" POWER                       145
+
+THE BIBLE SABBATH                                         159
+
+GLIMPSES OF SABBATH KEEPING AFTER NEW TESTAMENT TIMES     173
+
+THE LAW OF GOD                                            183
+
+JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH                                    191
+
+BAPTISM                                                   199
+
+THE PROPHECY OF DANIEL 8                                  205
+
+THE CLEANSING OF THE SANCTUARY IN TYPE AND ANTITYPE       213
+
+A GREAT PROPHETIC PERIOD                                  219
+
+THE PROPHECY FULFILLED                                    229
+
+A WORLD-WIDE MOVEMENT                                     239
+
+THE JUDGMENT-HOUR MESSAGE                                 247
+
+THE ORIGIN OF EVIL                                        257
+
+SPIRITUALISM: ANCIENT AND MODERN                          265
+
+LIFE ONLY IN CHRIST                                       275
+
+THE END OF THE WICKED                                     287
+
+ANGELS: THEIR MINISTRY                                    295
+
+THE TIME OF THE END                                       303
+
+THE EASTERN QUESTION                                      321
+
+ARMAGEDDON                                                337
+
+THE MILLENNIUM                                            351
+
+THE HOME OF THE SAVED                                     361
+
+
+
+
+FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS
+
+
+JESUS WEEPING OVER JERUSALEM                     _Frontispiece_
+
+THE GOOD SHEPHERD                                          12
+
+HEALING THE CENTURION'S SERVANT                            16
+
+CHRIST'S WEAPON OF DEFENSE--THE WORD OF GOD                19
+
+ON THE WAY TO EMMAUS                                       24
+
+THE GREAT IMAGE                                            38
+
+BABYLON IN HER GLORY                                       40
+
+THE HANDWRITING ON THE WALL                                42
+
+THE ASCENSION OF CHRIST                                    50
+
+CHRIST COMING IN GLORY                                     58
+
+CHRIST ANSWERING HIS DISCIPLES' QUESTIONS                  64
+
+THE SIEGE OF JERUSALEM BY THE ROMANS UNDER TITUS, A.D. 70  68
+
+THE CATACOMBS NEAR ROME                                    72
+
+LISBON FROM ACROSS THE BAY                                 78
+
+MIDDAY AT SEA, MAY 19, 1780                                84
+
+THE GREAT METEORIC SHOWER, NOV. 13, 1833                   92
+
+THE SIGN OF FIRE                                           98
+
+SATAN OFFERS GOLD, AND THE WORLD STAMPEDES TO ITS
+DESTRUCTION                                                   104
+
+A FAITHFUL AND WISE SERVANT                               108
+
+THE SUNSET HOUR                                           114
+
+PHILIP AND THE EUNUCH                                     116
+
+ROME ON THE TIBER                                         124
+
+THE INVASION OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE BY THE HUNS              128
+
+RAISING THE SIEGE OF ROME, A.D. 538                       130
+
+STORMING OF THE BASTILLE PRISON IN PARIS                  138
+
+THE TRIPLE CROWN                                          144
+
+THE LOVE OF POWER--THE POWER OF LOVE                      146
+
+CHRISTIANS IN PRISON BENEATH THE COLOSSEUM AWAITING
+MARTYRDOM                                                     148
+
+THE SHAME OF RELIGIOUS WARS                               152
+
+CHRIST AND THE SCRIBES                                    158
+
+THE SABBATH FROM EDEN TO EDEN                             168
+
+CHRIST AND HIS DISCIPLES IN THE CORN-FIELDS               172
+
+WALDENSES HUNTED BY THE ARMIES OF ROME                    176
+
+THE GIFT OF GOD                                           190
+
+THE BAPTISM OF CHRIST                                     198
+
+SYMBOLS OF MEDO-PERSIA AND GRECIA                         204
+
+THE CAMP OF ISRAEL IN THE WILDERNESS                      210
+
+OUR GREAT HIGH PRIEST                                     212
+
+ARTAXERXES SENDING THE JEWS TO REBUILD
+JERUSALEM, B.C. 457                                           218
+
+REBUILDING JERUSALEM                                      224
+
+THE ANOINTING OF JESUS AT HIS BAPTISM                     228
+
+THE CRUCIFIXION OF CHRIST                                 232
+
+THE THIRD ANGEL'S MESSAGE                                 238
+
+A CHRISTIAN MOTHER EXHORTING HER DAUGHTER TO
+MARTYRDOM                                                     246
+
+LUCIFER PLOTTING AGAINST THE GOVERNMENT OF GOD            256
+
+THE REDEMPTION PRICE                                      260
+
+SAUL AND THE WITCH OF ENDOR                               264
+
+THE SALEM WITCHCRAFT                                      270
+
+"HE IS RISEN"                                             274
+
+LOT FLEEING FROM SODOM                                    286
+
+PETER DELIVERED FROM PRISON                               294
+
+JACOB'S DREAM IN BETHEL                                   298
+
+MODERN INVENTIONS FULFILLING PROPHECY                     302
+
+THE HOE DOUBLE OCTUPLE PRESS                              316
+
+FORTIFICATIONS ON THE BOSPORUS                            320
+
+MODERN JERUSALEM                                          329
+
+THE GREAT BATTLE OF ARMAGEDDON                            336
+
+UNITED STATES BATTLESHIP "NEVADA"                         340
+
+MOSES VIEWING THE PROMISED LAND                           360
+
+THE SAINTS' ETERNAL HOME                                  366
+
+THE MASTER AT THE DOOR                                    369
+
+
+[Illustration: "FOUNDED UPON A ROCK"
+
+"Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path." Ps.
+119:105.]
+
+
+
+
+FOREWORD
+
+
+These are eventful times. With history-making changes passing rapidly
+before men's eyes, the questions press upon thoughtful minds in all
+lands, What do these things mean? What next in the program of
+world-shaping events?
+
+Like a great searchlight shining across the centuries, the sure Word of
+Prophecy focuses its bright beams upon Our Day. In this light we see
+clearly the trend of events, and may understand what comes next in the
+program of history fulfilling prophecy.
+
+In the Volume of the Book the living God speaks to Our Day of events of
+the past that have a lesson for the present, and of things to come.
+Divine prophecy fulfilled before men's eyes is God's challenge to
+unbelief. The Word of Holy Writ has been the guiding light through all
+the ages. It is the lamp to our feet today.
+
+    "Steadfast, serene, unmovable, the same,
+    Year after year,...
+    Burns on forevermore that quenchless flame;
+    Shines on that inextinguishable light."
+
+[Illustration: THE GOOD SHEPHERD
+
+"The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us." John 1:14.]
+
+[Illustration: "PEACE BE TO THIS HOUSE"
+
+"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." Rev. 3:20.]
+
+
+
+
+THE BOOK THAT SPEAKS TO OUR DAY
+
+
+Man may write a true book, but only God, the source of life, can write a
+living book. "The word of God ... liveth and abideth forever." 1 Peter
+1:23. The Bible is the living word of God. We look at the volume; we
+hold it in our hands. It is like other books in form and printer's art.
+But the voice of God speaks from these pages, and the word spoken is
+alive. It is able to do in the heart that receives it what can be done
+only by divine power.
+
+
+The Book That Talks
+
+Far in the heart of Africa a missionary read to the people in their own
+language from the translated Word of God. "See!" they cried; "see! the
+book talks! The white man has a book that talks!" With that simplicity
+of speech so common to children of nature, they had exactly described
+it. This is a book that talks. What the wise man says of its counsels
+through parents to children, is true of all the book: "When thou goest,
+it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when
+thou awakest, it shall talk with thee." Prov. 6:22.
+
+Here is companionship, faithful and true, a blessed guide and guardian
+and friend.
+
+    "Holy Bible! book divine!
+    Precious treasure, thou art mine!"
+
+
+God Its Author
+
+The sixty-six books of Holy Scripture were written by many penmen, over
+a space of fifteen centuries; yet it is one book, and one voice speaks
+through all its pages. Spurgeon once said of his experience with this
+book:
+
+     "When I see it, I seem to hear a voice springing up from it,
+     saying, 'I am the book of God; man, read me. I am God's
+     writing; open my leaf, for I was penned by God; read it, for He
+     is my author.'"
+
+This book declares of itself: "All scripture is given by inspiration of
+God." 2 Tim. 3:16. "The prophecy came not in old time by the will of
+man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." 2
+Peter 1:21. As the rugged verse of the old hymn puts it:
+
+    "Let all the heathen writers join
+      To form one perfect book:
+    Great God, if once compared with Thine,
+      How mean their writings look!
+
+    "Not the most perfect rules they gave
+      Could show one sin forgiven,
+    Nor lead a step beyond the grave;
+      But Thine conducts to heaven."
+
+It is the voice of the Almighty. Very different it is from the sacred
+books of the non-Christian religions. In those writings it is man
+speaking about God; in the Holy Scriptures it is God speaking to man.
+The difference is as great as heaven is higher than earth. Here it is
+not man groping in the darkness after God. In this book of God's
+revelation we see the divine arm reaching down to save the lost, and
+hear the voice of the loving Father calling to His children, every one
+and everywhere. "Incline your ear," He calls; "hear, and your soul shall
+live." Isa. 55:3.
+
+
+The Word That Creates
+
+We must have something more than instruction; we must have a word of
+power that is able to tell of sins forgiven, and to conduct us beyond
+the grave to heaven. One of the greatest of China's sages, Mencius,
+said, "Instruction can impart information, but not the power to
+execute." That touches the crucial point. We must have instruction that
+can come with power divine to execute. We have it only in God's words.
+Christ said: "It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth
+nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are
+life." John 6:63.
+
+The words of God are living words. When God spoke in the beginning, "Let
+there be light," lo, the light sprang out of the darkness. There was
+power in the word spoken to bring forth. "Let the earth bring forth
+grass," was the word of the Lord: and the earth was carpeted with its
+first rich greensward. So through all the work of creation, the creative
+power was in the word spoken.
+
+"By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them
+by the breath of His mouth." "He spake, and it was done; He commanded,
+and it stood fast." Ps. 33:6, 9.
+
+Even so, when this word speaks instruction to man, there is creative
+power in the word, if received, to work mightily in the soul that is
+dead in trespasses and sins. Man must be born again, be re-created. That
+we know; for Christ says, "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man
+be born again ["from above," margin], he cannot see the kingdom of God."
+John 3:3.
+
+And the word of God--the Bible from heaven--received by faith, is the
+agency by which this new birth "from above" is wrought. This is the
+declaration of our text: "Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but
+of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever."
+1 Peter 1:23.
+
+[Illustration: HEALING THE CENTURION'S SERVANT
+
+"Speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed." Matt. 8:8.]
+
+
+The Word That Works Within
+
+Not only does the word of God give the new birth, making the believer a
+new man,--the past forgiven and a new heart within,--but the word that
+re-creates abides in the believing heart that studies it and clings to
+it, to work in the life with actual power that is not of the man
+himself. To the Thessalonians, who had "turned to God from idols to
+serve the living and true God," the apostle wrote:
+
+"For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye
+received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the
+word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually
+worketh also in you that believe." 1 Thess. 2:13.
+
+The word itself works within, and works effectually. There is nothing
+mechanical about it. The mere letter profits nothing. The Bible on the
+center table, unstudied and unloved, has no magic power. But God
+promises to abide by His Spirit of power in the heart that listens to
+His voice and trembles at His word. Jesus Himself tells us the secret of
+this power of the word to work in the believing heart:
+
+"If a man love Me, he will keep My words: and My Father will love him,
+and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him." John 14:23.
+
+No wonder, then, that believing and receiving the word brings divine
+power into the life, making it possible for transformations of character
+to be wrought, for victories to be won and obedience rendered to every
+command of God.
+
+Simply believing God's word touches the current of everlasting power,
+even as the trolley arm of the electric car reaches up and touches the
+current of power flowing through the wire overhead. The faith that
+takes the living word brings the power divine into the heart to move all
+the spiritual mechanism of life's service.
+
+
+The Word Our Safety and Defense
+
+When Christ came to live as our example in the flesh, and to give His
+life a sacrifice for sin, He, the divine Son of God, made Himself like
+unto His brethren. "I can of Mine own self do nothing," He said. John
+5:30. Tempted and tried, He found His defense in the Holy Scriptures.
+When Satan came to tempt Him to sin, the Saviour said, "It is written."
+He clung to the sure defense. Again the tempter came. He was met with
+the word, "It is written again." The third time it was the same weapon
+of defense, "It is written." Matt. 4:1-11.
+
+Christ found safety only in the Scriptures of truth. So the Bible is the
+Christian's shield against the enemy's attacks. As Jesus studied the
+Scriptures and kept the words ever in His heart for a defense against
+temptation, so must every Christian study and meditate upon God's Holy
+Word if its counsels and precepts are to be his defense in the moment of
+sudden temptation to sin. "Thy word have I hid in mine heart," said the
+psalmist, "that I might not sin against Thee." Ps. 119:11. It was the
+only way for Christ, our Pattern; it is the only way for us.
+
+
+The Bread of Life
+
+The word of God is the daily food for the soul. "It is written, Man
+shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of
+the mouth of God." Matt. 4:4.
+
+Who has not, in hurried times, missed a meal, working on through the
+day, never thinking of the prolonged fast? But after a time there came a
+sense of weakening force, a lack of physical power. What was the
+trouble? At once the reason was evident--one had not taken food, and
+the system was calling for a renewal of its forces. Just so the
+spiritual life must needs be fed by the word of God.
+
+[Illustration: CHRIST'S WEAPON OF DEFENSE--THE WORD OF GOD
+
+"Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord
+thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve." Matt. 4:10.]
+
+Do we at times feel a sense of weakening of the spiritual power, a
+letting down of the vital forces of the soul? Ah, in the hurry of life
+we have neglected to feed upon the living bread. We can no more sustain
+spiritual vigor and health without feeding daily upon God's Holy Word
+than we can maintain physical power without eating our daily bread. Eat
+of the life-giving word. The taste for it grows with the partaking.
+
+There is life in "every word." The psalmist found the Lord's testimonies
+"sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb," or, as the marginal reading
+has it, than "the dropping of honeycombs." Ps. 19:10. We get the picture
+of the honeycomb inverted, the cell caps broken open, the sweetness
+dripping down. Just so every word of the Lord is a cell full of
+sweetness and life for the soul that feasts upon the Holy Scriptures.
+
+
+The Source of All Doctrine
+
+The Bible is the complete and perfect rule of faith and doctrine. Here
+every doctrine of salvation is found. Inspiration has declared it in the
+words of the apostle Paul to Timothy:
+
+"From a child thou hast known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to
+make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.
+All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for
+doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
+that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good
+works." 2 Tim. 3:15-17.
+
+The divine command is, "Study." For every generation there has been a
+message borne by this living word, making call to reformation of life,
+or giving warning and comfort. "The Bible is not a collection of truths
+formulated in propositions," said Dr. Samuel Harris, of Yale, "but
+God's majestic march through history, redeeming men from sin."
+
+In every age God has been ruling and overruling, witnessing by His
+Spirit through the living word. The experiences recorded of past ages
+have their special lesson for the present time:
+
+"Whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning,
+that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope."
+Rom. 15:4.
+
+"Let vs therfore all with feruent desyre," as the Old English of 1549
+spelled the exhortation of Erasmus, "thyrste after these spirituall
+sprynges.... Let vs kisse these swete wordes of Christ with a pure
+affeccion. Let vs be newe transformed into them, for soche are oure
+maners as oure studies be."
+
+
+The Book for All Mankind
+
+It speaks in every tongue to the human heart. Its power to transform has
+been shown through all the centuries in every clime and among every
+race. One of the Gospels was put into the Chiluba tongue of Central
+Africa. After a time a Garenganze chief came to Dan Crawford, the
+missionary, changed from the spirit of a fierce, wicked barbarian to
+that of a teachable child. Explaining his conversion, the chief said: "I
+was startled to find that Christ could speak Chiluba. I heard him speak
+to me out of the printed page, and what he said was, 'Follow me!'"
+
+Of the Bible's universal speech to all mankind, Dr. Henry van Dyke has
+said:
+
+     "Born in the East, and clothed in Oriental form and imagery,
+     the Bible walks the ways of all the world with familiar feet,
+     and enters land after land to find its own everywhere. It has
+     learned to speak in hundreds of languages to the heart of man.
+     It comes into the palace to tell the monarch that he is the
+     servant of the Most High, and into the cottage to assure the
+     peasant that he is the son of God. Children listen to its
+     stories with wonder and delight, and wise men ponder them as
+     parables of life. It has a word of peace for the time of
+     peril, a word of comfort for the day of calamity, a word of
+     light for the hour of darkness. Its oracles are repeated in the
+     assembly of the people, and its counsels whispered in the ear
+     of the lonely. The wise and the proud tremble at its warnings,
+     but to the wounded and penitent it has a mother's voice....
+
+     "Its great words grow richer, as pearls do when they are worn
+     near the heart. No man is poor or desolate who has this
+     treasure for his own. When the landscape darkens and the
+     trembling pilgrim comes to the valley named the Shadow, he is
+     not afraid to enter; he takes the rod and staff of Scripture in
+     his hand; he says to friend and comrade, 'Good-by, we shall
+     meet again,' and comforted by that support, he goes toward the
+     lonely pass as one who climbs through darkness into
+     light."--_The Century Magazine._
+
+[Illustration: RAISING JARIUS'S DAUGHTER
+
+"In Him was life; and the life was the light of men." John 1:4.]
+
+In the days of His life on earth, Jesus was a welcome guest in humble
+homes in Judea and Galilee. "The common people heard Him gladly." His
+presence brought peace and comfort to the home. He is no longer with us
+in bodily presence; but He is the same Saviour still--"Jesus Christ the
+same yesterday, and today, and forever." Heb. 13:8. By His Spirit,
+through the living word of Holy Scripture, He enters the home where
+faith receives Him, and speaks again the gracious salutation, "Peace be
+to this house."
+
+
+Christ the Central Theme
+
+All the Bible bears witness of Christ as the Saviour of the world. He
+Himself said of the Scriptures, "They are they which testify of Me."
+John 5:39. "To Him give all the prophets witness." Acts 10:43. We see
+Him as the coming Messiah in promise and prophecy, in type and shadow.
+His is the divine, living personality standing out in every book that
+makes up the Sacred Volume. As we read with loving heart, the Author
+seems near in every page.
+
+    "Reading, methinks I bend
+      Before the cross
+    Where died my King, my Friend.
+      The whole world's loss
+    For love of Him is gain."
+
+And having beheld Him giving His life as the divine sacrifice, and
+rising in triumph over death to be our great High Priest in the heavenly
+temple, as we read these Sacred Scriptures yet again, in every book,
+from Genesis to Revelation, we see Him as the coming King of kings,
+coming to take His children to the eternal home of the saved. The whole
+book is a bright window through which we gaze on coming glory.
+
+    "And yet again I stand
+      Where the seer stood,
+    Gazing across the strand,
+      Beyond the flood:
+    The gates of pearl afar,
+      The streets of gold,
+    The bright and morning Star
+      Mine eyes behold."
+
+"The Word of God ... liveth and abideth forever." 1 Peter 1:23. "Heaven
+and earth shall pass away, but My words shall not pass away." Matt.
+24:35.
+
+[Illustration: ON THE WAY TO EMMAUS
+
+"Beginning at Moses and all the prophets, He expounded unto them in all
+the Scriptures the things concerning Himself." Luke 24:27.]
+
+[Illustration: THE STAR OF BETHLEHEM
+
+"I am God,... declaring ... from ancient times the things that are not
+yet done." Isa. 46:9, 10.]
+
+
+
+
+THE WITNESS OF THE CENTURIES
+
+
+The Sure Word of Prophecy
+
+"We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye
+take heed." 2 Peter 1:19.
+
+The prophetic scriptures afford infallible evidence that the voice of
+the living God speaks in Holy Writ. One of the distinguishing marks of
+divinity is the power that foretells and records the course of history
+long ages before the events come to pass.
+
+
+God's Challenge
+
+God's challenge to false religious systems in olden time was this:
+
+"Declare us things for to come. Show the things that are to come
+hereafter, that we may know that ye are gods." Isa. 41:22, 23.
+
+And all the gods of the nations were silent; for they are no gods. The
+Lord alone, the one who speaks by the Holy Scriptures, is able to tell
+the end from the beginning.
+
+"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,
+saying, My counsel shall stand." Isa. 46:9, 10.
+
+By this means God has borne witness of Himself through the ages, that it
+might be known that the Most High rules above all the kingdoms of men,
+and that men might recognize His purpose to put an end to sin and bring
+eternal salvation to His people. "I have spoken it," He declares, "I
+will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also do it."
+
+The fulfilment of the word of prophecy in history is a fascinating
+story. To the Lord, the future is an open book, even as the present. The
+word is spoken, telling of the event to come; it is written on the
+parchment scroll by the prophet's pen. Time passes; centuries come and
+go. Then, when the hour of the prophecy arrives, lo, there appears the
+fulfilment. And it is seen in matters pertaining to individuals, as well
+as in the affairs of cities and empires.
+
+
+The Word Fulfilled after Long Waiting
+
+In the dream divinely given to the lad Joseph, it was plainly foretold
+that his brothers would one day come as suppliants before him. His
+father rebuked him for telling the dream, saying, "Shall I and thy
+mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down ourselves to thee to the
+earth?" Gen. 37:10. The brothers sold the lad into slavery, to be well
+rid of him. Yet twenty years later, all unconscious of his identity,
+these same brethren presented themselves before the prime minister of
+Egypt, and "fell before him on the ground." Gen. 44:14.
+
+Again: the wicked stronghold of Jericho had been utterly destroyed.
+Joshua declared:
+
+"Cursed be the man ... that riseth up and buildeth this city Jericho: he
+shall lay the foundation thereof in his first-born, and in his youngest
+son shall he set up the gates of it." Joshua 6:26.
+
+The hands of angels had thrown down its walls, and its ruin was to stand
+as a memorial. More than five hundred years later, when the apostate
+Ahab was ruling, and Israel and Judah had departed from the Lord, Hiel
+the Bethelite set out to rebuild Jericho. "He laid the foundation
+thereof in Abiram his first-born."
+
+But accident and death may come at any time. The work on the walls went
+on, no one thinking of the neglected Scriptures with their warning of
+long ago. So the full account runs:
+
+"He laid the foundation thereof in Abiram his first-born, and set up the
+gates thereof in his youngest son Segub, according to the word of the
+Lord, which He spake by Joshua the son of Nun." 1 Kings 16:34.
+
+The fate of some of the mightiest cities the world ever saw has borne
+testimony through the centuries to the fulfilment of the prophetic word.
+
+
+The Witness of Nineveh
+
+Nineveh was founded by Nimrod. He built not only his capital here by the
+Tigris, but other towns round about, conceiving first of all the idea of
+grouping the capital and its suburbs into one great city, the "Greater
+Nineveh," as we would say in these days of Greater London and Greater
+New York. At the dawn of history Nineveh was "a great city." Gen. 10:11,
+12. In Jonah's day it was an "exceeding great city."[A] Sennacherib, of
+the Bible story, was its beautifier. Rawlinson says:
+
+     "The great palace which he raised at Nineveh surpassed in size
+     and splendor all earlier edifices."--_"Second Monarchy," chap.
+     9._
+
+A description is preserved on the clay cylinder in the king's own words:
+
+    "For the wonderment of multitudes of men
+    I raised its head--'the palace which has no rival'
+    I called its name."--_Taylor Cylinder, "Records of the Past."
+    Vol. XII, part 1_.
+
+At the preaching of Jonah the city had repented; but in later years
+pride of conquest and luxury and wealth were filling it with blood. The
+prophet Nahum warned it of certain doom, appealing to those who had any
+fear of God to turn to Him. The message was:
+
+[Illustration: THE SITE OF NINEVEH
+
+"How is she become a desolation!" Zeph. 2:15.]
+
+"The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; and He knoweth
+them that trust in Him." Nahum 1:7.
+
+Some, no doubt, heeded the warning and turned to God for refuge. But the
+city's life of sin ran on. Then the prophet Zephaniah spoke the word,
+just as the stroke was to fall:
+
+"Woe to her that is filthy and polluted, to the oppressing city! She
+obeyed not the voice; she received not correction; she trusted not in
+the Lord; she drew not near to her God." Zeph. 3:1, 2.
+
+Prophecies uttered against the mighty city had declared:
+
+"He will make an utter end of the place thereof." "The palace shall be
+dissolved ["molten," margin]." "She is empty, and void, and waste."
+Nahum 1:8; 2:6, 10. "How is she become a desolation, a place for beasts
+to lie down in!" Zeph. 2:15.
+
+The Medes and the Babylonians overthrew Nineveh. The king immolated
+himself in his burning ("molten") palace. Nineveh became a desolation.
+Describing a battle that took place there in the seventh century of our
+era, between the Romans and the Persians, the historian Gibbon bears
+testimony to the fact that it has indeed become "empty, and void, and
+waste:"
+
+     "Eastward of the Tigris, at the end of the bridge of Mosul, the
+     great Nineveh had formerly been erected: the city, and even the
+     ruins of the city, had long since disappeared; the vacant place
+     afforded a spacious field for the operations of the two
+     armies."--_"The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman
+     Empire," chap. 46, par. 24._
+
+And to this day, the site of Nineveh is pointed out across the river
+from Mosul, only mounds of ruins, these almost obliterated by the
+drifting sands of centuries. The word spoken is fulfilled, though at the
+time it was spoken it little seemed to proud and prosperous Nineveh that
+such a fate could ever be hers.
+
+    "Before me rise the walls
+    Of the Titanic city,--brazen gates,
+    Towers, temples, palaces enormous piled,--
+    Imperial Nineveh, the earthly queen!
+    In all her golden pomp I see her now,
+    Her swarming streets, her splendid festivals.
+
+           *       *       *       *       *
+
+    "Again I look,--and lo!...
+    Her walls are gone, her palaces are dust,--
+    The desert is around her, and within
+    Like shadows have the mighty passed away."
+
+From Nineveh's mounds we seem to hear a voice that says: "All flesh is
+as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass
+withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: but the word of the Lord
+endureth forever." 1 Peter 1:24, 25.
+
+
+The Burden of Tyre
+
+[Illustration: TYRE BY THE SEA
+
+"They shall destroy the walls of Tyrus, and break down her towers." Eze.
+26:4.]
+
+Tyre was the greatest maritime city of antiquity. Its inhabitants, the
+Phoenicians, traded in the ports of all the known world. Ezekiel
+describes the heart of the seas as its borders. "Thy builders have
+perfected thy beauty," he says. He tells how all countries traded in its
+marts and contributed to its wealth. And then, obeying the word of the
+Lord, the prophet bears a message of rebuke and warning,--"the burden of
+Tyre,"--and pronounces the coming judgment:
+
+"Thus saith the Lord God: Behold, I am against thee, O Tyrus, and will
+cause many nations to come up against thee.... And they shall destroy
+the walls of Tyrus, and break down her towers: I will also scrape her
+dust from her, and make her like the top of a rock. It shall be a place
+for the spreading of nets in the midst of the sea: for I have spoken it,
+saith the Lord God." Eze. 26:3-5.
+
+The accounts of travelers bear witness that the prophecy has been
+fulfilled. As to the site of the island city of Ezekiel's day, Bruce,
+nearly a century ago, said that he found it a "rock whereon fishers dry
+their nets." (See "Keith on the Prophecies," p. 329.)
+
+In more recent times, Dr. W.M. Thomson found the whole region of Tyre
+suggestive only of departed glory:
+
+     "There is nothing here, certainly, of that which led Joshua to
+     call it 'the strong city' more than three thousand years ago
+     (Joshua 19:29),--nothing of that mighty metropolis which
+     baffled the proud Nebuchadnezzar and all his power for thirteen
+     years, until 'every head' in his army 'was made bald, and every
+     shoulder was peeled,' in the hard service against Tyrus (Eze.
+     29:18),--nothing in this wretched roadstead and empty harbor to
+     remind one of the times when merry mariners did sing in her
+     markets--no visible trace of those towering ramparts which so
+     long resisted the utmost efforts of the great Alexander. All
+     have vanished utterly like a troubled dream, and Tyre has sunk
+     under the burden of prophecy.... As she is now, and has long
+     been, Tyre is God's witness; but great, powerful, and populous,
+     she would be the infidel's boast. This, however, she cannot be.
+     Tyre will never rise from her dust to falsify the voice of
+     prophecy.
+
+    "Dim is her glory, gone her fame,
+      Her boasted wealth has fled;
+    On her proud rock, alas! her shame,
+      The fisher's net is spread.
+    The Tyrian harp has slumbered long,
+      And Tyria's mirth is low;
+    The timbrel, dulcimer, and song
+      Are hushed, or wake to woe."
+
+    --_"The Land and the Book," Vol. II, pp. 626, 627._
+
+
+The Desolation of Babylon
+
+Yet another city of ancient times there was, the mightiest of them all,
+whose fate was a subject of prophecy, and whose history bears special
+testimony for us today; for, more than any other, the Lord used that
+city as a symbol of the pride of life and the exaltation of the selfish
+heart against God.
+
+Let us study briefly the desolations pronounced upon Babylon of old.
+
+[Illustration: BABYLON IN THE DUST
+
+"Babylon shall become heaps,... without an inhabitant." Jer. 51:37.]
+
+While Babylon was still the mightiest city of the world, with the period
+of greatest glory yet before it, the Lord revealed its ignoble end. By
+the prophet Isaiah He declared:
+
+"Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees' excellency,
+shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. It shall never be
+inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation:
+neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there; neither shall the shepherds
+make their fold there. But wild beasts of the desert shall lie there;
+and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures; and owls shall
+dwell there, and satyrs shall dance there. And the wild beasts of the
+islands shall cry in their desolate houses, and dragons in their
+pleasant palaces: and her time is near to come, and her days shall not
+be prolonged." Isa. 13:19-22.
+
+Never could a more doleful future have been pictured for a city full of
+splendor, the metropolis of the world. About one hundred and
+seventy-five years after this word was written on the parchment scroll,
+the Medes and Persians were at the gates of Babylon. Her time had come,
+and Chaldea's rule was ended.
+
+    "Fallen is the golden city! in the dust,
+      Spoiled of her crown, dismantled of her state.
+    She that hath made the Strength of Towers her trust,
+      Weeps by her dead, supremely desolate!
+
+    "She that beheld the nations at her gate
+      Thronging in homage, shall be called no more
+    'Lady of Kingdoms!'--Who shall mourn her fate?
+      Her guilt is full, her march of triumph o'er."
+
+But still, under Medo-Persia, and later under the Greeks, the city
+itself was populous and prosperous and beautiful. The skeptic of the
+time may have pointed to it as evidence that here, at least, the Hebrew
+prophet had missed the mark.
+
+Apollonius, the sage of Tyana, who lived in the days of Nero and the
+apostles, has left an account of Babylon as he saw it, as late as the
+first century of our era. Still the Euphrates swept beneath its walls,
+dividing the city into halves, with great palaces on either side. He
+says:
+
+     "The palaces are roofed with bronze, and a glitter goes off
+     from them; but the chambers of the women and of the men and the
+     porticoes are adorned partly with silver, and partly with
+     golden tapestries or curtains, and partly with solid gold in
+     the form of pictures."
+
+And of the king's judgment hall he reported:
+
+     "The roof had been carried up in the form of a dome, to
+     resemble in a manner the heavens, and that it was roofed with
+     sapphire, a stone that is very blue and like heaven to the eye;
+     and there were images of the gods, which they worship, fixed
+     aloft, and looking like golden figures shining out of the
+     ether."--_Philostratus, "Life of Apollonius," book 1, chap.
+     25._
+
+Evidently Babylon was still "the land of graven images," and the
+desolation foretold by the prophet had not yet befallen its palaces. But
+that prophetic word, written eight hundred years before, was still upon
+the scroll of the Book, the sure Word of God, who sees the end from the
+beginning.
+
+[Illustration: EGYPT'S GLORY DEPARTED
+
+"The idols of Egypt shall be moved." Isa. 19:1.]
+
+The view given us by Apollonius is perhaps the last glimpse we have of
+Babylon's passing glory. Even then for centuries the walls had been a
+quarry from which stones were drawn for Babylon's rival, Seleucia, on
+the Tigris. And Strabo, the Greek geographer, who also wrote in the
+first century, had described Babylon as "in great part deserted,"
+adding,
+
+     "No one would hesitate to apply to it what one of the comic
+     writers said of Megalopolitae, in Arcadia, 'The great city is a
+     great desert.'"--_"Geography," book 16, chap. 1._
+
+Already pagan writers had begun to describe its condition in the terms
+of the prophecy uttered so long before. And now what is its state? The
+doom foretold has fallen heavy upon the city, upon its palaces, and
+"upon the graven images of Babylon." For a century and more, travelers'
+accounts have frequently borne witness to the exact fulfilment of the
+prophecy in the remarkable desolations of that city, once mistress of
+the world.
+
+"Babylon shall become heaps," said the prophecy, "and owls shall dwell
+there." This is what Mr. Layard, the English archeologist, found on his
+visit in 1845:
+
+     "Shapeless heaps of rubbish cover for many an acre the face of
+     the land.... On all sides, fragments of glass, marble, pottery,
+     and inscribed brick are mingled with that peculiar nitrous and
+     blanched soil, which, bred from the remains of ancient
+     habitations, checks or destroys vegetation, and renders the
+     site of Babylon a naked and a hideous waste. Owls [which are of
+     a large gray kind, and often found in flocks of nearly a
+     hundred] start from the scanty thickets, and the foul jackal
+     skulks through the furrows."--_"Discoveries Among the Ruins of
+     Nineveh and Babylon," chap. 21, p. 413._
+
+The prophecy said, "Neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there." The
+words might be construed to mean that the famous site would never become
+the place of a Bedouin village. But it is literally true, say travelers,
+that the Arabs avoid the place even for the temporary pitching of their
+tents. They consider the spot under a curse. They call the ruins
+_Mudjelibe_, "the Overturned." (See "Encyclopedia of Islam," art.
+"Babil.")
+
+As late as 1913, Missionary W.C. Ising visited the site where Professor
+Koldeway was excavating the ruins of Nebuchadnezzar's palace. He wrote:
+
+     "Involuntarily one is reminded of the prophecy in the
+     thirteenth of Isaiah and many other places, which, in course of
+     time, have been fulfilled to the letter. No one is living on
+     the site of ancient Babylon, and whatever Arabs are employed by
+     the excavators have built their mud huts in the bed of the
+     ancient river, which at the present time is shifted half a mile
+     farther west."--_European Division Quarterly, Fourth Quarter,
+     1913._
+
+
+Egypt and Edom
+
+The massive ruins by the Nile bear witness to prophecy fulfilled. When
+Egypt rivaled Babylon, the word was spoken: "It shall be the basest of
+the kingdoms; neither shall it exalt itself any more above the nations."
+Eze. 29:15. It was not utterly to pass, as Babylon, but to continue in
+inferior state. Thus it came to pass. Once populous Edom, famed for
+wisdom and counsel, now lies desolate, according to the word: "Edom
+shall be a desolation: every one that goeth by it shall be astonished."
+Jer. 49:17.
+
+
+The Testimony of History
+
+[Illustration: RUINS OF EDOM
+
+"Edom shall be a desolate wilderness." Joel 3:19.]
+
+Thus the centuries bear testimony to the fulfilment of the prophetic
+word. The panorama of all human history moves before us in these
+writings of the prophets. Flinging their "colossal shadows" across the
+pages of Holy Writ, as Farrar says, we see--
+
+    "The giant forms of empires on their way
+    To ruin."
+
+It is no human book that thus from primitive times forecasts the march
+of history through the ages.
+
+The Lord not only spoke the word in warning and entreaty for those to
+whom it first came, but it is written in the Scriptures of truth as a
+testimony to all time, that the Bible is the word of God, and that all
+His purposes revealed therein and all the promises of the blessed Book
+are certain and sure. The prophets who bore messages from God to
+Nineveh, and Babylon, and Tyre, spoke messages also for our day.
+
+Fulfilled prophecy is the testimony of the centuries to the living God.
+The evidence of prophecy and its fulfilment is God's challenge and
+appeal to men to acknowledge Him as the true God and the Holy Scriptures
+as His word from heaven.
+
+"I have declared the former things from the beginning; and they went
+forth out of My mouth, and I showed them; I did them suddenly, and they
+came to pass. Because I knew that thou art obstinate, and thy neck is an
+iron sinew, and thy brow brass; I have even from the beginning declared
+it to thee; before it came to pass I showed it thee.... Thou hast heard,
+see all this; and will not ye declare it?" Isa. 48:3-6.
+
+Surely no one can look at the evidence in history of the fulfilment of
+prophecy without seeing that of a truth the One who spoke these words
+knew the end from the beginning; and finding the living God in the sure
+word of prophecy, one must be prepared to listen to His voice in all the
+Scriptures, when it speaks of sin and the way of salvation through Jesus
+Christ.
+
+Further, the prophetic word also has much to say of events yet future,
+of the course of history in modern times. It behooves us to give heed to
+what that word speaks concerning our own times and the events that are
+to take place upon the earth before the end. The apostle Peter exhorts
+us to the study in these words:
+
+"We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye
+take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day
+dawn, and the day-star arise in your hearts." 2 Peter 1:19.
+
+[Illustration: THE GREAT IMAGE
+
+"He that revealeth secrets maketh known to thee what shall come to
+pass." Dan. 2:29.]
+
+[Illustration: DANIEL INTERPRETING NEBUCHADNEZZAR'S DREAM
+
+"Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great Image." Dan. 2:31.]
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[A] "In the book of Jonah," says _Records of the Past_, "Nineveh is
+stated to have been an exceeding great city of three days' journey; and
+that being the case, the explanation that Calah on the south and
+Khorsabad on the north were included seems very probable. The distance
+between these two extreme points is about thirty miles, which, at ten
+miles a day, would take the time required."--_Vol. XII, part 1, January
+and February, 1913_.
+
+
+
+
+PROPHETIC OUTLINE OF THE WORLD'S HISTORY
+
+THE PROPHECY OF DANIEL 2
+
+
+"There is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to
+the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days."
+
+In a dream by night the Lord gave to Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, a
+clear historical outline of the course of world empire to the end of
+time and the coming of the eternal kingdom.
+
+The king was a thoughtful monarch; and having reached the height of his
+power, he was one night meditating upon "what should come to pass
+hereafter." Not for his sake alone, but for the enlightenment and
+instruction of men in all time, the Lord answered the wondering question
+of the king's meditation by giving him the dream. "He that revealeth
+secrets," said Daniel the prophet, "maketh known to thee what shall come
+to pass."
+
+[Illustration: BABYLON IN HER GLORY
+
+"Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees'
+excellency." Isa. 13:19.]
+
+And that we may know at the beginning that there is nothing fanciful and
+uncertain about this great historic outline reaching to the end of the
+world, we note first the assurance with which the prophet closed his
+interpretation: "The dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof
+sure."
+
+The details of the dream had been taken from the king's mind, while
+conviction as to the wondrous import of it remained. This was in God's
+providence, to show the folly of the worldly-wise men of Babylon, and to
+bring before the king the prophet of the Lord with a divine message. The
+prophet Daniel, under the inspiration of God, brought his dream again to
+the king's mind:
+
+"Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose
+brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was
+terrible.
+
+"This image's head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver,
+his belly and his thighs of brass, his legs of iron, his feet part of
+iron and part of clay.
+
+"Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote
+the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to
+pieces. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the
+gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer
+threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was
+found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great
+mountain, and filled the whole earth."
+
+The prophet next declared the interpretation. And now follows the
+history of the world in miniature.
+
+
+Babylon
+
+"Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given
+thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. And wheresoever the
+children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the
+heaven hath He given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them
+all. Thou art this head of gold."
+
+[Illustration: THE HANDWRITING ON THE WALL
+
+"Thy kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians." Dan.
+5:28.]
+
+The parts of the image, then, of various metals, from head to feet,
+represented successive empires, beginning with Babylon; and the kingdom
+of Babylon, represented by Nebuchadnezzar, was the head of gold.
+
+History shows how fitly the golden head symbolizes the Babylonian
+kingdom. Long before, the prophet Isaiah had described it as "the glory
+of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees' excellency." Isa. 13:19. And
+now, in Nebuchadnezzar's day, it was the golden age of the Babylonian
+kingdom. No such gorgeous city as its capital ever before stood on
+earth. And Nebuchadnezzar was the great leader of its conquests, and the
+beautifier and builder of its walls and palaces. "For the astonishment
+of men I have built this house," one tablet reads; and hundreds repeat
+the story.
+
+    "Those portals
+    for the astonishment of multitudes of people
+    with beauty I adorned.
+    In order that the battle storm
+    to Imgur-Bel
+    the wall of Babylon might
+    not reach;
+    what no king before me
+    had done."--_East India House Inscription._
+
+Thus Nebuchadnezzar's records of stone today repeat the proud boast
+faithfully reported in the Scripture, "Is not this great Babylon, that I
+have built?" Dan. 4:30. To the king it seemed that such a city could
+never fall. One inscription reads:
+
+     "Thus I completely made strong the defenses of Babylon. May it
+     last forever."--_Rawlinson, "Fourth Monarchy," Appendix A._
+
+
+Medo-Persia
+
+But the prophet Daniel, proceeding with the divine interpretation,
+interrupted all such proud thoughts with the declaration, "After thee
+shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee."
+
+Now the look was forward into the future. And the word came to pass.
+Babylon's decline was swift after Nebuchadnezzar's death. Daniel the
+prophet himself lived to interpret the handwriting on the wall at
+Belshazzar's feast:
+
+"God hath numbered thy kingdom, and finished it.... Thou art weighed in
+the balances and art found wanting.... Thy kingdom is divided, and given
+to the Medes and Persians." Dan. 5:26-28.
+
+The breast and arms of silver, in the great image, represented the
+Medo-Persian kingdom, which followed the Babylonian, "inferior" to it in
+brilliancy and grandeur, as silver is inferior to gold. Medo-Persia,
+however, enlarged the borders of the world empire; and the names of
+Cyrus and Darius are written among the mightiest conquerors of history.
+
+But the prophet does not stop to dwell upon the grandeur of fleeting
+earthly kingdoms. The interpretation hastens on to reach the setting up
+of a kingdom that shall not pass away. Following Medo-Persia, a third
+power was to rise,
+
+
+Grecia
+
+"And another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the
+earth."
+
+The "third kingdom" after Babylon was Grecia, which overthrew the empire
+of the Medes and Persians. And Grecia's dominion fulfilled the
+specifications of the prophecy, which indicated a yet wider expansion of
+empire. Its sway was to be over "all the earth," said Daniel the
+prophet, foretelling its history. Arrian, the Greek historian, writing
+afterward, said that Alexander of Greece seemed truly "lord of all the
+earth;" and he adds:
+
+     "I am persuaded there was no nation, city, nor people then in
+     being whither his name did not reach; for which reason,
+     whatever origin he might boast of, or claim to himself, there
+     seems to me to have been some divine hand presiding both over
+     his birth and actions."--_"History of the Expedition of
+     Alexander the Great," book 7, chap. 30._
+
+The sides of brass in the great image represented Grecia, the brazen
+metal itself being a fitting symbol of those "brazen-mailed" Greeks,
+celebrated in ancient poetry and song,
+
+     "Among the foremost, armed in glittering brass."
+
+
+A Power Rising in the West
+
+While Grecia's supremacy under Alexander was disputed by none, there was
+a power rising in the West that was soon to enter the lists for the
+prize of world dominion.
+
+Some of the ancient writers say that at the time of his death Alexander
+had in mind to push westward to strike down the growing power of the
+city of Rome, of which he had heard. Plutarch says that this man
+Alexander,
+
+     "who shot like a star, with incredible swiftness, from the
+     rising to the setting sun, was meditating to bring the luster
+     of his arms into Italy.... He had heard of the Roman power in
+     Italy."--_"Morals," chap. on "Fortune of the Romans," par. 13._
+
+Lucan, the ancient Roman poet, repeats the thought:
+
+    "Driven headlong on by Fate's resistless force,
+    Through Asia's realms he took his dreadful course:
+    His ruthless sword laid human nature waste,
+    And desolation followed where he passed....
+
+    "Ev'n to the utmost west he would have gone,
+    Where Tethys' lap receives the setting sun."
+
+    --"_Pharsalia._"
+
+But in the prime of his years, Alexander was cut down, and Rome had yet
+more time in which to develop its strength preparatory to the deciding
+contest for the mastery of all the world. Sure it is that after Grecia,
+there followed the Roman Empire, the strongest and mightiest and most
+crushing of them all. This fourth universal empire the prophet proceeded
+to describe, as represented by the legs of iron in Nebuchadnezzar's
+dream of the great image.
+
+
+Rome
+
+"The fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh
+in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these,
+shall it break in pieces and bruise."
+
+How appropriately the iron of the image fits the character of the fourth
+great empire! Gibbon, the historian, calls it "the iron monarchy of
+Rome." It broke in pieces the kingdoms, subduing all, just as prophecy
+had declared so long before. As iron is strongest of the common metals,
+so according to the prophecy--"as iron that breaketh all these"--this
+fourth kingdom was to be more powerful than any before it. Strabo, the
+geographer, who lived in the days of Tiberius Caesar, said,
+
+     "The Romans have surpassed (in power) all former rulers of whom
+     we have any record."--_"Geography," book 17, chap. 3._
+
+Hippolytus, bishop and martyr, who lived in Rome in the third
+century,--under the "iron monarchy,"--wrote thus of this prophecy:
+
+     "Already the iron rules; already it subdues and breaks all in
+     pieces; already it brings all the unwilling into subjection;
+     already we see these things ourselves."--_"Treatise on Christ
+     and Antichrist," sec. 33._
+
+Hippolytus also saw clearly from the prophecy that the empire of his day
+would be divided, and he wrote of the kingdoms that were "yet to rise"
+out of it. For Daniel's interpretation explained clearly the meaning of
+the mingling of clay with the iron in the feet and toes of the great
+image.
+
+
+The Kingdoms of Modern Europe
+
+"Whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part
+of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the
+strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry
+clay.
+
+"And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the
+kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken.
+
+"And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle
+themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to
+another, even as iron is not mixed with clay."
+
+"The kingdom shall be divided." So declared the prophet of God. In the
+height of its power, Rome scouted the thought that so mighty a fabric
+could ever be broken up. Horace sang in his "Odes,"
+
+    "How, added to a conquered world,
+      Euphrates 'bates his tide,
+    And Huns, beyond our frontiers hurled,
+      O'er straitened deserts ride.
+
+           *       *       *       *       *
+
+    "The Goths beyond the sea may plot,
+      The warlike Basques may plan;
+    Friend, never heed them! vex thee not;
+      For this our mortal span
+     Of little wants."
+
+    --_Book 2, Marris's Translation._
+
+But the words were written on the ancient parchment in the days of
+Babylon, "The kingdom shall be divided;" and true to the word of the
+prophet, the Roman Empire fell apart with the mixture of nations and
+peoples that swept into it. The elements did not hold together, even as
+the mixture of iron and clay in the image did not cleave together.
+Broken up by the invasions of fresh nations from the north, the Western
+Empire was divided into lesser kingdoms, out of which have grown the
+modern nations of western Europe.
+
+Not one word in the outline of the prophecy thus far has failed of
+fulfilment. These modern kingdoms growing out of divided Rome have never
+been reunited. "They shall mingle themselves with the seed of men," said
+the prophecy. Nearly all the reigning houses of Europe today are related
+by intermarriage; the prophecy said it would be so; but "they shall not
+cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay." So we see
+it. No statesman, no master of legions, has been able to join these
+nations together again in one great empire. Charles V had the thought in
+mind, some think. Napoleon dreamed of doing it. But it was not to be.
+Nevermore was there to be one universal monarchy.
+
+We may know that as surely as the course of world empire has followed
+the exact outline of the prophecy put on the inspired record in the days
+of Babylon of old, just so surely the specifications of the closing
+portion of the outline will be fulfilled.
+
+The fourth great kingdom was to be divided. Rome was the fourth empire:
+it was divided. The kingdoms of the divided empire are acting their part
+before our eyes today.
+
+
+The Next Great Event
+
+And what next? That is the question for us. Now the prophetic outline
+that began with ancient Babylon touches the things of our own day. The
+word spoken before Nebuchadnezzar so long ago is now spoken especially
+to us:
+
+"In the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom,
+which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to
+other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these
+kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.
+
+"Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain
+without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the
+clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the
+king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and
+the interpretation thereof sure."
+
+"In the days of these kings,"--these kingdoms of our own time,--the next
+great world-changing event is to be the coming of Christ to begin the
+setting up of his everlasting kingdom. That is the grand climax toward
+which all the course of history has been tending. At last the end is to
+come.
+
+    "Down in the feet of iron and of clay,
+    Weak and divided, soon to pass away;
+    What will the next great, glorious drama be?--
+    Christ and His coming, and eternity."
+
+As the stone, cut out of the mountain "without hands," smote the image,
+so that all its parts, representative of earthly dominion, were ground
+to dust and blown away, so Christ's coming kingdom, set up "without
+hands," by no human power, but by the power of the eternal God, will end
+all earthly dominion and bring the utter destruction of sin and sinners
+out of the earth.
+
+"The dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure."
+
+Then may all eyes well be turned toward the next great step foretold in
+the prophetic outline--the coming of Christ's glorious everlasting
+kingdom, which shall not pass away.
+
+    "Look for the waymarks as you journey on,
+    Look for the waymarks, passing one by one,
+    Down through the ages, past the kingdoms four,--
+    Where are we standing? Look the waymarks o'er."
+
+[Illustration: PHOTOGRAPH BY MISSIONARY W.C. ISING
+
+Ruins of the Palace of Nebuchadnezzar, in which was the hall of
+Belshazzar's Feast.]
+
+[Illustration: THE ASCENSION OF CHRIST
+
+"This same Jesus ... shall so come in like manner." Acts 1:11.
+
+COPYRIGHT STANDARD PUB. CO.]
+
+[Illustration: THE TRIUMPHAL ENTRY INTO JERUSALEM
+
+"Behold, thy King cometh,... lowly, and riding upon an ass." Zech.
+9:9.]
+
+
+
+
+THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST
+
+
+"Unto them that look for Him shall He appear the second time without sin
+unto salvation." Heb. 9:28.
+
+Too often the second coming of Christ is looked upon simply as a
+doctrine. It is, however, more than a doctrine merely to be believed; it
+is an impending event, something that is to take place on earth, and the
+most stupendous, all-transcendent event for the world since Christ came
+the first time to die on Calvary for the sins of men.
+
+This second coming of Christ, like His first coming, has been the theme
+of divine prophecy from the beginning. This was emphasized by the
+apostle Peter in his second recorded sermon. He pressed upon the people
+of Jerusalem the fact that the things "which God before had showed by
+the mouth of all His prophets, that Christ should suffer" (Acts 3:18),
+had been fulfilled to the letter before their eyes. Not a word had
+failed. Just so, he said, all that the prophets had spoken of His second
+coming would be fulfilled:
+
+"He shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: whom
+the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things,
+which God hath spoken by the mouth of all His holy prophets since the
+world began." Acts 3:20, 21.
+
+
+The Promise of His Coming
+
+As iniquity began to abound, God sent a message to the antediluvian
+world, declaring that Christ's coming in glory would end the reign of
+sin:
+
+"Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold,
+the Lord cometh with ten thousands of His saints, to execute judgment
+upon all." Jude 14, 15.
+
+The promise of Christ's coming was the "blessed hope" in the patriarchal
+age. In Job's dark hour of trial his heart clung to the promise, and he
+was kept from despair:
+
+"I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that He shall stand at the latter
+day upon the earth: ... whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall
+behold, and not another." Job 19:25-27.
+
+The psalmist sang of it:
+
+"Our God shall come, and shall not keep silence: a fire shall devour
+before Him, and it shall be very tempestuous round about Him." Ps. 50:3.
+
+And the prophets of later times were unceasingly moved upon to talk of
+the glory of that coming, of events preceding it, and of the preparation
+for it.
+
+"I have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold
+their peace day nor night: ye that make mention of the Lord, keep not
+silence." "Behold, the Lord hath proclaimed unto the end of the world,
+Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy salvation cometh; behold,
+His reward is with Him, and His work before Him." Isa. 62:6, 11.
+
+The message of His coming is to be heralded to the ends of the earth;
+for it is "good tidings of great joy" to every one who will receive it.
+
+On that last night with His disciples before the crucifixion, when His
+heart was sorrowful even unto death, as the burden of all our
+iniquities was about to be laid upon Him, Christ's love for His own made
+precious to Him the thought of His second coming to gather them home at
+last, safe from all sin and trouble; and He said:
+
+"Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in Me.
+In My Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have
+told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a
+place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that
+where I am, there ye may be also." John 14:1-3.
+
+In that assurance the heart finds rest. O the preciousness of the
+promise, "I will come again"! "I am coming for you," is the cheering
+message. "Yes, Lord," we reply, "we will wait, and watch, and be ready,
+by Thy grace."
+
+
+The Manner of His Coming
+
+Christ's second coming is to be visible to all the world. There is to be
+nothing secret or mystical about it. The revelator says:
+
+"Behold, He cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see Him." Rev. 1:7.
+
+Christ Himself described the scene to His disciples as it will appear to
+the eyes of all:
+
+"As the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the
+west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be." Matt. 24:27. "Then
+shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and
+glory." Mark 13:26.
+
+The day of the Lord--the close of probation, the initial outpouring of
+the judgments of God--will come "as a thief in the night," but Christ's
+personal appearing will be visible to all. The heavens will open, the
+earth quake, the trump of God resound, and such glory as mortal eye has
+never seen will burst upon the world when He comes as King of kings and
+Lord of lords.
+
+    "He comes not an infant in Bethlehem born,
+      He comes not to lie in a manger;
+    He comes not again to be treated with scorn,
+      He comes not a shelterless stranger;
+    He comes not to Gethsemane,
+      To weep and sweat blood in the garden;
+    He comes not to die on the tree,
+      To purchase for rebels a pardon.
+     Oh, no; glory, bright glory,
+     Environs Him now."
+
+[Illustration: THE TRANSFIGURATION A TYPE OF HIS COMING
+
+"Behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with Him."
+Matt. 17:3.]
+
+
+"This Same Jesus"
+
+The Lord would have His children understand that this One who comes in
+power and glory is the same Saviour of men who once walked by blue
+Galilee. As the disciples were watching their Saviour, and ours,
+ascending bodily into heaven from Olivet, until "a cloud received Him
+out of their sight," suddenly two angels stood by them, who said:
+
+"Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus,
+which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as
+ye have seen Him go into heaven." Acts 1:9, 11.
+
+[Illustration: CHRIST SET AT NAUGHT BY THE ROMANS
+
+"Behold your King!" John 19:14.]
+
+"This same Jesus"! It was the loving Friend and Elder Brother, Son of
+man as well as Son of God, who was passing from their sight. He will
+come back the "same Jesus," though in glory indescribable, having "all
+the holy angels with Him."
+
+The prophet Habakkuk thus described Christ's glorious appearing, as it
+was represented to him in vision:
+
+    "His glory covered the heavens,
+    And the earth was full of His praise.
+    And His brightness was as the light;
+    He had rays coming forth from His hand;
+    And there was the hiding of His power."
+
+    Hab. 3:3, 4, A.R.V.
+
+Surely it is the "same Jesus," and the mark of the cruel nails is the
+shining badge of His power to save.
+
+    "I shall know Him
+    By the print of the nails in His hands."
+
+As the redeemed see Him who was crucified for them coming in glory, they
+will cry, "Lo, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save
+us: this is the Lord; we have waited for Him, we will be glad and
+rejoice in His salvation." Isa. 25:9.
+
+But that day will be a day of darkness as well as of light. The unready,
+the unrepentant, will realize too late that in rejecting Christ's pardon
+and love and sacrifice, they have rejected the only means by which they
+might have been prepared to meet the coming King, before whose face no
+sin can endure. "Every eye shall see Him," the apostle says, and he
+describes the terror of that day to the unprepared:
+
+"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; 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: for
+the great day of His wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?"
+Rev. 6:15-17.
+
+The scenes of that great day are so beyond human comprehension that it
+is difficult to realize that such a time is actually before us.
+
+    "Then, O my Lord, prepare
+    My soul for that great day."
+
+
+The Purpose of His Coming
+
+The Scriptures make very clear the purpose of Christ's second coming and
+the events of that great day. It has been the hope of the children of
+God through all the ages. The apostle Paul calls it the "blessed hope."
+
+"The grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
+teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live
+soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; looking for that
+blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our
+Saviour Jesus Christ." Titus 2:11-13.
+
+The saints of God have fallen asleep in death with their faith reaching
+forward to Christ's glorious appearing. So the veteran apostle fell,
+with eyes upon "that day."
+
+"I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand.
+I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the
+faith: henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness,
+which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at that day: and not
+to me only, but unto all them also that love His appearing." 2 Tim.
+4:6-8.
+
+Christ's second coming is the grand climax of the plan of salvation. Not
+till then are the children of God ushered into the eternal kingdom. Then
+the crowns of life are bestowed, and the saved all go together through
+the gates into the city--patriarch and prophet, apostle and reformer,
+and the child of God of this last generation. Of the ancient worthies it
+is written:
+
+"These all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not
+the promise: God having provided some better thing for us, that they
+without us should not be made perfect." Heb. 11:39, 40.
+
+What a glorious day it will be when the ransomed of all the ages, march
+in together through the gates into the city!
+
+It is to take His children to their eternal home that Christ comes the
+second time. This was His promise to the disciples:
+
+"I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for
+you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am,
+there ye may be also." John 14:2, 3.
+
+Not in detail, but in their general order, let us follow the events of
+that great day.
+
+[Illustration: CHRIST COMING IN GLORY
+
+"The Son of man shall come in His glory, and all the holy angels with
+Him." Matt. 25:31.]
+
+
+The Prelude to His Coming
+
+as the revelator saw it and heard it in a vision of the last day:
+
+"There came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne,
+saying, It is done. And there were voices, and thunders, and lightnings;
+and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon
+the earth,... and the cities of the nations fell: and great Babylon
+came in remembrance before God." Rev. 16:17-19.
+
+"The heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every
+mountain and island were moved out of their places." Rev. 6:14.
+
+
+His Glorious Appearing
+
+Then bursts upon the world the glory of our Saviour's coming:
+
+"Then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall
+all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man
+coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And He shall
+send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet." Matt. 24:30, 31.
+
+"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. And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a
+loud voice to Him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in Thy sickle, and reap:
+for the time is come for Thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is
+ripe." Rev. 14:14, 15.
+
+
+The Resurrection of the Just, and the Translation of the Living
+Righteous
+
+The time to reap has come, and the wheat is gathered at last into the
+garner of the Lord:
+
+"We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in
+the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall
+sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be
+changed." 1 Cor. 15:51, 52.
+
+"He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they
+shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of
+heaven to the other." Matt. 24:31.
+
+"This we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive
+and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are
+asleep. For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout,
+with the voice of the Archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead
+in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be
+caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air:
+and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another
+with these words." 1 Thess. 4:15-18.
+
+[Illustration: THE EMPTY TOMB
+
+"Christ the first fruits; afterward they that are Christ's at His
+coming." 1 Cor. 15:23.]
+
+The righteous dead are raised to life as the trump of God sounds and the
+voice of the Archangel calls to His sleeping saints, and the living
+righteous are transformed from mortality to immortality. Then all
+together, with the escort of the angels, they follow the Saviour to the
+heavenly mansions that He has prepared in the city of God.
+
+
+The Destruction of the Wicked
+
+Before the glorious majesty of the coming King no sin can endure; for
+true it is that "our God is a consuming fire"--now, in the day of His
+mercy, consuming sin out of the heart that by faith approaches the
+throne of grace, but in that day consuming the unrepentant sinner with
+his sin.
+
+    "Where will the sinner hide in that day, in that day?
+    Where will the sinner hide in that day?
+      It will be in vain to call,
+      'Ye mountains on us fall!'
+    For His hand will find out all in that day."
+
+It is the great day long foretold by seer and prophet.
+
+Again let us read the description of what it will mean to the unsaved to
+see Christ coming in glory; for the terror of that day must warn us now
+to keep within the refuge of the Saviour's loving grace:
+
+"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; 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: for
+the great day of His wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?"
+Rev. 6:15-17.
+
+The same glory that transforms the righteous is a consuming fire to
+those who have rejected Christ's salvation:
+
+"Then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with
+the spirit of His mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of His
+coming." 2 Thess. 2:8.
+
+"When the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty
+angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and
+that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: who shall be punished
+with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the
+glory of His power." 2 Thess. 1:7-9.
+
+
+The Climax of Human History
+
+Thus the second coming of Christ brings the resurrection and translation
+of the righteous, the death of the wicked, and the end of the world. The
+resurrection of the wicked does not then take place, but only that of
+the just; save for some of the wicked dead who had a special part in
+warring against Christ,--"they also which pierced Him" (Rev. 1:7). These
+are raised to see His coming, necessarily to fall again before the
+consuming glory of His presence.
+
+The righteous are taken to reign with Christ in the heavenly city for a
+thousand years, and during the same period the earth lies in desolation
+and chaos, uninhabited by man, a dark abyss, the dreary prison house of
+Satan. Of the two resurrections, first of the just and then of the
+unjust, we are told:
+
+"They [the righteous] lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
+But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were
+finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that
+hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no
+power." Rev. 20:4-6.
+
+It is at the end of the thousand years that the resurrection of the
+wicked takes place. Then the city of God descends, "the holy city, New
+Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven," and the wicked come
+forth to condemnation and the second death, from which there is no
+waking.
+
+
+"Now is the Accepted Time"
+
+Now is the day of salvation, when by Christ's grace we may prepare for
+that great day. To be found among His redeemed ones in that day will be
+of infinitely greater worth than anything this world can give, of
+pleasure, or possessions, or honor. Nothing will count then but the
+blessed hope.
+
+Selina, Countess of Huntingdon, found the personal Saviour in the days
+of the Methodist revival in England. All her wealth and all her social
+influence were devoted to Christ, even though titled friends took
+umbrage at her close association with the poor and the humble who gave
+heed to the message of the hour, and pressed into the kingdom. She wrote
+of her joy in being numbered with the children of God:
+
+    "I love to meet among them now,
+    Before Thy gracious throne to bow,
+      Though weakest of them all;
+    Nor can I bear the piercing thought,
+    To have my worthless name left out,
+      When Thou for them shalt call.
+
+    "Prevent, prevent it by Thy grace.
+    Be Thou, dear Lord, my hiding place
+      In that expected day.
+    Thy pardoning voice, O let me hear,
+    To still each unbelieving fear,
+      Nor let me fall, I pray."
+
+One night, at a royal ball, the Prince of Wales asked a titled lady
+where the Countess of Huntingdon was. "Oh, I suppose she is praying with
+some of her beggars somewhere!" was the flippant answer. "Ah," said the
+crown prince, "in the last day I think I should be glad to hold the hem
+of Lady Huntingdon's mantle." True it is that the greatest gift of grace
+now, as it will be then, is to be numbered among the obedient children
+of God.
+
+    "Let me among Thy saints be found,
+    Whene'er the Archangel's trump shall sound,
+      To see Thy smiling face;
+    Then joyfully Thy praise I'll sing,
+    While heaven's resounding mansions ring
+      With shouts of endless grace."
+
+[Illustration: CHRIST ANSWERING HIS DISCIPLES' QUESTIONS
+
+"When shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of Thy coming,
+and of the end of the world?" Matt. 24:3.]
+
+[Illustration: THE DESTRUCTION OF THE TEMPLE FORETOLD
+
+"There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be
+thrown down." Matt. 24:2.]
+
+
+
+
+SIGNS OF THE APPROACHING END
+
+OUR SAVIOUR'S GREAT PROPHECY
+
+
+Part I
+
+Christ had spoken of the coming desolation of the sacred temple at
+Jerusalem. The disciples were astonished. "Master, see," said one, "what
+manner of stones and what buildings are here!" The Saviour replied:
+
+"Seest thou these great buildings? there shall not be left one stone
+upon another, that shall not be thrown down" Mark 13:2.
+
+
+"What Shall be the Sign?"
+
+As soon as they were alone on the Mount of Olives overlooking the city,
+the disciples came to Jesus, saying:
+
+"Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of Thy
+coming, and of the end of the world?" Matt. 24:3.
+
+Replying to this question, the Saviour spoke first of the fall of
+Jerusalem; He foretold in a sentence the experiences of His church
+through dark ages to follow; then He described the events of the latter
+days, the signs showing His second advent near at hand; and, finally, He
+pictured the scenes of His own glorious appearing in the clouds of
+heaven. The fullest record of the discourse is found in the
+twenty-fourth chapter of Matthew.
+
+
+A Striking Parallel
+
+The first portion of the prophetic discourse (verses 4-14) deals with
+general conditions that were to prevail both in the last days of the
+Jewish state, and on a yet larger scale in the course of history leading
+to the last days of the world. There was so close a parallel between
+these times that Christ, in one description, answered both questions
+asked, When shall these things come upon Jerusalem? and, What shall be
+the signs of the end of the world?
+
+The prophetic word foretold the rise of false Christs, the coming of
+wars, famines, and earthquakes in "divers places." The believers saw
+these things fulfilled in that generation before Jerusalem fell; but as
+we read the prophecy, we see the wider application and yet larger
+fulfilment through the course of history since that day, these
+calamities increasing in the earth as the end draws near. Before the end
+of the Jewish state, the believers carried the gospel to all the known
+world of their day. (See Col. 1:23.) In these latter days we are seeing
+the yet wider proclamation of the gospel, as foretold in the fourteenth
+verse, "This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world
+for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come."
+
+
+The Last Days of Jerusalem
+
+We may note briefly some of the events of Jerusalem's last days. Christ
+had forewarned the believers:
+
+"Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in My name,
+saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many."
+
+Having rejected the true Christ, the nation was open to deception by the
+false. We catch just a glimpse of the fulfilment in the book of Acts; in
+secular history the full story is told. Ridpath says:
+
+     "Never was a people so turbulent, so excited with expectation
+     of a deliverer who should restore the ancient kingdom, so fired
+     with bigotry and fanaticism, as were the wretched Jews of this
+     period. One Christ came after another. Revolt was succeeded by
+     revolt, instigated by some pseudo-prophet or pretended
+     king."--_"History of the World," Vol. I, p. 849 (Part III,
+     chap. 19)._
+
+During the Saviour's life and ministry a divine hand had to a great
+extent held the elements of violence in check, but as the light was
+rejected more and more, the spirit of evil came to hold sway
+unrestrained. Dr. Mears well describes the changed conditions in these
+words:
+
+     "The narrative of the evangelists presents a tranquil scene, a
+     succession of attractive pictures, in striking contrast to the
+     bloody and tumultuous events which crowd each other in the
+     pages of Josephus."--_"From Exile to Overthrow," pp. 256, 257._
+
+Thus the events led rapidly on toward the day of Jerusalem's fall, so
+long foretold by the prophets.
+
+
+The Sign to the Believers
+
+The disciples had asked for a sign, and Christ gave them a token by
+which they might know when the time to flee from Jerusalem had come.
+Here Luke's Gospel gives the fullest record:
+
+"When ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the
+desolation thereof is nigh. Then let them which are in Judea flee to the
+mountains; and let them which are in the midst of it depart out; and let
+not them that are in the countries enter thereinto. For these be the
+days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled."
+Luke 21:20-22.
+
+[Illustration: THE SIEGE OF JERUSALEM BY THE ROMANS UNDER TITUS,
+A.D. 70
+
+"When ye shall see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know that the
+desolation thereof is nigh." Luke 21:20.]
+
+The unbelieving in Jerusalem and Judea could not conceive that their
+city, so long protected and favored of God, could be destroyed. Not even
+the appearance of the Roman armies could shake their blind
+self-confidence. But at the first sight of the encircling armies, the
+Christians knew that the time for flight was at hand. But how to flee
+was the question, with the compassing lines drawn close about the city.
+Moreover, the Zealots, the furious war party in power, would be little
+likely to allow any number to pass out to the Roman forces.
+
+Just here God's providence made a way of escape. Cestius, the Roman
+commander, after having partially undermined one of the temple walls,
+suddenly decided to defer pushing the attack. "He retired from the
+city," says Josephus, "without any reason in the world." (See "Wars,"
+book 2, chap. 19.) And the Zealots flew out after the retiring Romans,
+furiously attacking the rear guards.
+
+Then those watching Christians knew that the time for quick flight had
+come, according to Christ's prophecy uttered many years before. They
+fled out of the city and out of the country round about.
+
+Through all the years, Christ's prophecy had exhorted them, "Pray ye
+that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the Sabbath day."
+Matt. 24:20. The prayer was answered, for it was in the autumn and on a
+week day that the flight was made.[B] Watching for the sign, and
+instantly obeying, they were delivered.
+
+Thus it was that when the Romans returned later to the siege, never to
+give up till the city fell, none of the Christians were overwhelmed in
+its destruction. Even so are we to watch the signs of our own times,
+that we may escape those things that are coming upon the earth, and be
+ready to "stand before the Son of man."
+
+
+The Prophetic Word Fulfilled
+
+Christ had declared that the temple, the pride of the nation, would be
+utterly destroyed. In the last siege, the Roman commander tried to spare
+the magnificent pile. When the Jews made it their chief fortress,
+because of its massive strength, Titus remonstrated with them, saying:
+
+     "If you will but change the place whereon you fight, no Roman
+     shall either come near your sanctuary, or offer any affront to
+     it; nay, I will endeavor to preserve you your holy house,
+     whether you will or not."--_Josephus, "Wars of the Jews," book
+     6, chap. 2._
+
+But the prophecy was fulfilled to the letter. The people seemed
+possessed with fury. The hardened Roman pagans were astonished at their
+suicidal rashness. Titus's efforts to save the temple failed, and it
+went down in ruin, as Christ had foretold.
+
+[Illustration: A PANEL FROM THE ARCH OF TITUS
+
+Showing the golden candlestick and other sacred vessels of the temple
+being carried in triumph through the streets of Rome.]
+
+The disciples of Christ had called His attention to the immense blocks
+of stone that composed the temple walls. "See, what manner of stones,"
+one said. When Titus examined these same stones, after the fall of the
+city, he is said to have declared:
+
+     "We have certainly had God for our assistant in this war, and
+     it was no other than God who ejected the Jews out of these
+     fortifications."[C]--_Id., book 6, chap. 9._
+
+Rather, we would say, in the light of Scripture teaching, the
+destruction that came upon the city was but the fruit of its own way.
+God's guardian care had long protected the city of David. When His
+protection was finally thrust aside and the people put themselves in the
+power of the great destroyer, divine justice could no longer save the
+city from the judgments that were bound to fall upon persistent
+transgression against light.
+
+The lesson is one of those written "for our admonition upon whom the
+ends of the world are come." Jerusalem, in that generation of great
+light and high privilege, fell because it knew not the time of its
+visitation. Still Christ's sad lament bears its warning to the ears of
+men: "If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the
+things which belong unto thy peace!" Luke 19:42.
+
+
+Part II
+
+Having foretold the destruction of Jerusalem, and given to the believers
+signs by which they might find deliverance in the day of its overthrow,
+Christ yet more fully answered the second part of the disciples'
+question, "What shall be the sign of Thy coming, and of the end of the
+world?" Matt. 24:3.
+
+[Illustration: THE CATACOMBS NEAR ROME
+
+In these underground passages persecuted Christians found a hiding
+place, held their services, and buried their dead.]
+
+
+The Period of Tribulation
+
+Quickly He passed to the events of the latter days. But first He
+sketched, in a few words, the tribulations through which His church was
+to pass during the intervening centuries. Daniel the prophet had written
+of this experience, foretelling the long period during which the papal
+power was to "wear out the saints of the Most High." Dan. 7:25. Of these
+times, Christ said in His prophetic discourse:
+
+"Then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of
+the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days
+should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's
+sake those days shall be shortened." Matt. 24:21, 22.
+
+It is evident that Christ referred to the time of tribulation foretold
+by Daniel, not to the trials attending the flight of the Christians from
+Jerusalem, for their flight was a deliverance of the elect from trial.
+However much the weak may have suffered temporarily in fleeing from
+their homes, the great suffering of that time came upon the unbelieving,
+who had no shelter.
+
+This prophecy given by our Saviour presents the picture of a
+long-continued persecution of His own elect, and foretells the
+shortening of the allotted time. God was to intervene in some special
+way to save His people. And it was even so. The elect did suffer all
+through the centuries of intolerance, until the rise of the Reformation
+and the spreading abroad of God's Word broke the power of
+ecclesiasticism, thus shortening the days of bitter tribulation.
+
+
+The End Drawing Near
+
+According to Daniel's further prophecy, the period of trial and
+persecution was to reach "even to the time of the end." Dan. 11:35.
+Naturally, then, we should look for the signs of the latter days to
+begin to appear following these days of tribulation. And so we find the
+next words of Christ's discourse introducing the topic of His second
+coming. From now on the prophetic outline deals with events leading
+down to the end of the age.
+
+First the Saviour utters a warning against false ideas concerning His
+second coming. That no theories of a secret coming or of a mystic coming
+might deceive the unwary, He says in plain words:
+
+"If any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it
+not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall
+show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they
+shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before. Wherefore
+if they shall say unto you, Behold, He is in the desert; go not forth:
+behold, He is in the secret chambers; believe it not. For as the
+lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so
+shall also the coming of the Son of man be." Matt. 24:23-27.
+
+Today we see the need of this warning. Some of the most subtle
+deceptions are found in the teaching that Christ has already come,
+secretly, or that He comes in the chamber of death, or in the
+spiritualistic seance. Against all these errors we are forewarned, as
+well as against any agencies that may come showing marvelous signs and
+wonders. The close of human probation, the coming of the day of God,
+will be as a thief in the night; and Christ's coming itself will
+overtake the unwatchful all unprepared. Nevertheless, when He comes,
+"every eye shall see Him," and all the glory of heaven will burst upon a
+quaking world.
+
+
+Signs in the Heavens and the Earth
+
+Now the Saviour's outline of prophecy presents the signs which were to
+show when the coming of the Lord was near. Referring again to the days
+of tribulation foretold by the prophet Daniel, Christ says:
+
+"Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be
+darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall
+fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: and
+then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven." Matt. 24:29,
+30.
+
+In Luke's record of the same prophetic discourse, additional signs are
+given, describing conditions in the earth as Christ's coming draws near.
+His account reads:
+
+"There shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and
+upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the
+waves roaring; men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after
+those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven
+shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a
+cloud with power and great glory. And when these things begin to come to
+pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth
+nigh." Luke 21:25-28.
+
+Yet again, the prophet John, in the Revelation, foretells these signs in
+the sun and moon and stars, as they were presented to him in a vision of
+the last days. But his record shows that this series of signs was to be
+preceded by a great earthquake. He describes the order of events as
+follows:
+
+"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; 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." Rev. 6:12, 13.
+
+In these scriptures four great signs of Christ's approaching advent are
+listed for our study, as follows:
+
+    1. The great earthquake.
+    2. The darkening of the sun and moon.
+    3. The falling of the stars.
+    4. Distress of nations, and other signs.
+
+
+The Time When the Signs Begin
+
+Christ's prophecy points out approximately the time when the first of
+the signs that He gave, the darkening of the sun, should
+appear,--"immediately after the tribulation of those days." And the
+"great earthquake" of John's vision was to precede this sign in the
+heavens.
+
+The Reformation of the sixteenth century began to cut short the days of
+tribulation; but some countries shut out the liberalizing influences of
+the Word of God, and there the persecution continued.
+
+Even as late as near the end of the seventeenth century, in 1685, France
+revoked the Edict of Nantes, that had granted toleration, and
+persecution raged as of old. The church was driven again to the desert.
+Speaking of the early decades of the eighteenth century, Kurtz says:
+
+     "In France the persecution of the Huguenots continued.... The
+     'pastors of the desert' performed their duties at the risk of
+     their lives."--_"Church History," Vol. III, p. 88._
+
+There was severe persecution of the Moravians in Austria, in these
+times, many of the persecuted finding refuge in Saxony. It was in 1722
+that Christian David led the first band of Moravian refugees to settle
+on the estates of Count Zinzendorf, who organized through them the great
+pioneer movement of modern missions.
+
+But by the middle of the century, the era of enlightenment and the force
+of world opinion, in the good providence of God, had so permeated the
+Catholic states of Europe that general violent persecution had ceased.
+One incident will suffice as evidence of this.
+
+The scene was in France, where alone, of all the Catholic states, there
+were any great numbers of Protestants. In 1762 a Huguenot of Toulouse,
+unjustly charged with crime, was put to torture and to death, under the
+pressure of the old persecuting spirit. Many Huguenots thought the
+persecutions of former times were reviving, and prepared to flee to
+Switzerland. But Voltaire took up the matter, and so wrought upon public
+opinion that the Paris parliament reviewed the case, and the king paid
+the man's family a large indemnity.
+
+This shows that by the middle of that century the days of any general
+persecution had ceased. In the nature of the case, we may not point to
+the exact year and say, Here the days of tribulation ended.
+
+From these times, then, we are to scan the record of history to learn if
+the appointed signs began to appear. As we look, we find the events
+recorded, following on in the order predicted:
+
+    1. The Lisbon earthquake, cf 1755.
+    2. The dark day, cf 1780.
+    3. The falling stars, cf 1833.
+    4. General conditions and movements betokening the end.
+
+"There shall be signs," the Saviour said. We are to study the record of
+events, watching to catch the signs of the approaching end as earnestly
+as the mariner watches the beacon lights when he nears the longed-for
+haven on a dark and stormy night.
+
+[Illustration: AN ANCIENT FLOUR MILL
+
+"Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and
+the other left." Matt. 24:41.]
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[B] It was in the autumn that the army of Cestius closed in upon
+Jerusalem. According to the careful record of Graetz, the Jewish
+historian, it was evidently on a Wednesday that the Roman army retired,
+pursued by all the forces of the city. This was the instant for the
+flight of the Christians. Next day "the Zealots, shouting exultant war
+songs, returned to Jerusalem (8th October)."--_"History of the Jews,"
+Vol. II, p. 268._ The day before was the time for unhindered flight.
+
+[C] Apollonius, the friend and counselor of Titus, left a similar
+testimony to the latter's conviction that there was something
+supernatural about the forces of destruction let loose upon Jerusalem:
+"After Titus had taken Jerusalem, and when the country all round was
+filled with corpses, the neighboring races offered him a crown: but he
+disclaimed any such honor to himself, saying that it was not he himself
+that had accomplished this exploit, but that he had merely lent his arms
+to God, who had so manifested His wrath."--_Philostratus, "Life of
+Apollonius," book 6, chap. 29._
+
+
+[Illustration: LISBON FROM ACROSS THE BAY
+
+The scene of the great earthquake and tidal wave, Nov. 1, 1755, when in
+six minutes sixty thousand people perished.]
+
+
+
+
+THE LISBON EARTHQUAKE OF 1755
+
+
+"Lo, There Was a Great Earthquake"
+
+The first of a series of signs of the approaching end is thus described
+by the revelator:
+
+"I beheld when He had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great
+earthquake." Rev. 6:12.
+
+[Illustration: THE LISBON EARTHQUAKE
+
+"There shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers
+places." Matt. 24:7.]
+
+The verses immediately preceding this scripture plainly describe the
+days of persecution of the saints of God, and the era of protest and
+reform that cut short that time of tribulation. Then this first sign
+appears. This is in harmony with Christ's statement that the signs of
+His second coming should begin to appear following the tribulation of
+those days.
+
+Just about the close of the days of tribulation occurred the Lisbon
+earthquake, as it is called, though its effects reached far beyond
+Portugal. Prof. W.H. Hobbs, geologist, says of it:
+
+     "Among the earth movements which in historic times have
+     affected the kingdom of Portugal, that of Nov. 1, 1755, takes
+     first rank, as it does, also, in some respects, among all
+     recorded earthquakes.... In six minutes sixty thousand people
+     perished."--_"Earthquakes," pp. 142, 143._
+
+"Lo, there was a great earthquake," the revelator said. It was indeed "a
+great earthquake," and great was its influence. In all the world, men's
+hearts were mightily stirred. James Parton, an English author, says of
+it:
+
+     "The Lisbon earthquake of Nov. 1, 1755, appears to have put
+     both the theologians and philosophers on the defensive.... At
+     twenty minutes to ten that morning, Lisbon was firm and
+     magnificent, on one of the most picturesque and commanding
+     sites in the world,--a city of superb approach, placed
+     precisely where every circumstance had concurred to say to the
+     founders, Build here! In six minutes the city was in ruins....
+     Half the world felt the convulsion.... For many weeks, as we
+     see in the letters and memoirs of that time, people in distant
+     parts of Europe went to bed in alarm, relieved in the morning
+     to find that they had escaped the fate of Lisbon one night
+     more."--_"Life of Voltaire," Vol. II, pp. 208, 209._
+
+
+The World Set to Thinking
+
+This earthquake set men to thinking of the great day of God. Voltaire,
+the French philosopher, was "profoundly moved" by it, we are told. "It
+was the last judgment for that region," he wrote; "nothing was wanting
+to it except the trumpet." More than a month afterward, while still the
+perturbations of the earth were continuing, this skeptic wrote a poem
+upon the problem presented, voicing the sentiment:
+
+      "My heart oppress'd demands
+    Aid of the God who formed me with his hands.
+    Sons of the God supreme to suffer all
+    Fated alike, we on our Father call....
+    Sad is the present if no future state,
+    No blissful retribution mortals wait,
+    If fate's decrees the thinking being doom
+    To lose existence in the silent tomb.
+    _All may be well_; that hope can man sustain.
+    _All now is well_; 'tis an illusion vain.
+    The sages held me forth delusive light,
+    Divine instructions only can be right.
+    Humbly I sigh, submissive suffer pain,
+    Nor more the ways of Providence arraign."
+
+    --"_Poem on the Destruction of Lisbon,_"
+    _Smollet's translation; Works, Vol. XXXIII, ed. 1761._
+
+Just at the time, plans were under way for the opening of a theater at
+Lausanne for the special performance of some of Voltaire's rationalistic
+dramas. But the enterprise was deferred. One writer says:
+
+     "The earthquake had made all men thoughtful. They mistrusted
+     their love of the drama, and filled the churches
+     instead."--_Tallentyre, "Life of Voltaire," p. 319._
+
+So, in an age of rationalism and unbelief, men's thoughts were turned
+toward God, and human helplessness and earth's instability were
+recognized.
+
+
+Extent of the Lisbon Earthquake
+
+As to the extent of the earthquake, a writer of the period shows that it
+was felt in Sweden and in Africa and in the West Indies, adding:
+
+     "The effects were distributed over very nearly four millions of
+     square English miles of the earth's surface, and greatly
+     surpassed anything of the kind ever recorded in
+     history."--_"History and Philosophy of Earthquakes" (London,
+     1757), p. 333._
+
+The commander of an English ship, lying off Lisbon at the time, thus
+described the scene in a letter to the ship's owners:
+
+     "Almost all the palaces and large churches were rent down, or
+     part fallen, and scarce one house of this vast city is left
+     habitable. Everybody that was not crushed to death ran out into
+     the large places, and those near the river ran down to save
+     themselves by boats, or any other floating convenience,
+     running, crying, and calling to the ships for assistance; but
+     whilst the multitude were gathered near the riverside, the
+     water rose to such a height that it overflowed the lower part
+     of the city, which so terrified the miserable and already
+     dismayed inhabitants, who ran to and fro with dreadful cries,
+     which we heard plainly on board, that it made them believe the
+     dissolution of the world was at hand; every one falling on his
+     knees and entreating the Almighty for His assistance.... By two
+     o'clock the ships' boats began to ply, and took multitudes on
+     board.... The fear, the sorrow, the cries and lamentations of
+     the poor inhabitants are unexpressible; every one begging
+     pardon, and embracing each other, crying, Forgive me, friend,
+     brother, sister! Oh! what will become of us! neither water nor
+     land will protect us, and the third element, fire, seems now
+     to threaten our total destruction! as in effect it happened.
+     The conflagration lasted a whole week."--_Thomas Hunter,
+     "Historical Account of Earthquakes" (Liverpool, 1756), pp.
+     72-74._
+
+
+Recognized as a Sign
+
+Looking down through the ages, the prophet of the Revelation saw the
+coming of the latter days, when signs of the approaching end were to
+begin to appear. Just there he beheld "a great earthquake." The terrible
+event was noted by inspiration as a sign of the coming of the final
+judgment. Earthquakes there had been before, and increasing earthquakes
+were to follow after,--"earthquakes in divers places,"--as Christ
+foretold, speaking of the signs of His second coming. But as befitted
+this first of the series of signs of the approaching end, a conviction
+from God seemed to come into the hearts of men in that generation, that
+this was indeed a token to remind the world of a coming day of doom.
+
+In the year of the disaster, an English poet, John Biddolf, published a
+book of verse, pointing some of the lessons of the hour, from which we
+quote a few descriptive stanzas:
+
+    "Calm was the sky; the sun serenely bright
+    Shot o'er the sea long dazzling streams of light.
+    Through orange groves soft breathing breezes play'd
+    And gathered sweets like bees where'er they stray'd.
+    In fair relievo stood the lofty town,
+    Set off by radiant lights and shadows brown.
+
+    "Ill-fated city! there were revels kept;
+    Devoid of fear, they ate, they drank, they slept.
+    No friendly voice like that of ancient Rome
+    Was sent to give them warning of their doom:
+    No airy warriors to each other clung,
+    Such as 'tis said o'er destin'd Sion hung,
+    But like a nightly thief their dreadful fate
+    Unlooked for came and undermined their state....
+
+    "Lo, what a sudden change! On ruin's brink
+    The proud turn humble, and the thoughtless think.
+    Dark, gloomy sadness overclouds the gay,
+    And hypocrites for once sincerely pray....
+    But let it not be thought their horrid deeds
+    Had pulled this dreadful judgment on their heads,
+    Or that for crimes too horrible to tell,
+    Like guilty Sodom, thunderstruck they fell....
+
+    "Who can with curious eyes this globe survey,
+    And not behold it tottering with decay?
+    All things created, God's designs fulfil,
+    And natural causes work His destined will.
+    And that eternal Word, which cannot lie,
+    To mortals hath revealed in prophecy
+    That in these latter days such signs should come,
+    Preludes and prologues to the general doom.
+    But not the Son of man can tell that day;
+    Then, lest it find you sleeping, watch and pray."
+
+Thus this first of the predicted latter-day signs bore its message to
+men. Its immediate scene was set in the Old World, but its warning was
+world-wide. The next sign foretold was to appear in the New World, but
+like the Lisbon earthquake, its message of warning was for all men.
+
+[Illustration: THE FLOOD
+
+"So shall also the coming of the Son of man be." Matt. 24:39.]
+
+[Illustration: MIDDAY AT SEA MAY 19, 1780
+
+"Between one and two he was obliged to light a large candle to steer
+by." See p. 89.]
+
+[Illustration: SIGNS IN THE HEAVENS
+
+"Can ye not discern the signs of the times?" Matt. 16:3.]
+
+
+
+
+THE DARK DAY OF 1780
+
+
+"The Sun Shall be Darkened"
+
+We recall that in the vision of latter-day signs given to the prophet
+John, he saw the "great earthquake" followed by a sign in the heavens:
+
+"The sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as
+blood." Rev. 6:12.
+
+Of this event our Saviour spoke, in giving the signs of His second
+coming which were to begin to appear following the cutting short of the
+days of persecution. We repeat His words:
+
+"Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be
+darkened, and the moon shall not give her light." Matt. 24:29.
+
+
+The Prophecy Fulfilled
+
+True to the order of the prophecy, following the great earthquake of
+1755 in Europe, there came, in America, the second sign of the
+approaching end, the wonderful darkening of the sun, known in history as
+"The Dark Day."
+
+This sign appeared at the time indicated in the prophecy, "immediately
+after the tribulation of those days;" or as Mark has it, "in those days,
+after that tribulation." On May 19, 1780, the sun was darkened, and the
+following night the moon did not give her light. Whatever explanation
+men may have to offer as to the cause of the phenomenon, the fact
+remains that when the time of the prophecy came, the sign appeared.
+
+The first volume of the "Memoirs of the American Academy of Arts and
+Sciences," published in Boston in 1785, contains a paper entitled, "An
+Account of a Very Uncommon Darkness in the States of New England, May
+19, 1780. By Samuel Williams, A.M., Hollis Professor of Mathematics and
+Philosophy in the University at Cambridge [Massachusetts]."
+
+Of the extent, duration, and degree of darkness on that occasion, this
+scientific observer said:
+
+     "The extent of this darkness was very remarkable.... From the
+     accounts that have been received, it seems to have extended all
+     over the New England States. It was observed as far east as
+     Falmouth [Portland, Maine]. To the westward, we hear of its
+     reaching to the furthest parts of Connecticut, and Albany. To
+     the southward, it was observed all along the seacoasts. And to
+     the north as far as our settlements extend....
+
+     "With regard to its duration, it continued in this place at
+     least fourteen hours: but it is probable this was not exactly
+     the same in different parts of the country. The appearance and
+     effects were such as tended to make the prospect extremely dull
+     and gloomy. Candles were lighted up in the houses; the birds
+     having sung their evening songs, disappeared, and became
+     silent; the fowls retired to roost; the cocks were crowing all
+     around as at break of day; objects could not be distinguished
+     but at a very little distance; and everything bore the
+     appearance and gloom of night." (See pages 234-246.)
+
+Whittier has commemorated it in the poem, "Abraham Davenport:"
+
+    "'Twas on a May day of the far old year
+    Seventeen hundred eighty, that there fell
+    Over the bloom and sweet life of the spring,
+    Over the fresh earth and the heaven of noon,
+    A horror of great darkness....
+
+    "Birds ceased to sing, and all the barnyard fowls
+    Roosted; the cattle at the pasture bars
+    Lowed, and looked homeward; bats on leathern wings
+    Flitted abroad; the sounds of labor died;
+    Men prayed, and women wept; all ears grew sharp
+    To hear the doom blast of the trumpet shatter
+    The black sky."
+
+The words of the poet are substantiated by the plain prose of the
+dictionary maker. In the department explanatory of "Noted Names,"
+Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (edition 1883) says:
+
+     "_The Dark Day_, May 19, 1780--so called on account of a
+     remarkable darkness on that day extending over all New
+     England.... The obscuration began about ten o'clock in the
+     morning, and continued till the middle of the next night, but
+     with difference of degree and duration in different places....
+     The true cause of this remarkable phenomenon is not known."
+
+
+Cause Unknown
+
+At the time, some explained the darkness as being due to smoke from
+forest fires, others to the exceptional rise of vapors and atmospheric
+dust in the warm spring following the melting of unusually heavy winter
+snows. But forest fires were not of extraordinary occurrence in these
+regions, and many a springtime since has seen the melting of heavy
+winter snows and the rise of vapors; yet May 19, 1780, still stands
+unique in the annals of modern times as "the dark day." However
+observers and writers disagreed as to the nature of the mantle of
+darkness that was drawn over New England that day, they were _one_ in
+recognizing the extraordinary character of the event.
+
+The facts are fully covered by the statement in the dictionary, "The
+true cause of this remarkable phenomenon is not known."
+
+What we do know is that the Saviour's prophecy declared, "Immediately
+after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the
+moon shall not give her light." And when the time for it came, the sign
+appeared.
+
+
+Contemporary Records
+
+Though the comparatively small-sized newspapers of the day were crowded
+with news of the progress of the Revolutionary War, then raging, no
+little space was given to reports and discussions of this remarkable
+darkening of the sun.
+
+A correspondent of the Boston _Gazette and Country Journal_ (of May 29,
+1780) reported observations made at Ipswich Hamlet, Mass., "by several
+gentlemen of liberal education:"
+
+     "About eleven o'clock the darkness was such as to demand our
+     attention, and put us upon making observations. At half past
+     eleven, in a room with three windows, twenty-four panes each,
+     all open toward the southeast and south, large print could not
+     be read by persons of good eyes.
+
+     "About twelve o'clock, the windows being still open, a candle
+     cast a shade so well defined on the wall, as that profiles were
+     taken with as much ease as they could have been in the night.
+
+     "About one o'clock a glint of light which had continued to this
+     time in the east, shut in, and the darkness was greater than it
+     had been for any time before.... We dined about two, the
+     windows all open, and two candles burning on the table.
+
+     "In the time of the greatest darkness some of the ... fowls
+     went to their roost. Cocks crowed in answer to one another as
+     they commonly do in the night. Woodcocks, which are night
+     birds, whistled as they do _only_ in the dark. Frogs peeped. In
+     short, there was the appearance of midnight at noonday.
+
+     "About three o'clock the light in the west increased, the
+     motion of the clouds [became] more quick, their color higher
+     and more brassy than at any time before. There appeared to be
+     quick flashes or coruscations, not unlike the aurora
+     borealis.... About half past four our company, which had passed
+     an unexpected night very cheerfully together, broke up."
+
+Of the night following, this gentleman (then at Salem) wrote:
+
+     "Perhaps it never was darker since the children of Israel left
+     the house of bondage. This gross darkness held till about one
+     o'clock, although the moon had fulled but the day before."
+
+The Boston _Independent Chronicle_ of June 8 quoted from Thomas's
+_Massachusetts Spy_:
+
+     "During the whole time a sickly, melancholy gloom overcast the
+     face of nature. Nor was the darkness of the night less uncommon
+     and terrifying than that of the day; notwithstanding there was
+     almost a full moon, no object was discernible, but by the help
+     of some artificial light, which when seen from the neighboring
+     houses and other places at a distance, appeared through a kind
+     of Egyptian darkness, which seemed almost impervious to the
+     rays.
+
+     "This unusual phenomenon excited the fears and apprehensions of
+     many people. Some considered it as a portentous omen of the
+     wrath of Heaven in vengeance denounced against the land, others
+     as the immediate harbinger of the last day, when 'the sun shall
+     be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light.'"
+
+Not only over the land, but out at sea also, the unnatural darkness of
+the day and night of May 19, 1780, was observed. In the _Independent
+Chronicle_ of June 15, 1780, a correspondent, telling of interviews with
+various observers, said:
+
+     "I have also seen a very sensible captain of a vessel, who was
+     that morning about forty leagues southeast of Boston. He says
+     the cloud which appeared at the west was the blackest he ever
+     saw. About eleven o'clock there was a little rain, and it grew
+     dark. Between one and two he was obliged to light a large
+     candle to steer by.... Between nine and ten at night, he
+     ordered his men to take in some of the sails, but it was so
+     dark that they could not find the way from one mast to the
+     other."
+
+
+Thoughts Turned to the Judgment
+
+This writer commented as follows concerning the feelings awakened by the
+event:
+
+     "Various have been the sentiments of people concerning the
+     designs of Providence in spreading the unusual darkness over
+     us. Some suppose it portentous of the last scene. I wish it may
+     have some good effect on the minds of the wicked, and that they
+     may be excited to prepare for that solemn day."
+
+The _Independent Chronicle_ of June 22, 1780, printed a letter from Dr.
+Samuel Stearns, who had been appealed to because of his knowledge "in
+philosophy and astronomy." First, he disposed of one suggestion that had
+been made:
+
+     "That the darkness was not caused by an eclipse is manifest by
+     the various positions of the planets of our system at that
+     time; for the moon was more than one hundred and fifty degrees
+     from the sun all that day."
+
+Then, in the rather heavy language of the science of that period, this
+writer told how the action of the sun's heat was continually projecting
+into the atmosphere particles of earthy matter; and in his opinion it
+was some "vast collection of such particles that caused the late
+uncommon darkness." But as to the real accounting for the phenomenon he
+wrote:
+
+     "The primary cause must be imputed to Him that walketh through
+     the circuit of heaven, who stretcheth out the heaven like a
+     curtain, who maketh the clouds His chariot, who walketh upon
+     the wings of the wind. It was He, at whose voice the stormy
+     winds are obedient, that commanded these exhalations to be
+     collected and condensed together, that with them He might
+     darken both the day and the night; which darkness was, perhaps,
+     not only a token of His indignation against the crying
+     iniquities and abominations of the people, but an omen of some
+     future destruction."
+
+Thus men's minds were exercised by this sign "in the sun, and in the
+moon."
+
+The early records of New York City tell of the interest excited there,
+though evidently the darkness was not so marked as it was farther north.
+
+
+In the Connecticut Legislature
+
+President Timothy Dwight, of Yale College, a contemporary, left the
+following account of one of the historic incidents of the day:
+
+     "The legislature of Connecticut was then in session at
+     Hartford. A very general opinion prevailed that the day of
+     judgment was at hand. The house of representatives, being
+     unable to transact their business, adjourned. A proposal to
+     adjourn the council [a second legislative body called the
+     Governor's Council] was under consideration. When the opinion
+     of Colonel Davenport was asked, he answered, 'I am against an
+     adjournment. The day of judgment is either approaching or it is
+     not. If it is not, there is no cause for an adjournment; if it
+     is, I choose to be found doing my duty. I wish therefore that
+     candles may be brought.'"--_Barber, "Connecticut Historical
+     Collections," p. 403._
+
+It was this striking incident that Whittier described with the poet's
+pen:
+
+    "Meanwhile in the old Statehouse, dim as ghosts,
+    Sat the lawgivers of Connecticut,
+    Trembling beneath their legislative robes.
+    'It is the Lord's great day! Let us adjourn,'
+    Some said; and then, as with one accord,
+    All eyes were turned to Abraham Davenport.
+    He rose, slow cleaving with his steady voice
+    The intolerable hush. 'This well may be
+    The day of judgment which the world awaits;
+    But be it so or not, I only know
+    My present duty, and my Lord's command
+    To occupy till He come. So at the post
+    Where He hath set me in His providence
+    I choose, for one, to meet Him face to face,--
+    No faithless servant, frightened from my task,
+    But ready when the Lord of the harvest calls;
+    And therefore, with all reverence, I would say,
+    Let God do His work, we will see to ours.
+    Bring in the candles.'"
+
+Thus, in a manner that arrested the attention of men and put awe and
+solemnity into their hearts, with thoughts of the coming of the great
+day of God, the first of the predicted signs in the heavens was
+revealed.
+
+At a later time, when students of the Bible seemed moved upon
+simultaneously, in both Europe and America, to give attention to the
+doctrine of Christ's second coming, it was more generally understood
+that these signs had come in fulfilment of prophecy.
+
+As we look to the past, we see how truly the tokens of the coming King
+began to appear as the church of Christ emerged fully from the long,
+dark period of tribulation. A new era was dawning, in which the Lord was
+to fill the earth with light before His second appearing, according to
+His word to Daniel the prophet:
+
+"Thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time
+of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be
+increased." Dan. 12:4.
+
+At last the time of the end was at hand, and the signs of the latter
+days had begun to appear in the earth and in the heavens. The Lord was
+preparing to send to all the world the closing gospel message of
+Christ's soon coming in glory.
+
+[Illustration: THE GREAT METEORIC SHOWER NOVEMBER 13, 1833
+
+"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." Rev. 6:13.]
+
+[Illustration: A STAR HERALDS HIS FIRST ADVENT
+
+"We have seen His star in the east, and are come to worship Him." Matt.
+2:2.]
+
+
+
+
+THE FALLING STARS OF 1833
+
+
+"The Stars Shall Fall from Heaven"
+
+A great impetus was given to the study of divine prophecy by the events
+of the closing years of the eighteenth century. Observers had seen the
+papal power receive a "deadly wound" in the events and effects of the
+French Revolution; and it was understood that the world was entering a
+new era of enlightenment and liberty.
+
+Bible students began to see more clearly the lesson of the great
+outlines of historic prophecy, and hearts were stirred with the
+evidences that the coming of the Lord was drawing near. In Europe and
+America, in the early decades of the nineteenth century, there was the
+beginning of a revival of the study and preaching of the advent idea.
+
+
+Another Sign in the Heavens
+
+Just here appeared another great sign in the heavens, foretold by the
+word of prophecy. Of the sign that was to follow the darkening of the
+sun and moon, Christ's prophecy says:
+
+"The stars shall fall from heaven." Matt. 24:29.
+
+The prophet John beheld the spectacle in a vision of the last days, and
+described it in these words:
+
+"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." Rev. 6:13.
+
+On Nov. 13, 1833, came the wondrous celestial exhibition of falling
+stars, which is listed as one of the most remarkable phenomena of the
+astronomical story.
+
+Meteoric displays, swarms of shooting stars, have been observed at
+various times all through the ages; but this phenomenon, coming in the
+order given by the prophecy, that is, following the darkening of the
+sun, constituted the sublime display answering to the pen-picture of the
+Apocalypse,--as if all the stars of heaven were falling to the earth.
+
+The essential thing about a sign is that it shall be seen, that the
+circumstances of its appearance shall fasten attention. Not in America
+alone, but equally in all the civilized world, as a topic of study, this
+sign in the heavens commanded the attention of men.
+
+An English scientist, Rev. Thomas Milner, F.R.G.S., wrote:
+
+     "The attention of astronomers in Europe, and all over the
+     world, was, as may be imagined, strongly roused by intelligence
+     of this celestial display on the Western continent."--_"The
+     Gallery of Nature" (London, 1852), p. 141._
+
+This writer called it "by far the most splendid display on
+record."--_Id., p. 139._
+
+Another English astronomical writer of more recent date says:
+
+     "Once for all, then, as the result of the star fall of 1833,
+     the study of luminous meteors became an integral part of
+     astronomy."--_Clerke, "History of Astronomy in the Nineteenth
+     Century," p. 329._
+
+This same work describes the extent of the display as follows:
+
+     "On the night of Nov. 12-13, 1833, a tempest of falling stars
+     broke over the earth. North America bore the brunt of its
+     pelting. From the Gulf of Mexico to Halifax, until daylight
+     with some difficulty put an end to the display, the sky was
+     scored in every direction with shining tracks and illuminated
+     with majestic fireballs."--_Page 328._
+
+
+The Spectacle Described
+
+The closest scientific observations were made by Prof. Denison Olmsted,
+professor of astronomy at Yale, who wrote in the _American Journal of
+Science_:
+
+     "The morning of Nov. 13, 1833, was rendered memorable by an
+     exhibition of the phenomenon called shooting stars, which was
+     probably more extensive and magnificent than any similar one
+     hitherto recorded.... Probably no celestial phenomenon has ever
+     occurred in this country, since its first settlement, which was
+     viewed with so much admiration and delight by one class of
+     spectators, or with so much astonishment and fear by another
+     class. For some time after the occurrence, the 'meteoric
+     phenomenon' was the principal topic of conversation in every
+     circle."--_Volume XXV (1834), pp. 363, 364._
+
+Prof. Simon Newcomb, the astronomer, declares this phenomenal exhibition
+of falling stars "the most remarkable one ever observed." (See
+"Astronomy for Everybody," p. 280.)
+
+This was not merely a display of an unusual number of falling stars,
+such as Humboldt observed in South America in 1799, or such as we find
+recorded of other times before and since. It was a "shower" of falling
+stars, just such a spectacle as one must picture from the words of the
+prophecy, "And the stars of heaven fell."
+
+The French astronomer Flammarion says of the density of the shower:
+
+     "The Boston observer, Olmsted, compared them, at the moment of
+     maximum, to half the number of flakes which we perceive in the
+     air during an ordinary shower of snow."--_"Popular Astronomy,"
+     p. 536._
+
+This affords us a better idea of the scene than the estimate of 34,640
+stars an hour, which was made by Professor Olmsted after the rain of the
+stars had greatly abated, so that he was able to make an attempt at
+counting.
+
+Dr. Humphreys, president of St. John's College, Annapolis, said of the
+appearance at the Maryland capital:
+
+     "In the words of most, they fell _like flakes of
+     snow_."--_American Journal of Science, Vol. XXV (1834), p.
+     372._
+
+Nothing less than this could have presented the counterpart of the
+prophetic picture.
+
+Thoughtful hearts were solemnized by the unwonted spectacle. Prof.
+Alexander Twining, civil engineer, "late tutor in Yale College," giving
+his views as to the nature of the flaming visitants from space, wrote:
+
+     "Had they held on their course unabated for three seconds
+     longer, half a continent must, to all appearance, have been
+     involved in unheard-of calamity. But that almighty Being who
+     made the world, and knew its dangers, gave it also its
+     armature--endowing the atmospheric medium around it with
+     protecting, no less than with life-sustaining, properties....
+
+     "Considered as one of the rare and wonderful displays of the
+     Creator's preserving care, as well as the terrible magnitude
+     and power of His agencies, it is not meet that such occurrences
+     as those of November 13 should leave no more solid and
+     permanent effect upon the human mind than the impression of a
+     splendid scene."--_American Journal of Science, Vol. XXVI
+     (1834), p. 351._
+
+Multitudes felt that the great Creator had spoken to men in this notable
+wonder of His heavens. Again and again in the records and reminiscences
+of that time, testimony is borne to the fact that observers were
+impressed with the likeness of the scene to that described in the divine
+prophecy as one of the signs of the end of the world.
+
+
+The Prophetic Picture Reproduced
+
+The New York _Journal of Commerce_ emphasized the exactness of detail
+with which the prophecy described the scene as it appeared in 1833. This
+is the apocalyptic picture, as the ancient prophet saw it in vision:
+
+"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." Rev. 6:13.
+
+A correspondent of the _Journal of Commerce_ draws the picture as it was
+seen nearly eighteen centuries later, the likeness to the prophetic
+description being emphasized in every line:
+
+     "No philosopher or scholar has told or recorded an event like
+     that of yesterday morning. A prophet eighteen hundred years ago
+     foretold it exactly, if we will be at the trouble of
+     understanding stars falling to mean falling stars."--_New York
+     Journal of Commerce, Nov. 14, 1833._
+
+In this connection was noted by the same writer the special
+appropriateness of the prophet's figure of the fig tree casting the
+green figs in a mighty wind:
+
+     "Here is the exactness of the prophet. The falling stars did
+     not come as if from _several_ trees shaken, but from _one_.
+     Those which appeared in the east fell toward the east: those
+     which appeared in the north fell toward the north; those which
+     appeared in the west fell toward the west; and those which
+     appeared in the south (for I went out of my residence into the
+     park) fell toward the south; and they fell not as ripe fruit
+     falls; far from it; but they _flew_, they were _cast_, like the
+     unripe fig, which at first refuses to leave the branch; and
+     when it does break its hold, flies swiftly, straight off,
+     descending; and in the multitude falling, some cross the track
+     of others, as they are thrown with more or less force."
+
+Professor Olmsted's long and carefully elaborated account in the
+_American Journal of Science_, gave a report from a correspondent in
+Bowling Green, Mo., as follows:
+
+     "Though there was no moon, when we first observed them; their
+     brilliancy was so great that we could, at times, read
+     common-sized print without much difficulty, and the light which
+     they afforded was much whiter than that of the moon, in the
+     clearest and coldest night, when the ground is covered with
+     snow. The air itself, the face of the earth as far as we could
+     behold it, all the surrounding objects, and the very
+     countenances of men, wore the aspect and hue of death,
+     occasioned by the continued, pallid glare of these countless
+     meteors, which in all their grandeur flamed 'lawless through
+     the sky.'
+
+     "There was a grand and indescribable gloom on all around, an
+     awe-inspiring sublimity on all above;  while--
+
+      "'The sanguine flood
+    Rolled a broad slaughter o'er the plains of heaven,
+    And nature's self did seem to totter on the brink of time!'
+
+     "... There was scarcely a space in the firmament which was not
+     filled at every instant with these falling stars, nor on it
+     could you in general perceive any particular difference in
+     appearance; still at times they seemed to shower down in
+     groups--calling to mind the fig tree, casting her untimely figs
+     when shaken by a mighty wind."--_Volume XXV (1834), p. 382._
+
+[Illustration: THE SIGN OF FIRE
+
+"As this sign of fire in the watchtower was a signal to God's people
+anciently to flee from the coming danger (see Jer. 6:1), so the signs
+appearing now in the heavens and in the earth are God's signals of
+warning to the people of our day."]
+
+
+A Sign to All the World
+
+It was not in North America alone, but in all the civilized world, that
+the attention of men was called to the prophetic word by the discussions
+of this event. Thus the English scientific writer, Thomas Milner,
+writing for the British public, spoke as follows of the profound
+impression made:
+
+     "In many districts, the mass of the population were
+     terror-struck, and the more enlightened were awed at
+     contemplating so vivid a picture of the apocalyptic image--that
+     of the stars of heaven falling to the earth, even as a fig tree
+     casting her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty
+     wind."--_"The Gallery of Nature" (London, 1852), p. 140._
+
+So the sign in the heavens made its solemn appeal to all the world. It
+brought to the multitudes who saw it, thoughts of God and the last great
+day. An observer living at the time in Georgia, wrote, "Everybody felt
+that it was the judgment, and that the end of the world had come."
+Another, in Kentucky, wrote, "In every direction I could hear men,
+women, and children screaming, 'The judgment day is come!'"
+
+Rather, it was a signal that the hour of God's judgment was drawing
+near. The signs so long foretold were appearing, one by one, to register
+their enduring mark on the record of fulfilling prophecy.
+
+Immediately following these times, there began an awakening concerning
+the vital Bible doctrine of the second coming of Christ, which has grown
+into the definite advent movement that is carrying the gospel message of
+preparation for the coming of the Lord to every nation and tongue and
+people.
+
+
+The Sign of 1833 Emphasized by Other Displays
+
+We have mentioned the fact that Humboldt had observed an extraordinary
+fall of meteorites in South America, thirty-three years, before, in
+1799. And he reported at the time that the oldest inhabitants there had
+a recollection of a similar display in 1766.
+
+From these reports, scientists deduced the theory that these showers
+were to be expected every thirty-three years. Hence in 1866 they were
+watching for a repetition of the 1833 display.
+
+That there was a measure of truth in the deduction was made evident by
+an unusual fall of meteorites Nov. 14, 1866. This time Europe was the
+scene of the display. But the event was not to be compared with that of
+1833. This appears plain from the account of observations made by Sir
+Robert Ball and Lord Rosse, the British astronomers.
+
+Sir Robert Ball says that when the meteorites began to fall, he and Lord
+Rosse went out upon the wall of the observatory housing Lord Rosse's
+great reflecting telescope:
+
+     "There, for the next two or three hours, we witnessed a
+     spectacle which can never fade from my memory. The shooting
+     stars gradually increased in number until sometimes several
+     were seen at once."--_"Story of the Heavens," p. 380._
+
+Grand as the spectacle was, it was but a reminder, apparently, of the
+star shower of 1833, when not "several" meteorites fell at a time, nor
+many, merely, but, as it appeared, "the stars of heaven fell unto the
+earth."
+
+However, the spectacle of 1866, which was observed over a great part of
+the Old World,[D] served to direct renewed attention to the incomparable
+event of 1833, as well as to the prophetic descriptions of the "wonders
+in the heavens" (Joel 2:30) which were to appear as the end drew near.
+
+[Illustration: CHRIST'S PROMISE TO RETURN
+
+"I will come again, and receive you unto Myself." John 14:3.]
+
+Textbooks and astronomical works thereupon began to count it as fully
+established that every thirty-three years the displays would be
+repeated. It was confidently predicted that 1899 would witness a
+repetition, possibly on the scale of 1833.
+
+Professor Langley's "New Astronomy" (published in 1888) said:
+
+     "The great November shower, which is coming once more in this
+     century, and which every reader may hope to see toward 1899, is
+     of particular interest to us as the first whose movements were
+     subject to analysis."
+
+Chambers's Astronomy, published in 1889, said:
+
+     "The meteors of November 13 may be expected to reappear with
+     great brilliancy in 1899."---_Volume I, p. 635._
+
+But the November date passed in 1899, and the years have passed; and the
+wondrous scene of 1833 has not been repeated. Clerke's "History of
+Astronomy in the Nineteenth Century" says:
+
+     "We can no longer count upon the Leonids [as the meteorites of
+     1833 were called, because they seemed to fall from a point in
+     the constellation of Leo]. Their glory, for scenic purposes, is
+     departed."--_Page 338._
+
+
+The Lord's Signal to Watch
+
+Thus the wisest astronomical predictions made shortly before 1899, based
+upon the apparently recurrent regularity of the phenomenon, failed; but
+the predictions of the sure word of prophecy, set down on the sacred
+record eighteen centuries before, were fulfilled to the letter.
+
+At the close of the days of the predicted tribulation of the church, the
+signs began to appear--the sun was darkened, the moon withheld its
+light, and the stars of heaven fell.
+
+The series began at the time specified, the signs came in the order
+given in Christ's prophecy. The record of history bears witness that the
+prophecy was fulfilled.
+
+It may be that on a yet more awful and universal scale these phenomena
+will be seen again in that last shaking of the powers of heaven which is
+to attend the rolling back of the heavens as a scroll, the immediate
+prelude to Christ's glorious appearing. But Christ's prophecy, at this
+point, was not giving a description of events at the very end of the
+world, but signs by which it might be known when the end was drawing
+near.
+
+As the signs should be recognized, the Saviour intended that those who
+loved His appearing should be quickened with hope, and inspired to
+hasten to the world with the gospel message preparing the way of the
+Lord. The Lord's word for His children was,
+
+"When these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your
+heads; for your redemption draweth nigh." Luke 21:28.
+
+Long ago these signs began to come to pass. Now may the Lord's believing
+children well look up and rejoice, knowing that the day of eternal
+redemption is indeed nigh at hand.
+
+
+He Will Come for His Own
+
+    In the glad time of the harvest,
+      In the grand millennial year,
+    When the King shall take His scepter,
+      And to judge the world appear,
+    Earth and sea shall yield their treasure,
+      All shall stand before the throne;
+    Just awards will then be given,
+      When the King shall claim His own.
+
+    O the rapture of His people!
+      Long they've dwelt on earth's low sod,
+    With their hearts e'er turning homeward,
+      Rich in faith and love to God.
+    They will share the life immortal,
+      They will know as they are known,
+    They will pass the pearly portal,
+      When the King shall claim His own.
+
+    Long they've toiled within the harvest,
+      Sown the precious seed with tears;
+    Soon they'll drop their heavy burdens
+      In the glad millennial years;
+    They will share the bliss of heaven,
+      Nevermore to sigh or moan;
+    Starry crowns will then be given,
+      When the King shall claim His own.
+
+    We shall greet the loved and loving,
+      Who have left us lonely here;
+    Every heartache will be banished
+      When the Saviour shall appear;
+    Never grieved with sin or sorrow,
+      Never weary or alone;
+    O, we long for that glad morrow
+      When the King shall claim His own!
+
+    --_L.D. Santee._
+
+[Illustration: SATAN OFFERS GOLD, AND THE WORLD STAMPEDES TO ITS
+DESTRUCTION
+
+"Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come
+upon you." James 5:1.]
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[D] The display was most brilliant, apparently, in Western Asia. The
+veteran missionary, Dr. H.H. Jessup, of the Presbyterian Missionary
+College, of Beirut, describes the scene in his "Fifty-Three Years in
+Syria:" "On the morning of the fourteenth [November], at three o'clock,
+I was roused from a deep sleep by the voice of one of the young men
+calling, 'The stars are all coming down.' ... The meteors poured down
+like a rain of fire. Many of them were large and varicolored, and left
+behind them a long train of fire. One immense green meteor came down
+over Lebanon, seeming as large as the moon, and exploded with a large
+noise, leaving a green pillar of light in its train. It was vain to
+attempt to count them, and the display continued until dawn, when their
+light was obscured by the king of day.... The Mohammedans gave the call
+to prayer from the minarets, and the common people were in
+terror."--_Volume I, pp. 316, 317._
+
+
+[Illustration: THE MISER
+
+"Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days." James 5:3.]
+
+
+
+
+THE MEANING OF PRESENT-DAY CONDITIONS
+
+"THERE SHALL BE SIGNS ... UPON THE EARTH"
+
+
+From the specific signs in the heavens, which were to herald the coming
+of the latter days and awaken the church to look for its coming Lord,
+our Saviour's prophecy passed on to designate certain general conditions
+in the world which were to continue until the great day of God comes:
+
+"There shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and
+upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the
+waves roaring; men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after
+those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven
+shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a
+cloud with power and great glory." Luke 21:25-27.
+
+Among the developments here foretold, and which contribute to the
+"distress of nations, with perplexity," we may list the following:
+
+[Illustration: THE ARMING OF THE NATIONS
+
+"Prepare war,... beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning
+hooks into spears." Joel 3: 9, 10.]
+
+
+1. Political Unrest--the Arming of the Nations
+
+Following on closely with the signs in the heavens, there appears also
+the awakening to national aspirations and rivalries in Europe, out of
+which has grown the arming of the nations. The beginning of the modern
+race of armaments may be dated from those stirring and eventful years of
+1830 to 1848. We have seen the resources of the soil and the inventive
+genius of man devoted to preparations for war on a scale never before
+thought of. The prophet Joel foretold these conditions in the last days:
+
+"Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles ["the nations," R.V.]: Prepare war,
+wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come
+up: beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning hooks into
+spears: let the weak say, I am strong.... Let the heathen be
+wakened.... Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision [or
+"cutting off"]: for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of
+decision." Joel 3: 9-14.
+
+[Illustration: READY FOR THE CONFLICT
+
+"For the day of the Lord is near." Joel 3: 14.
+
+PHOTO FROM UNDERWOOD & UNDERWOOD, N.Y.]
+
+Another prophecy forewarns of the "peace and safety" cry that is to be
+heard as the end draws near. We are told that many people in the last
+days will be saying that swords are to be beaten into plowshares, and
+that the nations will cease from war (Isa. 2:3, 4); but the actual
+conditions are repeatedly described in prophecy as warlike and perilous.
+Thus the revelator saw the closing days:
+
+"The nations were angry, and Thy wrath is come, and the time of the
+dead, that they should be judged, and that Thou shouldst give reward
+unto Thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear
+Thy name, small and great; and shouldst destroy them which destroy the
+earth." Rev. 11: 18.
+
+[Illustration: A FAITHFUL AND WISE SERVANT
+
+"Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come." Matt.
+24: 42.]
+
+What we see then among the nations proclaims the approaching end.
+
+
+2. Signs in the Social World
+
+A New Testament prophecy of the latter days says:
+
+"In the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of
+their own selves, 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, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of
+God." 2 Tim. 3: 1-4.
+
+The "perilous times" have come, when, as never before, the world is
+pleasure mad.
+
+"Unrestrained passion for pleasure," said M. Comte, editor of the French
+_Relevement Social_, writing just before the European war, is bringing a
+terrible train of evils into modern society. Along with it he put "the
+hunt for money without regard for means," adding:
+
+     "This is the theme which manufacturers, business men, men in
+     the public administration, continually harp on with ever the
+     same conviction and ever the same wealth of proof.
+
+     "The note is ever the same, and the conclusion identical: _Nous
+     sommes perdus!_ [We are lost!]"--_Quoted in Record of Christian
+     Work, July, 1914._
+
+Many agencies for social and temperance reform are rendering the
+greatest human service; but for lost humanity the only hope is Christ,
+the divine Saviour. With an urgency born of the last call, His gospel is
+sounding to a world on the verge of eternity. Yet with divine love
+longing to save, the world sweeps on, less and less mindful of eternal
+interests. Christ's prophecy foretold it as it is:
+
+"As the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
+For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and
+drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe
+entered into the ark, and knew not until the flood came, and took them
+all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be." Matt. 24:
+37-39.
+
+Who can look out upon mankind today without the conviction that this
+scripture is being fulfilled? The drift is strong toward the world and
+away from God; but we are bidden to watch and pray, lest the coming day
+find us unprepared.
+
+
+3. Signs in the Industrial World
+
+Industrial conditions today add their contribution to the "distress of
+nations, with perplexity." Through the word of prophecy the Lord long
+ago foretold these conditions, with a warning to the careless rich, and
+a warning to the laborer and the poor, not to be drawn into contention
+over the things of this world, for the Judge is at the door. The
+prophecy, it will be seen, refers specifically to latter-day conditions.
+
+[Illustration: "AM I MY BROTHER'S KEEPER?"
+
+A night scene on the Thames embankment, London.]
+
+"Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come
+upon you. Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten.
+Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a
+witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have
+heaped treasure together for the last days. Behold, the hire of the
+laborers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by
+fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into
+the ears of the Lord of sabaoth. Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth,
+and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of
+slaughter. Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist
+you.
+
+[Illustration: THE RICH YOUNG MAN
+
+"Sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure
+in heaven." Matt. 19: 21.]
+
+"Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold,
+the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath
+long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. Be ye
+also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth
+nigh. Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned:
+behold, the Judge standeth before the door." James 5: 1-9.
+
+There is no need to argue that the issues with which the prophecy deals
+are pressing upon the world with ever-increasing perplexity. We quote
+but two statements, by men not engaged in agitation, but calmly and
+thoughtfully setting down the signs of the times.
+
+The late Lord Avebury (Sir John Lubbock) wrote a few years ago in the
+_Review of Internationalism_:
+
+     "The religion of Europe is not Christianity, but the worship of
+     the god of war.... Unless something is done, the condition of
+     the poor in Europe will grow worse and worse. It is no use
+     shutting our eyes. Revolution may not come soon, not probably
+     in our time, but come it will, and as sure as fate there will
+     be an explosion such as the world has never seen."
+
+Of the rapid growth of discontent and its propaganda, Mr. Frederick
+Townsend Martin, of New York, wrote:
+
+     "Fifty years ago there was scarcely a voice of protest; indeed,
+     there was hardly anything to protest against. Twenty-five years
+     ago the protest was clear and distinct, and we understood it.
+     Ten years ago the protest found expression in a dozen weekly
+     publications, but today the protest is circulated not by
+     hundreds or thousands of printed copies of books, pamphlets,
+     magazines, and newspapers, but actually by the million.
+
+     "This propaganda of protest has its daily papers that are
+     distinctive and published for that purpose, and that purpose
+     only. It has its magazines and tens of thousands of weekly
+     papers. Only a fool sneers at such a volume of publicity as
+     that....
+
+     "The warnings that hundreds of us are uttering may be ignored.
+     The squandering may go on, the vulgar bacchanalia may be
+     prolonged, the poor may have to writhe under the iron heel of
+     the iron lord--the dance of death may go on until society's E
+     string snaps, and then the Vesuvius of the underworld will
+     belch forth its lava of death and destruction."--_Hearst's
+     Magazine, September, 1913._
+
+Thus hearts grow faint "for looking after those things which are coming
+on the earth." But while the increasing "distress of nations, with
+perplexity," abounds, the Lord sends the steadying, assuring message
+that soon Christ will come to end the reign of sin and strife. He would
+have His children keep the gospel light glowing, and wait patiently for
+Him.
+
+
+4. The Great Missionary Movement
+
+The Saviour's prophecy of the signs of His second coming places the work
+of world evangelization as the culminating sign. This in itself is a
+joyful token of the approaching end, a bright signal of hope in a
+suffering world. He said:
+
+"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.
+
+Before the end, the light of the gospel was to shine into every dark
+corner of the earth. True to the sure word of prophecy, when the latter
+days began,--"the time of the end,"--there sprang up the great movement
+of modern missions which has been one of the leading characteristics of
+the last century. Here are a few facts showing the missionary
+developments of a single century:
+
+     "In 1800 the foreign missionary societies numbered seven. In
+     1900 they numbered over 500.
+
+     "In 1800 the income of seven societies amounted to about
+     $50,000. In 1900 the income was over $15,000,000.
+
+     "In 1800 the number of native communicants enrolled in
+     Protestant mission churches was 7,000. In 1900 there were
+     1,500,000 native communicants.
+
+     "In 1800 the adherents of Protestant churches in heathen lands
+     were estimated at 15,000. In 1900 they numbered 3,500,000.
+
+     "In 1800 only one fifth of the human family had the Bible in
+     languages they could read. In 1900 nine tenths of the people of
+     the world had the Word of God in languages and dialects known
+     to them."
+
+Since 1900 the missionary movement has remarkably increased in extent
+and activity. It is estimated that now there are about 22,000 foreign
+missionaries in the fields, with many thousands of trained native
+evangelists and helpers.
+
+The prophecy is fulfilling before our eyes. It is not the conversion of
+the world that Christ's words foretold, but the evangelization of the
+world; and when all the world has heard the gospel of the kingdom, "then
+shall the end come."
+
+Another prophecy--that of Rev. 14: 6-14--shows that the closing phase of
+this world-wide missionary movement is to be the proclamation of the
+special gospel message of preparation for the coming of the Lord,
+calling all men to worship God and keep His commandments, and warning
+them against following the traditions of men that make void the Word of
+God.
+
+[Illustration: THE SUNSET HOUR
+
+"The work that centuries might have done Must crowd the hour of setting
+sun."]
+
+With the coming of this generation there has come just such a message,
+in the rise and progress of the advent movement, the burden of the
+message being expressed in the very language of the prophecy--"Fear God,
+and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come." Rev. 14:
+7. And the movement is spreading rapidly "to every nation, and kindred,
+and tongue, and people." Thus in vision the prophet on Patmes heard the
+message given; and when its warning cry had reached all nations, he saw
+Christ coming in the clouds of heaven to reap the harvest of the earth.
+
+
+"Even at the Doors"
+
+Of the beginning of the special signs of the last days, Christ said:
+
+"When these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your
+heads; for your redemption draweth nigh." Luke 21: 28.
+
+But of the time when these signs should all be seen fulfilled or in
+process of fulfilment, the Saviour said:
+
+"Now learn a parable of the fig tree: When his branch is yet tender, and
+putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh: so likewise ye, when
+ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.
+Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these
+things be fulfilled. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My words
+shall not pass away." Matt. 24: 32-35.
+
+In this generation we see these things. All about us the signs have
+appeared. We know, then, by the word that shall not pass away, that the
+generation has at last appeared that is to see the Saviour coming in
+power and great glory. "Of that day and hour knoweth no man," but we may
+know "that it is near, even at the doors"--the day for which the saints
+of God have hoped through all the ages.
+
+[Illustration: PHILIP AND THE EUNUCH
+
+"Understandest thou what thou readest?" Acts 8:30.]
+
+[Illustration: THE ROYAL PALACE OF BABYLON
+
+"The God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and
+glory." Dan. 2:37]
+
+
+
+
+THE HISTORIC PROPHECY OF DANIEL 7
+
+FOUR GREAT UNIVERSAL EMPIRES
+
+
+Part I
+
+So important is it that we understand the events leading on to the end,
+that repeatedly the "sure word of prophecy" outlines the course of this
+world's history, and sets up waymarks along the highway to the
+everlasting kingdom.
+
+In the light of prophecy we see the hand of God guiding and overruling
+through all history, shaping events for the carrying out of His purpose
+to end the reign of sin and to bring in the reign of eternal
+righteousness. His prophetic word foretells events of history, that we
+may know that He is the living God over all, and that we may understand
+that the divine purpose will surely be fulfilled. Above a wicked world
+there is a God in heaven, waiting only the appointed time for the
+accomplishment of His purposes.
+
+"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,
+saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure.... I have
+spoken it, I also will bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also
+do it.... My salvation shall not tarry: and I will place salvation in
+Zion." Isa. 46:9-13.
+
+In the dream of Nebuchadnezzar, recorded in the second chapter of
+Daniel, the Lord revealed in brief but graphic outline the course of
+history from the days of Babylon to the end of the world. The four great
+universal monarchies,--Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome--were
+represented by the various parts of the metallic image. That prophecy
+described particularly the division of the Roman Empire into the
+kingdoms of western Europe. "In the days of these kings," declared the
+word of the Lord, the God of heaven was to set up His kingdom, bringing
+an end to all earthly powers.
+
+In the seventh chapter we are taken over the same course of history, in
+Daniel's vision of the four beasts. Here also chief attention is devoted
+to the fourth great kingdom; and especially to its divided state; for
+the events taking place at this time are of the deepest eternal interest
+to all men.
+
+In this vision Daniel saw four universal empires represented by great
+beasts. One after another the symbolic beasts arose, did their work, and
+gave place to the next scenes in the history. The angel clearly
+explained to Daniel the meaning of the vision:
+
+"These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise
+out of the earth. But the saints of the Most High shall take the
+kingdom, and possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever."
+
+Of necessity, then, it is a repetition of the story of the four
+universal monarchies dealt with in the second chapter, and ending with
+the setting up of the everlasting kingdom.
+
+Let us place the view given the prophet in vision alongside the record
+of history.
+
+First, however, a word as to the manner in which the great beasts
+appeared to the prophet:
+
+"I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the heaven
+strove upon the great sea. And four great beasts came up from the sea,
+diverse one from another."
+
+Again and again, in the figurative language of Scripture, winds are used
+as the symbol for wars; and the sea, or waters, for nations or peoples.
+(See Jer. 25:31-33; Rev. 17:15.) The prophet saw the clashing of the
+nations in war, and out of these conflicts arose the kingdoms described
+in the prophecy.
+
+[Illustration: THE FIRST BEAST
+
+"The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings." Dan. 7:4.]
+
+
+Babylon
+
+Note the prophetic picture of the prophecy and the corresponding
+representation in history.
+
+_Prophecy._--"The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings: I beheld
+till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the
+earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man's heart was
+given to it."
+
+_History._--As the lion is king of beasts, it was a fitting symbol of
+Babylon, "the glory of kingdoms." Isa. 13:19. The eagle's wings suggest
+rapidity of movement and far-reaching conquest. The prophet Habakkuk
+said of it, "Their horsemen shall come from far; they shall fly as the
+eagle." This was the characteristic of Babylon under the earlier kings,
+but especially under Nebuchadnezzar. Berosus, the ancient Chaldean
+historian, wrote of him:
+
+     "This Babylonian king conquered Egypt, and Syria, and Phenicia,
+     and Arabia; and exceeded in his exploits all that had reigned
+     before him in Babylon." (See Flavius Josephus "Against Apion,"
+     book 1, par. 19.)
+
+[Illustration: THE SECOND BEAST
+
+"And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear." Dan. 7:5.]
+
+But now, at the time of Daniel's vision, degeneracy had come; the empire
+was tottering. The lion heart was gone, the eagle's wings were plucked,
+and within three years from the time the vision was given, Babylon was
+overthrown.
+
+
+Medo-Persia
+
+As the dominion passed from Babylon to the next great power, the prophet
+says:
+
+_Prophecy._--"Behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it
+raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth of it
+between the teeth of it: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much
+flesh."
+
+_History._--The Medes and Persians overthrew Babylon. Medo-Persia was a
+dual kingdom, lifting itself up on one side, first the Median branch the
+stronger, then the Persian, under Cyrus and his successors, rising
+higher. This two-sided characteristic, noted as a distinguishing mark in
+the prophecy, was emphasized by the ancient writers also. AEschylus, the
+Greek poet, who lived in the time of Persia, wrote:
+
+    "Asia's brave host,
+    A Mede first led. The virtues of his son
+    Fixed firm the empire....
+    ... Cyrus third, by fortune graced,
+    Adorned the throne."
+
+    --"_Persoe._"
+
+The word spoken in the vision, "Arise, devour much flesh," describes the
+history from the time when the Persian side rose uppermost. Rawlinson
+says, "Cyrus proceeded with scarcely a pause on a long career of
+conquest."
+
+An alliance against Persia was formed by Lydia, Egypt, and Babylon
+(Herodotus 1:77); and as these three great provinces were subdued, they
+may well be represented by the three ribs in the mouth of the
+Medo-Persian bear.
+
+
+Grecia
+
+Yet another kingdom was to follow, and strikingly the symbol pictures
+the characteristics of the Greek conquest.
+
+_Prophecy._--"After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which
+had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; and the beast had also
+four heads; and dominion was given to it."
+
+_History._--The third kingdom was Grecia. Under Alexander the Great, the
+Greeks swept into Asia with the quickness of the leopard's spring. And
+the four wings on the leopard must represent astonishing fleetness.
+Plutarch speaks of the "incredible swiftness" of Alexander's conquests.
+Appian wrote:
+
+     "The empire of Alexander was splendid in its magnitude, in its
+     armies, in the success and rapidity of its conquests, and it
+     wanted little of being boundless and unexampled, yet in its
+     shortness of duration it was like a brilliant flash of
+     lightning. Although broken into several satrapies, even the
+     parts were splendid."--_"History of Rome," preface, par. 10._
+
+[Illustration: THE THIRD BEAST
+
+"After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard." Dan. 7:6.]
+
+Thus the ancient Roman writer pictured the career of Grecia just as
+represented by the prophetic symbol--the fleetness, the great dominion
+given it, the division of the empire into satrapies, as suggested by the
+four heads of the leopard. Out of the conflicts following Alexander's
+death, there came the fourfold headship of the empire. Rawlinson says,
+"A quadripartite division of Alexander's domain was recognized." (See
+"Sixth Monarchy," chap. 3.) The real situation is best represented, as
+Dr. Albert Barnes says, by "one animal with four heads," just as the
+prophetic symbol described it centuries before.
+
+Thus the course of empire followed the outline of the "sure word of
+prophecy" from age to age.
+
+    "Armies were ranged in battle's dread array:
+    They fought--their glory withered in its bud;
+    They perished--with them ceased their tyrants' sway;
+    New wars, new heroes came--their story passed away."
+
+There was to be no abiding kingdom till the time came for God's glorious
+kingdom to be set up.
+
+[Illustration: THE FOURTH BEAST
+
+"After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast,
+dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly." Dan. 7:7.]
+
+
+Rome
+
+As the prophet watched the moving panorama of history, foretold in
+symbols, he said:
+
+_Prophecy._--"After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth
+beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great
+iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue
+with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were
+before it; and it had ten horns. I considered the horns, and, behold,
+there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were
+three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this
+horn were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great
+things."
+
+[Illustration: ROME ON THE TIBER
+
+The palace of the Caesars appears high on the hill at the left.]
+
+_History._--As the iron of the image of Nebuchadnezzar's dream fitly
+represented the "iron monarchy of Rome," so here the dreadful beast,
+with its iron teeth, can be none other than Rome, which followed Grecia
+in world dominion. It was the most powerful, the most dominating, of all
+the beasts in the prophetic series. A Roman Catholic writer, Cardinal
+Manning, compresses into a paragraph the correspondence of history to
+the likeness of the prophecy:
+
+[Illustration: BATTLE OF ZAMA, B.C. 202
+
+By which Rome broke the power of Carthage, its rival, and "began the
+conquest of the world."]
+
+     "The legions of Rome occupied the circumference of the world.
+     The military roads which sprang from Rome traversed all the
+     earth; the whole world was, as it were, held in peace and in
+     tranquillity by the universal presence of this mighty heathen
+     empire. It was 'exceedingly terrible,' according to the
+     prophecies of Daniel; it was as it were of iron, beating down
+     and subduing the nations."--_"The Temporal Power of the Pope"
+     (London, 1862), p. 122._
+
+Thus far every symbol of the prophet's vision finds its exact and clear
+counterpart in history. A writer living in the third century, in the
+days of imperial Rome, rejoiced to see how exactly the prophecy was
+being fulfilled. Hippolytus (counted a saint by the Catholic Church)
+wrote:
+
+     "Rejoice, blessed Daniel! thou hast not been in error! All
+     these things have come to pass. After this again thou hast told
+     us of the beast, dreadful and terrible. It has iron teeth and
+     claws of brass; it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped
+     the residue with the feet of it. Already the iron rules;
+     already it subdues and breaks all in pieces; already it brings
+     all the unwilling into subjection; already we see these things
+     ourselves. Now we glorify God, being instructed by
+     thee."--_"Treatise on Christ and Antichrist," sec. 33._
+
+Now the prophetic outline comes to the time of the division of the Roman
+Empire, introducing events of deepest personal interest to us today.
+
+
+Part II
+
+The Fourth Kingdom and the "Little Horn"
+
+It was the fourth great monarchy, Imperial Rome, and the events to
+follow it, that engaged the anxious inquiry of the prophet. He says:
+
+"Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast, which was diverse from
+all the others, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were of iron, and his
+nails of brass; which devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue
+with his feet; and of the ten horns that were in his head, and of the
+other which came up, and before whom three fell; even of that horn that
+had eyes, and a mouth that spake very great things, whose look was more
+stout than his fellows. I beheld, and the same horn made war with the
+saints, and prevailed against them; until the Ancient of days came, and
+judgment was given to the saints of the Most High; and the time came
+that the saints possessed the kingdom."
+
+The prophet wanted to know the truth about it; and the angel told him
+the truth. First, the angel said:
+
+"The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be
+diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall
+tread it down, and break it in pieces."
+
+The fourth kingdom, as we have seen, was Rome. As Cardinal Manning said
+of the empire, "It was 'exceeding terrible,' according to the prophecies
+of Daniel; it was as it were of iron, breaking down and subduing the
+nations."
+
+Of the ten horns that arose out of this fourth great empire, the angel
+said:
+
+"The ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and
+another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first,
+and he shall subdue three kings."
+
+We look to the history of the Roman Empire, and what do we see?--Just
+the picture of the prophecy. We see the original Roman Empire of the
+West divided into lesser kingdoms. We see the barbarian peoples of the
+North sweeping down upon the empire, breaking it up, and establishing
+within its boundaries the various kingdoms that are to this day
+represented by the kingdoms of western Europe.
+
+And as we watch the history at this point, we surely see "another little
+horn," another land of power, rising among the horns representing the
+kingdoms of divided Rome--a kingdom, yet a kingdom "diverse" from the
+others. The work of this power riveted the attention of the prophet; and
+it is of the greatest importance that we also should watch closely to
+catch the lesson of the divine prophecy.
+
+
+Prophetic and Historic Pictures of the "Little Horn"
+
+This is plainly the picture presented by the prophet, as we look again,
+observing details more closely.
+
+The prophet beheld the division of the Roman Empire into lesser
+kingdoms. Then, springing up among these kingdoms, he saw the
+little-horn power subduing three of the ten kingdoms, speaking great
+words, and making war with the saints of God. It was to be a religious
+power, then, ruling among the kings of the earth, and asserting
+religious dominion over the faith and consciences of men. "The same horn
+made war with the saints, and prevailed against them."
+
+[Illustration: THE INVASION OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE BY THE HUNS
+
+"We see the barbarian peoples of the North sweeping down upon the
+empire, breaking it up, and establishing within its boundaries the
+various kingdoms that are to this day represented by the kingdoms of
+Western Europe."--_Page 127._]
+
+We look to history, and this is what plainly appears:
+
+We see, as described in the prophecy, a time when ten contemporaneous
+kingdoms filled the territory of the original Western Empire. Just there
+we see an ecclesiastical kingly power rise to religious supremacy--the
+Roman Papacy. We see, through its influence, three of the ten kingdoms
+overthrown, "plucked up by the roots"--three Arian or heretical
+kingdoms. And as we watch the history, we find this power making "war
+with the saints" and prevailing against them through long ages.
+
+A Roman Catholic writer describes it in a paragraph:
+
+     "Long ages ago, when Rome through the neglect of the Western
+     emperors was left to the mercy of the barbarous hordes, the
+     Romans turned to one figure for aid and protection, and asked
+     him to rule them; and thus, in this simple manner, the best
+     title of all to kingly right, commenced the temporal
+     sovereignty of the popes. And meekly stepping to the throne of
+     Caesar, the vicar of Christ took up the scepter to which the
+     emperors and kings of Europe were to bow in reverence through
+     so many ages."--_Rev. James P. Conroy, in American Catholic
+     Quarterly Review, April, 1911._
+
+Yet again we look at the picture presented in prophecy. Then we turn to
+history; and precisely where and when the prophet saw the "little horn"
+coming up, we see the Roman Papacy rising to supremacy. We see this
+ecclesiastical power wielding a kingly scepter among the kingdoms of
+divided Rome, exalting itself above them, with a look "more stout than
+his fellows." We hear it speaking great words, and we see it carrying on
+warfare against the saints.
+
+Clearly, there was no other power in history, rising at that time and in
+that place, which suggests the slightest correspondence to the prophecy.
+In every detail the Roman Papacy does correspond to it.
+
+The prophetic outline has brought us to the rise of the great apostasy,
+so fully dealt with in the New Testament prophecy; but there are further
+specifications in this prophecy of the seventh of Daniel which demand
+brief study.
+
+[Illustration: RAISING THE SIEGE OF ROME, A.D. 538
+
+The crushing defeat of the Goths by the armies of Justinian, who placed
+Vigilius in the papal chair under the military protection of his famous
+general, Belisarius.]
+
+[Illustration: ST. PETER'S AND THE VATICAN
+
+The magnificent headquarters of the papal system.]
+
+
+
+
+THE 1260 YEARS OF DANIEL'S PROPHECY
+
+
+Compressed into forty-four words, the age-long story of the workings of
+the Roman Papacy is thus told by the angel who interpreted Daniel's
+vision of the little horn:
+
+"He shall speak great words against the Most High, and shall wear out
+the saints of the Most High, and think to change times and laws: and
+they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the
+dividing of time." Dan. 7:25.
+
+The spirit of this apostasy was abroad in apostolic days. "The mystery
+of iniquity doth already work," said the apostle Paul. 2 Thess. 2:7. And
+this power is to continue to work until the end, when it will be
+destroyed by the brightness of Christ's coming. Verse 8.
+
+
+A Prophetic Period
+
+But according to the word of the angel to Daniel, there was to be a
+period during which, in a special sense, the Papacy was to hold
+supremacy over the saints and the times and the laws of the Most High.
+
+"They shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the
+dividing of time." In the Scriptures the word "time," used in this
+manner, means a year: "at the end of times, even years." Dan. 11:13,
+margin. Therefore a time (one year) and times (two years) and the
+dividing of time (half a year) means three years and a half. The same
+period is mentioned twice in the twelfth chapter of Revelation, once
+(verse 14) as "a time, and times, and half a time," and again (verse 6)
+as "a thousand two hundred and threescore days."
+
+[Illustration]
+
+But in the symbolic representations of time in prophecy, a day stands
+for a year (see Eze. 4:5, 6, and other scriptures). Thus the prophecy
+foretold a long period of 1260 years during which papal supremacy would
+continue.
+
+Now we may ask, When was this supremacy to begin? what would mark the
+rise of the Papacy to acknowledged supremacy? and what events mark the
+ending of the 1260 years?
+
+
+A Pivotal Point in History
+
+The answer of history to the voice of prophecy is clear.
+
+The sixth century was a pivotal period in the history of the world. The
+bishops of Rome had been asserting the claims of that seat (or "see")
+above all others. Justinian was emperor of the East. Of Justinian and
+his time Bury says:
+
+     "He may be likened to a colossal Janus bestriding the way of
+     passage between the ancient and medieval worlds.... His
+     military achievements decided the course of the history of
+     Italy, and affected the development of Western Europe;... and
+     his ecclesiastical authority influenced the distant future of
+     Christendom."--_"History of the Later Roman Empire," Vol. I,
+     pp. 351-353._
+
+Of this turning point in the world's history, Finlay says:
+
+     "The changes of centuries passed in rapid succession before the
+     eyes of one generation."--_"Greece under the Romans," p. 231._
+
+Just here we find the Papacy lifted definitely into acknowledged
+supremacy. Imperial Rome had already left its ancient seat to the
+Papacy, the imperial throne being no longer maintained at Rome. The
+Bishop of Rome was left the chief figure in the ancient seat of the
+Caesars. The prophecy of Rev. 13:2 had said of the relation of the old
+imperial power to the Papacy, "The dragon gave him his power, and his
+seat, and great authority." The seat was given, and now imperial Rome
+was to give to papal Rome the definite recognition of its supreme power
+and "great authority."
+
+
+Papal Supremacy Officially Recognized
+
+In A.D. 533 the emperor Justinian promulgated a letter, having
+the force of an imperial decree, recognizing the absolute headship of
+the Bishop of Rome over the churches. It declared:
+
+     "We have been sedulous to subject and unite all the priests of
+     the Orient throughout its whole extent to the see of Your
+     Holiness.... For we do not suffer that anything which is
+     mooted, however clear and unquestionable, pertaining to the
+     state of the churches, should fail to be made known to Your
+     Holiness, as being the head of all the churches. For, as we
+     have said before, we are zealous for the increase of the honor
+     and authority of your see in all respects."--_Cod. Justin.,
+     lib. 1, title 1, Baronii "Annales Ecclesiastici," Tom. VII, an.
+     533, sec. 12 (Translation as given in "The Petrine Claims," by
+     R.F. Littledale, p. 293)._
+
+From this decree (for such it really was) the Roman authorities date the
+official recognition of the supremacy of the Papacy. Some have taken a
+later decree by Emperor Phocas (A.D. 606) as a starting point.
+But Dr. Croly says:
+
+     "The highest authorities among the civilians and annalists of
+     Rome spurn the idea that Phocas was the founder of the
+     supremacy of Rome; they ascend to Justinian as the only
+     legitimate source, and rightly date the title from the
+     memorable year 533."--_"The Apocalypse of St. John," pp. 172,
+     173._
+
+
+The Sword of Empire Cleaves the Way
+
+The "great authority" had been recognized. But at this time heretical
+Arian powers compassed the papal seat about. The Arian Vandals were
+persecuting Catholics in Africa, Corsica, and Sardinia, and an Arian
+Gothic king ruled Italy from Ravenna, his capital. The imperial arms,
+however, were at the service of orthodoxy. In 533-534 Justinian's
+famous general, Belisarius, uprooted the Vandals. The war for the faith
+and the empire was carried into Italy also, against the Arian Goths. In
+536 Belisarius, unopposed, entered Rome at the invitation of the Pope.
+But the next year the Goths rallied all their forces to retake the city.
+It was a crisis in the struggle for Italy. "If a single post had given
+way," says Gibbon, "the Romans, and Rome itself, were irrecoverably
+lost." The Goths withdrew, defeated, in 538; and this defeat, says
+Hodgkin, dug "the grave of the Gothic monarchy in Italy."
+
+[Illustration: THE POPE ENTERING ST. PETER'S FROM THE VATICAN
+
+The famous statue of St. Peter may be seen on the right.]
+
+Though the conflict went on for years before the Goths were rooted up,
+this defeat of 538 was a crucial hour in their history. Finlay says:
+
+     "With the conquest of Rome by Belisarius, the history of the
+     ancient city may be considered as terminating; and with his
+     defense against Witiges [538] commences the history of the
+     Middle Ages."--_"Greece under the Romans," p 295._
+
+Roughly speaking, the Middle Ages and the age of papal supremacy and
+power were the same.
+
+
+A New Order of Popes
+
+[Illustration: THE VATICAN
+
+A bird's-eye view from the dome of St. Peter's. COPYRIGHT BY UNDERWOOD &
+UNDERWOOD, N.Y.]
+
+Not only was there this telling stroke by the imperial sword in 538,
+helping to clear the way before the Papacy, but at this same time the
+first of a new order of popes was placed upon the papal throne by the
+imperial arms. Pope Silverius, accused of sympathy with the Goths, was
+deposed by Belisarius in 537. The emperor intervened, and the question
+of the validity of his deposition was held up by the emperor until 538.
+In that year, as Schaff says:
+
+     "Vigilius, a pliant creature of Theodora, ascended the papal
+     chair under the military protection of Belisarius
+     (538-554)."--_"History of the Christian Church," Vol. III, p.
+     327._
+
+[Illustration: THE FAMOUS SACRED STAIRWAY IN ROME
+
+Here Luther, climbing the stairway on his knees, heard the message, "The
+just shall live by faith."]
+
+With him begins a new order. Though personally he was humiliated by the
+emperor's demands, and the Papacy itself was brought into a state of
+subjection that it had not known even under heretical Gothic kings, yet
+this very arbitrary use of the papal prerogative by Justinian,
+strengthened the idea that the Pope of Rome was the supreme authority
+in religion, to speak for the universal church. In Bemont and Monod's
+textbook on "Medieval Europe," page 120, we read:
+
+     "Down to the sixth century all popes are declared saints in the
+     martyrologies. Vigilius (537[E]-555) is the first of a series
+     of popes who no longer bear this title, which is henceforth
+     sparingly conferred. From this time on the popes, more and more
+     involved in worldly events, no longer belong solely to the
+     church; they are men of the state, and then rulers of the
+     state."
+
+
+A Persecuting Power
+
+Following Vigilius came Pelagius I (556-560), who ascended the throne by
+"the military aid of Narses," then the imperial general in Italy. And
+Pelagius, who had been set in the papal see by imperial power, began to
+demand that the sword of the empire should be used against bishops or
+members in the church who did not give way to the authority of the Pope.
+His letters on this subject "are an unqualified defense of the
+principles of persecution." (See "Dictionary of Christian Biography," by
+Smith and Wace, art. "Pope Pelagius.")
+
+The prophecy declared that the Papacy would be given special supremacy
+during a period of 1260 years.
+
+In A.D. 533 came the memorable imperial declaration recognizing
+that supremacy, and in A.D. 538 came the stroke with the sword
+of Rome, cleaving the way; and there began the new order of popes--"men
+of the state, and then rulers of the state."
+
+Thus decisive events clearly mark the beginning of the prophetic period
+of the 1260 years. And just 1260 years from the decree of 533, in
+recognition of the papal supremacy, came a decree, in 1793, aimed
+against that supremacy; and just 1260 years from that stroke with the
+sword at Rome in behalf of the Papacy, came a stroke with the sword at
+Rome against the Papacy.
+
+[Illustration: STORMING OF THE BASTILLE PRISON IN PARIS
+
+An event in the French Revolution which marked the ending of the old
+autocratic order.]
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[E] The exact date should be 538, as given in the quotation from
+Schaff's history. "From the death of Silverius [June, 538] the Roman
+Catholic writers date the episcopacy of Vigilius."--_Bower, "History of
+the Popes," under year 538._
+
+
+[Illustration: TAKING THE POPE PRISONER
+
+This was accomplished by Berthier, the French general, in 1798.]
+
+
+
+
+THE DAWN OF A NEW ERA
+
+THE END OF THE 1260 YEARS
+
+
+As the generation in which the papal power rose to supremacy was a
+turning-point in the history of the world, so, too, was the generation
+in which the 1260 years of its supremacy came to an end.
+
+This measuring line of prophecy does more than run from date to date. It
+connects two great crises in human history, the events of the first
+tending to establish the papal rule over men, the events of the second
+signalizing a breaking of those bands.
+
+
+A Crisis in History
+
+Papal supremacy came at that time of which Finlay says, "The changes of
+centuries passed in rapid succession before the eyes of one generation."
+The measuring line of 1260 years runs on through the centuries till, lo,
+its end touches another time of crisis,--Europe in the convulsions of
+the French Revolution, when again changes, ordinarily requiring
+centuries, were wrought out before the eyes of men within the space of a
+few years. Lamartine wrote of that time:
+
+     "These five years are five centuries for France."--_"History of
+     the Girondists," book 61, sec. 16 (Vol. III), p. 544._
+
+And the events of these times proclaimed the prophetic period of papal
+supremacy ended at last.
+
+Thus, in A.D. 533 came the notable decree of the Papacy's
+powerful supporter, recognizing its supremacy; and then the decisive
+stroke by the sword at Rome in A.D. 538, cleaving the way for
+the new order of popes--the rulers of state.
+
+Exactly 1260 years later, in 1793, came the notable decree of the
+Papacy's once powerful supporter, France,--"the eldest son of the
+church,"--aiming to abolish church and religion, followed by a decisive
+stroke with the sword at Rome against the Papacy, in 1798.
+
+
+Significant Events of the French Revolution
+
+Of the decree of 1793, W.H. Hutton says:--
+
+     "On Nov. 26, 1793, the Convention, of which seventeen bishops
+     and some clergy were members, decreed the abolition of all
+     religion."--_"Age of Revolution," p. 156._
+
+The frenzy of the days of the Terror presented the spectacle of outraged
+humanity, goaded to desperation by centuries of oppression in the name
+of religion and divine right, rising up and madly breaking every
+restraint. Because in the minds of the people the Papacy stood for
+religion, they blindly struck at religion itself, and at God, in whose
+name the papal church had done its cruel work through the centuries.
+
+In the prophecy of Rev. 11:3-13 these events of the wild days of the
+French Revolution are specifically referred to as coming at the close of
+the prophetic period of the 1260 years. The prophetic picture was so
+clear that over a hundred years before the time, Jurieu, an eminent
+French student of prophecy, wrote that he could "not doubt that 'tis
+France," the chief supporter of the Papacy, that would give the shock
+as of an earthquake to the great spiritual Babylonian city. He wrote of
+France, one of the ten parts of divided Rome:
+
+     "This tenth part of the city shall fall, with respect to the
+     Papacy; it shall break with Rome, and the Roman
+     religion."--_"The Accomplishment of the Prophecies" (London,
+     1687), part 2, p. 265._
+
+And so it came to pass. Far beyond France the movement reached. Canon
+Trevor says of the wave of revolt against absolutism that passed over
+Europe:
+
+     "It is worthy of observation that only those nations which
+     eschewed popery were able to resist the tide. Every throne and
+     every church, without exception, that owned the supremacy of
+     Rome, was prostrated in the dust."--_"Rome and Its Papal
+     Rulers," p. 436._
+
+The decree of the French Convention in 1793 was followed by the stroke
+with the sword at Rome in 1798. The full history is told in fewest words
+by a Roman Catholic writer, Rev. Joseph Rickaby, of the Jesuit Society:
+
+     "When, in 1797, Pope Pius VI fell grievously ill, Napoleon gave
+     orders that in the event of his death no successor should be
+     elected to his office, and that the Papacy should be
+     discontinued.
+
+     "But the Pope recovered. The peace was soon broken; Berthier
+     entered Rome on the tenth of February, 1798, and proclaimed a
+     republic. The aged pontiff refused to violate his oath by
+     recognizing it, and was hurried from prison to prison in
+     France. Broken with fatigue and sorrows, he died on the
+     nineteenth of August, 1799, in the French fortress of Valence,
+     aged eighty-two years. No wonder that half Europe thought
+     Napoleon's veto would be obeyed, and that with the Pope the
+     Papacy was dead."--_"The Modern Papacy," p. 1 (Catholic Truth
+     Society, London)._
+
+These events of the French Revolution marked the ending of the prophetic
+period of papal supremacy. A "deadly wound" had been given the Papacy.
+And the blow with the sword at Rome was struck in 1798, just 1260 years
+from the year 538, when the sword of empire struck that decisive blow
+against the Goths at Rome, and prepared the way for the new order of
+popes, the kingly rulers of church and state.
+
+Of the condition of the Papacy at this time Canon Trevor says:
+
+     "The Papacy was extinct: not a vestige of its existence
+     remained; and among all the Roman Catholic powers not a finger
+     was stirred in its defense. The Eternal City had no longer
+     prince or pontiff; its bishop was a dying captive in foreign
+     lands; and the decree was already announced that no successor
+     would be allowed in his place."--_"Rome and Its Papal Rulers,"
+     p. 440._
+
+"No wonder that half Europe," the Jesuit writer says, "thought
+Napoleon's veto would be obeyed, and that with the Pope the Papacy was
+dead." But he adds that "since then the Papacy has been lifted to a
+pinnacle of spiritual power" unreached before.
+
+The stroke dealt the Papacy by the French Revolution was not to be the
+ending of it, by any means, according to the prophecy. These events
+proclaimed the ending of the prophetic period of special supremacy.
+Another prophecy distinctly indicates that following the deadly blow
+there would come a revival of the Papacy's influence, just as the
+Catholic writer describes it. The prophet John, speaking of this same
+power, says:
+
+"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.... And
+they worshiped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is
+able to make war with him?" Rev. 13:3, 4.
+
+We see the healing process still going on, with evidences multiplying
+that the world is more and more wondering after the papal power.
+
+
+A New Era of Liberty and Enlightenment
+
+With the ending of the 1260 years of papal supremacy, a new order was
+ushered in. The Papacy had stood for absolutism in state as well as
+church. Now the power of absolutism was broken. "Absolute monarchy,"
+Edmund Burke said at the time, "breathed its last without a struggle."
+There came the dawn of an era of greater religious liberty and
+enlightenment, that has spread blessings over all lands.
+
+The prophecy had said of the Papacy, that the saints and the times and
+laws of the Most High were to be "given into his hand" for 1260 years.
+As foretold in Christ's prophecy (Matt. 24:22), these days of the
+tribulation of God's saints were "shortened." The power of the
+Reformation weakened the oppressing hand, even before the prophetic
+period ran out. And when the full 1260 years closed, the world saw the
+grip of that papal hand yet further loosened, and God's providence at
+work preparing the way for a world-wide proclamation of His gospel,
+bearing witness against the perversions of the papal apostasy, and
+restoring to men the Word and laws of the Most High.
+
+The record of history witnesses that this time prophecy of the 1260
+years of papal supremacy was exactly fulfilled. The Lord speaks in
+prophecy that men may know that He is the living God. In these time
+prophecies of His Word, He gives assurance not only that this troubled
+world has not escaped from the hand of its Maker, but that its times are
+in His hand also; and that when the time of His divine purpose fully
+comes, He will surely cut His work short in righteousness, and end the
+reign of sin on earth.
+
+As the prophetic period of Dan. 7:25 meets its fulfilment in the history
+of the Papacy, even so, we shall see, the work of the Roman Church
+answers to the further specifications regarding the doings of this
+"little horn" of Daniel's prophecy.
+
+[Illustration: THE TRIPLE CROWN
+
+The Pope's Tiara, from a photograph taken in the Vatican at Rome.]
+
+[Illustration: HUGUENOTS IN PRISON FOR THEIR FAITH
+
+"Others had trial ... of bonds and imprisonment." Heb. 11:36.]
+
+
+
+
+THE WORK OF THE "LITTLE HORN" POWER
+
+
+The prophetic picture of the rise and work of the "little horn" finds
+its exact counterpart in the history of the Roman Papacy:
+
+_The Place._--The little horn was seen by the prophet rising in the
+field of the Roman Empire. That was the very place where the great
+kingdom of the Papacy appeared, taking the name of Roman.
+
+_The Time._--The rise of the ecclesiastical kingdom of the little-horn
+power in the prophecy followed the breaking up of the Roman Empire into
+the ten kingdoms. Just so the ecclesiastical kingdom of the Roman Papacy
+rises to view in history immediately following the division of the
+empire.
+
+_The Period of Supremacy._--The prophecy allotted 1260 years to the full
+supremacy of this power. History responds that from the beginning of the
+papal supremacy, in the days of Justinian, a period of 1260 years brings
+us into the stirring events of the last decade of the eighteenth
+century, that gave to the Papacy a deadly wound.
+
+[Illustration: THE LOVE OF POWER
+
+"He shall speak great words against the Most High." Dan. 7:25.
+
+THE POWER OF LOVE]
+
+One further set of specifications remains for study:
+
+_The Work._--Of the nature and work of the power represented by the
+little horn, the prophecy declares:
+
+"He shall speak great words against the Most High, and shall wear out
+the saints of the Most High, and think to change times and laws: and
+they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the
+dividing of time." Dan. 7:25.
+
+Do we find in the record that the Church of Rome has fulfilled these
+specifications also? The Scripture prophecy is absolutely a
+word-photograph of the workings of the papal church. Look at the main
+features:
+
+    1. Speaking great words against the Most High.
+    2. Wearing out the saints of the Most High.
+    3. Thinking to change the times and the laws of the Most High.
+
+Every count in the indictment may be clearly proved, and that by
+testimony from Roman Catholic sources
+
+
+"He Shall Speak Great Words Against the Most High"
+
+As Daniel observed the little-horn power, he heard it speaking "very
+great things." The angel declared that these great swelling words were
+really against the Most High. And what could be more against the honor
+of the Most High than that to mortal man should be ascribed the titles
+and attributes of divinity? Here are some of the "great words:"
+
+     "All the names which are attributed to Christ in Scripture,
+     implying His supremacy over the church, are also attributed to
+     the Pope."--_Bellarmine, "On the Authority of Councils," book
+     2, chap. 17._
+
+This ruling has been actually applied through the ages. Says Elliott:
+
+     "Look at the Sicilian ambassadors prostrated before him [Pope
+     Martin IV] with the cry, 'Lamb of God! that takest away the
+     sins of the world!'"--_"Horae Apocalypticae," part 4, chap. 5,
+     sec. 2._
+
+[Illustration: CHRISTIANS IN PRISON BENEATH THE COLOSSEUM AWAITING
+MARTYRDOM
+
+"And shall wear out the saints of the Most High." Dan. 7:25.]
+
+     "The Pope is of so great dignity and excellence, that he is not
+     merely man, but as if God, and the vicar of God (_non sit
+     simplex homo, sed quasi Deus, et Dei vicarius_). The Pope alone
+     is called most holy,... divine monarch, and supreme emperor,
+     and king of kings.... The Pope is of so great dignity and power
+     that he constitutes one and the same tribunal with Christ
+     (_faciat unum et idem tribunal cum Christo_), so that
+     whatsoever the Pope does seems to proceed from the mouth of God
+     (_abore Dei_)."--_"Prompta Bibliotheca" (Ferraris), art.
+     "Papa;" Ferraris's Ecclesiastical Dictionary (Roman Catholic),
+     art. "The Pope." Quoted in Guinness's "Romanism and the
+     Reformation," p. 16._
+
+These are no merely extravagant adulations of the Dark Ages, to be
+repudiated by the moderns; these terms express the unchanging doctrinal
+claims of the Roman Church, that put man in the place of God. The modern
+Pope Leo XIII, in an encyclical letter dated June 20, 1894, repeated the
+claim:
+
+     "We hold upon this earth the place of God Almighty."--_"The
+     Great Encyclical Letters of Leo XIII" (New York, Benziger
+     Brothers), p. 304._
+
+Thus does the Papacy "speak great words against the Most High."
+
+
+"And Shall Wear Out the Saints of the Most High"
+
+All through the Dark Ages we catch glimpses of the ruthless hand of Rome
+laid upon simple believers in God's Holy Word; but plans for wholesale
+wearing out of the saints of God were devised as the Waldenses and
+others rose to a widespread work of witnessing, heralds of the dawn of
+the coming Reformation,--
+
+    "These who gave earliest notice,
+     As the lark
+    Springs from the ground the morn to gratulate;
+    Who, rather, rose the day to antedate,
+    By striking out a solitary spark,
+    When all the world with midnight gloom was dark--
+    The harbingers of good whom bitter hate
+    In vain endeavored to exterminate."
+
+    --_Wordsworth._
+
+Pope Innocent III gave orders concerning them as follows:
+
+     "Therefore by this present apostolical writing, we give you a
+     strict command that, by whatever means you can, you destroy all
+     these heresies and expel from your diocese all who are polluted
+     with them. You shall exercise the rigor of ecclesiastical power
+     against them and all those who have made themselves suspected
+     by associating with them. They may not appeal from your
+     judgments, and, if necessary, you may cause the princes and
+     people to suppress them with the sword."--_Quoted from Migne,
+     214, col. 71, in Thatcher and McNeal's "Source Book for
+     Medieval History," p. 210._
+
+As the truth spread, so also the papal church redoubled its efforts by
+sword and flame. The historian Lecky says:
+
+     "That the Church of Rome has shed more innocent blood than any
+     other institution that has ever existed among mankind, will be
+     questioned by no Protestant who has a competent knowledge of
+     history. The memorials, indeed, of many of her persecutions are
+     now so scanty that it is impossible to form a complete
+     conception of the multitude of her victims, and it is quite
+     certain that no powers of imagination can adequately realize
+     their sufferings."--_"History of the Rise and Influence of the
+     Spirit of Rationalism in Europe," Vol. II, p. 32._
+
+Motley, in his "Rise of the Dutch Republic" (part 3, chap. 2), tells how
+Philip II of Spain--who declared that he would "never consent to be the
+sovereign of heretics"--sent the Duke of Alva to take over the
+Netherlands:
+
+     "Early in the year the most sublime sentence of death was
+     promulgated which has ever been pronounced since the creation
+     of the world. The Roman tyrant [Nero] wished that his enemies'
+     heads were all upon a single neck, that he might strike them
+     off at a blow; the Inquisition assisted Philip to place the
+     heads of all his Netherlands subjects upon a single neck for
+     the same fell purpose. Upon February 16, 1568, a sentence of
+     the Holy Office condemned all the inhabitants of the
+     Netherlands to death as heretics. From this universal doom only
+     a few persons, especially named, were excepted. A proclamation
+     of the king, dated ten days later, confirmed this decree of the
+     Inquisition, and ordered it to be carried into instant
+     execution, without regard to age, sex, or condition. This is
+     probably the most concise death warrant that was ever framed.
+     Three millions of people, men, women, and children, were
+     sentenced to the scaffold in three lines."
+
+Roman Catholic writers admit that the papal church has sought to
+exterminate what it calls heresy, by the power of the sword.
+
+The _Western Watchman_ (St. Louis), Dec. 24, 1908, says:
+
+     "The church has persecuted.... Protestants were persecuted in
+     France and Spain with the full approval of the church
+     authorities. We have always defended the persecution of the
+     Huguenots, and the Spanish Inquisition. Wherever and whenever
+     there is honest Catholicity, there will be a clear distinction
+     drawn between truth and error, and Catholicity and all forms of
+     error. When she thinks it good to use physical force, she will
+     use it."
+
+Prof. Alfred Baudrillart, rector of the Catholic Institute of Paris,
+says:
+
+     "The Catholic Church is a respecter of conscience and of
+     liberty.... She has, and she loudly proclaims that she has, a
+     'horror of blood.' Nevertheless, when confronted by heresy, she
+     does not content herself with persuasion; arguments of an
+     intellectual and moral order appear to her insufficient, and
+     she has recourse to force, to corporal punishment, to torture.
+     She creates tribunals like those of the Inquisition, she calls
+     the laws of the state to her aid, if necessary she encourages a
+     crusade, or a religious war, and all her 'horror of blood'
+     practically culminates into urging the secular power to shed
+     it, which proceeding is almost more odious--for it is less
+     frank--than shedding it herself. Especially did she act thus in
+     the sixteenth century with regard to Protestants. Not content
+     to reform morally, to preach by example, to convert people by
+     eloquent and holy missionaries, she lit in Italy, in the Low
+     Countries, and above all in Spain, the funeral piles of the
+     Inquisition. In France under Francis I and Henry II, in England
+     under Mary Tudor, she tortured the heretics, whilst both in
+     France and Germany during the second half of the sixteenth and
+     the first half of the seventeenth century if she did not
+     actually begin, at any rate she encouraged and actively aided,
+     the religious wars."--_"The Catholic Church, the Renaissance
+     and Protestantism" (London, Kegan Paul, Trench, Truebner & Co.,
+     Ltd., 1908), pp. 182, 183._
+
+She has done it--the Church of Rome has worn out the saints of the Most
+High. The prophet in vision saw an ecclesiastical kingly power rise
+among the kingdoms of the divided Roman Empire. Its look was more stout
+than its fellows, and the prophet heard it speaking "very great things,"
+and saw it wearing out the saints of the Most High through the long
+centuries.
+
+[Illustration: THE SHAME OF RELIGIOUS WARS
+
+Christ viewing the battle fields of history, where millions of His
+followers have been slain in His name.]
+
+"Guilty!" is the clear verdict of history, against the Church of Rome on
+these two counts of the prophetic indictment.
+
+
+"And Think to Change Times and Laws"
+
+The power that was to speak great words against the Most High, and to
+wear out the saints of the Most High, was further--in its self-exalting
+opposition to God--to assume to lay hands upon times and laws, evidently
+the times and the laws of the Most High; for to say that such a power
+would lay hands on the laws of men, changing or setting aside human
+legislation, would signify less than the preceding counts. This third
+specification states a climax in the indictment--the self-exalting,
+persecuting power was to lay hands upon the very law of the Most High.
+It is clearly the same power that the apostle Paul said would rise to
+dominion after his time: "Then shall be revealed the lawless one." 2
+Thess. 2:8, A.R.V.
+
+
+God's Law Unchangeable
+
+Just as the laws of a government express its character, so the law of
+God is a reflection of the divine character. "The law of the Lord is
+perfect." Ps. 19:7. "Wherefore the law is holy," said the apostle, "and
+the commandment holy, and just, and good." Rom. 7:12.
+
+Jesus declared, "I delight to do Thy will, O My God: yea, Thy law is
+within My heart." Ps. 40:8. And He maintained the unchangeable, enduring
+integrity of that law: "Verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth
+pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all
+be fulfilled." Matt. 5:18.
+
+But in Daniel's prophecy is foretold the rise of this power that was to
+_think_ to change the times and the laws of the Most High.
+
+Here, again, the evidence points straight to the Church of Rome; for it
+is a fact that the Papacy has laid violent hands on the law of God--upon
+the precept, too, that deals with sacred time--and has _thought_ to
+change it.
+
+In a volume to be seen in the British Museum, dated 1545, the following
+comment on Dan. 7:25 is attributed to Philipp Melanchthon, the Reformer,
+associate of Luther (reproduced with the old English spelling):
+
+     "He changeth the tymes and lawes that any of the sixe worke
+     dayes commanded of God will make them unholy and idle dayes
+     when he lyste, or of their owne holy dayes abolished make worke
+     dayes agen, or when they changed ye Saterday into Sondaye....
+     They have changed God's lawes and turned them into their owne
+     tradicions to be kept above God's precepts."--_"Exposition of
+     Daniel the Prophete," Gathered out of Philipp Melanchthon,
+     Johan Ecolampadius, etc., by George Joye, 1545, p. 119._
+
+This is exactly what the power represented by the little horn was to
+assume to do. The commandment of God is plain:
+
+"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor,
+and do all thy work: but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy
+God: in it thou shalt not do any work.... For in six days the Lord made
+heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the
+seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed
+it." Ex. 20:8-11.
+
+
+A Change in Practice
+
+But in general practice there has been a change--the first day is
+commonly observed instead of the seventh day, which the Lord declares he
+blessed and made holy. The Roman Catholic Church points exultingly to
+the fact that this change, so universally allowed today, has come about
+solely through church tradition without Scriptural authority. For
+instance, one Catholic writer says:
+
+     "You will tell me that Saturday was the _Jewish_ Sabbath, but
+     that the _Christian_ Sabbath has been changed to Sunday.
+     Changed! but by whom? Who has authority to change an express
+     commandment of Almighty God? When God has spoken and said,
+     Thou shalt keep holy the seventh day, who shall dare to say,
+     Nay, thou mayest work and do all manner of worldly business on
+     the seventh day; but thou shalt keep holy the first day in its
+     stead? This is a most important question, which I know not how
+     you can answer.
+
+     "You are a Protestant, and you profess to go by the Bible and
+     the Bible only; and yet in so important a matter as the
+     observance of one day in seven as a holy day, you go against
+     the plain letter of the Bible, and put another day in the place
+     of that day which the Bible has commanded. The command to keep
+     holy the seventh day is one of the ten commandments; you
+     believe that the other nine are still binding; who gave you
+     authority to tamper with the fourth? If you are consistent with
+     your own principles, if you really follow the Bible and the
+     Bible only, you ought to be able to produce some portion of the
+     New Testament in which this fourth commandment is expressly
+     altered."--_"Library of Christian Doctrine: Why Don't You Keep
+     the Holy Sabbath Day?" (Burns and Oates London), p. 3._
+
+Every one who studies the question must recognize the fact that there is
+no change authorized in Scripture. As Canon Eyton, of the Church of
+England, says:
+
+     "There is no word, no hint, in the New Testament about
+     abstaining from work on Sunday.... Into the rest of Sunday no
+     divine law enters."--_"The Ten Commandments" (Truebner & Co.),
+     London._
+
+Dr. Heylyn, of the Church of England, wrote:
+
+     "Take which you will, either the Fathers or the moderns, and we
+     shall find no Lord's day instituted by any apostolical mandate;
+     no Sabbath set on foot by them upon the first day of the
+     week."--_"History of the Sabbath," part 2, chap. 1._
+
+Authorities, both Protestant and Catholic, freely acknowledge that there
+is no divine authority for Sunday keeping. There has been a change in
+practice and teaching, but with no Scriptural authority.
+
+
+What the Papacy Claims
+
+The prophecy of Daniel 7 forewarned all that the ecclesiastical power
+that was to rise upon the division of the Roman Empire would _think_ to
+change the times and the laws of the Most High. The Papacy steps forward
+and claims boldly that the church has power to set aside Scripture, to
+institute holy times, and even to change the day made holy and
+commanded by the Almighty as the day of rest for His people.
+
+In a Catholic work, "An Abridgment of the Christian Doctrine," by Dr.
+Henry Turberville, page 61, we read:
+
+     "_Question._--By whom was the change [of the Sabbath] made?
+
+     "_Answer._--By the rulers of the church, the apostles who kept
+     the Lord's day....
+
+     "_Ques._--How do you prove that the church hath power to
+     establish feasts and holy days?
+
+     "_Ans._--By the very fact of changing the Sabbath to Sunday;
+     this change Protestants allow; and therefore they contradict
+     themselves by keeping Sunday strictly and breaking most other
+     feasts commanded by the same church.
+
+     "_Ques._--How prove you that?
+
+     "_Ans._--Because by keeping Sunday they acknowledge the
+     church's power to ordain feasts and to command them under sin;
+     and by not keeping the rest commanded by her, they deny that
+     she has power."
+
+It is the doctrine taught in the standard catechisms of the Roman
+Church:
+
+     "_Question._--Have you any other way of proving that the church
+     has power to institute festivals of precept?
+
+     "_Answer._--Had she not such power, she could not have done
+     that in which all modern religionists agree with her,--she
+     could not have substituted the observance of Sunday the first
+     day of the week, for the observance of Saturday the seventh
+     day, a change for which there is no Scriptural
+     authority."--_Keenan's "Doctrinal Catechism," p. 174._
+
+Thus the Papacy proclaims itself the power that has _thought_ to change
+the precepts of the Most High.
+
+On every count, the Roman Church is the counterpart of the little horn
+of Daniel 7. Before our eyes--in the common practice of Christendom--the
+commandment of God regarding sacred time is made void by the traditions
+of men.
+
+The prophecy indicated that there would come a call for a reformation in
+this matter. Speaking of the warfare against the saints and the times
+and laws of the Most High, to be waged by the little-horn power, the
+angel said:
+
+"They shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the
+dividing of time." Dan. 7:25.
+
+In other words, when the 1260 years should expire, we should expect,
+according to the prophecy, to see a breaking of the Papacy's persecuting
+power over believers, a spreading abroad of the Holy Scriptures, and a
+work of reformation that would lift up the truths of God's Word, and
+call believers to keep once again the holy time and the holy law of the
+Most High.
+
+The prophecy of Daniel 7 is one of God's special messages for all men in
+these last days, picturing the rise and history of the Papacy, and
+warning all against accepting its perversions of God's truth or
+recognizing its attempted change in the law of the Most High. Thank God
+for the "sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed,
+as unto a light that shineth in a dark place." We are to follow the Lord
+and obey him, not this power that has risen up in opposition to him.
+
+The angel's interpretation in this chapter does not leave the apostasy
+triumphant:
+
+"The judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to
+consume and to destroy it unto the end."
+
+Then the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdoms of the Most
+High, "and all dominions shall serve and obey Him."
+
+
+    "O, how shall we stand that moment of searching,
+    When all our sins those books reveal?
+    When from that court, each case decided,
+    Shall be granted no appeal?"
+
+[Illustration: CHRIST AND THE SCRIBES
+
+"In vain they do worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of
+men." Matt. 15:9.]
+
+[Illustration: CREATION
+
+"In six days the Lord made heaven and earth,... and rested the seventh
+day." Ex. 20:11.]
+
+
+
+
+THE BIBLE SABBATH
+
+
+"He answered and said, Every plant, which My heavenly Father hath not
+planted, shall be rooted up." Matt. 15:13.
+
+The scribes had come to Jesus with the complaint, "Why do Thy disciples
+transgress the tradition of the elders?" Jesus answered them with
+another question, "Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by
+your tradition?"
+
+They had thought that Christ was introducing novelties, preaching new
+things, contrary to established church custom and practice. He showed
+them that He really stood for the old and established things of God's
+Word, and that their own religious customs, however old, were really the
+novelties, without divine authority. He said,
+
+"In vain do they worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of
+men." And finally He added the words quoted above, "Every plant, which
+My heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up."
+
+Let the principles be applied to the question of Sabbath observance.
+Sometimes in our day those who preach the word of God regarding the
+abiding holiness of the seventh-day Sabbath are accused of preaching new
+doctrines, contrary to the traditions and customs of the church. But
+really, the observance of Sunday, the first day, is the innovation; the
+seventh-day Sabbath is of ancient foundation.
+
+Is the Seventh-day Sabbath a Plant of Our Heavenly Father's Planting?
+
+Which of these two institutions has our heavenly Father planted? It is
+possible to ascertain to a surety; for every plant of His planting,
+every doctrine of His truth, will be found rooted in the Holy
+Scriptures. 2 Tim. 3:16, 17.
+
+
+The Old Testament Record
+
+_From the Beginning._--When the Creator made the earth and man upon it,
+He made the seventh day of the weekly cycle His holy Sabbath.
+
+"Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of
+them.... And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because
+that in it He had rested from all His work which God created and made."
+Gen. 2:1-3.
+
+To sanctify is "to set apart," and so the day made holy and blessed by
+God was set apart for man. Then it was, as Jesus said, that "the Sabbath
+was made for man." Mark 2:27. Here the Sabbath institution was planted
+at the beginning of the world.
+
+_At the Exodus._--The people of Israel, in their bondage in Egypt, had
+fallen away from the knowledge of God and become corrupted by the
+idolatrous worship of Egypt, Hence, as the Lord called them out to be
+His people, He tested their loyalty to His law by observing how they
+regarded His holy Sabbath:
+
+"Then said the Lord unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven
+for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every
+day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in My law, or no."
+Ex. 16:4.
+
+So through the forty years the Lord sent the manna for them to gather on
+the six working days, withholding it on the Sabbath. (This scripture
+shows also that the Sabbath was a part of God's law before He spoke it
+from Sinai.)
+
+[Illustration: HOREB, THE SACRED MOUNT
+
+A modern view of the summit of Mt. Sinai.]
+
+_At Sinai._--When the time came that the Lord would speak His holy law
+from heaven, the eternal foundation of His moral government, the Sabbath
+precept was enshrined in the heart of it:
+
+"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor,
+and do all thy work: but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy
+God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy
+daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy
+stranger that is within thy gates: for in six days the Lord made heaven
+and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day:
+wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it." Ex.
+20:8-11.
+
+_Through Israel's History._--Sabbath keeping was the great mark of
+loyalty to God. When Israel fell into idolatry, they "observed times"
+(see 2 Kings 21:6),--doubtless such heathen festivals to the sun god and
+other deities as were common among the idolatrous nations. These
+observances of other days meant Sabbath breaking. "Neither shall ye ...
+observe times.... Ye shall keep My Sabbaths." Lev. 19:26-30. The Lord
+had promised concerning Jerusalem:
+
+"If ye diligently hearken unto Me, saith the Lord, to bring in no burden
+through the gates of this city on the Sabbath day, but hallow the
+Sabbath day, to do no work therein; then shall there enter into the
+gates of this city kings and princes sitting upon the throne of David,...
+and this city shall remain forever." Jer. 17:24, 25.
+
+The divine pleading was slighted, and Jerusalem's fall and the
+Babylonian captivity came as the result of the Israelites' disregard of
+God's holy day.
+
+Thus throughout the inspired record of the Old Testament the seventh-day
+Sabbath appears as a plant of the heavenly Father's own planting.
+
+
+The New Testament Record
+
+_The Example and Teaching of Jesus._--It was Christ's "custom" to
+worship on the seventh day. Luke 4:16.
+
+Jesus, who Himself made the Sabbath at creation (John 1:3), taught that
+it was "made for man,"--for the human race,--and declared, "The Son of
+man is Lord also of the Sabbath." Mark 2:27, 28. It is, therefore, "the
+Lord's day." Rev. 1:10.
+
+He did on the Sabbath only that which was "lawful," or according to the
+law of God's holy day. Matt. 12:12.
+
+He kept His Father's commandments throughout His earthly life. John
+15:10.
+
+And giving instruction regarding events to take place many years after
+His ascension, He showed that He recognized the continued existence of
+the Sabbath in the command, "Pray ye that your flight be not in the
+winter, neither on the Sabbath day." Matt. 24:20.
+
+[Illustration: CHRIST HEALING THE MAN WITH A WITHERED HAND
+
+"It is lawful to do well on the Sabbath days." Matt. 12:12.]
+
+_Among New Testament Disciples._--The women, after the crucifixion,
+"rested the Sabbath day according to the commandment." Luke 23:56.
+
+Inspiration says that the apostle Paul's custom was to preach the gospel
+publicly Sabbath after Sabbath. Acts 13:14; 16:13; 17:1, 2; 18:4. When
+the Gentiles of Antioch heard the gospel preached by the apostle one
+Sabbath, they "besought that these words might be preached to them the
+next Sabbath." Acts 13:42.
+
+Throughout the New Testament, written years after Christ's ascension,
+the Holy Spirit, speaking of the seventh day, calls it "the Sabbath"
+upwards of fifty times. "Sabbath" means rest; therefore when the Holy
+Spirit, in the Christian age, calls the seventh day the rest day, it
+must infallibly be the day of rest for Christians, the Christian
+Sabbath.
+
+In the Levitical or sacrificial ordinances of the sanctuary services
+there were annual sabbaths and feasts, associated with meats and drinks
+and ceremonial observances. But in appointing these the Lord
+specifically distinguished between them and the one and only weekly
+Sabbath, which was from the beginning. "These are the feasts of the
+Lord," He said, "beside the Sabbaths of the Lord." Lev. 23:37, 38.
+
+The annual festivals and sabbaths, like all the ordinances of the
+Levitical service, were shadows of things to come, and found their
+fulfilment in the great sacrifice of Calvary. Col. 2:16, 17.
+
+But the Sabbath of the Lord was made blessed and holy by God at the
+creation, before sin had entered the world, before any sacrificial or
+shadowy service was instituted to point to a coming Redeemer. It is a
+fundamental and primary institution, a part of the moral order of God's
+government for man, the same as the obligations set forth in each of the
+other commandments.
+
+And Inspiration declares the eternal perpetuity of the blessed Sabbath
+day in the future home of the saved, when the prophet describes the
+felicity of the redeemed, as from month to month, and "from one Sabbath
+to another," all flesh shall come to worship before the Lord. Isa.
+66:23.
+
+Thus we find the seventh-day Sabbath a plant of the heavenly Father's
+planting, rooted deep in all Holy Scripture, and abiding eternally in
+the world to come.
+
+
+Is the First-day Rest an Institution of God's Planting?
+
+In the beginning, the first day was employed by God in the work of
+creation. Gen. 1:1-5.
+
+Throughout all the Old Testament history it was one of "the six working
+days." Eze. 46:1.
+
+It was the day of Christ's resurrection; but Inspiration says
+specifically that "the Sabbath was past" when that "first day of the
+week" came. Mark 16:1, 2. Inspiration called this first day merely by
+the ordinary secular name in common business use, with never a
+suggestion of attaching any sacredness to the day. For some of the
+disciples it was a day of journeying, in which the risen Christ joined
+them. Luke 24:13-29. Later He appeared to the other disciples in
+Jerusalem, gathered not in meeting, but at supper in their common
+dwelling house. Mark 16:14.
+
+The only religious meeting recorded as occurring on the first day of the
+week was that held at Troas. (See Acts 20:6-13.) The context shows that
+it was an evening meeting, after the Sabbath,--Saturday night, as we
+would call it, for the Bible reckoning is from evening to evening. It
+was the last time the believers were ever to see the apostle's face, and
+as they lingered after the close of the Sabbath, he held an all-night
+farewell meeting, breaking bread with the believers, and leaving at
+daybreak Sunday morning for the eighteen- or twenty-mile journey afoot,
+across country to Assos. And while he spent the first day traveling
+afoot, his companions were journeying by boat.
+
+Conybeare and Howson (of the Church of England), in that standard work,
+"Life and Epistles of St. Paul," tell the plain fact of the inspired
+record, save that manifestly they should not have applied the title
+"Jewish" to God's Sabbath; for it was not the Sabbath of the Jews, but
+"the Sabbath of the Lord thy God:"
+
+     "It was the evening which succeeded the Jewish Sabbath. On the
+     Sunday morning the vessel was about to sail."--_Chapter 20, p.
+     520._
+
+Describing the road between Troas and Assos, they add:
+
+     "Strength and peace were surely sought and obtained by the
+     apostle from the Redeemer as he pursued his lonely road that
+     Sunday afternoon in spring among the oak woods and the streams
+     of Ida."--_Id., p. 522._
+
+Once again the "first day of the week" is mentioned, in 1 Cor. 16:2. But
+that scripture says no word of any sacredness of the day or of any
+religious observance of it. The apostle was gathering a fund for the
+poor at Jerusalem, and asked every believer to "lay by" something every
+first day of the week, so that the money would be ready when he came. As
+Dean Stanley (Church of England) comments:
+
+     "There is nothing to prove public assemblies, inasmuch as the
+     phrase [Greek: par heauto] ('by himself, at his own house')
+     implies that the collection was to be made individually and in
+     private."
+
+And Neander's Church History says:
+
+     "All mentioned here is easily explained, if one simply thinks
+     of the ordinary beginning of the week in secular life."--_Vol.
+     I, p. 339 (German ed.)._
+
+To meet the emergency of need in Judea, these believers were asked to
+look over their business affairs at the beginning of each week, until
+Paul should come, laying aside a gift as God had prospered them.
+
+
+No Sunday Sacredness in the New Testament
+
+This is the record--not one suggestion in all the New Testament of
+Sunday sacredness, to say nothing of precept or commandment of the Lord.
+The late R.W. Dale, D.D., a leading Congregationalist of England, wrote:
+
+     "It is quite clear that, however rigidly or devotedly we may
+     spend Sunday, we are not keeping the Sabbath.... The Sabbath
+     was founded on a specific, divine command. We can plead no such
+     command for the observance of Sunday.... There is not a single
+     line in the New Testament to suggest that we incur any penalty
+     by violating the supposed sanctity of Sunday."--_"The Ten
+     Commandments," pp. 106, 107._
+
+That religious classic, Smith and Cheetham's "Dictionary of Christian
+Antiquities," says that the "notion of a formal substitution" of the
+first day for the seventh,
+
+     "and the transference to it, perhaps in a spiritualized form,
+     of the Sabbatical obligation established by the promulgation of
+     the fourth commandment, has no basis whatever, either in Holy
+     Scripture or in Christian antiquity."--_Article "Sabbath."_
+
+Dr. E.F. Hiscox, author of "The Baptist Manual," says:
+
+     "There was and is a commandment to 'keep holy the Sabbath day,'
+     but that Sabbath was not Sunday. It will, however, be readily
+     said, and with some show of triumph, that the Sabbath was
+     transferred from the seventh to the first day of the week....
+     Where can the record of such a transaction be found? Not in the
+     New Testament--absolutely not."--_The New York Examiner, Nov.
+     16, 1893._
+
+Such declarations by well-known scholars might be multiplied, but it is
+not necessary. The record is open--any one may see it. There is not a
+word in the Holy Scripture of any first-day sacredness. The Sunday
+institution is not a plant of our heavenly Father's planting.
+
+
+How the Change Came About
+
+There has been no change of the Sabbath by divine authority. Men may
+choose to rest on any other day, but that cannot make such a day God's
+rest day, His holy Sabbath. One cannot change one's birthday by
+celebrating another day as such. It is a fact of history that on a
+certain day of the month one was born. That fact cannot be changed by
+choosing to celebrate another day as the birthday. Just so it is a fact
+of divine history that God rested on a given day of the week, and on no
+other. That made the seventh day His rest day.
+
+It is different from other days in character also, for He blessed it and
+made it holy. To deny the difference between common days and the holy
+day is to say that when the great Creator blesses and makes holy, it is
+a vain performance. That cannot be. It would take away all hope of
+holiness or salvation for men. The blessing is upon the day, as every
+soul finds who keeps it by faith.
+
+When men choose to set apart another day than that blessed and
+sanctified of God, it is plainly a setting up of the humanly appointed
+time against the divinely appointed time. It is exalting man's sabbath
+against God's Sabbath. It is man exalting himself "above all that is
+called God." 2 Thess. 2:4.
+
+This was what made the Roman Papacy. The apostle Paul wrote that in his
+day the spirit of lawlessness was already working. He said it would lead
+to a "falling away" from the truth of God, and the full exaltation of
+the man of sin. 2 Thessalonians 2. The falling away came. As Dr. Killen
+(Presbyterian), of Ireland, says in the preface to his "Ancient
+Church:"
+
+[Illustration: THE SABBATH FROM EDEN TO EDEN
+
+Blessed and sanctified in Eden. Gen. 2:3. Christ the Lord of the
+Sabbath. Mark 2:28.
+
+Written by God in His law. Ex. 20:8-11. To be observed in the new earth.
+Isa. 66:23.]
+
+     "In the interval between the days of the apostles and the
+     conversion of Constantine, the Christian commonwealth changed
+     its aspect.... Rites and ceremonies, of which neither Paul nor
+     Peter ever heard, crept into use, and then claimed the rank of
+     divine institutions."
+
+In his "Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine," Cardinal Newman
+(Roman Catholic) tells how rites and ceremonies were borrowed from
+paganism:
+
+     "Confiding then in the power of Christianity to resist the
+     infection of evil, and to transmute the very instruments and
+     appendages of demon worship to an evangelical use,... the
+     rulers of the church from early times were prepared, should the
+     occasion arise, to adopt, or imitate, or sanction the existing
+     rites and customs of the populace, as well as the philosophy of
+     the educated class."--_Pages 371, 372._
+
+Thus along with other adaptations came "the venerable day of the sun"
+(Sunday). It was by gradual process that it supplanted the Sabbath. Sir
+William Domville wrote:
+
+     "Centuries of the Christian era passed away before Sunday was
+     observed by the Christian church as a Sabbath. History does not
+     furnish us with a single proof or indication that it was at any
+     time so observed previous to the Sabbatical edict of
+     Constantine in A.D. 321."--_"Examination of Six
+     Texts," p. 291._
+
+This law of Constantine's was as follows:
+
+     "On the venerable day of the sun let the magistrates and people
+     residing in cities rest, and let all workshops be closed. In
+     the country, however, persons engaged in agriculture may freely
+     and lawfully continue their pursuits; because it often happens
+     that another day is not so suitable for grain sowing or for
+     vine planting; lest by neglecting the proper moment for such
+     operations, the bounty of heaven should be lost. (Given the 7th
+     day of March, Crispus and Constantine being consuls each of
+     them for the second time.)"--_Schaff, "History of the Christian
+     Church," Vol. III, chap. 5, sec. 75._
+
+Commenting on this law, Prof. Hutton Webster, of the University of
+Nebraska, says:
+
+     "This legislation by Constantine probably bore no relation to
+     Christianity; it appears, on the contrary, that the emperor, in
+     his capacity of Pontifex Maximus, was only adding the day of
+     the sun, the worship of which was then firmly established in
+     the Roman Empire, to the other ferial days of the sacred
+     calendar."
+
+     "What began, however, as a pagan ordinance, ended as a
+     Christian regulation; and a long series of imperial decrees,
+     during the fourth, fifth, and sixth centuries, enjoined with
+     increasing stringency abstinence from labor on Sunday."--_"Rest
+     Days," pp. 122, 270._
+
+Dean Stanley (Church of England) writes:
+
+     "The retention of the old pagan name _Dies Solis_, or Sunday,
+     for the weekly Christian festival, is, in a great measure,
+     owing to the union of pagan and Christian sentiment with which
+     the first day of the week was recommended by Constantine to his
+     subjects, pagan and Christian alike, as the 'venerable day of
+     the sun.'"--_"History of the Eastern Church," lecture 6, par.
+     15._
+
+Thus the Sunday institution comes in, marked by its pagan origin, and
+adapted to ecclesiastical purposes by the church of the "falling away"
+that grew into the Roman Papacy. To quote again from the Baptist author,
+Dr. Hiscox:
+
+     "Of course, I quite well know that Sunday did come into use in
+     early Christian history as a religious day, as we learn from
+     the Christian Fathers and other sources. But what a pity that
+     it comes branded with the mark of paganism, and christened with
+     the name of the sun god, when adopted and sanctioned by the
+     papal apostasy, and bequeathed as a sacred legacy to
+     Protestantism."--_New York Examiner, Nov. 16, 1893._
+
+No wonder that with the coming of the latter days, and the proclamation
+of the message of preparation for Christ's second coming, there should
+come a call to Christians to follow Christ and Holy Scripture in keeping
+God's holy Sabbath.
+
+Again the voice of Jesus is heard in protest against traditions that
+make void the commandment of God.
+
+"Every plant," He says, "which My heavenly Father hath not planted,
+shall be rooted up." Matt. 15:13.
+
+
+Made for Man
+
+    The God that made the earth,
+     And all the worlds on high,
+    Who gave all creatures birth,
+     In earth, and sea, and sky,
+    After six days in work employed,
+    Upon the seventh a rest enjoyed.
+
+      The Sabbath day was blessed,
+    Hallowed, and sanctified;
+      It was Jehovah's rest,
+    And so it must abide;
+    'Twas set apart before the fall,
+    'Twas made for man, 'twas made for all.
+
+      And when from Sinai's mount,
+    Amidst the fire and smoke,
+      Jehovah did recount,
+    And all His precepts spoke,
+    He claimed the rest day as His own,
+    And wrote it with His law on stone.
+
+      The Son of God appeared
+    With tidings of great joy;
+      God's precepts He revered,
+    He came not to destroy;
+    None of the law was set aside,
+    But every tittle ratified.
+
+      Our Saviour did not die
+    To render null and void
+      The law of the Most High,
+    Which cannot be destroyed;
+    But, bruised for us, our stripes He bore,--
+    We'll go in peace and sin no more.
+
+    --_R.F. Cottrell._
+
+[Illustration: CHRIST AND HIS DISCIPLES IN THE CORN-FIELDS
+
+"The Son of man is Lord even of the Sabbath day." Matt. 12:8.]
+
+[Illustration: RETURNING FROM THE SAVIOUR'S TOMB
+
+"They returned,... and rested the Sabbath day according to the
+commandment." Luke 23:56.]
+
+
+
+
+GLIMPSES OF SABBATH KEEPING AFTER NEW TESTAMENT TIMES
+
+
+Not at once did the innovation of Sunday observance set aside the
+Sabbath of the Lord in the practice of even the general church. And
+through history, when the general church had fallen away, we catch
+glimpses here and there of faithful witnesses to God's holy Sabbath
+truth.
+
+
+First Centuries
+
+An old English writer, Professor Brerewood, of Gresham College, London,
+put in shortest phrase what many writers say:
+
+     "They know little who do not know that the ancient Sabbath did
+     remain and was observed by the Eastern churches three hundred
+     years after our Saviour's passion."--_"Treatise on the
+     Sabbath," p. 77._
+
+
+Fourth Century
+
+Canon 29, of the Council of Laodicea (A.D. 364), shows that the
+ecclesiastical system was laboring to put an end to Sabbath keeping:
+
+     "Christians shall not Judaize and be idle on Saturday [the
+     Sabbath], but shall work on that day; but the Lord's day [as
+     they called Sunday] they shall especially honor, and, as being
+     Christians, shall, if possible, do no work on that day. If,
+     however, they be found Judaizing, they shall be shut out from
+     Christ."--_Hefele, "History of the Councils of the Church,"
+     Vol. II, book 6, sec. 93, canon 29._
+
+
+Fifth Century
+
+Sozomen's Ecclesiastical History shows Rome evidently leading in the
+effort to abolish any recognition whatever of the Sabbath:
+
+     "The people of Constantinople, and of several other cities,
+     assemble together on the Sabbath, as well as on the next day;
+     which custom is never observed at Rome, or at
+     Alexandria."--_Book 7, chap. 19._
+
+
+Seventh Century
+
+There were true Sabbath keepers in Rome itself, teaching the truth of
+God among the people, and bringing upon themselves the denunciation of
+Pope Gregory the Great, who wrote "to his most beloved sons the Roman
+citizens:"
+
+     "It has come to my ears that certain men of perverse spirit
+     have sown among you some things that are wrong and opposed to
+     the holy faith, so as to forbid any work being done on the
+     Sabbath day. What else can I call these but preachers of
+     Antichrist?"--_"History of the Councils" (Labbe and Cossart),
+     Vol. V, col. 1511; see also "Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers,"
+     Vol. XIII, book 13, epistle 1._
+
+
+Eleventh Century
+
+The Pope's legates at Constantinople (A.D. 1054) were called to
+discuss with Nicetas, "one of the most learned men at that time in the
+East," says Bower, whose position was "that the Sabbath ought to be kept
+holy, and that priests should be allowed to marry."--_"History of the
+Popes," Vol. II, p. 358._
+
+The people of north Scotland, the ancient Culdee church founded by
+Columba and his followers, far removed from direct papal influence, was
+still keeping the seventh-day Sabbath in the eleventh century. Of this
+church Andrew Lang says in his "History of Scotland:"
+
+     "They worked on Sunday, but kept Saturday in a Sabbatical
+     manner."--_Volume I, p. 96._
+
+Skene, in his classic work, "Celtic Scotland," says of these Sabbath
+keepers:
+
+     "They seemed to have followed a custom of which we find traces
+     in the early monastic church of Ireland, by which they held
+     Saturday to be the Sabbath, on which they rested from all their
+     labors."--_Book 2, chap. 8._
+
+Margaret, of England, married Malcolm the Great, the Scottish king, in
+1069. An ardent Catholic, Queen Margaret at once set about Romanizing
+the Celtic church. She called in the church leaders, and held long
+discussions with them. At last, with the help and authority of her royal
+husband, and quoting the instructions of "the blessed Pope Gregory," she
+succeeded in turning the ancient Culdee church in Scotland away from the
+Sabbath. (See "Life of St. Margaret," by Turgot, her confessor.)
+
+
+Twelfth to Fourteenth Century
+
+Among the numerous sects of southern Europe and the Alpine valleys, that
+were pursued and persecuted by Rome, were at least some who saw and
+obeyed the Sabbath truth. Thus, of one of these bodies, the historian
+Goldastus says:
+
+     "They were called Insabbatati, not because they were
+     circumcised, but because they kept the Sabbath according to the
+     Jewish law."--_"Deutsche Biographie," Vol. IX, art. "Goldast.,"
+     p. 327._
+
+
+Fifteenth Century
+
+Sabbath keepers in Norway drew the condemnation of a church council held
+in 1435:
+
+     "The archbishop and the clergy assembled in this provincial
+     council at Bergen do decide that the keeping of Saturday must
+     never be permitted to exist, except as granted in the church
+     law."--_Keyser's "Norske Kirkes Historie," Vol. II, p. 488._
+
+
+Sixteenth Century
+
+With the setting free of the Word of God by the Reformation, and the
+protest against the doctrine of papal tradition, multitudes saw that the
+Sunday institution was not of divine origin; while not a few went
+farther, recognizing the claims of God's Sabbath. Moravia was a refuge,
+in those early Reformation days, for many believers in the Reformed
+doctrines, and among these were Sabbath-keeping Christians:
+
+[Illustration: WALDENSES HUNTED BY THE ARMIES OF ROME
+
+"Destitute, afflicted, tormented;... they wandered in deserts, and in
+mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth." Heb. 11:37, 38.]
+
+     "Even most prominent men, as the princes of Lichtenstein, held
+     to the observance of the true Sabbath. When persecution finally
+     scattered them, the seeds of truth must have been sown by them
+     in the different portions of the Continent which they
+     visited.... We have found them [Sabbath keepers] in Bohemia.
+     They were also known in Silesia and Poland. Likewise they were
+     in Holland and northern Germany.... There were at this time
+     Sabbath keepers in France,... 'among whom were M. de la Roque,
+     who wrote in defense of the Sabbath against Bossuet, Catholic
+     bishop of Meaux.' That Sabbatarians again appeared in England
+     by the time of the Reformation, during the reign of Queen
+     Elizabeth (A.D. 1533-1603), Dr. Chambers testifies in
+     his Cyclopedia [art. 'Sabbath']."--_Andrews and Conradi,
+     "History of the Sabbath," pp. 649, 650._
+
+In this century also, Sabbath keepers appeared in Norway, Sweden, and
+Finland. In 1554 King Gustavus Vasa, of Sweden, addressed a letter of
+remonstrance "to the common people in Finland," because so many were
+turning to keep the seventh day.
+
+
+Seventeenth Century
+
+There was much discussion in England over the authority for Sunday
+observance. When other church festivals were ignored, as Easter, King
+Charles I wanted to know why Sunday should be kept. He wrote:
+
+     "It will not be found in Scripture where Saturday is discharged
+     to be kept, or turned into the Sunday; wherefore it must be the
+     church's authority that changed the one and instituted the
+     other; therefore my opinion is that those who will not keep
+     this feast [Easter] may as well return to the observation of
+     Saturday, and refuse the weekly Sunday."--_Cox, "Sabbath Laws,"
+     p. 333._
+
+It was during this time that the idea first obtained of enforcing Sunday
+obligation by the fourth commandment and calling it the Sabbath. It was
+argued that any "one day in seven" was what the commandment meant. Of
+this argument, John Milton, the statesman-poet, wrote:
+
+     "It is impossible to extort such a sense from the words of the
+     commandment; seeing that the reason for which the command
+     itself was originally given, namely, as a memorial of God's
+     having rested from the creation of the world, cannot be
+     transferred from the seventh day to the first; nor can any new
+     motive be substituted in its place, whether the resurrection of
+     our Lord or any other, without the sanction of a divine
+     commandment."--_"Prose Works" (Bohn), pp. 70, 71._
+
+Again Milton wrote, in a manuscript which his publishers at the time
+feared to print:
+
+     "If we under the gospel are to regulate the time of our public
+     worship by the prescriptions of the decalogue, it will surely
+     be far safer to observe the seventh day, according to the
+     express commandment of God, than on the authority of mere human
+     conjecture to adopt the first."--_Cox, "Sabbath Literature,"
+     Vol. II, p. 54._
+
+While kings and poets and ecclesiastics discussed, here and there
+believers began to follow the plain Word of God and Christ's example in
+Sabbath keeping.
+
+
+"Loved Not Their Lives unto the Death"
+
+In 1618 John Traske and his wife, of London, were condemned for keeping
+the Sabbath of the Lord, the man being whipped from Westminster to the
+old Fleet Prison, near Ludgate Circus. Both were imprisoned. Mr. Traske
+recanted under the pressure, after a year, but Mrs. Traske, a gifted
+school-teacher, was given grace to hold out for sixteen years,--for a
+time in Maiden Lane prison, and then in the Gate House, by
+Westminster,--dying in prison for the word of the Lord. An estimable
+woman she was, says one old chronicler, save for this "whimsy" of hers,
+that she would keep the seventh day. All that she asked of men, on her
+prison deathbed, was that she might be buried "in the fields."
+
+By 1661 Sabbath keepers in London had further increased. In that year
+John James was minister to a considerable congregation, meeting in East
+London, off the Whitechapel Road. As part of the stern proceedings
+against dissenting sects after the restoration of the monarchy, he was
+arrested and condemned to death on "Tyburn Tree." His wife knelt at the
+feet of King Charles II as he came out of St. James's Palace one day,
+and pleaded for her husband's life; but the king scornfully rejected her
+plea, and said that the man should hang. Bogue says:
+
+     "For once the king remembered his promise, and Mr. James was
+     sent to join the noble army of martyrs."--_"History of
+     Dissenters," Vol. I, p. 155._
+
+Nothing daunted, the number of Sabbath keepers increased. In a letter by
+Edward Stennet (between 1668 and 1670), it is stated.
+
+     "Here in England are about nine or ten churches that keep the
+     Sabbath, besides many scattered disciples, who have been
+     eminently preserved in this tottering day, when many once
+     eminent churches have been shattered in pieces."--_Cox,
+     "Sabbath Literature," Vol. I, p. 268._
+
+Francis Bampfield was formerly an influential minister of the Church of
+England, and prebendary of Exeter Cathedral, but later pastor of a
+Sabbath-keeping congregation meeting in the Pinners Hall, off Broad
+Street, near the Bank of England. Calamy said of him:
+
+     "He was one of the most celebrated preachers in the west of
+     England, and extremely admired by his hearers, till he fell
+     into the Sabbatarian notion, of which he was a zealous
+     asserter."--_"Non-Conformist Memorial," Vol. II, p. 152._
+
+He was arrested while in the pulpit preaching, and in 1683 died of
+hardships in Newgate prison, for the Sabbath of the Lord. An old writer
+says that his body was followed to burial by "a very great company of
+factious and schismatical people;" in other words, dissenters from the
+state church.
+
+Thomas Bampfield, his brother, Speaker of the House of Parliament at one
+time, under Cromwell, published a book in defense of the Sabbath of the
+Lord. In fact, many published the truth in this manner, and doctors of
+divinity and even bishops wrote replies.
+
+"Sabbatarian Baptists," these English witnesses to God's Sabbath were
+first called in those times, and then "Seventh Day Baptists." In 1664
+Stephen Mumford, from one of these London congregations, was sent over
+to New England. He settled in Rhode Island, where the Baptist pioneer of
+religious liberty, Roger Williams, had founded his colony. In 1671 the
+first Sabbatarian church in America was formed in Rhode Island.
+Evidently this movement created a stir; for the report went over to
+England that the Rhode Island colony did not keep the "Sabbath"--meaning
+Sunday. Roger Williams wrote to his friends in England denying the
+report, but calling attention to the fact that there was no Scripture
+for "abolishing the seventh day," and adding:
+
+     "You know yourselves do not keep the Sabbath, that is the
+     seventh day."--_"Letters of Roger Williams," Vol. VI, p. 346
+     (Narragansett Club Publications)._
+
+Through the following century numbers of Seventh Day Baptist churches
+were founded in America.[F]
+
+Sabbath keepers were springing up also on the continent of Europe, in
+Bohemia, Moravia, Transylvania, and Russia, where here and there Bible
+believers saw that tradition had made void one of the commandments of
+God. Then, as the events at the end of the long period of papal
+supremacy had moved Bible students to the earnest study of the
+prophecies, and as the predicted signs of the near approach of Christ's
+coming began to appear, there arose the great advent awakening in the
+earlier decades of the nineteenth century.
+
+The prophecies regarding the work of the Papacy in seeking to change the
+law of God began to be understood, and it was seen that the last message
+of the everlasting gospel was a call to turn from human traditions to
+the New Testament standard--"the commandments of God, and the faith of
+Jesus." Rev. 14:12. Then began the great movement for Sabbath reform and
+the proclamation of Christ's second coming, which has given rise to the
+Seventh-day Adventist people, with a work spreading through all lands,
+leading thousands every year to keep the Lord's blessed Sabbath day.
+
+Soon Christ is to be revealed in righteousness and judgment. One burden
+of God's message for the last days is:
+
+"Thus saith the Lord, Keep ye judgment, and do justice: for My salvation
+is near to come, and My righteousness to be revealed. Blessed is the man
+that doeth this, and the son of man that layeth hold on it; that keepeth
+the Sabbath from polluting it, and keepeth his hand from doing any
+evil." Isa. 56:1, 2.
+
+Through all the dark centuries, the Lord had somewhere a little remnant
+keeping the light of the Sabbath truth glowing. They, too, overcame by
+the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony, loving not their
+lives unto the death. Now, with the clear light shining from the open
+Book, it is for Christians everywhere to turn from tradition to the way
+of God's commandments and the example of Jesus Christ.
+
+[Illustration:
+
+    "Closing Sabbath! Ah, how soon
+    Have thy sacred moments passed!"]
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[F] In connection with this topic of Sabbath observance in colonial
+America, it is of interest to note that Count Zinzendorf, the leader of
+the Moravian missionary movement, was a believer in the sanctity of the
+Sabbath of God's appointment. In his life, by Bishop Spangenberg, it is
+stated that the Sabbath question was discussed by Zinzendorf with the
+Moravians, on his visit to Pennsylvania in 1741. The record states:--
+
+"As a special circumstance it is to be remarked that he determined, with
+the church in Bethlehem, to celebrate the seventh day as a rest day. The
+matter was previously fully gone over in the church council, with
+consideration of all the reasons for and against it, when the unanimous
+agreement was reached to observe the day Sabbatically.... The Count had
+already long held the seventh day of the week in special
+honor."--_Zinzendorfs "Leben," band 5, pp. 1421, 1422._
+
+The Bethlehem congregation evidently did not follow the practice long.
+"But as for himself," says Spangenberg, "with his house, he adhered
+firmly to this aforementioned practice until his end."--_Id., p. 1437._
+
+
+
+
+THE LAW OF GOD
+
+
+I
+
+Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
+
+II
+
+Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of
+anything: that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or
+that is in the water under the earth: thou shalt not bow down thyself to
+them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting
+the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth
+generation of them that hate me; and showing mercy unto thousands of
+them that love me, and keep my commandments.
+
+III
+
+Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord
+will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
+
+IV
+
+Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor,
+and do all thy work: but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy
+God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy
+daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy
+stranger that is within thy gates: for in six days the Lord made heaven
+and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day:
+wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.
+
+V
+
+Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land
+which the Lord thy God giveth thee.
+
+VI
+
+Thou shalt not kill.
+
+VII
+
+Thou shalt not commit adultery.
+
+VIII
+
+Thou shalt not steal.
+
+IX
+
+Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
+
+X
+
+Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house, thou shalt not covet thy
+neighbor's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox,
+nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbor's.
+
+[Illustration: CHRIST'S SERMON ON THE MOUNT
+
+"Whosoever shall do and teach them ... shall be called great in the
+kingdom of heaven." Matt. 5:19.]
+
+
+THE LAW OF GOD
+
+It is a common saying, "The majesty of the law." It means that the
+character and genius of a government are embodied and expressed in its
+laws. The words of Inspiration declare to us the majesty of the law of
+the Most High.
+
+
+The Character of God's Law
+
+The infinite perfection of the divine character is reflected in it.
+
+"The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul." Ps. 19:7.
+
+As God is holiness and justice and goodness, so also is His law.
+
+"Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and
+good." Rom. 7:12.
+
+
+Its Office
+
+The law of God gives knowledge of the righteousness of its great
+Author.
+
+"Hearken unto Me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart
+is My law." Isa. 51:7.
+
+It marks every departure from righteousness as sin.
+
+"Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the
+transgression of the law." 1 John 3:4.
+
+It is not a code merely for the regulation of outward conduct. It is the
+moral law--the primal standard of righteousness established by the
+Creator for His creatures. There is not an impulse of the inmost soul
+that is not reached by it. It is the word which, living and powerful, is
+"sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder
+of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of
+the thoughts and intents of the heart." Heb. 4:12.
+
+Face to face with this holy law, we hear in it the voice of God saying,
+"Be ye holy; for I am holy." Every soul must confess its guilt before
+the searching power of God's law. All things are naked and open to the
+eyes of Him with whom we have to do. "Guilty!" we confess. Left alone
+with our guilt, there could be no ray of hope.
+
+    "The threatenings of the broken law
+      Impress the soul with dread;
+    If God His sword of vengeance draw,
+      It strikes the spirit dead."
+
+Thank God, we are not left alone; help is laid upon One mighty to save.
+
+    "But Thine illustrious sacrifice
+      Hath answered these demands,
+    And peace and pardon from the skies
+      Are offered by Thy hands."
+
+
+God's Law from the Beginning
+
+The law of God existed from the beginning. When Adam sinned, he
+transgressed this holy law; for "sin is the transgression of the law."
+God's law was not committed to writing until the days of Moses, when the
+Lord began to make His written revelations to the children of men. But
+from Adam to Moses the precepts of the law of God were teaching
+righteousness and convicting of sin.
+
+"Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin;
+and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned: (for until
+the law [the giving of it at Sinai] sin was in the world: but sin is not
+imputed when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to
+Moses.)" Rom. 5:12-14.
+
+The declaration of this scripture is: Without the law there can be no
+sin. But sin and death were from Adam to Moses, in whose day the law was
+spoken on Sinai; therefore the law of God was in force from the
+beginning. Its precepts were witnessed to by every preacher of
+righteousness raised up by God in the days before the deluge and in the
+patriarchal age following. Of Abraham the Lord says,
+
+"Abraham obeyed My voice, and kept My charge, My commandments, My
+statutes, and My laws." Gen. 26:5.
+
+The Lord called His people out of Egypt, that they might keep his law.
+His message to Pharaoh was, "Let my people go, that they may serve Me."
+Ex. 9:1. He delivered them from bondage by His mighty arm, and cleft the
+Red Sea to lead them forth to obedience, as the psalmist said,
+
+"He brought forth His people with joy, and His chosen with gladness:...
+that they might observe His statutes, and keep His laws." Ps. 105:43-45.
+
+In Egyptian bondage the children of Abraham must have lost much of the
+purity of God's truth; yet the Lord held them under obligation to know
+His law--the Sabbath precept particularly--before they came to Sinai, or
+ever He had proclaimed the law in their hearing. He tested them in the
+matter by the giving of the manna, as He said,
+
+"That I may prove them, whether they will walk in My law, or no." Ex.
+16:4.
+
+From the beginning, God's holy law demanded the loyal obedience of every
+human being.
+
+
+Proclaimed Anew at Sinai
+
+The Lord had delivered the people of Israel from Egyptian bondage that
+they might serve Him and make His ways known to the nations. This was
+according to the promise made to Abraham. To them was committed the
+written revelation of God, and through them was to come in the fulness
+of time the promised Messiah.
+
+[Illustration: MOSES BREAKING THE TABLES OF THE LAW
+
+"He wrote them upon two tables of stone." Deut. 4:13.]
+
+While the Lord at this time "made known His ways unto Moses," and there
+was begun the written revelation which grew into "the volume of the
+book," the Holy Scriptures, one portion of revelation was not left for
+the prophet of God to speak or for the inspired pen to write. The Lord
+proclaimed His holy law with His own voice, and gave to men a copy
+"written with the finger of God." Moses said of this:
+
+"The Lord spake unto you out of the midst of the fire: ye heard the
+voice of the words, but saw no similitude; only ye heard a voice. And He
+declared unto you His covenant, which He commanded you to perform, even
+ten commandments; and He wrote them upon two tables of stone." Deut.
+4:12, 13.
+
+This display of majesty and glory indescribable was designed to teach
+how sacred and holy is the law, and to cause men to fear to transgress
+its precepts. Ex. 20:20.
+
+It was not for themselves alone that the law was committed to Israel.
+They were to teach the truth to others. As the New Testament says, it
+was greatly to their advantage that "unto them were committed the
+oracles of God." Rom. 3:2. But they "received the lively oracles to give
+unto us." Through obedience to the divine law, they were to be a light
+to the nations.
+
+"Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your
+understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these
+statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding
+people. For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto
+them?" Deut. 4:6, 7.
+
+An interesting comment upon these words is supplied by a speech of
+Phalerius, librarian to Ptolemy Philadelphus, king of Egypt. Urging the
+king by all means to secure copies of the sacred books of the Jews for
+his great library in Alexandria, Phalerius said:
+
+     "Now it is necessary that thou shouldst have accurate copies of
+     them. And indeed this legislation is full of hidden wisdom, and
+     entirely blameless, as being the legislation of God; for which
+     cause it is, as Hecateus of Abdera says, that the poets and
+     historians make no mention of it, nor of those men who lead
+     their lives according to it, since it is a holy law, and ought
+     not to be published by profane mouths."--_Josephus,
+     "Antiquities," book 12, chap. 2, sec. 4._
+
+Unfaithful as the Jewish people oftentimes were, yet through their
+testimony and the dealings of God with them, the fame of the living
+oracles was spread abroad among the ancient nations.
+
+
+One God--One Moral Standard
+
+"There is one Lawgiver." James 4:12. He is ever the same, and His law is
+the standard of righteousness for all mankind. There was not one moral
+standard before Christ and another after. Christ's death upon the cross
+because man had broken the law, is the divine testimony to all the
+universe that God's law can never be set aside nor its force suspended.
+Jesus opened His public teaching with the declaration:
+
+"Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not
+come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven
+and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the
+law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these
+least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least
+in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the
+same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven." Matt. 5:17-19.
+
+The moral law of ten commandments is one code, every precept equally
+sacred and equally binding:
+
+"Whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is
+guilty of all. For He that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do
+not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art
+become a transgressor of the law. So speak ye, and so do, as they that
+shall be judged by the law of liberty." James 2:10-12.
+
+The law of God still speaks with all the force of that voice from Sinai,
+and it speaks to every soul on earth:
+
+"Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who
+are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world
+may become guilty before God." Rom. 3:19.
+
+Thus the law of God convicts all men of sin, and would drive every one
+to Christ for pardon and for the divine gift of the grace and power of
+obedience.
+
+The ceremonial law--the precepts and ordinances commanded for the
+sacrificial system--ceased with the sacrifice of Calvary, as all these
+ceremonial observances pointed forward to the cross. There can be no
+confounding of the moral law and the ceremonial law. The ceremonial law
+of types and shadows showed in itself that a primary or higher law--the
+moral law--had been violated, making necessary a divine sacrifice if
+transgressors were to be saved from death and restored to obedience.
+
+
+The Standard in the Judgment
+
+The law of God's moral government, which is the rule of life for every
+creature, must necessarily be the standard in the great judgment day.
+The Scripture states the sum of all human obligation and responsibility
+in the words:
+
+"Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep His
+commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring
+every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good,
+or whether it be evil." Eccl. 12:13, 14.
+
+Every son and daughter of Adam's lost race is judgment bound, to answer
+before the bar of God the demands of the perfect law. Divine justice
+cannot abate one jot or tittle of the requirements of the holy law, nor
+by any means clear the guilty. But divine mercy has provided the way by
+which God can "be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in
+Jesus."
+
+[Illustration: THE GIFT OF GOD
+
+"God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son." John
+3:16.]
+
+[Illustration: CHILDLIKE FAITH
+
+"Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not
+enter into the kingdom of heaven." Matt. 18:3.]
+
+
+
+
+JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH
+
+
+"How should man be just [righteous] with God?" asked the patriarch Job.
+It has been the vital question ever since Adam sinned, and lost his
+righteousness and forfeited his life. The answer of Scripture is:--
+
+"Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our
+Lord Jesus Christ." Rom 5:1 "By grace are ye saved through faith; and
+that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any
+man should boast." Eph. 2:8, 9.
+
+In the beginning, life and righteousness were the gift of God to man.
+Only the Creator could bestow the gift at the first; when lost, only
+creative power can restore it.
+
+
+Man Cannot Justify Himself
+
+The law of God declares all men sinners. Not only did Adam's posterity
+inherit of necessity a sinful nature, but every soul of man has wrought
+sin as the fruit of that nature.
+
+"As by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so
+death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned." Rom. 5:12.
+
+"There is no difference," Jew or Gentile, bond or free, they are in the
+same lost condition; "for all have sinned, and come short of the glory
+of God." Rom. 10:12; 3:23.
+
+The sinner finds himself a transgressor, condemned to death by a holy
+law. He turns to it with the thought, "I will do what it says, and
+become righteous and win life." But he cannot undo the fact that he has
+sinned. A holy law can only cry, "Guilty! guilty!" to one who has
+transgressed it. The law declares righteousness; it cannot give it. As
+the Scripture says:
+
+"We know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are
+under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may
+become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall
+no flesh be justified in His sight: for by the law is the knowledge of
+sin." Rom. 3:19, 20.
+
+The guilt exists. No deeds that man can do can undo it or cover it from
+a righteous law. Not only that, but as soon as the law declares what
+righteousness is, the sinner finds that its demands are altogether
+beyond the power of his flesh to meet. It calls for a kind of work that
+fallen human nature cannot so much as approach. Paul cried out, when
+struggling under conviction, "We know that the law is spiritual: but I
+am carnal, sold under sin." Rom. 7:14.
+
+The carnal cannot bring forth the spiritual. But the law demands a
+spiritual work of righteousness. It is impossible for the carnal mind to
+undertake it. The Scripture says:
+
+"The carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law
+of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot
+please God." Rom. 8:7, 8.
+
+But the awakened sinner is yet in the flesh. He finds the law thundering
+his guilt and condemning him to death. He cannot wash away the past, nor
+hide it; he cannot obey God's law with a carnal mind, and that is all
+the mind he has. He is lost, and helpless of himself, but longs for a
+way of escape. Paul's cry in the same position is the cry of the
+despairing heart that has not found the Saviour, "O wretched man that I
+am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" Rom. 7:24. Thank
+God, there is an answer to that cry, for every sinner.
+
+    "Plunged in a gulf of dark despair,
+      We wretched sinners lay,
+    Without one cheering beam of hope,
+      Or spark of glimmering day.
+
+    "With pitying eyes the Prince of grace
+      Beheld our helpless grief:
+    He saw, and, O amazing love!
+      He came to our relief."
+
+
+The Free Gift of Christ
+
+Following that despairing cry of human helplessness, "Who shall deliver
+me?" there came the believer's shout of praise, "I thank God through
+Jesus Christ our Lord." He is the deliverer; for He "gave Himself for
+our sins, that He might deliver us." Rom. 7:25; Gal. 1:4.
+
+The way of escape and salvation is the gift of God's love. "God so loved
+the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth
+in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16.
+
+No sinner has need to plead that God may be willing to forgive him; the
+Lord's infinite love that gave His Son to die, is pleading with the
+sinner to believe and accept salvation.
+
+In order to be the sinner's Saviour, the divine Son of God must take
+man's place before the broken law. He came in human flesh, with all its
+weakness. "I can of Mine own self," He said, "do nothing." He trusted
+the Father, and lived a life of perfect righteousness in human flesh. He
+who knew no sin, bore man's sin in His body on the cross. "The Lord hath
+laid on Him the iniquity of us all." For man's sin He died, "that He by
+the grace of God should taste death for every man." In Him was met the
+penalty of the law. But it was a sinless sacrifice. He "through the
+eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God." Heb. 9:14.
+Therefore death could not hold Him. He rose in the power of an endless
+life to be man's advocate and priest and savior, ministering His grace
+and righteousness and life to every one who will receive them.
+
+The righteousness that He wrought out for man in human flesh He longs to
+put into every human heart. As in His own flesh in Judea He walked and
+lived the life of righteousness, so now, by the Holy Spirit, He walks in
+human lives today. That means forgiveness, and deliverance from the
+power of the flesh, and a new life of power, and righteousness and
+justification wrought within by the divine indwelling Saviour. How may
+we receive Him with all this great salvation?--By faith; by believing
+His promises; "that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith." Eph.
+3:17.
+
+Christ in all His fulness abiding within,--this is the wonder and
+mystery of the gospel, "which is Christ in you, the hope of glory." It
+means an ever-present, ever-living Saviour, able to save to the
+uttermost.
+
+What abundance of grace is received with His indwelling presence!
+
+_Forgiveness._--"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to
+forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1 John
+1:9.
+
+_Deliverance from the Flesh._--The cleansing by Christ's indwelling
+power means that the old life of self is subdued. "Our old man is
+crucified with Him." Rom. 6:6. "Ye are not in the flesh, but in the
+Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you.... And if Christ
+be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life
+because of righteousness." Rom. 8:9, 10.
+
+_A New Heart._--"A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will
+I put within you." Eze. 36:26.
+
+_A New Life._--"Be renewed in the spirit of your mind; and that ye put
+on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true
+holiness." Eph. 4:23, 24. It is in blessed fact Christ Jesus living the
+life in the believer by faith, as the apostle Paul says:
+
+"I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ
+liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the
+faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me." Gal.
+2:20.
+
+_Righteousness and Justification._--"This is His name whereby He shall
+be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS." Jer. 23:6. Well does the King
+James Version print the blessed name in capital letters. It is the great
+name of salvation to every believer. By faith we receive Him, and by
+faith His righteousness is imputed unto us. His life of obedience covers
+all the believer's surrendered life, past and continuous, and in God's
+sight the life of the believer in Jesus is justified from all sin. It is
+the triumph of Him who was not only "delivered for our offenses," but
+was also "raised again for our justification:"
+
+"Therefore as by the offense of one judgment came upon all men to
+condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came
+upon all men unto justification of life. For as by one man's
+disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall
+many be made righteous." Rom. 5:18, 19.
+
+Christ died and rose again to bring this experience to sinners who have
+struggled helplessly under condemnation. As Christ Jesus with all His
+righteousness is received by faith, "there is therefore now no
+condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the
+flesh, but after the Spirit." Rom. 8:1.
+
+Praise the Lord! It is all of Christ, and not of any works that we have
+done. Therefore it is as sure as the oath and promise of God. We can
+lose the experience only as we let Christ go out of the life by
+unbelief. God forbid that we should do this; and help us to be quick to
+repent and again lay hold of Him by faith if ever we find we have let
+Him go and have lost the covering of His righteousness.
+
+    "Jesus, Thy blood and righteousness
+    My beauty are, my glorious dress;
+    'Mid hosts of sin, in these arrayed,
+    My soul shall never be afraid."
+
+[Illustration: THE LAST PRAYER
+
+"That whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting
+life." John 3:16.]
+
+Christ's righteousness is, of necessity, the righteousness demanded by
+the law of God. He lives that law in the believer. This is what
+justification is. "Not the hearers of the law are just before God, but
+the doers of the law shall be justified." Rom. 2:13. Justification by
+faith makes the man a doer of the law by faith, Christ living every one
+of its sacred precepts in the believer's life. This is what He died to
+accomplish, to bring the righteousness of the law to the sinner who
+could never attain to it himself.
+
+"What the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God
+sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin,
+condemned sin in the flesh: that the righteousness of the law might be
+fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit."
+Rom. 8:3, 4.
+
+Christ writes God's law in the new heart: "I will put My laws into their
+mind, and write them in their hearts." Heb. 8:10. It is the rule of His
+own righteousness. For before He came into the world to work out perfect
+righteousness for us in human flesh, He said, through the psalmist, "I
+delight to do Thy will, O My God: yea, Thy law is within My heart." Ps.
+40:8.
+
+It is a perfect righteousness and a full salvation that Christ brings
+into every believer's heart. In Him all fulness dwells, "and ye are
+complete in Him."
+
+The wondrous plan of salvation is so deep that only "in the ages to
+come" will God be able to "show the exceeding riches of His grace in His
+kindness toward us through Christ Jesus." Eph. 2:7. But thank God, even
+here below sinners saved by grace may "know the love of Christ, which
+passeth knowledge."
+
+    "The wonders of redeeming love
+      Our highest thoughts exceed;
+    The Son of God comes from above,
+      For sinful man to bleed.
+
+    "He knows the frailties of our frame,
+      For He has borne our grief;
+    Our great High Priest once felt the same,
+      And He can send relief.
+
+    "His love will not be satisfied
+      Till He in glory see
+    The faithful ones for whom He died
+      From sin forever free."
+
+    --_R.F. Cottrell._
+
+[Illustration: THE BAPTISM OF CHRIST
+
+"Thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness." Matt. 3:15.]
+
+[Illustration: THE FORD OF JORDAN
+
+"John also was baptizing in AEnon near to Salim, because there was much
+water there." John 3:23.]
+
+
+
+
+BAPTISM
+
+THE MEMORIAL OF THE RESURRECTION
+
+
+Baptism is the divinely appointed memorial of the resurrection of
+Christ. The great fact of the gospel is that "Christ died for our sins
+according to the Scriptures; and that He was buried, and that He rose
+again the third day according to the Scriptures" (1 Cor. 15:3, 4), to be
+our great High Priest and Saviour.
+
+Baptism is a profession of faith in the Saviour, who went into the grave
+for us, and rose again to life. It is the great object-lesson to teach
+the truth that the sinner must die to sin and the world, and have a
+resurrection by the power of divine grace to a new life of obedience.
+The ordinance is the sign of an actual experience, the means by which
+the believer confesses the work of grace in the soul.
+
+The Scriptures teach the essential conditions necessary to baptism:
+
+"Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He
+that believeth and is baptized shall be saved." Mark 16:15, 16.
+
+"What doth hinder me to be baptized? And Philip said, If thou believest
+with all thine heart, thou mayest." Acts 8:36, 37.
+
+"Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in
+the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins." Acts 2:38.
+
+Thus it is seen that instruction in the gospel, belief in Christ, and
+repentance are conditions to precede baptism.
+
+
+Baptism for Believers
+
+The experience of which baptism is the sign is thus stated:
+
+"We are buried with Him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was
+raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also
+should walk in newness of life." Rom. 6:4.
+
+"As many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ."
+Gal. 3:27.
+
+"Buried with Him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with Him through
+the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised Him from the dead."
+Col. 2:12.
+
+In this ordinance, commanded of God, the believer is following the
+example of Christ, who, when baptized by John in Jordan, said, "Thus it
+becometh us to fulfil all righteousness."
+
+    "Thus through the emblematic grave
+      The glorious suffering Saviour trod;
+    Thou art our Pattern, through the wave
+      We follow Thee, blest Son of God."
+
+
+The Form of Baptism
+
+The Scriptural form of baptism is shown in these texts:
+
+"Jesus, when He was baptized, went up straightway out of the water."
+Matt. 3:16.
+
+"They went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he
+baptized him." Acts 8:38.
+
+"Buried with Him by baptism.... For if we have been planted together in
+the likeness of His death, we shall be also in the likeness of His
+resurrection." Rom. 6:4, 5.
+
+While the outward form of a religious service, without the spirit and
+the experience which the form professes, must ever be unacceptable to
+God, yet when the Lord prescribes a form, it is imperative that His
+instruction should be followed. The form of the ordinance as commanded
+by God emphasizes the divine meaning of the service.
+
+Scriptural baptism is a burial "in the likeness" of Christ's burial, as
+the lifting up of the believer from the watery grave is a likeness of
+the resurrection of Christ. Of the meaning of the word "baptism," Luther
+wrote:
+
+     "Baptism is a Greek word; in Latin it can be translated
+     immersion, as when we plunge something into water that it may
+     be completely covered with water."--_Opera Lutheri, De Sac.
+     Bap. 1, p. 319 (Baptist Encyclopedia, art. "Baptism")._
+
+Calvin, after arguing that the form is an indifferent matter, says:
+
+     "The very word 'baptize,' however, signifies to immerse; and it
+     is certain that immersion was observed by the ancient
+     church."--_"Institutes," lib. 4, cap. 15 (Baptist Encyclopedia,
+     art. "Baptism")._
+
+Of the practice in primitive times, Neander, the church historian, says:
+
+     "In respect to the manner of baptizing, in conformity with the
+     original institution and the original import of the symbol, it
+     was generally administered by immersion."--_"History of the
+     Christian Church," Torrey's translation (London edition), Vol.
+     I, p. 429._
+
+The perversion of the ordinance into sprinkling, and that in infancy,
+takes away the divinely ordained object-lesson; and in the case of the
+infant must of necessity substitute mere ceremonialism for experience,
+for the child of unaccountable years can have had no experience of
+believing and repenting, which are the necessary conditions to fulfil
+the meaning of baptism. The change in the ordinance, like most of the
+changes that came about in the days of the "falling away" from the
+primitive faith and practice, was by gradual process.
+
+Dean Stanley, in his "Christian Institutions," page 24, says that it is
+not till the third century that "we find one case of the baptism of
+infants." Of the change from immersion to sprinkling, he says:
+
+     "What is the justification of this almost universal departure
+     from the primitive usage? There may have been many reasons,
+     some bad, some good. One, no doubt, was the superstitious
+     feeling already mentioned which regarded baptism as a charm,
+     indispensable to salvation, and which insisted on imparting it
+     to every human being who could be touched with water, however
+     unconscious."
+
+The common practice as late as the twelfth century is thus described by
+a Roman Catholic cardinal of that time, named Pullus:
+
+     "Whilst the candidate for baptism in water is immersed, the
+     death of Christ is suggested; whilst immersed and covered with
+     water, the burial of Christ is shown forth; whilst he is raised
+     from the waters, the resurrection of Christ is
+     proclaimed."--_Patrol. Lat., Vol. CXXX, p. 315 (Baptist
+     Encyclopedia, art. "Baptism")._
+
+Dean Stanley, of Westminster, one of the first scholars of the Church of
+England, wrote:
+
+     "For the first thirteen centuries the almost universal practice
+     of baptism was that of which we read in the New Testament, and
+     which is the very meaning of the word 'baptize,'--that those
+     who were baptized were plunged, submerged, immersed into the
+     water. That practice is still, as we have seen, continued in
+     Eastern churches. In the Western church it still lingers among
+     Roman Catholics in the solitary instance of the Cathedral of
+     Milan; among Protestants in the numerous sects of the Baptists.
+     It lasted long into the Middle Ages.... But since the beginning
+     of the seventeenth century, the practice has become exceedingly
+     rare. With the few exceptions just mentioned, the whole of the
+     Western churches have now substituted for the ancient bath the
+     ceremony of letting fall a few drops of water on the face. The
+     reason of the change is obvious. The practice of immersion,
+     though peculiarly suitable to the Southern and Eastern
+     countries for which it was designed, was not found seasonable
+     in the countries of the North and West. Not by any decree of
+     council or parliament, but by the general sentiment of
+     Christian liberty, this remarkable change was effected.
+     Beginning in the thirteenth century, it has gradually driven
+     the ancient catholic usage out of the whole of
+     Europe."--_"Christian Institutions," pp. 21, 22._
+
+The facts are undeniable, and emphasize the importance of reformation
+and return in practice to the plain instructions of the Word of God. As
+the record shows, it was not the spirit of the New Testament church that
+made this change in the divine ordinance; rather it is the spirit of the
+church of the "falling away," against which the Lord warns all
+believers, "because they have transgressed the laws, changed the
+ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant."
+
+
+The Path He Trod
+
+    Our Saviour bowed beneath the wave,
+    And meekly sought a watery grave;
+    Come, see the sacred path He trod--
+    A path well pleasing to our God.
+
+    His voice we hear, His footsteps trace.
+    And hither come to seek His face,
+    To do His will, to feel His love,
+    And join our songs with those above.
+
+    --_Adoniram Judson._
+
+[Illustration: SYMBOLS OF MEDO-PERSIA AND GRECIA
+
+"The ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of Media and
+Persia. And the rough goat is the king of Grecia." Dan. 8:20, 21.]
+
+[Illustration: COINS OF THE MEDO-PERSIAN AND GRECIAN EMPIRES
+
+The ram, symbol of Persia; and the goat, symbol of Grecia.]
+
+
+
+
+THE PROPHECY OF DANIEL 8
+
+A HISTORIC OUTLINE AND A VITAL QUESTION
+
+
+Another view of the history of empires and kingdoms was brought before
+the prophet Daniel in the vision of the eighth chapter. In this vision a
+great prophetic period is given, the end of which reaches to the latter
+days, touching events of our own times that are of direct interest and
+importance to every one today.
+
+The vision was given in the third year of Belshazzar, the last king of
+Babylon. Again, as in moving panorama, there passed before the prophet's
+vision the scenes of history. Earthly kingdoms were represented under
+the symbols of beasts.
+
+We shall find the prophecy and the history corresponding in every
+detail, revealing the overruling hand of God, who knows the end from the
+beginning, and whose living Word of truth bears its witness through all
+the ages.
+
+    "Truth never dies. The ages come and go;
+      The mountains wear away; the seas retire;
+    Destruction lays earth's mighty cities low,
+      And empires, states, and dynasties expire;
+    But caught and handed onward by the wise,
+      Truth never dies."
+
+The opening scene of this vision, given by the river Ulai, in Persia, is
+thus described:
+
+_Prophecy._--"Then I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and, behold, there
+stood before the river a ram which had two horns: and the two horns were
+high; but one was higher than the other, and the higher came up last. I
+saw the ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward; so that no
+beast might stand before him, neither was there any that could deliver
+out of his hand; but he did according to his will, and became great."
+Verses 3, 4.
+
+In the angel's interpretation of the vision Daniel was told: "The ram
+which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia."
+Verse 20. "The higher came up last."
+
+The two horns represented the dual character of the empire: first the
+Medes in ascendancy, then the Persians rising to yet greater power. "So
+that no beast might stand before him," says the prophecy.
+
+_History._--Xenophon says of Cyrus the Persian:
+
+     "He was able to extend the fear of himself over so great a part
+     of the world that he astonished all, and no one attempted
+     anything against him."--_"The Cyropaedia," book 1, chap. 1._
+
+The line of Medo-Persian conquest was "westward, and northward, and
+southward," just as the prophet saw the ram pushing its way. As one pen
+wrote in the days of Persia's supremacy:
+
+    "He [Darius] showed the world arms glory-crowned."
+    "Towns untold before him fell."
+    "Burgs over sea ... heard from his lips their fate."
+
+    --_"The Persians," by AEschylus._
+
+But the ram pushing westward stirred up an antagonist that was
+eventually to overcome him. The prophet continues:
+
+_Prophecy._--"As I was considering, behold, a he goat came from the west
+on the face of the whole earth, and touched not the ground: and the goat
+had a notable horn between his eyes. And he came to the ram that had two
+horns,... and ran unto him in the fury of his power.... And there was
+no power in the ram to stand before him, but he cast him down to the
+ground, and stamped upon him: and there was none that could deliver the
+ram out of his hand." Verses 5-7.
+
+The angel's interpretation continued: "The rough goat is the king of
+Grecia: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king."
+Verse 21.
+
+_History._--This "first king" of united Grecia was Alexander the Great.
+
+     "With Alexander the New Greece begins."--_Harrison, "Story of
+     Greece," p. 499._
+
+     "And it happened, after that Alexander ... had smitten Darius
+     king of the Persians and Medes, that he reigned in his stead,
+     the first over Greece." 1 Maccabees 1:1.
+
+Under Alexander, the Grecian goat ran upon the Persian ram "in the fury
+of his power." At Arbela, wrote Arrian, the Macedonians charged "with
+great fury." None was able to deliver the Persian ram. "Wherever you
+fly," wrote Alexander to the retreating Darius, "thither I will surely
+pursue you." (See "Anabasis of Alexander the Great," by Arrian, book 2,
+chap. 14.) Medo-Persia fell before Grecia, as this sure word of prophecy
+had foretold two hundred years before Alexander's day.
+
+Grecia's expansion and its later history were next unfolded before the
+prophet's vision:
+
+_Prophecy._--"Therefore the he goat waxed very great: and when he was
+strong, the great horn was broken; and for it came up four notable ones
+toward the four winds of heaven." Verse 8.
+
+Of the ram (Persia) it was said it became "great;" of the goat (Grecia);
+that it became "very great."
+
+_History._--Justin, the Roman, wrote of Alexander:
+
+     "So much was the whole world awed by the terror of his name,
+     that all nations came to pay their obedience to
+     him."--_"History of the World," book 12, chap. 13._
+
+    "Vain in his hopes, the youth had grasped at all,
+    And his vast thought took in the vanquished ball."
+
+    --_Lucan's "Pharsalia" (Nicholas Rowe's translation), book 3._
+
+But the unerring prophecy had said that "when he was strong, the great
+horn was broken." Suddenly the youthful conqueror was cut down by death,
+just as he was preparing to celebrate at Babylon a "convention of the
+whole universe,"
+
+     "being thus taken off in the flower of his age, and in the
+     height of his victories."--_Justin, "History of the World,"
+     book 13, chap. 1._
+
+The ancient pagan writers, in telling the story, make use of language
+very similar to that used by divine prophecy in foretelling it.
+Following Alexander's death the empire was divided "toward the four
+winds of heaven." Myers says:
+
+     "Four well-defined and important monarchies arose out of the
+     ruins.... The great horn was broken; and instead of it came up
+     four notable ones toward the four winds of heaven."--_"History
+     of Greece" (edition 1902), p. 457._
+
+As the prophet watched these four kingdoms of divided Greece, he beheld
+another power coming into the field of his vision through one of the
+four kingdoms, and extending its authority more than any before it:
+
+_Prophecy._--"Out of one of them [one of the four kingdoms] came forth a
+little horn, which waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toward
+the east, and toward the pleasant land." Verse 9.
+
+_History._--Medo-Persia was "great," Grecia was "very great," but this
+power was to be "exceeding great." Rome followed Grecia. Polybius, the
+Roman, says:
+
+     "Almost the whole inhabited world was conquered, and brought
+     under the dominion of the single city of Rome."--_"Histories of
+     Polybius" (Evelyn Shuckburgh's translation), book 1, chap. 1._
+
+One of the odes of Horace tells how the name of Rome grew to might:
+
+    "Till her superb dominion spread
+    East, where the sun comes forth in light,
+    And west to where he lays his head."
+
+    --_Ode 15, "To Augustus," book 4._
+
+Lucan's lines measured its exceeding greatness from the other points of
+the compass:
+
+    "Though from the frozen pole our empire run,
+    Far as the journeys of the southern sun."
+
+    --_"Pharsalia," book 10._
+
+"The empire of the Romans filled the world," says Gibbon. It was
+"exceeding great," according to the prophecy. In the vision the little
+horn that grew so great came into the prophet's view as proceeding out
+of one of the four horns that he had been watching. Rome rose to
+unquestioned supremacy out of its conquest of Macedonia, one of the four
+notable kingdoms into which Grecia was divided. It spread forth toward
+the south, and toward the east, and "toward the pleasant land,"
+Palestine becoming a province of the empire in the century before
+Christ. And it was a Roman force that destroyed Jerusalem and devastated
+the pleasant land.
+
+Thus the "sure word of prophecy," with exactness in detail, carries the
+history through the centuries to the last great universal monarchy,
+Rome.
+
+But this prophecy does not deal so much with the earlier history of Rome
+as with the developments of later times. It was the same in the
+prophetic outline of Daniel 7. After briefly identifying Rome as the
+last universal monarchy, the vision of the seventh chapter dealt with
+the rise of papal Rome, described its exaltation of itself against God,
+and its warfare against the truth and the saints of God. And here again,
+in the eighth chapter, the same persecuting power is seen developing,
+exalting itself, and persecuting the saints of God. The prophecy says
+that "it cast down the truth to the ground; and it practiced, and
+prospered." Dan. 8:12. The papal history, as given in the study on
+Daniel 7, need not be repeated here.
+
+[Illustration: THE CAMP OF ISRAEL IN THE WILDERNESS
+
+"Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be
+cleansed." Dan. 8:14.]
+
+As the prophet watched the work of this lawless power, his heart must
+have cried out to know how long it was to be allowed to prosper in its
+evil way; for next he heard the voice of a holy one asking the question
+for him,
+
+"How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the
+transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to
+be trodden underfoot?" Dan. 8:13.
+
+The answer was,
+
+"Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be
+cleansed." Verse 14.
+
+In symbolic prophecy a day stands for a year. Eze. 4:6. This is a long
+period, therefore, of 2300 years. It reaches to the latter days; for the
+angel said of it, "At the time of the end shall be the vision." Dan.
+8:17.
+
+The question was, "How long?" or literally, "Until when?" and the answer
+was, "Until two thousand and three hundred days." Then what was to come
+to deal with the great apostasy?--"Then shall the sanctuary be
+cleansed." The cleansing of the sanctuary, therefore, must have
+something to do with meeting the great apostasy, lifting up God's truth
+that has been trampled underfoot, and cutting short the reign of evil.
+The cleansing of the sanctuary, with all that is involved in it, must be
+God's answer to this lawless power.
+
+Error may prosper for a time; but the just balances of the sanctuary
+will at last pronounce righteous judgment, and the prosperity of evil
+will be cut short. "I was envious ... when I saw the prosperity of the
+wicked," said the psalmist, "until I went into the sanctuary of God;
+then understood I their end." Ps. 73:3, 17.
+
+What, then, is involved in the cleansing of the sanctuary, the time of
+which is marked by the long prophetic period? It is for us to
+understand; for it is a work pertaining to the latter days.
+
+[Illustration: OUR GREAT HIGH PRIEST
+
+"We have such a high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne
+of the Majesty in the heavens." Heb. 8:1.]
+
+[Illustration: THE INTERIOR OF THE SANCTUARY
+
+"A figure for time then present, in which were offered both gifts and
+sacrifices." Heb. 9:9.]
+
+
+
+
+THE CLEANSING OF THE SANCTUARY IN TYPE AND ANTITYPE
+
+
+The Bible teaching concerning the sanctuary of the Levitical service
+shows clearly that the cleansing of the sanctuary is God's answer to
+error and apostasy.
+
+The priestly service of the earthly sanctuary, or temple, in the days of
+Israel, was typical of the work of Christ, our High Priest, in the
+heavenly temple. The earthly priests served after "the example and
+shadow of heavenly things." Heb. 8:5. And of Christ's ministry in the
+heavenly temple we are told:
+
+"Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such a
+high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty
+in the heavens; a minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle,
+which the Lord pitched, and not man." Heb. 8:1, 2.
+
+In the earthly service, the cleansing of the sanctuary was the closing
+work of the high priest, marking the end of the yearly round of
+mediatory ministry. The cleansing of the sanctuary in the time of the
+end must, therefore, according to the sure teaching of the type, be the
+closing ministry of our great High Priest in the heavenly temple, before
+He lays aside His priestly work to come in glory.
+
+
+The Service of the Earthly Tabernacle
+
+There were two distinct phases in the priestly ministry of the
+tabernacle in Israel. The sanctuary was built with two apartments, the
+holy place and the most holy.
+
+In the holy place were the candlestick with its seven lights, the table
+with its ever-renewed "bread of the presence," and the altar of incense,
+on which sweet incense, symbol of Christ's continual intercession, was
+burned morning and night.
+
+Within the inner veil was the most holy place, where was the ark
+containing the tables of the law, written with the finger of God. The
+cover of the ark was the golden mercy-seat, above which, at either end,
+stood two cherubim of gold, their wings meeting on high, their faces
+looking ever toward the mercy-seat. It was a type of the throne of
+God--the angels about the throne, the law the foundation of His
+government, the mercy-seat typifying the interposition of mercy and
+pardon for the sinner; and above it the visible glory of the Lord, the
+Shekinah.
+
+"There I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above
+the mercy-seat, from between the two cherubim which are upon the ark of
+the testimony." Ex. 25:22.
+
+Of the service in the first apartment it is stated:
+
+"When these things were thus ordained, the priests went always into the
+first tabernacle, accomplishing the service of God." Heb. 9:6.
+
+"Day by day the sacrificial victims were slain at the altar before the
+outer veil, and the blood was 'brought into the sanctuary' by the
+priest." This was an acknowledgment of transgression of God's law,
+meriting death, and a confession of faith in the Lamb of God who was to
+suffer death in the sinner's stead, and whose atoning blood would plead
+for him before the righteous law.
+
+Thus day by day, either by the sprinkling of the blood "before the Lord"
+or by eating a portion of the flesh of the burnt offering in the holy
+place, the ministry of the priests transferred the sin in type to the
+sanctuary, and the sinner was pardoned.
+
+For a full year, lacking one day, the ministry was in the first
+apartment, or holy place only. But on that last day of the yearly round
+of service--"the tenth day of the seventh month"--the high priest
+entered the second apartment, or most holy place.
+
+"Into the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without
+blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people."
+Heb. 9:7.
+
+In this service the high priest sprinkled the blood upon the mercy-seat
+and in the holy place, "because of the uncleanness of the children of
+Israel." The sanctuary was to be reconciled or cleansed from all the
+sins registered there in type through the blood of the offerings brought
+day by day during the year.
+
+As the high priest came out, bearing the sins, he transferred them all
+to the head of the scapegoat, which was sent away into the wilderness;
+and thus "all their iniquities" were borne away from the camp into the
+wilderness, and the sanctuary was cleansed. See Leviticus 16.
+
+This was a solemn time of judgment in Israel. Every man's life came in
+review that day. Was every sin confessed? Whosoever was not found right
+with God, when that service was performed, was cut off from having a
+part with God's people.
+
+"It is a day of atonement, to make an atonement for you before the Lord
+your God. For whatsoever soul it be that shall not be afflicted in that
+same day, he shall be cut off from among his people." Lev. 23:28, 29.
+
+It was indeed an annual day of judgment in Israel. And all this was an
+"example and shadow of heavenly things." Heb. 8:5.
+
+
+Christ's Closing Work in Heaven
+
+Therefore the last phase of Christ's ministry as our high priest in the
+sanctuary of God above, must be a work of judgment, a review of the
+heavenly record, corresponding to the final ministry in the second
+apartment of the earthly tabernacle, when that sanctuary was cleansed.
+
+[Illustration: THE MEMORIAL OF HIS SACRIFICE
+
+"As often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the
+Lord's death till He come." 1 Cor. 11:26.]
+
+Daniel the prophet was shown in vision this change in the ministry of
+our High Priest, namely, from the first to the second apartment of the
+heavenly temple. He describes the wondrous scene, as God's living
+throne, with its wheels flaming with glory, moved into the most holy
+place of the heavenly sanctuary, for the closing work of Christ's
+ministry:
+
+"I beheld till the thrones were cast down ["placed," R.V.], and the
+Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair
+of His head like the pure wool: His throne was like the fiery flame, and
+His wheels as burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from
+before Him: thousand thousands ministered unto Him, and ten thousand
+times ten thousand stood before Him: the judgment was set, and the books
+were opened." Dan. 7:9, 10.
+
+This scene, as the next verse shows, opens while still on earth the
+apostasy is exalting itself. But during this same time a solemn judgment
+work is going forward in heaven above, the finishing of which will give
+God's answer to the apostasy, and bring the second coming of Christ in
+glory to end the reign of sin. It is the cleansing of the
+sanctuary,--the time when in reality and not in type every case
+registered in the sanctuary comes in final review before God. When that
+work closes, according to the type, whosoever is not found right with
+God will be cut off from having any part with His redeemed people.
+
+Then the priestly ministry of Christ will close, and the destiny of
+every soul will be fixed for all eternity. To that time must apply the
+words spoken by Jesus:
+
+"He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: ... and he that is
+righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be
+holy still. And, behold, I come quickly." Rev. 22:11, 12.
+
+But now the Saviour, from His place of ministry on high, speaks to all
+the encouraging exhortation and assurance:
+
+"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." Rev. 3:5.
+
+To let men on earth know when this judgment work, the cleansing of the
+sanctuary, began in heaven, the prophetic period of 2300 years was
+given. It is of most solemn importance that we know when that period
+begins and ends.
+
+[Illustration: ARTAXERXES SENDING THE JEWS TO REBUILD JERUSALEM,
+B.C. 457
+
+"From the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build
+Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and
+threescore and two weeks." Dan. 9:25.]
+
+[Illustration: NEHEMIAH, THE KING'S CUPBEARER
+
+"Send me unto Judah, unto the city of my fathers' sepulchers, that I may
+build it." Neh. 2:5.]
+
+
+
+
+A GREAT PROPHETIC PERIOD
+
+
+THE 2300 YEARS OF DANIEL 8:14
+
+The commission to the angel Gabriel was, "Make this man to understand
+the vision" (Dan. 8:16); therefore in the angel's explanation of the
+vision of Daniel 8, we must assuredly find the interpretation of the
+prophetic period of 2300 years, the close of which marks the opening of
+the judgment work in heaven, or the cleansing of the sanctuary.
+
+The eighth chapter closes, however, with no reference to the beginning
+of this period of time, a most important measuring line of prophecy. The
+angel had explained the symbols representing Medo-Persia, Grecia, and
+Rome, and had dwelt upon the antichristian work of the apostasy that was
+to develop; but he left the time of the prophetic period unexplained,
+save to say that it was "true," and that it would be "for many
+days"--far in the future. Here the angel stopped, for Daniel fainted. In
+spirit the prophet had been gazing upon the warfare of the great
+apostasy against God's truth through the ages, and evidently it took all
+strength from him. Daniel closes the account of this vision with the
+words, "I was astonished at the vision, but none understood it." Verse
+27.
+
+[Illustration: THE 2300 DAYS
+
+The heavy line represents the full 2300 year-day period, the longest
+prophetic period in the Bible. Beginning in B.C. 457 when the
+decree was given to restore and build Jerusalem (Ezra 7:11-26; Dan.
+9:25), seven weeks (49 years) are measured off to indicate the time
+occupied in this work of restoration. These, however, are a part of the
+sixty-nine weeks (483 years) that were to reach to Messiah, the Anointed
+One. Christ was anointed in 27 A.D., at His baptism. Matt.
+3:13-17; Acts 10:38. In the midst of the seventieth week (31
+A.D.), Christ was crucified or "cut off," which marked the time
+when the sacrifices and oblations of the earthly sanctuary were to
+cease. Dan. 9:25, 27. The remaining three and one-half years of this
+week reach to 34 A.D., or to the stoning of Stephen, and the
+great persecution of the church at Jerusalem which followed. Acts 7:59;
+8:1. This marked the close of the seventy weeks, or 490 years, allotted
+to the Jewish people.
+
+But the seventy weeks are a part of the 2300 days; and as they (the
+seventy weeks) reach to 34 A.D., the remaining 1810 years of
+the 2300-day period must reach to 1844, when the work of judgment, or
+cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary, was to begin. Rev. 14:6, 7. Then
+special light began to shine upon the whole sanctuary subject, and
+Christ's mediatorial or priestly work in it.
+
+Four great events, therefore, are located by this great prophetic
+period,--the first advent, the crucifixion, the rejection of the Jewish
+people as a nation, and the beginning of the work of final judgment.]
+
+But the angel had been commanded, "Make this man to understand the
+vision;" and soon after, as recorded in the next chapter,--possibly
+within a year,[G]--Gabriel appeared to the prophet with the words:
+
+"O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding....
+Therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision." Dan. 9:22,
+23.
+
+Thereupon the angel began to deal with the matter of time in the
+prophecy, the very feature of the vision of the eighth chapter that he
+had not yet made Daniel understand. Therefore the vision of the 2300
+years must be the topic.
+
+
+The Starting-Point
+
+First of all, the angel said that a short period was to be cut off from
+the long period, and allotted to the Jewish people; this short period
+was to reach to the coming of the promised Messiah and the filling up of
+the measure of Jerusalem's transgressions. The angel's own words are:
+
+"Seventy weeks [490 days, prophetic time, or 490 literal years] are
+determined [cut off, as the word means] upon thy people and upon thy
+holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and
+to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting
+righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint
+the Most Holy." Verse 24.
+
+This 490-year period "cut off" was to cover the history of the people of
+Jerusalem until that city had filled out the measure of its
+transgression. The only prophetic period from which this 490 years can
+properly be said to be "cut off" is, assuredly, the longer period of
+2300 years, which stretches far onward to "the time of the end." The 490
+years and the 2300 years, then, must begin at the same time.
+
+It was the time period that the angel Gabriel was yet to explain; and he
+begins the explanation by showing that the first 490 years of it would
+reach to the days of the Messiah. Then he gives the event that marks the
+beginning of the 490 years, which event must necessarily mark the
+beginning of the 2300 years as well.
+
+This is what he was commissioned to make Daniel "understand" when first
+the vision of the 2300 years was given. Now he tells him to "understand"
+it:
+
+"Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the
+commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the
+Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street
+shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. And after
+threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for Himself:
+and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and
+the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the
+end of the war desolations are determined." Dan. 9:25, 26.
+
+The date of the going forth of the commandment to restore and rebuild
+Jerusalem is the date, therefore, from which the great prophetic
+measuring line runs; the first 490 years of it to reach to the time and
+work of the Messiah, at the first advent, the full 2300 years running on
+to mark the time when the judgment hour in heaven opens. Once the
+starting-point is fixed, all the events of the long period must follow
+exactly as scheduled in the time-table of divine prophecy.
+
+
+Date of the Commencement to Restore Jerusalem
+
+There were several commands issued concerning the restoration of
+Jerusalem after the Babylonish captivity. Cyrus, and Darius, and
+Artaxerxes Longimanus each issued such a decree. Which one answers to
+the language of the prophecy as "the commandment to restore and to build
+Jerusalem"?
+
+[Illustration: THE JEWS MOURNING OVER THE RUINS OF JERUSALEM
+
+"I went out by night,... and viewed the walls of Jerusalem, which were
+broken down." Neh. 2:13.]
+
+The decree of Artaxerxes was most comprehensive (Ezra 7), authorizing
+the full restoration of the civil and religious administration of
+Jerusalem and Judea. And Inspiration specifically sums up all the
+decrees as completed only in that of Artaxerxes, which thus constituted
+"the commandment:"
+
+"They builded, and finished it, according to the commandment of the God
+of Israel, and according to the commandment of Cyrus, and Darius, and
+Artaxerxes king of Persia." Ezra 6:14.
+
+[Illustration: REBUILDING JERUSALEM
+
+"They builded, and finished it, according to the commandment of the God
+of Israel, and according to the commandment of Cyrus, and Darius, and
+Artaxerxes king of Persia." Ezra 6:14.]
+
+According to this scripture, the full "going forth of the commandment to
+restore and to build," dates from this decree of Artaxerxes. And this
+decree went forth "in the seventh year of Artaxerxes the king." Ezra
+7:7.
+
+What year was this seventh year of Artaxerxes--a date so important to
+fix to a certainty?
+
+The great chronological standard for the kings of the ancient empires is
+the canon, or historical rule, of Ptolemy. Ptolemy was a Greek
+historian, geographer, and astronomer, who lived in the temple of
+Serapis, near Alexandria, Egypt. From ancient records he prepared a
+chronological table of the kings of Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome
+(carrying the Roman list to his own time, which was the second century
+after Christ). Along with his list of kings and the years of their
+succession, Ptolemy compiled a record of ancient observations of
+eclipses. In such and such a year of a king, for instance, on a given
+day of the month, an eclipse of the sun or moon would be recorded.
+Astronomers have worked out these observations, and verified them. The
+learned Dr. William Hales said:
+
+     "To the authenticity of these copies of Ptolemy's canon, the
+     strongest testimony is given by their exact agreement
+     throughout, with above twenty dates and computations of
+     eclipses in Ptolemy's Almagest."--_"Chronology," Vol. I, p.
+     166._
+
+Thus, says James B. Lindsay, an English chronologist, "a foundation is
+laid for chronology sure as the stars." So the sun and the stars, the
+divinely appointed timekeepers, bear their witness to the accuracy of
+the historical record.
+
+We thank God for this, as we desire to know if we may depend upon
+Ptolemy's canon to help us fix to a certainty the seventh year of
+Artaxerxes.
+
+According to Ptolemy, Artaxerxes succeeded to the throne in the two
+hundred and eighty-fourth year of the canon. In modern reckoning, this
+two hundred and eighty-fourth year runs from Dec. 17, 465 B.C., to Dec.
+17, 464 B.C. The canon does not tell at what part of the year a king
+succeeded to the throne; it only deals with whole years. The question
+is, to be exact, Did Artaxerxes come to the throne in December, 465
+B.C., or at some time in the year 464 B.C.? At what season of the year
+did the king take the throne? Some historians, dealing with the matter
+roughly, date the succession from the year 465. But in dealing with
+divine prophecy, we require certainty upon which to base the reckoning
+of the seventh year of Artaxerxes, from which date the prophetic period
+runs.
+
+And in God's providence we do have certainty. Of all the kings of
+Assyria, Babylon, and Medo-Persia, in Ptolemy's long list, there is but
+one concerning whose succession the Scriptures give us the very time of
+the year--and that one is Artaxerxes. The one case in which we need to
+know to a certainty the season of the year, in order to fix an important
+date in prophecy, is the one case in which Inspiration gives exactly the
+particulars. Who cannot see the hand of God in this?
+
+The combined record of Neh. 1:1; 2:1 and Ezra 7:7-9,[H] shows that
+Artaxerxes came to the throne between the fifth month of the Jewish year
+and the ninth month,--roughly, between August and December,--or in the
+autumn. The Bible gives one part of the record, and Ptolemy's canon
+gives another part; and by the combined record we know that Artaxerxes
+came to the throne late in the year 464 B.C., and thus the seventh year
+of his reign would be 457 B.C. This is the date fixed by other sources
+of reliable chronology also, Sir Isaac Newton having worked out several
+lines of evidence from ancient authorities, in each case reaching the
+year 464 B.C. as the first of Artaxerxes, which makes the seventh to be
+457 B.C.
+
+In the seventh year of Artaxerxes the commandment went forth to restore
+and to build Jerusalem, and this event fixes the beginning of the 2300
+years, as also of the 490 years cut off from it upon the Jewish people.
+
+That year, 457 B.C., therefore, is a date of profound
+importance. It stands like the golden milestone in the ancient Forum at
+Rome, from which ran out all the measurements of distance to the ends of
+the empire. From this date, 457 B.C., run out the golden
+threads of time prophecy that touch events in the earthly life and the
+heavenly ministry of Jesus that are of deepest eternal interest to all
+mankind today.
+
+
+The Ransom Paid
+
+    Lord, I believe Thy precious blood,
+    Which, at the mercy-seat of God,
+    Forever doth for sinners plead,
+    Can cleanse my guilty soul indeed.
+
+    Lord, I believe were sinners more
+    Than sands upon the ocean shore,
+    Thou hast for all a ransom paid,
+    For all a full provision made.
+
+    --_Nikolaus Zinzendorf._
+
+[Illustration: THE ANOINTING OF JESUS AT HIS BAPTISM
+
+"God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power."
+Acts 10:38. (See Matt. 3:16.)]
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[G] The dates placed in the margin of the King James Version indicate a
+period of fifteen years between the eighth and ninth chapters of Daniel.
+This was because in former days it was thought that Belshazzar was the
+Bible name of Nabonidus, the last king of Babylon, who reigned seventeen
+years. In that case, from "the third year" of his reign, when the
+prophecy of Daniel 8 was given, to the "first year of Darius," who
+succeeded him, when the angel appeared again to Daniel, would be fifteen
+years. But the unearthing of the buried records of Babylonia during the
+last half century, reveals the fact that Belshazzar was the son of
+Nabonidus, associated with him on the throne as king for a few years
+before the fall of Babylon. The third year of his reign may very likely
+have been the last year; and Darius immediately followed Belshazzar. The
+explanation of the ninth chapter might have been within a few weeks or
+months following the vision of chapter 8, and probably was.
+
+[H] These texts show that the king came to the throne in the autumn, so
+that the actual years of his reign would run from autumn to autumn. Neh.
+1:1 begins the record: "In the month Chisleu, in the _twentieth year_."
+Neh. 2:1 continues: "It came to pass in the month Nisan, in the
+_twentieth year_ of Artaxerxes." Thus it is plain that in the monthly
+calendar of the king's actual reign the month Chisleu came first in
+order, and then Nisan. Chisleu was the ninth month of the Jewish sacred
+year, roughly, December. Nisan is the first month, April. And these
+months, December, April,--in that order,--came in the first year of the
+king, of course, the same as in his twentieth year. And in the same year
+also came the fifth month, August; for Ezra 7:7-9 shows that the first
+and fifth months--in that order--also fell in the same year of his
+reign. Then we know of a certainty that his reign began somewhere
+between August and December, that is, in the autumn. The first year of
+Artaxerxes was from the latter part of 464 B.C. to the latter part of
+463, and the seventh year, as readily counted off, would be from near
+the end of 458 to near the end of 457. Under the commission to Ezra, the
+people began to go up to Jerusalem in the spring of that year, 457 B.C.
+(in the first month, or April), and they "came to Jerusalem in the fifth
+month" (August). Ezra 7:8, 9. Ezra and his associates soon thereafter
+"delivered the kings commissions unto the king's lieutenants, and to the
+governors on this side the river: and they furthered the people, and the
+house of God." Ezra 8:36. With this delivery of the commissions to the
+king's officers, the commandment to restore and to build had, most
+certainly, fully gone forth. And from this date, 457 B.C., extends the
+great prophetic period.
+
+
+[Illustration: DANIEL'S PRAYER ANSWERED
+
+"I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding." Dan. 9:22.]
+
+
+
+
+THE PROPHECY FULFILLED
+
+EVENTS OF THE "SEVENTY WEEKS" AND END OF THE 2300 YEARS
+
+
+The angel explained to Daniel the events of the seventy weeks allotted
+to Jerusalem and its people "to finish the transgression." Seven weeks
+and threescore and two weeks (69 weeks) of the seventy were to reach to
+the Messiah. The angel's words were:
+
+"Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to
+finish the transgression.... Know therefore and understand, that from
+the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem
+unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two
+weeks [69 weeks, or 483 days]." Dan. 9:24, 25.
+
+The sixty-nine weeks, symbolic time, are 483 years, which were to reach
+from the commandment to restore and build Jerusalem to Messiah the
+Prince.
+
+
+The Time of the Messiah's Coming
+
+The commandment of Artaxerxes to restore and build Jerusalem, as we have
+seen, went forth in 457 B.C. Reckoning from that date, 483 full
+years bring us to A.D. 27, when, according to the prophecy, the
+Messiah should appear.
+
+Messiah means "anointed." The anointing of Jesus, and His manifestation
+as the Anointed One, was at His baptism:
+
+"Jesus, when He was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and,
+lo, the heavens were opened unto Him, and He saw the Spirit of God
+descending like a dove, and lighting upon Him: and lo a voice from
+heaven, saying, This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."
+Matt. 3:16, 17.
+
+Thus Jesus was anointed as the Messiah (see Acts 10:38), and John
+proclaimed: "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the
+world." John 1:29.
+
+When did this baptism and anointing take place? The Gospel of Luke
+supplies the historical facts for fixing the year:
+
+"In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate
+being governor of Judea," etc. Luke 3:1-3.
+
+Tiberius followed Augustus, who died in A.D. 14. But before the
+latter's death, Tiberius was associated with him on the throne. Some
+modern historians date this appointment of Tiberius as Caesar from
+A.D. 13; but the "History of Rome," by Dion Cassius, a Roman
+senator, born in the second century, shows, under events of
+A.D. 12, that Augustus recognized Tiberius as holding the
+imperial dignity at that time. (Book 56, chap. 26.) Again, Dr. Philip
+Schaff says:
+
+     "There are coins from Antioch in Syria of the date A.U. 765
+     [A.D. 12], with the head of Tiberius and the
+     inscription, _Kaisar, Sebastos (Augustus)."_--_"History of the
+     Christian Church," Vol. I, p. 120, footnote._
+
+These coins from Syria bear certain witness that the first year of
+Tiberius should be counted from A.D. 12. Therefore "the
+fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar" would be A.D.
+27, just 483 years from the going forth of the commandment to restore
+Jerusalem. The prophecy of the sixty-nine weeks was fulfilled--the
+Messiah had come.
+
+
+Confirming the Covenant
+
+But "one week" of the seventy remained--seven years. Of the Messiah's
+work during this time the angel said:
+
+"He shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst
+of the week He shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease."
+Dan. 9:27.
+
+Christ's death upon the cross made "the sacrifice and the oblation to
+cease," so far as their appointed force was concerned. After three years
+and a half of ministry, "in the midst" of this seven-year period, the
+prophetic week, the Messiah was lifted up on Calvary. For centuries the
+sure word of prophecy had pointed to this supreme hour in the working
+out of the plan of salvation. When the time was fulfilled, the promise
+of God was fulfilled also, and the divine Sacrifice was offered.
+
+    "Paschal Lamb, by God appointed,
+      All our sins on Thee were laid;
+    By Almighty Love anointed,
+      Thou redemption's price hast paid.
+    All Thy people are forgiven
+      Through the virtue of Thy blood;
+    Opened is the gate of heaven,
+      Peace is made 'twixt man and God."
+
+With the offering of the great Sacrifice, all the typical offerings
+ceased to have significance. The veil of the temple was rent when the
+Lamb of God expired upon the cross,--sign to all that He had caused "the
+sacrifice and the oblation to cease."
+
+[Illustration: THE CRUCIFIXION OF CHRIST
+
+"In the midst of the week He shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation
+to cease." Dan. 9:27.]
+
+[Illustration: THE RENT VEIL
+
+"The veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom."
+Mark 15:38.]
+
+The Messiah was to "confirm the covenant with many for one week,"
+filling out the seventy weeks allotted in God's merciful patience
+especially to the people of the Jews. Three and a half years of Christ's
+personal ministry on earth had been devoted to the chosen people. Now,
+after His ascension, He was still, in the persons of His disciples, to
+press the gospel of the new covenant especially upon the Jewish
+people--"to the Jew first," and "beginning at Jerusalem."
+
+
+[Illustration: PETER PREACHING IN THE HOUSE OF CORNELIUS
+
+"They that were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the word."
+Acts 8:4.]
+
+This last seven-year period, beginning in A.D. 27, ended in
+A.D. 34. By that time the opposition of the Jews was becoming
+exceedingly bitter. As a people they were rejecting again the divine
+invitation extended by the risen Christ through His witnesses. About
+A.D. 34 Stephen was martyred. The same council that, against
+all evidence, had rejected the Messiah, again rejected the appeal of the
+Holy Ghost shining visibly on Stephen's countenance.
+
+The believers in Jerusalem were driven out by persecution; and "they
+that were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the word." Acts
+8:4. The Gentiles gave heed in Samaria, and the Ethiopian received the
+gospel on the road to Gaza. The gospel message had fairly passed the
+boundaries of Jerusalem and was on its way to the "uttermost parts of
+the earth."
+
+Though the seventy weeks cut off upon the Jewish people and upon the
+holy city had ended, to the world's end the gospel of Christ's salvation
+is for that people as well as for all other nations.
+
+
+The Ending of the 2300 Years
+
+It must not be forgotten that the angel was explaining to Daniel the
+vision and prophecy of the long prophetic period that was to reach to
+the cleansing of the sanctuary at the time of the end.
+
+These events of the first seventy weeks of that period were "to seal up
+the vision and prophecy." Dan. 9:24. The shedding of the blood of the
+divine Sacrifice "to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in
+everlasting righteousness," set Heaven's seal to the vision. As surely
+as the great Offering had been made, so surely the cleansing of the
+sanctuary would be accomplished by the ministry of our High Priest in
+heaven.
+
+And the exact fulfilment of the time schedule for this first portion of
+the prophetic period, set seal to the declaration that when the full
+2300 years should run out, the closing ministry of Christ would surely
+begin in the heavenly sanctuary.
+
+From 457 B.C., when the commandment of Artaxerxes to restore
+Jerusalem went forth, the measuring line of the 2300 years reaches to
+the year A.D. 1844. In that year the time of the prophecy came.
+Then the cleansing of the sanctuary was to begin.
+
+The prophet John, in the Revelation, beheld the opening of this last
+phase of the ministry of Christ in the most holy place of the temple of
+God. "The temple of God was opened in heaven," he says, "and there was
+seen in His temple the ark of His testament." Rev. 11:19. The prophet
+heard voices saying, "The nations were angry, and Thy wrath is come, and
+the time of the dead, that they should be judged." Verse 18.
+
+Again we must quote Daniel's description of the opening of this ministry
+in the most holy place of the heavenly temple. He saw thrones of
+judgment set up. He saw the moving throne of the Almighty, with its
+wheels of naming glory, take its position for the final work of our High
+Priest in the holy of holies above:
+
+"I beheld till the thrones were cast down [placed], and the Ancient of
+days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of His head
+like the pure wool: His throne was like the fiery flame, and His wheels
+as burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before Him:
+thousand thousands ministered unto Him, and ten thousand times ten
+thousand stood before Him: the judgment was set, and the books were
+opened." Dan. 7:9, 10.
+
+This was the scene enacted in the heavenly temple when the year 1844
+brought the judgment hour. Then began in heaven the work of the
+investigative judgment, or the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary,
+during which the case of every individual will come in review before
+God.
+
+When that work of investigation is finished, the ministry of Christ for
+sin will end, human probation will close, and our Lord will quickly come
+as King of kings and Lord of lords, to gather His redeemed, while all
+sinners will be destroyed by "the brightness of His coming." 2 Thess.
+2:8.
+
+In the vision of Daniel 8, as the great apostasy was seen warring
+against God's truth, the question was asked, "How long shall be the
+vision,... to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden
+underfoot?" The answer was, in effect, In 1844 the cleansing of the
+sanctuary will begin in heaven,--the hour of God's judgment, that will
+give God's answer to sin and apostasy.
+
+We are living in the great antitypical day of atonement, for which all
+heaven has been waiting. The end is at hand. And while that work is
+proceeding in heaven above, the Lord proclaims a special message on
+earth, lifting up again truths long trodden underfoot, and calling men
+to prepare for the coming of the Lord.
+
+
+    _How Shall We Stand?
+    "For the hour of His judgment is come."_
+
+    "The judgment is set, the books have been opened;
+      How shall we stand in that great day
+    When every thought, and word, and action,
+      God, the righteous Judge, shall weigh?
+
+    "The work is begun with those who are sleeping,
+      Soon will the living here be tried,
+    Out of the books of God's remembrance,
+      His decision to abide.
+
+    "O, how shall we stand that moment of searching,
+      When all our sins those books reveal?
+    When from that court, each case decided,
+      Shall be granted no appeal?"
+
+[Illustration: THE THIRD ANGEL'S MESSAGE
+
+"Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the
+commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus." Rev. 14:12.]
+
+[Illustration: THE GOSPEL COMMISSION
+
+"Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature."
+Mark 16:15.]
+
+
+
+
+A WORLD-WIDE MOVEMENT
+
+FORETOLD IN THE PROPHECY OF REVELATION 14
+
+
+While the work of the judgment hour, or period,--the cleansing of the
+sanctuary,--is proceeding in the heavenly temple above, the Lord sends
+to the world a special message of preparation for the coming of the
+Lord.
+
+It would not be the divine way to let this solemn judgment in heaven
+come unheralded to men. Daniel's prophecy had fixed the time of its
+beginning; and the question asked in the prophet's hearing, "How long
+shall be the vision ... to give both the sanctuary and the host to be
+trodden underfoot?" suggested that when the time came, the truths of God
+that had been trodden underfoot through the ages would be lifted up and
+proclaimed anew to all the world.
+
+With the coming of the judgment hour, in the year 1844, there arose just
+such a work, a definite gospel movement, that has ever since been
+carrying the message for the hour to the ends of the earth.
+
+
+The Way Prepared for the Rise of the Movement
+
+But there was a preliminary work to be done, to prepare the way for the
+definite advent movement and message.
+
+In the days of Israel of old, as the time for the cleansing of the
+sanctuary drew near, the people were forewarned of the approach of the
+solemn hour. The day of atonement--"the tenth day of the seventh
+month"--was a typical hour of judgment. All the people were to prepare
+their hearts for that great day.
+
+To this end, the Lord appointed the first day of the seventh month a day
+of sounding of the trumpets. Lev. 23:24. The silver trumpets, pealing
+forth on that day, proclaimed to all that the day of atonement was near
+at hand, when every case would be brought in review before the
+mercy-seat by the ministry of the high priest in the most holy place of
+the earthly sanctuary.
+
+True to the type, as the year 1844 drew near, when the great antitypical
+day of atonement was to open and the closing work of Christ to begin in
+the most holy place of the heavenly temple, the trumpet call of the
+approaching judgment hour was set pealing through all Christendom.
+
+Events of the closing years of the eighteenth century and the early
+decades of the nineteenth, had stirred up Bible students to give greater
+attention to the study of the prophetic scriptures. It was seen that
+signs of the latter days were appearing, and that every line of historic
+prophecy pointed to the near approach of Christ's second coming.
+
+Here and there students of the Word saw that the 2300-year period of
+Dan. 8:14, as explained in the ninth chapter, would end soon; and some
+arrived at the correct date, and looked to the year 1844 as the time
+when the judgment hour would come.
+
+Witnesses were raised up in Europe--in Holland, Germany, Russia, and the
+Scandinavian countries. Joseph Wolff, the missionary to the Levant,
+preached in Greece, Palestine, Turkey, Afghanistan, and other regions
+the coming of the judgment hour. William Miller and many associates
+preached the message throughout America.
+
+Writing in the days just before 1844, Mourant Brock, a clergyman of the
+Church of England, said:
+
+     "It is not merely in Great Britain that the expectation of the
+     near return of the Redeemer is entertained, and the voice of
+     warning raised, but also in America, India, and on the
+     continent of Europe. In America, about three hundred ministers
+     of the word are thus preaching 'this gospel of the kingdom;'
+     whilst in this country, about seven hundred of the Church of
+     England are raising the same cry."--_"Advent Tracts_," _Vol.
+     II, p. 135 (1844)._
+
+Not all who joined in the awakening cry at this time explained the
+prophecies alike, or emphasized the definite year 1844 as the beginning
+of the hour of God's judgment; though in America, Europe, and Asia the
+clear message of the ending of the prophetic time in 1844 was proclaimed
+with power by many voices. And as the time came, the world was ringing
+with the call to prepare to meet the judgment hour, even as the hosts of
+Israel were called by trumpet peals to prepare for the typical day of
+atonement.
+
+The nature of the event to come at the end of the 2300 years was not
+understood by these early heralds of the advent hope. The general
+expectation was that the judgment hour meant the end of the world and
+the coming of the Lord. Though the word of prophecy indicated clearly
+that there was a special work to be done on earth while the judgment
+hour was proceeding in heaven, this was not clear to Bible students at
+the time. So when the prophetic period ended and the Lord did not come,
+believers in the prophetic truths were disappointed and unbelievers
+scoffed. But the call to prepare for the judgment hour was the message
+due to the world at that time, and the awakening cry was raised on every
+continent.
+
+In the days of the Saviour's first advent, the disciples and the
+populace had proclaimed the triumphal entry of Christ into Jerusalem.
+They were at once disappointed; instead of enthroning Him as king, they
+witnessed His crucifixion. But in proclaiming the coming of Zion's King
+to Jerusalem, they were fulfilling the prophecy that had been uttered,
+and were giving the message for that day, notwithstanding their mistaken
+view as to the events that would follow.
+
+Just so the trumpet call of the coming judgment hour was the message for
+the days of 1844; and the message was given, attended by the power of
+God. When the hour was at hand, the providence of God raised up faithful
+witnesses to proclaim it.
+
+All this was preparatory to the rise of the definite advent movement of
+the prophecy, when the hour of God's judgment should begin.
+
+
+The Closing Work
+
+In vision, on the Isle of Patmos, the prophet John was given a view of
+the closing work of the gospel on earth, while the closing ministry of
+Christ was proceeding in heaven above. The prophet wrote:
+
+"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, 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." Rev. 14:6, 7.
+
+The message further warned against following the ways of the great
+apostasy; and in the vision the prophet was shown people in all lands
+taking their stand at the call of the message. The angel described them
+in these words:
+
+"Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the
+commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus." Verse 12.
+
+Much as pictures appear to us when thrown in succession upon a screen,
+these scenes must have passed before the vision of the prophet. He saw
+the coming of the hour, the rise of the movement, and its extension into
+all lands; he heard the message sounding, and saw the kind of people
+doing the work--a people keeping "the commandments of God, and the faith
+of Jesus."
+
+[Illustration: PAUL WRITING TO TIMOTHY FROM ROME
+
+"There is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord ...
+shall give me at that day: and ... unto all them also that love His
+appearing." 2 Tim. 4:8.]
+
+Centuries had passed, after this word was written in the Book, when the
+flight of time at last brought the hour of the prophecy--the year 1844.
+That very year witnessed the rise of the definite advent movement which
+is still proclaiming the very message of the prophecy to the world.
+
+It was in the year 1844, in New England, that a little group of
+believers in the blessed hope of Christ's soon coming, saw clearly, from
+their study of the Bible, that the New Testament platform of "the
+commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus," emphasized in this
+prophecy of the judgment hour, meant the keeping of the fourth
+commandment as well as the other nine. Thereupon they began to keep and
+to teach the Sabbath of the Lord, the seventh day of the week, made holy
+and blessed and commanded by God.
+
+One member of this group of commandment-keeping Adventists was Frederick
+Wheeler, from whose dictation the following statement was prepared,
+fixing exactly the facts as to the time:
+
+     "As a Methodist minister he was convinced of the advent truth
+     by reading William Miller's works in 1842, and joined in
+     preaching the first message [that of the judgment hour]. In
+     March, 1844, he began to keep the true Sabbath, in Washington,
+     N.H."--_Review and Herald (Washington, D.C.), Oct. 4, 1906._
+
+They were but a little band, those believers in New Hampshire, but the
+time of the prophecy had come, and with the coming of the hour there was
+the nucleus of the movement forming, believers in the near coming of the
+Lord, preaching the message of the prophecy, "The hour of His judgment
+is come," and keeping "the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus."
+
+From that small beginning has grown the movement that Seventh-day
+Adventists stand for, spreading through all the world today.
+
+It was in the year following 1844 that Joseph Bates, of Massachusetts, a
+retired sea captain, and a preacher of the advent hope, began to keep
+the Sabbath. Captain Bates wrote and published, and soon others,
+following his example, embraced the Bible Sabbath.
+
+As the Scripture teaching concerning the sanctuary was studied, light
+came flooding in. It was seen that the great prophetic period of Daniel
+8, which ended in 1844, marked the opening of Christ's ministry in the
+most holy place of the heavenly sanctuary, the work of the judgment hour
+in heaven; and there, plainly revealed in Revelation 14, was a special
+gospel message to be carried to all the world while the judgment hour
+still continued.
+
+The little company that began to keep the commandments of God as
+Adventist believers in 1844, did not understand that they were beginning
+the definite movement foretold by the prophecy. They only determined to
+turn from traditions that had made void God's law, and to obey the law
+of the Most High, whose servants they were.
+
+But in the light of the Scripture prophecy and of events, we can see
+clearly the hand of God leading that little baud into the right pathway
+when the year of 1844 came; and the work there begun has grown into the
+world-wide movement of today.
+
+Nearly two thousand years before, it had been written in the "sure word
+of prophecy" that when the hour of God's judgment came, a people keeping
+God's commandments would arise and spread forth into all the world with
+the last gospel message. The long prophetic period of Daniel 8 had fixed
+the year 1844 as the time when the judgment hour would begin and when
+the people of the prophecy must appear.
+
+When the year came, that people appeared, keeping "the commandments of
+God, and the faith of Jesus." When the hour struck, the work began. This
+advent movement was born of God in fulfilment of prophecy. And the
+mission of the movement is to lift up again the standard of truths
+obscured by tradition and trodden underfoot, and to call all men to the
+New Testament platform of the "commandments of God, and the faith of
+Jesus," where every believing soul may find safe refuge in these closing
+moments of the judgment hour in the courts above.
+
+[Illustration: A CHRISTIAN MOTHER EXHORTING HER DAUGHTER TO MARTYRDOM
+
+"Choose you this day whom ye will serve;... as for me and my house, we
+will serve the Lord." Joshua 24:15.]
+
+
+
+
+THE JUDGMENT-HOUR MESSAGE
+
+THE GOSPEL FOR OUR DAY
+
+
+The gospel message for this time of the judgment hour is set forth in
+the vision of Revelation 14:
+
+[Illustration: THE TWO BEASTS OF REVELATION 13
+
+"Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come."
+Rev. 14:7.]
+
+"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, 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.
+
+"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.
+
+"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, 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: and the smoke of their
+torment ascendeth up forever 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.
+
+"Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the
+commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus." Rev. 14:6-12.
+
+When this message has been heralded to all nations, according to
+prophecy the end will come, for the next scene brought before the
+prophet's vision was the coming of Christ to reap the harvest of the
+earth:
+
+"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." Verse 14.
+
+The outline of the message given here reveals certain main features:
+
+
+1. A Gospel Message
+
+It is not a new or another gospel. There is but one gospel. This message
+is "the everlasting gospel" in terms that meet the situation in the time
+of the judgment hour. The advent movement carries the blessed message of
+full salvation from sin by faith in Jesus Christ.
+
+
+2. A Solemn Warning
+
+The message is God's final answer to the age-long perversions of His
+truth. Even the warnings uttered vibrate with the saving grace and
+winning power of God's love in Christ Jesus our Lord.
+
+In the vision of Daniel 8, the prophet was shown the working of apostasy
+in the latter times, as it "cast down the truth to the ground" and
+"practiced and prospered." But in answer to the question, "How long?"
+the great prophetic period of the 2300 years was given, at the end of
+which (in 1844) the judgment work in heaven was to begin. When that
+work is finished, Christ's glorious appearing will end the reign of sin
+and error.
+
+And while the closing judgment work is proceeding in heaven, this
+message of the judgment hour lifts up on earth the standard of truths
+trodden underfoot, and the Lord utters His last warning against sin and
+apostasy. It is a terrible word that He speaks. Bengelius described it
+as--
+
+     "that threatening pronounced which is the greatest in all the
+     Scriptures, and which shall resound powerfully from the mouth
+     of the third angel."--_"Introduction to Apocalypse," Preface
+     xxix (London, 1757)._
+
+The Lord is in earnest with men in this hour when the judgment, now
+passing on the dead, must also soon seal the eternal destiny of all the
+living. Hence the message challenges every soul to a decision.
+
+Looking forward to the time when this message should be due, John Wesley
+wrote:--
+
+     "Happy are they who make the right use of these divine
+     messages."--_"Notes on New Testament," on Revelation 14._
+
+These warnings are part of the "everlasting gospel." Whosoever,
+therefore, preaches the full gospel of Christ in these last days must
+sound this solemn call.
+
+
+3. A Call to Loyalty to God
+
+"Fear God," is the call, "Worship Him." In the preceding vision of the
+thirteenth chapter, the Lord had shown the prophet the work of an
+ecclesiastical power, symbolized by a leopardlike beast, that was to
+speak great things, and that was to persecute believers through long
+centuries, warring against God's truth and His sanctuary. "All the world
+wondered after the beast." The prophet said,
+
+"All that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not
+written in the book of life of the Lamb." Rev. 13:8.
+
+While worldly influence and the voice of popular religion exalt this
+ecclesiastical power and give glory to it, the gospel message calls all
+men to worship God.
+
+"Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come:
+and worship Him.... If any man worship the beast and his image, and
+receive his mark,[I] ... the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath
+of God."
+
+The issue, it is clear, involves the question of authority. Shall God be
+recognized as supreme? or shall this ecclesiastical power, whose rise
+and work were foretold in the prophecy, be recognized as the great
+authority?
+
+
+The Work of the Papal Power
+
+Any comparison between this leopard beast of Revelation 13 and the
+"little horn" of the fourth beast of Daniel 7, shows plainly that the
+same power is represented in each. The same voice is heard "speaking
+great things," the same persecuting spirit is shown, the same warfare
+against God's truth. It is the Roman Papacy, in its exaltation of human
+authority above the divine, that "lawless one" of Paul's prophecy,
+setting itself forth as God in the temple of God, treading underfoot the
+word and the law of the Most High, as foretold by Daniel:
+
+"He shall speak great words against the Most High, and shall wear out
+the saints of the Most High, and think to change times and laws." Dan.
+7:25.
+
+Against the recognition of the assumed authority of this power, the
+gospel message of Revelation 14 sounds its solemn warning: "If any man
+worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark."
+
+
+The Image to the Papacy
+
+What is this image? Plainly an image to the Papacy must be some
+religious authority or federation not organically of the Papacy itself,
+but adopting papal principles and seeking to enforce these principles by
+civil power, just as the Papacy has ever done, where possible. This
+development in likeness of the Papacy was shown the prophet in the
+latter part of the vision of Revelation 13. He saw the image formed, and
+in vision witnessed its determined efforts to enforce upon men the mark,
+or sign, of the Papacy:
+
+"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.... 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: and that no man might buy or sell, save he that had
+the mark, or the name of the beast." Rev. 13:12-17.
+
+
+The Mark, or Sign, of Papal Authority
+
+The Roman Papacy sets forth the Sunday institution as the mark of the
+authority of the church to substitute ecclesiastical tradition and
+custom for the Word of God. Thus, Monsignor Segur, in "Plain Talks about
+the Protestantism of Today," says:
+
+     "The observance of Sunday by Protestants is an homage they pay,
+     in spite of themselves, to the authority of the church."--_Page
+     213._
+
+It was to this change in the Sabbath by tradition, contrary to the plain
+command of God to keep holy the seventh day, that the famous Council of
+Trent appealed when it gave Rome's answer to the Reformation cry of "The
+Bible and the Bible only." The council had long debated the ground of
+its answer. The historian says:
+
+     "Finally, at the last opening on the eighteenth of January,
+     1562, their last scruple was set aside; the archbishop of
+     Rheggio made a speech in which he openly declared that
+     tradition stood above Scripture. The authority of the church
+     could therefore not be bound to the authority of the
+     Scriptures, because the church had changed Sabbath into Sunday,
+     not by the command of Christ, but by its own authority. With
+     this, to be sure, the last illusion was destroyed, and it was
+     declared that tradition does not signify antiquity, but
+     continual inspiration."--_Dr. J.H. Holtzman, "Canon and
+     Tradition," p. 263._
+
+Ever since this memorable council, the Sunday institution has been held
+forth as the mark of the power of the church to command religious
+observances. Thus, again, Keenan's "Doctrinal Catechism" says:
+
+     "_Question._--Have you any other way of proving that the church
+     has power to institute festivals of precept?"
+
+     "_Answer._--Had she not such power, she could not have done
+     that in which all modern religionists agree with her,--she
+     could not have substituted the observance of Sunday, the first
+     day of the week, for the observance of Saturday, the seventh
+     day, a change for which there is no Scriptural
+     authority."--_Page 174._
+
+The prophecy of Daniel declared that this power would "think" to change
+the times and laws of the Most High; and the change of the Sabbath
+commandment is set forth as the mark of the church's authority above the
+written law of the Most High.
+
+Most remarkable of all, Protestant organizations are defending the
+unscriptural observance of the humanly established first-day sabbath in
+contradiction to the law of God, which declares that "the seventh day is
+the Sabbath of the Lord thy God." And these organizations, in denial of
+the Protestant principle of religious liberty, are seeking power to
+enforce Sunday observance by civil law. But this is to make a very image
+to the Roman Papacy--a church using the power of the state to enforce
+religious observance.
+
+It was all foretold in the prophetic word. The prophet was shown (Rev.
+13:11-17) this likeness or image to the Papacy--ecclesiastical
+organizations not of the Papacy itself, but following papal principles
+in this matter--seeking to compel men to receive the mark of the papal
+apostasy.
+
+Against the workings of both the Papacy and this image to the Papacy,
+the last message of the "everlasting gospel" lifts its warning cry:
+
+"If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his
+forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath
+of God."
+
+It is the time of the judgment hour, when God was to lift up the
+standard of truths long trodden underfoot. In the heavenly sanctuary
+Christ's closing judgment work is going forward, preparatory to His
+coming in consuming glory to end the reign of sin. On earth the Lord is
+sending the last gospel message to men, warning against sin and error,
+and calling all men to worship God, and to keep "the commandments of
+God, and the faith of Jesus."
+
+
+The Sign of Jehovah's Authority
+
+God also has His sign, or mark, of authority. He bases His claims to
+supreme authority upon the fact of His creative power. As Creator, His
+is the authority and the power.
+
+"The Lord is the true God.... He hath made the earth by His power." Jer.
+10:10-12.
+
+And the divinely established memorial of this creative power is the holy
+Sabbath. The Sabbath is the mark, or sign, of the true God:
+
+"Hallow My Sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between Me and you, that
+ye may know that I am the Lord your God." Eze. 20:20.
+
+On one side is the mark, or sign, of apostasy from God; on the other the
+mark, or sign, of loyalty to God. Which mark will men receive, as the
+issue is pressed upon every soul for decision? On which side shall we
+stand? Under whose banner shall we be found when the judgment hour
+closes?
+
+[Illustration: PILATE'S FATAL DECISION IN THE HOUR OF TRIAL
+
+"Pilate saith unto them, What shall I do then with Jesus which is called
+Christ?" Matt. 27:22.]
+
+The test that came to Pilate comes anew to men as Christ's message
+presses for acceptance. "What shall I do then with Jesus?" asked the
+Roman governor--and yielded to popular clamor. His fatal decision in the
+time of testing warns us to decide for Christ and for the word of his
+salvation now, in this hour of God's judgment.
+
+The message of Rev. 14:6-14 is going to all the world now. Every year
+thousands of new voices join in telling it. Printing presses are
+printing it in many languages. Schools and colleges in every continent
+are educating thousands of Seventh-day Adventist youth, keeping before
+them, as the highest aim of life, the hastening of the advent message to
+the world. Sanitariums in many lands, while training medical missionary
+evangelists, are at the same time ministering to the sick, and teaching
+the principles of Bible health and temperance. The movement necessarily
+emphasizes every principle of "the everlasting gospel," while pressing
+upon all the solemn issue that loyalty to Christ now means to turn from
+unscriptural tradition and custom to the commandments of God and the
+faith of Jesus. However ancient the custom of observing Sunday, it is
+but an innovation, setting aside the Word of God and the example of
+Jesus Christ. As St. Cyprian said: "Usage without truth is only an
+antiquated error." The clear light of Holy Scripture now calls the
+believer away from the path of error to the way of light.
+
+    "The older error is, it is the worse,
+    Continuation may provoke a curse;
+    If the Dark Age obscured our fathers' sight,
+    Must their sons shut their eyes against the light?"
+
+    --_Bishop Ken._
+
+In times past Christian believers have been unwittingly following the
+lead of the Papacy in this matter. The Lord holds no man accountable for
+light that he did not have. Reformation is a progressive work. Of the
+past we may say with Paul:
+
+"The times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men
+everywhere to repent: because He hath appointed a day, in the which He
+will judge the world in righteousness." Acts 17:30, 31.
+
+Now, with this "hour of God's judgment" already come, the entire
+covering of papal tradition is to be torn aside, and when Jesus comes in
+glory, in every land will be found believers having the faith and
+keeping the commandments of God.
+
+All this was shown to John on the Isle of Patmos,--the coming of the
+judgment hour, the rise of the advent movement, and the heralding of the
+last message to the nations.
+
+What John saw in vision nearly two thousand years ago, we see fulfilling
+before our eyes today. But it is not enough to see it; we must have a
+part in it, be a part of it.
+
+[Illustration: LUCIFER PLOTTING AGAINST THE GOVERNMENT OF GOD
+
+"I will exalt my throne above the stars of God;... I will be like the
+Most High." Isa. 14:13, 14]
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[I] The use of a mark, or sign, to designate the divinity worshiped, is
+common in non-Christian religions. One may see the Hindu returning from
+the temple with the mark of Vishnu or other deity freshly painted upon
+the forehead. Of the ancient usage, from which this Bible symbol of the
+"mark" is taken, Dr. John Potter says, in his "Antiquities of Greece:"
+
+"Slaves were not only branded with stigmata for a punishment of their
+offenses, but (which was the common end of these marks) to distinguish
+them, in case they should desert their masters; for which purpose it was
+common to brand their soldiers; only with this difference, that whereas
+slaves were commonly stigmatized in their forehead, and with the name or
+some peculiar character belonging to their masters, soldiers were
+branded in the hand, and with the name or character of their general.
+After the same manner, it was likewise customary to stigmatize the
+worshipers and votaries of some of the gods: whence Lucian, speaking of
+the votaries of the Syrian goddess, affirms, 'They were all branded with
+certain marks, some in the palms of their hands, and others in their
+necks: whence it became customary for all the Assyrians thus to
+stigmatize themselves.' And Theodoret is of opinion that the Jews were
+forbidden to brand themselves with stigmata [Lev. 19:28], because the
+idolaters by that ceremony used to consecrate themselves to their false
+deities.
+
+"The marks used on these occasions were various. Sometimes they
+contained the name of the god, sometimes his particular ensign; such
+were the thunderbolt of Jupiter, the trident of Neptune, the ivy of
+Bacchus: whence Ptolemy Philopater was by some nicknamed Gallus, because
+his body was marked with the figures of ivy leaves. Or, lastly, they
+marked themselves with some mystical number, whereby the god's name was
+described. Thus the sun, which was signified by the number DCVIII, is
+said to have been represented by these two numeral letters XH (Conf.
+Martianus Capello). These three ways of stigmatizing are all expressed
+by St. John in the book of Revelation: '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: 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.'"--_Vol. I, pp. 65, 66 (London, 1728)._
+
+
+[Illustration: SATAN ENTERS THE GARDEN OF EDEN
+
+"The wages of sin is death." Rom. 6:23.]
+
+
+
+
+THE ORIGIN OF EVIL
+
+
+The Beginning of the Great Controversy Between Christ and Satan
+
+The great controversy between good and evil, that has been waged on
+earth ever since man's fall, had its origin in heaven. Certain angels
+rebelled against God and His government.
+
+"There was war in heaven: Michael and His angels fought against the
+dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed not; neither
+was their place found any more in heaven. 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." Rev. 12:7-9.
+
+Thus came the forces of evil into this world, which have been working
+through all the ages to draw men from allegiance to God, and to infuse
+into human hearts the same spirit of disobedience which wrought the ruin
+of Satan and his angels.
+
+
+The Cause of the Downfall
+
+Christ stated the principle: "If therefore the light that is in thee be
+darkness, how great is that darkness!" Matt. 6:23.
+
+The principle finds its utmost application in the great reversal, by
+which Lucifer, the light bearer in heaven, became Satan, the adversary,
+the prince of darkness.
+
+[Illustration: CHRIST AND NICODEMUS
+
+"Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." John
+3:3.]
+
+In the pride and self-exaltation of Tyre, of old, the Lord saw
+manifested the spirit of the god of this world; so, in declaring His
+message of rebuke to the prince of Tyre, the Lord describes the cause
+and history of Satan's fall:
+
+"Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God.... Thou art the anointed
+cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy
+mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones
+of fire. Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast
+created, till iniquity was found in thee.... Thine heart was lifted up
+because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy
+brightness." Eze. 28:13-17.
+
+Likewise, in the swelling pride of Babylon the Lord recognized the
+spirit of the leader of the rebellious angels. In one of the messages to
+Babylon is this reference to the vaulting ambition of Lucifer in heaven:
+
+"How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer ["day-star," margin], son of
+the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the
+nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I
+will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the
+mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend
+above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High." Isa.
+14:12-14.
+
+Lucifer, his powers now perverted to evil, deceived many of the angels,
+persuading them to join him in rebellion against the government of God;
+with the result that Satan and all his host were cast out. Christ said,
+"I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven." Luke 10:18.
+
+    "Him the Almighty Power
+    Hurled headlong flaming from the ethereal sky."
+
+
+The Earth as the Battle Ground
+
+Then the great controversy which began in heaven was transferred to this
+earth, and now centers around man. For "that old serpent," the leader of
+the fallen angels, deceived man, and persuaded him to distrust God and
+to choose his own way in preference to God's way. Thus came sin and
+death into the world. And Satan, who had overcome man at the forbidden
+tree, became by his own usurpation and by man's perfidy, "the prince of
+this world."
+
+But Christ gave himself to save man, to deliver him from the bondage of
+sin, and to restore him to the glorious liberty of the sons of God. The
+same mighty power that overcame Satan and his angels in heaven is able
+to overcome his power in human hearts and lives. The controversy is
+still between Christ and Satan, and man's salvation or destruction is
+the aim of the contending forces.
+
+[Illustration: THE REDEMPTION PRICE
+
+"That through death He might destroy him that had the power of death,
+that is, the devil." Heb. 2:14.]
+
+There is no neutral ground. Every soul must choose as to which side he
+will yield allegiance. In this choice lies his eternal destiny.
+
+"Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his
+servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of
+obedience unto righteousness?" Rom. 6:16.
+
+Therefore the Lord pleads with men, "Choose life." Every soul that
+chooses life has the promise of it, for Christ "is able ... to save them
+to the uttermost that come unto God by Him." Heb. 7:25.
+
+
+The Judgment upon Satan
+
+From the time of Satan's rebellion it was assured, by the very
+omnipotence of God, that there would come a last judgment when evil
+would be destroyed from the universe. This execution of judgment upon
+the fallen angels is thus referred to by Jude:
+
+"The angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own
+habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto
+the judgment of the great day." Verse 6.
+
+The evil spirits themselves know that this day is coming. When Christ
+was about to cast certain of them out of one who was possessed, they
+cried out, "Art Thou come hither to torment us before the time?" Matt.
+8:29.
+
+Though the judgment of that last day was originally set for Satan and
+his angels, unrepentant men will have a part in it, because they have
+joined Satan in his lawless rebellion. To the wicked it will be said:
+
+"Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the
+devil and his angels." Matt. 25:41.
+
+Satan sees that the day is hastening; and the shorter the time in which
+to work, the greater his fury in seeking to draw souls to perdition.
+
+The warning comes to us in these last days:
+
+"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." Rev. 12:12.
+
+Christ's second coming ends the reign of Satan in this world. The wicked
+are slain by the consuming glory of Christ's coming (2 Thess. 2:8); and
+the righteous are taken to heaven, beyond the reach of Satan's arts (1
+Thess. 4:16, 17). The archenemy and his angels are thus left upon an
+earth devoid of human beings. Here he is chained for a thousand years,
+in this pit of desolation (Rev. 20:2, 5), his only companions the angels
+who fell with him, his only occupation the contemplation of the ruin he
+has wrought and the destruction that still awaits him.
+
+By the second resurrection--that of the wicked dead, after the thousand
+years--Satan is again set free to ply his arts upon his subjects. As the
+holy city comes down out of heaven from God, with all the saints, Satan
+gathers his angels and all the forces of the lost of all the ages, to
+make an assault upon the city. The result was shown to the prophet in
+vision:
+
+"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. And the devil that deceiveth them was cast
+into the lake of fire." Rev. 20:9, 10.
+
+That is the fate awaiting the author of sin. In the account of Satan's
+pride and self-exaltation, uttered by the prophet in the message to
+Tyre, there occurs also this prophecy of the utter destruction that
+awaits him, when he shall bring his forces against the city of God in
+that last conflict:
+
+"I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that
+behold thee. All they that know thee among the people shall be
+astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any
+more." Eze. 28:18, 19.
+
+This is the final victory of Christ over evil, in the great controversy
+that began in heaven. Satan exalted himself--and lost. Christ humbled
+Himself, even unto the death--and won the eternal triumph.
+
+"Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He
+also Himself likewise took part of the same; that through death He might
+destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil." Heb. 2:14.
+
+[Illustration: JESUS BY THE SEA
+
+    "O Galilee, sweet Galilee,
+    What mem'ries rise at thought of thee!"]
+
+[Illustration: SAUL AND THE WITCH OF ENDOR
+
+"When they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar
+spirits,... should not a people seek unto their God?" Isa. 8:19.]
+
+[Illustration: SATAN'S FIRST LIE
+
+"Ye shall not surely die." Gen. 3:4.]
+
+
+
+
+SPIRITUALISM: ANCIENT AND MODERN
+
+
+The essential claim of Spiritualism is its assertion of power to hold
+communication with the spirits of the dead; or rather, it claims to have
+demonstrated that really there is no death.
+
+    "There is no death;
+    What seems so is transition."
+
+The late Prof. Alfred Russel Wallace, the English scientist, said of
+Spiritualism:--
+
+     "It demonstrates, as completely as the fact can be
+     demonstrated, that the so-called dead are still alive."--_"On
+     Miracles and Modern Spiritualism" (London, 1875), p. 212._
+
+
+First Declaration of the Doctrine
+
+In the very first book of the Bible is a similar claim: "Ye shall not
+surely die." Gen. 3:4.
+
+But this declaration, while recorded in the Scriptures, is not the word
+of God. The Lord had declared to man that disobedience would bring
+death. But Satan, as the tempter in Eden, caused the woman to doubt the
+word of God: "The serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely
+die." And the woman believed the tempter rather than God, and so sinned
+against the Creator.
+
+Having tempted man to disobedience, so bringing death into the world,
+what more natural, in the course of deception, than to endeavor to
+persuade the human family that, after all, there is no death; that what
+appears so is only an introduction to fuller life and activity? "Ye
+shall not surely die."
+
+[Illustration: PHARAOH'S SORCERERS COUNTERFEITING THE WORK OF GOD
+
+"Now the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their
+enchantments." Ex. 7:11.]
+
+As mankind departed from right and lost the knowledge of God, dead
+heroes were deified as gods, and much of the pagan worship consisted in
+sacrifices to the spirits of the dead, supposed to be living still and
+concerned with affairs in the land of the living. When Israel fell away
+from God and joined the Moabites in the worship of Baal-peor, the record
+says of the nature of the service:
+
+"They joined themselves also unto Baal-peor, and ate the sacrifices of
+the dead." "Yea, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters unto
+devils." Ps. 106:28, 37.
+
+Instead of dealing with the spirits of the dead, the idolatrous
+worshipers were really putting themselves in direct touch with the
+agencies of Satan, the fallen angels.
+
+
+Divine Warnings
+
+This explains the severity of the divine warnings against the ancient
+practice of necromancy, or mediumship. The Lord said:
+
+"Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards,
+to be defiled by them: I am the Lord your God." Lev. 19:31.
+
+[Illustration: DEMONISM IN THE DAYS OF CHRIST
+
+"He said unto him, Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit." Mark 5:8.]
+
+"When thou art come into the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee,
+thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations.
+There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his
+daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an
+observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, or a charmer, or a
+consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For all
+that do these things are an abomination unto the Lord." Deut. 18:9-12.
+
+The ancient seance, where the living sought unto the dead for knowledge,
+was denounced by the prophet Isaiah:
+
+"When they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits
+and unto the wizards, that chirp and that mutter: should not a people
+seek unto their God? on behalf of the living should they seek unto the
+dead?" Isa. 8:19, A.R.V.
+
+"To the law and to the testimony!" the prophet cries. To seek unto the
+dead for knowledge is to turn from the law and the testimony, and to
+take the counsel of the direct agencies of Satan, the great deceiver.
+
+
+Modern Spiritualism
+
+What Spiritualism is may best be understood by the prophetic warnings
+concerning the revival of this great deception in the last days. The
+apostle spoke of these days as a time when seducing spirits would lead
+many away from the faith:
+
+"Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall
+depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of
+devils." 1 Tim. 4:1.
+
+This deceptive working is an indication of the nearness of Christ's
+second coming:
+
+"Whose coming is according to the working of Satan with all power and
+signs and lying wonders." 2 Thess. 2:9, A.R.V.
+
+True to the sure word, now that the last days have come, there has
+arisen the movement of modern Spiritualism, with its signs and wonders,
+purporting to be wrought by the spirits of the dead. Professor Wallace
+says:
+
+     "Modern Spiritualism dates from March, 1848; it being then
+     that, for the first time, intelligent communications were held
+     with the unknown cause of the mysterious knockings and other
+     sounds similar to those which had disturbed the Mompesson and
+     Wesley families in the seventeenth and eighteenth
+     centuries."--_"On Miracles and Modern Spiritualism" (London,
+     1875), p. 146._
+
+It was in Hydeville, N.Y., in the family of Mr. Fox, that the modern
+cult originated, it being found that by mysterious but clear sounds of
+knocking, unseen intelligences were able to communicate answers to
+questions asked. The rapidity of the spread of the great deception was
+remarkable. One of the Fox sisters, Mrs. A. Leah Underhill, wrote:
+
+     "Since that day, starting from a small country village of
+     western New York, Spiritualism has made its way--against
+     tremendous obstacles and resistance, but under an impulse and a
+     guidance from higher spheres--round the civilized globe.
+     Starting from three sisters, two of them children, and the
+     eldest a little beyond that age,... its ranks of believers,
+     privately or publicly avowed, have grown within thirty-six
+     years to millions."--_"The Missing Link in Modern
+     Spiritualism," Introduction._
+
+Many at the time thought, as have many since, that the "rappings" with
+which the manifestations began were caused by some trickery on the part
+of the Fox sisters, but men of unimpeachable standing and intelligence
+certified to the contrary. Horace Greeley, famous editor of the New York
+_Tribune_, wrote in his paper that the sisters had visited him in his
+home and courted the fullest investigation as to "the alleged
+manifestations from the spirit world." As the result of his
+observations, he wrote:
+
+     "Whatever may be the origin or the cause of the 'rappings,' the
+     ladies in whose presence they occur do not make them. We tested
+     this thoroughly and to our entire satisfaction."--_Id., pp.
+     160, 161._
+
+It was no mere sleight of hand that launched this cult upon the world as
+the last days came. Beyond all the physical manifestations, the
+religious idea in Spiritualism has leavened the religious thought of
+millions. No one can deny that the basic idea is the one that the
+serpent promulgated in Eden, "Ye shall not surely die."
+
+Mrs. Emma Hardinge Britten, another of the Fox sisters, says of the
+discovery of 1848:
+
+     "On the night of the thirty-first of March, 1848, we found
+     beyond a shadow of a doubt or peradventure, that death had no
+     power over the spirit.... In a word, we found our so-called
+     dead were all living."--_"Nineteenth Century Miracles"
+     (Manchester, England), p. 554._
+
+[Illustration: THE SALEM WITCHCRAFT
+
+One of the historical settings of Spiritualism. A poor woman accused by
+her neighbors of practicing witchcraft.]
+
+Now the Scriptures teach plainly what these agencies in Spiritualism are
+not, and what they are.
+
+
+What They Are Not
+
+They are not the spirits of the dead communicating messages to the
+living.
+
+In one of the earliest written portions of Holy Scripture, the Lord
+declared plainly that the dead have no knowledge of the living:
+
+"He passeth: Thou changest his countenance, and sendest him away. His
+sons come to honor, and he knoweth it not; and they are brought low, but
+he perceiveth it not of them." Job 14:20, 21.
+
+The dead have no part in any communications with the living on earth:
+
+"Neither have they any more a portion forever in anything that is done
+under the sun." Eccl. 9:6
+
+
+What They Are
+
+Already we have told what they are in quoting the warnings of prophecy
+concerning the special deceptions of Satan in the last days.
+
+"The working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders." 2
+Thess. 2:9.
+
+"Seducing spirits." 1 Tim. 4:1.
+
+And as they were shown to the prophet John in a vision of the very end,
+he declared:
+
+"They are the spirits of devils, working miracles." Rev. 16:14.
+
+These are the agencies through which come the supernatural
+manifestations of Spiritualism. It is a terrible deception that leads
+men and women to seek to satanic agencies, supposing that they are
+communicating with the spirits of their dead friends. Satan and his
+angels can readily simulate the personality of the dead, and so deceive
+those who disobey God in seeking to the dead for knowledge.
+
+
+The Climax of Deception
+
+That the marvels of Spiritualism would increase as the end nears, was
+plainly taught by our Saviour in describing the workings of Satan just
+before the second advent. He left us the warning:
+
+"Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there;
+believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets,
+and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were
+possible, they shall deceive the very elect." Matt. 24:23, 24.
+
+Evidently, then, by the miracle-working power that he possesses, Satan
+will work mighty deceptions through both human and supernatural
+agencies. And the crowning deception will be his own manifestation as
+the Promised One, simulating Christ's second coming. But the power and
+glory that will fill all earth and the heavens at Christ's coming,
+cannot be copied by Satan, with all his miracle-working skill. That is
+why it is so important that we understand the Bible teaching as to the
+nature and manner of Christ's second advent. The doctrine of the silent,
+secret, mystical coming is all abroad in the world, the teaching exactly
+calculated to prepare the way for Satan's purposes of deception.
+Therefore Christ forewarns us:
+
+"Behold, I have told you before. Wherefore if they shall say unto you,
+Behold, He is in the desert; go not forth: behold, He is in the secret
+chambers; believe it not. For as the lightning cometh out of the east,
+and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of
+man be." Matt. 24:25-27.
+
+The teachings of ancient theosophy and spiritualism--the mysticism of
+the East--have been permeating Christendom in recent years. Mme. Jean
+Delaire, writing in a London review, said some years ago:
+
+     "India has apparently still a mission to fulfil, for her
+     thought is slowly beginning to mold the thought of Europe and
+     of America; our keenest minds are today studying her
+     philosophy; our New Theology is founded upon the old, old
+     Vedanta."--_National Review, September, 1908, p. 131._
+
+This flood of ancient spiritualism from the East has come about
+according to Isaiah's prophecy of things that were to "come to pass in
+the latter days:"
+
+"Thou hast forsaken Thy people the house of Jacob, because they are
+filled with customs from the East, and are soothsayers like the
+Philistines." Isa. 2:6, A.R.V.
+
+In 1909 one of the leading representatives of theosophical thought, Mrs.
+Annie Besant, of India, toured America with the message of a coming
+messiah. She announced:
+
+     "My message is very simple: 'Prepare for the coming Christ.' We
+     stand at the cradle of a new subrace, and each race or subrace
+     has its own messiah. Hermes is followed by Zoroaster; Zoroaster
+     by Orpheus; Orpheus by Buddha; Buddha by Christ. We now await
+     with confidence a manifestation of the Supreme Teacher of the
+     world, who was last manifested in Palestine. Everywhere in the
+     West, not less than in the East, the heart of man is throbbing
+     with the glad expectation of the new avatar."
+
+The leaven of the spiritualistic philosophy has been working its way
+through Christendom during this generation. We see clearly that the evil
+one is preparing the way for his final work of deception.
+
+[Illustration: HOME OF THE FOX FAMILY, HYDESVILLE, N.Y.
+
+Spiritualism originated in this house March 31, 1848.]
+
+[Illustration: "HE IS RISEN"
+
+"Because I live, ye shall live also." John 14:19.
+
+COPYRIGHT, STANDARD PUB. CO.]
+
+[Illustration: MARY MEETS HER RISEN LORD
+
+"He that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live." John
+11:25.]
+
+
+
+
+LIFE ONLY IN CHRIST
+
+MAN'S NATURE AND STATE IN DEATH
+
+
+A wide-open door for Spiritualism is afforded by the teaching that man
+has life in himself--immortality by nature; and that death is not really
+death, but another form of life.
+
+The Scriptures close this door of false hope, teaching us that man is
+mortal, that death is really death, and that immortality is the gift of
+God through Christ by the resurrection from the dead.
+
+Clearly and definitely the Bible teaches that God only has immortality,
+styling Him "the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord
+of lords; who only hath immortality." 1 Tim. 6:15, 16.
+
+This scripture disposes of every idea that man is immortal by nature,
+and opens the way for a consideration of the Scripture teaching
+concerning man's nature, his state in death, and the promise of life and
+immortality in Christ.
+
+
+Man by Nature Mortal
+
+The word "mortal," as used in that ancient question by Eliphaz,
+describes man's nature:
+
+"Shall mortal man be more just than God?" Job 4:17.
+
+In the creation, life was conditional upon the creature's relation to
+Christ the Creator, in whom all things consist:
+
+"All things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that
+was made. In Him was life." John 1:3,4.
+
+He was, and is, as the psalmist says, "the fountain of life." Cut off
+from vital connection with Him, there could be no continuance of life.
+The Lord warned Adam that his life was conditional upon obedience. "In
+the day that thou eatest thereof," He said of the forbidden tree, "thou
+shalt surely die." Gen. 2:17. It was a declaration that man was not
+immortal, but was dependent upon God for life.
+
+When by unbelief and sin man rejected God, the sentence--death
+eternal--must have been executed had not the plan of salvation
+intervened. But as the stroke of divine justice was falling upon the
+sinner, the Son of God interposed Himself and received the blow. "He was
+bruised for our iniquities." In the divine plan, the great sacrifice for
+man was as sure then as when, later, it was actually made on Calvary.
+Christ was "the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world."
+
+And there Adam, the sinner, now with a fallen human nature, which would
+be perpetuated in his descendants in all subsequent time, was granted an
+extension of life, every moment of which, whether for him or for his
+posterity, was the purchase of Christ by His own death, in order that in
+this time of probation man might find forgiveness of sin and assurance
+of life to come. Adam was not created immortal, but was placed on
+probation, and had he continued faithful, the gift of immortality must
+have been given him at some later time, after he had passed the test. As
+the original plan is carried out through Christ, "the second Adam," the
+gift of immortality is bestowed finally upon all who pass the test of
+the judgment and are found in Christ, in whom alone is life.
+
+Having fallen, Adam, now possessed of a sinful nature, must die. "The
+wages of sin is death." Rom. 6:23. It was impossible that sin or sinners
+should be immortalized in God's universe. So, inasmuch as the tree of
+life in Eden had been made the channel of continuance of life to man,
+the Lord said:
+
+"Now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and
+eat, and live forever: therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the
+garden of Eden." Gen. 3:22, 23.
+
+This negatives the idea that there could ever be an immortal sinner, who
+should mar God's creation forever. Sin works out nothing but death.
+"Sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death." James 1:15. Fallen
+himself, Adam could bequeath to his posterity only a fallen, mortal
+nature. So began the sad history summed up in the text:
+
+"Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin;
+and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned." Rom. 5:12.
+
+
+Mortality Universal
+
+Mortality is written upon all creation. Ages ago the wise man wrote,
+"There is one event unto all: ... they go to the dead." Eccl. 9:3. Human
+hearts everywhere and in all time have cried out against the
+remorselessness of the great enemy. "Do people die with you?" was the
+question met by Livingstone in the untraveled wilds of Africa. "Have you
+no charm against death?" The Greek as well as the barbarian confessed to
+the helplessness of man before the great enemy. Centuries before Christ,
+Sophocles the Athenian wrote:
+
+    "Wonders are many! and none is there greater than man, who
+    Steers his ship over the sea, driven on by the south wind,
+    Cleaving the threatening swell of the waters around him.
+
+    "He captures the gay-hearted birds; he entangles adroitly
+    Creatures that live on the land and the brood of the ocean,
+    Spreading his well-woven nets. Man full of devices!
+
+    "Speech and swift thought free as wind, the building of cities;
+    Shelters to ward off the arrows of rain, and to temper
+    Sharp-biting frost--all these hath he taught himself. Surely
+    Stratagem hath he for all that comes! Never the future
+    Finds him resourceless! Deftly he combats grievous diseases,
+    Oft from their grip doth he free himself. Death alone vainly--
+    Vainly he seeks to escape; 'gainst death he is helpless."
+
+    --_Chorus from Antigone._
+
+What unspeakable pathos in the cry of humanity's helplessness before
+death, the great enemy! But when Adam went out of Eden, it was with the
+assurance of life from the dead through the promised Seed, if faithful.
+It is the message of the one gospel for all time--everlasting life in
+Christ.
+
+[Illustration: JESUS RAISING THE SON OF THE WIDOW OF NAIN
+
+"The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Rom.
+6:23.]
+
+"God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that
+whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting
+life." John 3:16.
+
+As there is none other name under heaven by which men can be saved, so
+there is no other way of everlasting life or immortality, save in Christ
+Jesus our Lord.
+
+
+When Immortality is Bestowed
+
+Christ said, "I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in
+Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live." John 11:25.
+
+He has turned death, that would have been eternal, into a little time of
+sleep, from which he will awaken the believer. In the resurrection of
+the last day immortality is bestowed, "in a moment, in the twinkling of
+an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead
+shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this
+corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on
+immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption,
+and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to
+pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory." 1
+Cor. 15:52-54.
+
+    "There is a blessed hope,
+      More precious and more bright
+    Than all the joyless mockery
+      The world esteems delight.
+
+    "There is a lovely star
+      That lights the darkest gloom,
+    And sheds a peaceful radiance o'er
+      The prospects of the tomb."
+
+Not until the resurrection, "at the last trump," is immortality
+conferred upon the redeemed. Note that it is not something immortal
+putting on immortality; but this "mortal" puts on immortality. Mark
+this: there is no life after death, save by the resurrection. "If there
+be no resurrection of the dead,... then they also which are fallen
+asleep in Christ are perished." 1 Cor. 15:13-18.
+
+This resurrection, as stated by the apostle Paul, is not at death, but
+in the last day, when Christ shall come, and all His children that are
+in their graves shall hear His voice. Jesus says:
+
+"This is the will of Him that sent Me, that every one which seeth the
+Son, and believeth on Him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise
+him up at the last day." John 6:40.
+
+That is why the coming of Christ has been the "blessed hope" of all the
+ages.
+
+
+Man's State in Death
+
+Between death and the resurrection, the dead sleep. Jesus declares that
+death is a sleep. Lazarus was dead, but Jesus said, "Our friend Lazarus
+sleepeth." John 11:11. It is the language of Inspiration throughout. The
+patriarch Job said:
+
+"Man dieth, and wasteth away: yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is
+he? As the waters fail from the sea, and the flood decayeth and drieth
+up: so man lieth down, and riseth not: till the heavens be no more [the
+heavens will be rolled back as a scroll at Christ's coming], they shall
+not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep." Job 14:10-12.
+
+This hope of the resurrection at the last day was no indistinct hope to
+the believer in God's promises. The patriarch continued:
+
+"If a man die, shall he live again? all the days of my appointed time
+will I wait, till my change come. Thou shalt call, and I will answer
+thee: Thou wilt have a desire to the work of Thine hands." Verses 14,
+15.
+
+Job tells us of the place of his waiting for the Life-giver's call: "If
+I wait, the grave is mine house." Job 17:13. It is thence that Christ
+will call His own when He comes. "The hour is coming, in the which all
+that are in the graves shall hear His voice, and shall come forth." John
+5:28, 29.
+
+Death is an unconscious sleep. It must of necessity be so; for death is
+the opposite of life. Therefore there is no consciousness of the passing
+of time to those who sleep in the grave. It is as if the eyes closed in
+death one instant, and the next instant, to the believer's
+consciousness, he awakens to hear the animating voice of Jesus calling
+him to glad immortality, and to see the angels catching up his loved
+ones to meet Jesus in the air.
+
+These scriptures, out of many, will suffice to show that man is not
+conscious in death:
+
+"His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his
+thoughts perish." Ps. 146:4.
+
+"The living know that they shall die: but the dead know not anything....
+Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished;
+neither have they any more a portion forever in anything that is done
+under the sun." Eccl. 9:5, 6.
+
+Death is a sleep, which will continue until the resurrection. Then the
+Lord will bring forth from the dust the same person who was laid away in
+death.
+
+Some have said that this Bible doctrine of the sleep of the dead until
+the resurrection is a gloomy one. Popular tradition thinks of the
+blessed dead as going at once to heaven, which, say some, is a beautiful
+thought. But they forget that the same teaching consigns their
+unbelieving friends to immediate torment--and that, too, while awaiting
+the judgment of the last day.
+
+No; the Bible teaching is the cheering doctrine, the "blessed hope." All
+the faithful of all the ages are going into the kingdom together. This
+blessed truth appeals to the spirit that loves to wait and share joys
+and good things with loved ones. Of the faithful of past ages the
+apostle says:
+
+"These all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not
+the promise: God having provided some better thing for us, that they
+without us should not be made perfect." Heb. 11:39, 40.
+
+They are waiting, that all together the saved may enter in. And the time
+of waiting is but an instant to those who "sleep in Jesus."
+
+David was a man of God, but the apostle Peter, speaking by the Spirit on
+the day of Pentecost, declared to the people of the city of David: "He
+is both dead and buried, and his sepulcher is with us unto this day....
+For David is not ascended into the heavens." Acts 2:29-34. They without
+us have not been made perfect. They are all awaiting that glad day
+toward which the apostle Paul turned the last look of his mortal vision:
+
+"I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the
+faith: henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness,
+which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at that day: and not
+to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing." 2 Tim. 4:7,
+8.
+
+What joy in that day to march in through the gates into the eternal
+city, with Adam, and Abel, and Noah, and Abraham, and Paul, and all the
+faithful, and the loved ones of our own home circles, and dear comrades
+in service, every one clothed with immortality, the gift of God in
+Christ Jesus our Redeemer! Horatius Bonar's hymn sings the joyful hope
+as the loved are laid away to "sleep in Jesus:"
+
+    "Softly within that peaceful resting place
+      We lay their wearied limbs, and bid the clay
+    Press lightly on them till the night be past,
+      And the far east give note of coming day.
+
+    "The shout is heard, the Archangel's voice goes forth;
+      The trumpet sounds, the dead awake and sing;
+    The living put on glory; one glad band,
+      They hasten up to meet their coming King."
+
+In a word, the Scripture teaches that God alone has immortality, that
+man is mortal, that death is a sleep, that life after death comes only
+by the resurrection of the last day, that the righteous are then given
+immortality. Further, the Scripture teaches that later there will be a
+resurrection of the unjust, not unto life, but unto death, the second
+death, from which there is no release.
+
+Every doctrine of Scripture and of the gospel is in accord with this
+Bible teaching as to man's nature and his state in death. But the
+traditional view of the natural immortality of the soul and of life in
+death, nullifies the Bible doctrines of life only in Christ, and the
+resurrection, and the judgment, and the giving of rewards at Christ's
+coming, and the final judgment upon the wicked and its execution.
+
+
+A Few Questions Briefly Considered
+
+_1. The "Living Soul"_
+
+Says one, "Did not the Lord put into man an immortal soul?"
+
+No; the Scripture says:
+
+"The Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into
+his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul." Gen.
+2:7.
+
+The soul was not put into the man, but when the life-giving breath was
+breathed into his nostrils, the man himself became a living soul, a
+living being. The ordinary version (King James) gives "a living soul" in
+the margin of Gen. 1:30, showing that the same expression is used of all
+the animal creation in the Hebrew text. The famous Methodist
+commentator, Dr. Adam Clarke, says on this phrase, "living soul:"
+
+     "A general term to express all creatures endued with animal
+     life, in any of its infinitely varied gradations."
+
+_2. Are "Soul" and "Spirit" Deathless?_
+
+"Are not the soul and spirit said to be deathless?" questions another.
+
+No. One writer says of the Scriptural use of the words "soul" and
+"spirit:"
+
+     "The Hebrew and Greek words from which they are translated,
+     occur in the Bible, as we have seen, seventeen hundred times.
+     Surely, once at least in that long list we shall be told that
+     the soul is immortal, if this is its high prerogative.
+     Seventeen hundred times we inquire if the soul is once said to
+     be immortal, or the spirit deathless. And the invariable and
+     overwhelming response we meet is, _Not once!"_--_"Here and
+     Hereafter" by U. Smith, p. 65._
+
+On the contrary, the Lord declares, "The soul that sinneth, it shall
+die." Eze. 18:20. It means that the person who sins shall die; for the
+words "soul," "mind," "heart," and "spirit" are used to express life or
+the seat of the affections or of the intellect. One may commend his soul
+to God, or his spirit to God (really his life into the keeping of God),
+until the great day of the resurrection. The word "soul" is used of all
+animal life in New Testament usage, as well as in the Old; as, "Every
+living soul died in the sea." Rev. 16:3.
+
+_3. The Thief on the Cross_
+
+"Did not Christ promise the thief on the cross that he would be with Him
+that day in Paradise?"
+
+No; for Paradise is where God's throne is, and the tree of life, and the
+city of God, the capital of Christ's kingdom; and three days later
+Christ had not yet ascended to the Father. "Touch Me not," He said to
+Mary after His resurrection; "for I am not yet ascended to My Father."
+John 20:17. The dying thief, therefore, was not with Him in Paradise
+three days before.
+
+Nor did the thief's question suggest such a thought. His faith grasped
+Christ's resurrection, the resurrection of His children, and the coming
+kingdom; and that day on the cross, in the moment of the deepest
+humiliation of the Son of God, the repentant sinner cried, "Lord,
+remember me when Thou comest into Thy kingdom." And the Saviour replied,
+"Verily I say unto thee today"--this day, when the world scoffs and the
+darkness presses upon Me, this day I say it--"shalt thou be with Me in
+Paradise." Luke 23:42, 43.
+
+The punctuation that makes it read, "Today shalt thou be with Me in
+Paradise," is not a part of the sacred text, and puts the Saviour's
+promise in contradiction with the facts of the whole narrative and the
+teaching of Scripture.
+
+_4. The Rich Man and Lazarus_
+
+"Then there is the parable of the rich man and Lazarus," one says,
+"where Lazarus and Dives are talking, though dead--Lazarus in Abraham's
+bosom and the rich man in torment."
+
+But that is a parable; and no one can set the figures of a parable
+against the facts of positive Scripture. In parables, lessons are often
+taught by figurative language and imaginary scenes which could never be
+real, though the lesson is emphasized the more forcefully.
+
+In the parable of Judges 9, the trees are represented as holding a
+council and talking with one another. No one mistakes the lesson of the
+parable, or supposes that the trees actually talked. So in the parable
+of the rich man and Lazarus, the lesson is taught that uprightness in
+this life, even though under deepest poverty, will be rewarded in the
+future life; while uncharitable selfishness will surely bring one to
+ruin and destruction.
+
+In the face of the Bible teaching, no one can turn this parable into
+actual narrative, representing that the saved in glory are now looking
+over the battlements of heaven and talking with the lost writhing before
+their eyes in agony amid the flames of unending torment. This is not the
+picture that the Scriptures give us of heaven, nor of the state of the
+dead, nor of the time and circumstances of the final rewards or
+punishments.
+
+[Illustration: From an inscription on an Egyptian monument, representing
+the weighing of a soul after death.]
+
+[Illustration: LOT FLEEING FROM SODOM
+
+"Even as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about them ... are set forth
+for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire." Jude 7.]
+
+[Illustration: SATAN'S FINAL ASSAULT UPON THE KINGDOM OF GOD
+
+"They went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the
+saints about." Rev. 20:9]
+
+
+
+
+THE END OF THE WICKED
+
+
+So soon as ever Lucifer introduced sin into heaven, it was certain, in
+the righteousness and omnipotence of God, that the day would come when
+sin would be blotted out of the perfect creation. Inspiration tells us
+that a time of final reckoning with sin was assured when Satan and a
+host of the angels with him lifted up the standard of mysterious
+rebellion against the law and harmony of heaven:
+
+"The angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own
+habitation, He hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto
+the judgment of the great day." Jude 6.
+
+Punishment for sin is assured. By listening to Satan's temptation, man
+became involved in sin. Then a divine Saviour was provided, through whom
+every soul might escape from the kingdom of darkness, and find salvation
+and life. But it is inevitable that those who refuse the way of life
+and reject the salvation of God, must finally be involved with Satan and
+sin in the day when sin is visited.
+
+By Adam's sin, all his posterity inherited a sinful, dying nature. "In
+Adam all die," the Scripture says. But not a soul in the last day can
+plead Adam's sin and the inheritance of a fallen nature as an excuse for
+his own transgressions. By Christ's gift of His life for us, the sinner,
+with all his weaknesses, may become a partaker of the divine nature, and
+escape the power of the fleshly nature. By virtue of Christ's death for
+all, all recover from the death they die in Adam--the first death. All
+have a resurrection, the unjust as well as the just; and then every one
+gives account of himself to God, according to his own life and the use
+he has made of the light given him of God.
+
+
+The Two Resurrections
+
+The Scriptures emphasize the fact that there are to be two
+resurrections. Paul, before Felix, declared his belief the same as that
+of all the prophets,--"that there shall be a resurrection of the dead,
+both of the just and unjust." Acts 24:15.
+
+Jesus declared it in these words:
+
+"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.
+
+The first resurrection is that of the just, at Christ's second coming.
+It is written of this:
+
+"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." Rev. 20:6.
+
+After this, the righteous return with Christ to heaven, and remain there
+during the thousand years. The wicked living at the time of His coming
+are slain by the consuming glory of His presence; and they, with all the
+unjust of all the ages, await in the grave the second resurrection, at
+the end of the thousand years.
+
+"The rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were
+finished." Rev. 20:5.
+
+At the end of the thousand years the city of God, with the saved, comes
+down out of heaven and settles upon the earth.
+
+Then the wicked are raised--the second resurrection. Under Satan's
+leadership they march up to attack the city of God. How naturally, we
+infer, may Satan persuade the lost that, after all, he was right when he
+declared to Adam, "Ye shall not surely die." Here are all his servants
+of all the ages--living. Why may they not be immortal, beyond the power
+of God to destroy? The old battle that began in heaven is on again.
+Satan, the archrebel, marshals his hosts of fallen angels and the
+myriads of fallen men, his legions stretching wide over the earth.
+
+"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." Rev. 20:9.
+
+"This is the second death," the Scripture says. Verse 14. The great day
+has come when the sinner receives his wages--death--and sin is
+destroyed.
+
+
+The Punishment Everlasting
+
+"The wages of sin is death." And the second death is everlasting. There
+is no resurrection from this death. The Scriptures describe it in terms
+that affirm utter destruction, resulting in nonexistence.
+
+"Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of
+the Lord, and from the glory of his power." 2 Thess. 1:9.
+
+"Behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud,
+yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh
+shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them
+neither root nor branch." Mal. 4:1.
+
+"They shall be ashes," the third verse of this chapter says. Every
+expression possible to language is employed to denote utter destruction,
+everlasting death. That means nonexistence. Sin and sinners are blotted
+out. The prophet Obadiah, speaking of the visitation upon the
+heathen--the unbelieving--in "the day of the Lord," says:
+
+"They shall drink, and they shall swallow down, and they shall be as
+though they had not been." Verse 16.
+
+This is the utter end of sin and all sinners, and of the author of sin.
+Root and branch they are gone, "as though they had not been." All this
+is in the description of the last judgment, so fully set forth in the
+twentieth chapter of Revelation.
+
+"Death and hell [_hades_, the grave] were cast into the lake of fire.
+This is the second death." Rev. 20:14. Death and the prison house of
+death are gone forever. Sin is wiped out of a perfect universe, and not
+even a trace will remain of the place of the fiery judgment.
+
+"Yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt
+diligently consider his place, and it shall not be." Ps. 37:10.
+
+The fires of the last day purify the earth, which comes forth in
+Eden-like beauty. In the whole creation of God there is no sin, no
+sinner, but all is harmonious again, as before sin entered the universe.
+The prophet was given a view of this glorious consummation, and the
+triumph of the Son of God over sin.
+
+"Every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the
+earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I
+saying, Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power, be unto him that
+sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever." Rev.
+5:13.
+
+
+Some Opinions Briefly Considered
+
+The doctrine of the immortality, the indestructibility, of the soul is
+responsible for the traditional view that the wicked are kept alive in
+unending misery through all eternity. How different this picture from
+that which Holy Scripture gives of the second death! Terrible and awful
+it is, but it results in the utter destruction of sin and sinners,
+leaving a clean universe. The doctrine of the immortality of the soul
+came in from pagan philosophy. Herodotus, "the father of history," said:
+
+     "The Egyptians ... were also the first to broach the opinion,
+     that the soul of man is immortal."--_Book 2, par. 123._
+
+Evidently, they passed the doctrine on to the Greeks. Its origin was in
+the words of Satan in Eden, "Ye shall not surely die." The pagans had
+their nether world of spirits, or their transmigration of souls with its
+ceaseless round from body to body, and the Roman Catholics their
+purgatory with its purifying fires. From these sources and not from the
+Word of God, the traditional view has come into modern Christendom,
+representing the Lord as unable or unwilling to end sin, but keeping the
+sinner alive throughout eternity, to suffer torture that can bring no
+remedy. The Scripture teaching is far otherwise. However, there are
+certain Scripture phrases that emphasize the severity of the punishment
+of sin, which are often taken as supporting the doctrine of never-ending
+conscious torment.
+
+_1. "Forever and Ever."_--In Rev. 20:10 it is said that the devil and
+his chief agencies "shall be tormented day and night forever and ever."
+The phrase emphasizes the surety of their utter destruction.
+
+"Forever" means age-lasting, or life-lasting--so long as a thing exists
+by its nature. Thus in Ex. 21:6 the servant who loved his master and did
+not wish to leave his service was to have his ear pierced, "and he shall
+serve him forever," that is, without release as long as he lives. So the
+fiery judgment of that last day holds the wicked until life ends; there
+is no release until life is consumed.
+
+_2. "Everlasting Punishment."_--"These shall go away into everlasting
+punishment." Matt. 25:46. It is everlasting punishment, not everlasting
+punishing. The punishment is everlasting death--"who shall be punished
+with everlasting destruction." 2 Thess. 1:9.
+
+The truth of the utter destruction of sinners is awful enough, but it
+commends itself to every thought of justice and mercy; for sin must be
+cleansed from a perfect universe. But the unscriptural view of
+everlasting conscious torment that never reaches the point of full
+punishment, is unthinkable. Yet it is urged as a doctrine, and contended
+for as vital to Christianity.
+
+The following description is taken from a book written for children,
+entitled "The Sight of Hell." It is printed in Dublin--for children.
+
+     "Little child, if you go to hell, there will be a devil at your
+     side to strike you. He will go on striking you every day,
+     forever and ever, without ever stopping. The first stroke will
+     make your body as bad as Job's, covered from head to foot with
+     sores and ulcers. The second stroke will make your body twice
+     as bad as the body of Job.... How then will your body be after
+     the devil has been striking it every moment for a hundred
+     million years without stopping?"--_Quoted in the London Present
+     Truth, April 30, 1914._
+
+What a relief to turn from this to the Bible doctrine of the
+"everlasting destruction" of the second death, terrible though it be!
+
+_3. "Everlasting Fire," "Eternal Fire," "Unquenchable Fire."_--All these
+expressions are used in describing the fiery judgment upon sin and
+sinners. The effect of the fire is everlasting and eternal, and by a
+common usage in language the adjective that describes the effect is
+applied to the agent by which the effect is wrought.
+
+A specific example of everlasting fire in the punishment of evil is
+given in Scripture. Sodom and Gomorrah, those wicked "cities of the
+plain," were destroyed by a rain of fire from heaven. These cities,
+Inspiration says, "are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance
+of eternal fire." Jude 7. The fire was everlasting, eternal, in its
+effects. The cities of the plain were everlastingly consumed. But the
+fire went out when the destruction was complete. Unquenchable fire is
+fire that cannot be quenched. It consumes utterly, until nothing is
+left; then it goes out of its own accord.
+
+_4. "Where Their Worm Dieth Not."_--Jesus warned of the certain
+destruction of sin and sinners in the fire of Gehenna; for this is the
+word translated "hell" in Mark 9:43.
+
+Hades, which is often translated "hell," is the grave, not the place of
+punishment. Gehenna, here used of the place of punishment, was the name
+of the valley where the refuse of Jerusalem was cast for burning. The
+map of Jerusalem, in any ordinary Bible with maps, shows just outside
+the southern wall a gorge marked "Valley of Hinnom" (Gehenna). It was
+here that the people, in the olden times, had sacrificed their children
+to Moloch.
+
+     "In order to put an end to these abominations, Josiah polluted
+     it with human bones and other corruptions. 2 Kings 23:10, 13,
+     14."--_Hastings's "Dictionary of the Bible."_
+
+Here the fires consumed the refuse, and the fire and worms utterly
+destroyed the carcasses of beasts flung into the place of destruction.
+It was regarded as a place accursed, and the smoldering fires became
+symbolical of the fires of the judgment.
+
+The use of this illustration, instead of arguing that the wicked are
+never destroyed but always live, conveys the opposite idea. What went
+into the fires of Gehenna was utterly consumed, nothing being left. This
+was used by Christ as a figure illustrative of the utter destruction of
+the unrepentant sinner in the day of visitation.
+
+This must suffice. The positive teaching of Holy Scripture is that sin
+and sinners will be blotted out of existence. There will be a clean
+universe again when the great controversy between Christ and Satan is
+ended.
+
+[Illustration: PETER DELIVERED FROM PRISON
+
+"The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear Him, and
+delivereth them." Ps. 34:7.]
+
+[Illustration: DANIEL IN THE DEN OF LIONS
+
+"My God hath sent His angel, and hath shut the lions' mouths, that they
+have not hurt me." Dan. 6:22.]
+
+
+
+
+ANGELS: THEIR MINISTRY
+
+
+The one verse of Scripture which, perhaps, most comprehensively sums up
+the ministry of the angels of God, is this:
+
+"Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them
+who shall be heirs of salvation?" Heb. 1:14.
+
+This scripture shows us how truly all heaven is engaged in working for
+the salvation of this poor world, which has wandered from the fold of
+God. It will surely be a time of rejoicing among all the angelic host
+when Christ, the Good Shepherd, brings back this lost world, cleansed
+from sin, once more to the fold of God's perfect creation.
+
+The angels rejoiced when this world was created. The Lord said to Job:
+
+"Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth?... when the
+morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?"
+Job 38:4-7.
+
+Before ever this world was created, or man upon it, the angels had been
+created by the eternal Son, in whom all things consist. For angels are
+not redeemed men, neither will the redeemed in the world to come ever
+become angels. Angels are a different order of beings from men, a higher
+order in creation. We read:
+
+"What is man, that Thou art mindful of him? or the son of man, that Thou
+visitest him? Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; Thou
+crownedst him with glory and honor." Heb. 2:6, 7.
+
+In the life to come, by the wondrous power of Christ's transforming
+grace, redeemed men are to be made equal to the angels, as Christ
+stated:
+
+"Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and
+are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection." Luke
+20:36.
+
+This lifting of sinful man to an equality with the angels, at least in
+the possession of life and immortality, is an illustration of the gospel
+principle, "Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound." Rom. 5:20.
+But the declaration of equality with angels is a denial of identity with
+angels. Angels existed before man, and redeemed man will still be man,
+distinct from the angelic order, though the associate of angels in the
+service of God.
+
+
+Attendants at the Throne of God
+
+When the prophet Isaiah was given a view of the heavenly temple, he saw
+different orders of angels attending the throne of God:
+
+"I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and His
+train filled the temple. Above it stood the seraphim: each one had six
+wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his
+feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said,
+Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts." Isa. 6:1-3.
+
+Ezekiel beheld them in glory, attending the moving throne of the
+Almighty. "The living creatures ran and returned as the appearance of a
+flash of lightning." Eze. 1:14.
+
+Daniel beheld the angelic host gathered in the most holy place of the
+temple above, as the time came for the opening of the work of the
+investigative judgment, the cleansing of the sanctuary. Seeing the
+throne of God set for this final work of Christ's ministry, the prophet
+says:
+
+"Thousand thousands ministered unto Him, and ten thousand times ten
+thousand stood before Him: the judgment was set, and the books were
+opened." Dan. 7:10.
+
+
+God's Messengers
+
+The word "angel" means messenger. To and fro these angelic messengers
+have gone in the service of their Creator. A view of their ever-watchful
+service is given in the words of the psalmist:
+
+"Bless the Lord, ye His angels, that excel in strength, that do His
+commandments, hearkening unto the voice of His word." Ps. 103:20.
+
+
+Bearers of Tidings
+
+They visited Abraham's tent with warning of Sodom's overthrow. Genesis
+18.
+
+They visited Lot in the city, and urged him to get his family out.
+Genesis 19.
+
+As Jacob, in fear but repentance, was about to meet Esau, whom he had
+deceived, "the angels of God met him." Genesis 32. "This is God's host,"
+he said, and he knew that the God of Abraham and Isaac, and his God,
+also, had not forsaken him.
+
+At a discouraging time in the history of Israel, an angel appeared to
+Gideon, bringing the message, "The Lord is with thee," and calling him
+to the work of delivering his people. Judges 6.
+
+[Illustration: JACOB'S DREAM IN BETHEL
+
+"Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them
+who shall be heirs of salvation?" Heb. 1:14.]
+
+As Daniel's prayer reached heaven, even while he still prayed, the angel
+Gabriel "being caused to fly swiftly," touched him, and said:
+
+"O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding. At
+the beginning of thy supplications the commandment came forth, and I am
+come to show thee." Dan. 9:21-23.
+
+So close is the communication between heaven and earth.
+
+The gladdest tidings ever brought from heaven to earth since the promise
+of the Deliverer to Adam in Eden, were brought by angels to the
+shepherds of Bethlehem. First, one angel appeared, saying:
+
+"I bring you good tidings of great joy.... For unto you is born this day
+in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord."
+
+Such tidings to earth could never be the mission of one lone angel, when
+all heaven longed to cry the news to a lost world.
+
+"And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host
+praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth
+peace, good will toward men." Luke 2:13, 14.
+
+
+Unseen in Halls of Government
+
+One incident related in the book of Daniel draws aside the curtain, and
+shows how angels doubtless often have worked unseen in kingly courts or
+halls of legislation. Daniel had prayed for three weeks for light in
+certain matters that the angel Gabriel had begun to unfold to him. When
+at last the angel came, overpowering the prophet with the glory of his
+presence, it was with a statement, first, of the reason for the delay in
+responding to his prayer. The angel said:
+
+"From the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and
+to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come
+for thy words. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one
+and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to
+help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia. Now I am come to
+make thee understand what shall befall thy people in the latter days."
+Dan. 10:12-14.
+
+
+Messengers of Deliverance
+
+The story of deliverance wrought by angels is too long to tell. One need
+only think of the angels' taking slow-moving Lot by the arms and setting
+him out of Sodom (Genesis 19); of the angel finding Elijah under a bush
+in the desert, and first baking a cake for the hungry man before
+speaking the word to his discouraged heart (1 Kings 19); of Elisha
+praying that the young man's eyes might be opened to see that there were
+more angels with them round about than all the Syrians encamped against
+them:
+
+"The Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the
+mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha." 2
+Kings 6:17.
+
+An angel shut the mouths of the lions when Daniel was cast into their
+den. Daniel 6. An angel smote off Peter's irons in the prison at
+Jerusalem, opened the doors, and led him forth. Acts 12. Amid the angry
+waves sweeping over the foundering ship in the Adriatic, Paul the
+apostle bade the despairing crew be of good courage, "for there stood by
+me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve, saying,
+Fear not." Acts 27:23, 24.
+
+All through the ages, the angels of God have been standing by. Daniel,
+and Peter, and Paul are dead; but the angels still live. "Are they not
+all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be
+heirs of salvation?" Heb. 1:14.
+
+
+Guardian Angels
+
+That means that every child of God is under the guardianship of the
+angels. "The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear Him,
+and delivereth them." Ps. 34:7.
+
+Thank God, we are never left alone. Every child of God has a guardian
+angel commissioned by the loving Father to watch over him. Christ said:
+
+"Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto
+you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of My Father
+which is in heaven." Matt. 18:10.
+
+This does not mean that trials never will come, or troubles. In the
+midst of the trial, the angel of the Lord will stand by to strengthen
+and to bring help from the God of all comfort. It was in the midst of
+the fiery furnace that the "form of the Fourth" appeared, walking with
+the three Hebrew children--Jesus Himself treading the fiery way with
+them. And when Jesus, in the days of His flesh, was sinking under the
+crushing burden in Gethsemane, "there appeared an angel unto Him from
+heaven, strengthening Him." Luke 22:43.
+
+Our Saviour, who knows the comforting power of angel ministry, is the
+Captain of the heavenly host, and has commissioned them all as
+ministering spirits to the heirs of salvation.
+
+When He comes in glory for His people, Christ will have "all the holy
+angels with Him." As the voice of Jesus awakens His sleeping saints and
+they rise immortal from the opened graves, "He shall send His angels,
+... and they shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from
+one end of heaven to the other." Matt. 24:31.
+
+The angels who have watched over the heirs of salvation through all the
+ages, know where they are, and they know how to gather them, with their
+loved ones, to meet the Lord.
+
+The angels who rejoiced when the Lord laid the foundations of the earth,
+who mourned when man fell, who have all along been working with Christ,
+their leader, to rescue the lost, will yet rejoice when the Lord brings
+home His own. What a day will that be in heaven!
+
+[Illustration: MODERN INVENTIONS FULFILLING PROPHECY
+
+"Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased." Dan.
+12:4.]
+
+[Illustration: CAREY IN INDIA TRANSLATING THE BIBLE
+
+"So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed." Acts 19:20.]
+
+
+
+
+THE TIME OF THE END
+
+
+"Thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time
+of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be
+increased." Dan. 12:4.
+
+Thus the words of the angel, spoken nearly twenty-five hundred years
+ago, announced the opening of a new era of enlightenment when the latter
+days should come.
+
+
+The Time
+
+At the end of the long period of predicted tribulation of the
+church--the twelve hundred and sixty years of Daniel's prophecy--the
+world entered upon this era of "the time of the end."
+
+"They shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil,
+many days.... And some of them of understanding shall fall, to try them,
+and to purge, and to make them white, even to the time of the end:
+because it is yet for a time appointed." Dan. 11:33-35.
+
+In practically every outline of prophecy touching this time, the events
+of the last days are represented as following the end of the prophetic
+period of tribulation. Christ's prophecy of Matthew 24 so declares. Our
+Saviour showed that this period of tribulation, would be shortened, "for
+the elect's sake," and that "immediately after the tribulation of those
+days" the signs of the end would begin to appear.
+
+Thus, while the full period of the twelve hundred and sixty years ended
+amid the scenes of the French Revolution, which gave the papal power a
+deadly wound in the last decade of the eighteenth century, the
+shortening of the days of tribulation had begun even earlier to spread
+increasing knowledge and enlightenment over the earth.
+
+
+The Prophecy Unsealed
+
+The angel's words to Daniel were,
+
+"Shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many
+shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased." Dan. 12:4.
+
+"The words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end." Verse 9.
+
+This means that as the time of the end came, men would be impelled to
+search diligently for light in the prophetic word. Events taking place
+in fulfilment of the prophecy would be recognized, and with the coming
+of the time there would come the opening up, or unsealing, of the
+prophetic scriptures, with their message for men in the last days.
+
+As the time drew near, Bible students were led more and more to search
+the word of prophecy. Sir Isaac Newton, called "the greatest of
+philosophers," wrote of prophetic study:
+
+     "The giving ear to the prophets is a fundamental character of
+     the true church. For God has so ordered the prophecies, that in
+     the latter days 'the wise may understand, but the wicked shall
+     do wickedly, and none of the wicked shall understand.' Dan.
+     12:9, 10."--_"Observations on the Prophecies of Daniel"
+     (London, 1733), part 1, chap. 1._
+
+Again, this man who had delved so deeply into the laws of nature, but
+who bowed his heart in childlike faith to listen to the voice of
+Inspiration, declared his hope that the time of the end was near at hand
+in his day (he died in 1727). Of this prophecy of the unsealing of the
+book he wrote:
+
+     "'Tis therefore a part of this prophecy, that it should not be
+     understood before the last age of the world; and therefore it
+     makes for the credit of the prophecy that it is not yet
+     understood. But if the last age, the age of opening these
+     things, be now approaching, as by the great successes of late
+     interpreters it seems to be, we have more encouragement than
+     ever to look into these things. If the general preaching of the
+     gospel be approaching, it is to us and to our posterity that
+     those words mainly belong: In the time of the end the wise
+     shall understand, but none of the wicked shall understand....
+     'Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of
+     this prophecy, and keep those things which are written
+     therein.'"--_"Observations on the Apocalypse" (London, 1733),
+     chap. 1._
+
+True to the word of the angel, the events of the ending of the twelve
+hundred and sixty years of papal supremacy, amid the scenes of the
+French Revolution, drew the attention of Bible students everywhere. It
+was seen that prophecy was being fulfilled before men's eyes. It gave
+great impetus to the study of the prophetic scriptures. The great
+historic prophecies began to be opened up--unsealed--to the
+understanding. An English historian of that period, John Adolphus,
+though writing a secular history, remarks upon this awakening interest
+in prophetic study:
+
+     "The downfall of the papal government [in 1798], by whatever
+     means effected, excited perhaps less sympathy than that of any
+     other in Europe: the errors, the oppressions, the tyranny of
+     Rome over the whole Christian world, were remembered with
+     bitterness; many rejoiced, through religious antipathy, in the
+     overthrow of a church which they considered as idolatrous,
+     though attended with the immediate triumph of infidelity; and
+     many saw in these events the accomplishment of prophecies, and
+     the exhibition of signs promised in the most mystical parts of
+     the Holy Scriptures."--_"History of France from 1790 to 1802"
+     (London, 1803), Vol. II, p. 379._
+
+From those tunes of fulfilling prophecy, there arose a distinct
+movement, reviving the teaching of the doctrine of Christ's second
+coming, and directly preparing the way for the advent movement that was
+to come with the days of 1844, when yet fuller light was to break forth
+from the unsealed prophecies of the book of Daniel. Of the angel that
+symbolizes the special gospel work for these last days, it is written,
+"He had in his hand a little book open." Rev. 10:2. The "time of the
+end" came, and with it has come the opening of the sealed book. The
+"sure word of prophecy" speaks its message full and clear to the ears of
+all mankind today.
+
+
+Increase of Knowledge
+
+"Many shall run to and fro," the prophecy said, "and knowledge shall be
+increased." It is knowledge of the prophecy and of the things of God
+that is primarily the topic; but the era that we are discussing has been
+one of general enlightenment and extension of knowledge.[J] "The
+entrance of Thy words giveth light," says the psalmist: and when the
+Reformation of the sixteenth century broke the bands of age-long
+superstition and error, and set free the Word of God, the way was
+preparing for the coming of this wonderful era of the diffusion of
+general knowledge.
+
+The era of reform movement was an era of world exploration and
+discovery. Diaz had founded the south African cape, and Columbus had
+given to future generations the New World. The result was voyage after
+voyage of discovery, and then awakening, colonization, and expansion.
+
+The famous and learned Francis Bacon, who died in 1626, felt in his day
+that the time spoken of by Daniel's prophecy was drawing near. He
+wrote:
+
+     "Nor should the prophecy of Daniel be forgotten, touching the
+     last ages of the world: 'Many shall go to and fro, and
+     knowledge shall be increased;' clearly intimating that the
+     thorough passage of the world (which now by so many distant
+     voyages seems to be accomplished, or in course of
+     accomplishment), and the advancement of the sciences, are
+     destined by fate, that is, by divine Providence, to meet in the
+     same age."--_"Novum Organum," book 1, xciii. (Bacon's Works,
+     Spedding and Ellis, Vol. IV, p. 92.)_
+
+When the time indicated in the prophecy fully came, with the last decade
+of the eighteenth century, there was witnessed the upspringing of
+movements that have wrought mightily for the enlightenment and
+evangelization of the world. As the events of the French Revolution
+announced the closing of the long era of papal supremacy, so also
+another series of events at the same time announced the opening of the
+era of increasing knowledge. Speaking of these developments, Lorimer, a
+Scottish writer, said:
+
+     "At the very time when Satan is hoping for, and the timid are
+     fearing, an utter overturn of true religion, there is a
+     revival, and the gospel expands its wings and prepares for a
+     new flight. It is worthy of remembrance that the year 1792, the
+     very year of the French Revolution, was also the year when the
+     Baptist Missionary Society was formed, a society which was
+     followed during the succeeding, and they the worst, years of
+     the Revolution, with new societies of unwonted energy and
+     union, all aiming, and aiming successfully, at the propagation
+     of the gospel of Christ, both at home and abroad. What
+     withering contempt did the great Head of the church thus pour
+     upon the schemes of infidels! And how did He arouse the
+     careless and instruct His own people, by alarming providences,
+     at a season when they greatly needed such a
+     stimulus."--_"Historical Sketches of the Protestant Church in
+     France," p. 522._
+
+Another writer, Dr. D.L. Leonard, historian of the century of missions,
+says:
+
+     "The closing years of the eighteenth century constitute in the
+     history of Protestant missions an epoch indeed, since they
+     witnessed nothing less than a revolution, a renaissance, an
+     effectual and manifold ending of the old, a substantial
+     inauguration of the new. It was then that for the first time
+     since the apostolic period, occurred an outburst of general
+     missionary zeal and activity. Beginning in Great Britain, it
+     soon spread to the Continent and across the Atlantic. It was no
+     mere push of fervor, but a mighty tide set in, which from that
+     day to this has been steadily rising and spreading."--_"A
+     Hundred Years of Missions," p. 69._
+
+The time of the prophecy had come, and the hand of providence was
+bringing into being agencies that have spread light and knowledge over
+all lands.
+
+    "Look where the missionary's feet have trod--
+    Flowers in the desert bloom; and fields, for God,
+    Are white to harvest. Skeptics may ignore;
+    Yet on the conquering Word, from shore to shore,
+    Like flaming chariot, rolls. Ask ocean isles,
+    And plains of Ind, where ceaseless summer smiles;
+    Speak to far frozen wastes, where winter's blight
+    Remains;--they tell the love, attest the might
+    Of Him whose messengers across the wave
+    To them salvation bore, hope, freedom gave."
+
+    --_Horace D. Woolley._
+
+The organization of foreign missionary enterprise was quickly
+accompanied by the establishment of Bible societies for a systematic
+work of translating and world-wide distribution of the Scriptures. In
+1804 the British and Foreign Bible Society was organized. Students of
+the prophetic word felt at the time that these agencies were coming in
+fulfilment of the prophecy. One writer of those times said:
+
+     "The stupendous endeavors of one gigantic community to convey
+     the Scriptures in every language to every part of the globe may
+     well deserve to be considered as an eminent sign even of these
+     eventful times. Unless I be much mistaken, such endeavors are
+     preparatory to the final grand diffusion of Christianity, which
+     is the theme of so many inspired prophets, and which cannot be
+     very far distant in the present day."--_G.S. Faber, D.D.,
+     "Dissertation on the Prophecies," Vol. II, p. 406 (1844)._
+
+Now the Word of God, in whole or in part, is speaking in more than five
+hundred languages, and it is estimated that these tongues, at least in
+their spoken form, can make the divine message comprehensible to
+ninety-five per cent of the inhabitants of the earth.
+
+The work of modern missions, that had its birth as the time of the end
+came, is one of the great world factors today. Nearly thirty million
+dollars a year are given for Protestant missions, and a force of more
+than twenty thousand foreign missionaries is in the field, not counting
+the many thousands of native missionaries and helpers. Truly the time of
+the end is proving to be an era of increasing light and knowledge.
+
+
+The Opening of All Lands
+
+As the time came for knowledge to be increased, it was necessary that
+all lands should be open to receive the enlightening agencies. Thus, as
+the time of the end came, we see distinctly the hand of Providence
+swinging open the doors into all countries. It has been an era of world
+survey and development. Particularly is this true of the last sixty or
+seventy years. It was in 1844 that the time referred to in the prophecy
+came for the special advent movement, bearing the judgment-hour message
+to the world. The range of the movement is thus described in the
+prophecy:
+
+"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." Rev. 14:6.
+
+This was a declaration that as the time came for the closing gospel work
+to be done, the doors of access to every nation and tongue and people
+would be thrown open. In 1844, or but a few years before, much of the
+world was closed to missionary endeavor; but as the prophecy indicates,
+the years following have witnessed the swift and systematic opening of
+all lands to the gospel message.
+
+It was in 1842 that five treaty ports in China were opened to commerce
+and to missions,--advance steps in the opening of all China to the
+gospel. In 1844 Turkey was prevailed upon to recognize the right of
+Moslems to become Christians, reversing all Moslem tradition. In 1844
+Allen Gardiner established the South American Mission. In 1845
+Livingstone's determination was formed to open up the African interior.
+
+Dr. A.T. Pierson, speaking of the wonderful way in which Providence
+opened the doors of access in those times, wrote as follows:
+
+     "Most countries shut out Christian missions by organized
+     opposition, so that to attempt to bear the good tidings was
+     simply to dare death for Christ's sake; the only welcome
+     awaiting God's messengers was that of cannibal ovens, merciless
+     prisons, or martyr graves. But, as the little band advanced, on
+     every hand the walls of Jericho fell, and the iron gates opened
+     of their own accord. India, Siam, Burma, China, Japan, Turkey,
+     Africa, Mexico, South America, the Papal States, and Korea were
+     successively and successfully entered. Within five years, from
+     1853 to 1858, new facilities were given to the entrance and
+     occupation of seven different countries, together embracing
+     half the world's population."--_"Modern Mission Century," p.
+     25._
+
+[Illustration: INTO THE HEART OF AFRICA
+
+The Victoria Falls railroad bridge over the Zambezi.]
+
+God's providence has laid under tribute every force and every resource
+for the opening of all lands--missionary endeavor, love of adventure,
+commercial enterprise, and scientific interest. Railways have been built
+through regions that were undiscovered seventy years ago, and among the
+passengers traveling now over the iron trail are men and women of tribes
+unknown fifty years ago. But the gospel message was to go to every
+tribe and tongue before the end; and wonderfully Providence has been
+opening the doors throughout all this "time of the end," and
+particularly in our generation.
+
+
+Material Agencies for the Work
+
+The prophecy represents not only a world-wide work, but a quick work in
+proclaiming the gospel message in the last days. The movement is
+symbolized in the Revelation by an angel flying in the midst of heaven,
+from land to land. And as to the closing work, when the end is near at
+hand, the Scripture says:
+
+"He will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness: because a
+short work will the Lord make upon the earth." Rom. 9:28.
+
+"Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts."
+This is the hope for a quickly finished work in all the earth in our
+time. Yet the Lord lays hold of material things for service; and
+wonderfully the hand of Providence has wrought in bringing into
+existence material agencies for a quick work in carrying the gospel to
+the world--such agencies as no generation before ours ever had.
+
+Consider the marvelous facilities for world-travel. They are the product
+of this time of the end. "Many shall run to and fro," said the prophecy.
+Some interpreters have restricted the Hebrew phrase to a "searching" to
+and fro for knowledge. Even this would include a literal running to and
+fro; for the light of increasing knowledge was to be diffused over all
+the earth. But the best authority on the Hebrew declares for the plain
+meaning of our English translation: "Many shall run to and fro." In two
+recent works, Dr. C.H.H. Wright, the English scholar, says of this text:
+
+     "The natural meaning must be upheld, i.e., wandering to and
+     fro."--_"Critical Commentary on Daniel," p. 209._
+
+     "Why should not that expression be used in the sense in which
+     it is employed in Jeremiah 5:1, namely, of rapid movement
+     hither and thither?"--_"Daniel and His Prophecies," p. 321._
+
+At the time when the first foreign missionary movement was being
+launched in America, Robert Fulton's steamship, the "Clermont," was
+making its first trip on the Hudson.
+
+[Illustration: HIEROGLYPHICS
+
+The "Ox Song" of the Egyptian threshing-floor.]
+
+In 1838 the first ships to cross the Atlantic under steam power
+alone--the "Sirius" and the "Great Western"--came into New York from
+Liverpool, a few hours apart, forerunners of the fleets that furrow all
+the seas today, making quick pathways for the gospel messengers to all
+lands. Verily, they are a gift of God's providence to this generation,
+when all the world is to hear the gospel message.
+
+[Illustration: CUNEIFORM WRITING
+
+An account of the capture of Babylon, B.C. 538. From the
+cylinder of Cyrus.]
+
+    "He hath made the deep as dry,
+    He hath smote for us a pathway to the ends of all the earth."
+
+In 1825 Stephenson built his first railway passenger locomotive, which
+may still be seen in the Darlington railway station, in England. It was
+the beginning of the great revolution in land travel. The late Prof.
+Alfred Russel Wallace, scientist, wrote:
+
+     "From the earliest historic and even prehistoric times till the
+     construction of our great railways in the second quarter of the
+     present century [the nineteenth], there had been absolutely no
+     change in the methods of human locomotion."--_"The Wonderful
+     Century," p. 7._
+
+[Illustration: MANUSCRIPT WRITING
+
+The process by which the books of the great library of Alexandria,
+Egypt, were made.]
+
+For nearly six thousand years men had traveled in the old way. Why
+should these revolutionary changes in travel by sea and land come
+abruptly just at this time?--Because the time foretold in the prophecy
+was at hand, when the last gospel message was to be carried quickly to
+all the world--"to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people."
+We see the hand of the living God opening the doors into all lands, and
+His wonderful providence laying at the feet of this generation agencies
+for quickly covering the whole earth.
+
+[Illustration: GUTENBERG'S FIRST TYPES
+
+Reproduced from the first edition of the famous forty-two-line Latin
+Bible, printed by Gutenberg.]
+
+Later came the electric telegraph, for the quick transmission of news.
+It was in 1837 that Cooke and Wheatstone in England, and Morse in the
+United States, made their application for patents on the electric
+telegraph. It was in 1844 that the first long-distance system was
+successfully demonstrated--when the historic message was sent from
+Baltimore to Washington, "What hath God wrought!" Now news of events
+fulfilling prophecy, and news of progress and conditions in all lands,
+are daily spread before the world by this agency of our wonderful time.
+
+[Illustration: THE GUTENBERG PRINTING PRESS
+
+On which was produced the first printed Bible, in 1456 A.D.]
+
+[Illustration: THE FRANKLIN PRESS
+
+Operated by two men, it has a maximum speed of 250 impressions per
+hour.]
+
+As the closing events take place, the Lord has in His providence so
+ordered it that no one need be ignorant of the signs of the times
+fulfilling before the eyes of men.
+
+    "Speak the word and think the thought,
+    Quick 'tis as with lightning caught--
+    Over, under, lands or seas
+    To the far antipodes."
+
+Here is an incident illustrating the way in which the electric telegraph
+may multiply and spread abroad the witness borne to the truth of God in
+some obscure corner of the earth:
+
+[Illustration: THE HOE DOUBLE OCTUPLE PRESS
+
+The largest printing press in the world. Length, 48 feet; height, 19-1/2
+feet; weight, 175 tons; number of parts, 65,000; revolutions, 300 per
+minute; paper used per hour, 18 tons, or 216 miles of paper three feet
+wide; production per hour, 300,000 eight-page folded newspapers.]
+
+
+    The Mighty Press
+
+    "When old Gutenberg, inventor
+     Of the printing press, and mentor
+    Of the clumsy-fingered typos
+      In a sleepy German town,
+     Used to spread the sheets of vellum
+     On the form, and plainly tell them
+    That the art was then perfected,
+      As he pressed the platen down,
+     He had not the faintest notion
+     Of the rhythmical commotion,
+    Of the brabble and the clamor
+      And the unremitting roar
+     Of the mighty triple decker,
+     While the steel rods flicker,
+    And the papers, ready folded,
+      Fall in thousands to the floor."
+
+Some years ago a young man in Europe--a Seventh-day Adventist--was
+giving answer for his faith. His conscience would not allow him to do
+ordinary labor on God's holy Sabbath. He had declared to the court that
+the oath of loyalty which had been required of him forbade his breaking
+the Sabbath. "How is that?" asked the judge. The young man replied:
+
+     "I was sworn in with a Christian oath, and therefore cannot be
+     under an obligation to violate the commandments of God and work
+     on the Sabbath. One must regard God as the highest authority,
+     and obey Him in the first place."
+
+This witness was borne in a little courtroom, before a small group of
+men; but the press dispatches took it up, and the description of the
+scene and report of the words spoken were carried by electric telegraph
+to the press of at least four continents, and millions read the
+testimony of the young man to the faith that was in him.
+
+In the days to come, with great events taking place and solemn issues
+calling upon men to make decision for God and His truth, how quickly, in
+some great crisis, all the world may be warned, and the last individual
+decisions be made for eternity!
+
+
+Modern Printing
+
+The invention of the printer's art had come just in time to give wings
+to Reformation truth. Luther said of it:
+
+     "Printing is the latest and greatest gift by which God enables
+     us to advance the things of the gospel. It is the last bright
+     flame, manifesting itself just previous to the extinction of
+     the world. Thanks be to God, it came before the last day
+     came."--_Michelet's "Life of Luther," p. 291._
+
+While improvements in the art were made through the centuries, it was a
+slow process, even up to the opening of our generation. During our day,
+however, inventions have revolutionized the printing process.
+
+In this, as in other things, the methods have been speeded up to meet
+the necessities of this time of rapid accomplishment. The printing press
+is one of the chief of the marvelous enlightening agencies of this time
+of the end. By it the printed pages of truth are set falling over the
+earth "like the leaves of autumn."
+
+Time fails us to speak of all the wonderful material developments of our
+day, when knowledge has been increased, and when men are not only
+searching to and fro, but literally running to and fro. The whole earth
+is brought within the range of human knowledge, and the light of saving
+truth is streaming out toward every dark place where the children of men
+dwell.
+
+Nearly twenty-five hundred years ago it was written upon the prophetic
+page,
+
+"Shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many
+shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased."
+
+There the word stood on the scroll of prophecy through more than two
+millenniums. Then, as the time of the end came, lo, the book of prophecy
+was unsealed, and the new era of increasing knowledge began to spread in
+wondrous blessing over the earth.
+
+So surely, also, the prophecies of the last events will be accomplished.
+In the occurrences taking place before our eyes, we see that God is
+indeed finishing His work in the earth, and cutting it short in
+righteousness.
+
+[Illustration: FORTIFICATIONS ON THE BOSPORUS
+
+The strategic waterway involved in the Eastern Question.]
+
+FOOTNOTES:
+
+[J] It is not designed to give the reader the idea that this running "to
+and fro" refers wholly to turning to and fro through the pages of a
+book. The times in which we live have been characterized by a great
+increase in Bible study, and consequently in knowledge of the
+Scriptures; but it is equally true that this has been due in large
+measure to the fact that there are no longer any "hermit" kingdoms.
+Travel, a real physical running "to and fro" through the earth, has
+contributed mightily to the modern increase of knowledge, and in no
+other field of investigation has this been more true than in the study
+of the Bible. By increased facilities for travel, all nations have been
+brought close together physically. Different races and nationalities
+have become acquainted, missionary zeal has been quickened, and peoples
+formerly beyond the reach of missionary operations have become easily
+accessible. In this sense, as well as by private searching of the
+Scriptures, knowledge has increased.
+
+
+[Illustration: THE MOSQUE OF ST. SOPHIA IN CONSTANTINOPLE
+
+The most famous of all Mohammedan temples.
+
+COPYRIGHT BY UNDERWOOD & UNDERWOOD, N.Y.]
+
+
+
+
+THE EASTERN QUESTION
+
+MODERN HISTORY IN THE LIGHT OF ANCIENT PROPHECY
+
+
+Not alone of the history of ancient nations does the "sure word of
+prophecy" bear witness. Political events of our own and coming days are
+described.
+
+The nations of the latter day are pictured as preparing war, gathering
+their forces for the great Armageddon, the battle of the day of God.
+
+As a signal of the last great struggle, the fall, or "drying up," of the
+power ruling the territory watered by the river Euphrates is foretold.
+Rev. 16:12. The Euphrates in all modern history has been suggestive of
+the dominions of the Turkish or Ottoman Empire. And Armageddon,
+designated as the meeting place of armies in the last clash of nations,
+is in Palestine, which, through all modern times, has been in possession
+of the Turkish power.
+
+The index finger of prophecy points, therefore, to this region of the
+eastern Mediterranean as the pivotal point in the closing history of
+nations; and with Turkey's fate is wrapped up the fate of all the
+nations of the world.
+
+All this adds deepest and most solemn import to the study of what is
+known as the Eastern Question, a question that has been to the fore in
+international politics much of the time throughout this generation. Wars
+have been fought over it, cabinets have wrestled with it, and still it
+holds its place in the first rank of living issues of today.
+
+As every one knows, the Eastern Question involves the dominion or
+supremacy in the Near East. This region was a pivotal point in the
+struggles of the nations in ancient times--the meeting place of East and
+West. Maspero, historian of ancient empires, says of it:
+
+     "Some countries seem destined from their origin to become the
+     battle fields of the contending nations.... The nations around
+     are eager for the possession of a country thus situated....
+     From remote antiquity Syria was in the condition just
+     described. By its position it formed a kind of meeting place,
+     where most of the military nations of the ancient world were
+     bound sooner or later to come violently into
+     collision."--_"Struggle of the Nations," chap. 1._
+
+It is not strange, therefore, that one of the great outlines of historic
+prophecy should deal with events centering around this pivotal region.
+The prophecy of Daniel 11 does so, outlining the course of history from
+ancient times to the final solution of the Eastern Question amid the
+scenes of the end.
+
+
+Rise and Fall of Ancient Empires
+
+The prophetic outline of Daniel 11 begins with Persia, in the third year
+of Cyrus, the conqueror of Babylon. (See Dan. 10:1.) The angel of God
+appeared to Daniel, and in the longest and most detailed single prophecy
+in all the Bible, told the story of events connected with this region of
+the Near East for the centuries to come, until the end. Putting the word
+of prophecy and the record of history side by side, we see how exactly
+history has fulfilled prophecy; and we may know certainly that the brief
+portion of the prophecy yet unfulfilled will surely come to pass.
+
+
+Persia
+
+_Prophecy._--"Now will I show thee the truth. Behold, there shall stand
+up yet three kings in Persia; and the fourth shall be far richer than
+they all: and by his strength through his riches he shall stir up all
+against the realm of Grecia." Dan. 11:2
+
+_History._--The three kings following Cyrus were (1) Cambyses, (2)
+Smerdis, (3) Darius; the fourth, Xerxes, was "far richer than they all."
+He had the treasures of his father, Darius, who was called the
+"merchant" or "hoarder" by his own people, and Xerxes gathered stores of
+wealth in addition. When Xerxes was on his way to invade Grecia, a
+Lydian named Pythius entertained the whole Persian army with feasts, and
+offered to aid in bearing the expense of the campaign. Xerxes asked who
+this man of such wealth was. He was answered:
+
+     "This is the man, O king! who gave thy father Darius the golden
+     plane tree, and likewise the golden vine; and he is still the
+     wealthiest man we know of in all the world, excepting
+     thee."--_Herodotus, book 7, par. 27._
+
+"Richer than they all," Xerxes, "through his riches," was able, as the
+prophecy had foretold, to "stir up all against the realm of Grecia."
+Forty-nine nations marched under his banners to the attack. The Greek
+poet, AEschylus, who himself fought against the Persians, wrote of
+Xerxes' mighty host,
+
+    "And myriad-peopled Asia's king, a battle-eager lord,
+    From utmost east to utmost west sped on his countless horde,
+    In unnumbered squadrons marching, in fleets of keels untold,
+    Knowing none dared disobey,
+    For stern overseers were they
+    Of the godlike king begotten of the ancient race of Gold."
+
+    --_"Persae," Way's translation._
+
+Xerxes boasted that he was leading "the whole race of mankind to the
+destruction of Greece." But his invasion ended in the total rout of his
+forces by land and by sea. It was an advertisement to the world that
+Persia's might was broken. The prophecy treats it so, and deals no
+further with Persian history.
+
+AEschylus at the time celebrated the passing of Persia's prestige in the
+lines,--
+
+      "With sacred awe
+      The Persian law
+    No more shall Asia's realms revere;
+      To their lord's hand
+      At his command,
+    No more the exacted tribute bear.
+
+           *       *       *       *       *
+
+    Before the Ionian squadrons Persia flies,
+    Or sinks engulfed beneath the main;
+    Fallen! fallen! is her imperial power,
+    And conquest on her banners waits no more."
+
+    --_"Persae," Potter's translation._
+
+The next great world change was to be the rise of Grecia to dominion.
+So, although a number of kings followed Xerxes in Persia, the prophecy
+passes from his disastrous invasion directly to the coming of Grecia
+under its "mighty king," Alexander the Great.
+
+
+Grecia
+
+_Prophecy._--"A mighty king shall stand up, that shall rule with great
+dominion, and do according to his will. And when he shall stand up, his
+kingdom shall be broken, and shall be divided toward the four winds of
+heaven; and not to his posterity." Dan. 11:3, 4.
+
+_History._--Alexander the Great stood up and ruled with great dominion,
+over a kingdom stretching from India to Grecia, with kings yet farther
+west sending embassies to Babylon to make submission. But in the height
+of his power, as the prophecy suggests, he was suddenly cut down by
+death. All his posterity perished, and out of the struggles of his
+generals for supremacy came (301 B.C.) the division of the
+empire toward "the four winds," as the prophecy had declared so long
+before. Rawlinson, the historian, says:
+
+     "A quadripartite division of Alexander's dominion was
+     recognized: Macedonia [west], Egypt [south], Asia Minor
+     [north], and Syria [stretching eastward beyond the
+     Euphrates]."--_"Sixth Monarchy," chap. 3._
+
+
+The Kings of the North and South
+
+Next, a rearrangement of these powers is noted; and it is this that
+gives us the key to the study of the closing portion of the long
+prophetic outline dealing with events of our own day. The narrative
+continues:
+
+_Prophecy._--"The king of the south shall be strong, and one of his
+princes ... shall be strong above him;... his dominion shall be a great
+dominion." Verse 5.
+
+_History._--The history testifies that the king of the south (Egypt,
+under Ptolemy) was strong; but one of the four princes was "strong above
+him." Seleucus, of Syria and the east, pushed his dominion northward,
+subduing most of Asia Minor, and extending his boundary into Thrace, on
+the European side, beyond the Dardanelles. Henceforward, as Mahaffy
+says,
+
+     "there were three great kingdoms--Macedonia, Egypt,
+     Syria--which lasted, each under its own dynasty, till Rome
+     swallowed them up."--_"Alexander's Empire," p. 89._
+
+Thus Seleucus took the territory of the north, and the Syrian power
+became king of the north, its empire extending from Thrace, in Europe,
+through Asia Minor to Syria and the Euphrates. The seat of empire was
+removed from the east, and Antioch, in northern Syria, "once the third
+city of the world," became the famous capital.
+
+The prophecy next foretold in remarkable detail the contests between
+these two strong powers, the king of the north (Syria and Asia Minor)
+and the king of the south (Egypt). The conflict raged back and forth
+till the coming of the Romans. The Holy Land was the frequent meeting
+place of the contending armies. The Encyclopedia Britannica describes
+it:
+
+     "Palestine was as of old the battle field for the king of the
+     north and the king of the south.... The history of these times
+     is lost in its details."--_Ninth edition, Vol. XV, art.
+     "Macedonian Empire," p. 144._
+
+We shall not follow the details of this contest as foretold in the
+prophecy, nor yet the outline of events after the coming of the Roman
+power ended the rivalry between Syria and Egypt. It is necessary only
+that we fix the events and geographic terms of this early portion of the
+prophecy. Then we shall have the key to the closing portion, dealing
+with events of the last days, when the king of the north again appears.
+
+
+The Modern King of the North
+
+In the last verses of the chapter we find the king of the north a chief
+actor in this same region, "at the time of the end." Verse 40. And we
+are told that when this power comes to its end, it is the signal that
+the great day of God is at hand. (See Dan. 12:1.)
+
+It becomes a vital question, therefore, what power in these last days is
+the king of the north, whose end is the signal of the swift ending of
+the world. Inspiration gives the basis for the answer. The king of the
+north in the early portion of the prophecy was the power that ruled in
+Syria and Asia Minor, from the Euphrates to the shores of the
+Dardanelles. The king of the north, then, of the later portion of the
+prophecy, must be the power that has been ruling in this same region
+during the time of the end.
+
+What power has held dominion over this territory in modern times?--The
+Turkish or Ottoman Empire. At this time Turkey holds almost the
+identical dominion of the ancient king of the north--from the Euphrates
+to the sea, and northward over Asia Minor and the shores of the
+Dardanelles.
+
+Then today Turkey is certainly the king of the north, according to the
+prophecy of Daniel 11.
+
+Of the later history of the king of the north and his end and the events
+following it, the prophecy says:
+
+"Tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him:
+therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to
+make away many.
+
+"And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in
+the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall
+help him.
+
+"And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great Prince which
+standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of
+trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same
+time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that
+shall be found written in the book." Dan. 11:44, 45; 12:1.
+
+[Illustration: CITY OF CONSTANTINOPLE
+
+The capital of the Turkish government.
+
+COPYRIGHT BY UNDERWOOD & UNDERWOOD, N, Y.]
+
+The opening verse of this scripture describes exactly the history of
+Turkey in modern times. Turkey's disquietude has come because of tidings
+out of the east and out of the north. In both these directions there has
+been a pushing back of the Turkish frontier, particularly in the north.
+Again and again, during this time of the end, Turkey has gone forth
+with fury to resist these encroachments and prevent the loss of
+territory.
+
+The prophecy indicates that in some of these struggles the king of the
+north will yet transfer his capital:
+
+"He shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the
+glorious holy mountain."
+
+
+Removal to Jerusalem
+
+This prophecy can mean nothing else than that the king of the north will
+eventually set up his headquarters in Jerusalem; for Jerusalem is "the
+holy mountain" of the Scriptures. Zech. 8:3.
+
+It is a wise counsel that says, "Tread lightly in the details of
+unfulfilled prophecy." Just how events are to turn, by what route or
+processes the steps are to be taken, it is useless to conjecture. But
+there the prophecy stands. Every word of the early portion of the
+prophetic outline has been fulfilled to the letter in the history of the
+ancient empires battling century after century over this region. Every
+word spoken of the final scenes will as certainly be fulfilled.
+
+In view of this prophecy,--that Jerusalem is yet to be made the
+headquarters of the king of the north,--it becomes highly significant
+that the Mohammedans regard Jerusalem as a sacred city. According to
+Mohammedan tradition, Jerusalem is to play a leading part in the closing
+history of that people. Hughes, in his "Dictionary of Islam," article
+"Jerusalem," summarizes the teaching:
+
+     "In the last days there will be a general flight to Jerusalem."
+
+Speaking of Jerusalem, an old Arab commentator on the Koran, Mukaddasi
+(A.D. 985), said:
+
+     "As to the excellence of the city. Why, is not this to be the
+     place of marshaling on the day of judgment, where the gathering
+     together and the appointment will take place? Verily Makkah
+     [Mecca] and Al Madina have their superiority by reason of the
+     Ka'abah and the prophet,--the blessing of Allah be upon him and
+     his family!--but, in truth, on the day of judgment both cities
+     will come to Jerusalem, and the excellencies of them all will
+     then be united."--_Le Strange, "Palestine under the Moslems,"
+     p. 85._
+
+[Illustration: MODERN JERUSALEM
+
+"He shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the
+glorious holy mountain." Dan. 11:45.]
+
+Thus Moslem doctrinal teaching and tradition both point out Jerusalem as
+the rallying place of Moslems before the end. Again and again in recent
+years, as the pressure has threatened the Turkish hold on
+Constantinople, the thoughts of Moslems have turned toward Jerusalem as
+a possible capital. A few years ago a Seventh-day Adventist missionary
+in Constantinople wrote to his home board:
+
+[Illustration: THE MOSQUE OF OMAR
+
+Situated in Jerusalem, on Mt. Moriah, the site of Solomon's Temple.]
+
+     "Within the past few months quite a company of people from the
+     Transcaucasus district have come to Ismid,--old
+     Nicodemia,--bringing all they possess with them. Some of them
+     possess considerable wealth. When asked if they were going to
+     settle in Ismid, they replied that they would settle nowhere
+     permanently at present. They stated that they had come to be
+     prepared to go with their leader when he left Constantinople to
+     go to Jerusalem."
+
+Wherever the capital may first be set up following the forsaking of
+Constantinople,--and Turkish authorities, we are told, have discussed a
+number of possible locations in Asia Minor,--there stands the ancient
+prophecy as to the eventual seat of the king of the north,
+
+"He shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the
+glorious holy mountain."
+
+Following that, what comes? The prophecy declares,
+
+"Yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him."
+
+
+What Comes When Turkey Falls
+
+The fury of his goings forth "utterly to make away many," the moving of
+his capital from one place to another, avail nothing in the end. "He
+shall come to his end, and none shall help him."
+
+The suggestion of the prophecy is that this power has hitherto been
+helped to stand. Here again every suggestion of the prophetic language
+finds its response in history. Through these later years of the time of
+the end the Ottoman Empire has been helped to stand, by either one power
+or another, or by some combination of powers. The late Lord Salisbury,
+while premier of Britain, thus stated the reasons for this policy of
+helping Turkey:
+
+     "Turkey is in that remarkable condition in which it has now
+     stood for half a century, mainly because the great powers of
+     the world have resolved that for the peace of Christendom it is
+     necessary that the Ottoman Empire should stand. They came to
+     that conclusion nearly half a century ago. I do not think they
+     have altered it now. The danger, if the Ottoman Empire should
+     fall, would not merely be the danger that would threaten the
+     territories of which that empire consists; it would be the
+     danger that the fire there lit should spread to other nations,
+     and should involve all that is most powerful and civilized in
+     Europe in a dangerous and calamitous contest. That was the
+     danger that was present to the minds of our fathers when they
+     resolved to make the integrity and independence of the Ottoman
+     Empire a matter of European treaty, and that is a danger which
+     has not passed away."--_Mansion House speech, Nov. 9, 1895._
+
+The veteran premier stated the fear of modern statesmen that Turkey's
+fall would involve all civilization in a calamitous conflict. The
+prophecy pictures just such a catastrophe, in these words:
+
+"He shall come to his end, and none shall help him. And at that time
+shall Michael stand up, the great Prince which standeth for the children
+of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was
+since there was a nation even to that same time."
+
+What modern statesmen have seen impending and have sought to ward off,
+the ancient prophecy says will surely come to pass when the king of the
+north comes to his end,--a time of trouble for the nations such as never
+was.
+
+
+In the New Testament
+
+In the prophecy of Revelation 16, the last great clash of the nations is
+represented as following the fall of the power that rules the territory
+drained by the Euphrates. Describing the last events in human history,
+under the pouring out of the vials of judgment upon the world, the
+prophet says:
+
+"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." Rev. 16:12.
+
+The water of the Euphrates represents the people or power ruling by it.
+When anciently the Assyrians dwelt by that river and were about to
+invade Israel, the prophet said, "The Lord bringeth up upon them the
+waters of the river, strong and many, even the king of Assyria." Isa.
+8:7. The waters of the Euphrates meant the Assyrian power.
+
+Just so in this prophecy, the river stands for the people. As the Nile
+stood for Egypt, and the Tiber for Rome, so in all modern times the
+Euphrates has stood for Turkey. The "drying up" of the Euphrates must
+mean the ending of the Turkish power. And in the verses immediately
+following, Revelation pictures the gathering of the nations of the whole
+world to Armageddon--"the battle of that great day of God Almighty."
+Following Turkey's end comes the final clash of nations. The earth
+quakes, the cities of the nations fall, and the last judgments of God
+come upon a warring world.
+
+Here, as in Daniel 12, is pictured a time of trouble for the nations
+such as never was, and the end of the world, when the power ruling in
+Syria, by the Euphrates, comes to its end.
+
+
+The Approaching End
+
+For years statesmen and observers have discussed the approaching
+dissolution of the Ottoman Empire. Travelers in Turkey have reported
+that thoughtful Turkish people held the conviction that the crisis of
+their nation was near at hand. Years ago Mr. Charles MacFarlane wrote:
+
+     "The Turks themselves seem generally to be convinced that their
+     final hour is approaching. 'We are no longer Mussulmans,--the
+     Mussulman saber is broken,--the Osmanlis will be driven out of
+     Europe by the _gaiours_, and driven through Asia to the regions
+     from which they first sprang. It is Kismet! We cannot resist
+     destiny!' I heard words to this effect from many Turks, as well
+     in Asia as in Europe."--_"Kismet; or the Doom of Turkey"
+     (London, 1853), p. 409._
+
+A later Turkish traveler, Mr. Wilfred Scawen Blunt, says:
+
+     "Ancient prophecy and modern superstition alike point to the
+     return of the Crescent into Asia as an event at hand, and to
+     the doom of the Turks.... A well-known prediction to this
+     effect, which has for ages exercised its influence on the
+     vulgar and even on the learned Mohammedan mind,... places the
+     scene of the last struggle in northern Syria, at Homs, on the
+     Orontes. Islam is then finally to retire from the north, and
+     the Turkish rule to cease. Such prophecies often work their own
+     fulfilment."--_"Future of Islam," p. 95._
+
+Thus native tradition and human forebodings have contemplated the
+break-up of the Turkish power, as the course of the years has witnessed
+the shrinkage of its territory and the ever-increasing difficulty of its
+position.
+
+Now and then there has been a renewal of Turkey's vigor and prestige;
+then again its situation has been rendered yet more precarious. It has
+been a buffer between the clashing interests of the great powers.
+Speaking of Turkey's difficult position in this respect, the London
+_Fortnightly Review_, May, 1915, expressed a common view thus:
+
+     "When once the nations of Europe set foot in Asia Minor, the
+     pace of Turkey's further downfall will be set not so much by
+     Turkey's strength or weakness as by the mutual jealousies of
+     the occupying powers."
+
+The storm clouds hang ever low over the Near East; while above all the
+din of wars and rumors of wars, the voice of divine prophecy declares
+that when this power comes to its end, the closing events in human
+history will quickly follow.
+
+[Illustration: CONSTANTINOPLE THE KEY CITY OF THE WORLD
+
+The cross on which the peace of the world has been crucified.]
+
+The solemn truth rings in our ears like a trumpet peal; the age-long
+Eastern Question is hastening on to its final solution, and its solution
+brings the end of the world.
+
+In the light of the "sure word of prophecy" the developments of our day
+in the East become more than matters of grave political concern to
+statesmen and observers of affairs generally; they are matters of
+deepest personal, eternal interest to every soul. In watching the trend
+of international affairs, we are watching the doing of the last things
+among the nations.
+
+As these things are seen coming to pass exactly as the prophecy
+foretold, we recognize them as God's call to men in the last generation
+to turn to Him and prepare their hearts to meet the coming Lord. Let no
+one think to wait until he sees Turkey come to its end before making his
+peace with God. The end of this power, as described in Revelation 16,
+comes during the falling of the seven last plagues. And the last verse
+of the preceding chapter shows that Christ's ministry for sinners in the
+heavenly temple has ended before the plagues begin to fall. Human
+probation will already have closed. The solemn decree will then have
+been issued in heaven:
+
+"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. And, behold, I come
+quickly." Rev. 22:11, 12.
+
+"Now is the accepted time," calls the Spirit; "now is the day of
+salvation." 2 Cor. 6:2. We have not to make ourselves ready. "If we
+confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to
+cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9. Our part is to believe
+and confess; His part is to forgive and cleanse and make us ready for
+the coming kingdom.
+
+
+The Sinner's Plea
+
+    With broken heart and contrite sigh,
+    A trembling sinner, Lord, I cry;
+    Thy pardoning grace is rich and free:
+    O God, be merciful to me!
+
+    Nor alms, nor deeds that I have done,
+    Can for a single sin atone;
+    To Calvary alone I flee:
+    O God, be merciful to me!
+
+    And when, redeemed from sin and hell,
+    With all the ransomed throng I dwell,
+    My raptured song shall ever be,
+    "God has been merciful to me!"
+
+    --_Cornelius Elven._
+
+[Illustration: THE GREAT BATTLE OF ARMAGEDDON
+
+The whole world involved in the last great clash of nations. "The
+nations were angry, and Thy wrath is come." Rev. 11:18.]
+
+[Illustration: THE PLAIN OF ESDRAELON AND MT. MEGIDDO
+
+"He gathered them together into a place called ... Armageddon." Rev.
+16:16.]
+
+
+
+
+ARMAGEDDON
+
+THE FINAL CLASH OF EARTHLY EMPIRES
+
+
+    "We are living, we are dwelling,
+      In a grand and awful time,
+    In an age on ages telling,
+      To be living is sublime.
+    Hark! the waking up of nations,
+      Gog and Magog to the fray;
+    Hark! what soundeth? Is creation
+      Groaning for her latter day?"
+
+The sure word of prophecy that foretold the rise and fall of ancient
+empires, and outlined the general course of world history through the
+ages, describes also the last great struggle of the nations.
+
+The proverb says, "Peace is the dream of the wise, but war is the
+history of man." And divine prophecy assures us that the history of this
+present world will end amid scenes of conflict.
+
+Many in our time have come to think that civilization must reach a
+better way of composing the rivalries of the nations. The prophecy
+forewarns us otherwise. In fact, the prophetic word points to the talk
+of peace and safety amid preparations for war, as a distinct sign of the
+latter days.
+
+"In the last days," Isaiah says, "many people shall go and say:"
+
+"They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into
+pruning hooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither
+shall they learn war any more." Isa. 2:2-4.
+
+This is what "many people" were to be saying. But the real conditions in
+the last days are described as exactly the opposite. The prophet Joel
+describes the real spirit of the world in these times:
+
+"Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles [the nations]: Prepare war, wake up
+the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up: beat
+your plowshares into swords, and your pruning hooks into spears: let the
+weak say, I am strong." Joel 3:9, 10.
+
+The context shows that the prophet is speaking of the last times, when
+"the day of the Lord is near." Verse 14.
+
+
+The Prophecy Fulfilling
+
+This is what we have seen in our time, as never before in the history of
+man,--the product of the plowshare and the pruning hook being turned
+into instruments of war.
+
+About twenty-five years ago the late Marquis of Salisbury, speaking as a
+man grown gray in the service of the state, asked a London audience the
+question, "What is the great change that marks this time as different
+from the times when most of us were young men?" The aged statesman
+answered his own question, saying that it was the arming of the nations,
+the swift race upon which the powers had then recently entered, to
+increase their naval and military armaments. It is a sign of our times,
+answering to the prophetic forecast.
+
+Throughout the present generation the thoughtful have watched with grave
+forebodings the preparations of the nations for war. Queen Alexandra, of
+Britain, once said of it:
+
+     "I was educated in the school of a king who was, before all
+     things, just; and I have tried, like him, always to preach love
+     and charity, I have always mistrusted warlike preparations, of
+     which nations seem never to tire. Some day this accumulated
+     material of soldiers and guns will burst into flames in a
+     frightful war that will throw humanity into mourning on earth
+     and grieve our universal Father in heaven."
+
+As the race of armaments went forward on a scale never before thought
+of, statesmen and writers began to make use of the word "Armageddon" to
+describe the conflict that they saw was inevitable. Years ago the London
+_Contemporary Review_ said:
+
+     "Odd things are happening everywhere.... Russia, Germany,
+     England--these are great names; they palpitate with great
+     ideas; they have vast destinies before them, and millions of
+     armed men in their pay, all awaiting Armageddon."
+
+In June, 1909, Lord Rosebery, in a speech before a press convention in
+London, commented gravely upon the significance of the feverish haste
+with which the nations were arming themselves, "as if for some great
+Armageddon, and that in a time of the profoundest peace."
+
+To quote from a popular American magazine, of the same year:
+
+     "Today all Europe is divided into two armed camps, waiting
+     breathlessly for the morrow with its Armageddon."--_Everybody's
+     Magazine, November, 1909._
+
+Thus, everywhere, observers saw that the rivalry of interests among the
+nations was leading to a conflict so overwhelmingly vast that only the
+Scriptural word "Armageddon," with its appeal to the imagination, seemed
+adequately suggestive of its proportions.
+
+Every passing year added to the intensity of feeling and the antagonism
+of interests. In 1911 the London _Nineteenth Century and After_ said:
+
+[Illustration: UNITED STATES BATTLESHIP "NEVADA"
+
+Photograph taken from the Manhattan Bridge. New York.
+
+COPYRIGHT BY UNDERWOOD & UNDERWOOD. N.Y.]
+
+     "Never was national and racial feeling stronger upon earth than
+     it is now. Never was preparation for war so tremendous and so
+     sustained. Never was striking power so swift and so terribly
+     formidable.... The shadow of conflict and of displacement
+     greater than any which mankind has known since Attila and his
+     Huns were stayed at Chalons, is visibly impending over the
+     world. Almost can the ear of imagination hear the gathering of
+     the legions for the fiery trial of peoples, a sound vast as the
+     trumpet of the Lord of hosts."--_Quoted in the Literary Digest,
+     May 6, 1911._
+
+[Illustration: COMRADES AFTER THE BATTLE
+
+Soldiers bringing in two wounded captives.
+
+PHOTO BY CENTRAL PHOTO SERVICE. N.Y.]
+
+What the ancient prophecy foretold--the preparing of war in the last
+days, the waking up and arming of the nations--we have seen fulfilling
+before our eyes in this generation.
+
+
+Satanic Agencies at Work
+
+In prophecies of the gathering of the nations for the last great
+struggle, Inspiration draws aside the veil, and allows us to see the
+agencies that have been stirring up the world for the war. As the
+prophet John was shown in vision the scenes of the last days, he saw the
+invisible powers of Satan, "the spirits of devils," going 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." Rev. 16:14.
+
+Earnest-minded statesmen have lamented their helplessness to combat the
+forces and influences pressing the world on toward conflict. In one of
+his last speeches as premier of Great Britain, the late Marquis of
+Salisbury was defending yet further calls for army and navy
+appropriations. He said:
+
+     "For years public opinion was in favor of a pacific policy, but
+     now that state of opinion has passed away. The tide has turned,
+     and who am I, and who are we, that we should attempt to stem
+     the tide? If the tide has turned, we shall have to go with it.
+     We are in the presence of forces far larger than we can wield."
+
+What those forces were, the aged statesman did not recognize, but the
+prophecy tells us. The prophet was shown the evil spirits from Satan
+going forth everywhere as the end nears, to stir up the whole world to
+the last great conflict.
+
+Sir Edward Grey, British foreign secretary, described these agencies
+very accurately. Speaking in the House of Commons, Nov. 27, 1911, he
+said:
+
+     "It is really as if in the atmosphere of the world there were
+     some mischievous influence at work, which troubles and excites
+     every part of it."
+
+It is all coming to pass exactly as the sure word of prophecy foretold.
+
+The conviction that great and decisive events are at hand has taken
+possession of many hearts in all the world. When the European war broke
+out in 1914, on a scale unprecedented in human history, it was no wonder
+that the question sprang to many lips, "Is it Armageddon?"
+
+The question was not lightly asked. The committee of the Church
+Missionary Society (Church of England), one of the greatest missionary
+organizations in the world, sent a message to its missionaries in all
+lands at the outbreak of the war. In this message was a call to prepare
+for the coming of the Lord:
+
+     "It may be that these events will quickly usher in the return
+     of Christ to gather His saints together from the four quarters
+     of the earth.... Many see in the events preceding and
+     accompanying this terrible cataclysm of war the signs of our
+     Lord's near return. If so, blessed will that servant be whom
+     his Lord when He cometh shall find giving 'their food in due
+     season' to those fellow servants who have been put in his
+     charge."--_Church Missionary Review, November, 1914._
+
+Timely as this call was, it was evident, from the prophetic scriptures,
+that the conflict then opening could not be the Armageddon of the
+Apocalypse, for the prelude to that final clash of nations is an event
+yet in the future--the downfall of a nation whose part in the closing
+scenes is clearly described in the prophecy of the coming Armageddon.
+
+The end of the power which rules over the territory through which the
+river Euphrates flows, is the prelude to Armageddon. The prophecy says:
+
+"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." Rev. 16:12.
+
+Next follows the gathering of "the whole world" to "the battle of that
+great day of God Almighty." Verse 14.
+
+Through all modern times Turkey has been identified with the Euphrates.
+The region of Syria and Asia Minor, long held by Turkey, has been the
+historic meeting place of the East and the West. In the London
+_Fortnightly Review_, May, 1915, Mr. J.B. Firth wrote:
+
+     "When, with the fall of Ottoman sovereignty at Constantinople,
+     the Turk is driven out of Europe, there will arise once more
+     the eternal question of the possession of Asia Minor. That land
+     is the corridor between Europe and Asia, along which have
+     passed most of the European conquerors--the Russians alone
+     excepted--who have invaded Asia, and most of the Asiatic
+     conquerors who have invaded Europe."
+
+The fall of the Turkish power in this Euphrates region will, in some
+manner, prepare the way for "the kings of the East" to come up to the
+final conflict.
+
+
+The Awakening of the East
+
+The same spirit that has been stirring up the West in preparation for
+the contest has been working in the East also. Year after year observers
+have pointed out the great changes taking place in Asia. September,
+1909, the London _Contemporary Review_ said:
+
+     "The whole of Asia is in the throes of rebirth. At last we may
+     see these three--the yellow race, the Indian race, and the
+     Arab-Persian Mohammedan race. And all that is making for the
+     Armageddon."
+
+A writer in the May, 1913, issue of the London _Nineteenth Century and
+After_, reviewing the situation at the close of the Balkan War, said:
+
+     "A new spirit is abroad in the East. It arose on the shores of
+     the Pacific when Japan proved that the great powers of Europe
+     are not invulnerable. North and south and west it has spread,
+     rousing China out of centuries of slumber, stirring India into
+     ominous questioning, reviving memories of past glory in Persia,
+     breeding discontent in Egypt, and luring Turkey onto the
+     rocks."
+
+With all the nations stirred up by the spirit agencies of the god of
+this world, the prophet next saw the armies of earth gathering to the
+last great battle. The prophecy continues:
+
+"And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue
+Armageddon." Rev. 16:16.
+
+Armageddon means the hill, or mount, of Megiddo, which overlooks the
+plain of Esdraelon, the historic battle ground of northern Palestine.
+Carmack says of it:
+
+     "Megiddo was the military key of Syria; it commanded at once
+     the highway northward to Phoenicia and Coele-Syria and the
+     road across Galilee to Damascus and the valley of the
+     Euphrates. It was moreover the chief town in a district of
+     great fertility, the contested possession of many races. The
+     vale of Kishon and the region of Megiddo were inevitable battle
+     fields. Through all history they retained that qualification;
+     there many of the great contests of southwestern Asia have been
+     decided. In the history of Israel it was the scene of frequent
+     battles. From such association the district achieved a dark
+     nobility; it was regarded as a pre-destined place of blood and
+     strife; the poet of the Apocalypse has clothed it with awe as
+     the ground of the final conflict between the powers of light
+     and darkness."--_"Pre-Biblical Syria and Palestine," p. 82._
+
+Thus Armageddon, as the "military key of Syria," marks Palestine and the
+Near East as the great international storm center in the final conflict.
+
+
+The Political Storm Center
+
+In vision, nearly two thousand years ago, the prophet saw the forces of
+the last days gathering around this pivotal region. Today observers
+recognize the eastern Mediterranean as indeed the pivotal point around
+which international interests involving East and West naturally revolve.
+
+Some years ago, in discussing railway development in Asia and Africa,
+and the great highways of sea transportation, the London _Fortnightly
+Review_ said:
+
+     "Palestine is the great center, the meeting of the roads.
+     Whoever holds Palestine, commands the great lines of
+     communication, not only by land, but also by sea."
+
+Again, the Manchester _Guardian_, emphasizing the importance attaching
+to this strategic center, said during the great war:
+
+     "Egypt, as things are,--and the fact cannot be too often
+     emphasized,--is the weak spot in our system of imperial defense
+     by sea power. Not until Palestine is in our possession can
+     Egypt be regarded as safe."--_Quoted in Literary Digest, Feb.
+     12, 1916, p. 369._
+
+Other nations have recognized the strategic value of a territory so
+situated. Thus political considerations make this region pointed out by
+the prophecy a center of conflicting interests. Hogarth, in his book,
+"The Near East," calls it "the time-honored storm center of the eastern
+Mediterranean."
+
+
+The Religious Storm Center
+
+To the conflict of political interests is added the rivalry of religious
+sentiment. Commenting on the religious associations of Palestine in
+relation to the international political situation, the London
+_Spectator_ some years ago stated the matter thus:
+
+     "People often ask how it is that the future of Palestine
+     presents such difficulties. The reason is simply that
+     Jerusalem--you cannot separate Jerusalem from Palestine--is
+     the sacred city of so many creeds and warring faiths. Not only
+     is it the holy place of all the Christian churches,--and two of
+     them quarrel bitterly over it, the Greeks and the Latins,--but
+     it is also one of the most sacred places in the Mohammedan
+     world. Mecca and Medina are hardly more sacred than the Mosque
+     of Omar. That is a fact which is often ignored by Europeans,
+     who forget that to turn the Mohammedans out of the temple
+     inclosure would disturb the whole Moslem world, from the
+     Straits Settlements to Albania. We must never forget that
+     Mohammedan pilgrims from India visit Jerusalem, just as
+     Christian pilgrims visit it from Europe. Lastly, Jerusalem is
+     profoundly sacred to the Jews, and the Jews are beginning to be
+     locally numerous and important. Most certainly there are no
+     elements of difficulty wanting in the problem of the future of
+     Palestine."
+
+History records the fact that rivalry over the care of the traditional
+holy places helped to precipitate one European war--that of the Crimea.
+
+In the study of the Eastern Question, we have seen that the prophecy of
+Daniel 11 marks Jerusalem as still a storm center in the closing scenes.
+A British consul in Jerusalem, in the days following the Crimean War,
+set forth suggestively his view of one of the factors in the Eastern
+Question. He wrote:
+
+     "The very heart and kernel of the Eastern Question can only be
+     reached in the Holy City, Jerusalem, where the Eastern and
+     Western churches are still wrestling as of old for the
+     mastery.... Now as heretofore, disguise the object as they may,
+     they are striving for a prize which has not been destined by
+     divine Providence for either; and this prize is no less than a
+     virtual dominion over the Christian world, from a throne of
+     government within the sanctuaries of the Holy City; and the
+     possession of that throne would involve possession of the key
+     to universal dominion."--_"Stirring Times: Records from
+     Jerusalem Consulate Chronicles," by James Finn, introductory
+     note by editor, p. xxiii._
+
+
+Foretold in Prophecy
+
+By every consideration--political, racial, and religious--the Near East
+supplies all the elements for involving the whole world when once the
+sweeping displacements begin which the prophecy foretold, and for which
+statesmen in our day have sought to prepare.
+
+Long ages ago the prophet of God, in vision on the Isle of Patmos, was
+shown the clash of interests and the gathering of the nations around
+this historic center. Before our eyes today we see events tending to
+give to this region the very character assigned to it by the prophecy.
+It was written in the sure word of prophecy in order that, as the events
+foretold are seen approaching, men may believe and turn to God, and find
+salvation from the things coming upon the earth.
+
+Into the prophecy of this sixteenth chapter of Revelation, describing
+the gathering of forces to Armageddon, our Saviour interjects the
+warning and the appeal:
+
+"Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his
+garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame." Verse 15.
+
+The last earthly events that the prophecy is dealing with--the pouring
+out of the seven last plagues, and the clash of Armageddon--come after
+probation closes. The close of probation, the passing of the ministry of
+Christ in the heavenly temple, will come as a thief, unannounced. Our
+only safety is in yielding heart and life to him now for cleansing, and
+accepting from his hand the garments of his own righteousness, freely
+offered to every one.
+
+
+What Comes with Armageddon
+
+Whatever ambitions or aims may be the impelling motives when the
+gathering to the great conflict comes, one thing is certain: Armageddon
+is to bring triumph and world dominion to no earthly power. As the
+nations gather, the Lord intervenes from heaven, and the history of the
+kingdoms of this world is closed at last. The prophet tells the sequel
+to Armageddon:
+
+"He gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue
+Armageddon. 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. 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. 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. And every island fled away, and the
+mountains were not found. 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." Rev. 16:16-21.
+
+The fall of the Turkish power is the prelude to the gathering of the
+nations to the battle of Armageddon. And Armageddon is the prelude to
+the end of the world and Christ's glorious coming as King of kings and
+Lord of lords. The armies gathered to battle for supremacy find
+themselves suddenly arrayed against the armies of heaven. Another
+prophecy describes the scene when Christ is revealed:
+
+"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; 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: for
+the great day of His wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?"
+Rev. 6:15-17.
+
+Again, as the great searchlight of divine prophecy lights up the way
+before us, we see by the course of present-day events that the end is
+drawing very near. By what sudden turn of affairs the last things to be
+done in history may be set in motion, none can foresee. The Saviour
+admonishes every soul, "Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour
+as ye think not the Son of man cometh." Matt. 24:44.
+
+It is for this time of waiting, especially, that Christ spoke the
+parable of the ten virgins who waited for the bridegroom. All sincerely
+wanted to meet him; all expected to be ready. But when the cry was
+raised, "Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him!" only
+five were ready. The others lacked the oil that was to give them light.
+We know what the oil represents--the genuine heart experience of the
+grace and love of Christ.
+
+[Illustration: THE TEN VIRGINS
+
+"They that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was
+shut." Matt. 25:10.]
+
+Those overtaken unready, hastened away to get oil. "And while they went
+to buy, the bridegroom came; and _they that were ready_ went in with him
+to the marriage: and the door was shut." Matt. 25:10. Those that were
+ready went in; those that were getting ready were too late. How came
+some to be ready?--They were ready all the time; they kept ready. This
+lesson is for us now. Our only safety is in being ready every day,
+keeping sins forgiven, the life surrendered to God.
+
+[Illustration: THE MILLENNIUM
+
+The millennium is the closing period of God's great week of time--a
+great sabbath of rest to the earth and to the people of God.
+
+It follows the close of the gospel age, and precedes the setting up of
+the everlasting kingdom of God on earth.
+
+It comprehends what in the Scriptures is frequently spoken of as "the
+day of the Lord."
+
+It is bounded at each end by a resurrection.
+
+Its beginning is marked by the pouring out of the seven last plagues,
+the second coming of Christ, the resurrection of the righteous dead, the
+binding of Satan, and the translation of the saints to heaven; and its
+close, by the descent of the New Jerusalem, with Christ and the saints,
+from heaven, the resurrection of the wicked dead, the loosing of Satan,
+and the final destruction of the wicked.
+
+During the one thousand years the earth lies desolate; Satan and his
+angels are confined here; and the saints, with Christ, sit in judgment
+on the wicked, preparatory to their final punishment.
+
+The wicked dead are then raised; Satan is loosed for a little season,
+and he and the host of the wicked encompass the camp of the saints and
+the holy city, when fire comes down from God out of heaven and devours
+them. The earth is cleansed by the same fire that destroys the wicked,
+and, renewed, becomes the eternal abode of the saints.
+
+The millennium is one of "the ages to come." Its close will mark the
+beginning of the new earth state.]
+
+[Illustration: CHRIST COMING FOR HIS OWN
+
+"They lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years," Rev. 20:4.]
+
+
+
+
+THE MILLENNIUM
+
+
+The word "millennium" means "a thousand years." This definite period is
+referred to specifically in but one chapter of the Bible, the twentieth
+of Revelation; and in that chapter it is spoken of repeatedly. We find
+it to be:
+
+The period during which the saints reign with Christ in judgment.
+
+The period during which Satan is bound.
+
+The measure of time between the two resurrections, that of the just and
+that of the unjust.
+
+An examination of the scriptures bearing upon the millennium will show:
+
+1. The events that mark its beginning.
+
+2. The events that occur during the thousand years.
+
+3. The events that come at the end of the period.
+
+We shall find it clearly taught in these scriptures:
+
+That the millennium begins at the second coming of Christ.
+
+That the reign of the saints with Him in judgment is not on this earth,
+but in heaven.
+
+That this earth, void of human inhabitants, is Satan's prison house
+during the thousand years.
+
+That at the end of the thousand years the judgment determined is
+executed upon Satan and all the wicked.
+
+That this earth, purified by the fires of the last judgment, and
+renewed, becomes the eternal home of the saved.
+
+
+1. Events at the Beginning of the Thousand Years
+
+The key to the time is furnished by the declaration that the millennium
+begins with--
+
+
+The Resurrection of the Just
+
+Speaking of the risen saints, the Scripture says:
+
+"They lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of
+the dead [the wicked] lived not again until the thousand years were
+finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that
+hath part in the first resurrection." Rev. 20:4-6.
+
+There are to be two resurrections. The apostle Paul said that this was
+the teaching of all Scripture: "There shall be a resurrection of the
+dead, both of the just and unjust." Acts 24:15. The first resurrection,
+that of the just, marks the beginning of the thousand years.
+
+
+Christ's Second Coming
+
+When is this first resurrection, in the order of events in this "day of
+the Lord"? It is at the second advent of Christ. One scripture, out of
+many, will suffice to state it:
+
+"The Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice
+of the Archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ
+shall rise first." 1 Thess. 4:16.
+
+As the Saviour comes in glory, with all the holy angels, the graves are
+opened, and His voice awakens His children who sleep in the dust.
+
+"He shall send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they
+shall gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of
+heaven to the other." Matt. 24:31.
+
+The time of Christ's second coming, therefore, is the beginning of the
+millennium.
+
+
+The Righteous Taken to Heaven
+
+The living righteous are translated, and, together with the risen
+saints, are taken to heaven, as the apostle says:
+
+"Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with
+them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be
+with the Lord." 1 Thess. 4:17.
+
+This was the Saviour's promise:
+
+"In My Father's house are many mansions.... I go to prepare a place for
+you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and
+receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also." John
+14:2, 3.
+
+
+The Destruction of the Wicked
+
+At Christ's second coming the wicked are slain. The unbelieving left
+without shelter in that day, cannot endure the presence of such glory as
+will burst upon the world:
+
+"The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in
+flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey
+not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ." 2 Thess. 1:7, 8.
+
+
+The Binding of Satan
+
+With the saints in heaven, beyond the reach of Satan's wiles, and with
+the wicked dead, not to live again till the thousand years are finished,
+Satan is "bound"--confined by divine power to this earth, which becomes
+his prison house, there being neither saint nor sinner upon whom to ply
+his arts of deception. No prisoner was ever more effectually chained.
+The symbolical language of the prophet pictures the scene:
+
+"I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless
+pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that
+old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand
+years, 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." Rev. 20:1-3.
+
+These are the events that mark the beginning of the thousand years:
+Christ's second coming, the resurrection of the just, the ascent of all
+the redeemed to the city of God, the death of the wicked, and, in
+consequence, the binding of Satan.
+
+
+2. Events During the Thousand Years
+
+
+In Heaven
+
+Scene after scene of glory is spread before us in the visions the
+prophets were given of the redeemed in the city of God. The prophet John
+says:
+
+"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.... Therefore are they before the throne of God,
+and serve Him day and night in His temple." Rev. 7:9-15.
+
+They "serve" in the temple of the Lord, the prophet says; while the poet
+sings:
+
+    "Whence came the armies of the sky,
+      John saw in vision bright?
+    Whence came their crowns, their robes, their palms,
+      Too pure for mortal sight?
+
+    "From desert waste, and cities full,
+      From dungeons dark, they've come,
+    And now they claim their mansion fair,
+      They've found their long-sought home."
+
+One service in which the saved have part during the thousand years is
+the work of judgment that still remains, preparatory to the final
+visitation of sin and the destruction of Satan and all his works. The
+prophet saw this work going forward in the heavenly courts, the
+redeemed associated with Christ in the service:
+
+"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 worshiped 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." Rev. 20:4.
+
+It was to this work of judging the wicked and the evil angels, that the
+apostle Paul referred in the counsel to the Corinthians: "Do ye not know
+that the saints shall judge the world?... Know ye not that we shall
+judge angels?" 1 Cor. 6:2, 3.
+
+
+On Earth
+
+While in heaven above the saved are with Christ and the holy angels
+before the throne, and follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth, it is to
+be remembered that on earth all is desolation and emptiness. The wicked
+have been slain by the glory of Christ's coming. By the quaking of the
+earth the cities of the nations have fallen in ruin, islands have been
+removed, and mountains cast into the depths of the sea. The condition of
+the earth during this time of desolation is thus described by the
+prophet:
+
+"I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the
+heavens, and they had no light. I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they
+trembled, and all the hills moved lightly. I beheld, and, lo, there was
+no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled. I beheld, and, lo,
+the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were
+broken down at the presence of the Lord, and by His fierce anger." Jer.
+4:23-26.
+
+"Without form, and void," said the prophet. This is the same phrase that
+is used in the opening verses of Genesis to describe the chaotic state
+of the earth in the beginning. At the beginning of creation week the
+earth was in a state of emptiness and chaos--an "abyss," as it is
+called in the Greek translation of Genesis. Again, during this
+thousand-year period, the earth is an "abyss," or a desolate waste.
+"Abyss" is the meaning of the word translated "bottomless pit" in the
+text telling of the binding of Satan by the mighty angel of God:
+
+"He laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and
+Satan, and bound him a thousand years, and cast him into the bottomless
+pit." Rev. 20:2, 3. The Revised Version says, "And cast him into the
+abyss."
+
+Confined to this pit or abyss of desolation, as a prisoner in a prison
+house, with none to tempt, the author of sin has a thousand years in
+which to view the ruin that sin has wrought in the earth that once left
+its Maker's hand beautiful and perfect, unmarred by any curse.
+
+
+3. Events at the End of the Thousand Years
+
+At the end of the millennium, this earth becomes the scene of events
+that close the great controversy between Christ and Satan.
+
+
+The Descent of the Holy City
+
+The judgment work in heaven having been accomplished, the hour has come
+for the execution of the judgment upon sin and sinners. The holy city
+comes down out of heaven. The prophet saw its descent in vision:
+
+"I John saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of
+heaven." Rev. 21:2.
+
+
+The Loosing of Satan
+
+"When the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his
+prison, and shall go out to deceive the nations." Rev. 20:7, 8.
+
+With all the wicked destroyed by the glory of Christ's second coming,
+Satan had been effectually bound; but now, as the city descends, the
+voice of Christ calls forth the wicked dead, and Satan is thus loosed,
+and assumes control again of those who have chosen him as their master.
+
+It is the time of which the Scripture speaks: "The rest of the dead
+lived not again until the thousand years were finished." Verse 5. The
+prophet saw the hosts of the lost called forth. "The sea gave up the
+dead which were in it; and death and hell [the "grave," margin]
+delivered up the dead which were in them." Verse 13.
+
+Thus Satan's subjects come forth to the last judgment. The resurrection
+of the wicked of all the ages is the loosing of Satan. Here again is his
+kingdom, and again he plies his deceptions and takes up anew his fight
+against God. How very natural that Satan should persuade the wicked that
+he has raised them to life, that his word in the beginning was true, "Ye
+shall not surely die"! If they are immortal, why may they not yet
+prevail against God? Satan rallies his angels and the hosts of the
+wicked, in numbers "as the sand of the sea," to make an attack upon the
+city of God.
+
+    "How vast the concourse! not in number more
+    The waves that break on the resounding shore,
+    The leaves that tremble in the shady grove,
+    The lamps that gild the spangled vaults above;
+    Those overwhelming armies, whose command
+    Said to one empire, Fall; another, Stand;
+    Whose rear lay wrap't in night, while breaking dawn
+    Rous'd the broad front, and called the battle on;
+    Great Xerxes' world in arms, proud Cannae's field,
+    Where Carthage taught victorious Rome to yield,
+    Immortal Blenheim, fam'd Ramillia's host;--
+    They all are here, and here they all are lost;
+    Their millions swell, to be discerned in vain,
+    Lost as a billow in th' unbounded main."
+
+    --_Edward Young's "Last Day."_
+
+"They went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the
+saints about, and the beloved city." Verse 9.
+
+
+The Wicked Before the Bar of God
+
+But as the hosts of evil compass the city, they are halted by the glory
+and majesty of the Redeemer's presence, enthroned as eternal victor over
+sin. Just here must apply the prophet's words:
+
+"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.
+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." Rev. 20:11, 12.
+
+[Illustration: THE HOLY CITY DESCENDS
+
+"Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men." Rev 21:3.]
+
+During the thousand years the records in heaven have been reviewed, and
+the degrees of guilt established. Now the judgment is to be pronounced
+and executed. But first the record of the books and the eternal
+righteousness of God's holy law are flashed by divine power upon the
+consciences of all the lost--"their conscience also bearing witness"
+(Rom. 2:15) that they are without excuse.
+
+
+The Destruction of Sin
+
+Sin is now to be blotted from the universe of God; and those who have
+chosen to be identified with sin perish with it. All that Infinite Love
+can do has been done in the gift of Christ to save men from the
+transgression of the holy law of God. That salvation rejected, there is
+nothing remaining that heaven can offer. There is no further sacrifice
+that can be made. "There remaineth no more sacrifice for sins." Heb.
+10:26.
+
+Then follows the last scene in the conflict with evil:
+
+"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. And the devil that deceived them was cast
+into the lake of fire.... And death and hell [the grave] were cast into
+the lake of fire. This is the second death." Rev. 20:9-14.
+
+The second death ends sin and the author of sin, and death itself. The
+controversy is ended. Christ's death has purged sin from the universe of
+God.
+
+
+The Earth Purified and Made New
+
+The fires that consume the wicked melt the earth and purify it from all
+trace of the curse. It is the day of which Peter wrote:
+
+"Wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements
+shall melt with fervent heat." But after this cleansing of every element
+of this sin-cursed earth, the promise of God will be fulfilled in the
+earth made new, as the eternal home of the saved. As Peter says, after
+telling of the day of burning, "Nevertheless we, according to His
+promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth
+righteousness." 2 Peter 3:12, 13.
+
+    "O sweet and blessed country,
+      The home of God's elect!
+    O sweet and blessed country,
+      That eager hearts expect!
+    Jesus, in mercy bring us
+      To that dear land of rest;
+    Who art, with God the Father,
+      And Spirit, ever blest."
+
+[Illustration: MOSES VIEWING THE PROMISED LAND
+
+"Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth." Matt. 5:5.]
+
+[Illustration: THE SPIES' RETURN
+
+"The land, which we passed through to search it, is an exceeding good
+land." Num. 14:7.]
+
+
+
+
+THE HOME OF THE SAVED
+
+
+The Land of Peace
+
+The Bible opens with a new heaven and a new earth, perfect from the
+Creator's hand; with man sinless and having access to the tree of life
+in the midst of the Eden paradise, out of which flowed a river that
+spread its life-giving waters through the earth.
+
+The Bible closes with a new heaven and a new earth; with man upright and
+sinless, having right to the tree of life growing in the midst of Eden;
+with the river of life flowing out from the garden of God, clear as
+crystal.
+
+Between the two scenes spreads out the panorama of six thousand years of
+conflict with sin. It is a story of the fall of man, of the loss of his
+Eden home, of the curse that marred the earth, of sin and sorrow and
+death overspreading all.
+
+
+The Restorer
+
+But from the hour when the shadow of sin fell upon the earth, there has
+been a light shining in the darkness. Amid the ruin that sin had
+wrought, there appeared the great Restorer.
+
+The inspired record gives a word-picture of Jesus taking man's place to
+win back the lost dominion:
+
+"Unto the angels hath He not put in subjection the world to come,
+whereof we speak. But one in a certain place testified, saying, What is
+man, that Thou art mindful of him? or the son of man, that Thou visitest
+him? Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; Thou crownedst him
+with glory and honor, and didst set him over the works of Thy hands:
+Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that He
+put all in subjection under Him, He left nothing that is not put under
+Him. But now we see not yet all things put under him. But we see Jesus."
+Heb. 2:5-9.
+
+Just where Adam fell and lost his dominion over the earth, we see Jesus,
+the second Adam, taking man's place and winning back the lost
+inheritance. That is why the picture of the new earth and man's sinless
+state depicted in the first two chapters of the Bible is repeated in the
+last two chapters with even greater fulness of glory. God's original
+plan and purpose will be carried out, and this earth, renewed, will be
+the eternal home of sinless men and women, redeemed by grace.
+
+Sin will be found not to have frustrated, but only to have delayed, the
+purpose of God. And what is six thousand years in working out the divine
+plan? In our brief span we may divide human history into ancient,
+medieval, and modern; but in heaven's life a thousand years are but as
+"a watch in the night;" and these six watches are to heaven but as one
+night of grief and of loving ministry in rescuing the lost.
+
+It has cost all that heaven had to give. But the infinite Gift was made,
+and all heaven has wrought at the work. Of the angels it is written,
+"Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them
+who shall be heirs of salvation?" Heb. 1:14.
+
+
+Bringing Back the Lost Dominion
+
+Of all the worlds that shine in the heavens, declaring the glory of God,
+this earth is the one that was lost. Its light went out in darkness. It
+wandered from the fold of God's perfect creation.
+
+Then the divine Shepherd came to find it and bring it back. And the
+angels that rejoiced when they saw this earth created,--"when the
+morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for
+joy,"--will again rejoice as the Lord brings back His own,--this earth,
+redeemed from the curse, shining in the bright universe again with the
+perfection of the glory of God.
+
+Christ not only redeems lost men, but He is to redeem this lost earth.
+"The Son of man," He said, "is come to seek and to save that which was
+lost." Luke 19:10.
+
+By sinning, man lost not only his righteousness and his life, but his
+dominion as well. Originally man had dominion "over all the earth." Gen.
+1:26. As the psalmist says, "Thou madest him to have dominion over the
+works of Thy hands." Ps. 8:6. He was prince and ruler of the earth. But
+when he yielded to Satan's temptation, he yielded up that dominion to
+the enemy, thus placing himself in the power of his foe. Satan thus
+became the "prince of this world," exercising the dominion wrested from
+man.
+
+But through Christ, this dominion is to be restored. The prophet of old
+said:
+
+"Thou, O tower of the flock, the stronghold of the daughter of Zion,
+unto thee shall it come, even the first dominion; the kingdom shall come
+to the daughter of Jerusalem." Micah 4:8.
+
+
+The Hope of the Promise
+
+The promise of the gospel of salvation is the promise not only of life
+eternal through faith, but of an eternal inheritance in the earth made
+new, the fulfilment of the Creator's plan when He made this world to be
+the home of man. This was the star of hope that shone before Adam and
+Eve as they stepped forth from Eden into a dying world. It was the
+promise to Abraham, "the promise, that he should be the heir of the
+world." Rom. 4:13.
+
+It was not the promise of the world in its present state. For the Lord
+gave Abraham "none inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot
+on." Acts 7:5. Abraham himself did not look for the promise to be
+fulfilled in this sinful earth, but in the earth made new, redeemed from
+sin. The Scripture says of his hope:
+
+"By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country:
+... for he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and
+maker is God." Heb. 11:9, 10.
+
+It was in the new earth and the New Jerusalem that Abraham, the father
+of the faithful, expected to receive the eternal inheritance promised to
+him and to his seed. And there all the faithful will find their
+inheritance.
+
+"If ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to
+the promise." Gal. 3:29.
+
+The psalmist said, "The meek shall inherit the earth." Ps. 37:11. Christ
+repeated it: "Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth."
+Matt. 5:5.
+
+
+The New Earth and the New Jerusalem
+
+Through the prophet Isaiah the Lord described the re-creation of this
+earth to be the home of the saved:
+
+"Behold, I create a new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall
+not be remembered, nor come into mind. But be ye glad and rejoice
+forever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a
+rejoicing, and her people a joy. And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and
+joy in My people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in
+her, nor the voice of crying." Isa. 65:17-19.
+
+It is not of old Jerusalem that the prophet is speaking, but of the New
+Jerusalem, which John saw coming down, with the saints, from God out of
+heaven. He saw it descending upon the earth at the end of the thousand
+years, and saw the wicked come forth from their graves to judgment. Then
+he saw the fires of the last day falling upon the lost, consuming sin
+and sinners, and purifying the earth itself from every trace of the
+curse. It is the day of which Peter wrote, "Wherein the heavens being on
+fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat."
+But he adds, "Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new
+heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness." 2 Peter 3:12,
+13.
+
+Out from the dissolved elements of the earth and the atmospheric heavens
+the Creator's power again calls forth new heavens and a new earth, the
+old creation cleansed and renewed in the perfection of the original Eden
+paradise. It is coming; for John saw it in vision. "I saw," he says, "a
+new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth
+were passed away." Rev. 21:1.
+
+He saw the city which had come down from heaven--those mansions that
+Christ is now gone to prepare--the New Jerusalem, the holy capital of
+the eternal kingdom of the saints, where Christ's own throne is set.
+
+"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. 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. 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." Rev. 21:3-5.
+
+It passes comprehension; but it is true. And the life of the saved in
+their eternal inheritance will be just as real as is life upon this
+present earth.
+
+[Illustration: THE SAINTS' ETERNAL HOME
+
+"I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first
+earth were passed away." Rev. 21:1.]
+
+"They shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant
+vineyards, and eat the fruit of them." "The wolf and the lamb shall feed
+together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall
+be the serpent's meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy
+mountain, saith the Lord." Isa. 65:21, 25.
+
+The whole earth will be as the Eden paradise planted by God in the
+beginning. And from week to week and from month to month the saved will
+gather to worship before the glorious throne in the holy city.
+
+"As the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain
+before Me, saith the Lord, so shall your seed and your name remain. And
+it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one
+Sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before Me, saith the
+Lord." Isa. 66:22, 23.
+
+
+The Glories of the Saints' Eternal Home
+
+As the first two chapters of the Bible tell of earth's original
+perfection, so the last two chapters constitute one psalm of ecstasy
+over the indescribable glories of the earth made new, with its city of
+light, the walls of jasper, the gates of pearl, the river of life
+flowing from the throne of the Lamb, clear as crystal, with the
+widespreading tree of life on either side of the river. And supreme
+above all, Jesus Himself, "the King in His beauty," without whom there
+would be no glory even in that city foursquare; "for the glory of God
+did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof."
+
+    "Oh, heaven without my Saviour
+      Would be no heaven to me;
+    Dim were the walls of jasper,
+      Rayless the crystal sea!
+
+    "He gilds earth's darkest valleys
+      With light and joy and peace;
+    Then what must be the radiance
+      Where sin and death shall cease?"
+
+Next to the loveliness and grace of Christ our Saviour, the glories of
+this world to come have inspired the sweetest hymns of hope for longing
+hearts. How often has the spirit been lifted above earth's trials as we
+have sung,
+
+    "O that home of the soul! in my visions and dreams
+      Its bright, jasper walls I can see
+    Till I fancy but thinly the veil intervenes
+      Between the fair city and me.
+
+    "That unchangeable home is for you and for me,
+      Where Jesus of Nazareth stands;
+    The King of all kingdoms forever is He,
+      And He holdeth our crowns in His hands.
+
+    "O how sweet it will be in that beautiful land,
+      So free from all sorrow and pain,
+    With songs on our lips and with harps in our hands,
+      To meet one another again!"
+
+"But as it is written, 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."
+
+Through the ages, the children of the promise have been journeying
+toward the city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker
+is God, and they have confessed themselves pilgrims and
+strangers in this present world. As they have followed the way of
+righteousness,--oftentimes a thorny path,--it has been with the shining
+city ever before their vision. As they have fallen in death, it has been
+with closing eyes fixed upon "that day" when Christ shall come to take
+His people to the New Jerusalem preparing above
+
+    "The Lamb there in His beauty
+      Without a veil is seen.
+    It were a well-spent journey
+      Though seven deaths lay between."
+
+Now earth's course is nearly run. It is but a little way to the holy
+city, where the water of life flows clear as crystal from the midst of
+the throne. The water of life is really there; for the Lord showed it to
+the prophet John in vision, that he might tell us that he saw it. "I
+John saw the holy city," he says, "and he showed me a pure river of
+water of life, clear as crystal." Rev. 21:2; 22:1.
+
+[Illustration: THE MASTER AT THE DOOR
+
+"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." Rev 3:20.]
+
+Christ invites every one to share the eternal inheritance, giving
+assurance of His power to save to the uttermost all that come unto God
+by Him. He is knocking at the door of every heart, asking admittance, in
+order that He may take away all sin, and prepare the soul for the
+heavenly home.
+
+And the glories of the holy city invite us to come:
+
+"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." Rev. 22:17.
+
+"He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen.
+Even so, come, Lord Jesus."
+
+[Illustration: EVENTIDE
+
+Home to the fold.]
+
+
+
+
+INDEX OF SUBJECTS AND AUTHORITIES
+
+
+Abraham, parable of rich man and Lazarus, 284
+
+"Abridgment of Christian Doctrine," on change of Sabbath, 156
+
+Adolphus, on study of prophecy, 305
+
+Advent message, Bates as advocate of, 244
+
+Advent movement, extent of, Brock on, 241
+
+Advent movement of 1844, 240
+
+AEschylus, on Medo-Persia, 121
+
+AEschylus, on Xerxes' host, 323
+
+Alexander, conquests of, Plutarch on, 121, 122
+
+Alexander, dominion of, Rawlinson on, 324, 325
+
+Alexander, empire of, Appian on, 122
+
+Alexander, first king of Greece, 207
+
+Alexander, greatness of, Arrian on, 44
+
+Alexander, Justin on, 207
+
+Alexander, Lucan on, 45
+
+Alexandra, Queen, on preparations for war, 339
+
+Alexandria, library at, sacred books of Jews in, 187
+
+Angels attending throne of God, 296
+
+Angels, God's messengers, 297
+
+Angels, guardian, 300
+
+Angels in kingly courts, 299
+
+Angels, messengers of deliverance, 300
+
+Angels, their ministry, 295-301
+
+Antitypical day of atonement, 237, 240, 241
+
+Apollonius, description of Babylon by, 33
+
+Apostasy in last days, Daniel 8, 248
+
+Appearing of Christ, 59
+
+Appian, on Alexander's empire, 122
+
+Arian kingdoms plucked up, 129
+
+Arian powers uprooted by Belisarius, 134
+
+Armageddon, "Contemporary Review" on, 339
+
+Armageddon, "Everybody's Magazine" on, 339
+
+Armageddon, final clash of empires, 337-349
+
+Armageddon, foretold in prophecy, 346, 347
+
+Armageddon, Lord Rosebery on, 339
+
+Armageddon, or Mt. Megiddo, Carmack, on 344
+
+Armageddon, prelude to, 343
+
+Armageddon, sequel of, 347, 348
+
+Arming of the nations, 106, 107
+
+Arrian, on Alexander's greatness, 44
+
+Artaxerxes, date of decree to rebuild Jerusalem, 223
+
+Artaxerxes, date of reign of, 225-227
+
+"Astronomy," Chambers, on falling stars, 101
+
+Atonement, antitypical day of, 237, 240, 241
+
+Avebury, Lord, on war, 112
+
+
+Babylon, description of, by Apollonius, 33, 34
+
+Babylon, desolation of, 31-35
+
+Babylon, desolation of, Layard on, 35
+
+Babylon, "Encyclopedia of Islam" on, 35
+
+Babylon in prophecy and history, 119, 120
+
+Babylon, prophecy concerning, 39-41
+
+Babylon, prophecy of, confirmed by history, 41-43
+
+Babylon, Strabo on, 34
+
+Bacon, Francis, on increase of knowledge, 306, 307
+
+Ball, Sir Robert, on falling stars, 100
+
+Bampfield, died in prison for Sabbath keeping, 179
+
+Baptism, conditions necessary to, 199, 200
+
+Baptism for believers, 200
+
+Baptism, form of, 200-203
+
+Baptism, manner of, Dean Stanley on, 202
+
+Baptism, manner of, Neander on, 201
+
+Baptism, manner of, Pullus on, 202
+
+"Baptism," meaning of word, Calvin on, 201
+
+"Baptism," meaning of word, Luther on, 201
+
+Baptism, memorial of resurrection, 199-203
+
+Baptism of infants, Dean Stanley on, 202
+
+Baptism of Jesus, time of, 230, 231
+
+Baptists, Sabbatarian, 179
+
+Baptists, Seventh Day, in America, 179, 180
+
+Barnes, Dr. Albert, on division of Grecia, 122
+
+Bates, as a Sabbath keeper, 244
+
+Baudrillart, on papal persecution, 151
+
+Beast, the fourth, of Daniel 7, 126-129
+
+Beasts, empires represented by, 118
+
+Belisarius, Arian powers uprooted by, 134
+
+Bellarmine, on great words of little horn, 147
+
+Bemont and Monod, "Medieval Europe", 137
+
+Bengelius, on judgment-hour warning, 249
+
+Berosus, on exploits of Nebuchadnezzar, 120
+
+Berthier enters Rome, Rickaby on, 141
+
+Besant, Mrs. Annie, on spiritualism of the East, 273
+
+Bible, agency in the new birth, 15, 17
+
+Bible and tradition, 251, 252
+
+Bible, Christ the central theme of, 23
+
+Bible, Dr. Harris on, 20, 21
+
+Bible, Erasmus on, 21
+
+Bible for all mankind, 21
+
+Bible, given to the world, Faber on, 308
+
+Bible, God its author, 14
+
+Bible, language of, Van Dyke on, 21, 22
+
+Bible, our safety and defense, 18
+
+Bible societies, organization of, 308
+
+Bible, source of all doctrine, 20
+
+Bible, speaks to our day, 13
+
+Bible, Spurgeon on authorship of, 14
+
+Bible, Spurgeon's experience with, 14
+
+Bible, the book that talks, 13
+
+Bible, the bread of life, 18
+
+Bible, the Christian's shield, 18
+
+Bible, the living word, 15
+
+Bible, the word that creates, 15
+
+Bible, the word that works within, 17
+
+Biddolf, on lessons from Lisbon earthquake, 82
+
+Bishop of Rome as head of church, Justinian on, 133
+
+Blunt, on doom of Turks, 333
+
+Bogue, on persecution for Sabbath keeping, 178, 179
+
+Bonar's hymn, on state of dead, 282
+
+Bower, on Sabbath observance, 174
+
+Bread of life, Bible as the, 18
+
+Brerewood, on Sabbath in first centuries, 173
+
+Britten, Mrs. Emma, on Spiritualism, 269
+
+Brock, on extent of the advent movement, 241
+
+Bruce, on desolation of Tyre, 31
+
+Bury, on achievements of Justinian, 132
+
+
+Calamy, on Bampfield as a Sabbatarian, 179
+
+Calvin, on meaning of word "baptism", 201
+
+Canon, Ptolemy's, Lindsay on, 225
+
+Carmack, on Armageddon, or Mt. Megiddo, 344
+
+Chambers, Dr., on Sabbath in England, 177
+
+Chambers, on falling stars, 101
+
+Change of Sabbath, 153-167
+
+Charles I, on Sabbath observance, 177
+
+China open to the gospel, 309
+
+Christ and Satan, controversy between, 257-263
+
+Christ, central theme of Bible, 23
+
+Christ, closing work of, in heaven, 216
+
+Christ, death of, 231
+
+Christ, glorious appearing of, 59
+
+Christ, lost dominion redeemed by, 363
+
+Christ, second coming of, 51-63, 352
+
+Christ, the restorer, 362
+
+Christian work of Countess of Huntingdon, 63
+
+Christs, false, 74
+
+"Church Missionary Review," on war a sign of end, 343
+
+Clarke, Dr. Adam, on "living soul", 283
+
+Cleansing of the sanctuary, 211, 213-217
+
+Clerke, on glory of falling stars, 101, 102
+
+Clerke, on star shower of 1833, 94, 95
+
+Coming of Christ at the door, 115
+
+Coming of Christ, beginning of signs of, 75-77
+
+Coming of Christ, love of pleasure a sign of, 109
+
+Coming of Christ, manner of, 53-55
+
+Coming of Christ, political unrest a sign of, 106
+
+Coming of Christ, prelude to, 59
+
+Coming of Christ, promise of, 52
+
+Coming of Christ, purpose of, 56, 57
+
+Coming of Christ, signs of, 74, 75
+
+Coming of Christ, signs of, in industrial world, 110
+
+Coming of Christ, signs of, in Matthew 24, 65, 66, 112, 113
+
+Coming of Christ, signs of, in the social world, 109
+
+Coming of Christ, signs of, upon the earth, 105
+
+Coming of Christ, the Saviour's prophecy of, 65-77
+
+Coming of Christ, to be as in days of Noah, 109
+
+Coming of Christ, world evangelization a sign of, 112
+
+Commandments, the ten, 182
+
+Comte, M., on passion for pleasure, 10
+
+Connecticut Legislature, Dark Day in, 90
+
+Conroy, on temporal sovereignty of popes, 129
+
+Constantine, Sunday law of, 16
+
+"Contemporary Review," on Armageddon, 339
+
+"Contemporary Review," on awakening of East, 344
+
+Controversy between Christ and Satan, 257
+
+Controversy, earth the battle-ground of, 259
+
+Conybeare and Howson, on the Sabbath, 165
+
+Cottrell, R.F., poem by, 171
+
+Countess of Huntingdon, Christian work of, 63
+
+Covenant, confirming of the, 231
+
+Creative power of the Word, 15
+
+Croly, on Justinian as founder of papal supremacy, 133
+
+Cuneiform writing, 312
+
+Cyrus, conquests of, Rawlinson on, 121
+
+Cyrus, Xenophon on, 206
+
+Dale, on non-sacredness of Sunday, 166
+
+Daniel, book of, unsealed, 304
+
+Daniel 2, prophecy of, 39-49
+
+Daniel 7, prophecy of, 117-129
+
+Daniel 8, prophecy of, 205-211
+
+Daniel, prophecy of 1260 years, 131, 132
+
+Daniel, vision of great beasts, 118
+
+Dark Day, Boston "Gazette" on, 88
+
+Dark Day, cause of unknown, 87
+
+Dark Day, contemporary records of, 88, 89
+
+Dark Day, Dr. Samuel Stearns on, 89, 90
+
+Dark Day, effect on Connecticut Legislature, 90
+
+Dark Day, "Independent Chronicle" on, 88, 89
+
+Dark Day in New England, Williams on, 86
+
+Dark Day, prophecy of, fulfilled, 85
+
+Dark Day, Timothy Dwight on, 90
+
+Dark Day, Webster on, 87
+
+Dark Day, Whittier on, 86, 87, 90, 91
+
+Darkening of the sun, 85
+
+Dead, not agencies of Spiritualism, 271
+
+Dead, sleep of, 280-282
+
+Dead, righteous, raised to life, 60
+
+Death, man's state in, 275, 280-282
+
+Delaire, Mme. Jean, on Theosophy and Spiritualism, 272, 273
+
+Desolation of Babylon, 31
+
+Destruction of the wicked, 61, 353
+
+"Dictionary of Christian Antiquities," on Change of Sabbath, 166
+
+Discontent, F.T. Martin on growth of, 112
+
+Doctrinal Catechism, on change of Sabbath, 156
+
+Doctrinal Catechism, on power of church, 252
+
+Doctrine, Bible the source of, 20
+
+Dominion, bring back the lost, 363
+
+Dream of Nebuchadnezzar, 39, 40
+
+Dwight, on Dark Day, 90
+
+
+Earth, cleansed and renewed, 364-367
+
+Earth, purified, 359
+
+East, awakening of, 344
+
+East, "Nineteenth Century and After," on new spirit in, 344
+
+Eastern Question, Jerusalem heart of, Finn on, 346
+
+Eastern Question, Maspero on, 322
+
+Eastern Question, relation to end of world, 334
+
+Eastern Question, the, 321-335
+
+Eighteen forty-four, Advent movement in, 240-244
+
+Elliott, on great words of little horn, 147
+
+Elven, Cornelius, poem by, 335
+
+Empires, four great universal, 117-129
+
+Encyclopedia Britannica, on Palestine as battle field, 325, 326
+
+Encyclopedia of Islam, on Babylon, 35
+
+End of the wicked, 287-293
+
+End, time of the, 303-317
+
+Erasmus, on the Bible, 21
+
+Eternal fire, 292, 293
+
+Euphrates dried up, 332
+
+Europe, kingdoms of modern, 46-48
+
+Everlasting fire, 292
+
+Everlasting punishment, 289-293
+
+"Everybody's Magazine," on Armageddon, 339
+
+Evil, origin of, 257-263
+
+Executive judgment, 261-263
+
+
+Faber, G.S., on Bible given to the world, 308
+
+Faith, justification by, 191-197
+
+Falling stars, 93
+
+Falling stars, sign to world, 99
+
+False Christs, 74
+
+Farrar, on prophecy fulfilled, 35, 36
+
+Ferraris, on titles assumed by Pope, 149
+
+Fig tree, parable of, 115
+
+Finlay, on beginning of history of Middle Ages, 134, 135
+
+Finlay, on rapid changes in sixth century, 132
+
+Fire, everlasting, 292, 293
+
+Fire, lake of, 290
+
+Fire, unquenchable, 292, 293
+
+First angel's message, 239
+
+First day rest, 164-166
+
+Firth, on fall of Ottoman power, 343
+
+Flammarion, on density of star shower, 95
+
+"Forever and ever," meaning of, 291, 292
+
+"Fortnightly Review," on Turkey's position, 333, 334
+
+Fox family, origin of modern Spiritualism, 269
+
+France, decree of, to abolish religion, 140
+
+French Revolution, Lamartine on, 140
+
+French Revolution, significant events of, 140
+
+
+"Gazette and Country Journal" on dark day, 88
+
+Gehenna, a valley near Jerusalem, 293
+
+Gentiles, gospel carried to, 234, 235
+
+Gibbon, on power of Rome, 46
+
+Gibbon, on Roman Empire, 209
+
+Gibbon, on site of Nineveh, 29
+
+Gibbon, on struggle for Italy, 134
+
+God's challenge to false religious systems, 25
+
+Goldastus, on Sabbath keepers in Alpine valleys, 175
+
+Gospel, agencies for work of, 311
+
+Gospel, China, opened to the, 309
+
+Gospel, doors open to, in all world, 309
+
+Gospel for our day, the, 247, 248
+
+Gospel message, solemn warning in, 248, 249
+
+Gospel, open doors for, Dr. Pierson on, 310
+
+Gospel, printing press an agency of, 318
+
+Gospel, telegraph used in carrying, 318
+
+Gospel, the everlasting, 248
+
+Gospel to the Gentiles, 234, 235
+
+Goths, defeat of, 134
+
+Great controversy, earth the battle ground of, 259
+
+Grecia, Alexander first king of, 207
+
+Grecia, conquests of, under Alexander, 121, 122
+
+Grecia, division of, Dr. Albert Barnes on, 122
+
+Grecia, prophecy and history of, 206, 207, 121, 324
+
+Grecia, prophecy concerning, in Daniel, 244
+
+Greece, division of, 208
+
+Greeley, Spiritualism tested by, 269
+
+Grey, Sir Edward, on Satanic agencies, 342
+
+Guardian angels, 300
+
+Gutenberg's first types, 314
+
+
+Hales, on authenticity of Ptolemy's canon, 225
+
+Harris, on the Bible, 20-21
+
+Hastings, on Valley of Hinnom, 293
+
+"Hearst's Magazine," on growth of discontent, 112
+
+Heresies, papal order against, 150
+
+Herodotus, on doctrine of immortality, 291
+
+Herodotus, on Pythius, the Lydian, 323
+
+Hieroglyphics, the "Ox Song", 312
+
+Hinnom, Valley of, 293
+
+Hippolytus, on power of Rome, 46
+
+Hippolytus, on prophecy of Rome fulfilled, 126
+
+Hiscox, on change of Sabbath, 166, 167
+
+Hiscox, on Sunday mark of paganism, 170
+
+History, prophecy confirmed by, 35-37
+
+Hobbs, Professor, on Lisbon earthquake, 79
+
+Holtzman, on Bible and tradition, 252
+
+Home of the saved, 361-370
+
+Horace, ode on Rome, 47
+
+Horace, on might of Rome, 208
+
+Hughes, on Jerusalem's part in closing history, 328
+
+Huguenots, persecution of, Kurtz on, 76
+
+Humboldt, on other displays of falling stars, 99
+
+Humphreys, on appearance of falling stars, 96
+
+Hutton, on abolition of religion in France, 140
+
+Hymn on state of dead, by Horatius Bonar, 282
+
+
+Image of Daniel 2, 118
+
+Image to the Papacy, 251
+
+Immortality, doctrine of, 291
+
+Immortality, doctrine of, Herodotus on, 291
+
+Immortality, God only has, 282
+
+Immortality of the soul, 275-285
+
+Immortality, the gift of God, 275, 282
+
+Immortality, when bestowed, 279
+
+Increase of knowledge, 306-317
+
+"Independent Chronicle," on Dark Day, 88, 89
+
+Infant baptism, Dean Stanley on, 202
+
+Ising, visit of, to site of Nebuchadnezzar's palace, 35
+
+Italy, struggle for, Gibbon on, 134
+
+
+Jerusalem, Artaxerxes' decree to rebuild, 223-225
+
+Jerusalem, date of decree to restore, 223
+
+Jerusalem, destruction of temple at, 70
+
+Jerusalem, headquarters of king of the North, 328
+
+Jerusalem, heart of Eastern Question, Finn on, 346
+
+Jerusalem, last days of, 66
+
+Jerusalem, last gathering place, Mukaddasi on, 328
+
+Jerusalem, Moslems turn toward, 330
+
+Jerusalem, part of, in closing history, Hughes on, 328
+
+Jerusalem, signs of approaching doom of, 67-69
+
+Jessup on falling stars, 100
+
+Jesus, the restorer, 362
+
+Jesus, time of baptism of, 230
+
+Jews, fanaticism of, Ridpath on, 67
+
+Joseph, prophecy fulfilled to, 26
+
+Josephus, on destruction of temple, 70
+
+Judgment, Christ's work in sanctuary, 216, 217
+
+Judgment hour, many witnesses proclaim, 240, 241
+
+Judgment-hour message, 247-255
+
+Judgment-hour message, a call to loyalty, 249
+
+Judgment-hour message, John Wesley on, 249
+
+Judgment-hour warning, Bengelius on, 249
+
+Judgment, law of God the standard in, 189
+
+Judgment, message of, in 1844, 239
+
+Judgment, the hour of God's, 237
+
+Judgment, time of the investigative, 235-237
+
+Judgment upon Satan, 261-263
+
+Jurieu, on fall of the Papacy, 140, 141
+
+Justification and righteousness, 195
+
+Justification by faith, 191
+
+Justification not by works, 192
+
+Justification, what it is, 196, 197
+
+Justinian, achievements of, Bury on, 132
+
+Justinian as source of papal power, Croly on, 133
+
+Justinian, decree of, in A.D. 533, 133
+
+Justin, on Alexander, 207
+
+
+Keyser, on Sabbath keeping in Norway, 175
+
+Killen, on change of Sabbath, 169
+
+Kingdom of God, when to be set up, 48
+
+Kingdoms of modern Europe, 46
+
+King of the North, the modern, 326
+
+King of the North, removal of, to Jerusalem, 328
+
+Kings of the North and South, 325
+
+Knowledge, increase of, 306
+
+Knowledge, increase of, Francis Bacon on, 306, 307
+
+Knowledge, increase of, Lorimer on, 307
+
+Kurtz, on persecution of Huguenots, 76
+
+
+Lake of fire, the, 290
+
+Lamartine, on French Revolution, 140
+
+Langley, on falling stars, 101
+
+Lang, on Sabbath in Scotland, 174
+
+Laodicea, Council of, on Sabbath keeping, 173, 174
+
+Lawgiver, only one, 188
+
+Law of God changed by Papacy, Melanchthon on, 154
+
+Law of God, character of, 183
+
+Law of God, existed from the beginning, 184, 185
+
+Law of God, given anew at Sinai, 186
+
+Law of God, given with his own voice, 187
+
+Law of God, office of, 183, 184
+
+Law of God, relation of, to justification, 191, 193
+
+Law of God, standard in the judgment, 189
+
+Law of God, standard of righteousness, 188
+
+Law of God, the, 182-189
+
+Law of God unchangeable, 153
+
+Layard, on the desolation of Babylon, 35
+
+Lazarus, parable of rich man and, 284, 285
+
+Lecky, on papal persecution, 150
+
+Leo XIII, encyclical letter of, 149
+
+Leonard, Dr., on missionary activity, 307
+
+"Library of Christian Doctrine," on change of Sabbath, 154, 155
+
+Life only in Christ, 275-285
+
+Lindsay, on Ptolemy's Canon, 225
+
+Lisbon earthquake, extent of, 81
+
+Lisbon earthquake, James Parton on, 80
+
+Lisbon earthquake, lessons from, John Biddolf on, 82
+
+Lisbon earthquake, Professor Hobbs on, 79
+
+Lisbon earthquake recognized as a sign, 82
+
+Lisbon earthquake, Voltaire on, 80
+
+Lisbon earthquake, world set to thinking by, 80
+
+Little horn, 208
+
+Little horn and fourth kingdom, 126, 127
+
+Little horn, great words of, Bellarmine on, 147
+
+Little horn, great words of, Elliott on, 147
+
+Little horn in prophecy and history, 127
+
+Little horn, period of supremacy of, 145
+
+Little horn, time of rise of, 145
+
+Little horn, work of, 145-147
+
+Lorimer, on increase of knowledge, 307
+
+Lucan, on Alexander, 45
+
+Lucan, on greatness of Rome, 209
+
+Lucifer, the light-bearer, 258
+
+Luther, on meaning of word "baptism", 201
+
+Luther, on use of printing art, 318
+
+
+MacFarlane, on approaching end of Turks, 333
+
+Mahaffy, on kingdoms of north and south, 325
+
+Man, nature of, and state in death, 275-285
+
+Manner of Christ's coming, 53
+
+Manning, Cardinal, on power of Rome, 125
+
+Mark, or sign, of papal authority, 251-253
+
+Mark, or sign, use of, Potter on, 250
+
+Martin, on growth of discontent, 112
+
+Maspero, on Eastern Question, 322
+
+Matthew 24, prophecy of, 65-77
+
+Mears, Dr., on conditions after Christ, 67
+
+"Medieval Europe," Bemont and Monod, 137
+
+Medo-Persia, AEschylus on, 121
+
+Medo-Persia in prophecy and history, 120, 121, 206
+
+Medo-Persia, prophecy of, Daniel 2, 43, 44
+
+Megiddo, or Armageddon, Carmack on, 344
+
+Melanchthon, on change of law by Papacy, 154
+
+Message of the judgment hour, 247-255
+
+Messengers of deliverance, angels as, 300
+
+Messiah, covenant confirmed by, 231-235
+
+Messiah, time of baptism of, 230
+
+Michael, standing up of, 327
+
+Middle Ages, beginning of history of, Finlay on, 134, 135
+
+Millennium, beginning of, 351, 352
+
+Millennium, diagram of, 350
+
+Millennium, events at beginning of, 352
+
+Millennium, events at end of, 356
+
+Millennium, events in heaven during, 354
+
+Millennium, events on earth during, 355
+
+Millennium, the, 351-359
+
+Milner, on falling stars, 94
+
+Milton, on Sabbath observance, 177, 178
+
+Missionary activity, Dr. Leonard on, 307
+
+Missionary developments of century, 113
+
+Missionary movement, a sign of Christ's coming, 112
+
+Missionary movement, increased activity of, 113
+
+Missions, open doors for, 309
+
+Missions, Pierson on open doors for, 310
+
+Monarchies, the four universal, 118
+
+Monod, Bemont and, "Medieval Europe", 137
+
+Mortal, the natural state of man, 276
+
+Mortality, universal, 277
+
+Moslems, Jerusalem as capital for, 330
+
+Motley, on persecution in Netherlands, 150
+
+Mukaddasi, on Jerusalem as last gathering place of nations, 328
+
+Myers, on history of Greece, 208
+
+
+Nations, anger of, 107
+
+Neander, on first-day collections, 166
+
+Neander, on manner of baptism, 201
+
+Nebuchadnezzar, dream of, 39-41
+
+Nebuchadnezzar, exploits of, Berosus on, 120
+
+Nebuchadnezzar, palace of, Ising on, 35
+
+Nebuchadnezzar, stone records of, 43
+
+Necromancy, divine warnings against, 267
+
+Netherlands, persecution in, Motley on, 150
+
+New birth, Bible an agency of, 15
+
+Newcomb, on falling stars, 95
+
+New earth, the, 364-370
+
+New Jerusalem, descent of, 356
+
+New Jerusalem, the, 364-367
+
+Newman, Cardinal, on rites borrowed from paganism, 169
+
+Newton, Sir Isaac, on prophetic study, 304, 305
+
+"Nineteenth Century and After," on new spirit in East, 344
+
+"Nineteenth Century and After," on preparation for war, 339, 341
+
+Nineveh, Rawlinson on, 27
+
+Nineveh, site of, Gibbon on, 29
+
+Nineveh, the witness of, 27
+
+
+Olmsted, on brilliancy of falling stars, 97
+
+Olmsted, on shooting stars, 95
+
+Origin of evil, 257-263
+
+Ottoman empire, 326
+
+Ottoman power, fall of, Firth on, 343
+
+Our day, gospel for, 247
+
+
+Paganism, rites borrowed from, Cardinal Newman on 169
+
+Palestine as battle field, Encyclopedia Britannica on, 325, 326
+
+Palestine as great center, "Fortnightly Review" on, 345
+
+Palestine, as political storm center, 345
+
+Palestine, as religious storm center, "Spectator" on, 345
+
+Papacy, a persecuting power, 137
+
+Papacy, change of times and laws by, 153
+
+Papacy, claims of, 155, 156
+
+Papacy, counterpart of little horn, 145, 147
+
+Papacy, end of supremacy of, 139
+
+Papacy, extinction of, Canon Trevor on, 141, 142
+
+Papacy, fall of, Jurieu on, 140, 141
+
+Papacy, France strikes against, 140
+
+Papacy, great words of, Elliott on, 147
+
+Papacy, image to the, 251
+
+Papacy, law changed by, Melanchthon on, 154
+
+Papacy, orders of, to destroy heresy, 150
+
+Papacy, persecution by, Lecky on, 150
+
+Papacy plucked up Arian kingdoms, 129
+
+Papacy, power of, Leo XIII on, 149
+
+Papacy shall wear out saints, 149
+
+Papacy, sign of authority of, 156
+
+Papacy, supremacy of, 129
+
+Papacy, supremacy of acknowledged, 132, 133
+
+Papacy, time of its supremacy, 131, 132
+
+Papal authority, mark of, 251
+
+Papal claims in encyclical letter of Leo XIII, 149
+
+Papal persecution, Baudrillart on, 151
+
+Papal persecution, Lecky on, 150
+
+Papal persecutions, "Western Watchman" on, 151
+
+Papal power, Sunday the mark of, 252
+
+Papal power, work of the, 250
+
+Papal supremacy, beginning of, 132
+
+Papal supremacy, end of, 139
+
+Papal supremacy officially recognized, 133
+
+Parable of the fig tree, 115
+
+Parable of the rich man and Lazarus, 284, 285
+
+Parable of the ten virgins, 348, 349
+
+Parton, on Lisbon earthquake, 80
+
+Peace and safety, 107
+
+Peace prophecies, 338
+
+Persecution after Christ's death, 235
+
+Persecution for Sabbath observance, 178
+
+Persecution in Netherlands, Motley on, 150
+
+Persecution in time of the end 73
+
+Persecution, papal, Baudrillart, on 151
+
+Persecution, papal, Lecky on 150
+
+Persecution, signs of end follow, 73-75
+
+Persecution under Papacy, 149-153
+
+Persecutions, papal, "Western Watchman" on, 151
+
+Persia, rise and fall of, 322-324
+
+Phalerius, king urged by, to secure Jewish sacred books, 187, 188
+
+Pierson, Dr., on open doors for gospel, 310
+
+"Plain Talks," on Sunday observance, 251
+
+Pleasure, passion for, M. Comte on, 109
+
+Pleasure, passion for, sign of Christ's coming, 109
+
+Plutarch, on Alexander, 45
+
+Plutarch, on Alexander's conquests, 121, 122
+
+Political unrest, 106, 107
+
+Polybius, on dominion of Rome, 208
+
+Pope Gregory, on Sabbath observance, 174
+
+Pope Innocent II, orders of, to destroy heresies, 150
+
+Pope Leo XIII, encyclical letter of, 149
+
+Pope Leo XIII, on power of Papacy, 149
+
+Pope taken prisoner, Joseph Rickaby on, 141
+
+Pope, titles assumed by, Ferraris on, 149
+
+Pope Vigilius, date of reign of, Schaff on, 137
+
+Popes, a new order of, 135
+
+Popes declared saints, 137
+
+Popes no longer declared saints, 137
+
+Popes, temporal power of, Conroy on, 129
+
+Potter, on use of a mark, or sign, 250
+
+Present-day conditions, meaning of, 105-115
+
+Press, the Mighty (poem), 317
+
+Pride, cause of Satan's fall, 258
+
+Prince of Tyre, 258
+
+Printing, Gutenberg's first types, 314
+
+Printing, Luther on art of, 318
+
+Printing press, a gospel agency, 318
+
+Printing press, illustrations of, 315, 316
+
+Printing press, the mighty, 317
+
+Prophecies of Christ's coming, 52
+
+Prophecy, Armageddon foretold in, 346, 347
+
+Prophecy concerning Babylon, 31-33, 40
+
+Prophecy fulfilled, Farrar on, 36
+
+Prophecy fulfilled to Joseph, 26
+
+Prophecy fulfilling, Marquis of Salisbury on, 338
+
+Prophecy of Daniel 7, 117-129
+
+Prophecy of Daniel 8, 205-211
+
+Prophecy of Daniel unsealed, 304
+
+Prophecy, of increase of knowledge, 306
+
+Prophecy of Matthew 24, 65-77
+
+Prophecy of the judgment, Revelation 14, 239
+
+Prophecy of Tyre, 30, 31
+
+Prophecy of 2300 years fulfilled, 229-237
+
+Prophecy, study of, John Adolphus on, 305
+
+Prophecy, the sure word of, 25
+
+Prophecy, witness of the centuries to, 25-37
+
+Prophetic outline of world's history, 39-49
+
+Prophetic period, a great, 219-227
+
+Prophetic study, Sir Isaac Newton on, 304, 305
+
+Prophetic word, testimony of history to, 35-37
+
+Protestants, persecution of, the "Western Watchman" on, 151
+
+Ptolemy's canon, authenticity of, Hales on, 225
+
+Ptolemy's canon, Lindsay on, 225
+
+Pullus, on manner of baptism, 202
+
+Punishment, everlasting, 289, 292
+
+Purification of the earth, 359
+
+Pythius, the Lydian, Herodotus on, 323
+
+
+Railroads, construction of, Wallace on, 313
+
+Rawlinson, on Alexander's dominion, 324, 325
+
+Rawlinson, on Cyrus's conquests, 121
+
+Rawlinson, on division of Alexander's kingdom, 122
+
+Rawlinson, on Nineveh, 27
+
+Reformation a progressive work, 255
+
+Religion, abolition of, by French, Hutton on, 140
+
+Resurrection, baptism the memorial of, 199
+
+Resurrection of the just, 59, 61, 352
+
+Resurrection of the wicked, 62
+
+Resurrection, the second, Satan freed at, 262
+
+Resurrections, the two, 288, 289
+
+Rich man and Lazarus, parable of, 284, 285
+
+Rickaby, on Berthier entering Rome, 141
+
+Ridpath, on fanaticism of Jews, 67
+
+Righteousness and justification, 195-197
+
+Righteousness, God's law the standard of, 188
+
+Righteousness, the gift of Christ, 193, 194
+
+Righteous taken to heaven, 353
+
+Righteous, translation of living, 59-61
+
+Righteous, with Christ a thousand years, 62
+
+Roman Empire divided, 47, 127
+
+Roman Empire, Gibbon on, 209
+
+Roman Papacy, rise of, to supremacy, 129
+
+Romans, power of, Strabo on, 46
+
+Rome, Alexander's plans for conquest of, Plutarch on, 44
+
+Rome, Bishop of, head of church, 133
+
+Rome divided, 48
+
+Rome, dominion of, Polybius on, 208
+
+Rome, greatness of, Lucan on, 209
+
+Rome, in prophecy and history, 123-125, 208
+
+Rome, might of, Horace on, 208
+
+Rome, ode of Horace on, 47
+
+Rome, power of, Cardinal Manning on, 125
+
+Rome, power of, Gibbon on, 46
+
+Rome, power of, Hippolytus on, 46
+
+Rome, prophecy of, in Daniel 2, 45, 46
+
+Rome, prophecy of, fulfilled, 125
+
+Rome, prophecy of, fulfilled, Hippolytus on, 126
+
+Rome, rise of, in West, 44
+
+Rosebery, Lord, on Armageddon, 339
+
+Rosse, astronomical observations by, 100
+
+"Run to and fro," Wright on meaning of, 311
+
+
+Sabbatarian Baptists, 179
+
+Sabbath, and the first day, 164-166
+
+Sabbath, at time of exodus, 160
+
+Sabbath, change of, "Abridgment of the Christian Doctrine" on, 156
+
+Sabbath, change of, "Dictionary of Christian Antiquities" on, 166
+
+Sabbath, change of, Hiscox on, 166, 167
+
+Sabbath, change of, "Library of Christian Doctrine" on, 154, 155
+
+Sabbath, Conybeare and Howson on, 165
+
+Sabbath, example and teaching of Jesus regarding, 162
+
+Sabbath, given at Sinai, 161
+
+Sabbath, how changed, 167
+
+Sabbath in Alpine valleys, Goldastus on, 175
+
+Sabbath in England, Stennet on, 179
+
+Sabbath in Europe, Dr. Chambers on, 177
+
+Sabbath, in time of disciples, 163
+
+Sabbath keepers in Norway, Keyser on, 175
+
+Sabbath keepers in Scotland, Lang on, 174
+
+Sabbath keepers in Scotland, Skene on, 175
+
+Sabbath keeping, action of Council of Laodicea on, 173, 174
+
+Sabbath keeping after New Testament times, 173-181
+
+Sabbath keeping among Moravians, 180
+
+Sabbath keeping, Bampfield died for, 179
+
+Sabbath keeping, persecution for, Bogue on, 178, 179
+
+Sabbath keeping, Roger Williams on, 180
+
+Sabbath, Killen on change of, 169
+
+Sabbath observance, Bower on, 174
+
+Sabbath observance, Brerewood on, 173
+
+Sabbath observance, Charles I on, 177
+
+Sabbath observance, John Milton on, 177, 178
+
+Sabbath observance, Pope Gregory on, 174
+
+Sabbath observance, Sozomen's Ecclesiastical History on, 174
+
+Sabbath, persecution for keeping, 178
+
+Sabbath, seventh-day, record of, 160-164
+
+Sabbath, the sign of God's authority,253
+
+Sabbath, the Bible,159-170
+
+Sabbath, through Israel's history, 162
+
+Saints, eternal home of, 361, 367
+
+Saints, Papacy to wear out, 149
+
+Saints, time of resurrection of, 352
+
+Salisbury, Lord, on policy of helping Turkey, 331
+
+Salisbury, Marquis of, on preparation for war, 342
+
+Salisbury, Marquis of, on prophecy fulfilling, 338
+
+Sanctuary, Christ's ministry in, 216
+
+Sanctuary, cleansing of, 211, 213-217
+
+Santee, L.D., poem by, 103
+
+Satan, binding of, 353
+
+Satan, cause of fall of, 258
+
+Satan, end of reign of, 262
+
+Satan, judgment upon, 261-263
+
+Satan, the loosing of, 356
+
+Satanic agencies at work, 341-343
+
+Satanic agencies, Sir Edward Grey on, 342
+
+Saved, home of the, 361-370
+
+Schaff, on date of Tiberius's reign, 230
+
+Schaff, on Vigilius made Pope, 135
+
+Second coming of Christ, 51-63
+
+Second coming of Christ, see Coming of Christ.
+
+Segur, on observance of Sunday by Protestants, 251
+
+Seventh-day Adventists, origin of, 243, 244
+
+Seventh-day Baptists in America, 179, 180
+
+Seventh-day Sabbath, Bible record of, 160-164
+
+Seventy weeks, events of, 229
+
+Seventy weeks, starting point of, 221, 222
+
+Signs in the heavens, 74
+
+Signs of Christ's coming, 74-77
+
+Signs of Christ's coming, given in Matthew 24, 65, 66
+
+Signs of Christ's coming, in industrial world, 110
+
+Signs of Christ's coming, in social world, 109
+
+Signs of the end, 65
+
+Signs of the end, signal to watch, 102
+
+Signs of the last days, 73, 74
+
+Signs upon the earth, 74, 105
+
+Sinai, law of God given anew at, 186
+
+Sinai, Sabbath given at, 161
+
+Sin, the end of, 358
+
+Sin, the origin of, 257
+
+Sin, the wages of, 289
+
+Skene, on Sabbath in Scotland, 175
+
+Sleep of the dead, 280-282
+
+Sophocles, on universal mortality, 277, 278
+
+"Soul" and "spirit," Scriptural use of, 283
+
+Soul, immortality of, 275
+
+Soul, living, Dr. Clarke on, 283
+
+Soul, the "living," comments on, 283
+
+Sozomen's Ecclesiastical History, on Sabbath observance, 174
+
+Spangenberg, on Sabbath-keeping Moravians, 180
+
+"Spirit" and "soul," Scriptural use of, 283
+
+Spirit, death declared to have no power over, 269
+
+Spirits, angels as ministering, 295
+
+Spiritualism, ancient and modern, 265-273
+
+Spiritualism and theosophy, Mme. Jean Delaire on, 272, 273
+
+Spiritualism, first declaration of, 265-267
+
+Spiritualism, modern, originated in Fox family, 269
+
+Spiritualism, modern, Prof. Wallace on, 265, 268
+
+Spiritualism of East, taught by Mrs. Besant, 273
+
+Spiritualism, progress of, Mrs. Underhill on, 269
+
+Spiritualism, satanic agencies of, 271
+
+Spiritualism tested by Greeley, 269
+
+Spiritualism, the climax of deception, 272
+
+Spiritualism, the dead not agencies of, 271
+
+Spiritualism, warnings against, 267
+
+Spurgeon, on authorship of Bible, 14
+
+Spurgeon's experience with Bible, 14
+
+Stanley, Dean, on baptism of infants, 202
+
+Stanley, Dean, on collection on first day, 166
+
+Stanley, Dean, on manner of baptism, 202
+
+Stanley, Dean, on Sunday, day of the sun, 170
+
+Star shower, density of, Flammarion on, 95
+
+Stars, falling, a sign to the world, 99
+
+Stars, falling, brilliancy of, Olmsted on, 97
+
+Stars, falling, Chambers's Astronomy on, 101
+
+Stars, falling, described by Jessup, 100
+
+Stars, falling, glory of, Clerke on, 101, 102
+
+Stars, falling, Humphreys on, 96
+
+Stars, falling, impression made by, Milner on, 99
+
+Stars, falling, "Journal of Commerce" on, 97
+
+Stars, falling, nature of, Twining on, 96
+
+Stars, falling, other displays of, Humboldt on, 99, 100
+
+Stars, falling, Professor Langley on, 101
+
+Stars, falling, Sir Robert Ball on, 100
+
+Stars, falling, Thomas Milner on, 94
+
+Stars, shooting, Olmsted on, 95
+
+Stars, the falling, 93-102
+
+Stearns, Dr. Samuel, on dark day, 89, 90
+
+Stennet, on Sabbath in England, 179
+
+Stephen, stoning of, 234
+
+Stoning of Stephen, 234
+
+Strabo, on desolation of Babylon, 34
+
+Strabo, on power of Romans, 46
+
+Sun, darkening of, 85
+
+Sunday, day of the sun, Dean Stanley on, 170
+
+Sunday, Dean Stanley on collection on, 166
+
+Sunday law, Constantine's, 169
+
+Sunday law, Constantine's, Webster on, 169, 170
+
+Sunday, mark of paganism, Hiscox on, 170
+
+Sunday, mark of papal power, 252
+
+Sunday, Neander on collection on, 166
+
+Sunday, not sacred, Dale on, 166
+
+Sunday observance by Protestants, Segur on, 251
+
+Sunday observance, "Doctrinal Catechism" on, 252
+
+Sunday previous to Constantine, 169
+
+Sunday rest, not of God, 165
+
+Sunday, sign of papal authority, 156
+
+
+Tabernacle, service of earthly, 214
+
+Telegraph, first demonstrated, 314
+
+Telegraph, used in carrying gospel, 318
+
+Temple at Jerusalem, destruction of, as predicted, 70
+
+Ten horns of beast, Daniel 7, 127
+
+Ten kingdoms, Daniel 2, 46-48
+
+Ten virgins, parable of, 348, 349
+
+Testimony of history to fulfilment of prophecy, 36
+
+Theosophy and Spiritualism, Mme. Delaire on, 272
+
+Thief on the cross, the, 284
+
+This Same Jesus, 54-56
+
+Thomson, on Tyre's departed glory, 31
+
+Thousand years, diagram of, 350
+
+Thousand years, end of, 289
+
+Thousand years, righteous with Christ, 62
+
+Thwaites, Clara, "The Last Hour," poem, 114
+
+Tiberius Caesar, time of reign of, 230, 231
+
+Time of the end, 303-317
+
+Times and laws, Papacy to think to change, 153
+
+Tradition and the Bible, Council of Trent on, 252
+
+Translation of the righteous, 59-61
+
+Travel, revolution in, 313
+
+Trent, Council of, on tradition and the Bible, 252
+
+Trevor, Canon, on revolt against absolutism, 141
+
+Tribulation, the period of, 73
+
+Turkey, Lord Salisbury on helping of, 331
+
+Turkey, position of, "Fortnightly Review" on, 333, 334
+
+Turkish power, fall of, prelude to Armageddon, 348
+
+Turks, doom of, Blunt on, 333
+
+Turks, end of, near, MacFarlane on, 333
+
+Twelve hundred and sixty years, 131-137
+
+Twelve hundred and sixty years, end of, 139
+
+Twenty-three hundred days, diagram of, 220
+
+Twenty-three hundred years, ending of, 235
+
+Twenty-three hundred years of Daniel 8, 219
+
+Twenty-three hundred years, prophecy fulfilled, 229-237
+
+Twining, on nature of falling stars, 96
+
+Two resurrections, the, 288, 289
+
+Tyre, desolation of, Bruce on, 31
+
+Tyre, glory departed, Thomson on, 31
+
+Tyre, prophecy concerning, 30, 31
+
+
+Underhill, Mrs. A.L., on progress of Spiritualism, 269
+
+Universal empires, four great, 117
+
+Unquenchable fire, 292, 293
+
+
+Valley of Hinnom, Hastings on, 293
+
+Van Dyke, Dr. Henry, on language of Bible, 21, 22
+
+Veil, rending of, 231
+
+Vigilius, Pope, date of reign, Schaff on, 135, 137
+
+Voltaire, on Lisbon earthquake, 80
+
+
+Wages of sin, 289
+
+Wallace, Alfred Russel, on revolution in travel, 313
+
+Wallace, Alfred Russel, on Spiritualism, 265, 268
+
+War, god of, Lord Avebury on, 112
+
+War, preparation for, Marquis of Salisbury on, 342
+
+War, preparation for, "Nineteenth Century and After", 339-341
+
+War, preparation for, Queen Alexandra on, 339
+
+War, sign of end, "Church Missionary Review" on, 343
+
+Webster, Noah, on dark day, 87
+
+Webster, Prof. Hutton, on Constantine's Sunday law, 169, 170
+
+Weeks, the seventy, starting point of, 221, 222
+
+Wesley, John, on judgment-hour message, 249
+
+"Western Watchman," on persecution of Protestants, 151
+
+Whittier, on dark day, 86, 90
+
+Wicked, before bar of God, 357
+
+Wicked, destruction of, 61, 353
+
+Wicked, end of, 287-293
+
+Wicked, final destruction of, 356-359
+
+Wicked, resurrection of, 62
+
+Williams, on dark day in New England, 86
+
+Williams, Roger, on Sabbath keeping, 180
+
+Word, see Bible.
+
+Word that creates, the, 15
+
+Wordsworth, on dawn of Reformation, 149
+
+World-wide movement, a, 239-245
+
+Wright, on meaning of "run to and fro", 311
+
+
+Xenophon, on Cyrus, 206
+
+Xerxes' host, AEschylus on, 323
+
+
+Years, the 1260, of Daniel's prophecy, 131-137
+
+
+Zinzendorf, a Sabbath keeper, 180
+
+Zinzendorf, Nikolaus, poem by, 227
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Our Day, by W. A. Spicer
+
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