By the same Author:

THE HISTORIES AND PROPHECIES OF

DANIEL
FIRSTBORN SONS, THEIR RIGHTS AND
RISKS
J. C. AROOLAPPEN, THE HISTORY AND
DIARIES OF AN INDIAN CHRISTIAN
Also
MYSTERY BABYLON THE GREAT AND
THE MYSTERIES AND CATHOLICISM.
By G. H. Pember, M.A., edited by G. H.
Lang
(See advertisements at end)
THE REVELATION
OF JESUS CHRIST
SELECT STUDIES

BY

G. H. LANG

6/-, by post 6jy

PUBLISHED BY THE AUTHOR

Obtainable from
OLIPHANTS LTD.
LONDON & EDINBURGH
1945
Made and Printed in Great Britain by
The Garden City Press Limited, at
Letchworth, Hertfordshire
 CONTENTS
CHAP. PAGE
ABBREVIATIONS
FOREWORD 9
AUTHOR'S PREFACE 11

PRELIMINARY DISSERTATIONS'
I. On Symbolic and Literal Language 17
II. Did the Apostles Expect the Return of Christ in
their Time ? 23
III. The Latter Days are the Chief Period of Prophecy 40
I. SEC. 1. TITLE AND INTRODUCTION (1. 1-8) 70
SEC. 2. THE GENERAL PLAN OF THE BOOK 73
II. THE VISION OF THE SON OF MAN (1. 9-20) 77
III. THE SEVEN LETTERS (c. 2 and 3) 84
SEC. 1. The Letters—Note on 3. 10 and Lk 21. 34-36
SEC. 2. On Overcoming.
IV. THE VISION OF THE THRONES (c. 4) ... 109
V. THE FOUR AND TWENTY ELDERS (c. 5) 124
VI. THE SEVEN SEALS 137
Seal, 5 (6. 9-11)—Seal 6 (6. 12-17)—The 144,000 sealed
(7. 1-8)—Note on Dan.—The great Multitude (7. 9-17)—
Seal 7 (8. 1)—Seal 1 (6. 1, 2)—Seal 2 (6. 3, 4)—Seal 3
(6. 5, 6)—Seal 4 (6. 7, 8)---Summary.
VII. THE SEVEN TRUMPETS (8. 2—11. 19) 163
(i) Seals, Trumpets, Bowls compared—(ii) The Trumpets
and the 7th Seal—(iii) The Area affected—(iv) The
Angel of Incense and Fire—(v) The Trumpets—Tr. 1—
Tr. 2—Tr. 3—Tr. 4—Tr. 5 Woe 1 (c. 9)—The Abyss—
Tr. 6 Woe 2 (c. 9. 13-21)—The Strong Angel (c. 10)—
The Mystery—Its completion—" In the last trump "
—" In the parousia "—" The last trump "—The
Temple and the Witnesses (c. n)—The figures of speech
used—The Witnesses slain—Tr. 7 (11. 14-19)—Note on
literal fulfilment of plagues.
VIII. THE WOMAN AND THE MAN-CHILD (c. 12) ... 197
(i) The Woman and the Dragon (c. 12)—(ii) The Woman
—her travail—(iii) The Man-child—his removal—
(iv) Satan cast down—his names—(v) the flight of the
Woman—" flee to the mountains " not A.D. 70— (vi) the
Rest of Her Seed.
5
6 CONTENTS

CHAP. PAGE
IX. THE BEAST (c. 13) 220
Its head and horns—Its war with the saints—'Its
authority universal—worship of.
X. FIRSTFRUITS, HARVEST, VINTAGE (c. 14) ... 228
Outline of chapter—this Harvest not a judgment—
Scene 1, Firstfruits on Mt. Zion—their identity settled,
not the 144,00,0 of c. 7—identity with the Man-child—
" before Him ", " without blemish "—-the six Scenes
consecutive—Summary.
XI. THE SEVEN BOWLS (c. 15 ; 16) 244
Expansion of 11. 19—the Song of Moses and the Lamb
—three companies in the heavens—-the Temple opened
—intercession suspended—Bowl 1—Bowl 2—Bowl 3—
Bowl 4—Bowl 5—Bowl 6—Euphrates—Kings from
sunrising — Har Magedon — frogs — Esdraelon — The
Coming as a Thief—Edersheim quoted—Bowl 7—" It is
done "—lightnings, voices, etc—Note that the Parousia
is a period—Reese and Lillie on apantao.
XII. PART I—BABYLON THE GREAT (17; 18) 266
Sec. i : The Beast—Note on epesan " fell"—the 8th
head — the Abyss — Nero redivivus — Antichrist not
reincarnated.
Sec. ii: The Woman—meaning of figure—location—
character—idolatry then general—her origin and
centre—her future.
Sec. iii: Subordinate Questions—(1) Will the R.C.
Church remain " christian " or go pagan ?—(2) The area
of the 10 kings—(3) The last centre ; Zh 5, the ephah—
The R.C. Church and Italy, Palestine, Shinar.
PART II—THE CITY BABYLON (c. 19) 296
Sec. i : Four Distinctions between c. 17 and 18—
Sec. ii: Four Contrasts—Sec. iii: The OT and this
chapter—Sec. iv : The Grounds of her Judgment.
XIII. HALLELUJAH (19. 1-10) 311
(i) The world above—(ii) The Groups—(iii) Hallelujah—
(iv) God reigneth—(v) The Bride—who form the Bride ?
—her fitness—" without blemish " (Eph 5)—-the Feast.
XIV. VICTORY (19. 11—20. 3) 326
(i) Foreannounced—(ii) The Victor's names—(iii) His
armies—(iv) His enemies—(v) Jehovah's feast—(vi) The
Devil imprisoned—his names.
XV. AUTHORITY AND THE MILLENNIUM (20.4-6) 332
Brevity of statement—(i) Who reign?—(ii) Their
service—the Period of the Kingdom—its duration.
 CONTENTS 7
CHAP. PAGE
XVI. THE FINAL REBELLION (20. 7-10) 342
XVII. THE GREAT WHITE THRONE (20. 11-15) ... 345
Question 1: Where situate ?—Q. 2 : Heaven and earth
fleeing away—Q. 3 : The Sitter and Judge—Q. 4 : Dead
persons judged—Q. 5 : The Books—Q. 6 : Sea, Death,
Hades—Q. 7 : These cast into the Lake—Q. 8 : The
Lake of Fire—Gehenna—Q. 9 : Where is the Lake ?—
Q. 10 : Does the Lake annihilate ?—A, the OT—B, the
NT—Q. 1 1 : Will Salvation be universal ?—Q. 12 : Are
only few saved ?—Q. 13 : Will any saved persons be at
this judgment ?—Q. 14 : The procedure.
XVIII. NEW HEAVENS AND EARTH (21. 1-8) 363
(ii) The Tabernacle of God
XIX. THE HOLY CITY (21. 9-22. 5) 368
(i) Not a material city—(ii) Perhaps a locality, but
chiefly a figure of a company—(iii) Six details—(iv)
Seven negative features—(v) Seven positive features—
Additional Notes, (i) The vision is both temporal and
eternal—(ii) Time is permanent, and does not cease in
eternity—(iii) On " going to heaven."
XX. THE CONCLUSION (22. 6-21) 383
(i) The Revelation is reliable and inviolable—(ii) The
Time element—(iii) " I come quickly "—(iv) Christ's
self-presentation—(v) The triple " Come "—(vi) The
Benediction.
ANALYSIS OF THE SEVEN LETTERS.

ANALYSIS OF THE REVELATION.

LIST OF SOME GREEK WORDS 394

INDEX OF TEXTS 395

GENERAL INDEX 415

 ABBREVIATIONS

ASV, American Standard Version.

AV, Authorized Version.
BkD, The Book of the Dead, trans. Budge.
Charles, R. H., The Revelation of Jesus Christ.
Deissmann or LvO, Adolph Deissmann, Licht vom Osten, ed. 4
{Light from the East).
Govett, R., The Apocalypse Expounded.
Her., Herodotus.
LvO, see Deissmann.
NT, New Testament.
OT, Old Testament.
RV, Revised Version.
Swete, H. B., The Apocalypse of St. John, ed. 2.
VGT, The Vocabulary of the Greek Testament.
The contracted forms of the names of the books of the Bible
will be readily grasped. Gn for Genesis, Ex Exodus, Lv Leviticus,
Nm Numbers, Dt Deuteronomy, Jh Joshua, Jg Judges, Sm
Samuel, Kn Kings, Ch Chronicles, Ez Ezra, Es Esther, Jb Job,
Ps Psalms, Pv Proverbs, Ec Ecclesiastes, Is Isaiah, Jr Jeremiah,
Lm Lamentations, Ek Ezekiel, Dn Daniel, Hs Hosea, Jl Joel,
Am Amos, Mc Micah, Na Nahum, Hk Habakkuk, Zp Zephaniah,
Hg Haggai, Zh Zechariah, Ml Malachi, Mt Matthew, Mk Mark,
Lk Luke, Jn John, Ac Acts, Rm Romans, Cr Corinthians,
Gl Galatians, Eph Ephesians, Ph Philippians, CI Colossians,
Th Thessalonians, Tm Timothy, Tt Titus, Pm Philemon, Hb
Hebrews, Js James, Pt Peter, Jd Jude, Rv Revelation.

SOUND EXEGESIS OF INDIVIDUAL PASSAGES IS THE FOUNDATION

OF DOCTRINE.
C. F. HOGG.

8
 FOREWORD
To his exposition of the Book of Daniel, published four years ago,
Mr. Lang has now added one of the Book of Revelation ; and it
is a pleasure to commend this work to the Christian public as I
did the earlier.
Mr. Lang does not concern himself with critical questions,
although he makes it clear that he (rightly, I have no doubt)
accepts the ancient and well-attested ascription of Revelation to
John the Apostle, the son of Zebedee. Nor is he concerned with the
question whether Revelation with its symbolism and world-outlook
commends itself to the mind of the twentieth century. If it does
not, we need not jump to the conclusion that the fault lies with
Revelationl But he does painstakingly set himself to make plain
the meaning which these visions were intended to convey, and
the moral and spiritual lessons which readers of the twentieth
century as well as of the first may learn from them.
No two expositors of Revelation will see eye to eye on every
detail of interpretation, and if I began to study the book inten-
sively with a view to writing a commentary, no doubt I might in
several respects arrive at results differing from those set forth in
the present work. But I am heartily at one with Mr. Lang on the
fundamental principle that the true interpretation of Revelation
is the eschatological one. This is commonly acknowledged by
unbiased modern scholarship, and it was the earliest interpreta-
tion current in the Church. But it did not meet with the approval
of the great philosopher-theologians of Alexandria and elsewhere,
who set the tone for the allegorical exegesis which was followed for
many centuries. In particular, the literal understanding of the
millennium of the twentieth chapter was a rock of offence to them.
To quote R. H. Charles : " The earliest expounders of the Apoca-
lypse, such as Justin Martyr, Tertullian, Irenaeus, Hippolytus, and
Victorinus, quite rightly take the words in a literal sense of an
actual reign of Christ with the glorified martyrs on earth. The
spiritualizing method which emanated from Alexandria put an end
to all trustworthy exegesis of the Apocalypse. . . . The meaning
assigned by the votaries of this method became wholly arbitrary,
and every student found in the Apocalypse what he wished to
find " (The Revelation of St. John, ii, p. 185).
It is sometimes suggested that the introduction of the " futurist"
interpretation was the work of Jesuits. No doubt Ribeira and
9
10 FOREWORD

other Jesuit scholars of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries

were glad to counter the Protestant exegesis which identified
Antichrist with the Papacy ; but what they did was not to invent
a new exegesis, but to re-publish the primitive one, in as far, at
least, as the scheme was futuristic.
By the eschatological interpretation of the Apocalypse is meant
the view which envisages John as primarily concerned with the
End of the Age, the Day of the Lord, to which, indeed, according
to the interpretation of Rev. i. 10 in the following pages, he was
projected in spirit, and from the standpoint of which he speaks.
Some commentators have regarded it as an error in John's forecast
of the future that he expected the final consummation to follow
immediately on the crisis of his own day. But to speak thus is to
overlook the genius of apocalyptic, to forget what Delitzsch called
" the foreshortening of the prophetic horizon." This foreshortening
is no more a defect in apocalyptic than it is a defect in a telescope
that it makes distant objects appear near at hand. John, standing
amid the crisis of his own day, sees all the tendencies inherent in
that crisis as they come to a head on the eve of Christ's Parousia,
which is revealed as the cataclysmic solvent of the otherwise
insoluble contradictions of the human situation. Intervening
events are lost to view, although it is only natural that the moral
principles unfolded in this divine philosophy of history should be
exemplified time and again in the age-long tension between the
Church and the World. But this is a very different thing from the
attempt to find in Revelation a detailed outline of the course of
Church History ; such attempts have too often brought into
disrepute not only this type of exegesis, but all exegesis of the
book, and even the book itself.
To Mr. Lang not only the general tendency of Revelation as a
whole, but every part of it, has a meaning and a message as an
integral part of " God's Word written " ; and this meaning and
message he has patiently sought out for himself and committed
to writing for others. For this written ministry we do well to be
grateful, and differences of judgment on details of interpretation
should not prevent our learning from these studies some more of
those things which in the Visions of Patmos the Spirit is still
saying to the Churches.
F. F. BRUCE.
The University, Leeds.
x
December 1944.
 PREFACE

My book The Histories and Prophecies of Daniel brought requests

for a treatise on Revelation. In fact, this had been long com-
menced. It must be thirty years since the first section of this
book to be written was finished. There is a reason why this was
c. V on the Four and Twenty Elders. Perhaps fifty-three years
ago a cousin and I had discussed who these elders might be. We
had never heard any other view than that they represent
glorified saints, and that two youths should decide in favour of
the only idea they had was no wonder. Later reflection taught
me that I was wrong; but the incident shows how early in life
the Revelation attracted my mind.
In the year 1898, a London minister, since widely known and
read, contributed to The Christian a series of papers. I was a
young man of only twenty-three, and therefore, of course, was
very well informed ; so I pointed out some matters in which the
minister was in error. I had not then heard the sensible words
of a bishop to his clergy : Remember, brethren, that none of you
is infallible, not even the youngest of you. Even bishops say wise
things at times ; which narrow-minded persons, who read only
the literature of their own little circle; may note to advantage.
The minister sent a gracious reply, thanked me for the tone of
my letter, and made these, to me, at that time, startling
assertions:
. . . so far as the Church, that is, the Body of Christ, is concerned,
I am at perfect agreement with you. I do not, however, believe that
all Christians form part of that Body of Christ. The parable of the
Virgins occurs to my mind ; neither the wise nor foolish virgins formed
the bride, and even though five were not admitted to the marriage
ceremony, they certainly were not typical of the lost world; they
were virgins though neglectfully they had allowed their supply of oil
to run out.
The most popular scheme of prophetic interpretation on futurist
lines, that which asserts that the whole church, living and dead,
will be removed to heaven before the End Times, may, I suppose,
be best studied in William Kelly's Lectures on the Book of
Revelation. It was issued in 1861, but had appeared previously
in The Bible Treasury for 1858 and 1859. But I have three
insignificant looking little books which are earlier. They are :
Notes on the Book of Revelation ; to assist Inquirers in searching
11
12 PREFACE

into that Book, London, 1839. Notes on The Apocalypse. Gleaned

at Lectures in Geneva in 1843. Seven Lectures on the Prophetical
Addresses to the Seven Churches, delivered in London in 1852.
These are by J. N. Darby. They lie behind Kelly's learned
elaboration of Darby's scheme. For I suppose that scheme, at
least as a scheme, can claim no more ancient source than that
active and fertile mind.
With those views, and with those alone, my mind had been
nurtured and saturated from infancy ; hence the shock I received
from the minister's statement quoted. It was some long time
before I came to see that there was ground for his opinion as to
the body of Christ; but I very soon saw he was right as to the
foolish virgins not representing lost sinners. This was the
commencement of an honest and independent testing of all I held,
and, after forty-five years, some results down to date are offered
to the reader of this present book. It may at least be said that
I have not, as have some, hurried to set forth newly adopted
opinions.

That same year, 1898, and the next year, were momentous in
my spiritual development and education. The Father of mercies,
in love and wisdom, moved His child into a higher class and set
more advanced lessons. They proved harder but more profitable.
I shall mention only one matter. It occurred to me that,
though I had been reading the Bible since I had read anything,
I had perchance not read the whole of it, and that there might
be things which my God and Father wished me to know which
I had not read. I was living in lodgings, having breakfast and
tea alone, before and after office. I took a Revised Version, and
in five months read it from Genesis to Revelation at those two
meals. I did not stop to puzzle over the very many things I did
not understand, but read steadily on to make sure that the whole
Book should be read. Three striking benefits accrued.
1. I discovered at once the immeasurable superiority of the
RV over the AV for the understanding of the mind of the Spirit.
2. I gained a bird's eye view of the history and prospects of
the human race from God's point of view ; and I was impressed
by the much that He does not mention upon which man's histories
enlarge, and much that He enlarges upon that human histories
do not mention.
3. When I reached I Cr 2. 12 and read : " But we received,
not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is from God;
that we might know the things that were freely given to us of
God," I was mightily encouraged by thus learning that the
 PREFACE 13
divine Author of the divine text Book was present with me for
the very purpose that I might get to know the things of God,
even His deep things (ver. 10). There could be nothing in the Book
that He could not explain : it was simply a question of capacity,
diligence, and teachableness on my side. It is from that hour
that I date any advance in knowledge.
The mature reader may wonder at the introduction of these
reminiscences into a commentary ; but I hope in God that some
who may be suffering from spiritual growing pains and who,
though thirsting for knowledge, are finding both practical and
doctrinal lessons severe, may be encouraged to trust their educa-
tion and training wholly to the same Father of mercies, and may
not be discouraged though there are, as the Word itself allows,
some things hard to be understood. The Spirit is a perfect
Teacher.
Incidentally, I reflected that, should I continue to read OT and
NT straight on, I should be an unduly long time without reading
the latter, the former being so much the longer. This seemed
undesirable, seeing that the NT is more particularly addressed to
Christians. To correct this I commenced to read a portion from
each Testament daily, still consecutively. This has been main-
tained ever since (in addition to topical and other studies), and
I have felt no need of any other scheme of Bible reading, nor do
I know any other of equal profit. At that time I knew nothing
of any language but English.
This leads on to the remark that the present book is written
by a student, not by a scholar, nor therefore for scholars in
particular. Being well-assured that God has enlightened many
besides myself, I have used many books, and to advantage. The
learned may therefore wonder at there being few quotations.
There are three reasons : first, economy of space ; then, that
what is here advanced .may be considered on its merits without
the influence of great names; lastly, because many, perhaps
most, of the explanations distinctive of this treatise have not
been learned from books. It must be added that the book and
its writer are deeply indebted for valuable criticisms and sugges-
tions to two scholarly brethren, Mr. F. F. Bruce and Mr. H. L.
Ellison. But this does not pledge them to my distinctive views.

The reader is not likely to make much of this book unless he is

in agreement with the writer on two antecedent and fundamental
questions. This is not the place fully to discuss them, but they
must be set forth.
1. That all statements, spoken or written, inspired by God,
i4 PREFACE

and recorded in the Bible, were inspired as to their words. Peter

(II Ep i. 21) declares that " no prophecy ever was brought [i.e.,
into the mind or utterance of the prophet] by the will of man:
but men spake from God, being moved [borne along c^po/Miw]
by the Holy Spirit." Now to speak is to express thought in
words. If the words be not exact the speech will be inaccurate.
The plain force of Peter's statement is that in the utterance of
prophecy an extraneous power, the Spirit of prophecy, took up
the mental and vocal faculties of the prophet, carried his mind
along and through him uttered the words of the prophecy. This
will apply to all those thousands of statements in OT prefaced by
" Jehovah said," " Hear the word of Jehovah," and the like
expressions. Thus of one prophet the Lord Jesus said : " How
then doth David in spirit call Him [Messiah] Lord " (Mt 22, 43);
that is, David was lifted up and carried along in a spiritual
ecstasy. So the last but one of OT prophets said of all preceding
prophets that they spake " words which Jehovah of hosts had sent
by His Spirit" (Zh 7. 12). It was on this very account that
the wrath of God flamed forth upon those who refused to obey.
Similarly, in the Corinthian passage above mentioned, Paul stated
that he spake " not in words which man's wisdom teacheth, but
which the Spirit teacheth " (I Cr 2. 13). This is a precise denial
by the apostle of the idea that, while God gave to prophets general
teaching of great thoughts, they were left to put these into their
own words as able.
These men were not discussing a theory but describing an
experience. It is more reasonable to accept their account of the
inspiration that they knew personally than the speculations,
centuries later, of theorists who have no experience.
Therefore, holding the conviction that the words of the Word
are of God, we search into the most minute elements of the things
written, bow to and believe every statement, and do not allow
that the human element undoubtedly present intruded error into
the utterances.
2. This book is written by one who is thoroughly persuaded
that the teaching of Scripture is that no justified and regenerate
person can ever be finally lost. Devout and learned men have
held the opposite ; and they support that view by many solemn
passages, such as Jn 15, Hb 6, and others. In my Firstborn Sons,
Their Rights and Risks, I have endeavoured to show that these
portions of the Word are harmonious with the belief that no
person once saved can be lost eternally, but that they do contain
a searching warning message to the child of God, especially as
regards the millennial kingdom. It is upon this line that some
 PREFACE 15
parts of Revelation are here expounded ; but I must ask once for
all. that the reader, when he comes to these passages, will remember
that it has been here avowed in advance that salvation from the
lake of fire, once secured by faith in the precious blood of Christ,
is unforfeitable.

The present work covers indeed the whole Revelation, but deals
with it in sections. It is a series of Select Studies, and therefore
is not a verse by verse, line by line commentary. In consequence,
many details are not touched. Yet all details have been con-
sidered, for as one figure omitted or misread will falsify a
calculation, so will one detail vary an interpretation. But the
special purposes for which this book is designed did not admit of
every detail being treated.
These main purposes are three.
1. To emphasize the personal and moral lessons of Revelation,
so as to promote saintly living by saints. This is as truly a
major end of prophecy as of history and doctrine.
2. To elucidate the sequence of the visions. I am at the
farthest remove from those who say that no sequence is dis-
coverable or was intended. Such do but declare their own
incompetence for dealing with the book. Sequence is shown
everywhere. The great use of ordinal numbers declares this:
first, second, third, etc., are terms of sequence. The frequent use
of such expressions as " after this," " after these things," " another
angel," is to the same effect. They intimate succession of events.
An internal sequence is discoverable in the several series of
visions, as well as in their relations as series. Any book is worth
while if it is helpful on this matter only.
3. The third chief end is to exhibit more clearly and fully the
meaning of the visions themselves, and so to give, if possible, a
larger and more distinct picture of the End Time of this age of
human history, which, as the Rabbis well said, will be the birth-
pangs of the days of Messiah.

No reader will be so conscious as the writer of the insufficiency

of the book to serve these ends. But it is hoped that, by the
grace of the blessed Spirit of truth, these pages may give light to
the open eye, food to the hungry soul, vigour to the spirit, courage
to the dispirited, warning to the self-confident.
Above all may fellowship of heart be promoted with Him to
whom the father of glory imparted this Revelation, that He in
turn might impart it to the lowly of heart, His slaves. If writer
and reader shall secure the blessing pronounced upon those who
i6 PREFACE

read, who hear, who keep the words of this prophecy, then the
Son of God shall be glorified by this exposition. To this end it is
humbly dedicated to Him and offered to my brethren.

In quotations the Revised Version is generally used. Slight

variations may have resulted from the American Standard
Version having been sometimes at hand.
In quotations, matter in square brackets is mine.
G. H. LANG.
May, 1945.
 PRELIMINARY DISSERTATION—I

ON SYMBOLIC AND LITERAL LANGUAGE

To employ figurative speech is a native characteristic of the

human mind. It is more marked in some minds than in others,
and in some races than in others. The oriental is very prone to
it, the westerner less and less so, a result perhaps of the mechanical
and mathematical habit of mind induced by modern industry
and science. It is a regrettable loss, and especially it disenables
the ordinary westerner from penetrating easily into the deeper
and higher truths taught in the Bible, this Book being pre-
eminently oriental in style and tone, and beautiful by reason of
its richness in figurative language. It is highly needful that the
western mind should immerse itself in the Bible manner of speech,
and endeavour resolutely to form the habit of thinking pictorially.
The book of Proverbs greatly aids this, and the book of the
Revelation demands it.
As to the Revelation, two extreme lines of interpretation are
known. The one regards the book as wholly or almost wholly
symbolical, with but a minimum of literal statement: the other
demands that every statement be taken literally that can be so
taken.
The former view has led one to say that the Apocalypse is
frankly and entirely a book of symbols, being sacred symbolism
from first to last. Manifestly, this is exaggeration concerning a
book the chief persons and places of which are literal. God,
Jesus Christ, the Spirit; Michael and Satan ; angels and men ;
are not symbols but actual persons. So are the chief regions and
places mentioned actual. Heaven, earth, the sea, the abyss,
mountains, islands, rivers, seas, are realities. The " city where
also their Lord was crucified " was as real as the Lord who was
crucified there. A Roman legion was quartered there at the time
John wrote. Babylon also was standing, as were the seven cities
to which the seven Letters were sent. The churches of believers
in those seven cities were realities.
On the other hand, as we proceed we shall see that an extreme
literalism creates its needless perplexities by laying down the
rule of interpretation that a statement must be taken literally
unless a positive absurdity results.
Neither view allows for the feature that a statement may be
17
18 STATEMENT LITERAL : MEANING SYMBOLIC

strictly literal, yet may be made not at all to set out the literal
fact stated, but because of some unmentioned fact or truth which
corresponds to the one stated, but which the reader is to discover
by reflection. Nor does either view conform to the persistent
feature of language to interweave the figurative and the literal.
Of the former feature a converted Moslem gave a good example.
He was interpreting into Arabic what I was saying to another
Moslem. After the way of life had been made plain I asked him
to say that now it was for the other to believe upon the Son of
God and be saved or to reject Him and be lost. There was no
alternative. We were at the top of a four-storey dwelling. He
spoke for a few minutes and then said to m e : I have told him
there are two ways of getting out of this house ; he can go down
the staircase or throw himself out of the window : it must be one
or the other. The statement was literal as to fact, figurative in
sense.
Ec 10. 8 is a good OT example : " Whoso breaketh through
a fence a serpent shall bite him." In hot and sandy places in
the East this is so well known that the Wise Man could scarcely
need to state it. " Tell not as new what everybody knows."
He must have mentioned it for the sake of some unstated lesson ;
that is, the statement is literal, but there is a hidden lesson, and
so it is figurative in sense. " Thou shalt not eat of it " was a
fence around the tree in Eden : in the very act of breaking through
it by disobeying, Adam and Eve were instantly infected with the
moral virus of the ancient Serpent, the fatal principle of rebellion.
The Revelation offers numberless examples of this feature. The
book is composed mainly of descriptions of things which John
literally saw and heard in vision. In this sense it is literal. Thus
in c. 6. 5, 6 we read : " And I saw, and behold, a black horse ;
and he that sat thereon had a balance in his hand. And I heard
as it were a voice in the midst of the four living creatures, saying,
a choenix of wheat for a denarius, and three choenixes of barley
for a denarius; and the oil and the wine hurt thou not." This
was something mental that John saw and heard, and was a sub-
jective reality. But it is for the Spirit-taught judgment to
consider whether the coming objective reality will be an actual
black horse, with a rider holding a pair of scales ; and whether
an actual voice will announce the exact ancient coin mentioned
as price of the exact ancient measures of grain specified; and
whether the rider will be told in words that the oil and the wine
are not to be hurt. With many others, we take it that what
John did literally see and hear in vision has the undeclared
meaning of a period of severe scarcity.
 LITERAL AND FIGURATIVE INTERWOVEN 19

Of the latter feature mentioned, the interweaving of the literal

and figurative, c. 9. 1, 2 may serve as illustration. " And the
fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star from heaven fallen unto
the earth : and there was given to him the key of the pit of the
abyss. And he opened the pit of the abyss." (i) The angel was
literal. It is certain from places too numerous to cite that such
beings exist and act in the judgments of God on the earth : but
the " trumpet " we think symbolic of a type of action. See on
the 7 Trumpets, p. 163. (2) The heaven was literal: the " star "
is a well-known symbol of heavenly rulers (Nm 24. 17 : Is 14. 12 :
Rv 12. 4). (3) A " star fallen from heaven to earth " is symbolic
of a downfall of a heavenly ruler from a place of authority and
glory formerly held in the upper world (Ek 28. 14-16 : Lk 10. 18 :
Rv 12. 7-12) ; heaven and earth are literal regions. (4) The
Abyss is a literal locality, as well known to Scripture as are heaven
and earth. That there is one particular shaft leading to it we
think symbolic, intimating that access to and egress from the
Abyss are possible. (5) The " key " that opens this " shaft "
must be symbolic of power to afford that egress, for that the
" key " is a symbol, not actual, is clear from it being given to a
" star," since a literal star cannot handle a literal key; which
confirms that the " star " is a symbol. Similarly, a " star " using
a " key " to open a " shaft " requires that the last be symbolic.
But on the other hand, the feature of beings in the Abyss being
released is literal, as will be shown in its place. See pp. 172,270 ff.
If both symbolists and literalists complain that this manner of
treatment allows of uncertainty of meaning and latitude for
fanciful and divergent interpretations, it must be answered that
their lines of treatment also admit of uncertainty and conflict, for
at least the reasonable of both systems admit that some things
are literal and some figurative. It is only a question of degree.

The numbers employed in the Revelation conform to the same

feature : some are literal, some symbolic, some both, and spiritual
discernment is demanded. But some writers treat all numbers
as symbolic, while others insist on treating as many as possible
as literal.
The numbers found are as follows : 1, 2, 3, 3^, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10,
12, 24, 42, 144, 666, 1000, 1260, 1600, 7000, 12000, 144000, 100
million, 200 million. The predominant number is 7, which occurs
54 times.
The first number used is both literal and figurative: " the
seven churches which are in Asia " (1. 4). There existed then
the seven churches in the seven towns named in ver. 11. But we
20 ON NUMBERS

shall see reason to regard them as symbolizing together the whole

of the churches of God throughout this period of the church.
In the second place where a number comes (it is the same verse,
and the same number, seven) the number is plainly symbolic
only: " the seven spirits which are before God's throne." This
can mean only the Spirit of God himself, for it were sheer blas-
phemy to insert created beings between the Father and the Son
as the joint author of grace and peace. The Coptic liturgy does
thus intrude Mary between the Father and the Son as a conjoint
object of worship; but to John such impiety was impossible.
This usage confirms that the sense of divine perfection attaches
to the number seven.
It is along this line that figures of speech and numbers are
treated in this present book, and, allowing for difficulty in some
cases, yet in the majority of instances there are indications to
guide as to how to take the statements. For example ; that in
the place cited above " seven spirits " is a symbolic number, does
not require that the same number shall be symbolic in 8. 2, " the
seven angels that stand before God," because if there be intro-
duced here the idea of completeness of representation it will mean
that the whole host of angels is in view, individuality will be
lost, and the whole scene be confounded.
Again, when we read of " a throne set in heaven, and One
sitting upon the throne " (4. 2), the number one (which must be
supplied in English) must needs be literal, meaning God the
Father, seeing that the Son, pictured as the Lamb, is brought
before Him (5. 6, 7). But the one throne and the one Person
being literal, consistency will require that the accompanying
number 24 will be literal, and mean 24 thrones and 24 persons
each occupying a throne. This is made more sure by 7. 13,
where one of the 24 speaks as an individual to John as an indi-
vidual. See c. V, p. 124.
Controversy has arisen over the higher numbers, especially and
particularly over 144,000. Perhaps it is here that least difficulty
ought to be felt, for the general habit of the human mind is to
use high figures indefinitely. Of a mighty concourse one might
say that " thousands and thousands," or " myriads and myriads "
were present. It is thus that these expressions are used of the
hosts of angels before the throne (5. n ) . When we read in
I Ch 21. 5 that " all they of Israel were a thousand thousand
and a hundred thousand men that drew sword, and Judah was
four hundred, three score and ten thousand men that drew
sword," we feel that such figures are round numbers, not precise ;
approximate truly, but not strictly exact; just as we should still
 ON NUMBERS 21

say that a Field-marshal had a million men under his command.

It was thus when John (9. 16) heard the number of the demon
hosts as " twice ten thousand times ten thousand " (200,000,000).
This measure of indefiniteness may attach to small numbers
also. When it is stated that " a tenth part of the city fell," who
will insist on a given number of square yards an exact tenth of
the total area ? Equally so, the item that follows immediately
(11. 13), " there were killed in the earthquake seven thousand
men," will be a general, not an exact number. Such terms are
thus less precise than the rigid literalist will insist, yet are not
so indefinite as the symbolist thinks when he gives them merely
a loose general sense of " greatness." They are approximate ;
a tenth part approximately : approximately 7000. No one, of
course, will say that the Almighty could not cause an earthquake
to throw down precisely a tenth part of a city and leave precisely
nine-tenths standing, yard for yard, or that He could not effect
the death of exactly 7000 men; but that is not the way that
human language is ordinarily used by man or by God.
When numbers both exact and varying are given, as in both of
the numberings of the tribes of Israel by Moses (Nm cs. 1 and 26),
we are bound to take them as exact; but when of the same
twelve tribes we read (Rv 7.1-8) of precisely the same numbers from
each, 12,000, the circumstance is so eminently unnatural as at
once to suggest round numbers given for some spiritual lesson.
And this supposition is intensified when exactly the same grand
total, 144,000, is given a second time of a distinct company of
persons (14. 1-5). It is easy to believe that some moral feature,
indicated by a symbolic number, attaches to both companies : it
requires no ordinary effort to believe that the number of both
companies will prove to be precisely the same, and exactly
144,000. If it be not easy to settle what that moral feature is,
this ignorance does not compel that the number must be literal.
That the one number is sub-divided into twelve parts suggests
that the tribal divisions of the literal Israel will continue at the
period in view : that the other company is not so sub-divided,
but remains one unbroken total, not only intimates that the
companies are not the same, but also that the latter is then one
undivided circle, a corporate unity, not a composite unity as Israel.
Reverting to smaller numbers ; were a historian to say that a
third part of the people of the land died of a pestilence, no one
would turn up the census figure for that year, divide by three,
and insist that precisely the number gained, neither one more
nor one less, had thus died. So when we read that " there died
the third part of the creatures that were in the sea . . . . and
22 HYPERBOLE

the third part of the ships were destroyed " (8. 9) ; or in 9. 18

" the third part of men were killed " ; or in 8. 7 " the third part
of the earth was burnt up, and the third part of the trees " ; the
term " third " is similarly approximate.
It is also to be observed that the figure hyperbole (over-
statement) is used to emphasize an idea. At the beginning of the
present discussion it has been said that " the Revelation offers
numberless examples" of a certain feature; but, of course,
strictly it would be possible to count the exact number of these
examples. This usage is found at 7. 9, " a great multitude which
no man could number." Yet no crowd can be actually innumer-
able. John heard the number of a different host given as two
hundred millions (9. 16), and this other multitude could hardly
be as many as that, for Christ's people in this age are a " little
flock," an insignificant minority of mankind. The company in
question is only one section of the believers of this age, a section
from only one brief period, the Tribulation of the End Days.
The statement is hyperbolical, and means that, as John ran his
eye over the throng, it was so vast that no estimate of its number
could be formed. This is in contrast to the immediately preceding
feature that the number of each tribe of Israel had been announced.
As then, the one statement means that the one company is so
great as to be beyond estimate, so ..the other, by exact numeration,
is shown to be limited and small. This forbids the proposed
identification of the two visions as different views of one set of
persons. The comparatively small fixed number of each tribe
expresses symbolically what the prophet expressed literally, that
the spared of Israel at that End Day will be a " very small
remnant " (Is 1. 9). Each tribe being named will show that each
and all will share equally in the severe reduction in numbers, and
yet that each will be equally represented in that remnant, and the
whole nation be united. It is the principle laid down in a quite
different manner in Zh 12. 7, that no one part of the nation shall
glory over the rest.
From this it is seen that twelve is a number of earthly com-
pleteness, and also that in this place it is both literal and symbolic,
the twelve tribes being the literal number, but 12,000 being
symbolic. This may teach also that the plans of God never
finally fail, and that as He saw fit that the Jewish race should
spring from twelve patriarchs, and saw good that this twelve-fold
unity should persist of old, so will He cause it to reappear at the
End, and will nullify the much and positive talk about the ten
tribes having been " lost " and the mischievous theorizing that
has been built thereon.
 LITERAL MEANING PREFERABLE 23
Where necessary, within the limited scope of this treatise, we
shall give our view of other symbols and numbers as we meet
them. It is enough here to indicate that no rigid uniform rule
can be laid down to govern interpretation. Doubtless it is safer
to incline rather to a literal than a figurative sense, but always
with the large reserve and latitude that human speech is a blend
of direct and symbolic language. And for the right comprehension
of Holy Scripture the devout have the special advantage of the
Spirit who inspired the Book being with them to open the mind
to its meaning ; yet ever remembering that the thoughts of His
infinite mind were caused to pass through human minds, and to
find expression in mbdes of utterance native to that vehicle.

PRELIMINARY DISSERTATION—II
DID THE APOSTLES EXPECT THE RETURN OF CHRIST IN THEIR
TIME ?

Something less than twenty years after the ascension of the

Lord, about A.D. 51, Paul wrote to the Thessalonians and said :
" We that are alive, that are left unto the parousia of the Lord,
etc." On the strength of this it has been asserted that " the
writers [of the NT] have most pointedly and specifically identified
themselves with the living " at the parousia, and the question of
our title is held to require an affirmative answer. But this depends
upon the sense here of the " we," " we that are alive."
The usage of " we " and " ye " does not amount to proof : it
might mean this ; it may not.
1. Nm 15. 2. At Kadesh Barnea (c. 14) Israel refused to
advance, and were, as to the 600,000 men of war, sentenced not
to enter Canaan. The very next thing recorded as said to the
nation was, " When ye axe come into the land." This pronoun
could not and did not cover the 600,000, though including them
grammatically.
2. Dt 11. 7. At the close of the desert wanderings Moses said
to the nation, "your eyes have seen all the great work of Jehovah
which He did." This included His works in Egypt and on
Pharaoh, for these are named (ver. 3, 4). Yet the majority
listening had been born subsequent to the leaving Egypt.
3. Jg 2. 10, 1. All who had come out of Egypt had died, yet
the angel of Jehovah said to the nation, " I made you to go up
out of Egypt."
24 "WE

4. Is 64. Speaking for the godly remnant to come in the last

days, the prophet cries for God to come down, to melt the
mountains, etc. (1, 2). He glances at the far past, when God did
come down and Sinai quaked, and says (3), " when Thou didst
terrible things which we looked not for," though neither he nor
those for whom he speaks had been at Sinai.
5. Dn 9. 5, 6. The godly prophet says, " We have sinned,
have dealt perversely, have done wickedly, have rebelled, have
turned aside from Thy precepts, etc.," though c. 1. 4-8 show that
from his youth Daniel personally had lived quite the reverse
of this.
6. Tt 3. 3. Similarly, Paul says, " we also aforetime were
foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures,
etc.," though he himself had not so lived, for he says that from
his forefathers he had served God with a pure conscience
(II Tm 1. 3, and see Ac 23. 1 and Ph 3. 6). While these state-
ments do not mean that he had been sinless, they do forbid that
he had been characterized by disobedience and given up to lusts
and pleasures.
7. Rm 6. When Paul (1) says, " Shall we continue in sin ? "
he does not intend that he personally had any such idea. When
he adds (8), " if we died with Christ," he is not raising a doubt
as to himself, for he had been crucified with Christ and had died,
with Him as an accepted and experienced reality (Gl 2. 19, 20;
6. 14).
8. Ac 6. 14. The accusers of Stephen speak of " the customs
which Moses delivered unto us," though they lived fifteen
centuries after Moses.
9. Ac 7. 38. So also Stephen speaks of Moses having
" received living oracles to give unto us."
10. II Cr 4. 14. Still more decisively as to the point in hand,
Paul himself said to the Corinthians that " God shall raise up us
also with Jesus, and shall present us with you." What other
meaning can this have than that Paul expected to die and be
raised ? Had he, then, changed his mind since he wrote to the
Thessalonians five years earlier ? If so, which of his expectations
was from God ? and, if so, what becomes of his inspiration and
his authority as a teacher ?
It is a common usage of " we " and the like pronouns that the
speaker thereby merely associates himself with the race, society,
or class of which he is a member. Thus : " I cannot promise
myself to be present, but I propose to the club that we join in
this celebration." Or an Englishman may say even now, " We
won Trafalgar and Waterloo and overthrew Napoleon." Or
 THE DAY OF THE LORD 25
again : " It is suggested that all of our number who live in that
locality muster in force, so that we may be well represented."
The first two instances exclude the speakers, the third leaves a
doubt as to this. Or again : " When there arises a combination
of the central European powers we must stand alone or count
upon the U.S.A." This could not be pressed as proof that the
speaker confidently expected to be alive and witness the supposed
event.
" We that are alive, that are left unto the parousia," can fairly
mean no more than, " those of the Christian society that shall
be alive at the parousia."

But more definitely. The positive proof that Paul did not
contemplate himself living in the parousia is of great weight.
1. I Th 5. 1. " But concerning the times and the seasons,
brethren, ye have no need that ought to be written unto you.
For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh
as a thief in the night." The " but " o f ver. 1 (Se de) links that
paragraph with the preceding. It is a conjunctive particle
superadding somewhat to that which has preceded, not a dis-
junctive particle separating the clauses. And there is no
antecedent to " times and seasons " other than the parousia just
mentioned. " But concerning the times and the seasons " for
what ? The only answer is, For the events immediately before
stated. In the same way the yap gar " For " connects ver. 2 with
ver. 1, as the Se de of ver. 1 connects with c. 4 : " You have no
need that aught to be written unto you as to the times and the
seasons, for as to them you know that the day of the Lord so
cometh, etc." The argument contained in the gar simply prohibits
the taking the " day of the Lord " as a new subject to which he
now turns. It does not need to be said that the chapter divisions
are of no authority. Here the division is most misleading.
It should have come at ver. 13 of c. 4.
The events just mentioned, the parousia, resurrection, and
rapture, are therefore connected with the day of the Lord, and
as to the times and the seasons for them Paul had already, when
with them, given instruction.
The second, and quickly following, letter (c. 2. 1, 2) similarly
joins the parousia, our gathering together with Christ, and the
day of the Lord, and most expressly warns them against the
notion that that day of the Lord had already set in, for it could
not do so until certain events had occurred and the Lawless One
had been revealed. He was reminding them with emphasis not
to expect the parousia, our gathering together, or the day of the
26 THE DAY OF THE LORD

Lord before these events. He considered such a false expectation

as a beguilement, and hints that there were spirits, as well as men,
who would seek the deception of saints upon this point.
The AV rendering of vn-ip huper" I beseech you by the parousia,
etc.," is incorrect and misleading. It makes the parousia and the
gathering of the saints a ground for the appeal that they be not
shaken in mind, and seems to disconnect those events from the
day of the Lord. Of the some 160 places where the word is
found it is not once elsewhere rendered by, and it is a force the
word does not have. This is one instance from many of how
the AV prevents the reader from accurate knowledge in prophetic
study. The RV " We beseech you touching the parousia," with
its margin " Gr. in behalf of," i.e. in reference to, connects the
parousia and the gathering with the day of the Lord, the former
being events to take place within that Day. For this meaning
of huper comp. Rm 9. 27 : II Cr 8. 23 ; 12. 8.
Now whoever will visualize the tremendous series of world
events that the prophets and the Lord foretold as to lead up to
the Day of the Lord must surely pause before asserting that Paul
considered that they might commence and be completed within
his lifetime, or rather in that shorter portion that he could expect
when writing to the Thessalonians. Only ten years later he
spoke of himself as aged (Pm 9). There was no sign of them in
the year A.D. 52 when he was writing.
The attempt to break this argument by asserting that Paul is
not here speaking of the parousia at the Day of the Lord, but of
a previous and secret parousia only revealed to him when he was
writing to the Thessalonians, and not made known before, is
inadmissible, being without evidence or reason in support,
contrary to these passages and all passages. The definite article
in II Th 2. 1, " touching the parousia of our Lord Jesus Christ,"
shows that Paul knew of only one parousia, the one when we
shall be gathered unto Him, therefore the one mentioned in the
former letter, c. 4 ; and the contexts in both letters prove this
to be connected with the Day of the Lord. Scripture knows of
no previous parousia or descent of Christ from the throne of God,
as far as we can find. He is to sit there till the time for the
subjugation of His enemies. The suggestion in question requires
Him to leave the throne and come down to the air before that
subjugation is to commence, indeed, before the greatest of all His
enemies, the Beast, has even come on the scene. We shall revert
to this point in para. 5 below.

Details will compel and confirm this idea of Paul's attitude and
 PAUL'S EXPECTATION 27
will show that he could not, at the time he wrote, have been
expecting a near return of Christ.
1. Jerusalem had not yet been destroyed, and the Jewish
people scattered, as the Lord had expressly predicted, nor in the
fact was this fulfilled for nearly twenty years, not until after
Paul's death.
2. Peter was not yet dead, nor yet old (Jn 21. 18, 19). It is
assumed here that he was about the same age as His Master
when he was called by Him. Both events had to take place, as
all the brethren knew. It was in this expectation, not in that of
the return of Christ in his life, that Peter lived. The Lord had
said unto him, " when thou shalt be old another shall gird thee,
and carry thee whither thou wouldst not." John understood
this to " signify the manner of death by which Peter should
glorify God." Over thirty years later than Christ spoke Peter
wrote : " I think it right, as long as I am in this tabernacle, to
stir you by putting you in remembrance ; knowing that the
putting off of my tabernacle cometh swiftly, even as our Lord
Jesus Christ signified unto me " (II Pt i. 13, 14). What Christ
had signified, therefore, was what John understood, Peter's death,
not any spiritual experience, as has been fancifully suggested,
but " the putting off of his tabernacle," which he at once turns
into its literal sense by adding, " Yea, I will give diligence that
at every time ye may be able after my decease to call these things
to remembrance."
3. Five or six years later than when he wrote to the Thessa-
lonians Paul was a prisoner in Jerusalem, and received from the
Lord, present in person, the specific announcement, " Be of good
cheer : for as thou hast testified concerning Me at Jerusalem, so
must thou bear witness also at Rome" (Ac 23. 11). Three
reflections arise, (a) That Paul could not thenceforth expect the
parousia until, at the earliest, after he should have testified at
Rome. This rules out an " at any moment " expectation during
that period, (b) That it was not possible that the glorified Lord
should have earlier created in him an expectation that was not
to be fulfilled and which He now annulled, (c) That the notion
that the apostle and the apostles had in fact taught a possible
return of the Lord at any time implies that on this subject they
had not been instructed by the Spirit of Truth. But admission
of error on this so important part of their message will challenge
their teaching and authority in general. Opponents of their
doctrines and of the plenary inspiration of Scripture have taken
due advantage of this admission, and no exegetical" explanations "
can turn the edge of their sword. It is impossible to regard men
28 THE WORLD TO BE EVANGELIZED

as divinely inspired teachers of pure unmixed truth if they did

in fact entertain a false expectation upon this major theme of
their Master's return, upon which they themselves laid so great
stress, and caused the whole church to adopt the mistaken idea
and be disappointed.
4. When Paul wrote to the Thessalonians the gospel had
reached but a small portion of even the Roman world and it had
to be taken to the whole earth. The thought must not be
confined to that invention of prophetic students " the Roman
earth " or " the prophetic earth." Great territories were known
to exist that Rome never touched. The indefinitely vast region
known as Scythia was quite unexplored, as well as the Germanic
lands. Persia, India, and west China (Sinim, Is 49. 12) are
mentioned even in OT, as well as the nearer, though distant
region, " the uttermost parts of the north," and Spain is
mentioned in NT. The good news had to be taken to the whole
creation, for the church was to include some from every tribe,
and tongue, and people, and nation. Under the then conditions
of travel it can scarcely be thought a physical possibility that
one generation of Christians should have accomplished this
herculean task. Even the most strenuous, unremitting labours
of Paul himself, continued for fifteen years when he wrote to the
Thessalonians, had covered but a small central area of the Roman
empire. That was an unparalleled feat, yet the immensely
greater and harder part of the task remained; harder because
the further one went from Roman civilization and its roads the
slower and more severe did travel become. There is no evidence
that in apostolic times the gospel was carried further west than
Rome, 1 further north than Dalmatia (West Yugoslavia), further
east than the Euphrates, further south than Ethiopia.
5. Those who maintain that we ought to be expecting the
parousia momentarily, because, as they say, the apostles did so,
commonly assert that the supposed secret rapture they teach
was revealed for the first time when Paul was writing his first
letter to the Thessalonians. They are obliged so to assert for,
as has always been admitted, it is plain that the OT and the
Gospels speak only of the coming of Christ in glory. This
admission involves that when present at Thessalonica Paul could
only have spoken of the latter event, the coming in glory, no
other coming or rapture having been revealed until later, i.e.,
when he wrote to them. Yet, as seen above, his second letter
(2. 1, 5) shows incontrovertibly that when with them he had told
1
It is very uncertain whether Paul reached Spain (Rm 15. 28), and t h a t
Galatia in II Tm 4. 9 means Gaul is even more doubtful.
 WHAT PAUL TAUGHT AT THESSALONICA 29
them of " the parousia of the Lord," our gathering together unto
Him, and the Day of the Lord : " Remember ye not that when
I was with you I told you these things ? "
Therefore, as the secret rapture, prior to the rise of the Lawless
One, had not been revealed when Paul was with them (as we
wholly agree), that parousia and gathering to the Lord of which
he did speak at that time cannot have been this alleged secret
coming and rapture, for these, as the theory owns, had not then
been revealed. It could only have been that parousia and
gathering of which Christ had spoken (Mt 24. 29-31), and which
were to follow next after the tribulation of those Latter Days,
for no other coming and gathering had been made known. And
the reason is, that there is to be no other coming of Christ than
that of which He himself spoke. Of this Paul himself is a witness
in chief, for he has declared with the utmost preciseness that
" the blessed hope " of the church is " the appearing of the glory
of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ" (Tt 2. 13), and not
any prior and secret event. See later under prosdechomai, p. 35.
It cannot be alleged that when with them he had indeed spoken
of the same coming and gathering as taught by Christ, but that
now, in his first letter, he was bringing before them something
fresh, for the first letter shows (5. 1, 2) and the second letter
distinctly asserts (2. 5) that he was reminding them of the very
things he had told them by word of mouth.
If any disputant will now give up the assertion in question,
and, changing ground, will say that the secret coming was
revealed before Paul wrote to the Thessalonians, it will be his
duty to prove this by Scripture, which, as far as we know, cannot
be done nor has been attempted.

Thus the facts as to Paul are, that about A.D. 50 or 51 he was

teaching at Thessalonica that the apostasy must come before the
return of the Lord and our gathering together unto Him: that
shortly after, when writing his letters to that city, he repeated
the same things: that five or six years later he wrote to the
Corinthians about his being raised from the dead to be presented
with them before the Lord : that within two years thereafter he
was explicitly told by the Lord that he would live to testify at
Rome: that perhaps nine years later he wrote to Timothy that
his death was now at hand, and gave him instructions as to
continuing the teaching by passing on to other faithful men what
he had heard from himself (II Tm 4. 6 ; 2. 2).
Thus his attitude was exactly that of Peter, contemplating
death and taking steps to perpetuate the testimony after his
3o STATEMENTS BY CHRIST

departure. It is impossible to thrust into this consistent attitude

and teaching the notion, so contradictory and dislocating, that
when he wrote the first letter to the Thessalonians he set forth a
new scheme as to the parousia never heard of before and never
mentioned again. The other great passage on resurrection and
rapture (I Cr 15. 50-58) contains not a word that requires its
fulfilment before the Tribulation, but the references to the last
trump and the swallowing up of death in victory connect most
naturally with Rv 11. 15-18 and Hs 13. 14, both dealing with the
Day of the Lord at the end of the Tribulation. .See c. VII. The
same is true of I Th 4. 13-18. Taken by itself it can be as well
put after the Antichrist period as before, for it gives no hint
either way; but taken in its proper connection with the paragraph
next following, it agrees with the Corinthian passage as to this
point. But deprive the theory of a secret, any moment rapture
of these two scriptures and it really has nothing left.

6. The apostolic outlook was of necessity conditioned by the

statements the Lord made to them (1) that he was going on a
long journey (" a man going into a far country," Lk 19. 12), and
(2) it would be only " after a long time " that the Master of the
house would return (Mt 25. 19) : and (3) His further statement
a few weeks later, noticed above, extended that " long time "
until at least Peter should have grown old and have died a violent
death (Jn 21. 18-23). The first of these statements was made in
public; the second to four apostles, of whom Peter was one
(Mk 13.3); the last " went forth {k^XOev ek) among the brethren,"
i.e., passed beyond the seven present (ver. 2) to the brethren
generally.
It is therefore beyond credence that only a few weeks later
Peter was publicly assuring the Jewish people that, if only they
as a nation would repent, Christ would then and there return.
This is an impossible sense to import into his words in Ac 3.19-21.
He knew from the Lord's own words that the nation would not
repent, but was rejected, and that their city would be destroyed
and themselves dispersed. The sense imposed upon what he
here said throws it into disharmony with his appeal in the pre-
ceding chapter: " Save yourselves from this crooked generation "
(2. 40), the contrary idea to that of the generation being saved.
But in fact Peter's words in c. 3 carry the refutation of this
misleading notion. He declared that " the heavens must receive
[Messiah] until the times of the restitution of all things whereof
God spake by the mouth of all His holy prophets from of old "
(a*-' aiwvos). Thus Peter asserts that the whole of those mighty
 STATEMENTS BY CHRIST 31

world changes of which OT so largely speaks must take place in

connection with the return of Christ, and he would know that
they could not be condensed into a brief time, but would take
years to complete. The last " week " of Daniel 9 alone would
require seven years.
7. In connection with, the prediction of Peter's death, and in
answer to a question by Peter as to what awaited John, the
Lord said, " If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to
thee ? " The disciples then showed they were like disciples are
to-day, quick carelessly to read into words what was not said.
They took these words to mean that John would not die, but
should live till the Lord should come again. Late in life John
took pains to correct this false notion, pointing out that Christ
had not said that, thus hinting incidentally that words must be
construed strictly, not be taken loosely. The fact that this
mistaken expectation was held concerning one particular believer
shows that it was not held concerning all believers. If it had
been the expectation that all believers might live to the return of
Christ, no special word would have been needed to create that
expectation as to one of them. But the emphasis in the Greek
makes clear that the notion was based on that special saying and
was confined to John : " Went out therefore this the word
(OSTOS O Xoyos) among the brethren that that disciple would not
die (o fiaOrjrrjs €/ce«Vo?).
8. Further, the Lord's definite assertions quoted, that His
absence would be lengthy, must be remembered steadily when
the sense is sought of His earlier statements that His followers
are to be like unto men waiting for their Lord. It were grievous
irreverence to suppose that at first He created an assumption that
He had afterwards to correct. Yet to this there is no alternative
if it be held that His earlier teaching had meant that the apostles
and their contemporaries were to expect His return in the near
future.
One of the earliest of these sayings is typical of others (Lk 12.
35-40): " Let your loins be girded about, and your lamps burning:
and be ye yourselves like unto men looking for their Lord, when
he shall return from the marriage feast; that when he cometh
and knocketh, they may straightway open unto Him."
The very picture employed forbids that the servants should
imagine that their Master might return " at any moment " or
without notice. They were too well acquainted with the bustle
and excitement attending an eastern marriage procession to
gather the notion that it might arrive and no one know it was
near, if he was awake. Thus in the parable of the virgins a " cry "
32 CHRIST ASSERTED A LONG ABSENCE

went forth " Behold, the bridegroom " ; and in the same discourse
it was said, " When ye see all these things know ye that He is
nigh " (Mt 24. 33). Thus the Lord's teaching was ever consistent;
nor can it be said that this does not refer to the coming for the
church, for the warning to the church at Sardis is to the same
effect, implying that the watchful will know when the hour has
come, while the unwatchful will in no wise know: " If there-
fore thou shalt not watch I will come as a thief, and thou shalt
in no wise know (oi M) what hour I will come upon thee "
(Rv 3. 3)-
Moreover, (1) the servants knew that the bridegroom had to
go to the house of the bride's father; that there the customary
ceremonies and festivities (usually protracted affairs) had to be
accomplished; and that the return journey had to be made.
(2) The picture implied that therefore they need not expect him
during the first watch of the night (6 to 9 p.m.) of which Christ
made no mention; and it was left open if it might be in the
second watch (9 to 12 p.m.), or whether it might not be till the
third (12 to 3 a.m.). (3) In the explication of this parable the
Lord contemplated the business of His house going on so long
that a good servant might degenerate into a bad one; for he
says " My lord delayeth his coming," which it would not occur
to any one to say until some considerable lapse of time after the
master had left and beyond the full time when he might have
returned. The good servant turning from his fidelity is the
clear force of what is said. It is only when he starts to entertain
the notion of the delay of his lord that he " begins " his mis-
conduct, which means that up till then he had done his duty.
The pronoun " that evil servant" is emphatic: "if that evil servant
(6 SoCAos Servos) " requires an antecedent. What evil servant ?
and no other person has been mentioned than the good servant.
The Lord might have said, If an evil servant, or If any evil
servant: but He did not so speak.
On a later occasion (Lk 17. 20), answering a question as to
when " the kingdom of God cometh," the Lord confirmed the
instruction by the remark that God is longsuffering as to His
chosen ones (Lk 18. 7), that is, waits long before He avenges
them. Though when at length He does this He acts speedily.
This expression " speedily" (|v Tax« en tachei), set here in
connection with the coming of the Son of Man, is to be noted.
It plainly means quick action after long waiting ; " He is long-
suffering over them." This is to be remembered when the same
term is used in the same connection in Rv 1. 1, " things which
must shortly come to pass," i.e., " things which in their entirety
 THE HOUSE 33
must be done with speed " (see Alford and Pember). And so
again in Rv 22. 12, " Behold, I come quickly."

These remarks apply to the parables in Mt 24 and 25. In

Mt 13 a series of parables had already indicated developments
and changes to go on throughout this present age, from the time
when the Son of Man began sowing the good seed until the harvest,
which latter would be when the Son of Man should send forth
His angels at the consummation of the age (49). All that then
was intimated had to come to pass before that consummation
and harvest could come ; and so later, in Mt 24. 14, it was repeated
that the gospel had to be taken to the whole world, and many
other mighty events come to pass, before the Son of Man would
send forth those angels. It was in the light of His prior instruc-
tion that the Lord repeated the call and warning as to the servants
of His household watching as men ready for their lord, and the
watching required cannot nullify the earlier instruction that many
things would take place before He would come.
The parable of the ten virgins as distinctly implied a lengthy
absence as did the parable from Lk 12 considered above. The
bridegroom has gone to fetch the bride, and he is away so long
that the virgins pass the interval sleeping. This is followed by
a further picture of the household during the Master's absence
(Mt 25. 14), which ends only after " a long time." It is to be
observed how frequently this figure of the " house " is employed,
and in passages regularly to do with the coming of the Son of Man.
As to what is the " house " during the absence of the Lord there
can be no question. The later NT writings settle this. The
" house of God " is the " church of the living God " (I Tm 3. 15:
etc., etc.). So that the house, the church, is to continue on earth
until the coming of the Son of Man, that coming of which His
parables speak, which indeed is the only future coming known to
Scripture.

9. We pass now to expressions which some think to be incon-

sistent with this view of NT.
The terms " wait for," " look for," " expect," do not in them-
selves carry the force of momentary expectation, but are used of
events known to be distant and to take place after other events
to precede.
(1) Ekdechomai is used (a) of the man at the pool waiting for
the moving of the water (Jn 5. 3). This took place Kara. Kcupdv
[kata kairon), which term in Rm 5. 6 means at a certain due
season. Taking this sense here, the man, as soon as the water
B
34 WAITING—EXPECTING

had been moved, knew that he must wait for the next due season.
(b) Of Paul waiting for fellow-workers, though his messengers to
them had to go 200 miles, and they that distance to come (Ac 17.
16). (c) Of Paul expecting Timothy, though he did not then
know his whereabouts or route : " */ Timothy come " (I Cr 16.
10, 11). (d) Of the husbandman waiting for harvest, which might
be a year off, and certainly could not be expected. " at any
moment " (Js 5. 7). (e) Of Abraham looking for the heavenly
city, though he saw it only from afar (Hb 11. 10). (/) Of Christ
expecting till His enemies be put under His feet (Hb 10. 13).
This is His present attitude. It will not be asserted that in
heavenly glory He has any misapprehension as to the nearness
of the event, and it never ought to have been suggested that on
earth He spoke so equivocally that His apostles gained, or could
have gained, a misapprehension with which to mislead His whole
church, (g) Even the one instance of the word " wait one for
another " at the table of the Lord (I Cr 11. 33), indicates that the
idea of quiet waiting, not of momentary receiving, is in the word,
since those having arrived first would not know how long it might
be until all would have assembled and the meal commence.
Ancient folk were not sticklers for punctuality.
(2) Apekdechomai, the intensive form, is used (a) of the creation
waiting for the revealing of the sons of God (Rm 8. 19) ; yet this
is unintelligent waiting, since the creation cannot enter con-
sciously into the plans of God, which shows that no " any moment"
attitude is necessary to the word, (b) And even when used of
the believer waiting for the redemption of the body (Rm 8. 23),
it is (c) then at once shown (ver. 25) that it is a patient waiting, as
for something that is not expected instantly, (d) It is therefore
in this sense of patience of hope that (e) " we wait for a Saviour "
(Ph 3. 20), that (/) He will be manifested to them that wait for
Him (Hb 9. 28), and (g) that the apostles waited for His coming
(I Cr 1. 7), and (g) for the hope of righteousness (Gl 5. 8). The
force of this word lies in the intensity of the longing, and this
is not dependent upon brevity of interval.
(3) Prosdokao is another cognate. It is used of Peter looking
for events so admittedly far distant as the parousia of the Day
of God and the coming of the new heavens and earth, which are
to be later than the millennial era itself (II Pt 3. 12-14).
The derivative prosdokia comes only twice, (a) The Jews were
expecting Herod to execute Peter (Ac 12. 11), but they could not
know just what day the king would fix, whether near or later.
(b) In the last days men's hearts will be failing for fear and for
expectation of what terrors the future may hold (Lk 21/26) ; but
 LOOKING FOR 35
again the fear is undefined as to the precise events or the time
for their occurrence. It is this very vagueness which causes and
aggravates the fear.
(4) Prosdechomai. The same sense attaches to this word.
So much of uncertainty may lie in it that it is used (a) of men
looking for a promise of which it is quite uncertain whether it
will be given at all, that of the chief captain to bring Paul before
the council (Ac 23. 21). Then it is used (b) of Simeon looking for
the consolation of Israel (Lk 2. 25), of other godly Jews looking for
the redemption of Jerusalem (Lk 2. 38), and of Joseph of
Arimathea looking for the kingdom of God (Mk 15. 43 : Lk 23.51).
It is clear that none of these expected these things to take place
" at any moment," especially not Joseph as he buried the dead
body of the Hope of Israel, (c) It is therefore in this sense of
entire indefiniteness of time that the word should be understood
in Jd 21 that we are to be " looking for the mercy of [the coming
of] our Lord Jesus Christ " and in Lk 12. 36, to be " like unto
men looking for their lord's return from the marriage feast."
As before remarked, they knew that some fair interval must
elapse between his departure and his return.
It is both certain and significant that Paul so employed the
word, and indicates that his attitude was as here shown, for he
says that the Christian is to be " looking for the blessed hope and
[even the, or, which is the] appearing of the glory of the great
God our Saviour Jesus Christ " (Tt 2. 13). The grammar simply
forbids the common but erroneous notion that the " blessed hope "
is a first event and the " appearing " a later. Alford remarks :
" Hope and appearing belong together." So Bloomfield, Wey-
mouth, Conybeare, and many others. But inasmuch as the
appearing of the glory is (as all admit) to be at the close of the
Tribulation, Paul was expecting, looking for, an event which he
knew and taught must be preceded by earlier events.
It is thus clear that this word, like its cognates, is used of events
that are known to be distant and may be preceded by other
expected occurrences, so that the sense of immediacy is no
necessary part of their NT meaning. They deny any validity to
the assertion that one cannot be looking for an event if he thinks
that other events may first occur, as that one cannot be looking
for Christ if he thinks that Antichrist must come first. In the
NT sense of these words one can be so looking for Christ, and
very many have been and are thus looking for Him. What is
positively contrary to NT facts and usage is that the apostles
were looking for Him in any other manner. Linking, as before
noticed, the parousia of Christ, our gathering unto Him, and
36 QUICKLY, HASTING, TARRYING

His Day, Paul has most categorically affirmed that " it will not
be except the apostasy come first and the man of lawlessness be
revealed " and that any other notion is a deception (II Th 2. 1-3).
It will not be affirmed that no one looks for, waits for, expects,
new heavens and earth because we all expect other events first.
10. It has been shown that " I come quickly " does not mean
soon, but swiftly. Difficulty, however, is felt by some with such
statements as " Yet a very little while the Coming One shall
come, and will not t a r r y " (Hb 10. 37). It is urged that such
phrases would not have been used by men who did not expect
the event shortly, and they are made a basis for the charge that
the apostles taught their converts an outlook which time falsified.
Yet moderate attention to the facts of Scripture usage would
avoid this misconception.
(1) Hk 2. 3 is similar. " The vision is yet for the appointed
time and it hasteth toward the end, and shall not lie : though it
tarry wait for i t ; because it will surely come, it will not delay."
" The end " is to be when " Jehovah is in His holy temple " and
" all the earth [is to] keep silence before Him " (ver. 20). Under
Seal 6 this will be shown to mean the Day of the Lord. The
vision is pictured as a runner panting as he nears the goal. Yet
time is implied in the words " though it tarry." The words " it
will not delay " explain the " He will not tarry " of Hb 10. 37.
There is only delay or tarrying if the person lingers beyond the
appointed time for moving. In Mt 25. 5 the translation " while
the bridegroom tarried," though the same word as in Hb 10, is
misleading, for there would be no set hour for the cessation of
the festivities at the bride's house and so no tarrying. The sense
is : " As the bridegroom did not come for some long time " ; and
this gave occasion for the virgins to slumber. Thus this parable,
like others, suggested some lengthy absence of Christ.
(2) Many centuries earlier than Habakkuk Moses had sung of
Israel's " end " (Dt 32. 20), even their " latter end " (ver. 29), and
had said : " the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things
that are to come upon them shall make haste," which is at once
connected with their final restoration (35 and ff.). Thus in Bible
language " at hand " may mean three and a half millenniums
later and " make haste" means a quick work once it has
commenced.
(3) Again, Isaiah (56. 1), speaking of the still future day of
Messiah, said : " Thus saith Jehovah . . . My salvation is near
to come," yet we still await it.
God speaks from His own standpoint and outlook, and measures
distance by His own standards, not by man's. It is for us
 A VERY LITTLE WHILE 37
reverently to habituate our thinking to His, not to reduce His
conceptions to our measures. A strong man might point to his
homestead across the valley, and say, We shall soon be there,
but his weary little boy might think the walk very long. It is
strictly in this connection that Peter says that the Lord is not -
careless as to His promise to return, and that we are not to forget
that God's unit of time measurement is not a day but a millen-
nium of years. From His standpoint His salvation for Israel
was near at the time of Isaiah, only two or three of His days off.
Lowth would translate " i s to come " by " i s just ready," with
which may be compared Peter's word that our salvation is " ready
to be revealed," but will be revealed only " in the last time "
( I P t i . 5). .
(4) Speaking of the overthrow of " the terrible one," Antichrist,
and the salvation of Judah and Palestine, Isaiah had said earlier
(29. 15-24) : " Is it not yet a very little while, and Lebanon shall
be turned into a fruitful field ? " Here is found the very
expression in Hb 10. 37.
If will be shown shortly that there is another view-point (a
human, as the foregoing is the divine) from which these phrases
may be regarded, each view being consistent with the other.
The conceptions of Scripture are everywhere consistent, and
the expressions of them also ; but the force of the words must
be gained from Scripture itself, not from inexact colloquial
English usage. Yet even if the strict force of the English terms
exj>ect, look for, wait for, be observed, it can be seen that these,
as surely as the Greek words they translate, do not necessarily
require immediacy as part of their meaning, but are equally
proper when a lengthy interval may be in question. From the
hour that a husband leaves his home on a lengthy foreign journey
his wife will expect, look for, wait for his return. Indeed, waiting
of necessity implies some lapse of time in which to wait; looking
for a person implies that he is not yet in sight; expecting an
event implies no more than that it will take place. Such expres-
sions will be equally applicable if it is known that the time is
near, or distant, or is quite undetermined.

The other term to be examined is gregoreo, usually rendered

watch. It comes from egeiro, to rouse from sleep, to cause to rise
u p ; hence, to live (I Th 5. 10) ; then, to be awake, and hence
to watch. It is found first at Mt 24. 42 : " Watch therefore ; for
ye know not on what day your Lord cometh." This follows an
intimation that the parousia of the Son of Man will be as it was
in the days of Noah and the coming of the Flood. For that dread
38 WATCHING

event Noah surely waited and watched in faith, though he knew

it was not to come until after he had built and stored the ark,
and his family and the beasts should have been gathered therein.
Here is a scriptural picture of watching ; it means to be thoroughly
alive to a situation and taking all measures required in the light
of what is expected.
This last thought is the essence of the Biblical idea of watching.
It means exactly the reverse of so regarding an event,that one
does nothing, but lapses into inactivity. Said the humorous
Spurgeon : Ye men of Plymouth, why stand ye gazing up into
Heaven ? This same Jesus shall so come in like manner as ye
have seen Him go : get on with your work! In truth, the
Christians in view have not much deserved the sly hit, for they
have not failed in Christian service ; but the remark illustrates
the true manner of watching for the Lord. Hence, in His parables
we find that, at the same time that the porter is to watch, all
are to be busy : some in supplying the household with food at
regular times (Mt 24. 45) ; others in trading with their lord's
money (pounds and talents) during his absence ; others in
strengthening the things that remain of His affairs that were
entrusted to them, but which are ready to die (Rv 3. 2). All
such working supposes some duration in the absence of the Lord
in which it can be performed. Lk 12. 38, 39, which pictures the
disciple like a man watching against a thief, follows immediately
the intimation that the lord of the house might not come till the
second or even the third watch of the night. The later figure of
the morning star extends this intimation of delay, for that star
does not rise until the last watch, somewhat before dawn.
The faithful wife, by nurturing constant desire of heart for her
husband's return, and by caring well for his house and interests
while he is away, will be more truly " watching " for him than
if she sat at a window all day gazing down the street. Her heart
would ceaselessly watch, that is, be alive to his return, looking
for it, longing for it, even though she knew much must transpire
ere he could return from a distant land.
That about the year A.D. 30 Christ did not intend His followers
so to watch as if He might return very shortly may be inferred
from the fact that sixty years later He was still exhorting His
people to watch (Rv 3. 2 ; 6. 15).

One other consideration is important and illuminating.

Prophetic utterance was often ecstatic, the speaker, as to his
consciousness, being transported from his own place and time
into the realm and period concerning which he prophesied. The
 SERIOUS IMPLICATIONS 39
very first prophetic utterance given through a man demonstrates
this. Enoch spoke of the coming of the Lord as if he had seen it
happen, saying, " The Lord came with ten thousands of His holy
ones " (Jd 14). Similarly the last prophet says : " I became in
spirit in the Day of the Lord " (Rv 1. 10). Hence the descriptions
he sometimes gives of events as having taken place, for they had
done so in vision before his consciousness. An elder says to him :
" These are they who are coming out of the Tribulation," as if
they were watching the procession in motion (7. 14) : and later,
great voices proclaim that " the kingdom of the world became the
kingdom of our Lord " (11. 15). It is in keeping with this that
God himself, to Whom the future is as the present, speaks of His
salvation as near, and that in a very little while Christ shall come.
More will be said on this aspect later.

The assertion that the Lord taught the apostles, and they their
converts, that His return might be in that generation carries
serious and destructive implications. Time quickly and com-
pletely falsified the notion. So, then, either:
1. The Lord misled them and they the church, in which case
the modernistic challenge of their and His authority is justified.
But more. The Lord declared that " as the Father taught Me,
I speak . . . I spake not from Myself, but the Father who sent
Me He hath given Me a commandment what I should say, and
what I should speak " (Jn 8. 28 ; 12. 49 ; 14. 10). He further said
that it would be thus with the Spirit of truth also : He too would
not " speak from Himself ; but what things soever He shall hear
shall He speak : and He shall declare unto you the things that
are to come " (Jn 16. 13). The misleading therefore upon this
weighty matter of prophecy must be attributed finally to God the
Father; the Son and the Spirit and the diciples being all misled.
But this being impossible, no such teaching can have been given.
Therefore:
2. Neither the words of the Lord nor of the apostles carry the
sense supposed, but their meaning was everywhere consistent
with what God knew the facts would be. If the present discussion
contributes in any measure to the demonstrating of this it will be
of value. That the prophecies of the Bible always find exact
fulfilment is a chief and self-employed evidence of its truth and
of its being from God. Yet some who glory in this as to the OT
have laboured a scheme of interpretation which falsifies it as to
the NT, by maintaining that Christ and His apostles encouraged
a hope which failed utterly. These are among the wounds which
He receives in the house of His lovers.
40 THE WATCHFUL REMOVED
Note. The opinion, expounded in this commentary, that there
is to be a removal of watchful believers prior to the End Days
does not conflict with what is above maintained, that the Lord
will not leave the throne of the Father and come to the air till
the close of the reign of Antichrist. For the Lord will not come
for those thus removed : they will simply be caught away as
were Enoch and Elijah.
But this removal of the watchful of the days in question,
though deeply important for its bearing on the conscience and
life, will affect only a very small minority of the church of God,
and is exegetically but subordinate to the main prophetic pro-
gramme of the End Times.

PRELIMINARY DISSERTATION—III

THE LATTER DAYS ARE THE CHIEF PERIOD OF PROPHECY

It is a constant feature of prophetic scripture that they pass

direct from the day of the prophet to the closing days of this
present age, even to the era of Antichrist and the coming of Christ.
The first of all predictions reveals this feature and gives character
to the rest.
Gn 3. 15. There is first intimated this salient feature of human
history : " I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and
between thy seed and her seed." The essential feature of at
least six thousand years is thus summarized in a sentence, and
the forecast leaps on at once to the second coming of Christ :
" he shall bruise thy head." Only one single event, Calvary, is
lifted into the light, as needful to be mentioned : " thou shalt
bruise his heel."
Jd 14, 15 gives the next prophecy of early times, and shows
that Enoch's vision had passed from the days before the Flood
direct to the coming of the Lord to judge accompanied by His
holy angels. Comp. Zh 14. 5 : Mt 25. 31 : Hb 12. 22, 23, mgn 13 :
Rv 19. 14. No mention is made of any events of the thousands
of years that were to intervene.
Gn 12. 3 is the next prediction, as part of the covenant of God
with Abraham. It guaranteed personal and national greatness ;
again some thousands of years are summarized in one age-enduring
principle, that as men should deal with Abram so would God
deal with them; and then at once the promise passes to the
End Times for its accomplishment, because only under the reign
 BALAAM AND MOSES 41
of Messiah shall " all the families of the earth be blessed " with
all the temporal and spiritual blessings promised to Abraham.
It is in but very limited measure indeed that this promise finds
now some spiritual fulfilment through the gospel (Gl 3. 8).
Ex 34. 10. When Israel had been just brought out of Egypt,
and had quickly lapsed at Horeb, God already directed them far
forward to the closing times before the millennial era, by saying :
" Behold, I make a covenant: before all thy people I will do
marvels, such as have not been wrought in all the earth, nor in
any nation ; and all the people among which thou art shall see
the work of Jehovah ; for it is a terrible thing that I do with
thee." Now no wonders exceeding those then lately wrought in
Egypt have yet been wrought before Israel. But Jl 2. 30, 31
and the Revelation are full of much more terrible things.
This passage shows that such an expression as " the people
among whom thou art " does not necessarily mean the actual
persons then present, but may mean their successors in the same
nation or society, which gives guidance in many subsequent
passages, as I Th 4. 15, 17, " we that are alive." See Pre. Dis.
II.
Nm 23 and 24. Passing over forty years, when Balaam had
given four general blessings on Israel, he added these words to
Balak : " I will advertise thee what this people shall do to thy
people in the latter days " (24. 14). This is the first occurrence of
this expression. He then speaks of the second advent of Christ,
saying, " I see him, but not now : I behold him, but not nigh " ;
and then he describes the Star that shall rise and the Sceptre that
shall smite and break, which same figures the Lord Jesus in
Rv 2. 27, 28 uses together of His return.
This Scripture shows that the term " the latter days " means
the times of Messiah as the star and sceptre. There are other
passages which amplify this prediction as to the dealings of
Israel with Moab and the other surrounding nations of that time.
Is 11. 14 : etc.
Dt 31 and 32. At the close of the life of Moses—that is, at
the same period that Balaam spoke of the latter days—the song
given by God to Moses to teach to Israel was prefaced by an
identical reference to the End Times : " I know that evil will
befall you in the latter days " (31. 29). The song recites their
call, the early prosperity, then their apostasy and punishment,
and shortly (32. 29) there comes the exclamation, " Oh, that
they would consider their latter end," and the song passes at once
to the time when Jehovah shall repent Himself in favour of His
servants (36), shall judge their enemies, and when in consequence
42 THE PSALMS

all nations shall rejoice with His people Israel, and expiation
shall be made for His land and for His people (43). This is the
era when the promise to Abraham shall find accomplishment. It
is deeply important that the divine promise is that the nations
shall be brought into the blessings of-Israel, not that Israel as a
people shall be merged into the blessings of the church. That in
this present time a small election of Gentiles rejoices in Christ
through the gospel is only a small foretaste of the fulness of this
prophecy. It is evident that the judging of Israel's enemies and
the receiving of Israel as a people to favour, have no fulfilment
as yet.
II Sm 7. 8-16. When making a covenant with David the
words of God passed direct from David to the End Days by the
assurance never yet realized : " I will appoint a place for my
people Israel, and will plant them that they may dwell in their
own place, and be moved no more ; neither shall the children of
wickedness afflict them any more " (10). Then, after glancing at
Solomon, as that one of the sons of David through whom the
fulfilment should come, again the thought passes to the far
future : " Thy house and thy kingdom shall be made sure for
ever : thy throne shall be established for ever."

PSALMS. The Psalms are strongly marked by this feature.

The 1st recites the contrasted and fundamental principles of
life, and passes at once to the judgment which will separate
between the righteous and the wicked. There is little doubt that
" stand in the judgment " should be " rise in the judgment,"
meaning that the wicked will not share in the first resurrection,
that of the righteous. Both the LXX and the Vulgate so
translate the Hebrew, giving respectively dvao-rtjo-ovTa,, (anastee-
sontai) and resurgent.
The 2nd Psalm goes forthwith to the End Times, when the
nations will unite against God and His Son, and when the latter
shall reign at Zion, break to pieces His enemies with a rod of iron,
and possess the uttermost parts of the earth. Preliminary
illustrations of this defiance of God, such as that mentioned in
Ac 4. 25, do not nullify the still later testimony of Christ himself
in Rv 2. 27, that the accomplishment of the psalm is still future,
at the period when He will become the morning star, as foreseen
by Balaam.
Ps 22 similarly joins the sorrows of Calvary to the glories of
the kingdom without touching upon intervening matters. In
ver. 22 the Lord Jesus, the Sufferer of the former part of the psalm,
is leading the praises of His brethren in heavenly glory (Hb 2.
 ISAIAH 43
10-12) ; then Israel is seen honouring Him and satisfied (23-26) ;
and then " all the ends of the earth " turn to Him (27-31).
That great time is a chief theme of the Psalms. See, e.g.,
44-48 ; 65-69 ; 92-100 ; 145-150.
The PROPHETS repeatedly show the same feature.
Isaiah's prefatory announcement opens with a denunciation of
Israel as then found, but at once lifts the vision to the End Days
by saying : " I will turn My hand upon thee, and thoroughly
purge away thy dross, and will take away all thy tin : and I will
restore thy judges as at the first, and thy counsellors as at the
beginning (see Jh 24. 31) : afterward thou shalt be called the
city of righteousness, a faithful town. Zion will be redeemed
with justice, and her converts with righteousness " (1. 25-27).
There never yet has been a time when Zion deserved this
title ; it and its people have never been notorious for right-
eousness.
C. 2 is a preface and key to all subsequent prophecies, and it
begins with a picture of the millennial era : " It shall come to
pass in the latter days that the mountain of Jehovah's house
shall be established at the top of the mountains, and shall be
exalted above the hills ; and all nations shall flow unto it." This
is followed by Jehovah judging the peoples, and these living in
peace, learning war no more (2-4).
Cs. 7-12 are another section. It shows distinctly the same
feature. The then impending invasion by Assyria is intertwined
with an invasion by that power of Palestine known as " Im-
manuel's land," which description could not, of course, apply
strictly till after the child bearing this significant name should
have been born (7. 14 ; 8. 8 ; 9. 6). The name means " God is
with us," and His presence is advanced as the reason why the
devices of the " peoples " and " far countries " against Israel
should fail, and these peoples themselves be " broken in pieces "
(8. 9, 10). Now in c. 9 this is connected with a great light shining
in Galilee, with the people being multiplied in number, increased
in joy, the staff of their oppressors being broken and their armour
and clothing being burned up ; and all this because of the Son
that had been born, the Prince of Peace, and the establishment
of His government upon the throne of David for ever (9. 7).
The destruction of Jerusalem forty years after the death of
Christ, and its history ever since, shows that these great things
did not attend that shining of the light in Galilee which came
when Jesus commenced to preach there, which shows that that
was a fulfilment of but not the accomplishment of this prophecy.
44 ISAIAH

It awaits the End Days, when the Holy One of Israel shall be in
the midst of Zion (12. 6).
That cs. 14 and 15 of Isaiah carry the mind to the End Days,
and declare a destruction of Babylon still future is shown in
c. XII, Pt. ii, of this book.
It was in the year that king Ahaz died that a destruction of
Philistia was foreseen connected with Jehovah founding Zion as
a refuge for His people, a conjunction of events yet waiting
fulfilment (14. 28-32).
C. 19 is wholly future. It concerns a day never yet seen, when
Judah shall be a terror to Egypt (17), though the opposite has
often been seen ; a day when Egypt, Assyria, and Israel, each
and all hitherto enemies, shall be in unity with God and each
other, blessed and a blessing in the earth. One of the truly
significant facts of this our time is the simultaneous recon-
stituting of these three lands, with road and railway connecting
Egypt and Palestine, and projected with Mesopotamia.
Cs. 24-27 further picture that era never yet seen. It concerns
the " earth," the " uttermost parts of the earth " (24. 1-20) ; it
is the time when the angel rebels of heaven shall be shut up in
prison (24. 21-23 ; 27. x : Rv 12. 7-12 ; 20. 1-3) ; when Jehovah
of hosts shall reign on Zion (24. 23), and Jerusalem shall be the
centre of His worship (27. 12, 13).

It were simple to show that most of the remainder of Isaiah

similarly goes forward to the End Times. It is the great theme
of c. 40 to the end, as the opening statements show. Israel's
warfare is viewed as accomplished, her iniquity pardoned, her era
of comfort come. And though here and there the vision looks
back, as to Cyrus or to Messiah in humiliation, it is ever that
such periods may be quickly linked on in thought to the con-
summation of the age. This is seen markedly in c. 53, where the
vision of Messiah's sufferings is prefaced (52. 13-15) by a prediction
of His exaltation and supremacy ; then the remark that His
visage and form were to be marred is explained in 53. 1-10, and
at once this is linked with His being satisfied and with His
sovereignty over mighty peoples. Thereupon 54 describes the
restoration and joy of Israel, and 55 extends the call to all peoples,
to " every one," to share the divine covenant with David ; and
then is proclaimed again the removal of the curse from nature
around. Thus shall God's house be at last the centre for all
peoples, for " others" shall be gathered to Israel besides
Israelites (56. 1-8).
56-60 is a new section, reciting once again the doleful tale of
 THE PRESENT INTERVAL 45
Israel's sins and chastisements, but all is still speedily linked with
their restoration in the day of Jehovah, when He shall be their
everlasting light, and the days of their mourning shall be
ended (60. 20).
C. 61 is crucial, for Christ himself showed at Nazareth how
prophecy is to be divided as to eras, and how the past and the
final future may be conjoined in one sentence. As far as to the
clause " the acceptable year of the Lord " He read in the syna-
gogue, for thus far the predictions were finding a preliminary
fulfilment in His ministry of grace. But He did not read the next
clause because the " day of vengeance " had not then arrived,
nor therefore the time to give joy to Zion and to comfort its
mourners. For the moral preparation indispensable to their
comfort and joy requires that " day of vengeance " as its means.
On the contrary, Christ later predicted a further overthrow of
Jerusalem and scattering of its people to follow their rejection of
Himself, and looked on yet further to the final destruction and
scattering at the end of the Times of the Gentiles (Mt 24 : Mk 13 :
L k 21).
No arguing can alter the fact that Christ thus indicated that
some interval, and, as it has proved, a vast interval, lay in
Isaiah's prophecy. And a precisely similar break, and an inter-
vening period, can be seen in Is 9. 6, 7, between the birth of the
Son and His taking the throne of David ; and at Is 10. 11, 12,
where the boasting of Sennacherib passes on to when Jehovah
shall have performed His whole work on Mount Zion, which even
yet is not the case ; also at Jr 25. 12, where the close of Israel's
seventy years in Babylon passes on to a destruction of Babylon
which is to involve " all the nations " (13) and " all the kingdoms
of the world which are upon the face of the earth " (26), even
" all the inhabitants of the earth " (29), even " all flesh " (31),
" from one end of the earth unto the other end of the earth " (33).
We find the same break at Dn 9. 26, for " Messiah shall be cut
off and shall have nothing," and then the next event is the
destruction of the city. Even those who refuse to see here an
interval extending to Antichrist must admit some break, for it
was almost forty years after Messiah was cut off before Titus
destroyed the city.
Mc 5 shows (1) the birth of Christ at Bethlehem ; (2) His being
smitten upon the cheek ; (3) then an interval during which Israel
is " given up," and (4) His feeding His flock in majesty, His being
" great unto the ends of the earth," and then that destruction
of the Assyrian opened up in Isaiah in connection with the
purging and exalting of Israel.
46 ISAIAH

The last but one of the prophets, Zechariah, has the same
interval. C. 9. 9 describes Israel's King entering Jerusalem on a
colt, and the next verse passes direct to the destruction of Israel's
enemies and Messiah speaking peace to the nations and ruling to
the ends of the earth. Again, c. 13. 7 tells of the sword smiting
the Shepherd at Calvary, and the next verse passes to the last
refining of Israel as gold, and their subsequent communion with
Jehovah ; which topics are enlarged in c. 14.
All these places show one and the same undefined interval, and
also illustrate the main point of this discussion.

Returning to Isaiah, the prominent fact of prophetic scripture

under review may meet another difficulty. C. 61 before us
continues the theme of Israel's coming glory, as does 62. C. 63
opens with a vision of the Conqueror. At ver. 7 the prophet reviews
the early dealings of God with Israel in the days of Moses, and at
ver. 15 begins an impassioned appeal to Jehovah to renew those
former lovingkindnesses. He speaks (18) of Israel having enjoyed
their land but a " little while." In the fact this covered some
seven centuries to Isaiah's day, which usage suggests how it may
be needful to understand such expressions in other passages.
Comp. Hk 2. 3 : Hb 10. yj ; etc. He goes on to urge that God's
holy house had been " trodden down " (63. 18) and " burned
with fire " (64. 11), and that the land is a wilderness. It has
been urged that this had not yet become fact when Isaiah lived,
that he would not describe as fact what was yet future, and that
therefore another person (the " second Isaiah ") must have
written this part of the prophecy after the destruction of
Nebuchadnezzar.
But the linking of the far future to the then present makes this
suggestion unnecessary. The prophets were often transported in
spirit into the future, and described as having taken place or as
taking place what they thus saw. Asaph saw the first temple
built and led the song in i t ; yet he, like Isaiah, describes it as
destroyed and burnt (Ps 74). The Revelation from c. 4 is another
instance. Though all was wholly future (4. 1) John describes
things as taking place or as having done so, because in his con-
sciousness he was in the future. See e.g., 5. 7 : " He hath taken
the book." Thus also Enoch had described the coming of the
Lord with His holy ones as a past event : "the Lord came"
(Jd 14), and Paul and Peter speak of the saints as having been
already glorified (Rm 8. 30 e8o£
Similarly Isaiah puts the treading of the winepress by Messiah
as a past event: " I have trodden the winepress . . . I trod down
 ISAIAH 47
the peoples " (63. 1-6). Thus in the same chapter (63), first one
certainly future event, Messiah's intervention, is put in the past and
described by the term " trodden down," and why therefore should
not a second future event, the destruction of the temple, be also put
as past, being described by the same term, " trodden down " ?

In answer to the impassioned appeal by the people, voiced by

the prophet, God replies in 65 that He is being sought by them
who had not formerly asked after Him, a glance, as we know from
Rm 10. 20, 21, at the effect of the gospel in this age ; but that,
as to Israel, they had been rebellious and provocative (2, 3), and
that He will first " measure their work into their bosom " (17).
Thus is condensed the extended period of their national chastise-
ment. Then immediately the force of this word " first " is shown.
There will not be total extinction of that people, but a seed shall
be preserved—the small remnant of cs. 1 and 2—and shall inherit
Palestine in security (8-10) and former troubles shall be forgotten
(16). Thus again is the past linked to the final outcome, and the
vision is carried on to a new heaven and new earth (17), with
Jerusalem joying in God and God joying in His people, with nature
freed from all calamity and violence.
The last chapter, 66, follows the same order. First reproach
because of apostasy, with tumult and vengeance (1-6), but this
connected with a sudden rebirth of the land, with joy and peace
at that birth (7-14). This is a result from Jehovah coming on
the scene with fire and tempest, destroying His enemies (15-17),
evangelizing the remoter nations (19), with Israel gathered from
afar (20, 21), and the house of Jehovah in Jerusalem the centre
of world worship (23).

This being thus so dominant a feature of the richest of the OT

books, it is only to be expected that it will be found in the rest.
And it is.
JEREMIAH takes up his stern task of standing for God in days
of national apostasy. Sorrowfully, but severely, God through
him upbraids His faithless people and denounces their dreadful
and hastening destruction (cs. 1 and 2). But quickly (3. 1) the
call is heard to the harlot to return, and it is repeated in ver. 14.
Nor can it be said that the return of the small remnant from
Babylon seventy years later was in view here ; for when this
return takes place men " shall call Jerusalem the throne of
Jehovah, and all the nations shall be gathered unto it," nor shall
men walk any more after the stubbornness of their own heart
(17, 18).
 48 JEREMIAH

The long thunders of wrath roll and reverberate ; the darkness

deepens ; but the light of mercy and the voice of peace break in
again, sometimes mentioning a return after only seventy years,
but later a far grander return and a final. For in c. 30 the scene
passes on from Jeremiah's time to a day so great that " none is
like it " (7), a day when Israel shall serve Jehovah and David
their king, whom He will raise up unto them (9, 21) ; and this
intermingling of wrath and restoration shall be " i n the latter
days " (24).
The same passing on to the End Days is found again and again,
as in cs. 32, 33, 48, 49, 50, 51.
Then shall Jacob be " the chief of the nations " (31. 7) ; joy,
prosperity, and numerical increase shall return then ; and all
this shall be established according to a new covenant (31. 31-34).
While in Hb 8 this covenant is given a wider application to
Gentiles (as in Is 55. 1-5), that does not annul its primary
application to Israel as Israel, for its terms are followed imme-
diately by the explicit assurance that not till sun, moon, and
stars, the ordinances of heaven, fail, " shall Israel cease from
being a nation before Me for ever." Not till men can perform the
impossibilities of measuring heaven and searching out the founda-
tion of the earth will God cast off all the seed of Israel (35-37).
This guarantee is accompanied by details of the rebuilding of the
city, and its enlargement, details it were idle to attempt to
" spiritualize," for they can yield no sense at all except the literal.
For example, what " spiritual " or metaphorical meaning can
be assigned to the tower of Hananel, the gate of the corner, the
hill Gareb, Goah, the valley of the dead bodies and the ashes, the
brook Kidron, or the corner of the horse-gate toward the east ?
(38-40). To Jeremiah and his hearers all these spots were
perfectly well known, and the mention of them could suggest no
other meaning than the names carried. But as the literal sense
is here imperative, so must be literally fulfilled the accompanying
promise concerning Jerusalem, " it shall not be plucked up, nor
thrown down, any more for ever " (31. 38-40). Nothing more
severely condemns the " spiritualizing " treatment of Scripture
than its utter inability to face the plain force of the prophetic
statements. Indeed, this is not treatment, but ill-treatment of
the Word of God.
Even a most extreme " spiritualizer " has admitted that the
Israel promises of the OT, if taken in their simple and ordinary
meaning, will naturally be understood as securing for the nation
of Israel the safe occupancy of their ancient land and a proud
pre-eminence and sovereignty over the nations of the world.
 JEREMIAH, EZEKIEL 49
Then, in order to explain why the prophets wrote in so misleading
a style, the same writer adds that the prophets saw the glory
that was coming [i.e., of the supposed merging of Israel and the
nations into one general church, without national distinctions],
but necessarily described it in the terms of their limited horizon.
But were the inspired prophets describing things according to
their own limited conceptions, or was God by His Spirit causing
them to reveal truth ? Let this diminishing of the full inspiration
of the prophets be noted. It is significant.
Cs. 50, 51. Much of the prophecies concerning Babylon has
never found fulfilment, which requires an accomplishment yet to
come. The proof of this will be given in c. XII on Rv 17 and 18.
In connection with the foretold destruction of Babylon, the earth,
not merely Palestine, shall have rest, because the hammer that
broke to pieces the whole earth shall itself be broken (50. 34, 23).
It were futile to say that this has happened.
LAMENTATIONS. Even in the midst of the desolations here
pictured the then far distant future breaks through the deep
gloom with brilliant ray, for ver. 21, 22 of c. 4 combine the judgment
upon Edom with the permanent deliverance of Zion, saying :
" The punishment of thine iniquity is accomplished, O daughter
of Zion : He will no more carry thee away into captivity."
EZEKIEL. The opening chapters concern the sins and judg-
ments of the era of the prophet ; but c. 16, after recalling the
national infidelity of Judah and Israel under the figure of
adulterous women, concludes by connecting that period with a
time when Sodom, Samaria, and Jerusalem shall be restored to
their former estate (53-55), and Israel's youth shall be revived in
a glorious maturity under an everlasting covenant which Jehovah
shall establish (60-63), and which therefore shall not prove
transitory, as did the covenant of their youth through Moses.
20. 1-44 is exactly parallel with c. 16.
21 regards the then imminent destruction of Jerusalem as to
continue " until He come whose right it [the sovereignty] is ;
and I will give it to Him " (27), that is, Messiah.
In 26 and 27 the destruction of Tyre by Nebuchadnezzar is
spoken of as concluding in an overthrow so complete that " thou
shalt no more have any being ; though thou be sought for, yet
thou shalt never be found again, saith the Lord Jehovah " (26. 21).
As if this were not sufficiently emphatic it is repeated at 27. 36,
" thou shalt nevermore have any being." But after Nebuchad-
nezzar Tyre shortly rose again to power and wealth, and it was
clear that his conquest did not fulfil the predictions. Nor did the
more thorough destruction by Alexander three centuries later, for
50 DANIEL, HOSEA

not even at this date can it be said that Tyre shall not be found,
though it be sought for, because the traveller to-day, as we
ourselves have twice seen, sees a town there without having to
search for it.
Thus Ezekiel's prophecy carries the mind into days still future
for its accomplishment, which can be seen further in cs. 34, 36, 38
and 39, and 40 to 48, the last word of this prophet being that
" the name of Jerusalem from that day shall be Jehovah Shammah,
Jehovah is there " (48. 35). This still awaits fulfilment.

DANIEL. This prophet presents the same feature in marked

degree.
C. 2. The vision of the image sketches in brief outline the
history of the four world-empires as far as to the end, the feet.
But it enlarges upon that closing period of Messiah's intervention.
C. 7 has as its burden the End Days, the destruction of the
kingdom of the Beast and the establishing of that of the saints
(9-11, 26-28). This will be expanded in our cs. IV, V, on Rv 4
and 5.
C. 8 sketches briefly the overthrow of Persia by Greece under
Alexander (1-8), and then passes to the " little horn," the same
simile and description as in the preceding chapter, thus indicating
the same period and person. In my Daniel it is argued that
Pusey, Anderson and others were right in declining the view that
Antiochus Epiphanes was in view in this prophecy.
C. 9. The vision of the seventy sevens is expressly stated to
belong to the. " end," even the 'full end," that is, to the com-
pleting of " the desolations that are determined " (26, 27).
Cs. 10, 11. In my Daniel it is shown (with Tregelles) that
these chapters are throughout concerned with the End Times.
HOSEA'S opening statement combines the then approaching
rejection of Israel with their future restoration. Now they are
Lo-ruhama, the one that hath not obtained mercy : then they
will be Ruhama, that hath obtained mercy (1. 6 ; 2. 1).
C. 2 is to the same effect, and 3 also : they seek Jehovah their
God and David their king. Through the remaining chapters
their then present sin and judgment are depicted at length, but
c. 14 connects all this with their final return, their healing, and
the revived exhibition of the changeless love of Jehovah.
JOEL'S prophecy is occupied wholly with the day of Jehovah
(l. 15 ; 2. 1, 2). It makes no mention of the kings under whom
he lived, their history not coming into the book as being im-
material to his message. He begins with an invasion unparalleled
before and never to be equalled after (2. 2 : comp. Mt 24. 21).
 JOEL TO MICAH 51
Of necessity there cannot be two events, one subsequent to the
other, of which this can be rightly affirmed. The " very small
remnant " of Isaiah is shown pleading in the temple (2. 15-17) ;
Jehovah intervenes for them and His land ; the enemy is over-
thrown ; the gathering of the nations to Jerusalem, and their
judgment there, takes place (comp. Mt 25. 31-46) ; the Spirit is
poured out, nature is revived, and Jehovah dwells in Zion, His
holy mountain (2. 18; 3. 21). But, say the " spiritualizes," all
this wealth of precise statements now means something quite
different, even that, according to the NT, Israel and the nations
lose their distinctive identities and become merged in the church
of God. Thus is the NT forced to contradict and cancel the OT.
AMOS. Joel ends with Jehovah roaring from Zion (3. 16) ;
Amos begins with the same statement (1. 2). Surveying the
wickedness of various peoples, including Israel, the book rounds
off all to the same point where it had started, by foretelling the
restoration of the tabernacle of David (9. 11-15), and glances at
the overthrow of Edom and its possession by Israel. When
James (see p. 64) employs this prophecy in application to this
present age, it is significant that he does not include the reference
to Edom as having present fulfilment, but in this clause seems
to follow the LXX, though not in the surrounding clauses. The
" spiritualizers " will find it hard to give any sense to Edom here,
but the mention here harmonizes with all that other prophets say
as to that land at the End.
And when this prophet is fulfilled Israel shall be planted upon
their land, and they shall no more be plucked up out of their
land (9. 15), a confirmation of the literal sense of the covenant
with David before noticed. Thus Amos also encloses all his
predictions within references to the days of Messiah.
OBADIAH deals specifically with Edom, its pride, cruelties, and
doom. And all is connected with that same " day of Jehovah
upon all the nations " (15), when the remnant in Zion (see Isaiah
and Joel) shall escape, when Zion shall be holy, and the Kingdom
shall be Jehovah's (21).
JONAH is history ; typical history, as all God's histories are ;
but it has no specific prophecies as to any remote future.
MICAH, as Amos, commences with Jehovah " coming forth out
of His place," and coming down to the earth, with mountains
melting and valleys cleaving (1. 2-4), physical disturbances often
elsewhere predicted to attend that coming, and surely not
unnatural accompaniments seeing what took place at Sinai. The
coming in view affects " all peoples," all dwellers on earth. It is
in the light of this coming that he views his own times of sin and
 52 MICAH, NAHUM

ruin, the only clear light in which any time is to be surveyed with
profit. But he quickly passes on to the latter days, giving the
same sentences and arresting simile as Isaiah's opening vision
(Mc 4. 1-5 : Is 2. 1-4). Jerusalem is seen established as the
world's centre, the Lord judges the nations, wars cease, peace
and plenty prevail; Jehovah reigns in Zion for ever, and
Jerusalem enjoys her former supremacy (4. 4-9).
In c. 5 there is another striking instance of widely separated
events being set in one sentence. In ver. 1 and 2 the Judge of
Israel is (1) " from everlasting," (2) is to be born in Bethlehem,
(3) is to be " smitten with a rod upon the cheek," (4) is to be ruler
in Israel. Thus is eternity linked with Bethlehem ; then the
thought passes over the thirty years of the life to Calvary, and
thence goes straight to the kingdom, and Messiah is at once shown
(ver. 4) feeding His regathered flock, the children of Israel, in the
strength and majesty of Jehovah. The interval of long centuries
for Israel is compressed into five words, " He will give them up."
Recurring again to the sins of his own times (6. 1; 7. 6), and the
consequent miseries, Micah goes on again to the future and final
salvation, when Jehovah will give light (7. 7-9), when Israel's
walls shall be built (11), when, as before noted, the marvels
promised as soon as they had left Egypt shall be performed
(15 : Ex 34. 10), and when the truth and lovingkindness promised
to their first father, Abraham, shall be enjoyed (7.20). Thus, as
by Moses, so by Micah eight centuries later, 1500 B.C. is linked
in a sentence with the far distant period when the purposes and
covenant of God shall at last find accomplishment.
NAHUM. Whatever indirect reference this prophecy may have
had to the overthrow of Nineveh about 612 B.C., it contains
expressions most certainly not then fulfilled and even yet awaiting
fulfilment. For the presence of Jehovah is intimated, so that
the mountains quake, the hills melt, the earth is upheaved, and
this universally, for it affects " the world, and all that dwell
therein" (1. 5). The final deliverance is promised in ver. 12 :
" Though I have afflicted thee I will afflict thee no more." Clearly
this was not accomplished by the former overthrow of Nineveh,
for thereafter Israel's afflictions continued under Babylon, and
then under Syrian and Roman conquerors, and still endure.
We deplore and protest against the indefinite treatment of Holy
Scripture which, in contexts like these, emasculates such words
as " n o more," making them to mean no more for a time. We
hold that the words of the prophets were of God, and we dare
not treat them thus. At that future time in view the heart of
Israel will have been changed, they will not provoke their God
 HABAKKUK, ZEPHANIAH, HAGGAI 53
by new guilt, their afflictions will consequently have ceased for
ever, and no more will mean no more.
Ver. 15 of c. 1 : " Behold, upon the mountains the feet of him
that bringeth good tidings," is to be compared with Is 40. 9 ; 52. 7,
leading on to the time when God shall reign at Zion.
HABAKKUK begins by describing a state of injustice and violence
that may well have been around him, but he likewise goes on to
the last days. He is told expressly that what he is seeing in the
vision is " yet for the appointed time and hasteth toward the end."
The word " hasteth " is panteth, picturing a runner who has
toiled so far and fast that he is panting as he nears the goal (2. 1-3).
That all is indeed in the End Days is marked by a double note
of time, for it will be when Jehovah is in His holy temple and all
the earth shall keep silence before Him (2. 20 : see later on Rv 8. 1)
and when in consequence " the earth shall be filled with the
knowledge of the glory of Jehovah " (2. 14).
ZEPHANIAH begins by foretelling a fearful judgment upon
Judah and Jerusalem. In measure it had some answer soon after
his day, which was the time of Josiah, through Nebuchadnezzar,
but let it not be hastily affirmed that this was his direct message.
That invasion did not " consume all things from off the face of
the ground " (1. 2), for the poorest of the people were left to till
the land (II Kn 25. 12, 22). Nor were the birds or the fishes of
the sea then destrdyed (3). But the prophet passes at once to
" the presence of the Lord Jehovah " and the " day of Jehovah,"
Who has a sacrifice with consecrated guests. Comp. Is 18. 5, 6 ;
56. 9 : Ek 39. 17-20 : Rv 19. 17, 18, 21, all passages connected
with the advent of Christ at what Zephaniah next terms " the
great day of Jehovah " now near and hastening greatly (i. 14).
That this day is yet to come is shown by 2. 11, for at that time
there shall take place what has not yet taken place, even that
" men shall worship Him, every one from his place, even all the
coastlands of the nations." Then shall Israel, like a sick man
from whom the deadly cancer of pride has been excised (3. 12),
no more do iniquity (3. 13), but shall sing for joy, with the king
of Israel, even Jehovah, in their midst, mighty to save them,
Himself joying in them, and making them a name and a praise
among all the peoples of the earth (3. 14-20). But my readers
must understand that nothing of all this awaits real fulfilment,
because the " spiritualizers " say that Israel and the nations are
to be merged in one general company, the church.
HAGGAI is a brilliant example of the conjunction of the then
present with the final salvation of Israel. The second temple
that was then being built is to be filled with glory greater than
 54 ZECHARIAH

Solomon bestowed upon the former temple, and this is to be

accompanied by peace in Jerusalem (2. 8, 9). These conjoined
conditions have never had fulfilment. But the prophet (2. 22)
points onward to the shaking of the heavens and the earth which
Hb 12. 26, 27 tells us is still to come. The day in question is
the day when Zerubbabel will be rewarded for his faithful service
to God and the despised people of God in that long past day
(2. 23). Thus is the past joined on to the distant future.
ZECHARIAH commences by turning the minds of his hearers
backward to the obstinacy of their fathers, and makes that the
basis of an appeal to his contemporaries (1. 1-6). His first vision
announces that at that time the earth was still and at rest ;
there were no wars (1. 7-11). Then follows an angelic appeal to
Jehovah to have mercy upon Jerusalem against which He had
been indignant for the seventy years just ended. A comforting
answer is given as to the rebuilding of the city, the temple, and
the surrounding cities (1. 12-17). This is followed by a vision of
four destroyers of the four world powers that had scattered Judah,
Israel, and Jerusalem.
Now down to Zechariah's day only one power had scattered all
these three, namely Babylon. Assyria had dealt hardly with
Israel, but had not prevailed to scatter Judah and Jerusalem, for
God had frustrated the attempt of Sennacherib. Moreover, both
of these powers, these " horns," had been already " frayed " and
" cast down," which forbids that they should be subjects of events
to transpire thereafter. As to Persia, the then sovereign power,
so far from scattering Israel and Judah, it had rather re-established
them in their land. Therefore at this early point the visions pass
to the future, with only this brief summary of the history of the
nation through the long stretch down to the present time and
what may remain of the period of their dispersion. This very
short condensation of over two and a half millenniums of years
is to be noted. And then immediately the far distant consum-
mation bursts into view: Jerusalem is seen restored, " for I,
saith Jehovah, will be unto her a wall of fire round about her,
and I will be the glory in the midst of her " (2. 5).
C. 3 pictures a symbolic removing of guilt from Israel's national
representative before God, the high priest, and the installing him
in his office, which it connects with the arising of the Branch,
that is, Messiah, and the " removing of the iniquity of the land
in one day " (8, 9). That removing has not yet come, nor has
the Branch.
C. 4. The vision of the two " sons of oil that stand by the
Lord of the whole earth " is carried into the future by Rv 11. 4,
 ZECHARIAH 55
in a vision immediately preceding the hour when great voices in
heaven say, " The kingdom of the world is become the kingdom
of our Lord, and of His Messiah : and He shall reign for ever and
ever." Upon this see c. VII.
C. 6 leads on the thought to the grand consummation, the
crowning day of faithful servants of Jehovah, when the Branch,
Messiah, shall build the temple of Jehovah and be a priest upon
His throne.
Cs. 7 and 8 answer certain questions as to the feasts of the
prophets' time, but connect the then judgments (which even now
are still continuing) with the final restoration, for " Thus saith
Jehovah : I am returned unto Zion, and will dwell in the midst
of Jerusalem : and Jerusalem shall be called the city of truth ;
and the mountain of Jehovah of hosts, the holy mountain " (8. 3).
But again I must notify my readers that this does not mean what
it seems to mean ; for though some " spiritualizers " admit there
is to be a millennial kingdom on earth, they say the Lord will
not Himself be there to reign at Zion, but that the kingdom will
have no particular centre, and Jerusalem no particular place in
it, nor will Israel as a nation exist. It is all to be governed from
heaven after a " spiritual " manner, whatever this may mean.
C. 9 foretells judgments upon cities adjacent to Palestine,
north and south, linked with a time when, saith Jehovah, " I will
encamp about My house . . . and no oppressor shall pass
through them any more " (8). Thus as the first prophecy in
Scripture linked Eden, Calvary, and the conquest of the Enemy,
so this chapter glances at the entry of the Lord Jesus into Jeru-
salem riding upon an ass (9), but passes immediately to the day
when He shall " cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the horse
from Judah ; and the battle bow shall be cut off ; and He shall
speak peace unto the nations; and His dominion shall be from sea
to sea, and from the River [Euphrates] to the ends of the earth ''
(10).
C. 11 describes judgments upon Israel connected with their
base sale of their Shepherd for thirty pieces of silver, but c. 12
adds a vivid account of Jerusalem besieged, of Jehovah intervening
for their salvation, of His pouring upon them the spirit of grace
and supplication and mourning (comp. Jl 2. 15-17), and Jerusalem
thereafter dwelling in safety.
In c. 13 the opening of the fountain that shall cleanse them
(i.e., the river of the water of life, the outpouring of the Spirit)
is shown to depend upon the smiting of the Shepherd, wounded
in 'the house of those who should have been His friends, and the
consequent scattering of the flock ; but this is linked on to a
 56 MALACHI

judgment that shall refine the remnant of the people. The

supplication, already mentioned, shall be accepted, and Jehovah
shall say of Israel, " It is My people ; and they shall say, Jehovah
is my God " (13. 9). It is plain that these promised results did
not follow in Israel when this Scripture had a very partial
application by Christ's few followers forsaking Him the night of
His betrayal (Mk 14. 27).
C. 14 explains this refining fire as a siege of Jerusalem with all
nations gathered. The attack succeeds, and is followed by a
sack of the city, with half of the people being dragged into
captivity, but the rest being left there. This forbids a reference
to A.D. 70, for Titus removed all who survived the capture. But
all is suddenly changed by the Lord joining personally in the fray :
" His feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives " (4) ;
His sway shall become universal, " Jehovah shall be King over
all the earth " (9) ; and all common vessels shall be sacred to
Him, usable in the sacrifices that will be offered in the temple
that He, the Branch, shall build (14. 20, 2 1 ; 6. 12, 13).
MALACHI denounces the wickedness of Edom and Judah, but
connects the judgments already begun or threatened with a time
when it shall be owned that " Jehovah is magnified beyond the
border of Israel " (1. 5), and when His " name shall be great
among the Gentiles, and in every place incense shall be offered
unto My name, and a pure offering : for My name shall be great
among the Gentiles, saith Jehovah of hosts." This has never yet
been ; rather at this day peoples which once owned that Name
are refusing longer to honour it. But it will be ; it must be ;
for the word of the Lord must be accomplished ; so that here
also the past is put in contact with the End Times.
C. 2 speaks severely of then existing evils in the priesthood, to
which is joined a prophecy of Messiah coming as a refining fire
for their purification, so that their offerings shall become righteous
and acceptable (3. 1-4).
Again the prophet complains of those ar6und him (3. 13-15).
Some fear the Lord and give heed, and their names are recorded
before Him (16). But their recompense is promised " in the day
that I do make, saith Jehovah " (17, 18), the day when the
righteous shall be at last clearly distinguished from the wicked
(comp. Mt 25. 31-46, the sheep separated from the goats), the day
which shall burn up the godless as stubble in the furnace, but
shall brmg joy and triumph to the righteous by the Sun of
righteousness arising with healing in His wings (4. 1-3).
At the time in question the law of Moses, with its statutes and
ordinances, is to be observed, which shows that it is as Jews, not
 DISTINGUISHING FEATURES 57
as Christians, that the remnant of Israel will stand before the
eyes of Jehovah, and that therefore it is no question of all men
merging into one company, the church. Elijah will come to
strengthen them in this path of preparation for meeting their
Messiah (4-6).

Thus the OT closes with the same feature with which it com-
menced, and which pervades it in every part, making its testimony
one united consentient message, even the feature of linking the
time of the prophet with the great goal of human history from the
Fall and throughout, the goal of the psalmist who cried in
ecstatic expectation :
Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice . . .
Before Jehovah ; for He cometh,
For He cometh to judge the earth :
He will judge the world with righteousness,
And the peoples with His truth. (Ps 96. n-13.)
It is in comparatively few passages that it may be difficult to
see whether the end of the Gentile period is in view or some
preceding time. I t is the former when such expressions are used
as " the latter days," the " end," a " full end," " the consumma-
tion determined." Also when the " whole earth," " all nations "
and other universal terms are found ; as well as when there is
described a permanent and holy condition of peace and plenty,
with nature also freed from the curse and flourishing. When
Israel is pictured as renewed in heart, sin being no more found in
them, God's blessing being guaranteed for ever, the people to be
no more rooted up from their land, the presence of Jehovah in
visible glory at Zion, Jerusalem the city of the great King and the
centre of rule and worship for all nations—then the era is millen-
nial. And those places which foretell the climax of human
rebellion against God under the last emperor,, and the culmination
of divine" wrath, as preparatory to the kingdom of the heavens,
these also are concerned with the last days. Now in the great
mass of predictive passages these signs are so clear as to show
that the End Days are the chief subject of prophecy.
The picture thus afforded of the development of the plans of
God for this earth is full, consistent, and entrancing. The
attempt to give a so-called " spiritual " sense to this vast mass of
predictions involves an eliminating of any real sense or value
from the greater part by far of prophetic Scripture ; for in its
first and obvious sense the major part of it has to do with the
End Days, with the nation of Israel, and with the Gentile nations
58 WHY BEGINNINGS AND ENDINGS LINKED

as nations. If the detail is not to be fulfilled literally it might

as well not have been given.
Nor is it difficult to see why the beginnings and endings of
history are linked together and occupy the field of Scripture,
while the intermediate stretches are seldom surveyed. In the
former the principles characterizing rebellious man and the
principles directing the government of God are sufficiently
exhibited. Now these both are constant, unvarying factors,
which is why history repeats itself ; and thus their interacting
and clash will be ever producing similar effects in the affairs of
earth. These, then, having been once adequately illustrated in
the histories, there would be no moral advantage in a frequent
repetition of their details in either the histories or the
prophecies.
But what is of supreme value, indeed indispensable to faith and
piety, is to be forewarned as to the closing perils of the ages, and
adequately informed of the final stages of the conflict that will
lead to victory. The satanic fury and intensity of those never-to-
be-equalled days will be a dreadful danger to the majority who
have some love for Christ, even as He said : " Because iniquity
shall be multiplied the love of the many [the majority] shall wax
cold " : Mt 24. 12. Therefore the grace of God has told fully of
those days, that when they arrive faith may stand firm, knowing
that then redemption will have drawn nigh (Lk 21. 28).

We shall now study this same dominant feature in the pro-

phecies of the New Testament.

THE NEW TESTAMENT

For four centuries after Malachi God sent no prophet of whom

any record is preserved, but then the coming into the world of
the greatest Prophet, the Son of God, was occasion for an outburst
of prophesying.
The 'first prophecy of NT times shows the same feature that
marked the first in the OT, the then present being linked to the
second advent of Christ. Gabriel told Mary that her son to be
born was to be called Jesus, and that " the Lord God shall give
unto Him the throne of His father David : and He shall reign
over the house of Jacob for ever ; and of His kingdom there shall
be no end " (Lk 1. 32, 33). No reference was made to any
intervening work that the Saviour should do, not even to Calvary,
or to any events of the following two millenniums of years. It
is evident that the angel took literally the promise to David as
 MARY, ZACHARIAS, SIMEON 59
to a son to rule, and therefore also the predictions as to His
government, such as Is 9. 6, 7.
The second prophetic utterance was the song of Mary (Lk 1.
46-55), and it is plain that she too regarded the promised events
in the same sense as did Gabriel, even the fulfilment of " mercy
covenanted to Abraham and his seed for ever," which would
include the " scattering of the proud " and the " putting down
princes from their thrones " (51, 52), deeds which, as regards
Israel and Christ, God did not do when Jesus was here, for it was
the proud and enthroned that derided and killed Him.
The third prophecy was Zacharias' noble declaration con-
cerning the Messiah, whose way his son John should prepare
(Lk 1. 67-79). ^ i s clear that Zacharias expected far greater
events than followed the sojourn among men of Jesus of Nazareth.
He, like Mary, looked for the fulfilment of the sworn covenant
with Abraham (73), which concerned God's people Israel, and
included " salvation from our enemies, and from the hand of all
that hate us " (71), in order that, being thus delivered, Israel
should be able to serve God without fear (74). This was part of
the message of former times, and a part that still waits realization
at the second coming of Messiah.
Thus this third prophecy of the NT contains this same feature.
Simeon and Anna also connected the birth of Jesus with its
final outcome, the " glory of Thy people Israel" and " the
redemption of Jerusalem" (Lk 2. 32, 38). Simeon touched
briefly upon Calvary : " a sword shall pierce through thine own
soul " ; but to such as these it was not simply a matter of personal
salvation in the spiritual realm and in eternity, nor of individual
Gentiles and Jews becoming members of the church of God, for
they had not been informed of that still reserved part of the
counsels of God. They looked for a glory promised to Israel as
a people, which should include the deliverance of the city of
Jerusalem, the divinely appointed centre of that people. The
plain sense of their words is based on the equally plain sense of
the promises of God they knew.

Thus the prophecies which accompanied the birth of the

Prophet concur in directing the mind to (1) a literal fulfilment
of the OT predictions ; and (2) in connecting the birth of the
King with the establishment of His kingdom on earth, a surely
very natural connection, but one which we now know to have
been very far in the future.
Nor can it be said that these were but the expectations of pious
but unenlightened Jews, but that we are to learn from fuller NT
6o JOHN AND OUR LORD

instruction that their earthly notions were not the real meaning
of the OT ; because (i) any supposed ignorance in them cannot
be imputed to the first messenger, the angel Gabriel come from
standing in the presence of God, sent specially to announce the
birth of the Son as to sit on David's throne ; and (2) Zacharias
spoke as a prophet by the fulness of the Holy Spirit (Lk 1. 67) ;
and (3) it is emphasized that the same Spirit was upon Simeon,
and guided him to the temple just as Jesus was brought there ;
and (4) Anna is distinctly called a prophetess ; nor (5) can piety
attribute Mary's sudden and exalted song to any less agent than
the Spirit who a moment before had filled and inspired Elizabeth's
utterance concerning her.
Moreover, if the plain sense of their words was not correct, but
the fact was that the literal Israel was past in the plan of God,
and there remained only a merging of the spiritual of them into
the church, why were these inspired but now misleading utterances
put on record later by the Spirit to be read by readers of the
Gospels long after the church period had commenced ? On the
supposition in view, the repeating of such statements could only
confuse and mislead Christians, no warning whatever of the
change suggested being given in the narratives.

The next prophecies were those of John the Immerser concerning

Jesus (Mt 3 : Mk 1 : Lk 3 : Jn 1). They present four features
belonging to our subject. (1) That the kingdom of the heavens
had drawn nigh, i.e., in the King being present in person. (2)
That Jesus was the sin-bearer, the Lamb of God ; i.e., the thought
goes to Calvary. (3) That He would baptize men in the Holy
Spirit, i.e., Pentecost. (4) And then the predictions leap the
whole present age to its closing days and go to the judgment day
predicted in the first psalm and other Scriptures, when the godly
shall be gathered into safety, as wheat into the garner, and the
chaff be burned up. See my The Gospel of the Kingdom.

The teachings and prophecies of our Lord follow.

Mt 5-7. The Sermon on the Mount gives principles and pre-
cepts for the present observance of all subjects of the kingdom
of the heavens. It promises trials in this age, but sets all in the
light of that coming Day. The believer is directed to heaven as
the place of reward (Mt 5. 12), " great is your reward in heaven."
Peter tells us later that this reward will be received at the
revelation of Jesus Christ from heaven (I Pt 1. 13 ; 4. 13).
Disciples are taught to offer the prayer " Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done, as in heaven, so on earth," which further links
 THE TEACHING OF CHRIST 6l
the sermon to the second advent of the King. And all conduct
is to be tested at that great day which will fall as a tempest to
test each man's building, a figure borrowed from OT prophecies
of the Day of the Lord (Ps 18. 9-16 : Is 28. 2 ; 29. 6 : etc.).
Mt 13. The parables of the kingdom bear the same mark.
They indicate the chief moral conditions that develop all through
this age, now here, now there, and so far are a brief outline of
the period. That they begin with Christ's own work is clear from
His words, " He that soweth the good seed is the Son of Man " (37).
This beginning is at once linked with the close of the period, for
" the harvest is the consummation of the age " (39). Details of
the long centuries during which the sowing is to be continued are
not needed, nor is any description required of incidents that may
happen in connection with the last parable, the casting.and
dragging of the net. Such details are, so to say, customary and
commonplace, incidental to the operations ; but in the latter
parable again the thought hastens straight to the " consummation
of the age/' the point of separation of good from bad.
Lk 12. It is the same with the Lord's instruction as His
ministry draws to its end. Disciples are to expect tribulation,
but need not be anxious in mind. The Holy Spirit will aid them
in every emergency (12) ; their Father will care for them in
every need, for He purposes to give them the kingdom (22-34).
Thus the thought passes from these general facts of the age to the
coming kingdom. Let disciples, then, be like men looking for
the return of their Lord (35, 36). The business of the overseers
of His house during the, say, two thousand years of His absence
is comprised sufficiently in one sentence, to give food in season
to the household. Details of household affairs are here not
necessary. Let them only be ready to give an account with joy
when their Master shall suddenly come.
Lk 17. 22-37. How striking is the same conjunction in the
statements in this chapter. You will not need to be told that
the Son of Man has come, even as you do not need to be told
that the lightning flash has blazed from east to west, for that
Coming will not be a secret affair. But before glory comes
suffering : " first must He suffer many things, and be rejected of
this generation " (25). " First," before what ? before the long
and weary centuries of persecution ? Nay : first before that
Coming in glory ; and therefore the next statement goes direct
to the days to precede that Coming, which will be like those
before the Flood and those before the destruction of Sodom.
Thus, because the histories of the ancient past are with us, it is
unnecessary to detail the events of the intervening future, for
62 THE PARABLES OF CHRIST

reference to the histories suffices. And so Calvary and the Coming

were linked, almost as if nothing would come between. Yet the
Speaker knew very well that much must be done between, but
it was not needful to detail the work.
Lk 19. That the Lord knew that the interval would be long,
and wished His followers to know it, is seen in His comparison
of Himself to a nobleman going into a far country to secure a
kingdom. In those days a long journey took a long time, and so
also would the negotiations to secure a disputed title to a throne.
Indeed, the parable was spoken expressly to correct their erroneous
supposition that the advent of the kingdom in glory was near.
Even more distinct is the corresponding parable in Mt 25, spoken
but a few days later, for then Christ said plainly, " Now after a
long time the Lord of those servants cometh " (19).
The two parables indicate (1) the business of the nobleman
while absent—the securing His rights to the Kingdom. This
will not be accomplished in fact until the Prince of this world
shall have been dispossessed of all status in heaven and cast out
thence, as seen in Rv 12. 9, 10. (2) The business of His servants
during His absence—even looking after His interests while He is
away. (3) The attitude to Him of some of His subjects, even
open antagonism. These matters being briefly made clear, the
instruction passes forthwith to the Return and its issues for all
parties.
Mt 19. 23 to 20. 16. Riches and Entering the Kingdom. The
Labourers in the Vineyard. Entrance into the kingdom demands
the sacrifice of one's all—here is a feature of the whole age ; the
recompense will be found " in the regeneration, when the Son of
Man shall sit on the throne of His glory " (19. 28). Labourers
must toil all the day, and it is " when even was come," the close
of the day, that all were paid together. Thus Paul said : I have
won my crown, and it will be given to me " i n that Day "
(II Tm 4. 8). The expression is emphatic as to the special day
meant: " i n that day " (|v IKZIVQ rv vv-m)-
Lk 19. 41-44 : Mt 23. 37-49. Drawing near to JerusaJem, as
foretold by Zechariah, the Lord burst into tears and announced
its overthrow, then less than forty years off. With that brief
mention, repeated in the temple a few days later, the curtain
drops on Israel's history, to be lifted only when that people
shall say of Jesus, " Blessed is He that cometh in the name
of the Lord." Thus are conjoined the first and the last cen-
turies of this age. Details of Israel's long wanderings are
not material: the period had been sufficiently sketched by
Moses (Lv 26).
 63
THE CLOSING PROPHETIC PARABLES
The Vineyard (Mt 21. 33-46 : Mk 12. 1-12 : Lk 20. 9-18).
This presents (1) the time then present—the murder of the Son,
and the vengeance on the murderers (A.D. 70). (2) The whole
present gospel age in one sentence—the vineyard entrusted to
others. (3) The end of this age—the stone falling, crushing
opponents to powder and scattering them as dust. Comp. Dn 2.
The Marriage Feast (Mt 22. 1-14). This gives (1) the then
present—guests invited, but rejecting the call, ill-treating the
messengers, and they and their city destroyed (A.D. 70). (2)
Others invited—the work of the gospel age condensed in two
verses (8, 9). (3) The close of the age—the King viewing His
guests at the time of the feast, which is the main point of the
parable.
The Olivet Discourse (Mt 24; 25 : Mk 13 : Lk 21). This
most important utterance of the Lord shows exactly what we see
elsewhere. The present age is outlined briefly; but " the End
is not immediately." Certain features will be seen during the
whole age, but by ver. 13 of Mt the thought has gone on to that
End, and certain events will be " the beginning of travail." As
often, attention to the figure of speech used avoids error by giving
the clue to the true meaning. The Speaker has passed to the
very close of this age, for, though the expectant mother is liable
to more or less distress throughout the period she carries the child,
yet "travail" is only the brief though most acute time immediately
before the birth. If but the force of this one figure had been
grasped the church of God might have been spared from books
innumerable and bulky, written on the futile plan of trying to
make the details of nineteen centuries fit the details of prophetic
scriptures, especially the book of Revelation.
Thus in this major prophecy the whole gospel age is summarized
briefly, while its closing days are elaborated fully.
The Parable of the Ten Virgins (Mt 25. 1-13) is not a forecast of
this whole age. Upon this the particle with which it commences
is emphatic. The Lord had been dealing with the period
immediately and directly before His appearing, and He said :
" Then [rare at that particular time) the kingdom of the heavens
shall be made like unto ten virgins " (Darby : it is the future
passive). A common notion is that the virgins represent the
church slumbering through the long centuries, and that the
awakening midnight cry went forth early in the 19th century by
the renewed interest in the subject of the second Advent. This
is excluded by the distinct note of time " then." It has been
64 THE ACTS

acutely remarked that, if that notion were correct, the foolish

virgins would by now have had a good long time to go and buy
oil; but the parable indicates the exact contrary : the time
between the " cry " and the Coming did not suffice for even this
purpose. This shows that the parable belongs to the very End
Days.
The Talents have been noticed above.
The Sheep and the Goats (Mt 25. 31-46). The separation
between these is to take place " When the Son of Man shall come
in His glory, and all the angels with Him " (25. 31). Comp.
Jl 3. 11. 12 : Zh 14. 5 : Hb 12. 22, 23, all applying to the Advent
in glory which is to close this age of grief and open that next
age of bliss.
Ac 1. 6-11. " Lord, dost Thou at this time restore the kingdom
to Israel ? " The question proves that nothing in the teaching
they had heard from Christ had caused the apostles to doubt that
the apparent meaning of the OT was the real meaning, and that
the kingdom would be restored to Israel. The only question was
as to the time for this.
Nor did the answer to the question at all correct this idea.
The season for that restoration was not their then concern ; let
them leave it, and go about the task of the intervening period,
witnessing to their Lord unto the utmost parts of the earth.
Thus again the whole age was condensed in a sentence, and forth-
with their Lord was taken up into heaven, and immediately two
angels at once carried their minds to the end of the age now set
in, by assuring them of His due return.
Thus the book of Acts opens with our feature, as did Genesis
and the Gospels.
Ac 2. 16-21. After ten days Peter, explaining the then out-
pouring of the Spirit, uses a scripture (Jl 2) which connects that
event with the " last days," and specifically with the coming of
" the day of the Lord, the great and notable Day."
Ac 3. 18-21. Similarly, a short time later, Peter, explaining
the healing of the cripple, connects that working of God with the
" seasons of refreshing " and " the restoration of all things "
foretold by prophets of old as to attend the return of Messiah.
Ac 15. Peter had reminded the assembly at Jerusalem of the
first bringing in of Gentiles into the church of God (7-11). Paul
and Barnabas had narrated the extension of that work through
their labours (12). James pointed out that the prophets agree in
intimating this part of the divine program, and quoted Am 9.
11, 12. Now Amos had said that " in that day " God will do
 JAMES IN ACTS 15 65
certain works, but James changes this to " after these things "
God will do these works. The prophet had said that those works
would be done in the day when God had destroyed all the sinners
out of His people Israel; but James' words cannot mean that,
for this last work had not been done when he was speaking. Nor
has it yet been done. " After these things " can only mean,
" after the completion of that work," the beginning and progress
of which has just been narrated to us. Thus the work in question
as James described it, is the " taking out from among nations
(e£ iOvmv) a people for God's name," i.e., the church.
Here, then, once more this whole age of outgathering is covered
by a sentence : and " after these things," what then ? Then
the End Times, bringing fulfilment of the prophets in three
chief matters :
" After these things"
1. " I will return "—the second Advent.
2. " I will build again the ruins of the tabernacle of David,
and I will set it up "—the restoration of the kingdom to David
and Israel, in the person of David's Son. Not a word is given to
suggest that this does not now mean what it says, but means the
same as the former statement of the gathering of the church.
3. The general turning of the Gentile peoples to Jehovah,
according to the prophets. See, e.g., Is 66. 20-23 : Zh 14. 16-19 :
Ps 67 : etc. The terms James used (OTTWS S.V that, in order that)
make unmistakable that the re-establishment of the house of
David is a condition precedent to and a cause of the rest of the
Gentiles seeking the Lord, and all the prophets put the two
things in that order. It is the denial of the idea that through
the gospel now proclaimed the very vast majority of Jew and
Gentile will enter the church, the irreclaimable minority be
destroyed in judgment, and the house of David, as such, never
be restored at all. The denying to Israel of prior place among
the nations is a cancellation of the OT and a confusing of the NT.
Ac 17. 30, 31. If we listen to Paul preaching to Gentiles at
Athens we shall hear him call men everywhere to repent—the
call of this whole gospel age—and then at once direct their minds
to the day of judgment.
THE EPISTLES. It is thus in Paul's letters.
Romans. The present is the time of suffering, but this is set in
connection with the glory that is to be revealed to usward
(8. 17, 18). Creation groans, but this will end when the sons of
God are revealed in glory (8. 19-25). The mystery of the stum-
bling of Israel as a people, and the room thus found for the favour
of God reaching out to Gentiles, does not nullify the OT promises ;
c
 66 PAUL'S LETTERS

for repentant and believing Israel shall be grafted in again, and

" there shall come out of Zion the Deliverer : He shall turn away
ungodliness from Jacob" ( n . 25-29). And believers are to
rejoice that thus the prophets will be fulfilled, in that " all the
peoples " shall at last praise God and submit to the rule of the
" Root of Jesse," i.e., to Israel's Messiah (15. 8-13).
In this discussion by Paul of the relative positions and prospects
of Gentile believers and Israel, there is to be noted his use of the
titles " Jacob " and " Root of Jesse." In the argument for
merging all the godly of Israel into the church of God, and the
elimination of a national future for Israel, much is made of the
very rare application in the NT of the names Israel and Zion in
a spiritual and heavenly connection (Gl 6. 16 : Hb 12. 22 :
Rv 14. 1). But " Jacob " and the " Root of Jesse " are not so
used in the NT, they are not applied to things heavenly, they
belong to the earthly Israel, and are quoted in Romans in their
natural sense as used by Isaiah or Gabriel, as in " He shall reign
over the house of Jacob for ever " (Lk 1. 33). No other usage is
ever hinted in Scripture.
I Cr 15. Here it is the same—the far past and the far future
are conjoined, the intervening times being passed over. Death
brought into mankind by the first Adam ; resurrection by the
last Adam, who will abolish death (21-28). A broad outline of
the divine program from resurrection and onwards is given.
First Christ rose ; the intervening age is unnoticed ; then His
people will be raised at His coming ; the next age, the millennial,
is unnoticed, save by the solitary remark " He must reign " ;
then the final triumph is indicated, " God all in all."
Paul's later epistles take all this for granted, and follow the
same plan of setting all experiences of saints in connection with
the Coming.
Eph 5. 22-33 is a sample of his teaching. The past—the love
of Christ to His church, and His sacrifice to acquire her (25) ; the
present—His work of purifying and perfecting her, the age thus
condensed into a sentence (26) ; the future—the marriage of
the Lamb (27).
In HEBREWS it is the same. The Son creates, descends, dies,
ascends (1. 1-5), and forthwith the thought passes on to His
re-entry into the habitable universe (6) and to His throne and
sceptre (8), in the day for which He waits at the right hand of
God (13). Events to take place on earth this epistle does not
open, but instead it discloses the Great Priest serving in heaven,
and bids His people patiently to tread on over the desert, so as
at last to enter into that sabbath rest which the millennial
 HEBREWS TO PETER 67
kingdom of the Son will verily be to those who did not faint and
fall in the wilderness (cs. 3, 4). They are to be imitators of all
the heroes of faith of all the ages, men and women who set their
hopes on the future and the heavenly (c. 11), for they were
expecting another country and city (11. 14-16), and a kingdom
that cannot be shaken (12. 28). This is the calling, true attitude,
and prospect of believers of this present age ; but when the writer
deals with the new covenant aforepromised by God, upon the
basis of which the better things promised are to be gained, so far
is he from sweeping away Israel nationally, and teaching
that as a people they have now no future, that he cites the
prophets as they stand in the OT, and says that that covenant
has yet to be " made with the house of Israel and with the house
of Judah " (8. 8), and again in ver. 10 he repeats that it is with Israel
as a house that the covenant is to be made, and that they shall
be unto God a people. Thus the present entry of individuals into
the heavenly privileges of the covenant are not made to annul
the application of it hereafter to Israel corporately. The creation
of a spiritual Israel according to the NT does not cancel the
promises to Israel as a people, but the fulfilment of these is only
deferred until some of them in a future day become believing and
spiritual in mind. But by then the opportunity to secure a place
in the heavenly Israel, Zion, and kingdom will have passed by,
and they must be content with a share in the earthly people,
city, and kingdom.
In JAMES it is the same. The present is hard and difficult;
but those who are rich in faith, though they may be poor in this
world, are promised a kingdom (2. 5) : let them therefore endure
patiently until the coming of the Lord. Not that this event will
be immediately : on the contrary, as the farmer must wait for
the appointed season of harvest, and must have long patience
through two rainy seasons, so must they be patient. Yet that
Coming has drawn nigh (5. 7, 8 fiyyiKev), in the sense that it is
the next event of moment, for nothing of the many affairs to
intervene is of any great moment to faith.
PETER is in the same line. Christ by His resurrection gave us
a living hope of an inheritance (I Pt i. 3). Until the time to
inherit shall have come the Father acts as Guardian to His growing
heirs who trust Him ; but it is in " the last time " that this full
end of salvation shall be reached (5) and during the interval, the
heirs are to fix their hope undividedly upon the revelation of
Jesus Christ (1. 13).
JOHN. The general attitude of John is striking. He knows
that he has been introduced into the world that is eternal by
 68 JOHN, JUDE
participating in the life that is eternal; that life which the Word
is Who had been eternally with the Father and had been lately
manifested in human life on this earth. And he was living in
the light and joy of that eternal sphere (I Jn i. 1-4).
Looking out thus from eternity upon the ages of time, past and
to come, he describes this one age, in which he was living as a
man on earth, as " a last hour " ; " Little children, it is a last
hour" (2. 18). The essential features of the last period before
the world as a system of things will vanish (2. 17) are present:
many antichrists have arisen, forerunners of the Antichrist ; and
therefore " little children, abide in Him " ; by obedience maintain
your fellowship with Him in His eternal sphere, in order that
"if He be manifested, we may have boldness, and not be
put to shame from before Him at His coming" (Darby, 2. 28 :
comp. Mt 25. 30), whenever that may take place.
If the standpoint of eternity, whence John looks out, had been
recognized, some learned and lengthy discussions of these words
" a last hour " need not have been written. His attitude is that
of his brother apostles : the general features of the age are all
that we need to mark ; its detail and recurring developments do
not need mention : the climax of wickedness in the Wicked One,
and the triumph of righteousness in the Righteous One, are the
vital matters ; and that we should so walk as to meet the
Righteous One with joy.
JUDE. It has been pointed out above that the prophecy of
Enoch, which Jude quotes, connected his own early time with
the very far distant coming of the Lord to judgment, and put
this as a past event : " t h e Lord came . . . to execute judgment."
Naturally Jude's own statements are in harmony with this. The
general features of the past mark the present age. The essential
qualities of Cain, Sodom, Balaam, and Korah are still reproduced
in ungodly men : therefore " beloved . . . keep yourselves in
the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ
unto eternal life " (20, 21). They who do this diligently shall
never stumble on the journey (comp. II Pt 1. 10), and will find
that God, in response, is able to guard them from stumbling, and
thus to effect the great consummation of His purpose and their
hope, even " to set them before the presence of His glory, without
blemish, in exceeding j o y " (24).
REVELATION. The Apocalypse is the top stone of the pyramid
of divine truth revealed in the Word of God, and, as such a top
stone must, it follows the lines of the pyramid it crowns. A
good deal not before made known is indeed revealed, but it is
woven in among things already known. It Were a mistake to
 REVELATION 69
suppose that all that John saw at that time was then first revealed.
Rather it is that by means of several series of visions the book
sets forth in order things which had before been revealed " piece-
meal " (Hb 1. 1 TroivfULpm), i.e., by scattered and mostly
unconnected announcements. Now, as the whole Bible, as has
here been shown, is marked by the feature that the End Times,
and the re-establishment on this earth of the kingdom of God, so
that again heaven and earth shall be one empire of God under
Christ, are the dominant subject, so is it to be expected that this
closing section of the Oracles of God will be occupied with the
same theme. This is the standpoint taken in this present
commentary, where the proof will be found.
From this it appears that the pious and learned men who have
expended prodigious labours to show that the Revelation was a
minute and marvellous prophecy of this whole age, were engaged
in establishing that the book is a complete anomaly in Holy
Scripture, that in place of completing all prophecy it is inhar-
monious with all, in both plan and theme, except indeed as
regards the few closing chapters. Happily their scheme of
interpretation has no great practical importance for us to-day,
since they seem agreed that almost all has already happened, and
that but little remains before the Advent.
But from our point of view the whole book remains of the
utmost importance, as an unveiling to spiritual men of what
must be faced and endured in that dread era when the saints will
so sorely need all possible instruction and every indication
available that their redemption has at last drawn nigh, and may
so find strength to lift up the head.
For the Lord in grace has told us these things before they
come to pass, that when they come to pass faith may abide
vigorous, instead of being taken by surprise and so succumb.
This maintenance of faith is vital, for true are the words of
Belcher : " I find that, while faith is steady, nothing can disquiet
me ; and when faith totters, nothing can establish me." And
the appalling peril to faith in that most appalling of all periods
explains in part why the wisdom of God has given in His Word
so great a place to those days and their all-glorious consummation.
The book has been a comfort and strength to suffering saints the
centuries through : it will be simply indispensable in the End
Days. It is of the deepest interest that, as with Daniel (12. 4)
so with Revelation, many are reading and reviewing it, and
knowledge of it is being increased. This was to be a feature at
" the time of the End," and if this present study shall at all help
to increase this knowledge it will serve its design.
 SELECT STUDIES IN THE REVELATION
CHAPTER I

TITLE AND INTRODUCTION (i. 1-8)

SECTION I

Every great work on any great theme must be written upon

one and the same common plan, if it is to be readily and generally
intelligible. The closing section of Holy Scripture conforms to
this necessity.
i. The Title of a book should reveal its general character
Here it is contained in ver. 1-3. This book is a revelation. The
opening sentence states that it is '* A revelation of Jesus Christ
which God gave unto Him, to show unto his servants the things
which in their entirety must come to pass with speed " (Pember
Great Prophecies concerning the Church, 438 ; and see Alford).'
It is not an obscuration but a revelation ; it reveals, not conceals.'
Its symbols are not to hide the meaning but to illuminate it.
Symbols form part of its method of instruction, but they teach
not confuse. Yet the pupil must have these faculties : Hearing
(1. 10), sight (1. 11), concentration, reflection, submission (1. 3)
Rightly rendered as above, this opening statement did not
assert that the events were to happen soon after John was seeing
the visions, but that when they did occur all would be fulfilled
in a short period. The laboured attempt to discover a slow
fulfilment throughout the long centuries of this era is as much
precluded as is the erroneous notion that the apostles mistakenly
supposed that the Lord might return " at any moment " while
they lived.
The thought is exactly that stated by Christ when speaking on
the same theme, even that the generation of men of which He
was speaking (not in which He was speaking), and which should
see those events begin, " shall not pass away till all these things
be accomplished" (Mt 24. 34). All these events shall occur
within the life of one generation ; for as Rm 9. 28, adapting and
explaining Is 10. 22, says : " The Lord will execute His word
upon the earth, finishing it and cutting it short." This is for the
sake of His chosen ones : " for the elects' sake those days shall
70
 QUICKLY MEANS SWIFTLY 71
*
be shortened," and also because otherwise the then demon-driven
race of men would exterminate itself and " n o flesh would be
saved " (Mt 24. 22).
The final words of the Lord from heaven (22. 12, 20), " I come
quickly," do not mean " soon " but " swiftly." There might be
(history shows there has been) a long intervening period (which
is what Christ repeatedly foretold, Lk 19. n , 12 : Mt 25. 14, 19) ;
but when His return journey once begins it will be quick.
J. N. Darby made this sense clear in his German translation of
the Bible, by adding to the word bald (soon) in the verses in c. 22
the footnote, " Eig. schnell, eilends " (" Properly, swiftly, with
haste "). This is the true force of the Greek rax^, and # is
regrettable that he did not make this plain in his generally exact
English translation, instead of leaving without note the word of
double meaning, " quickly." Upon this question see on 22. 6, 7,
" The Conclusion," c. XX.
This book being thus a revelation is intended to be understood,
for how otherwise could one keep what is written in it ? (1. 3).
And it can be understood, by the teaching of the Holy Spirit,
though it contains some " deep things of God," for the Spirit
understands these and is with the humble to make them known
(I Cr 2. 10-12).
Only it must be remembered that the Revelation, whilst a
complete book in itself, is at.the same time itself the completion
of the whole Book of God, and the meaning of its allusions, scenes,
and symbols must be sought primarily in preceding scriptures.
It is presumed that the reader is well acquainted with all prior
divine revelations, and so is in a position to appreciate this
closing revelation, in which all earlier lines of prediction converge,
are systematized, explained, and completed.
We heard a teacher, somewhat prominent in his circle, a Master
of Arts and a writer of books, say at a prophetic conference :
That the prophetic parables of- Christ and the book of the
Revelation are difficult to understand ; but the statements of
Paul in I Th 4 and in I Cr 15 are quite plain. We should therefore
found our views on these clear passages, not on those obscure
portions of Scripture ; which former he proceeded to employ in
the sense generally accepted, but which sense cannot be made to
harmonize with Christ's teaching or the Revelation.
If a professed exponent of any other subject were to admit
that he could not understand by far the greater number, and the
more important, of the standard text books upon that subject,
he would scarcely be considered qualified to speak upon that
matter. Yet this is pretty much the position, not of that teacher
72 RIGHT METHOD OF STUDY
•
alone, but of the more part of those who think as he does. Their
prophetic views are virtually drawn from a supposed meaning of
one or two passages, and these not the most prominent or full
upon the topics in question.
This method of enquiry is radically unsound, nor is it matter
of wonder that it has contributed to a scheme of interpretation
inharmonious in itself and at variance with the prophetic parts
of the Word thus neglected or misapplied.
The proper line of approach to the Revelation is by the first
chapter of Genesis, as has, of course, been seen and followed by
many students. He who would at all master these subjects
shoujd (i) Familiarize his mind with the prospects of the future
opened out step by step through the law, the psalms, and the
prophets. In the first instance he should consider carefully what
they say, without reference to the New Testament. Let him
attempt, as far as possible, to reach thus the state of mind in
which the apostles were (or ought to have been) when they first
came under the influence of Jesus Christ.
(2) Thus prepared, the student should listen next, and with
the utmost care, to the further teachings of the Lord, seeking
from Him with faith that same opening of the understanding
which He granted to the apostles. It is well to ponder these
explanations of the Old Testament, with the fuller openings of
the subject by Christ, without as yet assuming that one has read
the Epistles or the Apocalypse.
(3) Thus further instructed, the student may approach hope-
fully the later unfoldings given by the Spirit, the mind having
been thus prepared for these by some acquaintance with what the
later and complete revelations everywhere take for granted are
known.
For ourselves, we venture to think that the heart imbued with
humility, faith, and diligence, will then find that the prophetic
scripture is really written as simply and intelligibly as is all
other scripture, so that the spiritual man will come to see that
even the Apocalypse is truly what its name means—an unveiling,
a revelation, the meaning of which opens up to him by degrees,
so that ever fewer perplexities remain. This book, in this
particular, may be compared with Bradshaw's Railway Guide,
which is indeed complicated to the dilatory or to the stupid,
but yields full and exact information to the diligent and
intelligent.
2. The Introduction is in verses 4 to 7. It opens with a bene-
diction to the churches from the triune God, the eternal; the
Father, the Spirit,'and Jesus Christ. As remarked before (p. 20),
 THE BOOK OUTLINED 73
the " seven spirits " must needs be a figurative expression for
the fulness of the one divine Spirit.
Jesus Christ is mentioned last so as to lead on easily to those
features of Him which were to be next stated, namely, His
relation, (i) to the truth, " the faithful witness " ; (2) to the
world of the dead, from which He was the first to rise in resurrec-
tion life, and which as " firstborn " He owns and controls (ver. 18) ;
(3) to the nations, for He is their overlord by the Father's appoint-
ment (Ps 2). Thus He is Prophet, Priest, and King. His
relationship to His people is declared specially : He loved and
liberated them, and constituted them to be a kingdom of priests,
to the everlasting glory of His God and Father.
Here is outlined all the book. (1) The nature and co-operation
of the Godhead. (2) The throne that rules over all. (3) The
mediatorial and redeeming work of Jesus Christ. (4) The present
outflow of grace and peace to the churches. (5) The future
sphere and service of the " saints of the high places " (Dn 7. 22) ;
and further, (6) that coming of Jesus Christ with the clouds of
heaven of which Daniel had been granted a vision (Dn 7. 13),
which Christ appropriated to Himself (Mt 24. 29-31), and which
will strike with terror all His foes. These are the themes which
occupy and are illuminated by the Revelation, all directed to (7)
the glory of God, for which end the universe was created and is
governed.

SECTION II—THE GENERAL PLAN OF THE BOOK

It is now to be noted that the Introduction thus carries forward

the mind to the actual coming of the Lord with the clouds of
heaven, to deal visibly with the affairs of earth. We proceed to
show that this is the terminal point of each of the series of visions
down to c. 20. 6.
1. The Letters to the Seven Churches all conclude with a
promise to the overcomers among the people of God. These
promises fall for fulfilment'at the personal return of Christ to set
up His kingdom on earth. Not before then, but at that time
will His people rule the nations with Him with a rod of iron (2. 27) ;
not prior to His actual descent to the earth will He sit down on
His throne or can they sit on theirs (3. 21). Only then will they
reach the tree of life in the Paradise of God (2. 7), or receive the
crown (2. 10, and see II Tm 4. 8, " at that day," and I Pt 5. 4,
" when "). Only then will they eat of the manna hidden as yet
74 THE GENERAL PLAN

in the Holy of Holies above, or receive the white stone which

denotes approval by the Lord of their having conquered in life's
conflicts (2. 17). Only then will they walk about with the King
in white, His chosen, personal companions (3. 4 : Hb 3. 14 :
Rv 14. 4 ; 17. 14), and be as pillars with a permanent standing in
the temple of His God (3. 12).
Thus the foreview of the Letters is not to a point of time prior
to the rise of the Beast, leaving the churches thenceforth out of
sight, but they look right on to the same point as does the Intro-
duction, the establishment of the kingdom at the descent of the
King. This is very material to a right conception of the whole
book, as will be seen later.
2. The Vision of the Thrones and the Lamb (cs. 4, 5). The
commencing point of this vision is the setting up of that great
heavenly assize when God will take His place in the assembly of
the angels, as on previous such occasions (Ps 82. 1 : Jb 1. 6 :
I Kn 22. 19), and a court will be held to wind up the Gentile
domination of the earth and transfer it to Christ: " The judgment
shall be set " to take away and to consume the dominion of the
beast (Dn 7. 26, 27). The close of the vision carries the mind
forward to the point where the heavenly kingdom of priests
" reign upon the earth " (5. 9) and all created beings are con-
strained, willingly or unwillingly, to exalt the Father and the
Son (Ph 2. 10, 11 : Is 45. 23).
3. The Seven Seals. This series connects with that point in
the last vision where the Lamb takes the roll of judgment out of
the hand of Him who sits on the throne (5. 7). It is the rise,
progress, and doom of the Beast that the Seals portray, and the
last but one (6. 12) introduces the signs that Christ said should
follow immediately after the Great Tribulation (Mt 24. 29). Then
follows the sealing of the godly of Israel that they may be hidden
in the day of Jehovah's anger, and then is given the rapture to
heaven of those saints who have suffered for Christ during the
Tribulation. The last Seal (8. 1) is to be explained from the OT
(see c. VI, to follow), and it likewise brings the Seals down to
the actual descent of the Lord to the earth to destroy the wicked
and to establish His kingdom.
4. The Seven Trumpets (8. 1—11. 19). Under the last trumpet
the " mystery of God " is completed (10. 7), and the kingdom of
the world is become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Anointed
(11. 15) ; for then has the Almighty taken His great power, the
godly dead have been vindicated and rewarded, while the
destroyers of the earth have been destroyed (11. 17, 18).
5. The Woman, the Dragon, the Beast, and the Lamb (cs. 12 ;
 THE GENERAL PLAN 75
13 ; 14). The closing scene of this'series is that the vintage of
the earth is trodden down outside of the city of Jerusalem in
" the winepress, the great winepress of the wrath of God " (14. 19).
This is further set forth in 19. 15, where the Word of God, with
the armies of heaven, descends to crush the Beast and his armies,
to smite the nations, to rule them with a rod of iron (Ps 2. 8, 9 :
Rv 2. 26, 27) ; in the doing of which He " treadeth the winepress
of the fierceness of the wrath of God, the Almighty" (comp.
Is 63. 3).
6. The Seven Bowls (cs. 15 ; 16). These final plagues,
which finish the wrath of God (15. 1), end at the same point as the
preceding visions. Under the sixth, the armies of the Beast are
mobilized for the last battle, Har Magedon. Under the seventh
all is done (16. 17), the final judgments are poured out, and
Babylon the Great, the capital city of the Beast, is destroyed.
According to the prophets this last is to take place in direct
connection with the deliverance of Israel, in the day that Jehovah
shall give them rest from their age-long sorrow and trouble
(Is cs. 13 ; 14 : J r cs. 50 ; 51).
7. Babylon the Harlot, Babylon the City, and the Kingdom
(17—20. 6). The religious system that started in Babylon soon
after the Flood, and will centre there again at the time of the
End (Jr 51. 7 : Zh 5. n ) , is first destroyed by the Beast and his
confederate kings before he reaches world-supremacy and in
order that he may do so (17. 16, 17). But the city Babylon is
destroyed towards the close of his reign, to the great grief of the
kings (18. 9), which two details prove that this city and its
overthrow is a quite distinct event from that previous destruction
of the Woman in which they had heartily co-operated. There is
then joy and praise in heaven, and the hour arrives for the union
in heavenly glory of the Lamb and His wife. Thereafter He
comes forth, the Beast is destroyed, Satan is imprisoned, and
Christ and the faithful of His people sit on thrones and reign.

This brief sketch may suffice to show that, though the various
series of visions start at various points, and each traces a separate
set of events happening through the same period, yet each ends
at one and the same event, the coming of Christ in glory to
establish the kingdom of God on earth. Thus the Revelation is
the elaborating of that supreme crisis and climax to which all the
Scripture looks and leads, as it is written (Ps 96. 1 1 ; 97. 1) :
Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice . . .
Before Jehovah, for He cometh ;
For He cometh to judge the earth :
 THE CLIMAX

He will judge the world with righteousness,

And the peoples with His truth.
Jehovah reigneth ; let the earth rejoice ;
Let the multitude of isles be glad.
The Book closes with a brief notice of events to follow the
kingdom era : a fresh revolt on earth, and the final judgment,
which leads on into eternal ages, with new heavens and new
earth (20. 7—21. 9). There follows a vision of the glories and
offices of the heavenly company, the wife of the Lamb, under the
figure of a city. The Book is concluded by an epilogue containing
various exhortations, promises, and warnings, even as it opened
with a brief prologue.
From the literary point of view the Revelation is thus a finished
work, and a fitting finish to the whole of Holy Scripture, nor
could any other book of the Bible be this.
 CHAPTER II

THE VISION OF THE SON OF MAN (i. 9-20)

How magnificent is the present personal appearance of the Son

of man ! In the days of His sojourn here John had known Him
intimately, had lain upon His breast. After His resurrection
also John had enjoyed free intercourse with His Lord. Yet a
glimpse of His heavenly glory, though but in a vision, struck him
to the ground as if dead.
It is this majestic One who walks amidst the churches on
earth, His flaming eyes searching into all hearts, perceiving all
ways and all works ; His reproving words, as a sword, ready to
smite evil in His people ; but His long robe telling of His powerful
intercession for their help as the royal priest. How solemn to be
perpetually under that piercing gaze ; how perilous to dare that
two-edged sword, with which He reproves and chastens; how
encouraging that the humble may count unreservedly upon the
illimitable resources of Him in whom dwelleth all the fulness of
the Godhead.
Reverent fear and courageous faith should mark His people.
The loyal subject may verily approach boldly to the person of
the sovereign whom he loves and serves, but let him not presume
to call the king by his personal name, but rather say, Your
Majesty ! Biblical writers sometimes speak of Him by the name
known to history, but even when He was here in humility no
disciple ever spoke to Him by His name Jesus. They said,
Teacher, and Lord, and, My Lord and my God ! How much less
Would such undue familiarity have been possible to John when
prostrate before His glory. It were well to banish or alter all
hymns that so offend.
But neither need the godly know terror in His presence : " H e
laid His right hand upon me, saying, Fear Not ! " The scene
and its effects upon John are to be compared with Ek 1 and 2
and Dn 10 ; but the revelation which the Son of man gives of
Himself to John exceeds aught that had been possible of old and
is more noteworthy. It constituted a challenge to the false
worship that filled the world. The Lord claimed for himself
certain divine attributes, peculiar experiences, and supreme
powers which from most ancient times the whole heathen world
had attributed to one of their chief deities. Christ's words were
77
78 THE OSIRIS MYTH

a denial of the claims of the demon god and an assertion of His

own exclusive right to the honour given to it. The converted
heathen of Asia Minor to whom John was to transmit the message
could scarcely have failed to grasp this its significance.
The myth challenged can be best seen in its early Egyptian
form. It was said that Osiris, the sun god, was the first king of
Egypt and its beneficent instructor in agriculture and other useful
knowledge. But he was murdered by his odious brother Set.
Their sister, the goddess Isis, however, restored Osiris to life.
But the supreme gods of heaven deemed it inadvisable that he
should resume his rule on earth, exposed to the malice of Set,
and they therefore appointed him to be the ruler of the under-
world of the dead.
The realities to which this pointed Christ assumes to Himself,
saying : (i) " I am the First and the Last, and the Living One,"
the true God from whom all creatures derive all benefits ; (2) " I
became dead," by surrendering (though willingly) to the malice
of God's enemy, Satan ; (3) and yet, " behold, I am living unto
the ages of the ages " in resurrection energy ; and (4) it is " I
have the keys of death and of Hades," the supreme control of
that underworld to which I descended as one of the dead: it is
I who can banish thereto, can order the experiences of the soul
while there, and can release therefrom.
This is one instance of many where great truths he at the
heart of some beliefs of the ancient world; obscured, distorted,
misapplied, but there. Perchance they are the corrupted remem-
brance of knowledge of the purposes of God given to man in
earliest times that he might expect by faith God's promised
Deliverer and Ruler, who should be of heaven, yet man on earth.
When under Satanic deceit he was led'to renounce the true and
holy God (Rm 1), the arch-deceiver seems to have taught him to
misapply the facts he knew of that other world and the hopes
which should have been set on the Seed of the woman. Faith,
fear, worship, and hope were thus misdirected, and " the things
which the Gentiles sacrificed they sacrificed to demons, and not
to God " (I Cr 10. 20).
It would be profitable were someone well versed in both
Scripture and mythology to follow out in detail any correspon-
dences between the two. We can only touch here upon some
points connected with our present theme of the control by the
Lord Jesus of the realm of the dead. The Egyptian was taught
(and from them the Greek peoples learned much) :
1. That following upon death he must be tried before the
judgment seat of Osiris. There is sufficient scripture to show
 THE OSIRIS MYTH 79
that a judgment of the Lord is the next experience after death.
" I t is laid up for man once to die and after this judgment "
(Hb 9. 27). The words do not suggest a long interval, but rather
the reverse. The souls under the altar (Rv 6. 9-11), though not
yet raised from the dead, had been adjudicated upon by Christ,
for the sign of His approval (the white robe, comp. 3. 4, 5 and 19. 8)
was already granted to them. Who determined to which side
of the underworld Dives and Lazarus should respectively go ?
So solemn a matter of justice could not be left to chance : some
one must have so decided and ordered, and " the Father has given
all judgment unto the Son " (Jn 5. 22). The figure of the athletic
contest is to the same effect, for the judge of necessity and
automatically forms his judgment as each runner or wrestler
finishes his course or contest.
The giving of the prizes is another matter. This is deferred
until the whole of the games are concluded. It will be " in that
the day " that Paul will receive his crown (II Tm 4. 8). But the
Judge does not put off His decision till then. In the nature of
the case how could Paul, the runner, have been so sure that he
had won his crown unless the Judge had so intimated, in his case
even before death. The entire deferring of the judgment seat of
Christ to one session at the end of the age is unreasonable and
unfounded. That judgment seat is always in session. Even in
this life conscience arraigns us before it, and already we are
judged and chastened of the Lord (I Cr 11. 32).
This consideration opens out a wide and fascinating sphere for
investigation, but we cannot now pursue it. But Paul says that
the perfecting of the saints at Philippi will be continued by Him
who had begun in them His work " until the day of Jesus Christ,"
not merely till the day of their death (Ph 1. 6). The subject is
opened more fully in my Firstfruits and Harvest.
2. The Egyptian was taught that the decision of Osiris would
be based upon his life on earth, virtuous or vicious. The judg-
ment of the Lord also, at whatever session, is based upon works
done (II Cr 5. 10 ; Rv 20. 13).
3. It was taught that before Osiris the heart of the deceased
was weighed in the scales of justice against a feather. If it was
the lighter it was known that he had been virtuous ; if it was
the heavier this proved that he was laden with sins. Thus also
we read that " Jehovah is a God of knowledge, by Him actions
are weighed," and again, " Jehovah weigheth the spirits " (I Sm
2. 3 : Pv 16. 2). Solemn considerations are these, of great
moral weight.
4. In view of this, the Egyptian was taught certain prayers
 8o THE JUDGMENT SEAT OF CHRIST

he was to offer before Osiris, denying major vices and recounting

major virtues, according to the Egyptian code, and concluding
with the prayer that he might be admitted to the halls of Osiris
and not be cast into " the second death, the lake of fire." This,
be it noted, is from mythology two or three millenniums before
John saw the visions and wrote of the lake of fire.
To one, even though he be a believer, whose heart is loaded
with jealousy, bitterness, covetousness, or other guilt, it is a
solemn reflection that in the world of the dead the Lord can visit
his misdeeds upon him ; but to the saint, like John, it is a relief
from all dread of death to know that Christ holds the keys of
Death and Hades. To such the Judge says, Fear not !
A difficulty hitherto insuperable has faced those who saw that
the judgment seat of Christ as taught in Scripture would involve
chastisement for Christians who deserve it, and not only rewards
for the faithful. In Touching the Coming of the Lord (84, 85),
Hogg and Vine affirm their persuasion as to this, but honestly
admit that they do not see by what means it can be fulfilled upon
saints already, according to their scheme, raised from the dead
and robed in bodies of glory. We think no solution of this
problem ever could be found, and that the factors of the problem
must be wrong.
Again, writers like G. H. Pember and others, who saw clearly
that certain carnal believers would not be permitted to share the
kingdom with the Lord, but who retained the general belief in
one session of the judgment seat to follow the coming of Christ,
were faced with the equally great difficulty that they had to
suppose these unworthy persons raised from the dead to appear
at that session, and then, being adjudged unworthy of the
kingdom, returning to the death state till after the millennial era,
to be raised then unto life eternal, but having forfeited the king-
dom. But this involves the impossibility of bodies raised in
immortality and incorruptibility becoming subject to corruption,
an even greater difficulty than the former.
But granted that the judgment seat of Christ for the dead
takes place after death and before resurrection and both diffi-
culties are seen to be, like all our other difficulties, the result of
want of knowledge and the consequent use of imagination to fill
up the gaps in knowledge. For the question then is not whether
persons raised from the dead deserve to be chastened, even unto
being sent back to Hades, but the much simpler question whether
the Lord will deem this or that one worthy of the first resurrection
at all. If not, such will simply remain as and where they are
after death until the second resurrection, and those alone will be
 THE WORLD OF ANGELS 81

raised whom He accounts worthy (Lk 20. 35). Here also see
Firstfruits and Harvest.

The influencing of earthly affairs by heavenly agents, all under

the control of Christ, is a mighty fact, both comforting and
warning. The glorious Lord who walks amidst the lampstands
as Head of the churches has also the " seven stars in His right
hand." The angel watchers, defenders, helpers, servants of the
churches are under His authority and His power.
We see no reason for not taking " angels " here as it is to be
taken everywhere else in this Revelation, and in the vast majority
of other places in the New Testament, as meaning heavenly (and
here, holy) spirits. The little children have their individual
angel representatives (Mt 18. 10). The early disciples believed
that Peter had an attendant angel (Ac 12. 15). Great nations
have their angel rulers (Dn 10. 13, 20, 21 ; 12. 1 : Ek 28. 12). The
Lord here speaks of each church having such a responsible angel
servant.
No accurate meaning of very much scripture can be gained
unless this (to us) great invisible world be beheld in its co-ordina-
tion with this visible world. God's kingdom, as He sees it, is
one ordered realm. This is true of both its obedient and its rebel
spheres. It is for us thus to see it by faith ; and seeing it, to be
encouraged and solemnized. " Fear not : for they that be with
us are more than they that be with them . . . Lord . . . open
his eyes that he may see " (II Kn 6. 16, 17). Dothan is every-
where. By faith let each be as Elisha, not as his servant. Yet,
on the other side, it is written : " Behold, I send an angel before
thee . . . provoke him not: for he will not pardon your trans-
gression " (Ex 23. 20, 21). To pardon is not the prerogative of
an angel; which shows, incidentally, that that angel was not the
Son of God.
Closely considered it is no more extraordinary that John should
bring the Lord's message to angels than that angels should bring
His message to John. For (1) John was " in spirit" (1. 10), that is,
his consciousness had been freed from earth limitations and
transferred to the spirit realm (comp. II Cr 12. 1-4: Eph 3. 5, in
which latter place, as in Rv 1. 10, there is no article), so that his
spirit held free intercourse with spirit beings : and (2) as to his
messages when written down being addressed to angels, what is
there difficult in this seeing that such beings can read the
Scriptures and quote them ? (Lk 4. 9-11). If the Lord so see fit
they might as well receive His mind upon their service in this
way as in any other way.
 82 AFTER THESE THINGS

Note on ^era ravra meta tauta " after these things."

(i) 19. " Write therefore the things (a) which thou sawest, and (b)
the things which are, and (c) the things which shall come to pass
hereafter " {meta tauta).
On this triple sentence a scheme of interpretation has been
built, (a) means the vision of the Son of Man just given (c. 1).
This is no doubt correct, (b) is the Seven Letters, covering the
whole era of the church of God on earth down to its rapture
before the End Times and the rise of Antichrist (cs. 2 and 3).
(c) is the End period to follow that removal of the church (c. 4
and onward).
This scheme breaks down upon the fact, shown on pp. 73, 74,
that the foreview of the Letters does not end at a point prior to
the End Times, but goes on to the beginning of the Kingdom,
when the Overcomers are to sit with Christ on His throne.
Therefore " after these things " cannot mean that the judgments
of the End follow the period contemplated by the Letters, for
these look on to beyond the close of those judgments.
Meta tauta must here mean " hereafter," as our Versions, i.e.,
in the future viewed from the time when John was seeing the visions.
The coming unveiling was not to be history but prophecy.
(ii) 4. 1. " After these things I saw, and behold, a door opened
in heaven, and the first voice that I heard, as of a trumpet
speaking with me, one saying, Come up hither, and I will shew
thee the things which must come to pass hereafter " {meta tauta).
This does not say, as the above scheme implies, " after these
things just mentioned there shall happen." It says, " after these
things / saw." John had not seen the sitting down of Christ upon
His throne and the events to accompany, for these had not yet
happened, not even in vision : he had heard only a promise that
they should happen. Meta tauta means therefore that the visions
following were seen after he had been shown the vision of the Son
of Man and had heard His words given in the Letters.
(iii) Therefore, as in 1. 19, the second meta tauta in this verse
will mean simply " hereafter," at some time in the future from
the present hour in which you are seeing and hearing the visions.
This must be so seeing that the things he was now to be shown—
the judgments down to the coming forth of the Word of God,
c. 19—were all to occur prior to the point of time to which the
Letters had carried forward his mind, the sitting of Christ on
His throne.
(iv) 7. 1. meta touto (sing). " After this I saw " ; i.e., the
vision of the four angels standing on the four corners of the earth
was seen after the vision of Seal 6.
 AFTER THESE THINGS 83
(v) 7. 9. " After these things I saw " ; i.e., the vision of the
great multitude was seen after the vision of the sealing of the
144,000 of Israel.
(vi) 9. 12. " The first Woe is past: behold, there come yet
two Woes hereafter " (meta tauta). The sense must be " here-
after " as certainly as that second and third must follow first.
(vii) 15. 5. " After these things I saw " ; i.e., I saw the temple
in heaven opened, and the seven angels come out, after I had
seen the Victors standing by the glassy sea.
(viii) 18. 1. " After these things I saw " ; i.e., I saw this other
angel descend after I had seen the vision of the Woman.
(ix) 19. 1. " After these things I heard " ; i.e., the great voice
followed the description of the destruction of Babylon.
(x) 20. 3. " After these things [not ' this,' as RV, or ' that '
AV] he [Satan] must be loosed " ; i.e., after his arrest and
imprisonment just mentioned.
These ten are all the places where meta tauta (once touto) are
found in this book. They divide into three classes.
1. In nos. ii, iv, v, vii, viii, ix meta tauta, being followed by
" I saw " or " I heard," means that the seeing or hearing took
place later than the things just before mentioned were seen or
heard; but the expression does not by itself settle that the
events will occur later than those just before seen. This must be
otherwise determined.
2. In instances vi and x it is stated that the events will occur
after the events just before mentioned.
3. In i and iii meta tauta means simply " hereafter," at some
time in the future.
In this view the triple sentence will mean : (a) the Lord in
the midst of the churches ; (b) the state of the seven churches as
seen by the Lord ; (c) things future, to close the age for Israel,
the nations, and the churches simultaneously.
 CHAPTER III

THE SEVEN LETTERS, CHAPTERS 2 AND 3

SECTION I.—THE LETTERS

I. There are three aspects under which these letters may be

considered.
1. As a description by the Lord of the state of seven churches
of believers then existing.
2. As a prophetic foreview of the christian age then com-
menced and to conclude at the coming of the Lord.
3. As a revelation of the moral characteristics of churches
found always throughout the age.
1. The first aspect is so obvious as not to be questioned.
But there were other churches of God then on earth, and some
in the neighbourhood of these seven : why then were these in
particular addressed ? and why was their spiritual state as seen
by Christ made known to all, and throughout all the age ? There
seems no sufficient reason except that the state of these reveals
the possible state of each and all, severally and collectively, at
all times. That seven, the number of completeness is chosen,
itself suggests this.
2. But in addition it has been widely held that these seven,
in the order employed, foreshadowed a progressive development
of the church of God throughout the whole age. It is held that
seven chief moral conditions have marked the church age, corres-
ponding to the features seen in these seven churches. In The
Great Prophecies concerning the Church, c. lx, G. H. Pember argued
in favour of this view, as follows.
(1) The first Letter (Ephesus) reveals the beginning of declen-
sion in the waning of first love, and the last (Laodicea) shows the
final outcome of this in rejection by the Lord; which suggests
the probability that intervening letters depict consecutive
intervening stages.
(2) That the meaning of the name of each church corresponds
to the historic feature of the stage assigned to each.
(3) That the history of the christian age has in fact followed
the stages thus obscurely outlined in advance.
On the other hand, Archbishop Trench {Commentary on the
Epistles to the Seven Churches, Excursus) has given a summary of
84
 CONTINUOUS PROPHETIC SENSE OF LETTERS 85

the history of this interpretation, and offers these reasons against

it.
(a) The Letters themselves contain no hint of a prophetic-
periodic sense.
(b) The scheme is not known to the apostolic, the post-apostolic,
or even the following sub-apostolic age. Such early and long-
prevailing ignorance of this meaning is difficult to understand if
it had really been known to and imparted by the apostle, or by
those who knew him and had learned from him.
(c) The advocates of this interpretation vary greatly among
themselves in their distribution of the periods, examples of which
divergence are given.
(d) That as matter of fact there is no truly accurate corres-
pondence of Letters and periods. Dr. Trench does not hesitate
to speak of the " arbitrary and artificial character of all the
attempted adaptations of Church history to these Epistles."
Doubtless much can be said on both sides, and the curious
reader may weigh the arguments in such works as those cited..
But we deem the question of no great importance, more especially
for such as may live as the age ends. The third view is that
which matters.
3. The urgent weighty aspect of the Letters Pember well
indicated (498). He pointed out that " a phase that has once
commenced may be continued until the Lord's return . . . Indeed,
the Nominal Churches will, probably, in their last days, as in
their first, embrace communities which, taken together, will
exhibit all the characteristics mentioned in the two chapters ; so
that each of the epistles will retain its practical value until the
End." And so Trench : " The warnings, the incentives, the
promises, the consolations, and generally, the whole instruction
in righteousness in these contained, are for every one in all times,
so far as they meet the several cases and conditions of men ; what
Christ says to those here addressed He says to all in similar
conditions . . . the great Head of the Church contemplates them
for the time being as symbolic of His universal Church."

II. Each Letter is addressed to its responsible angel repre-

sentative. Thus he became informed of the Lord's views of the
state of the sphere allotted to his charge. In the administration
of a kingdom communications from the sovereign concerning a
local region are ever directed to the appointed head of that region,
even though in its terms the document may address itself to those
under him. " It is quite futile to attempt to distinguish in these
epistles what is said to the Angel in the singular, and what is
86 CHRIST AND THE CHURCHES

said to the Church in the plural. This is shown by the former

part of this verse (2. 10)—the things thou art about to suffer . . .
followed by some of you. Only where there is occasion to dis-
criminate is the plural used : cf. verse 24 f : but wherever the
whole church is spoken of it is in the singular, under the person
of its representative angel." (Alford.) For reasons for taking
" angel" to mean a heavenly being see p. 81.
1. The Speaker emphasizes to each church those of His own
powers, attributes, and experiences which most befit the state of
that church.
Efthesus He reminds of His absolute control of these angel
protectors and watchers of the churches : He " holds the seven
stars in His right hand," and can support, restrain, or withdraw
that so needful, so valuable angel ministry (Hb 1. 11). How very
much this means to the people of God is but very little appreciated
by most, for the whole subject of angelic office and service in
God's great empire is practically unknown by His children, to
their great loss. In the world, royal princes would be deemed
sadly unqualified for their position and duties if they had no
adequate acquaintance with the various services, civil and military,
by which the kingdom was administered.
The Lord also walks amidst the lampstands, and has close
personal, constant observation of their state, even to detecting
the condition of the heart, and not only the outward appearances :
" thou hast left thy first love."
Smyrna is about to meet severe tribulation which will demand
faithfulness even unto death. Their Lord reminds them that He
too has endured unto death, can therefore sympathize and succour,
and bring them also into the resurrection life that he has reached.
Pergamtim is infected with evil ways and teaching, and may
provoke the use of His sharp two-edged sword. How dreadful
that He should have to take the field against some within the
churches. Who can hope to survive such a conflict ? (Comp.
Is 63. 10).
Thyatira is permeated with the deep things of Satan, but as a
flame of fire the Lord's eyes burn their way into all the hidden
regions and detect the most subtle evils ; and His feet burnished
as in a furnace proclaim that that only can stand which can
stand the fire of judgment.
Sardis is a corpse, flesh-tinted, but without vitality. Yet
Christ has the plentitude of the Spirit to revitalize the repentant,
and He has also the full reserve of angelic ministry for chastening,
protection, succour, and all other needful spiritual service in the
realms invisible where Satan attacks the saints.
 CHRIST SUFFICIENT 87
Philadelphia is feeble but faithful. He that is holy recognizes
it; He that is true will be true to those that are so to Him;
He who opens and who shuts will keep open a door for testimony
to those that are ready to testify.
Laodicea is pretentious but unfaithful: He is the opposite,
even the Amen, the One in Whom all is sure ; He is the faithful
and true Witness, and if they are faithless toward Him He must
be faithful to His Word and to Himself, and will deny them who
deny Him (Mt 10. 32, 33 : Lk 12. 8, 9 : II Trn 2. 11-13), for
otherwise He would deny Himself, which cannot be. He it is
who gave beginning to the creation of God, and all continuance
depends upon continual dependence upon Him who at first created.
2. Thus is there in the exalted Christ that which can meet
every condition and every need of His people in their witness as
lights in the world (Mt 5. 14-16 : Ph 2. 14-16). To abide in
fellowship with Him is both indispensable and sufficient for
testimony in this kingdom of darkness. The translation candle-
stick (AV), is not only questionable but, to our great loss, it misses
a most needful lesson given by lampstand (RV), and which lesson
is the very point which John had heard Christ stress in the
parable of the virgins (Mt 25) ; for the candlestick is self-contained,
and needs no regular renewing with oil, as does the lamp. To
promote heart-independence of Christ is a steady object with
Satan. He knows that the lamps cannot burn if the pipes from
the olive trees be cut or blocked (Zh 4). That we should abide
in Christ is His own urgent exhortation (Jn 15 : I Jn 3. 28 : etc.),
and our urgent need and responsibility. It is secured by habitual
obedience to His words (Jn 15. 9, 10), and not otherwise. Given
such obedience believers and churches will find experimentally
that they are indeed made full in Him, the Head, in whom dwells
all the divine fulness (CI 2. 8-10). To them philosophy can add
nothing, but can only despoil them, and ritual can only sever
them from the Head to whom they need to hold fast, to their
inevitable impoverishment and withering (CI 2. 16-19). But
through the knowledge of Christ they gain all things requisite
to life and godliness (II Pt 1. 3) ; and, by daily renewing of the
Holy Spirit, the heavenly oil, they can fulfil their privileged office
of lampstands, to the blessing of the world. A lamp is useless
unless it gives light, and a Christian unless he displays Christ.

III. Note on c. 3. 10 and Lk 21. 34-36.

These two passages require particular examination as funda-
mental to some parts of the exposition of the Revelation.
1. Luke 21 is a record of instruction given by Christ to four
 88 ESCAPING THE END TIMES

apostles on the Mount of Olives. The following remarks are

taken from pp. 37-40 of my Firstfruits and Harvest.
The chapter is a parallel report to Mt 24 and 25 and Mk
13, and it deals specifically with the End Times and the
Parousia. Christ foretold great international wars, accompanied
with earthquakes, famines, and pestilences, to be followed by
terrors and great signs from heaven (ver. 10, 11 ; comp. Seals 1-4,
Rv 6). These things are to be preceded by a general persecution
of His followers (ver. 12), which will be the first indication that
the End Days are at hand. Then Jerusalem is to be trodden
down by the Gentiles right on until the Times of the Gentiles run
out (ver. 24 ; comp. Rv 11. 2, where the same term " trodden
down " is used, and Zh 14. 1-5). This shows that it is the End
Times of which the Lord was speaking, as is further shown by
His earlier statement that at that time of vengeance " all things
that are written " shall be fulfilled. All things that are written
in the prophets concerning Jerusalem, Israel, and the Gentiles
were not by any means fulfilled at the destruction of Jerusalem
in A.D. 70. This point is more fully discussed in c. XII.
Christ then mentioned the disturbances in nature and the fears
of mankind which are grouped under Seal 6 in Rv 6. 12-17, and
added explicitly that " then shall they see the Son of Man coming
in a cloud with power and great glory," and that when these
things begin His disciples may know that their redemption
draweth nigh (ver. 27, 28).
In concluding this outline of the period of the Beast the Lord
then uttered this exhortation and promise : " But take heed to
yourselves, lest haply your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting,
and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that day come on
you suddenly as a snare : for so shall it come upon all them that
dwell on the face of all the earth. But watch ye at every season,
making supplication that ye may prevail to escape all these
things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of
Man."
This declares distinctly : (1) That escape is possible from all
those things of which Christ had been speaking, that is, from the
whole End Times. (2) That that day of testing will be universal,
and inevadible by any then on earth, which involves the removal
from the earth of any who are to escape it. (3) That those who
are to escape will be taken to where He, the Son of Man, will
then be, that is at the throne of the Father in the heavens. They
will stand before Him there. (4) That there is a fearful peril of
disciples becoming worldly in heart and so being enmeshed in
that last period. (5) That hence it is needful to watch, and to
 THE WORD ESCAPE 89
pray ceaselessly, that so we may prevail over all obstacles and
dangers and thus escape that era.
This most important and unequivocal statement by our Lord
sets aside the opinion that all Christians will escape irrespective
of their moral state, and also negatives the notion that no escape
is possible. There is a door of escape : but as with all doors,
only those who are awake will see it, and only those who are in
earnest will reach it before the storm bursts. In every place in
the NT the word " escape " has its natural force—ekpheugo, to
flee out of a place or trouble and be quite clear thereof. It
comes only at Lk 21. 36 : Ac 16. 27 ; 19. 16 : Rm 2 . 3 : II Cr 11.
33 : I Th 5. 3 : Hb 2. 3 ; 12. 25. In comparison with Rm 2. 3
see its use in the LXX in the interpolated passage after Es 8. 13 :
" they suppose that they shall escape the sin-hating vengeance of
the ever-seeing God " ; also Jg 6. 11 : Jb 15. 30 : Pv 10. 19 ;
12. 13. The sense is invariably as stated. It never means to
endure the trial successfully. In this very discourse of the Lord
it is in contrast with the statement, " He that endureth (hupomeno)
to the end [of these things] the same shall be saved " (Mt 24. 13).
One escapes, another endures.
The attempt to evade the application of this passage to
Christians on the plea that it refers to " Jewish " disciples of
Christ is baseless, (a) No " Jewish" disciples of Christ are
known to the Scriptures (Gl 3. 28 : Eph 2. 14-18). (b) The God-
fearing Remnant of Israel of the End Days will in no wise escape
these things that shall come to pass (Ml 3. 1-4 : Zh 13. 8, 9 :
Jr 30. 7, 8). (c) Nor will they believe on Jesus as their Messiah
until they see Him coming in glory (Zh 12. 9,10 ; 13. 6 : Mt 24. 30).
(d) The assertion that the title Son of Man is " Jewish " is
equally unwarranted, for the term " man " is necessarily universal
to the race, and does not belong peculiarly to any one nation.
Comp. Jn 3. 14, 15 ; 5. 25-29 ; " whosoever " and " all."
2. In harmony with this utterance of our Lord is His further
statement to the church at Philadelphia (Rv 3. 10): " Because
thou didst keep the word of My patience, I also will keep thee
from (ek) the hour of trial, that hour which is to come upon the
whole inhabited earth, to try them that dwell upon the earth."
Here also are declared : (a) The universality of that hour of trial,
so that any escape from it must involve removal; {b) the promise
of being kept from i t ; (c) the intimation that such preservation
is the consequence of a certain moral condition : " Because thou
didst keep . . . I also will keep." As this is addressed to a
church no question of a " Jewish " application can arise. Nor do
the Scriptures or known facts allow of the supposition that every
90 FROM AND OUT OF

Christian keeps the word of Christ's patience (Mt 24. 12 : Rv 2, 5 ;

Gl 6. 12 : CI 4. 14, with II Tm 4. 10 concerning Demas) ; so that
this promise cannot be stretched to mean all believers.
In The Bible Treasury, 1865, p. 380, there is an instructive note
by J. N. Darby (see also Coll. Writ., vol. 13, Critical, I. 581) on
the difference between d™ (apo) and |K (ek). The former regards
hostile persons and being delivered from them, the latter refers to
a state and being kept from, getting into it. On Rv 3. 10 he
wrote : " So in Rv 3 the faithful are kept from getting into this
state, preserved from getting into it, or, as we say, kept out of it.
For the words here answer fully to the English' out of ' or' from.' "
This distinction is sound, but it is to be observed that the verse
does not speak of being kept out of a state. That the thought
is not that of being kept from being injured in soul by certain
trials is implied in the expression " Keep thee out of that hour " ;
it is from the period of time itself that the faithful are to be kept,
not merely from its spiritual perils.
It has been thought that Jn 17. 15 supports the view that
IK (ek) may mean being kept from a spiritual danger. It reads :
" I ask not that Thou shouldest take them out of the world
(ek tou kosmou), but that shouldest keep them from the evil one "
(ek tou ponerou). But if the thought be fully grasped this is not
the sense. The " world " is the realm in which the disciple
passes his outward life in the body; to be " taken out of it"
means as to bodily presence. Now Satan is regarded in the Word
as the moral realm in which men pass their existence as to the
spirit : " the whole world lieth in the evil one " (I Jn 5. 19). But
by the power of God the inner life of the believer is regarded as
" translated out of the authority of darkness into the kingdom of
the Son of His love " (CI 1. 13), and now his inner life is " in
Christ Jesus " as the sphere of its new existence. Thus the
thought of being " kept out of the evil one " is exactly the same
as being kept out of any other realm, that is, of not being in it in
any sense, but out of it. The disciple is not to regard himself as
in the Evil One and to ask to be kept from injury from that evil
sphere, but as out of it, and he is to pray to be kept from ever
again getting into it experimentally.

Of this escape and preservation there are two pictures, as there

are these two promises. These will be considered under cs. 12
and 14, when dealing with the Man-child and the Firstfruits.

It may aid meditation to see the Letters set out in the form
given at the end of the book.
 SECTION I I — O N OVERCOMING

I. On the word Overcome.

The simple meaning of this term is to conquer, win the victory,
whether in a law suit (Rm 3. 4), in war (Rv 6. 2), in moral battles
(Rm 12. 21), or in spiritual conflict (I J n 2. 13, 14). The noun,
in both its earlier form (1/1**7 I J n 5 - 4 only) and its later form
(VIKOS Mt 12. 20 : I Cr 15. 54, 55, 57 ; only) is always rendered
victory. The verb (v«ca<u) is rendered in Rm 3. 4 by prevail;
in Rv 6. 2 by conquer and conquering ; in Rv 15. 2 by victorious ;
and always elsewhere by overcome (Lk 11. 22 : J n 16. 33 ; Rm 12. 21
bis : I J n 2. 13, 14 ; 4. 4 ; 5. 4 bis, 5 : R v 2. 7, 11, 17, 26 ; 3. 5,
12, 21 fo's ; 5. 5 ; 11. 7 ; 12. 11 ; 13. 7 ; 17. 14 ; 21. 7 ; only).
The idea is invariable ; a contest ending in victory. So fixed
was the meaning of the word that it became in early times the
proper name of the goddess of Victory (Nt*^), to whom generals
sacrificed after a victorious campaign.
The idea is part of the tremendous reality of that age-long
conflict between God and Satan, in which all intelligent beings
take part, on the one side or the other, in which the things
material are employed by the one party or the other. This latter
fact includes that the members of the body of man are " weapons "
(oTrXa), used to further the victory either of righteousness or of
sin (Rm 6. 13), and therefore that they must be enslaved by the
christian warrior lest they bring him defeat in the war (I Cr 9.
24-27).
The exceptional emphasis in Revelation on conquering agrees
with this book being throughout militant in vision and tone as
unveiling the final and fearful stages in the great campaign,
leading on to the complete victory of God, of the Lamb, and of
the followers of the Lamb.

The assertion t h a t all believers are overcomers is so plainly

contrary to fact and to Scripture t h a t one wonders it ever has
been made. It involves the false position t h a t no believer can
be a backslider. It avoids and nullifies the solemn warnings and
urgent pleadings of the Spirit addressed to believers, and, by
depriving the Christian of these, leaves him dangerously exposed
to the perils they reveal.
In the house of the high priest Peter was defeated by the fear
of man. Is he the last ? Ananias and Sapphira were defeated
by the love of money and pride of reputation. Were they the
last ? Demas forsook Paul, being overcome by the love of this
present age. Was he the last ? In the Corinthian church some
9 2 THE ONE OVERCOMING

were conquered by carnal lusts. Were they the last ? Peter

re-entered the battle and fought to the end. Ananias and his
wife were cut off in their defeat. So were some of the Corinthian
believers. We do not know that Demas won through finally.
If all Christians are conquerors how shall it be possible at the
close of the age that " the love of the many [the majority] shall
wax cold " (Mt 24. 12) ? Overcomers are to receive crowns ; but
if all overcome how can any be warned lest he lose his crown ?
(Rv 3- 11).
But why labour to refute an assertion so plainly wrong, and
made only in support of exegesis which cannot face the severe
warnings of the Word ? Yet notice further that the Seven
Letters are addressed, first, to each church as a whole, through
the guardian angel of each. But secondly, they have also a
distributive aspect, that is, the members of each church are
addressed severally : " some of you shall be cast into prison . . .
and ye shall have tribulation " (2. 10) : " I will make war against
them " (2. 16) : " I am He that searcheth the reins and the
hearts [plural] : and I will give unto each one of you according
to your works " (2. 23) : "As many as I love I reprove and
chasten " (3. 19).
In contrast to this corporate aspect and to these general
statements the appeal for attention is pointedly personal: " The
one having ears let him hear " (0 e'xw cms dKovo-dro)) ; and the
promises to the overcomers are made in the same personal form,
" To the one overcoming I will give " (T<P VLKMVTI) ; " The one
overcoming (<5 VIKMV) and the one keeping (0 r-qpCav) unto the end
my works, I will give to him (O,VT<J>) " ; and so in each Letter.
The overcomer therefore is singled out from the whole company
who form the church. This is seen very clearly in the Letter to
Sardis : " But thou hast a few names in Sardis who did not
defile their garments ; and they shall walk with Me in white ;
for they are worthy. The one overcoming shall thus [as My reward
that he so walked in white on earth] be arrayed in white." This
contrast follows the manner of our Lord's statement in Mt 24.
12, 13, mentioned above : " the love of the many shall wax cold,
but the one enduring unto the end, this one (ofo-os) shall be saved."
And thus Paul also : " These things happened unto them
typically, and they are written for our admonition . . . so then
the one thinking he stands (6 SOKW eo-ravcu), let him take heed
lest he fall " (I Cr 10. 11, 12). Now he who falls before the foe
is not conquering. It is safe to accept humbly the exhortation
and dangerous to avoid the warning.
The notion that all believers overcome destroys this regular
 THE PROMISES 93
emphasis, and besides it calmly consigns to perdition as un-
believers the majority who formed the church at Sardis, and
perhaps the majority of the churches of most times and places,
certainly those of the End Days, as seen from Mt 24. 12 quoted.
The meaning and the means of overcoming will be shown later.
See on the Man-child, c. VIII, p. 202 ff. For the final rewards
of overcoming see on c. 21. 7.

II. The Promises to the Overcomers.

1. 2. 7. " To him that overcometh, to him will I give to eat of
the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God."
(i) Paradise. The word paradise meant a park or pleasure
garden, not the dwelling house to which such might attach
(Ec 2. 5 LXX). It was applied to the garden of Eden, as being
a place of beauty and delight (LXX. Gn 2. 8 ; Ek 28. 13). Later
it indicated that region of the underworld where the godly dead
are at rest (Lk 23. 43). In our passage it points on to the upper
world, where the overcomer shall find his blissful region : it is the
paradise of God, not of Adam or of the earth.
In II Cr 12. 4 (the only other occurrence of the word in NT)
Paul says that he was " caught away into the paradise," which,
in view of the meaning of the word, does not mean the heaven of
heavens where God has His own especial dwelling. The word
" caught up " is not exact, for the Greek word harpazo does not
in itself indicate the direction. Nor is it certain that by " the
paradise " he means the third heaven to which he had been taken
according to the verse preceding, because he had said (ver. 1)
that he was about to speak of " visions," not of only one vision,
whereas he did not mention more than one, unless the two are
separate events.
The article " the paradise " does not require the sense of a
region in the heavens, because Christ used it when he said to the
thief " To-day shalt thou be with Me in the paradise " (Lk 23. 43),
and it is beyond question that Christ did not go to the heavenly
regions that day, but to Hades, in the " lower parts of the earth "
(Ps 16. 10 : Ac 2. 27 : Eph 4. 9, 10). Therefore the blissful region
of Hades " Abraham's bosom " (Lk 16. 22) was " the paradise."
The assumption that its location was changed at the resurrection
of Christ has no foundation. See my Firstfruits and Harvest, 56 ff.
(ii) The Tree of Life. In the Adamic Eden there was the tree
of life, the eating of which would have enabled man to live on
for ever in whatever state he was at the time of eating (Gn 3. 22).
Man was not, and is not, immortal, that is, incapable of dying.
As to his immaterial nature, the soul, he has endless existence,
94 THE TREE OF LIFE

but may exist consciously in a state of death, not of life. The

promise to the overcomer is that he shall be granted perpetuity
in life, shall be beyond further liability to die (Jn n . 26). What
a relief of spirit to one who still has the sentence of death in
himself.
The conception that the tree of life would be made agair avail-
able to man, only in a higher and nobler realm, existed from
very ancient times. Thus in the Book of the Dead (trans. Budge,
p. CXLIV) the deceased Egyptian is said to have reached the
realm of the great gods, " and these great and imperishable beings
give to him the tree of life, whereon they themselves do live,
that he also may [eat and] live thereon." Is it not probable that
this hope, going back certainly to soon after the Flood, was based
on a remembrance of some promise of God, confused as to time
and manner of fulfilment, but retained tenaciously as a consoling
prospect in a world of death and disappointment ? Now, by
revelation of Jesus Christ to John, its true fulfilment is foretold.
And it is worthy of much notice that the Egyptians retained
also the conviction that to arrive at those future felicities the
soul must close its career victoriously, and so the constant
description of the departed, who applies to the gods for admission
to their high realms and fellowship, is " Nu, the chancellor in chief,
triumphant." Here again the idea of what constituted victory
had become debased, but its necessity was recognized.

The water of life is not acquired by the process of fighting a

life-long battle and conquering at last. It is a. free gift, imparting
spiritual life to the spiritually dead, and it must have been
received before, and in order to, the entering the conflict. There-
fore in c. 21. 6, it precedes the promise that follows to the over-
comer. Thus the water is the symbol of eternal life as contrasted
with death, and is a gift free of conditions; but the tree points
to the maintenance of that life ; and for this, purity of conduct
(washing the robes, 22. 14) and final victory are conditions
precedent.

Perhaps hints as to this tree of life are found in Solomon's four

references to it in Proverbs.
3. 18. " Wisdom is a tree of life to them that lay hold on her."
Now it is " Christ Jesus who is made unto us wisdom from God "
(I Cr 1. 30). He is the true tree of life, and the one that feedeth
upon Him hath eternal life. But as yet our apprehension of
divine wisdom in Him is very imperfect, but in the future and
 THE TREE OF LIFE 95
resurrection life it shall advance indefinitely : " now we know in
part . . . then we shall know fully, even as we have been fully
known " (I Cr 13. 12). But acquiring of knowledge and attaining
a wise mind demands determined effort. Every hindrance
thereto must be resisted strenuously and ceaselessly, for wisdom
is a tree of life to them only that lay hold on her : it is the over-
comer who eats of this tree, now and hereafter.
11. 30. " The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life,
And he that is wise winneth souls."
It is so even now. He who pre-eminently is the Righteous One
is this tree, and they who eat of the fruit of His character, and
of that " one act of righteousness " which He wrought on the
cross (Rm 5. 18), find life in Him. Thereupon these in turn
live and act in righteousness, He living and acting in them ; by
which means they share His wisdom, which they show by winning
souls, and so their fruit yields life to others. It shall be perfectly
so hereafter. They shall partake so fully of what this Tree is
that they shall win souls more abundantly. They do so now in
measure by turning many to righteousness (Dn 12. 3), and they
shall shine more brilliantly in this high service when their own
apprehension of Christ shall have been perfected and so their
wisdom increased. Considering how wholly dark the nations
will be at the'beginning of the Kingdom (Is 60. 2), there will be
vast scope for this life-giving fruit-bearing.
13. 12. " Hope deferred maketh the heart sick,
But when the desire cometh it is a tree of life."
As yet the Christian is a prisoner of hope, and often cries, How
long, 0 Lord ! But then every God-implanted desire shall have
been realized beyond out utmost dreams of bliss, and eternally,
and the life abundant be enjoyed to the utmost limit of the
capacity of the renewed and liberated nature ;
And we, transfigured by His light,
Incomparably blessed,
Shall instant lose all sense of need,
And find in Christ life's goal indeed.
Eternal life possessed.
15. 4. " The healing of the tongue is a tree of life,
But perverseness therein is a breaking of the spirit."
Harsh words inflict deadly wounds, but gracious words heal
them. It is by the word of God that new life is begotten in u s ;
it is by His words that health of soul is conferred and maintained
(I Tm 1. 10 ; 6. 3, " healthful words " ) . This the overcomer
shall experience fully in that day, and shall also display it
96 THE SECOND DEATH

blessedly by his own words blessing others. For " death and life
are in the power of the tongue ; and they that love it shall eat
the fruit of it " (Pv 18. 21) : they shall eat death if they loved it,
and spake death-dealing words ; but life, if they loved it, and
spake life-giving words. Here, verily, is the most ceaseless and
desperate of our battles, for nature finds the tongue a restless,
untameable evil (Js 3. 1-12) ; but he that by incessant watchful-
ness and unceasing prayer overcomes this evil becomes a full-
grown man of God, able to bridle the whole body, and as an
overcomer he shall eat his fill of the Tree of life in the Paradise
of God, and his words shall be for the healing of the nations.

2. 2. 11. " He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second

death! "
The second death is having part in the lake of fire, as to which
see on 20. 14. It is here declared that the overcomer runs no
risk of this. But it is not safe to reverse divine statements and
draw a negative inference from a positive statement, as is done
by inferring here that a believer who does not overcome will be
hurt of the second death. The condition of any person at death
is known with certainty to the Lord alone, the only Judge. What
He here does is to assure the one overcoming that he will not be
hurt by the lake of fire, which is a powerful incentive to maintain
the fight of faith.
It is true that the idea that carnal Christians may be chastened
temporarily and sanctified in the lake of fire does not impinge on
any vital doctrine of the faith, only it ought to be supported by
far plainer testimony of Scripture than I have yet seen adduced.
It is a less serious thought than that a believer may forfeit
salvation entirely and be lost eternally in the lake of fire. This
latter reduces vastly the benefit attaching to faith, yet it does not
at all challenge the vital question, that of the ground of salvation
being solely the atoning work of the Redeemer. As those who
thus teach may yet be true servants of God, and, in spite of this
opinion, entitled to the fellowship of His house into which He
has received them, so are they to be regarded and treated who
hold the lesser view in question. But exposition of the promise
before us should stay at its positive and blessed force.
Only it must be remarked with emphasis that the guarantee of
immortality, with consequent security from the second death,
has been often, perhaps generally, offered by preachers on far
easier terms than are here indicated. These high assurances are
given to those overcoming in the battles of the Lord, not to mere
assent to certain texts and doctrines, not to a profession which
 MANNA AND WHITE STONE 97
consists with love of this present age, which indulges its ambitions
or carnal desires, which basks in its smiles, fears its frowns, and
succumbs to its threats.

3. 2. 17. " To him that overcometh, to him will I give of the

hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and upon the stone
a new name written, which no one knoweth but he that receiveth it."
(1) The Hidden Manna. The " hidden manna " seems to be
a reference to the pot of manna which was kept in the most holy
place in the Tabernacle as evidence for subsequent generations of
the miraculous sustenance supplied to Israel in the wilderness
(Ex 16. 32-34 : Hb 9. 4). Now that manna was a type of the
Son of God as the true food of His people (Jn 6). The promise
here, then, is that He who is the life of the soul, by which we live
and fight in this present wilderness experience, will be still the
life and strength of His people in the ages to come ; and that
those who conquer the perils of the desert will enjoy Christ
hereafter in a degree not known before nor to be known by all.
There are secret things which belong to the Lord our God ; there
is a richness and sweetness and fulness of life in Christ, tasted
indeed here by such as walk as pilgrims, and hereafter to be
enjoyed by them fully in His secret place, the very tabernacle of
His presence on high.
Why, as we feast upon the Food of God,
Will thought unbid retrace the way we trod ?
This Bread that feeds us through eternal years
We ate on earth, oft moistened by our tears.

(ii) The white stone and the new name. Of the many suggestions
as to the origin of this figure none is conclusive. Perhaps the
best is that it is based on the profound respect for the names of
the gods then entertained by men in general, and the marvellous
powers supposed to be conferred by the understanding of those
names. Amulets inscribed with such a name were believed to be
potent for the good of the holder. Thus in the Egyptian Book
of the Dead (c. XCIX) more than thirty gods demand of the
deceased that he tell to each his name ; and upon his ability to
do this depended his well-being and his influence in the world
beyond. If the name on the amulet was exceptional, and known
only to the holder, it was believed to confer on him exceptional
advantages.
But whatever be the allusion, some ideas here connected are
obvious. A stone suggests something imperishable, a permanent
privilege, something that " fadeth not away " with lapse of time
D
98 THE WHITE STONE

(I Pt i. 4). Its whiteness (the word means brilliant white, not

dull white) suggests glory, splendour. The name being engraved
conveys again the thought of something indelible, unalterable,
permanent. That it is a name, represents the nature, character,
influence of the person whose name is used, and the holder
acquires the right to use that name to his advantage. Compare
the repeated grant of His name made by the Lord to His disciples
(Jn 14-16), and the further privilege, " I made known unto
them Thy name and will make it known " (Jn 17. 26). This
privilege will be continued, and no doubt enlarged, with enlarge-
ment of knowledge and faith, in the ages to come.
That it is the Lord's own name here in view may perhaps be
inferred from the further promise (under another figure) " I will
write upon him Mine own new name " (3. 12, and see 14. 1). Nor
can any name other than His be thought of as conferring special
advantage and reward. That the holder alone knows the name
implies peculiar personal privilege, a personal intimate knowledge
of the Lord and benefit therefrom, to be enjoyed individually by
each who receives this white stone. Even in this life the food
each eats is peculiarly his own, and a stranger meddleth not with
this joy, though each other has it for himself. Perhaps this
future accession of knowledge of God is included in the Lord's
words just quoted " and will make it known." And with this
increased understanding of the Lord there will follow increased
confidence in Him, and so of influential service, even as it is
written, " And they that know Thy name will put their trust in
Thee," and " I will set him on high because he hath known My
name " (Ps 9. 10 ; 91. 14).

4. 2. 26-28. " And he that overcometh, and he that keepeth My

works unto the end, to him will I give authority over the nations:
and he shall rule them with a rod of iron, as the vessels of the potter
are broken to shivers ; as I also have received of My Father : and
I will give him the morning star."
(i) Authority. The emphasis here is heavy upon continuing
unto the end. A foreign statesman remarked that the English
always win one battle—the last. This will not always be so.
The last battle of this evil age will not be won by the British Hon
but by the heavenly Lamb (c. 19). That victory will secure His
authority over all nations, to break down evil and to build up
righteousness. This the Father has guaranteed to the Son
(Ps 2 here quoted ; etc.), and this sovereignty the Son will
graciously share with those who share His wars unto the end of
life or of the age, as the case of each may be. Verily it is a prize
 THE MORNING STAR 99
worth winning, but it has to be won. Grace grants the oppor-
tunity, grace affords freely the strength and courage ; but grace
must be employed, not neglected.
(ii) The Morning Star. Those who teach that the Lord will
come for the church before the End Days regard that event as
His coming as the morning star, in contrast to the later descent
in glory, which they consider to be His coming as the sun of
righteousness. Thus Wm. Kelly (in loco) : " The sun when it
rises, summons man to his busy toil, but the morning star shines
for those only who sleep not as do others-—for those who watch
as children of light and of the day," which just remark he then
applies to the taking away of the church before Christ will appear
in glory.
But it seems unwarranted thus to make the promise to read :
" I will give him to see the morning star." In the parallel sentence
it has been said to the same overcomer " to him will I give
authority over the nations," which cannot be made to read " to
see authority over the nations."
The true force of the figure is easily discerned from the prophetic
passage which pictures Messiah as a star. In Nm 24. 17-19, we
read :
I see Him, but not now ;
I behold Him, but not nigh :
There shall come forth a star out of Jacob,
And a sceptre shall rise out of Israel,
And shall smite through the corners of Moab,
And break down all the sons of tumult.
And Edom shall be a possession,
Seir also shall be a possession, His enemies ;
While Israel doeth valiantly.
And out of Jacob shall one have dominion,
And shall destroy the remnant from the city.
Here the coming of Messiah out of Jacob as a star i& connected
with His rising out of Israel as a rod, the two similes being but
one picture, and as a rod He shall smite and break to pieces the
enemies of Israel. The word rendered " sceptre " is so translated
only nine times, but " rod " in thirty-four places, and very
notably in Ps 2. 9 : " Thou shalt break the nations with a rod of
iron." In this place in Numbers, where also smiting and breaking
the nations is in question, " rod " seems the appropriate trans-
lation, and consistent with Is 11. 4, " He shall smite the earth
with the rod of His mouth."
These promises of and to Himself the Lord graciously passes
on to His faithful followers, which promise therefore refers, as do
100 THE MORNING STAR

the OT passages, to Christ as the King of Israel rising to destroy

His and their foes, the star being a figure of a heavenly ruler.
Whilst Israel's night is still utterly dark, for the Beast seems
just about to blot out Jerusalem, then Christ will rise as the
morning star, the conquering ruler, and will destroy the foe.
This work of judgment upon the Beast will be speedy (Zh 14. 12),
but that upon the surrounding enemy nations will not be accom-
plished instantaneously, for in part Israel themselves will perform
it in the course of subsequent battles (Is 11. 14 : Ek 39. 10 :
Zh 2. 9 : Jr'30. 16 : Is 33. 23 : fulfilling Gn 49. 27, 1). And by
reason of the awful scourge of war Palestine will be a desert
(Jl 1), and there will be widespread desolations in the earth in
general (Ps 46. 8), resulting from the judgments described in the
Revelation. But the work of vengeance having been presently
completed by Christ as the rod and the star, He will then become
the sun of righteousness, by His beneficent activity causing fruit-
fulness and gladness to be again the portion of the godly (Ml 4. 2).
This order of events is seen clearly in Ml 4 ; for ver. 1 describes
the burning up of the wicked and then the sun arises with healing
in His wings. It is found also in Jl 2. 18-27, which details first
the destruction of the armies of the Beast, and afterward the
blessing of the land and people. So that the rising sun is not a
picture of the actual event, but of what Messiah becomes to
Israel after the destruction of their foes.
In the only two places in the NT where the figure " star " is
used, it is introduced in the same connection and order. Our
verse speaks first of the rod of judgment breaking the nations,
and mention of the morning star follows. And thus Rv 22. 16
mentions first that He is the " root and offspring of David," that
is, He is Israel's King, and then the figure of the morning star
follows. Had the meaning been that mentioned first above, the
order should be the reverse ; nor would there be expected any
intimate connection between the shining of the star and the
dashing to pieces of the nations, since the view in question
separates these by many years, during which very many momen-
tous events are to take place, and it also makes the Morning Star
to apply to the church of God only.
I find that Trench {Epistles to the Seven Churches, 155) and
B. W. Newton {Prospects of the Ten Kingdoms, ed. 1873, 350, note)
took this view. The earliest Latin commentator on Revelation,
Victorinus (cent. 3), explained the promise as meaning to rise in
the first resurrection (see Speaker's Comment, in loco). This is
included, for only such as then rise will share the authority of
Christ as the star.
 WHITE ROBES 101

It is not without interest that the ancient Egyptians spoke of

the dead man who has been glorified among the gods as the
Morning Star. His resurrection was his " birth " as the morning
star {Book of the Dead, CXXXIV, CXL, CXLI, CXLIII, 169, 170)
and he prayed that he might " come forth as the Morning Star "
(185). This accords with the remark above that the overcomer
is not merely to see Christ as the morning star, but is to share
that character and office. The morning star is given to him, as a
character and office of his own. The words of our Lord from heaven
show what.will be the true fulfilment of those dim and misapplied
expectations entertained, as He knew, by men of earlier times.

5. 3. 5. " He that overcometh shall thus be arrayed in white

garments ; and I will in no wise blot his name out of the book of life,
and I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels."
(i) White robes. It is an ancient suggestion that the white
robes mean the resurrection body of glory. If so, it will emphasize
that the sharing the first resurrection is a reward for having lived
a holy life on earth. But a man's body is an essential part of
his being, whereas garments are an added covering put on that
body, and so are not the body. This distinction is clear in the
account of the transfiguration of our Lord, itself a sample of the
conditions in the kingdom of glory : " the fashion of His counten-
ance was altered [this was His body], and His raiment became
white, dazzling" (Lk 9. 29). Heavenly beings, angels, also
present themselves in " raiment as white as snow, dazzling "
(Mt 28. 3 : Lk 24. 4 : Ac 1. 10). That the raiment is not the
person is seen clearly in Rv 10. 1, for the strong angel is " arrayed
with a cloud." Again, " fine linen, white, pure," is the clothing
of the angel hosts who come forth with the Lamb to the final
battle (19. 14), and also is the garment which the bride puts on
herself for the marriage (19. 8). In this last case the distinction
between the person and the robe is incontestable, for she puts it
on herself, and that in which she clothes herself is her " righteous
acts," and a man's acts are not his body. Moreover no man can
array himself in the resurrection body; that can come to pass
only by a direct act of God, who alone raises the dead. Moreover,
as " bride " is a figurative term for a company of persons, so
" white linen " must be a figurative term ; but the resurrection
body will be an actual reality.
Though the resurrection body of all raised in the first resur-
rection will be a heavenly body like in nature to that of Christ,
yet, " one star differeth from another in glory " (I Cr 15. 41) ;
and the present promise is of a special resemblance to and
102 THE KING'S COMPANIONS

association with the holy Lord, His gracious reward for the
diligence that brought in this present life some distinct moral
resemblance to His life of purity. By the grace of the holy Spirit
it is possible to keep ourselves " unspotted from the world "
(Js i. 27), " hating even the garment spotted by the flesh " (Jd 23);
possible even though, in the ordering of God, one may live in a
Sardis, a wicked heathen city. This must have demanded special
watchfulness, with diligence in " girding up of the loins of the
mind " as they picked their way through this squalid world
(I Pt 1. 13 : II Pt 1. 19), the figure here being that of a person
tucking up his flowing robe into the waist-band while he picked
his way toward the house of feasting. But some few in Sardis
were zealous in this. They gave full heed to the word (Ec 9. 8),
" Let thy garments be always white ; and let not thy head lack
oil " (the renewing of the Holy Spirit) ; and beyond others they
shall be counted worthy of intimacy with Him who in this same
defiled world was " holy, guileless, undefiled, separated from
sinners," and therefore has been " made higher than the heavens "
(Hb 7. 26).
The stress of the promise is upon this close, constant association
with the Lord : " they shall walk about with Me," shall be the
King's " companions " (Hb 3. 14 ,«TOX<U)- Comp. II Sm 15. 37 ;
16. 16, 17 : I Kn 4. 5 ; 12. 8 ; the king's " friends " ; and note
the plain condition of this friendship laid down by the Lord in
Jn 15. 14, 15, even unhesitating obedience.
(ii) The Book of Life. The first mention in Scripture of the
book of life is in Ex 32. 32, 33, in the appeal of Moses : " Yet
now, if Thou wilt forgive their sin—and if not, blot me, I pray
Thee, out of Thy book which Thou hast written " ; with the
answer of God : " Whoso hath sinned against Me, him will I blot
out of My book." This shows (1) that God has a record of the
names of men. (2) That the name being therein assures the
continuance of life, which is to be inferred from its title in our
present passage, the " book of life." (3) That names may be
erased. (4) That this is done individually, not collectively, even
when the sin may be committed by many at once : " blot me out
of Thy book," and the reply " him will I blot out." (5) That
erasure is on account of sin, but such sin as is directed against
God himself : '' Whosoever hath sinned against Me.'' The history
illuminates this. Though in a sense every sin is against God
(Ps 51. 4), it was not what may be termed common offences which
were in question that day, but the gross and deliberate sin,
directed against God himself, of having made and worshipped a
god in place of Jehovah. Hence the force of the exact expression
 THE BOOK OF LIFE 103

(Newberry) " whoso sinned " ; not " hath sinned " at any time,
but " sinned against Me " on this present occasion.
The almost abrupt way in which the words of Moses are given
in the history suggests that the fact of this divinely written
" book " was already well known to him and his readers. No
explanation was felt necessary. This was indeed the case, for the
subject was well known to Moses by his having been " instructed
in all the wisdom of the Egyptians " (Ac 7. 22). The Book of the
Dead mentions such " books," the god Thoth being the scribe of
the gods, and reference is made to beings " which would blot out "
the names of the khus, the spirits of deceased men (c. CXLIX, xii).
Budge remarks that " The preservation of the name was con-
sidered to be of the highest importance, for the blotting out of
the man's name brought with it eternal death " (p. CLXIV). We
may think of our Lord's words (Lk 10. 20) that it is a higher
matter of congratulation that one's name is written in heaven
than even to have authority over demons on earth. But while
the blotting out of the name does under certain circumstances
involve, as the Egyptians thought, eternal death (Rv 20. 15), it
is not to be hastily assumed that it must do so in every case of
erasure. It is at least possible that the first intention of the
record has reference to the right to live on in this life, and the
blotting out may only involve the premature cutting short of a
life that but for gross evil would have been prolonged here.
Perhaps we are too little informed as to the original ground and
purpose of the name being inscribed to be able to dogmatize upon
the matter of blotting it out. It is hard to believe that Moses
was asking for eternal death.
Because very ancient literature contained such resemblances to
the conceptions and expressions of Moses it has been assumed,
hastily or perversely, that he borrowed from that source, and
therefore was not divinely taught to teach. It seems rather to
have been the case that he, being well versed in these current ideas,
was employed by the true God to rescue out of the confused and
misapplied systems of human thought things which were at basis
true and to set them in their original and proper connections.
The divine condemnation of the ancient world rests upon the fact
that they knew God and refused to walk in that knowledge
(Rm 1. 18, ff.). Examined in the light of Scripture, mythology
justifies that condemnation, for it shows how very much truth
must have been known at the first for so much to have been
incorporated into corrupt religions. Conversely, by showing what
ideas were in the minds of men of old, mythology gives precision
and force to many statements of Scripture which are obscure to
104 THE NAME CONFESSED

the modern mind, though they would have been clear to the first
readers.
Occasion will follow to refer again to this subject of the books
(see p. 351). Here it is only further to be remarked that
the Christian who has studied to walk in holiness, and has
defeated the peril of defilement, runs no risk of his name being
expunged from the book of life : " The one overcoming . . . on
no account will I blot out his name " (ov /wj k^a\d\p^). Thus
it is a parallel guarantee to 2. n , and emphasizes the eternal
security of the overcomer.
(iii) The Confession of the Name. In sharp and glorious con-
trast to the name having been erased from the book of life, and
the person remaining in the place and state of the dead, the Lord
here renews His promise that He will openly acknowledge the
overcomer in a public heavenly assembly : " before my Father
and before his angels." This is a repetition of the same gracious
assurance that He had given twice when on earth (Mt 10. 32, 33 ;
Lk 12. 8, 9). The former passage reads : " Every one therefore
who shall confess Me before men, him will I also confess before
My Father who is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny Me
before men, him will I also deny before My Father who is in
heaven " ; and the latter passage says : " Every one who shall
confess Me before men, him shall the Son of Man also confess
before the angels of God : but he that denieth Me in the presence
of men shall be denied in the presence of the angels of God."
The present promise combines these two by saying, as in Matthew,
" before My Father," and as in Luke " before His angels." Both
passages set the promise in connection with enduring persecution
for Christ's sake, as part of the stimulus needed to be faithful and
to endure. It is in such tests that the believer is most likely to
compromise, to hide his light under a bushel, to become denied
as the world. If faith and courage fail, and he be defeated and
defiled, and he so remain, then, when the time shall have come
that he might have been arrayed in white and owned by his Lord
as one worthy to be His companion, he will be denied that honour.
If now, like Peter, one has denied his Lord, let him, like Peter,
at once leave the company of the worldly, and weep bitterly ;
then may he, as did Peter, find forgiveness and restoration,
become a valiant confessor of Christ in His rejection, and be, with
Peter, a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed (I Pt 5. 1).
These promises and warnings of their Lord burned indelibly
into the thinking of the first disciples. Thus Matthew, who
heard them spoken, includes them in his narrative that they may
gain wide currency. Luke, too, who, many years later than the
 IF 105
time of Christ, searched into the facts of His life and teaching
(Lk 1. 3), learned of these statements, and that they had been
given twice, and he gave them still wider currency among
Christians. So deeply were they enshrined in the hearts of
disciples that they were embodied in the terse epitome of promi-
nent beliefs which Paul, as his life was closing, quotes and endorses
as a trustworthy current saying (II Tm 2. n - 1 3 ) :
" Faithful is the saying :
For if we died with Him,
we shall also live with Him :
If we endure,
we shall also reign with Him :
If we shall deny Him,
He also will deny us :
If we are faithless,
He abideth faithful;
For He cannot deny Himself."
The last sentence applies to both contingencies, His confession
or His denial of u s ; He must and will be faithful to Himself in
either case. The inescapable alternative is denying Him and
being denied by Him, or bravely confessing Him before men and
being acknowledged by Him when His kingdom is about to be
publicly inaugurated. That this will be the season is to be
inferred from the context, that enduring faithfully will issue in
sharing His company (" living with Him." Comp. " they shall
walk about with Me "), and in sharing His sovereignty (" we shall
also reign with Him " ) . The same context is found in other
special promises to overcomers : ruling the nations (2. 27) ; sitting
on Christ's throne (3. 21).
In the interests of strict accuracy it should, however, be noted
that it is not said that the overcomer or the overcome will be
present on the exact occasion when the name is owned or denied
by the Lord. This should not be assumed, but be rather a point
for more exact study of the Word. The plain parallelism, as in
our Lord's statements in the Gospels, almost suggests the con-
trary ; for it is in the absence of Christ that we confess or deny
Him, and it is therefore a t least possible t h a t it will be without
our presence that He will confess or deny us. All that is said is
that it is the name that is to be owned by Christ on this occasion.
In Firstfruits and Harvest, 75-82, I have discussed the likelihood
that the decision by the Lord as to what believers are to share
in the first resurrection, and so to reign in His kingdom, is reached
by Him before that first resurrection. See also p . 80 above.
In the present passage it is the confession, rather than the
io6 THE PILLAR IN THE TEMPLE

denial by Christ that is emphasized. This positive aspect also

had its parallel in ancient thought as disclosed in the Book of the
Dead, and would not be a strange idea to men of that time. For
after the judgment of the deceased had been concluded in his
favour, the recording god reported the result to the supreme god,
Osiris, acknowledging that the person whose name he mentioned
had been shown worthy of admission to the presence and fellow-
ship of the gods {Book of the Dead, p. CIV).

6. 3. 12. "He that overcometh, I will make him a pillar in the

temple of my God, and he shall go out thence no more : and I will
write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my
God, the new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my
God, and mine own new name."
On many Egyptian pillars may be seen hieroglyphs surrounded
by what is termed a cartouche, formed by two parallel lines joined
at top and bottom by curved lines. The inscription within this
enclosure commonly announces (1) the name of the god to whose
honour the column was erected, (2) the name of the city of Thebes,
the capital of Egypt, and (3) the name of the king. Thus the
pillar, which before was but an unshapen mass in a quarry,
obtained the honour of becoming a public memorial of the god,
the city, and the king. There were usually other pillars in the
courtyards and precincts, but a few were in the sanctuary itself,
and thus gained a permanent and most honourable place in the
inner shrine, where the deity itself dwelled.
Corresponding privileges in the heavenly world are to be the
portion of the overcoming disciple. (1) Formerly but a spiritually
unshapen sinner in the dark quarry of humanity, he will reach a
special association with and be a public reminder of the God and
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ (" My God "). See later on
c. 22. 4. (2) He will be openly connected with the heavenly
Jerusalem, " the city of My God," on which more will be said
on c. 21. (3) He will be associated visibly with the holy and true
One, Who has the key of, that is, exercises the authority of,
David (ver. 7), the God-appointed Ruler of Israel and the world.
See further on 14. 1. And (4) his position will be in the very
sanctuary of God on high, not in any lower region of the universe,
even in that holy palace in the upper heaven which is yet to be
the temple, the centre of worship for the universe entire.
(5) These privileges, once attained, shall never be relinquished :
" he shall go out thence no more." Satan was originally in that
most honourable place and office (" thou wast the anointed cherub
that covereth " the divine glory) ; but becoming rebellious he
 REIGNING 107
was cast forth thence (Ek 28. 14-16) : whereas these, having
triumphed on earth over his assaults on their fidelity to the God
he had defied, shall never fail in purity or devotion, nor ever
forfeit those highest honours.
Well, indeed, does the Speaker add, " He that hath an ear, let
him hear."

7. 3. 21. " He that overcometh, I will give to him to sit down

with Me in My throne, as I also overcame, and sat down with My
Father in His throne."
It has been before promised that the overcomer shall have
authority over the nations and rule them (2. 26, 27). This honour
is heightened by the present promise that the authority so
conferred shall be regal. Joseph had all but royal rank ; but
there was one who in the throne was greater than he (Gn 41. 40).
Christ must transcend Pharaoh in grace as in glory, and He will
share His throne with him who conquers in His cause.
(i) The Son will receive His throne from the Father : He does
not grasp it for Himself. That were to be like Satan. He acts
always in the power of the eternal fact He himself declared : " the
Father is greater than I " (Jn 14. 28).
(ii) This throne is the Father's recompense for His fidelity and
suffering as " the faithful and true witness " on earth (ver. 14).
(Hi) The throne where Christ now sits is not that which will be
His own throne ; it is the Father's throne. This pregnant fact
will come up for fuller consideration on c. 4. See pp. i n , 112.
It means that as yet the Father, not the Son, is ruling the universe.
(iv) The throne of the Son will, in the Millennium, be on earth:
" When the Son of man shall come [that is, shall return to this
earth] in His glory . . . then shall He sit on the throne of His
glory " (Mt 25. 31) ; and then shall the overcomers sit on thrones
and judge (Lk 22. 29, 30 : Rv 20. 4). As in all empires, there
will be myriads of subjects, but not of sovereigns. It is the
conquerors in the late campaign who will be the kings.

Dr. A. T. Pierson pointed out that these promises follow an

historical order. The tree of life refers back to Eden; the second
death to the Fall; the hidden manna to the manna in the desert;
the white stone to the engraved stones on the high priest's
shoulder and breastplate; the rod of iron to Moses holding the
rod of God for the defeat of Amalek (Ex 17. 8) ; the white
raiment to the garments of the priests; the pillar in the temple
to those in the temple of Solomon ; and the sitting on the throne
to Solomon's reign in glory and peace.
io8 THE PERILS TO BE FACED

It has been remarked above that the aspect in which the Son
of Man is described to each church answers to the state of each.
The promises to the overcomers similarly suit the state or peril
of each church, as will be here outlined briefly.
Ephesus had toiled and endured, and as to the body of their
labours, the external efforts, they had not grown weary. But the
inner life had felt the strain ; in heart affection to Christ they had
lapsed and fallen. The inner man needed renewing. He who
repented, and found again this inward invigoration of love to
Christ, and so overcame personally the general defeat, should be
blessed correspondingly in the day of reward—he should find
permanent strength and satisfaction in the fruit of the tree of life.
Smyrna must meet severe tribulation, and each would need to
be faithful, even unto the death of the body ; but such need have
no fear of the second death.
Pergamum was tempted to eat defiled food, but he who defeated
this temptation should eat of the sacred food of heaven, Christ,
now hidden from men. Each who held fast the profession of
His name, when it meant death to do this, shall receive His right
to use His new name in the kingdom.
Thyatira was dominated by a false seducing prophetess. He
who resisted this usurping tyrant, and maintained the crown
rights of Christ as Head of His Church, shall himself be a ruler
in the day of Christ.
Sardis was defiled and dying. Each who kept himself undefiled
now shall walk in pure white garments in the day of glory. He
that triumphed over spiritual death shall never lose spiritual life :
his name shall be retained in the book of life.
Philadelphia was opposed by a synagogue of Satan, but each
who stood aloof should be given a permanent place in the temple
of God. He who did not deny Christ's name on earth shall bear
His new name for ever.
Laodicea was a poor lunatic, sitting in squalor, but boasting of
fancied riches. He who, by humbling himself, overcame this
pitiful pride, shall sit at table now with the Lord, and hereafter
shall sit with Him in glory on His throne.
To see myself as I am is the first step to seeing Him as He is.
 CHAPTER IV

THE VISION OF THE THRONES

Dn 7. 9-14, 26, 27 and Rv 4 and 5
That these two sublime scenes represent one and the same event
is clear from their agreement in general and in detail. The later
vision includes more details than the earlier, but both scenes are
in heaven, in each there is a central Figure on a throne, and also
other thrones associated with His. There are fiery flames in the
one and flaming torches in the other. Angel hosts surround and
attend upon the thrones, and the numbers of them are identical,
thousands of thousands and ten thousand times ten thousand. In
both visions a Son of Man approaches the throne and is invested
with universal authority. The issue is that government is
transferred from the wicked to the righteous, under the supreme
rule of that Son of Man, the Lamb. In the nature of things such
an investiture, because its issues are everlasting, can never be
repeated, nor can any successor supersede the Son of God and
Son of Man, the Lamb.

Now at what point in the development of the divine program

of the universe is this transcendent event to take place ? The
question is crucial to the whole interpretation of the Revelation,
for all that follows after c. 5 is consequent upon this investiture
of the Lamb.
Some consider that the whole scene belongs to the future, to
the closing days of this age ; but some think that the investiture
took place at the ascension of Christ to the right hand of the
Father. In consequence, these latter make an immediate appli-
cation of the Revelation to the immediately following period and
seek to trace a fulfilment of the visions throughout the long
christian centuries, leading on to the advent of the Lord as in
c. 19.
We attempt here to demonstrate that this view cannot be
maintained, and that the great scene still awaits fulfilment.
Four major considerations settle the question. 1. The time of
the visions does not harmonize with this view. 2. The throne to
which Christ ascended is not the throne of these visions. 3. The
present position and service of Christ is not that disclosed in the
109
no THE THRONES ARE FUTURE

visions. 4. The details in Daniel are distinctly against the

theory.
1. The Time is not in Harmony.
The vision of Rv 4 was given to John some sixty or more years
after Christ had ascended, and he was distinctly informed that
the things he was about to see lay still in the future, being " things
which must come to pass hereafter " (4. 1). In all the remainder
of the Revelation there are extremely few, if any, details which
refer back prior to the time when John saw the visions. The
only statement we have noticed is 17. 10, " the five are fallen,"
and this may be waiting fulfilment. Things which were then in
the future cannot include the ascension which was already long
past. This sets aside also the application of the Man-child of
c. 12 to the ascension of Christ.
In 3. 21, the Lord had said that He had already sat down in the
throne of the Father, which distinguishes that event from the
scene which was to follow in the future. John had witnessed the
ascension in his early manhood. How could he now, when an
aged man, have possibly supposed that what he was so plainly
told was still in the future was really referring to what he knew,
and indeed had just been reminded by the Lord, had taken place
so long before ?
Of old it had been said to the Lord that He was to retain that
position at the right hand of the Father until a time should come
when the Father should set His enemies as the footstool of His
feet (Ps n o . 1). The enemies of God and of His Christ are still
at large and in power in both heaven and earth, so that the time
for the Lord to leave that throne has not yet come. The very
words "sit . . . until " imply an interval; but the theory we
refute asserts that without any interval the Son commenced His
rule. Yet Hb 10. 13 refers to this as still only an expectation:
" He sat down on the right hand of God from henceforth expecting,
etc." But what one seeth why doth he yet hope for it, expect it ?
Thus a generation after the ascension that subduing of His foes
was not yet in fulfilment but was still future (" we see not yet
all things subjected to Him," Hb 2. 8), and consequently Christ
was still on the throne of the Father waiting.
But in Rv 4 and Dn 7 He is not on a throne, but is brought
before a throne, and he is standing, and is in the midst of that
throne, that is, is immediately in front of the actual seat which
is the centre of the whole great throne. He is not shown at the
right hand of Him who sits on the throne. For a helpful illus-
tration of such a royal throne the wisdom of God has preserved
 THE THRONES ARE DISTINCT III

a sufficient description of the grand throne of Solomon, with its

ascending steps, its figures of the king of beasts on either side,
and the seat itself of which all the throne was the noble support
(I Kn 10. 18-20 : II Ch 9. 17-19).

2. The Thrones are not the same.

Where is situate that throne of the Father on which the Lord
sat down at His ascension ? In Hb 1. 3 it is said to be " in the
heights " (kv ifaXois). To this is added (Hb 4. 14) that we have
a great high priest who has " passed through the heavens"
(8i-epxo[it.ai), which word in its proper force means to go right
through and beyond a region, as in Mk 10. 25 : Lk 4. 30 ; 19. 1 ;
Mt 12. 43 : Ac 13. 14 ; 19. 1, 21. Therefore it is said (Hb 7. 26)
that the Lord at that time " became higher than the heavens " ;
and thus Eph 4. 10 says that " He ascended far above all the
heavens."
That " Majesty in the heights " is eternal. It was before the
universe was made, either the earth, or the heavens prior to the
earth. The universe is external to It and It is above the universe :
" Behold, the heavens, and the heaven of heavens, cannot contain
Thee " (I Kn 8. 27). When the present heavens and earth shall
pass away It shall abide, for It is external to them. When new
heavens and earth succeed the present It will remain unchanged,
for It is the glory of the Eternal. This does not lessen the fact
that God in His omnipresence pervades the created universe and
beyond it, but asserts that His throne, the seat and centre of His
glory, is far above all the heavens. This subject will arise again
on c. 20. 1 1 .
But the throne of Dn 7 and Rv 4 is not eternal. That which
is eternal cannot be " placed " in position or be " set " on a given
occasion, for it is already there and cannot be not there, for if
it could be it would not be eternal. Hence of this administrative
throne it is said that " Jehovah hath prepared His throne in the
heavens (Ps 9. 7), which word " prepared " is not possible in
reference to that which is eternal.
Moreover, this throne of these visions is in the heavenly regions,
not " far above all the heavens." The Son of man comes up to
it " with the clouds of heaven," the throne is " set in heaven,"
and the hosts of heaven surround it. It were confusion of thought
to speak of a person approaching to and standing before a seat
on which he is sitting.
The King of England has two thrones : one at Buckingham
palace, his personal residence ; the other in the House of Lords,
for governmental purposes. It is thus with the Most High.
112 THE ADMINISTRATIVE THRONE

The Scripture speaks of the throne of the Father, and it shows us

another throne also, where God sits as Judge on occasion, and
which throne moves from place to place as required by business
of state. Nearly 900 years B.C. the prophet Micaiah saw one
session of that great judgment seat, with Jehovah upon His
throne and the host of heaven standing upon either side (I Kn
22. 19, and comp. Mt 25. 31-33 for a counterpart yet to be on
earth). That court sentenced king Ahab to death and devised
the method of his execution. Over a century later Isaiah (c. 6)
saw another session of that court, at which the nation as a whole
was condemned to blindness and desolation. After a further
century or more Ezekiel saw that throne on the awful occasion
when the judgment foretold by Isaiah was about to be executed
(c. 1).
Ps 82 tells that God on occasion takes His place amidst His
angel rulers, hears their reports, and supervises their activities.
See Pember's Earth's Earliest Ages, ed. 15, pp. 128 ff., 288, 310 ff.
Still earlier in human history there had come " a day when the
sons of God presented themselves before Jehovah, and Satan
came also among them," and he said he had come from the earth.
His presence of itself, and this his statement, show that the scene
was in the heavens. " And again there came a day " similar to
that (Job 1. 6 ; 2. 1). On these occasions the case of Job came up
for discussion. The American Standard Version translates : " Now
it came to pass on the day when the sons of God came," and " Again
it came to pass on the day." This repetition of the article suggests
that certain regular court days are held by that tribunal. Probably
it was on such an occasion that the report was presented as to
the intolerable wickedness of Sodom, with demand for permission
that it be destroyed (Gn 18. 20, 21) ; which report Jehovah
decided to investigate by a personal inspection of the city. Thus
strict and personal is the divine superintendence of the judicial
administration of the universe.
Long before Daniel saw the vision of c. 7 he had already had
direct knowledge of that court, in addition to what the foregoing
scriptures might have told him. For those " holy watchers "
of the doings of men had sentenced the mighty Nebuchadnezzar
to be driven mad for his insufferable pride, and, after a respite to
allow of repentance, had carried the sentence into effect (Dn 4).
The scene of c. 7 is in simple continuity with all these former
occasions well known to men like Daniel.
Thus the throne of these visions we are considering is temporal
and movable, and is in the angelic regions ; it is therefore not
that throne which is eternal and is far above all the heavens.
 CASTING DOWN CROWNS 113
Finally, this court of angels will pass away. The scene before
us will be its last session, for " not unto angels," but to Christ
and the saints of the high places has God determined to make
the world to come subject (Hb 2. 5 : I Cr 6. 2, 3). This is the
obvious significance of those heavenly sovereigns casting their
crowns before the throne, for should a vassal king place his crown
at the feet of his overlord it would signify the renouncing of his
crown unto the disposition of his sovereign. There is distinct and
contemporary evidence that this is the significance of this
symbolic act. In A.D. 63 Tiridates, king of Armenia, to avoid
war with the Romans and to secure their support, agreed to
renounce his crown to the emperor Nero, on the understanding
that he should receive it back as the emperor's feudatory. The
matter was arranged between Tiridates and Corbulo, the Roman
governor of Syria. The description of the act of renunciation is
so striking an earthly counterpart of the scene in Rv 4 that it
shall be given in full from Arnold's History of the Roman Empire,
pp. 566, 567 ; ed. 2 (1852).
We are indebted to Tacitus (Annals, xv. 29) for a minute account
of the final ceremony to which this interview was preparatory. The
Parthian cavalry, with the standards used by that nation, was drawn
up in squadrons, on the one side; on the other, the Roman legions
were marshalled in order of battle, displaying their eagles and other
military ensigns. The statues of the gods were so arranged as to form
a circular temple ; in the middle of which a mound of turf was raised,
whereon was placed a curule chair, supporting the image of Nero.
This emblem of imperial majesty was approached by Tiridates with
every token of veneration and respect; and after offering up sacrifices,
the prince solemnly took the diadem from his head, and laid it at the
feet of the statue. A shout from the two armies sanctioned the
peaceful nature of the ceremony; and the whole ended with a
magnificent entertainment.
Having thus divested himself of regal power and rank, it remained
for Tiridates to undertake a journey to Rome, in order to receive from
the hand of the emperor the crown of Armenia, together with all the
rights and securities the Roman people and Senate could confer.
The correspondences between the heavenly and the earthly
scenes are striking. The centre chair of dignity, with the statue
of the emperor, symbolized his supreme authority, raised above
all. The statues of the gods grouped around remind of the four
and twenty angel rulers ranged around the central throne. The
armies surrounding all, correspond to the hosts of angels forming
the outer circle of the heavenly court, as do their cries of exultation
in both cases. The feast at the close answers to the marriage
supper of the Lamb, to which the drama of the Revelation leads
II4 SATAN STILL IN HEAVEN

up. The meaning of placing the crown before the throne cannot
be questioned.
The conception that the throne of God, where Christ as yet sits,
is beyond the created universe may well explain the words in
Hb i. 6, that the Firstborn is to be " brought in again into the
habitable world," the kosmos, the universe of created things. It
is not here the earth only that is in view, for the angelic hosts
also are in question : "let all the angels of God worship Him."
Christ, as to His present location as man, is at present outside
the habitable world, or He could not at that time be again
brought into it.

But whereas this court of angels will cease to function, the

throne of the Majesty in the heights is of necessity eternal. And
that this angelic court, and the judicial arrangement of which it
is the summit, did not pass away at or upon the ascension of
Christ can be proved.
Before ever Satan can bring up to the earth the Beast who is
to be destroyed, as shown in the vision of Dn 7, he himself must
be cast out of the heavens entirely and be confined to the level
of the earth (Rv 12 and 13). Until then he retains his position
before that court of God, accuses the brethren before it, and is
the executioner in chief of its penal decrees. These powers he
had held from earliest days, as is seen in Job's case.
Now more than twenty-five years later than the ascension Paul
judicially handed over a brother to Satan for discipline (I Cr 5. 5).
Some five years later again, when Paul wrote to the Ephesians,
Satan and his spirit hosts were still in the heavenly places, being
still " the world-authorities of this age of darkness " (Eph 6.10-17).
A year or two later Paul speaks of having handed two others to
Satan for discipline (I Tm 1. 20). Thirty or more years later
again, that is sixty years or so after the ascension, John is shown
the casting out of Satan as an event still in the future. From all
of this it is clear that the superseding of the heavenly tribunal
did not take place in connection with the ascension of Christ, and
therefore that He was not then installed officially as ruler and
judge.
The perpetual conflict of the church of God against those
powers of darkness ever since suffices to show that the situation
is still unchanged ; Satan is still in the heavens, and all who
resort thither on the business of the kingdom of God find his
opposition at its fiercest there.
 THE SON INVESTED 115

A comparison of Is 6. 1 with Jn 12. 41 shows that Jehovah

who was seen by Isaiah was the Son of God, for " these things
said Isaiah because he saw His [Christ's] glory, and he spake of
Him." But who carried on the supreme administration of the
universe after the Son had resigned that position in heaven and
was a man on earth ? He himself while here showed this by
saying that in heaven certain angels " do always behold the face
of my Father who is in the heavens " (Mt 18. 10). So that the
Father was then visibly among the angelic hosts, and this was in
the heavens, not far above them all.
At the ascension the Son of God received again as-man that
uncreated glory which He had had with the Father before the
universe was (Jn 17. 5) ; on the occasion before us the Son of Man
is to receive by formal investiture the sovereignty which is the
Father's recompense for His faithfulness on earth, His obedience
even unto death (Is 53. 12, " therefore " ; Ph 2. 9, " wherefore " ;
Hb 2. 8, " because of " ; Rv 5. 9, 12, "for Thou wast slain ").
Thus again are the two occasions seen to be distinct and the
glories distinct. Ph 2. 11, " every knee shall bow and every
tongue shall confess," points to the fulfilment of Is 45. 23, " to
Me every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall swear." Now
this is to be at the time when all the ends of the earth shall look
unto God and be saved, and in Jehovah all the seed of Israel shall
be justified and shall glory. The most casual glance at this world
shows that this is still future, which in turn proves that Rv 5 is
also future, for this universal homage is there being rendered.

It would appear that at this last assize God the Father will sit
in that administrative throne, not Himself to judge, for " the
Father judgeth no one, but has committed all judgment unto
the Son " (Jn 5. 22, 23) ; but in order to invest the Son officially
with the position and dignities of judge and ruler already granted
to Him in title but then to be conferred in fact. For it is evident
that the Ancient of days (Dn 7. 9) and the Son of Man who is
brought near unto Him must be different persons, as must be
the One sitting upon the throne of Rv 4. 2 and the Lamb who
takes out of His hand the book. No one can be brought near
to himself or be pictured as taking a book out of his own hand.
The two Persons are always distinguished and the former is God
the Father. See 5. 13 ; 6. 16 ; 7. 10 ; 11. 15 ; 19. 6, 7 ; 21. 22, 23 ;
22. 1, 3 .

From all of these particulars and considerations is it not clear

that the thrones in question are different ?
n6 THE PRESENT SERVICE OF CHRIST

3. The Position and Service of the Son of Man.

At His ascension the Lord sat down. His position is regularly
so presented. Ps n o . 1 : Mk 16. 19 : Ac 2. 34 : Hb 1. 3, 13 :
Rv 3. 21. CI 3. i, " Christ sitteth at the right hand of God,"
was written thirty years after the ascension. Its present parti-
ciple shows sitting to be His habitual position ; and His own
words (Mt 26. 64), " ye shall see the Son of man sitting at the
right hand of power," by being linked with the next clause " and
coming with the clouds of heaven," extend that sitting until the
close of this age, when only He will so come.
The expression does not, of course, imply absolute immobility
of posture. In Ac 7. 56 the Lord is shown as standing at the
time of the trial of Stephen, and in Rv 1 John sees Him as standing
and walking in the midst of the churches. This means that in
relation to the affairs of the church of God and of its individual
members He is active ; and so He became present to Paul in the
night after his severe handling in the temple, to comfort and
encourage His tried servant. But the expression does mean that
in other relations than to the church, and throughout this age of
grace, the general attitude of the Son of God is quiet rather than
active, waiting rather than working. This is indeed the very
argument of Hb 10. 12, 13, that having accomplished the work
of atonement, He sat down, henceforth waiting for His next
period of active service, which is not to be until such time as
His enemies are to be subdued.
The theory we are examining supposes the exact reverse of
this, even that from the ascension and onward Christ has been
actively and ceaselessly superintending the mighty drama of
judgments following upon Rv 4 and 5. It thus eliminates any
period of waiting. But in these chapters the Lamb is represented
as standing, not sitting, and throughout the rest of the book the
Father alone is represented as sitting, the Son never. See 5. 13 ;
6. 16 ; 7. 10, 15 ; 19. 4 ; 21. 5 ; the only exception being c. 20. n ,
" a great white throne, and Him that sat upon it," which in view
of Jn 5. 22 we take to be the Son, and which occasion does not
affect the present point, for it lies beyond both this age and the
next, in the eternal ages. This will be discussed upon that
passage.
The present work in heaven of the Son of God is a chief theme
of Hebrews, and is there limited to intercession for His own
people. It is not extended beyond them, which accords with
the typical intercessory prayer in Jn 17 : " Concerning them I
make request: not concerning the world I make request, but
concerning those whom Thou gavest Me " (ver. 9). It is in their
 CHRIST DISPENSING GRACE 117

interests, as Advocate, that He resists their Accuser (I Jn 2. 1, 2 :

Lk 22. 31, 32). And if, as in Rv 2 and 3, He is shown as on
earth, it is as in the midst of the churches, administering their
affairs, not those of the world. But in Rv 5 and onwards this
aspect ceases to be presented ; priestly service in relation to the
prayers of the saints is rendered by angels (5. 8 ; 8. 3, 5) ; the
Lamb is seen standing, not sitting, and is occupied intensely
with the affairs of the world, judging and ruling in both heaven
and earth.
This contrast is of profound significance. As yet Christ is still
the Dispenser of the grace of God, directly to His people, and
through them to other individuals. But it is not His present
work to execute the wrath of God upon the world. Indeed, the
special period for that is not yet come, for, while the administration
of justice from heaven does go on, it is as yet but partial, not
general and final as in the Revelation, and it remains as yet in the
hands of angels, under the superintendence of the Father, not of
the Lord Jesus and His saints.
He exercises judgment, indeed, but within His own present
circle, the church ; and this He does to the end that we, receiving
our chastisement now, will not have to do so at the time that the
world will receive theirs. For it is expressly stated that this is
the era of judgment in the house of God, whereas that of the
world is as yet deferred, that, through the longsuffering of God,
men may have further space for repentance (I Cr 11. 32 ; comp.
Ps 94. 13. Also I Cr 5. 5 : I Pt 4. 17, 18 : II Pt 3. 9, 15). This
separation in time of the judgments of the church and the world,
so plainly taught in these passages, is set aside by the view that
the book of the Revelation has been in process of fulfilment from
the ascension of Christ and forward.
At the former coming of the Son to the earth, the Father did
not send Him to judge but to save (Jn 3. 17). In consequence,
when asked to act as a civil judge, and to order the just division
of an estate, He refused, as not having been appointed" to that
task, proper though it is (Lk 12. 13, 14). And when pressed to
decide in a criminal case (Jn 8. 1-11) He so dealt with the prose-
cutors that they abandoned the proceedings and so He had no
call to adjudicate, and could show mercy. This is still His
attitude even until now, or the day of grace to the godless could
not be prolonged ; and in this He gives a clear example as to
the place and course of His followers in such matters. The
administration of justice, and the ruling of world affairs, is not
committed to them in this age. Their business also is to display
to all in all circumstances the grace of God. It ought not to be
n8 CHRIST TO ACT AS JUDGE

asked of them that they share in matters contrary to this their

appointed office. Every king requires officers of justice and
soldiers ; a kingdom cannot be administered without them. But
he requires also officers of peace, ambassadors for arranging
treaties of amity and trade, for making overtures of mercy to
rebels, and so forth. Now when such officers are sent on such
errands it is not required of them to act as criminal judges or as
soldiers, it would indeed defeat their very purpose. This is the
present duty of the disciples of Christ. But a time will come,
through the impenitence and hardness of heart of men, and with
the completion of the outgathering and training of the company
that are to reign with the Lamb in His kingdom, when in justice
judgment must at length prevail against mercy, and the world,
then fully ripe for wrath, receive it.
It is at that epoch that these great visions we are considering
will find fulfilment. And because the attitude of God and of His
Son toward the world will have then reluctantly changed, that
of the saints also will have changed correspondingly. On the
cross Christ, true to His then commission and in infinite com-
passion, prayed for the forgiveness of the ignorant heathen men
who had just driven in the cruel nails. Not for Israel or the
world at large, but for these it was that He prayed. The sentence
before and the sentence after the words " Father forgive them,
they know not what they do " are limited to the men actually
crucifying Him (Lk 23. 33, 34). In full sympathy with His Lord,
Stephen similarly prayed for his murderers (Ac 7. 60). Thus did
Paul pray for his fellow-Jews who persecuted him (Rm 10. 1),
and he exhorted other Christians thus to treat their enemies
(Rm 12. 18-21). It is still the only proper attitude of the heart
that would abide in Christ; and the very fact that His Spirit
still moves His followers to fulfil His word " pray for them that
despitefully use you " (Lk 6. 27, 28) is itself evidence that Christ
himself is still in this attitude toward His enemies.
But when the Lamb, by breaking the seals and commencing
to execute judgment on the world, has shown that His office of
executor of wrath has been at last assumed, at once, in sympathy
with Him, His people are heard crying for just and long-deferred
vengeance to be dealt out to their persecutors (Rv 6. 9-11).
This by no means indicates that these martyrs were not Christians :
it shows that they are in harmony with the Lamb in His fresh
attitude and office. When He is executing wrath they cannot
longer cry for mercy, as in the days of their earth-life. This
principle has other examples in Scripture. See I Sm 16. 1 ;
Jr 7. 16 ; n . 14 : Ek 14. 14, 20 ; I Jn 5. 16.
 THE CHURCH NOT YET REIGNING 119

Thus now, while the Lord judges within His church but not in
the world, His people are to judge offences within the church but
are forbidden to do so on men of the world (I Cr 5. 12, 13). A
time will come when the saints shall judge the world, but it will
be when their Lord does so ; they will sit with Him on His throne
and judge and rule the nations (Lk 22. 28-30 : I Cr 6. 2, 3 : Rv 2. 26 ;
3. 21). The two last places are decisive that it is at the end of
the age that saints will rule, for it is when Christ sits in His
throne that they will do so. This will not be till His advent,
for it is only then that the Son of man will sit on the throne of
His glory (Mt 25. 31).
If the theory here opposed were carried through into practice,
the spirit and conduct of the people of Christ toward the world
would be reversed radically, in entire opposition to the plain
precepts of the New Testament ; for if the Lord is judging the
world they ought to be doing so. In principle this is the very
ground upon which the Popes of Rome claim to rule over all
kings and peoples. They so claim as being the alleged vicars of
Christ of earth ; and if He were in fact already the Dispenser of
justice and carrying out the program of the Revelation that
claim were in principle, and if applied to His people in general,
and not to a clerical caste only, one to be allowed. But it is
precisely this spirit and conduct that Paul reproached in his
most sarcastic words : " Already ye are filled, already ye are
become rich, ye have reigned without us : yea, and I would that
ye did reign, that we also might reign with you " (I Cr 4. 8).

4. The Terms of Daniel's Vision are against the theory.

It is agreed that Dn 7 and Rv 4 refer to the same event. In
order to show that the former was fulfilled at the ascension of our
Lord it must be shown or implied that Dn 7. 9-14 and 26 was
then fulfilled. This will demand that the fourth beast of that
vision was in existence when the Lord ascended, for it is
during its career that the investiture of the Son of man takes
place.
It has been commonly assumed that the four beasts of this
vision are identical with the four kingdoms of Nebuchadnezzar's
image (Dn 2). These latter were a forecast of Gentile world
sovereignty from Nebuchadnezzar to the Stone that crushes the
whole image, that is, of the whole of the Times of the Gentiles;
hence it is assumed that the four beasts cover the same extended
period, in which case the fourth was present on earth at the time
of the Lord's.ascension, and the application to that event of the
investiture of the Son of Man is then deemed possible.
120 DANIEL 7 FUTURE

But that Dn 2 and 7 are parallel is not so certain as is assumed.

I have argued the exact contrary in my Daniel, c. 7.
1. These four beasts all arise out of the great sea, that is, the
Mediterranean. In all of the eleven other passages where the
term " great sea " is used it is a proper noun and means the
Mediterranean. Nm 24. 7 : Jh 1. 4 : etc. The beasts arise out
of the Sea, that is, are powers situated on its coasts at the time
of fulfilment of this vision.
2. Also, they all arise in a time of raging tumult on that sea :
" the four winds of heaven brake forth upon the great sea."
Readers of Virgil will remember how Aeolus, the god who con-
trolled the four winds, was represented as letting loose a tempest
on this same Sea to destroy the ships of Aeneas. The student of
Scripture will interpret Daniel's statement by Rv 7. 1, where four
angels are seen controlling the four winds of heaven. The picture
in Daniel points to spirit agents stirring up vast conflicts between
countries directly connected with the Mediterranean, out of
which tumult four powers would emerge from that area, the last
of which shall be destroyed by the Son of man.
3. It seems impossible to find fulfilment of these features in
the history of the four empires Babylon, Persia, Greece, and
Rome. As to the two former, in no sense did they arise out of
the Mediterranean, but east of the Euphrates, 500 and 800 miles
from the Mediterranean respectively. Babylon conquered Syria,
Palestine and Egypt, but there was no general commotion in the
Mediterranean area already in progress when it did this. Persia
annexed the eastern Mediterranean countries, invaded Greece,
and was defeated at the naval battle of Salamis, 480 B.C. But
again there was no tempest in the area already raging and out
of which Persia emerged. Nor was the Sea in wide commotion
in the fourth century when Greece rose to power ; and as to
Rome, the conflict with Carthage two centuries later, and the sea
battle of Actium, 31 B.C., were mere puffs of wind as compared
with the raging storm which Dn 7 pictures.
4. Moreover, though these four beasts rose successively, they
all did so during the one tempestuous time indicated by the one
storm. This by no means suggests such a lengthy period as the
five to six centuries from the rise of Nebuchadnezzar to the
attainment of supremacy by Rome at the battle of Actium, 31 B.C.,
nor in fact was the Mediterranean in ceaseless commotion during
those centuries.
5. Further, that the first of these beasts did not represent
Babylon is clear from the fact that the angel said (ver. 17) that
the four beasts were all of the future : " four kings which shall
 DANIEL 7 FUTURE 121

arise out of the earth," whereas the empire of Babylon was

already present when this was said, and, indeed, was just about
to enc} with the death of Belshazzar.
6. In yet another particular the interpretation in view fails.
The fourth beast devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped down the
residue of the three former beasts (ver. 7). That Rome so treated
the Grecian power is true, but it did not break to pieces or absorb
Mesopotamia or Persia ; first, because in its time those empires
no longer existed ; and then because in fact Rome neither overran
nor absorbed either of those areas, or aught of the vast eastern
territories of the latter, which stretched as far as India (Es 1. 1).
Rome never really controlled effectively land beyond the
Euphrates. Nor have the various western powers which have
continued the career of the legs of the image ever yet destroyed
and mastered Persia and the regions between it and India. So
that neither in the first christian centuries nor down to our time
have the details of these four beasts found fulfilment.
7. From this it follows that, while the fourth empire of Dn 2
existed at the time of our Lord's ascension, the fourth beast of
Dn 7 did not, nor ever has existed yet; so that it, and the
accompanying investiture of the Son of Man, are still in the future,
and, by consequence, the fulfilment of Rv 4 and all that follows
is still in the future.
8. There remains another detail, involving a seeming con-
tradiction, which has greatly puzzled expositors, and which
usually accepted theories have not satisfactorily explained.
Though the fourth beast devoured the others, yet are they shown
as continuing to exist as separate beasts, and even as being
suffered to continue a short while beyond the complete destruction
of the fourth beast that had devoured them (ver. 12). It is certain
that neither Babylon, Persia, nor Greece existed as a separate
empire subsequent to the Roman supremacy ; so that this detail
also was not fact at the ascension of Christ and still awaits
fulfilment, and fulfilment subsequent to the destruction of Anti-
christ by Christ. Upon this whole subject see my Daniel, c. 7
mentioned.
9. Nor must it be omitted (a) that prior to the investiture of
the Son of Man the fourth beast had developed into a ten-horned
creature, a ten-kingdom confederacy ; (b) that among these an
eleventh horn had arisen ; (c) that this king attacked and com-
pletely defeated three of his neighbours ; (d) that he went on to
defy and to blaspheme the Most High. None of these details
had been fulfilled at the time Christ ascended ; nor, indeed, as we
think, has the utmost ingenuity and invention shown aught
122 THE JUDGMENT SESSION FUTURE

corresponding to them in subsequent history. At no time has

the world seen a ten-power confederacy, ten horns on one beast,
connected with the Mediterranean Sea, nor any other of the
associated details. The attempts to show that there have always
been about ten states in the area of the old Roman world are
abortive, for they have never been a combination, one beast.
All these details await fulfilment; but all of them (excepting (b)
and (c) above), with others, will be found combined in the picture
of the beast of Rv 13 and 17, which chapters again are part of
those things which John was told were to arise after that time and
therefore long after the ascension of our Lord.

Finally, the theory we are examining is at variance with the

interpretation of the vision given to Daniel by the angel.
After explaining the meaning of the fourth beast and outlining
his career, the angel said : " But the judgment shall sit, and they
shall take away his dominion to consume and to destroy it unto
the end . . . and the kingdom shall be given to the people of
the saints of the Most High " (vs. 26, 27). That judgment session
of the thrones therefore is not concerned, as the theory must of
necessity assert, with the control of the long career of the fourth
part of the image of Dn 2, but only with the taking away of the
short kingdom of the fourth beast of c. 7. The beast truly is the
final development and last ruler of the empire outlined by the
legs and feet of the image, the ten horns corresponding to the ten
toes. But it is with his destruction and the immediately conse-
quent establishment of the kingdom of God on earth, that c. 7
is concerned, and by further consequence so is the book of
Revelation from c. 4 to c. 20.
It is in marked agreement with this that c. 17 has to do with
the destruction of the harlot, not with her long history through
four millenniums since her commencement in ancient Babylon.
Her history and character are mentioned just enough to identify
her, but the vision has to do with " the judgment of the great
harlot " (ver. 1), which will come at the end of the age just
before the universal reign of the Beast (ver. 16, 17).

It is not necessary to our purpose to examine in detail any of

the attempted applications of the rest of the Revelation to the
christian centuries. They differ considerably among themselves,
but they all break down upon the fact that these visions were not
fulfilled at the ascension of the Lord but still await fulfilment.
Neither the historicist system of interpreting, nor the historic-
futurist system, corresponds with the general picture or the vivid
 THE END DAYS THE SUBJECT 123

details of these visions of the thrones. It was not needful to the

growth and work of the saints of God that they should know
more than the general outline of the development through the
centuries of the mystery of lawlessness. But it was needful that
the mighty crisis of the End Days should be fully unveiled, for
reasons given in Preliminary Dissertation 3.

As to the work of Christ in the interval between His ascension

and retufn, neither the Old Testament, nor Himself, nor the
apostles enlarge greatly upon it. Its necessity and blessedness
are shown very clearly, and most fully in the epistle to the Hebrews.
But it is not given at all the same space in Scripture as compared
with His final triumph in the End Days. It is but consistent
with the whole Bible that its final section should present the same
feature and be occupied chiefly with the same theme : it were
inexplicable were it otherwise.
 CHAPTER V

THE FOUR AND TWENTY ELDERS

(Rv 4. 4, 10 ; 5. 5, 6, 8, 11, 14 ; 7. 11, 13 ; 11. 16 ; 14. 3 ; 19. 4)

" Behold, a throne set in heaven, and upon the throne One
sitting, and round about the throne four and twenty thrones :
and upon the thrones four and twenty elders sitting, arrayed
in white garments, and upon their heads golden crowns."
(Rv 4. 2, 4)
I. August is the scene, momentous the occasion. The
Ancient of Days (Dn 7. 9) sits in heaven to invest His eternal
Son, as Son of Man, with absolute executive authority throughout
the universe. And surrounding His glorious throne, themselves
sitting on thrones and in glory second only to His own,, and
nearer in position than any other beings, save the four living
creatures, are the twenty-four elders. Our enquiry is as to who
these are.
There has been a very general acceptance of a theory that they
symbolize the church of God (using the term widely to include
saints of this and former dispensations), elevated to the glory of
God as foretold in many scriptures. We venture to give reasons
why this is impossible.
1. First of all, they are not symbolical at all, but individuals.
Twice over one of the number speaks with John, an individual to
an individual (c. 5. 5 ; 7. 13). Were they a symbolical company
this would mean that a one-twenty-fourth part of the glorified
church addressed itself to John !
This error is similar to that of taking (as some have done) the
four living creatures also to represent the glorified church.
Following which suggestion, and the rider on the white horse of
the first Seal being taken without warrant to represent the Lord
Jesus, the call of the living creatures to the rider to " Come " is
given as an instance of the church calling for her Lord to return.
Whereas it would only mean at the most that a fourth part of
the church so called, and called upon Him to come to her after
she, having been already glorified in heaven, is in His presence !
To show the confusion, it needs but to be pointed out that the
living creatures giving glory to God is to be the signal for the
124
 THE ELDERS ARE INDIVIDUALS 125
elders to fall down in worship. So that the church worshipping
is to be the signal for the church to worship !
What is presented to the mind is one person conversing with
another person ; and it were just as reasonable, and certainly
consistent, to take John as symbolical of some company of people
as so to view the one speaking to him. The Scripture picture is
of one throne with one Person sitting thereupon, and twenty-four
thrones around with one individual sitting upon each. It were
equally reasonable to make the one throne and the one Person
symbolic as to deal so with the others.
As one or another of these elders approached John and spoke
with him, how could he have avoided receiving the impression
that each was an actual individual, or how could any other
conception have been created in his mind ? And that he did so
regard them is clear from his addressing to one of them the direct
title of honour, " My lord," and by his attributing to him personal
knowledge, " My lord, thou knowest" (c. 7. 14). Why not
symbolize the various individual angels that spoke with the seer,
and one of whom he would have worshipped ?
2. A bride cannot be enthroned before her marriage ; but the
marriage of the Lamb does not come into the visions until nearly
the close of the series (c. 19). Not until after the destruction of
the Harlot, Satan's false bride (c. 17), not until immediately
preceding the coming forth of the Lord to the earth (c. 19. 11-21),
not until the hour when it is to become fact that " the Lord our
God, the Almighty, reigneth " (c. 19. 16), is it said that " the
marriage of the Lamb is come." But if the elders represent the
bride, the glorified church, this could not be, for the marriage
must have taken place before the drama of events had even
commenced.
3. A bride cannot be enthroned before her royal spouse has
taken his throne. She may sit down with him, but certainly not
before him. Yet the elders are seen on their thrones before the
Lion of the tribe of Judah comes on the scene, and therefore
before He is invested or enthroned.
4. The elders appear in the visions together with, and therefore
distinct from, the following persons or companies :—

(1) From John, for some of their number speak with him (5. 5 ;
7- 13)-. .
(2) The Living Creatures (4. 9, 10, etc.).
(3) Angels, for these are grouped around the elders (5. 11 ; 7. 11).
(4) The saints, for they present before the Lamb the prayers
of these (5. 8). This term, be it never forgotten, was the
126 THE ELDERS NOT REDEEMED MEN
description commonly used in the apostolic days, and by the
apostles, of the members of the church of God (Ac g. 13 :
Rm 12. 13 : I Cr 1. 2 : etc., etc. Still earlier it had been
applied to OT believers (Ps 30. 4 ; etc.). It is therefore
evident that the elders who present the prayers of the saints
are not of their company, whether of the old or new dis-
pensations. Also, on a later occasion they speak about
" the saints " in a way that differentiates between these and
themselves (see para. 8 below). With these facts in mind it
is difficult to think that the saints to whom John was writing
could have imagined the elders to represent themselves.
(5) The elders further clearly distinguish between themselves
and " the redeemed," and therefore are not themselves redeemed
men. Their song unto the Lamb is, " Thou wast slain, and didst
purchase unto God by Thy blood men of every tribe, and tongue,
and people, and nation, and madest them unto our God a kingdom
[or, kings] and priests, and they reign [or, shall reign] upon the
earth." The word " us " which is found in the AV, and which
makes the elders to include themselves in the company of the
redeemed was questioned by Griesbach and is rejected from the
text by Lachmann, Tischendorf, W. Mills, Diisterdick, De Wette,
Alford, Westcott and Hort, Nestle, Wordsworth, RV, Weymouth,
William Kelly {Lectures on the Revelation) and J. N. Darby {New
Translation). It is noteworthy that the two last-named scholars
and theologians felt compelled to reject the word since both
ardently advocate the view that the elders are symbolic of the
church, and the retention of the word were no small support to
that view, whereas its absence is distinctly against the same.
This may be said of Dean Alford also. It is said that Alford,
upon Dr. Tregelles assuring him that Codex Sinaiticus has the
word, stated that he would re-insert it in his text. But this was
not done, on account, we are told, of his death. The Codex
Sinaiticus is principally relied upon for the retaining of the word,
but concerning this manuscript Darby twice remarks that it " i s
very incorrect in the Apocalypse " [New Translation, Rv 5. 9 ;
19. 12 ; notes). By the omission of the " us," the passage is
made harmonious with the other facts now being collated.
Tregelles would retain the " u s , " while yet agreeing to the rest
of the elders' utterance being so altered (" madest them . . . they
reign") as practically requires its omission to maintain the
harmony of thought in what the elders say. To force them to
say, " Thou didst redeem us . . . and madest them unto our God
a kingdom and priests, and they reign, etc.," is to have two
disconnected statements, one concerning themselves, which there
 THE ELDERS NOT THE BRIDE 127
seems no reason for them to make, and the other concerning the
" them " and " they," but who these are they do not say. The
assertion that these terms refer to the saved nation of Israel is
merely a conjecture.
(6) The elders are mentioned as separate from the company of
the " firstfruits " (14. 1-5) who escape all the dread things that
are shortly to come to pass on earth, and stand before the Lamb
on the heavenly Mount Zion, according to His promise to the
watchful and prayerful (Lk 21. 36).
(7) They are not of those who come out of the great tribulation,
for an elder speaks with John concerning these, and, moreover,
they are enthroned before the tribulation takes place (7. 13).
(8) They are not of the company that have part in the first
resurrection, for they speak to God regarding these (11. 16-18), and
in so doing they as much distinguish themselves from His servants
the prophets, from the saints, and from them that fear His Name
(i.e., of the earth), as they stand in contrast in the same verse
from the wicked that destroy the earth.
(9) Finally, in c. 19 they are found in distinction from the wife
of the Lamb, for they worship God (ver. 4) before even the announce-
ment that the marriage of the Lamb is at hand.
From all of this it is evident that, even if we could not be
positive who the elders are, we can be sure that they are not a
picture of the church glorified. How much in relation to the
interpretation of the Revelation follows from this the instructed
will readily discern and the beginner will duly discover. This
only need be suggested, namely that the church, completed and
glorified, does not appear in the visions until referred to in c. 19
as the wife of the Lamb.

II. But this examination not only reveals that the elders are
not the church, it also establishes that they are not human but
heavenly beings. None others of mankind than the members of
the " church of God " have any promise of being enthroned in
glory in heaven ; so that not being of that company the elders
are not of mankind at all. This is indeed abundantly clear from
the considerations stated under paragraphs 4 to 8 preceding.
1. It will be noted that we speak above of the church completed
and glorified. Two companies at least from the earth reach the
heavenly regions separately: the " firstfruits " (c. 14) some time
before the Tribulation, and the "great multitude" (c. 7) at the
close thereof. The vision therefore gives a picture of things
actually existing in heaven down to the epoch when the Son of
128 THE ELDERS ARE RULERS
Man assumes the sovereignty. And its lesson is that, associated
with the Ancient of Days in the government of the universe, there
are twenty-four chief rulers. There seems no reason to take the
number other than literally. The senior executive officers of the
Most High may as well be twenty-four in number, as more or
less, if God has so ordered.
That they are rulers is evident from them being called " elders."
" Let the elders that rule " (i Tm 5. 7) shows the force of the
term. Usually they might be seniors as to age, but not neces-
sarily. In the east still the sheikh (Arabic for elder) who rules a
village may be a far from old man, but he is the sheikh because
the ruler. That they are rulers of royal and therefore highest
rank is plain from their sitting on thrones and wearing crowns.
That they are holy and faithful is evident from their white
garments (for this typical sense cp. c. 3. 5) ; and that they have
attained to these most honourable dignities by proving their
worth is perhaps suggested by the crown that they wear being
a stefihanos, the word being that to describe the crown awarded
to the victor in the race or conflict; though this thought we
would not press unduly.
2. Their functions are therefore first of all governmental. Nor
will this picture be at all strange to such as have attended to the
multiplied hints of earlier scriptures concerning the heavenly
government that overrules the earth. That sphere is a highly
organized system of administration. There are angels, that is,
principally, messengers ; and over these is an arch or chief angel
(Jd 9). These, or some of them, become on occasion soldiers, and
go forth to war (Rv 12. 7). " Jehovah is a man of war " (Ex 15. 3);
and as a great soldier, Nebuchadnezzar, learned, " He doeth as
He will in the army of heaven " (Dn 4. 35). " Jehovah of hosts "
is a frequently used title. Others are judges, appointed to secure
the prosperity of the godly; though, alas, many of these have
rebelled and are misusing their powers for the furtherance of
evil (Ps 82).
In the heavenly places there are " world rulers," " authorities "
(as the word " powers " properly means), and " principalities,"
which last term suggests that certain " princes " rule over certain
territories. The English reader will recollect that Wales is
accurately termed the Principality, because it is a special district
of which the head is a prince. And upon this matter Scripture
has something definite to say, informing us of the empires of
Persia (Dn 10. 13, 20), Greece (5. 20), and Israel (10. 21 ; 12. 1),
being each in their time, and Israel continuously, ruled over by
a " prince." And we learn from Ek 28 that while there was a
 THE PRIVY COUNCIL 129

human prince of Tyre (ver. 2), there was also a super-human "king "
of Tyre (ver. 12) who was of cherubic nature, though fallen from
his original glory.
We cannot here go more fully into this great and fascinating
theme. Enough has been said to show how vast is this system
of heavenly government, by means of which the Lord God
administers His universe, and to enable us the more easily to see
the place therein which the elders occupy. The terms angels,
authorities, principalities, and " dominions " (the last a seemingly
wider term that might cover more than one principality) suggest
a graded order ascending in extent and power ; and these all
culminate in " thrones," subordinate only to that " throne, high
and lifted up," of which a vision was given to Isaiah (6. 1) and
to Ezekiel (1. 26), and upon which sits " THE King, Jehovah of
Hosts." He is a " great King above all elohim "—the heavenly
rulers (Ps 95. 3), and at appointed times takes His seat upon His
throne among His heavenly servants " judging righteously"
(cp. Jb 1. 6-12 ; 2, 1-7 : I Kn 19 et seq. ; and Ps 82).
" Michael, one (or, according the the Variorum Bible, the first)
of the chief princes " (Dn 10. 13). Does this term suggest the
elders on their thrones ? If so, and if the Variorum reading be
adopted, we know who is the senior of the company—Michael,
the archangel. His name means, " Who like El ? ", so that
thinking of him the thought at once passes upward direct to God
Himself, as if Michael stood first beneath Him. It is harmonious
with this thought that the chief heavenly power should preside
over the affairs of the chief earthy people, Israel.
It appears that such an institution as a Privy (or private)
Council, the highest circle with which the sovereign is pleased to
consult, is a copy of things in the heavens, for at least twice God
refers to His " secret council " (Jr 23. 18, 22). The RV correctly
renders council not counsel. (Cp. also Jb 15. 8 marg, and in
Ps 89. 5, 7, the possible distinction between the " assembly " and
the " council" of the holy ones). Do not the elders correspond
to such a council, since they are seen placed so near to God
on a great state occasion when He is about to inaugurate a new
development of His counsels ?
Nor must it by any means be overlooked that we have in
CI 1.16 a statement that in the heavens, together with " dominions,
principalities and authorities," there co-exist " thrones " ; and
being mentioned before the others, and the other orders being
named apparently from superior to inferior, the thrones must be
the highest of all, as indeed the very term demands (cp. Gn 41. 40,
" only in the throne will I be greater than thou "). Now of this
B
130 THE HEAVENLY THRONES
expression in CI i. 16, we should be without any explanation
were the elders not presented to us in the Revelation ; but the
picture of them there given fills up this want, the book giving
also large and vivid descriptions of the workings of the other
subordinate " powers." Of this filling out in the Revelation of
earlier expressions there are other parallels. Of the heavenly
Jerusalem referred to in Gl 4. 26, little would be known had not
a description been added in the Apocalypse. Similarly, we should
be left to useless and misleading speculation as to what might be
the " last trump " of 1 Cr 15. 52, did not the Revelation describe
a series of " trumpet " judgments, and tell us plainly (c. 11. 18)
that at the sounding of the last thereof the believing dead will
have judgment given in their favour (cp. Dn 7. 22). This feature
of a final chapter of a great work elucidating points mentioned
earlier but left unexplained, is, of course, natural to literature.
Nor must we omit to note that when Daniel foresaw this great
drama, commencing with the Ancient of Days taking His throne,
he says that, " I beheld till thrones were placed," not merely one
throne (c. 7. 9). Here again is a statement of which no full
vision was then given, but which is amplified in Rv 4. And it
may be worth observing that the supernatural being who is
looked at as behind the king of Babylon addressed in Is. 14, and
who is described as " the Day Star, son of the morning, fallen
from heaven," and who having been a native of heaven would
naturally express himself accurately on heavenly ideas, is no
stranger to the thought of thrones in those exalted regions, for
he cries, though vainly, " I will exalt my throne above the stars
of God ; I will sit upon the mount of congregation (or, the
mountain of assembly) in the uttermost parts of the north " ;
and in what direction that mount is he further indicates by the
words that follow, " I will ascend above the heights of the clouds."
And of him who is addressed in Ek 28 as having been the
" anointed cherub " it is said, " thou wast upon the holy mountain
of God," and " I have cast thee as profane out of the mountain
of God." Here there is clear suggestion of some spot where the
elohim assemble and where thrones are set, as other scriptures
before noticed indicate. See Jb 1 and 2 and 1 Kn 22. 19 and
Ps 89. 5-8. The student of mythology will not need to be
reminded of Mount Olympus, and will see that pagan conceptions
were sometimes the degenerate descendants of facts concerning
the upper world which were, as Holy Scripture shows, well known
in ancient days.
Thus the Word of God is not wanting in hints of subordinate
sovereigns ruling under and on behalf of God, and this royal
 THE ELDERS ARE PRIESTS 131
priesthood comes into full view on the momentous occasion with
which the " consummation of the age " opens. And since these
cursory and incidental remarks of the prophets form, when pieced
together, so consistent and illuminating a study of things invisible,
it becomes unscientific and arbitrary to regard these ideas as
merely " Jewish fancies." The believer sees them to be a revela-
tion, and of matters which could not be known apart from
revelation. None of the prophets labours to set forth a scheme
of these things, as if inventing a philosophy of affairs supra-
mundane ; yet, taken together, their statements present a rich,
animated, and consistent picture of that higher world, which fact
is itself a cogent argument for the prophets having been divinely
illuminated.

III. For a priesthood the elders are in some real sense, as is

possibly suggested by the white garments. Compare Lv 16. 4,
the linen garments worn by the high priest on the occasion when
he entered the very presence of God ; the holy of holies being a
picture of that presence-place in the heavens where the elders are
seen. Compare also Rv 3. 4-5, the promise of white garments
to such believers as will be found worthy of the heavenly kingdom
and priesthood.
Priestly also is the chief work in which they engage, namely
worship. They adore the Lord God as the Creator (c. 4. 11), as
the eternal Sovereign (c. 11. 17), and as the righteous Judge
(c. 19. 4) ; but it is noteworthy that their adoration is not given
as of the character of that in which an apostle pours forth worship,
saying " Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ."
Of God in this relationship they do not speak. They worship
the Lamb also as the Redeemer of men, and in so doing they,
accompanied by the music of their harps, sing, which other
heavenly beings are not stated to do. Angels are always spoken
of as " speaking " or " saying."
A third priestly function is indicated in the statement that they
" fell down before the Lamb, having each one a harp, and golden
bowls full of incenses, which are the prayers of the saints " (c. 5. 8).
This their service must be compared with and contrasted with the
similar, though not identical, function performed by the angel
that has power over fire (c. 8. 3-5). The differences are that the
elders present the prayers of the saints, whereas the angel adds
incense thereto ; and they so act at the hour when the Lamb is
invested, whilst he performs his service some time further on in
the progress of events.
132 PRAYERS AND INCENSES

A comparison may perhaps be helpful. On the occasion of the

enthroning of a sovereign, officers of state may present to him
sundry petitions from loyal subjects. These stand over from
the day of the investiture, but in due time come up, very possibly
with other and later petitions, for consideration ; whereupon
some other official may show cause why the desires of the
petitioners should be granted, which being acceded to by the
sovereign, action duly follows. Thus the elders present the prayers
of the saints, and later, at a suitable occasion, the judgment angel
" incenses " them, that is, shows that the merits of the Lamb and
of His sacrifice warrant, yea, demand, that for His sake the prayers
of His people should be granted. In the first place the prayers are
themselves styled " incenses," as being pleasant to God as coming
from His people. In the other case, incense is added to the
prayers, suggesting that it is somewhat from without, somewhat
of heaven, that makes acceptable these prayers. In the first
case, grammatically the words " which are " refer to the bowls
rather than to the prayers immediately, which Alford prefers,
understanding " bowls which are (represent) the prayers," and
which bowls are full of incenses. Thus the prayers are to be
regarded as acceptable because of the " incenses " which pervade
them ; incenses typifying the varied merits of Christ and His
sacrifice. ,
Such an office on the part of God's heavenly ministers may
surprise those who pay but little attention to Scripture, and
may shock some who have gone to the farthest extreme to protest
against the evil practice of the invocation of angels. Could we
but disabuse our mind of settled theories and pre-judgments, and
could we but simply believe what is stated, we should then learn
somewhat, and the facts and doings of the invisible world would
stand revealed to the believing mind.
That the elders and the angel act as described in relation to
the prayers of the saints is certainly what is stated, and it is for
us to believe it. Nor is there the slightest doctrinal difficulty in
accepting the statement, for it is not even remotely suggested
that the saints pray to the angel or elders or that these pray for
the saints. Moreover, their service is purely administrative.
Certain functionaries fulfil their appointed duty of presenting
petitions to the sovereign, and in due time another official proves
that the prayers of the petitioner ought to be granted, which is
done. Much that is obscure is lit up by the truth stated by the
great poet in the simple sentence, " His state is kingly."
Be it further remembered that the children of a king go indeed
direct to their father on personal and family matters ; but if
 HEAVENLY WATCHERS 133
approaching the sovereign on affairs of state even they must
conform to the regulations governing state occasions and matters.
It is such an occasion that c. 4 pictures, and it is with such
governmental matters of justice and judgment that c. 8 has to do.
Here again the earlier scriptures will help, by showing that
God has ever employed angelic servants in administrative
capacity. Consider, for example, these words from Gn 18. 20-21 :
" And the Lord said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah
is very great, and because their sin is very grievous, I will go
down now and see whether they have done altogether according
to the cry of it, which is come unto Me ; and if not, I will know."
What is meant by the " cry " going up to God ? Plainly not
the mere physical sounds of the city traversing space to the
presence of God, else, to urge nothing more, some of the very
blackest of crimes, those committed in darkness and silence,
would go undetected ; but rather a report concerning the city
being given, the accuracy of which the Lord determined to test
by personal investigation ere countersigning, as it were, the
demand for the terrible judgment deserved by the iniquities
alleged in the report presented. Compare Gn 11. 5, " And the
Lord came down to see the city, etc.," and consider also Ps 78. 65,
"Then God heard "—heard what ? the actual sounds of the
idolatry practised, or the report thereof ? Of course, God does
not need to be informed, but He has chosen to administer the
universe by associating others with Himself for the purpose.
But if it was a report that reached God, by whom was this
given if not by those holy " watchers " of the affairs of earth
whose scrutiny and ruling was revealed to Nebuchadnezzar in a
vision of the night ? (Dn 4. 13, 17, 23) or by such servants as are
unveiled to our view in the first vision that was granted to
Zechariah (c. 1. 7-17), and who brought back the report, " We
have walked to and fro through the earth, and, behold, all the
earth sitteth still and is at rest " ?
Now seeing that angelic servants thus mediate to report as to
the doings of men, what difficulty exists to hinder belief in their
also acting in reference to the praying of men ? for what is
praying but the most important part of the doing of men ? It
was an angel who informed a certain man that " thy prayers and
thine alms are gone up for a memorial before God " (Ac 10. 4).

Moreover, even as the elders have kingly and priestly functions,

so have they somewhat of a prophetic office also.
Their insight into the mind of God, and their knowledge of His
purposes, is noteworthy. They perceive the prevailing energy of
134 HEAVENLY PROPHETS

His will in the whole realm of created things (c. 4. 11) ; they
recognize that God's Lamb, crucified in weakness to be the
Redeemer of sinners, is also His Lion to destroy His foes (c. 4. 9, 5).
They have not only noted Christ's relationship to David, the king
of Israel, and that He is (not was) of the tribe of Judah, and
therefore is the rightful heir to the covenants with the fathers,
but they penetrate deeper still, and know that He is also the
Root out of Whose purpose and power the covenants originated
of which Himself is the culmination and fulfilment. Further,
they apprehend the principle, which so very many miss or deny,
even that the Son of David holds the supreme authority in
heaven and earth because He won it in conflict on earth ; and
that His title to open the book of judgment and to deal with the
enemies of God and man is that He alone proved able to vanquish
these. They know, too, the purpose of God to constitute a new
governing and mediating company from among the redeemed of
mankind (c. 5. 9, 10) ; and they mark the tribulation and the
triumph of saints persecuted by the Beast, and foresee the
blessings and position of such victors (c. 7. 14-17).
Thus extensively acquainted with the mind and ways of God
they are able to encourage and to instruct even John the beloved
apostle, who had outlived his fellows and was therefore well
taught in all the knowledge that had already come from God
through them and himself.

Thus as kings and priests and prophets they sit and serve in
the presence of the Lord God Almighty, and hitherto none save
the four Living Creatures have been nearer than they to the
throne of His glory. But now their fidelity shall be fully tested
and proved. For, lo, in the inscrutable will of God, it comes to
pass that one of a race lower in the scale of creation than them-
selves, a Man, is exalted far above all principalities, authorities
and dominions, and is given the Name which is above every name,
that in the Name of Jesus every knee shall bow, of things in
heaven, as well as things elsewhere. And, lo, from out of the
unfathomable depths of the divine wisdom there emerges this
climax of the counsels of God, even that other members of that
lower race, and such too as had deeply revolted (as these holy
ones on high had never done), shall ascend with that erstwhile
Man of Sorrows, having themselves first shared His earthly rejec-
tion and conflict, and shall rise to be nearer to the throne than
the elders' thrones had been; for whereas they sat each on a
throne around the central throne, to these reconciled men from
 THE CHERUBIM 135
the earth the King has promised that they shall sit down with
Him on His own throne.
And now the time has come when this shall be, and when the
integrity of the hosts on high shall be searchingly tested, for
" when He shall have again brought in the First-begotten into
the habitable earth He saith, And let all the angels of God
worship Him " (Hb 1. 6). And to these who hitherto have been of
the highest of the high the test is necessarily the most severe.
But they respond joyfully, to the glory of God ; and falling down
before the Lamb they worship Him (c. 4. 8), even as they had
before fallen on their faces and worshipped the Ancient of Days,
thus honouring the Son even as they honour the Father, and thus
honouring the Father by obeying His will that the Son should
receive equal honour with Himself (Jn 5. 23).
Sublime is the spectacle, and gracious their example, in thus
consenting to forego their pre-eminence as kings and priests and
prophets that Another, and others with Him, His Bride, should
take that pre-eminence. Grand, indeed, they appear when first
presented to view sitting upon thrones and wearing golden
crowns; but more glorious still they are when fallen upon their
faces before God, with those crowns cast at His feet, thus resigning
their royal dignity unto His sovereign disposal (c. 4. 10-11).
Mighty is the grace that exalted them, and that maintained
them in fidelity, whilst others of their fellows fell through pride
(Ek 28, etc.). But yet more marvellous is the grace that designed
to exalt sinners of the earth to yet higher glory, in order that
heavenly intelligences may learn through God's dealings with the
church how manifold is His wisdom, and how irresistible His
power to fulfil His eternal purposes (Eph 3.10,11). " 0 the depth
of the riches both of the wisdom and the knowledge of God !
How unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past tracing
out! . . . For of Him and through Him and unto Him are all
things. To Him be the glory for ever. AMEN." (Rm 11. 33, 36).

Note on the Living Creatures.

i. The Cherubim are mentioned in Gn 3. 24 : Ex 25. 18, and
often in OT, especially Ek 1 and 10 : in Hb 9. 5 : Rv 4 ; 5 ; 6 ;
7. 11 ; 14. 3 ; 15. 7 ; 19. 4. Possibly the Seraphim of Is 6 are the
same beings. Satan was originally a cherub (Ek 28. 14).
ii. The AV " beasts " is thoroughly misleading. The word
£<oov zoon, means living one, and is quite different from d-qpiov
therion, wild beast, as in Mk i. 13 ; etc. ; and Rv 6. 8 ; 11. 7 ; and
36 other places.
iii. The Cherubim are not symbolic of the church of God, for in '
136 THE CHERUBIM
Ezekiel's day they were already in existence as actual attendants
upon the God of Israel. They are heavenly beings, yet not simply
angels, for in Rv 7. n they are seen surrounded by " all the
angels." Nor are they identical with the 24 elders, for they are
nearer to the throne than these, being " in the midst of the throne "
(4. 6), and are regularly distinguished from them.
iv. The differences in the descriptions show that these are
symbolic, not pictures of the actual forms : e.g., no being can have
at once four faces (Ek) and one face (Rv). Hence the use of these
forms in the Tabernacle and Temple was not a contravention of
the command (Ex 20. 4), " Thou shalt not make unto thee any
likeness of any thing that is in heaven above," for no beings like
these descriptions exist. This annuls the Roman Catholic argu-
ment in favour of images because of the figures in the Tabernacle.
v. The descriptions suggest that the Cherubim act under and
for the Almighty as heavenly representatives of the earth ;
its four chief orders being specified, man, lion, ox, eagle, i.e.,
mankind, the beasts of the field, domestic animals, and birds.
vi. They are shown acting in connection with God's govern-
mental and judicial proceedings relating to the earth.
vii. They are associated (1) with the flaming sword which kept
sinners from the tree of life : but also (2) with the rainbow (Rv
4. 3), the sign in heaven of God's covenant of mercy " with every
living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth " (Gn 9. 16) :
and (3) with the blood-sprinkled mercy seat (Ex 25. 17, ff.), which
shows the ground of that covenant of grace and assures its
fulfilment.
viii. In a coming day they will lead the worship of the universe
(4. 8-11, 14), being apparently its senior officers.
See The Companion Bible, I. App. 41 ; and Earth's Earliest
Ages, 168 ff. ; ed. 15, 109 ff.
 CHAPTER VI

THE SEVEN SEALS

(c. 6. i—8. i)

The primary explanation of the seven seals must be sought in

the seventh chapter of the prophecy of Daniel. For the opening
of the seven-sealed roll is consequent upon the Father delivering
to the Son the actual government of the earth, of which 'the
handing of the roll to the Son is the emblem, and of this whole
scene Daniel y gives the first vision and indicates the occasion
and the period.
Daniel saw in vision four wild beasts successively holding
world dominion. The fourth was " diverse from all the beasts "
that had preceded it, was " exceeding terrible," and devoured,
trod down, and brake in pieces the whole earth. It had ten
horns, signifying ten kingdoms, amongst which there grew up a
" little horn," which though at first insignificant, shortly con-
quered three of the ten kingdoms, and presently was so daring
as to presume to blaspheme the Most High and so powerful as
to wear out His saints.
This blaspheming persecutor was suffered to continue for a
space his oppressive supremacy ; but the prophet " beheld till
thrones were placed " in position for judicial proceedings, and
" One that was ancient of days did sit," surrounded by " thousands
of thousands," yea, " ten thousand times ten thousand " angel
ministers waiting to execute His awful sentences, and with a
fiery stream of consuming wrath issuing from a throne of flames
of fire.
The AV " till thrones were cast down " greatly misleads. It is
no question at this moment of the overthrowing of earthly
kingdoms, but of judicial thrones being set in the heavens that a
great assize may be held for the settlement of the affairs of the
earth. This is a signal instance of how the AV fails us in crucial
prophetic passages.
As the seer watched he seems to have wondered (note the
" behold " of ver. 13) as he saw in that heavenly world One "like
unto a son of man " coming right up to that august Majesty
on the throne, and that upon him was conferred universal and
eternal dominion.
137
138 DANIEL 7 IS REVELATION 4

These particulars are strictly parallel to those in Rv 4 and 5.

There also are seen thrones, a centre throne encircled by twenty-
four subordinate thrones.
It is arbitrary to render thronos by " seats " in 2. 13 ; 4. 4;
11. 16 ; 13. 2 and 16. 10, as in AV. In all of the other forty-one
places in this book it means thrones, and is so rendered. Indeed,
in 4. 4 it comes thrice, and the AV gives " throne " as the first
rendering, as it should have done in the other two instances.
These five instances of the word in the Revelation are the enlarge-
ment of Paul's statement that among the heavenly authorities
there are some of royal rank, who have " thrones " (CI 1. 16).
Upon the principal throne sits the eternal Father, attended by
" ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands "
of angels. Before Him is brought " the Lamb," who is " the
Lion of the tribe of Judah," " the Root of David," the Son of
Man, and to Him as worthy is given full executive authority as
Judge, the fulfilment of His own statement on earth that " the
Father gave him authority to execute judgment, because he is
a son of man "x (Jn 5. 27).
Evidently the two scenes are the same. The throne, the
thrones, and the numbers of the attendant hosts are alike, nor is
it possible that two such occasions should separately arise, since
only once can the Son of Man be thus formally installed. This
delegated authority, which is His by birthright as the Son of God
and by acquirement as the Son of Man, when it shall have been
once publicly conferred, will never be recalled, and so there never
can be a second investiture. His kingdom having commenced is for
ever.
The occasion of the scene in Daniel is therefore that of the
vision in Revelation, and the interpreting angel distinctly indicated
to Daniel what that occasion will be. He declared that " the
judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion [that
is, of the Little Horn, the last head of the last world empire], to
consume and to destroy it unto the end. And the kingdom
and the dominion, and the greatness of the kingdoms under the
whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the
Most High : His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all
dominions shall serve and obey Him. Here is the end of the
matter " (Dn 7. 26-28).
It is thus made clear that the main burden of Daniel's vision
and the whole of that of John, as corresponding therewith, has
1
So RV margin and ASV ; Darby, Young, Rotherham, Godet render " Son of
Man " ; Westcott allows both. The Greek throws the emphasis on the title :
" because son of man he is." There is no article : Sn Ti6s d.vdptinrov iarlv.
 THE 1260 DAYS 139
to do with the career of the last Emperor of the last world empire,
including his rise, his persecution of the " saints of the Most
High," his overthrow and the complete destruction of his kingdom;
with the bestowal of the " kingdom . . . under the whole heaven,"
that is, the universal sovereignty on the earth, upon the " people
of the saints of the Most High," that is, Israel, and with the
permament establishing of Messiah's rule.
This, then, is the burden of the sealed roll; and the visions
which follow the opening of its seals will therefore represent seven
great stages in the period in question, leading to the consummation
announced, even to the answer to the divinely given petition,
" Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, as in heaven so on
earth " (Mt 6. 10). " Here is the end of the matter."

It is important to observe that the visions cover a period as

much longer than " the time and times and half a time," men-
tioned in Dn 7, as may be required for the little horn to reach
supremacy. The space described by that expression is only that
during which he is permitted unhindered action against the
saints (Dn 7. 25) ; his whole career must necessarily be very
much longer, and it is all surveyed in the visions. It includes
the former portion of the seven years of which the " time and
times and half a time " is the latter half (Dn 9. 27), and the yet
earlier and probably still longer period occupied by his rise, his
overthrowing three kingdoms, and his forcing his way to
supremacy, first over the ten kingdoms and then over the whole
world.
If, therefore, as some hold, the " time and times and half a
time " means 1260 years, then an earlier equal stretch of time
must be assumed for the former half of the week, and a yet earlier
and probably longer period also must be provided. Thus if our
own day is near the end of the whole drama of the end times, as
these suggest by placing us at the end of the Bowls of wrath of
Rv 16, then the commencement must go back, not only 1260
years, not only double that distance of time, as they hold, but
possibly as much again. This would mean that the commence-
ment of Daniel's vision, even if there be taken only that part
which refers to the Little Horn, must go back very far prior to
Daniel himself! And inasmuch as at the close of the first
christian century the Lamb had not yet been installed, for John
was shown this as an event future to his day (4. 1), therefore
Daniel's vision also of that installing must have been future to
John's day, and any scheme of interpretation which places that
event, and the consequent opening of the Seals, prior to the end
140 THE SEALS PICTURE THE END DAYS

of the first christian century, when John saw the vision, must
needs be erroneous.
That the whole drama belongs to the final session of the court
of God to put an end to the reign of the Beast further excludes
the attempt to make the four horsemen of the Seals figures of
spiritual forces operating throughout the whole christian era. In
this scheme (as set forth by a well-known writer) the first rider
is a symbol of the gospel going forth to universal triumph on
earth, an issue of the gospel nowhere contemplated in Scripture.
The second rider prefigures the dissensions caused by the gospel
in families and nations. The third represents the international
economic-commercial system created (as is asserted) and con-
trolled by unbelieving Israel since their dispersion. The fourth
riders, called Death and Hades, suggest the hurtful effects of
heresies operating against the truth. Ingeniously argued, the
scheme is none the less fanciful, and in any case contrary to the
divinely revealed application of the passages to the taking away
of the kingdom from the Beast at the time of the end so that it
may be conferred upon the Son of Man and the saints.

That down to this hour the roll bad remained upon the open
hand of God the Father, waiting for any one competent to take
it out of that hand, shows that the providential rule of earth
down to this crisis had been conducted by the Father, not by
Christ. This is of first importance for the understanding of the
ways of heaven and for indicating the line of conduct, in relation
to the governmental affairs of earth, proper to the followers of
Christ during this present period. Until the Lamb reigns and
acts in judgment His followers should not do so. So long as
their Lord dispenses to the world the grace of God, so long should
they walk in grace toward all men. When He commences to
execute judgment will be the first occasion when saints should
do so. As long as He remains outside the affairs corporate of
mankind so long should His followers be outside of the same.
Down to this epoch of the reversal of all governmental arrange-
ments of heaven and earth the Father administers the universe,
acting through angels, good and bad, and on earth through men
also. The twenty-four elders are the senior angelic rulers. But
to Christ and His heavenly co-heirs this government is not yet
committed because as yet God defers the final judgments in order
that men, by His longsuffering, may have opportunity of salvation
from the coming wrath ; and also that there may be trained, by
long and severe discipline, the company from earth that shall be
both accounted worthy and be found competent to govern with
 THE ROLL 141
Christ. To Christ and His people is committed the present
blessed task of dispensing this grace of salvation and of training ;
but when this necessary part of the divine plan shall have been
perfected, and also the world by sin shall have become fit only for
judgment, then to the Son and His companions (Hb 1. 9 ; 3. 14)
will be entrusted the work of judging and ruling. To Christians
now the word concerning all matters external to the affairs of the
church of God is : " Judge nothing before the time, until the
Lord come " (1 Cr 4. 5, and note the reproof in ver. 8). " Not
unto angels did God [in His plans] subject the inhabited earth
to come " (Hb 2. 5), but unto Christ and the saints of the heavenly
calling ; but in this present period the earth is subject to angel
rulers. It is true that God uses in administrative work, both of
peace and war, believing men who do not see the full implications
of association with Christ as not at present ruling; but it is not
part of the high calling of the disciple to association with the
rejected Lord.

That no one but the Son was possessed of title or ability to

take the roll suggests the stupendous nature of the events that
must follow the opening of it.
That the Son of Man is accounted worthy of this high honour
because He had conquered, declares that a mighty conflict had
been waged and won before the wind-up of this wicked age could
come, or the establishing of that coming age of purity and peace.
The Prince of this world is now to be cast out of authority over
the earth, and only his personal Conqueror can effect this
deprivation of the mighty angel, the most powerful of all created
beings.
That the roll was closely sealed indicates that, though its^
general character may have been known, the details of its contents
have been kept secret, and most especially the sequence of them.
That no one felt equal even attentively to consider the roll
reveals the solemnity and awfulness of what things were expected
to occur upon it being opened.

And now in the vision the Lamb has taken the roll: Christ
has assumed supreme executive authority. The elders, those
angelic princes who hitherto had ruled under and for the Almighty,
now resign their sovereignty, removing their crowns from their
heads and placing them down before the throne, that is, putting
them again at the sole disposal of the King Eternal who had
conferred them. The whole heavenly host joyously and dutifully
acclaim the Lamb worthy of this glory, because He had been
142 THE STATE OF THE DEAD

slain and by that death had laid a secure foundation for the
triumph of God and holiness. Their thunderous applause dies
away into a mighty hush, and amidst the solemn stillness the
Lamb prepares to break those portentous seals. All heaven is
alert; whereas the guilty world beneath disports itself as in a
comedy or groans under its tragedies, but is fatally unconscious
that in heaven there has been pronounced the irrevocable sentence
" Thou art weighed in the balances and art found wanting."
Now shall commence the " last days " of " man's day," now shall
hasten the " consummation of the age " and the bringing in of
everlasting righteousness, peace, and joy.

In studying the several series of visions in the Revelation it is

of great assistance to discover first at what point in any series
the reign of the Beast and his persecution of the saints are
introduced, for this is a known fixed point to which and from
which to work in locating the various scenes.

SEAL 5
In the case of the seals this is not difficult, for in respect of
Seal 5 we read that certain martyrs were told " that they should
rest yet for a little time, until should be fulfilled both their fellow-
servants and their brethren, those about to be killed even as
they were " (6. 9-11). This indicates that in but a little time
from the point in view persecution would be brought to an end
and the time have arrived for avenging the blood of the saints
and rewarding them. So that at the period of Seal 5 the final,
the great, tribulation is nearing its close.
This vision is one of the most illuminating statements of
Scripture upon the place and state of the godly dead. We cannot
now enlarge, but may point out (1) that these martyrs were yet
disembodied: they are seen as " souls," and they are seen
" under the altar," the place where they had been sacrificed, the
earth. Compare Ps 63. 9 : Is 44. 23 : Eph 4. 9. Hence (2) their
resurrection is yet future. (3) They cry to their Master, and His
answer is communicated to them; so that the departed are not
necessarily unconscious, as some assert. (4) For these the judg-
ment seat of Christ is already passed, because the sign of His
approval of them, as worthy to be His companions, is given
to each of them, namely the white robe. Comp. on c. 3. 4, 5 ;
19. 8.
 UNDER THE ALTAR 143
See my Firstfruits and Harvest (pp. 58-65) for fuller treatment.
I have there said (p. 65) :
Now these souls that John saw are " under the altar." Not one of
the first six seals, of which this is the fifth, pictures events in the
presence of God in heaven; all deal with the affairs of earth, or as
seen from the earth. This altar, then, is not in heaven . . .
The picture is really quite simple. The brazen altar of sacrifice in
the Tabernacle was square and hollow, with a grating upon which
rested the wood and the victims. When the fire had done its work
the remains of the sacrifice fell through the grating to beneath the
altar, whence they could be removed on occasion. Now the place,
" the altar," where these martyrs of Christ sacrificed person and life
in His cause is obviously this earth, and thus the vision simply declares
what we have seen from other scriptures, that the place of the dead
is under the earth : " He descended into the lower parts of the earth ":
whence those still there will be removed at resurrection.
Since these pages were written I have learned that this was the view
of the earliest known Latin commentator on the Revelation, Vic-
torinus of Pettau (died 303). Mr. F. F. Bruce summarized this in
The Evangelical Quarterly (Oct., 1938) as follows : " The altar (6. 9) is
the earth: the brazen altar of burnt offering and the golden altar of
incense in the Tabernacle correspond to earth and heaven respectively.
The souls under the altar, therefore, are in Hades, in that depart-
ment of it which is ' remote from pains and fires, the rest of the
saints.' "
This confirms Bishop Pearson cited above as to the view held in the
earliest christian centuries, that " very few (if any) " believed that
Christ removed the godly dead from Hades at His ascension. On
The Creed (Art 5).

SEAL 6

It agrees with this that Seal 6 describes the very series of

disturbances in nature which the Lord declared to John and
others should follow " immediately after the tribulation of those
days " (Mt 24. 29, 30). The correspondence is too exact to be
avoided.
The Lord said that:— Under Seal 6 :—
The sun shall be darkened ; The sun became black ;
The moon shall not give her The whole moon ^ became as
light; blood;
The stars shall fall from heaven; The stars of the heaven fell;
The powers of the heavens shall The heaven was removed as a
be shaken ; scroll that is rolled up ;
 i44 THE LORD ARISES

The Lord further mentioned :— Seal 6 intimates :—

An alarming roaring of the sea An earthquake so violent and
and billows (Lk 21. 25). extensive that every moun-
tain and island was moved out
of its place, which mighty
upheaval of the land would
cause just such prodigious
commotion and roaring of the
sea.
Christ described men as then fainting for fear and for expecta-
tion of those things which shall at that time be occurring on the
earth (" things which are coming " ; it is the present participle ;
things which are even then happening. Lk 21. 26). Under Seal 6
the earth-dwellers, terror-struck by what they are suddenly made
to see in heaven, flee to the dens and caves, crying to the rocks
to fall and hide them from God and the Lamb.
The Lord added that " then shall appear the sign of the Son of
man [which is the Son of Man ; as we say, the sign of the—which
is the—Golden Eagle] in heaven : and then shall all the tribes of
the earth mourn " l (Mt 24. 30 : Mk 13. 27 : Lk 21. 27). And a
comparison of Seal 6 with Is. 2 will show that this is just what the
godless do see, for the prophet declares three times that it will be
" from before the terror of Jehovah, and from the glory of His
majesty," that men will flee to the rocks and caverns, and this at
that time when the Lord " ariseth to shake mightily the eatth "
(Is 2. 10, 19, 21). It is therefore clear that this, and not any
earlier hour, is the moment when the Lord " ariseth " from His
seat, so causing the mighty convulsions foretold by Himself and
the prophets and described under Seal 6. Then will be fulfilled
exactly what Christ told His judges, even that they " shall see
the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power." Thus the
Lord will retain His present position in heaven until this point of
time. As those persons to whom He so spake are dead, it would
seem that this stupendous scene must be made visible to the
world of the dead, even as to this world of the living.
From the prophet Joel we learn that these awesome disturbances
of nature will precede the " great and terrible day of Jehovah "
(2. 30-32), for God declares that He will " show wonders in the
1
The order of the clauses is not to be insisted upon as requiring three events,
so making " the sign of the Son of Man " different to and preceding His
"coming." For in Rv i . 7 the " mourning," which here follows the " s i g n , "
results from the seeing the Son of Man himself, thus identifying the two. In
Mt 24. 10 preceding, xal TATC does not indicate succession of events (as often), b u t
means " during."
 THE GODLY HIDDEN 145
heavens and in the earth, blood and fire, and pillars of smoke.
The sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood
before the great and terrible day of Jehovah come. And it shall
come to pass that whosoever shall call on the name of Jehovah
shall be delivered ; for in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there
shall be those that escape, as Jehovah hath said, and among the
remnant those whom Jehovah doth call."
The chastisements inflicted by God by the hand of man will
have served their purpose. The saints of the heavenly calling
will have been ripened for rapture ; the godly of Israel will have
been reduced to a very small remnant, purged and helpless, and
crying at last to Jehovah as their sole resource (Is 1. 9 : Jl 2.
15-18) ; and now the Lord will personally pour out His wrath
upon His sin-hardened foes of the nations and upon the apostates
of Israel. But ere this is done, and the besom of destruction
sweeps the earth clear of the impious, the safety must be secured
of the godly of both Israel and the church. And therefore after
Seal 6, and before the judgments covered by Seal 7, two events
are introduced : (1) the sealing of the remnant from the twelve
tribes of Israel, and (2) the removal to heaven of a great multitude
that had come out of the great tribulation (c. 7).
The former of these events will be the fulfilment of Isaiah's
call, " Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut
thy doors about thee : hide thyself for a little moment, until the
indignation be overpast. For, behold, Jehovah cometb forth out
of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their
iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no
more cover her slain " (Is 26. 20, 21). This further makes evident
that the coming forth of the Lord " out of His place " occurs at
this time, the close of Seal 6, and not some years before; for
" His place " is not the clouds around this earth, but the upper
heavens, and it is only at this point of time that He comes forth
thence.
Of this preservation Zephaniah also speaks. In connection
with " the day of Jehovah " (1. 7 ; etc.), even " the day of
Jehovah's anger " (2. 2), the prophet cries : " Seek ye Jehovah,
all ye meek of the earth, who have wrought His judgment : seek
righteousness, seek meekness : it may be ye shall be hid in the
day of Jehovah's anger " (2. 3), the time when " all the earth
shall be devoured with the fire of [His] jealousy " (3. 8).
And it is of this time, and this godly remnant of Israel, that
Jehovah says in Ml 3. 17 : " they shall be mine, saith Jehovah
of hosts, in the day that I do make, even a peculiar treasure ; and I
will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him."
146 DAN OMITTED

The conception of a mark to be set upon those to be thus

spared is adopted from the parallel circumstance mentioned in
Ek 9. In connection with the destruction of Jerusalem by
Nebuchadnezzar, the prophet saw an angel set a mark upon each
that sighed and cried for the abominations that were bringing the
judgments then in progress. He saw also angel executioners
slaughtering all save such as were thus marked for escape. Thus
will it be at the close of this age ; and it is no small comfort to
be assured that though brutal Chaldean ruffians might revel in
what to them was an indiscriminate sack and slaughter, in the
fact every sword, spear, and arrow was directed or averted
by angel skill and power. Thus Jeremiah, Baruch, Ebedmelech,
and others were delivered ; and so shall be the remnant of Israel
at the end.
It is important to observe that this deliverance will be on the
ground of moral state produced in the pious. It will indeed be
an act of grace, since only the inward working of the Spirit of
grace causes affliction to sanctify, and even so, the sanctification
being at its best imperfect is not an absolute ground of benefit.
But in the scriptures quoted from the prophets the moral con-
dition of those preserved is emphasized. They were the prayerful:
" they poured out a prayer when Thy chastening was upon
them " ; they were the meek, who wrought God's judgment and
sought righteousness; they feared the Lord, thought upon His
character, and encouraged others like-minded. Grace produces
in its objects the moral state which righteousness can own. But
there is always the possibility of falling short of that grace, and
thus receiving it in vain (Hb 12. 15 : 2 Cr 6. 1).

Note on the omission of Dan from the list of tribes.

The Word of God gives nineteen lists of the tribes of Israel.
1. Gn 29, the order of birth. 2. Gn 49, the blessing of Jacob.
3. Ex 1, on going to Egypt. 4. Nm 1, the Census officers. 5.
Nm. 1, the census of the tribes. 6. Nm 2, the order of camping.
7. Nm 7, dedication of offerings to the Tabernacle. 8. Nm 13, the
twelve spies. 9. Nm 26, the second Census. 10. Nm 34, the nine
and a half tribes in the land. 11. Dt 33, the blessing of Moses.
12. Jh 15-21, divisions of land by lot. 13. Jg 1, tribes that made
later conquests. 14. I Ch 2. 1, tribal heading to the genealogies.
15. I Ch 2-8, genealogies. 16. I Ch 27. 16, tribal Rulers under
David. 17. Ek 48, future division of land. 18. Ek 48, egresses
of future Jerusalem. 19. Rv 7, the Sealed of Israel.
Remarks.
1. That so many lists are given shows the- great place that
 THE GREAT MULTITUDE 147
Israel had in the thoughts of God. That five of the lists have to
do with times yet to come (Nos. 2, 11, 17, 18, 19) shows how
permanent that place is, reaching into the coming kingdom of
God on earth.
2. List 1 gives the order of birth of the founder of each tribe.
That order is never repeated, but each list has a different order.
It would have been natural that 9 should have repeated the
order of 4, and still more so that 15 should have followed the
order of 14. No reason is obvious for the order of any list save
No. 1.
3. No reason seems assignable for the omission of Simeon
from list 11. Gn 49. 7 may be suggested, but in that case Levi
also should have been omitted, as equal partner in Simeon's
cruelty, but it is included. Again, no certain reason seems
assignable for the omission of Asher and Gad from list 16, nor of
Dan from list 19. But when this last fact is made the basis for
asserting that therefore it cannot be the literal Israel that is
meant, the reply is obvious : That the omissions and variations
in earlier lists do not raise doubt as to the literal Israel being
meant, which shows that the argument is unwarranted.

The other event which is shown prior to the final judgments is

that a vast company is seen " standing before the throne and
before the Lamb."
(1) This scene is in heaven, not on earth, as has been asserted.
For (a) the Lamb is not yet on earth, and these are before Him
where He then is; (b) the phrase " before the throne " in this
book invariably means the presence of God sitting upon the
throne as seen in chapter 4. It comes at c. 1. 4 ; 4. 5, 6, 10 ;
7. 9, 11, 15 ; 8. 3 ; 14. 3. (See on 14. 3.) It is the place of the
manifested glory of God, of the elders, of the living creatures, the
angels, the glassy sea.
(2) This company is not " Jewish," but comes " out of every
nation," even out of " tribes and peoples and tongues."
(3) They are distinctly declared to be " coming out of the
tribulation, the great," 1 the present participle indicating that
their removal from the earth and the great Tribulation had only
just taken place. This confirms that Seals 5 and 6 immediately
preceding apply to the tribulation era.
The present participle " who are coming out of
the tribulation the great," has seemed perplexing and has been
variously explained. As two visions are here interposed between
the last two Seals, so in cs. 10 and 11 two are interposed between
1
See on 11. 17, p . 187 (ii).
148 ROBES WASHED

the last two Trumpets. In both places the first vision stands in
its natural sequence in the series of End events : in both of the
second visions there is an unexpected change of tense which
seems anomalous. Those who believe that the book is fully
inspired by the Holy Spirit will not look for explanations such
as that it is a Hebraism, or a mark of indifferent Greek or of poor
skill in writing, but will seek some better reason for the changes.
C. 11. 2 says of the outer court of the temple that " it was
(ISoOrj) given unto the nations : and the holy city shall they
tread under foot forty and two months." We shall find reason
to conclude that the use of the past tense is deliberate, and is
intended to carry the mind backward to a point of time prior to
the forty-two months ; whereupon the narrative proceeds to
describe affairs which will take place during that period and until
its close with the death of the Two Witnesses. Having reached
that close the prophecy has arrived again at its natural sequence
of events and continues the development of the End judgments
subsequent to the Tribulation.
Analogy will suggest that the present participle here may be
likewise designed to give the mind a backward movement and
cause it to take a sweeping glance over the Tribulation period
through which these believers have been steadily pressing to the
goal. As the mind thus surveys that period it is seen that all
through it saints " are coming out of " that Tribulation into the
state of purity described by the robes having been washed ; and
at the stage of events reached in the visions their number is
complete and they are seen before the throne in heaven. From
this point, now again reached, the visions resume their sequence,
and detail judgments to fall in the post-Tribulation period.
(4) These had found need to wash their robes, which therefore
formerly had been denied. The " robes" are not the man
himself, but the outward practices in which the person arrays
himself before others, by which he either reveals or conceals the
bent of his mind ; which can be kept " unspotted from the
world " (Js 1. 27), or be defiled by fellowship with it. Thus
these are in contrast to the few in Sardis " who did not defile
their garments " (3. 4). To these latter the promise is, " they
shall walk [habitually] with Me in white; for they are worthy " ;
whereas this other company only stand before the Lamb. The
former have become " companions of the Messiah" (^TOXOI
Hb 3. 14) ; the latter, though highly privileged, are
pictured as sheep that He guides (Rv 7. 17). " One star differeth
from another star in glory," and this according to our character
and conduct during our earth life. The undefiled overcomers will
 NO WASHING WITH BLOOD 149
escape the tribulation era (Rv 3. 10 ; etc.) ; the defiled believer
must endure it unto his sanctification.
The notion that the blood of the Lamb is the medium in which
the robes are washed is incorrect. The passage does not say
that " they washed and whitened their robes in the blood of the
Lamb," but that " they washed their robes, and whitened them
in the blood of the Lamb." It is the idea of whiteness added to
cleanness, the art of the fuller supplementing the labour of the
washer. This sense of leukaino is seen in the only other place
where the verb is used, Mk 9. 3, " His garments became glistering,
exceeding white ; so as no fuller on earth can whiten them " ;
for here the whitening refers to the glistering appearance of the
garments, not to their cleanliness. It is not justification but
sanctification ; not the judicial standing of the man, but the
actual state of his clothes, his outward appearance. Both
must be perfect before one can stand before a king on his
throne.
Now in the types and in the spiritual reality it is always blood
that atones, but always water that washes ; the blood being
sprinkled, and the water being used for immersion of the man or
his clothes. The unseemly conception of washing, bathing, or
plunging in blood is unknown in Scripture. The only seeming
exception is Ps 58. io, " The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth
the vengeance : he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked."
The picture is taken from a conqueror's feet plunging into pools
of blood as he tramples upon the slain on a bloody battlefield.
It is not a washing in the usual sense, and the passage is purely
figurative, with no exhortation that this should be done. In
Rv 1. 5, " washed us from our sins in His blood " reads properly
" loosed us."
The use of water is (spiritually) obedience to the Word of God :
" Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way ? By taking
heed according to Thy word " (Ps 119. 9). Yet however heedful
and obedient we may be, and however clean our visible life may
become before men, we cannot so perfectly obey as fully to satisfy
the eye of the holy God ; there may be general cleanness but no
shining lustre, for the Holy One sees iniquity even in our holy
things. To meet this need the blood is available : " If we walk
in the light"—another way of describing the life of obedience to
the light-giving Word—" the blood of Jesus, His Son, cleanseth
us from all sin " (1 Jn 1. 7), including that unknown to the honest
heart but known to God, and which to His sight dims the bright-
ness of even the cleanest robe. The blood added to the water
secures lustre, as the fuller or the washerwoman adds to the
 i5o WATER AND BLOOD

water certain substances which impart whiteness to that which is

already clean.
The point in question has no bearing upon exemption from
eternal perdition : that is included in justification and depends
not at all upon sanctification ; and justification is gained through
faith " by His blood " (Rm 3. 25 ; 5. 9), for " we were reconciled
to God through the death of His Son " (Rm 5. 10). But the
matter has decisive bearing upon the future status, privileges, and
glory of the eternally justified. For access to the holy places,
and for holy service, the water was as imperative as the blood,
the garments of the priest as the sacrifice on the altar (Ex 30.17-21;
28. 41-43).
The overcomers had attended to this truth, and by grace had
kept themselves " unspotted from the world " (Js 1. 27), though
walking through its squalid places (I Pt 1. 19), and their dignity
and position in heaven will correspond. These of the great
multitude had not done so, but needed the pressure of the
Tribulation days to constrain them to separateness from the
world, and to " cleanse themselves from all defilement of flesh
and spirit, [thus] perfecting holiness in the fear of God " (II Cr 7.1).
Then at the end they stand " before the throne " in wondrous
gladness, and render levitical service in the temple day and
night (I Ch 9. 33 : Ps 134. 1) ; but of the overcomer the Lord has
said he shall " sit down with Me in My throne " (Rv 3. 21) ; for
such shall not be as levites, but shall be priests who reign on
thrones (Rv 20. 4, 6), even as Christ shall be priest upon His
throne (Zh 6. 13). And the Scripture adds : " H e that hath an
ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches " (Rv 3. 22).
Concerning this multitude, it remains only to note that they
are seen " before the throne." They are not said to have been
taken to the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, but to the throne
in the heavens, which is beyond the clouds of this earth.
SEAL 7 (c. 8. 1)

" And when He opened the seventh seal there followed silence
in heaven about the space of half-an-hour."
This is all that the seer records concerning this Seal. Its
explanation is to be found in the Old Testament. It is never to
be forgotten that the Revelation concludes and completes the
Word of God, and it is pre-supposed that the reader is acquainted
with preceding prophecies and will catch allusions thereto. This
is a case in point, for in the Old Testament there are six passages
which proclaim or enjoin general silence. As these richly reveal
 SILENCE IN HEAVEN 151
what will take place under this Seal we will examine them with
care.
1. Psalm 76. This psalm opens with the announcement, " In
Judah is God known : His name is great in Israel. In Salem also
is His tabernacle, and His dwelling-place in Zion." This will be
true in the millennium. Then follows a description of a mighty
destruction of an enemy army, that is, the assembled host of the
Beast, the scene which occupies the latter part of Rv 19. This
is declared to be the issue from a heavenly decree : " Thou didst
cause sentence to be heard from heaven ; the earth feared, and
was still, when God arose to judgment, to save all the meek of the
earth " (8, 9). The psalm closes with a call to worship, since He
is to be feared who is " terrible to the kings of the earth."
At the very hour that the Beast decrees that all shall worship
himself and his image, an angel denounces eternal judgment
against all who shall do so (Rv 14. 9-11) : " Thou didst cause
sentence to be heard from heaven." Under Seal 6, at the close
of the Tribulation, men of all ranks are struck with terror : " the
earth feared." At the opening of Seal 7 heaven is silent, and
earth is still (comp. Zh 2. 11-13 for the phrase and the period), and
this is declared in the psalm to be the time " when God arises
to judgment," to save all the meek of the earth. The silence
therefore indicates that the Lord is now just about to act
personally in judgment on His foes, and for the salvation of " all
the meek of the earth," Jew and Christian.
In view of the application of this psalm to the Beast, it is of
interest that the LXX adds to the heading the words : " A Song
for the Assyrian," a title of the last emperor because Babylon in
Assyria will be his capital city (cf. Is 10. 5, 24, and our c. XII).
2. Isaiah 18. This remarkable prophecy, though concerning
firstly the " land rustling with wings," includes in ver. 3 a universal
call addressed to " All ye inhabitants of the world, and ye dwellers
on the earth, when an ensign is lifted up on the mountains, see
y e ; and when the trumpet is blown, hear ye. For thus hath
Jehovah said unto me, I will be still, and I will behold in My
dwelling place."
The Old Testament having less to reveal as to heaven, and
being mainly concerned with the earth and its inhabitants, this
present series of passages refers chiefly to silence on earth ; but
here is a distinct intimation of silence in heaven, and indeed in
that upper heaven with which the Revelation is so much occupied,
even " My dwelling place."
And the time is just prior to the destruction of the Beast, for
Isaiah at once includes a reference by Jehovah to sunshine and heat
152 SILENCE IN HEAVEN

and harvest, that is, the scorching heat of the great Tribulation,
leading on to the harvesting of the saints in the Parousia (Rv 14.
9-16). This is followed by a vivid description of the destruction
of a vine, pointing to the vintage which follows the harvest in
Rv 14. 17-20, even the destruction of the armies of the Beast,
again pictured as a vintage in Rv 19. 15. This destruction the
prophet sees as accompanied by the gathering of all ravenous
beasts and birds to fatten upon the slain, which connects with
Rv 19. 17, 18, where an angel cries to all birds to gather to the
great supper of God, to eat the flesh of the slain of the armies of
the Beast. And all this is at a time when " the trumpet is blown,"
even as Christ said that His Parousia would be accompanied by
a " great sound of a trumpet," and as Paul says of that same
moment that " the trumpet shall sound " (I Cr 15. 52). The
Apostle says that this will be the " last trump," and accordingly
at the sounding of the last trump (Rv 11. 15-18) the righteous
dead are dealt with and rewarded, and also the destroyers of the
earth (the Beast and his armies) are destroyed.
Thus in Is 18 the stillness in heaven is premonitory of the
bursting of the full storm of divine wrath at the descent of the
Lord from heaven.
3. Isaiah 41. 1. The second great section of Isaiah commences
with the announcement that " the glory of Jehovah shall be re-
vealed, and all flesh shall see it together " (40. 5). This " appear-
ing of the glory of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ " is
the " blessed hope " of all the godly (Tt 2. 13). He who can
announce that this mighty event is at hand, even that the Lord
God will come as a mighty one, is verily a teller of good tidings
to Zion (40. 9, 10). Now in connection with this coming the
Lord proceeds to say : " Keep silence before Me, O islands; and
let the peoples renew their strength : let them come near ; let
them speak : let us come near together to judgment " (41. 1).
Here again is a proclamation of silence before Jehovah at the
time when a judgment is pending which shall affect all the peoples.
And yet the earth-dwellers are pictured as idolatrous even at
this juncture when they fear and tremble (ver. 5-7) ; and at that
time Israel shall be delivered, as is next foretold (ver. 8, etc.).
4. Habbakuk. The period to which this prophecy points is
one of violence and injustice (1. 2, 4), culminating in war issuing
from Chaldea (1. 6). The vision is plainly stated to hasten to
the end time, or more forcibly, to pant to the end, as a runner
urging his last swift but labouring steps to the goal (2. 3). At
that end time there is seen a monarch who " gathereth unto him
all the nations," and " heapeth unto him all peoples " (2. 5), and
 SILENCE IN HEAVEN 153
who, in particular, does violence to the land (Canaan) and to the
city (Jerusalem) and all that dwell therein (2. 8 : comp. Zh 14. 1-4).
This is plainly the Beast, and the period is just prior to the
descent of the Lord, for in connection with the woe that shall
fall on this king, at a time when mankind labours and wearies
itself in vain, it is declared that " the earth shall be filled with
the knowledge of the glory of Jehovah, as the waters cover the
sea " (2. 12-14). Then after glancing again at the woe that shall
overwhelm the king, and especially because of his violence to
Lebanon, Palestine, and Jerusalem, and after denouncing a woe
that shall destroy the makers and worshippers of idols, this
proclamation issues : " Jehovah is in his holy temple : be silent
before Him all the earth " (2. 15-20).
This reference to the temple in heaven is significant. The
seventh trumpet (Rv 11. 14-19) follows the last of the three woes
that shall fall, and then also is seen the opening of the temple
that is in heaven, and out of that temple come the seven angels
to pour out the seven bowls which complete the judgments of
God against the Beast, his armies, and his city (Rv 11. 15 ; c. 16).
The prophecy concludes with a vivid poem picturing the
coming of God to this earth ; it speaks of the repose in Him that
shall be the strength of the godly even at the very time of the
invasion of Palestine by the Beast (3. 16, marg. 18), and of their
joy in God even amidst the desolation and want of that time, and
of their final security and triumph when Jehovah shall make them
to walk in peace upon their high places.
5. Zephaniah. This word of the Lord commences by an-
nouncing a thorough sweeping of the land of Judah by judgments
that shall utterly consume man and beast (1. 1-6). Four classes
of sinners are specified. (1) Worshippers of Baal and of the host
of heaven, that is, rank idolaters. (2) Those who swear by both
Jehovah and a false god, that is, compromisers with idolatry.
(3) Those who did once avow Jehovah, but are " turned back
from following Him," that is, apostates. Compare II Th 2. 3, 8 :
" the apostasy . . . and the man of sin revealed . . . whom the
Lord Jesus shall . . . bring to nought by the manifestation of
His Parousia " ; and I Tm 4. 1 : " the Spirit speaketh expressly
that in later times some shall apostatize from the faith, giving
heed to seducing spirits." (4) Lastly, those who " had not sought
Jehovah, nor inquired after Him," that is, such as having heard
of Him had been indifferent, or who impiously conceived ignorance
of Him to be bliss. Comp. II Th 1. 7, 8 : " the revelation of the
Lord Jesus from heaven . . . rendering vengeance to them that
know not God [class 4 above], and to them that obey not the gospel
154 SILENCE IN HEAVEN

of our Lord Jesus " (the other classes). For an old time example
the Scripture gives Pharaoh, who said : " I know not Jehovah,
and moreover I will not let Israel go " (Ex 5. 2). All these shall be
swept away, even as it is elsewhere written : " the destruction
of the transgressors and the sinners shall be together, and they
that forsake Jehovah shall be consumed," and this shall be at
the time that Zion shall be redeemed with judgment (Is 1. 27, 28).
Having thus indicated that it is the closing judgments of this
age of which he is speaking, Zephaniah at once exclaims : " Hold
thy peace at the presence of the Lord Jehovah : for the day of
Jehovah is at hand : for Jehovah hath prepared a sacrifice, He
hath sanctified His guests "(1.7), even the beasts and birds called
to " the great supper of God " at the slaughter of the armies of
the Beast.
The rest of the book details the foretold judgments, from which
shall be left an " afflicted and poor " remnant that shall " trust
in the name of Jehovah," whom He shall gather, and make a
name and a praise among all the peoples of the earth (3. 12-20).
6. Zechariah. The second chapter of this glowing prophet
refers to the period when Jerusalem shall have unrestricted
prosperity (4), with Jehovah as its defence (5). The time is that
of the final escape from Babylon (6. 7 ; comp. Rv 18. 4) ; and
the events issue in Zion singing and joying because Jehovah will
" come " and will dwell in the midst of her (10, 11). The rest of
the nations shall submit to Messiah, Who shall inherit Judah as
His portion and shall choose Jerusalem. And in view of this
present and visible return of God the word goes forth once more
to all mankind : "Be silent, all flesh, before Jehovah : for He is
waked up out of His holy habitation (13)."
These are all the passages which we have noted as enjoining
general, universal silence. They are all connected with the last
days, the last judgments, and the .actual awaking, arising, and
coming of Jehovah to the earth to destroy the Beast and deliver
the godly. They sufficiently explain and expand the simple fact
mentioned concerning Seal 7 that there was silence in heaven.
It is the intense portentous silence that ends in the vivid flash
and crashing thunder, followed by a cleansed exhilarating atmo-
sphere and a smiling sunny landscape. Of this one sentence
much of the rest of the Revelation is an elaboration.

We thus learn that Seal 5 covers the great Tribulation and

Seal 6 pictures events that will occur immediately thereafter.
Thereupon the godly of Israel are marked for deliverance, and
the elect gathered to the Lord are seen before the throne in
 SEALS I TO 4 155
heaven; while Seal 7, explained by the Old Testament, covers the
closing scenes of this age down to the descent of the Lord to Zion.

Thus it is made evident that the Seals are occupied with the
times of the end, and we may now turn back to consider the first
four thereof, which will reveal events prior to and leading up to
the supremacy of the Beast and the great Tribulation of Seal 5.
These four of the Seals differ from the other three in that (1)
each has the same symbol of a rider on a horse, and (2) each rider
is called into action by one of the living Creatures, whose nature
and office we have before considered. Their single word of
command, Come ! were perhaps better translated Go ! for they
are in heaven, and the riders do not come to them, but go forth
on earth. Souter, Pocket Lex. NT, gives go as the first meaning
of epxofiai. Abbot-Smith has suggested the meaning, " come
into public view," as suitable here, a sense of found in
Cremer ; this sense agrees with the words immediately following :
thus : Appear ! and I saw.
The horse is a regular figure in Scripture for military measures,
and these riders go forth to war, or, in the case of the third,
picture its consequences. This indicates that the days preceding
the reign of the Beast will be marked, as Christ said, by nation
rising against nation, and kingdom against kingdom (Mt 24. 7).

SEAL 1

Of the first rider it is said that he goes forth " conquering and
to conquer," the participle indicating a career of conquest, and
the infinitive following showing that he will reach his goal of
supremacy. Now Scripture does not reveal any person of the
end days of whom this will be true other than the Beast, but of
his career it is an exact summary. For when the fourth empire
shall have developed its last stage of a ten kingdom confederacy,
the little horn will grow up among the ten and presently will
attack and conquer three of the kingdoms (Dn 7. 8-24). Thus
the Beast will go forth conquering, nor will he rest until he shall
have secured for himself Satan's gift of his own throne with
" authority over every people and tongue and tribe and nation "
(Rv 13. 2, 7). Therefore is he seen in the vision as having a
crown (stephanos) as a symbol of royal estate won by conquest.
The much pressed distinction between stephanos and diadeema
is not maintained in Hellenistic and New Testament Greek. In
the LXX the former word is used of the royal crown in II Sm 12.
30 : I Ch'2Q. 2 : Ps 21. 3 : Ek 21. 26 : Zh 6. 11, 14. In the New
156 CHRIST NOT THE RIDER

Testament the notion of sovereignty and royalty cannot be

excluded from Hb 2. 7, 9, though the verb is stephanoo ; and the
Stephanos which the soldiers wove for the head of our blessed
Lord was in mockery of His claim to be a king. No doubt this
is an instance of the well recognized fact that colloquial usage
tends to blur the fine distinctions of classical usage.
That this conqueror cannot represent Christ is evident from
the single fact that the Lamb is in heaven at the throne of God,
breaking the seals of the roll of judgment, at the very time that
this rider goes forth on earth. As it is the action of the Lamb
in heaven that causes the appearance of the rider on earth, they
cannot be one person. Moreover, the Lamb is continously in
heaven, breaking the seals, that is, superintending those judgments,
during the very period that the rider pushes his conquests on earth. 1
But that he is the one who seeks to take the place of Christ in
the government of earth is perhaps suggested by the use for him
of the same symbol of a white horse later used of the Word of
God at His descent to the earth as conqueror. That the symbol
is afterwards appropriated to Christ is no reason for it not being
applied to an evil power also. Such application of one symbol
to antagonistic persons is well known in Scripture. The world
powers that should ravage earth are compared with a lion, a bear,
and a leopard (Dn 7) ; Jehovah compares himself to the same
beasts in His dealings in judgment with Israel (Hs 13. 7, 8). Is
Satan a raging lion ? (I Pt 5. 8); so is Jehovah (Hs 5. 14). That
the symbol of a white horse can only apply to Christ is out of
the question, for it is applied to an angelic agent of judgment in
Zh 1. 8 and 6. 3, which whole passage is part of a series of visions
having to do with the judgments of the times of the end. Alford's
note on this point in the vision of John is important : " Here the
horses and their riders are the various aspects of the divine
dispensations which should come upon the earth preparatory to
the great day of the Lord's coming. As regards this first, the
whole imagery speaks of victory. The horses of the Roman
commanders in their triumphs were white." He then cites
authorities for this. In the absence of specific application of the
symbol to Christ, as in c. 19, it is applicable to any conqueror,
and it becomes matter for enquiry as to who the conqueror is.
We are helped in this by the fact that he carried a bow. To
the Greek-speaking people to whom the Revelation was first sent
this would have a well-known meaning. The Greeks had an
1
Upon this argument a judicious critic writes : " I could wish to see this
section reinforced. I t is t h e neglect of such obvious canons of exegesis t h a t has
made Revelation the happy hunting ground of the freak."

1
 THE BEAST IS THE RIDER 157
established phrase " the drawers of the bow " as a proverbial
description of orientals, especially of those of the Mesopotamian
and Persian regions. This was in contrast to themselves who
relied on the " might of the spear." Alexander's phalanx of
spearmen, who contributed so largely to the defeat of the Persians,
is celebrated. (See Liddell and Scott, s.v. Td£<w or pv^a, and
Ramsay, Letters to the Seven Churches.)
Thus this whole picture would suggest to those first readers of
the Grecian world a conqueror from the east, Persia or Assyria,
the then east of the world as known to them ; and we know that
the Beast is to be " king of the north," that is, of Assyria, with
Babylon as his capital. We have not observed any place in
prophetic scripture where the term " king of the north " does not
refer to Assyria. The Assyrians descended into Palestine from
the north, the vast deserts to the east of Palestine making
invasion from that side practically impossible in those days.
Significant indeed is the present development of that ancient
region and its re-organization into a separate state. But how
little do the princes of this world understand the true purport
and issue of their schemes.
Now within the times of the end there can scarcely be two
potentates of whom all this can come true. Only one conqueror
can reach supremacy within the same area at the same period,
so that this rider must needs be the Beast.

SEAL 2

That the last head of the fourth empire arises as a little horn
suggests that the Beast will commence his career as an insignificant
ruler. It is probably thus that he will succeed in gaining a footing
within the ten kingdom territory. A deliberate invasion from
without they would unitedly resist; but the unavoidable per-
mutations of affairs public may easily make it convenient that
they tolerate the formation of a seemingly insignificant state,
which being within their own area they will count upon being
able to confine within such limits as they think desirable.
But when the head of this kingdom suddenly attacks and
prostrates three of his neighbours, his action will be a violent and
alarming disturbance of the confederacy. Its western powers
will find themselves confronted with a serious recrudescence of
the ever-smouldering near-eastern problem, and will be forced
to take urgent measures to reduce to order this truculent and
dangerous interrupter of the peace. This will bring on the
bloody wars pictured by the rider on the second horse, to whom it
158 THE GREAT SWORD

was given to take peace from the earth by provoking men to

slay one another. Solemn and illuminating is the lesson that a
raging lust to slaughter may be infused into men by spirit powers,
permitted of God in judgment so that the world may be rid of
the violent. A cavalry soldier described how they hacked their
way through the infantry opposed to them, and having reached
the further side they turned and hacked their way back. He
added that, of course, they went mad at such times or they couldn't
do such deeds. Ought a follower of Jesus to be found in that
state or do such deeds ?
As the weapon of the first rider gives the clue to his place of
origin and individuality so does the word sword of this Seal
reveal the meaning. " To him was given a great machaira."
This is the word distinctive of the sword of the western armies of
John's day (Eph 6. 17 : Rm 13. 4 : Hb 4. 12) in contrast to
the term romphaia used of the sword mentioned in Seal 4,
which word points to the long scimitar characteristic of the
east, and is regularly so used in the LXX. 1
That it is a great sword suggests how fearful will be the carnage
of these frightful wars.
In The Histories and Prophecies of Daniel, cs. 7 and 11, I have
sought to detail the rise and career of the Beast.

SEAL 3

One inevitable accompaniment of long and sanguinary conflicts

is serious depopulating of large areas, with wholesale destruction
of the means of life and cultivation. Thus severe scarcity will
seize vast regions in its fatal grip, and the necessities of life will
reach prohibitive prices. Grain stuffs will be fetching some
twelve times the normal price. Kelly suggests eight times ;
Revelation, note p. 137, ed. 1884. B. W. Newton suggests twenty
times the ordinary price as being the force here {Apoc. 101), but
apparently on his calculation twenty should read eight, thus
agreeing with Mr. Kelly's figure otherwise reached. Smith's
Bible Dictionary (Art. Weights and Measures) and the Imperial
B.D. (Art. Measures) appear to give thirty-two as the ratio ; but
Charles shows that it was from 8 to 16, and Hasting's B.D.
(IV. 432a) gives "about twelve." The only commodities readily
available will be those which go on in measure without much
cultivating, olives and grapes; but the poor must suffer from
scarcity of grains. This sparing of oil and wine intimates the
area of the earth in view here, the Mediterranean and near-east,
1
Mr. Pember first pointed out to me this distinction.
 THE EASTERN POWERS 159
where these trees grow naturally. But there wine and oil are not
the luxuries of the rich, but staples of diet for all.
Accordingly, this third rider is on a black horse, perhaps
because the skin of the starving goes blackish (Lm 4. 8, 9 ; 5. 10)
or to indicate dark despair settling on men in such fearful times.
Comp. Lk 21. 26. Perchance the balance that he carries, by
which only a given quantity can be measured out at a time, may
suggest governmental efforts to ration the meagre quantity of
cereals to secure uniform distribution as long as supplies last.
Thus will be awfully fulfilled our Lord's prediction that,
consequent upon the international wars of the end, there shall be
famines (Mt 24. 7).

SEAL 4
The meaning of this vision has been suggested above. The
word for the sword used by this rider describes the weapon of the
ancient eastern world. Its use goes back to remote antiquity :
the sword which guarded the tree of life in Eden is described by
it in the LXX of Gn 3. 24.
In our own days national isolation is already wholly past. In
the great war of 1914-1918, West and East, with both North and
South America, were irresistibly drawn into the strife. This has
been the case in the 1939-1945 wars. Thus will it be again.
The far eastern races will be so bitterly affected by the furious
wars in the west and the near east as inevitably to be sucked into
the maelstrom.
Imagination reels as it contemplates an avalanche of the
countless hordes of the east, with their pagan recklessness of
human life and cruel callousness to suffering. Napoleon is
reported to have said : China is a sleeping giant : let him sleep !
But the great powers of the west did not take this sage advice.
They first pricked and goaded him by opium wars and the like,
and when he was fairly roused they even indulged in savage talk
of dismembering him alive. The student of the Word cannot
but watch to see whether the organizing of China under the
tutelage of Japan may not prove part of the preparation of the
east for its announced part in the times of the end.
One whole.fourth part of the earth will be so desolated by the
sword that further famine will follow ; while for want of men, or
of care to bury the rotting corpses, pestilence will stalk abroad
unchecked and wild beasts will multiply and ravage at will.
" Death," in ver. 8, means pestilence, as in RV margin. Compare
the use of the word by Pharaoh to describe the ravages of locusts
i6o DEATH AND HADES

(Ex io. 17), and note the conjunction of sword, famine, pestilence,
and wild beasts in Ek 14. 12-23. It will t>e a dreadfully depopu-
lated earth over which the Beast will reign and to which Messiah
will later return.
Indeed, so shocking is the carnage that the horse of this Seal is
coloured chlorotic, that is, with the sallow hue of the plague-
stricken. Still more solemn and significant is the fact that these
ruthless armies are seen by the seer as commanded invisibly by
the very Angel of Death himself, with the angel ruler of Hades
following in his steps to sweep the slaughtered into his awful
dungeons. And this conception is so far from being metaphor
that it is exactly the reverse. The Scripture frequently confirms
this belief of the ancient world in the existence of a mighty
angelic executioner and of an angel ruler of the world of the dead.
The latter, as the Angel of the Abyss, is even named in Scripture,
and in both the Hebrew and Greek forms of his name, Abaddon
and Apollyon, each meaning the destroyer (Rv 9. 11). The latter
was one of the best-known and most widely feared and worshipped
gods of the Greek world.
Several instances of the action of these destroyers on a large
scale are on record : as in Ex 12. 30, " There was not a house [in
Egypt] where there was not one dead " ; and II Sm 24. 16, " t h e
Lord sent a pestilence . . . and there died of the people . . .
70,000 men . . . the angel stretched out his hand toward Jeru-
salem to destroy i t " ; and again, II Kn 19. 35, " an angel of
Jehovah went forth, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians
185,000 men : and when men arose early in the morning, behold
they were all dead corpses."
In this connection there are two Old Testament passages that
conjoin Death and Hades in action and show to what period this
Seal refers. In Is 28. 14-22, we read of certain scornful Jews
that shall rule Israel at Jerusalem, and who shall make a covenant
with Death and an agreement with Sheol (=Hades, comp.
Ps 16. 10 with Ac 2. 27), and who shall trust therein for protection
from the " overflowing scourge." God declares that this scheme
shall utterly fail, for the scourge shall sweep over them ; and the
period is shown to be the time of the end, when Jehovah shall
arise in judgment, and the strictly determined consummation
shall be reached.
Now it is to be remembered that the Beast, with whom actually
this covenant will be made, will have ascended from the Abyss,
having been brought up thence by Satan and energized with his
wisdom and strength (Rv 17. 8-11; 12. 17 ; 13. 2). So that the
covenant with him will verily be with Death and Hades, of which
 ANTICHRIST REACHES SUPREMACY l6l

he will be acting representative on earth. By this profane

alliance the apostate leaders of Israel will hope, though vainly,
to escape the terrors of those Satan-driven days. Their sinful
turning from God who is light will plunge them into a moral
darkness, and they will be too blind to discern that the blandish-
ments of the great Emperor but lure them into his toils to their
deserved ruin. He who sups with the devil needs a long spoon,
or he gets nothing out of the feast. It remains to be seen whether
certain existing international agreements will finally benefit this
country.
This connection of Death and Hades is enforced by the other
passage, Hk 2. 5. The universal monarch, Antichrist, the Beast,
who " gathereth unto him all nations, and heapeth unto him all
peoples," is said to " enlarge his desire as Sheol, and he is as
Death, and cannot be satisfied."
It thus appears that, with the view of retaining universal
dominion of the earth (ere this time he has lost his heavenly
place, Rv 12. 7-12), Satan himself takes the field, summoning to
the conflict his infernal subordinates, resuscitating from the dead a
former human servant, and drawing into the strife such eager instru-
ments as the eastern peoples. It can be easily conceived that these
last will be fearfully ready to seize the opportunity of throwing off
the hated domination of the west and avenging themselves for
former insults and manifold injustices by wars and otherwise.
All this God will permit as part of His reluctant, but at length
unavoidable duty of judgment upon the wicked, in preparation
for the setting up of that kingdom in which the righteous shall
flourish under the rule of His King (Ps 72).
It will be through this awful welter of blood that the " little
horn " will grow great, that the Beast will hack his way to
supremacy. And in due time, seeing that peace is imperative,
and discerning that one is among them who cannot be defied and
who seems capable of ruling universally, the Superman so long
desired, the ten kingdoms will unconsciously fulfil the will of God
by accepting him as their overlord.
This will entail the complete destruction of that Harlot religious
system that claims sovereignty over the kings of the earth (Rv 17),
a claim that the Beast will by no means allow so soon as he is in
a position, by the support of the ten kings, to throw it off. Then
having consolidated his power, and by the sheer weight of the
confederacy he rules having constrained the remoter nations to
bow to his sceptre, he will duly proceed to his real objective, the
attempt to exterminate all Christians and to blot out the people
of Israel also. Thus will arrive the great Tribulation, which, as
F
l62 THE SEQUENCE OF THE SEALS
we have seen, is Seal 5, to be followed immediately by the manifest
intervention of the Lord from heaven (Seal 6), leading on at last
to His descent to the earth (Seal 7).
It is thus evident that the seven Seals are a sketch of the whole
period of the end, from the time when the hour of God's judgment
strikes (Rv 14. 7) to the descent of the Word of God to the earth
for the destruction of the Beast and all other His enemies (Rv 19).
Seal 1 shows the going forth of the Beast.
Seal 2 pictures the western wars that will be provoked by his
aggressions.
Seal 3 indicates the scarcity that will result.
Seal 4 describes the added horrors that will follow upon the
eastern world rushing into the strife.
Seal 5 intimates that the Beast has reached supremacy and is
persecuting the godly.
Seal 6 declares the disturbances in heaven and earth that will
accompany the arising of the Lord, with the consternation of
the wicked thereby caused, from which, however, they shortly
recover and yet further harden their hearts.
The parenthetical scenes show, the first, that God will take
full precautions to preserve from the impending final judg-
ments all those who fear Him ; and the second, that the
godly of every race who had availed themselves of the blood
of the Lamb have been taken to heaven.
Seal 7 brings the programme down to the inflicting of the
last judgments, culminating in the descent of the Word of
Goc? to the earth, with the fulfilment of all that the prophets
had foretold as to accompany that mighty climax (Ac 3.
19-21).
 CHAPTER VII

THE SEVEN TRUMPETS

(c. 8. 2—ii. 19)
I. Seals, Trumpets, Bowls.
Three chief series of events will mark the End Days. These
are symbolized by three figures of speech, Seals, Trumpets, Bowls.
1. Upon the meaning of the sealed roll see pp. 140, 141.
2. Trumpets were used of old : (i) At Sinai to announce that
God himself, as Ruler and Lawgiver, had come down to intervene
personally and in power in the affairs of earth (Ex 19. 13, 19).
(ii) As battle signals (Nm 31. 6 : Jh 6). (hi) To gather the people
together, and (iv) To command the march of the tribes from
camp (Nm 10. 1-6). (v) To announce the year of jubilee, release,
and freedom (Lv 25. 8-10). (vi) In the seventh month to initiate
the era of rest, full atonement, and the feast of booths (Lv 23.
23-43)- (vii) To accompany public worship (I Ch 16. 42).
All this finds place in the seven Trumpets, (i) They indicate
the great final intervention of God as King and Judge to close
this age of Gentile rule (11. 17). (ii) This intervention is warlike,
with heaven-inflicted attacks upon the wicked, (iii) During the
seventh Trumpet the heavenly people are gathered to the Lord
above, the mystery of God is completed, and the saints are re-
warded. We may trace here a correspondence to Nm 10. 2-4, in
that there are separate gatherings of rulers and of the general
company of God's people, (iv) At that era, with the sound of a
great trumpet, the tribes of Israel also shall be gathered to their
land from Assyria and elsewhere (Is 27. 13 : Rv 18. 4). (v) Under
Trumpet 7 there is proclaimed the release of the earth from the
thraldom of Satan and its incorporation into the freedom and
kingdom of Christ (11. 16). (vi) Thus will be initiated the
millennial era, the day when the atonement of Calvary shall be
given general effect over the earth and the age of rest arrive,
(vii) Then, too, commences the period of full worship by the whole
universe, led by the heavenly rulers falling down before the
throne of God (5. 8-14 ; 11. 16).
3. A shallow Bowl could be turned over and emptied out by
one quick movement, which indicates that those judgments will
not be prolonged. It points to completion, not extension of action.
163
164 THE STRUCTURE OF THE REVELATION

II. The Trumpets and the yth Seal.

It is often taken for granted that the seven Trumpets are the
expansion of the 7th Seal. This needs defining and re-
stricting. It is true in modified degree only.
1. If at the theatre, after a peculiarly magnificent scene, the
curtain were kept down for half-an-hour, so relatively long an
interval would cause the audience rather to expect a new series
of events than simply a continuance of the former scene.
2. The literary structure of the Revelation encourages this
thought.
(i) In c. 1. 7, the subject having been brought down to the
actual coming of Christ with the clouds, the vision then goes back
to before the End Times, and reveals the state of the churches,
and the prospect of the overcomers in particular, as far on as to
that same event and the setting up of Messiah's throne (3. 21).
(ii) In cs. 4 and 5 the visions again revert to an earlier period,
the commencement of the End Times and the setting up of the
heavenly assize, leading on to the subjection of all things unto
God and the Lamb (5. 13).
(iii) Under the Seals the course of the world is revealed, as
before was that of the church, and the 7th Seal brings affairs
to that same great event, " Behold, He cometh."
(iv) Cs. 12 and 13. Passing over at present the Trumpets, the
next visions follow the same course. As will be shown more fully
later, the rapture of the Man-child goes back to before the End
Times, and at 14. 20 the series closes with the same event, the
destruction of the Beast at the descent of the Son of Man.
(v) The Bowls also revert to a point prior to that to which the
last vision takes forward the subject, and give a new series of
events leading on to the same great Event.
(vi) Analogy will justify the expectation that the Trumpet
series follows the same structural plan, and careful consideration
supports this.
The feature in view is found within this series itself. The
opening scene, the angel of fire casting fire on the earth, leads on
to " thunders, voices, lightning, and an earthquake," that is, to
the period of the 7th Trumpet (n.> 19) and the 7th Bowl (16. 17).
Therefore the 1st Trumpet goes back to some point within the
period of the opening scene, and then the series goes on to the
descent of the Lord.
Again, in 11. 1, 2, which is after Trumpet 6, when John is
directed to measure the temple, the thought again turns back to
some earlier time, for he is told that the outer court " was given
unto the nations," not " is given " (as AV, quite wrongly), nor
 THE AREA OF THE TRUMPETS 165
even " hath been given " (as RV, inadequately), but " was given "
(iSo&n), that is, at some preceding period ; and then is recited what
will take place during a certain 1260 days down to the murder and
resuscitation of the Two Witnesses, toward the close of the E n d
Times.
It may be further noticed that the opening scene of the Trumpets
goes back in thought prior to the 7th Seal; for the incense is
" added to the prayers of all the saints," which will include the
cry in Seal 5 of the saints under the altar. Similarly Trumpet 5
records a reference to those who had been sealed before Seal 7 is
opened, and thus it likewise goes back in thought before that Seal.
Yet it does not follow from the foregoing that the fulfilment of
the seven Trumpets will commence prior to the opening of the
7th Seal; but the considerations advanced do suggest that the
Trumpets must not be too quickly accepted as co-ordinate with
or commensurate with that Seal, but must rather be regarded
separately, even though they are to happen within its period.

III. The Area.

The necessity for this is seen in that the area affected by the
Trumpet judgments is restricted, while that of the seven Seals is
not. The OT passages cited as explaining Seal 7 have an uni-
versal aspect. Is 18. 3 : " all ye inhabitants of the world " ;
Hk 2. 20 : " l e t all the earth keep silence " ; Zp 3. 8 : " nations,
kingdoms, all the earth " ; Zh 2. 13 : " Be silent all flesh." But
the region affected by the Trumpets is only a third part of the
earth, sea, rivers and fountains, heavenly bodies, and of mankind
(8. 7-12 ; 9. 18). This alone shows that the Trumpets are not just
an expansion of Seal 7, but are local judgments concentrated upon
a particular area of the earth, though operating within the period
of that Seal.
What this area is may be learned from the mention by name
of " the river the great, the Euphrates " (9. 14), and also of " the
sea," which to John on an island in the eastern Mediterranean,
watching a mountain falling into the sea, must have meant that
Sea, for none other was visible to him. It is thus a region
involving the eastern Mediterranean and stretching eastward to
Mesopotamia. In my Daniel (ed. 3, 107-109) I have said :
From these particulars it would seem probable that the territory of
the ten-horned beast, in its earlier stages, will (1) centre in Asia Minor ;
(2) on the west will not include Greece ; (3) on the south will not
include Palestine, Egypt, Libya, or Ethiopia (Abyssinia) ; (4) on the
south-east will include Persia and Elam; but (5) on its eastern end
will have its frontier west of Media, that is, in the land which lies to
i66 THE MIDDLE EAST

the south of the Caucasus, at the present east end of Armenia, and
between the north end of Irak and the southern part of the Caspian
Sea. If this is correct the ten kingdoms will be in the north-east end
of the Mediterranean area, which leaves the central and western parts
of the Sea for the three earlier wild beasts.
It is therefore here suggested that it is the proper area of the
4th Beast of Daniel 7 which is the third part of the earth affected
by the Trumpets. In war an army seeks to restrict the area in
which its adversary can operate and to concentrate upon his vital
regions. Similarly, the opening Seals involved the western
nations in devastating wars (Seal 2) and then the eastern nations
(Seal 4). These remoter powers being thus weakened, now the
Trumpet judgments attack the central regions of Antichrist's
kingdom ; and as these attacks effect their purpose and near •>
their end, the Bowls of wrath will be concentrated upon his very
throne and his capital city (16. 10, 12, 19) ; and finally the com-
plete victory will be attained by the destruction of the Emperor
himself and his hosts when the Word of God shall take the field
in person at His descent to Olivet (19. 11-21).
How profoundly interesting and momentous is the present
world-movement with the Mediterranean and the Middle East as
its hub. I may quote further from Daniel ( n o ) , what I wrote
in July, 1942 :
The closest scrutiny of prophetic scripture yields, as far as we see,
no hint of any power outside of the Middle East dominating that area
in the period of the ten kings. On the contrary, as Assyria and
Egypt maintain many wars with each other, and as Assyria and
Palestine conclude a treaty, evidently these will be independent states,
with no such overlordship at that time. It is conceivable that present
world movements may result at last in the elimination from that
central area of the remoter empires, so leaving the stage open for the
arising of the more local powers which are to play the part foretold
of them in the closing days of Gentile dominion.
Since the foregoing was written there has entered what may
prove a profoundly vital factor in world affairs, the determination
of the races of that region to attain political independence, of
which the revolt of the Lebanese against the French is an example.
The acknowledgment by the Allied Powers (Dec. 1943) of the
post-war integrity and independence of Persia is to the same effect.

IV. The Angel of Incense and Fire.

The earlier belief, shown in the Apocrypha (Swete cites Tobit
12. 15 ; Enoch 20. 7 Gr. ; etc.), that there are seven chief angels
who stand before God, is here confirmed. They are not of the
 THE ANGEL OF INCENSE 167
twenty-four royal rulers, for these sit, and are around Him, while
the seven angels stand, and are before Him. To these seven high
officials of heaven is entrusted the execution of the terrific judg-
ments now to be directed against the godless on earth. They are
given seven trumpets with which each shall in turn sound an
alarm of war against the enemies of God.
2. But while they stand ready to act, but before they do so,
yet another angel comes forward, and takes his stand at the golden
altar of incense in heaven. The idea that this angel is Christ
seems unwarranted. The Protestant recoil from the errors of
Rome, though so natural and necessary, went too far ; it became
a rebound, and the balance of truth was lost upon some themes.
Because Romanists erroneously prayed to angels, and appealed to
angels to intercede with God for them, Protestantism failed to
see that some angels have priestly functions in the economy of the
divine Empire. 1 The whole theme became greatly neglected, and
in i860 no less a scholar than Stier could write that " no mono-
graph upon the Biblical doctrine respecting angels has ever come
before me " (The Words of the Angels, vii).
That this angel does not represent our High Priest, Christ Jesus,
is, we think, evident from these facts. (1) He does not pray for
the saints, whereas Christ does (Rm 8. 34 ; etc.). (2) He has no
incense of his own to offer ; what he uses is " given to him."
(3) The position of the Lord Jesus as our Intercessor is that He
sits, and is at the right hand of God in the Holy of holies in
heaven (Rm 8. 34 : Hb 10. 11, 12 : etc.) ; whereas this angel
stands, and is at the altar of incense in the holy place.
Upon the function of the elders and of this angel in relation to
the prayers of the saints, see on c. 5, pp. 131, 132.
3. It is evident that the prayers here in question are of the
type of the demand for just judgment made by the souls under
the altar ; for having presented the prayers the angel takes of the •
same fire which had caused the incense to ascend and casts it on
the earth, which causes the well-known signs of judgment,
thunders, voices, lightnings, and earthquake. This scene is to be
compared with the same action in Ek 10. 2, 7.
The statement that these signs " followed " the casting down
of the fire is not a strict translation. It is not simply intimated
that these things were after the act of the angel, but that they
" came to pass " (eyevero from ylvopai to come to pass) as a
result of that act. It is not succession in time that is shewn, but
1
The idea was by no means new in John's day. The passage from Tobit
mentioned above (12. 15), dating from cent. 3 B.C., reads : " I am Raphael,
one of the seven holy angels, which present the prayers of the saints, and go in
before the glory of the Holy One."
168 THUNDERS AND VOICES

cause and effect. The overwhelming afflictions which are to be

described are not to be ordinary operations of nature, but will
result from the agents (angels) and energies (fire) of God's own
presence. Thus they will be irresistible.
The same wrath of God that consumed the Victim on the altar
of burnt offerings, even Jesus, in order that sinners might be
spared, will consume those sinners who reject that one means of
escape and persist in sin. It was one fire that burned on both
the altar of sacrifice and the altar of incense. Now the great
Priest asks for the deliverance of all who draw near to God through
Him : then the great angel will ask for the due destruction of all
who spurn God's grace offered through the great Priest.
4. When these disturbances are next mentioned (11. 19) the
order of the first three is varied from thunders, voices, and
lightnings to lightnings, voices and thunders, which probably
indk.*a.tes that these will be intermingled rather than follow one
fixed order.
That these features recur under the 7th Trumpet and the 7th
Bowl indicates that the period covered by the judgments caused
by the fire from the altar will extend on to the last Bowl. This
is another instance of an opening vision being enlarged by sub-
sequent events. To be more precise, the first enumeration goes
only as far as to the earthquake, the two others add great hail to
the list. This may mean that the first looks forward only so far
as to the earthquake under the last Bowl, but does not include
the final judgment of hail; but I cannot assign reason for the
limitation. Or it may mean that the first refers to a different and
prior set of events, but if so I do not discern the application or
fulfilment. Or it may be that the first enumeration was not
complete because fuller enumerations were to follow.

V. The Trumpets.
The first four are doubly distinguished from the other three,
for (1) the former deal with nature as it affects man, and the
latter with man himself. (2) Therefore the three are termed
Woes, as being intenser and directly tormenting to man personally.
These judgments fulfil God's covenant given to Israel at Sinai
(Ex 34. 10) : " Behold, I make a covenant : before all thy people
I will do marvels, such as have not been wrought in all the earth,
nor in any nation ; and all the people among which thou art shall
see the work of Jehovah ; for it is a terrible thing that I do with
thee." Such events are therefore to be expected, seeing that no
marvels of their type have since been seen greater than those
Moses had then lately wrought in Egypt. These Trumpet judg-
 TRUMPETS I AND 2 169
ments will be wrought before Israel, and will affect them as well
as others, seeing that by the time in question they will be located
mostly in the Middle East (Is 11. 11 ; 27. 12, 13).
1. Trumpet i (ver. 7). What has been can be, and as hail and
fire were rained upon Egypt and the crops perished (Ex 9. 17-35 :
see also Mc 7. 15), this judgment can be taken literally. The
area in question will be suddenly denuded of timber, firing, fruit,
and fodder. The effect of this on building, heating, cooking,
food, milk, and meat can be imagined. For some time life will be
disorganized, man will be enfeebled, and will be very much
occupied with obtaining a bare subsistence. It is to be considered
that those lands depend upon wood for the purposes for which
modern and western lands mostly use coal or oil.
2. Trumpet 2 (ver. 8, 9). As no rational metaphorical sense can
be conceived for the sea becoming blood, the creatures in it dying,
and ships being destroyed ; and as no reason is found for these
things not happening ; and seeing that in Egypt the waters were
turned to blood and the fish did die, we accept this as literal. It
is expressly foretold that shipping will be destroyed in the day
of Jehovah (Is 2. 16). •
But that the instrument for effecting this, " a great mountain
burning with fire," is to be thought literal is not so clear, though
it is suggested that a white hot meteorite would produce the
effects indicated. It has been overlooked by some that John
does not say that he saw a great mountain cast into the sea, but
" as it were afgreat mountain." This shows it was not a literal
mountain but something resembling one for size and fiery heat.
Exactly what is represented by this is not indicated. Swete
cites Enoch 18. 13 : " I saw seven stars as great burning moun-
tains," as being " curiously close " to " a great mountain burning
with fire." Now in the passage cited from Enoch " stars " are
apparently rebel angels, as in Revelation, for in lines 14-16 following
the angel says to Enoch : " This place is the end of heaven and
earth : this has become a prison for the stars and the host of
heaven. And the stars which roll over the fire are they which
have transgressed the commandment of the Lord, because they
did not come forth at their appointed times, and He was wroth
with them, and bound them till the time when their guilt shall be
consummated (even) for 10,000 years " (comp. Jd 6). If this
symbolic use of the great burning mountain be adopted the vision
will mean that a mighty fallen angel is granted power and freedom
to corrupt the sea and destroy life and shipping.
The effect of this dire visitation will be to deprive the lands of
the eastern Mediterranean of fish as a food and of maritime
170 TRUMPETS 3 AND 4
communications. Added to the former reducing of land supplies,
this will severely impoverish life, and the loss of the ships will
prevent replenishing by foreign imports. Thus easily can heaven
blockade whole regions.
3. Trumpet 3 (ver. io, 11). That a literal star is the instrument
that will ruin the springs and fountains of fresh water is beyond
reasonable conception. That a star should be called Wormwood
itself intimates that the language is figurative. In the Bible,
and in this book, a star fallen from heaven is a figure of a fallen
angel (Is 14. 12 : Lk 10. 18 : Rv 12. 4). This lends further
probability to the view just taken of the " great mountain."
The springs and fountains where rise the great rivers of the
Middle East are high on the mountains of Armenia. It would
seem that these, and the lesser streams of the whole region affected,
will by angelic power be turned bitter and undrinkable. What
this will involve of misery and enfeeblement in hot lands is
terrible to imagine. As above quoted, " it is a terrible thing that
I will do with thee." It must further greatly reduce power to
resist and defy God, as well as hinder all vegetable growth, and
therefore of recovery from the blasting by the first Trumpet.
Wormwood is mentioned in seven places in OT.
In Dt 29. 18 idolatry is a root which bears gall and wormwood.
In Pv 5. 4 a harlot is " in the end bitter as wormwood."
In Jr 9. 15 to be fed with wormwood and given gall to drink is
punishment for idolatry.
In Jr 23. 15 idolatrous and adulterous prophets shall be fed
with wormwood and made to drink water of gall.
In Lm 3. 15, 19 the same prophet recites the fulfilment of this
threat in Israel because of the wickedness he had before denounced.
In Am 5. 7 mention is made of those " who turn justice to
wormwood," that is, who by injustice make life bitter to the
wronged.
Wormwood is thus associated in Scripture with injustice, sins
of the flesh, and idolatry, and from many passages we know that
these commonly resulted from demonism, spiritism. These four
abominations are shown as prevalent and incurable at the time
and in the area of the Trumpets : see 9. 20, 21. Is not this the
lesson enforced by the agent of these judgments being called
Wormwood? It is the divine indignation against outrageous
wickedness by hardened offenders. Indeed, the way of trans-
gressors is hard.
4. Trumpet 4 (ver. 13). At this point a great voice announces
in mid-heaven that the three remaining Trumpets will attack the
earth-dwellers yet more terribly, and will be woeful experiences.
 TRUMPET 5 — T H E ABYSS 171

It is not said that the inhabitants of the earth hear the sound of
the Trumpets or of this voice. Does not the fact that the
announcer is said to be an eagle indicate the contrary, since it is
not God's usual way to send public messages through birds. May
not the expression " one eagle " mean that it was that one of the
Living Creatures which was " like a flying eagle " ? (4. 8). This
may apply to the great eagle of 12. 14 also. These are the only
places where an eagle is mentioned in this book.
5. Trumpet 5 |(9- 1-11). We have before used ver. 1 as an
example of the interweaving of the symbolic and the literal in
Scripture language. See p. 19.
(i) The star fallen from heaven is an angel (Is 14. 12 : Lk 10. 18 :
Rv 12. 4). Perhaps here it is Satan himself, though not certainly.
This star had already fallen from heaven to earth before this
Trumpet sounded (ireirTiOKora). Comp. 12. 7-9, which precedes
the Trumpets.
(ii) The Abyss.
(1) Lk 8. 31. Demons begged Christ not to command them
to depart into the abyss. It is therefore (a) a place, or beings
could not go there, (b) It is a place demons dread as being for
them one of torment. Comp. Mt 8. 29. (c) Christ has authority
over that place ; see 1. 8.
Rm 10. 7 : " Who shall descend into the abyss ? (that is, to
bring Christ up from the dead)." Therefore (a) it is the place
into which Christ went in death. Hence He did not himself at
death ascend in person to heaven. It was simply the human
spirit which animates the human body which He surrendered to
the Father of spirits, while He himself, the person, went to the
abyss, (c) The direction of this locality in relation to the surface
of the earth is downward : " Who shall descend into the abyss ? "
Comp. Eph 4. 9, concerning Christ : " Now this, He ascended,
what is it but that He also descended into the lower parts of the
earth ? " This fixes the locality of the abyss. OT and NT
combine in placing Sheol (Hades) within the earth. Did ancient
thought know of any other notion as to the region of the world
of the dead ?
(2) The abyss is a fast-closed region, from which there is no
escape save by divine permission or command. " The gates of
Hades prevail against " all its occupants. This the ancients
understood well. As far back as the earliest Assyrian myths it
is called " The Land of No-return." Even a goddess (Ishtar)
going there on a visit could not leave until a mandate from the
supreme god ordered her release (Spence, Myths of Babylon and
Assyria, 128). This also was a common ancient conception.
172 TRUMPET 5 — T H E LOCUSTS

So here the abyss is pictured as entered by a shaft closed by

a locked door. The star could not open this shaft until a key was
given to it. That a literal key could not be given to or be used
by a literal star shows that the language is figurative. But the
meaning is plain. An angel is granted by God power to open the
abyss, that is, to release beings there restrained. But as the
" key " is figurative, so will be the " door " and the " shaft."
Spirit beings do not need an aperture for their exit. Closed doors
do not hinder them or we could shut Satan out of our prayer
chamber. It is other bands that restrain such beings. There is
to come an occasion when, by authority from heaven, exercised
by the " star," the ruler of the abyss (see (3) below) will lead
forth some who had been there restrained.
The only other places where the abyss is mentioned will be
considered in turn (ver. n ; 11. 7 ; 17. 8 ; 20. 1, 3).
(3) The Angel of the Abyss. See on Seal 4, p. 160. It is re-
markable that in Rome Apollo was known as the Tormentor.
(Suetonius, Augustus, 70. Cited by Govett in loco.)
(iii) The Locusts.
The " key " and the " shaft " being symbolical, so will be the
" smoke " that rushes thence and darkens the sun. But one who
has seen a flight of locusts (as the writer has in Egypt) will
recognize the picture. From a distance the appearance is much
like a cloud of smoke, and the sun and air are literally obscured.
Seen nearer, the " smoke " resolves into locusts. The individual
insects seem to emerge from the " cloud."
Govett, the most able, learned, and thorough of literalists, asks
in loco, " But who, save one inspired and enlightened of God,
could describe to us the shapes of beings from the infernal pit ? "
Certainly no one, except it be the god of this age inspiring his
prophets. And how have similar conceptions arisen in the minds
of men not inspired of God ? The figure (see page 196) is copied
from C. W. King's The Gnostics and their Remains, Ed. 1, 270,
Ed. 2, plate J4. He says it is a " Persian andro-sphinx, with
bird's (Ed. 2, crane's) or locust's legs, and scorpion tail; a Magian
genius. Some such Persian demon St. John must have had in
view in his description of the locusts coming out of the bottomless
pit (Apoc. 9. 7)."
It may be reasonably inferred that John was shown these1
beings from the abyss as having the forms described for the same
reason that men in general gave to demons such symbolic forms.
Why should his readers have supposed otherwise ? or how other-
wise should they have known the meaning ? The genii which
guarded the entrance to the Assyrian palaces were pictured each
 TRUMPET 5 — T H E LOCUSTS 173
as a mighty bull, with human head and face, and with wings.
Did any one suppose that the demon was actually of that form ?
or was not the form rather adopted because he was conceived to
have the strength of the bull, the swiftness of the bird, and the
watchfulness and intelligence of man, and so to be an efficient
guardian of the threshold ?
The same habit of mind and speech is still common. We speak
of one as being lynx-eyed or lion-hearted. The medicine man of
the savages dresses in animal guise to convey to his victims the
notion that he can injure them as can the lion or hyena ; but no
savage imagines that the man under the lion's skin is actually
so shaped.
Thus these " locusts " are (1) as formidable as battle horses
rushing to war, and (2) as invulnerable as the iron breastplates
such steeds wore. (3) When a horse bore a crown it signified that
such a steed was in the direct service of a soveriegn (Es 6. 8) ;
and these are commanded directly by the Angel of the Abyss as
their king. (4) The sound of their wings is as terrifying as that
of a mass of cavalry charging headlong in the battle. But (5) they
are not unintelligent; they have the face of a man ; nor (6) are
they revolting to see ; they have the attractive glory of a woman,
long hair. Yet it may be that Greek people would attach to this
feature the idea of frightfulness in war, because, at least in earlier
times, the Spartans wore long hair, and that this was well combed
and shining on the eve of battle was a sign of the utmost reckless-
ness of life (Herod, vii. 209 ; Plutarch, Lycurgus, c. 22).
Or again : King (Gnostics 333) states that the Gnostics said of
their aeon Sabaoth that " he hath the hair of a woman."
Sabaoth was the God of the Jews degraded by the Gnostics into
a lesser and evil power. Can any learned reader throw light upon
this ? Why did the Gnostics attach to this demigod the " hair of
a woman " ? (7) They are ferocious and ravening, with teeth
as those of a lion ; and (8) most dreadful of all, they can inflict
torment like to that of a scorpion.
They are set forth by this combination of fearful characteristics,
though their actual form and nature are not given. What if they
are a pre-Adamic earth-race, fallen, irreclaimable (such as,
possibly, were those demons of Gospel history, who tormented
fearfully the bodies and souls of men), and are now released from
their prison for a brief season to punish this later rebel race who,
like themselves, have become irreclaimable in wickedness ?
The choice of the scorpion as the agent of this judgment, of
torment but not death, is very accurate, for the poison of this
creature seldom kills ; but so terrible is the agony they now
 174 TRUMPET 5 — T H E LOCUSTS

inflict that men seek death as a relief ; but the Angel of Death
has no permission to gratify their craving, but flees from them
instead of hurling himself upon them. This is a time of torment ;
and John, who had lain in Jesus' bosom, who had felt the throb
of His loving heart, yea, had seen Him die in torment to save
these very sinners, does not shrink from declaring faithfully that
torment, even in this life, is inflicted upon the Christ-rejector. It
is no wonder therefore if the eternal state shall likewise "be one
of torment. He who, through love of sin, refuses divine bliss
shall know devilish torment.
That these beings are not veritable locusts is shown by the fact
that they do not damage grass or other green life, or trees.
Incidentally, this shows that vegetation had in measure recovered
from the preceding judgments, and that so these visitations cover
some fair space of time. We see no reason to take the five months
of the present infliction as meaning anything but five months.
In the only other place where this period is mentioned it is plainly
literal (Lk i. 24).
It is mankind alone that these may attack, and the only persons
exempt in the third of the earth affected are those who have the
seal of God on their foreheads. It does not follow that this seal
will be visible to men. It will be enough that the spirit agents
of wrath will know and respect it. It was thus in Ezekiel's day
(Ek 9).
It follows (1) that the region is one where Israelites are then
found, which is elsewhere shown to be principally the Middle
East (Is 11. 11-16). (2) It shows also that this 5th Trumpet is
subsequent to the sealing after the 6th Seal had been opened.
How far, far better to be of the persecuted few marked by God
for preservation from His wrath, than to be of the many who will
bear the mark of the Beast and who must endure such a plague
as this.
6. Trumpet 6 (9. 13-21). The interposed remark (ver. 12):
" The first Woe is past : behold, there come two Woes here-
after," shows that these two judgments are successive, not
overlapping. One is completed before the next commences. It
also prepares the mind for developing terrors.
This second Woe is directed by a single voice from the horns of
the golden altar: that is, the judgment is a continuance of the
response of God to the prayers of the saints presented at that
altar (8. 3-5).
This visitation concentrates upon the ancient and the coming
centre of Satanic and human authority, Mesopotamia (see on
cs. 17, 18). At that time four angels will have been placed there
 TRUMPET 6 175
in readiness for this assault of heaven against the heart of Satan's
kingdom. The decisions of world-affairs are made in the world
invisible ; which dominant factor politicians ignore to the frustra-
tion of their best laid plans. Earlier than this (7. 1) four angels
had been seen, not at the centre of human affairs, but at the
extremities of the earth, restraining judgments until God's ser-
vants had been sealed for exemption. Now, later than that
sealing, as noted on Trumpet 5 above, these present four angels
are concentrated at the heart of affairs. On the former occasion
judgment commenced at remote regions, as foretold : " Evil shall
go forth from nation to nation, and a great tempest shall be
raised from the uttermost parts of the earth " (Jr 25. 32) ; now,
having swept the outlying regions, the tempest converges upon
the central provinces of Satanic empire. God prepares His
military measures in advance. These four angel commanders,
and their infernal cavalry, had been posted in position, but were
held back until the precise hour foreseen by the Supreme Com-
mand. As they are bound (Sew, to fetter) presumably they are
rebel angels, who could not be trusted to await a word of com-
mand, but would have acted as destroyers before the time.
Now they are loosed. Perhaps the phrase " hour and day and
month and year " does not mean for the very hour appointed for
action, but may indicate the exact duration of the plague, as
" five months " did of the last Woe. On either meaning it is a
relief to be assured that most exact and full divine control rules
in all things.
What now shall puny men do when four armies, totalling two
hundred millions of demons, are directed against them ? Small
wonder that a third of mankind succumb : the wonder is that
two-thirds survive. These assailants have the eagerness and the
fierceness of the war horse snorting for the battle (Jb 39. 19-25) ;
their infernal riders have breastplates of fiery red, blue, and
yellow, which flash terror ; their lion-like jaws crush and devour ;
they diffuse the elements of eternal torment, fire, and smoke, and
brimstone (see on 11. 5, and comp. 14. 10, 11 ; 19. 20 ; 20. 10) ;
their very tails are armed with serpents' heads, and deal death
behind as do their mouths before.
Let the student compare this with Joel's description of the
attack of this same army (as we suppose), only there on Palestine
and Jerusalem in particular ; and note the place that humiliation
and supplication will have in the sealed of Israel securing their
deliverance, even as in Ezekiel's day it was those who sighed and
cried in Jerusalem that were marked for preservation. Always
moral condition in man accompanies divine working for his good.
 176 THE STRONG ANGEL

But men other than the sealed, those not slain by these fearful
plagues, do not repent, but continue their insults to the true God
by the worship of false gods, with the always accompanying
crimes and fUthiness.
It is a sad and terrible picture of the moral state of the world
in coming days, a picture drawn everywhere by the prophets
concerning that era. Those days have not yet come : the Man-
child has not yet been taken to the throne of God (12. 5), which is
the event precedent to the onset of the End Days : but plainly is
the civilized world sinking morally to the level marked. As was
said in the last war, so is it still more awfully true to-day, that
" we are witnessing the moral death of nations " (D. M. Panton),
including those nations before much elevated in morals by the
power of the gospel of God, but who now are either mainly
indifferent thereto or are openly opposing it. Fearfully foreboding
are the present results of higher criticism of the Bible, by de-
stroying general confidence in and reverence for It as God's
Word; of the fiction of evolution, by dismissing the almighty
Creator and Judge from the minds of His creatures ; of every
ritualistic religion, by doping sinners with the lie that priests and
ceremonies suffice to secure deliverance from deserved damnation,
thus making sin easy and safe. Inconceivably awful, in time and
in eternity, will be the final harvest of these rank and poisonous
crops, by provoking the temporal and eternal wrath of God the
Holy.
VI. The Two Interposed Visions.
1. The Strong Angel.
The reasons given to show that this is the Son of God are
inconclusive.
(i) It is said that the cloud is a sign of the presence of God, as
at the Red Sea and Sinai. But on both occasions angels also
were in those clouds (Ex 13. 2 1 ; 14. 19 : Ac 7. 53 : Gl 3. 19).
(ii) That the angel's face is as the sun is compared with that
of the Lord in 1. 16. But in 12. 1 the " Woman " is clothed with
the sun ; in 19. 17 an angel stands in the sun ; and at last " the
righteous shall shine forth as the sun " (Mt 13. 43).
(iii) " His feet as pillars of fire " is compared to 1. 15. But
there the feet are not as fire, but as burnished brass.
(iv) It is thought that the little opened book in the angel's
hand refers to the book that the Lamb took from the Father and
had by this time opened. But the article of former reference,
" the book," is not used, and another word for book is employed
(fii(3\api&iov biblaridion, not /3i(3\iov billion); and while in
 THE STRONG ANGEL 177
meaning there is not much difference, and in some MSS. the word
used of the former book is used here in ver. 8 (as RV and Nestle
texts), yet can any reason be given for the change to the word
used here three, if not four, times (and used in NT of this book
only) save to distinguish it from that former book ? x
(v) The only point of any weight for the angel being Christ is
that the rainbow is upon his head, the sign of God's covenant with
mankind. Comparison is made with 4. 3 ; but there the bow is
associated with the throne of the Father, not with the Lamb.
Moreover, there is no sufficient reason for identifying the angel
(or messenger) of the covenant of Ml 3. 1 with the Lord himself.
He is " to prepare the way of the Lord," and also they are dis-
tinguished by the terms used : " the Lord . . . and the angel (or
messenger) of the covenant." So also in Ex 23. 20-23 a n d 32. 34
the angel is not Jehovah, for it seems he has no power to pardon
transgression, but an angel sent by Him in connection with the
covenant then made by Him with Israel at Sinai. The distinction
is clear in 32. 34 compared with 33. 12-16. Moses was not content
that the angel only should lead them, and his supplication pre-
vailed, so that God said, " My presence shall go." This dis-
tinguishes between the Lord and the angel. So in Is. 63. 9 it is
said that Jehovah felt with His people in their afflictions, and by
means of the angel saved them. It may well be that the mighty
angel here, with the sign of the covenant on his head, may be
that same angel to whom of old was entrusted the guardianship
of Israel, and who is presumably Michael, seeing that he is the
" great prince who standeth for" Israel (Dn 12. 1). He is to
intervene for them when the time shall have come for their
national restoration, which time is the goal of this vision.
Comp. 12. 7 ff.
We see no ground for thinking that the Lord leaves His position
at the throne until at least the 6th Bowl.
2. This angel takes his stand upon both sea and earth, as if
to claim both for Him who sent him.
3. At his mighty voice the whole thunder of heaven spake.
But there are things known and said in heaven not yet to be
proclaimed on earth, and John was forbidden to write what the
thunders said. Compare Paul's statement that in Paradise he
" heard words which it is not lawful to utter " (II Cr 12. 4). " Now
we know in part and prophesy in part." The Bible is complete
as regards the imparting of all that God sees we need to know as
1
As to ver. 8, one suspects t h a t the Sinaitic and other MSS. are right here, not
the Alexandrine and others, and t h a t ^i(i\aplSi.ov should be retained, as by-
Darby (New Translation).
 I78 THE MYSTERY
yet; " but then shall I know (understand) fully, even as also
I was fully known (understood) " (I Cr 13. 9-12).
4. The angelic oath. It is not inherently wrong to take oath in
the name of God so as to attest the truth of a statement, for this
holy angel does it. But all other oaths are prohibited to the
Christian (Mt 5. 33-37 : Js 5. 12).
The matter here attested by oath in the name of the ever-
living Creator is—that " in the days of the voice of the 7th angel,
when he is about to sound, then is completed the mystery of God,
according to the good tidings which He declared to His servants
the prophets."
(i) The Mystery. The word denotes something which having
been kept secret is now made known. It need not be anything
" mysterious," but may be quite easy to grasp ; but it had been
kept secret. The word is used (1) of the kingdom of God in
general, as being a reality hidden from unregenerate man, but
made known to faith (Mk 4. 11). (2) This mystery contains
several dependent " mysteries of the kingdom of God " (Mt 13.11 :
Lk 8. 10). It is the privilege and duty of the disciple to become
acquainted therewith, and to make them known, as a good
steward of the mysteries of God, using faithfully his Master's
property (I Cr 4. 1). (3) This formerly hidden, but now revealed,
counsel of God is part of the gospel (Eph 6. 19), of the faith
(I Tm 3. 9). It includes (4) the present partial hardening and the
future salvation of Israel (Rm 11. 25-32) ; and (5) it is concerned
pre-eminently with the calling of Jew and Gentile into that fresh
circle of believing men known as the church of God (I Cr 2. 7:
Eph 1. 9; 3 . 3 ; 4 . 9 : CI 1. 26,27; 2 . 2 : R v i . 20). (6) A special
part of this last element of the mystery is (a) the present union
of Christ and His people, as the basis of their hope that they will
be associated with Him in His glory (Eph 5. 32: CI 1. 27) ; and
(b) the prospect that not all so united to Him will die, but that
some will be alive on earth at His parousia, and will be instantly
changed, glorified, and rapt to heaven with such of this fellowship
as had died (I Cr 15. 50-58 ; comp. I Th 4. 13-18).

The doctrine of the forgiveness of sins through atoning sacrifice

had been made known in all ages and was no mystery. In itself
it occasioned no special opposition from mankind, for, speaking
generally, all races owned it in principle. But the implications
of the mystery involved finally so great an overturning of existing
institutions, and so complete a destruction of Satan's kingdom
» and authority, in order that the earth may pass into the kingdom
of God and be under His authority, that evil spirits and evil men
 THE MYSTERY 179
combined vigorously to oppose the whole scheme, and it demanded
signal courage and fortitude to proclaim it boldly and worthily
(Eph 6. 19). This is still the position, and will be to the end of
this age.
For there is a parallel and antagonistic " mystery of Lawless-
ness " already at work (II Th 2. 7), which is the secret counsel
of Satan's kingdom, also unknown to most of its human victims,
but the " deep things " of which are known to those initiated
thereinto (Rv 2. 24). This will culminate in " Mystery Babylon
the Great," and will be exposed and destroyed at the same epoch
as the mystery of God shall be completed. See on cs. 17, 18.
It is in contrast to this that the strong angel speaks of the
mystery of God.
It is to be noted that the angel's statement corresponds to that
of Paul to the Romans (Rm 16. 25-27). The angel speaks of
(a) the mystery of God, (6) which He evangelized, (c) to His
servants the prophets. Paul speaks of (a) the mystery as being
(b) according to his evangel, and (c) now made known through
prophetic writings.
Founded on justification and the new birth, the mystery
embraces good news for Israel and the nations, for the whole
earth, and for heaven ; the good news that God will overthrow
evil and establish His righteousness, to the blessing of all who
repent of sin. It tells of " compassion like a God," of salvation,
personal and universal, on the grandest scale. This is God's full
evangel. Alas, that, the centuries through, comparatively few
preachers, ministers, evangelists, missionaries, or even teachers,
have known this gospel or made it known, save as to its initial
feature of the forgiveness of sins and deliverance from damnation.
(ii) The Completion of this Mystery, according to the statement
on oath of the great angel, is to be " in the days of the voice of
the 7th angel, when he is about to sound." The right meaning
of this statement is fundamental to understanding much else of
the divine program.
(1) As shown above, the mystery concerns the purpose of God
regarding the church, Israel, the nations, and the setting up of the
sovereignty of God on earth, all as one conjoint matter; as the
first mentioned passage says, " Unto you is given the mystery of
the kingdom of God " (Mk 4. 11), not first of all the mysteries,
though in the parallel passage (Mt 13. 11) the plural is used, " the
mysteries of the kingdom of heaven." The statements together
show (a) that, for the purpose of the instruction being given by
the Lord, the " kingdom of heaven " and the " kingdom of God "
are one kingdom, named first by the name of the Sovereign, and
i8o THE MYSTERY COMPLETED

then by the place whence the kingdom originates and has its
centre ; and (b) as before remarked, that the one mystery contains
subordinate mysteries. This instruction was given to the apostles
who were to build up the church of God by that preaching of
the word, that scattering of the seed, which the Lord had com-
menced. Thus the mystery as a whole includes the mystery of
the church as a component part.
All this now revealed dealing of God with Jew, Gentile, and the
church of God is to be completed at the same great crisis, signalized
in these visions by the 7th Trumpet. This shuts out entirely the
idea that the church will have been completed and glorified prior
to that Trumpet. Whatever living members of that company
may have been removed from earth in advance—as the First-
fruits, and perhaps others—the completion of the church by a
joint resurrection and rapture attends the 7th Trumpet. The
dissociating of the church from the mystery of God as a whole,
and the constituting it a separate disconnected mystery, is the
exegetical mistake which has involved the program of God in
much confusion in many minds. Truly the church has an unique
and supernal portion in the counsel of God ; but nevertheless
that secret counsel, that mystery, must be regarded as one whole
scheme if its parts and development and completion are to be
comprehended accurately.
As a master general causes all sections of his force to converge
on one place at one time, and so brings to a victorious end a long
campaign, so the divine movements of the ages, for the glory of
Christ and of the church, for the reuniting of the dead and the
living, for the blessing of Israel and the nations, for the unity of
heaven and earth in the one kingdom of God, all come to com-
pletion at the one mighty event, the coming forth of the Son of
God from heaven with power and great glory. " The appearing
of the glory of our great God and Saviour " is the blessed hope
of the church, as of all creation (Tt 2. 13).
(2) The strict sense of the angel's words must be gained. And
first, the AV rendering " when he shall begin to sound " is without
warrant, and by being too precise is misleading. The Greek has
nothing corresponding to the word " begin." The RV reads,
" when he is about to sound," which implies " just before he does
so." But this is impossible, for it is certain that the mystery of
God is not to be completed just before this Trumpet, nor is any
one part of it. This will become evident when we examine, the
Trumpet and the Bowls.
The phrase is 6Vav iiiXky a-aXir^eiv (hotan melle salpizein),
the subjunctive of ^AXo (mello) followed by the infinitive. This
 DURING THE JTH TRUMPET l8l
construction seems to be found in the NT on only one other
occasion, recorded at Mk 13. 4 and Lk 21. 7 ; and it is most
noteworthy that this occasion is concerned with precisely the
same mighty crisis epoch as is the statement of the angel, that is,
the close of this age. The four disciples (of whom the writer of
the Revelation was one) asked the Lord, " Tell us, when shall
these things be and, what the sign when these things are all
about to be accomplished ?" (orar /MXXy o-wTeXdo-Oai, or in L
yiveo-Ocu about to come to pass). It is clear that all those things
then in the mind of the questioners could not happen in a point
of time, but were of necessity to be spread over some period of
time. In the light of this the words of the angel can imply that
the mystery of God will be completed during the period of the
7th Trumpet ; for it is equally obvious that all the matters
included in the mystery of God cannot come to pass at a moment
of time, but must cover some period of time. Upon this see the
Note at end of this chapter.
5. Eating the Book (ver. 8,11). Comp. Ek 2. 8—3. 3. This eating
indicates that a prophet must receive into his very heart, and
assimilate into his own mental and spiritual being, the message
he is to deliver to others. If truth be only repeated, without
being a vital force to the speaker, he is but a parrot, not a prophet ;
and the voice of a parrot carries little conviction to the conscience
of the hearer, not even if the words be true. The prophet learns
that God's words are sweet, for they impart fellowship of mind
with Himself ; but also that they are bitter, on account of their
ofttimes fearful import for many hearers.
That the eating of this book would empower John to prophesy
again concerning many peoples and nations and tongues and
kings, argues that this book is not the same as the book that the
Lamb had taken ; because almost the whole, if not the whole of
the contents of that book was now already known to John. This
" little book " was (a) smaller than that book, and (b) enabled him
to prophesy again, i.e. it imparted further information.

VI. 2. The Temple and the Witnesses ( n . 1-13).

1. The Temple. The scene now shifts from the shore of the
Mediterranean to Jerusalem, the place of God's temple (ver. 1), and
" the great city where the Lord was crucified," and which,
spiritually speaking (ver. 8), is called Sodom (Is 1. 10 ; 3. 9 :
Jr 23. 14 : comp. Ek 16. 46-49), and Egypt (comp. Ek 23. 3, 8,
!9> 27).
This temple is still God's temple and this city is still the holy
city. The latter was set apart by God for Himself, to be His
182 THE TEMPLE OF GOD

centre on earth. Its faithlessness to Him, its defilement by the

sins of His people, its destructions under His purging judgments,
do not alter His choice and purpose. After its total destruction
by Nebuchadnezzar, such a man of faith and communion with
God as Daniel could still pray for it as God's city bearing His
name (Dn 9. 17-20). Later again, God's choice of it as His city
was mentioned in heaven as still operative (Zh 3. 2), and this in
a vision looking prophetically to the very period to which Rv 11
looks forward. The Son of God in His day owned Jerusalem as
the city of the great King (Mt 5. 35) ; and in the days of Messiah
its name shall be, no more Sodom, but Jehovah Shammah,
Jehovah is there ! (Ek 48. 45). Therefore, just before this last
mentioned period, when John's vision is about to be fulfilled, it
is still the holy city, because claimed by God as His centre, where
also, amidst general apostasy, Jewish as well as Gentile, some
will be worshippers of Himself, the true God.
That there will be at Jerusalem a temple to be built by Messiah,
to be the centre of worship of the living God, is proved by these
many passages : Ps. 66. 1-4, 8, 12-15 : Is 19. 21 ; 27. 13 ; 66. 20-23 :
Jr 33. 14-18 : Ek 40-48 : Hg 2. 6-9 : Zh 6. 12, 13 ; 14. 9, 11, 16-21.
These passages unite in foretelling that Messiah shall build a
temple at Jerusalem, that priests and Levites shall there minister,
that feasts shall be kept, and that Jews and Gentiles shall offer
sacrifices, prayers, and worship. Thus shall be fulfilled the pur-
pose of God, " My house shall be called a house of prayer for all
peoples " (Is 56. 6-8), which it never yet has been. The boldest
ought to hesitate to emasculate this whole body of testimony, in
spite of the difficulty felt by some that the resumption of sacrifices
seems to conflict with the teaching of Hebrews as to the cessation
of sacrifice. Bacon's sound canon is valid in this case : that if
a matter be once established by adequate evidence, no objections
can overthrow i t ; because in such case belief is founded upon
our knowledge, but objections upon our ignorance.
But that temple is not the one in view in Rv 11, for the latter
is already there in the time of the Beast, before Messiah's coming.
That a prior temple will be built is plain from Dn 8. 9-14 ; 9. 27 ;
12. 11 : Jl 2. 15-18 : Mt 24. 15, and our passage. This last place
intimates that there will be an altar, implying that sacrifices will
be resumed, and that there will be worshippers, including that
" very small remnant " of Isaiah (1. 9 ; 10. 20-22 ; etc.), and
those that " fear Jehovah " of whom Malachi wrote in connection
with the day of wrath, and who will be remembering the law
of Moses, though at risk, and often at the cost, of life itself
(Ml 3. 16 ; 4- 6).
 THE OUTER COURT 183
2. The Measuring of the Temple. When a surveyor receives
instructions to measure up a long-neglected property it may be
presumed that the owner is about to resume active interest in it.
Thus when Zechariah saw in vision Jerusalem being measured,
it was because the time had arrived for Jehovah to come and to
dwell there (Zh 2.). Similarly, when Ezekiel in vision (cs. 41, 42)
witnessed the measuring of the temple, it was because the glory
of God was about to return thither (43. 1-5).
This meaning of the measuring shows with certainty that the
fulfilment was far distant from the time when John lived, and is
still future to-day, for Jehovah has not yet returned to Zion,
neither since John's time has there been there any temple to be
measured. It further establishes that the visions shown to John,
of which this is part, have reference to the End of the Age.
3. The Outer Court. This was not to be included in the survey,
because it was given to the nations. There is here a notable
exactness, showing the precise point of time in view so far. The
point of time is while the outer court is overrun by Gentiles, but
the sanctuary and the altar are as yet unprofaned. But older
prophecies make clear that, before the end of things, (1) the
abomination that maketh desolate (presumably an image of the
Beast) is to " stand in a holy place " (Mt 24. 15 mgn ; Gr.
Jv TOTi-ip ayiif) ; (2) that the Beast himself will proceed much
further than this in aggression against God, for he will make all
sacrifice to God to cease, so that thus the altar also will be
profaned ; and (3) that he will thrust himself forward into the
sanctuary itself, which was in the inner court, and sit there
proclaiming himself as the only object of worship (II Th 2. 3, 4) ;
and (4) finally, he will cast down the sanctuary itself (Dn 8. 9-14).
Such will be the end of this premillennial temple.
This will be the day of the capture and desolation of the city
foretold in Zh 14. 1, 2, and by Christ : " When therefore ye see
Jerusalem being encompassed by armies \KVKXov^viy, then
know that her desolation is at hand" (Lk 21. 20). From that
time the city shall be trodden down by the Gentiles without
cessation until the Lord shall descend suddenly to destroy the
Beast (Zh 14. 3, 4 : Lk 21. 27 : Rv 19. 11-21).
The statement by Christ just mentioned must be considered
with care : " Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles
until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled " (Lk 21. 24).
(1) To tread down (Trarew) cannot be said of the peaceable
holding of a city, as of the long Turkish occupation of Jerusalem.
To the Moslem it is one of the most sacred of cities, because there
(as they say) Abraham offered up Ishmael their forefather, and
184 THE TREADING DOWN

there they have the great mosque which still defiles God's holy
place. The very wall of the city now standing was built by
Selim I in 1517, which protecting of a city is the very contrary
of treading it down. Again, the present extending and beauti-
fying of Jerusalem under British rule is also the very opposite of
treading it down, for the term imports violence and destruction,
as when one fiercely crushes a serpent under heel (Lk 10. 19),
or as men trample grapes to pulp in the winepress (Rv 14. 20 ;
19- 15)-
(2) Our present passage is the only other place where the word
is found in NT : " the holy city shall they tread under foot forty
and two months." This must be the event to which Christ
pointed, because, though Jerusalem was trodden down by the
Romans in A.D. 70 by Titus, and again in A.D. 132 by Hadrian,
those treadings down did not continue until the end of the times
of the Gentiles. It has been only by treating these words of our
Lord with most unwarranted looseness that they have been
supposed to refer to A.D. 70 ; whereas taken strictly, and in
connection with Rv 11. 2, they are of the utmost value by showing
distinctly the epoch when the times of the Gentiles will run out,
that is, at the close of the three and a half years of treading
down by the Beast.
Now here John has in vision been taken back to the stage of
events when the sanctuary, the inner court, its brazen altar, and
its worshippers, are still unmolested, but the outer court is in use
by the Gentiles. The change of tenses here introduced is not an
anomaly, but is highly significant: " the outer court was given
unto the Gentiles : and the holy city they shall tread under foot
forty and two months ". See on c. 7, pp. 147, 148. (2) Thus his
mind has been carried back to a little before the 5th Seal and the
Tribulation. The seven years' covenant between the Beast and
the apostate majority of Israel is in force ; the worship of God is
thus far undisturbed and the true worshippers can attend at the
altar. At this point the vision turns forward and supplies details
of some essential doings in Jerusalem which will lead up to and
justify the overwhelming of the Beast and his supporters under
the third Woe, the seven Bowls.
4. The 1260 Days and the Two Witnesses.
Under his covenant with Israel the subjects of the Beast
naturally have access to the city, and they are permitted to enter
the outer court of the temple. As before in NT times, so at the
close of this age, that is the court of the Gentiles. But in the
midst of the seven years of the treaty the crafty Wild Beast
 THE TWO WITNESSES 185
violates its terms, uses his access to the land and the city for
further aggression, prohibits the worship of God, ordains that of
himself, and proceeds to enforce his law of 'an universal religion
under extreme penalties and persecution. On this see on c. 13,
and on c. 17 as to his ascent from the abyss.
The present vision brings into relief a measure taken by the
Almighty to strengthen the courage of the godly all through the
period of that Tribulation, and at the same time to restrain their
foes and warn these of His wrath. Jerusalem will be the vortex
of that whirlpool of trouble, and God will send the Two Witnesses
to stand for Him at the very heart of the battle ; which they
will do for its full period of 42 months, 1260 days, or three and
a half years.
The details will transpire just as stated, and we need comment
only on the figures of speech used ; only premising first that it is
not indispensable and not possible to identify the Two, but we
think they may be Enoch and Elijah, if for no other reason than
that these are the only two men who have not died. It is plain
that Elijah is to be on the earth at that very period to work in
the hearts of Israelites (Ml 4. 5, 6 : Mk 9. 11-13). Moses having
been already taken from the world of death to that of glory
in heaven cannot be thought of as dying a second time. (Lk
9- 30, 31-)
The figures used of the Two are three.
(i) Olive trees (4). Comp. Zh 4. These are so full of the Spirit,
as olive trees are of oil, that they can impart His grace to others
to shine in that deep darkness.
(ii) Lampstands (4). In Zechariah's vision the olive trees fed
the lamps ; here the same persons are also lamps. So inwardly
enriched are they by the grace of the Spirit that they have in
themselves the energy to shine as witnesses for God.
(iii) They are pictured as belching forth fire to devour those
who fain would destroy them. In this they resemble the " horses"
of Trumpet 5 (9. 17, 18). Will those who take this literally say
whether " the sword that goeth forth out of the mouth " of the
Son of Man (1. 16) and the Word of God (19. 15) is a literal metal
sword ? If the latter is a symbol of power to slay, why shall not
the fire be such ? Again, when it is said that " Saul was breathing
threatening and slaughter against the saints " (Ac 9. 1), did
something actual, called " slaughter," come out of his mouth ?
And what is the force of the statement concerning the Lord, when
destroying the Lawless One, that He " shall consume him with
the breath of His mouth ? " (II Th 2. 8). Is not " the breath of
His mouth " the plain equivalent of " the sword that goeth out
i86 THE WITNESSES KILLED

of His mouth ? " and do not both mean His word of command ?
Speaking of His words of judgment through His prophets God
has said, " Is not My word as a fire ? " (Jr 23. 29). Thus by-
words of fiery wrath shall these two prophets, and the " horses,"
i.e., demons, destroy. Let the reader study Ps 18. 8; as a picture
of God acting in wrath, and Jb 41. 18-21, the description of
leviathan. All these and similar passages show the feature of the
symbolic and the literal being interwoven.
5. Their Death. The Witnesses are immortal till their work
is done. Then they are permitted to confirm their testimony by
death. How fearful will be the power of the Beast that he can
conquer even these Two. Well may his devotees exclaim, " Who
is able to make war with him ? " (13. 4). Well may the godly
tremble at this his victory over God's champions. Now will his
full supremacy seem assured : now will the impious rejoice,
congratulate one another, and treat the corpses with contempt.
This last indignity was common in the " dark " ages ; and the
world is even now retrogressing morally and will reach the
darkest age.
But God Who raised up their Lord from the dead will raise up
these also by His Spirit who shall dwell in them, and after only
the same period of death as was the portion of their Lord. They
too shall ascend into heaven, and the faces of beholders shall
blanch with terror. This, at least, shall be no secret rapture.
As earthquake accompanied the resurrection of their Lord at
Jerusalem, so shall a mighty earthquake again rock that city, a
tenth of it shall fall, and 7000 sinners perish. Attempts to
" spiritualize " such details are hopeless ; their plain sense is
simple. It is to be observed that in that city at that particular
time the hardening of men is not so complete as over the earth
in general: comp. 9. 20. Perhaps the influence of the Witnesses
and of the godly has been as salt, retarding corruption locally,
and so some " give glory to the God of heaven."
It seems possible that the " great multitude " of c. 7 and the
" victors " of 15. 2 are taken up at this same time. It is at least
clear that they all are rapt to heaven about this period, for all
have passed through the Tribulation under the Beast.
It is not said that the Lord descends for these Two. The
voice (not a person) comes from heaven, and calls them thither.
As they go a cloud hides them from further view, as a cloud had
hidden their Lord as He went up. But He did not remain in
that cloud, but ascended into heaven itself. Thus are these
vindicated and honoured by their God. Resurrection and rapture
will outbalance all sufferings on earth.
 THE 7TH TRUMPET 187
" O happy band of pilgrims,
Look upward to the skies,
Where such a light affliction
Shall win so great a prize."
It is for this critical point in those dread days of the End that
God graciously affords encouragement by means of this vision of
the measuring of the city, intimating that the time has arrived
for the fulfilment of Zechariah's vision, for He is about " to return
to Jerusalem with mercies, and will dwell in Zion " (Zh 1. 16;
2. 10-12).

The 3rd Woe has yet to burst, but it will be the divine means
of destroying the Beast, personal and as an empire, and of freeing
Palestine and the earth from his fierce, satanic oppression.

7. The Seventh Trumpet (11. 14-19).

1. The announcement (14) that the " second Woe is past "
shows that there is an interval between the second and the third
Woes. The words added " Behold, the 3rd Woe cometh quickly "
both awaken attention, and state that the interval will be brief.
Judgment is God's strange work, and He delays it to the fullest
justifiable limit and then hastens its execution. This principle
of His action does not agree with the idea that the judgments of
Revelation have been spread over nineteen long centuries.
2. Here again we should not translate " the 7th angel sounded,
and there followed great voices," for this suggests that the Trumpet
has ceased to sound before the voices spake. It reads here also
" there came (kyivovro) great voices," which leaves open the
point raised. We shall find that the period of this Trumpet
extends to the " great hail " which accompanies the destruction
of Babylon the great, the capital city of the Beast (11. 19 ;
16. 17-21), which event is celebrated by rejoicing hosts in heaven
as proof of the sovereignty of the Almighty and that the marriage
and the kingdom of the Lamb are come (19. 6-9).
3. The statement by the great voices (15) is that " the kingdom
of the world became \kykviTo) the kingdom of our Lord and of
His Anointed, and He [our Lord] shall reign unto the ages of
the ages."
(i) The Lord of this place is the Father of the Lord Jesus, who
is His Anointed. For this use of Kvpios Kurios see, e.g., Mt
11. 25 : Ac 4. 26 : I Tm 1. 14: Hb 12. 5, 6, 14: Rv 4. 8 : etc.
That this divine title is given to Christ also is notable proof of
His deity.
(ii) The great voices speak here as looking back over the period
 i88 THE SEVENFOLD PROGRAM

of this Trumpet from the standpoint of its fulfilment. Even so,

as we saw, does the close of c. 5 anticipate the final outcome of
the intervention of the Lamb, the subjection of the whole universe
to God. And as then the remainder of the book proceeds to
show the stages by which that outcome will be reached, so here
the Bowls will tell how the recovery of the kingdom of the world
by God will be effected by the crushing of all rebels.
4. At the proclamation of the great voices the twenty-four
elders fall on their faces and worship God. How reverently the
noblest princes of heaven deport themselves before God. We,
who as yet are lesser than they in power and glory, do well
indeed to " serve God with reverence and awe " (Hb 12. 28).
It is to be observed that the elders are still occupying their
thrones. The Lamb has not yet taken His throne, and His
co-sovereigns with Him, and so the hitherto existing government
of the universe has not yet been superseded. As heretofore, the
grounds of their worship are found in the omnipotence and
eternity of the Lord God, not in any relation of Father and child
as with the new-born sons of men. Their thanksgiving specifies
seven transactions, which must be examined fully. They are a
resume of the whole of the End Time.
(i) " Thou hast taken Thy great power." This is literally
" Thy power the great " ; comp. 7. 14, " the tribulation the
great." Comp. also II Sm 18. 9 L X X : " the mule came
under the thick boughs of the oak the great," clearly meaning
some one oak which signally exceeded the ordinary size of
oaks.
God has always been exercising some measure of His inherent
power, but at the time in question He had developed into action
the full greatness of His power. No ordinary work was to be
done, and no ordinary measure of energy would suffice. Essen-
tially, infinite energy can be neither augmented nor diminished,
but its exercise can know both.
C. 12 and 13 will show the precise point of affairs when God so
drew out into activity the reserves of His energy. C. 12 tells of
the removal to the throne of God of a Man-child (5). This pre-
cipitated war in heaven between Michael and Satan, which ended
in the latter being cast down to the earth (9). To carry forward
the war on earth the Dragon brings up the Beast (13. 1), whose
career is then outlined. This will be examined in our next
chapter. Here it suffices to point out that the ejectment of Satan
from heaven is occasion for a great voice in heaven to say, " Now
is come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God
and the authority of His Anointed " (10). This is therefore just
 GOD REIGNED 189
before the End Times begin, since these set in through the
entrance of Michael into the war (Dn 12. 1) and the casting of
Satan to the earth and his acting through the Beast. This
rapture of the Man-child is the earliest event of the future
mentioned in the Revelation, and precedes immediately the End
Times.
(ii) " Thou didst reign," or " Thou reignedst," or " Thou didst
begin to reign." There is a sense in which God is the perpetual
ruler of all His creation. Faith knows this and counts upon it.
See II Ch 20. 6 : Ps 59. 13 ; 89. 9 : Dn 4. 26 ; 5. 21. But the
last cited book shows that this rule is at present exercised
ordinarily through angel princes, of whom the 24 Elders are the
seniors. But at the point to which these Elders now refer God
had Himself taken up the actual sovereignty and was personally
directing the government. This hour is the burden of the
twenty-five or twenty-six other passages where God is said
Himself to rule or reign ; they are prophetic. See these two
words. This change from superintending, as one in the back-
ground, to direct activity as Sovereign, must needs be portentous.
The occasion was the establishing of the royal session portrayed
in cs. 4 and 5. From that hour God was acting directly, through
the Lamb, His Anointed.
The past tense used " reigned" (l/JarrtAeuo-as ebasileusas) is
once more not a grammatical anomaly. In the LXX it is used
in several passages where the sense is " began to reign," as the
Hebrew is rightly rendered in AV and RV. See I Kn 22. 41 :
II Kn 3. 1; 15. 13 : II Ch 29. 1 : and comp. I Kn 1. 18. See
Speaker's Comm. on Ps 93. 1, which place also has the tense.
This verse is to be noted as being in strict accord with our passage
and millennial in setting. " Jehovah reigneth. He is clothed with
majesty; Jehovah is clothed with strength ; He hath girded
Himself therewith : the world also is established, that it cannot
be moved." The last clause shows that the fulfilment must be
after those shattering earthquakes and overturnings of the moun-
tains foretold as to come in the End Days. In order to effect this
establishment of the earth Jehovah takes His great power and
reigns. A. T. Robertson translates our passage by " assumed
rule " (Grammar 834).
(hi) "The nations became wrathful" (wpyio-d-qa-av orgisthesan).
The effect of this divine interruption of their doings and plans
was to provoke the immediate, united, and fierce hostility of the
nations, incited thereto by the Dragon, now confined to the earth
as his sphere of operations. It is the fulfilment of the second
psalm : " Why do the nations rage ? " and of Ps 99. 1, where the
190 THE GODLY DEAD JUDGED

L X X has the same Greek words as h e r e : Z/3a<ri\cv<Tcv . . .

opy i^kfrOwav.
(iv) " A n d Thy wrath c a m e " {opy-fj orge). This angry out-
burst did not alarm the Lord God the almighty. To Him the
nations are but as a drop in the bucket. He replied thereto by
letting loose His wrath ; even as the same second psalm (4, 5)
continued : " He that sitteth in the heavens (' I saw a throne
and one sitting thereon ') shall laugh . . . Then will He speak
unto them in His wrath."
(v) " And the season (Kcupo's) of the dead to be judged " : not
" the season when resurrected saints shall be judged," but " the
dead." Saints in everlasting deathless bodies are never mis-
described as " the dead." On this see on 20. 11-15, Ques. 4,
p. 350 and p. 80. It is clear that it cannot here include the
wicked dead for they will not be judged till a thousand years
later (20. 5).
The verb Kpidrjvai krithenai, " to be judged," is the inf. pass,
aor. On this I have said in Firstfruits and Harvest (81) :
Being an aorist it has the force of a completed and final action.
But this final judgment, which disposes of the case, may be the
conclusion of a process of judgment. This is seen in another place
where this aorist is twice used, Ac 25. 9, 10. Festus asked Paul
whether he would be willing to go up from Caesarea to Jerusalem
" there to be judged of these things before me." Paul answered that he
already stood before Caesar's court " where I ought to be judged "
{KpiOrjvai krithenai). Both Festus and Paul meant that a final
verdict should be reached and the case be determined: hence the
aorist. But the history shows that Paul had been many times before
the courts, twice before the Sanhedrin and several times before Felix
(Ac 23 and 24). Thus this passage in Rv 11. 18 does not forbid that
believers may have been before judged by Christ, either in this life or
after death, or both ; what it states is that at the season indicated
the decision of the Lord will be given, announcing, as we suggest,
whether the person is of the " blessed and holy " who are accounted
worthy of the impending resurrection from among the dead and of
place and reward in the kingdom then about to be inaguurated.
(vi) " And [the season] to give the reward to (a) Thy slaves the
prophets, and (b) to the saints, and (c) to them that fear Thy
name—the small and the great." The reward (/uo-Oos misthos)
is to be given by the Lord at His coming (22. 12) ; therefore this
clause presumes that He has come, and that consequently the
dead, who had just before been judged, and accounted by the
Lord to be worthy of the first resurrection and to share in His
kingdom (Lk 20. 34-36), have been raised. From I Cr 15 and.
I Th 4 we know that the then living saints will have been taken
 THREE CLASSES REWARDED I9I

up with them to meet the Lord in the air. Christ had promised
to such as should walk by His precepts and example that " thou
shalt be recompensed in the resurrection of the righteous"
(Lk 14. 14), and to those who should suffer for being righteous
He had said that " great is your reward (misthos) in the heavens "
(Mt 5. 12). It is to be much observed that this reward is a
misthos, wages for work done (Rv 22. 12, mgn.), not a free gift as
are justification and eternal life (Rm 3. 24 ; 6. 23).
The three classes mentioned are to be distinguished.
(a) The prophets : men who by unstinted devotion and un-
swerving obedience had lived out in the practice of life the title
" bondservants, slaves," who had been leaders in the cause and
conflicts of their Lord, and who in consequence had suffered in
this life heavier loss than do most. They are at the opposite
extreme from those believers who as far as possible avoid reproach
and loss and who get on well in this world.
(b) The saints (ay«« hagioi) : the general body of believers
who walked in separation from the world, in holiness of life, who
were salt amidst corruption and light in darkness. This word
" saints " is their frequent designation in the Epistles, and its use
here connects the Revelation with those earlier apostolic writings.
They were marked by prayer (5. 8 ; 8. 3, 4) ; they faced the war
with the Wild-Beast (13. 7) ; they shewed faith and patience
(13. 10 ; 14. 12) ; their blood was shed freely, so that they were,
when required, faithful unto death (16. 6 ; 17. 6 ; 18. 2-4) ; and
thus practising righteous acts they wove a white robe in which
they shall array themselves as the bride of the Lamb (19. 8).
(c) " Those fearing Thy name." Such a class, as distinct from
the out-and-out avowed Christian, is known to the NT. Cornelius
is so termed before his baptism into Christ; and Peter's words,
" in every nation he that feareth God," imply that there are other
such (Ac 10. 2, 35). In NT times many Gentiles had learned to
fear the God of Israel and attended at the synagogues (Ac 13. 16,
26). In the End Times an angel will call upon all men to fear
the Creator (14. 7). The " sheep " of the Lord's parable (Mt 25.
31-46) had not espoused Him, but had shown in practice that
they feared the God of Christ's distressed brethren. There are
to be such as will be guests at the marriage supper of the Lamb,
though belonging not to the Bride (19. 9), to which status the
" virgins " of the Lord's parable of the End Days correspond
(Mt 25. 1-13 : comp. Ps 45. 12-15).
In these three classes there are " small and great," incon-
spicuous members and more prominent persons; but all such
will be of those rewarded, though rewards will vary with service
 192 ON " A B O U T TO SOUND "

(I Cr 3. 8), and one star will differ from another star in glory
(I Cr 15. 41). Let each of us search his heart and test his ways,
and consider whether he does in reality belong to one or other of
these companies.
(vii) " And to destroy them that destroy the earth." The
fulfilment of this is shown at 19. 11-21, the destruction of the
Beast, the False Prophet, the kings of the earth, and their armies.

This brief summary of the End Time, from its beginning to its
end, is of the utmost value for understanding the whole program
of God and the scheme of the Revelation.

But it was announced that " the third Woe cometh quickly,"
yet nothing has been said concerning it. This defect will now be
supplied. The program has been unfolded as far as to the
destroyers of the earth being/themselves destroyed. How this
will be effected will be shown in cs. 15 and 16, which are an
expansion of ver. 9 of this c. 11. This shows that cs. 12-14 are a
parenthesis. This interposed series of visions we must now
study. They are utterly crucial to the whole book.

Note 1, to p. 181, on " about to sound."

It should be noted that the verb used by the angel (T€A.£U>
teleo, finished, completed) is the root of the compound found in
the question of the apostles as given by Mk, avvrt\ia> sunteleo,
which may be rendered completely completed, accomplished.
And that mello itself does not imply immediacy of fulfilment may
be seen at Ac 11. 28, where in the present infinitive it is followed
by a future infinitive, " a great famine was ^eAAt
mellein esesthai, about to be." Here the words foretold an event
which, as it proved, was not to be for three or perhaps four years.
But it may be said : Granted that it must be so as regards the
whole mystery of God, yet as regards the part therein of the
church does not I Cr 15. 52 declare that the completion of the
church, by resurrection and rapture, will take place " in a moment,
in the twinkling of an eye," and is not that instantaneous, at a
mere point of time ? This is true ; but it does not say that this
momentary event is to take place at the very moment that the
last trumpet first gives a blast. This is indeed the natural inference
from the next clause, that the event will happen " at the last
trump ; for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be
raised, etc." Here we find another of the many instances which
should rebuke the desire that, for the sake of pleasing English,
 DURING THE LAST TRUMP 193
God's Word should be translated loosely, not exactly. Let the
passage be rendered strictly and it will read " in the last trump ;
for it s h a l l trump" (Iv T{J eirxo-ry (rdXiriyyi . . . a-aX.iri.uiL yap en te
eschate salpingi . . . salpisei gar). The difference between at
and in is the difference between at that moment and during that
period. As regards Iv en with the dative of the noun, when
referring to time, Liddell and Scott give the force as " within,
while, during the time that " ; and the VGT 210 shows that this
was the usage in common speech also, by saying, " The temporal
use of {en) to denote the period within which anything is done
is naturally very common," i.e., in the papyri and inscriptions.
It is extremely common in the NT. It were a long task to
examine the whole Book, but in 95 instances of this construction
noticed in the first three Gospels only one does not denote some
period of time ; as, " in the days of Herod," " in those days,"
" in that hour," " in that season," " in the time of harvest," and
so on. The one exception noticed (Lk 4. 5) is an exception
because of a specific word added, " in a moment of time " : without
the word " moment " the exception would not arise.
What therefore I Cr 15. 52 states is, that at some point of time
during the period of the last trumpet that instantaneous event
will occur ; but it does not say that that moment of time will
coincide with the moment the angel begins to blow. The failure
to recognize this has caused much difficulty.
The NT use of kv en with the dative, as connected with things
future, is in harmony with the foregoing, as these places will show.
Mt 19. 28 : " in the regeneration (Iv ry TraAi ) when the
Son of Man shall sit on the throne of His glory, ye also shall sit
upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel." This
work of judging cannot but imply a period.
I Cr 15. 23 : " all shall be made alive . . . they that are of
Christ in His parousia " (Iv rfj irapova-iy avroty. The sense in
which Paul used the phrase can be seen by his usage of it else-
where, as
I Th 2. 19 : " For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of
glorying ? Are not even ye, before our Lord Jesus, in His
parousia ? " It was not only at the first instant of the parousia
that Paul would rejoice in his converts, but permanently in the
presence of the Lord.
I Th 3. 13 : " to the end that He may establish your hearts
unblamable in holiness before our God and Father in the parousia
of our Lord Jesus with all His saints." It is not merely at the
first instant of rapture that this unblamable condition will be
important. It is to be a continuous condition before God.
G
 i94 THE LAST TRUMP

Ph. 2. 12 : " as ye have always obeyed, not as in my -presence

(parousia) only, but now much more in my absence." Here the
notion of duration, of a period, is plain.
It is thus that John also uses the phrase : " abide in Him . . .
that we may not be ashamed from Him in His parousia"
(I J n 2. 28).
It is, of course, strongly denied by many that Paul's " last
trump " is the same as John's last trump. In this case Paul
must have known of one last trump and John of another last
trump, and the Bible must speak of two things each of which is
last. An esteemed correspondent writes as follows :

In the current number of World Digest, No. 54 (Oct., 1943),

p. 24, this quotation occurs under the caption "The Things They
Say."
' When the Last Trump sounds, in England a Royal Commission
will be set up to decide whether it is really the Last Trump or the
Last Trump but one. Anon.'
In thus satirizing English political procedure, the unknown
satirist probably did not know that his words had a relevant
theological bearing, since many hold that after the Last Trump of
I Cr 15 the Trumpet of Mt 24 is to sound.

The latent supposition must be avoided that things shown in

the Revelation were not revealed before. Some important things
were known before, as for example : (1) Daniel was shown that
there are personages of royal rank associated with the Ancient of
Days in the government of heaven and earth : " I beheld till
thrones were placed " (Dn 7. 9). Paul knew of those thrones as
at the summit of the invisible creation : " thrones, dominions,
principalities, authorities " (CI I. 16). John shows us these rulers
in the twenty-four elders. (2) Abraham knew of the " city that
hath the foundations " (Hb 11. 10) ; Paul calls it " the Jerusalem
that is above " (Gl 4. 26) ; John gives the full vision of it.
(3) Isaiah foretold a great trumpet as the signal for the gathering
of the outcasts of Israel, to be blown in the day that Jehovah
should come forth out of His place (Is 26. 20, 21 ; 27. 13). The
Lord Jesus said that it is He who shall cause that trumpet to be
sounded at His advent (Mt 24. 31). Paul adds that the dead and
the living saints shall be raised or changed in connection with the
coming of the Lord, and that the trumpet that shall then sound
will be the last trump (I Cr 15. 52 : I Th 4. 16, 17), and he identifies
it with the preceding mentions of the trump, by calling it " the
trump of God," that trumpet before in Scripture associated with
the descent of God to this earth. By so naming it as the trump
 IT SHALL TRUMP 195
of God he seems to forbid in advance the imported idea that he
had in mind the trumpet signals of Roman camps. And by-
calling it the last trump he intimates that it would be one of a
series of trumpets ; which series John gives as numbering seven ;
and the angel announces that it will be under the last of these
that the mystery of God will be completed. It spoils the perfect
sequence of truth revealed in connection with the trump of the
Lord, to say that a most important item of the mystery of God
had been completed some several years at least before this
last trump known to Scripture. And the idea seems quite
unnecessary save to support one particular scheme of prophetic
interpretation.
Even without the other passages cited above, the sense of a
period of time seems clearly involved in the whole statement of
the angel. He did not say : " When the 7th angel shall sound,
then immediately the mystery of God shall be finished " ; but
" in the days of the voice of the 7th angel, etc." The plural " in
the days " means of necessity during a period, not at an instant ;
and the singular number accompanying " in the days of the
voice " further intimates that the trumpet sound is regarded as
continuing throughout that period.
Finally, the phrase in I Cr 15. 52, translated literally " it shall
t r u m p , " is to be noticed. It is much less specific than the loose
rendering " the trumpet shall sound," which latter aids the
misconception that it is at the first sound of the trumpet that the
events in question will occur. It is important to remember that
trumpeting was not always a matter of one short blast and no
more. Concerning Sinai we read (Ex 19. 19) that " the voice of
the trumpet waxed louder and louder." The L X X emphasizes
the prolonged nature of the sound by translating " the sounds of
the trumpet were waxing louder and louder." Of Jericho it tells
twice that " the priests . . . went on continually . . . blowing
the trumpets as they went," and that it was at the sound of " a
long blast " that the people were to shout (Jh 6. 13, 5).
From the foregoing as a whole we may conclude that each of
these seven angels is to be understood as continuing to blow during
the period of his judgment, and that it is during the period of the
seventh trumpet that the mystery of God will reach its completion.
Then shall the universe see what faith knows as yet only in part,
and what angels desire to investigate, even " the depth of the
riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God," that His
judgments are indeed unsearchable " and His ways past tracing
out," and then " to Him shall be the glory for ever. Amen."
(Rm 11. 33-36).
ig6 WHAT SCIENCE SAYS

Note 2, on the literal fulfilment of the plagues.

The believer is not unduly concerned as to what " science " may
say upon the interpretation of the Word of God, but if any are
interested to see how a modern scientist conceives that the
physical disturbances described in these judgments could be
brought about they may read an interesting paper by R. E. D.
Clark, M.A., Ph.D., entitled " Apocalyptic Portents in the Light
of Modern Science." It is in The Transactions of the Victoria
Institute, vol. lxxiv, 1942, p. 17.

See p. 172.
 CHAPTER VIII

T H E WOMAN AND T H E MAN-CHILD

(C. 12)

The seventh trumpet carries forward the drama to the comple-

tion of the mystery of God, in the rewarding of the godly and the
destroying of the destroyers of the earth. This destruction is
effected by the seven bowls, which finish the wrath of God (15. 1)
and conclude the Time of the End.
Chapter 12 turns back to the commencement of the End Days ;
for Satan is still acting in the heavens, the Beast has not yet been
brought on the scene, his reign and persecution are still future.
The persons involved in c. 12 are (1) the Woman, (2) the Man-
child, (3) his brethren, the rest of the woman's seed, (4) the
Dragon and his angels, (5) Michael and his angels.

I. T H E WOMAN AND THE DRAGON.

It is simply crucial to the right interpretation that, at the time
of the opening stage of this drama, the Woman and the Dragon
have in common this striking feature, that each is at once in
heaven and on earth. The Woman is in heaven arrayed with the
glories of heaven, yet is on earth in travail; the Dragon too is
in heaven, drawing the stars of heaven after him, yet is he on
earth waiting to devour the Man-child about to be born. This
twofold sphere of each settles important questions.
1. The time for the events. When Paul wrote to the Ephesians
Satan's hosts were still in the heavenly places (Eph 6. 12). This
was nearly thirty years after the ascension of Christ. Thirty
years later still, John saw this vision, and the casting of Satan
from heaven was still future. But this casting out of Satan was
a direct sequence to the Man-child having been caught up to the
throne of God. Yet it did not follow the ascension of the Lord
by at least the sixty years aforenoted ; and, as matter of present
experience, every spiritual believer knows that Satan even yet
operates in heaven, for he encounters him there in prayer-conflict
whenever he presses the fight of faith so far.
2. From this it follows that the ascension of Christ was not
the rapture of the Man-child. Other considerations emphasize
this.
197
198 THE WOMAN IN HEAVEN

(i) The intervention of Michael to eject Satan from heaven,

with the resulting persecution of the saints and turmoil in the
world, refer plainly to Dn 12. 1, 2 : " At that time shall Michael
stand up . . . and there shall be a time of trouble such as never
was " before. But the angel added that that would be the time
for the deliverance of the godly remnant of Israel and of a
resurrection of the godly. Thus the whole scene belongs to the
close of this age, not to its commencement.
(ii) It is conclusive that at c. 4. 1 it was said distinctly to John
that he was then to be shown " things which must come to pass
hereafter." How, then, could he have applied any vision that
followed to events which had already taken place some sixty
years before, when he was a young man ? Nor, in fact, does any
scene in the book from that point onward go back prior to the
time when John saw the visions.
(iii) The details of the Man-child were not accomplished in
Christ, for (a) He was not at His birth caught up to God and to
His throne ; and (b) He did not escape the fury of Satan, but,
on the contrary, was slain by him in manhood.

II. THE WOMAN.

(1) There must be some consistency in interpreting symbols.
If the Man-child be an individual, Jesus, so must be his mother,
and the woman will be Mary. But the Woman's escape into the
wilderness on the wings of an eagle, her being hidden and
nourished there for 1260 days, and the brethren of the Man-child
being persecuted by the Dragon, had no counterpart in the
experiences of the Lord's mother and brothers. Nor was Mary
in heaven and on earth at once.
Others make the child to be Christ, and His mother Israel;
but neither has that nation had the aforesaid flight, escape, and
support in a wilderness, certainly not consequent upon the
ascension of the Lord. Moreover, Israel as a people has not a
position in heaven. No earthly nation has a standing there.
Nations are of the earth, Israel with the rest. Her national
calling, promises, and glory are for this earth.
Conversely, as the Woman is a corporate thing, so will the
Man-child be a company of persons, not an individual.
There is only one system shown in Scripture that is at once
heavenly and earthly, even the church of God. In the purpose
and view of God its members are already seated in the heavenlies
in Christ (Eph 2. 6), yet are they on earth in temptation, affliction,
conflict. As Peter says, they " rejoice with joy unspeakable and
glorified " (RV mgn.), yet " for a little while have been put to
 THE WOMAN IN TRAVAIL 199
grief in manifold trials " (I Pt 1. 6, 8). The past tense " glorified "
is to be noted. In the divine purpose this is already seen as
accomplished, the Woman is in heaven. The Lord has already
given to His disciples the glory the Father had given to Him
(Jn 17. 22). All the glories of the heavens, sun, moon, and stars,
are theirs, as God already views them in Christ (comp. Rm 8. 30),
and, under bitter trial, they are granted a real foretaste of that
joy and glory. Remember the face of Stephen.
In Joseph's dream of earthly things (Gn 37. 9, 10), the sun stood
for his father, the moon for his mother, the stars for his brothers,
and all were to contribute to his glory. So in the heavenly realm
the church will have the glory of God (Rv 21. n ) , the glory of the
Jerusalem which is above, " which is our mother " (Gl 4. 26), and
the glory of the firstborn (Hb 12. 23) among the whole vast
family of God, in all its branches, Israel, the saved of the nations,
and angels, even as it is written in Eph 3. 14, 15 : " The Father
from whom every fatherhood, in heaven (angelic) and on earth
(human), is named." That in Joseph's dream there were eleven
stars, but in John's vision twelve, is not a material difference.
In the former case the number eleven was unavoidable, for Joseph
had only eleven brothers. This inevitable variation does not
nullify the general comparison.
(2) The Woman in Travail. When John first sees the woman
she is in travail. Attention to the nature of this figure forbids
every attempt to apply it to the far past or to spread it over the
long centuries of this christian age. A woman may have more
or less trouble all the period that she carries the child, or she may
have little or none. But even the severest of such trials is not
travail/ for the latter is the birth-pangs, the short, sharp spasms
that close the longer period and bring to birth. As shown above
(I. 2. i), it is the actual end of the period of the church on earth
that is here indicated.
This brevity connected with travail is emphasized in I Th 5. 3,
there in connection with the sorrows of the world as here of the
church, but during the same epoch-period: " sudden destruction
. . . as travail upon a woman with child." Nor is the use of the
figure in Rm 8. 22 (the only other passage: here o-wwS/W)
really different : " the whole creation groaneth and travaileth
. . . waiting for the manifestation of the sons of God," as a
travailing mother waits for the appearing of her child. This
mighty event, the manifestation of the sons of God in heavenly
and royal majesty, has, in the purposes of God, been the goal of
creation from its very commencement, and indeed earlier; for
He is " bringing many sons unto glory " (Hb 2. 10), according to
 200 THE WOMAN IN TKAVAIL

a purpose " fore-ordained before the a g e s " of time (I Cr 2. 7).

Now in comparison with the unmeasured stretch of the ages of
creation the present period of groaning under the burden of sin is
regarded as brief, a " travail " that shall issue shortly in joy and
glory. It is an illuminating and consoling view of creation and
its misery from the view-point of the Eternal. By a similar usage
Christ calls this present age in particular an " hour " (Jn 4. 23) and
John a " last hour " (I J n 2. 18). It is as closing the vastly
extended ages of time that two thousand years is thus brief.
Similarly, Paul speaks of the sufferings of half a lifetime as a
" moment " in contrast to eternity. Such comparisons are not
loose but just. They confirm that " travail " is to be taken
strictly, the brief end to a long period.
Surely John, seeing the condition of this woman, and using the
word travail to describe it, must have thought upon what he heard
the Lord say on Olivet as to this age (Mt 24. 6-14). Impressing
upon them that the end was not then near, Christ went on
to tell what events would notify its approach, namely,
international wars, in conjunction with famines and earth-
quakes ; and then he added " all these things are the beginning
of travail."
Travail for whom ? He explains : " Then shall they deliver
you up unto tribulation, and shall kill you, and ye shall be hated
of all the nations for My name's sake . . . But he that endureth
unto the end, this one (O5TOS) shall be saved." " Endureth unto
the end " (ek T^AOS), not through the End-time; and so the
Lord added that there shall be universal hatred coupled with
universal proclamation of the gospel, and " then shall the end
(TO reAos) come," of which End-time particulars are next given.
Does this not suggest that some are to endure under tribulation
as far as to the start of the End-time and then to be saved, the
manner of that salvation not being there indicated, and that there-
upon the End-time will commence ?
Luke's report of this instruction is even more explicit. After
the mention of wars, famines, pestilences, and signs from heaven,
Christ said, " But before ALL these things they shall lay their
hands on you and shall persecute you . . . and ye shall be hated
of all men for My name's sake " (Lk 21. 10-19). It m a y be noted
in passing, that so long as certain chief powers remain avowedly
upholders of the christian faith, protectors of liberty of religion,
and some of their chief leaders being plainly themselves real
believers in Christ, the time of this universal hatred of His name
has not yet arrived, and that therefore wars which are to follow
that universal persecution of His followers have not yet com-
 THE MAN-CHILD 201

menced. The statement of Luke which is before us has been very

inadequately considered.
Inevitably such ill-treatment of the followers of Christ will
draw public attention to the ill-treated and their message, and
will of itself occasion that making known of the gospel to all
nations before foretold : " i t shall turn unto you for a testimony."
This persecution may be instigated by the indignation of the then
anti-christian peoples that faithful followers of Christ will refuse
to join in their national ambitions and international schemes.

III. THE MAN-CHILD.

(I) It thus appears that, as the End-time approaches, the
church of God as a whole will experience a sharp persecution ;
she will be in travail. The effect of this upon disciples will, as
always, be twofold. The many who have had some love for the
Lord will grow cold toward Him, even as He said of that period,
" Because iniquity shall abound, the love of the many shall wax
cold." Yet, on the other hand, there will be exceptions, indicated
by the adversative " but " of the next sentence : " But he that
endureth unto the end, this one (oSros) shall be saved " (Mt 24.
12, 13). In this closing fight of faith some will fail, some will
triumph ; there will be the conquered and the conquerors, the
defeated and the overcomers. It is these latter who will together
form the Man-child, itself a figure of vigour and authority, since
according to God, authority belongs to the male, not the female.
Merely as indicating the dignity that at that time attached to the
term in the minds of men, but not endorsing the theology of their
use, it is of interest that the ancient Egyptians spoke of their
principal god Ra, as " the beautiful and beloved and divine
Man-child " (The Book of the Dead, Trans. Budge, 7, 10).
(2) The identity of this child is settled by the law of former
reference. He is " to rule all the nations with a rod of iron " (5).
This is repeated from the promise to the overcomers in the letter
to Thyatira (2. 26) : " The one overcoming [and who may die in
the battle] and the one keeping my works until [living as far as
unto] the end (axpi reXovs),1 I will give to him authority over
the nations : and he shall rule them with a rod of iron, as the
vessels of the potter are broken to shivers : as I also have received
of my Father " (see Ps 2. 9). This promise is given only to the
Son of God and to the overcomer. As it cannot in Rv 12 apply
to Christ, it can only apply to the overcomers of His church.
Conquering demands conflict ; birth is through travail; the
1
The repetition of the article (6 VIKG>V KO.1 b T-qpSnr) shows that two classes
are in view.
202 WHAT IS VICTORY ?

general pangs of the church as the end of her period on earth

nears will bring to birth the Man-child, the conquerors in the
battles of that crisis epoch.
" They climbed the steep ascent of heaven
Through peril, toil, and pain :
O God, to us may grace be given
To follow in their train."
(3) What constitutes victory or defeat is shown in the seven
Letters.
Saints in Ephesus had suffered defeat in heart ; they had left
their first love. Those in Smyrna, on the contrary, had sustained
tribulation, poverty, reproach, maintaining their confession. They
would triumph if they so continued, fearless and faithful even
unto death. In Pergamum they were being defeated by com-
promise with the world's religion and low morals, as Israel of old
with Midian (Nm 25. 1, 2 ; 31. 16). As the end days approach,
pagan idolatries will re-extend their sway over many lands
(Rv 9. 20, 21), as well as in the Harlot Church (17. 4,5), and
apostate Israel (Is. 2. 18-21 : Zp 1. 1-6 : etc.). Lenin worship in
modern Russia, and the avowed return to Nordic gods by leaders
of Nazi Germany, are solemn symptoms of a general reversion to
open idolatry. Disciples in Thyatira had advanced to easy
tolerance of this moral evil and compromise with idolatry ; open
resistance in the church had ceased ; only some were ignorant of
the deep things of Satan. Sardis showed the outcome—a merely
nominal christian life, and the many with defiled garments.
Philadelphian saints had taken to heart the warnings of Scripture,
and were maintaining the fight of faith, though in feebleness.
Laodicea had developed to the full the laxity that ever follows
the loss of love, and had been defeated by self-satisfaction, wealth,
lukewarmness. It troubled them not that the Lord was not in
their midst.
The serious student of the will of Christ can here test his own
state of heart, can see the danger-points in the battle, and against
what wiles of the devil he must contend resolutely, if he means
to be a conqueror. Personal attachment to Christ is the secret
of all attainment and victory (I Cr 13). Compromise with the
world's religion is defeat (I Cr 8-11). Low moral conduct forfeits
the birthright (I Cr 6. 1-11 : Hb 12. 14). The lukewarm are
nauseous to Him who was eaten up by zeal for God's house, and
He rejects such from His presence. Self-sufficiency assures
poverty of soul, together with nakedness of character, with its
reproach and blindness.
 OVERCOMING THE ACCUSER 203
How shall a starved, naked, and blind disciple defeat Satan,
the strong one fully armed ? It is impossible. His very condition
shows that he has been already robbed, stripped, and blinded,
overwhelmed in the battle. Yet as Samson, long defeated,
triumphed in his death, so may the defeated Laodicean, by great
grace, snatch victory at last, if he will give again full heed to
his Lord.
Human opinion as to what constitutes overcoming must be
disregarded ; for one may flatter and deceive himself that he is
victor (" thou sayest, I am rich," 3. 17), while another, who feels
hopeless as to the battle, may be doggedly facing the foe. What
heaven regards as overcoming, this twelfth chapter states plainly
(vs. 10, 11). When Satan has been driven from heaven a great
voice exclaims exultingly : " the accuser of our brethren is cast
down, who accuseth them before our God day and night. And
they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb, and because
of the word of their testimony ; and they loved not their life
even unto death."
This activity of Satan as the prosecutor general of the earth
goes back to early times. He accused Job, slanderously (Jb 1
and 2) ; but through pain and loss and manifold conflicts, by
accepting the humiliation of self in the presence of God, and finally
by interceding for the pardon of men who had maligned him to
his face, Job became at last more than conqueror. He was
vindicated ; not indeed at the bar of his own self-opinion—there
he stood willingly self-condemned; but before God, angels, and
men; while Satan as the accuser, tempter, tormentor, was
defeated. Thus did Job, often faulty in judgment, failing often
in temper and speech, yet endure unto the end of the battle, and
was the overcomer, not the defeated.
This has been repeated and repeated in countless saints the
ages through. " They overcame Satan (1) by means of the blood
of the Lamb, and (2) by means of the word of their testimony :
and they loved not their life even unto the death."
(1) Job based his security before God upon the blood of atone-
ment. He offered sacrifices continually to maintain his household
in the favour of God (1. 5). It was on the same ground he prayed
for his friends (42. 8, 9). In John's vision the believers resisted
the accusations of Satan by pleading that the blood of the Lamb
had answered for and cancelled all the sins and failures the
Accuser could cite against them. Thus they defeated his attacks
before the throne of God.
Oh, that this dread situation were more understood as an actual
present fact. God is the present judge of His people (I Cr 11.
 • *

204 OVERCOMING THE ACCUSER

31, 32 : I Th 4. 6 : H b 10. 30, 31). In that Supreme Court Satan

is the accuser, and fearful is the folly when the disciple by wilful
or careless sin gives him ground of just accusation. He then
demands (itjairew) that such be given into his hands to be sifted
as wheat (Lk 22. 31, 32). It is a law term that the Lord used,
meaning to demand the surrender of an offender. The sifting
will, indeed, only free the wheat from the chaff ; Job was sanctified
by the Satan-inflicted trials, an upright man was made a holy
man ; but how severe was the process !
Nor does the intercession of the Advocate defeat the Accuser
further than to limit the degree of temptation. The Lord did
not ask that Peter be not attacked that night, but only that his
faith, which would totter alarmingly, might not collapse utterly.
And it did not ; but Peter carried to the end the bitter memories
of that fearful night, though restored and humbled by the
tenderness of the Saviour ; he recovered faith and fidelity, and
afterward overcame in the point where he had been defeated.
Were these actualities always before our heart how careful
would be our walk, how would we watch and pray lest we should
enter into any temptation of the Devil and afford him matter of
accusation. Also, how utterly would we rest upon the precious
blood of Christ for daily security from the Accuser. With what
heart-felt meaning would then be invested the well-known lines :
" What though the accuser roar
Of ills that I have done ;
I know them well, and thousands more :
Jehovah findeth none " ;
and how thankfully would we sing :
" When Satan tempts me to despair,
And tells me of the guilt within,
Upward I look, and see Him there
Who made an end of all my sin.
" Because the sinless Saviour died,
My sinful soul is counted free ;
For God, the just, is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me."
(2) But Job must sustain and win the fight on earth, in actual
and painful experience, not only before God on high. Certainly
it must be won first in the latter sphere or it cannot be in the
former ; but if the case be won in the court victory can be secured
in the practical contest. The verdict can be enforced against the
adversary.
This word that Peter uses (I Pt 5. 5) : " Your adversary the
 THE ADVERSARY 20.5

devil," is another legal term (dvriSiKos), and means an adversary

at law. Thus the widow applied to the judge for an order against
her adversary (Lk 18. 3 ; and note the same sense in its only
other New Testament occurrences, Lk 12. 58, and Mt 5. 25
twice).
But, as Peter says, this adversary before God is also a " roaring
lion, walking about, seeking whom he may devour." No doubt
her adversary was devouring the widow's livelihood ; perhaps
one of those sharks the Lord rebuked, " the scribes who devour
widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayers " (Mk 12.
38-40). Commonly in the East a widow is the helpless prey of
any villain who can wrong her. Thus was Job fearfully harassed
in family, property, and person.
The believer who would be an overcomer must defeat Satan as
the roaring lion as well as the accuser. It is a dire conflict, a
fight to the death, nor can there be discharge in this war save by
death or defeat. The overcomer must die in the battle. He
must die daily to the self-life in all its indulgences, by living daily
unto Christ and for others. It is in the multiplied repetition of
tiny acts, which put another before self, that much of the battle
must be fought daily; and he who loses here, by putting self-
pleasing first, is being continually defeated.
" The common round, the trivial task,
Afford us all we ought to ask ;
Room to deny ourselves, a road
To lead us daily nearer God."
But the focal point of the wars of the Lord is this : . that He
has charged His followers to confess Him before men, to speak
to men of Him, in order that others may be delivered by the
truth from the thraldom of the Devil (II Tm 2. 24-26). To
silence our testimony is therefore vital to the maintaining of
Satan's kingdom on earth, and to stifle our voices as witnesses
for Christ is his main objective. The Christian who does not
talk of Christ is a defeated man, while to bear witness unto Christ,
His person, atonement, rights, is to conquer in the battle. The
overcomer does this, though it cost him literally his life : " they
loved not their life even unto death."
Tens of thousands have fought the fight even to this extremity.
Imperfect in character indeed, faulty in practice indeed, they yet
stood for Christ against all opposition and died rather than deny
Him. This was victory. They held fast His name, and did not
deny His faith, though one of their number (Antipas) had just
been devoured by the roaring lion (2. 13), and they in turn stood
206 THE ROARING LION

close to the bloody, gaping jaws, and each might be the next
victim. This was victory.
" Must / be carried to the skies
On flowery beds of ease,
While others fought to win the prize,
And sailed through bloody seas ? "
It does not require much introspection to be an overcomer : a
little suffices. It is simple to determine whether I love my
neighbour more than myself or myself more than my neighbour :
it is simple to say whether I do or do not talk of the Lord Jesus
as opportunity offers.
Dr. Torrey used to tell of a Jewess who came to know Jesus
as Saviour and Lord. Full of the wondrous and new Object of
her heart she talked freely of Him in her factory. Some finding
this annoying, complaint was made to the management. A
director said to her, We are told you have become religious.
Well, that's your affair, but you really must not make yourself a
nuisance to the others. She answered at once : If that means,
sir, that I must not talk here about the Lord Jesus, give me my
money, and I'll find work somewhere else. I am not going to work
where I cannot talk about my blessed Saviour. They put up
with her; she confirmed her testimony by character and work,
and in due time was made a forewoman. But in intention and
readiness she had sacrificed her livelihood for her witness.
A business friend was being defrauded by two customers. His
lawyer strongly advised an action, as he would certainly get
judgment. But he had often talked with those men concerning
Christ, and rather than forfeit his right to exhort them further,
as he would have done by setting the law in motion, he forfeited
a not small sum of money.
These are instances of conquering in the more usual battles
with Satan. They who so overcome will find grace to lay down
life itself for Christ, if called to this.
And many more will be called to this before the campaign is
finished, by the King taking the field again in person ; for the
Man-child is born out of the travail of the church as the age nears
its end. Yet he is not the martyrs of those or earlier times. They
will rise in resurrection and also will reign with Christ (20. 4).
But he is a company of overcomers living at the hour in question,
and who do not die but are caught away alive to the throne of God.
Connected with his removal there are points of determining
force.
1. There is no hint here or elsewhere that a resurrection
 THE MAN-CHILD REMOVED 207
accompanies this rapture of the Man-child. It is living saints
only who are affected.
2. There is no suggestion that the Lord Jesus descends from
heaven to remove this company. They are taken from the earth
in fulfilment of the word of Christ, " That ye may prevail to
escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand
before the Son of man " (Lk 21. 36). " All these things " covers
the whole of the time of the end, upon which the Lord had been
enlarging, beginning with the international wars which will lead
on to the supremacy of Antichrist. We have learned, however,
from c. 6 that when Antichrist begins his career of conquest, the
Lamb is still in heaven, opening the Seals and superintending
those events, and that He continues in that station and work
until the close of the Seals.
3. Hence, this Man-child is not taken to meet the Lord in the
air, but far above to God the Father and to His throne. Thus
this is not the event of I Th 4. 13-17 and I Cr 15. 51, 52, for the
latter event is marked by features wanting here, the descent of
the Lord to the clouds around this earth, the voice of the arch-
angel, the sounding of the last trump, the raising of the dead who
are to share the kingdom, the rapture of the living who are left
over as far as to the parousia (ol iripiXenro^voi as T-qv
•n-apovdiav). The Man-child is not left so far as to that event,
but is removed before Satan is cast out of heaven or the beast
brought up to act on earth. As with Enoch, " he was not, for
God took him " (Gn 5. 4), for " before his translation . . . he had
been well-pleasing unto God " (Hb 11. 5). .
4. This further thought is important. There is no suggestion
that the Man-child represents all who will reign with Christ. The
promise to do so belongs to all the overcomers of all the centuries,
and those who will form the Man-child are not promised precedence
over equally faithful disciples who had died before the End days.
For example, one at least of the apostles (Ac 12. 2), and probably
all, other than John, had died before ever these visions were
given ; yet the Lord had already promised to them thrones and
sovereignty in His kingdom (Lk 22. 28-30).
The rapture of the Man-child is to secure these from the fires
of the End-time which they will not need for their sanctification,
having profited by the immediately preceding persecution, by
enduring which they had " prevailed to escape " (Lk 21. 36).
This word " prevailed" {KO.TUTXVW) is to be noted. In the
best attested text it takes the place of being " counted worthy
(KaTa£(.ou>) to escape " in the Textus Receptus. Its two other
places in the New Testament show its strong force, as an intensive
2o8 SATAN CAST DOWN
form of the word for strength which implies vigour to master
persons or situations.
Mt 16. 18. The gates of Hades shall not prevail to confine the
godly when the moment has come when He who holds the
keys of death and Hades calls forth His people thence to
resurrection. Until that moment those gates bar the way to
perfection and glory, but He who broke their power by His own
resurrection will prevail over them again and will release His
chosen.
Lk 23. 23. " They were urgent with loud voices asking
[demanding] that he might be crucified. And their voices
prevailed." They swept opposition before them and gained the
day. It is such strong, resolute, determined effort that the
Christian must maintain against the world, the flesh, and the
devil if he is to be a conqueror. It is the violent who take the
kingdom by force. And for this, faith finds all needed strength
available in Christ. " Thou therefore, my child, be strengthened
in the grace that is in Christ Jesus . . . suffer hardship with me,
as a good soldier of Christ Jesus " (II Tm 2. 1-3).

Thus does the blood of the Lamb defeat Satan in heaven as

the accuser, and patient, persistent, suffering testimony defeats
him on earth as the roaring lion. At the moment in view he will
be as a mighty, bloodthirsty (red) dragon, hungry to devour
those who are the company who will supersede himself in the
authority he is now to forfeit. But this his attempt will be
frustrated by their sudden removal alive to the throne of God.

IV. THE CASTING DOWN OF SATAN.

Ek 28. 11-19 speaks of a king of Tyre in contrast to a prince
of Tyre just before addressed (1-10). The latter is twice reminded
that he is human, not divine, as he alleged : " yet thou art man
. . . but thou art man " (2, 9) : the former is as distinctly
declared to be angelic : " Thou wast the anointed cherub that
covereth, and I set thee so that thou wast upon the holy mountain
of God : thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the
stones of fire " (14). Both his nature and location were heavenly.
As in the copy of the heavens, the tabernacle, the cherubim
overshadowed the shekinah glory, and as in John's vision of that
upper region the cherubim are similarly nearer to the throne than
any other creatures (Rv 4. 6 ; 5. 6, 11), so in the earliest and still
perfect state of the heavenly world this cherub was nearer to the
person of the Most High than any other of His servants.
But pride and ambition corrupted him, violence and rebellion
 WAR IN HEAVEN 209

ruined him (Ek 28. 15, 16) : no longer fit for nor tolerable in
that pure realm he was cast out of that holy mountain of God
(16 ; Lk 10. 18). To that highest height he has not since had
access, but to the lower heaven, where is the administrative
throne of God, he still has admission, and acts as the Accuser, as
before seen.
Now the word of God through Ezekiel spoke of an hour when
he who had already been destroyed from between the stones of
fire should be driven yet lower in the universe : " I have cast
thee to the ground : I have laid thee before kings " (17). In the
visions of John the hour for this deeper degradation has now been
reached, and the steps to it are given.
" There arose [burst forth, Charles] war in heaven." Why will
translators avoid a literal rendering and thus hide important
thoughts ? " There was war in heaven," say our Versions;
which at once starts such questions as, When ? how long pre-
viously to the vision ? how long had it lasted ? when did it end ?
For aught that this " was " tells us it might have been untold
millions of years before ; and so Milton took it, and most of his
readers, misled by his brilliant lines, have so assumed.
On the contrary ; " there arose war in heaven " at the epoch
of which John is writing, namely, when the Man-child had been
caught away to the throne of God, and that was future to John's
day and is future to ours.
This is clear from the fact that at this stage the dragon has
seven heads and ten horns. Now when shortly thereafter he
gives his kingdom to the beast, the latter has seven heads and
ten horns (13. 1). This feature is repeated in 17. 3, 7, and then
in ver. 12 John is expressly told that one of those seven heads was
yet future, that the beast would be an eighth and one of the seven
revived, and that the whole ten horns were still future and
belonged to the time of the final world supremacy of the beast.
The ten toes of Dn 2 show that this ten-kingdom stage is the
actual close of the period of Gentile world rule, for it is then that
the Stone falls'; and Dn 7 repeats that the ten-horned beast is
in power when that world rule is transferred to the Son of Man.
That the dragon is Satan acting at the end of this age is further
emphasized by the proclamation in heaven at his expulsion :
" Now is come [$.pri just now, at this very time] the salvation,
and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority
of His Anointed ; for the accuser of our brethren is cast down."
This specific note of time is of much importance, as we have seen
upon c. 11. 17, 18. Here it shows that the catching away of the
Man-child and the casting down of Satan immediately precede
210 WAR IN HEAVEN

the assumption of the kingdom by God and Christ. In other

words, these events are to take place just before, and as the
preliminary to, the Son of man receiving world dominion as in
c. 5. As there the first effect (Seal 1) was the sending forth
of Antichrist, so here the direct result of Satan being cast
to the earth is that he brings up the Beast and the End days
arrive.
The rapture of the Man-child is therefore almost the earliest
prophetic event specified in the Revelation, and the first to be
expected after that general persecution of the church before
noted. It will be the fulfilment of the words of Christ that they
that watch and pray will prevail to escape all the things that will
occur at the end of the age (Lk 21. 36).

The intervention of Michael and his angels will be the fulfilment

of Dn 12. 1, 2 : " And at that time shall Michael stand up, the
great prince that standeth for the children of thy people ; and
there shall be a time of trouble such as never was since there was
a nation even to that same time : and at that time thy people
shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the
book. And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth
shall awake." This again shows that the events of Rv 12 are to
be directly before, and are to bring on, the great tribulation, the
deliverance of the godly of Israel, the first resurrection, and the
glory of the saints in the kingdom.

The fearful extent of Satan's fell influence in heaven is seen in

the fact that the dragon's tail draws a third part of the stars of
heaven and drags them to earth with himself. In ver. 7 the stars
are plainly termed angels, showing the figurative sense of " star "
to be a being of heaven. See Jb 38. 7 : Is 14. 12 : Nm 24. 17.
No wonder that the heavens are not clean in the sight of God or
that He putteth no trust in His holy ones (Jb 15. 15). Angels
as well as men show that the creature can fall, having no inherent
power to stand. Faith and obedience are as indispensable to
their continuance and well-being as to ours. But how blessed
that the cleansing virtue of the sacrifice of Christ will be extended
to the heavenly things themselves (Hb 9. 23). Alas, that it is
not said that it will extend to the heavenly beings, but to the
heavenly things (TO, kirovpavia neuter). Of these angels the Lord
Jesus has solemnly said that it is for them the eternal fire is
prepared (Mt 25. 41).
Satan's career to the time of this prophecy has been in two
great stages : first, from his creation to his fall and expulsion
 SATAN'S NAMES 211

from the upper to the lower heavens ; then, to his expulsion from
the lower heavens to the earth. A third, and short, stage will
be till he shall be cast into the Abyss, to be imprisoned for the
thousand years of the reign of Christ (Rv 20. 1-3). A fourth, and
brief, stage will be when liberated he again deceives the nations
(20. 7-9) : and the final, and endless, period will be when he is
cast into the lake of fire (20. 10).
His names are awfully indicative of his character and activities.
(1) The great red dragon, telling of his ferocity and love of
destroying. " The thief cometh not save to steal and to kill and
to destroy . . . the wolf snatcheth and scattereth " (Jn 10.10,12).
(2) The ancient serpent : connecting the end of human history
with the beginning, with Eden, and perhaps with still earlier
times. (3) The Devil, the slanderer. (4) Satan, the adversary
of all good persons and works. (5) The Deceiver, indicating his
method of attack and conquest. " He was a murderer from the
beginning, and standeth not in the truth because there is no
truth in him. When he speaketh a lie he speaketh of his own :
for he is a liar, and the father thereof " (Jn 8. 44). Thus was he
the originator of murder and falsehood ; as is said of him truly
in The Gospel of Nicodemus, he was " The beginning of death and
the root of sin."
He is the deceiver of " the whole world." As the immediate
context includes the heavenly regions as well as the earth, may
it not be that here he oikoumene includes the heavens and means
the whole habitable universe ? It seems to do so in Hb 1. 6 :
" When He shall have brought in again the Firstborn into the
oikoumene He saith, And let all the angels of God worship Him."
Here also the angels are viewed as connected with the oikoumene.
The properly universal value of this term is worth preserving
against the resolute endeavour of some to restrict it when at all
possible to its late use of the Roman Empire. It can cover any
and every habitable region.
The state of Satan's kingdom, darkness and misery, is a conse-
quence and an indication of his own moral state. Over such a
fall, such a ruin, God, who delights in mercy, Himself laments,
saying to Ezekiel, " Take up a lamentation over the king of Tyre "
(Ek 28. 11, 12). It is truly a most lamentable spectacle, by no
means one over which men, equally fallen, should speak lightly
or reproachfully. Yet is it no wonder that heaven rejoices to be
rid of him, or that earth may well mourn when his terrible and
prostituted energies are at last concentrated upon its ruin. How
blessed indeed are they who have been de-naturalized from being
citizens in his doomed kingdom and naturalized into the kingdom
212 THE WOMAN ESCAPES

of the Son whom God supremely loves (CI i. 18). What a mighty
transaction is the new birth.

V. T H E FLIGHT OF THE WOMAN.

Light upon this compound figure of a woman and her family
is to be gained from its use of Zion and Israel in Is 49. The
theme of the chapter is the gathering of Israel by Messiah, as an
outcome of His toils on earth that seemed at the time to have
been in vain ; and thereafter the spread of blessing to the
Gentiles unto the ends of the earth (vs. 1-7). The use of this
passage by Paul (Ac 13. 36, 37) to justify before Christ-rejecting
Jews the telling of the gospel to Gentiles, is simply an application
in this age of the principle of a prophecy that awaits its fulfilment
after the Lord Jesus shall have come again. Lamentably few as
yet have been the kings and princes that see, arise, and worship
(7). In this age few of such are chosen (I Cr 1. 26-31), but in
the age of the kingdom of Messiah this shall be changed.
The journeys by which scattered Israel return to their land are
described in vs. 8-13 (Is 49), and in 14 the prophecy continues :
But Zion said, Jehovah hath forsaken me, and the Lord hath
forgotten me . . .
(17) Thy children make haste; thy destroyers and they that
made thee waste shall go forth from thee. Lift up thine eyes round
about, and behold ; all these gather themselves together and come
to thee . . . (20) The children of thy bereavement shall yet say
in thine ears, The place is too straight for me ; give place to me that
I may dwell. Then shalt thou say in thine heart, Who hath begotten
me these, seeing I have been bereaved of my children, and am
solitary, an exile, and wandering to and fro ? and who hath brought
up these ? Behold, I was left alone ; these, where were they ?
This questioning is followed by the divine answer (22-26) :
Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Behold I will lift up mine hand to
the nations, and set up my ensign to the peoples; and they shall
bring thy sons in their bosom, and thy daughters shall be carried
upon their shoulders . . . for I will contend with him that con-
tendeth with thee, and I will save thy children.
In the imagery of this exquisite passage Israel, viewed as a
corporate entity continuing through the centuries, is a woman,
a mother, long forsaken, exiled, wandering; and the individual
Jews of the time in view are her children that will gather from
all quarters to their land and home. In one sense the woman at
any given hour is the aggregate of her then existing children :
but they are temporary, they die and another generation takes
 THE FIGURE " WOMAN " 213

their place ; whereas she is that corporate continuity which

abides age-long.
It is the same usage as when Romanists may speak of that
Church as their mother and themselves individually as her
children. At any given point of time the children together com-
pose the Church, yet does she transcend and survive them.
It must be noted, however, that, whereas the children are
scattered, this corporate system is ever thought of as centred at
a given spot. If speaking politically we ask, What will Rome
say to this ? we mean the Italian people and particularly its
central government. If speaking ecclesiastically the question is,
What will the Vatican say ? we mean the Roman Catholic Church
and especially its hierarchy. Thus in each of these three instances,
Zion, the Italian people, and the Roman Catholic Church, figured
as corporate entities, the system is identified with the place that
is its headquarters.
This illuminates the figure as applied in Rv 12 to the heavenly
church. Viewed collectively, as a system formed in the mind
and counsel of God, she is a " woman " in heaven and in glory,
a continuity through the centuries, already complete in the
purpose of 'God, and being completed in actual experience on
earth. And the individual saints of any given time are the chil-
dren of this mother, but she includes them in all the centuries,
and transcends and survives them as individuals. And at the
Time of the End her then living children are in two branches :
those forming the Man-child, who escape the End days, and the
" rest of her seed " who pass through those days.
There is that in the earthly Israel which answers somewhat to
this. Her children also are found in two sections : one brought
to Jerusalem and the land before the Beast rules, for he oppresses
them there (Zh 13. 8, 9), and they are delivered when the Lord
descends to Olivet (Zh 14. 4 : Jl 2. 12-18) ; and there are the
rest, gathered out of all lands after the Antichrist has been
destroyed (Is n . 10-12 ; etc.).
In the meaning of this figure Zion is the name of the whole
people, but as seen in the representatives of the whole who will be
already there at the time for that second regathering. These are the
" mother " ; and she moreover had been " exiled, and wandering
to and fro," long away from her original centre, Jerusalem.
There is that in the heavenly church which answers to this.
By divine appointment her original centre on earth was also
Jerusalem. By the Lord's express command it was there the
apostles were to begin their witness (Lk 24. 47). Is it not striking
that it is the one Gentile writer of the New Testament who
214 JERUSALEM GOD'S EARTH CENTRE

records this, and does so long after the gospel had spread widely
among the Gentiles ? To what purpose was a Gentile convert to
be instructed that Jerusalem is God's centre whence the gospel
radiated world-wide ? Does it not suggest that in the thought
of God Jerusalem abides His centre on earth, as much for the
church as for Israel ?
As long as Jerusalem stood it continued to be such a centre
for the church. There the apostles had their headquarters
(Ac 8. I ; 9. 27 ; 11. 1 ; 15. 2, 4, 6, 22). To them at Jerusalem
a Gentile church referred a disputed question, and thence they
issued their directions on the subject. And to them there even
the apostle to the Gentiles was divinely directed to go up and set
forth his teaching and work among Gentiles (Gl 2. 2).
With the destruction of the city, A.D. 70, the church, like
Israel, lost that centre, and ever since has been wandering to and
fro. But the thoughts of God are not changeable : with Him
there " can be no variation, nor shadow that is cast by turning "
from one course to another. For all purposes of the earth,
whether for Israel, the nations, or the church, Zion is His centre,
Jerusalem His holy city. It is clear from Scripture that this will
be seen in the End days and the kingdom. And already the
great world movements are bent toward the Middle East. Satan
is moving back to his original centre, Babylon, and God to His
centre, Jerusalem.
May we not therefore think that a Scripture so clearly belonging
to that mighty epoch as does this twelfth chapter of the Revelation
has this same divine view-point, and that the " Woman," the
church, is to be thought of as represented by those of her company
who will at that time be found at and around Jerusalem ? This
would follow exactly the case of the earthly Israel as given in
Is 49 considered.
Yet it is evident that it is not the latter who can be pictured
by the Woman escaping from the Dragon, for the Old Testament
makes plain that Israel cannot escape that period, least of all at
Jerusalem. It is pre-eminently the time of Jacob's trouble
(Jr 30. 7), and the only way she shall be saved from it is by the
Lord's personal intervention at its close.
Among the notable events of our day one is the establishment
of so many Jews in the Holy Land, and another, less noticed, is
the building up again there of the true church of God. After
nearly nineteen centuries since Israel and the church were both
driven thence, the conditions are being established which will
make possible the fulfilment of prophecies both of the oppression
of the Jews in the land and the flight of Christians from it.
 THE WOMAN FLEES 215
For, if we mistake not, this flight of the woman will fulfil that
counsel of Christ given on Olivet and recorded by the three
evangelists (Mt 24. 15-21 : Mk 13. 14-20 : Lk 21. 20-24). The
last mentioned passage reads as follows :
But when ye see Jerusalem compassed with armies, then know
that her desolation is at hand. Then let them that are in Judaea
flee unto the mountains ; and let them that are in the midst of her
depart out; and let not them that are in the country enter therein.
For these are days of vengeance, that all things which are written
may be fulfilled. Woe unto them that are with child and to them
that give suck in those days ! for there shall be great distress upon
the land, and wrath unto this people. And they shall fall by the
edge of the sword, and shall be led captive into all the nations : and
Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of
the Gentiles be fulfilled.
It will be asked if this flight did not take place in A.D. 70 when
Jerusalem was attacked by Titus ? This has been so generally
maintained, and the point is so crucial to the right application of
the whole Olivet discourse, that I give here at length what I
wrote in The Histories and Prophecies of Daniel (138-140), upon
the destruction of Jerusalem by Antichrist.
It is to this dread time that Rv 11. 1, 2 points : " And there was
given to me a reed like unto a rod : and one said, Rise, and measure
the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.
And the court that is without the temple cast without and measure
it not; for it was given unto [that is, into the power of] the nations :
and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months."
The past tense " it was given " (iS68rj) is to be noted. It puts the
handing of the city to the oppression of the nations into an indefinite
past, and can refer back as far as to this prophecy in Daniel.
Now John was writing after A.D. 70, and therefore foretells some
destruction of the city future to his day. Nor can this verb to
tread under foot refer to any peaceable holding of the city, as
Jerusalem was held by the Turks for centuries, or as now by the
British. To the former as Moslems the city was most sacred, being
the spot where Abraham offered up Ishmael (as they say), and there
they built the great mosque that is still standing. To the latter
the city is sacred in a christian sense, and they are labouring to
extend and beautify it. But to tread down (Tron-cu) means as a man
stamps violently on a serpent (Lk 10. 9), or as grapes are crushed
to pulp in the press (Rv 14. 20 ; 19. 15), both actions being fierce
and destructive.
It was to this destruction of Jerusalem, not to A.D. 70, that the
Lord pointed when speaking on Olivet of the End times and of His
coming glory. He first warned the apostles that the End was not
2l6 EUSEBIUS

to be soon : " the end is not immediately " (Lk 21, 9). Having thus
carried their minds far forward He spoke of the international wars
that would usher in the End, and of accompanying disturbances in
earth and in heaven (10, 11). He mentioned also an universal
persecution of His followers : " Ye shall be hated of all men for My
name's sake " (12-19). This is to take place before any other events
He predicted (12). With this compare Rv 17, a picture of the End
times, when the " Harlot" shall dominate the " beast," and will
use the power to make herself drunken with the blood of the saints.
There is no ground to turn back at this point in the prophecy to
A.D. 70. The Lord passes at once to that invasion of Palestine by
Antichrist which had been before detailed by Isaiah (10. 28-32), to
culminate at Zion in the horrors shown in Zh 13. 1, 2 above con-
sidered. He said : " When ye shall see Jerusalem being encom-
passed (KVKXovfievTiv) with armies . . . then . . . flee unto the
mountains." This has been generally, but wrongly, applied to
A.D. 70. It is said that the Christians then in Jerusalem acted upon
this verse and fled from the city before Titus invested it, and went
to Pella beyond the Jordan. That they did so flee is asserted by
Eusebius, writing from tradition some two and half centuries later.
It is not otherwise known. But even if they did flee, it is a mistake
to say that they did so because of the Lord's words in question.
Eusebius does not suggest this, but, quite to the contrary, says
distinctly that they acted upon divine counsel given to certain godly
men at the time [Eccl. Hist., Book III, c. 5).
His words are : " The whole body, however, of the church at
Jerusalem having been commanded by a divine revelation, given to
men of approved piety there before the war, removed from the city,
and dwelt at a certain town beyond the Jordan, called Pella." The
" men of approved piety " were not the apostles, for he has just
before stated that these had been already " driven from the land of
Judaea " and " had gone forth to preach the gospel to all nations."
It is the more plain that he does not say that this removal was an
acting upon any word of Christ, that in c. 7 he himself applies the
Lord's words in Lk 21 to A.D. 70, yet here he says that the Christians
removed because of a revelation given " before the war," an expression
most unnatural had he meant nearly forty years before.
But if the words of Christ are considered strictly they suffice of
themselves to forbid application to A.D. 70. For He said : " These
are days of vengeance, that all things that are written may be fulfilled "
(22). Now (i) nothing specific as to A.D. 70 was written in the Old
Testament; and (ii) very many other things are written there which
were not fulfilled in A.D. 70, but still remain to be fulfilled. Such
passages as Is 10 and Zh 13 are among these.

There is, therefore, to be a flight of disciples of Christ from

Judaea at the close of this age, when all that is written of that
time is to be accomplished. This urgent flight is to be at an hour
 THE WOMAN'S FLIGHT 217
defined precisely. The image of Antichrist has been set up in the
holy place at Jerusalem and the armies of Antichrist are con-
verging upon the city to enforce its worship, and to inflict that
final and worst of all reigns of terror that the world, and even
guilty Israel, has ever endured.
Now this is the exact time that the Woman flees from the face of
the serpent. The Man-child has been caught up to God ; the
Dragon has been cast down from heaven, and his time of liberty
is now short. It is exactly prior to that great tribulation of
which the Lord spoke that His followers are to flee from Judaea
and Jerusalem ; it is just prior to the " time and times and half
a time " of Antichrist's oppression of the Jews that the Woman
flees, for it is during that same period that she is to be nourished
in the wilderness. This triple designation of the period is taken
from Dn 7. 25, where it describes the term of Antichrist's activity
in wearing out the saints of the Most High.
The Lord spoke of fleeing to the mountains, not meaning the
hills of Judaea, for it is from that land that disciples are to flee.
These mountains must therefore be beyond that land. But their
location is not named. Both east and south of Palestine lie vast
deserts with hilly regions. Similarly John sees the Woman flee
to the wilderness, but which is not specified.
Christ intimated the mighty influence of prayer by bidding
believers pray that their flight be neither in the winter nor on a
sabbath. So that prayer can affect the season of the year, and
even the day of the week, when the onrush of Antichrist will
make flight imperative.
It has been urged that it cannot be Christians that are here in
view because, as is alleged, the law of the sabbath does not bind
them. This may well be questioned seriously ; but even if it be
so it has not been weighed that they will be living in a Jewish
state under Jewish law, so that a long journey on a sabbath will
be illegal and will expose them to the restraints of law and to the
opposition of fanatical Jews. That Jewish law will be in force
during the first half of the seven years is reasonably to be inferred :
for (1) the government is Jewish, for it has made a covenant with
Antichrist ; (2) the temple worship is in progress, which could
only be regulated by the Mosaic laws ; (3) Ml 4. 4 exhorts Israel
to " remember the law of Moses " in view of " the great and
terrible day of Jehovah."
Indeed, so formidable will be the natural difficulties of flight
that supernatural aid will be afforded : " there was given to the
Woman the two wings of the great eagle, that she might fly into
the wilderness " (ver. 14). The law of former mention refers this
2l8 THE WOMAN'S FAMILY

back to " the fourth living creature, which was like a flying
eagle " (4. 7). Against satanic, spirit opposition cherubic help is
matched ; and against material danger, the flood of water (that
is, a military force, possibly a detachment of the army then
attacking Palestine), material aid is given ; an earthquake
swallows up the pursuers.

VI. THE REST OF HER SEED.

Thwarted in his attempt to destroy the Man-child and baulked
in his effort to overwhelm Christianity at its centre, Satan in great
wrath turns to a detail persecution of the rest of the disciples of
Christ wherever they are to be found : " he went away to make
war with the rest of her seed." The details of this campaign
occupy c. 13 and will be considered there. Here be it observed :
1. For this purpose he " went away," that is, from the region
where he had attacked the Woman, implying, as is above sug-
gested, that she is a limited (though representative) company,
localized at a certain centre.
2. That these persons are plainly the brethren of the Man-
child, already present, but not caught away from earth as he, nor
residing in and fleeing from Judaea, as does their common
" mother." He and they are one family.
3. They are not the Israelites still scattered in the countries,
for they " keep the commandments of God and hold the testimony
of Jesus," which neither apostate nor pious Jews will be then
doing. That some of them may have been Jews is possible ; but
then, as now, to avow Jesus will forfeit their Jewish standing,
before God and men ; they will thereby become Christians. At
that era the vast majority of Jews will be apostate, and the " very
small remnant " (Is 1. 9), though keeping the commandments of
God, as far as the law of Moses goes (Ml 4. 4), will not have
espoused Jesus, for this they will not do until they see Him come
in glory for their deliverance from Antichrist (Zh 12. 10 ; 13. 6).
A remnant of " Jewish " disciples owning Jesus as Lord, yet not
of the church of God, is unknown to the Bible.
Moreover, " the commandments of God " is a wider term than
the law of Moses, it covers New Testament commandments also.
Again, John has before included himself with those to whom such
a description applies. He says he was " in the isle that is called
Patmos on account of (Sid) the word of God and the testimony
of Jesus." And in c. 14.12,13 we shall see the same double mark
attached to " saints," " they that keep the commandments of
God and the faith of Jesus." At that time " saints " was the
common title of members of the church of God ; only such " kept
 SUMMARY OF CH. XII 219

the faith of Jesus " (see 2. 13, " thou didst not deny My faith ") ;
only Christians were said to die " in the Lord."

Thus (1) the " Woman " viewed as a corporate entity, localized
in her representative members then in Palestine, will be preserved
from extinction, though her lot in the wilderness will be severe,
yet wondrous ; (2) the Man-child will have been rapt to the throne
of God before that flight; (3) the remainder of her scattered
family will endure the persecution of the Beast, and will be
thereby sanctified for their high calling in the kingdom of the
Holy One then about to be set up on earth.

This c. 12 is a crux interpretum for the whole Revelation and the

Times of the End, especially in relation to the people of God to
be then living. Whatever scheme of interpretation of it is self-
consistent, and also harmonious with the rest of the book, may be
regarded as true. Such interpretation, however, must and will
deal fairly and naturally with the figures of speech employed ;
must take account of the three sections of the one fellowship, the
mother and the two branches of her family ; and must allow that
the one and smaller section is taken to heaven before the End
days arrive and the Beast appears, while the other section is left
to go through his era. It is here that the two principal schools
of futurist expositors have both failed ; the one insisting that all
Christians must be taken from the earth before the time of the
Beast, and the other by insisting that no saints can escape that
period. Neither school has been able to deal accurately and fully
with this chapter, nor, as we shall see, with its parallel passage c.14.
 CHAPTER IX

THE BEAST AND THE FALSE PROPHET

(C 13)
I. THE BEAST.
I. The seventh chapter of Daniel shows four beasts emerging
from the Great Sea. In my treatise on that book reasons are
given that this means the Mediterranean and that these four
beasts are still all future. They reveal how the ten-kingdom
stage of Gentile world-rule, that is, of the ten toes period of the
image of c. 2, will be developed.
In c. 12 the Dragon has seven heads and ten horns, each head
having a diadem. In the present chapter the Beast has ten horns
and seven heads, each horn having a diadem. In 17 the Beast
has seven heads and ten horns. The repetition of the same order,
heads and horns, in the first and last instances suggests some
closer correspondence between these two pictures; and the
variation to horns and heads in the second case raises an enquiry
as to the reason for the change of order. There is also the
difference that it is the heads that bear diadems in the first
instance and the horns in the second. In the third case the
diadems are not mentioned because both heads and horns are stated
plainly to mean kings, which in the two earlier visions was only
intimated by them wearing the symbol of royalty, the diadem.
In 17 the Beast is the empire corporate, a creation from ancient
times of the Dragon, which he permeates with his spirit and
dominates. Comp. Eph 2. 2 : " the prince of the authority of the •
air, the spirit that now worketh in the sons of disobedience." The
relation is, so to say, direct, the Dragon is embodied in the Beast,
and the relation between them is so close that the same symbols
and numbers of heads and horns are given to both. But in c. 13,
as also in 17. 11-13, the Beast is personal, and is an outgrowth of
the corporate, as a horn is of the animal. Thus he is not here
viewed as at first so directly connected with the Dragon, but as
it were mediately, through being head of the empire corporate.
Later in his career he will be personally energized by the Dragon,
for the latter gives to him his own universal authority (ver. 2).
For the moment, however, it is his origin that is in view, as
arising on the Beast corporate.
220
 THE TEN-HORNED BEAST 221

In Prelim. Dissertation 3 the feature of prophecy has been

stressed that events of a prophet's time are linked immediately
with events to come in the End Times. This illuminates the
visions now before us. C. 17 shows that the Beast corporate and
its seven heads belong to John's own period. See on that chapter.
But the Beast personal and the ten horns are to come in the Last
Days. Similarly, as shown in the last chapter, the Woman was
already existing in John's day, as was the Dragon ; but the Man-
child is to be born as the End Days arrive. Therefore, in the
visions of the Dragon (c. 12) and of the Beast corporate (c. 17)
the heads are mentioned first, as being first in time, and they
carry the diadems as kings ; but in c. 13 the Beast personal is
shown with seven heads simply to identify him with the same
Beast as will afterward be detailed in c. 17, but it is the horns
that are diademed because at the end of the age it is not the seven
heads but the ten kings that will be present and rule as kings.
The fourth Beast is ten horned, signifying a confederacy of ten
kingdoms. The horns are already present when the Beast
emerges from the sea, indicating that the confederation had been
formed before the hour intended by the arising out of the sea.
After this emergence, that is, after the confederation has com-
menced its raging attacks on others, and has triumphed over
them, an eleventh horn arises among the ten and gains supremacy
over them all and then over all the earth. It is this eleventh
and final sovereign that is depicted in Rv 13 as the Wild Beast,
for it too has ten horns. That it is not itself the fourth Beast of
Dn 7 is shown by its having also seven heads, which the fourth
Beast had not. The meaning of the seven heads is given in
Rv 17. 9-11, and will be considered in para. 4 below.
In our chapter the ten horns are already diademed, showing
the exact stage in the career of the eleventh horn of Dn 7 to
which Rv 13 points. For John was informed (17. 12) that in his
day these ten horns were still future, and would " receive authority,
with the Beast, for one hour." In c. 13, then, the earlier career
of the eleventh horn, by which he rises to supremacy, and which
may be of considerable length, is not noticed : the vision starts
at the point when he and his ten subordinates are already ruling
conjointly. His connection with and supremacy over all Mediter-
ranean powers, is shown by the detail that not only has he the
ten horns of the fourth beast, but combines in himself the leopard,
the bear, and the lion, the symbols of the three beasts that had
risen from the Great Sea before the fourth. This is important as
intimating the wide and central area of his primary and immediate
authority.
222 THE SEVEN HEADS

In Dn 7 the eleventh horn arises on the fourth beast after the

latter has emerged from the Sea. Therefore when in Rv 13 the
Beast is said to " come up out of the sea," it is not imperative to
take this sea as meaning the Mediterranean, but it may be under-
stood in the figurative meaning of a state of general international
commotion ; for it is during such a period that the eleventh horn
arises, and its confusion and destruction he at first greatly
aggravates. This is supported by the fact that in c. 17 the
" waters " where sits the Woman upon the Beast are " peoples,
multitudes, nations, and tongues."
2. On his seven heads are names of blasphemy. This reveals
his attitude to God and the truth. He is not indifferent to either ;
he is not tolerant of any and every religion ; on the contrary, hie
definitely and openly blasphemes the true God. Of old, emperor
worship occupied this relation to God, and His people were
required to blaspheme God and Christ by worshipping the statue
of the emperor. This will be the demand of the Beast, as we
shall see shortly. It will be the repetition and fulfilment of the
historic forecasts given in Dn, cs. 3, 5, 6, and of the prophecies
given in Dn 7. 25 ; 8. 11, 12 ; 9. 27 ; 11. 31, 36.
His railings are directed also against God's " tabernacle, even
those tabernacling in heaven." Persons collectively are termed
God's tabernacle. See upon 21. 2, 3. Here (13. 6) possibly those
who form the Man-child are meant, these being the only people
of God as yet in the heavens.
3. His energy is Satanic. "The dragon gave him his power."
See Dn 8. 24 : " his power shall be mighty, but not by his own
power," and Dn 11. 38, 39 : " h e shall honour the god of fortresses
. . . a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour . . . he
shall deal with the strongest fortresses by the help of a foreign
God." He may himself arise in Armenia (see my Daniel, 231),
which for fifteen centuries has been a nominally Christian land,
in which case Satan will be indeed a foreign god, unknown as such
in that land.
4. In 17. 11 the seven heads are explained as seven kings, of
whom five had fallen when John saw the visions, one was then
reigning, and the seventh was yet future. No hint was given as
to how long before John's day the five had lived, nor how long it
would be thereafter before the seventh would arise. This might
have suggested more caution in the attempts to identify them.
But an eighth would follow and would be the same person as the
Beast of c. 13, because he, too, would be associated with the ten
kings as their superior, and all should be ruling when the words
of God should be accomplished, that is, when the Lamb should
 THE BEAST AND THE SAINTS 223

triumph over them (17. 14). This eighth would be one of the
former seven, and so in 13. 3 one of his heads had been smitten
unto death, and this death-stroke was healed, that is, a man
formerly slain by violence is brought again to life. That he had
been a former Gentile monarch seems to forbid that he is a Jew.
I know not a word of Scripture that suggests this last notion.
5. The War with the Saints. Being established as sovereign
he now turns to the deadly task for which especially Satan has
revived, exalted, and empowered him. In this war he is outwardly
successful: he overcomes them, that is, suppresses and kills these
saints. These are " the rest of the Woman's seed " (12. 17).
Other scriptures show that the godly of Israel also are attacked.
It is now that the Two Witnesses are killed in Jerusalem (11. 7).
It is the time of the fulfilment of Mt 24. 21, 22 : Lk 21. 34, 35 :
Rv. 3. 10 : of Jr 30. 7 : Dn 12. 1 ; etc.
Dn 7. 25 had defined the duration of this war as " a time and
times and half a time." The Woman is nourished in the wilder-
ness for a period described by the same term, but stated as being
1260 days (reckoning 30 days to a month) ; and then the period
is given in months, forty and two months. By this use of alter-
nate and equivalent terms, no ground is left for giving them any
but their natural force, and they show precisely the meaning of
" a time, times and half a time." For His elect's sake God has
set a short limit to that appalling " hour." To the end of the
age how greatly is the world indebted to the presence of saints,
even while it evil entreats them.
In that fearful period there will be fulfilment of the inevadible
law " with what measure ye mete it shall be measured unto you "
(Mt 7. 2). He who drags others into captivity, or is willing to
do so, shall himself become a captive ; and he who kills by the
sword, whether in battle or as executioner, shall be himself thus
killed. God's saints will allow no bitterness of heart against their
tormentors, but will patiently endure all, in the faith that God
will ever support and will vindicate at last. Amidst the defiled
and violent they will behave as saints. In them the Lamb shall
defeat the dragon, even though crushed by him. It was thus at
Calvary. The idea that the saints will fight the beast with carnal
weapons does not arise from aught that is written.
6. The Beast's Universal Authority. The authority of the
Beast at its brief height will be universal. This is emphasized
here by the variety of the expressions used.
(i) " The dragon gave him his throne " (2). This throne domi-
nates all mankind. Satan is " the prince of the world," as the
Lord three times named him (Jn 12. 31; 14. 30; 16.11); for " the
224 WORSHIP OF THE BEAST

whole world lieth in the evil one (I Jn 5. 19). "All this authority
[of all the kingdoms of the world] . . . hath been delivered unto
me ; and to whomsoever I will I [Satan] give it " (Lk 4. 5, 6).
(ii) " The whole earth wondered after the Beast " (3).
(hi) " Authority over every tribe, and tongue, and people, and
nation " (7).
(iv) "All that dwell on the earth shall worship him " (8),
except the people of the Lamb.
(v) " The earth and them that dwell therein worship the first
Beast " (12).
(vi) " He causeth all (them that dwell on the earth), the small
and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free and the
bond " to receive the mark of the Beast (16).
(vii) " And that no man should be able to buy or to sell "
without that mark (17).
By terms collective and terms distributive being varied and
intermingled the point is made certain. For a full discussion see
my Daniel, App. A.
7. The Worship of the Beast is :
(i) Part of the worship of the Dragon who exalts him. As to
the already avowed worship of Satan, see Pember (Israel and the
Gentiles, 425 ff. ; Great Prophecies, ed. 1941, p. 153 seq.). But
perhaps not all men could be brought easily to worship a spirit;
most crave an object more discernible, which desire will be satisfied
in the Beast. He who honours the Son of God honours the Father
who sent Him (Jn 5. 23) : he who worships the Beast worships
the Dragon who empowers him. To be higher than the other
angel princes, yea, to be like the Most High, and therefore to be
worshipped, was Satan's original sinful ambition (Is 14. 12-14).
He has ever attracted heathen worship to himself through his
demon servants (Dt 32. 16-18 : Ps 106. 37 : I Cr 10. 20). In
pursuance of this craving he has incited human servants of his to
demand worship, as in Dn 3 and 6, and later emperor worship.
It was the bait spread vainly before Christ : " If thou wilt worship
before me it shall all be thine " (Lk 4. 7), but which bait Antichrist
will swallow to his ruin. " He shall magnify himself above every
god " (Dn 11. 36) : " H e sitteth in the temple of God, setting
himself forth as god " (II Th 2. 4) ; and in this place, " all that
dwell on the earth shall worship him " (ver. 8).
It is probable that this deifying of the Emperor will have two
phases, as of old. First he may be worshipped as the head and
embodiment of the " State," the aspect in this chapter ; and
later as himself personally divine, as in II Th 2. Let the Christian
watch and pray against the present revival of " State " worship.
 WORSHIP OF THE BEAST 225
(ii) The agent of this worship is the other wild beast which
comes up out of the earth (11), i.e., he comes to the fore in a time
of public order. Having secured world dominance, the peoples
being at rest and saying to one another, Peace and safety at last
(I Th 5. 3), the Antichrist decrees an universal religion, following
in this the first world-emperor (Dn 3), and others since. This
religion is the worship of the Dragon and himself, and the second
Beast is his Minister of Religion. This office in all times and
places is an open denial of the sole rights of the Son of God as the
Ruler of the house of God, as the one and only Mediator to
interpose in the relations of man with his Maker. The godly
should ignore such an official, as the three Hebrews ignored
Nebuchadnezzar's herald proclaiming the royal orders as to the
worship of the golden image (Dn 3). This second and subordinate
Beast will have plenary powers in this realm of life : " h e exer-
ciseth all the authority of the first Beast in his sight " (12).
There has been too much curious speculation as to the identity
of this servile minister of state. Especially has it been urged
that Judas Iscariot is he. That most miserable of men is burdened
with past guilt enough. It is not for us, without warrant, but by
mere guess work, to put upon him this future guilt. But we are
not told who the false Prophet is and cannot ascertain. That he,
like his master, may be a resuscitated man is inferred from the
fact, that, at the descent of Christ, he too is not slain but is cast
direct into the lake of fire (Rv 19. 20). This could not be to
him the second death if he had not died before.
The parody of the true by the false has been often pointed
out. True worship is to the Father, through the Son, by the
Spirit; the false is to the Dragon, through the Beast, by the false
Prophet. Satan's kingdom is a perverted copy of the kingdom of
God, which is a key to open many of its deep mysteries.
(iii) To support his blasphemous worship he does great signs,
so as even to make fire to come down out of heaven. Satan did
this when attacking Job (Jb 1. 16), so it can be repeated. And
even as Israel was convinced that Elijah was the prophet of
Jehovah when he called down fire on the altar, so will truth-
rejecting men be deceived into worshipping the Beast. For the
gospel having been proclaimed at that time universally, and
rejected with violence, there will come a dread and complete
fulfilment of Is 6. 10 : Mt 13. 14 : and II Th 2. 9-12 : " because
they received not the love of the truth that they might be saved,
God shall send them a working of error that they should believe
the lie, that they all might be judged who believed not the truth,
but had pleasure in unrighteousness." The last clause shows
H
226 666
that the cause of their unbelief is moral, not intellectual. There
is no alternative between truth and falsehood.
(iv) The means of this worship will be an image of the Beast,
the open worship of an idol, a visible representation of an absent
person. And this image will be vivified, so as to speak. Let the
sceptic cavil, if he will; but let him beware lest, if he be then
alive, he be one of the deceived. It will but repeat history if
replicas and pictures of this image are multiplied for local civic
use and home adoration. In one room alone in, alas, a christian
home, I saw in 1938 no less than five different portraits of a certain
continental Dictator. Let the little children of God guard them-
selves against this form of idolatry, against hero worship.
(v) The legal sanction that enforces this emperor-worship will,
as of old, be death. And detection of nonconformists will be
made easy and speedy. All men must eat; but none shall be
allowed to trade who do not show the mark of the Beast, and so
it will be made impossible to obtain food or to transact any
business. It is, however, then that the " sheep " of the Lord's
parable will come to light (Mt 25. 31-40). Tacitus tells that the
ferocious treatment of Christians by Nero caused public opinion
to relent in their favour ; and though no such universal mercy
will spring up in the coming time, yet will some be found who
will risk the consequences of detection and succour the persecuted.
It may be presumed that the edicts of the great Tyrant may be
less severely enforced beyond the limits of his own original home
territory, the area of the four beasts of Dn 7 ; and it is clear from
the revolts that come at the end (Dn 11. 40, 44), that some regions
become thoroughly disaffected, and in these the persecution may
lapse and the persecuted be helped.
Enquiries to determine the number of the beast, the cryptic
meaning of 666, have been endless and fruitless. When this heeds
to be known wisdom will be given to the spiritually intelligent, so
that they may be sure that the person foretold is present. The
moral lesson is of value : that 6 is the number of man, as 7 is of
God ; that man developed to the full (666) cannot rise to the
perfection of God ; that therefore Satan's promise to Eve, " Ye
shall be as God," can never be fulfilled in unregenerate man. It
has been suggested to me that the phrase " ' i t is the number of
a man,' if it meant the number of some particular or great man,
would probably have read dpi0p,bs yap dv8p6s ea-ri, but in fact
it is dpiO/xos yap o-vOpuTTovOTTI,which may very reasonably
be translated ' it is the number of man " (H. L. E.).
This prophecy bears the common feature of prophecies, that it
is linked with former utterances by few yet sufficient details,

»
 PRESENT TRENDS 227
which it combines, amplifies, and places in their exact and final
setting. The direct purpose here is to show the Agent and the
means for the last war of the dragon against Christians wherever
found.
We of to-day should take serious note of the powerful centraliz-
ing motion of society all over the earth. More and more does
authority pass to officials, and these become fewer, as to the
number who dominate. General regulations increase in number
and scope, designed at first to meet critical social conditions, as
in a time of war. National registration, central food control,
membership in some trade, or civic, or national organization, all
work in the direction of that final and detail control of the masses
above pictured. For all these schemes and economic measures,
however well meant to-day in a democratic country, can be readily
turned to a boycott of disciples of Christ as here foretold. In
Russia it has already been so.
Therefore let the disciple brace his will to be utterly faithful to
his Redeemer and Lord, learning from the Word what His will is,
and above all refusing to be yoked with unbelievers in any form
or degree of union (II Cr 6. 14-7. 1). We cannot go out of the
world, and contact with unbelievers is unavoidable, and also some
co-operation with them may be right. Believers and unbelievers
in Christ work together in a factory to produce clothing; or on
the land to grow food; or they may co-operate to help the sick
or wounded. But a yoke is an arrangement which compels two
creatures to act together, and prevents them separating. In such
case the believer must go on with the unbeliever, however ungodly
may be the path or act. This yoking is as plainly forbidden to
the Christian as is adultery or murder.
Courage and strength are to be gained, and to be gained only,
by maintained heart-fellowship with the Lamb, cultivated pri-
vately and persistently, in the communion of His Spirit, through
obedience to His words and a stedfast waiting upon Him in secret
prayer. Thus does love to Him burn, and love makes possible
all service and suffering.
 CHAPTER X

FIRSTFRUITS, HARVEST, VINTAGE

(C.14)
I. This chapter comprises three visions, each introduced by
the formula, "And I saw" (vs. 1, 6, 14). The first vision gives
but one scene, the second contains three, the third two. They
may be exhibited as follows :
Vision I, scene 1, vs. 1-5 : FIRSTFRUITS with the Lamb on
Mount Zion.
Vision II, scene 2, vs. 6, 7 : An angel announces the hour of
judgment.
Scene 3, ver. 8 : A second angel declares the fall of Babylon
the great.
Scene 4, vs. 9-13: A third angel warns men not to worship
the Beast.
Vision III, scene 5,'vs. 14-16 : The Son of Man on a cloud reaps
His HARVEST.'
Scene 6, vs. 17-20 : The VINTAGE is trodden on earth.
This outline of events is simple and illuminating. As before
remarked, in studying the Revelation it is always helpful to observe
at what point in any series of events the rule and persecution of
the Beast is placed. That is the central fixed point of the End
Days, just as the parousia of Christ is their closing point. From
the Beast we can work backwards and forwards in studying
those times.
In the present series, scene 4 is this fixed point, for men are
warned not to worship him or his image or to receive his mark, upon
peril of everlasting torment. Again, as in the preceding vision
(13. 10), it is declared that now in peculiar measure the saints
will need patience ; and again they are given the double descrip-
tion of " they that keep the commandments of God and the faith
of Jesus." A voice from heaven pronounces an emphatic blessing
upon such as die in the Lord from that hour and onward, for as
their labours and sufferings for Christ will abound, so will their
rest therefrom be sweet and their recompense therefor be great.
From 20. 4 we learn they will be sure of having part in the first
resurrection and thus of sharing the sovereignty of their Lord in
His kingdom then imminent.
228
 HARVEST 229
Scene 3, the fall of Babylon, is merely mentioned here, because
it was to be elaborated in c. 17. The point from that chapter to
be noted now is, that the Woman Babylon is to be destroyed by
the Beast before he becomes supreme and in order that he may
do so.
Scene 2 indicates the exact hour of affairs that has arrived :
the hour of divine judgment has struck. Of course, even then
there will be grace for each individual that will seek it, for men
are still called to worship God and therefore are given opportunity
to do so. But the characteristic of God's ways thenceforth will
be judgment, and especially with the affairs corporate of mankind,
with his systems, religious and political. This marks the com-
mencement of the Times of the End.
Scene 1 is of a company of persons " purchased out of the
earth . . . from among men." They are seen standing with the
Lamb on the Mount Zion before the hour of judgment commences.
We shall consider later what is said concerning these, only
pointing out now that thus the chapter presents :—
1. Some of the redeemed in heaven before the End Days start.
2. The arrival of the hour of judgment, but men still having
command and opportunity to turn to God.
3. The destruction of the false religious system Mystery
Babylon.
4. The reign of the Beast and the consequent Tribulation.
Scene 5, following the persecution of the saints, presents the
Son of Man reaping His grain Harvest. The following particulars
are important.
(i) The Lord is now sitting on a cloud ; so that by this stage of
events He has ceased to be in the midst of the throne and has
descended to the clouds. The parousia has commenced. In
scene 1 He was on the Mount Zion in the heavens, the songs were
" before the throne," the living creatures and elders were present ;
now these features are absent, for He has left that upper region
and is near the earth.
(ii) He wears a golden crown, for the hour of His sovereignty
has come.
(iii) He holds a sharp sickle, for it is the hour of harvest. This
sickle He casts upon the earth and the harvest is gathered. The
AV rendering " thrust in Thy sickle " and " He that sat on the
cloud thrust in His sickle " greatly blurs the picture. For in the
first instance the word is " send " (xeVu/w) and in the latter it is
" cast" (efiakw), yet these different words are rendered by one
English word, and that a word which does not answer to either.
 230 THE REAPER

In the last scene (ver. 19) the second term comes twice, and the
AV first translates it again inaccurately by " thrust " and then
correctly by " and cast it [the vine] into the winepress." The
RV renders the word properly in each case.
The importance of the matter is that for a reaper to thrust in
his sickle into standing corn he must himself be standing on the
earth by the grain. This is precisely where the Reaper is not.
He is not standing but sitting. He is not on the earth but on
the cloud. He does not thrust His sickle, but is bidden to
" send " i t , and therefore He " casts " i t . He does not thrust it
in but casts it upon (it is km not eis or kv). To " send forth "
and to " cast upon " are actions which imply some distance
between the person acting and the sphere upon which he acts ;
which notion is essential to the right interpretation of this vision.
This is one instance from many of how the AV seriously hinders
the study of prophecy.
Thus the picture is of our Lord acting from the cloud, and
gathering up the harvest of the earth, the sowing for which He
himself commenced (Mt 13. 37 ; " He that soweth the good seed
is the Son of Man ") and the ripening of which He has carefully
watched. Now the " hour to reap is come ; for the harvest of
the earth is dried up " ; and, as He himself foretold, " when the
fruit is ripe, straightway he sendeth forth the sickle, because the
harvest is come " (Mk 4. 29). He has also explained that the
" sickle " means angels. Mt 13. 30, 41, 49 : " the Son of Man
shall send forth His angels."
It is sometimes suggested that this is a judgment scene because
it is the harvest of the earth, and because the term " dried up "
means also " withered." To the first objection it suffices to
answer that in Mk 4. 29, just quoted, the growth of grain on the
earth (" the earth beareth fruit of itself "), and the harvesting
operation, are a picture of the kingdom of God, not of the kingdom
of darkness ; and that in the parallel parables of Mt 13 there is
good seed which grows on good ground, still on the earth, and
brings forth good fruit, that is, " sons of the kingdom " (Mt 13. 38).
Moreover, the objection would tell equally against the " first-
fruits " of our chapter being godly persons, for they too were
" purchased out of the earth."
The second objection fails to allow that, whereas the withering
* of a hand (Mk 3. 1), or of a tree (Mt 21. 19), or of an immature
wheat stalk (Mt 13. 6), is the ruin thereof, on the contrary the
drying of the kernel .in the husk is the perfecting of grain for
storing, grinding, and baking. In the hot lands, the weather
being certain, the grain is not reaped when golden, and not
 THK GRAIN RIPKNKD 231

wholly free from moisture, but is left till it is white, and therefore
" dried up " (hence " white unto harvest," Jn 4. 35), for the
stalk and husk are literally withered and the kernel is dry and
loose, making threshing easy.
This is an admirable picture of the spiritual process by which
the heir of heaven becomes more and more detached in heart
from the natural resources on which he necessarily draws in
measure during his earthly growth, and at last is made in spirit
entirely independent thereof. At this stage we properly say of
a mature saint that " h e is ripe for heaven." Now what the
burning heat of the summer sun does for the grain, tribulation
does for the godly ; and Christ Himself used the sun with its
scorching heat as the figure of tribulation or persecution arising
because of the word (Mt 13. 6, 21). It is in strict harmony with
this that the present vision of the harvest follows the vision of
the Tribulation under the Beast. That was the burning heat
which indeed withered the weakly (" because iniquity shall be
multiplied the love of the many shall wax cold " Mt 24. 12), but
which quickly ripened those who were well-rooted. Then, as
ever, tribulation is death to the carnal, but the perfecting of life
to the spiritual; and thus the great Tribulation, which will be a
judgment upon the ungodly, is in its issue a benefit to the godly
by fitting them for the harvest. For the heavenly Husbandman
reaps no grain until it is fully ripe, but He garners it immediately
it is so : " when the fruit is ripe, straightway he sendeth forth the
sickle, because the harvest is come " (Mk 4. 29).
Vision 6, the Vintage, need not detain us long, for there is
general agreement that it is the destruction of the wicked at the
descent of the Lord to the earth. It is the same event as is
portrayed in 19. 11-21, where the Word of God comes to " smite
the nations " and " treadeth the winepress of the fierceness of
the wrath of Almighty God," overthrowing the Beast and his
armies. It is the fulfilment of Is 63. 1-6, " I have trodden the
winepress." For the purpose of our present study the significant
fact is that this scene brings the Lord down to the earth itself:
" the winepress was trodden outside the city," that is, Jerusalem,
against which the Beast and his armies will be concentrated when
the Lord descends to the mount of Olives for the salvation of
Israel and the overthrow of Gentile power (Zh 14. 1-5).

II. Scene 1. We turn back to examine closely the opening

scene, the company that stands with the Lamb on the Mount
Zion.
(i) This scene is in heaven, not on earth.
232 FIKSTFRUITS

(a) We shall prove presently that this series of visions is in a

strict and unalterable sequence : that Scene I is the first, and
depicts circumstances which cannot belong later than the place
they occupy as opening the series. This will involve that the
Mount Zion where the Lamb stands is the heavenly Zion, for
Christ does not descend to the earthly Zion until the event which
forms the last of this series of visions, as just above mentioned.
The saints who are seen with the Lamb know the reality pointed
to by the words " ye have come unto Mount Zion " (Hb 12. 22).
(b) The song in which these alone of men can join is sung
" before the throne." As before remarked, this phrase always in
the Revelation indicates the presence of God in heaven. Its
occurrences are :
(1) 1. 4, 5. " Grace to you and peace from Him who is and
who was and who is to come ; and from the seven spirits which
are before His throne ; and from Jesus Christ." It is the place
where the Father, the Spirit, and the Son are.
(2, 3) 4. 5, 6. " And out of the throne proceed lightnings and
voices and thunders. And there were seven lamps of fire burning
before the throne, which are the seven spirits of God ; and before
the throne as it were a sea of glass like unto crystal; and in the
midst of the throne, and round about the throne, four living
creatures." Here the phrase is one of four : " out of," " in the
midst of," " round about," and " before " the throne, and the
last cannot be dissociated from the others. If the crystal sea,
which is " before the throne " can be somewhere else than in
heaven, then may the phrase point to some other region. The
locality is undoubtedly the presence of God in heaven. The
Lamb, the elders, and the living creatures are present.
(4, 5) 4. 10. " the four and twenty elders shall fall down before
Him that sitteth upon the throne . . . and shall cast their crowns
before the throne." Obviously the elders do not so act on earth,
but in heaven. They who argue (though mistakenly) that the
elders represent glorified saints in heaven ought to be the last to
say that " before the throne " does not mean heaven.
(6, 7, 8) 7. 9, 11, 15. The " great multitude " who have " come
out of the great tribulation " are " standing before the throne " and
before the Lamb, arrayed in white robes. God is " on " the
throne, these are " before " the throne, the angels are " round
about " the throne and also they " fall before the throne." If the
throne itself, and the worship of all the angels, is on earth at this
time, then, but not otherwise, will the place of this multitude be
on earth.
(9) 8. 3. This is a heavenly scene, for the angel takes the
 FIRSTFRUITS ARE OVERCOMERS 233
censer, fills it with fire from " the golden altar which was before
the throne," and casts it upon (into w) the earth ; so that he
was not on earth, neither was this altar.
(10, 11) 14. 3. There is not the slightest ground for giving any
other sense to the phrase in our present passage, for here also
the locality is the place of the living creatures, the elders, the
harpers, and the Lamb.
(c) Therefore the Firstfruits are said to have been purchased
" out of the earth," which expression indicates that they have
been taken away from the place where they were purchased.
After having reached home a housekeeper might say, " I pur-
chased this in the market." This " in " is the English idiom ;
Greek says more precisely " out of the market." But neither
phrase would be strictly exact so long as she was still in the
market, for it presumes that she has taken the property purchased
to some other place.
(d) The Firstfruits " follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth."
It is a present participle—" these are those following," and at
that time the Lamb is still in heaven, for He does not leave heaven
until the time of the Harvest.

(ii) The identity of these Firstfruits is revealed in the three-

fold circumstance that they are (a) on the Mount Zion, in the
heavenly Jerusalem ; (b) they have the name of the Lamb ; and
(c) the name of his Father written on their foreheads. As the
worshippers of the Beast will be visibly identified with him, so
are these with the Father, the Lamb, and the heavenly city. But
this correspondence cannot be seen in the AV, because, through a
faulty Greek text, it does not here mention the name of the
Lamb.
This triple connection is found elsewhere only in the promise
to the overcomers of the churches : " He that overcometh . . . I
will write upon him (a) the name of My God, and (b) the name of
the city of My God, the new Jerusalem, which cometh down out
of heaven from My God, and (c) mine own new name " (3. 12).
Thus these Firstfruits are the Overcomers in the battles of the
Lord.
(iii) That a specific number is applied to them itself suggests
that they are a limited company. In contrast, those who later
on come out of the great Tribulation are " a great multitude "
the number of which cannot be estimated (7. 9). Some consider
this number should be taken literally. The event will settle the
matter, but we feel no obligation so to regard it. See p. 21 on
Symbolic Language, and p. 315 on the Bride.
 TWO
234 COMPANIES OF 144,000
But it is very important to show that this 144,000 are by no
means the same company as that so numbered in c. 7. 1-8.
(a) That company are specified as Israelites, each of the tribes
being named separately : these are drawn from the wider circle of
mankind at large ; they are " purchased out of the earth " and
" from among men," not from Israel in particular or alone.
(b) That company are on earth : these are in heaven, as shown.
(c) The Israelites are sealed after Seal 6 has passed, which Seal
is marked by the seven features which our Lord declared should
follow immediately the Tribulation of those days (Mt 24. 29, 30).
That Seals 6 and 7 follow the Tribulation is further shown by
the fact that between them are seen in heaven the great multitude
who come out of that Tribulation, and by the fact that before
Seal 6 the souls of the beheaded are seen under the altar. But
the Firstfruits are seen with the Lamb in heaven before the End
Days even commence.
(d) The remnant of Israel are sealed in order that they may be
preserved from the final judgments which will fall within the
Day of the Lord. But the Firstfruits are taken away from the
earth before the hour of judgment strikes, and are in no danger
from the Day of the Lord.
Thus these companies have no marks of identity, but several of
complete contrast, save only that the number is the same. That
the same number is applied to two companies so widely separated
in time and circumstance, rather indicates that the number is not
literal in either case, but has a moral value applicable to both
cases. See Prelim. Discussion I, p. 21.
(iv) The moral qualities belonging to this company of First-
fruits are highly significant.
1. They are of the number of the redeemed; they were
" purchased," and this from among " men," not Israel only.
2. They were " not defiled with women ; for they are virgins."
This is marked as a peculiar excellence, " these are they," these
are the particular persons.
The attempts to show that this means that they remained
unmarried we think have failed. Granted that to remain un-
married for the sake of the gospel is a high excellence, this does
not prove what is required by the statement that marriage is
defiling. It were inexplicable that Scripture should enforce that
marriage is honourable in all and later declare it to be defiling.
That Peter and the other apostles were married (Mt 8. 14 : I Cr 9. 5)
does not hinder them having the special honour of being the very
foundations of the heavenly Jerusalem in its eternal glory
( R v 2 1 . 14).
 FIRSTFRUITS, THEIR QUALITY 235
This attempt is an example of the unsatisfactoriness of the
rigidly literal treatment of an oriental treatise. Oriental inter-
twining of the literal and the figurative is a characteristic of
Scripture, and not least in its use of this particular figure. The
very term virgin is applied to every believer to indicate the
present relation to Christ in which we are presumed to have been
placed by faith in Him (II Cr 11. 2, 3). These Firstfruits had
successfully resisted the accompanying peril, of which Paul
warned, of the thoughts and affections being seduced by Satan
from attachment to Christ alone. They had not incurred the
solemn reproach of making themselves enemies of God by friend-
ship with the world (Js 4. 4). This last warning must needs be
for true Christians, since the unbeliever is already an enemy of
God (Rm 5. 10 : CI 1. 21), and therefore cannot make himself one.
3. Consistently with this the Firstfruits are followers of the
Lamb without reserve ; they follow Him " whithersoever He
goeth." This involves that they had done this on earth, when it
costs something to do so ; for the Lord declared this to be the
principle of fellowship with Him, as in the promise to the over-
comer at Sardis, that he should walk about with Him in white
because he had kept his garments white on earth (3. 4, 5).
Attracted to His person they had fulfilled the inflexible conditions
of discipleship, that Christ shall have unquestioned precedence over
every other person, that each shall bear his own cross and follow
the Lord, and that all rights of every sort are surrendered to the
Lord's disposal (Lk 14. 26, 27, 33). Going thus after Him these
had reached the place that He had reached by that same path of
life, even as He had promised, " where I am there shall also My
servant b e " (Jn 12. 26) : and now they are His personal
companions for ever.
4. They are firstfruits, that is, those of the harvest first
ripened, first reaped, first presented to God and the Lamb. That
they are firstfruits unto the Lamb is another proof that they are
not regarded as Israelites ; for, as has been shown, Jews as such
will not accept Jesus as the Lamb of God prior to seeing Him in
glory at Jerusalem.
It was an ancient divine ordinance that as soon as enough grain
was ripe for making a sheaf, it should be gathered and be pre-
sented to God in the temple (Ex 23. 19; 34. 26; etc.). This
would be in the early summer. It would be followed shortly by
the onset of the intense summer heat, which presently ripening
the whole field would bring on the general harvest, which in turn
would be followed by the vintage.
Now the firstfruits were presented to God in the temple ; but
236 FIRSTFRUITS ARE MAN-CHILD

the harvest, though removed indeed from the field where it had
grown, would not be taken as far away as to Jerusalem, but only
as far as to the granary adjacent to the fields ; whilst the clusters
of the vine would not be taken to any distance, the winepresses
being in the vineyard itself (Is 5. 2 : Mt 21. 33). Similarly in the
present antitype, these Firstfruits are taken up to the immediate
presence of God and the Lamb in heaven ; the Harvest is removed
only as far as to the clouds, whither the Lord has by then
descended ; whilst the vintage is trodden where it grew, on the
earth itself.

In this picture now before us certain features are distinct.

(a) That the Firstfruits and the Harvest are from the same
sowing, grown in the same field, and are of the same class of grain.
There is no distinction between them, save that the former,
having ripened earlier, did not need the intense summer heat and
so were gathered before it set in. This corresponds to the Man-
child being of the same family circle as the Rest of the Woman's
seed: only he escaped the period of the Beast and his persecution
of the saints, which the Rest of the family endured.
(b) As the Man-child was caught up as high as to God and His
throne, so are the Firstfruits seen on Mount Zion in the heavens,
where the throne is. That the throne and Mount Zion are
associated is seen in the fact that the Father, the Lamb, the
elders, and the living creatures, who all are connected with the
throne in c. 4, are connected with Mount Zion in c. 14. As in
the earthly Jerusalem Zion was the spot where were " set thrones
for judgment, the thrones of the house of David " (Ps 122. 5), so
is the heavenly Zion the place of the throne of God and of the
thrones of the elders who are associated with Him as rulers. As
the Man-child was taken to the throne of God itself, and so higher
than, and to superiority over, the elders who sat around, for he
is to rule all nations, so the Firstfruits are taken into closest
association with the Lamb when He is about to reign. This
position in the heavens at this early stage of the End Days effec-
tually forbids that these are the persons who are to meet the Lord
in the air near to this earth according to I Th 4. 16, 17.
(c) Thus it is seen that as the End Times approach one company
of the redeemed—the smaller portion, as firstfruits are less than
the whole subsequent harvest, and as a man-child is less than the
remainder of the family—reach the upper heavens prior to the
arising of the Beast, whilst a second company are taken to the
clouds on the descent of Christ thereto, after the Tribulation
under the Beast, and prior to the descent of the Lord to the earth
 TWO PROMISES, TWO PICTURES 237
to destroy him. This latter coincides exactly with what is taught
concerning the Parousia, namely, that<»the elect will be gathered
by angels at the moment when the " Son of Man comes on the
clouds of heaven with power and great glory " (Mt 24. 30, 31).
That coming and this Scene 5 are both placed at the same point,
after the great Tribulation ; and that coming is accompanied with
a " great sound of a trumpet," as is the descent mentioned in
I Th 4. 16 ; it is also the moment for the first " outshining of the
glory of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ," which is the
blessed hope of the church (Tt 2. 13).
In no one of these passages do we find the least hint that Christ
will leave the throne of the Father prior to the moment thus
indicated, nor in any other scripture. There is no suggestion
that He comes for the Man-child, the Firstfruits; both are
taken right up to Him where He then still is, at the throne of God.
This, we repeat, cannot be I Th 4. 18, and therefore also the
resurrection of the godly does not take place at this time.
(v) Thus we have two definite promises to Christians of a
possible escape from the End Days (Lk 21. 36: Rv 3. 10), and
two remarkable and coinciding pictures of those who do so escape,
the Man-child and the Firstfruits. But those promises are con-
tingent upon moral conditions, conditions seen to attach to the
Man-child and the Firstfruits. For these maintained a holy
separation and purity; they were Calebites who followed the
Lord wholly ; instead of not profiting by the more moderate
ripening influences of the early summer they responded thereto
fully, and so were ripe for early gathering.
It is further added that " i n their mouth was found no lie."
Lying is one of the most universal of sins. To most of mankind
it has always been and still is a natural habit. These Firstfruits
had answered thoroughly to the precept, " putting away falsehood
speak ye truth each one with his neighbour " (Eph 4. 25). This is
no small attainment for such as must live with, and compete
with, a community given up to lying. Most especially difficult
is absolute truthfulness in days of fierce persecution, when a true
avowal of faith will assure distress or even death, which might be
avoided by some equivocation: These had remembered that
their Lord was the Truth, that He spake only truth, and before
Pilate bore witness to the truth, and suffered the penalty by death.
There was no guile in His mouth, and they spurned it from theirs.
Their Yea was yea, and their Nay, nay; and so now they are
found " sincere and void of offence " in His presence.
Indeed, they are described finally as being " without blemish."
This term means to be without any feature to which blame or
238 WITHOUT BLKMISH

reproof can attach. It refers definitely to external appearance.

Lv 22. 19-25 and 21. 16-24—where the LXX use this word
(a/jLUfios) and its opposite blemish—are clear as to this sense. To
be " without blemish " an animal was to be neither blind, broken,
maimed, nor having wen, scurvy, or scab, and there was to be
nothing superfluous or lacking. All this was indispensable for an
animal to be presented to Jehovah in His temple. So also a
priest was to be thus externally complete if he was " to go in unto
the vail or to come nigh unto the altar." Birth relationship to
Aaron was indispensable but not sufficient for access to the
presence of God. That one offered the due sacrifice as atonement
for his sins did not suffice for this privilege, though it did suffice
for his pardon and justification and therefore for his exemption
from the judgment due to his sins. For access to God's holy
place and for priestly service wholeness of person, external com-
pleteness, was equally indispensable.
The New Testament strongly emphasizes the spiritual counter-
part of this type. Christ Jesus, inherently, not by acquirement,
and always, not by development, was without blemish, and as
such he offered himself unto God (Hb 9. 14), and His precious
blood, as of a lamb without blemish, is the redemption price of
our freedom (I Pt 1. 18, 19).
Now this freedom includes liberation from the power of sin,
for " He gave himself for us, that He might redeem us from all
iniquity, and purify unto himself a people for his own possession,
zealous of good works " (Tt 2. 14). And this work is to be, and
cannot help but be, visible in the lives of His people in its evident
effects. It is the very purpose of the Father, for which, indeed,
" He chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world, that
we should be holy and without blemish before Him " (Eph 1. 4).
This term " before H i m " (i<a.TevoJiuov) comes only twice
elsewhere, and in both places is associated with the expression
" without blemish " as the necessary state in which they must be
who are to stand before Him. In Jd 24 we read that God is able
" to guard you from stumbling and to set you before the presence
of His glory without blemish in exceeding joy." Since God is
able the thing is possible ; but the precedent operation through
which He reaches this end is that He guards us from stumbling on
the journey of life.
II Pt 1. 1-4 gives the divine .side, even that God " has granted
unto us all things that pertain to life and godliness " : and
verses 5-11 show the response on our side which is indispensable
if the grant is to be realized, namely, " adding on your part all
diligence ; . . give the more diligence . . . for if ye do these
 WITHOUT BLEMISH 239
things ye shall never stumble." It is wrong and foolish to depend
upon Jude's assurance that God is able to guard from stumbling
so long as one ignores Peter's statement as to the condition on
our side for being thus guarded. Both are the words of the
Holy Spirit.
So also in CI 1. 22, 23 it is said that Christ " hath now reconciled
us in the body of His flesh through death," which reconciliation
is a present and unchangeable fact ; and this He has done with
the intention " to present you holy and without blemish and
unblameable before Him." But whereas the reconciliation
through His death is a present and eternal reality for the believer,
the presentation before Him in the glory is conditional, as is next
declared in the words, " to present you holy and without blemish
and unreprovable before Him, if so be that ye continue in the
faith and not moved away from the hope of the gospel."
Thus also do we read in Eph 5. 25, that husbands are to love
their own wives " even as Christ also loved the church, 1 and gave
Himself up for her "—here is the redemption price for her to be
freed from the former slavery ; and this He did " t h a t He might
sanctify her, having cleansed her by the laver of [that is, which
is formed by] water in the word," that is, by the grace of the
Holy Spirit made available to us in the Word of God, which
sanctifies the obedient (Jn 15. 3 ; 17. 17 : I Pt 1. 22). This
sanctifying He effects for this final purpose, " that He might
present [irap^T-niMparistemi, a word of similar force to katenopiori]
the church to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or
wrinkle or any such thing ; but that she should be holy and
without blemish."
Here, as in Leviticus, the words " spot or wrinkle or any such
thing " illustrate the force of " without blemish" as being
external perfectness ; and the passage strongly emphasizes that
this visible moral beauty, which is based upon redemption, is
realised through sanctification produced by the Spirit and the
Word.
The girl in the slave market is purchased by the Prince out of
love, in order that she may become his bride, his queen. The
redemption price for ever alters her status from slavery to a due
yet free attachment to her Redeemer ; but very obviously much
more than the purchase price is needful ere she can actually sit
by his side in his palace. Every spot and blemish contracted in
the old life must be removed and she become as actually and
outwardly beautiful as she is legally free.
1
Surely this parallel were unaccountable and, indeed, incorrect, if marriage
were in any sense inherently defiling.
240 ESCAPE IS CONDITIONAL

We have no manner of right to read this passage thus : " Christ

loved the church, and gave Himself up for her, that He might
present her to Himself." Through the redemption by blood
justification is complete and everlasting, upon faith ; but between
that and the being glorified in His presence lies sanctification.
And of this process so much is possible in this life that in the
only other place in the NT where this expression " without
blemish " is found, we read : " Do all things without murmurings
and disputings ; that ye may become blameless and harmless,
children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and
perverse generation, among whom ye are seen as luminaries in
the world, holding forth the word of life ; that I may have
whereof to glory in the day of Christ, that I did not run in vain,
neither labour in vain " (Ph 2. 14-16). This shows that to be
without blemish points to no unattainable height of holiness, but
that the grace of God can make us and keep us thus before men ;
and this will be a glory in the day of Christ.

By the power of God and the Word of God the Firstfruits had
so lived, and now, in vision, they are seen before the presence of
His glory in exceeding joy. We have enlarged upon this theme
of holiness because in it are concentrated, and driven home on the
conscience, all those calls for moral attainment which have
sounded from each of the passages which offer the hope of escaping
the End Times. It is worse than foolish to decline to recognize
this so strongly marked moral element by the unsupported
assertion that all believers do live as is so described. Both
Scripture and experience deny this assertion, whilst they proclaim
loudly the danger of turning from the faith and of being moved
away from the hope of the gospel, even the sharing the glory of
our Lord Jesus Christ at His parousia.
Christians do cease to watch and do fail in supplications, they
do stumble and do not always keep the word of Christ's patience ;
and it is neither true exegesis nor sound morally to console such
with the assurance that they are equally certain to attain the
position and privileges now in question as are those who, by the
due use of the grace of God, walk in His fear. The solemn
examples of failure, the searching warnings, the powerful exhorta-
tions of Holy Scripture, were given most expressly for us " upon
whom the ends of the ages are come. Wherefore let him who
thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall" (I Cr 10. 11, 12).
The faithfulness of God is sure ; the way of escape, that we may
be able to endure all trial, will ever be opened; but the conse-
quences to the believer of receiving that grace in vain are not to
 THE VISIONS CONSECUTIVE 24I

be avoided, even as the privileges certainly will not be forfeited

if we stedfastly walk by faith unto the end.

It remains only to show that the six Scenes of Rv 14 are in

strict and unalterable sequence, and then this discussion can be
summarized and closed.
1. That a series of visions of this type, so presented to the eye
of the seer, should expose events in the sequence in which they
will occur, is what is to be expected, for otherwise the relation
of each event to the others were almost indiscoverable, and indeed
the visions would be confusing and misleading by at least sug-
gesting a false order. In that case the Revelation would be
rather a veiling than an unveiling of the future. Moreover, each
of the other sets of visions in this book is in order of occurrence.
We deem it to be an important purpose of this portion of the
Word of God to straighten out, if it may be so put, the various
interlacing lines of forecast which were drawn in preceding ages.
Information which had been given " piecemeal" (Hb 1. 1
TroXvpepm) is in this book systematized and completed. The
many momentous affairs which will be crowded into the End
Times are here exhibited in groups of related events.
2. That Scenes 3 and 4 of this series are in the order in which
they will happen is to be learned from c. 17. For the Woman
Babylon is destroyed by the Beast in order that he may reign
universally ; therefore before he does so ; therefore before the
worship of his image or the persecution of non-conforming saints
intimated in Scene 4.
3. That Scenes 2, 3 and 4 are in proper order is indicated by
the use of ordinal numbers, a feature not brought out in the AV.
Scene 2 speaks of " another angel," that is, one whom John had
not seen in any of the preceding visions. Scene 3 (ver. 8), says
that " another, a second angel followed ; " and Scene 4 says that
" another angel, a third, followed them." Now whereas the
cardinal numbers, one, two, three, do not require priority of
order for one thing over another, first, second, and third do
indicate sequence as the very idea of those terms ; for the second
cannot be before the first nor after the third : the order is
unchangeable.
4. That Scenes 5 and 6 are in proper order in relation to each
other is clear, for, as all are agreed, the gathering up of the elect
is to take place at some time prior to the descent of the Lord to
destroy the Beast.
5. That Scenes 1, 5 and 6 are in proper order in relation to
each other is evident from the agricultural figure which is wrought
242 THK ORDER UNCHANGEABLE
into them. For, as we have seen, the Jewish farming operations
were that in the early summer the sheaf of FIRSTFRUITS was
gathered and presented in the temple ; later, the general
HARVEST was reaped ; last of all, at the end of the season, the
VINTAGE was gathered and trodden in the winepresses. The
order of these three operations cannot be inverted. In the very
nature of things firstfruits cannot follow harvest, or it would not
be firstiruits ; neither did the vintage ever come before harvest.
This further negatives another view of Scene i, which is that
it forms an anticipatory view of the whole outcome of the divine
action detailed in the series of visions following. It is regarded
as a " preface of blessing " given in advance to relieve the darkness
of following judgments by showing the final outcome of good to
which they lead But, as has been said, firstfruits must be
^rstfruits ; the term itself forbids an application of itself to the
final stage of matters. The first of a series cannot be also the
whole, least of all the last thereof : it must be but a portion of
the whole, and the earliest portion.
6. The fixity of this order in agriculture further proves that
Scene 4 must come between Scenes 1 and 5, for it is undoubted
fact that Christ pictured persecution by the figure of the scorching
summer sun ; and it is indisputable that firstfruits were gathered
before the intensest heat burst, whilst harvest was reaped there-
after, being indeed brought about by its agency. Thus also the
fiercest of all persecutions that saints will know will be escaped
by the watchful, according to the promises considered, and
according to the picture here of the Firstfruits, whilst the Harvest
will follow that persecution.
7. Finally, it has been shown that Scenes 2, 3 and 4, the arriv-
ing of the hour of judgment, the fall of Babylon, and the supremacy
of the Beast, cannot be separated or inverted ; and this involves
that 2 and 3 must come between 1 and 4, since their connection
with the latter and with each other is determined.
Thus by internal proofs it is demonstrated that Scenes 3 and 4
are shown in proper sequence ; also 2, 3, and 4 ; also 5 and 6 ;
and then that Scene^ 1, 4, and 5 are so exhibited ; and finally
that number 1 cannot be put elsewhere than before 2, 3, and 4.
It will be found that this involves that no transposition whatever
is allowable.
Nor do we know of any change of order being desired save for
Scene 1. But why cannot this one Scene be accepted happily by
expositors as being in its proper place in the series, and as being
located in heaven ? To this there seems no answer save that,
thus placed and regarded, it refuses to fit into either the scheme
 SUMMARY OF CH. XIV -4_>

that declares that every believer will be caught away to meet the
Lord in the air before the End Days, or into the scheme that
declares that every believer must pass through the End Days and
that there is to be no rapture before the end of the Tribulation.
But this Scene does fit exactly into the program that there
will be a removal of some before that dread era and a removal
of the rest at the close thereof. Nor, exercising all charity, can
we conceive of any other suggestion being gained from the chapter
by a mind that could consider the series without a previous
decision that one or other of the two schemes mentioned is un-
challengeable. Is any intellectual process more difficult than to
rid the mind of a prepossession when one honestly thinks it to
be well-founded ?

The sequence of events here proposed is :—

i. The removal of a portion of the church of God, not to the
air, but to Christ, at the throne of the Father.
2. The hour of judgment begins : the End Times commence.
The juxta-position of these two Scenes affords the nearest
suggestion as to when the rapture of the Firstfruits may be
expected. It is a little before the End starts.
3. The Woman Babylon is destroyed, as in c. 17.
4. The Beast reigns and persecutes. The Great Tribulation.
5. The Lord Jesus descends to the air. The rapture and
resurrection of I Th 4.
6. The Lord descends to Olivet and destroys the Beast.
Three major points are to be kept in mind.
(i) The the Lord does not come for the Firstfruits. They are
simply taken away as were Enoch and Elijah.
(ii) No resurrection attends the removal of the Firstfruits.
(iii) The Firstfruits are promised no priority in the kingdom
over equally victorious saints of earlier days. These will reach
their portion shortly after by resurrection. The advantage of
being of the Firstfruits will be the escaping the dread days of the
End, as it is said : " that ye may prevail to escape all these things
that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man "
(Lk 21. 34-36).
 CHAPTER XI

THE SEVEN BOWLS

(Cs. 15 and 16)

These chapters are one vision, for the seven plagues mentioned
in 15. 1 are detailed in c. 16.
Trumpet 7 (11. 15) carries forward the view to the setting up
of the millennial kingdom : " the kingdom of the world is become
the kingdom of our Lord " ; and the twenty-four elders give
thanks for the rewarding of the godly and the destruction of the
destroyers of the earth (11. 18). Thereupon John was shown (19)
that " there was opened the temple of God that is in heaven ; and
there was seen in His temple the ark of His covenant; and there
followed lightnings, and voices, and thunders, and an earthquake,
and great hail."
This last scene, however, is not subsequent to the seventh
trumpet, but part of it, and is preparatory to a further vision
which will show how that destruction of the destroyers of the
earth will be effected. This is the theme of cs. 15 and 16. For
ver. 1 of c. 15 declares that the outpouring of the Bowls will com-
plete the wrath of God, and ver. 5 resumes the picture of 11.19, the
opening of the temple in heaven. Then, after the Bowls have
been poured out, 16. 17 proclaims that " it has come to pass "
(Teyovev), and then repeats the remainder of 11. 19, " and there
came \lykvtro, that is, after the completion of the Bowls]
lightnings, and voices, and thunders ; and there C a m e (eyeVeTo)
a great earthquake." Verse 21 completes the parallel by de-
scribing in detail the great hail. Thus cs. 15 and 16 are an expan-
sion of 11. 19, and give the details of the 3rd Woe under Tr. 7.
This shows that cs. 12, 13, and 14 are a parenthesis.
The exact point where the Bowls come in the mighty drama
of the End Days is shown distinctly in vs. 2-4 of c. 15, -for those
who " come off victorious from the Beast " (ASV) are seen
standing by the sea of glass, having harps of God, and singing
the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb. The Great Tribula-
tion therefore had reached its end, and those who had conquered
the Beast had been removed to the heavenly world.
It is noteworthy that the song of these victors is that of Moses
and of the Lamb in combination. This song in heaven is a divine
344
 MOSES AND CHRIST 245
epitome of that earlier song divinely given to Moses (Dt 32),
the theme of which was (1) the greatness of God : " ascribe ye
greatness to our God," and (2) " His work is perfect " ; (3) all
His ways are justice " ; (4) "just and right is He." So here we
find " (1) Great and marvellous are (2) Thy works, 0 Lord God the
Almighty ; (3, 4) righteous and true are Thy ways, Thou King of
the ages." Further, the close of Moses' song was a vision of God
wielding His glittering sword, rendering vengeance to His adver-
saries ; and then of the nations rejoicing with Israel, His people,
whom He has chastened, humbled, exalted (Dt 32. 40-43). So
here : " Who shall not fear, O Lord, and glorify Thy name ? for
Thou art holy ; for all the nations shall come and worship before
Thee ; for Thy righteous acts have been made manifest."
It is to be remembered that the giving of the law was not the
primary office of Moses. The law came in addition to his chief
and greatest service (Rm 5. 20), being made necessary by the
hardness of men's hearts. As the promulgator of law Moses
stood in contrast to Christ, for " the law was given through Moses ;
grace and truth came through Jesus Christ " (Jn 1. 17). But the
original and higher office of Moses was to deliver the enslaved and
to bring them into the freedom of the redeemed, and in this Moses
and the Lamb are one, Moses being a forerunner and type of
Christ.
In our chapter the hour has been reached when the predictions
in the song of Moses shall be realized through the redemption and
the judgments of the Lord Jesus, and the song of Moses and the
song of the Lamb are now one song. The law and its judgments
have served the good end of bringing the spared of both Israel
and the nations unto Christ : and now these of the redeemed,
the victors over the Beast, celebrate this mighty epoch.
It is to effect the completion of this age-long process that the
Bowl judgments are employed. They will remove the now
irreclaimable adversaries of God ; and the remnant of Israel and
of the nations shall come and worship before Him, because His
righteous acts have been made manifest (4).
How comprehensive are the ways of God. They embrace the
long millenniums in one view, join the beginning and the end of
affairs international, and show the blessed comforting fact that
God is " the King of the ages," working out " the purpose of the
ages " which He formed in His own mind before the ages began
(Eph 3. 11; 1. 11). Satan and man have wrought chaos and
misery, but God is not to be defeated, and shall triumph at last.
What firstly engages the mind of saints glorified is here seen.
It is not their own conflicts or victories, nor even the grand
246 THREE COMPANIES IN HEAVEN

recompense the grace of God has granted, to share in the glories

of the world on high : it is rather the greatness of God and the
vastness of His plans now come to a mighty crisis and advance.

Three companies from earth have now been shown in heaven.

It will be well to compare them.
I. 14. 1. 144,000 redeemed out of the earth are seen on
Mount Zion.
II. 7. 9-17. A multitude come out of the Great Tribulation
are before the throne.
III. 15. 2-4. The victors over the Beast are by the glassy sea.
The details show these three companies to be distinct.
(1) Their location. Mount Zion in Jerusalem was the place of
government: " there are set thrones for judgment, the thrones of
the house of David " (Ps 122. 5). So also in the heavenly city.
Company I are seen associated with the Lamb in the place of
royalty and sovereignty. They are His personal companions, in
constant attendance, to accompany Him whithersoever He may
go in His universal kingdom.
Company II are only " before the throne," where are also the
other servants of the Most High, angels and others. This multi-
tude will be as Levites to serve in the temple of God.
Company III are also before the throne, but their position is
more exactly specified as being " by the glassy sea." Now in
the Tabernacle the laver was for the use of priests (Ex 30. 17-21).
In the temple it was called a " sea," because of its great size, some
fifteen feet across. In both cases it was made of brass, or copper,
the metal of the altar, which endures fire. Also, it was when the
priest acted in the matter of an offering by fire that he had to
use the laver. So this sea of glass is " a s mingled with fire," and
this company have been through the fire of tribulation, and now
are priestly in character and office, as their standing by the laver
suggests.
(2) Their time. Company I are at the summit of dignity
before the End Days set in. They are the " firstirmts " of the
redeemed from the earth. Companies II and III have passed
through the End Days as far as to the conclusion of the Tribula-
tion. Their removal may have been at the same time, though
they vary in place and dignity.
(3) Their songs. All three Companies sing, but different songs.
Company I sing a " new song " that they only of the sons of men
can learn. Company II simply ascribe " salvation " unto God
and the Lamb. Their praise does not rise beyond " salvation,"
their own blessed experience. But, as remarked above, Com-
 THREK COMPANIES IN HEAVEN 247
pany III enlarge their thoughts to extol the majesty of God and
His works ; but it is a song that Moses had started long before.
Neither Company I nor II have harps ; the third and more
distinctly priestly Company have harps, not of David, the leader
of such praise in the earthly realm of old, but of God, heavenly
accompaniments of praise.
(4) Their Moral Characteristics. The " Firstfruits " (Coy. I)
had not defiled their persons or lips ; their ways and words had
been without blemish. The Great Multitude (Coy. II) had
required to wash their robes ; their outer ways had been defiled
and needed cleansing. Nor is it said that they had defeated the
Beast, but only that they came out of the Tribulation purified.
Company III are declared plainly to have conquered in the
conflict with the Beast, and there is no mention of their garments,
their visible life; needing to be washed.
Had such plain distinctions as these been observed by all
teachers and hymn writers, the people of God would have been
spared much confusion through the merging of all the saints into
one undifferentiated throng, with the consequent and truly
serious loss of moral impetus to attain unto the rich and distinct
prizes, open indeed to all, but requiring to be gained. Morally
powerful truths would not then have been smothered under the
one all-inclusive but greatly mis-applied phrase " going to
heaven," as picturing the lot of all the saved equally.
There would then have been more meaning and more moral
force in the statement that even in glory one star differeth from
another star. The principle stated by the angel to Daniel
(Dn 12. 3) would have been known to be of permanent force, that
it is the wise who shall radiate brightness from their resplendent
persons, and that it is those who have gained by grace the moral
character and spiritual energy to turn many to righteousness
who shall shine for ever as stars. Then would have been felt
more adequately the power of our Lord's words that it is the
righteous who shall shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their
Father (Mt 13. 43).
God be praised that through the one atoning work of the Lamb
all believers will be in the kingdom of God, and not in the realm
of the lost; but not all will be in the Millennial kingdom, nor of
those who are so privileged will all be in its heavenly portion ;
neither will all who reach the last mentioned honour be as stars
or suns in glory ; and among these last there will be greater and
lesser lights to rule and to radiate in that upper firmament of
His power. It was fifty years ago that a great teacher, speaking
of the English-speaking world, said what is, alas, more true to-day
248 THE HEAVENLY SANCTUARY

than even then, that " No more alarming sign exists in the Church
of God to-day than this, that so small a part of our church-
members ever convert a soul to God " (A. T. Pierson, The Divine
Enterprise of Missions, 119). Therefore only a few, of this period
and this portion of the earth at least, will shine as stars in the
heavens.
Finally, it is to be noted that nothing indicates that any dead
believers are included in either of these three Companies. Their
case is dealt with in c. 20.

We return to the judgments of the Bowls.

" The temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was
opened." The imagery and terms are taken from the Tabernacle
in the wilderness. That dwelling of God among men was a copy
of His actual dwelling place in the height of the" heavenly world
(Hb 1. 3 ; 4. 14 ; 8. 1 ; 9. 23, 24). There is maintained in Holy
Scripture an uniform distinction between the Son of God, Who
has passed through all the regions of heaven and has entered into
that holy of holies where sits " the Majesty in the heights," and
the Father at Whose right hand the Son acts as the Advocate of
His people. With this whole picture of a real sanctuary and a
real Person therein, that theological conception will not agree
which almost evaporates the Father of the Lord Jesus into a
Deity unlocalized, and invisible, not only to man on earth (the
force of I Tm 1. 17), but absolutely.
In that heavenly world also there is a sanctuary, a holy of holies,
commonly closed it would seem, but on occasion opened, as in
this vision. In it is the true ark of the covenant, on the basis of
which, through the virtue of the blood of Christ, all mercy,
pardon, grace flow forth to the universe. But from that same
sanctuary issue also the judgments, the true and righteous judg-
ments of God, even as of old. It was thus that, in that earlier
copy of heavenly things, " fire came forth from before Jehovah,
and consumed upon the altar the burnt offering," signifying the
acceptance by God of atoning sacrifice ; and then, immediately
after, when Nadab and Abihu violated the ordinance as to
worship, by offering incense with fire not sanctified by atonement,
again " there came forth fire from before Jehovah and de'voured
them, and they died before Jehovah " (Lv 9. 24 ; 10. 1, 2).
Behold now, at the end of the age, both the goodness and the
severity of God ; the one toward such as had accepted His mercy
in Christ, the other now to be executed without mercy upon the
defiers of God and despisers of His Anointed.
So the seven angels of wrath come forth out of the sanctuary,
 BOWLS I TO 4 249
now opened earthward for the purpose of judgment. And until
this, the strange work of God is finished there will be no access
to the throne for any created being ; that is, all intercession and
all worship in heaven are suspended. Heaven shall be occupied
solely with this most terrible, yet unavoidable, and, in its issue,
beneficial work of purging the world of God-haters and earth-
corrupters, so that the favour of God may beam forth as the sun
for the healing of the spared of mankind, and of nature (Ml 3.
i-3)-
Intercession suspended in heaven; supplication on earth
unheeded ! How appalling ! Then shall he fulfilled Pv 1. 24-33
and Is 1. 24-31. God is now hidden in the " smoke " of His
wrath ; and as at this time He alone is in His sanctuary, the
Voice coming thence (16. 1) must be His, thus investing these
judgments with the most awful solemnity, terror, and energy, as
He commands the seven angels, " Go ye, and pour out the seven
Bowls of the wrath of God into the earth."
As to the nature of the judgments, they correspond so closely
to those inflicted upon Pharaoh and his servants and land that
these must be taken to be as literal as were those. What has been
can be again. And internal marks support and require this.
Bowl 1. In India to-day, as in ancient times, the devotee
bears on his forehead the visible sign of the god he honours. The
mark of the Beast and the worship of his image will be actual
features, employing the bodies of his devotees. The grievous
sore will be God's indignant reply to this prostitution of the body
to false worship.
Bowl 2. The divine power that turned to blood the mighty
Nile can turn to blood the Sea into which the Nile flows. As that
judgment deprived the people of Egypt of fish food, so will this
judgment deprive the people of many lands. This will be a
severe infliction seeing how very much of the land surface of those
countries will be by this time barren through war and heaven-sent
desolation.
Bowl 3. The shedding of the blood of saints and prophets had
been literal, and it is the declared justification of this judgment,
which will compel the murderers to drink blood or not drink at
all. Thus had the Egyptians murdered Israel's infants and were
given blood to drink.
Bowl 4. The term " these plagues " (plural) brackets this
scorching by the heat of the sun with the three preceding judg-
ments, which requires that this one be taken in the same sense
as those, that is, literally.
That the period is the extreme end of the age is indicated by
250 KUPHRATES NOT ISLAM

men having become at last unchangeable in heart; they are able

and willing only to blaspheme their Judge, but neither willing
nor able to repent, to change their attitude towards Him, to,
humble themselves under His mighty hand.
Bowl 5. That the throne of the Beast is the object of this
plague indicates that the central area of the earth, Babylon, is
the region of this judgment. This hint of locality is to be noted.
That his throne is darkened must have upon his central adminis-
tration the same paralysing effect as accompanied the darkness
in Egypt : " they saw not one another, neither rose any from his
place " (Ex 10. 23). This attack at the centre will hasten the
disorganizing of his affairs and kingdom, which confusion must
impede his resistance to the Lamb.
The picture is terrible : men sitting in pitch darkness, gnawing
their tongues for pain, yet using their tongues to pour forth the
blasphemies of their obdurate hearts. To what miseries of soul
and body does sin reduce the sinner ! And to this tends ever
that satanic infatuation with which the world's final monarch
will fascinate mankind. His spirit is already in the world.
" Little children, abide in Christ " (I Jn 2. 18 ; 4. 2, 3 ; 2. 28).
Bowl 6. The locality against which these judgments are
directed is not now merely hinted but plainly stated. It is " the
great river," the " Euphrates."
(1) In their nature, and in their darkening effects upon the
study of the Revelation, the attempts to force this well-known
name to mean Mohammedanism have been disastrous. From the
strenuous efforts to give to the name Euphrates this fictitious
meaning one might think that this is the only place where it is
found, and that no plain clue to its meaning is available ; whereas
the name and the river are well-known from the beginning to the
close of Bible history, and could sureryhave only the one obvious
sense to early readers of Moses, Jeremiah, and John. From
Gn 2. 14 to Jr 51. 63 " Euphrates " in all its nineteen occurrences
means oftly the well-known river, and thrice it is described by
the exact term John uses, " the great river, the river Euphrates "
(Gn. 15. 18 : Dt 1. 7 : Jh 1. 4).
(2) " The kings that come from the sunrising " is a pictorial
orientalism for " from the east," where the sun rises. Dn 11. 44
deals with the precise epoch of our passage, the close of the career
of the Beast. See my Daniel on that place. It tells that just at
that time, Antichrist being in Egypt, " tidings out of-the north
and out of the east shall trouble him " and shall compel his return
northward. Is 13. 17 and Jr 51. 11, 28, show that at that same
time the " kings of the Medes " will attack Babylon, his capital.
 EUPHRATES DRIED UP 25T

Media lies eastward of the Euphrates ; its kings will therefore

come against Babylon from the east.
(3) The drying up of the river will remove the chief natural
obstacle to a rapid advance and attack. In Appendix C to
Daniel it is pointed out that the wide and devastating wars,
famines, plagues, and heaven-wrought destructions of those last
times are almost certain to wreck modern mechanical and chemical
production of armaments. Thus men will perforce use again the
ancient methods and weapons, which is the plain force of the
description in Ek 39. 9, 10, of the weapons of the army of Gog.
This being so it will follow that a mighty river like the Euphrates
will be a serious obstacle to assaulting Babylon, especially as it
must be regarded as certain that Antichrist will not only have
beautified but have fortified his capital. Indeed, this is plainly
stated, for Jr 51 speaks of her walls and gates (vs. 12, 58), her
strongholds and' defenders (30), and her high fortifications (53).
In particular, the river will naturally be used as a defence, and
so we read that " the passages (fords) are surprised," and " the
reeds they have burned with fire " (32). The margin gives the
Hebrew as " pools," that is, marshes, areas where reed-grass can
grow. Such swamps on a large scale were almost impenetrable
defences against war of the olden type. They would prove so in
the case of Babylon at the end, but the sudden drying up of the
great river will leave it easy of approach and assault, while the
setting fire to the masses of reeds would endanger the city. Thus
does the Almighty, by the angels that exert His power, wither
the utmost efforts of puny man to frustrate His afore-announced
judgments.
The literal sense of the passage thus fits exactly the divine
predictions ; but here again it is necessary to know in detail the
older prophecies to understand the final prophecies.
In this case also the judgment is but a repetition of earlier
divine acts. The Nile, it would seem, must have fallen very low
for seven years of famine to have visited Egypt. I have seen on
the island of Seheli, in the Nile in upper Egypt, the rock inscription
which records 'such a failure of the Nile for seven years. It is
believed that this inscription dates from about the time of Joseph.
Moreover, Bible history records the drying up of the Red Sea
and of the Jordan for Israel to pass over ; and Bible prophecy
foretells that " Jehovah shall utterly destroy the tongue of the
Egyptian sea, and with His scorching wind shall He shake His
hand over the River [as the following context shows, the
Euphrates], and shall smite it into seven streams, and cause men
to march over dry-shod. And there shall be a highway for the
252 DECEIVING SPIRITS

remnant of His people, which shall remain, from Assyria ; like as

there was for Israel in the day that he came out of the land of
Egypt " (Is I I . 15, 16). This says explicitly that the event at
the Euphrates is to be a repetition of the drying up of the Red
Sea of old, which settles that it is the literal Euphrates and a
literal drying up that are meant. Also, the event is not only
that invaders may come against Babylon, but that the spared of
Israel may not be hindered in their escape from that city and
land before the judgments fall upon it.
(4) The passage cited from Dn (11. 44, 45) tells that this crisis
at Babylon will make the Wild Beast more than usually savage,
" and he shall go forth with great fury to destroy and utterly to
make away many." In the course of this ferocious effort he will
make his final attempt to exterminate the Jews : " h e shall
plant the tents of his palace [his royal pavilion] between the sea
and the glorious holy mountain" (Zion). But the personal
intervention of the Lord from heaven shall frustrate his schemes,
and " he shall come to his end, and none shall help him."

The Dragon, the Beast, and the False Prophet will know that
the final battle is at hand, and will mobilize their whole forces to
resist the expected attack from heaven. For them, all will be at
stake ; the issue is victory or damnation. To secure the resolute
and united co-operation of all subordinate kings special measures
of deception will be employed. John sees three spirits, which are
demons, proceeding out of the mouth of each person of this
trinity of evil. The picture is parallel to and explained by that
of the deception exercised by a lying spirit upon Ahab, king of
Israel, by which he was lured to his heaven-decreed doom. " Now,
therefore," said Micaiah, the servant of the true God, " behold,
Jehovah hath put a lying spirit in the mouths of all these thy
prophets; and Jehovah hath spoken evil concerning thee "
(I Kn 22. 23). So now the time has come for the God-hating
rulers and peoples of the earth to receive the judgment they have
treasured up for themselves, and lying spirits, to which they have
long listened willingly, now have power to seduce them to the
fatal course of following the Trinity of Evil in open warfare
against the Holy Trinity.
The spirits are pictured as going forth from the mouths of the
chief conspirators against God. That is, it will be by persuasive
speech that the kings will be deceived. Satan, the Dragon, being
an invisible actor, it may be supposed that he will work then as
hitherto, by thoughts and impulses injected into the minds of
men. The Beast, being the political leader of the earth, may be
 FROGS 253
expected to dilate upon the outward national and universal
disasters that will overwhelm them all should the Lamb prevail.
The False Prophet may be supposed to employ the sanctions and
incentives of religion to inflame their inveterate antagonism to
the truth.
There must be reason why these demon deceivers are pictured
as frogs. The only other references in Scripture to these creatures
are in Ex 8, narrating the plague of frogs sent against the
Egyptians, and in the psalms which refer to that judgment
(78. 45 ; 105. 30). In Egypt the frog was worshipped as one of
the most ancient symbols of the great Nature Goddess {Speaker's
Comm., vol. I, part 1, p. 242, note 1 ; pp. 279, 280). The plague
might therefore easily have meant to the Egyptians that this
demon god was destroying them at the behest of Jehovah. This
would render apt the symbol as used by John.
But R. H. Charles {Revelation, II, 47) points out that in the
Zend religion of Persia frogs were regarded as the source of
plagues and death, and as the agents of Ahriman. In that
Zoroastrian philsophy Ahriman was " the principle of evil . . .
the Destructive Spirit . . . the all-destroying Satan, the source
of all evil in the world " {Enc. Brit., ed. 14, art. Ahriman, v. I,
434). These conceptions exercised a wide and deep influence.
" The worship of the Persian*gods spread to Armenia and Cappa-
docia and over the whole of the Near East" {Enc. Brit., ed. 14,
art. Zoroaster, v. XXIII, 989 ; with ref. Strabo, XV, 3, 14 ;
XI, 8, 4 ; 14. 76).
Cappadocia was the eastern province of Asia Minor, as " Asia "
was the western. It is therefore probable that John and his
readers knew well this symbolic meaning of " frogs," and would
feel the force and fitness of its use to represent the demon servants
of that " spirit that now worketh in the sons of disobedience, the
old Serpent, the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole
inhabited earth " (Eph 2. 2 : Rv 12. 9).
The exact epoch of this Bowl 6 is stated: it is when " the
war of the great day of God, the Almighty" is impending.
Jr 30. 27 mentions this day : " that day is great, so that none is
like unto i t : it is even the time of Jacob's trouble ; but he shall
be saved out of it." The whole context is concerned with the
era when Israel's captivity shall end; when they shall possess
their land, which the nation never yet has done since Nebuchad-
nezzar took violent possession of i t ; when David their king shall
be raised up unto them. It should be noted that what this
passage means by " the time of Jacob's trouble " is not the
Tribulation under the Beast, but the still more awful " day of
 254 HAR MAGEDON

God." From this the great bulk of the nation, being apostate,
will not escape (Zp : Zh 13. 8, 9) ; but the small and faithful
remnant shall be " saved out of it." See our remarks on c. 7.
1-8, above.
Hs 1. 11 refers to the same day : " great shall be the day of
Jezreel," even the day that shall issue in Judah and Israel, again
one people under one head, becoming the accepted, regenerated
people of God, His sons. It is here called the day of Jezreel.
That city stands at the most central and strategic point of the
area called in Rv 16 " Har Magedon." In the plain of Esdraelon
the town of Megiddo commanded the pass that led southward to
Sharon and the Philistine coastland. Jezreel stands further east,
where the plain begins to slope down to the Jordan, and com-
mands all that end of the great valley where the Beast will
assemble his hosts. The plain took its name from the town,
Esdraelon being the Graecized form of the Hebrew Yizre'el.
The head of the steep ascent that leads from Esdraelon up
to Nazareth, 1600 feet above the sea, affords a wonderful and
commanding prospect of the whole region. Far to the right, the
west, is the Great Sea. Acre on the north edge guards the coast
route northward to Tyre and Sidon. Opposite, the long Carmel
range, with Haifa at the sea end, flanks for miles the southern
edge of the plain. A few miles inland was Harosheth, Sisera's
chariot city. Still further westward, on the southern side, where
the high Carmel ridge slopes down to the plain, lay Megiddo, and
not far from it, dominating the inland road to the south, was
Taanach. Then came Jezreel, and at the foot of its valley, near
to the Jordan, was Bethshan, overlooking the ford of the river
whence attackers crossed from the east.
As the eye traversed this great plain, the mind traversed the
vast stretches of its history. Here Joshua led his victorious
army, and took Taanach and Megiddo (Jh 12. 21). But Israel
failed to exterminate the Canaanites of that region (Jg 1. 27 ff),
which led to Israel being later oppressed by them. Thus does
the Christian become enslaved to the sin he tolerates. This
brought on the great emancipating battle under Deborah and
Barak (Jg 4 and 5). Later the Midianites swarmed over Jordan
and ate up this most fertile country year after year. Then came
the mighty victory under Gideon (Jg 6 to 8). It was in the same
valley of Jezreel that the Philistines slew Saul and his sons, and
fastened their corpses to the wall of Bethshan (I Sm 31). At
Megiddo the pious, but unwise Josiah received his fatal wound
while endeavouring to block the northward march of Pharaoh
Necho (II Ch 35. 20-27). And in later times, over this plain, the
 THE THIEF 255
hosts of all the invaders and conquerors of Palestine have
trampled and fought, and reddened its soil and streams with
human blood.
It was deeply moving to watch in imagination these mighty
and world-important struggles' proceeding beneath the eye ; and
still more moving to picture the boy Jesus standing on this same
spot, near to His home, with the absorbing drama of His people's
conflicts passing before His soul.
And our passage tells us that history will repeat itself, and that
here will be marshalled the flower of the nations for the insane
and fatal attempt to frustrate the angelic hosts led by the Lamb.
It does not, however, appear that the battle will be fought here.
It is on the mount of Olives, at Jerusalem, that the Lord of glory
will plant His feet (Zh 14. 3, 4), and at a word of command from
Him (the " sword that proceedeth out of His mouth " Rv 19.
15, 21), His mighty angels, that He has caused to come down
thither, will destroy His enemies in the valley of Jehoshaphat,
beneath Olivet ; for that is the " valley of decision " (Jl 3. 9-17),
and there " He brake the arrows of the bow, the shield, and the
sword, and the battle, and showed Himself terrible to the kings
of the earth " (Ps 76). . Truly " the day of Jehovah is great and
very terrible ; and who can abide it ? " (Jl 2. 11, 31 ; and see
Zp 1. 14 and Ml 4. 5).
Verse 15. " Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that
watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest be walk naked, and
they see his shame." " A Voice breaks the thread of the Seer's
report : whose voice it is there is no need to explain ; comp. 3. 3,
note. Its special appositeness in this context arises from the
fact that the Seer has seen the gathering of the forces for the war
of the Great Day begin " (Swete).
If the coming of our Lord as a thief is to take place at any time
prior to the point now reached in the End Days its mention here
is beyond explanation ; for the reminder would seem wholly
irrelevant, the warning pointless, and the blessing beyond attain-
ment. There can be no danger from an event already past. If
the thief has come and gone the peril is already over and the loss
sustained.
The source of the picture is not in doubt. It is taken from the
Temple at Jerusalem. Edersheim in The Temple, its Ministry
and Services as they were at the time of Jesus Christ, c. VII, " At
Night in the Temple " (p. 112), remarks on the minute and
accurate allusions of John to the details of the Temple services
and arrangements, especially in the Revelation. On our verse he
says (p. 120) : " During the night the ' Captain of the Temple '
256 THE THIEF

made his rounds. On his approach the guards had to rise and
salute him in a particular manner. Any guard found asleep when
on duty was beaten, or his garments were set on fire—a punish-
ment, as we know, actually awarded. Hence the admonition to
us who, as it were, are here on Temple guard, ' Blessed is he that
watcheth and keepeth his garments.' "

The authority for this is the Mishnah, tractate Middoth

(" measurements "), i. 2, which Prof. H. Danby renders thus :
" The officer of the Temple Mount [lit., ' The man of the mountain
of the house,' i.e., the Captain of the Temple] used to go round
to every watch with lighted torches before him, and if any watch
did not stand up and say to him, ' 0, man of the mountain of the
house, peace be to thee,' and it was manifest that he was asleep,
he would beat him with his staff, and he had the right to burn
his raiment. And they would say, ' What is the noise in the
temple court ? ' ' The noise of some Levite that is being beaten
and having his raiment burnt because he went to sleep during his
watch.' Rabbi Eliezer ben Jacob said, ' They once found my
mother's brother asleep and burnt his raiment' " (Danby, The
Mishnah, p. 590).

This is the last of a series of passages where the same figure of

the thief is used. The other places are :
(1) Lk 12. 39. It was employed by the Lord himself. " But
know this, that if the master of the house had known in what
hour the thief was coming, he would have watched, and not have
left his house to be dug through." Peter (ver. 41) asked if this
lesson was for themselves (the apostles) in particular, or for all.
The Lord had just before addressed His remarks to the " little
flock " to whom their Father was purposing to give the kingdom.
Now, in answer to Peter, He makes a specific, not exclusive,
application to the rulers (stewards) of His " house" in His
absence (42 ft). It thus appears that the " house " and its
" stewards " will continue on earth until the Lord shall come
after the manner of a thief, that is, until at least the seventh
Bowl of Rv 16.
(2) I Th 5. 2. Paul has been instructing the saints that those
who will be left alive on earth as far as to the parousia (presence)
of the Lord (as -rqv irapovo-lav), will not be removed to the air
prior to the dead ; for the Lord, at His descent from the throne
of the Father to the air, will take away together all who are to
share in that mighty movement. He then adds that they had
no need of further instruction as to the times and seasons of that
event, " for yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord
 THE THIEF 257
so cometh as a thief in the night." Inasmuch as they were
already enlightened upon this matter, and not in the darkness of
the world about it, they need not be overtaken by that day as
(to incorporate the figure used by Christ) a householder who did
not know a thief was coming, or what hour he would come. God
had not appointed them to meet His wrath in that day, but to
obtain that salvation from its then outpouring of which the Lord
Jesus had spoken : " He that endureth to the end [of the age],
the same shall be saved," that is, from the wrath then to be
outpoured (Mt 24. 13). Similarly Paul presses the need of
watchfulness, sobriety, readiness, if that salvation is to be realized.
His whole reasoning implies the presence of Christians on earth
down to the day of the Lord, but their salvation from its sudden
onset if they are sober and watchful.
(3) II Pt 3. 10, 11. Peter heard that instruction by Christ,
and he repeats that " the day of the Lord will come as a thief,"
and therefore believers, even such as had already " obtained a
like precious faith with us in the righteousness of our God and
Saviour Jesus Christ " (II Pt 3. 1), ought to give diligence that
they " may be found [at that day] in peace, without spot, and
blameless in His sight " (II Pt 3. 14).
The heavy emphasis which the apostles put upon the state of
the Christian does not agree with the teaching that our state has
little to do with participation in the deliverance held forth as
possible at that Day.
(4) Rv 3. 3. That the apostles understood aright both the
privilege of escape and the peril of forfeiting it is certain from the
fact that, speaking from heaven as the ascended Lord, the One
who is to come, Christ said to the saints at Sardis, " Become
(ytvov) watchful . . . If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will
come as a thief, and thou shalt in no wise (ov ^ ) know what
hour I will come upon thee (or, overth.ee, or, against thee, «ri o-e)."
This again emphasizes that the coming as a thief applies to the
church of God, and forbids that the passage in Luke applies to
pious Jews as such.
In the fact of things, saints living prior to the End Days have
not been in personal danger of the Lord coming as a thief. Hence
the real direct application of the warning must be to those who
will be on earth as the Day of the Lord nears. This is important
as showing the weightiest meaning of the Letters to the
Churches.
If it be pressed that there must have been some application
to the persons to whom Christ spoke in the days of His flesh, and
to those to whom the Letters were first sent, as well as to all
1
 258 THE THIEF

succeeding generations of Christians, it should be considered

whether the true implication be one usually little suspected.
What if dead believers are required still to be alert, watchful, men
of faith and godliness, living in that world unto God, as conditions
precedent to sharing in the first resurrection, when the Lord will
come suddenly upon His church ? This would give continuous
application of the words of God to believers, as well as continuity
to the dealings of God with His children, and it would solve some
hitherto obscure problems. More upon this theme is hinted in
Scripture than is generally conceived. Unto God that world,
dead to us, is a living world (Lk 20. 38), and He carries on the
blessed work of perfecting His people " until the day of Jesus
Christ " (Ph 1. 6). It does not stop at the hour when they die to
this world. Why should it ? Why should the intervening years
be a blank ? The whole theme sorely needs investigation and
exposition. In OT Sheol is mentioned 65 times, and Hades ten
times in NT. There must surely be here a great deal of informa-
tion and instruction awaiting patient meditation and courageous
explanation.
(5) Rv 16. 15. The sum of the foregoing is that (a) the house
of God and its government, the family of God and its discipline,
will continue on earth as far as to the Day of the Lord ; (b) that,
however, it is not appointed by God that Christians should
experience its terrors, for He has graciously provided salvation
from it by the method described in I Th 4. 13-18. But (c) it is
only the watchful, prayerful, overcoming Christian who is guaran-
teed a share in that salvation, (d) Therefore the Lord, in great
mercy, gives the faithful exhortations that are always connected
with the theme of His coming as a thief. We are like unto night
watchmen in the holy house of God. The Captain of that house
gives no notice as to the hour when He will inspect the guard. The
penalty of being caught asleep is to be stripped naked and be put
to shame as an unfaithful guard. Hence the sentinel must keep
awake through the whole of his watch in order that he may keep
his garments.
Here it cannot be too plainly stated, or too heavily emphasized,
that the believer's " garments " (plural) are NOT that righteous-
ness of God which is reckoned to him upon faith in the Redeemer,
which righteousness justifies him eternally from the eternal wrath
due to sin. That righteousness God puts on the believer, that is,
imputes it to him. I know not that that righteousness is ever
described by the plural. But the believer's own " garments " are
those habits, acts, and conduct which he makes for himself, by the
grace of the Holy Spirit, and puts on himself, or, alas, puts off
 GARMENTS 259
by backsliding of heart and ways. See Rm 13. 11-14: Eph 4.
20-24 ; 6. 11-18 : CI 3. 8-14.
That garment which can be " spotted by the flesh " (Jd 23),
and must, by the care of the saint himself, be kept unspotted
(Js 1. 27), obviously is not the righteousness of God in Christ, for
this cannot be sullied. It is not this divine robe that saints may
need to wash in the water of the word and whiten in the blood of
the Lamb (Rv 7. 14). It must be other garments than this of
which the Lord said t h a t some in Sardis " did not defile their
garments," and that therefore " they shall walk about with Me
in white ; for they are worthy " (Rv 3. 4). What are the flowing
robes that the saint is to gather up above the filth of the paths
of the world, and to fasten with his girdle of truth (I Pt 1. 13) ?
The answer will come before us when we reach Rv 19. 7, 8 : " The
marriage of the Lamb is come, and His wife hath made herself
ready. And it was given unto her that she should array herself
in fine linen, bright and pure : for the fine linen is the righteous
acts of the saints."
But if (to return to the former passage and its figure) by
watchlessness and carelessness or wilfulness, the guard be caught
asleep on the dusty ground, he will be stripped, his defiled life will
be burned up, and he stand there in shame before his Lord at
His unexpected presence (I Jn 2. 28). This is the evident force
of Paul's metaphor in I Cr 3. 15, that the character and life-work
formed of poor materials shall be burned up in the day of Christ,
though the believer " himself shall be saved, yet so as through fire."
The exact modus operandi by which this will be effected is veiled
by the varied figures employed. Let obscurity deepen solemnity,
that we may avoid the reality.

Bowl 7. The final Bowl is emptied out into the air, the realm
of the world-rulers of this age of darkness under the prince of the
authority of the air (Eph 6. 12; 2. 2). The secret instigators of
rebellion against the Most High, the inspirers of false oracles and
lying prophets, the organizers of Satan's kingdom, are now to be
overthrown and his rule to be suppressed.
This being effected, the voice of God Himself is heard from His
throne, in the inner sanctuary, as He proclaims aloud, " It is
done " . . . I t has come to pass ! even all that necessary and
terrible work of purifying the earth by the fire of judgment.
The thought of the deity himself speaking from within his
secret place was not unknown among men. Herodotus (I. 159)
narrates such an incident. A supplicant, named Aristodicus,
misbehaving in the outer court of the shrine at Branchidae, " a
26o LIGHTNINGS, VOICES, THUNDERS

voice, it is said, came forth from the inner sanctuary, addressing

Aristodicus in these words : ' Most impious of men, what is this
this thou hast the face to do ? Dost thou tear my suppliants
[the birds nesting in the temple courts ; comp. Ps 84. 3] from
my temple ? ' "
It will be felt at once what added solemnity it gives to the
utterance that on occasion the Almighty ceases to speak through
prophets or even angels, and causes His own voice to be heard.
Thus did the Father three times testify personally to the worth
of His Son when on earth (Mt 3. 17 ; 17. 5 : Jn 12. 28). And in
these words, " It is done," can we not catch an accent of satisfac-
tion, almost of relief, that His strange and reluctant work of
judgment is now finished, and benevolence can have unrestrained
course and gratification ? Though Himself unseen amid the
clouds and darkness of the place of His throne, He sees all that
transpires without, to the utmost bounds of His universe, and
He knows that the judgments of this great and terrible day are
now completed. This declares definitely the point to which the
visions have now reached.

C. 11. 19 shows two events : (1) the opening of the temple in

heaven, and (2) lightnings, voices, thunders, and earthquake, and
great hail. C. 15. 5 repeats the former, and c. 16. 18-21 repeats
the latter. The Bowls come between. This is a clear instance
of two features being set together which may, however, be
separated by many intervening events detailed elsewhere.
In c. 16. 18-21 the details are amplified : " and there came
[that is, after the Voice] I. lightnings (Ex 19. 16 : Ps 18. 14;
97. 4); II. voices (4. 5 ; 8. 5 ; 11. 19) ; III. thunders (Ps 77. 18 :
Is 29. 6) ; IV an earthquake, particularized as the greatest ever
known in human history. This is the more arresting since that
first century A.D. had been marked by the number and severity
of its earthquakes, and that locality (Asia Minor) was specially
subject to them, as it still is. This emphasis challenges attention.
Now eight centuries earlier, Isaiah (c. 29) had announced a desola-
tion of Jerusalem (Ariel) by siege, issuing, however, in a very
sudden destruction of the enemy, " i t shall be at an instant
suddenly " (ver. 5). As a result " the terrible one [Antichrist] is
brought to nought " (ver. 20), and " Jacob shall not now be
ashamed " (ver. 22), and Israel's blindness and ignorance shall
give place to understanding and true knowledge (vs. 18, 24).
The fruitfulness of the land also shall return.
Plainly this instant destruction of the Terrible One, while he
is destroying Jerusalem, must be the same event described some
 EARTHQUAKE 26l
three centuries later in Zh 14. There also the siege and overthrow
of the city are detailed (vs. 1, 2), followed by the sudden descent
of Jehovah to Olivet (3, 4), with the instantaneous withering of
the besieging army (12, 15), and the victories and restoration of
Israel.
Now in both of these prophecies the deliverance is accompanied
by earthquake. Is 29. 6 specifies thunder, earthquake, great
noise, whirlwind, tempest, and the flame of devouring fire as
attending the destruction of Ariel's foes. Zechariah particu-
larizes the earthquake that shall split the Mount of Olives and
cause a very great valley. John's vision enumerates lightnings,
voices (Isaiah's " great noise "), thunders, and a great earth-
quake, by which " the great city was divided into three parts."
This city is Jerusalem, for it is in contrast to the next following
item that, through the earthquake, the " cities of the nations fell."
It would therefore seem that this mighty earthquake marks the
moment of the descent of the Word of God to Olivet and the
destruction of the Beast, events opened up in c. 19. Thus He
will come first to the air during Bowl 6 as a thief, to remove the
watchful of His servants, according to ver. 15 ; and then later,
under Bowl 7, as the Lord of hosts, He will descend to Olivet to
deliver the waiting and supplicating remnant of Israel (Jl 2.15-18).
The interval will take place during His Parousia, which will
commence with the descent to the air (I Th 4. 16, 17), and will
be continued by the descent to Olivet.
In dealing with figures of speech it is ever misleading to infer
lessons from features not introduced by the writer or speaker.
Because thieves often work at night it has been widely taught
that the coming of Christ as a thief will be a secret event. But
thieves do not work by night only ; burglaries are not so infre-
quently perpetrated in broad daylight and in occupied houses.
In such cases the secrecy of the theft results purely from the
inalertness of the occupants. In Scripture the feature of secrecy
is not stated or even implied. It is the uncertainty of time for
which the figure is used. " If the master of the house had known
in what hour the thief would come [whether it were by night or
day] he would have watched " : " y e know neither the day nor
the hour when the Son of man cometh " : " i n what hour ye
think not, etc." Our Lord stated plainly that power and great
glory would attend His coming when He gathers His elect, and
John has stated that " every eye shall see Him " (Mt 24. 30 :
Rv 1. 7), that is, the eye of every person who is awake at that
moment.
The seventh Bowl concludes with a terrible storm of hail.
262 HAIL
Swete gives the weight of each stone as from 108 to 130 pounds.
Is 28. 2, 17 intimates such a hail in connection with the destruction
of the apostates of Israel, who had entered into covenant with
Death and Sheol, that is, with the resuscitated Beast of Rv 13.
Is 30. 30 includes hail among the instruments of judgment at the
period when " Jehovah shall cause His glorious voice to be heard,
and shall show the lighting down of His arm, with the indignation
of His anger, and the flame of a devouring fire, with a blast and
tempest and hailstones. For through the voice of Jehovah shall
the Assyrian be broken in pieces." The Assyrian is Antichrist.
Is 32. 15-20, also intimates this judgment by hail at the era when
judgment and righteousness shall bring peace and security to
Israel.
But again the solemn fact is declared that the hearts of sinners
are by this time hardened beyond change. Men only continue to
blaspheme God because of His judgments. What but a pre-
paration for this is the already bitter complaint of many against
Him for allowing wars, and yet more against His warning of
eternal wrath to follow ?

Again the drama has reached the end of this age, but, before
the visible intervention of the Lord Jesus is further detailed,
explanation will be made in a parenthesis as to the two brief
former references to Babylon. C. 14. 8 will be expanded in
c. 17, and c. 16. 19 in c. 18.

NOTE on the Parousia as a Period.

It is disputed whether the parousia of Christ will cover a period.
1. One view, strongly urged, is that the descent of the Lord
from the throne to the air will be accomplished in one lightning-
like, uninterrupted movement. On this view, the resurrection
and rapture of the saints, an affair of a moment, as we know, will
transport them to meet the Lord in the air and to join Him in
that instantaneous descent to the earth. This is to be at the
close of the reign of Antichrist.
A recent statement of this view is at p. 238 of The Approaching
Advent of Christ by Mr. A. Reese. Upon the meaning of the
words in I Th 4. 17, " to meet the Lord in the air," he quotes
from Dr. John Lillie's Lectures on the Epistles to the Thessalonians,
2,67, 268, as follows : " There are only three other places in the
NT where the phrase here translated ' to meet' occurs (eis
apantesin) ; and in all of them (Mt 25. 1, 6 ; Ac 28. 15) the party
met continues after the meeting to advance still in the direction in
which he was moving previously." The italics are by Reese. The
 THE PAROUSIA A PERIOD 263
conclusion drawn by Lillie and adopted by Reese is that the saints
return at once with Christ to the earth, without interval between
the meeting in the air and the continued movement to Olivet.
The ground given for the conclusion is inadequate. It is true
that in two of the three places (not four ; in Mt 25. 1 the corrected
text has another form, hupantesin) in NT those who met returned
with the one met, but this is too narrow a basis on which to
determine that it must mean the same in I Th 4. 17. No more
should be said than that it may do so.
For the word does not in itself require this, nor does its root,
the verb apantao. This comes twice in the NT, which L. and R.
do not mention. In Mk 13. 14, " there shall meet you a man
bearing a pitcher of water . . . follow him " ; the last words
show that they were to accompany him, but without these words
the verb would not indicate it. Thus in Lk 17. 12, " there met
Jesus ten lepers," the context proves that they did not go on
with Jesus but went elsewhere.
In the LXX apantesis comes 25 times : in only 5 of these does
the context suggest the idea in question. Apantao is found 21
times, and in only one place is this idea present. There is a
cognate apante, of the same meaning, found in the Alexandrine
LXX. It comes 22 times, and only 5 carry this idea.
There is another cognate verb, of the same meaning, sunantao.
In NT it is found 6 times. L and R do not notice it. Only two
of these 6 places give the idea (Lk 22. 10 : Ac 10. 25). Lk 9. 37
and Ac 10. 22 do not give it, and Hb 7. 1 and 10 negative it.
Melchizedec met Abram but did not go with the latter on his way,
as far as is shown. In LXX this verb comes 51 times, and only
3 of these places carry this idea. Sunantesis is found once in the
Textus Receptus, but is omitted by the modern texts (Mt 8. 34).
The context shows the exact opposite of the idea : the Gadarenes
met Jesus and besought Him to depart from them. In the LXX
it comes 64 times, and in only 13 is this idea implied. Sunante,
the analogous form to apante, comes thrice, and in each case this
idea is plainly negatived (I Kn 18. 16 : II Kn 2. 15 ; 5. 26).
Hupantao is not found in LXX, but comes in NT 10 times, of
which 2 places imply the idea. The cognate hupantesis comes
3 times in NT, 2 places carrying this idea, as is the case in the
only place in LXX.
In these enumerations places are reckoned as involving the
idea of accompanying the person met even where this is only
probable, but not asserted.
The total result of the usage in NT and LXX is : (1) that
hupantao and hupantesis come 14 times, of which one-third (5)
 264 APANTAO

give the idea in question ; (2) of the 73 occurrences of apantao,

apantesis, and apante, only one-fifth (15) carry the idea and four-
fifths do not; (3) as to sunantao, sunantesis, and sunante, of 125
places only one-seventh (18) give the idea. Approximately only
3 places in 17 contain it, 38 of 212 (if my figures are strictly correct).
Further, so far is the meaning from being implied in the words
themselves, that they far more often have the very opposite
suggestion. , For example, some 36 times they are used of meeting
in war.
The prefixes do not alter the simple sense of their root antao,
to come opposite to, meet face to face, the meeting being either
hostile or friendly. Which of these it is, or what follows the
meeting, must in each case be indicated in the context, this not
being contained in the words themselves. In I Th 4. 17 the
context gives no hint of what will follow the meeting of the Lord
and His people in the air. This must be learned from any other
scriptures that bear on the point. That the two other places in
NT happen to carry the idea is too uncertain a basis for the
inference, in view of the well-known variant usages of such
common words. When the Thessalonians, being Greeks, read the
word in Paul's letter they had not Matthew and Acts before them,
but must have taken the word apantesis in its simple indefinite
sense of to meet, for with the context silent upon the point of what
might follow the meeting they could not certainly determine that
matter. What Paul then wrote to them gave no indication of
what will follow the meeting, and is no proof that the saints will
at once come on with Christ to the earth. Paul's purpose to
comfort the heart (upon which Mr. Reese frequently lays stress
as the limit of this passage) was served by the assurance that both
the dead and the living would be " ever with the Lord." This
will be equally true whether they return with Him to heaven
to be presented to the Father, or for a period remain with Him
in the air, or come with Him at once to the earth.
The settlement of this point will follow the exegesis of the
Revelation ; it cannot be determined by apantesis in I Th 4. 17.
The usage of these words corresponds to that of the English
equivalents. To meet [antao), to meet together (swwantao), to
meet from different directions (apo-ajita.o) ; none of these English
terms suggests what takes place at or after the meeting. This
must be otherwise indicated. To say that because two English
authors speak of persons meeting who then went on in the direc-
tion one of them was before taking, therefore a third author
must mean this, would be unwarranted.
It has been urged to the contrary that when One author, the
 THE PAROUSIA A PERIOD 265
Holy Spirit, uses a word three times only, and in two instances
it bears a certain meaning from the context, it is a valid presump-
tion that He uses it in the same sense in the third instance, even
though the context be silent. To this it may be answered, that
it would be a still more valid presumption that, as in two instances
He defined the meaning of an indefinite word by its context, He
would have done so in the third had He intended the same meaning.
That He did not do so rather creates a presumption that the
sense in question was not intended. But the objection assumes
that I Th 4. 17 is a third use of the word, whereas in fact it was
the first time it was used in a NT writing, this letter having
preceded Matthew and Acts. That in the latter instances the
sense in question is clear from the context makes it the more
noticeable that the former time it was left unindicated, the word
standing in its native indefiniteness. It could not have indicated
to the first readers what is now read into the passage, and it
cannot indicate it to us.

2. That the word parousia covers in itself not only the arrival
of a person, but also the period of his stay, may be seen at Ph 1. 26 :
" my presence with you " ; 2. 12 : " not as in my presence only " ;
and II Pt 1. 16 : " the power and presence of our Lord Jesus
Christ," i.e., His sojourn on earth in the flesh. See also my
earlier remarks on " in the parousia " (p. i93f.). And see especially
VNT under the word, and Deissmann LVO, ed. 4, 314, both
showing plainly that the word included the visit as well as the
arrival.

3. Some who see this last point have placed the commence-
ment of the parousia before the End Times, thus making it to
cover the whole period of Antichrist. Others have thought it to
begin in the middle of the 70th week of Dn 9, and so have regarded
it as lasting 3 | years to the descent to Olivet. If our view above
is correct, the period will commence with the descent to the air
during Bowl 6 and extend to the descent to Olivet at the con-
clusion of Bowl 7 and the career of Antichrist. It will be long
enough for the gathering together of the armies of " the kings
of the whole inhabited earth" unto Palestine (16. 14, 16), and
for the events detailed under Bowl 7.
 CHAPTER XII

BABYLON THE GREAT

PART I—THE WOMAN ON THE BEAST

(Rv 17)

Verse 8 of Rv 14 mentioned an angel who announced, " Fallen,

fallen is Babylon the Great, that hath made all the nations to
drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication." This angel
was the second of a series; and the third, who followed him (ver. 9),
gave solemn warning against the worship of the Beast, and the
comments were added (ver. 12) that at that time the saints would
need patience, and (ver. 13) that a special blessing would attend
their death. This sequence shows that the Babylon here intended
would " fall " prior to the period when the Beast should demand
worship and persecute all who refused it.
What Babylon this is was not then intimated, but c. 17 opens
this up. It tells of a Woman styled " Mystery Babylon the
Great," who at first rides upon, that is, dominates and is served
by, the Beast, but is later destroyed by him to make way for his
supreme authority (vs. 16, 17). Thus two chief personages have
to be considered, the Beast and the Woman.

SECTION I. THE BEAST

(i) His identity. It is easy to identify the Beast with the one
of c. 13, for (1) both have ten horns and seven heads (13. 1).
(2) Blasphemy characterizes both (13. 1, 6). (3) The Dragon
energizes the one (13. 2), and in 17. 3 the colour scarlet connects
this Beast with the great red dragon of 12. 3, who also had seven
heads and ten horns. (4) Both war against the Lamb and His
people (13. 7, 8 ; 17. 14). (5) Both receive the wonder and wor-
ship of all on earth whose names are not in the book of life.
(ii) The Period. That the ten horns are already there when
John sees the Woman indicates the period at which the vision will
find fulfilment. They identify the Beast with the beast of Dn 7
with ten horns, amidst which horns the " little horn," Antichrist,
arises, and who lives at the time when the saints are about to
receive the kingdom (Dn 7. 23-28). These horns are the toes of
a66
 THE SEVEN HEADS 267
the image of Dn 2, the final stage of Gentile empire, upon which
toes the Stone falls and destroys the image.
Thus the vision is of the final stage of the Woman, not of any
lengthy preceding career she may conceivably have had. As the
angel told Daniel that his vision of the four wild beasts (c. 7) had
to do with the closing stage of Gentile dominion, even that a court
of judgment should sit in heaven for the taking away and destruc-
tion of the dominion of the beast (Dn 7. 26), so John is told by
the angel that he is about to see " the judgment of the great harlot."
It was not a protracted history of the fourth Gentile power that
Daniel then saw, but its overthrow : it is not a history of the whole
course of the Woman that John sees, but only a hint of her
origin, in Babylon, and a forecast of her overthrow at the end
of this age.
As the vision opens the Beast is carrying the Woman ; as it
closes she has been destroyed by him and the ten kings, and he
is supreme. Thus it discloses one final phase of world affairs,
that which issues in his ambition to rule as sole sovereign of the
earth being realized.
(iii) The Seven Heads. It is explained that these have a double
significance, which serves to show that symbols may have more
than one meaning.
In the first place, they are seven mountains where the Woman
had her seat in the days when the angel was speaking to John.
To him and his first readers this could scarcely have any meaning
other, than the city of Rome. For many centuries there had been
held there annually a festival known as the Septimontium (seven
mounts) to celebrate the inclusion of the seven hills within the
city wall. Rome was known everywhere as the City of the Seven
Hills. In The Two Babylons (p. 2) Hislop cites in support of this
Virgil, Propertius, Horace, Martial, and Symmachus. So at that
time the Woman had her seat at Rome, but the name on her
forehead proclaimed a secret connection with another city,
Babylon, upon which more will be said later.
But the seven heads signified also seven kings. Of these five
had fallen from that high estate. It does not say five had died,
but had fallen. " To fall " may, of course, mean to die (I Cr 10. 8 :
Hb 3. 17) ; but a king may die in honour and know no fall; or he
may fall, and not at that time die. This should weigh with those
who will speculate as to who the five were. But why speculate ?
John was not told how long prior to his day these five had reigned,
nor what intervals of time had separated them, nor any other
identifiable particulars, save that each had lost sovereignty by a
" fall." It may be best to leave the matter there, since the detail
268 EPESAN—FELL

of their identity seems not material to the interpreting of the

future aspect of the vision.
But one of this succession of seven was then reigning 1 and the
seventh was to rule thereafter, but for a short while only ; but
again how long thereafter was not specified.

NOTE ON ^Wav fell

As the basis for identifying the five Roman emperors it is asserted
that " to fall " means here to have been murdered or to have committed
suicide. But pipto does not involve this meaning. There seems no
instance in secular Greek literature of its application to suicide or
assassination.2 Reliance is placed, however, upon the Septuagint, and
the cases cited are those of Ehud (Jg 3. 25), Sisera (Jg 5. 27), both
assassinated ; and Saul (II Sm 1. 19, 25, 27), a suicide. To these may
be added Abner (II Sm 3. 34, 38), murdered; the sons of Rizpah
(II Sm 21. 9), executed; and Sennacherib (Is 37. 7, 38), assassinated.
(i) These six instances are all that can be adduced, though the verb
is used in the LXX some 335 times. In any case, therefore, the usage
would be exceptional.
(ii) But it seems that the term in these instances means chiefly the
posture or collapse of the body : " their lord was fallen to the ground " :
" he fell at her feet" : " h e fell upon his sword " : " they fell [on the
gallows] all together " : " h e shall fall by the sword." In the case of
Saul, David applied the term equally to Jonathan, who was killed in
the ordinary course of battle (" how are the mighty fallen "), so that it
has here no special reference to suicide.
(iii) Further, if the histories did not show that these persons had
committed suicide, or had been murdered, this could not be known
from the use of the verb to fall. And this last is how Rv 17. 10, reads ;
it says simply, " the five fell." No indication of the manner or
effects of their fall being given, the passage is scarcely parallel with
those cited.
Grimm's Lexicon, on the word in this verse, says, " t o be removed
from power by death." But even this goes beyond what is stated by
the simple use of fallen. Cremer goes as far as is justified by placing
this verse under the heading, " to come to ruin, to fail " [? fall], leaving
the manner of the fall unstated.
The verb is employed in the very sense I have adopted in Es 6. 13
(LXX), where Haman's friends say to him, " thou shalt certainly fall
before " Mordecai, meaning simply to fall from position and authority,
1
Namely Domitian, if t h e generally accepted dating of the Revelation be adopted.
2
The use of the word by Herodotus (iii. 35) to describe the death of a boy by an
arrow, I do not regard as an exception to the statement in the text. For the
boy was not assassinated nor even murdered, in the proper sense of the term.
His death was by the wanton impulse of a madman, Cambyses the Persian, and
his object was not a t all t o kill the boy, though t h a t resulted, b u t merely t o
show t h a t as he could shoot straight he was not out of his mind. Now the intent
t o kill is of the essence of murder or assassination.
 THE EIGHTH HEAD 269
since they could not foretell his speedy death, and least of all the
manner of it.
Thus pipto here gives no means of identifying the five kings from the
form of death of certain Roman emperors, nor does it of necessity imply
the death of the five at the time each fell.
(iv) The Eighth Head. The material matter is that one of
these seven is to be the eighth of this series of monarchs and the
final head of Gentile world rule : the final ruler because he shall
war against the Lamb at His coming, be overthrown, and be cast
direct into perdition (19. 19-21).
The particulars given of the eighth king are :
1. He is one of the seven ( n ) . From earliest times this has
been rightly taken in the natural force of the words that the
eighth is to be one of the seven revived to act again on this earth.
2. " H e was," that is, had lived on earth at some time prior
to the period when he is seen carrying the Woman. Some, how-
ever, take this " he was " to mean that he had lived prior to the
time when John saw the vision and had it explained. In this
case the eighth head must be one of the first five kings of the series.
On the other hand, the angel did not say, " he is one of the five,"
but " one of the seven " (11), and there seems no reason for
bringing in the sixth and seventh unless the eighth may be one
of these.
3. " He is not," that is, at the exact time in the E n d Days
when the Woman will first ride the Beast. When we consider
presently who the Woman is it will be evident that in this our
day she is not yet so riding the Beast. Indeed, the Beast in
question is not yet here to be ridden. No political system
answering to this vision is in existence. There is no ten-kingdom
confederacy. But when this Confederacy shall have come, the
Woman will gain dominant influence in it, and will do this before
the eighth head shall have arisen. It is at that particular point
of affairs that the words " he is not " will apply.
It is important to see that the term " beast " is used in pro-
phecy now of an empire and now of its head, the emperor. Upon
this Pember, dealing with Dn 7, has well said :
In the first answer [of the angel, ver. 17], the Beasts are described
as Emperors (" these great beasts . . . are four kings "), while the
second regards them as Empires. For, although it mentions only
the Fourth, yet by the words, " The Fourth Beast shall be a Fourth
Empire upon the earth," it manifestly implies that the other three
were such before it. . . .
. . . the Beasts may stand either for the Empires or for their most
characteristic Emperors. And this double use of the symbol is by
270 ABYSS

no means peculiar to our prophecy, but occurs in other passages

also, and may be shown to rest upon a sound logical basis. The best
instance of it, perhaps, is that which is found in the seventeenth
chapter of the Apocalypse. For the Beast there depicted is a more
detail revelation of the Fourth Beast of Daniel, and, so long as he
represents an Empire, the Eighth Emperor is one of the seven heads
revived. But the Beast himself is also said to be the Eighth
Emperor, doubtless because that monarch, although properly set
forth as one of the Heads, will be so perfect a representative of the
Fourth Beast that he may be regarded as its embodiment.
A sufficient proof of the correctness of this view may be deduced
from the vision which we are considering. For, in the eleventh
verse, we read that because of the great words which the Horn
spake, the Beast was slain, and his body destroyed and given to the
burning flame. That is, the Emperor will be so exact an exponent
of the spirit of the people that the whole body politic will be held
responsible, and be punished, for the blasphemous utterances of their
leader. {The Great Prophecies, ed. 1941. 108, 109.)
4. " H e is about to come up out of the abyss " (8).
The AV " bottomless pit," if it gives any idea that can be
distinctly apprehended, is erroneous. It led the acute mind of the
boy Spurgeon t o . puzzle his ministerial grandfather with the
question, If the pit has no bottom, where do the people go when
they fall out at the other end ? That the abyss is not a " pit " at
all is seen from the feature that, in the imagery of the Revelation
(as in the classic poets), it is reached b y means of a pit, that is,
a shaft (11. 1). In two places the AV renders by " deep," which
is as indefinite as the other is misleading.
The idea of the word is a vast, profound, unexplored region,
and so in the Septuagint the common reference is to the then
unexplored ocean depths. In the New Testament this region is
located within the earth, and is the sphere of the dead : " Who
shall descend into the abyss ? that is, to bring Christ up from the
dead " (Rm 10. 7). Where Christ was when dead is shown in
Eph 4. 8-10 : " Now this, He ascended, what is it but that He also
descended into the lower parts of the earth." It is a region which
demons fear : " they entreated that He would not command
them to depart into the abyss " (Lk 8. 31). Hence the alarmed
cry of others of them : " Art Thou come hither to torment us
before the time ? " (Mt 8. 29). That such enemies of mankind are
there confined may give a hint as to what the " locusts " are that
issue thence when the pit leading from the abyss is opened, and
these hordes rush forth to torment men, as in Rv 9. 1-11. Verse
11 there says that the abyss has an angel ruler, who will be in
command of these demons when they are let out on this dread
 ABYSS 271
errand of judgment. They know by experience what torment is,
and how to inflict it. The passage suggests the solemn reflection
that the torments of Hades have not altered or softened their
natures.
Readers of the classics will know that these features of that
hidden world were the ideas commonly held in John's day. They
would cause no wonderment or question to his readers, who would
take the statements in their natural sense, as describing ideas
generally accepted. Asia Minor was then a Greek-speaking world,
and the name of the angel of the abyss given by John, Apollyon,
was akin to that of a principal Greek deity, Apollo, and one who
inflicted on men the vengeance of heaven. Sudden deaths and
deaths by plague were attributed to his arrows.
Our passage is an amplifying of the earlier statement in c. 11. 7,
that the Beast who will kill the Two Witnesses at Jerusalem is to
" come up out of the abyss." The only other use of the word in
the New Testament is for the place where Satan is to be imprisoned
for the thousand years of Christ's reign on earth (Rv 20. 1, 2).
All the places where the word occurs have been mentioned, and
from them it is clear that the abyss is a locality, the region inter alia
of the dead, and it is within the earth. This forbids the common
suggestion that the " beast," as about to ascend from the abyss,
means an empire, the Roman, and it is to be " revived." No
empire is in the abyss or can emerge thence. The individual men
that ever formed that empire are there, but as individuals. One
of these can be brought thence, if God shall permit; but when it
is said that the empire shall be revived to fulfil this passage, it
must be asked which of the many myriads of persons that belonged
to it, through many generations in the long centuries past, are
thus to form it in its resurrected existence ? And when it will be
replied that this is not asserted, but only that the Roman empire
will be re-formed at the end, composed of men then living, the
answer is that this is not what the text states, that it merely avoids
the plain sense of the term " coming up out of the abyss," and
sets aside the fact that the abyss is a place, a place quite well
known to Scripture and to the general thought of mankind by
this name, and located in the heart of the earth.
It is here suggested that the angel ruler of this region is he who
restrains the Lawless One of II Th 2, the " Beast " of the present
passage, hindering him issuing thence before the time permitted
by God. This may explain why Paul took for granted that con-
verts from Greek heathendom would know of this Restrainer
(II Th 2. 6).
That a person should return from the place of the dead to act
272 THE BEAST FROM THE ABYSS

again in the affairs of the living, was no new idea in John's day,
but one known to Scripture and by men in general. It is latent
in the very conception of necromancy, the consulting of the dead ;
and while most of what professes to be this is doubtless demonic
fraud, yet the Old Testament had the instance of the coming up
of the veritable Samuel to denounce the judgment of God to Saul
(I Sm 28. 15). It is our Lord who shows that Dives took for
granted that Lazarus could be sent up to warn living men, an idea
the divine Teacher could scarcely have spread uncontradicted had
He known it to be erroneous (Lk 16). And both Old and New
Testaments unite to say that Messiah is a Man raised from the
dead to rule the earth.
The common views of mankind had always agreed with this.
This by itself would not establish the truth of the notion ; but
when Scripture adopts without question an idea prevalent among
men, that idea must be regarded as true, for the Word of God
cannot endorse error.
From the most ancient times the Egyptians had conceived of
the " victorious " dead being granted by the gods liberty to come
and go in their former earth spheres. Thus in c. 11 of The Book
of the Dead it is said of the dead Ani : " Osiris Ani shall come
forth by day to do whatsoever he pleaseth upon the earth among
the living ones." This notion of the departed having unrestricted
liberty to return and act among the living we consider devoid of
warrant in Scripture, for the case of Samuel was an exception :
but our only concern is to establish that the idea in the words
" come up out of the abyss " would be easily accepted in John's
day. Egyptian conceptions were then widely spread, including
in the Greek-speaking lands, and were in harmony with similar
conceptions in the whole ancient world.
In keeping with this was the expectation, then held by many,
that Nero was to return to the earth and rule again. This was
adopted by many Christians as to be the fulfilment of our passage,
which shows that they took the passage in its natural sense of
the return of a dead man. That this idea gained rapid and wide
credence, among pagans and Christians, is to be explained by the
fact that it was but the application to a particular person (Nero)
of a possibility owned generally. Upon this Mr. F. F. Bruce has
kindly written as follows for this discussion :
Could any myths of pre-New Testament times have prepared
men's minds for the thought of Antichrist returning from the abyss
to reign over the earth ?
The origin of the belief in Nero redivivus was a refusal of the
people of the Eastern Empire, with whom he was very popular, to
 NERO REDIVIVUS 273
believe that he was really dead. [Nero committed suicide in A.D. 68.]
(Compare the case of Kitchener in the last war.). Taking advantage
of this, various Neronic pretenders appeared from time to time for
twenty years after his death : the last apparently in A.D. 88. The
idea took shape that he had gone to the Parthians, and that he would
return at the head of a Parthian army to reclaim his empire. After
that date it seemed hopeless to go on believing that he was still
alive, and so that belief gave place to the idea that he was indeed
dead, but would return to life.
(Compare the German belief about Friedrich Barbarossa [died
A.D. 1190].
Der alte Barbarossa, der Kaiser Friederich,
Im unterird'schen Schlosse halt er verzaubert sich.
Er ist niemals gestorben, er lebt darin noch jetzt;
Er hat im Schloss verborgen zum Schlaf sich hingesetzt.
Er hat hinab genommen des Reiches Herrlichkeit,
Und wird einst wiederkommen mit ihr zu seiner Zeit.
[The ancient Barbarossa, the Kaiser Frederick, dwells
In a subterranean castle, self-bound by mighty spells.
He did not die as others, he lives there even yet;
In the castle he is hidden, to sleep himself has set.
The glory of the empire he took down with him there,
And, in his time, returning, that glory he will bear.]
It has been suggested in Germany that he has come again in the
person of his present successor !)
So in the earlier Sibylline Oracles [perhaps A.D. 80-85], where Nero
and Antichrist are identified, Nero is described as still alive ; in the
later [perhaps A.D. 180] he is dead, and must be raised to life again
as Antichrist.
There were several myths in the Near East which might have
prepared people's minds for such a belief, most of them dealing with
gods or demigods. But in the eastern Roman Empire the Emperor
was generally regarded as a god, even in his lifetime. It would not
have been a foreign idea, therefore, for the eastern empire to conceive
of the divine Emperor as appearing on earth again.
The myths go back at least to Sumerian days [a very early period
of history in Mesopotamia] ; Tammuz [see Ek 8. 14] was Sumerian
originally, and the annual weeping which commemorated his death
was followed by the rejoicing that celebrated his resurrection.
The same resurrection story was told of Marduk, in Assyria, of Aleyn,
son of Baal, in North Syria (according to ritual texts discovered at
Ras Shamra), of Adonis, also in Syria, whence it spread over the
Greek world after Alexander [died 323 B.C.] ; of Melkart (Baal) in
Tyre (the Greeks identified him with their Heracles); of Attis in
Phrygia and Tylon in Lydia; of Dionysus in early Greece, and of
Zeus in Crete. Indeed, the tomb of Zeus used to be pointed out in
Crete, but the belief grew up that he had risen from the dead, and
274 ANTICHRIST'S BODY

afterwards, when he was accepted as king of the gods, it was denied

that he ever died at all. Thus Epimenides the Cretan represents
Minos, the son of Zeus, as addressing him thus :
" They fashioned a tomb for thee, O holy and high one—the
Cretans, always liars, evil beasts, idle gluttons ! But thou hast not
died ; thou art risen and alive for ever ; for in thee we live and move
and have our being." (Cf. Tt i. 12 : Ac 17. 28.)
Of the resurrection of human beings there are few traces. The
only clear case I can think of is Alcestis, referred to by Milton in
Sonnet X I X :
" Methought I saw my late espoused Saint
Brought to me like Alcestis from the grave,
Whom Jove's great son* to her glad husband gave,
Rescued from death by force, though pale and faint."
There was also Eurydice, whom Orpheus almost succeeded in
bringing back from Hades, but who was snatched back when he
looked round to see if she were still following. The Athenians,
fighting at Marathon in 490 B.C., believed they saw their city's
ancient king Theseus fighting for them (cf. the angels of Mons). But
these are few and uncertain as compared with the resurrection
myths of divine or semi-divine beings, which form a background of
thought against which it is not difficult to understand the readiness
with which the idea of Nero redivivus was entertained when it was
no longer possible to suppose him still alive.
Upon this last sentence it is to be remarked that the New
Testament does not specify positively the form in which the eighth
head will appear, whether in a properly human nature, with a
mortal body, or otherwise. These factors may be considered.
(1) He receives a sword wound which ordinarily would have
proved fatal, but which is healed (13. 3, 14). If the stroke killed
him, this would imply an ordinary mortal body. But it would
then not be an ordinary expression to say that the stroke was
" healed," meaning thereby resurrection from the dead. To be
healed is to be preserved alive by the wound not proving fatal.
(2) When seized alive by the Lamb (19. 19-21) he and the false
prophet are not killed 3 (in which particular they are expressly
contrasted with their followers : " the rest were killed "), but they
are " cast alive into the lake of fire," where they still are a thousand
* (Hercules.)
1
The RV at II Th 2. 8 says t h a t the Lord Jesus shall " slay " the Lawless
One. The verb is draWcra (analisko), and in NT is found in this place and
Lk 9. 54 and Gl 5. 15 only. In t h e two latter places the RV renders by " con-
sume." The variation throws t h e passage into conflict with R v 19. 20. The
word does not mean to kill, but to consume, and so in Greek was commonly
employed of using up one's money. The Beast will be consumed, destroyed,
without being killed physically.
 THE BEAST AND THE KINGS 275
years later. Now no mortal body could thus endure that fire,
which suggests a non-mortal bodily nature.
(3) When Samuel came up he had a form and garment which
Saul, from the description given by the witch, readily recognized
as being that of Samuel. This suggests that the soul retains in
the death state a psychical covering closely resembling the
material body lost at death. May not Antichrist appear in such
a form, like to his former mortal body ? Also the normal resur-
rection body of our Lord bore visibly the marks of His wounds,
and was recognizable by those who had known Him in the flesh.
In resurrection the wicked dead may be similarly clothed, with
one or other of these coverings.
In view of these considerations, whatever may prove the fact
as to Antichrist, it is not required that we believe him to be
properly re-incarnated, no plain suggestion being made of a body
of flesh or being necessary to the case.
In such a psychical form it would be easy for the Satan-deceived
earth-dwellers to regard the Beast as having become a demi-god,
such as the heathen commonly regarded deified heroes, and thus
he would be readily accepted when he sits in the temple of God
at Jerusalem setting himself forth as God (II Th 2. 4).
5. The duration of his supremacy is forty-two months, three
years and a half (Rv 13. 5), a time, times and half a time. This
seems here to be marked as " one hour," meaning only a very
short period in comparison to the ages of Satan's kingdom that
culminate in this brief dazzle and eclipse. But the Beast's whole
career, during which he fights his way to supremacy, will be much
longer.
6. The ten kings who will exalt him to be their overlord (17)
had formed their league before his rise, for it is among the ten
horns that he first appears, as an eleventh and little horn (Dn 7. 8).
It does not say that they had not reigned before they exalt the
Beast, but that they had not come to their kingdom at John's date.
Ver. 17 says, on the contrary, that " they give their kingdom unto
the Beast," which therefore they must have held or they could not
surrender it to him.
There will come an effective league of nations, and of nations
that have descended from the fourth great kingdom of prophecy.
This is certain ; for it is in the mind of God that the Beast shall
rise thus to world domination. It is part of the divine over-ruling
of the wicked unto the accomplishing of the words of God.
7. The Beast and his kings shall enter deliberately upon a war
against the Lamb. There will be avowed hostility to Him in this
character of the Lamb. Already nations are deriding and decrying
276 THE LAMB CONQUERS

Him because of this nature, as the One who displayed gentleness

and silent self-surrender, permitting that He be led as a lamb to
the slaughter. This is the very antithesis to that fierce, relentless,
conscienceless spirit of ambition advocated by such as Nietzsche,
and developed logically from the doctrine of Evolution that the
weak ought to be crushed out for the betterment of the race. It
was in England that this philosophical egg was laid and hatched,
as to its modern form. The bird was reared to full growth and
fierceness in Germany ; and in two bloody wars it has returned
to its first nest to gorge upon the vitals of England. If organized
religion must suffer with the rest from its ravages, it has only to
mourn that its official leaders so largely petted and pampered this
bird of prey because, forsooth, " Science " (falsely so called)
praised its beauty and they could not endure to be thought " un-
scientific." Unless, indeed, some of them joined the atheistic in
fostering it for the deliberate purpose of destroying christian
faith.
Christ teaches the exact contrary to this cruel and false, yea,
satanic doctrine. He says that all real improvement is reached
by self-sacrifice, not by self-assertion. To-day this is widely and
openly and violently repudiated by very many leaders and
followers in different countries, which is a distinct muttering of
the storm which the Wild-Beast will raise against the Lamb.
It is a notable spectacle this of a lamb faced by a huge wild
beast, and of a little flock of sheep in the midst of a pack of wolves.
But the Lamb will conquer ; the Wild Beast will fail. And in that
day they shall share the triumph of the Lamb who are " with
Him," who are on His side in the fight, are His followers ; who
fight now by facing the wolf in the spirit of the lamb, suffering
even unto death, as the Lamb of God did here. It is the meek
that shall inherit the earth for which the wild beasts contend.
To this suffering and this glory they were " called " (I Pt 2. 19-23 ;
5. 10); and from among the many of the called these were
" chosen " (Mt 22. 14), were picked men, selected as those on
whom the Lamb, their Leader, knew He could depend in the war
that seemed often a defeat. They were " faithful," proved such
by patience in suffering, in being unwearied in well-doing, in
holding fast His word when the many disregarded it, in confessing
His name when the vast majority scorned or hated it. These,
and these only, have the promise of conquering with Him in His
final and complete victory over the Beast and the Dragon.
Thus far the Beast. Every picture of him in Scripture leads to
the same end, his collapse, disgrace, and doom, for " the words of
God shall be accomplished " (17). And they who follow him
 THE WOMAN 277
must share his judgment, as certainly as they who follow the
Lamb shall share His glory.
See the prior discussion on c. 13.

SECTION II. THE WOMAN

1. THE FIGURE EMPLOYED. In Revelation the four Women stand

for systems that in nature are religious, but also exercise dominance.
(i) " The woman Jezebel " (2. 20) was " teaching " and thereby
" seducing," and she had gained so firm a seat that the church was
submitting (" thou sufferest "). Thus had the actual Jezebel,
whose name is given to her, been the determined propagator of
heathen religion in Israel, and also had dominated her royal
husband, the elders of Jezreel, and the people generally, so that
even Elijah feared and fled (I Kn 17 to 21).
(ii) " The woman arrayed with the sun " (c. 12) represents the
church of God, a spiritual system finally glorified and regnant;
and of her
(iv) there is a second picture, " the wife of the Lamb," who is
" to reign for ever and ever " (19. 7 ; 21. 9 ; 22. 5).
(iii) Similarly, this woman of c. 17 is a religious system, as
will appear'shortly, and she rides the political system and has a
kingdom over kings.
2. H E R LOCATION is threefold.
(i) Geographically she sat in John's day at Rome. See in the
former Part, section (iii), The Seven Heads.
(ii) Politically she sits " by many waters " (1), that is, draws her
riches from, and distributes her influence to, " many peoples, and
multitudes, and nations, and tongues " (15), as does a city placed at
a confluence of rivers and seas. In Biblical times there were only
two such cities : Babylon, during the first three empires of Daniel,
and Rome in the New Testament period of the fourth. But at
the end of Gentile world-sovereignty the centre will return to
Babylon, and the historical cycle will be completed.
(iii) Morally she sits in a wilderness. This must be taken
morally or it would conflict with her association with multitudes
just mentioned. The moral condition is emphasized: She is
herself a " great harlot " (1), a drunkard (6), and she seduces kings
to commit fornication and makes them also drunk. The picture
is taken from a brothel, splendid but filthy. Of such a fallen
woman the influence is necessarily and wholly demoralizing;
morality withers under her foul breath, and every life she touches
she sears and scorches to a dry and thirsty land, where the water
of life is unknown.
 2?8 THE HARLOT

3. HER CHARACTER AND CONDUCT therefore are that of a

HARLOT. A woman may fall from virtue so far as to fornicate
with one man, yet may remain faithful to him ; but the harlot is
the woman of the streets, eager to seduce to her side any and
every man she can entice.
It is important that this Woman is not styled an adulteress. A
harlot may not be this. She may never have been married, nor,
in the possibility, have attracted a married man. The force of
this is, that this Woman, this system of religion, is not regarded
as having ever been " joined unto the Lord " and as having
become unfaithful to Him. It is to be observed that " Jezebel "
is not the church, but is only viewed as in the church. So here,
this Harlot is not " Christianity," but a system itself wholly
distinct from the church of God, though she falsely insinuated
herself into the status of Christianity and utterly corrupted the
outward aspect of it. In Rv 2. 22, it is not Jezebel who is said to
commit adultery, for she was never the Lord's ; it is those who
either are, or are ostensibly, His, by being members of His church,
who are said to commit adultery with her : for a married man
commits adultery by associating with a harlot.
The true church of God, the real believers, the spiritually
regenerate, are regarded as separate from this vile system that
masquerades as " christian." Even though from want of light
some of them have been found in the system, yet, speaking
broadly, the church of God has ever been formed of those who
have been hated and destroyed by the Harlot the ages through.
The Roman Catholic system is not the church of God, is not
Christianity.
This is abundantly clear from the fact that the Harlot is
positively intoxicated, has lost her senses, by drinking the blood
of " the saints and the blood of the witnesses of Jesus." The
picture suggests the horrid practice of cannibals drinking the blood
of slaughtered foes and victims. Hence the Woman is not the
church she so savagely destroys, but some other system.
There is a repetition to be noted. She is drunken " with the
blood of the saints and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus."
If these two terms " saints " and " witnesses " mean only one
class (as commentators assume) the repetition were without force
and the clause should have read " the saints and (or, even) the
witnesses of Jesus." There seems to be created a distinction
between the two classes. Now in the present dispensation every
witness of Jesus is a saint, in the New Testament sense ; so it
would r.eem that the saints here contrasted must be the godly of
former ages, before Jesus had come and confession of His name
 THE HARLOT 279
could be the test applied by persecutors. This implies that the
Woman existed before New Testament times, a material factor.
Of course, a married woman may lapse into adultery and fall
thence into the deeper degradation of harlotry. This was the case
of Israel as pictured in Jr 2. and Ek 16. But this Woman is a
harlot only : Israel had been " married unto Jehovah " : she had
never been so.
But Israel's case shows what is meant by " whoredom " and
" abominations." The former was the resort of that nation unto
political alliances for power and safety; they depended upon
Egypt, Nineveh, Babylon. Later, the Maccabees appealed to
Rome against Syria. In our times Zionism turned first to the
Sultan, then to the Kaiser, now to England in hope of securing
their land and settled peace. For a people called to trust in their
God this is national harlotry.
But a part of these unholy alliances was that Israel served the
false and vice-loving gods of their pagan partners. That, said
their God, is " this abominable thing that I hate " (Jr 44. 4).
The idols were themselves " abominations," as were the vile
practices associated with the worship of them. See these words
in the Old Testament.
Likewise does this great Harlot of our chapter coquette with the
kings of the earth, and make them drunk with the wine of her
fornication. She both relies on them for power and she exercises
authority over them : they in turn are seduced by her splendid
but foul attractiveness and indulge in her vile worship of idols.
It is shown plainly in various prophecies that actual idolatry will
prevail among the nations in the End time. In that Day of
Jehovah, when He " will arise to shake mightily the earth," then
" the idols shall utterly pass away," for " In that day a man shall
cast away his idols of silver and his idols of gold, which they made
for him to worship, to the moles and to the bats " (Is 2). This
whole passage is most illuminating. See also Ps 135. 14, 15 : the
former verse showing that the time in view is that of Dt 32. 36,
which it quotes, namely, that of Israel's final deliverance as a
people. Is 19. 3, shows idolatry in Egypt at a period when Judah
shall be a terror to Egypt (ver. 17), which it never yet has been,
and when Egypt shall be brought to fear the God of Israel. That
Egypt will have become an idolatrous land suggests that it will
not then be under Mohammedan rulers. See also Zp 1. 4, 5 :
Zh 10. 2 ; 13.
4. IDOLATRY WILL BE GENERAL ON EARTH, and the apostates
of Israel will adopt it. Our passage shows (1) that this will
be by the agency of this Harlot, and (2) by royal authority
280 IDOLATRY GENERAL

in the lands ruled by the kings she seduces, intoxicates, and

dominates.
This sad prospect should not seem unlikely. Great nations are
being openly prepared for it. Russia has been indoctrinated with
hero worship, in Lenin worship, with a mighty statue of that
monster of cruelty. His embalmed body is an object of reverence
in the Communist cult. Present leaders of Germany labour to
inculcate reverence for the old Nordic gods of violence and vice,
and yet more for the Fiihrer. In principle, it is emperor worship.
They cry : Give us boys to train as soldiers to further racial pride
and ambition ; and they add that if these should be born out of
wedlock it does not matter much. Japan is engaged in a deli-
berate policy of seducing Christians to worship at demon shrines
and of suppressing violently those who stand fast in Christ. China
and India are already pagan, and the masses of Central Africa
remain so. Thus two-thirds of the world's population are or are
becoming idolatrous, and Scripture hastens to literal fulfilment.
In the whole English-speaking world the vast majority have
lapsed from religion, are de-Christianized. It is a short step
thence to be paganized ; for pagan philosophy has already infected
multitudes, and pagan morals and worship could be readily
adopted here also should a day come when strong leaders urge it
on the ground that empire well-being will be furthered by it. Only
a mighty reassertion of the power of the Spirit of God through the
gospel can ultimately avert it, and of this there is no guarantee,
though may God in mercy grant it. Only God's good news ever
overthrew paganism ; only the same can ever prevent a reverting
to paganism. Let the godly gird up his loins like a man, let him
arm himself with the mind of Christ to suffer in the flesh, and
strengthen himself in the grace that is in Him ; and let him do
this while liberty is his, or ever the Harlot shall mount the Beast.
5. HER ORIGIN AND CENTRE. For too many Protestant eyes
the whole landscape has been filled by the Roman Catholic
Church. Blurred vision resulted. Seeing only Her, she became
to such expositors both Harlot and Beast, and Rome was Babylon.
This is a manifest confusion, since she who rides the beast cannot
be the beast she rides. Abigail on her ass is not also the ass
(I Sm 25. 42).
That this Church reveals the form and features of the Harlot
more than does any other system of to-day is true, and there is
reason for it. As shown above (Sect. I, iii) Rome is the city of
the seven hills : but then it was this before the Roman Catholic
Church came into being. The prior pagan religion of Rome
carried the features of this Harlot. Fascinating and dominating
 THE HARLOT BABYLONIAN 281

emperors ; splendid in worship and riches and glory ; demoralizing

rulers and masses ; bloodily persecuting the witnesses of Jesus—
all this was to be seen when John saw his visions and for two
centuries thereafter.
What took place in the age of Constantine the Great and his
successors was that this pagan system of philosophy, worship,
spirit, morals, and organization was imposed upon and accepted
by that system of religion which in century four falsely arrogated
to itself the name of the Church of God. Thus was this already
degenerate system paganized, while paganism was christianized
as to names and profession. This may be seen in impartial
histories such as Bryce's The Holy Roman Empire, and in Hatch's
The Influence of Greek Ideas and Usages upon the Christian Church.
It was elaborated and proved by Hislop in The Two Babylons, and
may be seen further demonstrated by Pember in Mystery Babylon
the Great.
Thus matters have continued to the present time, and the
Roman Catholic Church in turn has displayed the form and
features of the Harlot, with her pride, splendour, harlotry with
kings, vice, demoralizing influence, and persecuting cruelty. But
to see in the Woman no more than that Church is to be short-
sighted, and our chapter itself forbids it. For
(i) The Woman was already in existence when John saw the
vision, even as the angel explained : " the Woman . . . hath a
kingdom " and " sitteth on seven mountains " (18. 9).
(ii) She is the " mother " of the harlots and abominations of the
earth, that is, the originator of all false religions and idolatries.
This the Roman Catholic Church is not, for they existed before
she did.
(iii) She has a connection in a " mystery," that is, a secret
connection with Babylon, and therefore is a system originally
associated with that city.
This connection is established by the symbol " having in her
hand a golden cup full of abominations and [even] the unclean
things of her fornication," for the same symbol had been applied
to the city Babylon over 600 years earlier by Jeremiah (51. 7) :
" Babylon hath been a golden cup in Jehovah's hand, that made
all the earth drunken : the nations have drunk of her wine ; there-
fore the nations are mad." In Jeremiah's day the origin and
spread of idolatry was comparatively modern history. All that
archaeology and philology have revealed of late, and no doubt
much more, was then common knowledge, even the fact that
idolatry (as outlined in Romans 1) had its origin in Babylon and
spread thence to all parts as the races migrated.
282 THE HARLOT AND ROME

The system introduced was a satanically crafty adaptation of

the plans of God for the salvation and government of the human
race. Far more as to those plans was known after the Flood than
seems commonly supposed. The contemporary book of Job is
proof of this. Satan instituted in advance his own depraved
counterpart. He offered to men a human priest-king, a human
priesthood, with sacrifices for propitiating demon deities, but
substituting works for faith and efforts for grace as the way of
salvation.
For the intellectual he provided philosophical speculations that
blurred truth by commingling error with it, and so made philo-
sophy a thief (CI 2. 8) to rob man of true knowledge. For the
aesthetic temperament there was an elaborate, sensuous, gorgeous
ritual, so that worship in spirit and in truth died out. For the
vulgar masses it was sufficient to offer priestly promises as to the
hereafter, with freedom to live lustfully in this life. And all was
skilfully arranged so that wealth, knowledge, power should be
restricted as much as possible to the priestly caste, of which the
sovereign was the Head, the king-priest.
Of this priestly order a College of Pontiffs resided at Babylon,
and there continued until the Persian monarchs opposed it in the
fifth century B.C. There is some ground for thinking that it then
moved its headquarters to Pergamum in Asia Minor, and that
Attalus I, the sovereign of that kingdom, became its head, the
Pontifex Maximus. In 133 B.C., by the will of his descendant,
Attalus III, the kingdom passed to the Romans, and thus the
priest-kingship went to that city, and seems to have been first
assumed by Julius Caesar in 45 B.C.
Long before this, however, Roman paganism had come from
Babylon. Before ever Rome was founded (about B.C. 750) a
colony of Etruscans from Asia Minor had brought Babylonian
idolatry to the region where the city was later built. This gave
an initial direction and character to Roman religion. And in
204 B.C. the famous image of Cybele, the chief Babylonian
goddess, which was said to have fallen from heaven (that is,
was a meteorite, comp. Ac 19. 35), was taken from Pessinus
in Asia Minor to Rome, and the worship of this Queen of
Heaven and Mother of the Gods was formally incorporated into
the Roman religion, and gave it a yet more evidently Babylonian
character.
For the proofs of this descent, here only outlined, the reader
must refer to Hislop and Pember. Our task is to examine into
the final outcome at the close of the age, as forecast in the vision
before us.
 THE WOMAN'S FUTURE 283
6. T H E WOMAN'S F U T U R E .
(i) Under Sect. I, ii, above, it has been shown that this vision
is not a forecast of the history of the Woman, but of her judgment,
that is, of the final stage of her history. The final stage of Gentile
empire also is in view, for the ten kings are present from the start
of the vision, and these are crushed when the Stone falls on the
feet of the image (Dn 2). Therefore the time is shortly before
the return of the Lord to rule the earth. It is therefore to be
expected
(ii) That the Harlot will dominate politics within the area of
the ten kings. The latter will be again fascinated by her wealth,
splendour, influence; will adopt her abominations, that is,
idolatries ; and will thereby be made drunk, that is, will become
blinded to the true God and His faith and worship, as well as to
the future as set forth in His Word. Thus will they be prepared
to believe, a little later, " the lie," and this " because they received
not the love of the truth " while it was available (II Th 2. 10, 11) ;
and thus will they be led on by the Deceiver of the whole inhabited
earth until, under Antichrist, they fulfil Psalm 2 and break
asunder God's bands in open revolt.
(iii) Using the secular arm, thus again come fully under her
control, the Harlot will persecute fiercely the witnesses of Jesus.
She will intoxicate herself with their blood. The lust of persecu-
tion, or of any slaughter, has this effect. The raging beast loses
all judgment and restraint and thus exposes itself to the attack of
the hunter. It may be that the cruelties that the Harlot will
inflict will disgust princes and people and be one impulse that will
incite them shortly to destroy her, and to turn to the Beast in
the hope of better days.
(iv) Her destruction thus results from her carnal policy of
coquetting with, deluding, and dominating the secular power. It
will be a concluding and conclusive proof of the evil of the alliance
of church and state in the realm of fallen man. Unity of the two
is the ideal; but it can be realized only to profit when society is
perfected under its perfect Priest-king, Christ the Lord, and His
perfected government of priest-kings, the glorified saints.
The picture of the Woman's destruction is ghastly : the ten
kings " shall hate the Harlot, and shall make her desolate and
naked, and shall eat her flesh, and shall burn her utterly with
fire " (16). A group of cannibals have been drinking themselves
drunk with a woman with whom they have been gratifying their
lust : then they turn upon her with a loathing such as seized the
vicious Amnon against Tamar his victim (2 Sm 13. 15) ; they
rush her to a lonely spot beyond help (" make her desolate "),
284 ANGLICANISM AND THE HARLOT

strip her naked, eat her flesh, and fling the bones and remnants
into the fire round which they devour her.
It is thus the Bolsheviks have treated one branch of this great
idolatrous Babylonian system, the Greek Orthodox Church in
Russia ; nor can one be surprised who knows aught of the wicked-
ness and cruelty of that vicious degraded Church. It was its high
priests who incited the later Czars to persecute evangelical
believers, and to banish to the rigours of Siberia those not slain.
Priests of that Church, holding aloft the crucifix, led mobs to the
pogroms of the Jews in South Russia. Of quite recent years it
has been at the instigation of her high officials that the rulers of
Roumania, Bulgaria, and Greece have passed repressive laws
against various religious bodies other than that Church. It may
be that the treatment these lands have since received is part of the
divine answer to those wicked measures.
For the Anglican Church to have sought alliance with that
apostate Church, as of late years, may have seemed a clever
counter to the haughty attitude toward them of the Roman
Church ; but such carnal policy can issue only in the present
further depraving of Anglicanism, and for its preparation for
absorption into the Harlot, with the consequent sharing of her
last odious works and her final dreadful doom. Let the godly in
the Anglican and other State Churches take note of whither they
are drifting, and abandon the ship before it reaches the whirlpool.
Otherwise they will partake of the sins and must receive of the
plagues of the system. And let godly Nonconformists ponder
the goal of affiliation with a State Church, the final outcome
of that federating of denominations so much pressed of recent
years.
How dismal is the prospect of fallen humanity ! But sin ever
worketh death, which is as true of things corporate as of indi-
viduals. Yet those who fear God have the comforting assurance
that the worst of men in the worst of times are made to serve His
holy ends of justice. Yes, there will come a league of nations
that will be effective ; and they will unite unconsciously to work
out two judgments that God sees to be unavoidable : First, the
destruction of this foul and cruel and idolatrous system of Babylon,
that has given birth to all the daughter systems that have par-
taken of her nature and works, and so is actually the " Mother of
the harlots and abominations of the earth." And secondly, these
kings will give their authority unto the Beast, the Antichrist, so
that the body politic, like the body religious, may be fully ripened
for the long-deserved and long-announced wrath of God. Doing
their own carnal will, they will nevertheless carry out what
 THE ROMAN CHURCH AND IDOLATRY 285

God will put in their minds of His divine will, and when the
wrath of man shall have thus praised Him, He will restrain its
further activity.

SECTION III. SUBORDINATE QUESTIONS

Thus far the positive teaching of the Vision. But some sub-
ordinate, yet interesting, questions arise for investigation, and the
answers to these, whatever they be, will afford some guide to the
watchful as the days develop.
1. The Babylonian system of idolatry maintained its openly
pagan style from its beginning, about 2300 B.C., through some
twenty-seven centuries. Its Western branch, formed in the time
of Constantine, has been nominally christian for some fifteen
centuries. Will it retain this latter feature to the end, or will it
in due time become avowedly pagan ? Expositors have tacitly
assumed the former. In other words, what will be the religion of
the fourth beast at its close under the ten kings ? Will it be
nominally christian or avowedly pagan ?
The great areas outside the primary dominions of the ten kings,
as Germany, Russia, India, Japan, Africa, have been mentioned
above as already pagan or becoming so. These, when brought
under his sway, wiU easily accept the pagan emperor-worship of
Antichrist, which will be the actual final stage of world-religion,
as will also the apostate majority of Israel. But what of the ten
kings just before he arises, which will be the period when the
Harlot will dominate them ?
For 400 years the Anglo-Saxon and Germanic lands have been
the spheres where anti-Roman influences have prevailed. Now
this is so only very nominally ; and economically and politically
they are to-day so impoverishing and enfeebling each other that,
should this murderous strife be long-continued, they must at its
end count less heavily in world affairs than formerly. This suits
the Roman Church well, for it will leave the Catholic-pagan
religion a freer hand to reassert its fell influence in at any rate
Mediterranean lands and perhaps more widely. Relieved of the
former political-Protestant opposition, its rulers may feel no
strong inducement to retain even a nominal christian character
in dogma or form. Such ecclesiastics as that mediaeval Pope
who is said to have styled Christianity a " profitable farce," would
feel no scruples about dropping the farce and avowing the pagan
reality that has ever been inherent in the Roman system. The
leaders of the Church have never hesitated to adopt any measure
that might increase their political power. Disraeli, when writing
286 WILL ROMANISM TURN PAGAN ?

of " the oldest, most powerful and the most occult of the secret
societies of Italy," the Madre Natura [Mother Nature], states that
Cardinal de Medici was a member, and that " according to a
tradition, which there is some documentary ground to accredit,"
when he ascended the throne [as Pope Leo X ; A.D. 1513] " he
took an early and no unwilling opportunity of submitting to the
Conclave a proposition to consider whether it was not both ex-
pedient and practicable to return to the ancient faith for which
their temples had been originally erected " (Lothair, 290 ; ed.
Longmans 1875). I have not found confirmation of this, but the
proposal, if it was made, may be revived and adopted.
To the passages cited above in Sect. 2 may be added R v 9. 20.
" And the rest of mankind, who were not killed with these plagues,
repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not
worship demons, and the idols of gold, and of silver, and of brass,
and of stone, and of wood ; which can neither see, nor hear, nor
walk ; and they repented not of their murders, nor of their
sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts." This
makes clear that, as the end of this age nears, men will be irre-
claimably devoted to the worship of demons and idols, and to the
immoralities ever associated therewith.
On the other hand, the Vision itself offers no hint -that the
Harlot would ever become nominally christian. This emphasizes
how little the long centuries of this age have to do with the vision,
and seems to regard the period of her " christian " phase as a
merely transitory matter. Her name is " Mystery Babylon the
Great," which depicts her as being as Babylonian at the time of
her judgment as when John knew her at Rome.
After the foregoing enquiry was penned the following confirma-
tion was found in Pember's The Church, The Churches, and the
Mysteries (500 ff. and Mystery Babylon, 123). It shows how
easy is the transition from Romanism to Paganism, and that this
has been long contemplated by Catholic teachers. Pember wrote
in 1901 :

It would be scarcely possible to select a more striking instance of

unmistakable, though disguised, leaning towards Polytheistic
Paganism than that which may be found in Dr. St. George Mivart's
article on " The Continuity of Catholicism," which appeared in the
Nineteenth Century for January, 1900. Dr. Mivart wrote :
" I have heard a man devoted to the cause of Catholicity express
himself as follows, when seeking the advice of a learned and austere
priest:
' Monotheism, in the highest sense of that term, is, of course, an
indisputable truth, but can it be entirely defended as popularly
 CATHOLICISM AND PAGANISM 287
understood ? Newman has thrown some doubts on this matter . . .
God's attributes, while distinct, are each of them equally God, and
therefore substantial . . . But does not this really amount to Poly-
theism ? And, indeed, we may well ask why may we not, in this
way, attribute plurality to God ? There are certainly some aspects
and attributes of the Deity which may not be'unfitly represented by
such Pagan Gods—by Zeus, Athene, Ares, Aphrodite, Nemesis, Eros,
Demeter, and Pan. In a sense, the Paganism of Greece and Rome
was " true " and " righteous," and the worship of the Heathen, as
Cardinal Newman has said, " an acceptable service." . . .
" ' There are, to my knowledge, good Catholics who feel drawn to
worship God directly . . . who would prefer to worship God under
one of His attributes, symbolised by representations more resembling
Athene or Apollo, and who have especially felt the want in Chris-
tianity of a female symbol of Divinity; for, of course, God is as
much female as He is male. I have heard there are persons who
go to the Brompton Oratory there to worship the Madonna, as the
only available representative of Venus ; and we have lately read of
the recent worship (in France) of Isis, by persons who regarded the
goddess, whose veil no man has drawn aside, as no inapt symbol of
the inscrutable power that everywhere meets, yet everywhere escapes,
our gaze as we seek to probe the mysteries of Nature.
" ' In conclusion, I would ask whether it would be lawful for me,
as a Catholic, to worship God as Zeus or Athene, if I am in truth
devoutly'moved so to adore Him.'
" The answer," says Dr. Mivart, " given, in my hearing, by the
learned and devout priest in question was as follows :
" ' Most certainly it is lawful for you to do so, provided you find
it helps you to advance in virtue and religion. But you must only
do it privately : it would not at present be right for you to carry on
a public worship of chat kind.'
" I myself subsequently asked the same question of three other
learned and experienced priests, and received a similar reply from
them all."

From this is to be learned that (1) there is a distinct tendency

among Catholic laymen to worship God under the guise of Pagan
deities ; (2) that four learned and experienced priests allowed this
as proper; (3) that a Cardinal is cited in support; but (4) forty
years ago the time was not fitting for it to be done openly.
Pember commented thus :
That good Catholics are often repelled by the images and symbols
set before them for worship, we can well understand : that they
should wish to exchange these objectionable objects for the images
of Athene and Apollo emphasises the fact that Catholicism, the
religion of the senses, is the road that leads back to Paganism. . . .
To feel the want in Christianity of a female symbol of Divinity is
288 THE AREA OF THE TEN KINGS

to repudiate Christianity altogether, for the reason that it does not

pander to the lusts and desires of the flesh. . . . Scripture forbids
any such carnal idea as that of a female element in the Deity.
That many Catholics worship the Madonna as the only available
representative of Venus has long been known to those who are
interested in such matters. . . .
. . . it appears that a good Catholic may lawfully personify God's
attributes, or what he chooses to regard as God's attributes, and
worship them, severally, under the names of Pagan deities, provided
only he does so in private ; for " at present " he must not recklessly
cast off the veil in public.
But why this qualification " at present " ? Is a time coming
when it will be right to resume the worship of Zeus and Athene in
public? And are there even now Pagan " M a r r a n o s " 1 in the
Catholic Churches ? Is it to such a goal that Romanism is leading
us with its goddesses and saints, which, indeed, are all Pagan deities
under false names ?

2. A second question is, What may be the area ruled by the

ten kings at the time the Harlot dominates them, and up to the
time when they give their support to the Beast ? In my work on
Daniel, App. A, I have given reasons for thinking that the Anti-
christ will, at his height, rule the whole world ; but the territories
which he will acquire by early wars and by the ten kings exalting
him will be local, though this will give to him sufficient power
to extend his rule universally. We have seen to-day how other
influences than conquest lead smaller nations to submit to the
yoke of greater.
In c. 2 of that work I have argued that the territory of the fourth
part of the image of c. 2 of Daniel, at the close of its career, can-
not be now known by what it has been in the past; that it will
not be limited to what Rome ruled of old ; and will not include
part of what she did formerly hold.
Treating, as I have done, all the four beasts of c. 7 as yet to
arise from the Mediterranean Sea, these features are to be noted.
(i) The first, the lion-eagle beast, has its wings plucked. May
not this be well fulfilled by that power being deprived of its fleet
and air force, so crippling it from rapid movement ? May not the
way that Italy has just now (1941-1943) been thus crippled
illustrate it ? In my book I assumed, as others had done, that it
is the second beast which thus defeats the first; and the third,
the second ; but it is not so stated. A power resident beyond the
Mediterranean could fulfil what is predicted.
1
Marranos. Spanish Jews of cent. 15 A.D., who, while in heart holding their
Jewish faith, were baptized as Christians to avoid persecution. As used above
the word means persons pagan at heart, yet parading as Christians.
 FUTURE MEDITERRANEAN WARS 289
(ii) The second beast, the bear, has devoured three countries
just before it enters the scene, for the three ribs are still between
its teeth.
(iii) The third beast, the leopard, has already four heads when
it emerges, that is, four powers have combined before this beast
joins in the strife, the tempest pictured as then raging in the
Mediterranean. As there is no suggestion of conquest, probably
the four have allied themselves mutually for protection and war.
(iv) Neither of the two last absorbs its predecessors, for when
the fourth beast arises it tramples upon the three, and when itself
is destroyed the three are still there and outlast it (Dn 7. 7, 12).

It were premature to express an opinion that the present

turmoil in the Mediterannean is the strife foretold in Dn 7. But
it may illustrate what that chapter taught. It foretold that a
power with a wild and cruel spirit would arise in the Mediterranean
and rayage ; but that, upon its ability for swift movement being
broken, it would develop a decent, humane temper: " a man's
heart was given unto it " ; and that it would cease to roam around
on bloody enterprises and will " stand up on its feet as a man,"
and thus act in a limited sphere in a more rational spirit and
manner.
There will next emerge a ponderous, slower acting power, like
to a bear, which will ravage three lands, and will proceed to
destroy much flesh. The bear seems an inappropriate figure for
the hot-blooded, quick-thinking Latin races, and presumably they
are not meant.
This will be followed by a four-kingdom confederacy, marked
by the swiftness and cruelty of the leopard ; and then will come
the final development of a ten-kingdom union, which will show
a ferocity and terribleness previously unseen in all the dreadful
periods of man's dread history.
This is the program outlined by the vision of Dn 7, whether
its beginnings are with us or not; and our immediate enquiry
is as to the area and extent of the territory of this fourth beast
at its start.
It is clear that this will not at first include the territories of the
three former beasts, for it acquires these by conquest after it has
risen from the Sea. When it has done so, then, next, the " little
horn," the Antichrist, will arise within their area (" among them,"
Dn 7. 8). He will reduce three of the ten by war, and in due
time will become the chosen emperor of the ten, according to
Rv 17. 17. In App. C to Daniel I have suggested the possibility
that his rise will be in Armenia.
K
290 THE AREA OF THE TEN KINGS

It seems evident that the present bid for world-domination

being made by Germany, and which has included the conquest of
ten lands from Norway to the Mediterranean, and her absorption
of four other lands, is not following the divinely revealed pro-
gram as given above. Perhaps—I cannot say—it is preparing
the way for it, but is not itself a feature shown in Scripture ; for
the holding of almost the whole of the northern coasts of the
Mediterranean is not what the Scripture foretells. Many changes
must come to fulfil Dn 7 ; which argues that the present German
attempt will fail of its object, though it may bring on the object
that God has before Him.
Still looking to the question of area, it is to be observed that
Scripture contemplates both Abyssinia and Libya as coming under
the direct authority of Antichrist at the time that he conquers
the land of Egypt (Dn 11. 43 ; " The Libyans and the Ethiopians
shall be at his steps "). I drew the attention of friends to this at
the time when Italy conquered Abyssinia and extended her mili-
tary preparations through Libya to the border of Egypt, expressing
the view that her hold would not be permanent. The fact that
Antichrist will have to annex these three lands implies that they
also will not be part of the original area of the ten kings which he
takes over by their consent. Thus these, as well as the lands of
the first three beasts, do not fall within the first region of the ten
kings, for all have to be acquired by war after the ten-horned
beast has come on the scene.
It is further to be learned from Dn 11. 27, that, at the time
there in view, Palestine will be an independent state, for Israel
makes its own covenant with Antichrist. Also, the wars that he
will wage with Egypt (the " king of the south "), according to
c. 11 of Daniel, show that Egypt also will be then an independent
power. Thus it would seem that the original territory of the ten
kings, when he becomes their emperor, will not include Palestine
or Egypt. Moreover, if I have rightly identified Antichrist with
Gog (see App. C, mentioned), then as he will first extend his
dominions by taking Persia and Mesopotamia (Ek 38. 5), it
follows that these also do not at first belong to the ten kings.
Again, if the premises stated are correct, and Antichrist, who
is to arise within the area of the ten, does so in Asia Minor, Syria,
or Armenia (I put the case widely, though thinking it will be in
Armenia), then the region of the ten kings will be the north-
eastern area of the Mediterranean lands, and the three previous
beasts, that the fourth will tread down, will be further west in
the Mediterranean.
By the above process of thought the central area of the ten
 MIDDLE EAST REVIVING 29I
kings becomes somewhat evident; nor is anything said that need
hinder them from drawing upon territories and resources to the
north of the eastern Mediterranean, supposing that any power or
powers of that region, not as yet having a footing on that Sea,
may by the time in view have gained this, and join in this federa-
tion of ten. This subject I have treated in a note to c. 7 of Daniel,
ed. 3.
From five to seven centuries B.C. the prophets of Israel had
foretold the desolating of Egypt, Palestine, and Assyria (Meso-
potamia). But Isaiah (c. 19) had also boldly declared the reviving
of these three simultaneously, and that this would come a t the
period when God should be able to make them all a blessing in
the midst of the earth. It does not need proof that this has never
happened. Perhaps there is no more distinct and striking ground
for believing that we are approaching the end of this age than
that we have seen two of these three lands set up as independent
states, and the third (Palestine) being steadily occupied by its
former owners, the Jews. When the independence of Palestine
as a sovereign state shall have been realized, then will Isaiah's
forecast be well on the way to completion.
It is notable that God has used, and is using, only one power,
Britain, to fulfil these His purposes and the predictions of them.
It argues that there is still that in the attitude of this empire to
Him which enables Him to use it. May this continue, or even
increase ! But the fact that these three states are, at the last, to
be able of themselves to make treaties and wars, suggests that
by the time in view, whether near to-day or still remote, western
over-lordship will have ceased. If this should mean that by then
Britain will have withdrawn from the Mediterranean area, that
may mean, or almost certainly must mean, that she will not be
part of the four beasts whose awful doings and sufferings are
pictured in Dn 7, and well may any kingdom regard such escape
as a vast mercy from God. For though all lands must later, and
for a brief time, yield to the pressure of the ten and submit to
Antichrist, yet those further removed will escape the worst degree
of trouble and of the divine judgments to be endured by the central
parts of his empire. And perhaps it is in these remoter areas
that the suffering witnesses of Jesus may find that measure of
kindness foretold by Christ in the parable of the sheep and goats
(Mt 25. 31-46)-
It is not, however, to be expected that these outer lands will be
" christian " at that period, for " darkness shall cover the earth,
and gross darkness the peoples " (Is 60. 2). Thus those " sheep "
who befriend the persecuted disciples of Christ will not be doing
292 THE BEAST'S FINAL CENTRE

this consciously as to Him, but will say to Him, " When saw we
Thee afflicted ? " But He will receive them as having done it to
Himself in the persons of His brethren, and such will enter into
His kingdom of peace.
Any loss by a people of central and supreme authority on earth
will at that time be seen to have been a blessing; whereas those
nations which will have won in the mad struggle for world-
supremacy will have gained it only at fearful cost of cruelty and
misery, and to their complete destruction at the coming of the
Lord of the whole earth, the Stone from heaven which will crush
the image to powder (Dn 2. 35, 44).
How different is the expectation, and how changed the desire,
of the heart instructed by the prescient Word of God to that of the
natural mind. But the former will see its God-wrought hopes
fulfilled, while the latter will know only final disillusionment and
disappointment. " Blessed are all they that wait for Him."
3. A third subordinate, but pregnant, enquiry is, Where will be
the last centre of the Beast and the Woman ? In treating of the
next chapter of Revelation we hope to show that it points to the
actual city Babylon in Mesopotamia, and that this will be the
capital of Antichrist, the world-centre of the last world-empire.
But will it be this to the ten kings prior to the rise of Antichrist,
or only upon this becoming fact ? We think the latter, and that,
though the city may have been built, it will not become the proud
emporium described in c. 18 until-Antichrist makes it his capital.
If so, the Harlot must at first have her seat on the beast corporate
at some other place, and only finally at Babylon. Some suggestion
of this seems to be given in the vision of the Woman in the Ephah
in Zh 5. Various expositors have connected this Woman with
the one of R v 17, and with warrant. The passage reads :
Then the angel that talked with me went forth, and said unto me,
Lift up now thine eyes, and see what is this that goeth forth. And
I said, What is it ? And he said, This is the ephah that goeth forth.
He said moreover, This is their appearance in all the land (and,
behold, there was lifted up a talent [a round piece] of lead) ; and
this is a woman sitting in the midst of the ephah. And he said,
This is Wickedness [Lawlessness] : and he cast her down into the
midst of the ephah ; and he cast the weight of lead upon the mouth
thereof. Then lifted I up mine eyes, and saw, and behold there
came forth two women, and the wind was in their wings ; now they
had wings like the wings of a stork ; and they lifted up the ephah
between earth and heaven. Then said I to the angel that talked
with me, Whither do these bear the ephah ? And he said unto me,
To build her a house in the land of Shinar : and when it is prepared,
she shall be set there in her own place.
 THE WOMAN IN THE EPHAH 293
(i) The ephah, being the largest Hebrew dry measure, seems a
fitting symbol of commerce.
(ii) The woman is named Wickedness, and has been taken to
symbolize corruption in commerce. But for this meaning, would
not the figure of a merchant in the ephah have been more appro-
priate ? In general, and in the East especially, woman are not
usually found at the centre of the business world inspiring it with
depravity.
In our vision of Rv 17 we have seen the figure " a woman " to
represent a system dominantly religious. Only a short while
before Zechariah's day both Jeremiah (c. 3) and Ezekiel (c. 16)
had so spoken of Israel as the people of Jehovah. Therefore we
take this Woman to picture a system of religion, yet one essentially
commercial in spirit. Paganism, both Mother and Daughters, has
ever been this. Its priesthoods have always traded their spiritual
wares, selling for a price their benefits, temporal and eternal.
This has marked equally the Church of Rome. Dr. Alexander
Robertson, in The Roman Catholic Church in Italy (c. 5) tells that
the Italians commonly spoke of that Church as " The Pope's
shop." In Wolyn, Russia, while I was in a certain village, the
Greek orthodox priest, though he was in the cemetery at the time,
refused to bury an infant unless the extremely poor and widowed
mother would sell her only cow to pay his fee, and so deprive
herself and her little daughter of milk.
Thus has " Mystery Babylon " been able always to array her-
self in royal apparel of purple and scarlet and to deck herself
with gold and precious stone and pearls (ver. 4). This will doubtless
help her final ruin by provoking the greed of the ten kings and
the Beast, themselves probably impoverished by the preceding
wars.
Thus, too, is wholly obscured the blessed fact that God deals
with the spiritual needs of men upon the principle of grace and
that eternal life is a. free gift.
At the time for the fulfilment of this vision the Woman will be
divinely confirmed and fixed in this vicious moral state, practised
willingly since national and religious life commenced at Babel :
she is thrust down into the midst of the ephah and confined
therein by the cover of lead. This will be parallel to the judicial
hardening experienced by Pharaoh of old ; seen also in Israel
nationally (Is 6. 10 : Lk 8. 10) ; and to be seen generally at the
close of this age (2 Th 2. 8-11). These passages point to the same
period as that in which the visions of Zechariah will be fulfilled,
even when Jehovah shall choose Zion (1. 16, 17), shall be a wall
of fire about it and the glory in the midst of it (2. 5), and the
 T H E
294 WOMAN IN THE EPHAH

Man that is the Branch shall build there the temple of Jehovah,
and be priest upon His throne (6. 12, 13).
(iii) This Woman is stated plainly to belong to Shinar, that is,
Babylonia, the very locality where the first general revolt against
God was made by man after the Flood (Gn 11. 1-9), and where
Nimrod commenced his career of violence and conquest, establish-
ing a sovereignty without God (Gn 10. 8-10). Here Satan's false
religion was started, and spread thence to all lands. To the
Woman of the vision this Shinar is " her own place," and thither
she is to return, when a house (meaning probably a temple, a
house of worship) has been prepared (ver. 11).
The prophet sees two women come on the scene, having the
wind in their wings, the latter being those of a stork. These
women take up the ephah, with the first Woman therein, and
carry her to Shinar. That is to say, two similar systems of religion
will combine to transport the primary system back to Babylon.
In this they will have demonic aid, the wind in their wings.
Satan will energize the transfer. And because she and they are
going back to the original home of their system their wings are
those of a stork, for, as Pliny long since remarked, this bird,
among migratory birds, is renowned for its habit of returning to
its old nest (Smith's Bib. Diet., art. " Stork," Vol. iii. 1384).
(iv) But to come to the chief present matter. The standpoint
of Zechariah's visions is his own country, Palestine. He was not
in Shinar, for thither the Woman was to go. Of Rome he knew
nothing, it being then, five centuries B.C., a town of no renown.
It thus seems likely that, in the day the vision contemplates, the
Woman's seat will be in Zechariah's land, Palestine. It has
already a great Jesuit college in the centre of the new City. It
has a gorgeous edifice in a reputed Garden of Gethsemane. It
owns both ends of the Carmel range, has a place at the summit
of Mount Tabor, and great buildings at Nazareth, and premises
at and near Tiberias, and possibly has acquired more property
since the present writer was last in that land, in 1935. The
diminishing of the prestige and wealth of the Greek Church, since
its collapse in Russia, has given to the Roman Church an advant-
age it knows how to use to the full.
The city of Rome is not shown in Scripture as the world-
centre of the End Times, either political or religious. For too
many writers, and of various schools, Rome has almost filled the
landscape, historic and prophetic : in the Word of God she is
named only, and then quite unavoidably, in the Gospel records
of the life of Christ and in the accounts in the Acts of the spread
of the gospel in her territories. In the whole of the prophecies,
 THE PAPACY AND ROME 295
of the New as of the Old Testaments, neither the city nor the
empire is ever named. Expositors should have noticed, pondered,
and followed this feature. In Babylon it was that the great
Harlot commenced her career ; Babylonian in character she has
continued ; to Babylon she will return, and in Babylon meet her
doom.
This brings us to consider that city as depicted in Rv 18. But
before passing to this subject it should be added that the matter
of the headquarters of the Papacy shifting from Rome is not new.
In Bernhard Menne's The Case of Dr. Bruening (10) it is said
that after the Papal States had been taken over in 1870 by the
new Italian government " a delegation of German bishops visited
Bismarck to know the views of the Berlin government on the
possibility of the Pope's being allowed to transfer his see to
Germany." This idea has quite recently again been raised
publicly. Since the above notes were written the following
remarks appeared in the Review of World Affairs for October,
1941. On page 9 we read :
Fear [of trouble with the Italian government] only began to grow
when the Fascist party began to steal youth from the Church. Now
things have drifted to such a pass that if the Vatican does not take
up a more strongly anti-Nazi attitude, it may lose the sympathy of
many Catholics in Britain and America. If it does make a stronger
stand, it may be driven from Europe. . . . On page 10 it is said :
" If, on the other hand, the Pope chooses an activist policy [against
Hitler] it means that a large number of nominal European Catholics
will fall away as soon as things become too difficult, but that the
sincere ones will create an opposition to Hitler of first importance.
It might lead to the Pope being forced to leave Italy, and even
Europe. English and American Catholics would thus gain an
influence they have never had before. If this happened, it is quite
certain that at the end of the war they would never agree to the
Italian clergy returning to the dominant position they have long
held in the councils of the Church. For example, at present there
is only one English Cardinal; the United States has only four.
Italy has thirty-nine.
Whatever the outcome of the crisis through which the Roman
Church is passing, it seems certain that it will bring far-reaching
changes—much greater than any through which it has yet passed in
its long history.
Nor is it only non-Catholic minds that are facing this possibility
of the Church leaving Italy. The subject was plainly discussed
in The Catholic Herald for October 10, 1941. The writer there
also contemplates that the expected new centre of the Papacy
will be in the English-speaking world, and suggests Eire as the
296 THE PAPACY AND ITALY

most suitable land. He quotes from The Vatican and the War in
Europe, by Dr. Denis Gwynn, as follows : " One aspect of the
recent pontificates which has escaped general notice is the rapid
decline of the importance of Europe in relation to the government
of the Church. . . . I t is impossible, I believe, to regard this
development as being unrelated to the decline of Europe in the
last war. . . . The Holy See remains, as it always must remain,
the supreme and sovereign head of the Church in all the world.
But the Holy See has inevitably become less identified with
Europe, and particularly with Italy."
The writer, Mr. Stanley B. James, adds that " In dealing with the
times of Benedict XV [Pope A.D. 1914-1922], Dr. Gwynn remarks
that the Pope, observing the wreckage of European civilization,
' had to face a situation in which even the central direction of the
Church might have to be transferred urgently elsewhere.' Since
that sentence was written, the dangers of the situation have
increased."
That Catholic writers, and a Catholic magazine, openly discuss
and advocate such removal of the Papacy from Rome, suggests
that the higher authorities of the Church are not averse to the
idea being ventilated. But if when the event comes the first move
should be westward, we are of opinion that would be only for a
time, seeing that the Word of God, as we think, points to first
Palestine and finally Babylon as the closing centres of the system.
If this trend of opinion prove warranted by events it will be
seen how unwarranted has been that line of exposition of prophecy
which has made the city of Rome the centre of politics and religion
to the close of the age.
We proceed to c. 18.

PART I I — T H E CITY BABYLON

(Rv 18)

Does this chapter point to a literal city Babylon, in Meso-

potamia, or is the scene symbolic of something else ?
Examining eighteen commentaries it is to find that three regard
it as symbolic of Commercialism. " It represents the world, of
course . . . Business . . . a spiritual Babylon " ; " a commer-
cial system . . . nothing else " ; " this symbolic city " (of
Commercialism).
Two writers treat it as symbolic of world-religion and world-
politics in combination.
But nine are certain that Rome is m e a n t : some say Rome
 BABYLON—FOUR DISTINCTIONS 297
pagan, some Rome papal, some pagan and papal. And a great array
of Reformers could be added to this effect. Others treat it as a
widespread system of religious corruption with its centre at Rome.
A foreigner, struggling with the terrible irregularities of English
pronunciation, wrote home : " They write Jerusalem, but they say
Constantinople." Somewhat so here : God says " the great city
Babylon, the strong city," and again, " Babylon the great city "
(12. 21) ; but He means something else, say the commentators.
Why He should not here mean what He says is not evident, for
there is not a word in the chapter that cannot apply to an actual
city or its inhabitants ; nor is there a statement that does not
apply to the well-known Babylon in particular : but it cannot
possibly mean this, because, forsooth, a commentator has assured
us that " we are not to look for a city named Babylon to fulfil the
prophecy." But why not ?
Most mercifully, however, if we venture to believe that the
passage does mean what it says, even the veritable Babylon the
great, we shall not be wholly alone, for at least four respectable
writers, formerly of some note in prophetic study, will keep us in
countenance, namely, B. W. Newton, R. Govett, J. A. Seiss, and
G. H. Pember.
Let us, then examine for ourselves, seeking ever the aid of the
Spirit of truth.

SECTION I. FOUR DISTINCTIONS BETWEEN THE CHAPTERS

l. If the two chapters (17 and 18) refer to but one thing or
system, why did not the same angel who showed and explained the
former continue the subject to its close ? Why did a different
angel mediate the second half of the announcement, if it was all
one ? Also, why is the second vision stated distinctly to be a
subsequent vision ? And why was the new messenger one of
exceptional authority and splendour ? " After these things
[those of c. 17] I saw another (3.\\os) angel coming down out of
heaven, having great authority ; and the earth was lightened with
his glory."
Thus the opening statement particularizes four distinctions
between this scene and that of c. 17.
(a) In the latter the angel was already at hand to the earth,
having just poured on it his bowl of judgment : in the eighteenth
chapter the angel comes direct from heaven for this announcement.
(b) He is a different messenger, which suggests a different
message and subject.
(c) His superior authority and glory suggest a yet more
298 BABYLON—FOUR DISTINCTIONS

momentous and terrific judgment, distinguishing it from that just

before described.
(d) The theme is disconnected from what went before by being
given " after these " former things. In the two earlier places in
this book where the phrase " after these things I saw " is found, a
new subject is introduced, not the former subject amplified
(4- 7 ; 7- i)-
2. Upon the fall of this Babylon it becomes the habitation of
demons and the prison (4>v\o.Krj) of unclean spirits and birds. When
the other Babylon fell she simply ceased to exist, by being burnt
utterly with fire (17. 16). Of nothing, nothing can be affirmed :
a " woman " when " burnt utterly " simply ceases to be, as to
life on earth. But when a city is burnt utterly (18. 18) its site
remains and can be inhabited.
3. The former system was Babylon in a mystery ; there was
a secret association between it and the city. In this chapter there
is no secret connection. This Babylon is described repeatedly as
a city : it is " Babylon the great " (2), a plain echo of the words
of Nebuchadnezzar about his actual city, " Is not this great
Babylon which I have built ? " (Dn 4. 30). More particularly it
is " the great city, Babylon, the strong city " (10) ; and again
" the great city . . . what city is like the great city ? . . . Woe,
woe, the great city . . ." ; and finally " Babylon, the great city "
(16, 18, 19, 21).
Thus is her name Babylon given thrice, and six or seven times
it is specified that it is a city that is in view. In the former
vision the name is given only once, and then as only secretly or
morally belonging to the Woman.
4. The vast array of details from ver. 11 to ver. 23, so extensive
and minute, apply simply and obviously to the life of a literal city.
It would require both the ability and leisure of an interpreting
angel to give them even the semblance of application to a
" system " of any sort. But no angel would attempt the task ;
or, at least, no angel has attempted it. It demands the unique
qualities of a commentator.
Not till these seven considerations are eliminated can the theme
of the two chapters be the same.
SECTION II. FOUR CONTRASTS BETWEEN THE CHAPTERS

1. C. 14. 8 announced a fall of Babylon the great as the

second chief item in the End Times, and prior to the period when
the Beast should persecute the saints (14. 9-13). C. 17. 16, 17
shows this judgment as taking place before the Beast is exalted
 BABYLON—FOUR CONTRASTS 299
by the ten kings and in order that he may be so, and thus before
his general persecution of the godly.
But c. 16 describes him as already in power, his image being
worshipped (2), his throne standing and his kingdom existing (10),
and the last great battle against God as passed (17, " It is done,"
completed). And then is announced a further judgment upon
Babylon the g r e a t : " Babylon the great was remembered in the
sight of God to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness
of his wrath " (19).
Thus one Babylon is destroyed by the Beast before his universal
sovereignty, and another Babylon is judged after he himself has
been overthrown. C. 14. 8, is expanded in c. 17 ; c. 16. 19 in
c. 18. The merging of c. 17 and 18 destroys this parallel and
causes inextricable confusion.
2. In 17. 16 the ten kings hate and destroy the Woman ; in
18. 9 the same kings of the earth bewail the destruction of the
city. The two terms describe the same persons, for in 19. 19 the
kings confederate with the Beast at Har Magedon are again
styled " the kings of the earth," which term must therefore at
least include the ten kings. Is 24. 21, referring to the same
judgment, uses of them the same title : " Jehovah will punish
. . . the kings of the earth upon the earth."
3. When the kings have killed the Woman they then " eat
her flesh," that is, enrich themselves from h e r : but when the
city is suddenly and utterly overthrown, as a stone cast into the
sea (18. 21), nothing is left for anyone to seize, which is what
causes the merchants to wail (17. 19).
4. The Woman is destroyed by a process : she is hated,
isolated, stripped, devoured, burned. Considering the extensive
area, power, and resources of the system in view, this process
cannot be completed in a brief space of time. It took the
Bolsheviks an appreciable period to liquidate the Greek Orthodox
Church, even incompletely ; and that Church is only a small part
of the Woman as she will yet be.
But the City is to be annihilated suddenly : " i n one day " (8) ;
yea, " in one hour " (19) ; yea, as suddenly as when a stone is
flung into water " thus shall Babylon be cast down " (21).
Not till these four contrasts are obliterated can the two chapters
have the same subject.

SECTION I I I . T H E RELATION OF THE CHAPTER TO O L D

TESTAMENT PROPHECY

There is manifest and intimate connection between this chapter

300 BABYLON—O.T. PREDICTIONS

and the Old Testament prophecies concerning Babylon. These

are given in cs. 13, 14, 47, and 48 of Isaiah, and 50 and 51 of
Jeremiah. That they refer to the literal city is undoubted.
Concerning the destruction of the city therein threatened, Is 13
and 14 yield these features :
1. It is to take place in " the day of the Jehovah " (13. 6, 9).
2. It is at the time that there will be a mighty disturbance of
the sun, moon, and stars (13. 10, 13). This is referred to by
Christ (Mt 24. 29, 30) as to follow the final tribulation of this
present age and immediately to precede His return. In Rv 6.
12-17 it is again set at that coming period, even in the great day
of the wrath of God and the Lamb. As shown in II. 1 above,
the New Testament also foretells a destruction of Babylon at that
same epoch (16. 19). Therefore Isaiah was not foretelling any
destruction of Babylon that might come before the day of Jehovah,
and therefore there must be a Babylon to be destroyed in that
coming day.
3. This is confirmed by Isaiah in that he puts the judgment
announced at the time when Jehovah shall finally restore Israel to
favour and power (14. 1-8). Jeremiah also places it in connection
with Israel and Judah returning together unto Jehovah and
making with Him " an everlasting covenant which shall not be
forgotten " (Jr 50.4. 5 ; Comp. 32,37-41 : Ek 36. 22-38 ; 37.15-23).
4. Obviously no sort of a fulfilment of these predictions took
place when Cyrus captured Babylon in 539-8 B.C. And one
other detail puts this beyond dispute. Is 14. 24-29 shows that,
at the time that his city is to be destroyed, its monarch, the
Assyrian, is to be destroyed, not at Babylon, but on the mountains
of Israel. But when Cyrus took Babylon, its king, Belshazzar, was
slain in the city (Dn 5. 30).
5. There is a further detail, perhaps seldom noticed. Just
previously in the prophecy (Is 10. 5, 12) the Assyrian has been
mentioned as that final assailant of Israel who shall be destroyed
in Palestine by the Lord at His return. Then in cs. 13 and 14
follows the announcement of the overthrow of his capital Babylon.
But from Jr 50. 43 and 51. 31 it is seen that a " king " of Babylon
will be there at the time the city is captured by the Medes : " one
post shall run to meet another, and one messenger to meet another,
to show the king of Babylon that his city is taken on every
quarter." This cannot be the capture by Cyrus because, so far
was the city from then being taken from every quarter simulta-
neously, that it was some time before the news of the capture
reached the central areas (Her I. 191).
It would seem therefore that, as of old, Nabonidus was emperor
 BABYLON—O.T. PREDICTIONS 301

and had Belshazzar as deputy king at the capital, and as later

Cyrus ruled the whole Persian empire and appointed Darius over
the newly acquired Babylonian kingdom (Dn 5. 30 ; 6. 1), so will
the last world-emperor have a deputy sovereign at the capital.
The Emperor will perish in Palestine, the king at Babylon. This
also awaits fulfilment.
6. Yet again : it is stated repeatedly that the destruction of the
city is to be effected by the kings of the Medes : " Behold, I will
stir up the Medes against them " (Is 13. 17) : " Jehovah hath
stirred up the spirit of the kings of the Medes : because His
purpose is against Babylon to destroy it " (Jr 51. 11, 28). Now
apart from the facts that Cyrus was not a Mede but a Persian
(Ez 1. 1 : Dn 6. 28), and that he had just abolished the sovereignty
of the Medes, it is also the fact that neither he, nor the later rulers
of his dynasty, destroyed the city. See para. 9 below.
7. The overthrow of Babylon in question is to be part of, and
at the time of, a general and universal judgment that will affect
both the heavens and the earth : " I will punish the world for their
evil. . . . I will make the heavens to tremble, and the earth shall
be shaken out of its place " (Is 13. 11, 13). " This is the purpose
that is purposed upon the whole earth ; and this is the hand that
is stretched out upon all the nations " (Is 14. 26). This feature
has never had fulfilment.
8. The overthrow predicted is to be sudden, as that of Sodom
and Gomorrah (Is 14. 19). This Jeremiah emphasized by
directing that the roll, which he sent to be read to the Jews at
Babylon, was to be fastened to a stone and " cast into the midst
of Euphrates," while the messenger proclaimed, " Thus shall
Babylon sink and shall not rise again " (51, 63, 64). This powerful
picture the angel repeated before John, by flinging a great millstone
into the sea, and saying, " Thus with a mighty fall shall Babylon,
the great city, be cast down, and shall be found no more at all "
( R v 18. 21).
It appears probable that there will be a capture and sack of the
city by the Medes and associated peoples (Jr 51. 27) while the
Emperor is on a campaign against Egypt (Dn 11. 44; " tidings
out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him " ; and
that a little later the full and final judgment of the city will take
place by earthquake. Thus will she receive at the hands of man
exactly the same miseries that her armies had often inflicted upon
other cities, and then the hand of God will complete His wrath
and retribution by instant and complete engulfment. So shall be
" rendered unto her even as she rendered, and doubled unto her
the double according to her works " (Rv 18. 6).
302 BABYLON NEVER UNINHABITED

It is evident that Jeremiah's prediction was still awaiting

fulfilment in the days of John, and certainly no such sudden and
final catastrophe has ever overtaken Babylon.
9. This introduces the further prediction that the overthrow
shall prove final and irrecoverable : " I t shall never be inhabited,
neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation "
(Is 13. 20). Jeremiah solemnly enforced this by telling the
messenger, Seraiah, to address these words to God himself : " O
Jehovah, thou hast spoken concerning this place to cut it off, that
none shall dwell therein, neither man nor beast, but that it shall
be desolate for ever " (Jr 51. 62).
Concerning most of the lands around Palestine the promise is
found that their captivity shall be brought back in the latter days ;
but Edom and Babylon are expressly excluded from this promised
restoration (Jr 49. 17, 18).
So far is this prediction concerning Babylon from having been
fulfilled that it can be shown from history that the site has never
yet been uninhabited, even as it never yet has endured a sudden
destruction.
No such calamity overtook it at the capture by Cyrus. It
suffered no injury, but he rather beautified it and made it his
capital. See Budge, Babylonian Life and History, ed. 2, 55-57,
quoting the cylinder of Cyrus, Br. Mus. No. 12,049; and
Herodotus, Book III, 159, who states distinctly that when Cyrus
took the city he neither destroyed the wall nor tore down the gates.
In 516 B.C. Darius Hystaspes, suppressing a revolt, injured the
outer walls and pulled down the gates, but otherwise consulted
for the welfare of the city.
478 B.C. Xerxes plundered the great temple of Bel.
331 B.C. Alexander the Great was welcomed into the city, and
proposed to rebuild the temple, but his death prevented.
293 B.C. Seleucus built Seleucia as his capital, whereupon
Babylon gradually fell into decay.
Strabo, who died A.D. 25, is cited in proof that by his time no
city was left, and that so the prediction before us had reached its
fulfilment. This is an instance of how easily lax quotation or
assertion may falsify both an author and an issue, which, being
once done, other writers too easily follow suit. What Strabo
says is : " And now indeed [Seleucia] has become greater than
Babylon, which for the most part has become deserted"
67 8' efnjfios v TToXXr)). Also in the time of Augustus, which was
Strabo's time, some Jews still lingered there ; and only a little
later Pliny the elder said that the temple of Belus was standing
in his day. A little later again the emperor Trajan visited at
 BABYLON NEVER UNINHABITED 303
Babylon the house in which Alexander died, and performed
religious ceremonies there. And about the same time, early in
the second century, the Parthian king, Evemerus, sent numerous
families thence into slavery in Media, and burned many great
and beautiful edifices still standing. Again, a little later Pausanias,
who wrote about A.D. 174, says that a few Chaldeans continued
to dwell there. See Layard, Nineveh and Babylon, c. xxiii, where
references are given to the authorities above cited.
About the middle of the fifth century Theodoret speaks of the
city as being then inhabited only by a few Jews. Perhaps he
somewhat exaggerated its desolation, for " the Rabbis of that
period knew it as a city. Mention is made of baskets taken to
Babylon (B.B. 22a), as also of the fact that one could live as well
in Babylon as in Sura (Git. 65a)." Sura was the town in Baby-
lonia whence the Babylonian Talmud was issued at the close of
that century five A.D., and the Talmud itself speaks of the " bridge
near Babylon." These quotations are from The Jewish Encyclo-
paedia, vol. ii, p. 400, art. " Babylon," by Prof. S. Krauss.
In A.D. 917 Ibn Haukal mentions Babylon as an insignificant
village ; but it was still there.
About A.D. 1100 it seems to have again grown into a town of
some importance, for it was then known as the Two Mosques.
And shortly afterwards it was enlarged and fortified, and received
the name of Hillah, or rest, which it retains to the present day.
In A.D. 1585 Bishop Otto of Freisingen published a history and
said : " That portion of ancient Babylon which is still occupied
is—as we have heard from persons of character from beyond sea—
styled Baldach, whilst the part that lies, according to prophecy,
deserted and pathless, extends some ten miles to the Tower of
Babel. The inhabited portion called Baldach is very large and
populous."
That Hillah has remained until this day is well known.
Therefore the prediction of complete and everlasting solitude
still awaits fulfilment.
10. So also does the detail that the Arabian shall never pitch
his tent there (Is 14. 20), for many travellers have testified to the
contrary. About, probably, the year 1915, I read in Egypt a
diary by Dr. W. E. Blackstone, author of Jesus is Coming,
recounting a then recent tour in Babylonia. He stated that he
had tested this point with his Arab guides and that they made
no objection to bivouacking among the ruins.
11. This further prediction also has not had fulfilment, that
" they shall not take of thee a stone for a corner, nor a stone for
foundations ; for thou shalt be desolate for ever, saith Jehovah "
304 BABYLON—O.T. PREDICTIONS

(Jr 51. 26). For many towns and villages have been built out of
the remains of Babylon. Porter (Travels in Georgia, etc., ii. 401,
402) enumerates no less than four capital cities the material for
which was obtained from the ruins—Seleucia built by the Greeks,
Ctesiphon by the Parthians, Al Maidan by the Persians, and Kufa
by the Caliphs. Hillah was entirely constructed from the debris,
and even in the houses of Bagdad the stamped bricks may be
frequently noticed. Moreover, besides Hillah, there have been
other villages on the site of Babylon indebted to her for their
foundations and walls.
12. Nor has it become true that " neither doth any son of man
pass thereby " (Jr 51. 43), for the ruins have been frequently
visited by travellers and explorers down to this time.
13. In connection with this destruction there is to be the over-
throw of a monarch who has some distinctly superhuman features
(Is 14. 3-25). He has some connection with " the day star, son
of the morning " who had " fallen from heaven " (12), and he has
a boundless and impious ambition himself to ascend to, and rule
in, heaven, the equal of the Most High (13). No former king of
Babylon can be shown to have fulfilled these predictions, least of
all in connection with a destruction of Babylon. Such attempts as
those of Wordsworth to apply it to Nebuchadnezzar and Bel-
shazzar in combination are in no sense exposition. Even such
writers carry the passage on to Antichrist for fulfilment.
14. Yet again, the return to Palestine of a small portion of
Israel by the friendly encouragement of Cyrus, and the later return
of Ezra and others, were organized and orderly proceedings. Nor
did the first instantly accompany the capture of Babylon by
Cyrus, but took place later in the first year of his reign, and the
other return was much later again under Artaxerxes (Ez 6). But
when the city is to be destroyed as prophesied the picture is
wholly different. The people of God are to/ee, to escape, as men
rushing from deadly peril. " Flee out of the midst of Babylon,
and save every man his life ; be not cut off in her iniquity . . . "
" My people, go ye out of the midst of her, and save yourselves
every man from the fierce anger of Jehovah " (Jr 51. 6, 45).
15. A result of this destruction of Babylon is universal peace :
" The whole earth is at rest, is quiet : they break forth into
singing " (Is 14. 7). This consummation, so greatly to be desired,
has never yet blessed this war-weary world; but when the
Babylon of Rv 18 has been destroyed heaven leads the Hallelujahs
in which earth will shortly join (Rv 19. 1-5).

From these fifteen considerations it is a plain consequence that

 BABYLON—GROUNDS OF JUDGMENT 305
the divine predictions concerning the city Babylon have never had
fulfilment, and that therefore the city must revive at the end of
this age, for not one jot or tittle of the words of God can fail.
The alternatives are to ignore the details, or to fritter them away
into a nebulous indistinctness when they can be made to mean
anything or nothing. Both courses are irreverent.
It is of the greatest moment to confidence and to guidance at
the present time to recognize, from Holy Scripture, the trend of
the present concentration of affairs in the Middle East. Nearly
150 years ago that satanically far-seeing man, Napoleon Bona-
parte, as is reported, said that whoever held Babylon held the
key to India and the world. In ed. 3 (1887) of The Great Pro-
phecies, p. 175, Pember quoted W. Greene, C.E., that, in the year
1851, he had examined in the archives of the War Office at Paris
a survey of the Euphrates valley made for Napoleon, which
" contained a plan for a new Babylon, with quays, river walls,
and other arrangements necessary for a large commercial city."
Presumably his campaigns in Egypt and Palestine had this in
view. He was thwarted; but England, France, Germany, and
Russia have kept the suggestion steadily in mind, and ever since it
has been a determining factor in world politics. Antichrist will
fulfil what Napoleon attempted and what God has predicted.

SECTION IV. THE GROUNDS OF THE JUDGMENT ARE :

1. The cruel treatment by Babylon of Israel and Palestine.

Antisemitism has not yet reached its climax of cruelty and fury.
The national apostasy of Israel will reach its height by their league
with the last and chief enemy of God, Antichrist, and in conse-
quence it will be by him that their last and fiercest retributive and
cleansing fire will be lit. When this shall have served its needful
and gracious purpose of curing them of the folly of leaning upon
him that smote them (Is 10. 20), then will the wrath of God
blaze forth against the Oppressor, "while the little remnant of Israel
will be saved. Of this Tyrant, Babylon will be the capital, and
the fountain of his violence. Its judgment will correspond.
Is 14. 1-8 : Jr 50. 6-8; 17-20, 28, 33, 34; 51. 5, 6, 10, 24, 34-36,
45-53-
2. The world-wide tyranny and ruin that has spread formerly,
and will spread again, from this city. Under Nimrod it was the
first centre of rule by violence. Under Antichrist it will be the
last. Gn 10. 8-12 : Is 14. 4-10, 45-53. It may be noted inci-
dentally that Cyrus did let prisoner peoples return to their own
lands, Israel, for example. He seems to have recognized the
306 BABYLON—GROUNDS OF JUDGMENT
unwisdom of having throngs of home-longing and disaffected
people scattered about the empire. But the ruler of Babylon
here in view will not let his prisoners free (Is 14. 17). As picturing
the world-wide ruthlessness of the rule of this city notice the
phrases in Jeremiah : " the hammer of the whole earth " (50. 23) ;
God will break this hammer that He may " give rest to the earth "
(50- 34) > a n d again, " O destroying mountain . . . which de-
stroyest all the earth " (51. 25). Then will be fulfilled Rv 11. 17,
" the time came to destroy them that destroy the earth."
3. The universal corrupting influence of Babylon, past and
future. " Babylon hath been a golden cup in Jehovah's hand,
that made all the earth drunken : the nations have drunk of her
wine ; therefore the nations are mad " (Jr 51. 7). It will be the
last great exhibition of that policy of judgment by which, when
the wicked have become impossible of reclamation, they are given
over to the sense-perverting power of the evils they have chosen,
and thus quickly ripen themselves for the deserved and then
inevitable wrath. So Pharaoh of old, and so the world at the
end: 2 Th 2. 9-11. This is the dread reality that led the heathen
to say, Whom the gods would destroy they first make mad. See
Jr 25. 15-38, and 48. 26 for a particular application to Moab.
Babylon pre-eminently has been a centre of such blinding
influence. It was there, in the days of Nimrod, that idolatry
was commenced. With the migration of the nations it spread
thence universally. Even at this late date the idolatries of every
people still bear the characteristic features of Babylonian idolatry.
Thus was it the first centre of wilful apostasy from and rebellion
against the only true God.
It was in Babylon that the false philosophies as to the divine
Being, creation, man, worship, and destiny were first instilled by
Satan into the minds of man. Pantheism, reincarnation,
demonism, spiritism, the gross indulgence of the flesh as part of
religion—all were initiated in Babylon, and at the end of the age
all will centre there again and reach their acme of defiant impiety.
Thus Rv 18. 2, 3 will find fulfilment.
4. The gross luxuriousness of the city will cry for vengeance.
C. 18 reveals the utmost possible earth-mindedness, an entire
concentration upon the riches and pleasures of the bodily life.
They will be eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage,
and caring for nought else, least of all for the cruelties inflicted
upon foes and slaves, as made to contribute to ease and luxury
(18. 13).
Oh, the deadly dangers to the soul attendant upon riches and
luxury! " The iniquity of Sodom was . . . pride, fulness of
 BABYLON—GROUNDS OF JUDGMENT 307
bread, and prosperous ease . . . neither did she strengthen
the hand of the poor and needy " (Ek 16. 49). This will reach
its deepest depths in Babylon, and therefore shall her judgment
be as sudden and irremediable as that of Sodom. History offers
many solemn instances, as that of the Roman empire fifteen
centuries ago, the French monarchy before the Revolution, and
the Russian monarchy in our own times. Would that the peoples
of to-day would accept warning. The western world has long
been pressing along the same road. Still the demand is for less
work, more pay, more idle time, more soft living, more self-
indulgence, accompanied by more rejection of God and more
carelessness as to eternity.
5. Another cause of retribution is the age-long persecution
of the people of God : " Rejoice over her thou heaven, and ye
saints, and ye apostles, and ye prophets ; for God hath judged
your judgment on her . . . and in her was found the blood of
prophets and of saints, and of all that have been slain upon the
earth " (18. 24). The priesthoods of every system of idolatry,
pagan or nominally christian, have been ever the wolves to harass
the little flock that has followed the true Shepherd. The bloody
effort commenced in Babylon, and will be resumed and continued
there to the end.
6. It was in Babylon under Nimrod that the policy of rule by
force was adopted. The false philosophies fostered callousness
and cruelty, and even justified it, as does the doctrine of evolution
to-day : the weak ought to be destroyed that the strong may
triumph. Almost all kings and other rulers have drunk of this
poisoned wine and been maddened by it. Some present-day
rulers and peoples are fearful examples.
When at last Babylon shall have become again the world-centre
of vice and cruelty, and have resumed her ancient policy, then
shall she be justly held responsible for its whole course and conse-
quence : in her shall be " found the blood of all that have been
slain on the earth " (18. 24), and she shall receive " double for
all her sins " (18. 6). It is only by paying regard to the whole
cycle of the city's career, from its ancient commencement to its
final revival and its re-adoption of its ancient wickedness, that it
is seen to be just to hold it responsible for all the consequences
that have accrued from the principles it set in motion. Fearful
as has been its career, this cannot be rightly said of the Roman
Catholic Church ; it is not responsible for all the blood shed on
the earth.

While this discussion was being penned (June 8 and 9, 1941) the
 308 BABYLON MUST BE ABANDONED
present titanic struggle entered upon conflict for possession of
Syria and Mesopotamia, the goal toward which world-politics
have so long moved. Germany has failed in the attempt, and
happy will be any people which fails to secure possession of
Babylon, Satan's world-centre.
But men of this world will be blind to the warnings of Scripture.
Yet let those who believe God heed well the repeated call to
abandon Babylon. How urgently it is worded : " I heard another
voice from heaven, saying, Come forth, my people, out of her,
that ye have no fellowship with her sins, and that ye receive not
of her plagues, for her sins have reached even unto heaven, and
God hath remembered her iniquities " (18. 4, 5). There will, then,
be people of God on earth down to that last hour of the present
age, and some will be found at Babylon. Jews will be among
them, for these are thrice caUed to flee the city (Jr 50. 8 ; 51. 6, 45).
But in the New Testament " My people " will have a wider scope
than Israel alone. Comp. I Pt 2. 9.
It was Babylonia (Chaldea) that Abraham must wholly forsake
if he would walk with God as a pilgrim and inherit the land of
promise (Gn 12).
It was the outward splendour of Babylon (" a goodly Babylonish
mantle ") that seduced Achan and caused the first defeat of the
people of God on entering the land of promise (Jh 7. 21).
It was from Babylon that they came who peopled the lands
that the ten tribes had lost, and who commenced the mixed
corrupt worship that defiled that territory (II Kn 16. 24).
It was pride at being courted by the king of Babylon that
tripped up the godly Hezekiah, which was a first step to Judah
being despoiled by Babylon (Is 39). As showing how subtle and
dangerous is the influence emanating from Babylon, we read these
solemn words: " Howbeit in the business of the ambassadors of
the princes of Babylon . . . God left him, to try him, that he
might know all that was in his heart " (II Ch 32. 31).
The gravity of the good king's error lay largely in this, that he
already knew the mind of God about Babylon, since Isaiah's
prophecies concerning that land and city (cs. 7-14) had been
already given while Hezekiah was growing up, the heir apparent.
He was nine years of age when Ahaz, his father, became king,
and was twenty-five when his father died (II Ch 28. 1; 29. 1),
and the prophecies in question were given in the days of Ahaz
(Is 7. 1 ; 14. 28).
Yet in spite of this knowledge he welcomed the Babylonian
ambassadors, made much of them, and in vanity displayed to
them all his treasures. But we do not read that he made much
 BABYLON CORRUPTED CHRISTENDOM 309
of his, the only true, God before them. The knowledge that such
vast wealth lay in Jerusalem would naturally make the rulers of
Babylon desire to grasp it, which in due time they did.
All this has its spiritual counterpart in the history of the church
of God in this age. At first disciples heeded the call to Abraham,
the father of all who believe, and walked in his steps. Jews
forsook Judaism, which in spirit had become Babylonian, and
Gentile converts forsook actual Babylonianism, which all heathen
worship was, and still is.
But all too quickly the outward splendours and carnal delights
of Babylonianism seduced the servants of God to commit fornica-
tion with " Jezebel," and the powerful pleadings of Paul (I Cr 8),
of John (I Jn 5. 21), and even of the Lord himself (Rv 2 and 3),
to guard themselves from idols were disregarded. Presently the
king of " Babylon," Constantine the Great, made overtures to
the morally enfeebled church, whereupon all that was in her
heart was revealed. Left by God to be thus tested, she welcomed
the Emperor's offers, in due course was absorbed into his worldly
empire, and nominal Christianity became Babylonian in character
and form.
Every revival that true Christianity has since known has come
by a handful of Babylon's captives leaving that spiritual realm
and returning to set up again the true worship of the true God,
even if in weakness and very incompletely. It is this that imparts
such rich spiritual value to the histories of Ezra and Nehemiah.
Both now and to the end of the age, the call of God is emphatic :
" Come forth, My people, out of her " ; and His warning is
solemn and urgent : " That ye have no fellowship with her sins,
and that ye receive not of her plagues " (Rv 18. 4).
But in spite of all this history and command, many real children
of God persist in adherence to church systems which, in outward
splendour and symbolic ritual, are plainly Babylonian. Yet other
believers share in governmental and worldly enterprises plainly
to do with the kingdoms of this world and not with that kingdom
of God which is presently to destroy and supersede these all,
when they shall again be parts of that literal Babylonian empire
which, under Antichrist, will rule the whole earth.
In the light of all this how serious to-day appears teaching at
all calculated to break the call of God, and of His warnings, by
assuring His people that most certainly they will all have been
removed from the earth before the perils of the last years of this
age set in. God does not tacitly encourage His people to remain
in the foul vessel of Babylonianism by offering a miraculous
deliverance just before she is to founder in the gale of His wrath.
3io FORSAKE BABYLONIANISM

He urges them to abandon the ship at once, lest the tempest

burst in which Babylon and all therein shall perish.
To us who do not dwell there literally the command means
that we refuse utterly the slightest association with the philosophy,
worship, politics, principles, practice, and spirit that are Baby-
lonian in character. These are found in measure in all national
life, and in every humanly organized system of religion. Man's
world is infected : all nations have drunk of the wine. Let us
take deeply to heart this comforting but searching word : " Grace
to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus
Christ, Who gave Himself for our sins, that He might rescue us
out of this present evil age, according to the will of our God and
Father ; to Whom be the glory unto the ages of the ages " (Gl i
3-5). Can my soul add sincerely, with Paul, " Amen " ?

NOTE.—In connection with this and the preceding chapter the

serious reader is recommended to study A. Hislop's The Two
Babylons and G. H. Pember's Earth's Earliest Ages and Mystery,
Babylon the Great.
 CHAPTER XIII
(C. 19. 1-10)

I. THE WORLD ABOVE is not one illimitable, undifferentiated

expanse ; it consists of various and diversified regions. This
was intimated in the first sentence of the Bible : " In the beginning
God created the heavens and the earth." All through the Old
Testament the word is regularly in the plural, as " the God of
the heavens shall set up a kingdom " (Dn 2. 44). This is con-
tinued in the first book of the New Testament : " the kingdom
of the heavens has drawn nigh " (Mt 3. 2, and always in that
book). Paul speaks of having been caught up " even to [as far
as to Ims] a third heaven " (II Cr 12. 2) ; and the plural has
come at Rv 12. 12 : " Rejoice O heavens." Thus our Lord said :
" In My Father's house are many abiding places . . . I go to
prepare a place for you " (Jn 14. 2, 3).
Similarly, the inhabitants of those regions are not of one
uniform, indistinguishable class, but comprise differing orders and
companies. Thus these verses speak of different persons and
groups. 1. A great multitude (ver. 1). 2. A still vaster multi-
tude, distinguished from the other by the mightier volume of its
united voice (6). 3. The twenty-four elders. 4. The four living
beings (4). 5. " All the servants of God," which would include
the persons already specified ; and 6. These servants are divided
into " small and great," the lowlier in rank and the nobler (5).
Then there is : 7. The angel that spoke to John, one of the
immense host of angels of which various members and classes are
mentioned elsewhere in the visions. 8. Another order specified
are " the saints, the wife of the Lamb " (7, 8). There are also,
9. The Voice from the throne ; 10. The Lamb ; and 11. Highest
of all, the Lord our God the Almighty. 12. A twelth class is
named, but may be in part an earthly company, namely, the
guests invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb, who obviously
are not the bride, for she cannot be a guest at her own wedding,
nor be " invited " to it. See later.
II. THE GROUPS.
1. It is difficult to identify the first group. It is a " great
multitude " praising with a " great voice." The terms are those
used in 7. 9, 10 of the throng who come out of the great tribula-
tion, but there are differences, (a) That throng was beyond
311
312 HALLELUJAH
numbering, which is not said of this, (b) This here is not
described as " the great multitude," as if referring back to that
before-mentioned, (c) The songs differ. The former did not
commence or close with Hallelujah ! It is much briefer, nor did
it mention the judgment of the harlot. It included the Lamb as
Object of praise : here He is not mentioned, (d) Then the whole
angelic host swelled the praise ; here they are not in view.
(e) It differed in time. The earlier preceded the final judgments ;
here it is after them.
Yet the company may be the same, enlarging their worship,
but this cannot be affirmed. If they are not the same, the
alternative seems to be that they are angels.
2. As to the elders and living creatures, see on cs. 4 and 5.
3. As to the Voice from the throne see on 16. 17. Here,
however, the voice does not, as there, come " out of the temple "
but "from the direction of the throne" (airo TOV 8pnvov). Now
the Lamb is the One who is " in the middle of the throne," that
is, standing centrally before it (5. 6), and Who is still seen
there at the close of the Tribulation (7. 17), and so immediately
before this vision. It is no sufficient objection that the call here
is " Praise our God, all ye His servants " rather than " your God,"
for His own words, spoken of His ascension, " I ascend unto . . .
My God and your God " (Jn 20. 17), would lead easily to " our
God," and would be in harmony with His position as the divine
Precentor who is to lead the praise in the midst of the assembly
of His people (Hb 2. 12).
4. The company whose voice is as of many waters and great
thunders may be regarded as that heavenly choir formerly shown
as leading the praise in which only the Firstfruits were able to
join (14. 2, 3). They must needs be of angelic nature since they
were already in heaven when the Firstfruits arrived and these
seem to be the first from earth to gain that high place on Mount
Zion.
III. HALLELUJAH (Praise ye Jah). The Greek form of this
Hebrew word came into use among Jews speaking Greek before
the time of Christ and was adopted early among Christians (see
Swete). But its sudden insertion here into the praises of heaven
is arresting. These four times are its only occurrences in the
New Testament. Its use here is one more call to revert to
the Old Testament in explication of this book. It is found at
the close of Ps 104, 105, 115, 116, 117 ; at the beginning of i n ,
112 ; and at the beginning and end of 106, 113, 135, 146-150.
The themes that call forth this exclamation of praise are, in
general, the greatness and goodness of God, and then His holy
 GOD REIGNETH 313
wrath. At its first occurrence the latter is the immediate cause
of praise : " Let sinners be consumed out of the earth, and
let the wicked be no more. Bless Jehovah O my soul. Halle-
luiah " (Ps 104. 35). It is the same in our passage : " Hallelujah ;
the salvation and the glory and the power belong to our God :
for true and righteous are His judgments ; for He hath judged
the great harlot . . . and a second time they say, Hallelujah."
To magnify the terrible and destructive judgments of God, to
praise Him for the overwhelming of sinners and the desolations
He makes on earth by wars, famines, pestilences, and convulsions
of nature, indicates a heart in profound union with the Holy One.
It is the opposite of that querulous, doubting, even rebellious and
irreverent state of mind which too readily and too often is dis-
played when God's judgments are in the earth. Angels, elders,
living creatures can thus praise God, in unison with the Voice
from the throne. Can my heart instantly and honestly say
Amen, Hallelujah ?
IV. GOD REIGNETH. Yet the more positive ground of praise
is that " the Lord our God the Almighty reigneth " (6). He had
reigned universally in the original era of creation, and then
heavens and earth had enjoyed unalloyed happiness. But sin
disputed this rule, first in heaven and then on earth, to the misery
of both. This forced the age-long conflict between God and
Satan, light and darkness, right and wrong, which is stilL in
progress, with awful distress to angels and men, and with sorrow
of heart to God also. But the visions have once more (comp.
11. 17) reached the time when the victory of the Almighty has
been asserted and He again reigns triumphant, and shall do so
until, through the Son, every enemy is at last in subjection, and
God shall be all in all for ever (I Cr 15. 24-28). Now is answered
the long-continued petition " Thy kingdom come," and heaven
cries Hallelujah !
V. THE BRIDE. The Father has appointed over His kingdom
a king, even the Lamb who suffered in meekness, the Lion who
conquered by might. It is the perfect combination of these two
qualities that qualifies Him as the perfect Ruler. But a king
desires a consort to share His glory and to satisfy and to display
His love. The hour for the fulfilling of this desire has arrived :
" the marriage of the Lamb is come," and heaven rejoices with
exceeding gladness and cries, Hallelujah !
1. The Time. The Lord has already descended as a thief and
taken to Himself those who were looking for Him (Hb 9. 28).
The armies of the Beast are now mustering for the last battle
(16. 13-16) ; but it has not yet been fought; the Word of God
 THE
314 BRIDE
and His armies have not yet rushed in irresistible might upon the
Beast and his forces (19. 11-21). At this point, before the Mighty
One goes forth to war, He celebrates the nuptials with His now
ready bride, so that when He shall be manifested she too shall be
manifested with Him in glory (CI 3. 4 : I Jn 3. 2, 3).
2. Anticipations. From of old the Father had designed for
the Son of His love this bliss of having as His own peculiar posses-
sion, and in His own proper realm, the heavens, a consort formed of
ransomed sinners of the human race. They were given to Him
by the Father (Jn 17. 6) in a more special sense than the general
gift of universal heirship and ownership (Hb 1. 2 : Jn 3. 35 :
Mt 11. 27). He purchased them at the fabulous price of His own
priceless blood : " Christ also loved the church and gave Himself
up for her " (Eph 5. 25), " in order that He might redeem us from
all iniquity and purify unto Himself a people for His own posses-
sion, zealous of good works " (Tt 2. 14).
This so ancient design had been intimated long in advance.
Eve had been brought to Adam to be his joy and help in dominion
over the renewed earth (Gn 2. 18-25). Rebecca had been brought
to Isaac, the son and heir (Gn 24), and Ruth, the alien, to Boaz,
the mighty and rich (Rh 2. 1), as if to intimate that Gentiles
would be joined with Jews in the bridal blessings. In a quite
special sense Israel", as a people, had been taken by Jehovah and
associated with Himself in a privilege and nearness granted to
no other people, a relationship .often pictured by this same figure
of husband and wife (Is 50. 1 : Jr 3 : Ek 16). And though for
unfaithfulness Israel has been given a bill of divorcement, yet, as
a people, shall she, on repentance, be again received into relation-
ship, as the passages cited, and many others, show, and shall
stand on earth at the King's right hand, the place of honour
(Ps 45. 9-11). God does not change His mind as to His gifts and
calling, though human folly and sin may defer the accomplishment
of His call and the enjoyment of His gifts.
All this, however, was of earth as to its sphere, and but antici-
patory of the higher joys and honours designed for realization in
the heavenly portion of the one kingdom. From the time of
Abraham at least God had spoken to men of that world above
and men of faith had embraced the prospect and fixed upon it as
their hope (Hb 11. 9-16). In this present age of Christ's rejection
by the world that has become the sole prospect of faith, for in
this world the faithful are promised nothing but the bare neces-
saries of a pilgrim and are exhorted to " set their hope perfectly
[that is, undividedly and uninterruptedly] on the favour that is
being brought unto us at the revelation of Jesus Christ " (I Pt 1.
 WHO FORM THE BRIDE ? 315
13). This supreme favour is that of being associated with Christ
glorified in a fellowship so intimate, so tender, so glorious, and so
useful, as is pictured by a bride with her husband.
This union will crown and complete the program of God for
the universe. It will perfect the joy of the Son, for no union
more intimate and sweet is known in creation. Then shall He
" see of the travail of His soul and be satisfied " (Is 53. 11). And
it is the highest honour that ever can be available for the
redeemed, since the Bride sits with the Bridegroom on His throne,
and God never can set any one above His Son. Thus this secret
counsel concerning Christ and the church in glory " completes
the word of God," that is, brings to full development His message
to the universe (CI 1. 25-27), and is necessarily the final unfolding
of His counsel concerning the universe in relation to His Son.
Well might the apostle, well may we, " endure all things for the
elect's sake, that they also may obtain salvation, that which is
in Christ Jesus, with glory eternal " (II Tm 2. 10).
3. Who form the Bride ? As to what persons will form this
exalted company there have been differences of opinion. Some
seem to include at last all the saved of all the ages. This is
contrary to the figure used. A bride is only one among the
myriads of a king's subjects, though the most exalted of them in
rank. If all were the bride, over whom would she and the king
reign ? As remarked before, the bride cannot be the guests at
the wedding feast. Again, c. 21. 12 will show Israel as associated
with but not the same as the bride, and ver. 24 of that chapter
to 22. 2 distinguishes the saved nations from the bride.
Others have limited the bride to the saved of this present age.
But it is hard to see how those men of faith of any age who
embraced the heavenly hope, lived in consequence as pilgrims
and aliens among men, and looked for the heavenly city as their
portion, shall not have part in those privileges. That in those
earlier days the figure of bridal relationship may not have been
made known to them, and that so they did not perhaps appreciate
fully what glories were latent in their hope, would be no reason
for them not reaching its fulness in the fulfilment. None of us
now appreciates fully what is in store. In Hb 11. 40 their and
our perfecting is conjoined.
But again, the school of teaching last in question insists that
all the saved of this age, without exception, will certainly share
this regal, bridal glory. That this is the present call, offer, and
ideal of God is true. See Eph 5. 25-33 : CI 1. 21-23 ; for God
is calling us " into His own kingdom and glory " (I Th 2. 12),
even " his eternal glory " (I Pt 5. 10), not to some creaturely
 3i6 THE BRIDE : NO COERCION

glory. Such terms declare far more than forgiveness and the
possession of eternal life, in which blessings all the saved share
alike and for ever. But to share God's own eternal glory is
evidently far more and higher that to partake in those initial
mercies common to all the saved of all ages, without which indeed
they would not be of the saved at all.
Yet it is too often overlooked that in no sphere does God coerce
the subjects of His grace. He respects fully the gift of free will
wherever He has granted this noble endowment. Hence the
creature can " fall short of the grace of God " (Hb 12. 15) and
receive that grace in vain (II Cr 6. i), which last is not the same as
to reject that grace entirely. Let it be observed that :
(a) It is God's desire (OeXto wish, longing, but not fiat) that all
men should be saved. For this He has made provision in Christ
Jesus, " Who gave himself a ransom for all " (I Tm 2. 3-6). But
not all are willing to be saved, and not all will be.
(b) It was the call of God that all who left Egypt with Moses
should reach Canaan, and at the Red Sea the entrance of them
all was celebrated in advance (Ex 15. 13-17). But only two of
the adult men entered the land.
(c) It was the offer of God that all of that redeemed nation
should be priests (Ex 19. 6). In the fact only one family of them
has had this honoured service.
(d) Of that family one branch secured the privilege in per-
petuity on account of the faithfulness of its head (Nm 25. 10-13) ;
but
(e) Of his family one branch, that of Eli, was deprived of the
honour on account of unfaithfulness (I Sm 3. 10-14).
(/) God would have gathered into safety all Jerusalem's
children, as a hen gathers her chicken under her wings, but they
would not; and they had their own way to their undoing
(Mt 23. 37-39).
Will it be affirmed that all of this has no lesson and warning
for the heirs of the heavenly calling ? Then were it the case that
not all Scripture is written for our admonition upon whom the
ends of the ages are come (I Cr 10. 11).
Because of this unvarying law, that God respects the freedom
of action of man, and holds each responsible for its use (and
otherwise how shall God judge man ?), it follows that the response
of the heart of man is required to the offer of the heart of God,
and without this response the privilege offered will not be secured.
Every offer is open to all of the persons to whom it is made ;
it is realized by such only as embrace i t ; and moreover, it is
"through faith and long-patience (naKpoBv^ta)" that every boon
 THE FITNESS OF THE BRIDE 317
promised is at last gained, in this age as in earlier times (Hb 6.
11, 12). Hence arise the " ifs " and exhortations and warnings
of the New Testament so very frequently addressed to believers
and churches. It is greatly to be deplored that many parry the
force of the mass of passages of this order by transferring them
to false professors, whereas they are so often plainly addressed to
true believers and sometimes to believers of quite noble quality,
as, for example, in Hebrews : see c. 6. 9-12 and 10. 32-36. We
grieve for the responsibility they must carry at the judgment seat
of Christ who have thus promoted laxity of life by encouraging
believers to disregard the warnings God has multiplied.
4. The Fitness of the Bride. But whatever view be taken of
the foregoing question, it were well indeed that nothing should
lessen the effect upon the conscience of the treatment of the
subject in this passage. The whole stress is laid upon the moral
fitness of the bride for the grand occasion. " His wife hath
made herself ready " for the union ; " it was granted unto her
that she should array herself."
Her bridal attire is not that meretricious splendour of the great
harlot, purple and scarlet robes, glittering with gold, jewels, and
pearls (17. 4), which did but conceal the hidden deformity and
corruption. The holy bride wears only fine linen, glisteringly
white and pure. Of old, that was the attire of the high priest
when he entered annually into the Holy of Holies before the
Presence (Lv 16. 4). That fine linen was spun by human hands
(Ex 35. 25), and similarly the attire of the bride is of her own
making ; " the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints " (8). .
Even the AV rendering does not allow of this being that
righteousness of God which is imputed to the sinner upon faith
in Christ, for it is there termed " the righteousness of saints," not
the righteousness of God. But the meaning of the former term
is fixed by its prior use at c. 15. 4. The AV there renders inexactly,
" Thy judgments are made manifest," but the RV properly by
" Thy righteous acts have been made manifest " (TO, SiKauinara).
" This clean, glistering, byssus-made fabric represents the righ-
teous actions of the saints . . . the sum of the saintly acts of the
members of Christ, wrought in them by His Spirit " (Swete) ;
and so Milligan :
These acts are not the imputed righteousness of Christ, although
only in Christ are the acts performed. They express the moral and
religious condition of those who constitute the bride. No outward
righteousness alone, with which we might be clothed as with a
garment, is a sufficient preparation for future blessedness. An
inward change is not less necessary, a personal and spiritual meetness
 3i8 THE BRIDE ARRAYS HERSELF

for the inheritance of the saints in the light. Christ must not only
be on us as a robe, but in us as a life, if we are to have the hope of
glory (CI i. 27). Let us not be afraid of words like these. Rightly
viewed, they in no way interfere with our completeness in the
Beloved alone, or with the fact that not by works of righteousness
that we have done, but by grace, are we saved through faith, and
that not of ourselves ; it is the gift of God (Eph 2. 8). All our
salvation is of Christ, but the change upon us must be internal as
well as external. The elect are foreordained to be conformed to the
image of God's Son (Rm 8. 29) ; and the Christian condition is
expressed in the words which say, not only ' Ye were justified,'
but also ' Ye were washed, ye were sanctified in the name of
the Lord Jesus Christ, and in the Spirit of our God' (I Cr
6. 1 1 ) .
And the literal rendering of this last passage " ye washed your-
selves " (RV mgn), emphasizes yet more the truth in question,
and shows the harmony of Paul and John upon this truth.
It should be noted :
(1) That the imputed righteousness which justifies is put on the
believer by God, not by himself, being reckoned to him, not
assumed by him. See Rm 4. 6 : " the man unto whom God
reckoneth righteousness," and so uniformly. (2) That this
reckoning takes place at the first act of faith of each individual;
whereas this arraying of herself is to take place at the bridal day
at the close of the career of the whole church of God, and is
viewed as an united act.
There is a precision in the words of God corresponding exactly
% to the facts of things. The wife " arrays herself," and yet it is
" given unto her " to do this. (Here again the AV weakly gives
" that she should be arrayed," hiding the vital point that it is her
own act). If the Spirit of holiness had not made holiness possible
no member of the church could or would have done holy acts ;
but though every holy deed is done by the grace of the Spirit, it
is the saint who does them. It is God who works in us both to
will and to work ; but it is we who must work out this salvation
into a life of holy deeds (Ph 1. 12, 13) ; and if we grieve and
quench the Spirit, and so frustrate the work of God within, then
the fine linen will not be woven. And in no other attire will
any one share in the bridal glory, though in the imputed righteous-
ness every believer stands justified in law. But the pardon of a
one-time rebel woman is by no means the same as her becoming
later the wife of her sovereign, nor does any necessity exist why
the king should think of such an honour for her.
All this is illustrated in the history of Esther. From being a
captive slave she is to be exalted to be queen. Everything of
 THE BRIDE AND THE LAYER 319
clothing and ornament that she needed was the gift of the king,
for she had nothing suitable. But she had to put them on, so as
to approach the king, as it is written, " Esther put on her royal
apparel " (Es 5. 1).
Eph 5. 25-27 is clear and weighty.
(1) " Christ also loved the church " : this is the divine origin
of all her prospects.
(2) " and gave Himself up for her " : this is the amazing price
that frees the slave-girl, or pardons the rebel, and by which the
king acquires all rights in her. But though redemption has been
effected once for all, she cannot pass straight from the slave
market, or the condemned cell, to the royal palace and the throne.
Much is required to fit her person for the total change of scene
and life ; and so
(3) Christ purchased the church " that He might sanctify her,"
might make her actually holy, even as she is already righteous
by imputation. And this so indispensable work He effects by
" the la ver [composed of] the water in the word " (-n? Aourpv TOV
1). The laver in the Tabernacle was a vessel
into which water was put so • that the priests should wash re-
peatedly and keep clean. The bathing at their consecration was
necessary but was not sufficient for entrance into the holy places.
Cleansed lepers had to bathe, but that did not grant access to the
presence of God in the Tabernacle (Lv 14). The priests must
also wash their hands and feet again and again, on penalty of
death, twice threatened, if they attempted service to God un-
washed (Ex 30. 17-21). Thus also Jesus took a basin, poured
water thereinto, and proceeded to wash the feet of His followers,
so as to impress heavily upon us that actual holiness is indis-
pensable to fellowship with Him : " If I wash thee not thou hast
no part with Me " (Jn 13). He did not say " in Me." that would
have made final salvation to depend on daily state ; but " with
Me," as My companion and servant.
The la ver is here (Eph 5) used as a picture of the Word of
God : " water in the word." The water (as always when a type)
means the Spirit of God : " living water . . . this spake He of
the Spirit " (Jn 7. 37-39). Christ speaks to the redeemed believer :
if obedience be at once rendered, the grace of the Spirit is at once
experienced, making obedience possible. This is the law of
matters spiritual: "Go wash . . . He went, and came seeing " :
" take up thy bed and walk " ; and obeying, doing at once what
he could not do, the energy was given to do it. A father speaks
to his boy about a disagreeable habit ; if the boy gives heed, the
word of his father cleanses that habit out of the boy's life : if he
320 CHRIST SANCTIFIES THE BRIDE

disregards his father, he remains disfigured in character and

life.
Justification is an initial benefit, granted once for all; sancti-
fication is a life-long process ; the priest must wash his hands
and his feet to the end of his course ; and therefore :
" Let no man think that sudden, in a minute,
All is accomplished, and the work is done:
Though with thy earliest dawn thou should'st begin it,
Scare were it ended with thy setting sun."
(3) This gracious and indispensable work in the believer is
thus wrought by Christ ; by Him speaking to the church. Thus
it is given unto her to become pure. But words must be obeyed
or they remain inoperative, and thus " it is given unto her to
array herself " by doing the righteous acts directed by the Word
of God. All is of grace ; but of grace used, not grace abused, of
grace obeyed, not of grace neglected. For the grace of God
instructs us " to the intent that, denying ungodliness and worldly
lusts, we should live soberly and righteously and godly in this
present age," and only so living are we truly " looking for the
blessed hope and appearing of our great God and Saviour Jesus
Christ " ; for " He gave himself for us that He might redeem us
from all iniquity, and purify unto Himself a people for His own
possession, zealous of good w o r k s " (Tt 2. 11-14). Therefore
" every one that hath this hope set on Him purifieth himself, even
as He is pure " (I J n 3. 3).
To the justified, who " have obtained like precious faith with
us in the righteousness of our God and Saviour Jesus Christ "
(II Pt 1. 1-4) Peter adds the encouraging assurance that " God
hath granted unto us all things that pertain to life and godliness,"
thus making holiness of life possible. Unto this end God has
further " granted unto us His precious and exceeding great
promises." As a father, starting his loved son in business, may
hand him a roll of promissory notes issued by a bank, and payable
on demand, so God has enriched His children for all the demands
of a holy life. We secure the spiritual wealth promised by the
prayer of faith and by obedience to our Father's instructions ;
and as His character thus becomes increasingly developed in us
we become " partakers of divine nature." This is not the same
as having eternal life, though a consequence of it. All human
beings have human life, but their natures differ ; some being
harsh by nature, some kind ; some active, some indolent; and
so on. All of the family of God have the life of the Father, but
they differ in the degree in which what is natural to God (as to
 THE BRIDE WITHOUT BLEMISH 321

be holy, or to love enemies) becomes natural to them. And this

difference is proportionate to the measure of the appropriation by
each of the divine promises. Neglect of the promises leaves the
soul poor, as to neglect banknotes leaves the pocket poor.
Further, parental discipline, through the trials of life, however
caused, is another contributing element. The Father scourges
every son He receives, that they " may become partakers of His
holiness " (Hb 12. 10). As justified they already possess His
righteousness; but they are to be made to share His holiness ;
and blessed is he who humbles himself under the mighty hand of
God, even when the wicked may be the hand that presses, instead
of resenting and resisting the discipline. Such advance in
holiness and so in preparation for the bridal honour and joy.
(4) Without blemish. It is in view of the bridal day that Christ
has loved, redeemed, and now is sanctifying the church, " in
order that He might present the church to Himself a glorious
church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing ; but that
it should be holy and without blemish." These terms, " spot,
wrinkle, holy, without blemish," have reference to external
appearance : the two former denote surface defects, the two latter
visible excellence. The last is a specially significant and priestly
term. An animal to be dedicated to God, and accepted by Him,
had to be without visible blemish, and sternly did the Holy One
complain when blemished beasts were presented (Ml 1. 6 ft). The
priest, too, had to be without physical defect, or he could not
officiate in holy things. He was to keep himself scrupulously
clean in walk and associations, and also he must be without
blemish as to external form (Lv 21). Now the persons pictured
as a bride are also described as " priests unto God " (Rv i. 6).
Both figures demand the same moral condition; the one for
priestly access and service, the other for intimate association with
Him who " offered Himself without blemish unto God " (Hb 9.14).
The standard is high, yet attainable by the Spirit through
obedience to the Word. The histories of Joseph, Samuel, and
Daniel are narrated at length and in detail. Each was surrounded
with gross moral depravity, but God records nothing against either.
This does not mean that they were actually sinless—only Christ
was t h a t ; but it does mean that they walked before men without
visible defilement and disfigurement of life. And thus Paul
wrote to believers in a wicked heathen city, " that ye may be
blameless and harmless, children of God without blemish in the
midst of a crooked and perverse generation " (Ph 2. .12-16). It is
possible for the believer to " keep himself unspotted from the
world " (Js 1. 27), and he who thus walks in white garments here
322 THE MARRIAGE FEAST

and now shall be permitted to array himself for fellowship with

Christ as part of the bride at last. (See on 3. 4, 5 above, and
consider also II Cr. 7. 1 and 11. 2, 3.) It is for each to weave his
own pure bridal attire, by the grace of God and to the praise
alone of the glory of that grace. The Bride will thus be to the
pleasure and honour of the Bridegroom.

VI. THE MARRIAGE FEAST. The union of Ahasuerus and

Esther took place in the privacy of the royal palace : the
wedding feast followed later (Es 2.16-18). Thus here also, there
is simply an announcement of the honour of being one of the
king's guests ; it is not stated that the marriage supper takes
place at this precise moment. Inasmuch as it seems that the
guests will include persons on earth when the Bridegroom returns
here (Mt 22. 1-14 ; 25. 1-13), it appears that the " feast " will
take place on earth at the opening of the kingdom era. See
also Mt 26. 29 : Lk 22. 18, 30.
Here, then, are three distinct ideas : (1) The guests are not the
bride ; (2) there is to be an interval between the " marriage "
and the " feast " ; (3) the latter is to be on earth. Perhaps these
features offer a clue to the exact meaning of some of Christ's
prophetic parables, but so large a subject cannot be now treated.
The omission of the bride and of her union from those parables
is significant, but the significance has been largely missed, by
later teaching of the New Testament as to the bride having been
read back into the parables. The omission harmonizes with the
feature elsewhere attributed to the bride that she is to be com-
posed, not of all the saved, even of this age, but of such from
among the saved as are, by grace, ever watchful, prayerful,
separated from the world, undefiled, walking in white garments
of their own weaving. Within the vaster company of the rest of
the saved is the realm where the Lord's parables, and many other
passages, have application. Blessed are they who are guests, and
unhappy are they who miss even this privilege, such as the guest
without a wedding garment, or the foolish virgins, or the un-
faithful steward. And beyond this area again lies the still wider
realm of those at the End Times who had never even heard the
Bridegroom's fame nor seen His glory (Is 56. 19), but to whom
will then go forth the call of Is 55.1, " Ho, every one that thirsteth,
come ye to the waters."
The Lord when here stated the principles upon which He will
deal with His household, and these principles will apply to all
who have been of that household throughout this age ; but the
strict application, as made by Christ, was to those servants He
 THE MARRIAGE FEAST 323
will find on earth when He shall actually return, and it is to these
then alive that the details given will apply. Therefore He did
not in His parables introduce the bride since she will have been
completed and removed prior to His descent to the earth. From
this lack of mention it has been inferred, but without warrant,
that she will have been removed before ever the End Days arrive,
and that she will include every child of God, dead or still on earth,
of this whole age. These inferences, and others dependent upon
them, have confused the subject, and also have greatly weakened
the solemn warnings as to the moral state which must characterize
each who is to attain to the highest status and honours in the
kingdom.
Such distinctions as have been noted were before suggested in
the Old Testament. At Esther's marriage feast there was not
merely one general crowd of guests, but they are differentiated
into " the king's princes and servants " (Es 2. 18). All of these
two classes were honoured with the royal invitation ; yet it is
obvious that they were not Esther, the queen, nor did they
include all the king's subjects. What if some of the guests at the
marriage supper of the Lamb should be those angel princes who
have served faithfully through the spiritual conflicts with rebel
princes of these earlier ages ? What if the servants shall include
those ministering spirits who even now render deacon's service to
the saints, with a view to preparing them for the coming inherit-
ance (Hb 1. 14) ? In any case these would not be the bride.
One such styled himself a " fellow-slave " with John and his
brethren (Rv 19. 10). The program of the Most High is far
wider and grander than most realize, and includes all His creatures,
heavenly and earthly. And by far the greater part of what He
has been pleased to reveal falls for fulfilment this side of the great
white throne. Yet all too many readers and preachers seem to
think of little but eternity, which, moreover, they restrict to
" heaven " and " hell," overlooking entirely that there is to be a
new earth also. This limitation of thought results in the applying
to eternity of passages which have not to do therewith, with
consequent confusion in interpretation.
Psalm 45 is the Song of the Royal Bridegroom. Observe the
personnel introduced. The Bridegroom is at once the Mighty
Warrior with a sword (3-5) [as in the context of our passage
(Rv 19. 11-16)], and is also God (6). Yet His God has blessed
and anointed Him (2, 7) ; so that He is God exalted by God, a
mystery made plain by the clearer New Testament unfolding of
the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Next, the Bridegroom has a queen whose place of honour is at
324 GOD'S TRUE WORDS
His right hand. Then He has " companions " (fellows)—comp.
Hb 3. 14 : Rv 3. 4, 5 ; 14. 4 ; 17. 14 : and I Kn 12. 8. Thus also
the queen has " the virgins her companions that follow her " (14),
as in Mt 25. 1-13, and these shall share in the " gladness and
rejoicing," that is, in the feast within the palace (15). Others
mentioned are certain princesses (9) ; the people and the family
of the queen (10) ; and beyond these nearer circles are the outside
peoples, as of Tyre ; that is, Gentiles are seen approaching and
honouring the King (12), in which noble employ the queen is
called to lead : " for He is thy Lord ; and worship thou Him " (11).
All this is highly suggestive of the reality and variety that will
mark those future days when heaven and earth will be con-joined,
one kingdom, in connection with Him who is Lord of all. It
introduces a rich diversity which elevates the mind far beyond
the fundamental but only initial distinction between saved and
unsaved, which is the furthest that so many ever penetrate into
the wondrous counsels of the Almighty. Here is verily a fair
field and no favour ; yet " know ye not that those running in a
race all run, but one receives the prize: even so run that ye may
attain " the prize (I Cr 9. 24 : Ph 3. 12-16).

VII. The thoughts added in ver. 10 may be stated briefly.

1. " These are true words of God " : a double thought—the
words are true ; they are of God. In 17. 17 the phrase " the
words of God " means the announcement of His purposes as to
destroying Mystic Babylon, the harlot, and of Antichrist reigning.
Here it is the announcement that the city Babylon will be
destroyed and the pure wife be joined to the Lamb. In 21. 5
and 22. 6 the phrase is extended, and emphasizes the completion
of the purposes of God that heaven and earth shall be made new,
and that the wife of the Lamb shall be glorious eternally.
2. The angel declares himself a fellow-sla.ve (<rvv-8ov\os) with
the human servants of God, a conjunction of status and service
little realized in general from our side but known in apostolic days
(Ac 1. 10, 11 ; 5. 19 ; 8. 26 ; 10. 3 ; 12. 11 ; 27. 23 : Hb 1. 14 :
and for even rebel angels being made subservient to a servant of
God see I Cr 5. 5).
3. Being himself a slave the angel will not allow a fellow-slave
to offer to him worship, but at once directs it to God. But how
overwhelming must have been the visions that the apostle should
forget for the moment a truth and duty he knew so well; and
later should a second time be thus carried beyond himself (22. 8, 9).
It were well if our hearts were as deeply impressed, without this
•unlawful impulse following.
 JESUS 325
4. The very spirit that animates all true prophecy is that it
bears witness to Jesus. That an angel should speak of his Lord
simply by His personal name is exceptional and observable. For
a servant to address his sovereign by his personal name were an
impertinence not readily to be forgiven. For man or angel to
address the Lord of glory, the King of kings, by His name is
irreverence, if unintentional; yet it is a common blemish in hymns
and it is heard in prayer. But in the narratives of the Lord's life
on earth as man we read frequently that Jesus did or said this
and that. The point therefore of the angel's choice of the name
here will be that it was the spirit that animated all true prophecy
that it pointed to the great fact that God would assume humanity ;
and its use after His exaltation to glory emphasizes that He
retains that humanity for ever. It is in the name of Jesus that
every knee shall bow, in confession that He, the glorified man, is
Lord of all by the will of God (Ph 2. 10, 11).
This affords the decisive test of the divine origin of a prophecy.
See I Cr 12. 3 and I Jn 4. 2, 3. Consequently this testimony to
Jesus is to be " held," not to be neglected, or varied, or confused,
or abandoned. This holding fast=and holding forth the truth
concerning Jesus, even at the cost of life itself (12. 11), displays
the faithful servant and is the very essence of overcoming, of
conquering.
 CHAPTER XIV

VICTORY
(19. 1 1 - 2 0 . 3)

I. Some fourteen centuries B.C., speaking of the latter days,

the God of Israel said (Dt 32. 39-42) :
See now that I, even I, am he,
And there is no god with me :
I kill, and I make alive ;
I have wounded, and I heal:
And there is none that can deliver out of my hand.
For I lift up my hand to heaven, And say, As I live for ever,
If I whet the lightning of my sword,
And mine hand take hold on judgment;
I will render vengeance to mine adversaries,
And will recompense them that hate me.
I will make mine arrows drunk with blood,
Any my sword shall devour flesh ;
With the blood of the slain and the captives,
From the head of the leaders of the enemy.
This should lead on to the blessing of the Gentile peoples in
conjunction with His people, Israel, as the closing words of the
song intimated :
Rejoice, 0 ye nations with His people :
For he will avenge the blood of his servants,
And will render vengeance to his adversaries,
And will make expiation for his land, for his people, (ver. 43.)
Perhaps five centuries later a psalmist described the King who
had thus proclaimed through Moses His victory in the latter days.
Ps 45. 2 says :
Thou art fairer than the children of men :
Grace is poured into thy lips.
This beauty of character and graciousness of speech was seen
in Jesus as He " advanced in wisdom and stature and in grace
with God and men " (Lk 2. 52), and especially did they wonder " at
the words of grace which proceeded out of His mouth " (Lk 4. 22).
From this description of the opening days of Him whom God
had " therefore [that is, because of His personal excellence]
326
 THE FAITHFUL AND TRUE 327
blessed for ever," the psalmist proceeded at once to describe Him
as fulfilling that earlier prophecy through Moses. He who is
perfect in character and full of grace can be trusted to execute
the holy wrath of God, without miscarriage of justice by either
failure or excess.
Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O mighty one [continues the psalm],
Thy glory and thy majesty.
And in thy majesty ride on prosperously.
In behalf of truth and meekness and righteousness :
And thy right hand shall teach thee terrible things.
Thine arrows are sharp ;
The peoples fall under thee ;
They are in the heart of the king's enemies. (Ps 45. 3-5.)
This terrific and terrible activity of the Conqueror-King issues
in the establishing of His throne for ever; and the aforesaid
blessing of the nations is because " a sceptre of equity is the
sceptre of his kingdom" (ver. 6).
Our passage (Rv 19) gives the final picture of this Conqueror
and conquest, and it too leads on to His reign (20. 4-6).
II. Four statements are given as to the Conqueror's name.
1. He is the Faithful and True, a combination of Reliability
and Reality (11). In 1. 5 He has been called " the faithful
witness " ; in 3. 14 " the faithful and true witness." God had
found Him wholly faithful in the hour of keenest trial and personal
danger : " before Pontius Pilate He witnessed the good con-
fession " (I Tm 6. 13), though it cost Him his life. Henceforth
the Father rests wholly upon Him for the fulfilment of every
divine counsel and work. He is the Man of God's right hand,
whom God has made strong for Himself (Ps 80. 17) ; and He is
true, that is, He is in reality all that others are only partially or
but apparently. All judgment is entrusted to Him because He
is " Son of man," is the true, complete, ideal exhibition of what
man is according to God (Jn 5. 27).
2. He has a name known only to Himself. No one but the
Father comprehends the Son (Mt 11. 27). In His Person and in
His relationship to the Father there is an infinity unfathomable
by the finite mind.
" The Father only Thy blest name
Of Son can comprehend."
This emphasizes His deity as the former title His humanity.
3. He is the Word of God (13). He is the One through Whom
creation came into existence (Jn 1. 1-4), and in Whom it continues
328 THE WORD OF GOD

to exist (CI i. 16, 17). It was through Him the Father made the
worlds (Hb 1.2). Thus from the beginning of the universe He is the
expression to it of what the Father is ; He is the Word of God.
All that God does He does by speaking; this is the instrument
by which He puts forth His energy, His will. As to the act of
creating, " He spake, and it was : He commanded, and all things
stood fast " (Ps 33. 9). " God said, Let light be ! and light was "
(Gn 1. 3). Thus it is in the new creation also. The new birth is
effected by God speaking. " He that heareth my word, and
believeth . . . hath eternal life " (Jn 5. 24), for we have been
" begotten again by the word of God, which liveth and abideth "
(I Pt 1. 23). Thus the Lord wrought miracles upon the bodies
also of men : " Arise, take up thy bed, and walk " (Jn 5. 8). The
greatness of the centurion's faith lay in his attributing this
effectual energy to the bare word of Jesus : " speak with a word,
and my servant shall be healed " (Lk 7. 7). It is by the same
word that the work of God makes progress in the soul of the
regenerate : it " worketh in you that believe " (I Th 2. 13).
Angels also are made powerful by the same means : " Bless the
Lord, ye angels of his: Ye mighty in strength, that fulfil his
word, hearkening unto the voice of his word " (Ps 103. 20). His
words " are spirit and are life " (Jn 6. 63).
At the point reached in the visions the foes of God are to be
destroyed by the same means, by " the sharp sword that pro-
ceedeth out of His mouth " (vs. 15, 21).
4. His full title is King of kings and Lord of lords. He is the
supreme sovereign of heaven and of earth (17. 14). In the days
of John it was treason and a capital offence to attribute these
titles to any other than the Emperor, as the embodiment on earth
of deity. This has been so in pagan lands, as in Japan from ancient
times. It will become so again under Antichrist, and the tendency
to this consummation of blasphemy is very evident in Europe
to-day. " No man can say, Jesus is Lord, except in [the energy
of] the Holy Spirit " (I Cr 12. 3). Which of us shall earn the
commendation, " thou didst not deny My name " ?

By these various titles the Conqueror is identified with the

eternal Son and Word ; with the Son of man, Jesus Christ, who
stood before Pilate ; with the Lamb slain and glorified ; with the
Head over God's house, the church, Whose eyes are as a flame of
fire to wither up all contrary to God ; with the Messiah to whom
universal sovereignty has from of old been granted by the Father,
and with it authority to judge and to make war.
It is restful to know that none less perfect than He is judge, is
 THE ARMIES OF HEAVEN 329
the wearer of the many diadems of rule in heaven and earth.
The dread but inevitable work shall be done righteously and
therefore effectually, and " the work of righteousness shall be
peace ; and the effect of righteousness, quietness and confidence
for ever" (Is 32. 17).
5. The identity is carried further. He is the Treader of " the
winepress, the great winepress of the fierceness of the wrath of
Almighty God " (ver. 15; 14.17-20), and so the Fulfiller of Is 63.1-6
and Jl 3. 13. Thus His raiment is stained with blood, as of a
warrior trampling down his foes or as one treading grapes in the
winepress. Moreover He is the Son to whom God issued the
decree declaring Him owner of the whole earth, with His seat at
Zion, who should break to pieces rebellious nations, as one
smashes fragile things by a rod of iron (Ps 2. 7-9). This authority
He had mentioned before to the churches, and had promised to
share it with such of His people as should conquer in present
conflicts, as He conquered when here (2. 26-29).
III. His Armies. There is a difference of judgment as to
whether these are glorified saints or are angels. We think the
latter are meant.
1. Is there any other passage where saints are pictured as
- soldiers after their present earth-conflicts are over ? They are
then a bride, Hot a body ; kings and priests, not warriors ; that
is, these latter figures are not used of them in their state of glory.
2. The term is plural, " armies," not " the army of heaven " ;
but the glorified church seems viewed either as one company, or
as many individuals. On the other hand, in the Old Testament
heavenly beings, though mentioned some twelve times as God's
" host," are far more frequently spoken of by the plural term
" hosts " ; that is, as divided into armies, army corps, as we
might say to-day. The title " Jehovah of hosts " is used about
280 times. The usage concerning Israel is parallel. Sometimes
the whole nation is one host (Jh 5. 14, 15) ; but more often each
tribe is viewed as a separate host (Nm 1. 52 ; 2. 4 ; etc.).
This usage is not applied to the church of God. The only
passage we recall which may bear in the opposite direction is
17.14, which says that the ten kings " shall war against the Lamb,
and the Lamb shall overcome them, for he is Lord of lords, and
King of kings ; and they also shall overcome that are with him,
called and chosen and faithful." Yet this triple description might
apply to the elect angels who have been faithful to God while
others of their order rebelled; but if taken of overcoming
Christians (which I believe is right), it does not by itself seem
enough to determine that the " armies of heaven " are human
 330 THE ENEMIES
beings seeing that the preponderant usage of Scripture is that
these are angelic.
IV. His Enemies. These are the Beast, his False Prophet,
the Kings of the Earth, and their armies. See c. 13, and 17.12-14.
Here is a truly hellish and powerful league of nations, the world
combined to fight against the Word of God. " He that sitteth in
the heavens shall laugh; the Lord shall have them in derision.
Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath, and vex them in
his sore displeasure " (Ps 2. 1-5). One thrust from the sword of
His mouth, that is, one word of command from His lips, and the
angels through whom He is pleased to exert His might shall act
upon these defiant, blaspheming, irreclaimable foes; their vital
forces shall fail instantly, " their flesh shall consume away while
they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in
their sockets, and their tongue shall consume away in their
mouth " (Zh 14. 12).
But the two chief Rebels, the Beast and the False Prophet,
shall not be thus mercifully treated by an instant death. These
" were cast alive into the lake of fire that burnetii with brim-
stone " (20). Having lived before and died before, there remains
for them only the second death.
As to the lake of fire, see later on 20. 14.
V. Jehovah's Feast. So fearful a carnage would breed im-
mediate pestilence were the corpses left to rot in a hot land.
But for His people's sake God has taken kindly forethought
against this. By angelic influence a mighty assembling of birds
of prey takes place, and these natural scavengers avert the
disaster. The passage illuminates Is 18. 6 ; 56. 9 : Ek 39. 17 :
Zp 1. 7, showing the time and event to which these earlier scrip-
tures point.
VI. The Devil Imprisoned. But the chief and secret instigator
of this futile conflict is yet at large, the spirit that now worketh
in the sons of disobedience (Eph 2. 2). It were vain to hope for
general peace and piety on earth while he is at liberty. He is
therefore arrested, chained, imprisoned, and the door shut and
sealed above him, that mankind may be free from his baneful
inward influence and outward activities for the thousand years
that Christ shall reign on earth. Heaven rejoiced when those
regions were freed from his presence, while earth knew added
woes (12. 12) ; now earth also shall share the joy of heaven at
his absence.
It must be presumed that his angel and demon servants share
his lot, for were these still at large they could, like guerillas, much
disturb the peace of the King's realms. Ps 82. 6, 7 intimates the
 SATAN'S NAMES 331
imprisonment of the fallen angels, and Mt 8. 29 shows that demons
anticipate and dread that day of retribution. Is 24. 21, 22 is to
the same effect. Speaking of the time when " the moon shall be
confounded, and the sun ashamed [comp. Mt 24. 29 and Rv 6. 12],
for Jehovah of hosts shall reign in mount Zion," it is declared that
" it shall come to pass in that day, that Jehovah shall punish the
host of the high ones on high, and the kings of the earth upon the
earth. And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners are
gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in prison, and after many
days shall they be visited," that is punished. This last will be
at the judgment of the great white throne. Thus shall they be
cast down to Tartarus, like earlier princes of their order, and be
committed to pits of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment.
See II Pt. 2. 4.
Upon the abyss see c. XII, Sect. I, 4.
As the Victor receives here a fourfold designation so does the
Vanquished.
1. He is the Dragon, the real monster of whom the ancient
world enshrined in mythology its earlier recollections, embellished
later by its fancies.
2. He is the Old Serpent, whose foul track and poisonous
activities are revealed in all Scripture from Eden onward, and
exhibited in all human history since the Fall.
3. He is the Devil, the slanderer of God to man (Gn 3. 1-5)
and of man to God (Jb 1. 9-11; 2. 4, 5); the first liar, the father
(originator) of all deceit (Jn 8. 44).
4. He is Satan, the adversary who opposes the will of God at
all points, and who withstands the people of God both in heaven
(12. 10) and on earth (I Pt 5. 8, 9, and see Lk 18. 1-8). The
contrary of what he says is truth, the opposite of what he suggests
is the will of God.

Thus are the destroyers of the earth destroyed (11. 18), and
wars are made to cease unto the ends of the earth. Here is seen
the mercy that overrules destruction unto restoration (Ps 46. 8-11).
It is at this point in the visions that a large amount of Old
Testament detail falls, dealing with the sweeping away of the
ruins of Satan's empire that the kingdom of God may be estab-
lished in its place.
 CHAPTER XV

AUTHORITY AND THE MILLENNIUM

(C. 20. 4-6)

Victory is barren and may be disastrous unless followed by the
establishment of just and benevolent authority. The victory of
the Lamb being complete the visions pass at once to His reign.
But how extraordinarily brief is the treatment. It is com-
pressed into three verses. The following considerations may
explain this feature.
1. The period of Messiah's reign on earth was the chief theme
of the Old Testament. Fulness of detail had been given of the
ages leading on to it, of the stupendous climax of judgment that
must and should prepare the way for it, and of the advent in
glory of the King and its blessed results. This was the goal of
prophecy, and it was not needful that the ground be covered again.
2. What could be added helpfully of description and glory
would be shown in the immediately subsequent description of the
heavenly city.
3. The end of all prophecy is conduct, and the present section
is sufficient as a spur to the development of a holy character and
to fidelity to Christ even at the cost of suffering and death, by
showing the privilege, position, and service in His kingdom to be
thus attained.
4. Here is stated distinctly what before had been only inti-
mated briefly, and as it were casually, that there are to be two
resurrections of the dead and the relation of these to Messiah's
kingdom.
For these last two purposes the very brevity adds to clarity
and emphasis.

I. Who will Reign with Christ? This is the first and chief
matter touched. A king must needs have a body of superior
officers to serve him in administering his kingdom. Darius
appointed three grades of such : 120 satraps, three presidents, of
whom one, Daniel, was senior, the king's viceregent (Dn 6. 1).
David, too, had administrators and priests, men who had served
and suffered with him in the long years of his rejection, as Joab
and Ahimelech (II Sm 8. 15-18). But Jonathan, though he loved
332
 THEY REIGNED WITH CHRIST 333
David as his own soul and willingly resigned to him the throne,
seeking to be second only in the kingdom though himself the
heir-apparent (I Sm 23. 17), did not even enter David's kingdom,
for he did not share his rejection. This is the moral warning the
narrative seems to give. Through filial loyalty he supported the
king and the system which God had rejected, and lost his life in
its collapse. It was the natural course, not the spiritual; the
latter, the path of faith, would have been judged unnatural.
Jesus has said : " H e that loveth father . . . more than Me, is
not worthy of Me " (Mt 10. 37).
Three classes are to share the glory of reigning with God's
Anointed, the Christ.
1. " I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was
given unto them," that is, was entrusted to them.
(i) In possibility this includes all the saints : " know ye not
that the saints shall judge the world [and] angels ? " (I Cr 6. 2, 3 :
Rv 1. 6).
(ii) Specifically, thrones are promised to the apostles : " y e are
they who have continued with Me in My trials ; and I appoint
unto you a kingdom, even as My Father appointed unto Me, that
ye may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom ; and ye shall
sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel " (Lk 22.28-30).
This special grant was on account of these men having gone
through with Christ to the end of His rejection. He would
forgive their failings, even the severe failure of that night. He
would have regard to the general and dominant fact that they
had stuck to His person and cause through thick and thin, and
would do so further unto the end of life. In consequence He
would make to them a grant such as His Father had made to
Him, a grant of " kingdom " (there is no article) : " I appoint
unto you kingdom," that is, kingship, royal rank and authority.
This dignity He then described as being " to sit at His table in
His kingdom." At a royal banquet there are many tables, one
on a dais, higher than the rest, being the royal place where the
sovereign sits. To share that table is to share the highest place
and honour. Now Christ, in His resurrection body, ate material
food : " They gave Him a piece of a broiled fish. And He took
it, and did eat before them " (Lk 24. 42, 43), and, at the institution
of the supper, He foretold that He will do so again in His kingdom :
" But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of
the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in My
Father's kingdom " (Mt 26. 29 : Mk 14. 25 : Lk 22. 18). As
therefore the table and the eating and the drinking of Messiah in
the days of His kingdom are to be literal, so will be the fulfilment
334 THEY REIGNED WITH CHRIST

of the promises that the apostles are to eat and drink with Him.
That beings of the upper world can use the food of earth was
shown long before, when Jehovah and the two angels ate of the
meal prepared by Abraham (Gn 18. 8).
But the Lord further promised the eleven that they should
" sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel." The former
promise being plainly literal so will this be. Thus Israel, and in
twelve tribes, will be restored in that kingdom era. This endorses
the literality of the vision of Rv 7, when representatives of the
twelve tribes of Israel are preserved from destruction just as the
kingdom age is to set in. Here, then, are shown some of those
who in resurrection will sit on thrones and be invested with the
royal office of the judge. In ancient times the king was personally
the supreme judge. But he had legal assessors who sat with him,
the judges of the high court, which was hence named in England
the King's Bench Division of the courts of law.
(iii) Promises to the same effect are given to the overcomers of
the churches: " H e that overcometh, and he that keepeth My
works unto the end, to him will I give authority over the nations ;
and he shall rule them with a rod of iron, as the vessels of the
potter are broken to shivers; as I also have received of My
father " (Rv 2. 26, 27). " He that overcometh, I will give to him
to sit down with Me in My throne, as I also overcame, and sat
down with My Father in His throne " (Rv 3. 21).
It is to be much observed that these prospects are open to all
believers, as (i) above ; but they are contingent upon exactly the
conditions shown in the case of the eleven, namely, fighting the
battles of the Lord victoriously, and with such perseverance as
to maintain His works " unto the end " either of life or of the
age, as the case may be. Thus the law of former reference is
sufficient to show who they are that John saw sitting upon thrones
and receiving authority as judges. They include each who
conquered in whatever were the conflicts in the post to which
each was assigned in the world-wide battlefield.
2. But because in the fight of the long ages of human history
many suffered even unto death by martyrdom, their resurrection
and honour is mentioned specially. It is to be noted that these
were slaughtered " for the testimony of Jesus and for the word
of God." Therefore they were disciples of Jesus, Christians.
And
3. Because the closing battles, those against the Beast, will be
the hottest of all in the long campaign of the ages, those who then
conquer are given special testimony ; " they lived [in resurrection
life] . . . and reigned with the Messiah." That these share in
 RESURRECTION AND REIGNING 335
this resurrection shows that the event does not take place earlier
than the close of his reign and the great Tribulation. That this
resurrection takes place in stages, of which the one here in view
is the last, is an unnecessary supposition and without proof.
These three classes of believers alone are shown as sharing in
the first resurrection and sharing with Christ the sovereignty in
His kingdom. Some have admitted that not all believers will
reign in this millennial kingdom, yet contend that all will share
in this first resurrection. But it is distinctly asserted that all
who then rise will reign : " Blessed and holy is he that hath part
in the first resurrection . . . they shall reign " (ver. 6). There-
fore they who are not to reign will not be then raised. Hence,
" the rest of the dead " who " lived not till the thousand years
should be finished," will include saved persons not " accounted
worthy of that age and the resurrection which is out from among
the dead " (Lk 20. 35) ; and hence also arose Paul's set purpose,
expressed with the utmost earnestness, " if by any means I may
attain unto the resurrection which is out from among the dead,"
where he repeats the phrase used by the Lord (Ph 3. 11).
It is character that counts. " Blessed and holy is the one having
part in the first resurrection " (6). A special privilege of such
is that they hold the comforting assurance of the Judge of all that
" over these the second death hath no authority." The very fact
that they are already in immortal bodies of resurrection glory
(I Cr 15. 50-58), attained by sharing this first resurrection, shows
indisputably that eternal death can never touch them. Those
still unraised must await the second resurrection and final judg-
ment for this to be declared (ver. 15). That " the one believing
upon the Son hath eternal hie " (Jn 3. 36) is not challenged, is
indeed beyond challenge ; but what persons have so believed,
according to the mind of the Judge, will be put finally beyond
question only by their " coming forth out of the tombs unto
resurrection of life " (Jn 5. 29). For some this will be at the first
resurrection, for the rest at the second. See on ver. 15 and
2. 1 1 ; 3. 5. As His resurrection from the dead was His Father's
final and all-convincing acknowledgment that Jesus was His Son
(Rm 1. 4), putting the matter beyond further controversy, so
their resurrection unto life will put beyond further doubt who are
the children of God.

II. The Service of the Raised is to be both Priestly and Regal.

The priest is a person who is (1) " appointed for men " (2) " in
things pertaining to God " (Hb 5. 1). He mediates. From the
beginning of creation the Son has been the Mediator between the
336 KINGS AND PRIESTS
Father and the entire universe. He did not take this office first
in resurrection, but only resumed then as man what had before
been his dignity as the Son. It was through Him that the Father
made all things. It is He who radiates through the universe the
glory of the Father. He declares to creation the counsels of God,
is the chief Prophet of God (Hb i. 1-3). When sin had defiled
and ruined creation, it belonged to Him to come forth unto the
habitable world (which term includes the realms of the angels,
Hb 1. 6), to purify it and to reconcile it to God (Hb 1. 3 : CI 1. 21).
Only through Him can any being approach the Father (Jn 14. 6,
onsets no one, not merely no man).
But the high priest in Israel had a whole family of associated
and subordinate priests. Only the high priest could make the
general and plenary atonement for all the people (Lv 16) ; but
the under priests could mediate in detail and to the individual
the benefit of that plenary atonement. Thus also Christ alone
could be the propitiation for the sins of the whole world ; but His
priestly servants can convey to men the knowledge of that atoning
sacrifice, and so, by the Spirit, can minister to men the benefit
thereof. So, while Christ is truly the only Saviour, Paul could
say, " that / may by all means save some " (I Cr 9. 22).
This is present service, and it will be continued in the coming
age by those who have found grace for the toils and troubles of
rendering it now.
Then also, " the priest's lips should keep knowledge, and they
should seek the law at his mouth; for he is the messenger of
Jehovah of hosts " (Ml 2. 7). How shall such fulfil this solemn
function whose lips express vanity or whose lives are contrary to
the law they are to require others to keep ?
In that future day there will be vast need of heavenly instruc-
tion, for the masses of men will have sunk, into utter darkness as
to God, His will and His ways (Is 60. 2), and as to the one means
of reconciliation and pardon, and still more as to all the high
mysteries of the universe. The heavenly priests shall instruct
them. As yet we ourselves know only in part, but then we shall
know (understand) fully, even as we have been fully known
(understood) by God (I Cr 13. 12); and none can yet say what this
may include as to both subjects of knowledge and ability to
impart and apply it.
Then, too, as the messenger of God, the priest in Israel had
authority. The people were bound, under pain of capital punish-
ment, to accept his decisions (Dt 17. 8-13). This was a survival,
in limited measure, of the older patriarchal institution when the
sovereign was the chief priest, ruling the people for God and
 KINGS AND PRIESTS 337
dispensing to them the blessings of God. Melchizedec was such
a priest-king (Gn 14. 18-20 : Hb 7. 1-3), and Moses seems to have
been the last of such recognized by God. He acted as priest
before Aaron ever did, also appointing others to offer burnt
offerings (Ex 24. 4-8), and himself officiated at the consecration of
Aaron (Lv 8). Moreover, he " was king in Jeshurun " (Dt 33. 4, 5).
It was the purpose of God that the whole people of Israel should
be a " kingdom of priests," which was announced before the law
was given at Sinai (Ex 19. 5, 6). But while redemption from
judgment had been free to every one who would sprinkle blood
on his door, the privilege of priestly and royal service among the
other nations of the earth was dependent upon obedience, and
Israel has never as a people enjoyed this honour. Yet they will
do so when, under Messiah, their heart and spirit shall have been
renewed, even as it is written of that day : " And strangers shall
stand and feed your flocks, and aliens shall be your ploughmen
and vinedressers. But ye shall be named the priests of Jehovah :
men shall call you the ministers of our God " (Is 61. 5, 6). Thus
shall there be a kingdom of priests in the earthly section of the
great kingdom of God.
But in this as in all respects, earthly things are copies of the
heavenly things. And in this present age God is forming for
Christ a company of obedient saints who shall fill the same office,
not indeed superseding Israel in the realm of earth, but discharging
that same high and blessed service in that heavenly realm where
Christ is and where their hearts are already attached to Him.
This is their present office : they are " a chosen race, a royal
priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, that
ye may show forth the excellencies of Him who called you out
of darkness into His marvellous light " (I Pt 2. 9). And when
finally they have been practised and perfected they shall be unto
God a kingdom and priests in the higher heavenly realm of the
kingdom (Rv 1. 6 ; 20. 6).
According to the thought of God, both kings and priests exist
(1) to secure His rights in His kingdom, and (2) to dispense His
favours to His subjects : they are " appointed (1) for men, (2) in
things pertaining to God " (Hb 5. 1).
Thus does this brief word in Rv 1. 6 present in miniature a full
picture of the administrative side of the kingdom of God and of
Christ when at last " the God of the heavens shall set up a kingdom
which shall never be destroyed " (Dn 2. 44).
Lv 9. 22-24 and Lk 24. 50-53 offer an instructive comparison.
The consecration of Aaron as priest having been completed by
the offering of the sacrifices, " he lifted up his hands toward the
338 THE PERIOD OF THE KINGDOM
people and blessed them." Thus did Jesus, the work of the cross
finished, lift up His hands and bless His people. Then Moses and
Aaron (who are a joint type of Christ, as both God's Messenger
to us and our Priest before Him, Hb 3. 1) went into the tent of
meeting ; and thus Christ departed from this place of His sacrifice
into the true tabernacle, the heavens. From the tent they two
came forth and blessed the people, and so shall the Lord Jesus
come forth again from that heavenly place, and the glory of
Jehovah shall appear unto all the earth (Is 40. 5), as it did. on
that former occasion to all Israel. And as then the fire of God,
by consuming the sacrifice on the altar, testified to His acceptance
and good pleasure, so shall mankind learn hereafter that in Christ
God has reconciled the world unto Himself (II Cr 5. 19). And
this future priestly service those raised in the first resurrection
shall be privileged to share.

III. The Period of the Kingdom.

The kingdom is to be commenced at the first resurrection and
closed by the second resurrection. It has been asserted that this
is the only scripture that teaches the doctrine of the " millen-
nium," and some have therefore challenged the whole conception.
The believer, however, accepts as enough even one divine state-
ment, if no more is given. But in fact the Revelation is here true
to its own character as co-ordinating and completing earlier
intimations.
1. Psalm 1 is an introduction to the whole course and issues
of human life. The godly walk one path and reach its goal; the
ungodly another path and reach its goal. Because of their way
being evil and downward " therefore the wicked shall not stand
in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous "
(5). Now both the Septuagint and the Vulgate translate the
Hebrew, not by " stand " but " rise," the former rendering the
word by and the latter by resurgent (see Pember,
The Great Prophecies concerning Israel and the Gentiles, 463). The
testimony of the LXX is important. It is a legitimate rendering,
for the Hebrew word has resurrection as one of its meanings: see
Jb 14. 12 and Is 26. 19; and it shows that this understanding
of Ps. 1 is very ancient and not caused by later christian opinion.
This amounts to a statement that the wicked will not rise from
the dead to stand in the assembly of the righteous. Now the
great white throne judgment, to which the second resurrection
brings forth the dead, will not be an assembly of the righteous
with some wicked among them, but rather an assembly of the
wicked with some righteous to be separated from among them
 THE O.T. AND THE MILLENNIUM
339
(see above, and on ver. 15). It is the first resurrection that is
composed of the holy, to which therefore the psalm will refer,
and it is in exact agreement with Revelation that no ungodly will
then arise.
2. Is 26. 19 uses the same word as the psalm when it says :
" Thy dead shall live ; my dead bodies shall arise." The whole
connection, before and after, is with the day of Jehovah, the
purging of the iniquity of Jacob, the gathering to Palestine of the
outcasts of Israel (26. 1 ; 27. 1, 9, 12, 13). Now in definite con-
trast to this resurrection of the godly there has been said, but five
verses before (14), that the godless shall not then arise : " They
are dead, they shall not live ; they are deceased, they shall not
rise : therefore hast Thou visited and destroyed them, and made
all their memory to perish. The next yerse (15) shows that the
time is when the nation of Israel shall be increased and glorified.
Thus godly Israelites will share in the first resurrection.
3. Daniel 12. 2 is to the same effect, when translated in har-
mony with, not in opposition to, the foregoing passages and
Rv 20. 5 and Jn 5. 25-29. It then will mean : " Many of them
that sleep in the dust of the earth will awake, these [that rise] to
everlasting life, and these [the rest of the dead, that do not then
rise] to shame and everlasting contempt " (see Tregelles Daniel
in loco, and Pember, Great Prophecies, ed. 1895, pp. 463, 464).
The very terms of the prophecy preclude one general universal
resurrection of the dead at one time, for it says that it is " many,"
therefore not all, that shall arise at the time in question. That
time is when Michael shall intervene, when the great Tribulation
shall be, and the kingdom be set up at the end of the days, in
which the righteous Daniel shall rise to share his promised lot
(ver. 13).
4. In Jn 5. 25-29 also the Lord Jesus made the same distinc-
tion. In ver. 25 He speaks of the dead hearing His VOICe (</)(ov?)
not His word, Adyos as in ver. 24) and thereupon coming to life.
This is to be in the present " hour," meaning this christian era,
even as He had used the same phrase in c. 4. 23, where the words
" the hour cometh and now is " cover this whole age of spiritual
worship. But in 5. 2g He mentions another " hour " of which
He did not say that it " now is," when all then in the tombs shall
come forth, and shall be found to be of two classes, those that had
done good rising unto life, those that had practised evil rising
unto judgment. This must be the second resurrection, since
Rv 20. 4-6 shows plainly that in the first resurrection only the
holy will have part.
5. I Cr 15. 22-24. As there is a lengthy period between
340 THE DURATION OF THE KINGDOM

Christ rising as the firstfruits of resurrection and the resurrection

of those who are of Him at the time of His parousia, an interval
of already nearly two thousand years, so there is to be supposed an
interval between the latter and " the end," when He shall have
subordinated the universe to God. Both intervals are required
by the words that every man will be raised " in his own order "
(company, band) ; and by the terms of succession lawa. . . .
dra " then . . . then."
The Old Testament passages agree in placing the reign of
Messiah directly after that resurrection of the godly they intimate,
which in turn agrees with Rv 20 in placing the kingdom age
between the two resurrections.

IV. The Duration of the^Kingdom.

Satan is to be bound for a " thousand years " (3) and the saints
are to reign with Christ for the same period (4). The term is
used six times.
1. In ver. 2 it stands in contrast to a " little time " and may
itself mean an indefinitely long time. But it cannot mean
" permanently," for that " little time " is to follow " after " i t ,
the thousand years. And it being thus in contrast to an expression
of time it must itself imply time, and does not mean simply, as
has been suggested, that Satan is bound and Christ reigns
" completely " or " perfectly." Moreover, " that age " of the
kingdom is set by Christ in contrast to " this age " (Lk 20. 34, 35),
and the latter term having a time element so must the former, as
indeed the very word " age " indicates. That an " age " may last
more than a thousand years is seen by " this age " having done so.
2. From Is 65. 20 we learn that during the period of the
kingdom of Messiah there will still be sin and death. The kingdom,
though a wondrous period of glory and joy, will still be imperfect,
having latent in it the seeds which will develop into the final
rebellion after Satan shall have been loosed. Yet just before, in
ver. 18, the prophet has spoken of Israel rejoicing "for ever " in
that new era, and in many other places the sovereignty and
blessing of Israel is said to be for ever. Yet the presence of sin
and death shows that not the eternal state is in view; so that
in this connection with the kingdom of Messiah the expression " for
ever " means a period of great and unannounced length, yet not
endless. If this be so, then the parallel term " a thousand years,"
when it describes the same era, will have the same indefinite
sense. It would scarcely be reasonable, or harmonious with the
normal use of language, to reverse this and regard the term " for
ever " as meaning only a literal thousand years.
 THE SEVENTH MILLENNIUM OF YEARS 341
The ancient idea that the history of man from Adam to the
close of the kingdom will cover 7000 years, of which the Millennium
will be the seventh thousand, is too conjectural to carry weight
in settling the present question.
The " thousand years " may be literal; the term cannot mean
any shorter period: but it may have the force of indefinite
length, as suggested above.
 CHAPTER XVI

THE FINAL REBELLION

(20. 7-10)

The long-drawn drama of a sin-cursed world is nearing its close.

The visions hasten to a triple finality: the final rebellion, the
last judgment, and the eternal state.
Under God's King the earth has known perfect government,
permanent peace, unbounded prosperity. But such ideal out-
ward conditions do not of themselves create ideal beings. From
the first days of the kingdom some have yielded only feigned
obedience (Ps 18. 44; 66. 3 ; 81. 15 ; mgns.). There were also
sinners who fell under a curse (Is 65. 20). The children of the
godly also are not sinless. Eli's sons were not as their father,
nor were Samuel's. So that when spiritual incitement to evil is
again active, by the loosing of the great Tempter, it will fee seen
that unregenerate human nature is unalterable by a favourable
environment, that the flesh " is not subject to the law of God,
neither is able to be," that its mind, bent, whole tendency
is " enmity against God," and that they that are in the
flesh are not able to please God, but hasten ever to death (Rm
8. 6-8).
This will be the last and conclusive demonstration that the
theory is false that the man is changed by improving his circum-
stances : the leopard cannot change its spots. Man " must be
born anew, from above " or remain an alien to the kingdom of
God (Jn 3. 3, 5).
Moreover, the sight and enjoyment of the perfect conditions
under Christ have not created in man a sound understanding and
discernment. The unrenewed mind can be " deceived," imposed
upon, seduced, led astray {irkavdo), and so completely that an
universal rebellion of the nations of the whole earth can be
organized in a short time, which is all that Satan will be allowed.
Men can be quickly fired with a fury of war, and excited to a
frenzied attack upon God's centre, the " camp " of the heavenly
people, and the beloved city.
From these few verses it may be learned :
1. That Satan's long and fearful imprisonment has not changed
him. He is still the enemy and deceiver of men, still the rebel
342
 THE FINAL REBELLION 343
against God, still cursed by the fatal ambition to rule in disregard
of his Creator.
2. That man also is unchanged. His equally long but so
privileged and happy circumstances have not altered his nature.
He is still weak, wayward, rebellious.
3. It is hinted that the human race has multiplied under the
favourable condition of earth freed from the curse and made
exceedingly fruitful. They are " as the sand of the sea," and, as
before the Flood (Gn 6), so now, it seems when the race multiplied
that its wickedness increased till heaven could endure no more.
4. It is shown that there will be a special centre of those termed
" saints." The last former mention of these (19. 8) is of the
heavenly company who are to form the wife of the Lamb. It will
be natural that the " queen " shall dwell near the King, and we
know that His earthly abode is to be Mount Zion at Jerusalem
(Ps 2. 6 and scores of passages). " Camp " (Tra.Penft0\.ri) is used
six times of the castle of Antonia, near the temple at Jerusalem,
where resided the senior Roman officer and his men. Thus will
God's divine Vicegerent and His executive have a millennial
centre on earth, as later in the new earth (21. 2, 3).
5. The scene being obviously on earth, so the " beloved city "
must be an earthly city. It is distinguished from the " camp,"
yet must be contiguous thereto, since both are surrounded at
once by the attacking army. If any doubt what city is meant
let him read the terms of endearment used by God of Jerusalem,
and of no other city, in Messiah's day, as found in Zh 1. 14-17;
2. 7, 8 ; 8. 1-8, and other passages too numerous to cite.
6. Seeing that an universal deception of mankind is effected
so rapidly, and that Satan is not personally ubiquitous, it must
be presumed that his angel hosts are loosed with him, as before
they were bound with him. See ver. 2 above.
7. The scene tells how futile is conflict with God who is a
consuming fire. As Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed in an
hour, as Ahaziah's men were burned up at the word of Elijah, so
now these last insensate rebels of the human race are devoured
by fire from heaven. The supremacy of God is the security of
eternity.
8. Gog and Magog. The use of these titles naturally suggests
that there will be correspondence between this attack on Jerusalem
at the close of the Millennium and that former attack before the
Millennium, as given in Ek 38, 39. Upon this last see my Daniel,
App. C. Is it that this invasion will be organized under the
leadership of the ruler of the same area as that earlier invasion ?
Will Armenia be again the headquarters of this conspiracy and
344 THE CONFLICT CLOSED

Har Magedon be again its centre of mobilization ? History often

repeats itself; and to the end, as the Middle East is to be the
divine centre of government for the earth, it must needs be so
of human rebellion and of war.
9. Now at last the dread contest which commenced in heaven
when Satan rose up against the Most High, is concluded on earth
by his being cast into the lake of fire prepared for him and his
angels (Mt 25. 41). What deep and solemn reflections the awful
event should cause. " How art thou fallen from heaven, O Day
Star, Son of the Morning ! " (Is 14. 13). Let us join with his and
our God to lament his downfall and doom : " Son of man, take
up a lamentation for the king of Tyre " (Ek 28. 11, 12). It is
indeed lamentable that the highest may become the lowest, the
first the last, the brightest the basest. How glorious, how awful
is the grandest of all natural gifts, the freedom of the will. How
indispensable to its right exercise is the humility of love that bows
reverently to the will of God and trusts instantly to His supporting
grace. But when love of self displaces the love of God the sure
end is eternal ruin, unless grace can restore through repentance
and faith ; and a sinner, alas, can reach a state when these are
no longer possible.

Upon the lake of fire see the next chapter.

 CHAPTER XVII

THE GREAT WHITE THRONE

(C. 20. 11-15)

Surely this is the most august and solemn scene in Scripture.

The destiny of angels, demons, and men is to be decided and
declared. That the description is given in so few and simple
sentences makes it literature of the very highest order, for so the
essential features stand out with the utmost distinctness and
force, and the effect is overwhelming.
Yet this simplicity of statement conceals profound questions
which the brevity used does not permit should be answered. We
shall look at some of these and enquire if Scripture elsewhere
supplies answers.

Question 1. Where is this throne situate, seeing that earth and

heaven are pictured as having fled away ? For earth and heaven
comprise the universe. (Gn 1. 1). This raises

Ques. 2. What is meant by the earth and heaven fleeing away ?

Their disappearance is emphasized by the statement added that
" there was found no place for them." Does this imply the
annihilation of their very substance ? It would seem not, for
(a) After this fleeing away, the sea, death, and Hades are
shown giving up the dead which were in them : now these three
regions are part of this earth and are present after it has " fled
away."
(b) In Dn 2. 35 the metal image is said to be crushed to dust,
which the wind disperses like chaff so thoroughly that it is said
" no place was found " forvit. This did not imply the annihilation
of chaff or powder, but that it ceased to form the composite bodies
each had been before.
(c) There are several passages where phrases occur similar to
those before u s :
(i) Jb 14. 12. When Job, speaking of the dead, said " Till the
heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be roused out of
their sleep," he did not mean that the dead never would be raised,
nor that the heavens would literally cease to exist; because later
he expresses his confidence that he would himself be raised and
345
346 EARTH AND HEAVEN FLEEING : O.T.
would see his Redeemer standing on the earth (19. 25-27), which
implies the continuance of the existing order of nature.
(ii) Is 24. 22, 23 foretells a judgment of angels and human
rulers, and that they " shall be shut up in the prison " for a
period and then be visited. At that time " the moon shall be
confounded and the sun ashamed." The context shows that this
is to be when Jehovah comes to reign on Zion, that is, it is
millennial.
(iii) Is 34. 4 says that " all the host of heaven shall be dissolved,
and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll: and all their
host shall fade away." This also is millennial, for it is the year
of vengeance on Edom for its cruelty to Israel (ver. 6 ff.). Thus
the terms " dissolving " and " fading away" do not import
ceasing to exist, but describe what to human sight will appear to
take place.
(iv) Is 51. 6 gives an even fuller description : " Lift up your
eyes unto the heavens and look upon the earth beneath : for the
-heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax
old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like
manner." Yet even this vivid scene is millennial, being the time
when Jehovah shall comfort Zion and its people shall return
thither with singing (ver. 3, 1 1 ; etc.).
As the heavens and the earth continue «to exist for a further
thousand years at least, even these strong expressions cannot
import their annihilation. This is the more clear from
(v) Is 1. 9 and 51. 8, in both which the judgment upon men is
described by the same figure that " they shall wax old as a
garment, the moth shall eat them up." Yet the persons continue
to exist, though in another realm and form. This is the evident
force of
(vi) Ps 102. 25-27, quoted at Hb 1. 10.
Of old hast Thou laid the foundations of the earth ;
And the heavens are the work of Thy hands.
They shall perish, but Thou shalt endure :
Yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment;
[\j ^ As a vesture shalt Thou change them,
./; And they shall be changed ;
But Thou art the same,
I And Thy years shall have no end.
The strict contrast here is not between endlessness in the Lord
and ceasing to be as to creation, but between the unchangeability
of God and that the heavens and the earth shall be changed.
Now " change " implies continued existence. If a garment were
 EARTH AND HEAVEN FLEEING : N.T. 347
annihilated it would not be " changed." Of the non-existent
neither change nor anything else can be affirmed.
(vii) Rv 6. 12-17 repeats the words of Christ (Mt 24. ^9) as to
mighty disturbances in the heavens, affecting sun, moon, and
stars, as well as in the earth by earthquake. But it is added that
" the heaven was removed as a scroll when it is rolled up, and
every mountain and island were moved out of their places."
" Removal " will not imply extinction, even as it did not to the
roll of Isaiah which Christ rolled up in the synagogue and gave
back to the attendant, to be returned presently to its place.
Moreover, after this removal and disturbance the rocks and
mountains are still there, for men call on them to fall upon them.
It would therefore seem that, in the passages cited, such ex-
pressions as " no place was found," " vanishing," " fading away,"
" dissolving," " being no more," " rolled together," and
" changed " import in their essence no more than does the last
term " changed," but they describe various circumstances of that
change.
Two other statements by Christ must be considered.
(viii) Mt 5. 18. " Till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or
one tittle shall in no wise pass away from the law, till all things
be accomplished." Taken by themselves these words do not
assert that heaven and earth will pass away, but amount only to
an assumption of possibility; for lus &v with the subjunctive
TrapiXdy may mean " whenever heaven and earth may pass away
(if ever they do) " But the meaning is settled by the next and
later statement.
(ix) Mt 24. 34, 35 is stronger: " This generation shall in no
wise (ov fj,ri) pass away till all these things have been accomplished.
Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall in no wise
pass away." Applied to a generation of mankind " pass away "
does not mean " cease to be " as to the continued existence of the
persons, but only that they cease to dwell on earth at the same
time, as a generation. Applied to words spoken it means to fail
of effect or fulfilment, or cease to be binding: but the words
themselves as recorded abide. Thus as to heaven and earth,
" pass away " will mean as to their present form, or perhaps only
as to moral state and order. The circumstances of this passing
away, and its results, must be learned elsewhere.
(x) II Pt 3 is a chief passage. Vs. 5 and 6 teach that by a
certain pre-existing arrangement of waters, connected with both
heaven and earth, the then existing cosmos (6 rore KOO-HOS), not
the earth only, perished. This would seem to refer to that over-
throw of the original creation mentioned in Gn 1. 2. This occurred
348 HEAVEN AND EARTH NOT ANNIHILATED

by a fiat of God; and by the same almighty word a further

destruction of the heavens and the earth is to be wrought by fire
(ver. 7). As the former event was literal, affecting the literal
regions named and wrought by a literal agent, water, so presum-
ably will the future overthrow and agent be literal. But the
" perishing " of the former heavens and earth did not involve the
annihilation of their substance, and it is the same word that is
used by Peter in cs. 2. 1 and 3 and 3. 7 of the destruction of
impious men (ds-oAA-v/w, cb-wAeta). The word means to cease to
maintain its first condition and to fulfil its appointed purpose, as
when a leathern bottle " perishes " and no longer can hold water
or wine (Mt 9. 17). Hence it does not mean that either skins or
men or the heavens and earth are destroyed out of existence.
But the literality of the event foretold by Peter seems deter-
mined by the detail that the heavens and the earth will pass away
" with a rushing noise" (poi(-q§6v), which seems hardly sus-
ceptible of a non-literal sense ; as also by the repeated statement
that so intense shall be the heat that the elements of which the
heavens and the earth are compounded shall melt and dissolve.
Yet even so drastic a process as dissolution by melting does not
cause the elementary substances themselves to pass out of
existence, though their combinations and forms are changed.
Perhaps the word " elements " does not here mean the basic
chemicals, but the heavenly bodies, sun, moon, and stars, regarded
as severally the elements which form together the universe as a
cosmos.
(xi) The same almighty Voice which caused Mount Sinai to
shake at the giving of the law " will cause to tremble, not the
earth only, but also the heaven." This is to occur only once,
which signifies the removing of the things shaken, that the things
not having been shaken may abide. As this is to be the final
sifting of all things by judgment it must coincide with that final
purging of all things by judgment after which new heavens and
new earth are to emerge. So that some of the things formerly
existent are to survive the ordeal and to abide, which indicates
that the substance of them is not annihilated.

If this is correct, it shows that the " fleeing away " of heaven
and earth does not mean their extinction, which agrees with the
feature mentioned that some regions of the earth are shown as
existing later. The scene will then be one which John was made
to see in vision in order to enhance the majesty and solemnity
attending the taking of the throne by the Judge. It may be
regarded as the fullest possible display of that reverence and awe
 THE SITTER ON THE THRONE 349
which is really, though in comparison very feebly, expressed by
all in a court rising to their feet as the judge enters to take his
seat. It is as though on the judge entering all present withdrew
for a time. The passage thus corresponds with the sense of
Is 34. 4 and Rv 6. 14 cited above. It is a real appearance seen
by John, just as the earlier passages describe what men will really
see, namely, the sun black, the moon as blood, the heavens
removed ; yet the sun, moon, and stars themselves remain and
figure in later events. The phrase " no place was found for them ''
must therefore be understood as limited by the words " the face
of Him that sat upon the throne," which means that they could
not abide before His local presence as there seated. Perhaps the
moral force is that of I Jn 2. 28 : " And now, little children, abide
in Him, that if He shall be manifested, we may have boldness,
and not be ashamed from Him [not shrink back with shame from
Him (Alford, Darby, Westcott, Fausset, Weymouth)] at His
presence."

The foregoing will afford answer to Question 1 above. As the

fleeing away is symbolical, the location of the throne will be in
heaven, as shown in various places, as Ps 103. 19 : " Jehovah
hath established His throne in the heavens, and His kingdom
ruleth over all " : Is 60. 1 : " The heaven is My throne " : etc.

Ques. 3. 7s the One sitting on the throne God the Father or the
Son? For the former answer it is urged that all through the
Revelation hitherto " the One sitting on the throne " is the Father.
For the latter opinion Jn 5. 22 is considered by many to be
decisive, the words of Christ, " For neither doth the Father judge
any one [oiSeva ; the mention of " m a n " unduly limits the
statement, as in several other places where the Greek is indefinite],
but He hath given all judgment unto the Son."
The weakness of the former argument is that it assumes that
the throne here is the same throne as has been before seen. But
this seems unwarranted. The throne on which the Ancient of
Days sits is described fully in cs. 4 and 5, with all its striking
accompaniments, particularly the subordinate thrones and rulers
and also the sign of God's covenant, the rainbow. None of these
is seen here, and the description is very different: it is simply
" a great white throne." The thrones being distinct it will not
follow that the Enthroned must be the same person, and the
Lord's statement will decide that He is to be the judge at this
final assize, which is supported by Ac 13. 31 and Rm 2. 16.
Moreover, it is to be observed that, in fact, it is not the Sitter
350 THE DEAD JUDGED
upon the throne in the preceding portion of the Revelation who
actually inflicts the judgments detailed. It is the Lamb who
opens the Seals (6. i), and who treads " the winepress of the fierce-
ness of the wrath of Almighty God " (19. 15). From the great
white throne He completes this work of judgment which since
He opened Seal 1 has been in His hands. So stupendous is the
task of justly deciding the destiny of the incalculable numbers
of beings involved, with all the intricate, complicated, and secret
factors that interact in each life, that no mind less than that of
God himself could be equal thereto. The Son of man is himself
God. How good it is that One so able and perfect is the sole
arbiter of destiny, and none other.

Ques. 4. Why are those judged described as the dead? Have

they not been raised from the dead ? Yes, from the place of the
dead, but not from the state of death. It is a judgment of persons
who are dead at the time they are judged. There is no ground
for reading in that they have been made to live before the judg-
ment takes place. They are styled " the dead." No one would
think of styling living persons " the dead." The term employed
(veKpos) is nowhere used of persons not actually dead, physically
or morally. Resurrection does not of itself assure life, in the
proper sense of the term. Dead persons can be raised dead. In
Jn 5. 29 our Lord states a clear contrast: " They that have done
good shall come forth unto resurrection of life, and they that have
done evil unto resurrection of judgment." Here the act of resur-
rection is simply a " coming forth," and the Lord did not say
that they shall come forth alive, but only that they shall come
forth " unto " one of two destinies, life or judgment. This
" unto " (eh) has the force of issuing in, with a view to, a certain
state, showing that both the one and the other are to be subse-
quent to the act of resurrection. Indeed, there seems to be no
scripture that at the moment they come forth they have any
other body than that psychical counterpart which Samuel had
when he appeared to Saul (I Sm 28. 12-14). See Ans. 8, p. 355.
This resurrection, therefore, differs from the first resurrection,
for, according to I Cr 15. 52, that event brings forth the dead
instantly incorruptible, with bodies immortal and glorified in that
very moment. This is because the Judge will have determined
beforehand who they are He accounts worthy to attain to that
resurrection from among the dead (see note p. 80). At this
second resurrection the judicial proceedings and verdict are to
follow the act of resurrection and determine whether life or death
is to be the portion of each.
 SEA, DEATH, HADES 351
Ques. 5. What is meant by " books being opened " and by the
" book of life " ? This has been before considered on c. 3. 5,
pp. 102 ff. It is a terrific thought that precise, indisputable records
are available to declare what have been the doings of each
intelligent creature. As evidence they are indestructible and
incorruptible, and on them destiny is based. This judgment will
be personal, individual, according to works done. Not on the
ground of inheritance from Adam will any one be consigned to
the lake of fire, but each will receive according to his works,
whether good or bad.
Taking all the passages which treat of this momentous matter,
it would seem probable that every man's name has been written
in the book of life, but that sin, loved and maintained, causes that
name to be blotted out; and if, when this last assize of the
universe arrives, that erasure still stands, life is for ever forfeited
and only wrath remains.

Ques. 6. What, in relation to the dead, is the distinction between

the sea, and death, and Hades ?
The two latter have been distinguished in earlier Scriptures,
but the difference is not always marked. In Ps 6. 5 ; 18. 5 ; 116.3 :
Pv 5. 5 : Song of Songs 8. 6 : Is 38. 18 the connection of the two
is so close as to admit of small distinction. In Ps 49. 14 ; 55. 15
Death is as the shepherd that conducts the fated flock to Sheol
(=Hades). This seems the force of Rv 6. 8. The connection is
likewise close in Is 28. 15, 18, where the covenant of the godless
of Israel is made equally with Death and Sheol. In Hk 2. 5 Sheol
and Death are equally insatiable. In Hs 13. 14 the distinction
seems clearer: " I will ransom them from the hand [=grip] of
Sheol; I will redeem them from Death : O Death, where are thy
plagues ? 0 Sheol, where is thy destruction ? " But when this
passage is cited in I Cr 15. 54, 55 only Death is named : " O
Death, where is thy victory ? O Death, where is thy sting ? " ;
and the distinction is lost.
In Jb 26. 6; 28. 22 : Ps 58. 11 : Pv 15. 11 Sheol is associated
with Abaddon (Destruction) ; and in Rv 9.11 the angel sovereign
of the Abyss (which is the region of which Hades is a part: comp.
Ac 2. 27 and Rm 10. 7), is named Abaddon, that is Destroyer.
This may at least suggest a ground for distinction : that Hades
is the place of detention of the dead in general, but Death or
Abaddon that of such as have been destroyed by violence as a
definite judgment from God, in distinction from those who die in
more usual ways. In various places where this Destroyer is
shown acting it is as the executor of signal divine wrath on special
352 THE SEA

sinners. For example, Ex 12. 23 : II Sm 24. 15, 16 : II Kn 19. 35 :

Ek 9. 1-7 : Rv 6. 8 ; 9. 1-11.
From II Pt 2. 4 and Jd 6 it is clear that angelic beings will
come up for judgment at this last judgment session of the universe ;
and the former passage shows that the ancient belief that Tartarus
is the prison of certain angels who rebelled against the Most High
God has foundation in fact.

As to the sea, it is to be observed that it is disjoined from Death

and Hades by separate and prior mention : " The sea gave up
the dead which were in it, and Death and Hades gave up the dead
which were in them." The two latter are associated, the sea is
distinct from both. It has been suggested that demons are a
disembodied pre-Adamic race of inhabitants of this earth, who
through sin fell under judgment in pre-historic times, and that
the sea is the prison of many of these no longer allowed liberty.
The theme is discussed in Pember's Earth's Earliest Ages (68 ff.
In ed. 15, 61). It certainly seems clear that it cannot be the
bodies of the drowned of our race which the sea here gives u p ;
and as to the souls of men, these, as far as we see from Scripture,
all go to Hades or Abaddon. As remarked above, there is no hint
that the " dead " are embodied when they stand before the throne.
They appear as dead persons, and it is only while disembodied
that men, at least, are said to be dead, and this appears to be the
case with spirit beings also ; for Satan, originally clothed in glory
and beauty (Ek 28. 12, 17), must now metamorphose himself to
appear as an angel of light (II Cr 11. 14) ; and the craving of
demons to occupy bodies, even of swine, if driven out of men
(Lk 8. 32, 33), suggests that these also have been deprived of
bodies formerly possessed.
It is only after being acquitted by the Judge that bodies of life
are bestowed at the second resurrection, even as it is only after
being approved by Him that the body of glory of I Cr 15 is
conferred at the first resurrection.
On the whole, it would seem probable that the dead the sea
gives up are not human beings.

Ques. 7. What is meant by Death and Hades being cast into the
lake offire?
It is difficult to conceive of two localities being cast into a third
locality. But in Ps 49. 14 " Death shall be their shepherd " ;
55. 15 " Let Death seize [Darby] upon them " ; Is 28. 15. 18 " We
have made a covenant with Death, and with Sheol are we at
 THE LAKE OF FIRE 353
agreement " ; Hs 13. 14 " 0 Death, where is thy sting ? O Sheol,
where is thy destruction ? " ; Rv 6. 8 : " he that sat upon the
horse, his name is Death, and Hades followed with him," Death
and Hades are personified, that is, the spirit rulers of these regions
are in view. It must needs be so, since places cannot be shepherds,
make covenants, or ride horses. See above on Abaddon, the
Destroyer and Angel of the Abyss.
It is simple to think of these two dread angel beings being
consigned with their leader Satan to his and their doom. It is
the same expression as has been before used of the Beast, the
False Prophet, and the Dragon being cast into the same place
(19. 20 ; 20. 10). Having fulfilled their dread offices of Execu-
tioner and Gaoler respectively, they now meet the long-threaten-
ed doom of their age-long and persistent rebellion under the
leadership of the Dragon.
This seems to be the more probable seeing that the sea is not
cast into the lake. The nature of the figures forbids, since a lake
could scarcely contain a sea; and moreover, no evil angel of the
sea is mentioned in Scripture. The sea simply disappears in the
final, universal conflagration.

Ques. 8. What is the Lake of Fire ?

It is only as these closing scenes of universal history are
described that the lake of fire is mentioned in the Word of God.
But the conception was by no means new in John's day or
original to his book. The Book of the Dead has frequent mentions
of a pool or lake of fire as a region of the underworld and as the
final sphere of those condemned at the judgment of the dead,
and it is similarly termed " the second death " (e. g., pp. i n , 128,
201, 325, 326).
(i) It would seem that it must be a locality, for finite beings,
having restricted size and form, cannot be nowhere or everywhere,
but must be somewhere. (For the same reason heaven must be
a locality, not merely a state.)
(ii) The fire and brimstone cannot be material, for it is not
material forms that are cast thereto. See above, Ques. 6.
Material fire does not hurt spirit beings. The fire at Sinai was
presumably as literal as the cloud, tempest, and voice of trumpet,
but, being spirit as to their substance, the angels that mediated
on that occasion were not hurt thereby (Ac 7. 53 : Hb 2. 2). Nor
was the angel hurt when he ascended in the flame of Manoah's
sacrifice (Jg 13. 20). But there must be agents as potent to hurt
the spirit form as fire and brimstone to torment the body ; and
the nature of the figure used, a lake, suggests that the element is
M
354 GEHENNA

fluid, penetrating, enclosing, inescapable, fearfully adapted to its

required purpose. That there is a fire appropriate to angels is
seen from the chariots of fire that Elisha twice saw (II Kn 2. 11;
6. 17).
This lake is local, circumscribed, as every lake must be. It is
in existence before the Millennium, for the Beast and his Prophet
are cast there at the descent of the Lord (c. 19. 20). It is distinct
from the Abyss and Hades, because it is out of the Abyss that
the Beast is brought to rule the earth and is later cast into the
Lake. Similarly, Satan is cast first into the Abyss and after the
thousand years into the Lake (20. 3, 10). Since the " goats " of
our Lord's prophecy (Mt 25, 46) are dismissed to " the fire the
eternal prepared for the devil and his angels," that fire must be
this lake of fire, which again shows it to be in existence at the
time when Christ comes in glory to sit on the throne of His glory
(Mt 25. 31).
In Mt 18. 9, 8, the " Gehenna of fire " is also termed " the fire
the eternal." Thus Gehenna is the same as the " fire the eternal "
of Mt 25. 41, and therefore as the lake of fire, so that what is
stated of the former will reveal features of the latter. The
general notion of a place of disgrace and terror may well have
been borrowed from the valley of Hinnom, called Gehenna by the
Jews, where the bodies of more atrocious criminals, deprived
judicially of the decency and respect of burial, were cast out to
be burned with the offal of Jerusalem. But our Lord intended
more than this, even a reality in the world of the dead. For in
Mt 18. 8, 9 and Mk 9. 43, 45 He contrasts being " cast into the
Gehenna of fire " with " entering into life," and in Mk 9. 47 with
" entering into the kingdom of God." He taught moreover that
Gehenna is a place where the soul can be destroyed : "fear Him who
is able to destroy soul and body in Gehenna'' (Mt 10. 28). Now this
could not be effected by the fires in the valley of Hinnom ; but
it is solemn ground for fearing God who controls both heaven and
hell. See also Lk 12. 5.
It is doubtful whether in these places the Lord spoke of the
punishment to follow the great white throne. Fot this casting
into Gehenna is said to be " after God hath killed the body," in
contrast to the impotence of man to do more than the latter.
Correspondingly, it is doubtful if the entrance into life and the
kingdom of God here in view looks to the eternal and perfect state
to follow resurrection, and not rather to that " very far better "
experience for which Paul longed instead of continuing in the toils
and pains of this world (Ph 1. 23). For it is difficult to conceive
 GEHENNA 355
that the perfected body of heavenly glory will be maimed by want
of hand or foot or eye ; but this is easy of conception as to the
state directly after death, since it is clear that the soul has another
" body " than the one of flesh that it vacates at death. When
the medium at Endor saw Samuel she saw that he was old and
that he had a robe that covered him. Her description was so true
that Saul, who had known Samuel, was sure the prophet had
appeared to her (I Sni 28). So also Dives in Hades had eyes, ears,
and tongue, and Lazarus and Abraham were recognizable by him.
This subtler covering of the soul is thus a recognizable counterpart
of the grosser body of matter, and so can presumably partake of
its defects, until, in the case of the believer, these signs of death
shall be finally swallowed up and lost in the full victory of resur-
rection. Then a " habitation which is from heaven," a permanent
and perfect body, shall take the place of the tattered tent which
is of this earth (II Cr 5. 1, 2), and thus Christ shall subdue all
things unto Himself, including the humiliation to which as yet
the believer is liable through his body (Ph 3. 21).

James 3. 6 requires notice. The tongue is a fire : it setteth on

fire the wheel, that is, the whole revolution of nature, meaning
that the whole round of daily life can be inflamed and ruined by
heated speech, so becoming a revolving wheel of sin. But the
tongue itself derives this burning, destructive quality from evil
spirits, " it is set on fire by Gehenna." May there not be here a
hint that the fire of Gehenna at least includes a vehement,
passionate, all-devouring, uncontrollable spirit, which rages and
blasts, but never exterminates itself or the object it sets on fire,
but is a worm that never dies and a fire which never dies down,
because the vehicle on which it works, the souls of men or the
spirits of angels and demons, is itself indestructible ?
Even in this life men are consumed by tormenting passions,
cravings, memories, and conscience. Even in Hades Dives knew
this torment as he thought upon his brothers whom he had set so
evil an example.

Ques. 9. Where is the Lake of Fire ?

I do not find this stated distinctly. The ancient heathen con-
ception placed it in the realm of the dead under the earth. The
close connection noted in OT between Sheol and Abaddon does
not correct this but is rather to the same effect. The passages as
to Gehenna are not more specific, save as they leave unchallenged
the popular idea. The five places in Revelation (19. 20 ; 20. 10,
14, 15 ; 21. 8) are equally indefinite, save as they assume the
 356 THE LAKE OF FIRE

earlier scriptures as basis. The problem involved is this : If the

Lake is in the earth what will become of it when the earth is
finally dissolved by fire ? It is shown plainly that the sea, Death,
and Hades cease to be ; but what of the Lake ? Nor is it easy
to conceive of it as in the new earth, since of this it is stated that
it is to be the dwelling of righteousness. Yet the torment of
the worshippers of the Beast by fire and brimstone is said to be
" in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the
Lamb " and is to be for ever and ever (c. 14.10,11) ; which reads
as if it must be somewhere adjacent to the angelic realm. Till
this question can be answered plainly from Scripture the devout
student will be cautious in stating positive assertions and con-
clusions about the Lake of Fire. There is something yet to be
learned, and the present writer will welcome all light upon the
subject.

Ques. 10. Does the Lake of Fire annihilate those cast therein ?
(i) It is to be remembered again that apollumi and apbleia
(translated destroy, destruction, perdition, perish, waste, lose) do
not in Scripture mean to bring to an end the substance of the
article, but to render it useless, of no value for its intended
purpose ; as a sheep lost (Mt 10. 6 : Lk 15. 4, 6), or a skin withered
(Mt 9. 17), or ointment wasted (Mk 14. 4).
(ii) This is supported by the fact that the Beast and the False
Prophet are cast into the Lake at the commencement of the
thousand years of Christ's reign (19. 20), and they are still there
when Satan is cast there after the final rebellion. As a millennium
of years of the action of this fire has not ended their existence,
what ground is there for supposing that a billion years would
effect this ?
(iii) The next following and concluding statement is that " they
shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever." (1) This
implies not only existence, but consciousness. (2) " Day and
night" is a proverbial expression for uninterruptedness, no
cessation. (3) The phrase " for ever and ever " requires full
examination.
A. The Old Testament. Here it is applied :
(a) To the duration of God's supremacy and kingdom (Ex 15.18:
Ps. 10. 16 : Dn 7. 18) : to the throne and life of Messiah (Ps 45. 6 ;
comp. Hb 1. 8) : to the perpetuity of God's works, and warnings
and precepts (Ps 111. 7, 8; 104. 5 : Is 30. 8): to the duty of
keeping His law (Ps 119. 44) : and that praise is due to Him for
ever (Ps 45. 17 ; 145. 1, 2, 2 1 : Dn 2. 20 : etc.). In all these cases
the phrase plainly denotes everlastingness.
 THE AGE OF THE AGES 357
(b) It is applied to the duty and blessedness of trust in God
(Ps 48. 14 ; 52. 8 : Mc 4. 5), and to the reward of leading others to
fear God (Dn 12. 3). Here also the expression denotes ever-
lastingness.
(c) It is also applied to the destruction of the wicked : Ps 9. 5.
The psalm is millennial, and it is declared that the wicked persons
in view have been destroyed and their name blotted out for ever
and ever.
B. The New Testament is to the same effect.
(a) The Hebrew of Ps 45. 6 is rendered in H b 1. 8 by " Thy
throne, O God, is unto the age of the age." Both times the noun
is singular, " age," but the nature of the subject compels the sense
of everlastingness, and confirms this as the force of the Hebrew.
(b) In the Epistles the same phrase in the plural (ets TOI>S
alwvasTOValdvmv) is used seven times in ascribing glory, honour,
praise, and dominion unto God (Gl 1. 5 : Ph 4. 20 : I Tm 1. 17 :
II Tm 4. 18 : H b 13. 21 : I P t 4. 11 ; 5. 11).
(c) This same expression comes eleven times in the Revelation.
In 1. 6 ; 4. 9 ; 4. 10 ; 5. 13 ; 7. 12 ; 10. 6 ; 11. 15 ; 15. 7 it refers
to the life, glory, sovereignty, worship of God and the Lamb and
cannot mean aught but unlimited duration.
(d) In 22. 5 it is used of the sovereignty of the heavenly saints,
" they shall reign for ever and ever," and as these are to reign
with Christ, their dominion will co-exist with His.
(e) In 19. 3 it is applied to the judgment on Babylon the great,
" Her smoke goeth up unto the ages of the ages " ; in 20. 10, of
the Beast, the False Prophet, and Satan, it is said : " They shall
be tormented day and night for ever and ever " ; and in 14. 10
it is threatened by an angel that they who worship the Beast
shall share his judgment, for they shall be " tormented with fire
and brimstone," the same agents of punishment as mark the lake
of fire, " and the smoke of their torment goeth u p unto ages of
ages," the same phrase without the articles (as alwvas ai<£vu>v).
It may be hard to say why the angel used the shorter phrase, but,
if our sense of language is true, the simple expression " unto ages
of ages " expresses endlessness even more definitely than does the
longer phrase. Indeed, a Cypriot, an educated man, whose
native language is Greek, assured me in Palestine that to a Greek
ear the shortest term of all, translated " for ever," is more
emphatic than even the duplicated phrase rendered " for ever and
ever," though the latter necessarily means endlessness.
After all that has been argued as to the force of aion (age), there
seems no good ground for giving to it, in relation to the punish-
ment of the wicked, any less force than it has in the scriptures
358 AION

cited in all other connections, and especially when the same writer
in the same book uses it without any qualification to diminish
its meaning.
That competent classical scholar, Dr. Richard Weymouth, held
the doctrine of annihilation. He discussed this subject with my
relative, Rev. George Goodchild. They finished by considering
Mt 25. 46, " These shall go away into eternal punishment, but
the righteous into life eternal." Dr. Weymouth said : All I can
say about this verse is, that philologically eternal punishment is
not in it, but theologically it must be ! This simply means that
taking aion as it stands in secular literature, and this as under-
stood by a modern westerner, the term means a limited period,
but taking it in the light of its Scripture usage, connections, com-
binations, and teaching, it has the force of everlastingness.
Scholars of Weymouth's day were accustomed to treat the NT
too much as if it were classical Greek. Later research has
corrected this, and if one were to write thus to-day he would be
open to the criticism of Dr. W. R. Inge as in Things New and Old,
p. 103 : " the popular doctrines of future probation, and of the
ultimate salvation of all men, are not only without the slightest
warrant in the New Testament, but are contradicted by recorded
sayings of our Lord. Arguments to the contrary based on the
supposed meaning of the word aldvios [aionios] only prove that
the disputant is a poor Greek scholar."
This was written against the doctrine of universal salvation,
which leads to our next Question.

QueS. 11. Will all intelligent beings be at last saved ?

Every compassionate heart would surely be glad to embrace
this hope did Scripture justify it. Not to canvass all arguments
and all scriptures, it may suffice to say that the last preceding
discussion, if well-founded, by proving the everlastingness of
perdition, disallows universal restoration. The Judge upon this
throne would surely have declared unequivocally that all will be
saved at last were this to be, for He suffered unto death to make
restoration possible. But this final assize closes with the wicked
being cast into the lake of fire, and not a word throws a ray of
light or hope beyond that event, or weakens the solemn threaten-
ings that have preceded.
Nor doe's Scripture seem to afford hope that the dread torments
of the lake of fire are remediable and will effect that repentance
which preceding warnings, entreaties, grace, forbearance, and
discipline have failed to produce. In the case of Satan, angels,
and demons, we know not how many millenniums on millenniums
 UNIVERSALISM 359
may have given to them opportunity to humble themselves before
the Most High, but without avail. In the case of man we do
discern a perpetual process of hardening of heart through the
deceitfulness of sin. This may become inveterate, invincible,
irremediable, so that under the most terrific and painful plagues
men do not repent but rather blaspheme God (c. 10. 20, 21 ; 16. 21).
Whatever dread experiences Antichrist himself may have had in
the Abyss have not changed him, for he will issue thence to act
for Satan and lead mankind to blaspheme the true God ; nor will
a thousand years in the lake of fire improve him and his Prophet,
for their punishment is to continue thereafter for ever and ever.
Demons knew Christ to be the Son of God, feared lest He had
come to torment them before the time, but showed no sign of
repentance (Mt 8. 29 : etc.). Of men it i9 said that they may
" be guilty of eternal sin " (Mk 3. 29), If the sin be eternal, how
can its punishment be shorter ? And so on the very last page of
inspiration there stands this most solemn sentence : " H e that is
unrighteous [in practice] let him do unrighteousness still : and he
that is filthy [in nature] let him be made filthy still " ; which
seems as much to point forward into perpetuity as do the accom-
panying words : " he that is righteous, let him do righteousness
still: and he that is holy, let him be made holy still." These
sentences stand in immediate connection with the End Times,
being preceded by the words " the time has drawn near " and
followed by the words " Behold, I come quickly ; and My wages
with Me, to render to each man as his work is."

Ques. 12. " Lord, are they few that be saved? " (Lk 13. 23).
A profoundly interesting question ! But Christ left it un-
answered, and pressed the urgency of personal zeal to enter by
the narrow door. He did, however, warn that " many " would
seek to enter and be unable. But it is not for us virtually to
supply our own answer and assert that " many " means that the
vast majority of the race of mankind must and will be for ever lost.
Scripture provides no data for this conjecture.
But what it does say is most significant and a relief to the
subject. Speaking of man simply as man, without distinction of
race or religion, it shows in Rm 1 that men gave up God and God
could not but give up them. Then in c. 2 it again addresses every
man without distinction, whether heathen or Jew, by saying " O
man, whosoever thou art." It declares two principles of the
divine and final judgment as follows :
(1) The one who " despises the riches of God's goodness and
forbearance and longsuffering" and acts from " a hard and
360 ARE THE SAVED FEW ?

impenitent heart," " treasures up for himself wrath in the day of

wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God." He
being factious, and obeying not the truth (that is, such measure
of truth as he may have known ; whether from nature around, or
that universally implanted sense of right and wrong, " the work
of the law in the heart," or from conscience), but obeying un-
righteousness as the guiding principle of conduct—to such an
one God will render " wrath and indignation, tribulation and
anguish." These are four strong and fearful words, such as pre-
pare the mind for the final picture of that wrath, the lake of fire.
(2) But on the other hand, equally emphatic, and equally
addressed to " every man," is the assurance that " to them that
by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honour and incor-
ruption," God will " render eternal life," even " glory and honour
and peace to every man that doeth good." And both the wrath
and the peace will be awarded " in the day when God shall judge
the secrets of men by Jesus Christ " (ver. 16) ; and both actions
are part of the good news as preached by Paul, little as they may
appreciate this to be good news who rebel against the doctrine of
eternal wrath.
It is not said that the second class of persons find while on earth
a life that is glorious, honourable, and incorruptible, but only
that they seek it. Such as have moved among unevangelized
people (and there are plenty of such in these western lands !) and
have observed with care and sympathy, have not so' seldom met
such earnest seekers. They seem to us to be few in comparison ;
but we do not know all hearts, nor do we know what the grace
and Spirit of God may go on effecting right on to the day of
judgment indicated. We are to cultivate Paul's confidence that
" He who hath begun a good work " in any soul will go on to
" perfect it until the day of Jesus Christ," not only until the day
of death (Ph 1. 6). And the final issue of His work may bring
many blessed surprises, even as the issue of human and angelic
obduracy may bring sad disappointments; for many that have
been first in opportunity shall at last be last in attainment, while
many that are last shall be then first. »
An upright judge deals with the culprit according to his own
knowledge of law, not according to the culprit's ignorance of law,
and so sometimes he sees ground in law for acquitting one verily
guilty of the act charged. Thus will God deal with men according
to His own knowledge of the value of the atoning work of the
Saviour for all men, and He may see ground in law to extend the
benefit of that work to some who may not have known of it in
this life, such as infants, imbeciles, and those who in much
 THE OBDURATE LOST 361
darkness of mind had at least longed after that type of life to
which the cross of Christ gives access to faith.
It is to be much observed how deliberate and defiant is the sin
of those threatened with ultimate wrath. They condemn what
nevertheless they practise, that is, they sin knowingly and are
self-condemned (Rm 2. 1-3); they positively despise the goodness
of God (ver. 4) ; they are hard and impenitent, factious, and
actually disobedient to truth known, even as it had been before
said, they " hold down [i.e., suppress] the truth in unrighteous-
ness " (1. 18), obeying the latter right willingly. Similar are those
who will have their part in the lake of fire as described in Rv 21.8
and 22. 15. They are the cowards (SetAos comp. II Tm 1. 7 :
Dt20. 8 and ]gy. 3, LXX) ; unfaithful (dino-ros comp. Lk 12. 46);
the loathsome, detestable, disgusting (/3SekvTTo>, comp. Ps. 119.
163, LXX), murderers, fornicators, sorcerers (dealers in magic),
dogs (wild, foul livers), idolaters, and all liars (^ewmjs one who
is utterly, deceitfully false).
That there are all too many such is, alas, the fact; yet it is
not for us to condemn every sinner as being so appallingly evil
as to be irreclaimable. Each who seriously seeks light shall
reach it, while he who refuses it now courts darkness for ever.
The sin which makes condemnation certain is to reject or neglect
Christ; but these attitudes imply that He has been adequately
presented to the man. Who can affirm that this has been done
to vast numbers in even England, not to speak of less evangelized
regions ?

Ques. 13. Will there be saved persons at this judgment ?

Without hesitation we answer, Yes.
(i) The Romans passage just reviewed declares that it is " in
the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ "
that eternal life will be granted to those who sought it.
(ii) The present passage states it, for it is only those whose
names are not found in the Book of Life who are cast into the
lake of fire. The form of the statement can really mean nothing
less than that some names are found in that book : "If the name
of any person was not (emphatic) found . . . he was cast, etc."
As I have written elsewhere, were it said of a great crowd at a
railway barrier that if any one was found not to have a ticket he
was not allowed to pass, the unquestionable force would be that
some had tickets. To mean the opposite the statement should
be, " as their names were not found written . . . they were cast
into the lake of fire." Indeed, the form of the statement, as
applied to a crowd at a barrier, would mean practically that but
362 THE GREAT WHITE THRONE

few were without a ticket and the many had one. This has
bearing upon the last Question, but it is not wise to base much
on an inference of this kind.
(iii) All who will have died during the just preceding Millen-
nium will be present at this judgment. We take Is 65. 20 to
imply death of both godly and wicked during that age. See also
Ps 48. 14 (text) and 72. 14, both millennial.

Ques. 14. What form or procedure will be followed at this assize ?

Considering the countless myriads involved it would take almost
eternity to try each case separately and consecutively. But even
in this life we experience that, by His secret action upon the
conscience, the Spirit of truth does at one time arraign and
convict vast numbers separately before the bar of God. It can
be thus at each of the several sessions of the judgment seat of
God, including this last occasion.

What a profound and concentrated book is the Bible ! What

an array of deep and urgent problems is suggested by these five
short verses ! Yet for some preachers the brief paragraph seems
only a proof passage to enforce the doctrine of eternal punish-
ment, though in fact in itself it does not directly pronounce upon
this solemn question.
And now let us by deliberate effort divest our thoughts of all
these weighty questions, and quieten and retire the mind while
we read again the passage itself, so that its majesty and solemnity
may awe the heart, and the effect designed by the Spirit of truth
be produced in conscience and practice.
And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat upon it,
from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and
there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, the
great and the small, standing before the throne ; and books
were opened : and another book was opened, which is the book
of life : and the dead were judged out of the things which were
written in the books, according to their works. And the sea
gave up the dead which were in i t ; and Death and Hades gave
up the dead which were in them : and they were judged every
one according to their works. And Death and Hades were
cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake
of fire. And if any was not found written in the book of life,
he was cast into the lake of fire.
Do I really believe this ? Do I so really believe it that I am
urgent in warning my fellow-men to flee from this coming wrath ?
 CHAPTER XVIII

NEW HEAVENS AND EARTH

(C. 21. 1-8)

i. NEW HEAVENS AND EARTH.
The " fleeing away " of heaven and earth takes place at the
opening of the last judgment, but their dissolution by fire must
be at its close, because it is to effect the " destruction of ungodly
men " (II Pt 3. 7), which must therefore be after their con-
demnation at the opening of the books. The judicial proceedings
ended, the Judge utters the last almighty order, at which heaven
and earth burst into flames and disappear in the roar and rush
of an universal fire. Then, at His word, heaven and earth are
made anew.
This making anew is compared to the changing of a garment:
" as a vesture shalt Thou change them " (Ps 102. 26). The same
figure and expression are in common use. When an old garment
has been taken to pieces, cleaned, and remade, we say, " It is a
new coat." This is a proper sense of KOUVOS kainos, as when the
one who has been changed by regeneration is said to be a " new
creature," though he is still the same individual (II Cr 5. 17 :
Gl 6. 15). In this sense heaven and earth will be new, having been
dissolved, purged by fire, refashioned, and made wholly righteous.
Matter is not inherently evil, as an ancient philosophy taught;
yet the divinely delicate perception of the Holy One detects
defilement in matter which has been used by sinful beings as the
sphere and agent of sin. Thus the land of Canaan was defiled by
the abominations done by its inhabitants (Lv 18. 25, 27). See
also Nm 35. 33 : Dt 21. 23 : Jr 16. 18 : and often. Thus " the
earth is polluted under the inhabitants thereof " (Is 24. 5), and,
by reason of the sin of angels, " the heavens are not clean in His
sight " (Jb 15.15). We know well that sin has brought corruption
into the body of man, and that physical contact can infuse disease
into bodies, food, water, vessels, houses, drains, and the dissolution
of matter is thereby accelerated. This was the basis of parts of
the hygienic legislation of Moses (see L v n . 33, etc.; 12; 13; 15).
It was why a leprous house must be pulled down, and why metal
spoils taken in war from the dissolute heathen nations must be
purified by fire (Nm 31. 23).
363
364 THE TABERNACLE OF GOD
By the persistent sin of angels and men the whole universe has
been thus infected and corrupted, in its whole structure, including
the realms of the dead ; and whilst the divinely virtuous sacrifice
of the Son of God cancels the guilt, for both earth and heaven
(CI 1. 20 : Hb 9. 23), the corruption that produces defilement and
disintegration must be arrested and removed by fire, the appro-
priate and efficient agent. It is not said that the things " under
the earth " are cleansed. They are not, but they cease to be
after giving up the dead.
Thus on this colossal and universal scale will God " in wrath
remember mercy " (Hk 3. 2), and the issue shall be new heavens
and new earth in which righteousness alone shall dwell, and
defilement, decay, and destruction be no more known.

2. T H E TABERNACLE OF GOD.
The holy city, new Jerusalem, will be considered in the next
chapter. Here it is to be noted that-:
(i) It constitutes a tent-dwelling of God. Must not this figure
intend a contrast with His own proper and eternal palace in the
upper heavens ? In addition to that His original and remoter
residence God will henceforth have this new dwelling in connection
with the renewed earth. He will tabernacle with them in this
tabernacle.
It is noteworthy that in this picture of the final and permanent
relation of God to the earth the later symbol of a temple, a solid
and fixed building, is abandoned and there is reversion to the
earlier and lighter structure, the tent of meeting. This was
foreshown by a picture of millennial times, which themselves will
be a foretaste of eternal days. When Jehovah shall have purged
Jerusalem by judgment and burning (an earlier illustration of the
final universal purging by fire), then He " will create over the
whole habitation of mount Zion, and over her assemblies, a cloud
and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night:
for over all the Glory shall be as a marriage canopy " (Is 4. 4, 5 ;
see Lowth, and Baron, Zechariah 68). The picture is borrowed
from the decorative canopy under which bride and bridegroom sat
on the wedding day. It refers to the reuniting of restored Israel to
intimate relation to their God, as it is written, " I will betroth
thee unto Me for ever . . . in faithfulness " (Hs 2. 19). This
will have its correspondence in the eternal and heavenly state, for
the city is compared to " a bride adorned for her husband."
(ii) This canopy of glory over Zion reaches its perfect fulfilment
in the eternal state when the holy city becomes the abode of God
above the earth. Now for such an airy, floating canopy the tent
 THE HEAVENLY JERUSALEM 365
is the appropriate term, rather than the temple, the nature of
which figure would require a firm base of solid ground, as of a
weighty, immovable building. And consistently with this, in
Isaiah's picture the canopy is next described as a booth (Heb.
succoth), a light structure to afford shade and covert.
(hi) For the heavenly Jerusalem is not fixed on the earth, but
is located over the earth, with its centre above the earthly
Jerusalem, as is shown by the canopy being above Zion. Only
on the understanding that on the new earth there will be a
Jerusalem, the centre of Israel as the earthly people of God, and
saved nations associated therewith, can full and plain meaning be
given to the very many passages which describe the covenant, the
possession of Canaan, and the salvation and sovereignty of Israel
by the terms everlasting and for ever. (See Gn 17. 7, 8,19 ; 48. 4 :
Lv 24. 8 : Nm 25. 13 ; comp. Ek 44. 15, millennial: Is 45. 17 ;
51. 1 1 ; 54. 8 ; 55. 13 ; 61. 8 : Jr 31. 5 ; 32. 40 : etc. ; etc.). It is
by the same word that the Scripture describes as everlasting the
nature, sovereignty, and kingdom of God (Ps 90.2; 100. 5 ; 145.13:
Pv 8. 23 : Jr 10.10 : etc. ; etc.). And thus of Israel God has said :
" I will betroth thee unto Me for ever " (Hs 2.19), for " I have loved
thee with eternal love " (Jr 31. 3), the word being the same in the
two passages, showing that the final union of Israel with God is
to be as enduring as the love that effects it. This is wholly
consistent with the unchangeability of God's character and
covenants, and that these latter were given in the foreview of
eternity according to which He plans and acts. Also, it is but
reasonable that there being a new earth, and the saved of the
former nations transferred thereto, the supremacy among them
should remain with that nation to which the King of the whole
earth belongs by His human birth.
(iv) But not with Israel only will God then dwell, but all the
peoples of the earth shall be His peoples and He their God, and
so shall be fulfilled to the utmost His covenant with Abraham
that in his seed should all the families of the earth be blessed
(Gn 12. 3). What a blessed contrast is this to the former history
of the nations ; for all of them have revolted from the only true
God and have worshipped false gods, personal or impersonal, to
His dishonour and their misery.
3. And then shall it be known in rich and endless gladness
that " blessed is the nation whose God is Jehovah " (Ps 33. 12),
for the banishing of sin shall banish the effects of sin ; and tears,
death, mourning, crying and pain shall cease for ever, for "the
former things are passed away," and all things have been
made new. They will be the same things, even the same
3 66 THE FREE GIFT

persons that formerly sinned and sorrowed; yet they shall be

new creatures in new conditions. This again illustrates the
force of kainos.
To the mind of blinded man this may seem only a lovely
but quite impossible dream-idyll. But it is the " One that sitteth
upon the throne " who has determined it shall be, and He has
endless resources and unwearying love and patience, and the
thoughts of His heart shall stand fast unto all generations (Ps
33. 11). To Him the future already is, and He declares calmly
to John, and to us, that " these words are faithful and true " and
that the things promised have already come to pass (-yeyovav)
(ver. 5, 6) : for He is the eternal One, who embraces all time, the
Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.
4. Yet no heart may or could enjoy that world of righteousness
unless animated and ruled solely by the Spirit of holiness Who is
the eternal energy of that realm. Yet if this ravishing prospect
may have made any heart to thirst after such bliss, to him the One
sitting on the throne, the Giver of all good, offers the encouraging
promise, " I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of
the water of life freely." His own Spirit is this water that
imparts and sustains life (Jn 7. 39). He is a. free gift to each who
comes and drinks, by believing the faithful and true words of
life. And each may come, not to some remote rivulet at a distance
from God, good though that were if no more were possible ; but
he may draw near to the Fountain itself whence all life flows ;
that is, each believer may know direct access to God, through
Jesus Christ, by the Spirit (Eph 2. 18). The ancients talked of
fabled fountains, the drinkers at which lived long ; but this true
water of life becomes in a man a fountain of water springing up
unto life eternal (Jn 4. 14).
5. Life eternal is the common property of all the saved, or
they would not be of the saved. But life, in all its forms and
spheres, admits of degrees. Some Christians, alas, live at only a
" poor, dying rate " ; some lay hold upon life, seize upon its
powers and opportunities as upon a treasure, develop these fully,
and reap the increase. Some sheep live indeed, yet profit little
by their pasture, and are little credit or pleasure to the shepherd ;
others fulfil His desire and have abundant life. Some bury their
Lord's money ; others multiply it. Some come not to the help
of the Lord against the mighty; some fight the battles of their
Captain, even unto death.
To the latter nobler prospects are opened. He that conquereth
shall be an " heir," one who owns and controls the parental estate ;
he shall be a " son," not a " child " still in the nursery or school.
 IF 367
Both these dignities are possible to every one who has life in
Christ : " All things are yours ; and ye are Christ's ; and Christ
is God's "—heirship (I Cr 3. 21-23) : " ye are all sons of God,
through faith, in Christ Jesus " (Gl 3. 26). Of all is this the truth
as regards status and possibilities.
But believers are warned, solemnly and repeatedly, of the
possibility of failing to inherit (I Cr 6. 9 : Gl 5. 19-21 : Eph 5. 1-14),
and also of sons turning back experimentally to the elementary
stage of childhood (Gl 4. 8-11 : Hb 5. 12-14). The highest is open
to each : the one overcoming shall attain to it ; even as it is
written : " heirs indeed (^'v) of God, but (Se) joint heirs with
Messiah, if so be that we suffer with Him that we may be also
glorified together " (Rm 8. 17), and again : " If we died with Him,
we shall also live with Him [that is, be ever in His immediate
company] ; if we endure, we shall also reign with Him " (II Tm 2.
11-13. See my Firstborn Sons).
6. It is appallingly solemn that this summary of the eternal
state, of its newness, bliss, and glories, is closed by the Spirit of
truth and grace with the reminder that, on the contrary, to the
impious " their part [shall be] in the lake which burneth with
fire and brimstone, which is the second death." The heart could
wish that the vision closed on the radiant heights, but instead it
sinks to the darkest depths. Why ?

Note 1. How the saved pass through that final conflagration,

and are transferred to the new heavens and earth, I do not know.
But, as we have seen, material fire does not harm spirit beings,
and the saved of mankind will then be in resurrection bodies.

Note 2. "-The sea is no more," no longer (OVK en). Being

primarily the instrument of wrath (Gn 1. 2 ; 7. 11), the sea
has no place in a new and sinless earth.
 CHAPTER XIX

THE HOLY CITY

(Cs. 21. 9-22. 5)

There is no disharmony between the grace of God and His

wrath. The same angel may pour out a plague and then display
the glories of the bride (21. 9).
The seer had heard the marriage of the Lamb acclaimed (19. 6-9),
but he had not seen the bride. Later he had noticed that, as to
its adornment, the holy city resembled a bride (21. 2), which
combination of the two symbols suggests some correspondence
between the bride and the city. At length the angel promises
that he shall be shown the bride, the wife of the Lamb (21. 9).
But the fulfilment of this is that he is shown a city (ver. 10). It
is disputed whether the description is (a) simply pictorial, symbolic
of the glories and offices of the persons who will form the bride ;
or is (b) a description of an actual city of the form, size, and
materials named, to be the abode of the persons who form the
bride ; or (c) is it a combination of both ?
1. Opinion (6) is unacceptable from inherent difficulties. Is it
really to be believed that there exist in the upper realm vast
masses of solid gold, of which angels have measuring rods and
streets are made ? If it be asserted that there are pearls so large
that a single one suffices for a gate proportionate to a wall some
230 feet high, we are induced to reflect how huge must have been
the oysters in which they grew, how vast the ocean where such
oysters lived, and to wonder where in the heavenly region that
ocean is situate.
One ingenious literalist observed that a square of the size given
as the base of the city will fit nicely into a circle of the size of
the moon, and he proceeded to infer that the location of the city
will be on the opposite side of the moon to that which faces us.
But this opinion (6) cannot be carried through consistently
without doing violence to figurative language. As shown above
the River of the water of life is, as we conceive, incontestably a
figure, namely, of the Spirit of God. But this feature being a
symbol, so will be that of the " tree " that grows by the River,
with its " fruit " and " leaves," and the healing qualities of the
latter, as well as the broad plaza through which the " River "
368
 JERUSALEM ABOVE 369
runs ; and by consequence the other details also will be symbolic.
2. But these figures having behind them realities of the spirit
world will not the rest also have corresponding realities, and there
be a veritable " city," though of a spirit order suitable to the
world above ? It is quite possible ; and this city may be that
one of the many abiding places on high which the Lord has gone
to prepare for the faithful (Jn 14. 2). And the reason for the
employment of symbols may be that there simply is no other way
of creating in our minds any just conception of the reality.
Thus opinion (c) may be true, and it can be supported by OT
passages to which this vision answers. For example, cs. 60, 61,
and 62 of Isaiah give the feature that the earthly Zion and the
earthly Israel are addressed with a sort of intertwining of the
terms used ; now it is the one, now the other that is addressed,
and both the city and the people are regarded as a bride adorned
for her Husband.
This finds some further support in the former NT mentions of
the new Jerusalem (Gl 4. 21-31 : Hb 12. 18-24 : R y J 4- I )-
In the Galatian passage the Jerusalem then existing, and in
servitude with the Jewish race, her children, was a reality pre-
figured by the slave-woman Hagar and by mount Sinai, whence
issued the law, which, through the sheer inability of human
nature to keep its precepts, imposed only bondage. But Sarah,
the free-woman, and Isaac, her free-born son, prefigured the
heavenly Jerusalem and the free children of God born under
grace. The nature of the analogy requires that this Jerusalem be
as actual as was the other and as Hagar and Sinai, Sarah and
Isaac. Yet this scripture gives no information as to what may be
the reality intended by the term " Jerusalem that is above."
In the Hebrews passage the heavenly Jerusalem corresponds
again to Sinai and must be conceived as being equally a reality,
and the more that all the other connected features are realities,
that is, the blood, the covenant, its Mediator, the spirits of just
men, the Judge, the firstborn, and the angels. But here also no
notion is conveyed as to the nature of the " city of God," and no
more can be inferred than that this must correspond to the nature
of God, of angels, and of glorified men, that is, that as these are by
substance spirit, not of matter, so must be the heavenly city.
It is thus in the third passage (Rv 14.1). The Lamb is localized
and so are the 144,000. As remarked before, persons with local
presence must be in a place. This place is here termed " Mount
Zion," but what this term describes is not shown, though it can
be inferred that in dignity and use it answers to Mount Zion at
Jerusalem, which was (a) the royal dwelling, (b) the centre of
370 JERUSALEM ABOVE

worship, .(c) the seat of government, (d) the heart of the empire
(Ps 122. 1-5). These features are found in our present vision :
(a) 21. 3, (b) 21. 22, (c) 22. 1, 3, (d) 21. 24-27; 22. 14.
Yet admitting that persons will have a suitable place of
dwelling, it still does not follow that the description before us is
that of the dwelling place rather than of the persons, and certainly
opinion (a) is the view of the vision which yields more practical
moral instruction. It is more important that we should know
the character, service, and honours of the heavenly Israel than
of the heavenly Zion, even if the latter be a reality. And surely
this view is implied in the strict correspondence of the phrases :
" I will show thee the bride . . . and he showed me the city " ;
for the " bride " is a company of persons, and therefore the
" city " should represent persons. This does not transgress the
canon that a symbol cannot be explained by a symbol, because
the angel did not offer to explain to John the symbol " bride,"
but simply to show him the bride. It is a second vision of the
same subject. It is common in Scripture to employ several
symbols of one theme, no one of them being adequate to give a
full conception. For example, in this book Christ is "both lamb,
lion, star, root, etc. As here, when John has been told he shall
see a bride he is shown a city, so in c. 5. 5 though a lion has been
mentioned he is shown a lamb (ver. 6).
The Greek TT6\IS polls, " city," is used quite as regularly for
the inhabitants as for the place. Mt 8. 34; 11. 20; 12. 25 ;
21. 10 : Mk 1. 33 ; 6. 11 : Lk 4. 43 : Ac 13. 44 ; 14. 2 1 ; 17. 5, 16.
The same is true of the Latin civitas and its English derivative city.

3. The following suggestions may help study of the details of

the " city."
(i) Its descent out of heaven, having the glory of God. " When
Christ, our life, shall be manifested, then shall ye also with Him
be manifested in glory " (CI 3. 4, and see I Th 2. 12 : I Pt 5. 10).
(ii) Its light like jasper (21. 11). Resemblance to God the
Father (see 4. 3). Also clearness, transparency : comp. Ph 1. 10 :
II Pt 3. 1 : I Cr 5. 8 : II Cr 1. 12 ; 2. 17, " sincerity"
{dXiKpivqi -ua), that which examined in the sunlight (of God's
presence) is found pure.
(iii) The Wall, (a) Security. Is 26. 1 : " salvation will He
appoint for walls and bulwarks."
(b) The foundations of the wall. The church of the firstborn
ones is built upon the foundation of the truth taught by the
apostles, and by prophets who learned from them (Eph 2. 20).
Hence the names of the apostles are seen on the foundations
 JERUSALEM ABOVE 371
(ver. 14). As Paul laboured in the founding of churches more
abundantly than all the other apostles, perhaps his name will be
one of the twelve when the church is completed, though he was
not one of the twelve of the very first days of her history.
(c) The jewels ornamenting the foundations correspond so
closely to those seen on Satan in his original glory and to those
on the breastplate of Israel's high priest (Ek 28.13 : Ex 39. 10-14),
as to suggest the office of king and priest, representing before God
all the saved, over whom they will rule and for whom they will
mediate.
(d) 144,000. As seven is connected with heavenly completeness
(c. 1. 4, seven churches, representing one complete church : seven
angels: etc., etc.), so is twelve connected with completeness in
man's affairs (e.g. twelve tribes of Israel making one complete
nation). 12 multiplied by 12 will thus suggest complete com-
pleteness, perfect perfection; and this perfection carried to the
highest degree, even as 1000 was the highest figure in the
enumerating of Israel (tens, fifties, hundreds, thousands, Ex 18. 25).
See on c. 14. 1.
(iv) The Gates. Access and Thanksgiving. Is 26. 2; 60.11,18.
(a) It will be by contact with the glorified saints that the peoples
will have access to God and to His blessings. They will be
priests unto God, leading the praises of the universe and radiating
the light of the knowledge of His glory. Comp. Dn 12. 3 : " And
the teachers shall shine as the brightness of the firmament, and
they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and
ever." As I wrote on this verse in my Daniel (p. 194) : " The
teachers diffused the light of truth in the time of thick darkness,
and hereafter shall radiate brightness as the atmosphere dis-
seminates and tempers the brilliant sunlight, dispersing the direct
and scorching rays into every nook and cranay, but softened and
cooled, so as to benefit and not to injure., Is not this a striking
hint of the priestly, intermediate function of the glorified saints,
in fellowship with the Son of God, even the diffusing in their
persons something of the presence and glory of God, so as to be a
blessing to those who could not themselves endure the direct
blaze of His unveiled glory ? These shall themselves ' see His
face ' ; others will see Him in them as in a ' tabernacle ' (Rv 22.4 ;
21. 3)." Already the godly are this in measure (Mt 5. 14-16 :
Ph 2. 15, 16); then they will be so fully and eternally. The
nations shall walk under their instruction, and shall render to
them due honour (21. 24, 26). In the ideal it was thus of old with
the priests in Israel: they were to be the teachers of God's law,
and were to receive from the people His portion of their substance.
 372 JERUSALEM ABOVE

(b) But on earth Israel will have the chief position, and the
nations must own this and serve them (Is 60. 12-16). Therefore
the gates, the means of access to the heavenly people, bear the
names of the tribes of Israel. God is a God of order, and has
graded the universe rank on rank as He sees to be best for each
realm. Sin has disturbed the balance by causing the higher
ranks often to abuse their powers at the expense of the lower
orders. This drives the latter to attempt to reduce society to a
uniform level. But sin in each human heart still frustrates this
attempt at betterment, for as soon as the lower attain power they
in turn become tyrannical. In the kingdom of God the plan of
God is maintained, the universe will still be graded ; but love will
banish selfishness, the higher will serve the lower, and harmony
and joy prevail, so that the lower will honour the higher, and God
be praised by all.
(c) Angels stand at the entrances, protecting Israel and
attending upon heavenly saints, as guards of honour at palace
doors (Hb 1. 14).
(d) The gates are of pearl. Right of access to God is of supreme
value, like to the preciousness of pearls (Mt 13. 45, 46).
(e) The gates open to the four quarters of the heavens, which
signifies the universality of the blessings available through the
heavenly saints. The denied are excluded from the city, but no
one else.
(v) The city is a cube (21. 6), which geometrical figure, being
formed wholly of right angles, presents equality and perfection of
shape from every view-point. This may suggest the perfection
of the saints in both actual righteousness and appearance, all
according to the divine standard, the golden measuring rod.
The above remarks on the number 144,000 may suggest that
the number 12,000 indicates the completeness of the whole
church, from whatever angle of thought it may be viewed.
After reading various attempts to portray a literal city of this
form and dimension, I still fail utterly to form the vaguest con-
ception of an actual city as a cube, on every side as high as it is
broad and long, or even as a pyramid, each slope of which is of
the same length as its base line, or of a tapering tower as high as
the length of its base line, with a street encircling it from base
to summit. (This last conception is set aside by the word for
street, -a-Aon-cia plateia, meaning " broad place," " square."
Comp. the derivatives, Italian piazza, French place, German
Platz.) That a city can be so shaped is to me, at least, so un-
imaginable as to decide that this chapter is not a description of
anything concrete.
 SEVEN NEGATIVES 373
(vi) The measuring of land or property is always a suggestion
that some person is taking detail account of it with the view to
possession and control. This " city " is to be God's personal
dwelling, and this is the occasion when He will enter upon
possession in person.

4. The seer notices seven negative features, of things common

to cities but absent from this city.
(i) There is no temple (21. 22), no special spot where the Deity
must be sought. The temple provided approach to God but
debarred access to Him. The Holy Spirit thus signified that the
way into the immediate presence of God was not yet made
manifest, was not thrown open to all. But God in the midst of
His people will be accessible. In that realm of perfected relation-
ship each who approaches to a glorified saint shall find God in
him. Then shall be realized completely the words that shall be
true of the earthly Jerusalem after an earthly manner, " The name
of the city shall be Jehovah Shammah, Jehovah is there"
(Ek 48. 35). Then shall that be known in manifest reality which
in measure the church reveals even to-day, " God is among you
indeed " (I Cr 14. 25). Then shall be known in unrestricted
blessedness the power of the Saviour's words, " The hour cometh
when neither in this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, shall ye worship
the Father . . . true worshippers shall worship the Father in
spirit and truth " (Jn 4. 21, 23). Such worshippers as the Father
is now seeking He will then have found in fulness.
(ii) There is no external light, as of sun or moon (21. 23). The
glorified shall know the full force of the promise, " They shall
teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his
brother, saying, Know Jehovah: for they shall all know Me, from
the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith Jehovah "
(J r 3 1 - 34). a n d a l s o what this other word includes shall then be
fully developed, " And as for you, the anointing which ye received
of Him abideth in you, and ye need not that any one teach you ;
but as His anointing teacheth you concerning all things, and is
true, and is no lie, and even as> it taught you, ye abide in Him "
(I Jn 2. 27).
(iii) No lamp. There shall be no need of man-made lights, as
of a lamp (21. 23). He who is even now the Light of the world
shall be known as such in perfection by the saints of those high
places : " the lamp thereof is the Lamb." It is to be much
observed that, to all eternity, in heaven and on earth, the Lamb
remains the lamp, the light-bearer, from whose face the light of
the knowledge of the glory of God shines forth over the universe.
 374 SEVEN NEGATIVES

These last two features are emphasized by repetition in 22. 5.

At present saints are called by God to enlighten one another, by
books, conversation, discourse, holding forth the word of life
(Ph 2. 15, 16), and by good works (Mt 5. 14-16). The reason for
this is because, as yet, we see the Lamb, the light, but dimly, and
in differing degrees, and therefore the more enlightened in experi-
mental acquaintance with Him can help to illuminate minds less
enlightened or wholly dark. But the glorified shall know Him
by direct spirit-consciousness, and of each such that word shall
be fully true, " if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body
shall be full of light " (Mt 6. 22).
This unclouded knowledge of God shall be dispersed by saints
over the whole race : the nations shall learn of God from His
heavenly people, and the kings of the earth shall honour these their
instructors (21. 24). Already those very few rulers and races that
have consented to learn from the servants of God, out of His Word,
have found it a great gain : then this shall be so universally.
(iv) No night. In consequence of fulness of light there shall be
no night, this also being emphasized by repetition (22. 5). Ignor-
ance of God shall not again fling its black pall over the minds of
the glorified as in the former time of their ignorance, inducing the
moral unhealthiness which the light of the Sun of righteousness
alone can heal. But perpetual light will demand perpetual vigour
to endure it. Frail mortality requires the night for recuperation
of mind and body. In that perfected state this shall no more be
so, for none shall say, I am sick, either in soul or body. The
resurrection man is full of power (I Cr 15. 43).
(v) The gates shall not be shut (21. 25). There shall be perfect
security, and unrestricted access to God in His people.
(vi) Nothing unclean shall on any account enter. No unclean
thought shall sully the mind, no unclean desire clamour for
indulgence, no unclean being, angel, demon, or man, shall approach
to tempt. Oh, what a ravishing and rest-giving prospect is this
to one who has caught even now a glimpse of the loveliness of
holiness as seen in the Lamb of God.
(vii) No curse. Again by consequence, there shall be no more
curse (22. 3), for there shall be nothing that demands that the
Holy One shall curse it. So shall perfect bliss and perfect
blessedness prevail for ever in perfect fellowship with the Father
and the Son. *
Oh happy day when we no more
Shall grieve Thee whom our souls adore ;
When sorrows, conflicts, fears shall cease,
And all our trials end in peace.
 SEVEN POSITIVES 375
Oh happy day when we shall see
And fix our longing eyes on Thee,
On Thee our light, our life, our love,
Our all below, our heaven above.
Oh happy day of cloudless light,
Eternal day without a night:
Lord, when shall we its dawning see,
And spend it all in praising Thee ? (J. G. Deck.)
5. It enhances the effect by contrast that seven positive
features are given of the life glorified.
(i) The River of the water of Life. J n 7. 39 declares t h a t when
Christ spoke of rivers of living water He referred to the Spirit of
God : " This spake He of the Spirit, which they that believed on
Him were to receive." This appears to apply to every place in
Scripture where living water is used as a type. To drop in the
present place the beautiful figure is to reduce the passage from
the sublime to the ordinary. But as before remarked, this river
being a symbol, so must be its accompaniments, and the whole
vision. An essential t r u t h here revealed is, that to all eternity,
and in every realm of the universe, the Spirit of life is the life of
the spirit in all who live.
Now this River is shown here as flowing through the City,
which is the final and richest fulfilment of the Lord's promise
quoted above, that the believer shall be the channel through
which the Spirit of life shall become available to others. It is of
the River as flowing through the City that the nations shall drink.
(ii) The Tree. In the Adamic Eden (Gn 2. 7) there were two
special trees, those of knowledge and of life, and in addition there
were trees beautiful and trees fruitful. These all depended upon
the river for their vitality. All this will find its highest fulfilment
in the glorified church, in their knowledge, life, beauty, and
usefulness ; and all this in them will be by the Spirit.
This application of the figure of the tree to man follows Ps 1,
the second passage where the river and the tree are seen together.
There the godly man is himself the tree ; and it is shown that the
meaning and the secret of being planted by the river, that is, of
drinking in uninterruptedly of the Spirit of life, is heart-delight
in the law of the Lord.
In the third passage where the tree and the river are seen
(Jr 17. 7, 8) the lesson is varied and enforced. A real, working
trust in God is given as the secret of the communion of the Spirit,
assuring beauty, fruit, and superiority to adverse influences.
In the fourth Scripture (Ek 47) the special truth taught is that
the river flows down past the altar. There had been no Pentecost
376 THE THRONE

had there been no Calvary : atoning death opens the way to the
gift of life. This is taught equally by other figures. It was only
upon the blood that the anointing oil might be placed (Lv 14. 17),
and it was with oil and blood mingled that the priest must be
sprinkled and sanctified (Lv 8. 30).
" I stand upon His merit,
I know no other stand,
Not e'en where glory dwelleth
In Immanuel's land."
In this fifth and last passage (Rv 22. 1) the river flows out of
the throne, which is essentially the same lesson as in Ps 1, even
that full submission to the royal authority of God is the condition
of fellowship with His Spirit, for it is to them that obey Him that
God giveth the Spirit (Ac 5. 32). The kingdom is to be brought
into complete subjection to God not only for His glory but for
its own welfare.
(iii) The throne of God, and of the Lamb. The glorified saints
will be the supreme instrument for the display of the divine
authority and for the administration of the whole kingdom :
" the saints shall judge the world," including angels (I Cr 6. 2,
the cosmos). Having learned to obey they shall rule : having full
knowledge of the laws of the kingdom they shall administer these.
It is the throne of God and of the Lamb jointly, one throne, one
sovereignty, and this for ever, even as it was before said, " the
kingdom of the world is become the kingdom of our Lord and of
His Messiah ; and He shall reign for ever and ever " ( n . 15).
To deny the equality of the Son with the Father would subvert
the economy of the universe at its very summit. This negatives
the idea that the Son will cease to reign when He shall have
subdued all things unto God. Just as the " up " of II Cr 12. 2
and 4 is not warranted by the Greek harpazo, so in I Cr 15. 24 the
verb paradidomi does not warrant the rendering " He shall
deliver up the kingdom to God, even the Father." This " up "
imports a more absolute handing over of the kingdom than is
intended. The sufficient force of the word is seen in ver. 3 of
the same chapter (I Cr 15), where Paul says, " I delivered unto
you the doctrines which also I received." He did not cease to
retain the teachings by handing them on to others. Part of the
importance of this is, that if the Son should cease to reign then
it could not be that His heavenly people should reign for ever, as
is declared of them (22. 5). The subordination of a son to a
father (an eternal fact in the Godhead, for the inner relationships
of the Deity can never change, or God would not be unchangeable,
 SEEING HIS FACE 377
not eternal) does not hinder a royal father making his son co-regent
of the kingdom. It were a fitting reward if that son had sup-
pressed a dangerous rebellion.
(iv) The servants. His slaves (ol SovXoi) shall render to Him
the service due to God (XaTpavo-ovo-iv air^). Though exalted to
the throne they continue to be His slaves. Thus in Ps 45. 11 it
is said to the Queen in reference to the King, " He is thy lord, and
worship thou Him." The Lord said to the Eleven " I have called
you friends " (Jn 15. 15) ; but evermore they, shunning the
irreverent familiarity of some moderns, called themselves His
slaves (Gl 1. 10 : Eph 6. 6 : Ph 1. 1 : Tt 1. 1 : II Pt 1. 1 : Jd 1 :
Rv 1. 1 : etc.). Willing slaves they were, serving out of love,
but slaves. This relationship is inherent in the very constitution
of things : the creature ought to be the slave of its Creator ; but
when it is divine love that exacts service, and responsive love that
renders it, the relationship and the term are relieved of all the
bitter and disgraceful elements that attach in the case of a
creature being reduced to slavery by a fellow-creature.
(v) They shall see His face. In Persia there were seven princes
who " saw the king's face " (Es 1. 14). Herodotus narrates that
the seven nobles who conspired to overthrow the usurper Smerdis
agreed that part of their reward should be the right of unre-
stricted access to the king, save when he might be with one of
his wives (Bk 3. 84). Thus to " see the king's face " meant
freedom of access to his immediate presence at all times, a high
privilege not available to others.
For man to become capable of such access to God requires that
heavenly body which is granted at the first resurrection or by
rapture. Man as he is, with a body of the earth, is not capable
of enduring the unveiled splendour of the divine Majesty : " man
shall not see Me and live," not even the friend of God, Moses
(Ex 33. 20), for God is dwelling " in light unapproachable, whom
no one of mankind [ever] saw, neither to see is able " (I Tm 6. 10).
The earthly nature would shrivel under that intense light, for
" flesh and blood is not able to inherit the kingdom of God "
(I Cr 15. 50). But unfalien angelic nature can support that
vision of God: " i n heaven their angels do always behold the
face of my Father who is in heaven " (Mt 18. 10) ; and such as
attain to the resurrection from among the dead, become equal
unto the angels, being sons of God by being sons of the resurrec-
tion (Lk 20. 34-36). This attaining demands that " sanctification
without which no one shall see the Lord " (Hb 12. 14). The
" Lord " here is the Father, since every eye is to see the Son at
some time.
378 THE FACE OF GOD
Even Mohammed had caught a glimpse of this supreme honour
and felicity. The delights of paradise promised in the Koran to
the faithful Muslim are grossly sensual: " but all these enjoy-
ments will be lightly esteemed by those more blessed persons who
are to be admitted to the highest of all honours—that spiritual
pleasure of beholding, morning and evening, the face of God "
(Lane, Modern Egyptians, 80).
At the time that the Son of God said that certain angels behold
the face of God, He was not himself in heaven displaying that
glory : therefore it was before the Father personally that these
angels stood and it was the face of the Father they beheld. Let
us, too, esteem this the highest of honours and give all diligence
to be accounted worthy of it.
Eternal Light! Eternal Light!
How pure the soul must be,
When, placed within Thy searching sight
It shrinks not, but, with calm delight,
Can live, and look on Thee.
The seraphs that surround Thy throne
May bear the burning bliss :
But that is surely theirs alone,
Since they have never, never known
A fallen world like this.
Oh, how shall I, whose native sphere
Is dark, whose mind is dim,
Before the Ineffable appear,
And on my naked spirit bear
That uncreated beam ?
There is a way for man to rise
To that sublime abode :
An offering and a sacrifice,
A Holy Spirit's energies,
An Advocate with God.
These, these prepare us for the sight
Of Holiness above :
The sons of ignorance and night
May dwell in the Eternal Light,
Through the Eternal Love ! (T. Binney.)
(vi) His name on their foreheads. The high priest in Israel bore
on his forehead a gold plate inscribed " Holy to Jehovah "
(Ex 39. 30, 31). Thus he was separated visibly from general life
and dedicated wholly unto God. In this office he was the repre-
sentative of the whole people. He bore the iniquity of the holy
 RESEMBLING AND REIGNING 379
things which the people set apart for God, so that they might be
accepted by the Holy One. It is in the spirit of this that the
heavenly saints, in association with the High Priest, Jesus the
Son of God, shall be priests unto God and act with reference to
His rights and to the gifts offered to Him by the nations, as well
as be dispensers of His gifts. Comp. Hb 5. 1. On the earth the
saved of Israel will hold similar office (see Is 61. 5, 6), so realizing
at last one of the earliest post-redemption promises to their race
(Ex 19. 3-6).
How shall a Christian sincerely expect that name to be placed
at last on his forehead if he does not bear it now morally, by
living before men a life of whole-hearted dedication to God ?
Name means also character ; it being on the forehead implies
visible resemblance to God, in character and glory.
(vii) They shall reign for ever. They shall be kings as well as
priests. Disciplined to obey in the school of suffering, they shall
prove qualified to rule in glory. Self-serving wholly eliminated,
they shall be true kings, serving God in serving the true interests
of His and their subjects. For God himself is the chief Servant
of the universe ; God's King moved among men as the Servant
(Lk 22. 27) ; and for ever true for kings are the words of Solomon's
sage elders to the vain king, his son, " If thou wilt be a servant
unto this people this day, and wilt serve them, and answer them,
and speak good words unto them, then they will be thy servants
for ever " (I Kn 12. 7). Let each who aspires to reign with the
Son of man in His kingdom walk now in His steps, by bringing
himself, with Paul, under bondage to all (I Cr 9. 19) ; because
inflexible, as a law of the entire universe of moral beings, is this
repeated dictum of the Lord of all, " Every one that exalteth
himself shall be humbled ; but he that humbleth himself shall be
exalted " (Mt 23. 12 : Lk 14. 11 ; 18. 14).

This is the bride, the wife of the Lamb, this the glory of the
church completed and triumphant. Truly eye saw not, ear heard
not, nor did ever enter the heart of man " whatsoever things God
prepared for them that love Him " (I Cr 2. 9, 10). But it says
not that these things are prepared for such as place in Christ a
faith for deliverance from hell beneath, but who, like Simon the
Pharisee, develop but little love for the Deliverer (Lk 7. 47),
because their sense of sin being feeble their gratitude for pardon
is small. No ; the kingdom is promised to them that love God
(Js 2. 5) ; it is to them that love Him that even now God works
all things together for good (Rm 8. 28). And the test and proof
that we love God is that we keep His commandments (I Jn 5. 3).
3 8o NO MORE DELAY

Until that glorious marriage day the believer is a betrothed

virgin (II Cr n . 2), and it is for her to set her affection undividedly
on her Beloved, lest love should wane, as at Ephesus of old
(Rv 2. 4), and as shall be prevalent as this age ends and the
bridal day nears (Mt 24. 12, 13).
But for those whose love to Christ burns ardently to the end,
and triumphs over all seduction and opposition, what bliss of
intimacy with Him awaits, what glory in His kingdom, what
noble service in the universe ! What inexpressible joy it will be
To look within and see no stain,
Abroad no curse to trace ;
To shed no tears, to feel no pain,
But see Thee face to face.
To find each hope of glory gained,
Fulfilled each precious word ;
And fully all to have attained
The image of our Lord.
For this we're pressing onward still,
And in this hope would be
More subject to the Father's will,
E'en now much more like Thee. (Mrs. Peters.)
ADDITIONAL N O T E S .
1. Is this vision millennial, eternal, or both ? Certainly it is
eternal, for the throne of God, the dominion of the Lamb, and
the sovereignty of the saints are for ever and ever. But it is
also millennial, because the marriage of the Lamb takes place just
before He comes forth to set u p His kingdom on earth (19. 6-8).
Perhaps this explains why the nations need healing ; for the
millennial age is not perfect; at its commencement, throughout
its course, and at its close, sin still exists. But healing issues in
being healed, and the beneficent ministries of the saints shall issue
in the perfect condition when there shall be no more curse,.
2. Eternity will not annul time. The rendering of c. 10. 6,
" there shall be time no longer," has suggested to some minds an
unphilosophical notion. The RV mgn. " delay " gives the right
meaning. No finite mind can ever think eternally. Only the
divine mind can do this. The creature must ever require periods
of time to enable it to locate events and to think coherently.
For the finite intellect eternity must ever be divided into periods.
A mighty angel, or a glorified saint, may conceivably grasp the
duration of a vastly longer period than man can now understand,
but for the creature there must always be " ages of ages,"
continuing without end. Therefore in this " city " there are still
 GOING TO HEAVEN 38l

" twelve months," and therefore there are years, that is, succession
and rotation, that is, time.
3. Let this vision stand as the Biblical picture of what God
means by people " going to heaven." I t is considerably different
from the popular conception that " heaven " is the only alternative
to " hell," and that " being saved " is the same as " going to
heaven." On this present earth during the millennium, and on
the new earth in the eternal ages, " the nations of them that are
saved " shall enjoy the blessing of redemption by the precious
blood of Christ; yet these will live on earth, not in the regions
above, in heaven.
The heavenly portion is for that limited portion of the saved
known to Scripture as " the church of the firstborn ones who are
enrolled in h e a v e n " (Hb 12. 23). (1) Their calling to this
superior dignity is of grace. (2) Their pathway to it is marked
by sharing the sufferings of Christ. (3) Their attaining thereto
is the reward that grace will give for the sufferings which grace
enabled them to bear unto the end. They might have avoided
the sufferings, as in fact many, alas, do ; in which case they would
have fallen short of the grace and have forfeited the reward.
For faith is a living seed out of which can be developed by the
diligent virtue, knowledge, self-control, godliness, brotherly
kindness, and love. " Wherefore, brethren, give the more
diligence to make your calling and election sure : for if ye do
these things ye shall never stumble [that is, on the pathway of
suffering to the eternal glory to which the God of all grace called you
in Christ] ; for thus shall be RICHLY supplied unto you the
entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ . . . Ye therefore, beloved, knowing these things before-
hand, beware lest, being carried away with the error of the wicked,
ye fall from your own stedfastness. But grow in the grace and
knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To Him be the
glory both now and for ever. Amen " (II Pt 1. 5-11 : I Pt 5. 10 :
I I Pet 3. 17. 18)•

Oh what a bright and blessed world

This groaning earth of ours will be,
When from its throne the tempter hurled,
Shall leave it all, O Lord, to Thee !
But brighter far that world above,
Where we as we are known shall know ;
And, in the sweet embrace of love,
Reign o'er this ransomed earth below.
382 COME, LORD JESUS
Oh, blessed Lord, with weeping eyes,
That blissful hour we wait to see ;
While every worm or leaf that dies
Tells of the curse and calls for Thee.
Come, Saviour, then, o'er all below
Shine brightly from Thy throne above ;
Bid heaven and earth Thy glory know,
And all creation feel Thy love. (Sir E. Denny.)
 CHAPTER XX

THE CONCLUSION
(C. 22. 6-2l)

The mighty Drama is finished. The seer had been shown the
stages by which the Lord God, the Almighty, will accomplish His
purpose to establish new heavens and new earth wherein only
righteousness shall dwell, and for ever. The dealings of God
with the Gentile peoples, the fulfilment of His covenants with
Israel, the completion of His purposes concerning the church,
had been depicted, and all preceding prophecies of the Scriptures
had been co-ordinated and completed. It remained only to
conclude the record of all this, and the Conclusion is a fitting and
finished work, from both the spiritual and the literary view-points.
For convenience it may be studied to profit in seven short sections
and a Benediction, as shown by the paragraphs of the RV. Not,
however, that we suppose John to have designed this feature, or
that it is essential; rather may spiritual profit be perhaps better
served by groupings of ideas and statements.

i. The Revelation is Reliable and Inviolable.

(a) Reliability. " These words " (6) can hardly apply to the
vision of the " city " alone, for that was seen, rather than given
by words ; so that the expression will include the whole Un-
veiling. This being given by God, as the G"ne who controlled and
informed the spirit of every true prophet, must needs be depend-
able and true. Nor was it left to John to do his best to grasp
the purport of the inward movings of God : an angel was com-
missioned to aid the prophet's comprehension by " showing " the
events, the mind being made to " see " that which was being
imparted. Sight and hearing gave precision to the under-
standing and to the imparting of the divinely wrought inward
motion of the spirit of the prophet. John adds his own
solemn assurance that the vision was no invention of his own
imagination, but that he did verily see and hear what he had
written down.
C. I. I states distinctly that it was Christ who sent His angel
to show these things unto John. The title here, " the Lord, the
God of the spirits of the prophets " as He who sent the angel,
383
384 ADDING OR TAKING FROM
will therefore mean Christ : a notable testimony to His deity.
This agrees with Peter's word that it was the Spirit of Christ who
spake in the prophets (I Pt 1. 11).
(b) Inviolability. The source of the Revelation being God the
Lord, the book must needs be inviolable, unchangeable ; and any
tampering with its contents, by addition or deduction, is
blasphemous and intolerable (18, 19).
The Lord Jesus had guaranteed to the apostles (Jn 16. 13) that
the Spirit of Truth (His own divine Spirit) should " guide them
into all the truth," the truth entire (TJJV dA.ij0e lav Traxrav), t h a t i s ,
the whole of the truth that God proposed to reveal to men ; and
that He should show them not merely "things to come " (AV),
but " the things coming" (Ta ipxo^va), that is, all coming
events that were to be made known. This promise had now been
fulfilled, and so the solemn warning here appended follows as a
natural consequence.
The formerly reserved plan of God concerning the church had
been revealed as to the doctrine of it, as, for example, through
Paul. Thus the message of God to man had been completed, as
Paul said (CI 1. 25), for it was his to " complete the word—the
message—of God " (n-X??pcoo-at rbv \6yov TOV 6mv) : and now to
John the vision of the church, as the wife of the Lamb, had been
given, set in connection with the program of God for heaven
and earth in the ages of the ages. Thus revelation of truth is
complete, for nothing can lie beyond the eternal state. Nor can
God possibly devise any higher glories for the creature ; for He
will exalt the chosen of them to sit with His Son on His throne,
and it can never be that any shall be exalted above the Son.
Therefore any pretended further revelation of truth must needs
be false, and the offering of it will incur the plagues described in
the Revelation. On the other hand, to remove aught that God
has revealed will impugn the perfectness of His unveiling and
impair it, and this gross presumption shall forfeit any possibility
of sharing the blessings of that perfected state pictured by the
city and its tree.
Both of these damnation-assuring offences have become common
in this age. False prophets and prophetesses offer fresh revela-
tions foreign to Scripture, and profane " theologians " throw
away portions of the Book as, in their opinion, inaccurate or
useless. Both the Romish doctrine of there being an apostolic
" tradition " of at least equal authority with Holy Scripture, and
the rationalist theory that there is post-apostolic, continuous
inspiration, add to Scripture ; and the infidel denial of miracle,
and therefore of the miracle of the future being foretold, cuts out
 THE SEASON IS NEAR 385
of the Bible all prophecy. And while in the strict letter the
threats of this terrible warning apply to the Revelation, yet
inasmuch as this portion of the Book of God is rooted in, inter-
woven with, and is the completion of all the Word of God, it
becomes impossible to tamper with this final book without
maltreating what had been given of God before ; and conversely,
any wrestling and twisting of earlier scriptures will inevitably
involve false treatment of the Revelation and so the incurring of
the judgment here denounced.
But the statement that it is " the plagues that are written in
this book " that will fall upon the tamperer with the words of
God seems to involve that such profane persons will be specially
to the fore in the End Days of this age, for it is at that time that
most of these plagues will be inflicted. Some judgments are
indeed eternal, and will be the portion of the profane ; but of the
close of the age the Lord gave very solemn warning that " false
Christs and false prophets shall arise, and shall show great signs
and wonders ; so as to lead astray, if it be possible, even the
chosen " of God (Mt 24. 24). Therefore the urgency to-day,
in view of the already arisen false prophets, and of the advance
of this evil age, of John's other warning : " Beloved, believe not
every spirit, but prove the spirits, whether they are of God;
because many false prophets are gone out into the world"
(IJ114. 1).

2, The Time Element.

Daniel had been directed to " shut up the words and seal the
book " and this was to continue " even to the time of the end "
(Dn 12. 4) ; but to John the word is, " Seal not up the words of
the prophecy of this book; for the time is at hand " (or, " the
season is near " : ver. 10). From Daniel, when the prophecy was
to be sealed, to John, when it was to remain unsealed, was about
six centuries ; from John until our time is over eighteen centuries :
in what sense, then, was the season near to John's day ? The
crucial importance of this question on the whole outlook of the
Revelation demands a decision by the student as to the sense of
the phrase " the season is near." Three suggestions have been
made :
(i) That the apostles spoke as men who thought that the end
of this age and the return of the Lord were then just at hand.
This has been refuted in our Preliminary Dissertation 2.
(ii) That the Bible being God's book, time is described from
His own point of view, and that to Him to whom one thousand
years are as a day it is natural to speak of two and a half thousand
N
 386 A LITTLE WHILE

years as a " very little while." This is reasonable from the divine
standpoint; yet the Bible has also a human element and was
written for man's instruction, so that its utterances must be
consistent with these features also, in order that the human
understanding may be enlightened and not darkened.
(iii) The two passages quoted from Dn 12 and Rv 22. 10 taken
together are significant. Since prophecy was to be sealed until
the End Time, and that season was " near " when John was
directed not to seal prophecy; and since actually, as measured
by centuries, it was very far off from John's own day, must not
the explanation prevail that the speaker and John had been alike
transported forward in spirit unto that End Time, so that to
their consciousness the season was indeed near ? And does not
this at once follow from and confirm the rendering of c. 1. 10 :
" I was in spirit in the Day of the Lord " ? And is not this
supported by the Lord's use of the very words " i t is near "
(Jy-yus IO-TIV) in His prophetic foreview on Olivet (Mt 24. 32, 33) ?
He said : " when ye see all these things, know ye that He (or, as
margin, ' it' the season for accomplishment) is near, even at the
doors." This affords a divine comment upon our phrase, and
shows it to mean that the events in question are as close as is a
man standing before a door expecting it to be opened. How can
this have any relation to an interval of nearly two thousands of
years ? Does it not compel the view that the speaker and hearers
have been projected in thought to the real epoch for fulfilment ?
This agrees with the fact that those things of which Christ had
spoken do clearly belong to the End Times, for they include the
abomination of desolation, the Tribulation, and His coming in
glory immediately to follow.
As has been shown in Preliminary Dissertation 2 there are
passages in OT which require the same explanation, of the speaker
having been carried forward in spirit, so that he spoke in terms
suitable to that far-forward standpoint. In a glowing passage
descriptive of the invasion' of Palestine by the Assyrian, his
destruction, and the then restoration of Israel, Isaiah (10.25) sa-id :
" For yet a very little while the indignation against thee [Israel]
shall be accomplished, and mine anger shall be directed to his
destruction." In another passage, as plainly of the End Times,
for " the terrible one is brought to nought," and Jacob " shall
sanctify the Holy One," Isaiah (29. 17-24) said : " Is it not a
very little while and Lebanon shall be turned into a fruitful field ? "
In similar terms Haggai said (2. 6, 7) : " For thus saith Jehovah
of hosts : Yet once, it is a little while, and I will shake the heavens
and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land ; and I will shake all
 DELAY NO LONGER 387
nations ; and the precious things of all nations shall come ; and
I will fill this house with glory, saith Jehovah of hosts."
These statements were made some two and a half thousands of
years ago. They were repeated in Hb 10. yj, some eighteen
centuries ago, in the words : " For yet a very little while the
Coming One shall come, and shall not delay." Evidently that
inspired writer did not regard an interval of five or even seven
centuries as inconsistent with the earlier statements. In what
sense, then, did he understand them ? Human language does
not admit of seven hundred years being a very little while. As
Scripture must be fulfilled, an interval of twenty-six centuries
cannot prove to be delay on God's part. But this really means
that the mind must go forward to the period which the prophecy
contemplates, not backward to the time when the prophet lived.
Standing in thought in that future era, the statement is correct
in even human language ; while regarding it from the time when
the prophet lived it seems impossible to defend it as being accurate.
Nor does there seem any other way of understanding fairly and
naturally the Lord's words (Mt 24. 34) : " This generation shall
not pass away till all these things be accomplished " : the meaning
being, " This generation to which I am directing your minds
forward," not " This generation in which we are living," for in no
sense were the words fulfilled of our Lord's contemporaries.
This principle applies to the words of the angel found at c. 10. 6 :
" There shall be delay no longer." Viewed as an utterance of
A.D. 95 there has been a very lengthy " delay " ; but carry forward
the mind to the days of the seventh trumpet, and no delay has
arisen, for the time-point of the utterance has not yet arrived.
This explanation of ver. 10 harmonizes with the statement of
c. 1. 1 here repeated (ver. 6), that the events detailed in the
Revelation " must in their entirety be done with speed."

3. / Come Quickly.
So very important is this that the Lord Himself affirms it three
times in this short Conclusion (7, 12, 20). In c. 1 it has been
pointed out that the word ra\v tachy does not mean soon but
swiftly. It indicates rapidity of action, as is well seen in its
accurate use in the medical compound tachycardia (raxv and KapSia.
the heart), which does not mean that the heart will beat soon, but
that it is beating rapidly. x Of course, the swift action may take
place at the very time, as in Mt 28. 7, 8 : " Go quickly and tell
His disciples . . . and they departed quickly from the tomb " :
1
I t is found a t Mt 5. 25 ; 28. 7, 8 : Mk 9. 39 ; 10. 8 : Lk 15. 22 : J n 11. 29
Rv 2. 16 ; 3. 11 ; 11. 14 ; 22. 7, 12, 20.
 388 I COME QUICKLY

but the thought is not that they did not loiter, but that their
movement was swift. Thus here also. If the Lord be regarded
as speaking in the day when John lived, then He did not mean
that He was returning soon, but swiftly and suddenly whenever
the time should have arrived : if He be regarded as speaking upon
the verge of, or at the close of, the End Days, then indeed the
hour of His coming could be thought of as near, but even so, it
is the swiftness of His movement that the word emphasizes.
This lends urgency to the context in each place where the Lord
says " I come quickly."
2. 16. " I come to thee quickly . . . and I will make war
against them." The threat is of suddenness and swiftness of
attack as in battle. Only the fool will risk such an invasion of
his affairs by such an Assailant.
3. 11. " I come quickly : hold fast that which thou hast,
that no one take thy crown " ; for My approach will be so swift
that you will have no time to recover aught that you may have
let slip.
22. 7. " I come quickly. Blessed is the one that is keeping
(6 TWWV) the words of the prophecy of this book," that is, the
one who is observing them ceaselessly; for My coming will be
swift, and will allow not a moment for the lax Christian to resume
his interrupted obedience to My words.
22. 12. " I come quickly ; and My wages with Me, to render
to each man according as his work is " at the moment I appear,
not as it was at some earlier date. So swiftly shall I burst on
the scene that there will be no opportunity to renew former zeal
in good works. In Lk 12. 43-46 each steward is dealt with
according to what he is doing at the hour of the master's sudden
return. How the steward may have acted during the early
period after the master had left is not reckoned to his credit,
seeing that he lapsed into unfaithfulness and was so found at the
return of his lord. To win the crown the racer must end well.
Wages according to work ! Let this sound principle arrest the
heart. Each shall receive hire for work done (/xto-ftk Mt 20. 8 :
Lk 10. 7 : Jn 4. 3 6 : I Cr 3. 8, 14). The justification which
delivers from wrath is declared expressly to be of faith, not a
reward (p«r#c>s) of works, and to be of grace, not of debt (Rm 4.
4, 5). But the thus justified believer shall thereafter receive as
wages just what his work earns, as estimated by the Lord.
20. 20. " I come quickly. Amen, [so] come, Lord Jesus."
Only he who is living in obedience to and harmony with his
Master can so answer from his heart. When this thought of the
coming of Christ was pressed upon a certain man of business he
 CHRIST'S SELF-PRESENTATION 389
said : If I thought the Lord was coming like that there are some
things in my business I would have to put right. He put them
right, and then wrote : Now I can say with all my heart: " Amen,
come, Lord Jesus." The immediate object of all prophetic
teaching is that " every one that hath this hope set on Christ,
purifieth himself, even as He is pure " (I Jn 3. 3).
How powerful an effect may this expectation of the sudden and
swift intervention of the Lord be expected to have upon His
people in the actual End Days, when that intervention will verily
be imminent. For it will be known from this passage that the
sudden appearing of the Lord will act as a moral fixative : the
unrighteous in act, the filthy in nature, will be then hardened
beyond change ; the right acting and the holy in character will
be confirmed and perfected (ver. 11). Hence the latter, in their
zeal to be ready, will wash their robes, and will thus acquire right
to the tree of life and to the benefits of the city of God (14) ;
whereas the former shall find themselves shut out from all that
blessedness and bliss (15). Here once more must be noted the
solemn reverting from the happiness of the cleansed to the
character and lot of the wicked. The mercy of God will leave
nothing unsaid that may turn the wicked from the error of his
way by setting before him clearly the final issue.

4. Christ's Self-presentation. At the commencement of the

visions the glorified Son of Man presented himself to John (c. 1).
While dealing with His churches the Lord spoke to them in His
own person and of Himself. But as soon as the visions turned
to deal with world-affairs the Lord retired, as it were, into the
background, and the angel spoke to John about Him and showed
His as acting for the Father. Now that the visions have been
ended the Lord in person steps again to the front, and speaks
personally and of Himself.
(i) And first He declares His deity (13), and by the bold and
striking method of appropriating to Himself terms before used of
and by God the Father. See 1. 8 ; 21. 6, 7 : " I am the Alpha
and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the
end."
(ii) He declares His humanity, saying " I Jesus " : I am the
same who was born of Mary; I lived and wrought and taught
and died on earth ; in the glory of God I am still the same
Saviour, unchanged and unchangeable. I am JESUS, and My
dearest and immediate care is My churches : and that they may
know in advance, and be fore-armed against all trial and seduction,
I have sent My angel to testify unto you these mighty, glorious,
390 THE ROOT OF DAVID

terrible, encouraging, yet warning things. " See that ye refuse

not Him that speaketh. For if they escaped not when they
refused him that warned on earth, much more shall not we escape
who turn away from Him that warneth from heaven " (Hb 12. 25).
(iii) I am the root out of which grew up David, the shepherd
and king of My people, Israel; whom I chose, anointed, trained
to be My servant, and with whom My covenant stands that
his throne shall endure for ever (II Sm 7. 9, 16). I shall
yet, at My return to the earth, build again his tabernacle that has
fallen (Am 9. 11, 12 : Ac 15. 16-18), and thenceforth the covenant
with him shall be the basis of blessing to the thirsty of all nations
(Is 55. 1-5) ; for that which is rooted in Me has permanent
vitality.
But I am also the offspring of David. As he grew out of Me
as his divine source and support, so as truly did I grow out of
him as to My humanity. I am the Son of David, that shoot out
of the stock of Jesse, the father of David, that Branch out of his
roots that shall bear fruit on earth unto God by the energy of
His Spirit (Is 4. 3 ; 11. 1, 2), and through Whom all the counsels
of God shall be accomplished unto the blessing of heaven and
earth. Through Me, as God's King, shall this all be wrought
(J r 23. 5 ; 33. 15-18 : Zh 3. 8 ; 6. 12, 13). I wish My churches to
remember this My office as the One who shall fulfil all the
covenants of God with David, Israel, and the nations. Though
My churches are the dearest object of My heart, they are not its
only object, even as a man's wife is not his only concern, though
she is the dearest.
And because I am the Offspring of David, therefore
(iv) I am also the bright, the morning Star, and it is at My rising
as this Star that the morning shall dawn upon the world's dark
night. (See on c. 2. 3.)
Thus does the Lord Jesus concentrate in His own blessed
Person all glories and offices, divine and human, and offer Himself
to our hearts to be our love, our hope, our all.
5. The Threefold " Come."
" And the Spirit and the bride say, Come.
And he that heareth, let him say, Come.
And he that is athirst, let him come :
He that will, let him takethe water of life freely."
The sense of this passage, as to the first two clauses, almost
universally accepted is that they are the response of the Spirit
and the Bride to the Lord's assurance that He is coming.
 COME! 39i
(i) This would seem more certain did the response follow
directly upon one, and especially were it the last, of the three
statements " I come quickly." That the response follows the
statement that He is the fulnller of the promises to David, and is
the Morning Star, really negatives the idea, as will be shown.
(ii) It is the first " And " that creates the notion that the
sentence is in continuation from what precedes ; but this supposed
connection with ver. 16 is weakened, if not broken, when the
/cat . . . /cat (kai . . . kai) is given the more regular translation,
" Both the Spirit and the Bride say Come." See the use in
Mt 10. 28 : Mk 4.41 : Jn 7. 28 ; 9. 37 ; 12. 28 ; Rm 11. 33 : Ph 2.13 ;
4. 12.
(iii) It has been shown on c. 2. 26-28 that the Morning Star
points to the Lord as coming to destroy His enemies, to save
Israel, to rule the nations. As the Bride will have been removed
to heaven at the commencement of the Parousia, prior to the
coming of the Star, she will not be on earth to cry " Come " to
the Lord as the Star, for she will be already with Him, and indeed
will come with Him as the Star.
(iv) If it be said that the Spirit and the Bride are here viewed
as still on earth before her removal, and as crying " Come," it
must be urged that, according to Scripture and to fact, the church
does not become the " bride " prior to the rapture. It is only at
the time of the wedding itself that a betrothed maiden becomes a
bride. I am aware that the German usage is opposed to this
statement ; but it is Scripture usage that is here in question, and,
apart from Mt 10. 35 and Lk 12. 53, where vv^-q numphe means
daughter-in-law, in the four other NT places it means " bride,"
as just about to be married or just having been married. See
Jn 3. 29 : Rv 18. 23 ; 21. 2, 9. Comp. the same meaning of
wn<t>to<s numphios bridegroom in its twelve occurrences, and of
w^utv numphon bridechamber in the three passages where it is
used.
5. It results that the other sense must be accepted, and the
" Come " be viewed as a triple appeal to the thirsty to take of the
water of life. This enables that the sense of " Come " be alike
in the three sentences, instead of the first two having one meaning
and the third another.
(a) This agrees with the afore-mentioned priestly service of the
glorified saints, as God's messengers to the nations (c. 19. 4).
Thus will be fulfilled Is 55. 1, " Ho, every one that thirsteth,
come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money ; come ye, buy
and eat ; yea, come buy wine and milk without money and
without price." Is 53 gives the sufferings of Messiah which are
392 THE BENEDICTION

the basis of all blessing : c. 54 gives the restoration of Israel to

fellowship with their God ; and c. 55 extends the call of grace to
all peoples. The correspondence with our passage is exact.
(1) There is a threefold Come : (2) the water is a free gift : (3) he
who " heareth " will be granted a share in " the sure mercies of
David," a plain connection with our passage, " I am the offspring
of David."
(b) " The one hearing," who takes up the cry of the Bride, will
thus be such as the saved remnant of Israel and any Gentiles who
hear and respond. Is 66. 18-21 contemplates such. It shows
that some of those who are gathered under Antichrist against
Jerusalem will be spared when his armies are slain. This sparing
is not mentioned in Rv 19. 19-21, where the same event is the
subject ; which shows incidentally the need that the Revelation
be read in the light of all preceding prophecy. But Isaiah shows
that these spared will be sent back to their own lands to tell there
of Israel's King; with the result that those peoples will go up to
Jerusalem to make their submission to Him, to drink of the water
of life, to enter into the benefits of the covenant of David, made
available to them through David's greater Son.

Thus would the Lord have His own exercised as to this rich
privilege and most needy service of offering life to thirsty hearts ;
of continuing His own ministry, of echoing His own call " Come
unto Me." Why should one who, in this day, has been indifferent
and negligent in this labour, think that, in that day, he will be
counted fit to be used and honoured in it ? Lk 19. 24-26 is to
the exact contrary.

6. The Benediction. " The grace of the Lord Jesus be with

the saints."
This holy and rich desire was used frequently as a beginning
and ending of apostolic letters. But though usual, it was in no
wise formal. In the Lord Jesus God has found a ground and
provided a channel for the abundant overflow of His favour to
man, guilty man. And out of free favour, that is, as a matter of
grace, and on the condition that man humbles himself to accept
grace, He has provided in Christ for the entire satisfying of every
need in time and eternity. Nor merely for the meeting of need;
but also for the accomplishment of the whole of the good pleasure
of His will, the whole of the design of his infinite and gracious
mind concerning those sinners who shall repent and submit.
Let not faith stagger at the greatness and glory of these pur-
poses, nor let it waver on account of its own frailty or of the
 THE BENEDICTION 393
seriousness of the obstacles or the fierceness of Satanic opposition.
For all things that pertain to this life, and to the godliness that
marks it, have been already provided and granted by God
(Eph i. 3 : II Pt i. 1-4), and this on the grandest and most lavish
scale possible, even according to God's own riches in glory in
Christ Jesus (Ph 4. 19).
Let the believer draw freely upon the grace of the Lord Jesus,
and, with Paul, he shall find it sufficient (II Cr 12. 9). But let
him remember that by calling he is a saint, a holy person, and let
him study with all diligence to be such, holy in body, holy in soul,
holy in spirit. And to this end let him remember ceaselessly that
it is the grace of the LORD Jesus he needs, which means that the
condition of its enjoyment is simple, unhesitating, uncurtailed
obedience. Yet let him remember also that it is the grace of the
Lord JESUS, the Saviour; Whose precious blood covers all
confessed sin and failure, and provides pardon and restoration:
JESUS, whose steps when here are to be followed, Whose life by
His Spirit is the energy for following them, and Whose human
sympathy and divine intercession are always available for the
humble. Thus walking as a pilgrim and a foreigner on earth he
shall be ever discovering more and more of the grace of God as
suited to the desert; and in due time, the goal of the journey
having been reached, he shall be to the praise of the glory of that
grace for ever.
" Oh dare and suffer all things !
Yet but a stretch of road,
Then wondrous words of welcome,
And then—the FACE OF GOD." (Ter Steegen.)

" The GRACE of the LORD JESUS be with the SAINTS.

AMEN."

FINIS.
 LIST OF SOME GREEK WORDS
aldv, alwvios, aion, aionios, ndxaipa, machaira, 158
357. 358 /te-ra Tawo, m e t a tauta, 82
aju,wju,os, amomos, 238 /M'TOXOS, metochos, 102
avaXlxrKio, analisko, 274 (IUT66S> misthos, 388
dvaa-rrjcrovTai, anastesontai, 42
diravTao), apantao, and cognates, Nun/, Nike, 91
263 ff. vvficfcrj, wfi<t>ios, vvp.<j>Qiv, numphe,
dTre/cSe'xopiai, apekdechomai, 34 numphios, numph5n, 391
airo, apo, 90
diroXXvfu, dir&Xtia, apollumi, oikoumene, 211
apoleia, 348, 356 mrXa, hopla, 91
dpTrdfco, harpazo, 93, 376
irapaSCSafiu, paradidomi, 376
dierchomai, 111 7ra.T6u>, pateo, 183
8o£dl<D, doxazo, 46 TrXareia, plateia, 372
iroXis, polis, 370
iK, ek, 90 7roXviJ.ep5<s, polumeros, 69, 241
ekdechomai, 33 Trpoo-Sc'xo/Liat, prosdechomai, 35
(Kfcvyw, ekpheugo, 89 prosdokao, 34
ega\d>pu>, exaleipso, 104 Trpoa-SoKia, prosdokia, 34
eweo-av, epesan, 268
pv/xa, rhuma, 157
ypriyopiu, gregoreo, 37 pop.<t>a.La, rhomphaia, 158
6p6vo<s, thronos, 138 tachu, 32, 70 f., 387 f.
TO£OV, toxon, 157
Kaivds, kainos, 363, 366
KarevwTnov, katenopion, 238 inrip, huper, 26
KaTUTxiw. katischuo, 207 vi/-7jXds, hupselos, i n
npidrjvai, krithenai, 190 tirojie'vw, hupomeno, 89

394
 INDEX OF SCRIPTURE PASSAGES
OLD TESTAMENT
Page Page
GENESIS. EXODUS.
I i ••• 345 X I X 16 ... 260
2 ... 347. 367 19 . . . 163, 195
3 ... 328 XX 4 ... ... I 3 6
II 7 ••• 375 X X I I I 19 . . . 235
8 ... 93 20 . . . 81
14 ... 250 20-23 177
18-25 ... 314 21 . . . 81
I I I 1-5 ••• 331 X X I V 4-8 337
15 ... 40 X X V 17 . . . 136
22 . . . ••• 93 18 . . . 135
24 135.159 X X V I I I 4 J "43 15°
V 24 ... 207 XXX 17-21 ...150,246,319
VI ••• 343 X X X I I 32,33 ... X02
V I I 11 ... 367 34 ••• 177
I X 16 ... 136 X X X I I I 12-16 177
X 8-10 ... 294 20 . . . 377
8-12 ••• 3°5 X X X I V 10 . . . ... 41, 52, 168
XI 1-9 ... 294 26 . . . 235
5 ••• 133 X X X V 25 ... 317
XII ... 308 X X X I X 10-14 371
3 4°, 365 3°, 3i 378
X I V 18-20 ••• 337 LEVITICUS.
XV 18 ... 250 VIII 337
X V I I 7, 8, 19 ... ••• 365 30 . . . 376
XVIII 8 ••• 334 I X 22-24 337
20, 21 112, 133 24 ... 248,338
XXIV ... 314 X 1, 2 248
XXIX ... 146 X I 33 ••• 363
X X X V I I 9, 10 ... 199 XII, X I I I 363
X L I 40 107,129 XIV 319
XLVIII 4 ••• 365 17 . . . 37 6
XLIX 146 XV 363
1 ... 100 XVI 33°
7 146 4 ... I3L3I7
27 100 X V I I I 2 5 , 27 363
EXODUS. XXI 321
I 146 16-24 238
V 2 ••• 154 XXII 19-25 238
VIII ••• 253 XXIII 23-43 163
I X 17-35 ... 169 XXIV 8 ... 365
X 17 160 XXV 8-10 163
23 ... 250 XXVI 62
X I I 23 ••• 352 NUMBERS.
3° 160 I 2 1 , 146
X I I I 21 ... 176 52 ... 329
X I V 19 ... 176 II ... 146
XV 3 ... 128 4 ... 329
13-17 ... 316 VII ... 146
18 - 356 X 1-6, 2-4 . 163
X V I 32-34 ... 97 XIII 146
X V I I I 25 ••• 37 1 XV 2 ... 23
X I X 3-6 ••• 379 XXIII 41
5 ••• 337 XXIV 41
6 316, 337 7 ... ... 120
13 ... 163 14 . . . 41
395
396 INDEX OF SCRIPTURE PASSAGES
Page Page
NUMBERS. I SAMUKL.
X X I V 17 ... 19 , 2 1 0 X X V I I I 12-14 350
17-19 99 15 ••• 272
XXV I, 2 202 XXXI 254
10-13 316 I I SAMUEL.
13 ... 365 I 19, 25, 27 268
XXVI 21 146
6 ... 163 H I 34, 38 268
XXXI V I I 8-16
202
42
16 ... 9, 16 390
363 V I I I 15-18 332
X X X I V 23 ••• 146 X I I 30 ...
X X X V 33 ••• J55
363 X I I I 15 ... 283
DEUTERONOMY.
XV 37 ... 102
I 7 ••• 250 XVI 16, 17 102
XI 3. 4. 7 23 X V I I I 9 ... 188
XVII 8-13 336 X X I 9 ... 268
XX 8 ... 361 X X I V 15 ... 352
XXI 23 ... 363 16 ... 160 352
XXIX 18 ... 1701
XXXI 4 I KINGS.
29 ... 41 I 18 ... 189
XXXII 41 245 IV 5 ... 102
16-18 224 V I I I 27 ... i n
20 ... 36 X 18-20 i n
29 ... 36,41 X I I 7 ... 379
8 ... 102 324
35 ••• 36
36 ... 41 279 XVII-XXI 277
39-42 326 X V I I I 16 ... 263
4°"43 245 XIX 129

43 ••• 42 326 X X I I 19 ... .. 7 4 , 1 1 2 130

XXXIII 4.5 146 337 23 ... 252
JOSHUA. 41,.. 189
I 4 ... 120 250 I I KINGS.
V 14. !5 329 I I n ... 354
VI 163 15 ... 263
5. 13 195 I l l 1 ... 189
V I I 2 1 ... 308 V 26 ... 263
X I I 2 1 ... 254 VI 16, 17 81
XV-XXI 146 17 ... 354
JUDGES. XV 13 ... 189
I 146 XVI 24 ... 308
27 ... 254 X I X 35 ... 160 352
II 1, 1 0 23 X X V 12, 22 53
III 2 5 ••• 268 I CHRONICLES.
IV and V 254 I I 1 ... 146
V 2 7 ... 268 II-VIII 146
VI 1 1 . . . 89 I X 33 ... 150
VI to V I I I 254 XVI 42 ... 163
V I I 2 03 •••
...
361 X X 2 ... 155
XIII 353 X X I 5 ... 20
RUTH. 1 ... X X V I I 16 ... 146
314
I SAMUEL.I I I I CHRONICLES.
I I 3 ••• 79 I X 17-19 i n
I I I 10-14 316 X X 6 ... 189
XVI 1 ... 118 X X V I I I 1 ... 308
X X I I I 17 ... 333 X X I X 1 ... 189 3 0 8
X X V 42 ... 280 X X X I I 31 ... 308
XXVIII 355 X X X V 20-27 254
 INDEX OF SCRIPTURE PASSAGES
397
Page Page
EZRA. PSALMS.
I i ... 301 XXXIII 9 ... 328
VI 304 11 . . . ... 366
ESTHER. 12 . . . • •• 365
I i ... 121 XLIV-XLVIII 43
14 ... 377 XLV 2 323, 326
II 16-18 322 3-5 323.327
2
18 ... 323 6 ... 323, 3 7, 356,357
V 1 ... 319 7 ••• 323
J
VI 8 ... 73 9 ... 324
13 ••• 268 9-11 ... 314
VIII 13 ... 89 10 . . . ... 324
JOB. 11 . . . 324, 377
I 5 - 202 12 . . . ... 324
6 ... 74 , 112 12-15 ... 191
6-12 129 14 ... 324
9-11 33i 15 ... 324
16 . . . 225 17 . . . • •• 356
I and I I 1 3 0 , 203 XLVI 8 ... 100
II 1 ... 112 8-11 • •• 331
i-7 129 XLVIII 14 357, 362
4,5 33i XLIX 14 35i, 352
X I V 12 ... '•'•'• 3 3 8 ,345 LI 4 102
X V 8 ... 129 LII 8 ••• 357
15 ... 2 1 0 . ,363 LV 15 35i, 352
30 ... 89 LVIII 10 ... 149
X I X 25-27 346 11 ... ••• 35i
X X V I 6 ... 35i L I X 13 ... 189
X X V I I 21 ... 351 LXIII 9 ... 142
X X X V I I I 7 ... 210 LXV-LXIX 43
X X X I X 19-25 175 LXVI 1-4 ... 182
X L I 18-21 186 3 182, 342
X L I I 8, 9 202 8,12-15 .. ... 182
PSALMS. LXVII ... 65
I 4 2 , 338,:375 f LXXII ... 161
II . . . 4 2 , 73, 98,189, 2 8 3 14 ... 362
i-5 33° LXXIV ... 46
4,5 190 LXXVI 151,255
6 ... 343 8,9 ... 151
7-9 329 L X X V I I 18 ... 260
8,9 75 L X X V I I I 45 • •• 253
9 ... 99, 2 0 1 65 ••• 133
VI 5 ... 35i L X X X 17 ... 327
IX 5 - 357 L X X X I 15 ... 342
7 ••• i n L X X X I I 1 ... 74, 112, 128 129
10 . . . 98 6,7 ••• 33°
X 16 ... 356 LXXXIV 3 ... 260
XVI 10 ... 93, 1 6 0 LXXXIX 5 ... 129
X V I I I 5 ... 35i 5-18 ... 130
8 ... 186 7 129
9-16 61 9 ... 189
14 ... 260 XC 2 ... 365
44 ••• 342 XCI 14 ... 98
XXI 3 ... 155 XCII-C • •• 43
XXII 42 XCIII 1 ... 189
22 . . . 42 XCIV 13 ... 117
23-26 ... 43 XCV 3 ... 129
27-31 ... 43 XCVI 11 ... 75
X X X 4 ... 126 11-13 ... 57
398 INDEX OF SCRIPTURE PASSAGES
Page Page
PSALMS. ISAIAH.
XCVII i ... 75 1 9 ... 22, 145, 182, 218,
4 ... ... 260 346
X C I X i ... 189 10 . . . 181
C 5 .- 365 24-31 43. 249
CII 25-27 346 25-27 43
2 6 ... 363 27, 28 154
c m 19 ... 349 II 43,279
20 . . . 328 1-4 52
CIV 312 2-4 43
5 356 10 . . . J
44
35 313 16 . . . 169
312 18-21 ... 202
cv 30 253 19 . . . 144
CVI 312 21 . . . 144
37 224 III 9 ••• 181
CX 1 n o , 116 IV 3 ••• 390
CXI ... 312 4.5 364
7,8 • •• 356 V 2 ... 236
CXII, CXIII, CXV 312 VI 112,135
CXVI 312 1 ... 115. 129
3 35i 10 . . . 225,293
CXVII 312 VII I ... 308
CXIX 9 149 14 . . . 43
44 356 VII-XII 43
163 ... 361 VII-XIV 3°8
CXXII i-5 ... 37° VIII 8-10 43
5 236, 246 IX 6.7 ••• 43.45.59
CXXXIV 1 ... 150 X 5 ••• 151,300
CXXXV ... 312 11 . . . 45
14- J 5 ... 279 12 . . . 45, 300
CXLV 1,2 • •• 356 20 . . . 182,305
13 ... 365 21 . . . 182
21 ... 356 22 . . . 70, 182
CXLV-CL • •• 43 24 . . . 151
CXLVI-CL ... 312 25 . . . 386
28-32 ... 216
PROVERBS. X I I, 2 390
I 24-33 ... 249 4 ••• 99
I I I 18 ... 94 10-12 213
170 n ... ... 169
v 45 ••• 35i n-16 174
VIII 23 ... 365 14 . . . 4 1 , 100
X xg ... 89 15, 16 252
XI 30 • •• 95 XII 6 ... 44
XII 13 ... 89 XIII 75,300
XIII 12 • •• 95 6, 9, 10
11 ...
3°°
XV 4 95 301
11 ••• 35i 13 ••• 300, 3 0 1
XVI 2 ... 79 17 ... 250,301
X V I I I 21 ... 96 20 ... 3°2
XIV 44. 75. 130. 3°o
ECCLESIASTES. 1-8" 300,305
II 5 93 3-25 3°4
IX 8 102 4-10 305
X 8 ... 18 7 ••• 304
12 19, 1 7 0 , 1 7 1 , 2 1 0 , 3 0 4
SONG OF SONGS. 12-14 224
VIII 6 „. ••• 35i 13 ••• 304.344
 INDEX OF SCRIPTURE PASSAGES
399
Page Page
ISAIAH. ISAIAH.
XIV 17 . . . 306 X L 10 ... 152
19 . . . 3°i XL-LXVI 44
20 . . . 3°3 X L I 1, 5-8 152
24-29 3°o X L I V 23 ... 142
26 ... 301 XLV 17 ... 365
28 ... 308 23 ... 74, 115
28-32 44 XLVII, X L V I I I ... 300
XIV, XV 44 XLIX 214
XVIII 3 ''•'•'• ... 151 f., 165 1-13 212
5 ••• 53 12 . . . 28
6 ... 53.330 14, 17-26 ... 212
XIX 44,291 L 1 ... 314
3 ••• 279 LI 3, 6, 8 346
17 44,279 11 ... 346,365
21 . . . 182 LII 7 ... 53
I
XXIV 1-20 44 3"I5 44
5 ••• 363 LIII 44,391
21 . . . 299 I-IO 44
2 1 , 22 ... 331 11 . . . 315
21-23 44 12 . . . 115
22 . . . 346 LIV 44,392
23 . . . 44.346 8 ... 365
X X I V - X X V I I ... 44 LV 44,392
X X V I 1 ... 339,370 1 ... 322,391
2 ... 371 i-5 48,390
14 . . . 339 13 ... 365
15 ••• 339 LVI 1 ... 36
19 ... 338,339 1-8 44
2 0 f. 145,194 6-8 182
XXVII 1 ... 44,339 9 ••• 53. 330
9 ••• 339 19 ... 322
12 . . . ... 44, 169, 339 LVI-LX 44
13 . . . 44, 163, 169, 182, LX 1 ... 349
J94. 339 2 ... • •• 95,291,336
14 . . . 163 11 . . . 37i
15 ••• 339 12-16 372
XXVIII 2 ... 6 1 , 262 18 . . . 371
14-22 160 20 . . . 45
15 ... 351.352 LX-LXII 369
17 ... ... 262 LXI 45
18 ... 35L352 5,6 337, 379
XXIX 5 ••• ... 260 8 ... 365
6 ... . . . 6 1 , 260, 261 LXI-LXIII 46
15-24 37 LXIII 1-6 ••• 47,231.329
17-24 386 3 ••• 75
18-24 ... 260 7 ... 46
X X X 8 ... 356 9 ... 177
30 ... 262 10 . . . 86
X X X I I 15-20 ... 262 15. 18 46
17 ... 329 LXIV 1-3 24
X X X I I I 23 ... 100 11 ... 46
X X X I V 4 ••• 346, 349 LXV 2, 3, 8-10, 1 6 , 1 7 . . . 47
6ff. 346 18 ... 34°
X X X V I I 7,38 268 20 . . . ••340,342,362
X X X V I I I 18 . . . 351 LXVI 1-19 47
XXXIX 308 18-21 392
X L 5 ••• 152,338 20, 2 1 , 23 47
9 ••• 53, 152 20-23 65, 182
400 INDEX OF SCRIPTURE PASSAGES
Page Page
JEREMIAH. JEREMIAH.
I, II 47 LI 25 ... 306
II 279 26 ... 304
III 293 .314 27 ... 301
i, 14. 17. 1 8 47 28 250, 301
VII 16 ... n8 30 . . . ... 251
IX 15 ... 170 31 ... 300
X 10 ... 365 32 ... 251
XI 14 ... n8 34-36 ... 3°5
XVI 18 ... 363 43 ... 304
XVII 7.8 375 45 304, 308
XXIII 5 ••• 390 45-53 • •• 3°5
14 . . . 181 53,58 ... 251
15 ••• 170 62 ... 302
18,22 129 63 250, 301
29 . . . 186 64 ... 301
X X V 12, 13 45 LAMENTATIONS.
15-38 306 I l l 15-19 170
26, 2 9 , 3 1 45 IV 8,9 ... 159
32 . . . 175 2 1 , 22 ... 49
33 ••• 45 V 10 ... ... 159
XXX 7 ... [i 89, 214 223 EZEKIEL.
8 ... 89 I 112, 135
9 ... 48 1 ... ... 3or
16 . . . 100 26 129
2 1 , 24 48 I, II ... 77
27 . . . 253 II 8—III 3 ... 181
XXXI 3.5 365 V I I I 14 ... 273
7. 31-34 48 IX 146, 174
34 ••• 373 i-7 ... 352
35-40 48 X ••• 135
XXXII 48 2,7 167
37-41 300 X I V 12-23 160
40 . . . 305 14,20 ... 118
XXXIII 48 XVI • 279,293.314
14-18 182 46-49 ... 181
15-18 390 49 ... 307
XLIV 4 ... 279 53-55 ... 49
XLVIII 48 60-63 ... 49
26 '.'.'. 306 X X 1-44 ... 49
XLIX 48 X X I 26 ••• 155
17, 18 302 27 49
L 48 X X I I I 3, 8, 19,27 ... 181
4,5 300 X X V I 21 . . . ... 49
6-8 305 X X V I I 36 ... 49
8 ... 308 XXVIII 130.135
17-20 305 I-IO ... 208
23 ... 49 306 2 ... 129, 2 0 8
28,33 305 9 ... 208
34 ••• •• 49, 3 0 5 306 11 . . . 211,344
43 ••• 300 11-19 ... 208
L and LI 48,49 . 7 5 , 300 12 8 1 , 129, 2 1 1 , 3 4 4 . 352
LI 5 ••• 305 13 93. 371
6 ... ..304 3 0 5 308 14 135, 208
7 ••• •• 75. 2 8 1 306 14-16 19, 107
10 ... 305 15 i. ... 209
11 ... 250 301 17 209, 352
12 ... 251 XXXIV, XXXVI 50
24 ... 305 X X X V I 22-38 ... 300
 INDEX OF SCRIPTURE PASSAGES 401
Page Page
EZEKIEL. DANIEL.
XXXVII 15-23 3°° VIII I I , 12, 24 ... ... 222
X X X V I I I 5 ••• 290 IX ... 31,50,265
XXXVIII, XXXIX 50,343 5,6" 24
X X X I X 9, 10 251 17-20 182
10 ... 100 26 ... 45
17 ... 33o 26, 27 50
17-20 53 2 7 ... ...139, 182, 222
XL-XLVIII 50, 182 X 50, 77
XLI, X L I I 183 13 ... ... 8 1 , 128, 1 2 9
XLIII i-5 183 20, 21 81, 128
XLIV 1 5 ••• 365 XI 50,290
XLVII 375 27 ... 290
XLVIII 146 31 ... ... 222
3 5 ••• 50, 373 36 ... 222, 224
45 ••• 182 38, 39 ... 222
DANIEL. 40 ... ... 226
I 4-8 24 43 ••• ... 290
II 5 0 , 6 3 , 1 1 9 , 1 2 0 , 1 2 1 f., 44 ••• 2 2 6 , 2 5 0 , 2 5 2 , 3 0 1
209 220, 2 6 7 , 2 8 3 , 288 45 ••• 252
2 0 ... 356 XII 1 . . . 8 1, 1 2 8 , 1 7 7 , 1 8 9 ,
35 ••• 292,345 198, 210, 2 2 3
44 ••• . . . 2 9 2 , 3 1 1 , 3 37 2 ... ...198,210, 339
III ...222, 224, 225 3 ••• 95, 247, 357, 371
IV 112 4 ... ... 69, 385, 386
13. 17. 23 133 7 ••• 177
2 6 ... 189 11 ... 182
30 ... 298 13 ... 339
35 ••• 128 HOSEA
V 222 I 6 ... 50
20 ... 128 11 ... 254
21 ... 189 II 1 ... 50
30 ... 300,301 19 ... 364,365
VI 222, 224 III 50
1 ... 301,332 V 14 ... 156
28 ... 3°i XIII 7,8 156
VII 5°. 110-112, 114, 120, 14 ... • •• . 351,353
1 2 1 f., 1 3 7 , J 5 6 . 1 6 6 , 2 0 9 , XIV 50
220 •222,226,267,288, JOEL.
290, 291 I 100
7 ••• 121,289 1 5 ••• 50
8 ... 275, 289 II 64
8-24 155 1, 2 5°
9 ... 1 1 5 , 1 2 4 , 1 3 0 , 194 11 ... 255
9-11 50 12-18 213
9-14 109,119 15-17 51, 55, 145, 182,
12 ... 121, 289 261
1 3 ••• 73,137 18 ... 5 1 , 145, 182, 2 6 1
17 ... I20, 269 18-27 100
18 ... 356 30,31 41,144
22 ... 73, 130 31 ... 255
23-28 266 32 ... 144
2 5 ••• 1 3 9 , 2 1 7 , 2 2 2 , 2 2 3 III 9-17 255
26 ... 50, 74, 109, 119, 1 1 , 12 64
122, 138, 267 13 ... 329
27 5<: , 7 4 , 1 0 9 , 1 2 2 , 1 3 8 16, 2 1 51
2 8 ... 50, 138 AMOS.
VIII 1-8 5° I 2 ... 51
9-14 18 2 , 1 8 3 V. 7 - 170
402 INDEX OF SCRIPTURE PASSAGES

Page Page
AMOS. ZECHARIAH.
I X I I , 12 64, 39o I 16 . . . 187,293
11-15 51 17 . . . 293
OBADIAH. II 183
15. 21 ... 51 4 ... 154
5 ••• ... 54, 154, 2 9 3
JONAH. 6 ... 154
51 7 ••• 154.343
MlCAH. 8 ... 343
I 2-4 51 9 ••• 100
IV 1-9 52 10, 11 154
5 ••• ••• 357 10-12 187
V ••• 45 11-13 151
1,2,4 • 52 13 ... 154, 165
VI 1 ... 52 I I I 2 ... 182
VII 6, 7-9, 11 52 8 ... 54.390
15 ••• 52,169 9 ... 54
20 ... IV ... 5 4 . 8 7 , 185
52
V ... 2 9 2
NAHUM. 11 . . . 75.294
I 5. 12 52 VI 55
15 ••• ••• 53 3 ••• 156
HABAKKUK. 11 . . . 155
I 2-6 152 12, 13 56, 150, 182, 2 9 4 ,
II 1-3 53 390
3 ... .. 3 6 , 4 6 , 1 5 2 14 . . . 155
V I I 12 . . . 14
5 ••• 1 5 2 , 1 6 1 , 351
VII, V I I I 55
8, 12-14 • 153 VIII 1-8 343
14 ... 53
15-20 153
3 ••• 55
20 . . . IX 8 ... 55
.. 3 6 , 5 3 , 1 6 5
Ill 2 ... ... 364 9 ... 46,55
16 . . . ••• 153 10 ... 55
X 2 ... 279
ZEPHANIAH. 254 XI 55
I 1-6 153. 202, 279 XII 55
2.3 53 7 ••• 22
4f. ••- 2 7 9 9 ... 89
7 ... ••145. 154,33° 10 ... 89,218
14 . . . 5 3 . 255 XIII 55.279
I I 2, 3 . . . 145 1, 2 216
11 . . . 53 6 ... 89,218
Ill 8 145. 165 7 ••• 46
12 ... 53 8 ... ... 89, 2 1 3 , 2 5 4
12-20 ... 154 9 ••• 56, 89, 2 1 3 , 2 5 4
1 3 , 14-20 . ••• 53 XIV 46,56
HAGGAI.
if. 183,261
II 6 ... 386 i-4 153
6-9 ... 182 i-5 88,231.
7 ... 386 3 ••• ...183,255,261
4 56, 183, 2 1 3 , 2 5 5 , 2 6 1
8,9 ••• 54 40, 6 4
22, 2 3 5 •••
••• 54 56,182
9 •••
ZECHARIAH. 11 . . . 182
I I-II ••• 54 12 . . . ...100, 261, 330
7-17 ••• 133 15 . . . ... 2 6 1
8 ... 156 16-19 65
12-17 54 16-21 182
14-17 ••• 343 20, 2 1 56
 INDEX OF SCRIPTURE PASSAGES
4°3
Page Page
MALACHI. MALACHI.
I 5 ••• 56 Ill 17 . . . 56,145
6 ... 321 18 ... 56
II 56 IV I ... 100
7 ••• 336 i-3 56
III i ... 177 2 ... 100
i-3 249 4 ••• 51, 58, 217, 218
1-4 56,89, 5 ••• 51,58, 185, 255
13-15 56 6 ... 51,58, 182, 185
16 . . . 56, 182

NEW TESTAMENT
MATTHEW. Page MATTHEW. Page
Ill 60 X V I I I 10 . . . . . . 8 1 , 115, 377
2 ... 3" X I X 23-XX 16 . . . 62
17 ... 260 XIX 28 . . . 62, 193
V-VII 60 XX 8 ... 388
V 12 . . . 60, 191 XXI 10 . . . 37°
14-16 ••• 87, 371, 374 19 . . . ... 230
18 . . . 347 33 ••• 236
25 ••• 205,387 33-46 63
33-37 178 XXII 1-14 63,322
35 ••• 182 14 ... ... 276
V I 10 . . . 139 4 3 ••• 14
22 . . . 374 X X I I I 12 . . . 379
VII 2 ... 223 37-39 316
V I I I 14 ... 234 37-49 62
29 . . . 171, 270, 3 3 1 , 359 XXIV 45, 194
34 ••• 263,370 6-14 ... 200
8
I X 17 ... 34 ,356 7 ••• 155, 159
X 6 ... 356 10 ... 144
28 . . . 354,391 12 58 :, 9 0 , 9 2 f., 2 3 1 , 380
32, 33 87, 104 12, 13 ... 9 2 , 9 3 , 2 0 1
35 ••• 39i 13 ... 6 3 , 8 9 , 92, 201,257,
37 ••• 333 380
X I 20 ... 370 14 . . . 33
25 ••• 187 15 . . . 182, 183
27 ... 314,327 15-21 215
X I I 20 ... 91 21 . . . 50,223
25 ••• 37° 22 . . . 7 1 , 223
43 ••• i n 24 . . . 385
XIII 33 2 9 . . . 74, 143, 234, 300,
6 ... 23of. 33i. 347
11 ... 178,179 29-31 29,73
13 ••• 231 30 . . . 89,143, 144, 234,
14 ... 225 2 3 6 , 2 6 1 , 300
21 ... 231 31 . . . 194, 236
30 ... 230 32,33 386
37 ••• 61, 230 33 ••• 32
38 ... 230 34 ••• 70, 387
39 ••• 61 34.35 347
41 . . . 230 42 ... 37
43 ••• 176,247 45 ••• 38
45, 46 372 XXIV, X X V ... 33,63,88
49 ... 33. 230 XXV 62,87
XVI 18 ... 208 1 ... 262, 263
XVII 5 ... 260 1-13 63, 191, 322, 324
X V I I I 8, 9 354 5 ••• 36
404 I N D E X OF SCRIPTURE PASSAGES

Page
MATTHEW. LUKE.
XXV 6 ... ... ... 262 IV 9-11 81
14 33.71 22 ... ... 326
19 30,62,71 3 0 ... ... m
30 68 43 ••• ... 37°
31 40, 64, 1 0 7 , 1 1 9 , 354 VI 27, 28 ... 118
31-33 112 VII 7 ... ... 328
31-40 226 47 ••• 379
31-46 51, 56, 64, 191, VIII 10 . . . 178, 293
291 31 ••• 171, 270
41 2io.344.354 32.33 ••• 352
46 354.358 IX 29 ... ... IOI
X X V I 29 322, 333 3o.3i ... 185
64 ... ... ... 116 37 ••• ... 263
XXVIII 3 101 54 ••• ... 274
7.8 387 X 7 ... ... 388
MARK.
9 ... ... 215
... 60 18 ... 19; 170, 171, 209
13 ••• ••• 135 19 ... ... 184
33 ••• ... 370 20 ... ... 103
III 1 ... ... 230 XI 22 ... 91
29 ... ••• 359 XII 33.61
I V 11 ... 178, 179 5 ••• ••• 354
29 ••• 230, 231 8,9 87, 104
41 ... ... 391 12 ... 6i
V I 11 ... ... 370 13 ... ... 117
IX 3 .» ... 149 14 ... ... 117
11-13 ... 185 22-35 61
39 ••• ... 387 35-4° 31
4 3 . 45. 47 ••• 3 5 4 36 . . . 35. 61
X 8 ... ... 387 38 ... ... 38
25 ... ... in 39 — 38, 256
XII I-12 ... 63 4L42 ... 256
38-40 ... 205 43-46 ... 388
XIII 45. 6 3 , 88 46 ... ... 361
4 ... ... 181 53 ••• ... 39i
14 ... ... 263 58 ... ... 205
14-20 ... 215 X I I I 23 ... ••• 359
27 ... ... 144 X I V 11 ... ••• 379
X I V 4 ... ••• 356 14 ... ... 191
25 ... ••• 333 26, 27, 33 ••• 235
27 ... ••• 55 XV 4,6 ••• 356
X V 43 ... ••• 35 22 ... ... 387
X V I 19 ... ... 116 XVI ... ... 272
LUKE. 22 ... ••• 93
I 3 .- ... 105 X V I I 12 ... ... 263
24 ... ... 174 20 ... ... 32
32, 33 ... 58 22-37 61
33 ••• ... 66 XVIII 1-8 ••• 331
4o-55 ••• 59 3 ••• ... 205
67 ... ... 60 7 ••• ... 32
67-79 ••• 59 14 ... ••• 379
I I 25 ... ••• 35 XIX 62
32 ... ••• 59 1 ... ... in
38 ... . 35.59 11 ... ... 71
5 2 ••• ... 326 12 ... ...30,71
III ... 60 24-26 ... 392
IV 5 - • 193. 224 41-44 62
6,7 ... 224 XX 9-18 ... 63
 INDEX OF SCRIPTURE PASSAGES 405
Page Page
JOHN.
X X 34 - 34° V 27 ... 138, 327
34-36 190,377 29 . . . • ••335.339,350
35 ••• ••• 81,335,340 VI 97
38 ... 258 63... 328
XXI 45.63 V I I 28 ... 39i
7 — 181 37-39 3i9
9-19 216 39 ••• 366,375
IO, I I , 12 88 VIII I - I I "7
10-19 200 28 . . . 39
20 . . . 183 44 ••• 211,331
20-24 215 I X 3 7 ... 39i
22 . . . ... 216 X 10, 12 211
24 . . . 88, 183 X I 26 ... 94
25 ••• 144 29 . . . 387
26 . . . ... 34, 144, 159 X I I 26 ... 235
27 . . . ... 88, 144, 183 28 . . . 260, 391
28 . . . 58,88 31 ... 223
34 f- 223 41 ... "5
34-36 87, 243 49 ••• 39
36 ... 89, 127, 207, 2 1 0 , XIII 319
237 XIV 2 ... 311,369
X X I I 10 ... 263 3 ••• 3ii
18 . . . 322,333 6 ... ... 336
27 . . . 379 10 . . . 39
28-30 119, 207, 3 3 3 28 . . . 107
29 . . . 107 30 . . . 223
30 . . . 107, 322, XIV-XVI 98
31.32 117, 204 XV 14.87
X X I I I 23 ... 208 3 ••• 239
33.34 '. 118 9, 10 87
43 — 93 14.15 102
51 . . . 35 15 377
XXIV 4 ... 101 XVI 11 ... 223
42.43 333 13 ••• 39, 384
47 ••• 213 33 ••• 91
50-53 337 X V I I 5 ... "5
6 ... 314
I 60 9 ... 116
i-4 327 15 ... 90
17 ... 245 17 ... 239
" I 3-5 342 22 . . . 199
14.15 89 26 . . . 98
17 . . . "7 X X 17 ... 312
29 ... 39i X X I 2 ... 30
35 ••• 314 18,19 27
36 ... 335 18-23 30
IV 14 ... 366 ACTS.
21 . . . 373 I 6-11 64
2 3 ••• ...200,339,373 10 . . . IOI
35 ••• 231 IO-II 324
36 - 388 I I 16-21 64
V 3 ... 33 27 ... . . . 9 3 , 160, 351
8 ... 328 34 - 116
14. 15 329 40 ... 3°
22 . . . 79, 115, 116, 349 Ill 30
23 . . . ...115,135,224 18-21 64
24 . . . 328, 339 19-21 30, 162
25-29 89,339 IV 25 ... 42
406 INDEX OF SCRIPTURE PASSAGES
Page Page
ACTS. ROMANS.
I V 26 . . . 187 I I 16 ... 349, 360
V 19 . . . 324 I l l 4 ... 91
32 . . . 376 24 ... 191
V I 14 . . . 24 25 . . . 150
V I I 22 . . . i°3 IV 4.5 388
38 ... 24 6 ... 318
53 ••• 176,353 V 6 ... 33
56 ... 116 9, 10 150
60 ... 118 10 ... 235
VIII 1 ... 214 18 ... 95
26 . . . 324 20 ... 245
IX 1 ... 185 VI 1,8 24
13 ... 126 13 ••• 9i
27 ... 214 23 ••• 191
X 2 ... 191 V I I I 6-8 342
3 ••• 324 17 ... 65,367
4 ... 133 18 . . . 65
22,25 263 19 . . . 34
35 ••• 191 19-25 65
XI 1 ... 214 22 . . . 199
28 . . . 192 23.25 34
XII 2 ... 207 28 . . . 379
11 . . . 34.324 29 ... 3i8
15 ••• 81 30 ... 46, 199
X I I I 14 ... in 34 ••• 167.
16, 26 191 25-29 66
31 ... 349 I X 27 ... 26
36,37 ... 212 28 . . . 7°
44 ••• 37° X 1 ... 118
X I V 21 . . . 37° 7 ••• ...171,270,351
XV 2,4,6 214 20, 21 47
7-12 64 X I 25-32 65, 178
16-18 390 33 — •135.195. 391
22 . . . 214 36 ... 135. 195
XVI 27 ... 89 X I I 13 ... 126
X V I I 5 ... 37° 18-21 118
16 . . . 34.37° 21 . . . 9i
28 ... 274 XIII 4 ... 158
30.31 65 11-14 259
XIX 1 ... ... in XV 8-13 ... 66
16 ... 89 28... 28
21 . . . in X V I 25-27 179
35 ••• 282 I CORINTHIANS.
XXIII 190 I 2 ... 126
1 ... 24 7 — 34
11 . . . 27 26-31 212
21 . . . 35 30 ... 94
X X V 9, 10 ... 190 II 7 ... 178,200
X X V I I 23 ... 324 9 ••• 379
X X V I I I 15 ... 262 10 . . . - 13. 7 1 - 379
ROMANS. 12 . . . 12,71
I ... 78,281,359 13 — 14
4 ... 335 III 8 ... 192
18 . . . 103, 361 8,14 388
II 359 15 . . . 259
1, 2 361 21-23 367
3 ••• 89,361 IV 1 ... 178
4 ... 361 5 ••• 141
 INDEX OF SCRIPTURE PASSAGES 407
Page Page
I CORINTHIANS. I I CORINTHIANS.
IV 8 ... 119, 141 XI 3 ••• 235,322
V 5 - ...114,117,324 14 ... 352
8 ... 37° 33 89
12, 13 119 XII 1-4 81
VI I-II 202 2 ... 3 " . 376
6
2 ... " 3 . " 9 , 333. 3 7 4 ... •••93. 177. 376
3 ••• ...113, H 9 , 3 3 3 8 ... 26
9 ... 367 9 ... ... 393
11 ... 318 GALATIANS.
VIII 309 I 3-5 3io
VIII-XI 202 5 ••• 357
I X 5 ... 234 10 ... 377
19 ... 379 II 2 ... 214
22 . . . 336 19, 20 24
24 ... 234 III 8 ... 4i
24-47 91 19 ... 176
X 8 ... 267 26 ... 367
11 . . . ... 92, 240, 316 28 ... 89
12 . . . 92, 240 IV 8-11 367
20 . . . 78, 224 21-31 369
X I 31 f. 204 26 ... ...130,194.199
32 ... 79,117 V 8 ... 34
33 ••• 34 15 ••• 274
X I I 3 ... 325,328 19-21 367
XIII 202 V I 12 . . . 9°
9-12 178 14 . . . 24
12 . . . 95. 33° 15 ... 363
X I V 25 ... 373 16 ... 66
XV 71, 190, 194, 352 EPHESIANS.
3 ••• 376 I 3 ••• 393
21-28 66 4 ••• 238
22-24 339 9 ••• 178
23 ... 193 11 ... 245
24 ... 376 II 2 ... 220, 253, 259, 330
24-28 313 6 ... 198
41 ... 1 0 1 , 192 8 ... 3i8
43 ••• 374 14-18 89
50 ... 377 18 ... 366
50-58 ... 30, 178, 335 20 ... 37°
51 ... ... 207 Ill 3 ... 178
52 ... 130, 152, 192, 193, 5 ••• 81
194. 195. 207, 350 10, 11 135
54.55 9L35I 11 . . . 245
57 ••• 9i 14. 15 199
XVI 10, n 34 IV 8 ... 270
I I CORINTHIANS. 9 ••• 93, 142, 171, 178,
I 12 . . . 37° 270
I I 17 ... 370 IO . . . ... 93, i n , 270
IV 14 ... 24 20-24 259
V 1, 2 354 25 ••• 237
10 . . . 79 V 1-14 367
17 ... 363 2233 66
19 ... 338 25 - . ... 66,239,314
VI 1 ... 146,316 25-27 66,319
14-VII 1 227 25-33 315
VII 1 ... 150, 322 32 ... 178
VIII 23 ... 26 VI 6 ... 377
XI 2 ... 235, 322, 380 10-17 "4
408 INDEX OF SCRIPTURE PASSAGES
Page Page
EPHESIANS. I THESSALONIANS.
VI 11-18 259 IV 17 . . . 4 1 . J 9 4 . 236, 2 6 1 ,
12 197.259 262, 263 , 264, 265
17 158 18 . . . • •• 237
19 178, 179 V I ... 25, 29
PHILIPFIANS. 2 ... . . . 2 5 , 29,"256
I I 377 3 ••• ... 89, 199, 225
6 • 79. 2 5 8 , 3 6 0 10 . . . 37
10 . . . ... 370 II THESSALONIANS.
12, 13 ... 318 I 7.8 ••• 153
23 • •• 354 II 224, 2 7 1
26 ... 265 1 ... . . . 2 5 , 26
II 9 ... 115 i-3 ... 36
10 . . . 74. 325 i-5 28
11 . . . • 74. " 5 . 325 2 ... 25
12 194, 265 3 ••• 153. 183
12-16 ... 321 4 ... » ' i 8 3 , , 224, 275
13 ... 391 5 ••• 29
14-16 87, 240 ... 271
6 ...
15, 16 371. 374 179
7 •••
III 6 ... 24 8 ... •••153.• 185. 274
II • •• 335 8-11 • •• 293
12-16 ... 324 9-11 ... 306
20 34 9-12 ... 225
21 . . . ... 355 10 f. ...* ... 283
I V 12 ... 391 I TIMOTHY.
19 ••• 393 I 10 . . . ••• 95
20 • •• 357 14 . . . ... 187
COLOSSIANS.
I 13 90 17 . . . 248. 357
16 129, I 3 0 , 138. 194- 328 20 ... ... 114
II 3-6 - 316
17 ... 328
... 212
III 9 ... ... 178
18
20 ... 364 1 5 ••• ••• 33
21
IV 1 ... ••• 153
235, 3 3 6
21-23 ••• 315
V 7 ••• ... 128
22 f. ... 239 VI 3 ••• ••• 95
25 315. 384 10 . . . ••• 377
26 178, 315 13 . . . ... 327
27 .178,315.318 11 TIMOTHY
II 2 ... 178 I 3 ••• ... 24
8 ... 282 7 ••• ... 361
8-IO, I 6 - I 9 ... 87 II i-3 ... 208
III I ... 116 2 ... ... 29
4 314. 37° 10 . . . ••• 3 i 5
8-14 ... 259 11-13 ... 87, 105, 3 6 7
IV 14 ... 90 24-26 ... 205
I THESSALONIANS. IV 6 ... ... 29
I I 12 315. 3 7 0 8 ... ... 62, 73, 79
13 ... 328 9 ... ... 28
19 ... 193 10 . . . ... 90
H I 13 ... 193 18 . . . ••• 357
IV . . . 2 5 , 7 1 , 190, 204, 243 TITUS.
6 ... 26 I 1 ... ••• 377
13 ... 25 12 . . . ... 274
13-17 207 II 11-14 ••• 319
13-18 . 30, 178, 258 13 2
9 , 3 5 . 152, 180, 236
15 ... 41 14 . . . 238, 314
16 . . . 194, 236, 237, 261 III 3 ••• ... 24
 INDEX OF SCRIPTURE PASSAGES 409
Page Page
PHILEMON. HEBREWS.
9 ••• 26 X I 40 ... 315
HEBREWS. X I I 5,6 187
I 1 ... ... 69, 241, 336 10 ... 321
1-5 66 14 ... ...187, 202, 377
2 ... ...314,328,336 15 ••• 146,316
3 ••• H I , 116, 248, 336 18-24 369
6 ... 66, 114, 135, 211, 22 ... 40, 64, 66, 232
336 23 ••• 40, 64, 199, 381
8 ... ... 66, 350,357 25 ••• 89, 390
9 ... 141 26, 27 54
10 ... 346 28 ... 67, 188
11 . . . 86 X I I I 14 ... 30
13 ... 66, 116 21 . . . 357
14 ... ...323,324,372 JAMES.
2 ... 353 I 27 ... 102, 148, 150, 259,
n 3 — 89 321
5 ••• 113. 141 II 5 ••• 67, 379
7 ••• 156 III 1-12 96
8 ... 110,115 6 ... 355
9 ••• 156 IV 4 ... 235
10 . . . 199 V 7 ••• 34.67
10-12 42 8 ... 67
12 . . . 312 12 . . . 178
in 1 ... 338
14 ... 74, 102, 141, 148, I PETER.
324 I 3 ••• 67
17 ... 267 4 ... 98
III, IV 67 5 ••• 37, 67
IV 12 . . . 158 6 ... 199
14 ... H I , 248 8 ... 46, 199
V 1 ... • ••335.337.379 11 ... 384
12-14 367 13 ... 60, 67, 102, 259,
VI 14 314
9-12 317 18 ... 238
VII •1 . . . 263 19 ... 150, 238
i-3 337 22 ... 239
lo ... 263 23 ••• 328
26 ... II 9 ... 308,337
102, i n
VIII 48 19-23 ... 276
1 ... 248 IV 1 1 . . . 357
8, 10 67 13 ••• 60
IX 4 ... 97 17, 18 117
5 ••• 135 V 1 ... ... 104
14 ... 238,321 4 ... 73
23 ••• ...210, 248, 364 5 ••• 204
24 ... 248 8 ... 156,331
27 ... 79 9 ••• 33i
10 . . .
28 ... 34. 3!3 276, 315. 37°> 38i
X 11 ... 167 I I ... 357
12 ... 116, 167 II PETER.
13 ... ... 34, n o , 116 I 1 ... 377
3°. 31 204 1-4 ...238, 319, 393
32-36 317 3 ••• 87
37 ••• 36, 37. 46, 387 5-" 238,381
XI 5 ••• ... 207 10 ... 68
9-16 314 13, 14 27
10 ... 34. 194 16 ... 265
14-16 67 19 ••• 102
4io INDEX OF SCRIPTURE PASSAGES

Page - Page
II PETER. REVELATION.
I 21 ... 14 II ... 8 2 , 1 1 7 , 309
II i,3 ... 348 3 ••• 390
4 ... 331, 352 4 ••• 380
Ill i ... 257, 37° 5 ••• 90
5,6 ••• 347 7 ... 73,91
7 ••• 348, 363 10 . . . 73,92
9 ••• ... 117 11 . . . ... 9 1 , 104, 3 3 5
IO, I I ••• 257 13 . . . . . . 1 3 8 , 205, 2 1 9
12-14 34 16 . . . ... 9 2 , 3 8 7 , 3 8 8
14 . . . ••• 257 17 . . . 74.91
15 . . . ... 117 20 . . . 277
17, 18 ... 381 22 . . . 278
I JOHN. 23 ••• 92
I 1-4 68 24 . . . 179
7 ••• ... 149 26 . . . 75, 9 1 , 107. " 9 ,
II 1, 2 ... 117 2 0 1 , 334, 3 9 1
13, 14 91 26-29 329
17, 18 68 27 . . . 4 1 , 4 2 , 7 3 , 7 5 , 105,
18 . . . 200, 2 5 0 107, 334, 3 9 1
27 . . . ••• 3 7 3 28 . . . 4i,39i
28 6 8 , 194, 250 , 259, 349 Ill ... 8 2 , 117, 3 0 9
III 2 ... ••• 3 1 4 2 38
3 ••• •••314 , 3 i 9 , 389 3 ••• • •• 3 2 , 2 5 5 , 2 5 7
28 . . . ... 87 4 ••• 74- 79, 1 3 1 , 1 4 2 ,
IV 1 ... ••• 385 148, 235, 2 3 9 , 322,
2, 3 250, 3 2 5 324
4 ... 91 5 ••• 79, 9 1 , 128, 1 3 1 ,
V 3 ... ••• 379 142, 235, 322, 3 2 3 ,
4, 5 ••• 91 335, 35i
16 . . . . . . 118 10 . . . 87, 89, 90, 149, 2 2 3 ,
19 . . . 90, 224 237
2 1 .... ... 309 i i ... . . . 9 2 , 387, 3 8 8
JUDE. 12 . . . 74, 9 1 , 98, 2 3 3
I ... ••• 377 i 4 ... 327
6 ... 169, 352 17 . . . 203
9 ... ... 128 19 . . . 92
14 ... 59, 40, 46 21 . . . 73, 9 i , 105, n o ,
15 ... 40 i n 6, 119, 150, 1 6 4 , 3 3 4
20 ... 68 22 . . . 150
21 ... ...35,68 IV 82, 135, 139, 164,
23 ••• 102, 259 189, 198, 236, 349
24 ... 68, 2 3 8 1 ... 46, 82, 139, 198
REVELATION. 2 20,115
Texts cited otherwise t h a n in their 3 ••• 136, 177
regular place in the Commentarj'. 4 ... 124,138
I 82, 116 5 134, J 4 7 , 2 6 0
1 ... 32, 3 7 7 , 383, 387 6 ... 136, 147, 2 0 8
4 ••• ... 19, 147, 3 7 1 7 ••• 218,298
5 ••• 149, 327 8 ... 135, I 7 1 , l 8 7
6 . . . 321, 3 3 3 , 337.357 8-11 136
7 ••• 164, 261 9 ... •••125, 1 3 4 , 3 5 7
8 ... 171, 3 8 9 10 . . . 124, 125, 135, 1 4 7 ,
10 . . . '... 39,81,386 357
11 . . . 19 I i ... ... 1 3 1 , 1 3 4 - 1 3 6
15 ••• ... 1 7 6 14 . . . 136
16 . . . 176, 185 IV,V 74
19 . . . 82 V i ° 9 , 135, ! 6 4 , 188,
20 . . . ... 178 189, 210, 349
 INDEX OF SCRIPTURE PASSAGES 411
Page Page
iTION. REVELATION
V-5 .- 91, 124, 125, 370 I X 21 . . . 170, 202
6 ... 20,124, 208, 370 X I ... 101
7 ••• 20, 46, 74 6 ... • •357,380,387
8 ... 117, 124, 125, 1 3 1 , 7 ••• 74
191 20, 21 ••• 359
8-14 163 X, XI ... 147
9 ... 74, 115, 126, 134 XI 1 ... 215, 270
10 . . . 134 2 . 88, 148, 215
11 . . . 20, 124, 125, 208 4 ... ••• 54
12 . . . 115 5 ••• ... 175
13 ... 115, 116, 164, 357 7 ••• 9 i 135, 223, 271
14 ... 124 13 ... 21
VI 88, 135 14 ... ... 387
I ... 35° 14-19 153. 260
2 ... 91 15 39 , 7 4 . 115, 153, 357,
5,6 18 376
8 ... • ••135,352,353 15-18 • 3°, 152, 244
9-11 ... 79, 118,142 16 ... .124, 127, 138
12 . . . 74.331 17 ... 131- 3 0 6 , 3 I 3
12-17 ... 88, 300, 347 17, 18 . 74, 127, 209
14 ... 349 18 ... .130, 190, 331
15 ... 38 19 ... 244, 260
16 ... 115, 116 XII n o , 114, 164, 220,
VII 127,1451, 186,334 221, 244, 277
1 ... 82, 120, 175, 298 1 ... 176
1-8 21,234 3 ••• ... 266
9 ...22, 83, 147, 233,311 4 ... . 19, 170, 171
9-17 ... 246 5 ••• 176, 188
10 . . . ...115, 116,311 7 ••• ... 128
11 . . . 124, 125, 135, 136, 7-9 ... 171
147 7-12 . 19, 44, 161
12 . . . 357 9 ... . 62, 188, 253
13 ... 20, 124, 125, 127 10 . . . 62, 188
14 ... 39, 125, 188, 259 11 ... 91, 325
14-17 134 12 . . . 312, 330
15 ... 116, 147 14 ... ... 171
17 ... 148,312 17 ... 160,223
VIII 1 ... 53,74 XII-XIV 74, 192
1-XI 19 74 XIII 114, 122, 164, 244, 262,
2 ... 20 33°
3 ••• 147, 191 1 ... .188, 209, 2b6
3-5 . . . 1 1 7 , 131, 174 2 ... 138 155, 160, 266
4 ••• 191 3 ••• ... 274
5 ••• 260 4 ... ... 186
7 ••• 21 5 ••• ... 275
7-12 ... .... 165 6 ... ... 266
9 ... 21 7 ••• 91 155, 191, 266
IX 1 f. 19 8 ... ... 266
I-II 270,352 10 ... 1 9 1 , 228
2 ... 19 14 ... ... 274
7 ••• 172 XIV 1 66,98, 106, 127, 244,
11 . . . 160,351 246, 369, 371
12 . . . 8.3 i-5 2 1 , 127
14 ... 165 2 ... ... 312
16 ... . . . 2 1 , 22 3 ••• 124, 135, 147, 312
17 ... 185 4 ... 74, 324
18 ... ... 21, 165, 185 7 ... 162, 191
20 . . . 170, 186, 202, 286 8 ... 2 6 2 266, 298, 299
412 INDEX OF SCRIPTURE PASSAGES
Page Page
REVELATION. REVELATIONr.
XIV 9 ••• 266 XVIII : 2-4 191
9-11 151 4 ••• ..154, 163,309
9-13 298 6 ... 3°i
9-16 152, 266 9 ... 75
IO, I I • ••175. 356, 357 21 ... 299,301
12 ... . . . 1 9 1 , 2 1 8 , 266 23 . . . 39i
13 ••• 218,266 XIX 8 2 ,98^ 109, 125, 151,
15 ... 355 156, 162
17-20 152,329 1 ... 83
19 ... 75 i-5 3°4
20 . . . ...164, 184, 215 3 ••• 357
XV 75, 192 4 ... 116, 124, 127, 131,
1 ... 75.197 135, 391
2 ... 9 1 , 186 6 ... "5
4 ••• 317 6-8 368
5 ••• 83 6-9 187
7 ••• 135,357 7 ••• ..115, 259, 277
XVI 75, 139, 153, 192 8 ... 79, 101, 142, 1 9 1 ,
2 ... 299 259, 343
6 ... 191 9 ... 191
10 . . . ...138, 166, 299 10-16 323
12 ... 166 11-21 125, 166, 183,
13-16 313 192, 2 3 1 , 3 1 4
15 ... 258 12 . . . 126
16 ... 254 14 . . . 40, 101
17 ... ... 75, 164,299 15 ••• 75, 152, 184, 185,
17-21 187 215, 255, 35o
19 ... 166, 262, 299, 16 . . . 125
300 17 . . . .. 53, 152, 176
21 ... 359 18 . . . 53, 152
XVII 122, 125, 161, 174, 19 . . . 299
179, 216, 220, 221, 19-21 ..269, 274, 392
222, 229, 241, 243, 20 ... 175, 225, 274,
262, , 270, 277, 299 353-356
I ... 122 21 . . . 53, 255
3 ••• ... 209 XX 1 ... ... 271
4 ••• 202, 317 i-3 . 44, 178, 211
5 ••• ... 202 2 ... 27I, 368
6 ... 191 3 ••• • 83, 354, 370
7 ••• 209 4 ... .107, 206, 228
8 ... 172 4-6 •150,327,339
8-11 160 5 ••• 190
9-11 221 6 ... 73, 337
10 ... no 7-9 ... 211
11 . . . ... 222 7-XXI • 9 - - ... 76
11-13 ... 220 10 . . . 175, 211, 353-355,
12 . . . 209, 221 357
12-14 33° 11 . . . in, 116
14 . . . 74, 91, 223, 324, 11-15 190
328, 329 13 . . . ... 79
16 ... 299 14 . . . 96, 355
16, 17 75, 122 15 . . . i°3, 339, 355
17 ... 289,324 20 . . . ... 388
19 ••• 299 XXI 106
XVII-XX 6 ... 75 2 ... .222, 343, 391
XVIII 174, 179, 262, 295, 3 ••• 222, 343
299 5 ••• 116,324
I ... 83 6 ... .. ... 94
 INDEX OF SCRIPTURE PASSAGES 413
Page Page
REVELATION. REVELATION
XXI 7 91 XXII 4 ••• 106
8 355. 361 5 ••• 277.357
9 2
77. 391 6 ... 71,324
11 199 7 ••• 7 1 . 3S8
12 315 8,9 324
J 10 . . . 386 f
4 234
2 2 , 23 "5 12 . . . 32 , 7 1 , i y o f . , 387
24 315 14 ... 94, 370
XXII "5 15 ... 361
315 16 ... 100
"5 20 . . . 71.387
 GENERAL INDEX
Books in italic type
A Augustus, 302
Augustus (Suetonius), 172
Abaddon, 160, 351 f. Authorized Version, inaccuracies of, 26,
Abbot-Smith, Dr., 155 87, 137, 164, 180, 317, 318
Abner, 268
Abraham, 308, 344 B
Abyss, the, 19, 160, 171, 172, 211, 270, Baal, 273
353 f- Babel, Tower of, 303
Abyssinia, 28, 165, 290 Babylon, 75, 120, 277, 292, 296-8, 303
Accuser, the, and Adversary, 203 f. Babylonian Life and History (Budge),
Achan, 308 302
Actium, battle of, 120 Bacon, F., 182
Adonis, 273 Bagdad, 304
A.D. 70 not in view in Lk 21. 21, 215 f. Baldach (Babylon), 303
iEneas, 120 Barak, 254
Mo us, 120 Baron, David, 364
Africa, 280, 285 Beasts from the Sea of Daniel, 288 f.
Ahab, 112, 252 Before the throne, 232 f.
Ahasuerus, 322 Beginnings and Endings, why linked, 58
Ahaz, 308 Belcher, 69
Ahaziah, 343 Belshazzar, 121, 300, 301, 304
Ahriman, Persian principle of evil, 253 Belus, temple of, 302
Alcestis, 274 Benedict XV, 296
Alexander the Great, 49, 50, 273, 302, Bethshan, 254
3°3 Bible, plan of reading the, 13
Alexandrine and other MSS., 177 Bible, verbal inspiration of, 13
Aleyn, son of Baal, 273 Bible Treasury, The, 11, 90
Alford, Dean, 33, 35, 70, 86, 126, 156, Binney, T., 378
349 Bismarck, Prince, 295
Allied Powers, 166 Blackstone, Dr. W. E., 303
Al Maidan, 304 Blood, no washing in, 149
Ananias, 91, 92 Bloomfield, 35
Anderson, Sir R., 50 Body, of Christ, 11
Angel of the Abyss, 160, 173, 353 Bolsheviks, 284, 299
Angels of the churches, 81, 85 Book of the Dead (Budge), 94, 97, 101,
Antiochus Epiphanes, 50 103, 106, 201, 272, 353
Antonia, castle of, 343 Bradshaw's Railway Guide, 72
Aphrodite, 287 Branch, the, 54
Apocalypse, Notes on the (Darby), 12 Branchidas, 259
Apollo, 172, 271, 287 Bruce, F. F., 13, 143, 272
Apollyon, 160, 271 Bryce, Dr. J., 281
Approaching Advent of Christ, The Budge, Sir E . A. Wallis, 94, 201, 302
(Reese), 262 Bulgaria, 284
Ares, 287
Aristodicus, 259, 26 C
Armenia, 113,166,170, 222, 253, 289 1,
343 Cambyses, the Persian, 268
Arnold, Dr., 113 Cappadocia, 253
Artaxerxes, 304 Carmel, 254, 294
Asia Minor, 78, 165, 260, 271, 282, 290 Cartouche, on monuments, 106
Assyria, 44, 54, 157, 166, 273, 291 Case of Dr. Bruenning, The, 295
" At-any-moment " coming, the, 31 Caspian Sea, 166
Athene, 287 f.
Athenians, 274 Catholic Herald, The, 295
Attalus I and I I I , 282 Caucasus, 166
Attis, 273 Charles, R. H., 158, 209, 253
China, 159, 280
415
416 GENERAL INDEX
China, West (Sinim), 28 Ecclesiastical History (Eusebius), 216
Christian, The, 11 Edersheim, Dr. A., 255
Christian, the, and rule, 117 ff., 140 Edom, 51, 302
Church of England, 284 Egypt, 165, 166, 249, 250, 253, 279,
Church, the Churches and the Mysteries, 290 f.
The, 286 Ehud, 268
Clark, R. E. IX, 196 Elam, 165
Collected Writings (Darby), 90 Elders, 11, 24
Commentary on the Epistles to the Seven Eliezer ben Jacob, Rabbi, 256
Churches (Trench), 84 f., 100 Ellison, H. L., 13
Constantine the Great, 281, 309 Encyclopcedia Britannica, 253
Continuity of Catholicism, 286 Endor, witch of, 353
Conybeare, F . , 35 England, 305
Corbula, Consul of Syria, 113 Enoch, book of, 166, 169
Courts, the heavenly, 203 f. Enoch, prophecy of, 40, 68
Creed, the, 143 Ephah, vision of, 292 ff.
Cremer, 155, 268 Epimenides, 274
Crete, 273, 274 Eros, 287
Clesiphon, 304 Esdraelon, 254
Cybele, 282 Esther, 318, 322 f.
Cyrus, 44, 3CO-5 Ethiopia, 28, 165, 290
Etruscans, 282
D Euphrates, 28, 120, 121, 165, 250-2, 301,
Dalmatia, 28 3°5
Euridice, 274,
Dan, omission of name, 146 Eusebius, 216
Danby, Prof. H., 256 Evangelical Quarterly, The, 143
Daniel, Histories and Prophecies of, 11, Evemerus, Parthian King, 303
121, 158,165, 166, 215, 220, 222, 250, Evil servant, that, 32
288 f., 291, 343, 371 Evolution, doctrine of, 276
Daniel, book of, 50 " Expect," force of, 33
Daniel, Remarks on (Tregelles), 339
Darby, J. N., 71, 90, 126, 138, 177, F
349. 332 Fausset, A. R., 349
Lectures on the Seven Firstborn Sons, their Rights and Risks
Churches, 12 (Lang), 14, 367
„ Notes on th» Apocalypse, Firstfruits and Harvest, 79, 81, 88, 93,
12 105, 143, 190
,, Notes on the Revelation, n Flood, the, 61, 282
Darius Hystapses, 302 France, 287, 305
Darius the Made, 301, 332 Freisingen, Otto, bishop of, 303
Day of the Lord, the, 23-7 French, the, 166
Daystar, Satan, 130, 344 French Revolution, 307
Death, angel of, 160 f„ 174, 353 Friedrich Barbarossa, 273
Deborah, 254 Frogs, symbolic meaning, 253
Deck, J. G., 375
Deissmann, Dr. A., 263 6
Demas, 91, 92 Galatia, 28
Demeter, 287
Denney, Sir E., 381 f. Gaul, 28
De Wette, 126 Gehenna, 354 f.
Dionysus (Zeus), 273 Germany, 273, 280, 285, 290, 305, 308
Disraeli, 285 Gethsemane, garden of, 294
Divine Enterprise of Missions, The, 248 Gideon, 254
Domitian, 268 Gnostics end their Remains, 172, 173
Dusterdick, 126 Godet, 138
E Gog and Magog, 343
Earth's Earliest Ages (Pember), 112, Goodchild, Rev. G., 358
310. 352 Gospel of Nicodemtts, 211
Gospel of the Kingdom, The, 60
 GENERAL INDEX 417
Govett, R., 172, 297 J
Grammar (Robertson), 189 James, Stanley B., 296
Great Prophecies (Pember), 269 Japan, 159, 280, 285, 328
Great Prophecies concerning the Church Jehovah of hosts, 329
(Pember), 70, 84 Jesus is Coming (Blackstone), 303
Great Prophecies concerning Israel, etc. Jewish Encyclopedia, The, 303
(Pember), 224, 305, 338, 339 Jezebel, 309
Great Sea, the, is the Mediterranean,
220 Jezreel, 254
Greece, 120, 165, 273, 284 Job, 203
Greek Orthodox Church, 284, 294, 299 Jonathan, 332
Greene, W., C.E., 305 Josiah, 254
Griesbach, 126 Judas Iscariot, 225
Grimm, Lexicon, 268 Judgment Seat of Christ, for believers
Gwynn, Dr. Denis, 296 before resurrection, 78 ff.
Julius Caesar, 282
H K
Kelly, Wm„ 11, 99, 126, 158
Hades, 78, 80, 143, 160 f., 171 ; gates of, Khus, spirits of the dead, 103
171, 258, 274, 351-6 King, C. W., 172, 173
Hagar, 369 Kitchener, Lord, 273
Haifa, 254 K r a u s s Prof. *•., 303
Hallelujah, 312 Kufa, 304
Harlot, the great, 122
Harosheth, 254
Hastings' Bible Dictionary, 158 L
Hatch, E., 281 Lachmann, 126
Heaven, on going to, 381 Lake of fire, 80 ; believers and, 96
Heracles, 273 Lane, E. W., 378
Hercules, 274 Laver, the, 319
Herodotus, 173, 259, 268, 302, 377 Layard, Sir H., 303
Hezekiah, 308 Lebanese, the, 166
Hillah, 303, 304
Hislop, A., 267, 281, 282, 310 Lenin worship, 202, 280
Historicism, 69, 122 Leo X, 285, 286
History of the Roman Empire (Arnold), Letters to the Seven Churches (Ramsay),
157
Libya, 165, 290
Hitler, Adolf, 295 Licht vom Osten (Deissmann), 265
Hogg and Vine, 80 Liddell and Scott, 157, 193
Holy Roman Empire, The (Bryce), 281 Light from the East (Deissmann), 265
Horace, 267 Lillie, Dr. John, 262
House, figure of, 33 Living Creatures, the, 135 f.
Hyperbole used, 22 Look for, force of, 33
Lord, used of the Father, 187
Lcthair (Disraeli), 286
I Lowth, Bishop R., 364
Ibn Haukal, 303 Lycurgus, 173
Idolatry at the end of this age, 202, 279 Lydia, 273
Idolatry, Babylonian, 281, 285
Imperial, B. D., 158
M
India, 28, 121, 249, 280, 285 Maccabees, the, 279
Influence of Greek Ideas, etc. (Hatch), Madonna, the, 287 f.
281 Madre Natura society, 286
Inge, Dr. W. R., 358 Marathon, 274
Interval, the, in prophecy, 45 f. Marduk, 273
Irak, 166 Marranos, 288
Isaac, 369 Marriage feast, parable of, 31, 63
Ishtar, 171 Martial, 267
Isis, 78, 287 Medes, the, 300 f.
O
4i8 GENERAL INDEX
Media, 165 Olivet Discourses, 63
Medici, Cardinal de, 286 Olympus, Mount, 130
Mediterranean, 120, 122, 165, 166, 220, Orpheus, 274
221, 285, 288 ff., 290, 291 Osiris, myth of, 78 ; judge of dead, 79
Megiddo, 254 Osiris Ard, 272
Melchizedec, 268, 337 Otto, Bishop, 303
Melkart, 273
Menne, B., 295 P
Mesopotamia, 121, 165, 174, 273, 290 ff., Palestine, 165, 166, 290 f., 294, 300 f.,
308 304
Michael, archangel, 129, 177, 188 f., Pan, 287
198, 210 Pantheism, 306
Middle East, 166 Panton, D. M., 176
Middoth, tract in the Mishnah, 256 Parthians, the, 273, 304
Milligan, W., 317 Parousia, the, .5 ff., 262 ff.
Mills, W., 126 Pausanias, 303
Milton, John, 209, 274 Pearson, Bishop, 143
Minister of Religion, unscriptural, 225 Pella, 216
Minos, 274 Pember, G. H„ 33, 70, 80, 84 f„ 158,
Mishnah, 256 224, 269, 281, 282, 286, 287, 297, 304,
Mivart, Dr. St. G„ 286 f.
Modern Egyptians, The (Lane), 378 310. 338, 339. 352
Mohammed, 378 Pergamum, 282
Mons, angels of, 274 Persia, Persians, 28, 50, 54, 120 f., 157,
Morning Star, the, 38, 99 fi. 165, 166, 253, 282, 290, 304
Mother of the Gods, 282 Pessinus, 282
Mystery, Babylon the Great (Pember), Peters, Mrs., 380
Pharaoh Necho, 254
281, 286, 310 Phrygia, 273
Mythology, basis of t r u t h in 78 ; 103, Pierson, A. T., Dr., 248
130 Pliny, 294
Myths of Babylon and Assyria, 171 Pliny the elder, 302
Plutarch, 173
N Pocket Lexicon to Greek N.T. (Souter),
Nabonidus, 300
Nadab and Abihu, 248 155
Napoleon Bonaparte, 305 Pogroms, S. Russia, 284
Nazareth, 294 Pontifex Maximus, 282
Nazi paganism, 202, 280 Pontiffs, Babylonian college of, 282
Nebuchadnezzar, 49, 53, 112, 119, 128, Porter {Travels in Georgia), 304
Priesthood, of 24 elders, 131
182, 298, 304 Priest-Kings, 282, 283, 337
Nemesis, 287 Privy Council, 129
Nero, 113, 226, 272 ff. Propertius, 267
Nero redivivus, 272 " Prophetic earth," 28
Nestle, Dr. E., 126 Prospects of the Ten Kingdoms (B. W.
Newberry, 103 Newton), 100
Newman, Cardinal, 287 Pusey, Dr., 50
Newton, B. W., 100, 158, 297
New Translation (Darby), 126, 177
Nietzsche, 276 Q
Nile, 249, 251 Queen of Heaven, 282
Nimrod, 305 ff. Quickly, coming, sense of, 32, 33, 36
Nineteenth Century, 286
Nineveh, 52, 303 R
Nordic gods, revived worship of, 202, Reese, A., 262, 263, 264
280 Reincarnation, 306
Norway, 290 Revelation, The, completes revelation,
Numbers, on, figurative or literal, 19 ff. 384
Revelation, Lectures on the Book of
0 (Kelly), 11, 126, 158
Olives, mount of, 255, 261 Revelation, Notes on (J. N. Darby), 11
 GENERAL INDEX 419
Review of World Affairs, 295 Stork, the, 294
Revised Version, The, Author's views of, Strabo, 253, 302
12 Structure of Revelation, 164
Rizpah, 268 Study of prophecy, right method of,
Robertson, Dr. Alexander, 293 7i t.
Robertson, A. T. (Grammar), 189 Suetonius, 172
Roman Catholic Church, 278, 280, 281, Sumeria, 273
285, 286, 294 Sura, 303
Roman Catholic Church in Italy, 293 Swete, H. B., 166, 169, 255, 317
" Roman earth," 28 Symmachus, 267
Roman empire, no revival of, 271 Syria, 120, 273, 290, 308
Rome, 28, 120, 267, 277, 282, 294
Root of Jesse, 66 T
Rotherham, 138 Taanach, 254
Russia, 280, 284, 285, 305 Tabor, mount, 294
S Tacitus, 113, 226
Salamis, battle of, 120 Talmud, the Babylonian, 303
Salvation is eternal, 14 Tamar, 283
Samuel, 275, 355 Tammuz, 273
Sapphira, 91 Tartarus, 331, 351
Sarah, 369 Temple, Its Ministry and Services
(Edersheim), 255
Satan, the prosecutor-general, 203, 204 Ten Kingdoms, the, are future, 122
Saul, King, 254, 268 Ten Tribes, the " lost," 22
Scythia, 28 fi. Ter Steegen, 393
Secret rapture, the, 28, 29 Thebes, 106
Sehili, island of, 251 Theodoret, 303
Seiss, Dr. J. A., 297 Thessalonians, Lectures on (Lillie), 262
Seleucus, Seleucia, 302, 304 Things New and Old, 358
Selim I, 184 Thoth, 103
Thoughts on the Apocalypse (B. W.
Sennacherib, 45, 54, 268 Newton), 158
Set, 78 Time continues for ever, 380
Seven Letters, Seven Lectures on (Darby), Time, times, half a time, 139
12 Tobit, 166 f.
Septuagint, The (LXX), 42, 151, 155, Torrey, Dr. R., 206
159, 189, 190, 195, 238, 263, 268, 338, Touching the Coming of the Lord (Hogg
361 and Vine), 80
Sheol, 171, 258, 351 Tradition, Romish doctrine of, 384
Shinar, 292, 294 Trajan, 302
Siberia, 284 Tregelles, Dr. S. P., 50, 126, 339
Sibylline Oracles, 273 Trench, Archbishop, 84, 100
Sidon, 254 Tribes of Israel, lists of, 146
Sinaiticus, Codex, 126 Two Babylons, The (Hislop), 267, 281,
Sinim, 28 310
Sisera, 254, 268 Two Mosques, the (Hillah), 303
666, 226 Tylon, 273
Smerdis, the usurper, 377 Tyre, 49, 254
Smith's Bible Dictionary, 158, 294 V
Sodom and Gomorrah, 61, 301, 343
Solomon, throne of, i n Variorum Bible, 129
Souter, A. (Pocket Lexicon), 155 Vatican and the War in Europe, The
Spain, 28 (Gwynn), 296
Speaker's Commentary, The, 100, 189, Venus, 287 f.
253 Victoria Institute, Transactions of, ig6
Spence, Myths of Babylon, 171 Victorinus, 100, 143
Spirit, on being " in," 81 Virgil, 120, 267
" Spiritualizing " the prophecies, on, Virgins, the, n , 31, 33, 63
48 i-, 51, 55. 6°, 77 Vocabulary of Greek Testament, 193, 265
Star may mean angel, 19 Vulgate, The, 41, 338
Stier, R., 167
420 GENERAL INDEX

w Y
Wait for, force of, 33
We, on t h e use of, 23 ff. Young (Literal Translation), 138
Westcott, Dr. B. F., 138, 349 Yugoslavia (West), 28
Westcott and Hort, 126
Weymouth, Dr. R., 35, 126, 349, 358
Wolyn, Russia, 293
Woman, use of figure, 277 Z
Words of the Angels (Stier), 167
Wordsworth, Dr. C , 126, 304 Zechariah, Visions and Prophecies of
World Digest, The, 194 (Baron), 364
Zend religion, 253
Zeus, 273, 287 f.
X Zionism, 279
Xerxes, 302 Zoroaster, Zoroastrianism, 253
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OLIPHANTS L T D .
LONDON AND EDINBURGH
 Comparative
T o the angel of of the
the church in Seven Addresses to the
E P H E S U S write : SMYRNA write : PERGAMUM write : THYA-

THE SPEAKER These things saith H e t h a t holdeth These things saith t h e first and the These things saith He that hath the These things J
the 7 stars in His right hand, H e t h a t last, who was dead, and lived again : sharp two-edged sword: who hath His e
walketh in t h e midst of the 7 golden and His feet like
lampstands :

IS K N O W L E D G E O F THE I know I know I know

CHURCHES AND thy works, and t h y toil and patience, thy tribulation, and t h y poverty (but where thou dwellest, even where Satan's thy works, and 1
COMMENDATION and t h a t thou canst not bear evil men, thou a r t rich), and t h e blasphemy of throne is : and thou holdest fast my ministry and p;
and didst t r y them who call themselves them who say they are Jews, and they name, and didst not deny my faith, last works are n
apostles and are not, and didst find are not, b u t are a synagogue of Satan. even in t h e days of Antipas my witness,
them false ; and thou hast patience my faithful one, who was killed among
and didst bear for m y name's sake, you, where Satan dwelleth.
and hast not grown weary.

HIS COMPLAINTS But But

I have this against thee, t h a t thou I have a few things against thee, I have this ag
didst leave t h y first love. because thou hast there some that hold sufierest t h e 1
the teaching of Balaam, who taught calleth herself a
Balak t o cast a stumbling block before teacheth and sei
the children of Israel, t o eat things commit fornicatj
sacrificed t o idols, and to commit sacrificed t o idd
fornication. So hast thou also some
t h a t hold t h e teaching of the Nicolaitans
in like manner.

His COMMANDS Remember therefore whence thou Repent therefore; And I gave h«
are fallen, and repent, and do the first repent ; and she
works; of her fornicatici

His THREATS or else I come to thee, and will or else I come t o thee quickly, and Behold, I do q
move t h y lampstand out of its place, I will make war against them with the them that com!
except thou repent. sword of my mouth. into great tritj
repent of her \f
her children wit
churches shall k(
searcheth the a
I will give unto i
ing to your woii

[IS ENCOURAGEMENTS B u t this thou hast, t h a t thou hatest Fear not the things which thou are But to you I s
t h e works of t h e Nicolaitans, which I about t o suffer: behold t h e devil is in Thyatira, as B
also hate. about to cast some of you into prison, teaching, who ',
t h a t ye m a y be tried, and ye shall things of Satan;
have a tribulation of ten days. Be upon you none at
thou faithful unto death., and I will t h a t which ye hav
give thee the crown of life.

H I S CALL FOR He t h a t h a t h an ear, let him hear He t h a t hath an ear, let him hear He t h a t hath an ear, let him hear
ATTENTION what t h e Spirit saith to the churches. what the Spirit saith to the churches. what t h e Spirit saith t o the churches.
(first 3 addresses)
IS PROMISES TO T H E To him t h a t overcometh, to him He t h a t overcometh shall not be To him t h a t overcometh, t o him will I And he that ve
OVERCOMERS will I give t o eat of the tree of life, hurt of the second death. give t o eat of the hidden manna, and I keepeth my wi ks
which is in t h e Paradise of God. will give him a white stone, and upon will I give ail) ori
the stone a new name written, which and he shall i le
no one knoweth b u t he that receiveth it. iron, as the 1 sse
broken to si rer
received of nrj ?ai
him the morn g 5

H I S CALL FOR (see above) (see above) (see above) He that ha 1 a

ATTENTION what the Spi: sa
(last 4 addresses)
 Analysis
ie

i Seven Churches Revelation chs. 2 & 3 .

'HYATIRA write : SARDIS write : PHILADELPHIA write : LAODICEA write :

ngs saith the Son of God, These things saith He t h a t hath t h e These things saith He t h a t is holy. These things saith the Amen, the
lis eyes like a flame of fire, 7 Spirits of God, and t h e 7 s t a r s : He t h a t is true, H e that h a t h t h e key faithful and true witness, the begin-
t like unto burnished brass : of David, He that openeth and none ning of the creation of God :
shall shut, and that shutteth and none
openeth :

I know I know I know I know

md t h y love and faith and thy works, t h a t thou hast a name thy works (behold I have set before thy works,
id patience, and t h a t t h y t h a t thou livest, thee a door opened t h a t none can
ire more than t h y first. shut), t h a t thou hast a little power,
and didst keep my word, and didst
not deny my name.

But
s against thee, that thou and thou art dead. t h a t thou art neither cold nor h o t : I
lie woman Jezebel, who would thou wert cold or hot. So
self a prophetess ; and she because thou are lukewarm and neither
id seduceth my servants to cold nor hot, I
nication, and t o eat things [threatening]
3 idols. will spue thee out of my mouth.
Because thou sayest I am rich, and
have gotten riches, and have need of
nothing ; and knowest not t h a t thou
are'the wretched one and miserable and
ve her time that she should" Be thou watchful, and stablish t h e poor and blind and naked; I counsel
1 she willeth not to repent things t h a t remain, which were thee to buy of me gold refined by fire,
cation. ready to die : for I have found no t h a t thou mayest become rich ; and
works of thine fulfilled before m y God. white garments, t h a t thou mayest clothe
Remember therefore how thou hast thyself, and t h a t t h e shame of t h y
received and didst hear ; and keep nakedness be not made manifest; and
it, and repent. eye salve to anoint thine eyes, t h a t thou
mayest see. As many as I love I reprove
and chasten ; be zealous therefore and
repent.

do cast her into a bed, and If therefore thou shalt not watch, I (see above)
commit adultery with her will come as a thief, and thou shalt not
tribulation, except they know what hour I will come upon thee.
ter works. And I will kill
i with death; and all the
all know t h a t I am H e who
he reins and h e a r t s : and
into each one of you accord- Behold, I give of t h e synagogue of
works. Satan, of them which say they are Jews
and are not, b u t do lie ; behold I will
make them to come and worship before
t h y feet, and t o know t h a t I have
iu I say, to the rest t h a t are But thou hast a few names in Sardis loved thee. Because thou didst keep Behold I stand a t the door and knock ;
, as many as have not this t h a t did not defile their garments : the word of m y patience, I also will if any man hear my voice and open
vho know not the deep and they shall walk with me in white ; keep thee from t h e hour of trial, the door, I will come in to him and sup
tatan, as they s a y ; I cast for they are worthy. which is to come upon t h e whole with him, and he with me.
sne other burden. Howbeit, world, to try them t h a t dwell upon
ye have hold fast till I come. the earth. I come quickly : hold fast
t h a t -which thou hast, t h a t no one
take t h y crown.

(see below) (see below) (see below) (see below)

iat overcometh, and he that He t h a t overcometh shall thus be He t h a t overcometh, I will make He t h a t overcometh : I will give to
works unto the end, t o him arrayed in white garments ; and I will him a pillar in t h e temple of my God, him to sit down with me in my throne,
authority over t h e nations : in no wise blot his name out of t h e and he shall go out thence no more : as I also overcame, and sat down with
1 rule them with a rod of book of life, and I will confess his name and I will write upon him t h e name of my Father in His throne.
: vessels of the potter are before m y Father and before his angels. my God, and the name of the city of
shivers; as I also have my God, the new Jerusalem, which
n y Father: and I will give cometh down out of heaven from my
rning star. God, and mine own new name.

hath an ear, let him hear He t h a t h a t h an ear, let him hear He t h a t hath an ear, let him hear He t h a t hath an ear, let him hear
writ saith to t h e churches. what the Spirit saith to the churches. what the Spirit saith to the churches. what the Spirit saith to the churches.
 A COMPARATIVE
C. i. 2 and 3. 4 and 5. 6. 7- 8 and 9. 10. 11.

Introduction. The Churches all

The Son of Man through this age
in the midst of leading on to
the churches The closing
until I events of the age.
The court of
I God sits to
I The Lamb opens
the Sealed Book
S. 1. ANTI-
CHRIST
appears.
S. 2. Western
powers oppose.
S. 3. Scarcity
through war.
S. 4. Eastern
powers enter the
strife.
S. 5. Antichrist The TWO
supreme. T H E WITNESSES
GREAT T R I - 1,260 days.
BULATION.
S. 6. The great
DAY O F GOD
impending. 144,000 of Israel
sealed on earth.
A great multi-
tude in heaven.
Seal 7.
Trumpets 1-4.
Tr. 5, Woe 1.
Tr. 6, Woe 2.
Judgments on
Middle East. The secret
Counsel of God Tr. 7, Woe 3.
t o be completed The divine
under Tr. 7. program
reviewed,
leading to

HIS I
RETURN.

The wicked
destroyed.
transfer the
Overcomers Kingdom to the
reigning with Lamb and the The Kingdom
Christ. The Overcomers. God set up. 1
MILLENNIUM. MILLENNIUM. MILLENNIU

•
 A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE REVELATIO
4 and 5. 6. 7- 8 and 9. 10. 11. 12. 13- ' H-

The MAN- FIRST K

ie closing CHILD rapt to in heaven.
r
ents of the age. God's throne. The hoijr 1
tie court of SATAN cast out God's jud|
od sits to of heaven. announcec
He attacks the
1 The Lamb opens WOMAN.
the Sealed Book He brings up the
S. 1. ANTI- Beast (personal)
CHRIST ANTICHRIST,
appears. to attack t h e
S. 2. Western family of the The career of the
powers oppose. Woman.
S. 3. Scarcity BEAST and his Babylon t
through war. Harlot
S. 4. Eastern attaining to destroyed
powers enter the
strife. world supremacy
S. 5. Antichrist The TWO
supreme. T H E WITNESSES. The GREAT Angelic w
GREAT T R I - 1,260 days. not to wo
BULATION. TRIBULATION. the Beast
S. 6. The great
DAY O F GOD
impending. 144,000 of Israel
sealed on earth.

A great multi-
tude in heaven. Seal 7.
Trumpets 1-4.
Tr. 5, Woe 1.
Tr. 6, Woe 2.
Judgments on
Middle East. The secret
Counsel of God Tr. 7, Woe 3.
to be completed The divine
under Tr. 7. program
reviewed,
leading to
1
The HA!
of saints
gathered
cloud. I
I Cr 15.

The wicked
destroyed. The VI]
The Bea
cansfer the destroye
Hngdom to the
.amb and the The Kingdom of
(vercomers. God set up. The
IILLENNIUM. MILLENNIUM.
 OF THE REVELATION.
19, 20,
13- 14- 15 and 16. !7- 2 1 . 1-8. 22. 6-21.

FIRST FRUITS
tto in heaven.
e. The hour of
t out God's judgment
announced.
the

p the
>nal)
ST,
e The career of the
e The Harlot
BEAST and his Babylon the Babylon
Harlot destroyed t h a t
attaining to the BEAST may
destroyed. be supreme.
world supremacy
The G R E A T Angelic warning
not to worship
TRIBULATION, the Beast.

Victors over the

Beast seen in
heaven.

Bowls 1-6.
Judgments on
the central area
of the Beast.
His armies gather
to Har Magedon.

Bowl 7.
The H A R V E S T The LORD
of saints COMES as a
gathered to the thief. Resur-
cloud. I Th 4 : rection and
I Cr 15. rapture of saints. The marriage of
the Lamb.

The VINTAGE. Judgments The city The Word of God The glories and
The Beast completed. Babylon descends to offices of the
destroyed. destroyed. Olivet. The B R I D E under
Beast destroyed. the figure of a
Satan bound. city, the new
Jerusalem,
The MILLENNIAL
MILLENNIUM.
The great white
Throne.
New heavens and and eternal.
earth, eternal. Conclusion.