LIBRARY 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA. 
 
 Gl FT OF 
 
 C/^ss 
 

THE KINGDOM 
 
 AND 
 
 COMINGS OF CHRIST, 
 
 WHEREIN IS EXPLAINED 
 
 THE PROPHECIES OF DANIEL, THE PREDICTIONS OF 
 
 JESUS WITH REFERENCE TO THE DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM. 
 
 AND THE BOOK OF REVELATION. 
 
 BY REV. J. C. SIMMONS, D.D., 
 
 e Pacific Conference. 
 
 Whoso readeth, let him understand." 
 
 PRINTED FOR THE AUTHOR. 
 
 PUBLISHING HOUSE OF THE M. E. CHURCH, SOUTH. 
 
 BARBEE & SMITH, AGENTS, NASHVILLE, TENN. 
 
 1891. 
 
Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1891, 
 
 BY J. C. SIMMONS, 
 In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 
 
DEDICATION. 
 
 To MY ONLY LIVING BROTHER, 
 
 REV. \tf. A. SIMMOKS. 
 
 Of the North Georgia. Conference, 
 
 WITH WHOM I HAVE KEPT UP A WEEKLY CORRESPONDENCE 
 FOR MORE THAN A QUARTER OF A CENTURY, 
 
 THIS BOOK IS AFFECTIONA TELY D ED 1C A TED. 
 
 THE AUTHOR. 
 (3) 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 GOD established the Church of Jesus Christ in Eden imme- 
 diately after the fall. Man showed his sorrow for sin by mak- 
 ing aprons and hiding from God. When called to account, he 
 confessed his sin, and God at once provided a Saviour "the 
 seed of the woman." And however brief the account given in 
 Genesis, yet full and explicit explanations of the plan of salva- 
 tion were doubtless given at once; and man was instructed as 
 to how he was to become reconciled to God. And now, lest he 
 should come direct to the tree of life without the mediation of 
 Christ, and eat and live forever as he was, God " drove out the 
 man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden cheru- 
 bim, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the 
 way of the tree of life." Here man was to worship God through 
 Christ, and through him and him alone he was to "have right 
 to the tree of life." The cherubim here are identical with 
 those found in the tabernacle and temple with their wings 
 shadowing the mercy-seat; and what is called a "flaming 
 sword" here was the "shekinah," as it was called in the temple 
 worship. And all this was not to keep man from the tree of 
 life, but to preserve the way of the tree of life. There were 
 symbols of Divinity perpetually present to man before the 
 flood. In Hebrews ix. Paul speaks of these symbols, and 
 shows that they were ordained of God until "Christ being 
 come a high priest of good things to come, by a greater and 
 more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not 
 of this building; neither by the blood of goats and calves, but 
 by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, hav- 
 ing obtained eternal redemption for us." And again: "For 
 Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, 
 which are the figures of the true ; but into heaven itself, now to 
 appear in the presence of God for xis." Evidently there was at 
 the east of the garden of Eden a mercy-seat, with cherubim 
 on either end of it, whose wings shadowed this mercy-seat, 
 and over which was the shekinah. Here man was to bring the 
 
 (5) 
 
 1 58899 
 
6 Preface. 
 
 blood of his sacrifice and sprinkle it on the mercy-seat, in 
 faith of the blood of Jesus Christ, who, in the fullness of time, 
 should enter into the "true tabernacle which the Lord pitched, 
 and not man," and sprinkle the mercy-seat in the presence of 
 God with his own blood. 
 
 Hence we see that the Church of Jesus Christ has been the 
 same in all ages, but there have been different dispensations; 
 and, while the worship of God through Christ has been iden- 
 tical in all ages, yet God has adapted this worship to man's sur- 
 roundings and condition. From the fall to the flood, men wor- 
 shiped God here at the east of the garden of Eden. From the 
 flood to Moses, men erected altars and worshiped God where it 
 was most convenient for them; for we read that Noah, Abra- 
 ham, Isaac, Jacob, and others built altars, and worshiped God. 
 When God gave the law by the hand of Moses, then the taber- 
 nacle was erected, and men came unto that. When they reached 
 the promised land, God chose Jerusalem as the place of wor- 
 ship; and here it was observed until Christ came, was crucified, 
 rose from the dead, and ascended on high " to appear in the 
 presence of God for us." From that time to the present, men 
 "worship him in spirit and in truth," "for God is a Spirit: and 
 they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth." 
 
 All along through the ages the coming of Christ was prom- 
 ised: first, as the "seed of the woman;" then as "the seed of 
 Abraham;" then as the "Star of Jacob;" then as the " Son of 
 David," etc. As the time of his coming approached, the proph- 
 ecies concerning him became more and more explicit, and rev- 
 elations of him more abundant. His first coming was in the flesh ; 
 his second coming was after his ascension, when he came to judge 
 and overthrow the Jewish nation ; his third coming will be at the 
 end of time, to judge the quick and the dead. 
 
 There has been much confusion in the minds of many with 
 reference to the prophecies concerning these several comings 
 of Christ, and we propose to try and present these comings in 
 their regular order, pointing out the prophecies connected with 
 each one. It is not our purpose so much to combat the errors 
 that have arisen in the minds of many as it is to present the 
 truth. If the views we shall present be correct, then all others 
 opposed to them must be false. We do not profess to be wiser 
 than others, nor are we so vain as to think we are infallible. 
 
Preface. 7 
 
 In our researches we have availed ourselves of every help in 
 our reach. We have adopted no man's theory as a whole ; but 
 after studying the subject, first in the Bible itself and then with 
 the help of others, we have formulated our own views, and shall 
 ask the reader to examine them as carefully and prayerfully 
 while reading as we have done before writing. 
 
 We shall not burden our work with quotation marks; but, 
 here and now, acknowledge our indebtedness to Rev. T. O. 
 Summers, Rev. Henry Cowles, and Canon Farrar. When we 
 make any extended quotations from these or other authors, we 
 will make due acknowledgment, but do not feel it necessary to 
 mark every thougjit suggested by them. 
 
 In all our work we have labored to make the Scripture its 
 own interpreter. Often symbols in the New Testament can be 
 explained and understood only by referring to the same sym- 
 bols as used in the Old Testament. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. PAGE 
 
 First Coming of Christ to Set Up a Kingdom Second 
 Coming to Judge the Jews Four Parallel Visions of 
 Daniel Nebuchadnezzar's Dream 13 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Vision of the Four Beasts The Ten Kings The Little 
 Horn Antiochus Epiphanes The Ancient of Days 
 Christ's Kingdom An Angel Explains the Vision 20 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 The Third Parallel Vision The Medo-Persian Empire 
 The Grecian Empire The Four Kingdoms Syria and 
 Egypt Antiochus Epiphanes A Day Not a Year in 
 Prophecy Cleansing the Sanctuary The Vision Ex- 
 plained Death of Antiochus The Little Horn Not Papal 
 Rome 37 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Daniel's Confession and Prayer Gabriel Comes to Explain 
 When Christ Is to Suffer and Die His Kingdom Es- 
 tablished 62 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 The Fourth Parallel Vision The Angel Comes to Explain 
 What Should Befall the Jews Michael the Archangel. . 76 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 The King of Persia Xerxes Alexander Egypt and 
 Syria, Their Wars and Intrigues Antiochus Epiphanes; 
 His Vileness His Punishment of the Jews He Profanes 
 the Temple The Daily Sacrifice Taken Away Perse- 
 cution of the Jews Judas Maccabeus Death of Anti- 
 ochus Epiphanes 83 
 
 (9) 
 
io Contents. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. PAGE 
 
 Trials and Persecutions of the Jews The Seven Brethren 
 and Their Mother Martyred The Resurrection to Joy 
 and Shame The Thousand Two Hundred and Ninety 
 Days The Sanctuary Cleansed The Kingdom of Christ. 108 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 The Prophecies of the Old Testament Center in Israel- 
 False Interpretations The Triumphal Entry of Jesus into 
 Jerusalem Its Object The Fig-tree Cursed The Two 
 Sons Parable of the Vineyard Marriage of the King's 
 Son Scribes, Pharisees, and Herodians Assail Jesus 
 Their Hypocrisy Unveiled Prophecy Concerning the 
 Destruction of Jerusalem 121 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 The Book of Revelation Letters to the Seven Churches 
 The Book Sealed with Seven Seals Sealing of the Saints 
 The Seven Trumpets 160 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 The Angel with the Little Book The Temple and Altar 
 Measured The Two Witnesses The Third Woe 207 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 The Second Great Persecuting Power, Pagan Rome The 
 Messiah Born The Dragon The Beast from the Sea 
 The Beast from the Earth The Lamb on Mount Sion 
 The Fall of Babylon, or Rome 223 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 The Seven Golden Vials Unclean Spirits Like Frogs 
 Preparations for the Great Battle Judgment of the Great 
 Whore, and Who She Is The Joy Over the Fall of Bab- 
 ylon The King of Kings and His Armies The Fowls 
 Summoned to the Great Supper The Beast and the False 
 Prophet Cast into the Lake of Fire The Dragon Cast 
 Into tke Pit The Millennium The Judgment-day 249 
 
Contents. n 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. PAGE 
 
 The New Heaven and the New Earth The New Jerusalem 
 The General Invitation 292 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 The Folly of Modern Adventism Christ to Remain in 
 Heaven to the Judgment Mistakes of Modern Advent- 
 ists 313 
 
THE KINGDOM AND COMINGS OF CHRIST. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 First Coming of Christ to Set Up a Kingdom Second Coming 
 to Judge the Jews Four Parallel Visions of Daniel Nebu- 
 chadnezzar's Dream. 
 
 THE coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh is one 
 of the great events in the history of our race. 
 Then he, as Christ the anointed King, was to set up 
 a kingdom. John the Baptist began preaching, 
 "Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at 
 hand;" and Jesus uses the same language. Mat- 
 thew says : " From that time Jesus began to preach, 
 and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is 
 at hand." Mark says: " Jesus came into Galilee, 
 preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and 
 saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of 
 God is at hand." In Luke we find this language: 
 "And he said unto them, I must preach the king- 
 dom of God to other cities afco." 
 
 He came, then, to set up a kingdom. As he had 
 committed the work of his Church to the hands of 
 the Jews, they were looking forward to this coming 
 with the deepest interest; and God, from time to 
 time, revealed facts in connection with it. Nearly 
 all the prophets spoke more or less of it. But to 
 Daniel especially are we indebted for the terms so 
 
 (13) 
 
14 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 freely used by the evangelists: the "kingdom of 
 heaven," "the kingdom of God." 
 
 There was another coming of Christ in which 
 the Jews were specially interested. They were to 
 prove themselves unworthy of the trust God had 
 committed to their hands; and shortly after the 
 ascension of Christ he was to come in judgment 
 upon them, destroy their city and nation, take from 
 them the Church and its work and give it to others, 
 who, as he expresses it, should "bring forth the 
 fruit thereof." 
 
 These two comings of Christ are predicted faith- 
 fully and explicitly in Daniel. Some portions 
 of these predictions have been misapplied and 
 wrenched out of their meaning. We therefore 
 desire to present these prophecies in their order 
 with their meaning. 
 
 In the prophecy of Daniel we have four great 
 parallel visions, all bearing on the same subject, 
 all embracing the same facts and personages. The 
 first of these visions is brought out in the dream of 
 Nebuchadnezzar, as found in the second chapter. 
 There the great empires and nations immediately 
 preceding the "kingdom of God" are brought to 
 view. The second is found in the seventh chapter, 
 where symbols are used to represent these same 
 empires and nations, with an addition of a king, 
 who was to "make war w r ith the saints, and prevail 
 against them." The third is in the eighth chapter, 
 where the explanation is a little more full and ex- 
 plicit. 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 15 
 
 And the fourth is in the tenth, eleventh, and 
 twelfth chapters, where, toward the latter part, all 
 symbols are dropped and a full explanation of them 
 is given in plain language. 
 
 Bearing these things in mind, we will now pro- 
 ceed to give these several parallel visions in their 
 order, and try to show their meaning. Without 
 burdening the reader with the preliminaries which 
 lead to this dream, we give it at once: 
 
 * ' Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. 
 This great image, whose brightness was excellent, 
 stood before thee; and the form thereof was ter- 
 rible. This image's head was of fine gold, his 
 breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his 
 thighs of brass, his legs of iron, his feet part of 
 iron and part of clay. Thou sawest till that a 
 stone was cut out without hands, which smote the 
 image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and 
 brake them to pieces. Then was the iron, the 
 clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to 
 pieces together, and became like the chaff of the 
 summer threshing-floors; and the wind carried 
 them away, that no place was found for them : and 
 the stone that smote the image became a great 
 mountain, and filled the whole earth." 
 
 Daniel tells King Nebuchadnezzar: "Thou art 
 this head of gold. And after thee shall arise 
 another kingdom inferior to thee, and another 
 
 O ' 
 
 third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over 
 all the earth. And the fourth kingdom shall be 
 strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in 
 
16 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that 
 breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and 
 bruise. And whereas thou sawest the feet and 
 toes, part of potter's clay, and part of iron, the 
 kingdom shall be divided ; but there shall be in it 
 of the strength of iron, forasmuch as thou sawest 
 the iron -mixed with the miry clay. And as the 
 toes of the feet were part of iron and part of clay, 
 so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly 
 broken. And whereas thou sawest iron mixed 
 with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with 
 the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one 
 to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay. 
 And in the days of these kings shall the God of 
 heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be de- 
 stroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to 
 other people, but it shall break in pieces and con- 
 sume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for- 
 ever. Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone 
 was cut out of the mountain without hands, and 
 that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, 
 the silver, and the gold ; the great God hath made 
 known to the king what shall come to pass here- 
 after: and the dream is certain, and the interpre- 
 tation thereof sure." 
 
 These kingdoms were: First, the Chaldean, 
 then in existence and in the height of its glory; 
 second, the Medo-Persian, represented by the sil- 
 ver; third, the Grecian, whose sole representative 
 was Alexander. For, as we shall see, Daniel 
 makes no account of his father, Philip, or of that 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 17 
 
 portion of the Grecian empire found in Europe. 
 He deals only with that part which comes in con- 
 tact with his people and affects the kingdom of 
 Jesus Christ, as seen in this vision. The image 
 seen in this dream is a compact, consistent image, 
 occupying the same ground, and composed of the 
 same people, as we shall see in our further investi- 
 gations. The Grecians, under Alexander, over- 
 threw the Medo-Persian empire. The fourth was 
 that which immediately succeeded the Grecian 
 empire in Asia the field on which the others had 
 existed. 
 
 Alexander died in Babylon in the height of his 
 glory, leaving no definite instructions as to his suc- 
 cessor. It is said that upon being asked to whom 
 he bequeathed his empire he replied, "To the 
 strongest," or, as otherwise reported, "To the 
 worthiest," adding the very natural prediction that 
 he foresaw a bloody competition at his funeral 
 games. He left no born legitimate offspring, but 
 his wife, Roxana, was at the time of his death 
 about to become a mother. Both she and the 
 child .to whom she gave birth fell victims to the 
 jealousy of one of the competitors for his throne. 
 After a struggle of more than twenty years between 
 contending parties, his vast dominions were divid- 
 ed into four great kingdoms by four of his princi- 
 pal generals. Cassander took Macedon, with part 
 of Greece; Lysimachus established himself upon 
 the throne of Thrace ; Seleucus became master of 
 Syria and nearly all the countries which had com- 
 2 
 
1 8 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 posed the Persian monarchy, founding the dynasty 
 of the Seleucidas; and Ptolemy became King of 
 Egypt, commencing the line of the Ptolemies. 
 
 Now the portion with which the Jews came 
 specially in contact were the Syrian kingdom and 
 the Egyptian. In point of time these two king- 
 doms fill the two or three centuries immediately 
 following the death of Alexander, B.C. 323. This 
 divided state of the image is represented by the 
 iron and clay mixed. There was the strength of 
 iron in some parts of it, and the weakness of clay 
 in others. During the existence of these kingdoms, 
 or, as Daniel expresses it, " in the days of these 
 kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, 
 which shall never be destroyed," and this is the 
 fifth kingdom. Four of these kingdoms are earth- 
 ly, one is heavenly. 
 
 We have this to guide us in this view of this vis- 
 ion. A clear beginning, a distinct end, and all the 
 rest must lie within these extremes. The begin- 
 ning is Nebuchadnezzar as representing the Chal- 
 dean kingdom ; the end is Jesus Christ, represent- 
 ing the kingdom of heaven as set up by him in 
 person during his incarnation. 
 
 The feet of this image have been placed by 
 many interpreters of this prophecy from seven 
 hundred to a thousand years after Christ. Rome 
 has been looked upon as the iron kingdom. But 
 mark you this does not fit Rome, but does fit the 
 divided kingdom of Alexander in every particular 
 time, place, and policy. God was revealing to 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 19 
 
 Daniel what should befall his people " in the latter 
 days" all along down to the coming of their Mes- 
 siah. "These prophecies touch the political his- 
 tory of the kingdoms of this world only because 
 these particular kingdoms sustained very special 
 relations to the great kingdom that is not of this 
 world, which lay in embryo in the Jewish state, yet 
 nursed and guarded there under the perfect eye of 
 God till the time was fulfilled and the kingdom of 
 God truly come i. e., came forth visibly before 
 all the world." 
 
 Daniel did not aim to teach universal history, or 
 to point out the course of empires for their sakes ; 
 but he held to the fixed purpose of dealing only 
 w 7 ith those nations that affected his people, and had 
 their bearing on the kingdom of Jesus Christ. 
 Neither pagan nor papal Rome has any place 
 whatever in these prophecies. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 Vision of the Four Beasts The Ten Kings The Little Horn 
 Antiochus Epiphanes The Ancient of Days Christ's King- 
 dom An Angel Explains the Vision. 
 
 DANIEL retained his high position during the 
 rest of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, and was 
 continued in office throughout the reign of Darius 
 and into the reign of Cyrus. His last recorded vis- 
 ion was in the third year of the reign of Cyrus. 
 This vision is found in the seventh chapter of his 
 prophecy. He says: '" I saw in my vision by night, 
 and, behold, the four winds of the heaven strove 
 upon the great sea. And four great beasts came 
 up from the sea, diverse one from another." These 
 beasts did not come up all at once, but in succession. 
 They symbolized different kingdoms. " The first 
 was like a lion, and had eagle's wings; I beheld 
 till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was 
 lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon 
 the feet as a man, and a man's heart was given 
 to it." 
 
 There is no diversity of opinion, we believe, as 
 to what this beast symbolizes. It is thoroughly 
 Chaldean in every respect. Winged lions, winged 
 bulls, and even winged men have been exhumed by 
 the indefatigable Layard in his researches amid the 
 ruins of Nineveh, 
 
 While Daniel is looking at this powerful beast 
 (20) 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 21 
 
 a change comes over it. Its wings are plucked; 
 it is lifted from all fours and made to stand like a 
 man, and a man's heart is given it, an evidence of 
 its waning strength. Daniel had been connected 
 with this empire in the days of its lion-like power. 
 He now saw it waning to its fall, plucked of its 
 swift moving-armies, and despoiled of its lion-like 
 strength. And here we see the first point of par- 
 allel between this vision and Nebuchadnezzar's 
 dream as interpreted by Daniel. 
 
 The beasts came in succession: "And behold 
 another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it raised 
 up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in the 
 mouth of it between the teeth of it: and they said 
 thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh." 
 
 This was the Medo-Persian empire, and answers 
 well to its character and movements. The side on 
 which it raised up itself was Chaldea. This pow- 
 er, when it began to assume strength as a nation, 
 made its first grand movement against Chaldea. 
 The capture of Babylon by Cyrus is predicted in 
 Isaiah (chapter xlv.), and is a well-known fact in 
 history. The lion went down under the bear. 
 The "three ribs in its mouth" may refer to the 
 destruction of other nations, not now clearly 
 known for want of an accurate history of this 
 period. It and the "devouring of much flesh" 
 denotes the subjugation of other nationalities, and 
 the absorbing them into its own. 
 
 "After this I beheld, and lo another, like a 
 leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings 
 
 or 
 
22 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 of a fowl; the beast had also four heads; and do- 
 minion was given to it." 
 
 This was the Grecian empire of Alexander. 
 Perhaps no conqueror ever moved his armies with 
 more celerity, nor won conquests more rapidly 
 than did he. Hence he is symbolized by one of 
 the most lithe and active of ravenous beasts, the 
 leopard; and wings are added, an additional em- 
 blem of his swiftness. " Dominion given him" 
 indicates his success in enlarging his empire. In 
 the parallel vision (chapter ii. 39) the record 
 is: "Another third kingdom of brass, which shall 
 bear rule over all the earth." The " four heads " 
 may or may not refer to the four successors of 
 Alexander that precede the "little horn" king. 
 Some think it refers to the intellectuality of the 
 Grecians. We incline to the former opinion as 
 more natural, and as coming in its proper place. 
 
 "After this I saw in the night visions, and be- 
 hold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and 
 strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it 
 devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the 
 residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from 
 all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten 
 horns. I considered the horns, and, behold, there 
 came up among them another little horn, before 
 whom there were three of the first horns plucked 
 up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were 
 eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking 
 great things." 
 
 This fourth kingdom is that which immediately 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 23 
 
 followed the Grecian, existing first under Alexan- 
 der's four generals, then under ten kings, and final- 
 ly under Antiochus Epiphanes, who is symbolized 
 by the ''little horn." But let us look to the de- 
 velopment of this kingdom as seen in this vision. 
 The history of this kingdom is symbolized in this 
 beast. It was " dreadful and terrible," especially 
 to the Jews, Daniel's people. Never in their his- 
 tory did they pass through such dreadful scenes, 
 and were encompassed by such terrors, as we shall 
 see in the further development of this prophecy. 
 It was "strong exceedingly, and it had great iron 
 teeth." The Jews had no power to resist the ar- 
 mies brought against them, and they were crushed 
 in the jaws of this monster as between great teeth 
 of iron. .'** It devoured and brake in pieces, and 
 stamped the residue with the feet of it." Anti- 
 ochus Epiphanes robbed them of their treasure, 
 despoiled their temple, stamped upon their most 
 sacred rites, hurled their beloved priests from their 
 places, and defied God and man. " It was diverse 
 from all the beasts that were before it." All other 
 conquerors had, if they did not respect the religion 
 of the Jews, at least left them in the enjoyment of 
 it. Not so this. Every appliance of power was 
 brought to bear to break up the customs of the na- 
 tion and introduce the worship of strange gods. 
 "And it had ten horns." Now where and when 
 are we naturally to look for these ten horns. Sure- 
 ly not in Europe; surely not hundreds of years 
 after the coming of Christ in the flesh but right 
 
24 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 here on the ground occupied by their kingdom, 
 and during its existence. They must exist between 
 the death of Alexander and the rise of Antiochus 
 Epiphanes, and we hold that they must have some 
 relationship to the Jews. And here we see no dif- 
 ficulty, inasmuch as Daniel himself (chapter xi. 
 5-27), in the last of the four great parallel visions, 
 has pointed them out so clearly that nearly all 
 commentators agree in naming them. But best of 
 all the revealing spirit in this eleventh chapter has 
 mapped out the movement of the powers of this 
 period so distinctly that we can without difficulty 
 find in the track of their contending armies all ten 
 of these kings. 
 
 Of the four kingdoms into which the great Gre- 
 cian empire was dissolved, two Syria and Egypt 
 affect the Jewish nation especially. Five of these 
 kings are from the North, or Syria; and five from 
 the South, or Egypt. The five from the Greek- 
 Syrian dynasty are: i. Seleucus Nicator. 2. An- 
 tiochus Theos. 3. Seleucus Callinicus. 4. Anti- 
 ochus the Great. 5. Seleucus Philopator. The 
 five from the Grasco-Egyptian dynasty are: i. 
 Ptolemy Lagus. 2. Ptolemy Philadelphus. 3. 
 Ptolemy Euergetes. 4. Ptolemy Philopator. 5. 
 Ptolemy Philometer. 
 
 These were not kings of separate and distinct 
 kingdoms, into which the one great kingdom was 
 divided, but five of them in succession sat on the 
 throne of Syria, and five on the throne of Egypt. 
 And, mark you, only those who came in special 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 25 
 
 contact with the Jews are reckoned. For instance, 
 there was Ptolemy Epiphanes, who was put upon 
 the throne of Egypt at the age of five years, and 
 whose history amounts to nothing. Then there 
 were two that reigned in the Syrian throne, covering 
 a period of thirty-two years, that are intentionally 
 omitted; but the revealing spirit points this fact 
 out in chapter xi. 6, by saying: " In the end of 
 years," etc. Thus this hiatus is indicated that 
 there may be no mistake. 
 
 "I considered the horns, and, behold, there 
 came up among them another little horn, before 
 whom there were three of the first horns plucked 
 up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were 
 eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking 
 great things." 
 
 This "little horn " was Antiochus Epiphanes, 
 every feature of the symbol answering to him. 
 Three of the first horns were plucked up by the 
 roots. He was the son of Antiochus the Great; 
 his elder brother was Seleucus Philopator; and 
 while there is a conflict among historians as to the 
 cause of the death of these two, one on the throne 
 and the other next entitled to it, yet it is asserted 
 that Antiochus effected the death both of his father 
 and his brother, thus " plucking up by the roots " 
 these two horns that stood in his way to the throne. 
 One of his first acts on coming to the throne was 
 to turn his attention to the possession of Egypt, 
 which was then enjoyed by Ptolemy Philometor, his 
 nephew, son to his sister Cleopatra, whom Anti- 
 
26 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 ochus the Great had married to Ptolemy Epiphanes, 
 King of Egypt. He subdued this kingdom, thus 
 "plucking up another horn that stood in his way." 
 In this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man, in- 
 dicating the keen intelligence and far-seeing policy 
 that characterized his every movement, "and a 
 mouth speaking great things." His command was 
 to change the religion of every nation subdued by 
 him. On this point he was inexorable, as we shall 
 see in the subsequent visions. 
 
 "I beheld till the thrones were cast down and the 
 Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white 
 as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure 
 wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his 
 wheels as burning fire. A fiery stream issued and 
 came forth from before him ; thousand thousands 
 ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten 
 thousand stood before him; the judgment was set, 
 and the books were opened. I beheld then, be- 
 cause of the voice of the great words which the 
 horn spake : I beheld even till the beast was slain 
 and his body destroyed and given to the burning 
 flame." 
 
 This refers not to the great judgment-day; but 
 it, like the other, is symbolic language to express 
 the providential judgment in time for the destruc- 
 tion of the fourth beast and his horns. Nations, 
 as such, can only be. judged in this life, or in time. 
 We find that the final outcome of this judgment is 
 in the fourth beast. This fixes it unmistakably to 
 the period of which the prophet writes: "I beheld 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 27 
 
 till the thrones were cast down and the Ancient of 
 days did sit." "Cast down" here does not mean 
 overthrown or demolished, but it means firmly set. 
 God is about to sit in judgment upon a guilty na- 
 tion, and he plants his throne and seats himself 
 ("the Ancient of days") upon it. The destruc- 
 tion of this nation must be done in righteousness 
 after careful judicial ' inquiry into the crimes for 
 which it is to suffer. Isaiah speaks of a time when 
 he "saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and 
 lifted up." And this was preparatory to judging 
 his people. He had come unto his own, and his 
 own received him not, and John says: "But 
 though he had done so many miracles before them, 
 yet they believed not on him: that the saying of 
 Esaias the prophet might be fulfilled, which he 
 spake, Lord, who hath believed our report? and 
 to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed? 
 Therefore they could not believe, because that 
 Esaias said again, He hath blinded their eyes, and 
 hardened their heart; that they should not see with 
 their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be 
 converted, and I should heal them. These things 
 said Esaias, when he saw his glory, and spake of 
 him." Here the Lord was "upon his throne," that 
 he might providentially judge his people when he 
 took the kingdom from them and gave it to a na- 
 tion bringing forth fruits of righteousness. Again 
 Micaiah (i Kings xxii. 19) says: " I saw the Lord 
 sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven 
 standing by him on his right hand and on his left." 
 
28 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 Ahab had filled up the cup of his iniquity, and was 
 to be led to Ramoth-gilead to be slain, and God 
 sits to judge him and prove the righteousness of the 
 penalty inflicted. 
 
 "Whose garment was white as snow," a sym- 
 bol of the purity of his character. He could not 
 do wrong. " The hair of his head like the pure 
 wool." Age is venerable. "The hoary head is 
 a crown of glory if it be found in the way of right- 
 eousness." " His throne was like the fiery flame, 
 and his wheels as burning fire." See a similar 
 representation of God's throne as seen by Ezekiel 
 in the first chapter of his prophecy. God moves 
 to fiery judgments. His knowledge is not confined 
 to a single spot; as a flash of lightning his messen- 
 gers, that bear up the sapphire pavement upon 
 which rests his throne, go wherever the Spirit bids. 
 "A fiery stream issued and came forth from before 
 him." His judgments are to be destructive: 
 "Upon the wicked he will rain fire and brimstone, 
 and a horrible tempest." It was with fire that he 
 destroyed the guilty cities of the plain. 
 
 "Thousand thousands ministered, etc." His 
 resources are illimitable; his attendants number- 
 less. " The judgment was set, and the books were 
 opened." No arbitrary proceeding; every thing 
 done must be done for cause. A record has been 
 kept, and now it is revealed to satisfy the world that 
 all is done in justice. 
 
 "I beheld then because of the voice of the great 
 words which the horn spake: I beheld even till 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 29 
 
 the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and 
 given to the burning flame." 
 
 Hear the blasphemy of Antiochus Epiphanes, 
 in which he speaks against the Most High, and 
 proposes to change the religion of the Jews, rank- 
 ing it on a par with the idolatrous worship of hea- 
 then nations. These are the sins for which he and 
 his kingdom are to be destroyed by this righteous 
 Judge. If the awful scenes described in these 
 three verses (9, 10, n) referred to the final judg- 
 ment of the world, then that judgment precedes the 
 first advent or coming of Christ instead of follow- 
 ing his second advent, as we are taught in the New 
 Testament. But they are scenes that transpired 
 when the judgments of God fell upon this last of 
 the four great kingdoms, with their last and blas- 
 phemous king, Antiochus Epiphanes, and when 
 the God of heaven sets up the kingdom of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ. 
 
 "As concerning the rest of the beasts, they had 
 their dominion taken away: yet their lives were 
 prolonged for a season and time." 
 
 " The rest of the beasts " the first three. The 
 judgments of God do not fall upon them so sud- 
 denly nor so terribly as they fall upon this fourth 
 kingdom. These three, and their slower destruc- 
 tion, is contrasted with the swift and awful doom 
 that falls on this fourth one. 
 
 " I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one 
 like the Son of man came with the clouds of 
 heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they 
 
30 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 brought him near before him. And there was 
 given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, 
 that all people, nations, and languages, should 
 serve him: his dominion is an everlasting domin- 
 ion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom 
 that which shall not be destroyed." 
 
 This passage graphically describes the setting 
 up of the kingdom of Jesus Christ at his ascension. 
 This is precisely the same event described in the 
 first vision (chapter ii. 44): "And in the days of 
 these kings shall the God of heaven set up a king- 
 dom, which shall never be destroyed : and the king- 
 dom shall not be left to other people, but it shall 
 break in pieces, and consume all these kingdoms, 
 and it shall stand forever." After the ascension of 
 Christ the apostles with one voice testified to the 
 fact that God had made him "both Lord and 
 Christ." Hear them on the day of Pentecost 
 when the Holy Ghost revealed the fact: "This 
 Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are wit- 
 nesses. Therefore being by the right hand of God 
 exalted." And again: "Let all the house of Is- 
 rael know assuredly that God hath made that same 
 Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and 
 Christ." 
 
 " Him hath God exalted with his right hand to 
 be a Prince and a Saviour." Peter, at the house 
 of Cornelius, when opening his commission to the 
 Gentiles, said: "He is Lord of all." 
 
 Paul says (Eph. i. 20-22): "When he raised 
 him from the dead, and set him at his own right 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 31 
 
 hand in the heavenly places, far above all princi- 
 pality, and power, and might, and dominion, and 
 every name that is named, not only in this world, 
 but also in that which is to come : and hath put all 
 things under his feet, and gave him to be the head 
 over all things to the Church," etc. And Peter 
 says (i Pet. iii. 22): "Who is gone into heaven, 
 and is on the right hand of God ; angels and au- 
 thorities and powers being made subject unto 
 him." We might fill pages with such quotations, 
 but these are enough. 
 
 The disciples followed their Lord out to Olivet, 
 and when they asked him, " Wilt thou at this time 
 restore the kingdom to Israel?" he replied: "It 
 is not for you to know the times, or the seasons, 
 which the Father hath put in his own power. But 
 ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost 
 is come upon you," etc. He bestowed his bless- 
 ing upon them, and then "was taken up; and' a 
 cloud received him out of their sight." They saw 
 him enter the cloud, and saw no more. But Dan- 
 iel, in a vision, witnessed the full scene. He saw 
 him "come with the clouds of heaven to the An- 
 cient of days," and saw the dominion and glory 
 spoken of by Paul and Peter given him. It was a 
 grand sight this inauguration of the Son of man. 
 Now for the first time, as God-man, is he crowned 
 Lord of all. Because of his entering the flesh and 
 suffering the death of the cross "God highly ex- 
 alted him, and gave him a name above every name : 
 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, 
 
32 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things 
 under the earth ; and that every tongue should con- 
 fess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God 
 the Father." He was to enter upon that reign and 
 conquest that should continue until all the kingdoms 
 of earth "should become the kingdoms of our Lord 
 and of his Christ; and he shall reign forever and 
 ever. 
 
 "I Daniel was grieved in my spirit in the midst 
 of my body, and the visions of my head troubled 
 me. I came near unto one of them that stood by, 
 and asked him the truth of all this. So he told me, 
 and made me know the interpretation of the 
 things." 
 
 He wanted an explanation of the symbols and 
 wonders he had seen, and he seeks light from 
 "one that stood by," and he graciously explains: 
 "These great beasts, which are four, are four 
 kings, which shall arise out of the earth. But the 
 saints of the Most High shall take the kingdom, 
 and possess the kingdom forever, even forever and 
 ever." 
 
 This explanation of the angel does not fully sat- 
 isfy Daniel, for we find him saying immediately: 
 " Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast, 
 which was diverse from all the others, exceeding 
 dreadful, whose teeth were of iron, and his nails 
 of brass; which devoured, brake in pieces, and 
 stamped the residue with his feet; and of the ten 
 horns that were in his head, and of the other which 
 came up, and before whom three fell; even of that 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 33 
 
 horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake very 
 great things, whose look was more stout than his 
 fellows. I beheld, and the same horn made war 
 with the saints, and prevailed against them; until 
 the Ancient of days came, . . . and the time 
 came that the saints possessed the kingdom." 
 
 He seems to be satisfied with the knowledge he 
 has of the first three. But the fourth troubles him, 
 and he would know all about him, and he points 
 out the things he would know of the angel. Dan- 
 iel saw the consecutive order of the events unfold- 
 ed in his vision. He saw the persecutions of the 
 saints by this "little horn" until the Ancient of 
 days took from him the kingdom and gave it to the 
 saints. This gift follows immediately upon the 
 overthrow of this " little horn," and not hundreds 
 of years after, as must be the case if this " little 
 horn" be papal Rome. The evidence in favor 
 of Antiochus Epiphanes being this " little horn" 
 will accumulate as we advance in this investiga- 
 tion; and if it be Antiochus, it cannot be papal 
 Rome, and all theories based upon this fact must 
 fall to the ground. 
 
 "Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the 
 fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse 
 from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole 
 earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in 
 pieces. And the ten horns out of this kingdom 
 are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall 
 rise after them ; and he shall be diverse from the 
 first, and he shall subdue three kings. And he 
 3 
 
34 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 shall speak great words against the Most High, and 
 shall wear out the saints of the Most High, and 
 think to change times and laws : and they shall be 
 given into his hand until a time and times and the 
 dividing of time." 
 
 This explanation is of vital importance in under- 
 standing this vision. The beasts are kingdoms. 
 The fourth in consecutive order was different from 
 the others, and the difference is pointed out. It 
 is his hostility to God and his saints, as we shall 
 see. The ten horns are ten kings. The little horn 
 is yet another king arising after the ten diverse 
 from them. So the '* little horn" cannot be the 
 papal Church, as many suppose; and all such ap- 
 plications of this symbol are wild and fanciful, un- 
 supported by the prophecy, as explained by this 
 heavenly teacher of Daniel. 
 
 We have shown that Antiochus Epiphanes, in 
 pushing his way to the throne of this fourth king- 
 dom, uprooted or subdued three kings: his father, 
 Antiochus the Great; his brother, Seleucus Phi- 
 lopater, who took the throne on the death of his 
 father ; and Ptolemy. That he " spake great words 
 against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints 
 of the Most High, and think to change times and 
 laws," is beyond a question. 
 
 Rawlinson says: " Antiochus, having not only 
 plundered and desecrated the temple, but having 
 set himself to eradicate utterly the Jewish religion, 
 and completely Hellenize the people, was met with 
 the most determined resistance on the part of a 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 35 
 
 moiety of the nation." Again the same author 
 says, when speaking of his death: "In the pop- 
 ular belief his death was a judgment upon him for 
 his attempted sacrilege." 
 
 "And they [the saints] shall be given into his 
 hand until a time and times and the dividing of 
 time." On account of the wickedness of the Jew- 
 ish nation, notwithstanding the few saints that still 
 held firmly to the religion of their fathers, they 
 were given into the hand of this vile king, and for 
 three years and a half the daily sacrifice was sus- 
 pended. "Time" here means a year, as we learn 
 from its use in chapter iv. 16, 23, 29, 32. There 
 the "seven times" means seven years, and the 
 "time" here means one year; "times," the plu- 
 ral, two more; and the " dividing of time" a part 
 of a year, which was in this case, according to the 
 history of this event, six months altogether mak- 
 ing three years and six months. Thus we have 
 the cumulative evidence that "the little horn" is 
 Antiochus Epiphanes. 
 
 " But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take 
 away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it 
 unto the end. And the kingdom and dominion, 
 and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole 
 heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints 
 of the Most High, whose kingdom is an everlast- 
 ing kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and 
 obey him." 
 
 This we have already explained (verses 9-11). 
 History shows us that this vast empire went to 
 
36 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 pieces about this time, and that its fall was fol- 
 lowed by the setting up of the Messiah's kingdom, 
 which was " given to the people of the saints of the 
 Most High." And it was but a little time until, as 
 Paul tells us, the gospel " was preached to every 
 creature which is under heaven." And again: 
 " Their sound went into all the earth, and their 
 words unto the ends of the world." 
 
 " Hitherto is the end of the matter. As for me 
 Daniel, my cogitations much troubled me, and my 
 countenance changed in me : but I kept the matter 
 in my heart." The calamities that he foresaw com- 
 ing upon his people greatly troubled this good man, 
 and he laid the whole matter up in his heart. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 The Third Parallel Vision The Medo- Persian Empire The 
 Grecian Empire The Four Kingdoms Syria and Egypt 
 Antiochus Epiphanes A Day not a Year in Prophecy 
 Cleansing the Sanctuary The Vision Explained Death of 
 Antiochus The Little Horn not Papal Rome. 
 
 WE now come to the third of the great parallel 
 visions of Daniel, contained in the eighth 
 chapter. It was seen about two years subsequent 
 to the one recorded in chapter vii. He says: "In 
 the third year of the reign of King Belshazzar a 
 vision appeared unto me, even unto me Daniel, 
 after that which appeared unto me at the first. 
 And I saw in a vision; and it came to pass, when 
 I saw, that I was at Shushan in the palace, which 
 is in the province of Elam; and I saw in a vision, 
 and I was by the river of Ulai." 
 
 He was actually in Shushan when he had the 
 vision, but in vision he was by the river of Ulai, 
 as one in a dream conceives himself to be where 
 he is not. 
 
 " Then I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and, be- 
 hold, there stood before the river a ram which had 
 two horns : and the two horns were -high ; but one 
 was higher than the other, and the higher came up 
 last. I saw the ram pushing westward, and north- 
 ward, and southward; so that no beast might stand 
 before him, neither was there any that could de- 
 
 (37) 
 
38 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 liver out of his hand ; but he did according to his 
 will, and became great." 
 
 The Chaldean empire lasted only a period of 88 
 years, from B.C. 625 to 538. At the time of this 
 vision there remained only about 15 years of its 
 existence ; and hence it is dropped out of this vis- 
 ion. The prophet's stand-point is Persia, and here 
 his vision begins. But the leaving out of Chaldea 
 does not in any degree prevent this from being a 
 parallel vision to the former two. 
 
 Gabriel tells Daniel (verse 20) that "The ram 
 which thou sawest having two horns are the kings 
 of Media and Persia." These are Darius and 
 Cyrus. The kingdom itself is a united kingdom, 
 and draws its king from either. The higher of these 
 two is Cyrus, for he came up last in point of time. 
 This kingdom pushes its conquests west, north, and 
 south; never to the east. This is perfectly in ac- 
 cordance with history. There was no power that 
 could stand before him. None " could deliver out 
 of his' hand." 
 
 "And as I was considering, behold, a he goat 
 came from the west on the face of the whole earth, 
 and touched not the ground : and the goat had a 
 notable horn between his eyes." 
 
 This is a correct portrait of Alexander and of his 
 movements, and so says Gabriel (verse 21). He 
 comes from the west (Greece), sweeping over the 
 " face of the whole earth," bearing all before him, 
 " and touched not the ground," so rapid were his 
 movements, so swift his marches. The " notable 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 39 
 
 horn " was Alexander, Gabriel says, the "first 
 king." So far as this kingdom affected the Jews, 
 Daniel's people, he was \hejlrst king, and so far 
 as his conquests embraced the territory of the two 
 former kingdoms, he was the first. These visions 
 have nothing to do with European kings or em- 
 pires . They must agree chronologically, geograph- 
 ically, politically, and in respect of the Jews. 
 
 "And he came to the ram that had two horns, 
 which I had seen standing by the river, and ran 
 unto him in the fury of his power. And I saw him 
 come close unto the ram, and he was moved with 
 choler against him, and smote the ram, and brake 
 his two horns : and there was no power in the ram 
 to stand before him, but he cast him down to the 
 ground, and stamped upon him, and there was none 
 that could deliver the ram out of his hand." 
 
 With one dash of his pen Daniel pictures the 
 overthrow of the Medo-Persian Empire by Alex- 
 ander. Every touch is to life, every point verified 
 by profane history. Years before, Xerxes, the 
 King of Persia, had invaded Greece with his mill- 
 ions, and, although beaten back disgraced, yet 
 these haughty Greeks were not satisfied, but nursed 
 their hate and waited for their revenge. And now, 
 as their daring leader gave them the opportunity, 
 they "ran upon him in the fury of their power," 
 and " cast him down to the ground, and stamped 
 upon him." When we read the history of the 
 wars waged by Cyrus with the Persian armies, 
 when he " pushed westward, and northward, and 
 
40 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 southward" with a power that none could resist, 
 we are struck with w r onder at the amazing rapid- 
 ity with which Alexander uses up these armies. 
 " Twelve years sufficed him to master not Persia 
 alone, DutTyre, Egypt, and all the east, even deeper 
 into India itself than the ancient powers of Western 
 Asia or Europe ever went before or after." No 
 wonder he " touched not the ground " as he moved 
 from west to east. 
 
 " Therefore the he goat waxed very great: and 
 when he was strong, the great horn was broken ; 
 and for it came up four notable ones toward the 
 four winds of heaven." 
 
 This mighty conqueror, who knew no defeat, 
 but whose swelling empire bid fair to cover the 
 known world, when in the zenith of his power and 
 success was " broken." He died suddenly at 
 Babylon fell a victim to strong drink. *' He died 
 on the eleventh or twelfth day of his illness, about 
 midsummer B.C. 323, being in the thirty-third 
 year of his age and the thirteenth of his reign." 
 He was surrounded by his victorious army, with 
 plans for other wars; "when he was strong, the 
 great horn was broken." 
 
 "And for it came up four notable ones toward 
 the four winds of heaven." His kingdom was di- 
 vided after some twenty years of conflict and blood- 
 shed among his four generals. Of these four, the 
 Jews stood in close relation only to Egypt on the 
 south and Syria on the north. Hence the others 
 are dropped from the visions. 
 

 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 41 
 
 "And out of one of them came forth a little horn, 
 which waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and 
 toward the east, and toward the pleasant land. 
 And it waxed great, even to the hosts of heaven ; 
 and it cast down some of the host and of the stars 
 to the ground, and stamped upon them. Yea, he 
 magnified himself even to the prince of the host, 
 and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and 
 the place of his sanctuary was cast down." 
 
 Antiochus Epiphanes came from the Syrian king- 
 dom, one of the four. And although he was but 
 " a little horn " at the beginning, he became very, 
 powerful by dint of personal effort and energy. 
 He pushed his conquests toward the south (Egypt), 
 toward the east (Babylonia and Persia), and to- 
 ward the pleasant land (Palestine). This always 
 in Daniel and Ezekiel means Palestine. It was 
 regarded by them as "the glory of all lands," not 
 only because it was the inheritance of their fathers 
 the land " flowing with milk and honey" but 
 because God's sanctuary was there, and there he 
 had recorded his name. These were the very di- 
 rections in which Antiochus made his conquests. 
 And here we will say to those who hold that this 
 "little horn" is the papal Church, although the 
 revealing angel makes no sort of mention or hint 
 that it is, that Church never did push its conquests 
 in these directions, and has never held possession 
 for any length of time of " the pleasant land," Pal- 
 estine. "And it waxed great, even to the host of 
 heaven." It is a well-recognized fact that God's 
 
42 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 people are called his host. God said to Joshua: 
 " Nay; but as the captain of the host of the Lord 
 am I now come." Antiochus assailed God's peo- 
 ple, and did all in his power to crush them out. He 
 succeeded in destroying many of them. "And it 
 cast down some of the host and of the stars to the 
 ground, and stamped upon them." The stars 
 here are symbols of the leaders, high priest, and 
 elders of Israel. Onias, a high priest, was slain. 
 Three noble Jewish deputies who went to meet the 
 king at Tyre and obtain his interposition against 
 Menelaus, who had offered a greater price even 
 than the vile Jason, who had been made high 
 priest in room of Ananias, were killed by his order. 
 These are but a few of the many " stars" that 
 were cast down by him. 
 
 " He magnified himself even to the prince of the 
 host." He even dared to make war against the 
 God of the Jews, making an effort to destroy his 
 religion from the earth. "And by him the daily 
 sacrifice was taken away, and Jjie , place of his 
 sanctuary was cast down." 
 
 While he was in Egypt a false report of his death 
 was spread among the Jews in Palestine, at which 
 there was great rejoicing in Jerusalem. Anti- 
 ochus, when he returned from Egypt, entered the 
 city by force, treated the Jews as rebels, and com- 
 manded his troops to slay all they met. Eighty 
 thousand were killed, made captives, or sold on 
 this occasion. Antiochus, conducted by the cor- 
 rupt high priest, Menelaus, entered into the holy 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 43 
 
 of holies, where he took and carried off the most 
 precious vessels of that holy place to the value of 
 one thousand eight hundred talents. He afterward 
 sent Apollonius into Judea with an army of twenty- 
 two thousand men, and commanded him to kill all 
 the Jews who were of full age, and to sell the 
 women and young men. (2 Mace. v. 25.) These 
 orders were too punctually executed. These mis- 
 fortunes were only preludes to what they were to 
 suffer; for Antiochus, apprehending that the Jews 
 would never be content in their obedience to him 
 unless he obliged them to change their religion 
 and to embrace that of the Greeks, issued an edict 
 enjoining them to conform to the laws of other na- 
 tions, and forbidding their usual sacrifices in the 
 temple, their festivals, and Sabbaths. The statue 
 of Jupiter Olympus was placed upon the altar of 
 the temple, and thus "the abomination of desola- 
 tion was seen in the temple of God." Who can 
 doubt, when this prophecy and the history of this 
 man agrees so perfectly and wonderfully, that the 
 "little horn" is Antiochus Epiphanes? 
 
 "And a host was given him against the daily 
 sacrifice by reason of transgression, and it cast 
 down the truth to the ground ; and it practiced, and 
 prospered.'" 
 
 The Israelites had become very corrupt. In the 
 first book of Maccabees we are told: "Where- 
 upon they built a place of exercise at Jerusalem 
 according to the customs of the heathen: and 
 made themselves uncircumcised, and forsook the 
 
44 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 holy covenant, and joined themselves to the hea- 
 then, and were sold to do mischief." " By reason 
 of transgressions" God gave this wicked king 
 power over his people, and over his daily sacrifice 
 to take it away. These judgments were looked 
 upon by the righteous as sent upon the nation on 
 account of sin and transgression. 
 
 Again we find in Maccabees: " Now I beseech 
 those that read this book, that they be not discour- 
 aged for these calamities, but that they judge those 
 punishments not to be for destruction, but for a 
 chastening of our nation." God made use of this 
 " little horn "-to scourge his people for their sins, 
 and hence "it practiced and prospered." It 
 seemed to have every thing its own way. 
 
 " Then I heard one saint speaking, and another 
 saint said unto that certain saint which spake, How 
 long shall be the vision concerning the daily sac- 
 rifice, and the transgression of desolation, to give 
 both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden 
 under foot? And he said unto me, Unto two 
 thousand and three hundred days; then shall the 
 sanctuary be cleansed." 
 
 While one of the saints in the hearing of Daniel 
 was speaking, another saint interrupted him with 
 the question as to the duration of these calamities, 
 including the " daily sacrifice, and the transgres- 
 sion of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and 
 the host to be trodden under foot." This question 
 was not to be answered for his satisfaction, but to 
 be given to Daniel for his information. For Dan- 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 45 
 
 iel said: "And he said unto me, Unto two thou- 
 sand and three hundred days ; then shall the sanct- 
 uary be cleansed." 
 
 As this is the first time we have come to a period 
 indicated by days in this prophecy, and as the 
 world has almost with one consent accepted the 
 theory that a day in prophecy stands for a year, 
 and all calculations of time in prophecy are based 
 upon this theory, we will pause to examine into 
 the correctness of it. 
 
 The great question is: Does the word " day " in 
 prophecy mean a year? and are we to be governed 
 by this principle in reckoning all other times, as 
 months, years, etc.? We are indebted to Rev. 
 Henry Cowles for valuable arguments and demon- 
 strations on this subject. His dissertation at the 
 close of his commentary on Ezekiel and Daniel is 
 clear and exhaustive. He says: " So the broad 
 principle is that prophetic notations of time must 
 be multiplied by three hundred and sixty to get the 
 real historic duration. I am compelled to discard 
 this theory as utterly baseless, false, and of course 
 mischievous and delusive." 
 
 But let us weigh this theory in the scale of God's 
 word, and see if it will stand the test. Take a 
 passage that is looked upon as strongly in favor of 
 this theory (Num. xiv. 33, 34): "Your children 
 shall wander in the wilderness forty years. . . . 
 After the number of the days in which ye searched 
 the land, even forty days, each day for a year, shall 
 ye bear your iniquities, even forty years." Here a 
 
46 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 day means a day, and a year means a year noth- 
 ing more. God tells them they shall wander a year 
 for each day of their search nothing more. No 
 one could misunderstand this language. If he had 
 said, "Your children shall wander in the wilder- 
 ness forty days," and the history had shown that 
 they wandered forty years, then the case would 
 have been in point. If, upon the other hand, this 
 theory be true when God tells them they shall 
 "wander forty years," he meant they should wan- 
 tex fourteen thousand and four hundred years, for 
 that is forty years multiplied by three hundred and 
 sixty. When God says, "Each day for a ye^r," he 
 means just what he says, and nothing more. He 
 wanted their punishment to remind them of their 
 sin. 
 
 Another proof text very analogous to the pre- 
 ceding is Ezekiel iv. 4-6. Ezekiel is commanded 
 to lie on his right side forty days, and on his left 
 three hundred and ninety days, before all Israel, to 
 indicate that he bears (in symbol) the iniquity of 
 Judah forty years, and of Israel three hundred and 
 ninety. The language is: " For I have laid upon 
 thee the years of their iniquity, according to the 
 number of the days, three hundred and ninety 
 days : so shalt thou bear the iniquity of the house 
 of Israel. . . . Lie again on thy right side, and 
 thou shalt bear the iniquity of the house of Judah 
 forty days : I have appointed thee each day for a 
 year." But observe throughout this passage that 
 in every instance the word "day" is used for a 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 47 
 
 common day, never in the sense of a year; and 
 the word "year" means only one year, never 
 three hundred and sixty years. A day here is 
 used as the symbol of a year, and God plainly 
 told the prophet so nothing more, nothing less. 
 
 Again (2 Pet. iii. 8) : " One day is with the Lord 
 as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one 
 day." But this is, a two-edged sword in the hands 
 of " a-day-for-a-year " theorist. Where " day " is 
 spoken of it means a thousand years instead of one, 
 and a thousand years becomes one day. So when 
 it is said, "And they lived and reigned with Christ 
 a thousand years," it meant but one day. And the 
 devil's imprisonment of a thousand years is also 
 shortened to a day. But the passage is not " One 
 day is with the Lord a thousand years," but as a 
 thousand. 
 
 But the passage most relied on, and the one, 
 doubtless, that has given the clew to this theory, is 
 Daniel ix. 24-27, the celebrated prophecy of the 
 " seventy weeks." Mr. Cowles says of this : "The 
 original word means, in its singular number, a 
 seven, a heptad; and this may be a seven of days 
 or a seven of years. The feminine plural is cur- 
 rently used for heptads, or sevens, of days; the 
 masculine plural (which we have here) never by 
 itself for the common week of days, but when a 
 week of days is meant the word days is appended, 
 as in Daniel x. 2, 3; and finally after a word, and 
 a special form of a word, which simply suggests 
 the idea of a seven (a seven of something), we 
 
48 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 must ask, A seven of what? and must look for our 
 answer in the context, in the thought already be- 
 fore the mind. In the present case there can be 
 no doubt that this thought is the seventy years of 
 captivity. Then seventy sevens of years must be 
 the sense of this phrase, and it involves no usage 
 of the word day to mean a year; no usage of any 
 current notations of time in a way to need multi- 
 plying by three hundred and sixty to get the actual 
 time." 
 
 But to see the folly and weakness of this day- 
 for-a-year theory it is only necessary to strike a 
 few offensive blows at it. When fixing the time 
 of the flood the Lord said: "Yet his days shall be 
 a hundred and twenty years." Did he mean 
 that in plain language? or did he mean forty- 
 three thousand two hundred years? Again : " Yet 
 seven days and I will cause it to rain forty days and 
 forty nights." Was the flood to commence that 
 day week, and continue a month and ten days? or 
 was it to commence in seven years, and then keep 
 it up for forty years? " Your children shall wan- 
 der forty years in the wilderness." Surely four- 
 teen thousand four hundred years would be a long 
 time to wander, and yet this would be the time ac- 
 cording to this theory. The captivity of Israel, 
 about which Daniel had read, and of whose end 
 he was so solicitous, would have left him in despair, 
 for it was to be for seventy years, or twenty-five 
 thousand two hundred years. 
 
 But let us come to Daniel's prophecy. He 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 49 
 
 prophesies of Nebuchadnezzar's insanity, and 
 says: " Let his heart be changed from man's, and 
 let a beast's heart be given unto him, and let seven 
 times pass over him." And again: " Let his por- 
 tion be with the beasts of the field, till seven times 
 pass over him;" and " they shall wet thee with the 
 dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass over 
 thee;" and "they shall make thee to eat grass as 
 oxen, and seven times shall pass over thee." All 
 agree that Daniel's use of time in this way means 
 year. Then seven times means seven years. Was 
 Nebuchadnezzar to be with the beasts of the field, 
 be wet with the dews of heaven, and eat grass like 
 oxen for seven years, or for two thousand five hun- 
 dred and twenty years ? It will not do to have a 
 theory to serve you only when it suits. Daniel's 
 " time and times and the dividing of time" is built 
 by the use of the same word ; and it means, as all the 
 advocates of this theory contend, twelve hundred 
 and sixty. Then Nebuchadnezzar was among the 
 beasts two thousand five hundred and twenty years. 
 But is not this enough to satisfy any reasonable 
 mind that the usage of the Bible is wholly against 
 it; and that it is one of those strange errors into 
 which, when some one falls, others follow without 
 a thought? 
 
 We now return to the consideration of the time 
 during which the daily sacrifice was to be taken 
 away, the sanctuary and the host to be trodden 
 under ^ foot. The angel announces it at "two 
 thousand and three hundred days; then shall the 
 4 
 
50 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 sanctuary be cleansed." The fixing of this time 
 in the history of this period will do much to estab- 
 lish the truth of the position we have taken : That 
 the "little horn" is Antiochus Epiphanes, and not 
 the Pope of Rome or the papal Church. One 
 grand reason why the day-for-a-year theorists hold 
 so tenaciously to that theory is because only with 
 it can they stretch Daniel's times to the period of 
 this Church and its persecutions. Hold it to the 
 common computation, and it falls far too short; 
 but it does exactly fill out the time of oppression 
 under Antiochus. The question is with Daniel, 
 how long? How long are these oppressions to last? 
 How long before the sanctuary shall be cleansed? 
 These are of vital interest to him. 
 
 In fixing these two thousand three hundred days 
 (six years, three months, and twenty days) we must 
 begin at the end and follow the history back, as we 
 can fix almost definitely the end or the cleansing of 
 the sanctuary. This, according to the best author- 
 ity, occurred December 25, 164 B.C., and an an- 
 nual feast was to be kept in commemoration of it. 
 2 Maccabees x. 8 says: "They ordained also by 
 a common statute and decree, That every year 
 those days should be kept of the whole nation of 
 the Jews." John tells us that this feast of dedica- 
 tion was kept in our Lord's time, and that it was 
 in the winter. At this point, then, the two thou- 
 sand three hundred days must close. Going back 
 from this period three years and six months, we 
 reach June 25, 167 B.C. For this period the daily 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 5 l 
 
 sacrifices were taken away. No altar fires burned ; 
 "the transgression of desolation" reigned. Just 
 two years before this, June, 169 B.C., Antiochus 
 Epiphanes returned from his second military ex- 
 pedition to Egypt, greatly enraged against the 
 Jews because he had heard that they had been 
 making great demonstrations of joy over a report 
 of his death. He fell upon the city with the sword, 
 making a terrific slaughter of "the hosts of the 
 Lord's people." These things we find fully record- 
 ed in the book of Maccabees. " He thought that 
 Judea had revolted: whereupon removing out of 
 Egypt in a furious mind, he took the city by force 
 of arms, and commanded his men of war not to 
 spare such as they met, and to slay such as went 
 up upon the houses. Thus there was killing of 
 young and old, making away of men, women, and 
 children, slaying of virgins and infants. And there 
 were destroyed within three whole days fourscore 
 thousand, whereof forty thousand were slain in the 
 conflict; and no fewer sold than slain." But the 
 full period of twenty-three hundred days runs 
 back yet a fraction of a year farther. The on- 
 slaught of Jason was probably in May, 169 B.C. 
 The period named in our passage (six years, three 
 months, and twenty days) should begin about Sep- 
 tember 5, 170 B.C. The author of the second 
 book of Maccabees, in his fourth chapter, imme- 
 diately preceding that quoted above, records the 
 murder of the good Onias, long time a high priest, 
 a "star" of the first magnitude, whose influence 
 
52 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 had long withstood the wickedness of the times ; 
 and the murder of the three Jewish deputies who 
 went to meet the king at Tyre, and obtain his in- 
 terposition against Menelaus. This Menelaus was 
 a vile apostate; a minion of Antiochus, subserving 
 his interests by drawing the people into Grecian 
 customs and idolatry. Indirectly what he did in 
 the way of persecuting the Jews was done by An- 
 tiochus himself. Hence this murder of four dis- 
 tinguished Jewish leaders should be set to the ac- 
 count of this " little horn." They all seem to have 
 occurred in the year 170 B.C. Moreover it was in 
 the year B.C. 170 that Antiochus made his first ex- 
 pedition into Egypt, in which he naturally passed 
 through Judea. It is not strange that a period in- 
 tended to cover the whole time of casting down 
 " some of the hosts of the stars" unto the " cleans- 
 ing of the sanctuary" should embrace the murder 
 of Onias, and of the three deputies to Tyre, and 
 also the period of his first military expedition 
 through the country. " This is the amount of his- 
 torical verification which I am able to obtain from 
 any authentic source at my command. 
 This paucity of historic material is an ample apol- 
 ogy for any apparent deficiency in making out 
 the precise historic verification of this time pe- 
 riod which refers to events so remote, and which 
 gives us periods so minute as the number of 
 days. And even this number (2,300) may be 
 round and general, and not precise and partic- 
 ular. Yet the approximation which is obtained, 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 53 
 
 despite such difficulties, will satisfy fair-minded 
 readers." 
 
 4 'And it came to pass, when I, even I Daniel, 
 had seen the vision, and sought for the meaning, 
 then, behold, there stood before me as the appear- 
 ance of a man. And I heard a man's voice be- 
 tween the banks of Ulai, which called, and said, 
 Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision. 
 So he came near where I stood: and when he 
 came, I was afraid, and fell upon my face: but he 
 said unto me, Understand, O son of man: for at 
 the time of the end shall be the vision. Now as he 
 was speaking with me, I was in a deep sleep on my 
 face toward the ground: but he touched me, and 
 set me upright. And he said, Behold, I will make 
 thee know what shall be in the last end of the in- 
 dignation : for at the time appointed the end shall 
 be." 
 
 These verses describe the way in which Daniel 
 obtained from the angel Gabriel an explanation of 
 the vision. God was angry with his people for 
 their sins. Never was there a time in the history 
 of this people when there seemed to be more prob- 
 ability of their being carried away by the customs 
 and false religion of the heathen. The Greeks, 
 with all their refinement of manners and the at- 
 tractiveness of their religious rites, their customs 
 and their games, seemed likely to bear the whole 
 nation away from the God and worship of their 
 fathers. "Nor was their social position less peril- 
 ous. The influence of Greek literature, of for- 
 
54 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 eign travel, of extended commerce had made it- 
 self felt in daily life. At Jerusalem the mass of 
 the inhabitants seemed to have desired to imitate 
 the exercises of the Greeks, and a Jewish embassy 
 attended the games of Hercules at Tyre." For 
 these things God's indignation was kindled. And 
 now, as Daniel desired to know of the final issue, 
 Gabriel is sent to make him "know what should 
 be in the last end of the indignation," assuring 
 him that " at the time appointed the end shall be." 
 He therefore begins to unfold the entire vision. 
 
 " The ram which thou sawest having two horns 
 are the kings of Media and Persia. And the 
 rough goat is the king of Grecia: and the great 
 horn that is between his eyes is the first king. 
 Now that being broken, whereas four stood up for 
 it, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, 
 but not in his power." 
 
 This is so plain, especially in view of what has 
 Already been said, that it needs no further expla- 
 nation. 
 
 "And in the latter time of their kingdom, when 
 the transgressors are come to the full, a king of 
 fierce countenance, and understanding dark sen- 
 tences, shall stand up. And his power shall be 
 mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall 
 destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and prac- 
 tice, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy 
 people. And through his policy also he shall 
 cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall 
 magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 55 
 
 destroy many: he shall also stand up against the 
 Prince of princes ; but he shall be broken without 
 hand." 
 
 When Daniel was describing what he saw, he 
 says (verse 9): "Out of one of them [kingdoms] 
 came forth a little horn." Gabriel says: "In the 
 latter time of their kingdom a king shall stand up." 
 Thus it is assumed that this king is a king of one 
 of these four kingdoms, and the angel locates him 
 in point of time. " In the latter time of their king- 
 dom, when the transgressors [of the Jews] are 
 come to the full." This king can be none other 
 than Antiochus Epiphanes. The portrait of him 
 is true to the life.. He and he alone sat for the 
 picture. No other can claim it. Two of the four 
 kingdoms built out of the wreck of Alexander's 
 empire had already run their course and become 
 extinct when Antiochus ascended the throne. As 
 a whole, these kingdoms were in " their latter 
 time." His "fierce countenance" indicates the 
 cruelty of his character. His command to put all 
 the Jews to the sword, and his last threat to make 
 Jerusalem a grave-yard, are a full answer to this 
 feature of his character as pointed out by the an- 
 gel. He was a most ferocious, passionate, cruel 
 man. Moses describes the Romans, who were to 
 effect the final overthrow of the Jews (Deut. xxviii. 
 50), as " a nation si fierce countenance, which shall 
 not regard the person of the old, nor show favor 
 to the young." That he should " understand dark 
 sentences ' ' refers to his resources of cunning, craft, 
 
56 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 and policy, as is more fully indicated in verse 25 : 
 " Through his policy also he shall cause craft 
 to prosper in his hand." " His power shall be 
 mighty, but not by his own power" that is, he was 
 not the rightful heir to the throne. He, by his un- 
 scrupulous craft, rooted up three other kings, thus 
 taking their power. It was not his own. "And 
 he shall destroy wonderfully." This he did wher- 
 ever he went, but especially in Judea, and the wars 
 and troubles he originated among them continued 
 for nearly a quarter of a century after his death. 
 44 Craft prospered in his hand." He was ever 
 planning and scheming, and was usually success- 
 ful, not only in times of war, but "by peace [in 
 time of peace] he destroyed many." "He shall 
 also stand up against the Prince of princes." It 
 was in his plan to overthrow the religion of the 
 Jews, and not only did he issue his command to 
 this end, but enforced it at the point of the sword. 
 His last impulse was to return to Jerusalem and 
 overthrow their religion, or annihilate them as a 
 people. Thus he stood " up against the Prince of 
 princes; but he shall be broken without hand." 
 The author of Second Maccabees, chapter ix., 
 when Antiochus was stricken with his last sickness 
 and knew he must die, says : ' ' Here therefore being 
 plagued, he began to leave off his great pride, and 
 to come to the knowledge of himself, by the scourge 
 of God, his pain increasing every moment. And 
 when he himself could not abide his own smell, he 
 said these words, It is meet to be subject unto 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 57 
 
 God, and that a man that is mortal should not 
 proudly think of himself, as if he were God." 
 Also in his distress and remorse he vowed that if 
 God would spare him, he would become a Jew 
 himself, and go through all the world declaring 
 the power of God. "This shows that he had 
 arrayed himself against God with his eyes open, 
 standing up intelligently against the Prince of 
 princes. No wonder, therefore, that he was sud- 
 denly 'broken without hand.' ' 
 
 "And the vision of the evening and the morning 
 which was told is true : wherefore shut thou up the 
 vision ; for it shall be for many days. And I Dan- 
 iel fainted, and was sick certain days; afterward 
 I rose up, and did the king's business; and I was 
 astonished at the vision, but none understood it." 
 
 " This vision is spoken of as 'the vision of the 
 evening and the morning,' with reference to this 
 phrase in the Hebrew of verse 14: 'Twenty-three 
 hundred evening morning.' There can be no 
 doubt that ' the vision of the evening and the 
 morning,' mentioned in verse 26, is the vision of 
 this eighth chapter, especially that part of it in 
 which this phrase occurs, and which shows how 
 long the little horn shall tread down ' the sanct- 
 uary ' and the sacramental ' host.' ' 
 
 In the I4th verse, where the two thousand three 
 hundred days are given, the word translated days 
 is "evening morning;" and the meaning is no 
 doubt merely day in the sense of twenty-four 
 hours, the time of one revolution of the earth upon 
 
58 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 its axis. This expression means a full day, made 
 up of night and day, as if the inspiring Spirit in- 
 tended that men should never fall into the error of 
 claiming that a day here meant a year, or three 
 hundred and sixty days. 
 
 Daniel is commanded to "shut up the vision; 
 for it shall be for many days." Men of his day 
 were not specially interested in these persecutions 
 because they were so far off. As the time drew 
 near then men would read them to profit. " Dan- 
 iel fainted, and was sick certain days." The 
 strain upon his nervous system was so great, the 
 revelations so startling and important to him as a 
 lover of God and his people, that he was com- 
 pletely overcome, was incapacitated for business 
 for "certain days;" th^n he "rose up, and did 
 the king's business." Doubtless he was, as he 
 had been for many years, the Prime Minister at 
 the court. He " was astonished at the vision, but 
 none understood it." The things revealed in it 
 were so strange, so wonderful, so unlike any thing 
 ever revealed before, that it was not fully under- 
 stood. And, as we shall find, it requires other 
 visions and other explanations to enable him to 
 understand it. One more vision, parallel to the 
 three he had already had, with the plain and ex- 
 plicit explanation of the revealing angel, who 
 dropped all figure and symbol, and gave the grand 
 play of events, and then he could and would un- 
 derstand it. 
 
 So many have fallen into the error of applying 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 59 
 
 the little horn of this chapter to papal Rome that I 
 cannot withhold some judicious remarks on this 
 subject by Rev. Henry Cowles. He says: "A few 
 words are due here respecting the theory of inter- 
 preting this chapter, which makes the little horn 
 papal Rome. This little horn of chapter viii. can- 
 not be papal Rome: i. Because he is Antiochus 
 Epiphanes, as has been shown. 2. Because this 
 horn is a king; and therefore is not a Church^ is not 
 a great religious organization, is not even a king- 
 dom. Let it be remembered that this is put es- 
 pecially on the ground of God's own interpreta- 
 tion. The current strain of the vision proper 
 (verses 9-14) most fully implies that this horn is a 
 king; but the interpretation (verses 20-25) affirms 
 it, and so describes him throughout. This author- 
 ity ought to be respected. Of course it will be by 
 those who admit that he who presents thoughts to 
 others, whetner by symbols or in ordinary speech, 
 is the best interpreter of his own thought; and 
 that this universal law is pre-eminently applicable to 
 the omniscient God. He surely ought to know 
 what he himself means, and ought to be trusted to 
 give his own meaning fairly. Consequently this 
 argument 'settles the question. More is really 
 gratuitous, useful mainly to show how many things 
 seem to have been overlooked, or at least unac- 
 countably disposed of, that should have compelled 
 every student of these prophecies to reject the the- 
 ory that makes the little horn papal Rome. 3. 
 This king rises in one of the four kingdoms into 
 
60 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 which Alexander's empire was cleft. Papal Rome 
 did not; in fact papal Rome could not, for the 
 reason that every one of these four kingdoms had 
 ceased some time before the Christian era i. e. 9 
 some seven hundred years before any historian 
 dates the rise of papal Rome. 4. He pushes his 
 conquests * toward the south [Egypt], toward the 
 east [Persia], and toward the pleasant land [Pal- 
 estine].' But papal Rome had on the south the 
 Mediterranean Sea; made no footing in Egypt or 
 Africa; had to give up the East to the Greek 
 Church; never made any show in the 'pleasant 
 land ' all her crusades through two fearful centu- 
 ries of blood and toil becoming a magnificent fail- 
 ure. Yet she did push her conquests in precisely 
 every other direction, thus reversing this descrip- 
 tion of the little horn. 5. This horn persecuted 
 the Jews while yet Judaism was in force, and the 
 Jews were the only known people of God. This 
 papal Rome did not do, and could not, for the rea- 
 son that they had ceased to be the recognized 
 ' saints ' of God, and Judaism 'had waxed old and 
 vanished away' long before papal Rome was born. 
 6. This horn takes away ' the daily sacrifice,' 
 which papal Rome never did, for God had taken 
 it away forever at least six hundred years before 
 papal Rome came into being. After a definite 
 period of these persecutions and desecrations by 
 the little horn, his power is broken and * the sanct- 
 uary is cleansed ' in all which papal Rome was 
 not, for the same very sufficient reason as above: 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 61 
 
 she was not yet in existence. 7. Finally, there is 
 not one solitary point in this description which ap- 
 plies to papal Rome so specifically as to define her 
 and distinguish her from any other persecuting 
 power. Nothing in this chapter applies to papal 
 Rome except those very general features which 
 must pertain to any persecutor of the Church. 
 The papal Rome theory, therefore, violates all just 
 principles of interpreting prophecy. Especially it 
 goes in the very face of God's own interpretation 
 of this little horn as a king ; hence it cannot possi- 
 bly be true. It has absolutely nothing in its sup- 
 port, and every thing against it. From this posi- 
 tion I infer that the little horn of chapter vii. cannot 
 be papal Rome, for that horn and this are identical. 
 As this cannot be papal Rome, neither can that. 
 This entire course of reasoning applies in every 
 particular with equal force against the theory that 
 this little horn of chapter viii. is the Mohammedan 
 power. There is not the first shade of an argu- 
 ment in its support." 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Daniel's Confession and Prayer Gabriel Comes to Explain 
 When Christ Is to Suffer and Die His Kingdom Estab- 
 lished. 
 
 IX. is an important one, and closely 
 connected with the vision contained in the 
 eighth. At the close of the vision there record- 
 ed there were important matters not yet under- 
 stood. He says: " I was astonished at the vision, 
 but none understood it." He saw the sore and 
 dreadful punishment to which his people were 
 doomed on account of transgressions. He saw 
 that the king symbolized by the little horn, after 
 stamping the saints of God under his feet, and 
 standing up against the Prince of princes, should 
 be broken without hand; and now he desired to 
 know the full meaning of the matter. He first be- 
 gan by searching the writings of the prophets ; and 
 when he had read all that they contained on the 
 subject, he set himself to find out the rest from God 
 himself. 
 
 "In the first year of Darius the son of Ahas- 
 uerus, of the seed of the Medes, which was made 
 king over the realm of the Chaldeans ; in the first 
 year of his reign, I Daniel understood by books 
 the number of the years, whereof the word of the 
 Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet, that he would 
 accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Je- 
 (62) 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 63 
 
 rusalem. And I set my face unto the Lord God, 
 to seek by prayer and supplications, with fasting, 
 and sackcloth, and ashes: and I prayed unto the 
 Lord my God, and made my confession, and said, 
 
 Lord, the great and dreadful God, keeping the 
 covenant and mercy to them that love him, and to 
 them that keep his commandments; we iiave 
 sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have 
 done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by depart- 
 ing from thy precepts and from thy judgments: 
 neither have we hearkened unto thy servants the 
 prophets, which spake in thy name to our kings, 
 our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people 
 of the land." 
 
 In Jeremiah xxv. n, 12 he found this prophecy: 
 "And the whole land shall be a desolation, and an 
 astonishment; and these nations shall serve the 
 king of Babylon seventy years. And it shall come 
 to pass, when seventy years are accomplished, that 
 
 1 will punish the king of Babylon," etc. And in 
 verse 14: " For many nations and great kings shall 
 serve themselves of them also : and I will recom- 
 pense them according to their deeds, and accord- 
 ing to the works of their own hands." 
 
 This whole chapter of Jeremiah's prophecy is 
 full of what God will do to those nations that 
 " shall serve themselves" of the Jews. In read- 
 ing this the whole soul of Daniel was stirred, and 
 he set himself to find out all about it. The visions 
 he had seen indicated that at the coming of the 
 Messiah these things should be fulfilled. 
 
64 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 The first thing he did was to lay the sins of the 
 people, by confession, before God. This he does 
 in the most thorough and humble manner, keeping 
 nothing back, exonerating neither himself, the 
 people, or their rulers. And while he confesses 
 he draws the contrast between their unfaithfulness 
 and the faithfulness of God " keeping the covenant 
 and mercy to them that love him, and to them that 
 keep his commandments. 
 
 *' O Lord, righteousness belongeth unto thee, 
 but unto us confusion of faces, as at this day; to 
 the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jeru- 
 salem, and unto all Israel, that are near, and that 
 are far off, through all the countries whither thou 
 hast driven them, because of their trespass that 
 they have trespassed against thee. O Lord, to us 
 belongeth confusion of face, to our kings, to our 
 princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned 
 against thee. To the Lord our God belong mer- 
 cies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled 
 against him ; neither have we obeyed the voice of 
 the Lord our God, to walk in his laws, which he 
 set before us by his servants the prophets. Yea, 
 all Israel have transgressed thy law, even by de- 
 parting, that they might not obey thy voice ; there- 
 fore the curse is poured upon us, and the oath that 
 is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, 
 because we have sinned against him. And he hath 
 confirmed his words, which he spake against us, 
 and against our judges that judged us, by bring- 
 ing upon us a great evil: for under the whole 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 65 
 
 heaven hath not been done as hath been done upon 
 Jerusalem. And it is written in the law of Moses, 
 all this evil is come upon us : yet made we not our 
 prayer before the Lord our God, that we might 
 turn from our iniquities, and understand thy truth. 
 Therefore hath the Lord watched upon the evil, 
 and brought it upon us: for the Lord our God is 
 righteous in all his works which he doeth : for we 
 obeyed not his voice." 
 
 In this whole prayer Daniel keeps prominent the 
 sins they had committed against light and knowl- 
 edge, and God's righteousness in sending upon 
 them the calamities against which he had so faith- 
 fully forewarned them by Moses and the prophets. 
 (See this warning in Lev. xxvi. 14-46, and Deut. 
 xxviii.-xxx.) And yet, in view of all these ag- 
 gravating sins, he stands up to plead for forgive- 
 ness. 
 
 "And now, O Lord our God, that hast brought 
 thy people forth out of the land of Egypt with 
 a mighty hand, and hast gotten thee renown, as at 
 this day; we have sinned, we have done wicked- 
 ly. O Lord, according to all thy righteousness, I 
 beseech thee, let thine anger and thy fury be turned 
 away from thy city Jerusalem, thy holy mountain: 
 because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our 
 fathers, Jerusalem and thy people are become a re- 
 proach to all that are about us. Now therefore, O 
 our God, hear the prayer of thy servant, and his 
 supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy 
 sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord's sake. O 
 5 
 
66 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 my God, incline thine ear, and hear; open thine 
 eyes, and behold our desolations, and the city 
 which is called by thy name : for we do not pre- 
 sent our supplications before thee for our right- 
 eousnesses, but for thy great mercies. O Lord, 
 hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; 
 defer not, for thine own sake, O my God: for thy 
 city and thy people are called by thy name." 
 
 No more earnest prayer was, perhaps, ever of- 
 fered by man. The whole soul of the prophet 
 seems as if it would break away from the body in 
 its ardent longings and absorbing supplications. 
 He pleads in view of God's mercies, in view of his 
 love to his people, in view of the fact that his own 
 honor is involved, Jerusalem and the people are 
 called by his name, in view of the desolations of 
 the one and the distresses of the other, and then 
 he pleads "for the Lord's sake," the Lord who 
 had redeemed Israel, their Messiah, his Son. And 
 then with a triple supplication he pleads with the 
 Lord to defer not, for his own sake, and for the 
 sake of the city and people called by his name. 
 Such a prayer touched the heart of God, and a 
 heavenly messenger was sent to reveal to him the 
 hope of Israel and the world, the coming of Christ 
 and the redemption he should accomplish through 
 his death and sufferings. He says: 
 
 "And while I was speaking, and praying, and 
 confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, 
 and presenting my supplication before the Lord 
 my God for the holy mountain of my God ; yea, 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 67 
 
 while I was speaking in prayer, even the man Ga- 
 briel, whom I had seen in the vision at the begin- 
 ning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about 
 the time of the evening oblation. And he informed 
 me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am 
 now come forth to give thee skill and understand- 
 ing. At the beginning of thy supplications the 
 commandment came forth, and I am come to shew 
 thee ; for thou art greatly beloved : therefore un- 
 derstand the matter, and consider the vision." 
 
 Every indication of Gabriel here shows that he 
 had come to finish the explanation of the vision 
 seen by Ulai, where he had appeared to Daniel, 
 and given him some light. Daniel recognizes him 
 as the same whom he "had seen in the vision at 
 the beginning." And the angel announces to him 
 that he had " come forth to give him skill and un- 
 derstanding." He tells Daniel that he is "greatly 
 beloved: therefore understand the matter, and 
 consider the vision." This puts it beyond a doubt 
 that he had come to explain the vision, at the close 
 of which Daniel had "fainted, and was sick cer- 
 tain days." He was physically too weak to bear 
 more at the time, and he says: "I was astonished 
 at the vision, but none understood it." It had 
 lain heavy on his heart ever since, and now he set 
 himself to find it out. God was to break the pow- 
 er of all the enemies of his people, and to set up a 
 kingdom that never should be destroyed. His do- 
 minion was to be an everlasting dominion, and 
 Daniel wanted -to know just how it was to be ac- 
 
68 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 complished. He had seen the little stone cut out 
 of the mountain without hands break down and 
 grind to dust the kingdoms of earth. He had 
 heard that the last great foe to God and his people 
 was to be broken without hand. But when? how? 
 were the great questions that troubled him ; and as 
 he stood panting with the fervor of his petitions, 
 Gabriel stood by him with full authority to give him 
 all the information he asked for. It comes in the 
 following language : 
 
 " Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people 
 and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, 
 and to make an end of sins, and to make reconcil- 
 iation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting right- 
 eousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, 
 and to anoint the Most Holy. Know therefore 
 and understand, that from the going forth of the 
 commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem, 
 unto the Messiah the Prince, shall be seven weeks, 
 and threescore and two weeks : the street shall be 
 built again, and the wall, even in troublous times. 
 And after threescore and two weeks shall Mes- 
 siah be cut off, but not for himself: and the peo- 
 ple of the prince that shall come shall destroy the 
 city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall 
 be with a flood, and unto the end of the war deso- 
 lations are determined. And he shall confirm the 
 covenant with many for one week; and in the 
 midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and 
 the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of 
 abominations he shall make it desolate, even until 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 69 
 
 the consummation, and that determined shall be 
 poured upon the desolate." 
 
 Before entering upon a full explanation of this 
 wonderful passage we desire to give you what Rev. 
 Henry Cowles says of the " seventy weeks," and 
 in fact all the "weeks" contained in it: 
 
 " This English phrase suggests only the ordinary 
 week of seven days, making the whole duration 
 four hundred and ninety days. Inasmuch as the 
 fulfillment seems to require instead four hundred 
 and ninety years, it has been often assumed that 
 this passage at least must be admitted to be a case 
 of a prophetic day used for a year. A closer ex- 
 amination removes this case from the list of those 
 proofs, explaining the phrase in another and much 
 more reliable way. A Hebrew reader coming to 
 this phrase would say at once : 4 This first word is 
 not the usual form for weeks of days.' The word 
 means a seven, a heptad, and is formed from the 
 numeral seven. The feminine plural is the form 
 which is constantly used to denote weeks of days. 
 This is the masculine plural, indicating at least 
 something different from a mere week of seven 
 days. There is no instance in the Hebrew Bible 
 where this masculine plural form is used alone for 
 weeks of days. In a few cases, where it means 
 sevens of days, the word for days follows it to 
 make the sense clear, showing that of itself it 
 would not be taken in this sense of seven days. 
 (See these cases, Dan. x. 2, 3.) In Ezekiel xlv. 
 21 the feminine plural has the word days after it, 
 
70 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 meaning the feast of sevens of days i. e., the 
 Passover, which was held seven days a case 
 which shows that the primary sense of even the 
 feminine plural is a heptad, and not properly a 
 week. The use of the feminine plural in the sense 
 of our common week may be seen in Exodus xxxiv. 
 22; Numbers xxviii. 26; Deuteronomy xvi. 9, 10, 
 16; 2 Chronicles viii. 13; Jeremiah v. 24. Fur- 
 ther, when any thoughtful reader should meet the 
 word sevens he would naturally ask : ' Sevens of 
 what? Is this sevens of days, or sevens of years, 
 or sevens of centuries? ' He would expect to find 
 the clew to his answer in the context. ' What has 
 the writer been saying? There must be something 
 in what he has said to give a definite clew to his 
 meaning, for to say only " sevens " is to leave his 
 meaning entirely indefinite/ Pursuing this train of 
 inquiry, he would see in the present case a mani- 
 fest allusion to the seventy years of captivity which 
 is so vividly before Daniel's mind. It cannot be 
 overlooked that Daniel is praying with the great 
 thought of the seventy years' captivity before his 
 mind. When the Lord sends his answer by Ga- 
 briel, he too understands that the seventy years of 
 captivity are present to Daniel's thought, and 
 therefore he only needs to say: 'Not that seventy 
 years are assigned before the next great event, but 
 seventy sevens.' On the strength, then, of .these 
 two considerations, either of them sufficient alone, 
 and both entirely decisive, I account this period 
 precisely seventy sevens of years, or four hundred 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ* 71 
 
 and ninety years. The same usage prevails 
 throughout this passage in the 'seven weeks,' the 
 ' sixty-two weeks,' and the ' one week/ The word 
 ' heptad,' transferred from the Greek language, 
 precisely translates the original Hebrew. Or we 
 might say a seven, meaning a period of seven units, 
 leaving the particular sense of the unit to be learned 
 from the contexts. Hence this is not by any means 
 a case of a day for a year. It is only a case of 
 using a Hebrew word meaning a seven, a heptad, 
 a period of seven units, selecting a form that does 
 not suggest a unit of days, but a unit of years." 
 
 Here then is the meaning of this passage as we 
 understand it. The thought centers upon the set- 
 ting up of the kingdom of Jesus Christ, the means 
 by which it is accomplished, and the results to the 
 Jewish people that will follow. 
 
 Daniel's thoughts in his scriptural research is 
 upon the seventy years of the captivity and its ter- 
 mination. Gabriel tells him seven seventies or four 
 hundred and ninety years are determined upon his- 
 people, and the holy city for the sacrifice of Jesus. 
 Christ for the sins of the world. By the death of 
 Jesus he will finish the transgression, make an end 
 of sins, and make reconciliation for iniquity. In? 
 other words, he will atone for sins. The word 1 
 atonement means to cover. He will, with his 
 blood, cover sins and bring in everlasting right- 
 eousness. The Mosaic economy was to pass 
 away,, but the purely spiritual worship to be 
 brought in by Christ was never to be changed : it 
 
72 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 was " everlasting." When he should come, the 
 great prophet like unto Moses, they should heark- 
 en unto him: no more should visions be needed, 
 no more should prophets be required. He "was 
 the true light, which lighteth every man that 
 cometh into the world." Men were now to go 
 into all the world and preach his gospel, tell 
 what he said, call men to him as the only Saviour; 
 hence he would seal up the vision and prophecy. 
 But he would pour out his spirit upon the Church, 
 thus anointing the Most Holy, enduing it with 
 his power. All nations should come unto him, 
 and righteousness should coyer the earth as the 
 waters cover the sea. His kingdom not being of 
 this world, any man could hold allegiance to his 
 earthly government and yet belong to his king- 
 dom. 
 
 Now Gabriel begins to fix certain points in his- 
 tory from which to count. " From the going forth 
 of the commandment to restore and to build Jeru- 
 salem, unto the Messiah the Prince, shall be seven 
 weeks, and threescore and two weeks." Let us 
 remember that this is not the decree issued by Cy- 
 rus (B.C. 536) to rebuild the temple, or, as he ex- 
 presses it, to " build a house for God in Jerusa- 
 lem;" but the one by Artaxerxes (B.C. 454), when 
 he gave commandment to Nehemiah to go and re- 
 build, not the temple (for that had been built al- 
 ready), but Jerusalem. (See the first and second 
 chapters of Nehemiah.) From this commandment 
 (454 B.C.) "unto the Messiah the Prince, shall 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 73 
 
 be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks," 
 making sixty-nine weeks of years, or four hundred 
 and eighty-three years. Then it shall be four 
 hundred and eighty-three years from that com- 
 mandment to the commencement of the ministry 
 of Jesus. Jesus began his ministry in A.D. 29. 
 454+29=483. Again Luke iii. i tells us that 
 John commenced his ministry in the fifteenth year 
 of Tiberius Cagsar /. e.~, in the year of Rome 782. 
 The birth of Jesus Christ is usually put in the year 
 of Rome 753. Now if we add twenty-nine to that, 
 we have 782. 
 
 There is a division of the first number "seven 
 weeks [49], and threescore and two [62] weeks." 
 It is thought the forty-nine weeks of years indicate 
 the time in which the city of Jerusalem was build- 
 ing. "The street [houses along the street] shall 
 be built again, -and the wall, even in troublous 
 times." We have but to refer to the book of Ne- 
 hemiah to see the truth of this when " half of the 
 men wrought in the work, and the other half of 
 them held both the spears, the shields, and the 
 bows, and the habergeons;" and where all that 
 wrought "worked with one hand and with the 
 other hand held a weapon." "And after three- 
 score and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but 
 not for himself." Christ was crucified just at this 
 time, " but not for himself." We find the New 
 Version to read " and shall have nothing." His 
 people rejected him. " He came unto his own, and 
 his own received him not." They cried: " Cruci- 
 
74 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 fy him ! " " We have no king but Cagsar." So he 
 rejects them, and gives them up to their doom. 
 Hear what that is: "And the people of the prince 
 that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanct- 
 uary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, 
 and unto the end of the war desolations are deter- 
 mined.'' The prince here is Titus, and the peo- 
 ple of the prince the Roman army. They did 
 come, and destroyed the city and the sanctuary, 
 rolling over their ruined homes like a " flood." 
 Their whole land was made desolate. Greater 
 distresses no people ever endured. 
 
 "And he shall confirm the covenant with many 
 for one week: and in the midst of the week he 
 shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease." 
 The Jews were in the habit of dividing their time 
 into " sevens," and the ministry of Christ is reck- 
 oned to take place in a week of years. But in the 
 midst of it he, the great sacrifice for sin, was of- 
 fered, and this ended forever the virtue of Jewish 
 sacrifices and oblations. He caused them to cease, 
 not as under Antiochus for "time and times and 
 the dividing of time " but forever. "And for the 
 overspreading of abominations he shall make it 
 desolate, even until the consummation, and that 
 determined shall be poured upon the desolate." 
 This indicates that God had given up the city to 
 the desolator because of the abominations there 
 were in the midst of it. Corruption was in all her 
 borders, and now the Roman eagle would swoop 
 down upon it until its full desolation was consum- 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 75 
 
 mated. Three times now had God, in visions, re- 
 vealed the same things to Daniel, and through him 
 to his people. Each vision brings him more and 
 more into the light of his purposed dealing with 
 his people, and yet the soul of this great man was 
 not satisfied. He would know it all; and having 
 succeeded by prayer and supplication before, he 
 tries it again. He says: " I Daniel was mourning 
 three full weeks. I ate no pleasant bread, neither 
 came flesh nor wine in my mouth, neither did I 
 anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were 
 fulfilled." Such earnestness as that must bring 
 the desire of his heart. He is now an old man. 
 He had been in the East now about seventy-four 
 years; had been the prime minister under the sev- 
 eral kings of Chaldea and Medo-Persia from Neb- 
 uchadnezzar to Cyrus. Many of his brethren had, 
 under the decree of Cyrus, gone back to Jerusa- 
 lem, and were busy building the temple; but he 
 was still retained in the service of the king, whom, 
 doubtless, he had influenced to liberate his breth- 
 ren. Perhaps he felt that he could serve his peo- 
 ple to better advantage in the court of their king 
 than in Jerusalem, especially at his advanced age. 
 That he still loved his country and his people is 
 evidenced by this all-prevailing prayer, with which 
 he obtained information for them more valuable 
 than gold. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 The Fourth Parallel Vision The Angel Comes to Explain 
 What Should Befall the Jews Michael the Archangel. 
 
 " TN the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a 
 -I- thing was revealed unto Daniel, whose name 
 was called Belteshazzar; and the thing was true, 
 but the time appointed was long: and he under- 
 stood the thing, and had understanding of the vis- 
 ion." A thing was revealed. Not only were the 
 symbols given, but the revealing angel at last 
 dropped all figure of speech, and talked to him as 
 a man talks to his fellow-man. "The time ap- 
 pointed was long" does not give the idea. The 
 New Version has it more correctly: "And the 
 thing was true, even a great warfare." As we 
 shall find, the subject-matter of this vision pertains 
 to great wars. It was so plain as revealed to him 
 that he understood it. This vision is the fourth 
 and last of the great parallel visions of Daniel. 
 We will find it going over the same ground and 
 revealing the same facts, with some additions, with 
 less of symbols, and more of plain revelations. 
 
 "In those days I Daniel was mourning three 
 full weeks. I ate no pleasant bread, neither 
 came flesh nor wine in my mouth, neither did I 
 anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were 
 fulfilled." 
 
 "The 'three full weeks' and the * three whole 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 77 
 
 weeks ' here are the same, and literally mean * three 
 sevens' (or heptads) as to days, the word 'days' 
 being added to exclude what otherwise a Hebrew 
 reader would think of: a week of years. The 
 word for * seven ' is precisely the same in form 
 that occurred repeatedly in the passage of chapter 
 ix. 24-27." 
 
 "And in the four and twentieth day of the first 
 month, as I was by the side of the great river, 
 which is Hiddekel; then I lifted up mine eyes, 
 and looked, and behold a certain man clothed in 
 linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of 
 Uphaz : his body also was like the beryl, and his 
 face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes 
 as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in 
 color to polished brass, and the voice of his words 
 like the voice of a multitude." 
 
 Hiddekel is another name for the Tigris River. 
 This was a heavenly visitant revealing himself to 
 Daniel for the purpose of communicating certain 
 facts to him with reference to his people. 
 
 "And I Daniel alone saw the vision: for the men 
 that were with me saw not the vision ; but a great 
 quaking fell upon them, so that they fled to hide 
 themselves." 
 
 His companions, terrified at the sight that was 
 presented to them, left him alone. 
 
 " Therefore I was left alone, and saw this great 
 vision, and there remained no strength in me: for 
 my comeliness was turned in me into corruption, 
 and I retained no strength." 
 
78 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 He stood his ground, although overcome by the 
 sight, and hence he alone saw it all. 
 * "Yet I heard the voice of his words: and when 
 I heard the voice of his words, then was I in a deep 
 sleep on my face, and my face toward the ground. 
 And, behold, a hand touched me, which set me 
 upon my knees and upon the palms of my hands. 
 And he said unto me, O Daniel, a man greatly be- 
 loved, understand the words that I speak unto 
 thee, and stand upright: for unto thee am I now 
 sent. And when he had spoken this word unto 
 me, I stood trembling. Then said he unto me, 
 -Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou 
 didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten 
 thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and 
 I am come for thy words. But the prince of the 
 kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty 
 days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, 
 came to help me; and I remained there with the 
 kings of Persia." 
 
 For three weeks Daniel had been mourning and 
 desiring a full revelation of certain events concern- 
 ing his people, much t)f which had already been 
 revealed unto him. He was now nearing the end 
 of life. God had blessed him with three vis- 
 ions or revelations, each one giving more of light 
 and knowledge than the former, and now he set 
 his heart to find out all that God was willing to re- 
 veal to him. The scene manifested as the heav- 
 enly instructor approaches is grand in the extreme, 
 and the effect upon the old prophet is overpower- 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 79 
 
 ing. He explains to him the cause of his delay in 
 coming to his call. The prince of the kingdom of 
 Persia withstood him one and twenty days. It does 
 not lie within our province now to inquire into the 
 nature and meaning of this invisible contest. It is 
 sufficient for our purpose to know that the contest 
 did take place, and that this was the cause of the 
 delay. But the difficulty had been cleared away, 
 and he says : 
 
 " Now I am come to make thee understand what 
 shall befall thy people in the latter days : for yet 
 the vision is for many days." 
 
 This is the key to the entire vision. It was to 
 reveal to Daniel what should befall his people, the 
 Jews, not some other remote nation. If we will 
 bear this in mind, it will help us much in arriving 
 at the truth of the vision. Then it was what was 
 to befall his people in the latter days. This term 
 has various meanings, or refers to various times. 
 Jacob, when he had called his sons about him just 
 before dying, said: " Gather yourselves together, 
 that I may tell you that which shall befall you in 
 the last days." The great body of the facts in 
 this prophecy refers to events long prior to the 
 coming of Christ. Baalam advertises Balak what 
 Israel shall do to his people in the latter days. 
 These events transpired in the days of David. 
 (Num. xxiv. 14.) Isaiah (ii. 2), when prophesying 
 of the days of Christ, calls the time " the last 
 days." Micah (iv. i) uses the same term with 
 reference to the same time and event. But these 
 
80 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 are sufficient to justify us in placing the events of 
 this prophecy, especially as the facts demand it, 
 at a time prior to the coming of Jesus Christ in the 
 flesh. In fact, the events prophesied transpired 
 about three hundred and sixty years after the rev- 
 elation made to Daniel. The last clause does not 
 change this construction, for the word " many" is 
 not in the original; it is " for yet the vision is for 
 days," meaning that it was not to transpire imme- 
 diately, but some time in the future. Some years 
 must elapse before the main events should trans- 
 pire. 
 
 44 And when he had spoken such words unto me, 
 I set my face toward the ground, and I became 
 dumb. And, behold, one like the similitude of the 
 sons of men touched my lips: then I opened my 
 mouth, and spake, and said unto him that stood 
 before me, O my lord, by the vision my sorrows 
 are turned upon me, and I have retained no 
 strength. For how can the servant of this my lord 
 talk with this my lord? for as for me, straightway 
 there remained no strength in me, neither is there 
 breath left in me." 
 
 Daniel had thought and prayed so much and so 
 earnestly for his people, and he had already had 
 revealed to him so much of their coming sorrows, 
 that now as another heavenly messenger stood be- 
 fore him with fresh revelations, in his age and the 
 excitement of the hour, he was utterly prostrate : 
 no strength, and hardly breath, was left in him. 
 He was overcome at the prospect of receiving an 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 81 
 
 answer to his prayer of three weeks' duration. But 
 as he lay breathless upon the ground he says : 
 
 "Then there came again and touched me one 
 like the appearance of a man, and he strengthened 
 me, and said, O man greatly beloved, fear not: 
 peace be unto thee; be strong, yea, be strong. 
 And when he had spoken unto me, I was strength- 
 ened, and said, Let my lord speak; for thou hast 
 strengthened me." 
 
 He was thus prepared and strengthened to re- 
 ceive the vision. 
 
 " Then said he, Knowest thou wherefore I come 
 unto thee? and now will I return to fight with the 
 prince of Persia: and when I am gone forth, lo, 
 the prince of Grecia shall come. But I will show 
 thee that which is noted in the Scripture of truth: 
 and there is none that holdeth with me in these 
 things, but Michael your prince." 
 
 The angel interpreter had not come without op- 
 position, nor did this opposition cease with his 
 coming. The prince of the kingdom of Persia, as 
 we learn from verse 13, had hindered his coming 
 for three weeks, and now while engaged in fight- 
 ing with the prince of Persia, lo ! the prince of 
 Greece came upon the scene. But this valiant an- 
 gel gives Daniel to understand that, notwithstand- 
 ing this opposition, he would show him what was 
 noted in the scripture of truth not the Bible as we 
 possess it, but what God had written with refer- 
 ence to his people. He also informed Daniel that 
 he had a strong ally in the person of Michael, his 
 
82 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 prince. There have been various opinions with 
 reference to Michael. Without reference to these 
 opinions, we believe Michael to be none other than 
 the Lord Jesus Christ. Twice only is the term 
 " archangel " used in the Scripture, and each time 
 preceded by the definite article, thus showing that 
 there is but one archangel, and that this archangel 
 is Michael. Jude says: " Michael the archangel, 
 when contending with the devil," etc. Paul says 
 (i Thess. iv. 16): " For the Lord himself shall de- 
 scend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of 
 the archangel, and with the trump of God." Jesus 
 says (John v. 28, 29) : "All that are in the graves 
 shall hear his voice, and shall come forth/' Then 
 the voice of the archangel and the voice of Jesus 
 must be the same. 
 
 Here the revealing angel calls Michael Daniel's 
 prince, and in chapter xii. he says of him: *' Mich- 
 ael shall stand up, the great prince which standeth 
 for the children of thy people." Taking all these 
 things together, we are assured that this great 
 prince, this archangel whose voice is to wake the 
 dead at the last day, is Jesus Christ. He then 
 stands with this revealing angel, and the assurance 
 is enough to comfort Daniel in his ardent desire to 
 know what shall befall his people. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 The Kings of Persia Xerxes Alexander Egypt and Syria, 
 Their Wars and Intrigues Antiochus Epiphanes; His Vile- 
 ness; His Punishment of the Jews; He Profanes the Temple 
 The Daily Sacrifice Taken Away Persecutions of the Jews 
 Judas Maccabeus Death of Antiochus Epiphanes. 
 
 WE come now in this eleventh chapter to the 
 explanation of the fourth and last parallel 
 vision made to Daniel. 
 
 It does not begin with Nebuchadnezzer. He 
 and his kingdom had passed away. The vision 
 reaches back but a few years, only for the purpose 
 of forming the connecting link. After the intro- 
 ductory remarks of the angel, "Also I in the first 
 year of Darius the Mede, even I, stood to confirm 
 and strengthen him," as Darius was carrying out 
 the purpose of God as developed in his history, 
 this good angel stood to confirm and strengthen 
 him. In the second verse the revelation properly 
 begins. 
 
 "And now will I show thee the truth. Be- 
 hold, there shall stand up yet three kings in Per- 
 sia; and the fourth shall be far richer than they 
 all; and by his strength through his riches he shall 
 stir up all against the realm of Grecia." This vis- 
 ion is not like the former, given in symbols, but in 
 plain language, narrating briefly the great events 
 that are to take place. Three kings after Cyrus, 
 
 (833 
 
84 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 from whose reign the prophecy begins, were to sit 
 on the throne before Xerxes viz., Cambyses, Sim- 
 erdis, and Darius Hystaspis. They are only men- 
 tioned to give the proper place to the fourth, who 
 by his strength and riches stirred up all against the 
 realm of Grecia. No fact in history is better at- 
 tested than this; that Xerxes gathered to his stand- 
 ard nearly all .of Asia for the purpose of invading 
 the little kingdom of Greece. Various estimates 
 have been made of the wealth of his armament and 
 the number of his soldiers. The lowest estimate 
 gives the number at five millions of men, while un- 
 told wealth was lavished upon the outfit. History 
 gives account of no such display as this. There 
 was nothing in the shape of soldiers or money that 
 this monarch did not command. All Asia gathered 
 to his standard as they never did to any other 
 man's. So he actually "stirred up all against 
 the realm of Grecia," but this is all that is said 
 about it. Never was there a more signal failure. 
 Hence the revealing angel passes on. 
 
 "And a mighty king shall stand up, that shall 
 rule with great dominion, and do according to his 
 will. And when he shall stand up, his kingdom shall 
 be broken, and shall be divided toward the four 
 winds of heaven ; and not to his posterity, nor ac- 
 cording to his dominion which he ruled: for his 
 kingdom shall be plucked up, even for others be- 
 sides those." 
 
 With rapid touches the angel brings the con- 
 queror of the Persians to view, Alexander the 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 85 
 
 Great, and in few but forcible words tells that he 
 shall stand up, rule with great dominion, and do 
 according to his will, and then while in the midst 
 of his power and dominion his kingdom shall be 
 broken and divided to the four winds of heaven, 
 and not to his posterity, etc. The Greeks never 
 could forgive the wrong done them by Xerxes, and 
 when Alexander proposed to invade Persia thou- 
 sands of eager, willing soldiers flocked to his 
 standard, and with one fell blow he broke the pow- 
 er of Persia, and during his life did according to 
 his will. But just as he had made selection of 
 Babylon as his capital and was planning for exten- 
 sive commerce he died, and at once his kingdom 
 was broken and divided among his four generals, 
 not a son of his ever coming to the throne or hold- 
 ing sway over any part of his vast dominions. 
 
 "And the king of the south shall be strong, and 
 one of his princes; and he shall be strong above 
 him, and have dominion; his dominion shalt be a 
 great dominion." 
 
 The angel interpreter only deals with those na- 
 tions that were to come in contact with Daniel's 
 people, or whose movements were to affect them; 
 so he begins a rapid sketch of the two kingdoms, 
 Egypt and Syria, filling the interval between their 
 rise and the reign of Antiochus Epiphanes with 
 their wars, intrigues, treaties, and perfidies. 
 
 The king of the south is Ptolemy Lagus, a man 
 of great wisdom and power. He was one of Alex- 
 ander's chief generals. He founded his kingdom 
 
86 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 of Egypt B.C. 323. But there was another strong- 
 er than he. This is Seleucus Nicator, another 
 one of Alexander's generals, who founded the 
 Syrian kingdom B.C. 312. His kingdom was in- 
 deed very powerful, embracing almost all that 
 Alexander ever held in Asia. The angel mentions 
 these two particularly, because in their movements 
 they affected more or less the Jewish nation, Dan- 
 iel's people. 
 
 1 'And in the end of years they shall join them- 
 selves together; for the king's daughter of the 
 south shall come to the king of the north to make 
 an agreement: but she shall not retain the power 
 of the arm; neither shall he stand, nor his arm: 
 but she shall be given up, and they that brought 
 her, and he that begat her, and he that strength- 
 ened her in these times." 
 
 Here we find the angel interpreter passing over 
 a considerable period of time, as nothing particu- 
 larly affecting the Jews occurred in this time. He 
 brings the narrative down to the time of Antiochus 
 Theos, King of Syria. "This Theos, after long 
 and fruitless wars with his Egyptian rival, Ptolemy 
 Philadelphus, at last patched up a compromise 
 (' they joined themselves together'), which, being 
 utterly iniquitous, could not stand. The historical 
 facts are these: He divorced his wife, Laodice, 
 and married Berenice, daughter of Philadelphus. 
 Two years after, Philadelphus, now aged, died. 
 Theos soon divorced his Egyptian wife and re- 
 stored his Syrian. But the latter had Jlost confi- 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 87 
 
 dence in her husband, and, stung by his abuse, 
 took him off by poison. She then secured the 
 kingdom for her own son, Seleucus Callinicus, 
 who managed to murder his mother's rival, Bere- 
 nice, with her son and servants. Thus the com- 
 promise availed only to the ruin of both the guilty 
 parties to this infamous marriage. Neither of them 
 1 retained the power of the arm,' the military pow- 
 er, not even to the extent of self -protection." 
 
 "But out of a branch of her roots shall one 
 stand up in his estate, which shall come with an 
 army, and shall enter into the fortress of the king 
 of the north, and shall deal against them, and shall 
 prevail: and shall also carry captives into Egypt 
 their gods, with their princes, and with their pre- 
 cious vessels of silver and of gold; and he shall 
 continue more years than the king of the north. 
 So the king of the south shall come into his king- 
 dom, and shall return into his own land." 
 
 The third Ptolemy, brother of Berenice, is here 
 spoken of as one " out of a branch of her roots." 
 They came from the same parentage. His wars 
 with the King of Syria were very successful. He 
 defeated him in every engagement, and ravaged the 
 greater portion of his kingdom, taking great spoils. 
 He also removed and took back into Egypt twenty- 
 five hundred idols (see verse 8), most of which 
 Cambyses had carried from Egypt into Persia 
 nearly three hundred years before. This fixes 
 with unerring certainty these facts of history upon 
 this time and upon this man. It is one of the 
 
88 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 threads that guides us unerringly through the 
 mazes of this prophecy. Ptolemy reigned twenty- 
 five years; his rival, Seleucus Callinicus, but 
 twenty, thus he "continued more years than the 
 king of the north." 
 
 " But his sons shall be stirred up, and shall as- 
 semble a multitude of great forces: and one shall 
 certainly come, and overflow, and pass through: 
 then shall he return, and be stirred up, even to his 
 fortress." 
 
 The two sons of this king, Seleucus Ceraunus 
 and Antiochus the Great, made great efforts and 
 raised large armies, and pursued their conquests 
 even to the fortresses of Egypt. 
 
 "And the king of the south shall be moved with 
 choler, and shall come forth and fight with him, 
 even with the king of the north: and he shall set 
 forth a great multitude ; but the multitude shall be 
 given into his hand. And when he hath taken 
 away the multitude, his heart shall be lifted up; 
 and he shall cast down many ten thousands: but 
 he shall not be strengthened by it." 
 
 Ptolemy Philopater, the King of Egypt, exasper- 
 ated by the near approach of this vast army that 
 stood at his very doors and threatened this key to 
 his kingdom, went forth to fight with the king of 
 the north; and at the battle of Raphia, near Gaza 
 (B.C. 217), he overcame the army of Antiochus 
 the Great, and the power passed into his hands; 
 but he was not permanently strengthened by it, 
 though he " cast down many ten thousands." 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 89 
 
 "For the king of the north shall return, and 
 shall set forth a multitude greater than the former, 
 and shall certainly come after certain years with a 
 great army and with much riches. And in those 
 times there shall' many stand up against the king 
 of the south: also the robbers of thy people shall 
 exalt themselves to establish the vision; but they 
 shall fall." 
 
 Antiochus the Great raises another army and 
 comes again against the Egyptians. The King of 
 Egypt, at this time a' mere child, was assailed by 
 many enemies. Philip of Macedon formed an al- 
 liance with Antiochus, while some of the violent 
 men among the Jews threw off their allegiance to 
 Egypt. But they failed, and only established the 
 vision, while they themselves were overwhelmed 
 with disaster. 
 
 " So the king of the north shall come, and cast 
 up a mount, and take the most fenced cities: and 
 the arms of the south shall not withstand, neither 
 his chosen people, neither shall there be any 
 strength to withstand. But he that cometh against 
 him shall do according to his own will, and none 
 shall stand before him: and he shall stand in the 
 glorious land, which by his hand shall be con- 
 sumed." 
 
 Antiochus besieged and took Zidon, Gaza, and 
 other strong cities. He, overcoming all opposi- 
 tion, pressed his way even into Palestine, "the 
 glorious land," and laid waste a great portion of 
 it. He besieged Jerusalem, subsisting his army 
 
90 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 in the meantime in the land of Palestine, thus 
 "consuming" it. 
 
 " He shall also set his face to enter with the 
 strength of his whole kingdom, and upright ones 
 with him; thus shall he do: and he shall give 
 him the daughter of women, corrupting her: but 
 she shall not stand on his side, neither be for 
 him." 
 
 Antiochus sets his heart on invading Egypt, 
 many of the better class of the Jews joining his 
 standard. But the Romans' interfered and frus- 
 trated his plans. He then made a treaty with 
 Ptolemy, giving him his own daughter Cleopatra 
 in marriage, with the provinces of Phoenicia as her 
 dower. He hoped that she would be true to him, 
 her father, and play into his hands ; but in this he 
 was mistaken, for she was true to her husband, and 
 thus did not stand on his (her father's) side, nor 
 be for him. 
 
 4 'After this shall he turn his face unto the isles, 
 and shall take many: but a prince for his own be- 
 half shall cause the reproach offered by him to 
 cease ; without his own reproach he shall cause it 
 to turn upon him. Then shall he turn his face to- 
 ward the fort of his own land : but he shall stum- 
 ble and fall, and not be found." 
 
 Antiochus made war against Greece and took 
 many of the isles of that kingdom, but the Roman 
 prince came to the rescue and gained a signal vic- 
 tory over him at Thermopylae (B.C. 191), and 
 still another at Magensia the following year. This 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 91 
 
 completely broke the power of Antiochus the 
 Great. Compelled to relinquish all his possessions 
 west of Mount Taurus, a heavy tribute was laid 
 upon him, exhausting all of his wealth and re- 
 sources. To raise money to meet his pressing 
 wants he made a raid into Elymais, which cost 
 him his life. 
 
 "Then shall stand up in his estate a raiser of 
 taxes in the glory of the kingdom: but within few 
 days he shall be destroyed, neither in anger, nor in 
 battle." 
 
 This was Seleucus Philopater, the son of Anti- 
 ochus the Great. The great burden of paying the 
 tribute of a thousand talents per year to the Ro- 
 mans left him nothing else to do but "raise taxes 
 in the glory of his kingdom." After a brief reign 
 of eleven years he was poisoned, thus dying " nei- 
 ther in anger, nor in battle." 
 
 "And in his estate shall stand up a vile person, 
 to whom they shall not give the honor of the king- 
 dom : but he shall come in peaceably, and obtain 
 the kingdoms by flatteries." 
 
 This rapid sketch of the revealing angel brings 
 us to the main figure of this prophecy, Antiochus 
 Epiphanes. He came in the "estate" of his 
 brother. He is a "vile person to whom they shall 
 not give the honor of the kingdom." The king- 
 dom was not his of right, but belonged legitimate- 
 ly to the son of Seleucus Philopater. Antiochus 
 had been a hostage at Rome for thirteen years, and 
 was now at Athens on his way home when he 
 
92 The Kingdom and Comings, of Christ. 
 
 heard of the death of his brother. He at once laid 
 his plans to secure the crown. Heliodorus, who 
 had poisoned his master and usurped the throne, 
 was at once expelled by the aid of Eumenes, King 
 of Pergamos. Elsewhere we have spoken of the 
 three horns plucked up by him in his ascent to the 
 throne. 
 
 That he was a "vile person" we have only to 
 look at the pages of history that record his deeds. 
 " His delight was to play the buffoon, in getting half 
 drunk, and then putting himself below the common 
 level of even tipsy, silly drunkards. It is hard to 
 believe that a king would rise from his dinner table 
 heated with wine, strip himself stark naked, and 
 dance round the hall as one frantic, with the low- 
 est comedians. History can scarcely produce an- 
 other like case of a man wearing a crown who de- 
 based himself so low, and made himself so vile as 
 this same Antiochus Epiphanes." 
 
 "And with the arms of a flood shall they be 
 overflown from before him, and shall be broken; 
 yea, also the prince of the covenant." 
 
 Though he came in by flatteries, yet he was not 
 long in raising an army and asserting his authority 
 at the point of the sword. 
 
 "The prince of the covenant" was the high 
 priest of the Jews, one of the most excellent and 
 venerable of men. He soon fell before this vile 
 king through the machinations of his apostate coun- 
 trymen. 
 
 And after the league made with him he shall 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 93 
 
 work deceitfully: for he shall come up, and shall 
 become strong with a small people. He shall en- 
 ter peaceably even upon the fattest places of the 
 province; and he shall do that which his fathers 
 have not done, nor his fathers' fathers; he shall 
 scatter among them the prey, and spoil, and rich- 
 es: yea, and he shall forecast his devices against 
 the strongholds, even for a time. 
 
 The revealing angel here shows that Antiochus 
 made a league with that apostate Jew, Jason, whom 
 he made high priest instead of the good Onias. 
 He was to pay him a large sum for this office. 
 When he sent his younger brother, Menelaus, to 
 carry to Antiochus the money he had promised for 
 the high priesthood, these two "worked deceitful- 
 ly," for Menelaus bidding higher than his brother 
 for the priesthood, Antiochus repudiated the league 
 he had made with Jason, and gave the priesthood 
 to him. Thus with " a small people" he gained 
 a foothold in Judea and became strong. 
 
 He entered upon the " fattest places of the prov- 
 ince," Arminia, where he found rich booty, and he 
 scattered it with a recklessness and prodigality that 
 excelled any thing of the kind ever done by his an- 
 cestors. This waste of treasure seemed merely to 
 gratify a silly ambition to be thought more liberal 
 than any one before him. 
 
 "And he shall stir up his power and his courage 
 against the king of the south with a great army; 
 and the king of the south shall be stirred up to 
 battle with a very great and mighty army ; but he 
 
94 The Kingdom arid Comings of Christ. 
 
 shall not stand: for they shall forecast devices 
 against him. Yea, they that feed of the portion of 
 his meat shall destroy him, and his army shall 
 overflow: and many shall fall down slain. And 
 both these kings' hearts shall be to do mischief, 
 and they shall speak lies at one table ; but it shall 
 not prosper: for yet the end shall be at the time 
 appointed." 
 
 In the year B.C. 170 Antiochus raised a great 
 army with which to invade Egypt. For four suc- 
 cessive years he carried on this war of invasion, at 
 last subjugating the whole country. He became 
 the nominal protector of the young king, Ptolemy 
 Philometor, and had precisely the intrigues spoken 
 of in verse 27: "Both these kings' hearts shall be 
 to do mischief, and they shall speak lies at one ta- 
 ble ' ' yet in neither case availing to frustrate the 
 great results which God in his providence had in 
 view, " for yet the end would surely be at the time 
 appointed." The Egyptian king was young, and 
 imbecile even for his youth. He was formally in- 
 augurated at the age of fourteen; had been kept 
 in ignorance and inefficiency by the artful manage- 
 ment of his tutors, who loved and sought to retain 
 the regal power which his minority and incompe- 
 tence gave them. ' They that feed of the portion 
 of his meat shall destroy him.' ' 
 
 "Then shall he return unto his land with great 
 riches ; and his heart shall be against the holy cov- 
 enant; and he shall do exploits, and return to his 
 own land." 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 95 
 
 While Antiochus Epiphanes was in Egypt, a 
 rumor was circulated in Judea that he was dead, 
 at which the Jews made every demonstration of 
 joy. This being reported to Antiochus, with many 
 exaggerations, he returned in a furious state of 
 mind, fully bent on taking vengeance of the Jews. 
 With the spoils of Egypt, with which he had been 
 enriched, he hastened to Judea, and at once as- 
 sailed Jerusalem. Of this terrific onslaught the 
 author of 2 Maccabees (v. 11-16) says: " Remov- 
 ing out of Egypt in a furious mind, he took the 
 city by force of arms, and commanded his men of 
 war not to spare such as they met, and to slay such 
 as went up upon the houses. Thus there was kill- 
 ing of young and old, making away of men, wom- 
 en, and children, slaying of virgins and infants. 
 And there were destroyed within three whole days 
 four score thousand, whereof forty thousand were 
 slain in the conflict; and no fewer sold than slain. 
 Yet was he not content with this, but presumed to 
 go into the most holy temple of all the world; 
 Menelaus, that traitor to the laws, and to his own 
 country, being his guide : and taking the holy ves- 
 sels with polluted hands, and with profane hands 
 pulling down the things that were dedicated by 
 other kings to the augmentation and glory and 
 honor of the place, he gave them away/' "In 
 this scene of pillage and sacrilege, Antiochus found 
 and took away from the temple eighteen hundred 
 talents of gold [$41,304,000], and then offered 
 swine's flesh on the altar, and sprinkled the whole 
 
96 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 temple with the broth of this flesh. After these 
 exploits he returned to his own land." 
 
 "At the time appointed he shall return, and 
 come toward the south ; but it shall not be as the 
 former, or as the latter. For the ships of Chittim 
 shall come against him: therefore he shall be 
 grieved, and return, and have indignation against 
 the holy covenant: so shall he do; he shall even 
 return, and have intelligence with them that for- 
 sake the holy covenant." 
 
 Philometor, who was the son of Cleopatra, and 
 therefore the nephew of Antiochus Epiphanes, was 
 so completely under the control of Antiochus that 
 the Egyptians placed his brother, Physcon, on the 
 throne. Antiochus therefore undertook another 
 expedition to Egypt to subdue this prince. In his 
 first battle with Physcon he was successful. Phys- 
 con then sought the help and intervention of the 
 Romans. By Chittim, as Josephus affirms, we are 
 to understand the Romans. "An embassy of three 
 men from the Roman Senate met him just as he 
 was about to lay siege to Alexandria; told him 
 they had taken young Physcon under their protec- 
 tion, and that he must desist, or have war with 
 Rome. Antiochus indicating a wish to procrasti- 
 nate, Tophilius drew a circle in the sand about his 
 feet, and said : * Give me an answer before youj:ross 
 that circle.* He yielded, and pledged himself to 
 do all the Senate should require. He dared not 
 offend the Roman power. But he chafed like a 
 tiger under his chain, and came back to vent his 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 97 
 
 rage on a fallen people, the Jews. He was 
 ' grieved^ in this very selfish sense, and let loose 
 his indignation against the holy covenant and its 
 people. At this time, and for several years pre- 
 vious, he had intelligence with Jewish apostates, 
 kept up a mutual understanding and co-operation 
 with them, and made great use of their aid to fur- 
 ther his designs." 
 
 "And arms shall stand on his part, and they 
 shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall 
 take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place 
 the abomination that maketh desolate. And such 
 as do wickedly against the covenant shall he cor- 
 rupt by flatteries: but the people that do know 
 their God shall be strong, and do exploits." 
 
 In the year B.C. 167 Antiochus sent an army of 
 twenty-two thousand, under Apollonius, against Je- 
 rusalem. He took it and kept it as his stronghold. 
 The command to Apollonius was to kill all the 
 Jews who were of full age, and to sell the women 
 and young men. These orders were punctually 
 executed. The author of the Maccabees says: 
 "Who [Appolonius] coming to Jerusalem, and 
 pretending peace, did forbear till the holy-day of 
 the Sabbath, when taking the Jews keeping holy- 
 day, he commanded his men to arm themselves. 
 And so he slew all them that were gone to the cel- 
 ebrating of the Sabbath, and running through the 
 city with weapons slew great multitudes. But 
 Judas Maccabeus with nine others, or thereabout, 
 withdrew himself into the wilderness, and lived in 
 7 
 
98 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 the mountains after the manner of beasts, with 
 his company, who fed on herbs continually, lest 
 they should be partakers of the pollution." (2 
 Mac. v. 25-27.) 
 
 These misfortunes were only the preludes of 
 what they were to suffer, for Antiochus, appre- 
 hending that the Jews would never be constant in 
 their obedience to him unless he obliged them to 
 change their religion and to embrace that of the 
 Greeks, issued an edict, enjoining them to con- 
 form to the laws of other nations, and forbidding 
 their usual sacrifices in the temple, their festivals, 
 and their Sabbaths. The statue of Jupiter Olym- 
 pus was placed upon the altar of the temple, and 
 thus the abomination of desolation was seen in the 
 temple of God. 
 
 Again the author of the Maccabees says: "Not 
 long after this the king sent an old man of Ath- 
 ens to compel the Jews to depart from the laws 
 of their fathers, and not to live after the laws of 
 God: and to pollute also the temple in Jerusalem, 
 and to call it the temple of Jupiter Olympius ; and 
 that in Garizim, of Jupiter the Defender of Strang- 
 ers, as they did desire that dwelt in the place. The 
 coming in of this mischief was sore and grievous 
 to the people. . . . The altar also was filled 
 with profane things, which the law forbiddeth. 
 Neither was it lawful for a man to keep Sabbath- 
 days or ancient feasts, or to profess himself at all 
 to be a Jew. And in the day of the king's birth, 
 every month they were brought by bitter constraint 
 
U 
 
 IVERSITY 
 
 The Kingaoin and Comings of Christ. 99 
 
 to eat of the sacrifices; and when the feast of 
 Bacchus was kept, the Jews were compelled to go 
 in procession to Bacchus, carrying ivy." (2 Mac. 
 vi. 1-7.) 
 
 And again, in the nth verse of the same chap- 
 ter: "And others, that had run together into caves 
 near by, to keep the Sabbath-day secretly, being 
 discovered to Philip, were all burnt together, be- 
 cause they made a conscience to help themselves 
 for the honor of the most sacred day." And that 
 you may see what these men had to endure during 
 this period, see verses 18-31 of the same chap- 
 ter: " Eleazer, one of the principal scribes, an aged 
 man, and of a well-favored countenance, was con- 
 strained to open his mouth, and to eat swine's flesh. 
 But he, choosing rather to die gloriously, than to 
 live stained with such an abomination, spit it forth, 
 and came of his own accord to the torment, as it 
 behooved them to come, that are resolute to stand 
 out against such things, as are not lawful for love of 
 life to be tasted. But they that had the charge of 
 that wicked feast, for the old acquaintance they 
 had with the man, taking him aside, besought him 
 to bring flesh of his own provision, such as was 
 lawful for him to use, and make as if he did eat of 
 the flesh taken from the sacrifice commanded by 
 the king; that in so doing he might be delivered 
 from death, and for the old friendship with them 
 find favor. But he began to consider discreetly, 
 as became his age, and the excellency of his an- 
 cient years, and the honor of his gray head, where- 
 
IOO The Kingdom and Comings, of Christ. 
 
 unto he was come, and his most honest education 
 from a child, or rather the holy law made and 
 given by God: therefore he answered according- 
 ly, and willed them straightways to send him to 
 the grave. For it becometh not our age, said he, 
 in anywise to dissemble, whereby many young 
 persons might think that Eleazar, being four- 
 score years old and ten, were now gone to a 
 strange religion: and so they through mine hy- 
 pocrisy, and desire to live a little time and a mo- 
 ment longer, should be deceived by me, and I get 
 a stain to mine old age, and make it abominable. 
 For though for the present time I should be deliv- 
 ered from the punishment of men: yet should I 
 not escape the hand of the Almighty, neither alive 
 nor dead. Wherefore now, manfully changing 
 this life, I will show myself such a one as mine age 
 requireth, and leave a notable example to such as 
 be young, to die willingly and courageously for the 
 honorable and holy laws. And when he had said 
 these words, immediately he went to the torment: 
 they that led him changing the good-will they bare 
 him a little before into hatred, because the afore- 
 said speeches proceeded, as they thought, from a 
 desperate mind. But \vhen he was ready to die 
 with stripes, he groaned, and said, It is manifest 
 unto the Lord, that hath the holy knowledge, that 
 whereas I might have been delivered from death, 
 I now endure sore pains in body by being beaten: 
 but in soul am well content to suffer these things, 
 because I fear him. And thus this man died, 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 101 
 
 leaving his death for an example of a noble cour- 
 age, and a memorial of virtue, not only unto young 
 men, but unto all his nation." 
 
 In the next chapter is found an account of the 
 constancy and cruel death of seven brothers and 
 their mother, one of the most remarkable and 
 memorable in the annals of martyrs. It is doubt- 
 less those of these times of whom the author of the 
 Hebrews speaks when he says: "They were 
 stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, 
 were slain with the sword: they wandered about 
 in sheep-skins and in goat-skins; being destitute, 
 afflicted, tormented; of whom the world was not 
 worthy: they wandered in deserts, and in mount- 
 ains, and in dens and caves of the earth." 
 
 By the decree of Antiochus the temple was not 
 only profaned, but the "daily sacrifice was taken 
 away." The book of Maccabees makes it very 
 plain that many of the Jews were utterly apos- 
 tate from the service and worship of God. They 
 were bribed by the flatteries of this vile king. 
 While those people who do know their God stood 
 firm, and did "exploits," Mattathias of Modin, and 
 Judas Maccabeus, and others, are noble examples 
 of courage, strength, and constancy. Hear what 
 the aged Mattathias said: "Woe is me! wherefore 
 was I born to see this misery of my people, and of 
 the holy city, and to dwell there, when it was deliv- 
 ered into the hand of the enemy, and the sanctuary 
 into the hand of strangers? Her temple is be- 
 come as a man without glory. Her glorious ves- 
 
IO2 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 sels are carried away into captivity, her infants are 
 slain in the streets, her young men with the sword 
 of the enemy. . . . Behold, our sanctuary, 
 even our beauty and our glory, is laid waste, and 
 the Gentiles have profaned it. To what end 
 therefore shall we live any longer?" 
 
 When the king's officers came to Modin and 
 plied Mattathias with flatteries and with bribes, 
 pressing him to be the first to fulfill the king's 
 command as all the heathen had done, he cried 
 with a Ipud voice: " Though all the nations that 
 are under the king's dominion obey him, and fall 
 away every one from the religion of their fathers, 
 and give consent to his commandments : yet will I 
 and my sons and my brethren walk in the covenant 
 of our fathers. God forbid that we should forsake 
 the law and the ordinances. We will not hearken 
 to the king's words, to go from our religion, either 
 on the right hand, or the left. Now when he had 
 left speaking these words, there came one of the 
 Jews in the sight of all to sacrifice on the altar 
 which was at Modin, according to the king's com- 
 mandment, which thing when Mattathias saw, he 
 was inflamed with zeal, and his reins trembled, 
 neither could he forbear to show his anger accord- 
 ing to judgment: wherefore he ran, and slew him 
 upon the altar. Also the king's commissioner, who 
 compelled men to sacrifice, he killed at that time, 
 and the altar he pulled down." Then he cried 
 throughout the city, "Whoever is zealous of the 
 law, and maintaineth the covenant, let him follow 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 103 
 
 me." He and his followers retired to the mount- 
 ain fastnesses of southern Palestine, where they 
 struck many valiant blows for their country and 
 their religion. With such evidence as this who 
 could ever think of applying this prophecy to any 
 other than to Antiochus Epiphanes and the men 
 and events of his times? 
 
 44 And they that understand among the people 
 shall instruct many: yet they shall fall by the 
 sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil, 
 many days. Now when they shall fall, they 
 shall be holpen with a little help ; but many shall 
 cleave to them with flatteries. And some of 
 them of understanding shall fall, to try them, 
 and to purge, and to make them white, even to 
 the time of the end: because it is yet for a time 
 appointed." 
 
 How true this was of these times ! The leaders 
 who instructed many fell one after another: the 
 venerable Mattathias first, then Jonathan, Eleazar, 
 Judas, and Simon; a noble band. Occasionally 
 they were victorious, and were thus " holpen with 
 a little help." But time and again their cause suf- 
 fered from the treachery of false friends who were 
 won over to their enemies by flatteries. By the 
 fall of their leaders and bravest men God seemed 
 " to purge and make them white even to the time 
 of the end" the time when he would deliver his 
 people entirely from their foes. Why should men 
 conversant with the history of these times ever look 
 anywhere else for the fulfillment of this prophecy ? 
 
1 04 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 Here, and here only, do we find every feature of 
 the prophecy fulfilled. 
 
 "And the king shall do according to his will; 
 and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself 
 above every god, and shall speak marvelous things 
 against the God of gods, and shall prosper until 
 the indignation be accomplished: for that that is 
 determined shall be done. Neither shall he regard 
 the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, 
 nor regard any god : for he shall magnify himself 
 above all. But in his estate shall he honor the God 
 of forces: and a god whom his fathers knew not 
 shall he honor with gold, and silver, and with 
 precious stones, and pleasant things. Thus shall 
 he do in the most strong holds with a strange god, 
 whom he shall acknowledge and increase with 
 glory : and he shall cause them to rule over many, 
 and shall divide the land for gain." 
 
 This can be no other than the king spoken of 
 before Antiochus Epiphanes. God had his pur- 
 pose in chastising his people, and delivered them up 
 to the will of this king. We are told in the seven- 
 teenth Psalm, verse 13, that " the wicked is God's 
 sword." So this vile king is used as God's sword 
 to afflict and punish his unfaithful people. Hence 
 he shall prosper until the " indignation be accom- 
 plished." The king is proud and self-conceited; 
 thinks himself above every god, speaks marvelous 
 things against the God of gods things that for 
 their horrid blasphemy excite the wonder of man- 
 kind. Hear what the author of the Maccabees 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 105 
 
 says on this point: " Having spoken very proudly." 
 And again, commenting on his fall from his chariot, 
 he says: "Thus he who a little afore thought he 
 might command the waves of the sea [so proud 
 was he above the condition of man] and weigh the 
 high mountains in a balance, was now cast on the 
 ground, and carried in a horse - litter, showing 
 unto all the manifest power of God." And again ; 
 " The man who thought a little afore that he could 
 reach to the stars of heaven," etc. He had no 
 reverence for any God, not even the god of his 
 fathers, but made the effort to introduce the relig- 
 ion of the Greeks in all his dominions. No plead- 
 ings of men or women could turn him from his 
 purpose of overthrowing the religion of the coun- 
 tries conquered by him. Every feature of this 
 man as portrayed by the angel to Daniel is fully 
 pointed out by the historian as he writes of Antio- 
 chus. He, and he only, is revealed to us here. 
 
 44 And at the time of the end shall the king of the 
 south push at him : and the king of the north shall 
 come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, 
 and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he 
 shall enter into the countries, and shall overthrow 
 and pass over. He shall enter also into the glo- 
 rious land, and many countries shall 'be over- 
 thrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, 
 even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the chil- 
 dren of Ammon. He shall stretch forth his hand 
 also upon the countries: and the land of Egypt 
 shall not escape. But he shall have power over 
 
106 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the 
 precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and the 
 Ethiopians shall be at his steps. But tidings out of 
 the east and out of the north shall trouble him: 
 therefore he shall go forth with great fury to de- 
 stroy, and utterly to make away many. And he 
 shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between 
 the seas in the glorious holy mountain ; yet he shall 
 come to his end, and none shall help him." 
 
 "At the time of the end " is the period at which 
 this scourge of God s people shall be destroyed, 
 and that people be relieved from their terrible pun- 
 ishment. Now the curtain lifts from the last act in 
 the grand drama of his life. Antiochus is pro- 
 voked to war by Ptolemy Philometor, the "king 
 of the south pushing at him." The fighting of the 
 king of the north is compared to a storm a whirl- 
 wind coming down in its fury, sweeping all before 
 it. He was successful in this war, only a few 
 named escaping his hand. The Libyans and 
 Ethiopians ally their armies with his, and help him 
 in the war. But while prosecuting it successfully, 
 tidings from Persia, Armenia, and Palestine the 
 east and the north reach and trouble him. Ju- 
 das Maccabeus was constantly growing stronger, 
 and while he was trying to crush his heroic band 
 he heard of the rebellion of Persia and Armenia, 
 and he at once divided his forces, leaving part un- 
 der the leadership of Lysias to prosecute the war 
 against the Jews, he took the rest and pushed to- 
 ward the east. The rebellion there was caused by 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 107 
 
 his effort to supplant the ancient religion of the 
 Magians with Greek idolatry. He had planted the 
 "tabernacle of his palace" in Palestine between 
 the seas of the glorious mountain ; but now he goes 
 east. While there he meets his death. 
 
 Knowing that very great riches were lodged in 
 the temple of Elymais, he determined to carry it 
 off. But the inhabitants of the country made so 
 vigorous a resistance that he was forced to retreat 
 toward Babylonia. When he was come to Ecba- 
 tana, he was informed of the defeat of Nicanor and 
 Timotheus, and that Judas Maccabeus had retaken 
 the temple of Jerusalem and restored the worship 
 of the Lord and the usual sacrifices. On receiv- 
 ing this intelligence the king was transported with 
 indignation, and threatened to make Jerusalem a 
 grave for the Jews, commanded the driver of his 
 chariot to urge the horses forward and to hasten 
 his journey. He fell from his chariot, receiving 
 such injuries that he died a short time after in the 
 most excrutiating pain, acknowledging in his last 
 moments that his death was from God. So he 
 died not in battle, but came to his end with none 
 to " help him." 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Trials and Persecutions of the Jews The Seven Brethren and 
 Their Mother Martyred The Resurrection to Joy and Shame 
 The Thousand Two Hundred and Ninety Days The 
 Sanctuary Cleansed The Kingdom of Christ. 
 
 WE come now to the closing chapter of this 
 wonderful prophecy. At the death of this 
 vile king, Antiochus Epiphanes, it is said: 
 
 "And at that time shall Michael stand up, the 
 great prince which standeth for the children of thy 
 people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such 
 as never was since there was a nation even to that 
 same time : and at that time thy people shall be de- 
 livered, every one that shall be found written in 
 the book. And many of them that sleep in the 
 dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting 
 life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. 
 And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness 
 of the firmament; and they that turn many to 
 righteousness, as the stars forever and ever." 
 
 The Jews had never passed through such perse- 
 cutions before. They had been slain by tens of 
 thousands. Their sacred temple had been invad- 
 ed, the daily sacrifice taken away. Swines' flesh 
 had been offered in the house of God, and the 
 abominable broth poured over every sacred spot 
 and vessel in the blessed sanctuary. Men and 
 women, irrespective of age or station, had been 
 (108) 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 109 
 
 submitted to rack, fire, and sword in the most in- 
 human manner. 
 
 The author of the Maccabees says: "It came 
 to pass also, that seven brethren with their moth- 
 er were taken, and compelled by the king against 
 the law to taste swine's flesh, and were tormented 
 with scourges and whips. But one of them that 
 spake first said thus, What wouldst thou ask or 
 learn of us? we are ready to die rather than to 
 transgress the laws of our fathers. Then the king, 
 being in a rage, commanded pans and caldrons to 
 be made hot: which forthwith being heated, he 
 commanded to cut out the tongue of him that spake 
 first, and to cut off the utmost parts of his body, 
 the rest of his brethren and his mother looking on. 
 Now when he was thus maimed in all his members, 
 he commanded him, being yet alive, to be brought 
 to the fire, and to be fried in the pan: and as the 
 vapor of the pan was for a good space dispersed, 
 they exhorted one another with the mother to die 
 manfully, saying thus, The Lord looketh upon us, 
 and in truth hath comfort in us, as Moses in his 
 song, which witnessed to their faces, declared, 
 saying, And he shall be comforted in his servants. 
 So when the first was dead after this manner, they 
 brought the second to make him a mocking-stock: 
 and when they had pulled off the skin of his head 
 with the hair, they asked him, Wilt thou eat, before 
 thou be punished throughout every member of thy 
 body? But he answered in his own language, and 
 said, No. Wherefore he also received the next 
 
no The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 torment in order, as the former did. And when he 
 was at the last gasp, he said, Thou like a fury tak- 
 est us out of this present life, but the King of the 
 world shall raise us up, who have died for his 
 laws, unto everlasting life. After him was the 
 third made a mocking-stock : and when he was re- 
 quired, he put out his tongue, and that right soon, 
 holding forth his hands manfully, and said coura- 
 geously, These I had from heaven; and for his 
 laws I despise them; and from him I hope to re- 
 ceive them again. . Insomuch that the king, and 
 they that were with him, marveled at the young 
 man's courage, for that he nothing regarded the 
 pains. Now when this man was dead also, they 
 tormented and mangled the fourth in like manner. 
 So when he was ready to die, he said thus, It is 
 good, being put to death by men, to look for hope 
 from God to be raised up again by him: as for 
 thee, thou shalt have no resurrection to life. Aft- 
 erward they brought the fifth also, and mangled 
 him. Then looked he unto the king, and said, 
 Thou hast power over men, thou art corruptible, 
 thou doest what thou wilt; yet think not that our 
 nation is forsaken of God; but abide awhile, and 
 behold his great power, how he will torment thee 
 and thy seed. After him also they brought the 
 sixth, who, being ready to die, said, Be not de- 
 ceived without cause: for we suffer these things 
 for ourselves, having sinned against our God: 
 therefore marvelous things are done unto us. But 
 think not thou, that takest in hand to strive against 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ, in 
 
 God, that thou shalt escape unpunished. But the 
 mother was marvelous above all, and worthy of 
 honorable memory: for when she saw her seven 
 sons slain within the space of one day, she bare it 
 with a good courage, because of the hope she had 
 in the Lord. Yea, she exhorted every one of them 
 in her own language, filled with courageous spirits; 
 and stirring up her womanish thoughts with a manly 
 stomach, she''said unto them, I cannot tell how ye 
 came into my womb ; for I neither gave you breath 
 nor life, neither was it I that formed the members 
 of every one of you ; but doubtless the Creator of 
 the world, who formed the generation of man, and 
 found out the beginning of all things, will also of 
 his own mercy give you breath and life again, as 
 ye now regard not your own selves for his laws' 
 sake. Now Antiochus, thinking himself despised, 
 and suspecting it to be a reproachful speech, whilst 
 the youngest was yet alive, did not only exhort him 
 by words, but also assured him with oaths, that he 
 would make him both a rich and happy man, if he 
 would turn from the laws of his fathers ; and that 
 also he would take him for his friend, and trust 
 him with affairs. But when the young man would 
 in no case hearken unto him, the king called his 
 mother, and exhorted her that she would counsel 
 the young man to save his life. And when he had 
 exhorted her with many words, she promised him 
 that she would counsel her son. But she bowing 
 herself to him, laughing the cruel tyrant to scorn, 
 spake in her country language on this manner; O 
 
H2 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 my son, have pity upon me that bare thee nine 
 months in my womb, and gave thee suck three 
 years, and nourished thee, and brought thee up 
 unto this age, and endured the troubles of educa- 
 tion. I beseech thee, my son, look upon the 
 heaven and the earth, and all that is therein, and 
 consider that God made them of things that were 
 not; and so was mankind made likewise. Fear 
 not this tormentor, but, being worthy of thy 
 brethren, take thy death, that I may receive thee 
 again in mercy with thy brethren. While she 
 was yet speaking these words, the young man 
 said, Whom wait ye for? I will not obey the 
 king's commandment: but I will obey the com- 
 mandment of the law that was given unto our fa- 
 thers by Moses. And thou that hast been the au- 
 thor of all mischief against the Hebrews, shalt not 
 escape the hands of God. For we suffer because 
 of our sins. And though the living God be angry 
 with us a little while for our chastening and cor- 
 rection, yet shall he be at one again with his serv- 
 ants. But thou, O godless man, and of all other 
 most wicked, be not lifted up without a cause, nor 
 puffed up with uncertain hopes, lifting up thy hand 
 against the servants of God ; for thou hast not yet 
 escaped the judgment of Almighty God, who 
 seeth all things. For our brethren who have now 
 suffered a short pain, are dead under God's cove- 
 nant of everlasting life: but thou through the 
 judgment of God, shalt receive just punishment for 
 thy pride. But I, as my brethren, offer up my 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 113 
 
 body and life for the laws of our fathers, beseech- 
 ing God that he would speedily be merciful to our 
 nation; and that thou by torments and plagues 
 mayest confess, that he alone is God and that in me 
 and my brethren the wrath of the Almighty, which 
 is justly brought upon all our nation, may cease. 
 Then the king, being in a rage, handled him 
 worse than all the rest, and took it grievously 
 that he was mocked. So this man died undefiled, 
 and put his whole trust in the Lord. Last of all, 
 after the sons, the mother died." 
 
 We have given this long and interesting quota- 
 tion to show that this was the "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." 
 
 Verse 2 is highly symbolic. It means that when 
 Michael shall stand up for his people there shall 
 be a mighty change. Those that were as in the 
 dust of death on account of the dreadful persecu- 
 tions shall be delivered, and it will be, as Paul 
 expresses it when speaking of the conversion of 
 the Jews, "What shall the receiving of them be, 
 but life from the dead?" The figure of the resur- 
 rection is often used to express joy after sorrow. 
 While the faithful saints shall wake to joy, their 
 persecutors and the apostate Jews who, to save 
 their life, gave up their faith, will now " awake to 
 shame and everlasting contempt." Such men as 
 Mattathias, Judas, Eleazar, Simon, the seven broth- 
 8 
 
114 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 ers and their faithful mother, "shall shine as the 
 brightness of the firmament; and they that turn 
 many to righteousness, as the stars forever and 
 ever." 
 
 As we conceive, this has no reference whatever 
 to a literal resurrection, but it is wholly figurative, 
 and it comes in just at the point where such joy 
 on the one hand and such confusion and contempt 
 would be found on the other. 
 
 Those "found written in the book" was a fa- 
 miliar expression to the Jews. When God counted 
 one worthy of eternal life, it was as if he wrote the 
 name of such a one in the Book of Life. Moses 
 felt that his name was written there, for while pray- 
 ing for his people he uses this language: "Yet 
 now, if thou wilt, forgive their sin; and if not, blot 
 me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast 
 written." David, in the 6pth Psalm, when speak- 
 ing of certain wicked ones, says: "Let them be 
 blotted out of the book of the living, and not be 
 written with the righteous." The time of deliver- 
 ance was coming, and all who were worthy, all 
 whose names should be found written in this book, 
 should meet with signal deliverance. A mighty 
 change was to take place. The wicked who had 
 terrorized the good for so long were themselves to 
 be in terror. The slayer should be slain, while the 
 good, that had been hunted down as they hid in 
 dens and caves of the earth, were now to be exalt- 
 ed; and so signal was to be the manifestation of 
 God's favor that all the world should see it. They 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 115 
 
 should " shine as the brightness of the firmament; 
 and they that turn many to righteousness, as the 
 stars forever and ever." 
 
 Daniel is commanded to "shut up the words, 
 and seal the book, even to the time of the end." 
 This prophecy would not be understood until the 
 power of the wicked under Antiochus should be 
 broken and the mighty deliverance wrought, so 
 the words should be shut and the book sealed 
 till the time of the end, then should it all appear 
 to them. The joyous news of their deliverance 
 should fly from place to place: "Many shall run 
 to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased." As 
 the knowledge of this deliverance should spread 
 and increase, joy should abound, and men would 
 run everywhere with the good news. This was 
 literally the case at the death of Antijochus. 
 
 But God intends to give yet more information to 
 his beloved servant. Hence he sees two other 
 angels standing, " the one on this side of the bank 
 of the river, and the other on that side of the bank 
 of the river. And one said to the man clothed in 
 linen, which was upon the waters of the river, 
 How long shall it be to the end of these wonders ? ' ' 
 The man clothed in linen, lifting his hand, swears 
 "by him that liveth forever, that it shall be for a 
 time, times, and a half" that is, as we have seen 
 elsewhere, three years and a half. Daniel did not 
 fully comprehend it, and he asks: "What shall be 
 the end of these things? And he said, Go thy 
 way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and 
 
Il6 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 sealed till the time of the end." Between the time 
 of this vision and the end, especially during the 
 fierce persecutions under Antiochus, " many shall 
 be purified, and made white, and tried." This 
 was literally the case. Persecutions, such as this 
 people endured, if properly received, purify those 
 who endure them, and at the same time "the 
 wicked shall do wickedly." Those engaged in 
 tHe persecutions would increase in wickedness as 
 a natural result. 
 
 Now the angel becomes more specific as to time. 
 In round numbers, all along through these paral- 
 lel prophecies, three years and a half has been 
 given ; now the very number of the days is an- 
 nounced, and the point from which to calculate 
 them: "And from the time that the daily sacrifice 
 shall be taken away, and the abomination that 
 maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand 
 two hundred and ninety days." This time, when 
 *' the daily sacrifice was taken away," is not accu- 
 rately recorded in history; but the time when the 
 abomination was set up is December 10, 167 B.C., 
 and the time when the sanctuary was cleansed and 
 the sacrifice restored is also recorded. It was 
 December 25, 164 B.C. But the time when the 
 sacrifice was taken away is not so clearly record- 
 ed. No doubt this was done some time before the 
 abomination of desolation was set up that is, 
 when an idol altar was erected on the altar of sac- 
 rifice in the temple. If we could get this date, no 
 doubt from it to the cleansing of the sanctuary 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 117 
 
 would be twelve hundred and ninety days. We 
 know that it was early in June of the year B.C. 167 
 that Antiochus returned from Egypt and sent Ap- 
 ollonius with an army into Judea. He seized Je- 
 rusalem, and put a stop to the temple worship. 
 This much we do know: that Josephus distinctly 
 states in two passages that the daily sacrifices were 
 suspended three and a half years; and this, accu- 
 rately calculated, would make twelve hundred and 
 seventy-nine days, lacking just eleven of the num- 
 ber given by the revealing angel. Josephus may 
 have put it in round numbers three and a half 
 years, while it was eleven days longer than this. 
 
 The death of Antiochus was an event that sent 
 a thrill of joy through all the land of Judea. It 
 virtually ended the persecutions of this people. 
 When the Jews cleansed their sanctuary and re- 
 stored the daily sacrifice, Antiochus was far away 
 in Persia. When these tidings reached him, he 
 was greatly affected by them, and set off at once 
 for home, and brought on the fall from his chariot, 
 and the violent sickness of which he died. " Now 
 if we allow a reasonable time for this news to reach 
 him, and for the journey, the fall, and the sickness 
 which preceded his death, we shall find that forty- 
 five days is a fair estimate. The testimony of the 
 second book of Maccabees (chapter ix.) corre- 
 sponds with that of the first book in these partic- 
 ulars, as far as it goes. Well might the revealing 
 angel say, 'Blessed is he that waiteth' in patient 
 hope so long, for there would be great joy over the 
 
n8 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 death of that arch-enemy of the people of God.'* 
 The angel adds these forty-five days, saying: 
 "Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the 
 thousand three hundred and five and thirty days." 
 Then they should know certainly that their enemy 
 was dead, and their long night of sorrow was 
 over. 
 
 The last verse of the chapter, and of the proph- 
 ecy of Daniel, was addressed to him. " But go 
 thou thy way till the end be: for thou shalt rest, 
 and stand in thy lot at the end of the days.". For 
 seventy years he had been from time to time re- 
 ceiving these wonderful visions, and now he is 
 gently dismissed. His work was done, he must 
 now rest, and stand in his lot. 
 
 The four great parallel visions of this book, as 
 we have seen, commencing with Nebuchadnezzar 
 and ending with Antiochus Epiphanes, deal only 
 with the features of the Jewish nation to within a 
 few years of the coming of Christ in the flesh. 
 We have found nothing beyond this, and we feel 
 assured that we are right. Our purpose has not 
 been to speculate, but to give a plain, simple inter- 
 pretation of the visions of this great prophet. We 
 have not found any great antichrist of the present 
 age. Neither the pope nor the Roman Catholic 
 Church has appeared to our mind. The times 
 spoken of in the prophecy have not been stretched 
 to our age and time, but have been interpreted in 
 their natural and legitimate periods. This proph- 
 ecy furnishes the New Testament idea and expres- 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 119 
 
 sions of the "kingdom of God" and the "king- 
 dom of heaven." It points men to the time " when 
 the God of heaven shall set up a kingdom." It 
 prepared men for theirs/ coming of Christ. Other 
 prophets had written of this same coming. Some 
 more, and some less clearly. 
 
 The long night was passing, and the last proph- 
 et of the Jewish Church had announced that " the 
 Sun of righteousness shall arise with healing in 
 his wings," and all the world was looking for the 
 promised Messiah. When at last the birth of 
 Christ was announced, angels proclaimed it to the 
 shepherds. Wise men came from the East inquir- 
 ing for him born "King of the Jews." And soon 
 he began " preaching the gospel of the kingdom of 
 God, and saying, " The time is fulfilled, and the 
 kingdom of God is at hand." He gathered his 
 disciples on the mount, and delivered to them a 
 sermon, in which he laid down the great principles 
 of the kingdom of heaven, of which he was the 
 head and ruler. He took the reins of government 
 in his own hands, and with an authority that aston- 
 ished the people he announced in the conclusion 
 of his sermon: "Therefore whosoever heareth 
 these sayings of mine, and doeth them," etc. He 
 entered the temple, claiming it as his father's house, 
 and drove out the buyers and sellers, announcing 
 the fact that it was to be regarded of all nations as 
 the house of prayer. By the wonderful miracles 
 he wrought he gave the most indubitable proof of 
 his claim to the Messiah ship, and by numerous 
 
I2O The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 parables revealed the true nature of his kingdom. 
 By some of these parables he showed that the Gen- 
 tiles were to be admitted into his kingdom upon 
 the same terms as the Jews, and that he wronged 
 no man by admitting them. See the parable of the 
 laborers, as found in Matthew xx. 1-16. Those 
 hired at the eleventh hour represented the Gentiles, 
 while those who murmured were the Jews. Jesus 
 claims that it "is lawful for me to do what I will 
 with mine own," and announces the fact that "the 
 last shall be first, and the first last." The Gentiles 
 who had been last called were to come to the front 
 rank and take possession of his kingdom and be 
 first in all respects, while the Jews, his first people, 
 were to drop behind in all things and be last. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 The Prophecies of the Old Testament Center in Israel False 
 Interpretations The Triumphal Entry of Jesus into Jerusa- 
 lem Its Object The Fig-tree Cursed The Two Sons 
 Parable of the Vineyard Marriage of the King's Son 
 Scribes, Pharisees, and Herodians Assail Jesus Their Hy- 
 pocrisy Unveiled Prophecy Concerning the Destruction 
 of Jerusalem. 
 
 PERHAPS no single prophecy of scripture has 
 called forth more wild and visionary inter- 
 pretations than the predictions of Jesus as con- 
 tained in Matthew xxiv., Mark xiii., and Luke xxi. 
 The signs pointed out by the Saviour as contained 
 in these chapters have been seen in all ages of the 
 world, and men are still straining their vision to 
 catch sight of others of them yet unfulfilled. 
 
 We do not claim to be wiser than others who 
 have written, and to be able to sift out all error 
 and to give the true interpretation, but having care- 
 fully studied the subject for years, and read ex- 
 pounders of almost every class read them with a 
 special eye to seeing what was true we think that 
 we are at least entitled to a hearing. It shall be 
 our constant aim to let scripture interpret scripture 
 wherever this can be done. And in all cases to 
 give a common-sense view of whatever prophecies 
 we may attempt to explain. 
 
 No prophecy was ever written merely to satisfy 
 the curiosity of men, or to tell the fate of nations 
 
 (121) 
 
122 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 or individuals. But in every instance the benevo- 
 lent designs of the Father of us all are manifest. 
 His unbounded love to us moved him to do all in 
 his power consistent with our free moral agency to 
 save us from the snares of the devil and bring us 
 back to himself. Hence we find every single 
 prophecy of the Scripture centering in his people. 
 Is the doom of Babylon, Egypt, Tyre, or any other 
 nation revealed? It is only as these nations are 
 connected with his people. Some thread of their 
 history binds them vitally to this wonderful family 
 of nations, to whom were committed the oracles of 
 God that were to lighten and enlighten all the peo- 
 ple of earth down to the end of time. The word 
 of God must be established as such, beyond the 
 shadow of a question. 
 
 Selecting the family of Abraham from among 
 the tribes of the earth, he makes them the burning 
 focus to which he bends every single ray of proph- 
 ecy, whether it pass through nations or individu- 
 als. If we will hold this in mind, we will be en- 
 abled to follow each individual prediction with per- 
 fect assurance. And difficulties that have hung 
 like a cloud over many portions of God's word 
 will vanish as mists of the morning before the ris- 
 ing sun. 
 
 Christ is the soul and center of all spiritual 
 light. He, the son of David, the glory of the house 
 of Israel, is also the desire of all nations. He it is 
 whose voice comes ringing through the ages: " I 
 am the Lord, and there is none else, there is no 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 123 
 
 God beside me. ... I am the Lord, and there 
 is none else. . . . Ask me of things concerning 
 my sons, and concerning the work of my hands 
 command ye me. . . . Who hath declared 
 this from ancient time ? who hath told it from that 
 time? have not I the Lord? and there is no God 
 else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there 
 is none beside me. Look unto me, and be ye 
 saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and 
 there is none else." 
 
 As Christ is the soul and center of all spiritual 
 light, so the period of his manifestation on earth, 
 the time of the offering of his soul for sin, was the 
 center of time. And about this period we see the 
 completion of the written word, the closing up 
 of all the predictions that were uttered for its full 
 and complete establishment. When the last book 
 of the sacred volume was written, then God sealed 
 up the vision and the prophecy. There was then 
 no longer any need of them. Holding to this as 
 our central, orb, we will find but little difficulty in 
 unraveling the mysteries of interpretation. When 
 men have broken away from this and wandered off 
 into other fields they have filled their writings with 
 the wildest and most contradictory theories. Every 
 crime, every war, every earthquake, every plague 
 is to them a fulfillment of prophecy. With them 
 the folds of Revelation and Daniel are wide enough 
 to wrap about all the nations of the earth, and far- 
 reaching enough to cover all time. 
 
 The prophecy of Jesus with reference to his 
 
124 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 second coming has had innumerable interpreters, 
 many of them losing sight of the fact we have 
 already presented, that all the prophecies of script- 
 ure centered in God's chosen people, or those con- 
 nected immediately with them, or were intended to 
 forever fix the claims of Jesus to the Messiahship 
 and establish the truth of the Bible, and that none 
 were needed to reach beyond the full and satisfac- 
 tory establishment of these two great facts. As 
 the Bible is to be for all time and for all people, 
 and as Jesus Christ is the Saviour of all men, es- 
 pecially of them that believe, all predictions and 
 prophecies, whether uttered before or after the in- 
 carnation of Jesus, were designed to establish 
 these facts. We will never find any single proph- 
 ecy bearing on any other point. Nor will we find 
 them reaching to a period not necessary to the ful- 
 fillment of this design. 
 
 The very first ray of prophecy that ever shot 
 athwart the gloom of our lost estate can be traced 
 unerringly to the Sun of righteousness as he comes 
 with healing in his wings, and each subsequent ray 
 only added to the splendors of his shining. 
 
 Men have set out with preconceived notions with 
 reference to certain prophecies, and they have 
 drawn from Old and New Testament predictions 
 and with them have constructed a mosaic that has 
 the appearance of unity and solidity; but some- 
 where there is a loose stone that no amount of ad- 
 justment can make fit, and on this account the 
 whole fails of its design and becomes worthless. 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 125 
 
 Beforehand they have concluded that Christ is 
 coming once more in the flesh to set up a kingdom 
 on earth, and that here among his saints in visible 
 person he is to reign a thousand years, having his 
 throne somewhere most of them say at Jerusalem. 
 Upon this idea they have built up a separate sect, 
 and have set to work to calculate the time of his 
 coming, notwithstanding the declaration of Jesus: 
 "But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, 
 not the angels of heaven, but my Father only." 
 Yet these prophecy-mongers have time and again 
 set the day. Nearly every year in the last half 
 century has been fixed upon by some one or anoth- 
 er of them as the time of his coming. Nor do mis- 
 takes and disappointments discourage them. When 
 time has demonstrated the error of their calcula- 
 tions, immediately they begin again from some 
 other stand-point, and with unshaken confidence 
 figure out another time. 
 
 In examining the prophecy of Jesus it will aid us 
 somewhat to go back to what is known as his tri- 
 umphal entry into Jerusalem, for it was during 
 the week that followed this entry that he delivered 
 this wonderful prophecy. The disciples having 
 seated him upon the ass secured by his direction, 
 they gathered about him, " and a very great multi- 
 tude spread their garments in the way; others cut 
 down branches from the trees, and strewed them in 
 the way." And when he was come nigh, even 
 now at the descent of the Mount of Olives, the 
 whole multitude of the disciples, and the multitudes 
 
126 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 that went before, and that followed, began to re- 
 joice and praise God with a loud voice, for all the 
 mighty works that they had seen, and cried, say- 
 ing: " Hosanna to the Son of David! Hosanna 
 in the highest! Blessed be the king that cometh 
 in the name of the Lord! peace in heaven, and 
 glory in the highest ! Blessed be the kingdom of 
 our father David, that cometh in the name of the 
 Lord ! Hosanna in the highest ! " 
 
 This scene is unlike any other in the history of 
 our Lord. Once or twice the multitude had be- 
 come excited and were ready to lift him to the 
 throne of his father David; but this excitement 
 had been suppressed, and the multitude sent away. 
 Now he submits to all they do. While in the midst 
 of this triumph the Pharisees asked him to " rebuke 
 his disciples," but he said: "I tell you that, if 
 these should hold their 'peace, the stones would 
 immediately cry out." 
 
 The question arises, What was the object of this 
 movement? why did Jesus now submit to this dis- 
 play? why did he give loose rein to the multitude 
 to shout him king? It was the last grand effort 
 that he was making to reach the heart of his peo- 
 ple and bring them back to God. He had gone 
 among them in humility, not suffering "his voice 
 to be heard in the streets," yet working the most 
 stupendous miracles among them; spreading out 
 his hand of compassion over them, he had " borne 
 their sorrows and carried their griefs ; " and yet he 
 had failed to reach them. Now for one brief hour, 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 127 
 
 in the fulfillment of a well-known and signal proph- 
 ecy recorded in Zachariah ix. 9, 10, he gives his 
 disciples and the multitude full rein to send their 
 echoing shouts over the wall into the city that lay 
 at his feet. Methinks I see, for one brief moment, 
 an expectant flush upon his cheek as he waits the 
 effect of this movement, but ere the hosannas have 
 ceased to reverberate among the hills a change 
 sweeps over him. Let us draw near and look 
 upon this king this triumphal one as the people 
 shout him welcome to the throne of his father Da- 
 vid. Wonder of wonders! he is in tears! Lost 
 to all his surroundings, heeding not the glad ho- 
 sannas that fall upon his ears, he gazes down upon 
 the city that lay like a jewel upon the brow of Mo- 
 riah. He had come unto his own, and his own re- 
 ceived him not. While some were ready to ac- 
 knowledge him as their Saviour and king, the great 
 heart of the people was not his, and he knew it. 
 All, all is in vain ! They understood not the rus- 
 tle of his wings, they felt not the yearning of his 
 heart. They knew not the things which belonged 
 unto their peace. And through these blinding 
 tears he caught sight of their desolation. He saw 
 the horizon flecked with the eagles which with 
 beak and talons would tear their quivering flesh 
 with relentless cruelty. He heard the thundering 
 shock of Roman battering-rams breaking down 
 their walls to let in the relentless soldiery who 
 should roll like a resistless tidal wave of woe over 
 the shattered stones to the slaughter through every 
 
128 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 .street and alley of the doomed city. Through the 
 intervening years he heard the dying groans of the 
 million one hundred thousand helpless, hapless 
 ones that should perish in the siege. Upon his 
 eyes flashed the fires that should wrap like a 
 shroud all the magnificence and splendor of her 
 temple and palaces, sending down into the grave 
 all the accumulated wealth, pride, glory, and hope 
 of centuries, covering up in blood and ashes the 
 form that once leaned upon the bosom of Jehovah 
 as his peculiar treasure. No wonder this mighty 
 king wept and wailed out the anguish of his loving 
 heart. " If thou hadst known, even thou, at least 
 in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy 
 peace ! but now they are hid from thine eyes. 
 For the days shall come upon thee, that thine ene- 
 mies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass 
 thee round, and keep thee in on every side, and 
 shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy chil- 
 dren within thee; and they shall not leave in thee 
 one stone upon another; because thou knewest not 
 the time of thy visitation" 
 
 When the echo of his voice that now sounded in 
 mercy should die away, there would be nothing 
 more for him to do than to pronounce their doom 
 and die. 
 
 Again the procession moved. Think you their 
 shouts were as joyous now as before that sad wail 
 and that bitter weeping? Surely some of his spirit 
 must have been communicated to those about him ! 
 They enter the city, press on to the temple, and go 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 129 
 
 in. Here the scene was indescribable. "All the 
 city was moved." A throb pulsed along her 
 thronged thoroughfares such as had never been 
 felt before. Many felt that "the desire of all na- 
 tions" was the central figure of that procession. 
 The Prince of Peace was in their midst and about 
 to be acknowledged. He himself was about to 
 uncover his glory and let the multitude adore him. 
 From mouth to mouth the question flew: " Who is 
 this?" 
 
 With a majestic wave of his hand he casts out 
 all that bought and sold in the temple. He over- 
 threw the table of the money-changers and the 
 seats of them that sold doves and said: "It is writ- 
 ten, My house shall be called the house of prayer; 
 but ye have made it a den of thieves." The blind 
 and lame came to him in the temple, and he healed 
 them. The very children caught the spirit of the 
 occasion and shouted: " Hosanna to the Son of 
 David." And when the chief priests and scribes, 
 with deep displeasure, said to him, " Hearest thou 
 what these say?" he replied: "Yea; have ye 
 never read, Out of the mouth of babes and suck- 
 lings thou hast perfected praise?" 
 
 As he taught in the temple from day to day dur- 
 ing this eventful week it is said : " The chief priests 
 and the scribes and the chief of the people sought 
 to destroy him, and could not find what they might 
 do: for all the people were very attentive to hear 
 him." He was asked by those rulers: " By what 
 authority doest thou these things? and who gave 
 9 
 
130 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 thee this authority?" thus utterly rejecting him. 
 Moreover, they made special attacks on him. First, 
 the Pharisees banded with the Herodians; then 
 the Sadducees; then again the Pharisees alone. 
 After all these were met and put to silence he be- 
 gan to show them where they stood and to read 
 to them their doom. But first he reveals it to his 
 disciples. And he does it on this wise. On their 
 way to Bethany he seeks fruit on a certain fig-tree, 
 and finds nothing but leaves. He pronounces the 
 fatal words: " Let no fruit grow on thee hencefor- 
 ward forever." This fig-tree represented the bar- 
 ren Church. He had come seeking fruit, and while 
 they had all the outward show of piety the altars 
 smoking with sacrifices, the temple ringing with 
 song, scribes and priests all in their places yet it 
 was but "leaves: " no fruit appeared. And now 
 the curse of the Master falls: "Let no fruit grow 
 on thee henceforward forever," and it " withers." 
 From that day to this this tree stands not only fruit- 
 less, but " dried up from the roots." 
 
 The next day in the temple, when they press upon 
 him, he asks: "But what think ye? A certain 
 man had two sons ; and he came to the first, and 
 said, Son, go work to-day in my vineyard. He an- 
 swered and said, I will not; but afterward he re- 
 pented, and went. And he came to the second, 
 and said likewise. And he answered and said, I 
 go, sir; and went not. Whether of them twain 
 did the will of his father? They say unto him, 
 The first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 131 
 
 you, That the publicans and the harlots go into 
 the kingdom of God before you. For John came 
 unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye be- 
 lieved him not; but the publicans and the harlots 
 believed him: and ye, when ye had seen it, re- 
 pented not afterward, that ye might believe him." 
 Now this first son was the Gentiles who first re- 
 fused to do God's will, but now repented and were 
 ready to accept salvation through him ; while the 
 second son represented the Jews, who said, " I go, 
 sir," and went not. Still further he presses the 
 matter with the parable of the vineyard contained 
 in Matthew xxi., Luke xx., and Mark xii. This 
 parable represents the Lord as planting a vineyard, 
 setting a hedge about it, digging a wine-press, 
 building a tower, and letting it out to husbandmen. 
 At the time of fruit he sent his servants, and they 
 were shamefully handled: some beaten, some 
 stoned, and some killed. Last of all he sends his 
 son, " saying, They will reverence my son. But 
 when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among 
 themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, 
 and let us seize on his inheritance. And they 
 caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and 
 slew him." Jesus then asked them the direct 
 question: " When the lord therefore of the vine- 
 yard cometh, what will he do unto those husband- 
 men?" They answered: " He will miserably de- 
 stroy those wicked men, and will let out his 
 vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall ren- 
 der him the fruits in their seasons." It would 
 
132 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 seem that they had not discovered the nature and 
 bearing of the parable. The vineyard was the 
 Church or kingdom of God, which had been com- 
 mitted to their hands. They had played the part 
 of these husbandmen, and now he (the Son and 
 Heir) was among them; and they were plotting his 
 death, and would accomplish their purpose before 
 the next Sabbath should dawn. And the judg- 
 ment they had pronounced against themselves 
 should be literally carried out, for Jesus said unto 
 them: " Therefore say I unto you, The kingdom 
 of God shall be taken from you, and given to a na- 
 tion bringing forth the fruits thereof." Jesus 
 said: "What is this then that is written, The stone 
 which the builders rejected, the same is become 
 the head of the corner?" "This is the Lord's 
 doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes." 
 
 "And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be 
 broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will 
 grind him to powder. And when the chief priests 
 and Pharisees had heard his parables, they per- 
 ceived that he spake of them." 
 
 But they were not convinced. Will nothing 
 open their eyes and melt their hearts? Now he 
 begins to uncover the armory of his wrath, and 
 lets them look upon what awaits them. Here is 
 retribution for rejecting him. "The falling upon 
 this stone" suggest great injury from falling over 
 something in the way, bruising the flesh and break- 
 ing the bones. They rush upon him to destroy 
 him. They had been plotting all the week to take 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 133 
 
 him, but "feared the multitude." In this they 
 should be broken, forever broken. But when this 
 stone should fall upon them, in the awful judg- 
 ments that were soon to come, it would "grind 
 them to powder." No pen can ever portray the 
 horrors of the siege of Jerusalem, when Christ, 
 this rejected stone, was falling upon them in 
 wrath; when he came "with his armies to miser- 
 ably destroy" this nation of murderers, and to 
 " burn up their city." 
 
 "To measure the awful meaning of 'grind him 
 to powder,' one must know all the horrors, the 
 frenzies, unutterable degradations, and over- 
 whelming miseries that were felt in that prolonged 
 siege. He must be in full sympathy with the in- 
 testine strifes, the rapine, the bloodshed, and can- 
 nibalism to which they were driven in ' the sraight- 
 ness of the siege, wherewith their enemies besieged 
 them.' Horrors, driven by the breath of God, 
 clouding the day, and hanging like a pall over the 
 night, until they would say at night, ' Would God 
 it were day ! ' and in the day, as if they could not 
 bear the sight, they would cry, * Would God it 
 were night ! ' You must feel their helplessness as 
 the awful calamity came upon them. Sun, moon, 
 and stars sympathized with them in their crushing, 
 grinding calamity." 
 
 That there might be no mistaking his meaning, 
 he spake another parable unto them: that of the 
 marriage of the king's son. This parable forcibly 
 represents the position of these rejecters of Jesus. 
 
134 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 With a long-standing invitation, when all is ready 
 and they are told to come, they made light of 
 the invitation and the opportunity, and even in- 
 sulted and slew the innocent servants. Now the 
 wrath of the king is revealed, and he sends forth 
 his armies (the Romans) and destroys these mur- 
 derers and burns up their city. The munificent 
 provision for the royal feast must not be wasted. 
 He has other subjects, and these at the last mo- 
 ment must be bidden, and messengers are sent 
 into the " highways" for guests. Thus Jesus 
 shows these scribes and Pharisees how certainly 
 and how justly their treatment of the gospel invi- 
 tation must seal their doom hopelessly and forever, 
 and how that which was provided for them shall be 
 given to others. 
 
 After this the Pharisees and Herodians, acting 
 as " spies," "feigning to be just men," came to 
 entrap him. They adroitly, as they thought, 
 placed him between two fires in the question they 
 asked. See their hypocrisy in the manner of ad- 
 dress: " Master, we know that thou art true, and 
 teachest the way of God in truth, neither carest 
 thou for any man: for thou regardest not the 
 person of men. Tell us, therefore, What think- 
 est thou? Is it lawful to give tribute unto- Cag- 
 sar or not?" They thought whatever his an- 
 swer might be he would involve himself. If he 
 said it was right, the Jews, who were chaffing un- 
 der this tribute, would be offended at him; and 
 the multitude, whom they feared, would at once 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 135 
 
 array themselves on their side, and they could take 
 him without trouble. If he should say it was not 
 right, this would put him squarely against the Ro- 
 man, power, and they would arrest him for treason. 
 
 " But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, 
 Why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites? Show me the 
 tribute money. And they brought unto him a pen- 
 ny. And he saith unto them, Whose is this image 
 and superscription? They say unto him, Caesar's. 
 Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto 
 Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto 
 God the things that are God's." Thus they were 
 foiled, " and left him, and went their way." 
 
 When these had departed " then came to him 
 [the same day] certain of the Sadducees, which 
 deny that there is any resurrection." They pro- 
 pounded to him a question involving, as they 
 thought, unanswerable difficulties with reference 
 to the resurrection. But he is as ready for them 
 as for the Pharisees, and in answering them gives 
 some overwhelming evidence from their own 
 scripture concerning this doctrine. 
 
 When the Pharisees heard that he had put the 
 Sadducees to silence, they again rallied their forces, 
 and " one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him 
 a question, tempting him, and saying, Master, 
 which is the great commandment in the law?" 
 Jesus answered and said: "The first of all the 
 commandments is, Hear, O Israel! The Lord 
 our God is one Lord: and thou shalt love the 
 Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy 
 
136 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy 
 strength: this is the first commandment. And 
 the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy 
 neighbor as thyself. On these two command- 
 ments hang all the law and the prophets." By 
 this answer he lifted himself above their reach, 
 and it is said " no man after that durst ask him any 
 question." 
 
 Having silenced them effectually, he then takes 
 the offensive and overwhelms them with facts con- 
 cerning their own Messiah as revealed in the one 
 hundred and tenth Psalm. And now he proceeds 
 to unveil their hypocrisy, and to roll away the 
 stone from the sepulcher of their moral corruption 
 and rottenness. Such words never before fell 
 from the lips of Jesus. They burn like the fires 
 of doom. Like hot thunder-bolts of wrath from an 
 overcharged tempest they strike, and wither, and 
 blast irresistibly. Like the awful judge that he is, 
 he commands these criminals whom he is about to 
 sentence to a most terrible death to stand up while 
 he recounts their crimes and tells them for what 
 they are doomed. Never in the history of the 
 world was there such an arraignment. As a pre- 
 liminary he calls upon his disciples in the "au- 
 dience of all the people." "The scribes and 
 Pharisees sit in Moses' seat: all therefore whatso- 
 ever they bid you observe, that observe and do; 
 but do not ye after their works: for they say, and 
 do not." "Beware of the scribes," "for they bind 
 heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 137 
 
 them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will 
 not move them with one of their fingers. But all 
 their works they do for to be seen of men: " " they 
 love to go in long clothing," and " make broad their 
 phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their gar- 
 ments, and love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and 
 the chief seats in the synagogues, and greetings in 
 the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rab- 
 bi !" which ' ' devour widow' s houses, and for a pre- 
 tense make long prayer;" the same " shall receive 
 greater damnation . " " But be not ye called Rabbi : 
 for one is your master, even Christ; and all ye are 
 brethren." 
 
 Then, turning to the culprits whose sentence he 
 was about to pronounce, he addresses them thus: 
 "But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypo- 
 crites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven 
 against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, nei- 
 ther suffer ye them that are entering to go in. 
 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! 
 for ye devour widow's houses, and for a pretense 
 make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the 
 greater damnation. Woe unto you, scribes and 
 Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and 
 land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, 
 ye make him twofold more the child of hell than 
 yourselves. Woe unto you, ye blind guides, which 
 say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is 
 nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of 
 the temple, he is a debtor! Ye fools and blind: 
 for whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that 
 
138 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 sanctifieth the gold? And, Whosoever shall swear 
 by the altar, it is nothing; but whosoever sweareth 
 by the gift that is upon it, he is guilty. Ye fools 
 and blind: for whether is greater, the gift, or the 
 altar that sanctifieth the gift? Whoso therefore 
 shall swear by the altar, sweareth by it, and by all 
 things thereon. And whoso shall swear by the 
 temple, sweareth by it, and by him that dwelleth 
 therein. And he that shall swear by heaven, 
 sweareth by the throne of God, and by him that 
 sitteth thereon. Woe unto you, scribes and Phar- 
 isees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and 
 anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier 
 matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: 
 these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the 
 other undone. Ye blind guides, which strain at 
 [out] a gnat, and swallow a camel. Woe unto 
 you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye 
 make clean the outside of the cup and of the plat- 
 ter, but within they are full of extortion and 
 excess. Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that 
 which is within the cup and pla'tter, that the out- 
 side of them may be clean also. Woe unto you, 
 scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites ! for ye are like 
 unto whited sepulchers, which indeed appear beau- 
 tiful outward, but are within full of dead men's 
 bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also 
 outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within 
 ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. Woe unto 
 you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites ! because 
 ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 139 
 
 the sepulchers of the righteous, and say, If we had 
 been in the days of our fathers, we would not have 
 been partakers with them in the blood of the 
 prophets. Wherefore ye be witnesses unto your- 
 selves, that ye are the children of them which 
 killed the prophets. Fill ye up then the measure 
 of your fathers. Ye serpents, ye generation of 
 vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell? 
 Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and 
 wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall 
 kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge 
 in your synagogues, and persecute them from city 
 to city: that upon you may come all the righteous 
 blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of right- 
 eous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Bar- 
 achias, whom ye slew between the temple and the 
 altar. Verily I say unto you, All these things shall 
 come upon this generation. O Jerusalem, Jerusa- 
 lem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them 
 which are sent unto thee, how often would I have 
 gathered thy children together, even as a hen gath- 
 ereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would 
 not ! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. 
 For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, 
 till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the 
 name of the Lord." 
 
 Thus he arrayed their crimes before their faces 
 and in the eyes of the world, that all might see the 
 justness of their punishment. The cup of their in- 
 iquity was nearly full, and they were rapidly filling 
 the measure of their corruption, until some forty 
 
140 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 years from the delivery of this sentence the cloud 
 of vengeance broke over the guilty city; and as 
 peal after peal echoed through the land, and the 
 smoke of their torment ascended in the sight of the 
 nations, they stood aghast before the awful terror 
 of exterminating desolations. 
 
 " Not in wrath, but in grief; not in malice, but 
 in sorrow, born of real love, came forth these ex- 
 posures of Pharisaic hypocrisy and vileness." He 
 who three days before, in the midst of exultant 
 shouts, wept over them and grieved at their per- 
 sistent refusal to take shelter under his wings, 
 could not now in wrath and malice hurl his denun- 
 ciations on them. Retribution for their wick- 
 edness was mustering its forces for the final blow, 
 and between them and the destroyer he stood, and 
 told them of their sins, if mayhap he might lead 
 them to repentance and to safety. But they -would 
 not! 
 
 Shelterless he was about to leave them. Said 
 he, "I go my way, ye shall die in your sins;" 
 and it was only when the storm should be at its 
 worst that they would gladly welcome anyone "in 
 the name of the Lord." But there was no protec- 
 tion in the wings of those who claimed to be the 
 Messiah, as they found to their sorrow, as we 
 shall see when we come to notice more fully the 
 prophecies of Jesus on this point. We consider 
 this the sentence of Jesus, as pronounced against 
 these criminals. It is the most remarkable of all 
 his predictions. As he turned and went out and 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 141 
 
 departed from the temple, his disciples called his 
 attention to the grandeur and beauty of the build- 
 ings on Mount Moriah, saying: "See what man- 
 ner of stones, and what buildings are here." They 
 seem to understand that the temple and city were 
 to be destroyed, and they call the attention of Jesus 
 to the extent and apparent durability of the build- 
 ings. Everything about them denoted permanence. 
 The stones were of the most durable and massive 
 character. Josephus tells us of the stupendous 
 size of some of them sixty-seven feet long, seven 
 feet high, and nine broad, and of the whitest mar- 
 ble. Herod had rebuilt the temple, and of it as re- 
 built by him Josephus says: "The temple was 
 built of stones that were white and strong, and 
 their length was twenty-five cubits, height eight, 
 and breadth about twelve ; and the whole struct- 
 ure, as also the structure of the royal cloister, was 
 on each side much lower; but the middle was 
 much higher, till they were visible to those that 
 dwelt in the country for a great many furlongs, but 
 chiefly to such as lived over against them, and 
 those that approached to them. He also encom- 
 passed the entire temple with very large cloisters, 
 contriving them to be in a due proportion thereto ; 
 and he laid out larger sums of money upon them 
 than had been done before him, till it seemed that 
 no one else had so greatly adorned the temple as 
 he had done. There was a large wall to both the 
 cloisters, which wall was itself the most prodigous 
 work that was ever heard of by man. It was cov- 
 
 
 
142 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 ered all over with plates of gold of great weight, 
 and at the first rising of the sun reflected back a 
 very fiery splendor, and made those who forced 
 themselves to look upon it to turn their eyes away, 
 just as they would have done at the sun's own rays. 
 But this temple appeared to strangers, when they 
 were at a distance, like a mountain covered with 
 snow ; for as to those parts of it that were not gilt, 
 they were exceedingly white. Of its stones, some 
 of them were forty-five cubits in length, five in 
 height, and six in breadth." 
 
 It was to these massive and magnificent buildings 
 that the disciples called the attention of our Lord, 
 when he said: "See ye not all these things? ver- 
 ily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one 
 stone upon another, that shall not be thrown 
 down." These words of Jesus were fulfilled to 
 the letter. Titus ordered his soldiers to demolish 
 the temple utterly, and the very site was plowed 
 over. 
 
 The disciples asked him: "When shall these 
 things be? and what shall be the sign of thy com- 
 ing, and of the end of the world?" They had 
 seen and heard enough to be convinced that what 
 he said was true; that he himself would come to 
 accomplish this awful destruction; that when he 
 did come it would be to put an end to the Jewish 
 nation as such, and they are solicitous to know 
 when this second coming should be. They also 
 wanted to know what signs should presage this 
 coming. He first puts them on their guard against 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 143 
 
 false Christs. When troubles should begin to 
 thicken about the land, there would arise many in 
 his name, saying, "I am Christ," and should de- 
 ceive many. 
 
 He then tells them: "Ye shall hear of wars 
 and rumors of wars ; see that s ye be not troubled : 
 for all these things must come to pass, but the end 
 is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, 
 and kingdom against kingdom : and there shall be 
 famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers 
 places. All these are the beginning of sorrows." 
 As to the false Christs, there were many. Jo- 
 sephus says : "While Fadus was procurator ( A.D. 
 45 or 46) a certain magician whose name was 
 Theudas persuaded many to follow him to the 
 river Jordan; for he told them that he was a 
 prophet, and that he would by his own command 
 divide the river, and afford them an easy passage ; 
 and many were deluded by his words." "The 
 country was again filled with robbers and impos- 
 tors, who deluded the multitude; yet did Felix 
 catch and put to death many of these impostors 
 every day." "These impostors and deceivers 
 persuaded the multitude to follow tftem into the 
 wilderness, and pretended that they would exhibit 
 manifest wonders and signs, that should be per- 
 formed by the providence of God. There came 
 out of Egypt about this time one who said he was 
 a prophet, and advised the multitude to go along 
 with him to Mount Olivet, which lay over against 
 the city at the distance of five furlongs. He said 
 
144 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 he would show them from thence how at his com- 
 mand the walls of Jerusalem would fall down. 
 Felix slew four hundred of them, and took two 
 hundred alive; but the Egyptian escaped." We 
 could mention many others from the history of 
 these times, but these are sufficient for our pur- 
 pose. 
 
 The "wars and rumors of wars" were not wars 
 in different parts of the world, but there right in 
 their midst or very near them wars that would 
 affect them. The whole East was in a ferment, 
 and Judea in open insurrection ; while the armies 
 of Spain and Gaul and Germany, Illyricum, and 
 Syria converged upon Italy, to decide who should 
 succeed to Nero's purple. The throes of inani- 
 mate nature seemed to sympathize with the travail 
 of the world. The histories of the age are full of 
 " famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in divers 
 places." " Fearful sights and great signs from 
 heaven appeared to mark the very spot at which 
 the great judgment was to descend. A comet 
 shaped like a scimitar hung over the devoted city 
 during the whole year before the war. Other por- 
 tents are recorded, in the very exaggeration of 
 which we trace how 'men's hearts failed them for 
 fear, and for looking after those things which were 
 to come on the earth.' ' 
 
 Josephus tells us of "a light at the ninth hour 
 of the night, that shone round the altar and the 
 holy house, so that it appeared to be bright day- 
 time;" that the "eastern gate of the inner court 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 145 
 
 of the temple, which was of brass and vastly 
 heavy, and had been with difficulty shut by twenty 
 men, and rested upon a basis armed with iron, and 
 had bolts fastened very deep into the firm floor 
 which was there made of one entire stone, was 
 seen to be opened of its own accord about the sixth 
 hour of the night." 
 
 "Moreover at that feast which we call Pentecost, 
 as the priests were going by night into the inner 
 court of the temple, as their custom was, to per- 
 form their sacred ministrations, they said that in 
 the first place they felt a quaking and heard a great 
 noise, and after that they heard a sound as of a 
 great multitude saying, ' Let us remove hence." 
 
 Then he tells us of one Jesus, the son of Ananus, 
 who four years before the war "began of a sud- 
 den to cry aloud, 'A voice from the east, a voice 
 from the west, a voice from the four winds, a voice 
 against Jerusalem and the holy house, a voice 
 against the bridegrooms and the brides, and a 
 voice against the whole people.' He was whipped 
 until his bones were laid bare, yet did he not make 
 any supplication for himself nor shed any tears, but, 
 turning his voice to the most lamentable tones pos- 
 sible, at every stroke of the whip his answer was, 
 'Woe, woe to Jerusalem! ' He continued this cry 
 for seven years and five months, without growing 
 hoarse. He was at last slain by a stone from one 
 of the engines, just as he uttered 'Woe, woe to 
 the city again, 'and to the people, and to the 
 holy house; woe, woe to myself also!" These 
 10 
 
146 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 are enough to fix this prophecy of Jesus on this 
 time. 
 
 "Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, 
 and shall kill you : and ye shall be hated of all na- 
 tions for my name's sake. And then shall many 
 be offended, and shall betray one another, and 
 shall hate one another. And many false prophets 
 shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because 
 iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax 
 cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the 
 same shall be saved." 
 
 It will not be necessary to go beyond the record 
 found in the New Testament to find these per- 
 secutions. But as the day for the destruction of 
 Jerusalem approached these persecutions became 
 more severe, and many suffered their love to grow 
 cold on their account. We have already seen that 
 very many false prophets arose and deceived 
 many. 
 
 "And this gospel of the kingdom shall be 
 preached in all the world for a witness unto all 
 nations; and then shall the end come." 
 
 This verse has been looked upon by some as an 
 insurmountable difficulty in the way of applying 
 this prophecy of Jesus to the destruction of Jeru- 
 salem and the Jewish nation. It was not that the 
 gospel was to be embraced by all nations, but it 
 was to be preached "in all the world for a witness 
 unto all nations/' and this was literally fulfilled. 
 " EXoddridge is authority for the statement that ' It 
 appears from credible records that the gospel was 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 147 
 
 preached in Idumea, Syria, and Mesopotamia by 
 Jude; in Egypt, Marmorica, Mauritania, and other 
 parts of Africa by Mark, Simon, and Jude; in 
 Ethiopia by Candice's eunuch and Matthias; in 
 Partus, Galatia, and the neighboring parts of Asia 
 by Peter; in the territories of the seven Asiatic 
 Churches by John; in Parthia by Matthew; in 
 Scythia by Philip and Andrew; in the northern and 
 western part of Asia by Bartholomew; in Persia 
 by Simon and Jude; in Media, Carmania, and 
 several eastern parts by Thomas ; through the vast 
 tract from Jerusalem round about unto Illyricum 
 by Paul; as also in Italy, and probably in Spain 
 and Gaul in most of which places Christian 
 Churches were planted in less than thirty years 
 after the death of Christ i. e., before the destruc- 
 tion of Jerusalem.' ' 
 
 We have proof from the Acts of the Apostles of 
 the wide extent of territory visited and preached in 
 by one man Paul and we cannot think the twelve 
 were less active. There is no inspired record of 
 their deeds and preaching, but doubtless they were 
 preaching the conquests of the cross to the ends of 
 the earth. Enough had been done during the life- 
 time of the apostles to stand as a witness to all na- 
 tions that the long-promised Messiah had appeared 
 in the person of Jesus Christ. Paul wrote to the 
 Romans (x. 18) that "their sound went into all 
 the earth, and their words unto the ends of the 
 world ;" and to the Colossians (i. 6, 23) that the 
 truths of the gospel had come not to them only, but 
 
148 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 to "all the world " being "preached to every creat- 
 ure which is under heaven" 
 
 Thus we have the evidence from inspired writ- 
 ers, as well as from Church history, that these 
 words of Jesus were literally fulfilled, that "this 
 gospel of the kingdom had been preached in all 
 the world for a witness unto all nations; " and thus 
 is this passage cleared of all difficulty. 
 
 " When ye therefore shall see the abomination 
 of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, 
 stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him 
 understand, ) then let them which be in Judea flee 
 unto the mountains : let him which is on the house- 
 top not come down to take any thing out of his 
 house: neither let him which is in the field return 
 back to take his clothes. And woe unto them 
 that are with child, and to those that give suck in 
 these days ! But pray ye that your flight be not in 
 the winter, neither on the Sabbath-day." 
 
 Luke throws light on this passage by giving a 
 sentence in this prophecy of Jesus omitted by Mat- 
 thew and Mark. It is: " When ye shall see Jeru- 
 salem compassed with armies, then know that the 
 desolation thereof is nigh." The Roman armies 
 spoken of here that were to encompass Jerusalem 
 and destroy it bore upon their standards their idols, 
 which was specially abominable to the Jews, and as 
 these standards were borne at the head of these de- 
 stroying armies they are called "the abomination 
 of desolation." And as this was to be one of the 
 signs by which the disciples of Jesus were to know 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 149 
 
 wnen to fly from the doomed city, Jesus adds for 
 their admonition: "Whosoever readeth, let him 
 understand." This was to be their signal for im- 
 mediate and hasty flight. Now as to the history 
 of this flight we are told that " full two years be- 
 fore the final investment of the city, Cestius Gallus 
 marched a Roman army upon the city, and com- 
 menced its siege. Why he did not push the siege 
 is historically unaccountable. Josephus says: ' If 
 he had continued the siege but a little longer, he 
 would have taken the city. But Cestius removed 
 his army, and having received no loss, departed 
 from the city/ This warning had been given; the 
 opportunity for flight came. The Christians, re- 
 membering these words, fled to the mountains of 
 Pella, east of the Jordan." 
 
 See how distinctly Jesus puts his finger on the 
 place where this is to occur. " Let them which be 
 in Judea." The prophecy was local, and referred 
 to Judea and Jerusalem, and to no other place. 
 No doubt the disciples obeyed the suggestion of 
 Jesus to " pray that their flight be not in the win- 
 ter, neither on the Sabbath-day,'' and received an 
 answer; for this flight took place in October, and 
 the day after Cestius raised the siege on Tuesday, 
 giving the disciples time to escape before the Sab- 
 bath. 
 
 " For then shall be great tribulation, such as was 
 not since the beginning of the world to this time, 
 no, nor ever shall be. And except those days 
 should be shortened, there should no flesh be 
 
150 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be 
 shortened." 
 
 It would seem that all the facts in the case not 
 only fix this on Jerusalem and its fall under Titus, 
 but exclude all others. No one can read the his- 
 tory of this event written by Josephus without be- 
 ing impressed that the Saviour's prediction had a 
 literal fulfillment in this siege. Strange to say, Jo- 
 sephus, in trying to describe the horrors of this 
 siege, uses the identical idea, and much of the 
 language of Jesus. He says: *'Of all the cities 
 which were subjected to the Romans, ours was 
 advanced to the highest felicity, and was thrust 
 down again to the extremest misery; for if the 
 misfortunes of all from the beginning of the world 
 were compared with those of the Jews, they would 
 appear much inferior. No other city ever suffered 
 such things, as no other generation from the be- 
 ginning of the world was ever more fruitful of 
 wickedness." 
 
 Here is but a passage or two to give some idea 
 of these times as seen by the same author. Speak- 
 ing of the seditious, he says: "They agreed in 
 nothing but this, to kill those that were innocent. 
 The voice also of those that were fighting [this was 
 the Jews among themselves] was. incessant, both 
 by day and by night; but the lamentation of those 
 that mourned exceeded the other. Nor was there 
 ever any occasion for them to leave off their lam- 
 entations: because their calamities came perpet- 
 ually one upon another; although the deep con- 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 151 
 
 sternation they were in prevented their outward 
 wailing. But being constrained by their fear to 
 conceal their inward passions, they were, inwardly 
 tormented: without daring to open their lips in 
 groans. Nor was any regard paid to those that 
 were still alive by their relations : nor was there 
 any care taken of burial for those that were dead. 
 The occasion of both which was, that every one 
 despaired of himself. For those that were not 
 among the seditious had no great desires of any 
 thing; as expecting for certain, that they should 
 very soon be destroyed. But for the seditious 
 themselves, they fought against each other while 
 they trod upon the dead bodies, as they lay heaped 
 one upon another; and taking up a mad rage from 
 these dead bodies that were under their feet, be- 
 came the fiercer thereupon." 
 
 Again, when the Romans broke into the city, he 
 says of them: "And when they were come into the 
 houses to plunder them, they found in them entire 
 families of dead men ; and the upper rooms full of 
 corpses of such as died by the famine. They then 
 stood in horror at the sight ; and went out without 
 touching any thing. But although they had this 
 commiseration for such as were destroyed in that 
 manner, yet had they not the same for those that 
 were still alive: but they ran every one through 
 whom they met with; and obstructed the very 
 lanes with their dead bodies: and made the whole 
 city run down with blood, to such a degree, in- 
 deed, that the fire of many of the houses was 
 quenched with these men's blood. ". 
 
152 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 We might greatly multiply the evidence from 
 this author to prove just what Jesus said: that 
 there "shall be tribulation, such as was not since 
 the beginning of the world to this time." And 
 we feel satisfied that nothing has equaled it since. 
 As these tribulations extended to all parts of the 
 Jewish nation, it was well for " the elect " (Chris- 
 tian Jews) to pray for the shortening of these days, 
 and God heard and answered their prayers, or the 
 whole nation would have perished. Titus himself 
 felt and acknowledged that God had helped them, 
 or they never could have taken Jerusalem. When 
 he examined the strong towers, constructed of such 
 immense stones, so well put together, he said: 
 " We have certainly had God for our assistant in 
 this war; and it was no other than God who eject- 
 ed the Jews out of these fortifications. For what 
 could the hands of men, or any machines, do to- 
 ward overthrowing these towers." And again: 
 "We have fought with God on our side; and it is 
 God who hath pulled the Jews out of these strong- 
 holds; for what could the hands of men or ma- 
 chines do against these towers." Thus we see 
 "God shortened the days by helping the Ro- 
 mans." 
 
 Christ also said, " There shall arise false Christs, 
 and false phrophets," etc. There is abundant 
 proof that there arose at this time men who claimed 
 to be Christ, and did deceive many. 
 
 Josephus says, in describing the final struggle: 
 "A false propjiet was the occasion of these peo- 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 153 
 
 pie's destruction: who had made a public procla- 
 mation in the city, that very day, that ' God com- 
 manded to get up upon the temple; and that there 
 they should receive miraculous signs of their de- 
 liverance.' Now there was then a great number 
 of false prophets suborned by the tyrants to impose 
 on the people, who told them that they should 
 wait for deliverance from God." Thus does this 
 historian confirm the words of Jesus, and fix the 
 fulfillment of this prediction on the destruction of 
 Jerusalem under Titus. 
 
 " For as the lightning cometh out of the east, 
 and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the 
 coming of the Son of man be." 
 
 This coming of Christ was to be in judgment, 
 with the Romans as his sword. Moses had pre- 
 dicted this very thing, even describing the nation 
 with which God was to punish them before that 
 nation had an existence. "The Lord shall bring 
 a nation against thee from far, from the end of the 
 earth, as swift as the eagle flieth," etc. (Deut. 
 xxviii. 49-52.) He tells them that this enemy shall 
 besiege them in all their gates. Again, in the sec- 
 ond Psalm, we are told that Christ should break 
 them with a rod of iron ; that he should dash them 
 in pieces as a potter's vessel. When Christ should 
 come to judgment, they would have no need to ask 
 where is he. He would be in all parts of their land, 
 dealing blows on every place. Like a bright flash 
 of lightning, illuminating the heavens and the earth 
 from horizon to horizon, so would he be. The 
 
154 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 Roman army did follow the very course marked 
 out by this prophecy of Jesus. Instead of coming 
 from the west, they came from the east, and swept 
 over to the west, laying waste the land everywhere. 
 
 " For wheresoever the carcass is, there will the 
 eagles be gathered together." The whole body of 
 the Jewish nation was despoiled by the Roman ea- 
 gles. So completely was their whole country laid 
 waste, that when the citizens of Antioch met Titus 
 and besought him to expel them from their city, his 
 notable answer was: "How can this be done, 
 since that country of theirs, whither the Jews must 
 then be obliged to retire, is destroyed, and no 
 place will receive them besides?" The Jewish 
 nation was morally and judicially dead, and God 
 sent these eagles to prey upon them. Josephus 
 says there was no part of Judea which did not par- 
 take of the calamities of the capital. 
 
 " Immediately after the tribulation of those days 
 shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not 
 give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, 
 and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken: 
 and then shall appear the sign of the Son of man 
 in heaven : and then shall all the tribes of the earth 
 mourn, and they shall see the Son of man com- 
 ing in the clouds of heaven with power and great 
 glory." 
 
 This is strong symbolic language, intended to 
 show that the whole Jewish polity, civil and eccle- 
 siastical, shall be whelmed in ruin, and that it shall 
 be the work of Christ. This was to follow "im- 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 155 
 
 mediately after the tribulation of those days." 
 The language of the Saviour forces us to look for 
 this fulfillment immediately upon the destruction of 
 Jerusalem. Christ was not to be seen with the 
 natural eye ; but the work of the utter overthrow 
 of the Jewish nation and Church, according to his 
 prediction, was to be so plainly his that all should 
 see it and know it. It is no uncommon thing for 
 the prophets to use just such expressions as these 
 with reference to the sun, moon, and stars, when 
 speaking of great calamities. Christ in the heav- 
 ens above, as upon the clouds, should direct the 
 storm that should work this dreadful overthrow of 
 his people. 
 
 "And he shall send his angels with a great sound 
 of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his 
 elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven 
 to the other." 
 
 Immediately upon sweeping the Jewish nation 
 out of the way, Christ's ministers (often called an- 
 gels) went out into all the world to call the Gen- 
 tiles now the elect to come together unto him. 
 To show that the calamities spoken of by Christ in 
 this wonderful prophecy would soon come, Jesus 
 uses the parable of the budding fig-tree as the har- 
 binger of summer. So the portents spoken of 
 should be evidence to them that the day of destruc- 
 tion was near at hand ; and as if to fix it beyond 
 all danger of misapprehension, he says: 
 
 " Verily I say unto you, This generation shall 
 not pass, till all these things be fulfilled." 
 
156 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 Christ meant just what he said. There were 
 men then living who should see the calamities 
 spoken of by him come to pass yea, should see 
 their entire fulfillment. His councils were fixed, 
 and heaven and earth would sooner pass away than 
 his words should fail. And yet, near at hand as 
 the time was, no man knew it; nor did the angels: 
 only the Father. 
 
 He then compares the suddenness of his coming 
 to the coming of the flood in the days of Noah, 
 and uses an expression that exactly describes the 
 events of that time : 
 
 " Then shall two be in the field ; the one shall be 
 taken, and the other left. Two women shall be 
 grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and 
 the other left." 
 
 At the given signal, "the abomination of desola- 
 tion standing in the holy place," they were to flee 
 to the mountains, not taking time for any thing. 
 If two men were at work side by side in the field, 
 one a Christian and the other not, and the Chris- 
 tian saw the signal of flight, he was to leave his 
 companion and fly. So of the women one should 
 "be taken, and the other left; " just as Noah and 
 his family were taken into the ark, and the rest left 
 to their destruction. How natural, then, the ex- 
 hortation to watch for the signal. 
 
 Jesus then uses the parable of the ten virgins to 
 illustrate this fact. The wise virgins represented 
 the Christians who watched for the sign of the Son 
 of man, and were safely housed from destruction 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 157 
 
 in the mountains of Pella; while the foolish virgins 
 represented those who were left in the city, encom- 
 passed by the Roman armies. Again he repeats 
 the command: " Watch! " 
 
 This parable is intimately connected with the fol- 
 lowing one of the talents, which is to show that the 
 Jewish nation had hid their talent in the earth, and 
 thus proved themselves utterly unworthy to take 
 care of the Church of Jesus Christ. It should 
 therefore be taken from them, and given to the 
 Gentiles. Not only so, but the unprofitable serv- 
 ant should be cast into outer darkness. Then it 
 was easy and natural to speak of the final coming 
 of the Son of man to judge all men at the last day. 
 This he does in Matthew xxv. 31-46. 
 
 But we have to deal especially with the wonder- 
 ful predictions found in the previous chapter. 
 The very things spoken of by Jesus in this proph- 
 ecy were foretold by Isaiah. No doubt in the re- 
 markable sermon delivered in Nazareth, that first 
 enchanted and then angered his hearers to such an 
 extent as to incite them to try and take his life, 
 Jesus referred to this prophecy. Luke only gives 
 us a few of the verses of this prophecy, all of 
 which we believe was read and commented on by 
 the Saviour. We can account for the sudden 
 change of demeanor of the people in no other way. 
 The prophet first speaks of the blessing of Christ's 
 coming; tells us plainly that "the Gentiles shall 
 see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory: and 
 thou shalt be called by a new name, which the 
 
158 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 mouth of the Lord shall name." Then, referring 
 to the Christian age, he says: " I have set watch- 
 men upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall 
 never hold their peace day nor night." Jerusalem 
 in this place does not mean the city in Palestine, 
 but it is the New Jerusalem, the Church of Jesus 
 Christ. After speaking of the establishment of 
 this Church, he then refers to the judgments that 
 he will bring upon Jerusalem proper and the Jew- 
 ish people. The prophet sees him coming with 
 "dyed garments," and he asks the question: 
 "Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and 
 thy garments like him that treadeth in the wine- 
 fat?" And the answer comes as from Jesus him- 
 self: "I have trodden the wine-press alone; and 
 of the people there was none with me: for I will 
 tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my 
 fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my 
 garments, and I will stain all my raiment. For the 
 day of vengeance is in mine heart, and the year of 
 my redeemed is come. . . . They rebelled, and 
 vexed his Holy Spirit: therefore he was turned to 
 be their enemy, and he fought against them." 
 Then, after referring to the fact that they had been 
 his people, and offering one of the most touching 
 prayers, concluding with the declaration: "Our 
 holy and our beautiful house, where our fathers 
 praised thee, is burned up with fire: and all our 
 pleasant things are laid waste. Wilt thou refrain 
 thyself for these things, O Lord? wilt thou hold 
 thy peace, and afflict us very sore?" Jesus an- 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 159 
 
 swers: "I am sought of them that asked not for 
 me; I am found of them that sought me not: I 
 said, Behold me, behold me, unto a nation that 
 was not called by my name. I have spread out 
 my hands all the day unto a rebellious people, 
 which walketh in a way that was not good, after 
 their own thoughts ; a people that provoketh me to 
 anger continually to my face." 
 
 When Jesus, in his sermon at Nazareth, came to 
 this prophecy, and they felt its application to them, 
 "they were filled with wrath, and rose up, and 
 thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the 
 brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that 
 they might cast him down headlong.*' But we 
 shall see this thing more clearly revealed in Reve- 
 lation, when we come to examine that book. 
 
 We can see nothing in this whole prophecy of 
 Jesus that cannot be applied to the coming of 
 Christ for the destruction of Jerusalem. Any 
 other interpretation is far-fetched and unnatural. 
 Once break away from this application, and we 
 open the flood-gates of wild speculation to pour out 
 an endless stream of conflicting views and interpre- 
 tations that will even whelm faith in the Book of 
 of God itself. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 The Book of Revelation Letters to the Seven Churches The 
 Book Sealed with Seven Seals Sealing of the Saints The 
 Seven Trumpets. 
 
 LET us come to the examination of the closing 
 book of Revelation, the book that has been 
 the innocent cause of more wild speculations than 
 perhaps all the rest of the Bible combined ; and yet 
 when held in the proper light is as easy of ex- 
 planation as almost any other part of God's word. 
 
 And let me say in the beginning that we shall be 
 disappointed if we expect to find the Roman Cath- 
 olic Church in this book. The main prophecies of 
 the book had their immediate fulfillment. It is a 
 scenic representation of the overthrow of the first 
 two great persecuting powers of Christianity 
 namely, the Jews, with their center of power at Je- 
 rusalem; and the Romans, with theirs at Rome 
 the whole closing with a grand representation of 
 the Church of Jesus Christ, as it shall go forth in 
 its prosperity after these two great persecuting pow- 
 ers are broken and destroyed. 
 
 John strikes the prelude to this grand drama 
 when he says: "Behold, he cometh with clouds; 
 and every eye shall see him, and they also which 
 pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall 
 wail because of him. Even so, Amen." 
 
 Jesus had told Caiaphas: " Hereafter shall ye see 
 (160) 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 161 
 
 the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, 
 and coming in the clouds of heaven." It was to 
 this coming of Jesus to judge Jerusalem that he re- 
 fers. All should see and know that these judg- 
 ments were from him not of men as he sits at 
 the right hand of power in the heavens. Every 
 eye should see him, both friend and foe, and they 
 also which pierced him. It was only forty years 
 after the crucifixion that Jerusalem was destroyed, 
 and no doubt there were many of those who took 
 part in the condemnation and crucifixion of Jesus 
 still alive. They had pierced him, had heard his 
 dying groans, and saw his head fall upon his life- 
 less bosom; saw him wrapped in the cerements of 
 the grave and laid away in the chambers of the 
 dead. But for years they had heard his followers 
 declaring that he had risen from the dead and gone 
 up on high, where he sitteth at the right hand of 
 God, expecting till his enemies be made his foot- 
 stool. Now they were to see him, see him " com- 
 ing in the clouds of heaven " with power and great 
 glory. And when the blow should fall upon the 
 second great persecuting power pagan Rome- 
 all nations should feel the effect, " and all kindreds 
 of the earth shall wail because of him." How 
 graphic is the description of the fulfillment of this 
 prediction, as found in the eighteenth chapter: 
 "And the kings of the earth, who have committed 
 fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall be- 
 wail her, and lament for her, when they shall see 
 the smoke of her burning, standing afar off for 
 11 
 
162 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that 
 great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one 
 hour is thy judgment come. . . . And the 
 merchants of these things, which were made 
 rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her 
 torment, weeping and wailing, and saying, Alas, 
 alas, that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, 
 and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and 
 precious stones, and pearls ! For in one hour so 
 great riches is come to nought. And every ship- 
 master, and all the company in ships, and sailors, 
 and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off, and 
 cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, 
 saying, What city is like unto this great city ! And 
 they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping 
 and wailing, saying, Alas, alas, that great city, 
 wherein were made rich all that had ships in the 
 sea by reason of her costliness ! for in one hour is 
 she made desolate." And we must not forget the 
 expression of satisfaction, "Even so, Amen,*' as 
 uttered by God's people; for it is said in immedi- 
 diate connection with this wailing of the kings and 
 merchants. " Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and 
 ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath 
 avenged you on her." Let us not anticipate, but 
 come to a careful examination of this book. 
 
 John, as if to put us on our guard against refer- 
 ring the revelations of this book to future ages, tells 
 us that this is a revelation of " things which must 
 shortly come to pass." They are not of things that 
 lie thousands of years remote, but he repeats the 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 163 
 
 idea, "for the time is at hand." He tells us that 
 he is in the isle called Patmos, for the word of God 
 and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. Jesus appears 
 to him, commanding him to write what he should 
 see "in a book, and send it to the seven Churches 
 which are in Asia." It is'evident that he is to send 
 all that is written unto these Churches, and not just 
 the several special messages addressed to each by 
 name, as found in the second and third chapters. 
 These Churches lay just where they would be 
 subject to the greatest trials; and as there were 
 certain facts connected with each of them that re- 
 quired a separate message, John was directed to 
 write to them, and stir them up to preparation for 
 the coming calamities and trials. Their faults and 
 weaknesses are faithfully pointed out, and a special 
 promise made to those of them who should over- 
 come: 
 
 "To him that overcometh," in Ephesu-s, Jesus 
 says, "will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is 
 in the midst of the paradise of God." This tree is 
 specially described in the closing scenes of the. 
 book. 
 
 To him that overcometh, in Smyrna, he prom- 
 ises that ' ' he shall not be hurt of the second death. ' ' 
 This second death we also find amid the closing 
 scenes. 
 
 To him that overcometh, in Pergamos, he prom- 
 ises to give "to eat of the hidden manna, and will 
 give him a white stone, and in the stone a new 
 name written, which no man knoweth saving he 
 
164 The Kingdom and Coming's of Christ, 
 
 that receiveth it. ' ' We also find the promise : ' * For 
 the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall 
 feed them."- As to the new name, we naturally 
 turn our thought to the great Conqueror, of whom 
 it is said: " He had a name written that no man 
 knew but he himself." * 
 
 To him that overcometh, in Thyatira, the prom- 
 ise is to " give power over the nations." This was 
 a glorious promise. The nations of earth were 
 persecuting the followers of Jesus, and often de- 
 stroying them. The promise, then, that he should 
 have power over these nations was very full of 
 comfort. 
 
 To him of Sardis who should overcome, the 
 promise was that "the same shall be clothed in 
 white raiment; and I will not blot out his name 
 out of the book of life, but I will confess his name 
 before my Father, and before his angels." In the 
 body of the book we see the great multitude which 
 no man can number, "clothed with white robes, 
 and palms in their hands." 
 
 To him of Philadelphia that overcometh is the 
 promise: "I will make a pillar in the temple of my 
 God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write 
 upon him the name of my God, and the name of 
 the city of my God, which is New Jerusalem, 
 which cometh down out of heaven from my God: 
 and I will write upon him my new name." 
 
 We find the description of this New Jerusalem 
 in the last chapters of the book, as well as the com- 
 pany that stood with the Lamb upon Mount Zion, 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 165 
 
 " having his Father's name written in their fore- 
 heads." 
 
 To him of Laodicea who should overcome, the 
 promise is: "I will grant to sit with me in my 
 throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down 
 with my Father in his throne." 
 
 In the last chapter of this Revelation we have 
 the blessed declaration: "And there shall be no 
 more curse: but the throne of God and of the 
 Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve 
 him: and they shall see his face; and his name 
 shall be in their foreheads." 
 
 From these promises, all of which are to be 
 found in the latter part of the book, we are fully 
 satisfied that the whole of Revelation was intended 
 for and addressed to the Seven Churches. 
 
 In the opening vision the great Alpha and Ome- 
 ga, their glorified Lord and Saviour, appears in 
 surpassing majesty a majesty that he is to sus- 
 tain throughout the grand panorama that passes 
 in review from this opening manifestation to the 
 closing scene. To each of the Churches he holds 
 up some special feature of this manifestation ; but 
 to all of them he is the Almighty, walking among 
 the golden candlesticks (the Churches), holding 
 in his right hand the stars (ministers) of these 
 Churches. What we find in this opening chapter, 
 and in the letters to the Churches, we find in the 
 body of the work. In a word, the whole thing is 
 so connected that one must do violence to all laws 
 of unity to separate it. Every word written must 
 
1 66 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 be read by all. The mighty Conqueror, and the 
 avenger of the blood of his saints, had risen and 
 girded his sword upon his thigh; had mounted 
 his white steed, and the shout of battle was soon 
 to be on his lips The season of tribulation, such 
 as the world had never seen, was just at hand ; 
 and ere the bugle blast that should sound to the 
 charge should fall upon the ears of the startled 
 world the faithful, loving Jesus would warn his 
 followers and house them from the slaughter. The 
 last earnest warning he gave them while in the 
 flesh to " watch therefore; for ye know neither 
 the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man 
 cometh " he would now repeat, that they might 
 not be involved in the great calamity. Grand and 
 glorious as he appeared, yet they were to know 
 that he was none other than their crucified, risen 
 Lord, he that was dead but now alive for ever- 
 more, holding in his right hand the "keys of hell 
 and of death." Though long sealed, and only in 
 the knowledge of the Father, the hour was at hand 
 when that Father would deliver the sealed book 
 into the hand of his Son, who should break one 
 seal after another, and unroll the awful secret in 
 time for the. safety of his beloved. 
 
 Most writers on this book have referred the 
 prophecies to times long after the writing of them, 
 bringing many of them down to our times; and 
 others leave some of them to be fulfilled near the 
 end of time. But should we not listen to the fre- 
 quent declarations of the book itself. The open- 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 167 
 
 ing sentence is, " The Revelation of Jesus Christ, 
 which God gave unto him, to show unto his servants 
 things which must shortly come to pass." " Blessed 
 is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of 
 this prophecy, . . . for the time is at hand." 
 Books were only written in those days, and hence 
 there were but few copies; and people had to de- 
 pend upon readers, and the inditing Spirit, know- 
 ing that the time was short, pronounces a special 
 blessing upon the reader, and also upon the hearer. 
 If its contents be not soon known, it will be too late. 
 
 Mr. Henry Cowles says: "'Write the things 
 which thou hast seen, and the things which are, 
 and the things which shall be hereafter' (i. 19); 
 but this 'hereafter' is not the remote, indefinite 
 future, but, according to the original (meta tautd), 
 the things which follow closely after, in the closest 
 connection with present events. The same lan- 
 guage and in the same sense appears (iv. i): 
 4 Come up hither [into this open heaven], and I 
 will show thee things which must be hereafter ' 
 i. e., in close connection with the present, things 
 which must be very soon" 
 
 Near the close of the book we have similar dec- 
 larations showing that these are times that apply to 
 all the book. In the last chapter John is com- 
 manded to " Seal not the sayings of the prophecy 
 of this book: for the time is at hand" We can- 
 not close our eyes to such plain declarations as 
 these. 
 
 After the letters to the seven Churches, Jesus 
 
1 68 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 stands ready to reveal the things that must shortly 
 come to pass. He begins with the revelations con- 
 cerning the first great persecuting power, the Jew- 
 ish nation. 
 
 John sees an open door in heaven, and hears the 
 first voice calling him to " Come up hither, and I 
 will show thee things which must be hereafter," or 
 soon, as it is in the original. In the former vision 
 he sees the Son of man walking amid the candle- 
 sticks as if for the assurance and protection of the 
 Churches. Now he sees things in heaven; one 
 upon a throne. He attempts no description of this 
 being. It is evidently God the Father. Round 
 about this throne he sees four and twenty elders 
 sitting, clothed in white raiment, with croWns of 
 gold upon their heads, and out of the throne pro- 
 ceeded lightnings, and thunderings, and voices. 
 Before the throne the seven Spirits of God. Round 
 about the throne, four living creatures (unfor- 
 tunately called beasts in the Authorized Version). 
 They each had four faces, and six wings, ' ' and they 
 rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, 
 Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to 
 come. And when these living creatures give glory 
 and honor and thanks to him that sat on the throne, 
 who liveth forever and ever, the four and twenty 
 elders fall down before him " also. 
 
 These twenty-four elders perhaps represent the 
 patriarchs and apostles, or the heads of the two 
 dispensations, while the four living creatures are 
 no doubt the seraphim seen in the vision of Isaiah ; 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 169 
 
 for the descriptions are almost identical. At any 
 rate, they are intelligent creatures that minister be- 
 fore the throne. 
 
 This chapter only prepares us for the revela- 
 tions to be made. John says: " I saw in .the right 
 hand of him that sat on the throne a book written 
 within and on the back side, sealed with seven 
 seals." This was a parchment roll that was writ- 
 ten on both sides, " within and on the back side," 
 and it was sealed in seven sections or parts. 
 
 The prophet now advances a step farther. A 
 strong angel makes a proclamation with a loud 
 voice: "Who is worthy to open the book and to 
 loose the seals thereof?" This book is evidently 
 the book containing the things that must shortly 
 come to pass. No man, either in heaven or earth, 
 neither under the earth, is able to open the book, 
 neither to look thereon. John is overcome with 
 grief at this fact, when one of the elders assures 
 him that " the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the Root 
 of David, hath prevailed to open the book, and to 
 loose the seven seals thereof.' ' Just then he makes 
 a discovery: " In the midst of the throne and of the 
 four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, 
 stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven 
 horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits 
 of God sent forth into all the earth. And he came 
 and took the book out of the right hand of him that 
 sat upon the throne . ' ' Then the four living creatures 
 and the twenty-four elders fall before the Lamb, and 
 sing a new song, saying: " Thou art worthy to take 
 
170 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 the book, and to open the seals thereof.'' Then an 
 almost countless number of angels join in the song, 
 and to this is added the song of every creature in 
 heaven and earth and under the earth and in the 
 sea. And as their song concludes, the four living 
 creatures say, "Amen," showing that all the intel- 
 ligent creatures of God are deeply interested in the 
 revelations to be made when the seals of this \von- 
 derful book shall be loosed. 
 
 When the Lamb opened one of the seals, one of 
 the living creatures, with a voice of thunder, said: 
 " Come." It is not "Come and see," as is found 
 in the Authorized Version as addressed to John, 
 but it is a command to the rider on the white horse. 
 At the thundering voice, " Come," there leaped 
 forth " a white horse: and he that sat on him had 
 a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he 
 went forth conquering, and to conquer." This is 
 a symbol of the Messiah riding forth to victory. 
 He had been at the right hand of God the Father 
 waiting the time when he should " make his ene- 
 mies his footstool." This time had now come, 
 and he, as a conqueror, should " strike through 
 kings in the day of his wrath." He was armed 
 with a bow: he was ready for battle; "and a 
 crown was given unto him," showing that he had 
 full authority as a king to execute judgment, as he 
 says in his parable : " He sent forth his armies, and 
 destroyed those murderers, and burned up their 
 city." He had now mounted for the destruction 
 of Jerusalem and its inhabitants. 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 171 
 
 "And when he had opened the second seal, I 
 heard the second living creature saying, Come. 
 And there went out another horse that was red; 
 and power was given to him that sat thereon to 
 take peace from the earth, and that they should 
 kill one another: and there was given unto him a 
 great sword." 
 
 This is a symbol of war. We are now at a period 
 immediately preceding the destruction of Jerusa- 
 lem. It did seem just at this time that peace had 
 fled the earth. "Nero had perished; and first 
 Otho, then Vitellus, and then Vespatian each with 
 his influence setting the whole Roman empire into 
 conflicts. Army against army! These armies, 
 sometimes going forth in the interest of one claim- 
 ant to the imperial purple, would espouse the cause 
 of another on the eve of battle ; and thus like con- 
 tending wirids on a stormy sea they tore the empire 
 into factions and deluged the land with blood. 
 Then there was war between Jews and Romans, 
 between John of Giscala and Simon ; men should 
 slay one another in internecine and civil discord. 
 It was an epoch of massacres. There had been 
 massacres at Alexandria, massacres at Seleucia, 
 massacres at Jamnia, massacres at Damascus, mas- 
 sacres at Caesarea, massacres at Bedriacum. There 
 had been wars in Britain, wars in Armenia, wars 
 in Gaul, wars in Italy, wars in Arabia, wars in Par- 
 thia, wars in Judea. Disbanded soldiers and ma- 
 rauding troops filled the world with rapine, terror, 
 and massacre. The world was like an aceldama, 
 
172 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 or field of blood. The red horse and its rider are 
 but a visible image of the words of our Lord: 
 'For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom 
 against kingdom; ' and 'ye shall hear of wars and 
 rumors of wars/ which things ' are the beginnings 
 of sorrows.' ' This rider upon the red horse, as 
 well as all the others, is under the command of the 
 Messiah, who heads the list on his white horse. In 
 a word, it is Jesus now gone forth with all his in- 
 struments to judge and punish his people for their 
 rejection of him and all their added crimes. The 
 time had come for him to " break them with a rod 
 of iron," to "dash them in pieces as a potter's 
 vessel." 
 
 At the opening of the third seal the third living 
 creature shouted, " Come;" and there leaped forth 
 " a black horse ; and he that sat on him had a pair 
 of balances in his hand. And I heard a voice in 
 the midst of the four living creatures say, A meas- 
 ure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of 
 barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil 
 and the wine." 
 
 This is a symbol of famine. When Jerusalem 
 was besieged, there was an abundant supply of 
 corn; but the several parties in the city burned 
 these stores of corn and other provisions, thus, as 
 Josephus expresses it, "cutting off the nerves of 
 their own power." He also says: "Almost all the 
 corn was burned, which would have been sufficient 
 for a siege of many years. So they were taken by 
 the famine, which it was impossible they should 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 173 
 
 have been unless they had thus prepared the way 
 for it by this procedure." 
 
 Speaking of this famine, he says: " Many there 
 were, indeed, who sold what they had for one 
 measure. It was of wheat, if they were of the 
 richer sort; but of barley, if they were poorer. 
 . . A table was nowhere laid for a distinct 
 meal, but they snatched the bread out of the fire, 
 half-baked, and devoured it very hastily. It was 
 now a miserable case, and a sight that would justly 
 bring tears into your eyes, how men stood as to 
 their food. . . . Children pulled the very 
 morsels that their fathers were eating out of their 
 mouths; and, what was still more to be pitied, so 
 did the mothers do to their infants. And when 
 those that were most dear were perishing under 
 their hands, they were not ashamed to take from 
 them the very last drops that might preserve their 
 lives. . . . The old men who held their food 
 fast were beaten : and if the women hid what they 
 had within their hands, their hair was torn for so 
 doing. Nor was there any commiseration shown 
 either to the aged or to the infants ; but they lifted 
 up children from the ground as they hung upon the 
 morsels they had gotten, and shook them down 
 upon the floor. Moreover, their hunger was so in- 
 tolerable that it obliged them to chew every thing, 
 while they gathered and ate such things as the most 
 sordid animals would not touch ; nor did they at 
 length abstain from girdles and shoes; and the 
 very leather which belonged to their shields they 
 
174 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 pulled off and gnawed. Even whisps of old hay 
 became food to some, and some gathered up fibers 
 and sold a very small weight of them for four At- 
 tic drachmas [one shekel]." And yet, strange to 
 say, in Jerusalem, where such a famine at this time 
 prevailed, "John of Giscala and his zealots had ac- 
 cess to the sacred stores of wine and oil 'in the tem- 
 ple, and wasted it with reckless extravagance ; and 
 Simon's followers were even hindered from righting 
 by their perpetual drunkenness." 
 
 We are bold to say that this symbol can be ap- 
 plied to no other time or place than this memorable 
 siege of Jerusalem. As the coin to the die every 
 feature of it applies, and any attempt to apply this 
 seal to any other time or place can but be vain. 
 Let us in this, as in other things, apply the rules of 
 common sense and just interpretation, and be done 
 with the wild vagaries that have filled the world 
 with false doctrines. 
 
 "And when he had opened the fourth seal, I 
 heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, 
 Come. And I looked, and behold a pale horse: 
 and his name that sat on him was Death, and 
 Hell followed with him. And power was given 
 unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to 
 kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, 
 and with the beasts of the earth." 
 
 Here is a symbol with its very name announced. 
 The rider is Death, going forth with his four faith- 
 ful allies sword, famine, pestilence, and wild 
 beasts while Hell followed to garner the harvest 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 175 
 
 as it fell before these mighty reapers. Of course the 
 term "earth," as used here, as is often the case in 
 the Scriptures, refers to Palestine, that portion of 
 the earth being dealt with in the symbol. We have 
 no means of determining accurately as to the fourth 
 part, but f romthe massacres all over the land we are 
 fully persuaded that a full fourth of the Jews per- 
 ished. Josephus estimates the loss of life in Jerusa- 
 lem alone at 1,100,000, while multitudes perished in 
 other cities also : "At Alexandria, 50,000; at Cassa- 
 rea, 10,000; at Scythopolis, 13,000; at Damascus, 
 10,000; at Jotapata, 30,000." This list might be 
 multiplied almost indefinitely. " In every city 
 there were hostile armies, and there was no safety 
 for any one but in the strength of the party to 
 which he belonged. At Askelon, Ptolemais, Tyre, 
 Hippo, and Gadara the Jews were involved in one 
 general massacre," etc. (Jahn.) "And when in 
 A.D. 67 Vespasian swept through Galilee and Sa- 
 maria, and city after city fell before him, the 
 scenes of horror and carnage were fearful; the 
 merciless sword spared neither age nor sex; cities 
 were left without inhabitants." 
 
 The opening of the fifth seal is a very important 
 one, as it shows what has moved this conqueror to 
 " send forth his armies " for this work of death and 
 destruction. No lesson is more plainly taught in 
 the Scriptures than that God is moved by the 
 prayers of his people. Bearing on this very point 
 our Saviour spoke a parable to this end, that men 
 ought always to pray, and not to faint; and in the 
 
176 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 application of the parable he says: "And shall not 
 God avenge his own elect, which cry day and 
 night unto him, though he bear long with them? I 
 tell you that he will avenge them speedily." 
 
 Let us listen to the teaching of the fifth seal: 
 "And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw 
 under the altar the souls of them that were slain 
 for the word of God, and for the testimony which 
 they held: and they cried with a loud voice, say- 
 ing, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou 
 not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell 
 on the earth? And white robes were given unto 
 everyone of them; and it was said unto them, that 
 they should rest yet for a little season, until their 
 fellow-servants also and their brethren, that should 
 be killed as th^y were, should be fulfilled." 
 
 These souls of the martyrs were under or at the 
 foot of the altar praying to be avenged. They 
 had been slain for the word of God and for the 
 testimony which they held, slain for their very 
 righteousness. And their foes, encouraged by 
 their success in putting out of the way these good 
 men, were still at their bloody work. And these 
 martyrs, who knew that the promise had been given 
 that " He would avenge them speedily," were lift- 
 ing their cry, " How long, O Lord, holy and true, 
 dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them 
 that dwell on the earth?" White robes of victory, 
 as petitioners, were given unto every one of them, 
 and they were assured that as soon as a few more 
 of their fellow-servants should be killed, then he 
 would rise in vengeance against their enemies. 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 177 
 
 There were martyrs of that period. Jesus, in en- 
 couraging the Church at Pergamos, calls one of 
 these (Antipas) by name as a faithful martyr. 
 And it is folly to be looking along down the ages 
 for seasons of persecution to find the souls of those 
 under the altar. When the seal is opened, they 
 are seen. Having been slain before it, therefore it 
 cannot apply to those slain centuries afterward. 
 To suppose that they are souls to be slain centu- 
 ries afterward, "in the days of the Waldenses and 
 Albigenses, is simply to wrest the words from their 
 obvious sense and application, and force upon them 
 a meaning which could not have entered the mind 
 of John or of those whom he addressed. Such 
 methods of interpretation cannot be too severely 
 censured. They practically destroy all confidence 
 in prophecy by ignoring the legitimate principles 
 and laws of prophetic interpretation." 
 
 Giving John time to record the scenes revealed 
 under this seal, the Lamb proceeds to break an- 
 other. 
 
 "And I beheld when he had opened the sixth 
 seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and 
 the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and 
 the moon became as blood ; and the stars of heav- 
 en fell unto the earth, even as a fig-tree casteth her 
 untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. 
 And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is 
 rolled together; and every mountain and island 
 were moved out of their places. And the kings 
 of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, 
 12 
 
178 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and 
 every bond man, and every free man, hid them- 
 selves in the dens and in the rocks of the mount- 
 ains; and said to the mountains and rocks, Fall 
 on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth 
 on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: 
 for the great day of his wrath is come ; and \vho 
 shall be able to stand?" 
 
 The Lamb, at the foot of whose altar the souls 
 of the martyrs kneeled and prayed, now moves 
 heaven and earth with mighty convulsions as as- 
 surances that he has heard their prayers and " will 
 avenge them speedily." This is all symbolic lan- 
 guage, and we need not look for any facts or phe- 
 nomena in nature analogous to it. We need not 
 look for any special earthquake, no "dark day" 
 in the history of the ages, no showers of meteors, 
 or any thing of the kind. The time had come 
 when altar and temple should be thrown down; 
 and not only the Jewish Church, but the nation 
 itself was to fall under the shivering stroke of the 
 "rod of iron" in the hands of the angry Lamb, 
 whose precious blood had been trampled upon by 
 their unhallowed feet. The old city of Jerusalem, 
 that had become a Sodom, was to be removed to 
 give place to the new Jerusalem that should come 
 down from God out of heaven. 
 
 Paul refers to this in Hebrews xii. 22-29: " But 
 ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of 
 the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an 
 innumerable company of angels, to the general as- 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 179 
 
 sembly and Church of the First-born, which are 
 -written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and 
 to the spirits of just men made perfect, and to 
 Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the 
 blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things 
 than that of Abel. See that ye refuse not him that 
 speaketh : for if they escaped not who refused him 
 that spake on earth, much more shall not we es- 
 cape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from 
 heaven: whose voice then shook the earth: but 
 now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I 
 shake not the earth only, but also heaven. And 
 this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing 
 of those things that are shaken, as of things that 
 are made, that those things which cannot be shak- 
 en may remain. Wherefore we receiving a king- 
 dom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, 
 whereby we may serve God acceptably with rev- 
 erence and godly fear: for our God is a consum- 
 ing fire." Here the apostle shows that Christ will 
 remove the tottering Jewish Church and forever 
 establish the Christian Church. The civil and 
 ecclesiastical rulers, with all their officers and 
 priests, shall be swept away like the darkening of 
 the sun, turning the moon to blood, and the hurl- 
 ing down of the stars. 
 
 "And the heavens departed like a scroll when it 
 is rolled, together." Every vestige of the ceremo- 
 nial worship was to be rolled away. Isaiah, in 
 prophesying of this, says: " Thus saith the Lord, 
 The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my foot- 
 
180 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 stool: where is the house that ye build unto me? 
 and where is the place of my rest? For all those 
 things hath mine hand made, and all those things 
 have been, saith the Lord: but to this man will I 
 look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite 
 spirit, and trembleth at my word. He that killeth 
 an ox is as if he slew a man ; he that sacrificeth a 
 lamb, as if he cut off a dog's neck; he that offer- 
 eth an oblation, as if he offered swines' blood; he 
 that burneth incense, as if he blessed an idol. 
 Yea, they have chosen their own ways, and their 
 soul delighteth in their abominations." This shows 
 the utter abhorrence with which God will regard 
 the sacrifices that these Jews shall offer. The 
 great antitype had come ; and now he that should 
 still cling to these types and sacrifices, though 
 once acceptable to God, w r ould by them manifest 
 his unbelief in Christ the Lamb of God that had 
 been crucified among them, and hence God would 
 despise them. And as they persisted in offering 
 them, and in persecuting and murdering those who 
 did believe in Jesus, they were to be destroyed, 
 and with them every form of their religion. 
 
 Farther on in this same chapter he says, after 
 saying some comforting things concerning those 
 that " trembleth at his word:" "The hand of the 
 Lord shall be known toward his servants, and his 
 indignation toward his enemies. For, behold, the 
 Lord will come with fire, and with his chariots like 
 a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his 
 rebuke with flames of fire. For by fire and by his 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 181 
 
 sword will the Lord plead with all flesh: and the 
 slain of the Lord shall be many" The history of 
 this perioji shows that this was literally fulfilled 
 when all the land was filled with their dead bodies, 
 and the stench of their unburied carcasses bred 
 pestilence and plague that added to the awful list. 
 
 "And every mountain and island were moved 
 out of their places." So thorough should be the 
 work of the Lamb that Jewish ceremonies should 
 never be restored. Since that awful period, when 
 city and temple went down under the power of the 
 Lamb, no altar has ever been erected, and no sac- 
 rifice has ever been offered. The only notes heard 
 from Jewish lips in Jerusalem are the sad wailings 
 outside the walls. 
 
 The last words of the prophecy of, Isaiah, in the 
 chapter from which we have quoted, are: "And 
 it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to 
 another, and from one Sabbath to another, shall all 
 flesh come to worship before me, saith the Lord. 
 And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcasses 
 of the men that have transgressed against me : for 
 their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be 
 quenched ; and they shall be an abhorring unto all 
 flesh." The awful judgments that befell this peo- 
 ple are known by all flesh, and the just retribution 
 heaped upon them in their utter overthrow is looked 
 upon by all. There is no mitigation of their woes, 
 but they are scattered and torn and peeled. They 
 have been driven to the ends of the earth ; frag- 
 ments of them are found among all nations, and 
 
182 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 wherever they have gone they are looked upon as 
 a people cursed of God. " Their worm dieth not, 
 and their fire is not quenched." No wgnder that 
 "the kings of the earth, and the great men, and 
 the rich men, and the chief captains, and the 
 mighty men, and every bond man, and every free 
 man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks 
 of the mountains; and said to the mountains and 
 rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him 
 that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of 
 the Lamb : for the great day of his wrath is come ; 
 and who shall be able to stand? " 
 
 Kings, mighty men, captains, rich and poor, 
 bond and free, went down alike under the glitter- 
 ing sword of this Lamb of God, when he arose to 
 judgment; when Roman legions encompassed them 
 without, and internal discords, famine, and pesti- 
 lence rent and tore and withered them within. 
 When they despaired of life within the city, and 
 went to the Romans, the.y were crucified until, as 
 Josephus tells us, "So the soldiers, out of the 
 wrath and hatred they bore to the Jews, nailed 
 those they caught one after one wav? and another 
 after another to the crosses, by way of jest, 
 when their multitude was so great that room was 
 wanting for the crosses, and" crosses wanting for 
 bodies." What were the horrors within that could 
 induce people to go out among such merciless 
 fiends in human shape? Let us see. Josephus 
 says: "The citizens themselves were under terri- 
 ble consternation. The zealots agreed in nothing 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 183 
 
 but this: to kill those that were innocent. The 
 noise, also, of those that were fighting was inces- 
 sant, both by day and by night; but the lamentation 
 of those that mourned exceeded the other. Nor 
 was there any occasion to leave off their lamenta- 
 tion, because their calamities came perpetually one 
 upon another." And again: "The upper rooms 
 were full of women and children that were dying 
 of famine, and the lanes of the city were full of the 
 dead bodies of the aged. The children, also, and 
 the young men wandered about the market-places 
 like shadows, all swelled with the famine, and fell 
 down dead wheresoever their misery seized them. 
 As for burying them, those that were sick were 
 not able, and those that were well were deterred 
 from doing it by the great multitude of these dead 
 bodies, and by the uncertainty as to how soon they 
 should die themselves ; for many died as they were 
 burying others, and many went to their coffins be- 
 fore that fatal hour was come." No wonder they 
 called to the mountains and rocks to fall upon 
 them, and hide them from the wrath of the Lamb. 
 The next scene is one of deep interest. The 
 wrath of the Lamb is just ready to break upon the 
 guilty; but all over the land there are the righteous. 
 They are found even in the city of Jerusalem, that 
 second Sodom, upon which he is just ready to pour 
 his vengeful fires. Will the righteous perish with 
 the wicked? If not, how are they to be delivered? 
 John tells us: "And after these things I saw four 
 angels standing in the four corners of the earth, 
 
184 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind 
 should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor 
 on any tree. And I saw another angel ascending 
 from the east, having the seal of the living God: 
 and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, 
 to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, 
 saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the 
 trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God 
 in their foreheads. And I heard the number of 
 them which were sealed: and there were sealed a 
 hundred and forty and four thousand of all the 
 tribes of the children of Israel. Of the tribe of 
 Juda were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe 
 of Reuben were sealed twelve thousand. Of the 
 tribe of Gad were sealed twelve thousand. Of 
 the tribe of Aserwere sealed twelve thousand. Of 
 the tribe of Nephthalim were sealed twelve thou- 
 sand. Of the tribe of Manassas were sealed twelve 
 thousand. Of the tribe of Simeon were sealed 
 twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Levi were sealed 
 twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Issachar were 
 sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Zabulon 
 were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Jo- 
 seph were sealed twelve thousand." Of the tribe of 
 Benjamin were sealed twelve thousand. After this 
 I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man 
 could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and 
 people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and 
 before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and 
 palms in their hands; and cried with a loucj voice, 
 saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 185 
 
 the throne, and unto the Lamb. And all the an- 
 gels stood round about the throne, and about the 
 elders, and the four beasts, and fell before the 
 throne on their faces, and worshiped God, saying, 
 Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and 
 thanksgiving, and honor, and power, and might, be 
 unto our God forever and ever. Amen. And one of 
 the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these 
 which are arrayed in white robes ? and whence came 
 they? And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. 
 And he said to me, These are they which came 
 out of great tribulation, and have washed their 
 robes, and made them white in the blood of the 
 Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of 
 God, and serve him day and night in his tem- 
 ple : and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell 
 among them. They shall hunger no more, neither 
 thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on 
 them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in 
 the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall 
 lead them unto living fountains of water: and God 
 shall wipe away all tears from their eyes." 
 
 This scene follows immediately (meta tauta). 
 God intends to protect his people. Hence the four 
 angels, standing on the four corners of the earth, 
 hold back the winds until this protection is se- 
 cured. It is a remarkable fact that winds have 
 more to do with the destructive elements than any 
 thing else. It is the winds that form the tempests 
 in all their varied manifestations. They sweep the 
 earth in their destructive force; they lash the 
 
186 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 waves of the sea into billows of power, and hurl 
 them along with irresistible force. It is the winds 
 that bear the clouds along as war chariots of the 
 King of heaven. Their friction generates the 
 lightning's bolt, that leaps with the thunder's voice 
 on its mission of death. It is the winds that as a 
 mighty catapult hurl death-dealing hail-stones to 
 the earth ; hence they are symbolic of the mighty 
 agencies that the Lamb shall employ in displaying 
 his wrath on the guilty. 
 
 A distinguishing mark must be set upon God's 
 servants. An angel is seen ascending from the 
 east, having the seal of the living God. Jesus, 
 when he sent his disciples into all the world to 
 preach his gospel to every creature, said, "Who- 
 soever believeth and is baptized shall be saved." 
 This seal, then, is baptism, wherewith is written 
 the name of the " Father, and of the Son, and of 
 the Holy Ghost" on the forehead of him that be- 
 lieveth. This, then, is to be the sign to the de- 
 stroying angel to spare, just as the blood of the 
 paschal lamb, sprinkled on the door-posts and on 
 the lintels, was to be a sign to the destroying angel 
 in Egypt to pass over that house. Men might not 
 be able to read this wonderful name on the fore- 
 head of his servants, but those who were commis- 
 sioned to destroy could. Jesus refers to this same 
 scene in that wonderful prophecy that foretold the 
 destruction of Jerusalem. He said: "And he shall 
 send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, 
 and they shall gather together his elect from the 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 187 
 
 four winds, from one end of heaven to the 
 other." 
 
 As the disciples who were to go into all the world 
 to preach were to begin at Jerusalem, so this angel 
 begins his sealing among the Israelites. Round 
 numbers only are given, and for some reason 
 twelve is the number. There were twelve tribes, 
 as there were twelve apostles, and there were 
 twice twelve elders prominent in all these symbols. 
 So twelve thousand are announced for each of the 
 twelve tribes. Dan is omitted on account of his 
 idolatry. His tribe went almost wholly away from 
 God. Joseph has two, one in his own name and 
 one in Manassas's name. The patriarch, Jacob, 
 said to Joseph on his death-bed: "Moreover I 
 have given to thee one portion above thy brethren, 
 which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with 
 my sword and with my bow." 
 
 There were very many of the Jews that were 
 obedient to the faith. James said to Paul when 
 he went up to Jerusalem, " Thou seest, brother, 
 how many thousands [myriads, 10,000, as in the 
 margin] of Jews there are which believe;" and 
 there were converts among this people in all parts 
 of the land. Here a hundred and forty and four 
 thousand are mentioned as sealed, no doubt a defi- 
 nite for an indefinite number, as is frequently the 
 case in Scripture. In addition to these there were 
 a great multitude, which no man could number, of 
 Gentile converts. These were shouting: " Salva- 
 tion to our God which sitteth upon the throne, 
 
1 88 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 and unto the Lamb." When all the angels that 
 stood round about the throne, and the elders, and 
 the four living creatures heard it, they fell before 
 the throne in their joy, and worshiped, and said: 
 " Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiv- 
 ing, and honor, and power, and might, be unto our 
 God forever and ever. Amen." There was gen- 
 eral joy in earth and heaven. 
 
 One of the elders calls John's attention to this 
 countless multitude, and asks him who they are 
 and whence they came. John said: " Sir, thou 
 knowest." Then the elder told him they were 
 those that had stood the fires of persecution, and 
 had been washed in the blood of the Lamb, and 
 this entitled them to the special care and protec- 
 tion of God. This, too, is symbolic language. 
 These men were not in heaven; they were still 
 alive on earth, but under the special protection of 
 God and the Lamb. These, both Jews and Gen- 
 tiles, who had the seal of God in their foreheads 
 were to be as much protected on earth as if they 
 were in heaven. Jesus said: "But there shall not 
 a hair of your head perish." He gave his dis- 
 ciples the sign by which they should know of the 
 destruction and make their escape; and it is a 
 noted fact that all the Christians of Jerusalem did 
 escape to Pella, and not a single Christian perished 
 in that dreadful siege. And we have no reason to 
 think that he would be less careful of those in 
 other parts of the land, or those of other nations 
 who were recognized as his servants 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 189 
 
 With reference to the salvation of the Christians 
 at the siege of Jerusalem let us see the warning 
 and the escape. Jesus said: "When ye there- 
 fore shall see the abomination of desolation, 
 spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy 
 place, (whoso readeth, let him understand,) then 
 let them which be in Judea flee into the mount- 
 ains." Josephus tells us: "When Cestius Gallus 
 came with his army against Jerusalem, many fled 
 from the city as if it would be taken presently, and 
 after his retreat many of the noble Jews departed 
 out of the city, as out of a sinking ship : and a few 
 years afterward, when Vespasian was drawing his 
 forces toward Jerusalem, a great multitude fled 
 from Jericho into the mountainous country for 
 their security/' That some of these were Chris- 
 tians appears from Eusebius, who says: "The 
 whole body of the Church at Jerusalem, having 
 been commanded by a divine revelation, removed 
 from the city, and dwelt at a certain town beyond 
 the Jordan called Pella. Here those who believed 
 in Christ, having removed from Jerusalem, as if 
 holy men had entirely abandoned the royal city 
 itself, and the whole land of Judea, the divine 
 justice, for their crimes against Christ and his 
 apostles, finally overtook the Jews," etc. Thus 
 those of Israel that were sealed escaped. 
 
 The Gentiles were equally protected. Wher- 
 ever they were, God was among them. The Lamb 
 which is in the midst of the throne (the good Shep- 
 herd) fed and watered them; and God wiped 
 
190 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 away all tears from their eyes that is, the relig- 
 ion of Jesus gave them comfort in all the afflic- 
 tions of life. " Earth had no sorrow that God 
 could not heal." 
 
 We must ever remember that symbolic language 
 can never be interpreted literally. The prophets 
 of the Old Testament used just this class of sym- 
 bols in their writings. Isaiah, in prophesying 
 against Babylon, uses this language: "Behold, 
 the day of the Lord cometh, cruel both with wrath 
 and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he 
 shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it. For the 
 stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall 
 not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in 
 his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her 
 light to shine." And again: " Their slain also 
 shall be cast out, and their stink shall come up out 
 of their carcasses, and the mountains shall be melt- 
 ed with their blood. And all the hosts of heaven 
 shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled 
 together as a scroll: and all their host shall fall 
 down, as the leaf falleth off from the vine, and as 
 a falling fig from the fig-tree." 
 
 No one thinks of making this literal in its signi- 
 fication. We might multiply these passages almost 
 indefinitely. We will take but one more, and take 
 that because of its known use. It is found in Joel, 
 and is quoted by Peter on the day of Pentecost: 
 "And on my servants and on my handmaidens I 
 will pour out in those days of my Spirit ; and they 
 shall prophesy: And I will show wonders in 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 191 
 
 the heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; 
 blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke: the sun 
 shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into 
 blood, before that great and notable day of the 
 Lord come." 
 
 Every one knows that this was not literally ful- 
 filled. The sun was not really darkened, nor did 
 the moon turn to blood before the day of Pente- 
 cost. But a great change was to be made in the 
 Church of God and in its operations. Jewish 
 sacrifices were to cease to be offered, and the tem- 
 ple services to close. Christ, the great High Priest, 
 was to enter into heaven, the true tabernacle, and 
 there, in the presence of God, to offer the blood 
 that he, as the Lamb of God, had shed on the al- 
 tar of the cross; and fresh heralds were to be sent 
 out into all the world to preach the gospel to every 
 creature, and it must be made manifest that this 
 change was wrought of God. The first, or Mosaic, 
 dispensation, was established amid the blackness 
 and darkness and tempest that rested upon Mount 
 Sinai. Every supernatural evidence that was nec- 
 essary was given, that men might know that God 
 did it. Now when a radical change is to take 
 place, there are signs not only on earth, but in 
 heaven. All understood the figurative nature of 
 this language, and the pouring out of God's Spirit 
 and the gift of tongues that was bestowed satisfied 
 all who believed in Jesus that the prophecy was 
 fulfilled. Peter did not go into any elaborate ex- 
 planation of the symbol, for he knew that his hear- 
 
192 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 ers were familiar with just such expressions in their 
 prophets ; in fact, that their writings abounded in 
 them. 
 
 It was the constant custom of Jesus to use sym- 
 bolic language. Who would take as literal such 
 an expression as this: "Except ye eat my flesh 
 and drink my blood, ye have no life 'in you?" 
 and again, " Destroy this temple, and in three days 
 I will raise it up? " One great error in many ex- 
 pounders of these prophecies is that they are hunt- 
 ing for a literal fulfillment of things that are only 
 symbolical. 
 
 "And when he had opened the seventh seal, 
 there was silence in heaven about the space of half' 
 an hour. And I saw the seven angels which stood 
 before God ; and to them were given seven trump- 
 ets. And another angel came and stood at the al- 
 tar, having a golden censer; and there was given 
 unto him much incense, that he should offer it with 
 the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which 
 was before the throne. And the smoke of the in- 
 cense, which came with the prayers of the saints, 
 ascended up before God out of the angel's hand." 
 
 Upon the opening of this seal, which was to re- 
 veal so many and such awful woes, there was si- 
 lence in heaven about the space of half an hour. 
 This betokens the reluctance of God in letting fall 
 the long-suspended blow. God has sworn, "As I 
 live, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked ;" 
 and while it was but just that this blow should fall, 
 and God avenge his people, yet God had no pleas- 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 193 
 
 ure in it. The calamities revealed under this seal 
 are presented more in detail and are more elaborate 
 than any of the preceding. The seven angels 
 which stand before God are given each a trumpet, 
 symbols of war. The Jews were familiar with this : 
 "If ye go to war in your land against the enemy 
 that oppresseth you, then ye shall blow an alarm 
 with the trumpets." These trumpets were to sound 
 the alarm of war ; but before they sound one other 
 fact must be made manifest, and that is that God 
 associates his people with him. He requires them 
 to ask what they want. As Jesus said, " Men ought 
 always to pray, and not to faint." The adversaries 
 of the Church were oppressing them, and hinder- 
 ing the work of God. We have seen that the souls 
 of the martyrs under the altar were pleading, and 
 now we have the saints on earth adding their 
 prayers. An "angel stood at the altar, having a 
 golden censer; and there was given unto him 
 much incense, that he should offer it with the 
 prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which 
 was before the throne." After this " the angel 
 took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, 
 and cast it into the earth: and there were voices, 
 and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earth- 
 quake," a token that God was moving speedily in 
 answer to their prayers. This was but the prelude, 
 but the sound of the moving armies of Jehovah 
 preparing for the battle. The marshaling hosts 
 were forming in line, and the very earth trembles 
 beneath their tread. It is the brink of the storm 
 13 
 
194 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 that is soon to burst in all its fury. The gleam of 
 the lightnings, and the distant roll of the thunders 
 tell that the elements of destruction are moving on 
 
 O 
 
 the devoted land. 
 
 "The first angel sounded" his trumpet blast, 
 and at once " there followed hail and fire mingled 
 
 o 
 
 with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: 
 and the third part of trees \vere burnt up, and 
 all green grass' was burnt up." This is one of the 
 first effects of war. The trees round about Jeru- 
 salem were destroyed for many miles, to build 
 banks (as they w r ere called) against the wall. Jo- 
 sephus tells us: "For all the trees that were about 
 the city had been already cut down, for the erec- 
 tion of the former banks. Yet did the soldiers 
 bring with them other materials from the distance 
 of ninety furlongs" (a little more than eleven 
 miles). 
 
 The Romans had an immense number of horses 
 besides the flocks and herds necessary to feed so 
 large an army. These would destroy the grass. 
 This was a symbol of this first effect of war. But 
 even this first chapter in the great drama was not 
 without bloodshed and death, as indicated by the 
 hail and fire mingled with blood. It also indicates 
 that it comes from God. The Psalmist says : * ' De- 
 liver my soul from the wicked, which is thy sword" 
 While the Romans were going according to the 
 dictates of their own will, God was using them for 
 the destruction of the foes of his people, and in an- 
 swer to their prayers and the prayers of the martyrs. 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 195 
 
 When the second angel sounded, "a great 
 mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea : 
 and the third part of the sea became blood: and 
 the third part of the creatures which were in the 
 sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the 
 ships were destroyed." This symbolized the effects 
 of this war upon the sea. "At Joppa eighty-four 
 hundred had been slain by Cestius and the city 
 burned; but a number of fugitives had ensconced 
 themselves in the ruins, and were living by piracy 
 and brigandage. These Jews fled to their ships 
 before the advance of the Roman soldiers. Next 
 morning a storm burst on them, and after a fright- 
 ful scene of despair forty-two hundred were 
 drowned, and their corpses were washed upon the 
 shore. Tarichenge was a strongly fortified city on 
 the shores of Lake Tiberias. It was taken by Ti- 
 tus, and six thousand Jews dyed with their blood 
 the waters of that crystal sea." The burning 
 mountain cast into the sea showed that there was 
 no more hope of escape when God arose to judg- 
 ment than there would be for ships to escape were 
 a burning mountain literally hurled into the sea 
 amid those ships. 
 
 "And the third angel sounded, and there fell a 
 great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, 
 and it fell upon a third part of the rivers, and upon 
 the fountains of waters ; and the name of the star 
 is called Wormwood : and the third part of the wa- 
 ters became wormwood; and many men died of 
 the waters, because they were made bitter." Bit- 
 
196 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 ter was their experience in coming to their death. 
 This was to show that no part of the land was to 
 escape. The hail and fire fell upon the earth, the 
 burning mountain upon the sea, and the star on the 
 rivers and fountains of water. 
 
 Now the "fourth angel sounded, and the third 
 part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of 
 the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the 
 third part of them was darkened, and the day 
 shone not for a third part of it, and the night like- 
 wise," All nature was arrayed against these ene- 
 mies of God and his people. In all these symbols 
 a third part is affected, a definite for an indefinite 
 number; and yet about one-third of the nation mis- 
 erably perished in this war, so that the proportion 
 was not far wrong. 
 
 This also corresponds precisely with Ezekiel's 
 prediction of this same event, as recorded in the 
 fifth chapter of his prophecy. The command 
 conies to him to take a sharp knife, to take a bar- 
 ber's razor, and cause it to pass upon his head and 
 upon his beard. Then he was to take this hair 
 and divide it into three parts. A third part he was 
 to burn in the fire in the midst of the city, when 
 the days of the siege were fulfilled; a third part he 
 was to smite about with a knife ; and a third part 
 to scatter in the wind. He was also to bind a few 
 in number in his skirts. The revealing spirit then 
 tells him: "A third part of thee shall die with the 
 pestilence, and with famine shall they be consumed 
 in the midst of thee : and a third part shall fall by the 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 197 
 
 sword round about thee ; and I will scatter a third 
 part into all the winds, and I will draw out a sword 
 after them." The same spirit that revealed this to 
 Ezekiel revealed it to John, only under different 
 symbols. 
 
 The whole land was deluged in blood. No 
 place was safe, either on sea or land, and no na- 
 tion ever suffered more bitterly. Jesus, speaking 
 of this very time, says: " For then shall be great 
 tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of 
 the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be." 
 When every feature of these symbols fits with ac- 
 curacy the circumstances of this war especially 
 when Jesus said, " Verily I say unto you, this gen- 
 eration shall not pass, till all these things be ful- 
 filled " why should we labor to make them cover 
 facts occurring hundreds of years subsequent and 
 in countries far distant? 
 
 Here was a pause in the sounding of the trump- 
 ets for a startling announcement. John says: 
 "And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through 
 the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, 
 Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by 
 reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the 
 three angels, which are yet to sound!' 1 Under 
 these three woe-trumpets, as they have been 
 called, they were to reach the culmination of this 
 dreadful war. The scenes enacted especially in 
 Jerusalem as the mighty conqueror struck the 
 final blow were so terrific that heaven shuddered, 
 and an angel was sent to prepare men for it by his 
 
198 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 dreadful cry of " Woe, woe, woe." But the Al- 
 mighty arm must let the lifted thunder drop, though 
 all earth should shudder at the effect of its fall. 
 
 "And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star 
 fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was 
 given the key of the bottomless pit. . . . And 
 there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke 
 of a great furnace ; and the sun and the air were 
 darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit. And 
 there came out of the smoke locusts upon the 
 earth: and unto them was given power, as the 
 scorpions of the earth have power. And it was 
 commanded them that they should not hurt the 
 grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither 
 any tree; but only those men which have not the 
 seal of God in their foreheads. And to them it 
 was given that they should not kill them, but that 
 they should be tormented five months: and their 
 torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he 
 striketh a man. And in those days shall men seek 
 death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, 
 and death shall flee from them. And the shapes 
 of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto 
 battle ; and on their heads were as it were crowns 
 like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men. 
 And they had hair as the hair of women, and their 
 teeth were as the teeth of lions. And they had 
 breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron: and 
 the sound of their wings was as the sound of char- 
 iots of many horses running to battle. And they 
 had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 199 
 
 in their tails : and their power was to hurt men five 
 months. And they had a king over them, which is 
 the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the 
 Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek 
 tongue hath his name Apollyon. One woe is past; 
 and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter." 
 This star was an intelligent being, an angel. He 
 comes to open the bottomless pit and turn loose 
 upon the Jews this awful scourge. The fact that 
 the locusts were commanded to hurt " only those 
 men which have not the seal of God in their fore- 
 heads ' ' connects this woe with the seals, and makes 
 it all one. It forever crushes those wild, visionary 
 interpretations that string these seals and trumpets 
 along down the ages, locating some in one and 
 some in another country. The unity of this book 
 is wonderful, and yet no book ever written has suf- 
 fered more dismemberment than it. These locusts 
 are symbolical of the several parties in the heart of 
 Jerusalem, that agreed in nothing else but in tor- 
 menting each other. They acted as demons from 
 the pit. Language fails to picture their cruelty and 
 villainy. Hear what Josephus says of them: "And 
 here I cannot but speak my mind, and what the 
 concern I am under dictates to me. I suppose 
 that had the Romans made any longer delay in 
 coming against these villains, that the city would 
 either have been swallowed up by the ground open- 
 ing under them, or been overflowed by water, or 
 else been destroyed by such thunder as the coun- 
 try of Sodom perished by. For it had brought 
 
2OO The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 forth a generation of men much more atheistical 
 than were those that suffered such punishment. 
 For by their madness it was that all the people 
 came to be destroyed." 
 
 "And in those days shall men seek death, and 
 shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death 
 shall flee from them." Moses said of this very pe- 
 riod: "And thy life shall hang in doubt before thee; 
 and thou shalt fear day and night, and shalt have 
 none assurance of thy life: in the. morning thou 
 shalt say, Would God it were even ! and at even 
 thou shalt say, Would God it were morning! " 
 Jesus says: "There shall be great distress in the 
 land, and wrath upon this people. . . . Upon 
 the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the 
 sea and the waves roaring; men's hearts failing 
 them for fear, and for looking after those things 
 which are coming on the earth : for the powers of 
 heaven shall be shaken." 
 
 The descriptions of the locusts are remarkable : 
 " Their faces were as the faces of men. And they 
 had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were 
 as the teeth of lions." One paragraph from Jo- 
 sephus fixes this symbol inevitably upon John and 
 his followers during the siege: "For these Galile- 
 ans had advanced this John, and made him very 
 potent; who made them a suitable requital from 
 the authority he had obtained by their means, for 
 he permitted them to do all things that any of them 
 desired. While their inclination to plunder was 
 insatiable as was their zeal in searching the homes 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 201 
 
 of the rich, and for the murdering of the men and 
 abusing of the women, it was sport to them they 
 also devoured what spoils they had taken, together 
 with their blood, and indulged themselves in femi- 
 nine wantonness, without any disturbance, till they 
 were satiated therewith. While they decked their 
 hair, and put on women's garments, and were be- 
 smeared over with ointments, that they might ap- 
 pear very comely, they had paints under their eyes 
 and were guilty of such intolerable uncleanness 
 that they invented unlawful pleasures and rolled 
 themselves up and down the city as in a brothel 
 house, and defiled it entirely with their impure ac- 
 tions. Nay, while their faces looked like the faces 
 of women, they killed with their right hands; and 
 when their gait was effeminate, they presently at- 
 tacked men and became warriors, and drew their 
 swords from under their finely dyed cloaks, and 
 ran everybody through whom they met with. 
 However, Simon waited for such as ran away 
 from John, and was the more sanguinary of the 
 two; and he who escaped the tyrant within the 
 wall was destroyed by the other that day before the 
 gates." 
 
 No wonder they were likened to scorpions, and 
 that they had power to hurt men. Five months is 
 the normal life-period of the locusts; hence they 
 have power to hurt men all the period of their life. 
 While these destroying, tormenting agents seemed 
 to be free, yet they were under the control of a su- 
 perintending power; and that king was the angel 
 
2O2 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 of the bottomless pit, who was sent out under the 
 direction of the Lamb. This angel's name Abad- 
 don or Apollyon means " destroyer." Whether 
 this angel was a spirit of good or of evil, he was 
 nevertheless under the immediate direction of the 
 Almighty. It was only as God ordered that he 
 could act. 
 
 "One woe is past. . . . And the sixth angel 
 sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns 
 of the golden altar which is before God, saying to 
 the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the 
 four angels which are bound in the great river Eu- 
 phrates. And the four angels were loosed, which 
 were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a 
 month, and a year, for to slay the third part of 
 men. And the number of the army of the horse- 
 men were two hundred thousand thousand: and I 
 heard the number of them. And thus I saw the 
 horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, 
 having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and 
 brimstone : and the heads of the horses were as the 
 heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire 
 and smoke and brimstone. By these three was the 
 third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the 
 smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of 
 their mouths. For their power is in their mouth, 
 and in their tails : for their tails were like unto ser- 
 pents, and had heads, and with them they do hurt. 
 And the rest of the men which were not killed by 
 these plagues yet repented not of the works of 
 their hands, that they should not worship devils, 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 203 
 
 and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, 
 and of wood ; which neither can see, nor hear, nor 
 walk: neither repented they of their murders, nor 
 of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of 
 their thefts." 
 
 Some six hundred and eighty years before this 
 time the Chaldeans, like a mighty scourge, had 
 come from the banks of the Euphrates, taken Je- 
 rusalem, destroyed the temple, and carried Israel 
 away into captivity. Now they are used as a sym- 
 bol for the present destruction. From the four 
 horns of the golden altar comes the voice to the 
 sixth angel, commanding him to loose the four an- 
 gels which are bound in the great river Euphrates. 
 This command is the result of the prayers that have 
 gone up from- this golden altar. When atonement 
 was made, each horn of the altar was sprinkled with 
 blood. Through the blood of the Lamb these 
 prayers have been offered, and they prevailed. 
 The barrier, such as a great river, is removed, 
 and these avenging powers represented by the four 
 angels come unhindered to their work of destruc- 
 tion. The time " an hour, and a day, and a 
 month, and a year" given them in which to 
 " slay the third part of men" would indicate -that the 
 slaughter would not be alone at the final scene, 
 when the city should fall into their hands; but 
 from the time they encompassed the city their work 
 should begin, and hour after hour, day by day, 
 month by month, and year by year, through this 
 fearful war the slaughter should go on. This was 
 
204 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 literally fulfilled. Long before the investing army 
 reached the carcass, John and Simon and Eleazar, 
 like dogs of war, were tearing and slaying their 
 fellow-countrymen in a manner never known be- 
 fore in the history of war. We see the force of 
 this symbol of the Chaldeans in the fact recorded 
 by Josephus of the destruction of the temple: 
 " However, one cannot but wonder at the accuracy 
 of this period thereto relating. For the same 
 month and day were now observed, as I said be- 
 fore, wherein the holy house was burned formerly 
 by the Babylonians." 
 
 The number of the horses is given, and is amaz- 
 ing " two hundred thousand thousand " enough 
 to eat up the " third part of the green grass." But 
 these horses were symbolic, and every thing about 
 them betokened their terrific power for destruc- 
 tion. Their riders were clad in "breastplates of 
 fire, and of jacinth and brimstone," while they 
 themselves had heads like lions, and out of their 
 mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone. 
 "Their tails were like unto serpents, and had 
 heads, and with them they do hurt." Of course 
 this was not literal, but was intended to show the 
 power for injury that God's avenging army had. 
 Again we have that " third part of men killed." 
 
 "History tells us that fifteen strong cities of Gal- 
 ilee were carried by storm, and the masses of men, 
 women, and children butchered; that about three 
 millions of Jews, convened for their great annual 
 passover, were crowded within the walls of Jeru- 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 205 
 
 salem when the Roman legions invested the city 
 and shut them in; and that when the city fell 
 scarcely so many thousand escaped famine, pes- 
 tilence, conflagration, their own sword, and the 
 Roman sword, had combined their powers of tort- 
 ure and death to make this scene a climax of hor- 
 rors." As has been said of these three millions, 
 one million one hundred thousand perished. 
 
 For all these plagues, for all this suffering " the 
 rest of the men which were not killed by these 
 plagues yet repented not of the works of their 
 hands," etc. In all the history of this period we 
 hear not a note of repentance. Not a soul returns 
 to God or calls upon him for mercy. But, throw- 
 ing the reins of their mad passions upon the neck 
 of lust for rapine and murder, they rush upon the 
 thick basses of Jehovah's buckler as if they court- 
 ed death. Men, bowing under the hand of fam- 
 ine, staggered from house to house, and robbed 
 the inhabitants of their gold as greedily as if the 
 fires of war were not burning all around them, and 
 death was not the most common scene of every 
 day's occurrence. 
 
 That they " neither repented of their murders, 
 nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor 
 of their thefts," hear what Josephus tells us just 
 before the city fell: " But as for John, when he 
 could no longer plunder the people, he betook 
 himself to sacrilege, and melted down many of the 
 sacred utensils, which had been given to the tern- 
 pie." 
 
206 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 In the last sad scene, when pools of blood lay 
 all over the marble floor of the temple, and tor- 
 rents of blood in many places extinguished the 
 fires, when the Roman soldiers themselves were 
 weary of killing men, Josephus says: "The sol- 
 'diers also came to the rest of the cloisters that were 
 in the outer court of the temple ; whither the wom- 
 en and children, and a mixed multitude of the peo- 
 ple fled, in number about six thousand. But before 
 Csesar [Titus] had determined any thing about 
 these people, or given the commanders any orders 
 relating to them, the soldiers were in such a rage 
 that they set that cloister on fire. By which means 
 some of these were destroyed by throwing them- 
 selves down headlong; and some were burned in 
 the cloisters themselves. Nor did any of them 
 escape with their lives. A false -prophet was the 
 occasion of these people's destruction; who had 
 made a public proclamation in the city that very 
 day that God commanded them to get up upon the 
 temple, and that there they should receive mirac- 
 ulous signs of deliverance. Now there was then 
 a great number of false prophets suborned by the 
 tyrants to impose upon the people." But this is 
 enough to show the fulfillment of this part of this 
 symbol. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 The Angel with the Little Book The Temple and Altar Meas- 
 uredThe Two Witnesses The Third Woe. 
 
 " A ND I saw another mighty angel come down 
 ** from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a 
 rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it 
 were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire: and 
 he had in his hand a little book open: and he set 
 his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the 
 earth, and cried with a loud voice, as when a lion 
 roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders 
 uttered their voices. And when the seven thun- 
 ders had uttered their voices, I was about to write: 
 and I heard a voice from lieaven saying unto me, 
 Seal up those things which the seven thunders ut- 
 tered, and write them not. And the angel which 
 I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted 
 up his hand to heaven, and sware by him that liv- 
 eth forever and ever, who created heaven, and the 
 things that therein are, and the earth, and the 
 things that therein are, and the sea, and the things 
 which are therein, that there should be time no 
 longer: but in the days of the voice of the seventh 
 angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery 
 of God should be finished, as he hath declared to 
 his servants the prophets. And the voice which I 
 heard from heaven spake unto me again, and said, 
 Go and take the little book which is open in the 
 
 (207) 
 
208 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 hand of the angel which standeth upon the sea and 
 upon the earth. And I went unto the angel, and 
 said unto him, Give me the little book. And he 
 said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall 
 make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth 
 sweet as honey. And I took the little book out of 
 the angel's hand, and ate it up; and it was in my 
 mouth sweet as honey: and as soon as I had eaten 
 it, my belly was bitter. And he said unto me, 
 Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, 
 and nations, and tongues, and kings." 
 
 The first thing to be determined is : Who is this 
 angel? We have no hesitancy in saying that it is 
 Jesus himself. The description is almost identical 
 with that of Jesus in the first chapter. The care- 
 ful Bible reader need not be told that the term is 
 more than once applied to Jesus in the Old Testa- 
 ment. The reader must not think that all the 
 scenes portrayed in the preceding chapters have 
 been enacted. Only the revelation of them has 
 been made. Now the hour comes for their fulfill- 
 ment. The seals have all been broken, the con- 
 tents noted, and now the angel comes down to 
 earth with the book open; and, setting his feet 
 upon sea and land, he announces his presence by 
 a loud cry that startles the seven thunders. These 
 thunders syllabled some great fact, which John was 
 about to record, but is commanded not to do so. 
 The next verses reveal the reason. The angel, in 
 the most solemn manner, swears that time shall be 
 no longer. Not that time is to end and eternity 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 209 
 
 begin, but the time for his judgments to begin was 
 at hand. No more delay. The judgments uttered 
 by these seven thunders will follow immediately, 
 and they will be known in their fulfillment. So 
 near is the cloud of wrath that the lightning's flash 
 and thunder's peal are simultaneous. 
 
 But while the things that are to befall the Jews 
 are at hand, yet there are other things of equal 
 importance that lie in the future. Of these John 
 must be apprised. Hence the voice " spake unto 
 him again, and said, Go and take the little book 
 which is open in the hand of the angel which 
 standeth upon the sea and upon the earth." He 
 went and asked for it. It was given with the com- 
 mand to take it and eat it up that is, thoroughly 
 digest its contents. He did so, and found that it 
 was in his mouth sweet as honey, but in his belly 
 it was bitter. 
 
 The other great persecuting power of the Chris- 
 itan Church, pagan Rome, was to be destroyed, 
 and the knowledge of this fact was sweet; yet the 
 fearful calamities and the human suffering that were 
 to befall them was bitter. It was glorious to have 
 the yoke of their oppressor broken, but the suffer- 
 ing entailed upon even their enemies could not but 
 pain the heart. 
 
 When the book was eaten, the angel announced 
 to him that he must prophesy again before many 
 peoples, etc. 
 
 Under Jewish law, when a criminal was executed, 
 the witnesses, of which there must be at least two, 
 14 
 
2io The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 were to strike the first blow. Here is the law: 
 "At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, 
 shall he that is worthy of death be put to death; 
 but at the mouth of one witness he shall not be put 
 to death. The hands of the witnesses shall be first 
 upon him to put him to death." The Jewish na- 
 tion was to die at the hands of God, but before the 
 execution the witnesses are to be summoned. 
 
 The first announcement is: " There was given 
 me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, 
 saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and 
 the altar, and them that worship therein. But the 
 court which is without the temple leave out, and 
 measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: 
 and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty 
 and two months." This measuring is for judgment. 
 In Isaiah xxviii. 17, 18, we have the language: 
 " Judgment will I lay to the line, and righteousness 
 to the plummet : and the hail shall sweep away the 
 refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the 
 hiding-place. And your covenant with death shall 
 be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall 
 not stand ; when the overflowing scourge shall pass 
 through, then ye shall be trodden down by it." 
 Here God with his line and plummet measures 
 them for the destruction that is to follow. So the 
 temple, the altar, and the people that worship 
 therein are measured for destruction; and, while 
 the court of the Gentiles is excluded, the holy city 
 is to be trodden under foot forty and two months. 
 
 There was never a time in the history of the Jew- 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 21 1 
 
 ish nation so terrible as that three and a half years 
 (forty-two months) in which he took away the daily 
 sacrifice, desecrated and profaned all the sacred 
 vessels of the sanctuary. So this period is used 
 symbolically to represent that. Used as a symbol, 
 it was not necessary that the sufferings of this pe- 
 riod should measure up to the exact time, though 
 it is thought by some that this was the case.. The 
 language here is similar to that used by Jesus when 
 speaking of the same thing: "And Jerusalem shall 
 be trodden down of the Gentiles." The language 
 used in this symbol fixes Jerusalem unmistakably 
 as the place. It was called "holy city," and 
 "the temple of God" was found nowhere else. 
 Then the "court which is without the temple" 
 given to the "Gentiles " is another strong pointer 
 in this direction. Nowhere else is such a court 
 found. The temple, altar, and people being meas- 
 ured for destruction, God summons his two wit- 
 nesses. 
 
 " I will give power unto my two witnesses, and 
 they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and 
 threescore days, clothed in sackcloth." Here is 
 the three years and a half, lacking only fifteen 
 days, spoken of before. Thus these witnesses 
 are to stand by during the entire time of the ex- 
 ecution. " These are the two olive-trees, and the 
 two candlesticks standing before the God of the 
 earth." 
 
 The question may be asked : ' * Who are these two 
 witnesses? " They are only symbols of the " souls 
 
212 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 of them that were slain for the word of God, and 
 for the testimony which they held," and of " all 
 the saints" whose prayers were offered with the 
 incense that rose from the golden altar which was 
 before the throne the martyrs and the living 
 saints who were still suffering persecutions. These 
 were men who had been converted to God through 
 the agency of the Holy Spirit. Hence they are 
 called in the symbol "the two olive-trees, and the 
 two candlesticks standing before the God of the 
 earth," referred to in Zechariah iv. The angel 
 that talked to him asked him: " Knowest thou not 
 w r hat these be? And I said, No, my lord. Then he 
 answered and 'spake unto me, saying, This is the 
 word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by 
 might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the 
 Lord of hosts." It w r as, then, a religion wrought 
 in the heart by the power of the Holy Spirit, through 
 the preaching of the word. This is just the relig- 
 ion of Jesus, as taught in every part of the New 
 Testament. Then we repeat that these two wit- 
 nesses are symbols of the martyrs and saints of 
 Jesus who stood firm for his faith. These faithful 
 witnesses stood by their testimony while the execu- 
 tioners of God's judgments poured out the wrath 
 of God upon this people whose hands were red 
 with the blood of his saints. 
 
 "And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth 
 out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: 
 and if any man will hurt them, he must in this 
 manner be killed." 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 213 
 
 Again we must say that this is not literal, but is 
 only intended to show that God's fires of judgment 
 then falling upon them was because the testimony 
 of their mouth was condemning them. God was 
 calling the world to listen to the testimony of these 
 two witnesses, as he dealt the death-blow to these 
 criminals. 
 
 " These have power to shut heaven, that it rain 
 not in the days of their prophecy: and have power 
 over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the 
 earth with all plagues, as often as they will." 
 
 Elijah prayed, and it rained not for the space of 
 three years and six months. This miracle of shutting 
 the heaven was wrought to convince wicked Ahab 
 and idolatrous Israel of their sins. So these wit- 
 nesses are sent for the purpose of convincing this 
 wicked and adulterous generation of their sins. 
 Moses turned water to blood, and smote the earth 
 with plagues to convince Pharaoh and his people 
 of their sins. So of these. 
 
 But, righteous as they are, this does not prevent 
 the devil from killing them; for it is said: "And 
 when they shall have finished their testimony, the 
 beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall 
 make war against them, and shall overcome them, 
 and kill them. And their dead bodies shall lie in 
 the street of the great city, which spiritually is 
 called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord 
 was crucified." God shields them until their tes- 
 timony is finished. * ' They are immortal until their 
 work is done ; " then Satan for this is the same 
 
214 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 " great red dragon, the old serpent called the devil 
 and Satan," spoken of in the next chapter over- 
 comes them and kills them. The great indignity 
 heaped upon them is indicated by the fact that their 
 dead bodies are suffered to lie three days and a 
 half unburied in the streets of the great city. 
 
 In some respects this is one of the most impor- 
 tant verses in this vision, for it locates beyond a 
 peradventure the -place where these judgments take 
 place. It is " the great city which spiritually is 
 called Sodom and Egypt, -where also our Lord was 
 crucified '." Isaiah calls Jerusalem Sodom in the 
 first chapter of his prophecy. It was a spiritual 
 Sodom; and on account of the manner in which 
 they hardened their hearts it is called Egypt; but, 
 to settle the matter forever, it is called the place 
 " where our Lord was crucified." No other place 
 on earth can lay claim to this crowning act of in- 
 iquity but Jerusalem. It would seem that God, to 
 forestall such wild and visionary interpretations as 
 are given of this wonderful revelation, dropped for 
 a moment the figurative, and used literal language. 
 It would seem that Jesus was recalling his own ex- 
 pression, used while here on earth with reference 
 to this wicked city. When certain Pharisees said 
 to him, " Get theeout, and depart hence; for Her- 
 od will kill thee," he replied: "I must walk to- 
 day, and to-morrow, and the day following: for it 
 cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem. 
 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the proph- 
 ets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 215 
 
 often would I have gathered thy children together, 
 even as a hen doth gather her brood under her 
 wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is 
 left unto you desolate." 
 
 Here Jesus declares that he must "walk to-day, 
 and to-morrow, and the day following," intimating 
 that in the midst of the fourth day he would perish 
 under the hands of the citizens of Jerusalem. 
 Here is the three days and a half to which this 
 symbol, in part no doubt, refers. While the blood 
 of her prophets and apostles was calling loudly for 
 vengeance, the blood of Jesus came in for its share. 
 When on his way to the cross the women bewailed 
 and lamented him, he turned and said: " Daugh- 
 ters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for 
 yourselves, and for your children. For, behold, 
 the days are coming, in the which they shall say, 
 Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never 
 bare, and the paps which never gave suck. Then 
 shall they begin to say to the mountains, Fall on 
 us ; and to the hills, Cover us. For if they do these 
 things in a green tree, what shall be done in the 
 dry?" It does seem that every ray of prophecy 
 on this subject turns in one burning focus upon this 
 devoted city. And how men can apply these sym- 
 bols to distant ages and different places is more 
 than I can see. 
 
 "And they of the people and kindred and tongues 
 and nations shall see their dead bodies three days 
 and a half, and shall not suffer thieir dead bodies 
 to be put in graves. And they that dwell upon the 
 
2i6 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and 
 shall send gifts one to another; because these two 
 prophets tormented them that dwelt on the earth. 
 And after three days and a half the Spirit of life 
 from God entered into them, and they stood upon 
 their feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw 
 them." 
 
 Here is exultation over the fall of these saints. 
 They felt when they had slain them as the rulers 
 of the Jews felt when they succeeded in crucifying 
 Jesus, and their joy was as short. It was the 
 prayers of the souls of the dead martyrs and his 
 persecuted saints that moved God to vengeance. 
 
 "And they heard a great voice from heaven say- 
 ing unto them, Come up hither. And they as- 
 cended up to heaven in a cloud; and their enemies 
 beheld them." 
 
 This is symbolical of the fact that these wit- 
 nesses were called immediately before the king to 
 testify as to the conduct of their foes. There is 
 an allusion to these witnesses, and the judgment 
 that is to fall upon those against whom they testify, 
 in Hebrews x. 28-31: " He that despised Moses' 
 law died without mercy under two or three wit- 
 nesses: of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, 
 shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden un- 
 der foot the Son of God, and hath counted the 
 blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, 
 an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the 
 Spirit of grace? For we know him that hath said, 
 Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 217 
 
 saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge 
 his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the 
 hands of the living God." This is so plain that it 
 needs no comment. 
 
 And now conies the final scene, the last blow: 
 "And the same hour was there a great earthquake, 
 and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earth- 
 quake were slain of men seven thousand : and the 
 remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the 
 God of heaven. The second woe is past, and, be- 
 hold, the third woe cometh quickly." These were 
 not literal shocks of an earthquake, but it repre- 
 sented the shock of the Roman army, who broke 
 down the walls of the great city and slew right 
 and left until they were weary of slaughter. Again 
 we have a definite number to represent an indefinite, 
 but the slain was up in the thousands. When the 
 Roman soldiers broke into the city, the temple 
 seemed to be the center of the great battle and the 
 scenes of the greatest slaughter. As the altar and 
 the temple and those that worship therein had been 
 measured for destruction, so it was as Josephus 
 says: " Now round about the altar lay dead bod- 
 ies, heaped one upon another; as at the steps, go- 
 ing up to it, ran a great quantity of their blood; 
 whither, also, the dead bodies that were slain above 
 on the altar fell down." 
 
 Titus tried to save the temple, but it was set on 
 fire. Josephus says: "While the holy house was 
 on fire, every thing was plundered that came to 
 hand ; and ten thousand of those that were caught 
 
2i8 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 were slain. Nor was there a commiseration of any 
 age, or any reverence of gravity; but children and 
 old men, priests and profane persons, were all 
 slain in the same manner, . . . yet was the 
 misery itself more terrible than this disorder. For 
 one would have thought that the very hill on which 
 the temple stood was red hot, as full of fire was 
 every part of it, that the blood was larger in quan- 
 tity than the fire, and those that were slain more in 
 number than those that slew them. For the ground 
 did nowhere appear visible, for the dead bodies 
 that lay on it ; but the soldiers went over heaps of 
 those bodies, as they ran upon such as fled from 
 them." 
 
 This picture was not painted from imagination, 
 for Josephus was at the time in the army of Titus, 
 having been taken prisoner, and was an eye-wit- 
 ness of what he describes. 
 
 One angel alone stands before the throne who 
 has not yet sounded his trumpet. One last act in 
 the awful drama remains to be performed: "And 
 the seventh angel sounded; and there were great 
 voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this 
 world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and 
 of his Christ; and he shall reign forever and ever. 
 And the four and twenty elders, which sat before 
 God on their seats, fell upon their faces, and wor- 
 shiped God, saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord 
 God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to 
 come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great 
 power, and hast reigned. And the nations were 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 219 
 
 angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the 
 dead, that they should be judged, and that thou 
 shouldest give reward unto thy servants the proph- 
 ets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, 
 small and great; and shouldest destroy them which 
 destroy the earth." 
 
 This completes the scene. The last grand blow 
 is struck, that not only routs the armies of the en- 
 emy, but secures a complete victory. All is sub- 
 dued under the sword of the rider upon the white 
 horse, who took his place at the head of the col- 
 umn when the first seal was broken. When he 
 took the little book out of the hand of him that sat 
 on the throne, all heaven shouted : " Worthy is the 
 Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, 
 and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, 
 and blessing." Now as this conqueror returned 
 from the war with all the standards of the enemy 
 in possession, the mighty voices of heaven sound 
 the pseans of praise, and say: " The kingdoms of 
 this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, 
 and of his Christ; and he shall reign forever and 
 ever." 
 
 There is no description of the final scene given. 
 Only the result is announced: a complete victory. 
 The nations were angry ; but when this roused the 
 anger of the Lamb, when the prayers of the souls 
 of those under the altar, slain for his word and the 
 testimony which they bare, and the prayers of his 
 servants the prophets and the saints and them that 
 feared his name, small and great, came up before 
 
22O The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 him, mingled with a cloud of incense, then he 
 arose to destroy them which destroyeth the earth. 
 Jesus had said, when referring to this very fact: 
 " There be some standing here, which shall not 
 taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming 
 in his kingdom." And again: " Verily, this gen- 
 eration shall not pass, till all these things be ful- 
 filled." Now the first great persecuting power of 
 the infant Church had been destroyed, and all 
 nations were open to the gospel. 
 
 "And the temple of God was opened in heaven, 
 and there were seen in his temple the ark of his 
 testament; and there were lightnings, and voices, 
 and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great 
 hail. ' 
 
 Paul in his Epistle to the Hebrews makes this 
 plain. Now that the temple, with all its sacred 
 implements of worship even to the ark of the cov- 
 enant on which rested the mercy-seat had been 
 destroyed, it was necessary to reveal to the Church 
 the great fact that " Christ is not entered into the 
 holy places made with hands, which are the figures 
 of the true ; but into heaven itself, now to appear 
 in the presence of God for us." 
 
 Jesus said to the woman of Samaria: " Woman, 
 believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither 
 in this mountain, nor yet at yerusalem, worship the 
 Father. . .' . But the hour cometh, and now isj 
 when the true worshipers shall worship the Father 
 in spirit and in truth : for the Father seeketh such 
 to worship him." 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 221 
 
 Now this thing was made manifest to all the king- 
 doms brought under the power of the Lamb. The 
 ark, the true ark, was still safe, it was in heaven. 
 Above it were still stretched the wings of the cher- 
 ubim ; but they were living creatures. , The throne 
 of God was the throne of grace, all sprinkled with 
 the blood of the Lamb, who had the veil (his 
 body) rent for the passage; and we "have a strong 
 consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold 
 upon the hope set before us : which hope we have 
 as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, 
 and which entereth into that within the veil ; whith- 
 er the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, 
 made a high priest forever after the order of Mel- 
 chisedec." 
 
 "And there were lightnings, and voices, and 
 thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail." 
 
 This doubtless was to give his people assurance 
 that there was still a reserve of power, ready at 
 any moment to be used for the destruction of their 
 foes. 
 
 This closes the first main division of this book. 
 We have not turned aside to combat the views of 
 other men. It is true that we have occasionally 
 alluded to some of these; that is all. There can 
 be but one true interpretation of this book. We 
 lay claim to one fact: we have been consistent in 
 all our interpretations of it. We have presented 
 nothing on our own dictum, but have in every in- 
 stance given the proof of our views, substantiating 
 them by proofs both from Scripture and history. 
 
222 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 We have not tried in any instance, in interpreting 
 a symbol, to explain al] its parts, or, as some have 
 expressed it, "to make it go on all fours." We 
 might have entered more into detail, but our pur- 
 pose was to give, as far as we were able, the pur- 
 pose of the revealing spirit. We have made no 
 display of ingenuity or of great learning; we are 
 content if we have led the reader into a true un- 
 derstanding of the design and purposes of the book. 
 The wild and visionary interpretations of it that 
 reach along down the ages, even to our own time, 
 have never served any good purpose; nor have 
 men ever been able to agree upon any of these far- 
 reaching theories. 
 
CHAPTER XL 
 
 The Second Great Persecuting Power, Pagan Rome The 
 Messiah Born The Dragon The Beast from the Sea The 
 Beast from the Earth The Lamb on Mount Sion The Fall 
 of Babylon, or Rome. 
 
 WE come now to the overthrow of the second 
 great persecuting power, pagan Rome. As 
 a preface to the scenes of this part of Revelation 
 we are taken back to the birth of the Messiah and 
 to the effort made for his destruction; and, when 
 this failed, to the effort to destroy the Christian 
 Church by the devil. 
 
 " And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; 
 a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon un- 
 der her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve 
 stars: and she being with child cried, travailing in 
 birth, and pain to be delivered." 
 
 This symbol is shown in heaven. The woman 
 represents the Church. This is a figure quite com- 
 mon, especially in the prophecy of Isaiah. In the 
 fifty-fourth chapter she is represented as a woman 
 who is to have a very large increase of children, 
 and she is commanded to get ready for them by en- 
 larging her tent, and again in the sixty-second 
 and sixty-sixth chapters. Perhaps Solomon al- 
 ludes to the Church, as represented by a woman, 
 when he says : * ' Who is she that looketh forth in 
 the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, 
 and terrible as an army with banners." 
 
 (223) 
 
224 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 This woman being clothed with the sun, with the 
 moon under her feet, as to the exceeding beauty 
 of her array, was the beloved of God, the Church 
 for which Jesus gave his life, and her appearance 
 was beyond any thing earthly. The crown of 
 twelve stars represented that she was the Church 
 of God. First there were twelve patriarchs, and 
 next twelve apostles. In this symbol the Church 
 is to give birth to the Messiah. When the time 
 came for her delivery of the child, John says : "And 
 there appeared another wonder in heaven; and be- 
 hold a great red dragon, having seven heads and 
 ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads/' 
 There is no mistake about this being the devil, for 
 in the ninth verse he is specially characterized as 
 such, as we shall see. He is red, indicating the 
 fact that he is a murderer and capable of bloody 
 work. Dragon is another name for serpent, the 
 guise under which he appeared to our first parents 
 in the garden. His seven heads indicate his wis- 
 dom, and his horns and crowns that he is not alone 
 in his work, but that kings and nations are at his 
 command to work for him in persecuting the 
 Church and slaying her children. 
 
 "And his tail drew the third part of the stars of 
 heaven, and did cast them to the earth." 
 
 We have but little in the Scriptures to enlighten 
 us as to the origin of the devil and his angels, but 
 what we have shows us that they were once angels 
 of light, and that "they kept not their first estate, 
 but left their own habitation." No doubt they were 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 225 
 
 led in their rebellion by this dragon, who is said 
 to draw them with his tail that is, they followed 
 his leadership to their own ruin. Peter tells us 
 they were " cast down to hell." But we must not 
 forget that this is symbolic language, intended to 
 represent to us the character who is engaged in 
 this work of persecution. 
 
 "And the dragon stood before the woman which 
 was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child 
 as soon as it was born." 
 
 We know that the devil made the effort to de- 
 stroy the young child Jesus when he was born, by 
 instigating one of the kings under his control to do 
 the bloody work. For ' ' Herod sent forth, and slew 
 all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all 
 the coasts thereof, from two years old and under." 
 
 "And she brought forth a man child, who was 
 to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her 
 child was caught up unto God, and to his throne." 
 
 God warned Joseph in a dream to flee into 
 Epypt, and thus was his life spared. It was as if 
 God had caught him up out of harm's way. Not 
 only so; he was taken to his throne. God anoint- 
 ed him King, thus setting him upon his throne. 
 He was preserved for this throne. That this child 
 was the Messiah is made plain by the expression, 
 "He shall rule all nations with a rod of iron." 
 Whatever that may mean, it is just what is said of 
 the Messiah in the second Psalm, a Psalm that the 
 apostles applied to Christ. There it is said to him: 
 "Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for 
 15 
 
226 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the 
 earth for thy possession. Thou shalt break them 
 with a rod of iron." Here are the heathen and the 
 uttermost parts of the earth given for a "posses- 
 sion," equivalent to ** all nations" in this symbol. 
 
 "And the woman fled into the wilderness, where 
 she hath a place prepared of God, that they should 
 feed her there a thousand two hundred and three- 
 score days." 
 
 This part of the symbol refers to the manner in 
 which God provided for the protection of his peo- 
 ple when they cried unto him, when under the 
 hand of their oppressors in Egypt. He said to 
 Moses: "I have surely seen the affliction of my 
 people which are in Egypt, and have heard their 
 cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know 
 their sorrows; and I am come down to deliver 
 them out of the hand of the Egyptians." They 
 were taken into the wilderness, where their ene- 
 mies could not follow them, and yet in that wilder- 
 ness they were fed forty years. Here the Church 
 is to be protected in her persecution by the power 
 of God for a space of about three and a half years. 
 Whether this is a definite time, or the time of Isra- 
 el's oppression under Antiochus Epiphanes, it does 
 not matter. We have seen the folly of reckoning 
 these days each as a year, no such custom in 
 prophecy prevailing. God will see to it that his 
 Church, as symbolized by the woman, shall be 
 protected till the time of persecution and danger 
 shall pass, be that time long or short. 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 227 
 
 "And there was war in heaven: Michael and his 
 angels fought against the dragon ; and the dragon 
 fought and his angels, and prevailed not; neither 
 was their place found any more in heaven. And 
 the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, 
 called the Devil, and Satan, which deceive th the 
 whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and 
 his angels were cast out with him." 
 
 This represents the desperate effort made by the 
 devil and his angels for the destruction of Jesus 
 Christ. Not content when Jesus was protected by 
 the power of God in infancy, so soon as he enters 
 upon his ministry he is met in the wilderness and 
 sorely tempted of the devil. And again is another 
 attack made in the garden of Gethsemane, when 
 Jesus said to the chief priests when they came to 
 arrest him: "But this is your hour, and the power 
 of darkness." The dragon fought, and his angels, 
 and prevailed not; Jesus stood firm, and overcame 
 him and his army. He said to his disciples, " I 
 beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven," mean- 
 ing by that that he was vanquished. They were 
 cast out into the earth. There can be no mistake 
 as to the identity of this dragon ; he is the old ser- 
 pent that tempted Eve, called the devil, which means 
 the accuser of the brethren ; and Satan, a malicious 
 hater both of God and all the good. He works 
 only for evil; but the Son of God was manifested 
 that he might destroy the works of the devil. 
 
 "And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, 
 Now is come salvation, and strength, and the king- 
 
228 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 dom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for 
 the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which 
 accused them before our God day and night. And 
 they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and 
 by the word of their testimony; and they loved 
 not their lives unto the death. Therefore rejoice, 
 ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to 
 the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea ! for the 
 devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, 
 because he knoweth that he hath but a short 
 time." 
 
 The victory wrought in heaven over Satan and 
 his angels wakes a note of praise that echoes loud 
 and long; and to Christ and his blood is ascribed 
 all the praise and virtue of this victory. The same 
 martyrs, or those like them, that "loved not their 
 lives to the death," are foremost in these ascrip- 
 tions of praise ; but while heaven rejoices because 
 Satan has been cast out, yet earth is made sad by 
 his taking up the fight among its inhabitants. While 
 Christ by his death and resurrection has come off 
 more than conqueror, yet his followers were to 
 endure his temptations and feel the sting of his 
 persecutions; for "when the dragon saw that he 
 was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman 
 which brought forth the man child. And to the 
 woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that 
 she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, 
 where she is nourished for a time, and times, and 
 half a time, from the face of the serpent. And the 
 serpent cast out of his mouth, water as a flood 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 229 
 
 after the woman, that he might cause her to be 
 carried away of the flood. And the earth helped 
 the woman; and the earth opened her mouth, 
 and swallowed Up the flood which the dragon cast 
 out of his mouth. And the dragon was wroth 
 with the woman, and went to make war with the 
 remnant of her seed, which keep the command- 
 ments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus 
 Christ." 
 
 The victor}* of Christ over the devil is a symbol 
 of the victory that his followers shall achieve in 
 these fierce persecutions. This is shown by the 
 two wings of a great eagle given her. God told 
 Moses to say to Israel: " Ye have seen what I did 
 unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles' 
 wings, and brought you unto myself/' God had 
 helped Israel to get away from their oppressors, 
 and had borne them to a place of safety. So this 
 fact is used to assure his people persecuted by the 
 dragon that he would bear them on eagles' wings 
 to a place prepared for them. There they are to 
 be nourished for a time, and times, arid half a 
 time from the face of the serpent one mode of 
 expression for three years and a half, the same 
 prophetic time used some five times in this book of 
 Revelation. 
 
 As the woman fled, the " serpent cast out of 
 his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that 
 he might cause her to be carried away of the 
 flood." This is a symbol of the multiplied ene- 
 mies that the devil raised up against the Chris- 
 
230 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 tians at this time. So many were their enemies, 
 and so persistent and wide-spread their persecu- 
 tions, that- it looked as if the struggling infant 
 Church must be overwhelmed by them. "And the 
 earth helped the woman ;* and the earth opened 
 her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the 
 dragon cast out of his mouth." During the fierce 
 persecutions of the Christians at Rome they took 
 refuge in the catacombs beneath the city. We are 
 told that often when the Christians were hotly pur- 
 sued by their enemies they would disappear so 
 suddenly, escaping into their subterranean retreats, 
 known only to themselves, that the officers thought 
 they had escaped by some magic. Thus the 
 earth helped the woman. The hate of this dragon 
 impelled him to make war with the remnant of her 
 seed which kept the commandments of God and 
 have the testimony of Jesus Christ. 
 
 This chapter must be looked upon as a sort of 
 foreshadowing, in general, of the revelations that 
 are to follow in detail. In other words, it is the 
 preface to the coming revelations. Let us bear in 
 mind in the outset that the revelation is dealing 
 only with pagan Rome as it existed during this 
 season of persecution. The symbols that begin 
 in chapter xiii., and end in chapter xix., show 
 how the war waged by the dragon against the rem- 
 nant of the woman's seed is carried on, and what 
 agencies are employed. 
 
 "And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw 
 a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads, 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 231 
 
 and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, 
 and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. And 
 the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and 
 his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth 
 as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him 
 his power, and his seat, and great authority. And 
 I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death ; 
 and his deadly wound was healed: and all the 
 world wondered after the beast. And they wor- 
 shiped the dragon which gave power unto the 
 beast: and they worshiped the beast, saying, 
 Who is like unto the beast? who is able to 
 make war with him? And there was given 
 unto him a mouth speaking great things and 
 blasphemies; and power was given unto him to 
 continue forty and two months. And he opened 
 his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme 
 his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell 
 in heaven. And it was given unto him to make 
 war with the saints, and to overcome them: and 
 power was given him over all kindreds, and 
 tongues, and nations. And all that dwell upon 
 the earth shall worship him, whose names are not 
 written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from 
 the foundation of the world. If any man have an 
 ear, let him hear. He that leadeth into captivity 
 shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the 
 sword must be killed with the sword. Here is 
 the patience and the faith of the saints." 
 
 This beast is a symbol of the great Roman Em- 
 fire. The sea out of which the beast rose, as ex- 
 
232 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 plained by the revealing angel, is " peoples, and 
 multitudes, and nations, and tongues." This 
 empire was formed out of the various countries 
 and kingdoms of the civilized world. This is the 
 empire under the Csesars. 
 
 The seven heads are also explained by the angel. 
 He says: "The seven heads are seven mountains 
 on which the woman [Rome, the capital city] sit- 
 teth." It also refers to " seven kings," as we shall 
 see when we reach the seventeenth chapter. 
 
 The ten horns " are ten kings," all of which will 
 be explained and applied in due time. 
 
 Let it be distinctly understood that this is pagan 
 Rome during the reign of the Cassars, and that it 
 does not go beyond it. John now sees the vision 
 as a whole, as if the beast were possessed at one 
 time of all these heads. But we shall see that 
 ;when the symbol is explained at length, these 
 heads rise one at a time. Every king, as repre- 
 sented by the seven heads, was a blasphemer. To 
 each one was ascribed divine honors, and they 
 demanded and received worship as a god. 
 
 The beast was like a leopard, with feet like a 
 bear and mouth like a lion three of the most 
 terrible of wild beasts, as if the ferocity of all 
 were combined in this one selected as a symbol 
 of this great persecuting power. To this fero- 
 cious beast the dragon gave his power selected 
 him as his vicegerent, the instrument for tearing 
 the Christians in the fury and ferocity of his pow- 
 er. And great authority for evil was given him. 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 233 
 
 This persecuting power becomes the prime minis- 
 ter of the devil. 
 
 One of the heads of the beast was wounded to 
 death ; and his deadly wound was healed : and all 
 the world wondered after the beast. 
 
 This was the first head that appeared. When 
 wounded to death, it was natural to expect to see 
 the beast itself die. But it did not, because other 
 heads came in its place. 
 
 It is well-known that the dynasty of Roman 
 emperors was founded by Julius Cassar. His 
 power throughout the empire was supreme; but, 
 when the old elements of liberty began to stir the 
 heart of the people, Cgesar was slain. This first 
 head received a wound unto death, and the people 
 no doubt thought that the empire would fall with 
 him; but it did not. There were other heads. 
 Augustus was at once advanced to the head of 
 government, and the empire survived ; and all the 
 world wondered after the beast. The dragon was 
 still at the head of affairs, and if one prime minis- 
 ter fell, he at once advanced another to his place. 
 
 "And they [the people of the empire] worshiped 
 the dragon which gave power unto the beast : and 
 they worshiped the beast, saying, Who is like unto 
 the beast? who is able to make war with him." 
 
 Devil-worship has been often practiced by the 
 heathen, and we have no doubt but that these 
 Romans did it. We know that they worshiped 
 their standards and their emperors; and as they 
 were put in power by the devil, and were the 
 
234 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 prime ministers of the devil, the worship of them 
 was equivalent to the worship of the devil him- 
 self. 
 
 Gibbon says: "The deification of the emperor 
 is the only instance in which they departed from 
 their accustomed prudence and modesty." And 
 again: "The imperious spirit of the first Cassar 
 too easily consented to assume during his life-time 
 a place among the tutelar deities of Rome." 
 
 Of Caligula, Taylor says: "Finding no one 
 dare to oppose his sanguinary caprice, he began 
 to regard himself as something more than a mere 
 mortal, and to claim divine honors ; and finally he 
 erected a temple to himself, and instituted a col- 
 lege of priests to superintend his own worship." 
 If the people were so deceived as to believe him 
 their god, no wonder they asked the questions: 
 "Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make 
 war with him?" 
 
 "And there was given unto him a mouth speak- 
 ing great things and blasphemies ; and power was 
 given unto him to continue forty and two months. 
 And he opened his mouth in blasphemies against 
 God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, 
 and them that dwell in heaven." 
 
 The dragon gave to him the power to speak 
 great things and blasphemies. It is only necessary 
 to study the power of Satan as it appears in the 
 book of Job to see what he can do, and what he is 
 permitted to do. But, as in the case of the devil 
 in connection with Job, his power was limited, so 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 235 
 
 this period of persecution was "limited to the forty 
 and two months so often referred to in this book. 
 As we have said, this may have been the exact 
 time, or it may be used as a definite for an indefi- 
 nite period. But the persecutions referred to 
 lasted just about if not exactly this time. No 
 blasphemy is equal to that of arrogating the hom- 
 age and worship due to God alone. This, as we 
 have seen, these emperors did; and they blas- 
 phemed God's name, and his tabernacle, and 
 them that dwell in heaven. Like the King of 
 Babylon, they forced men to worship them, and 
 thus blasphemed the worshipers of the one true 
 God. 
 
 "And it was given unto him to make war with 
 the saints, and to overcome them: and power was 
 given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and na- 
 tions. And all that dwell upon the earth shall 
 worship him, whose names are not written in the 
 book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation 
 of the world." 
 
 These Roman emperors had a world-wide sway, 
 and they forced all nations to adopt their religion, 
 in part at least. We give an instance from Raw- 
 linson when writing of the Partheans and their 
 submission to Rome : " He [Artabanus, their king] 
 was also induced to throw a few grains of frank- 
 incense on the sacrificial fire which burned in front 
 of the Roman standards and the imperial image, 
 an act which was accepted at Rome as one of sub- 
 mission and homage" Thus they forced all na- 
 
236 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 tions to "worship him," but those whose names 
 were in ' ' the book of life of the Lamb ' ' were ex- 
 cepted. No power could force them to worship 
 the beast or his image. Many of then died a mar- 
 tyr's death during this period of three and a hali 
 years, when these deified emperors were trying to 
 force the world to bow down in homage to them as 
 God. 
 
 In the letter to the Church in Sardis, referring 
 to this very time when " the devil shall cast some 
 of you into prison, that ye may be tried," the 
 promise is: " He that overcometh, the same shall 
 be clothed in white raiment, and I will not blot out 
 his name out of the book of life " 
 
 Here, now, is an announcement that God wants 
 all to understand, and he prefaces it with the 
 words: " If any man have an ear, let him hear." 
 
 "He that leadeth into captivity shall go into 
 captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be 
 killed with the sword. Here is the patience and 
 the faith of the saints." 
 
 God had his eye upon all the persecutions of his 
 saints. He sees every hand that is lifted against 
 them, and "he will requite a terrible retribution 
 upon all persecutors in due time." Those who 
 drag the Christians into captivity shall themselves 
 be dragged into captivity. Those who kill the fol- 
 lowers of Jesus with the sword shall themselves be 
 killed with the sword. "Vengeance is mine, I 
 will repay, saith the Lord;" and "it is a fearful 
 thing to fall into the hands of the Lord." No saint 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 237 
 
 need raise his hand against his persecutors, but 
 -patiently endure, in full faith of the promise of 
 God that he "will repay." Here is the patience 
 and the faith of the saints." When this beast had 
 such great power, and the land was running red 
 with the blood of innocent Christians ; when Nero 
 was filling his arena with them, and all Rome was 
 enjoying their destruction ; when the skins of wild 
 beasts were wrapped around them, and they were 
 worried to death by dogs ; when inflammable ma- 
 terials were wrapped about them, and then set on 
 fire to form walking torches to light the scene of 
 an emperor's pleasure, many had their patience 
 and their faith tried. And they must bear in mind 
 what was written: "He that overcometh shall not 
 be hurt of the second death" 
 
 Now another beast appears upon the scene. 
 
 "And I beheld another beast coming up out of 
 the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and 
 he spake as a dragon. And he exerciseth all the 
 power of the first beast before him, and causeth 
 the earth and them that dwell therein to worship 
 the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. 
 And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh 
 fire come down from heaven on the earth in the 
 sight of men, and deceiveth them that dwell on the 
 earth by the means of those miracles which he had 
 power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to 
 them that dwell on the earth, that they should 
 make an image to the beast, which had the wound 
 by the sword, and did live. And he had power to 
 
238 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 give life unto the image of the beast, that the im- 
 age of the beast should both speak, and cause that 
 as many as would not worship the image of the 
 beast should be killed. And he causeth all, both 
 small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to 
 receive a mark in their right hand, or in their fore- 
 heads: and that no man might buy or sell, save 
 he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or 
 the number of his name. Here is wisdom. Let 
 him that hath understanding count the number of 
 the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his 
 number is six hundred threescore and six." 
 
 This second beast came up from the earth. He 
 is not the creature of the nations, but has a differ- 
 ent origin. Nor has he a fierce appearance as the 
 first beast had. But this is only in appearance, 
 for " he exerciseth all the power of the first beast 
 before him," etc. He has two horns like a lamb. 
 He is " a wolf in sheep's clothing." Who is this 
 second beast? By all his characteristics, and the 
 service he rendered the first beast, he is a symbol 
 of the -pagan priesthood. They were the creatures 
 of the emperor's, as we have seen. You will re- 
 member that it is said of Caligula: "And finally 
 he erected a temple to himself, and instituted a 
 college of priests to superintend his own Ivor- 
 ship:' 
 
 Very many commentators have seen papal Rome 
 in this second beast. But this is impossible. 
 Henry Cowles, on this point, says: " On the 
 question whether this second beast can be papal 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 239 
 
 Rome, it should surely suffice to say that every 
 feature of the description points us to the pagan 
 priesthood; that this beast worked for the pagan 
 emperor, as papal Rome certainly did not in the 
 age of her first seven emperors, six hundred years 
 before papal Rome became a well-defined system, 
 and one thousand years before she became thor- 
 oughly a great persecuting power. Hence it is 
 entirely inadmissable to find papal Rome in this 
 second beast. As surely as this prophecy makes 
 the first beast and the second contemporaneous 
 and co-working, and as surely as history locates 
 the persecuting activities of the Seven Heads of 
 pagan Rome on the one hand and of papal Rome 
 on the other one thousand years asunder, so sure- 
 ly do the stubborn facts of history rule out as 
 absurd and impossible the theory that this second 
 beast is papal Rome." 
 
 In every thing this second beast is working for 
 the first; and the powers ascribed to him are just 
 such as a priest of the beast would perform. He 
 maketh fire come down from heaven on earth in 
 the sight of men. Fire fell upon the sheep of Job 
 and burned them up. This was the work of the 
 devil. These were his agents, and to them he 
 gives this power. 
 
 The whole is a symbol of the power that these 
 priests exercised over the people in bringing them 
 to the worship of the emperors. Men were ostra- 
 cised if they did not engage in this worship. No 
 one was to sell to or buy from any one who had 
 
240 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 not the mark of the beast in his right hand or in 
 his forehead. 
 
 " The ban of public sentiment fell on all who 
 would not receive and wear this mark. They 
 were ostracised from society, driven from the 
 market-place, denied the right to any of the most 
 common privileges of Roman citizens. Not only 
 was the brand of opprobrium put on them, but the 
 mark of Satan's vengeance." 
 
 God's people must know the name of the first 
 beast whose image was set up for their worship. 
 But there was great danger in revealing this name. 
 Fierce enough were their persecutions already; 
 and were the emperor's name announced, the fires 
 would be kindled to a hotter flame. So it is com- 
 municated to them in numbers, and by a system 
 with which the wise were familiar. " Let him 
 that hath understanding count the number of the 
 beast: for it is the number of a man; and his 
 number is Six hundred threescore and six." 
 
 " The Hebrews and the Greeks used each their 
 own alphabet for numerical purposes. In Hebrew 
 the first letter is one; the second, two, etc.; the 
 tenth, ten; but the eleventh is twenty; the nine- 
 teenth is one hundred; the twentieth, two hun- 
 dred, etc. Hence each letter had a numerical 
 power. In our passage the numerical power of 
 the name is given to find the name itself. A pre- 
 liminary question will be whether this name is to 
 be spelled in Hebrew letters, with their numerical 
 powers, or in Greek letters. It being manifestly 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 241 
 
 the intention of the writer to put his readers in the 
 way to spell out the name, and yet not to give it so 
 plainly as to expose himself or his brethren to per- 
 secuting vengeance; and, inasmuch as his read- 
 ers (some of them being Jews) would have the 
 advantage of the Roman magistrates in decipher- 
 ing Hebrew letters, it becomes antecedently prob- 
 able that he would use them supposing this name 
 to have been written in Hebrew characters with 
 their known numerical power, and taking the 
 name of Nero as- it appears often in the Talmud, 
 and in other Rabbinical writings,* we shall have 
 as the numerical equivalent of these Hebrew let- 
 ters in their order: 50+ 200-}- 6+50; and ioo-f6o 
 +200=666. This result must seem quite satisfac- 
 tory, even though it rested on the mere fact that 
 these seven Hebrew letters, by the sum of their 
 numerical powers, give us precisely the well-known 
 Hebrew name of Nero. But the proof that sus- 
 tains the correctness of this solution is greatly 
 strengthened by another remarkable fact. Let it 
 be borne in mind that the received Greek text 
 gives these three Greek letters (x *) pronounced 
 chi, xi, vau; and having in their order these nu- 
 merical powers, 6oo+6o-j-6=666. Now the fact 
 is brought out and fully discussed by Ireneus, that 
 in his day (A.D. 180) some manuscripts had a dif- 
 ferent reading for the middle character viz., not 
 (xO> k ut l ( tora )- He insists, however, that the 
 true reading is X L () Can ^ e otner reading be 
 
242 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 accounted for? It can, most readily. There was 
 a second mode of spelling the name Nero in He- 
 brew viz., by writing it not Neron, but Nero 
 /. e., omitting the final (n). The numerical 
 power of n is fifty. Strike off this final letter re- 
 duces the sum total of the number of his name 
 from 666 to 616; and to write this amount in three 
 Greek letters we must change the middle one as 
 they stand in our text from (xO to (tora) /'. e., 
 from the letter which means 60 to the letter which 
 means 10. Precisely this is the change which ap- 
 pears in the different reading of which Ireneus 
 speaks. Hence it becomes substantially certain 
 that the * number of the beast ' was understood by 
 some at least before the age of Ireneus; certain 
 also that they read in this number the name of 
 Nero Caesar; certain also that there being a sec- 
 ond way of writing his name (/. e., Nero rather 
 than Neron), the change was made in the text 
 which this other spelling of the name would re- 
 quire. This double coincidence is of the sort 
 which could not occur by chance, and without a 
 foundation in truth, one time in ten thousand. It 
 amounts, therefore, practically to a demonstra- 
 tion. " (H. Cowles.) 
 
 This settles the fact that the book was written 
 during the reign of Nero, and that if he was the 
 sixth head, or emperor, the seven heads represent 
 pagan Rome, and nothing else; and that the early 
 Christians so regarded it the testimony of Ireneus 
 in the above quotation proves. He lived very near 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 243 
 
 the time in which the book was written, and those 
 of his day spelled out the name of Nero with the 
 "number of his name" as given in the book. 
 This number has been forced to spell a great many 
 names, but this answers to every feature of the 
 symbol, and harmonizes with all other parts of the 
 book. Therefore it must be the correct name. 
 Now as the Church is assailed by such formidable 
 foes, it is necessary to present the protector of the 
 Church. 
 
 "And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the 
 Mount Sion, and with him a hundred forty and 
 four thousand, having his Father's name written in 
 their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heav- 
 en, as the voice of many waters, and as the voice 
 of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harp- 
 ers harping with their harps: and they sung as 
 it were, a new song before the throne, and before 
 the four living creatures, and the elders: and no 
 man could learn that song but the hundred and 
 forty and four thousand which were redeemed 
 from the earth. These are they which were not 
 defiled with women; for they are virgins. These 
 are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he 
 goeth. These were redeemed from among men, 
 being the first-fruits unto God and to the Lamb. 
 And in their mouth was found no guile : for they 
 are without fault before the throne of God." 
 
 This Lamb of course is Jesus Christ, and the 
 company with him are Jews," being the first-fruits 
 unto God and to the Lamb ; ' ' and hence they are 
 
244 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 taken as samples of the whole. " If the first-fruit 
 be holy the lump is also holy." The Lord is their 
 shepherd; they follow him whithersoever he goeth. 
 He is their protector, their friend, and they sound 
 his praises. It is the song of victory. 
 
 1 'And I saw another angel fly in the midst of 
 heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach 
 unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every na- 
 tion, and kindred, and tongue, and people, saying 
 with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him ; 
 for the hour of his judgment is come : and worship 
 him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and 
 the fountains of water." 
 
 God never strikes without a warning, and without 
 giving an opportunity to repent. The hour to strike 
 down pagan Rome as a great persecuting power 
 has come, and the angel proclaims the gospel, and 
 calls upon men to fear God and give glory to him. 
 This angel is merely a symbol of God's faithful 
 ministers that were lifting up their voices to them 
 that dwelt upon the earth every nation, kindred, 
 tongue, and people. The gospel, the everlasting 
 gospel, was preached everywhere; and if men 
 would not hear and heed it, it was their own fault, 
 and they must perish in their sins. 
 
 "And there followed another angel, saying, Bab- 
 ylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because 
 she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath 
 of her fornication." 
 
 The term Babylon here is used for Rome, as 
 Sodom is used for Jerusalem. Fornication when 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 245 
 
 used as here means idolatry. Rome had forced 
 her idolatry upon all the nations of the earth. She 
 had made all nations drink of the wine of the 
 wrath of her fornication ; and now God was ready 
 to punish her, and this angel is commissioned to 
 declare her fall. 
 
 "And the third angel followed them, saying with 
 a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his 
 image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in 
 his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the 
 wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture 
 into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be 
 tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence 
 of the holy angels, and in the presence of the 
 Lamb : and the smoke of their torment ascendeth 
 up forever and ever: and they have no rest day nor 
 night, who worship the beast and his image, and 
 whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. Here 
 is the patience of the saints : here are they that 
 keep the commandments of God, and the faith of 
 Jesus." 
 
 Here the line is clearly drawn. Babylon (Rome) 
 had made all nations drink of the wine of her for- 
 nications, and to all such God would- press the cup 
 of his indignation, poured out without mixture; 
 and, as in the case of the Jews, the smoke of their 
 torment ascendeth up forever. "And they have 
 no rest day nor night." This is a symbol to show 
 that the overthrow of this great persecuting power 
 is to be as a standing monument of God's wrath 
 and indignation against sin. As God dealt with 
 
246 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 them so will he deal with like sinners in all times. 
 Let God's saints patiently wait on God, who has 
 said: " Vengeance is mine; I will repay." He 
 knows when to strike, and just how hard. He 
 may seem slow in his movements, especially to 
 those suffering persecution and enduring trial, but 
 let patience have her perfect work. God is not 
 forgetful of his saints, nor unmindful of their 
 rights. 
 
 "And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto 
 me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the 
 Lord from henceforth: yea, saith the Spirit, that 
 they may rest from their labors; and their works 
 do follow them." 
 
 Those who die in the Lord under these persecu- 
 tions need not be troubled. God will remember 
 them too. They shall rest from their labors; and, 
 like the souls under the altar, God will hear their 
 prayers, and they too shall be avenged of their ad- 
 versaries. 
 
 "And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and 
 upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, 
 having on his head a golden crown, and in his 
 hand a sharp sickle. And another angel came out 
 of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that 
 sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: 
 for the time is come for thee to reap ; for the har- 
 vest of the earth is ripe. And he that sat on the 
 cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the 
 earth was reaped." 
 
 This was Jesus Christ, who had come for the 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 247 
 
 destruction of these persecutors of his people. 
 The symbol of his appearing on a cloud is a fa- 
 miliar one. In Matthew Jesus, when speaking of 
 the destruction of Jerusalem, said: ''And they 
 shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of 
 heaven with power and great glory." And again 
 to Caiaphas: "Hereafter shall ye see the Son of 
 man sitting on the right hand of power, and com- 
 ing in the clouds of heaven." 
 
 Pagan Rome was ripe for punishment, and Jesus 
 was to do the awful work. It is represented in 
 the symbol as a field fully ripe for the harvest, and 
 Jesus with a sharp sickle in his hand ready to reap. 
 At the cry of the angel wfro came out of the tem- 
 ple, the Son of man thrusts in his sickle, and the 
 earth is reaped. To make it doubly impressive, 
 " another angel came out of the temple which is in 
 heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. And an- 
 other angel came out from the altar, which had pow- 
 er over fire ; and cried with a loud cry to him that 
 had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp 
 sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the 
 earth; for her grapes are fully ripe. And the an- 
 gel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered 
 the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great 
 wine-press of the wrath of God. And the wine- 
 press was trodden without the city, and blood came 
 out of the wine-press, even unto the horse bridles, 
 by the space of a thousand and six hundred fur- 
 longs." 
 
 As the symbol was doubled in Pharaoh's dream 
 
248 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 first the kine, and then the ears of corn and as 
 Joseph said unto him, ''the dream was doubled 
 unto Pharaoh twice ; it is because the thing is es- 
 tablished by God, and God will shortly bring it to 
 pass; " so in this case the thing was doubled, first 
 under the symbol of a harvest, and then of the 
 vintage. 
 
 Isaiah, in speaking of the day of God's venge- 
 ance, represents Christ as coming from Edom 
 with dyed garments from Bozrah, and the ques- 
 tion is asked: "Wherefore art thou red in thine 
 apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth 
 in the wine-fat?" And the answer comes: "I 
 have trodden the winerpress alone; and of the 
 people there was none with me: for I will tread 
 them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; 
 and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my gar- 
 ments, and I will stain all my raiment." 
 
 The thousand and six hundred furlongs (200 
 miles) is approximately the length of Italy, the 
 peninsular of which Rome is the great central city. 
 The thought is that the land shall be deluged with 
 blood, not that literally the blood should be to the 
 horses' bridles. We must remember that this is a 
 strong symbol, indicating that when the judgments 
 of God should fall upon the land blood should flow 
 from one end of the land to the other. "The his- 
 torians who have written of the decline and fall of 
 the old Roman empire have unconsciously written 
 the fulfillment of these wonderful prophecies." 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 The Seven Golden Vials Unclean Spirits Like Frogs Prepa- 
 ration for the Great Battle Judgment of the Great Whore, 
 and Who She Is The Joy over the Fall of Babylon The 
 King of Kings and His Armies The Fowls Summoned to 
 the Great Supper The Beast and the False Prophet Cast 
 into the Lake of Fire The Dragon Cast into the Pit The 
 Millenium The Judgment-day. 
 
 AS in the case of the destruction of Jerusalem, 
 the first great persecuting power, the grand 
 scene was first presented as a whole, and then, in 
 after visions, the details are given under the seals 
 and the trumpets; so in the destruction of pagan 
 Rome, the second great persecuting power, the 
 scene has been presented as a whole, and now 
 comes this same scene in detail. 
 
 "And I saw another sign in heaven, great and 
 marvelous, seven angels having the seven last 
 plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God. 
 And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with 
 fire : and them that had gotten the victory over the 
 beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and 
 over the number of his name, stand on the sea of 
 glass, having the harps of God. And they sing 
 the song of Moses the servant of God, and the 
 song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvelous 
 are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true 
 are thy ways, thou King of saints. Who shall not 
 fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou 
 
 (249) 
 
250 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 only art holy: for all nations shall come and wor- 
 ship before thee ; for thy judgments are made man- 
 ifest. And after that I looked, and, behold, the 
 temple of the tabernacle of the testimony in heaven 
 was opened: and the seven angels came out of the 
 temple, having the seven plagues, clothed in pure 
 and white linen, and having their breasts girded 
 with golden girdles. And one of the four living 
 creatures gave unto the seven angels seven golden 
 vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth forever 
 and ever. And the temple was filled with smoke 
 from the glory of God, and from his power; and 
 no man was able to enter into the temple, till the 
 seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled." 
 Thus the whole scene is placed before the seer. 
 The seven angels appear, having the seven last 
 plagues ; then the saints that had gotten the vic- 
 tory over the beast, standing on a sea of glass, 
 with their harps, and they strike the prelude in 
 anticipation of the grand victory to be accom- 
 plished when these seven angels shall pour out 
 their vials upon the earth. They praise the right- 
 eousness of God in the acts he is about to per- 
 form. Then the temple doors are thrown open, 
 and the seven angels come out, having the seven 
 plagues, clothed in pure and white linen, and hav- 
 ing their breasts girded with golden girdles. Then 
 one of the four living creatures gives to these an- 
 gels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God. 
 All this is preparatory; and, as when God accept- 
 ed the temple dedicated by Solomon, and filled it 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 251 
 
 with his glory, " so that the priests could not stand 
 to minister because of the cloud : for the glory of 
 the Lord had filled the house of the Lord," so as 
 a manifestation of God's acknowledgment of the 
 righteous act of his Son in preparing to pour out 
 these vials of his wrath upon the earth. 
 
 "The temple was filled with smoke from the 
 glory of God, and from his power; and no man 
 was able to enter into the temple, till the seven 
 plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled." 
 
 Every thing is now ready. 
 
 "And I heard a great voice out of the temple 
 saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and 
 pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the 
 earth. And the first went, and poured out his vial 
 upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and 
 grievous sore upon the men which had the mark 
 of the beast, and upon them which worshiped his 
 image." 
 
 The effect of these vials is almost identical with 
 the effect of the sounding of the seven trumpets at 
 the destruction of Jerusalem. Wrath fell upon the 
 earth, affecting only those men which had the mark 
 of the beast, and upon them which worshiped his 
 image. 
 
 "And the second angel poured out his vial upon 
 the sea ; and it became as the blood of a dead man : 
 and every living soul died -in the sea." 
 
 At the sound of the trumpet of the second angel 
 a burning mountain was cast into the sea, making 
 the third part of the sea blood, destroying the 
 
252 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 third part of the creatures in the sea that had life. 
 Here the vial is poured into the sea, and the whole 
 sea becomes as the blood of a dead man, and every 
 living soul in the sea died. The judgments of God 
 fell not only on the men on the land, but all who 
 belonged to Rome that were upon the sea. No 
 enemy of God and his children was to escape, 
 whether on land or sea. 
 
 We need, in no age of the world, look for a lit- 
 eral changing -of the sea into blood. But this is 
 symbolical of the awful carnage that should sweep 
 the sea as well as the land when God poured out 
 the vials of his wrath upon these guilty, blood- 
 thirsty idolaters. Their punishment might not 
 have been so great had they worshiped their em- 
 peror and his image alone. But when they 
 "caused that as many as would not worship the 
 image of the beast should be killed; and caused 
 all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and 
 bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in 
 their foreheads," then they deserved and received 
 at the hands of a just and righteous God the full 
 measure of punishment. Every soul stained with 
 the blood of the saints must bleed and die, whether 
 on land or sea. 
 
 "And the third angel poured out his vial upon 
 the rivers and fountains of waters; and they be- 
 came blood. And I heard the angel of the waters 
 say, Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and 
 wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus. 
 For they have shed the blood of saints and proph- 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 253 
 
 ets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for 
 they are worthy. And I heard another out of the 
 altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and 
 righteous are thy judgments." 
 
 In the former vision the " star called Wormwood 
 fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the 
 fountains of waters," making them bitter. Here 
 the angel pours his vial upon the rivers and fount- 
 ains of water, and they become blood. The great 
 law of retaliation comes in here: " With what 
 measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you 
 again." These had shed the blood of saints and 
 prophets, and now they must drink blood. That 
 this retribution is the work of God is announced 
 by the voice heard from the altar, saying: " Even 
 so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy 
 judgments." It is at the altar that men pray. 
 Here was seen the souls of the martyrs crying: 
 " How long, O Lord, holy and true, doest thou 
 not judge and avenge our blood on them that 
 dwell on the earth." When these see the right- 
 eous judgment of God upon their adversaries, they 
 acknowledge it. 
 
 "And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon 
 the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch 
 men with fire. And men were scorched with great 
 heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which had 
 power over these plagues : and they repented not 
 to give him glory." 
 
 When the fourth angel sounded, "the third part 
 of the sun was smitten," etc. So here the vial is 
 
254 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 poured upon the sun. This causes great suffering. 
 As they are scorched by the intense heat of the 
 sun they writhe in pain and blaspheme the God 
 who has this power, instead of repenting. 
 
 "And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon 
 the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of 
 darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain, 
 and blasphemed the God of heaven because of 
 their pains and their sores, and repented not of 
 their deeds." 
 
 Here the judgments fall upon the throne of the 
 emperor, filling his kingdom with darkness. The 
 head of this mighty empire, instead of saving his 
 people from their punishments and calamities, is 
 himself involved, and knows no way of escape or 
 deliverance. 
 
 "And the sixth angel poured out his vial on the 
 great river Euphrates ; and the water thereof was 
 dried up, that the way of the kings of the east 
 might be prepared." 
 
 The Parthians, who lived beyond the Euphrates, 
 were the first enemy that ever struck Rome a fatal 
 blow. Gibbon tells us that "these armies, both of 
 light and heavy cavalry, equally formidable by the 
 impetuosity of their charge and the rapidity of 
 their motions, threatened as an impending cloud 
 the eastern provinces of the declining empire of 
 Rome." The symbol of drying up the great river 
 Euphrates that these kings of the East might cross 
 easily and come against Rome is very expressive. 
 As in the case of the destruction of Jerusalem, 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 255 
 
 every part of these symbols apply in the destruc- 
 tion of pagan Rome. 
 
 "And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come 
 out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the 
 mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the 
 false prophet. For they are the spirits of devils, 
 working miracles, which go forth unto the kings 
 of the earth and the whole world, to gather them 
 to the battle of that great day of God Almighty." 
 
 We have a most important pointer in this pas- 
 sage. The dragon and the first beast that came up 
 out of the sea is mentioned by the same terms by 
 which they were introduced to us: but the beast 
 that came up out of the earth, " having two horns 
 like a lamb, and who spake as a dragon, " is called 
 "the false prophet." As we have said, this beast 
 was a symbol of the pagan priesthood false 
 prophet. The influence of these three the devil, 
 the deified emperor, and the priest of idolatry 
 combine in their work of prostituting the world to 
 idolatry. As we have seen, they forced all the na- 
 tions subdued by them to adopt their religion. 
 The unclean spirits like frogs that came out of 
 their mouths are symbols of that influence exerted 
 over the kings of the earth to draw them into idol- 
 atry and into persecuting the saints, and thus lead- 
 ing them to their ruin, expressed by the " battle of 
 that great day of God Almighty." "Behold, I 
 come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and 
 keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they 
 see his shame." 
 
256 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 The great battle is about to be fought, and a 
 warning voice is lifted to the saints. God is com- 
 ing. His army is marshaling for the great charge. 
 But his coming shall be all unexpected, like the 
 coming of a thief. His watchful servants shall 
 never be hurt. So all are warned. 
 
 "And he gathered them together into a place 
 called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon." 
 
 That is, the kings of the earth gathered at Ar- 
 mageddon that is, the heights of Megiddo. 
 " This was a place famed for battle and slaughter, 
 where a host of Canaanites fell before Deborah and 
 Barak; and where the good Josiah was mortally 
 wounded in battle with Pharaoh Necho, a scene 
 which became the more memorable because of the 
 great mourning over the fall of Josiah to which 
 Zechariah alludes. The significance here is essen- 
 tially a place of immense slaughter. There the 
 Almighty meets them in terrible retribution." 
 
 It is not that they are to meet actually on the 
 heights of Megiddo, or Armageddon, but this field 
 is a symbol of the place of slaughter. It was no 
 one battle, but these kings and their armies were 
 slaughtered all over the Roman empire. In mad- 
 ness and in fury army was dashed against army, 
 and whole hecatombs of victims were piled in every 
 direction, as Rome tottered to her final fall. The 
 description of the final scene goes on. 
 
 "And the seventh angel poured out his vial into 
 the air; and there came a great voice out of the 
 temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 257 
 
 done. And there were voices, and thunders, and 
 lightnings ; and there was a great earthquake, such 
 as was not since men were upon the earth, so 
 mighty an earthquake, and so great." 
 
 The pouring out of this vial of the seventh angel 
 reminds us of the seventh trumpet. The very ar- 
 tillery of heaven was turned loose. The voices of 
 the mighty hosts of the sky are heard as they rush 
 to the fray, while the solid earth trembles in the 
 throes of an earthquake at the shock of battle. 
 The mightiest empire ever erected on earth was 
 going down on the red field, where the old serpent, 
 the devil, and Satan, with kings of the earth, and 
 all the angels' of darkness, were arrayed on the one 
 side ; and Christ, followed by the armies of heav- 
 en, was on the other. 
 
 "And the great city was divided into three parts, 
 and the cities of the nation fell: and great Baby- 
 lon came in remembrance before God, to give unto 
 her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his 
 wrath." 
 
 Babylon, or Rome, was divided. Internal dis- 
 cords tore this capital city of the nations into parts, 
 thus destroying her own strength. " The cities of 
 the nations," represented by the ten horns in the 
 vision of the beast that came up out of the sea, fell. 
 They were all on this Armageddon, and they must 
 all share the same fate. But Rome is especially 
 remembered, and the " cup of the wine of the 
 fierceness of his wrath " is given to her. She suf- 
 fers more than they all. 
 17 
 
258 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 "And every island fled away, and the mountains 
 were not found." 
 
 No hiding-places were left for the flying armies 
 of this doomed nation, neither on sea or land. 
 
 "And there fell upon men a great hail out of 
 heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: 
 and men blasphemed God because of the plague 
 of the hail ; for the plague thereof was exceeding 
 great/' 
 
 Not that there was a real hail, but this is sym- 
 bolic of the fierce judgments of God that fell upon 
 them on this great day of his wrath. The allusion 
 is to the day when Joshua fought against the Ca- 
 naanites, and "the Lord cast down great stones 
 from heaven upon them." A Jewish talent was 
 estimated at 114 pounds. Hailstones of such 
 weight would fall like balls and bombs from a bat- 
 tery. The vial poured upon the air filled the very 
 heavens with destruction. God's hand was against 
 all these nations, with Rome, the spiritual Babylon, 
 as the center. 
 
 We have seen that the revealing spirit in the case 
 of Jerusalem dropped the symbolic sufficiently to 
 let all know what city it was, when it told of the 
 "two witnesses " whose dead bodies were exposed 
 in the streets of the great city which spiritually is 
 called Sodom and Egypt, 'where also our Lord was 
 crucified. Nothing could be plainer than this. 
 Isaiah in the first chapter of his prophecy calls Je- 
 rusalem Sodom, and here only of all the cities of 
 earth was our Lord crucified. And now the same 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 259 
 
 revealing spirit, dealing with the second great per- 
 secuting power, points out with equal precision the 
 city of Rome and her emperors, doing all but nam- 
 ing Nero as the one reigning at the time this book 
 was written. The seventeenth chapter is invalua- 
 ble in fixing the place of these predictions. 
 
 "And there came one of the seven angels which 
 had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying 
 unto me, Come hither; I will show unto thee the 
 judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many 
 waters; with whom -the kings of the earth have 
 committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the 
 earth have been made drunk with the wine of her 
 fornication. So he carried me away in the spirit 
 into the wilderness : and I saw a woman sit upon 
 a scarlet-colored beast, full of names of blasphemy, 
 having seven heads and ten horns. And the woman 
 was arrayed in purple and scarlet color, and decked 
 with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a 
 golden cup in her hand full of abominations and 
 filthiness of her fornication: and upon her fore- 
 head was a name written, MYSTERY, BAB- 
 YLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF 
 HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE 
 EARTH. And I saw the woman drunken with 
 the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the 
 martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered 
 with great admiration. And the angel said unto 
 me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee 
 the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that 
 carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten 
 
260 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 horns. The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; 
 and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go 
 into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth 
 shall wonder, whose names were not written in the 
 book of life from the foundation of the world, 
 when they behold the beast that was, and is not, 
 and yet is." 
 
 One of the seven angels which had the seven 
 vials came to show John the great mystery. None 
 knew better than he, and John could not have had 
 a better instructor. He promises to show him 
 " the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon 
 many waters." The " many waters " is explained 
 subsequently to be " peoples, and multitudes, and 
 nations, and tongues." The Roman Empire was 
 composed of many nations. She had taken into 
 her folds nations in Europe, Asia, and Africa. 
 Never in the history of the world were there so 
 many nations acknowledging the same scepter as 
 that held by the Caesars at Rome ; and never was 
 there a more systematic, persistent, and successful 
 effort made by any rulers to force their religion 
 upon people subdued by them. They put their 
 gods upon theirvictorious standards, and compelled 
 worship wherever they went. These standards 
 were characterized by Daniel and indorsed by 
 Jesus as " the abomination of desolation; " so that 
 it was truly said that "the kings of the earth had 
 committed fornication with her, and the inhabitants 
 of the earth had been made drunk with the wine 
 of her fornication." 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 261 
 
 " * Fornication,' in the sense of the Old Testa- 
 ment prophets, is idolatry. This great harlot 
 (Rome) had been intensely idolatrous; had 
 wrought her religion into the very frame-work of 
 her civil institutions and her fundamental law. In 
 the period of her history here contemplated this 
 abomination became even more open and outra- 
 geous than ever before, by the deification of her 
 emperors and the demand set up that they should 
 be worshiped as gods. In this fornication all the 
 tributary kings of subject nations were involved. 
 They were made drunk with the hot wine of her 
 spiritual fornication." (H. Cowles.) 
 
 These nations made drunk persecuted the inno- 
 cent Christians with all the folly and violence of 
 men drunk with real wine. 
 
 The angel carried John awayin spirit into the wil- 
 derness, where he saw a woman sit upon a scarlet- 
 colored beast full of the names of blasphemy, hav- 
 ing seven heads and ten horns. This is none other 
 than the beast seen, in the early part of the vision, 
 rise up out of the sea. Every point of the descrip- 
 tion, save it maybe the color, answers to that given 
 of the first beast. The dress and jewels of the 
 woman show great wealth. Rome at this period 
 was immensely wealthy, and her display of gran- 
 deur was marvelous. 
 
 The name written upon her forehead was won- 
 derfully expressive, and it fully characterized Rome 
 at this time. 
 
 The woman drunk with the blood of saints and 
 
262 The Kingdom and Comings, of Christ. 
 
 martyrs of Jesus refers to the bloody persecutions 
 of that period. Who ever exceeded Nero in this 
 bloody work who lit the fires of his amphitheater 
 with burning martyrs who fired his own capital, 
 and then laid the blame upon the Christians, that 
 he might gloat over the inhuman cruelty inflicted 
 upon them by his savage people ? 
 
 When John saw her, he wondered with great ad- 
 miration not in an approving sense, but in won- 
 der at her mighty power and bloodthirsty deeds. 
 Here the angel proposes to tell him the mystery of 
 the woman and the beast that carrieth her, which 
 hath the seven heads and ten horns. At first it is 
 enigmatical. "The beast that thou sawest was, 
 and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottom- 
 less pit, and go into perdition." This is the em- 
 pire under the Caesars, as we have seen. When 
 Julius Caesar was slain, it was thought that his em- 
 pire must perish ; but Augustus seizes the scepter, 
 and "it is." His ascending out of the pit refers 
 to the fact presented in a former chapter where the 
 dragon gave his power to the beast. He receives 
 his power from the pit, as if he had come up out 
 of it; but he is doomed, and shall " go into perdi- 
 tion." 
 
 "And here is the mind that hath wisdom. The 
 seven heads are seven mountains, on which the 
 woman sitteth." 
 
 There shall be a mystery about this no longer. 
 My people shall know what this woman and beast 
 are, for they both represent the same thing. The 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 263 
 
 seven heads have a twofold significance the first 
 locating the city; secondly, pointing out the suc- 
 cession of her kings. 
 
 "It need not disturb us that in the scenes of a 
 vision, as in the scenes of a night-dream, there 
 should be a slight and sudden change or shifting 
 of some of the aspects, as here in verse 3 the 
 woman sits on the beast and in verse 9 she sits on 
 seven mountains. There is truth in both views, 
 and they are by no means incongruous. Geo- 
 graphically she sat on the well-known seven hills 
 of the great city Rome, but politically she sat on 
 the seven-headed and ten-horned beast. These 
 points are of prime importance to identify her in 
 both these respects : her relation to place, and her 
 relation to the great political powers of the world." 
 
 No other city of the world approaches this de- 
 scription. Every student of history knows that 
 Rome was built on seven hills, and this was her 
 well-known characteristic. 
 
 Now add to this the other fact, "And there are 
 seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the 
 other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he 
 must continue a short space," and we have over- 
 whelming evidence that Rome in the time of the 
 Ca3sars is meant, and no other city and no other 
 time. 
 
 The seven heads had a twofold reference : First, 
 the location of this persecuting power, pagan 
 Rome; and second, the time during the reign of 
 the Caesars ; and further, that the vision was dur- 
 
264 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 ing the reign of Nero, whose name had already 
 been given in the number 666. Five are fallen 
 viz., Julius Caesar, Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, 
 Claudius. All these had fallen at the time when 
 this vision was being shown, and this explanation 
 of it was being given. Nero the Sixth was then on 
 the throne. Galba followed him with a reign of 
 only seven months, indeed " a short space." 
 
 " Thus with no forced construction, but in a most 
 easy and obvious application of the revealing an- 
 gel's words, we have the great facts of Roman 
 history precisely indicated. An explanatory pro- 
 phetic symbol, divinely given, ought to tally with 
 history easily and with great precision and accura- 
 cy. It surely will if you bring it to the right his- 
 tory /. ., if you have the true application of the 
 symbols of history. This history fits the angel's in- 
 terpretation of these symbols perfectly. There can 
 be no rational doubt, therefore, that this application 
 of his symbols to history is the true one." (H. 
 Cowles.) 
 
 The reader must remember that it is the beast 
 that persecutes the Christians. There may have 
 been no persecutions under the reign of Julius 
 Caasar, but he is used only as a part of the descrip- 
 tion of the beast by which he is identified. Nor 
 are we told that the beast dies as soon as the seven 
 heads by which he is identified fall; but the re- 
 vealing angel goes on to say: "And the beast that 
 was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the 
 seven, and goeth into perdition," showing that the 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 265 
 
 empire continues after the fall of the seventh ; and 
 that the eighth is of the seven that is, Otho, Vitel- 
 lus, Vespasian, and others claimed to be Caesars, 
 though usurpers. Under them the beast still per- 
 secutes. But let the saints take courage. Imperial, 
 persecuting Rome is fatally doomed, and must go 
 into perdition. 
 
 "And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten 
 kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; 
 but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. 
 These have one mind, and shall give their power 
 and strength unto the beast. These shall make 
 war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome 
 them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: 
 and they that are with him are called, and chosen, 
 and faithful." 
 
 Here we have the symbol of Rome as a perse- 
 cuting power under the short reign of those who 
 usurped the throne of the Caesars. "One hour" 
 is not a definite period, but is to represent the brief 
 reign of these kings. Whether there were exactly 
 ten no more, no less is not important to the sym- 
 bol. It may be a definite for an indefinite number. 
 They are the willing tools of the beast, giving their 
 power and strength to him. With one mind they 
 war with the Lamb; but comforting thought 
 "the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord 
 of lords, and King of kings." The declaration is 
 intended to strengthen the courage of the saints 
 and make them endure hardness as good soldiers 
 of Jesus Christ. 
 
266 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 "And he saith unto me, The waters which thou 
 sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and 
 multitudes, and nations, and tongues." 
 
 This description answers precisely to Rome. 
 She sat on numberless thrones of subject peo- 
 ples. The conquered kings of a vast number of 
 subjects were prisoners in her walls, and over 
 these peoples and nations these ten kings were said 
 to reign. 
 
 "And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the 
 beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make 
 her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, 
 and burn her with fire. For God hath put in 
 their hearts to fulfill his will, and to agree, and 
 give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words 
 of God shall be fulfilled." 
 
 Here is a symbol of the manner in which Rome 
 shall be destroyed. These kings are to turn 
 against her; Rome is to die by the hands of her 
 own people. Civil war and discord were to de- 
 stroy and make her desolate, to strip and make 
 her naked, to devour her very substance, and set 
 her on fire all of which was done. God, who 
 maketh the wrath of man to praise him, put it into 
 the hearts of the people thus to destroy this de- 
 stroyer of his people. 
 
 Does not history show us that the people of cen- 
 tral Europe (Gauls, Germans, Goths, and others) 
 and those of Asia (especially the Parthians) be- 
 came the sword in God's hand for the destruction 
 of Rome. They applied the torch to the mighty 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 267 
 
 fabric of her power, and thus burned it with fire. 
 Not only so, but Rome lost its place as the seat of 
 empire, and it was transferred to Constantinople. 
 And then the closing words of the angel would 
 fix it unmistakably on Rome. 
 
 "And the woman which thou sawest is that great 
 city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth." 
 
 She represents precisely pagan Rome. The 
 language can apply to no other city of those times. 
 And if it be pagan Rome, it strikes with resistless 
 force against the theory held by so many that the 
 woman is papal Rome. Every symbol so far ap- 
 plies naturally and easily to pagan Rome time, 
 place, kings, circumstances, and all while papal 
 Rome did not come into power for a thousand 
 years after this book was written, and every sym- 
 bol must be strained to represent it. I can see 
 papal Rome nowhere in this book. 
 
 "And after these things I saw another angel 
 come down from heaven, having great power; 
 and the earth was lightened with his glory. And 
 he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Bab- 
 ylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the 
 habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul 
 spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful 
 bird. For all nations have drunk of the wine of 
 the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the 
 earth have committed fornication with her, and the 
 merchants of the earth have waxed rich through 
 the abundance of her delicacies." 
 
 This angel comes to make the announcement of 
 
268 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 the fall of Rome, here called Babylon. We have 
 seen that this was the name written upon the fore- 
 head of the woman upon the beast, and the reveal- 
 ing angel said: "And the woman which thou saw- 
 est is that great city, which reigneth over the kings 
 of the earth." Pagan Rome falls under the pow- 
 er of God's judgments. Is it not wonderful that 
 an infidel writer, in giving us the history of this 
 very nation whose capital city was Rome, and the 
 history of this very period, should select as the title 
 of his book, " The Decline and Fall of the Roman 
 Empire?" Rome did fall r , and the cause of this 
 fall is given. It " became the habitation of devils, 
 and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of 
 every unclean and hateful bird." It perished of 
 its own corruption and rottenness. Perhaps no 
 city of earth ever became more corrupt. Society 
 was rotten to the very core, and this rottenness 
 is symbolized by these devils, foul spirits, and 
 hateful birds. 
 
 But this was not all: she had made all nations 
 drink "of the wine of the wrath of her fornica- 
 tion," etc. The corrupting influence exerted 
 upon all nations over which she reigned was an- 
 other cause of her overthrow. She had forced 
 other nations to commit idolatry, and made kings 
 commit fornication (idolatry) with her. 
 
 "And I heard another voice from heaven, say- 
 ing, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not 
 partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of 
 her plagues. For her sins have reached unto 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 269 
 
 heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities. 
 Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double 
 unto her double according to her works: in the 
 cup which she hath filled, fill to her double." 
 
 As in the case of Sodom and Gomorrah, God 
 withheld his judgments until he had called right- 
 eous Lot and his family out, so arrangements are 
 made for the rescue of his people in Rome. They 
 are called to come out of her. Her sins had 
 reached unto heaven, and the edict had gone forth 
 to pour out the vials of his wrath upon her, doub- 
 ling his judgments according to her deeds. She 
 is to be recompensed according to her works. 
 
 " How much she hath glorified herself, and lived 
 deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: 
 for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am 
 no widow, and shall see no sorrow. Therefore 
 shall her plagues come in one day, death, and 
 mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly 
 burned with fire : for strong is the Lord God who 
 judgeth her." 
 
 No city of earth had been so proud, no city 
 more luxurious, and now her judgments are to be 
 in proportion to her glory. And these judgments 
 are to strike her just when she is pluming herself 
 that she shall see no sorrow. Sudden and awful 
 were the judgments of God upon this wicked city. 
 ' 'The Rome in the times of John was in fact 
 blighted and scathed, tortured and smitten; her 
 imperial power broken; her idolatrous influence 
 crushed out; her persecuting terrors quenched in 
 
270 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 God's own way, by judgments which might well 
 make every ear tingle and every heart quail. A 
 city called Rome is indeed standing now, nearly 
 on the site of that Rome of old ; but is it the same 
 city imperial now as then ; mistress of the nations 
 now as then; deifying her emperors, and compel- 
 ling Christians to bow before her idolatrous mili- 
 tary standards now as then; persecuting with fire 
 and sword, with exile and torture, now as then? 
 Not at all. This Rome and that have nothing in 
 common but the name. The old Rome of the age 
 of John, the Rome that sat on the seven-headed, 
 ten-horned beast, has been politically dead for fif- 
 teen centuries." 
 
 "And the kings of the earth, who have commit- 
 ed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall, 
 bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall 
 see the smoke of her burning, standing afar off for 
 the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that 
 great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one 
 hour is thy judgment come. And the merchants 
 of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for 
 no man buyeth their merchandise any more: the 
 merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious 
 stones, and o pearls, and fine linen, and purple, 
 and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all 
 manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of 
 most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and 
 marble, and cinnamon, and odors, and ointments, 
 and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, 
 and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and 
 chariots, and slaves, and souls of men." 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 271 
 
 This is a symbol of the effect that the fall of 
 Rome will produce upon the kings and merchants 
 of the earth that had been made rich by the abun- 
 dance of her delicacies. They see all their trade 
 swept away in her fall, and they lament and 
 mourn. 
 
 "And the fruit that thy soul lusted after are de- 
 parted from thee, and all things which were dainty 
 and goodly are departed from thee, and thou shalt 
 find them no more at all. The merchants of these 
 things, which were made rich by her, shall stand 
 afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and 
 wailing, and saying, Alas, alas, that great city, 
 that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and 
 scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, 
 and pearls ! For in one hour so great riches is 
 come to naught." 
 
 Here the merchants, like the kings, weep and 
 wail over the destruction of this great market of 
 their merchandise. 
 
 4 'And every ship-master, and all the company in 
 ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, 
 stood afar off, and cried when they saw the smoke 
 of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this 
 great city! And they cast dust on their heads, 
 cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas, 
 that great city, wherein were made rich all that 
 had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness ! 
 for in one hour is she made desolate." 
 
 Still another class, sailors and ship-masters, weep 
 and wail because they see the destruction of the 
 
272 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 city that was the center of their trade. Thus the 
 fall of this mighty city affected all classes of men. 
 
 " Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy 
 apostles and prophets ; for God hath avenged you 
 on her." 
 
 Rome, the great persecuting power, goes down 
 under the avenging hand of a righteous God in 
 answer to the prayers of his saints, and heaven 
 and all the good are called upon to rejoice, not so 
 much at the fall of the wicked as at the deliver- 
 ance of the righteous. 
 
 "And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great 
 millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus 
 with violence shall that great city Babylon be 
 thrown down, and shall be found no more at all. 
 And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and of 
 pipers, and trumpeters, shall be heard no more at 
 all in thee; and no craftsman, of whatsoever craft 
 he be, shall be found any more in thee; and the 
 sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all 
 in thee; and the light of a candle shall shine no 
 more at all in thee; and the voice of the bride- 
 groom and of the bride shall be heard no more at 
 all in thee : for thy merchants were the great men 
 of the earth ; for by thy sorceries were all nations 
 deceived. And in her was found the blood of 
 prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain 
 upon the earth." 
 
 God would show how this mighty persecuting 
 power was hurled down. The symbol is that of 
 a mighty angel casting a stone like a great mill- 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 273 
 
 stone into the sea, pronouncing its doom as it falls; 
 picturing the utter desolation by hushing all sounds 
 and shutting out all sights, and concluding with 
 the reason of this utter overthrow. She had de- 
 ceived all nations with her sorceries, led all into 
 idolatry and persecution. The blood of prophets 
 and all that were slain upon the earth was found 
 in her. 
 
 " After these things I heard a great voice of 
 much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salva- 
 tion, and glory, and honor, and power, unto the 
 Lord our God: for true and righteous are his 
 judgments; for he hath judged the great whore, 
 which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, 
 and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her 
 hand. And again they said, Alleluia. And her 
 smoke rose up forever and ever." 
 
 Heaven rejoices at the righteous judgments of 
 God in overthrowing this mighty persecuting city, 
 the great whore, which, as we have seen, is none 
 other than pagan Rome. She had corrupted the 
 the earth with her fornication (idolatry), and had 
 shed profusely the blood of his saints, and for this 
 God had avenged their blood; and as she went 
 down under his power it sent a thrill of joy all 
 through heaven that voiced itself in the shout, "Al- 
 leluia " (praise of Jah i. ., Jehovah the Lord), 
 " and her smoke rose up forever and ever." The 
 fact of this righteous judgment upon this great 
 persecuting power was to be known throughout all 
 generations. It is a standing monument of God's 
 18 
 
274 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 wrath upon the corruptions of idolatry and the 
 persecutions of his saints as if a column of smoke 
 ascending forever in the sight of men would re- 
 mind them of the destruction and torment of those 
 lying under the wrath of God. 
 
 "And the four and twenty elders and the four 
 beasts [living creatures] fell down and worshiped 
 God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen; Alle- 
 luia." 
 
 These prominent personages that appear all 
 through these visions, as in deep sympathy with 
 the work of the Lamb and the interests of his 
 saints, join in the chorus, "Alleluia," that swells 
 throughout heaven. By their falling down and 
 worshiping God that sat on the throne they show 
 that it was God who had executed these judg- 
 ments and wrought this deliverance. 
 
 "And a voice came out of the throne, saying, 
 Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that 
 fear him, both small and great. And I heard as it 
 were the voice of a great multitude, and as the 
 voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty 
 thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God 
 omnipotent reigneth." 
 
 It is not said who uttered this voice; but it 
 came out of the throne, and it was a command for 
 all, both small and great, to join in the song of 
 praise ; and in response it came like the voice of a 
 great multitude, like the roar of the sea, and the 
 echo of mighty thunderings all syllabled in that 
 pason of praise and of victory, "Alleluia." Jehovah 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 275 
 
 had taken the reins of government into his hands, 
 and it was enough to make heaven and earth glad. 
 The joy was universal, and they shout: 
 
 " Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to 
 him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and 
 his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was 
 granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, 
 clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteous- 
 
 o 
 
 ness of saints. And he saith unto me, Write, 
 Blessed are they which are called unto the mar- 
 riage supper of the Lamb. And he said unto me, 
 These are the true sayings of God." 
 
 Now that the two great persecuting powers, 
 Jerusalem and Rome, had been swept out of the 
 way, there was nothing to hinder the spread of the 
 gospel. Jesus the Lamb was ready to be united 
 to his people, and to go forth hand in hand witl\ 
 them to people the world with his saints. The 
 bride, in the beauty of holiness, was to show to 
 the world the loveliness of the religion of Jesus. 
 And blessed are they which are called unto the 
 marriage supper of the Lamb. Glorious privilege ! 
 exalted honor! All this is a symbol of the pros- 
 perity of the Church of Jesus Christ after the re- 
 moval of these great hindering causes. 
 
 "And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he 
 said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellow- 
 servant, and of thy brethren that have the testi- 
 mony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony 
 of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." 
 
 So glorious was the appearance of this revealing 
 
276 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 angel that John mistook him for the Lord himself, 
 and fell at his feet to worship him, and is forbid- 
 den on the ground that he is a fellow-servant of 
 his; and that God only is worthy of adoration, as 
 all the prophets who had testified of Jesus had 
 shown. 
 
 "And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white 
 horse ; and he that sat upon him was called Faith- 
 ful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge 
 and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, 
 and on his head were many crowns; and he had 
 a name written, that no man knew, but he him- 
 self. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped 
 in blood: and his name is called the Word of God. 
 And the armies which were in heaven followed him 
 upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and 
 clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, 
 that with it he should smite the nations; and he 
 shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he tread- 
 eth the wine-press of the fierceness and wrath of 
 Almighty God. And he had on his vesture and on 
 his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, 
 AND LORD OF LORDS." 
 
 The chief actor in the scene now appears, rid- 
 ing on a white horse out of opened heaven. He 
 is the commander of the armies that follow. His 
 name is given Faithful and True and the war in 
 which he is engaged is a righteous war. He did 
 not strike till he had weighed well the offense 
 against his people and the justice of his cause. 
 His eyes were as a flame of fire: he could see 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 277 
 
 into the depths of iniquity; he knew all. On his 
 head were many crowns; his resources were 
 unbounded; under his command were all the 
 allies and powers necessary to the accomplish- 
 ment of his purpose. He himself was the " Won- 
 derful," the deep significance of whose name no 
 man knew but he himself. And he was clothed 
 with a vesture dipped in blood. Those who look 
 upon Christ as only a God of mercy are fearfully 
 mistaken. "Justice and judgment are the habita- 
 tion of his throne." Paul asks the question: " Is 
 God unrighteous who taketh vengeance? (I speak 
 as a man) God forbid: for then how shall God 
 judge the world?" No fact is more clearly stated 
 in the Scriptures than that he will take vengeance 
 upon his enemies. As we have seen, when the 
 prophet Isaiah predicted his coming to judge Jeru- 
 salem, he cried out: "Who is this that cometh 
 from Edom with dyed garments from Bozrah? 
 this that is glorious in his apparel, traveling in the 
 greatness of his strength?" And is answered: 
 "I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save." 
 The question is then asked to bring out the fact: 
 *' Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy 
 garments like him that treadeth in the wine-fat? " 
 The answer is given: "I have trodden the wine- 
 press alone; and of the people there was none 
 with me : for I will tread them in mine anger, and 
 trample them in my fury ; and their blood shall be 
 sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all 
 my raiment. For the day of vengeance is in mine 
 
278 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 heart, and the year of my redeemed is come. And 
 I looked, and there was none to help ; and I won- 
 dered that there was none to uphold: therefore 
 mine own arm brought salvation unto me ; and my 
 fury, it upheld me. And I will tread down the 
 people in mine anger, and make them drunk in 
 my fury, and I will bring down their strength to 
 the earth." So in this case the same mighty 
 champion is seen mounted on a white horse, with 
 his vesture dipped in blood. He is again treading 
 down his enemies. Every title applied to him here 
 shows us clearly that this conquerer is Christ 
 Faithful and True, the Word of God, and King of 
 kings, and Lord of lords. No other is entitled 
 to these names. But he goes forth not alone. 
 The armies which were in heaven follow him 
 upon white horses like his, the symbol of victory. 
 They are clothed in fine linen, white and clean. 
 The revealing angel tells us that the " fine linen is 
 the righteousness of the saints." They are in full 
 harmony and sympathy with their leader. 
 
 "And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword." 
 Jesus is to conquer with his word. His commands 
 are obeyed to the letter. Every power of the uni- 
 verse is at his command. He speaks, and armies 
 move; earthquakes rend the solid earth, and light- 
 nings leap from the batteries of the sky. He has 
 no golden scepter for his foes now. Their rebel- 
 lion has reached a point where the cup of their iniq- 
 uity is full, and he rules now with a rod of iron. He 
 lifts his hand to smite and destroy all these nations 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 279 
 
 that are drunk with the wine of Rome's fornication. 
 King's and lords have to submit to his power, by 
 virtue of the victory he has achieved, for he is 
 King of kings and Lord of lords. As he and his 
 armies go forth to the final battle against the mul- 
 tiplied nations that war against him, John says: 
 
 "And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and 
 be cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls 
 that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather 
 yourselves together unto the supper of the great 
 God; that ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the 
 flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and 
 the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, 
 and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both 
 small and great." 
 
 This angel is seen standing in the sun that is, 
 in the east as the sun rises. His voice rings out 
 through the vast concave of heaven, summoning 
 every bird of prey to the battle-field, for a feast 
 such as they have never enjoyed. 
 
 "The slain of the Lord shall be many, and they 
 shall eat to the full." 
 
 This is symbolical of the great slaughter that 
 should take place at the fall of Rome. When the 
 day of battle shall close, and mountain and plain 
 shall be strewn thick with the bodies of the slain 
 of kings, captains, mighty men, horses, and sol- 
 diers free, bond, small, and great, then these 
 fowls that fly in the midst of heaven are to partake 
 of this " supper of the great God." 
 
 No attempt is made to describe the battle scene, 
 
280 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 but John sees the hosts gathering, and witnesses 
 the final act. 
 
 "And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, 
 and their armies, gathered together to make war 
 against him that sat on the horse, and against his 
 army. And the beast was taken, and with him the 
 false prophet that wrought miracles before him, 
 with which he deceived them that had received 
 the mark of the beast, and them that worshiped 
 his image. These both were cast alive into a lake 
 of fire burning with brimstone. And the remnant 
 were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the 
 horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth; 
 and all the fowls were filled with their flesh." 
 
 There was one mighty shock as these multiplied 
 nations hurled themselves against him that sat on 
 the horse and against his army. The leaders 
 the beast, pagan Rome, the false prophet, and the 
 pagan priesthood were seized and cast alive into a 
 lake of fire burning with brimstone. This is a sym- 
 bol of the complete overthrow of this great persecu- 
 ting power. The victory is complete and final. The 
 remnant were slain, and their bodies given to the 
 fowls that in the early morning had been invited to 
 the supper of the great God. 
 
 One fact in this symbol should be specially noted. 
 The beast seen coming up out of the sea, with the 
 seven heads and ten horns, which we have seen an- 
 swers in every feature to pagan Rome and the false 
 prophet, synonymous with the beast that came up 
 out of the earth, are both here here at the same 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 281 
 
 time and place; so one cannot represent pagan 
 Rome and the other papal Rome, that as a perse- 
 cuting power followed a thousand years after. 
 Everywhere in this vision they are cotemporary, 
 the latter always subordinate to the former, and 
 exercising his power in seducing kings, nations, 
 tongues, and peoples to worship the beast and his 
 image. Both were cast at the same time into the 
 burning lake, the prison house of the lost, first pre- 
 pared for the devil and his angels. They did the 
 devil's work, and they must share the devil's hell; 
 for, you remember, "the dragon gave him his 
 power, and his seat, and great authority." (H. 
 Cowles.) 
 
 The beast and the false prophet have been taken 
 and cast into the lake of fire burning with brim- 
 stone. Shall the archenemy, the instigator of all 
 the wickedness and crime, escape? No. Hear 
 what John says of him : 
 
 "And I saw an angel come down from heaven, 
 having the key of the bottomless pit and a great 
 chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the drag- 
 on, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, 
 and bound him a thousand years, and cast him into 
 the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal 
 upon him, that he should deceive the nations no 
 more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: 
 and after that he must be loosed a little season.". 
 
 This is not literal, but, like all else in this book, 
 is symbolical. The devil has had great power. 
 He stood before the woman to devour her child as 
 
282 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 soon as it was born, and when this child is divinely 
 preserved he persecutes the woman, gives his power 
 and his seat to the ferocious beast that comes up 
 out of the sea, who in turn marshals all the kings 
 and peoples against the followers of Christ, to 
 crush out the saints from the earth. His emissa- 
 ries have been overthrown, and now the power of 
 this archenemy must be curtailed as far as the 
 Church of God is concerned. An angel came 
 down from heaven, signifying that his authority 
 was from God, and ^ie lays hold upon the devil and 
 casts him into the bottomless pit, and shuts him up, 
 and sets a seal upon him, that he should deceive 
 the nations no more till the thousand years should 
 be fulfilled. 
 
 The thousand years is a definite period given 
 to indicate an indefinite. Not that he was to be 
 bound for just ten centuries no more, no less 
 but this is a round number, used frequently in the 
 Scriptures to indicate a long period. This is gra- 
 ciously realized, as far as God's people are con- 
 cerned. Jesus said: "I saw Satan as lightning 
 fall from heaven." What power has he over one 
 who abides in Christ, one who walks faithfully in 
 the highway of holiness? Over this the unclean 
 shall not pass. " No lion shall be there, nor any 
 ravenous beast shall go up thereon, it shall not be 
 found there; but the redeemed shall walk there: 
 and the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and 
 come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon 
 their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 283 
 
 and sorrow and sighing shall flee away." Then, 
 as far as the true followers of Christ are concerned, 
 the devil is bound. Christ in this grand battle broke 
 his power, and put his Church where it could move 
 on to the salvation of the world. 
 
 "And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, 
 and judgment was given unto them: and I saw 
 the souls of them that were beheaded for the wit- 
 ness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which 
 had not worshiped the beast, neither his image, 
 neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, 
 or in their hands ; and they lived and reigned with 
 Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead 
 lived not again until the thousand years were fin- 
 ished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and 
 holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: 
 on such the second death hath no power, but they 
 shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall 
 reign with him a thousand years." 
 
 Who are they that sit upon the thrones? Evi- 
 dently the souls of the martyrs which have played 
 so important a part in moving by their pleadings 
 and prayers their Lord to avenge them of their en- 
 emies. They were first seen under the altar, cry- 
 ing, "How long, O Lord?" Now the time of 
 their exaltation has come. The two great perse- 
 cuting powers have been overthrown and Satan 
 bound, and now their Lord and King fulfills the 
 promise he made: "To him that overcometh will 
 I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also 
 overcame, and am set down with my Father in his 
 
284 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 throne." These martyrs now occupy the most 
 exalted position. This is a symbol of their having 
 overcome. They were faithful to the death, held 
 on to their integrity until Christ in answer to their 
 prayers had overthrown all their foes and bound the 
 very devil himself. They were faithful witnesses 
 for Jesus and the word of God, loving not their 
 lives unto the death, and Christ is true to his prom- 
 ise: " Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give 
 thee a crown of life." With crowns upon their 
 heads, and seated upon thrones in the presence of 
 all, they are to reign with Christ for a thousand 
 years. 
 
 " But the rest of the dead lived not again until 
 the thousand years were finished. This is the first 
 resurrection." 
 
 This is not a literal resurrection, nor is it a res- 
 urrection of the body. This whole book, and es- 
 pecially this part of it, is full of symbols. See 
 " the great chain," " the old serpent," the " seal," 
 the " thrones," the "second death," the "camp 
 of the saints," etc. So this resurrection is sym- 
 bolical. The passing from sorrow to joy is often 
 in the Old Testament Scriptures represented by a 
 resurrection. Ezekiel xxxvii. represents Israel as 
 dead and scattered as dry bones in a valley, but by 
 the breath of God they have a resurrection. This 
 was not literal, but symbolical. Other cases might 
 be .cited, but this is enough to establish the fact. 
 
 In the New Testament we have the same figure. 
 Ephesians v. 14: "Awake thou that sleepest, and 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 285 
 
 arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee 
 light." And again in Ephesians ii. i: "And you 
 hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses 
 and sins." In Romans xi. 15, Paul, in speaking 
 of the salvation of the Jews, says: "What shall 
 the receiving of them be, but life from the 
 dead?" 
 
 Now this first resurrection was only the passage 
 of these martyrs from the death of sorrow to the 
 life of joy. Their prayers were fully answered. 
 Jesus had returned from his conquest against their 
 foes in complete triumph, and they are lifted to 
 thrones and are to have a joy peculiar to themselves 
 in seeing the cause for which they died triumphing 
 as never before. They shall partake of the joy of 
 their Lord. The rest of the dead know nothing 
 of this joy. It is peculiar to those who "were be- 
 headed for the witness of Jesus and for the word 
 of God." 
 
 That the thousand years here is a definite num- 
 ber used for an indefinite period we can easily de- 
 termine by marking its use elsewhere in the Script- 
 ures. In the second commandment (Ex. xx. 6) 
 it is said: "And showing mercy unto thousands of 
 them that love me, and keep my commandments." 
 Thousands means not unto thousands of people, 
 but unto the thousandth generation that is, for- 
 ever; for in the preceding verse it is said: " Unto 
 the third and fourth generation of them that hate 
 me." Moses repeats the thought in Deuteronomy 
 vii. 9: "Know therefore that the Lord thy God, 
 
286 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth cove- 
 nant and mercy with them that love him and keep 
 his commandments to a thousand generations." 
 He does not mean just a thousand no more, no 
 less but it is a definite number, and a large one, to 
 express the boundlessness of God's mercy to them 
 that keep his commandments. The expression of 
 David (Ps. 1. 10), "The cattle upon a thousand 
 hills," is of a like character. And again (Ps. xc. 
 4): "For a thousand years in thy sight are but 
 as yesterday when it is past/' Again (Ps. xci. 
 7): "A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten 
 thousand at thy right hand.' 7 This, in fact, is a 
 favorite number to express a large and indefinite 
 number. 
 
 Strange as it may appear, the passage under con- 
 sideration is the only one in all the Bible in which 
 there is any allusion to the millennium; and yet 
 no fact has fixed itself more strongly upon the 
 mind of the Church than that there is to be a mil- 
 lennium, and nothing about which there is so much 
 indefiniteness. Some think that it will be before 
 Christ's second coming; some, after. Some think 
 it will be merely a time of great prosperity in the 
 Church, when the powers of darkness will give 
 way to mighty displays of God's glory in the salva- 
 tion of sinners; others, that the world has been 
 divided in its duration to seven thousand years; 
 that the first six thousand, now nearly at an end, 
 will be succeeded by a Sabbatic thousand, when 
 the Church shall have rest from her enemies, and 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 287 
 
 great glory shall be vouchsafed to it; and many 
 others. Ask these men for their reasons for 
 their beliefs, and they can give no good and 
 satisfactory scriptural reasons. Like that other 
 error, that Gabriel shall sound the last trumpet, 
 for which there is not a shadow of proof from 
 the Scriptures, men have always talked of a mil- 
 lennium; therefore there must be one. Now if 
 'we examine this single passage in the light of 
 the symbolic character of this entire book, we 
 shall find that it refers alone to the martyrs of 
 Jesus, whose joy at the overthrow of the two great 
 persecuting powers Jerusalem and pagan Rome, 
 the powers that beheaded them and the binding 
 of Satan, who instigated these persecutions, is to 
 thrill them for an indefinite period. God gives 
 them this peculiar pleasure because of their faith- 
 fulness. Other dead, not of the martyrs, enter 
 not into this joy. "This is the first resurrection. 
 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first 
 resurrection: on such the second death hath no 
 power, but they shall be priests of God and of 
 Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years." 
 Theirs was a hard death. In it they exemplified 
 the power of the religion of Jesus. They proved 
 their confidence in the promises of God of another 
 and better life; and that faith in Christ was the 
 very thing that could give them this life. Thus 
 honoring God, God honors them by revealing to 
 the Church and to the world that he was " not un- 
 righteous to forget their work. 7 ' It is written: 
 
288 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 " If we suffer, we shall also reign with him." 
 And again: "And if children, then heirs; heirs of 
 God, and joint heirs with Christ; if so be that we 
 suffer -with him, that we may be also glorified to- 
 gether." Peter says(i Pet. iv. 13): " But rejoice, 
 inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings ; 
 that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be 
 glad also with exceeding joy." 
 
 The martyr saints are to be honored. God 
 makes them his ministers, symbolized by being 
 made priests of God and of Christ. They also 
 sit upon the thrones spoken of, and reign with him 
 a thousand years. This is all of it. 
 
 "And when the thousand years are expired, 
 Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, and shall 
 go out to deceive the nations which are in the 
 four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to 
 gather them together to battle: the number of 
 whom is as the sands of the sea. And they went 
 up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the 
 camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: 
 and fire came down from God out of heaven, and 
 devoured them. And the devil that deceived them 
 was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where 
 the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be 
 tormented day and night forever and ever." 
 
 This symbol would indicate that after this long 
 period of rest and rejoicing at the overthrow of 
 the powers of darkness there is yet to be one 
 more blow from the hand of God. The devil 
 had only been shut up in the bottomless pit for a 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 289 
 
 period. The seal upon that pit was after a time to 
 be broken, and he loosed out of his prison. It 
 would seem that the object of this loosing is to put 
 him in a position to be hurled into the lake of fire 
 and brimstone. God knows that all he needs is an 
 opportunity to show his hand. 
 
 As the time for the final coming of Christ to 
 judge the quick and dead draws near Satan is 
 loosed. At once he sets to work to deceive the na- 
 tions which are in the four quarters of the earth. 
 Once more he gathers them together to try and 
 recover his lost fortunes. 
 
 John seizes upon an Old Testament picture, 
 where the greatest army ever gathered together for 
 battle is mentioned (Ezek. xxxviii., xxxix.), Gog 
 and Magog. These multiplied thousands come up, 
 and are wholly overthrown. And to give an idea 
 of their countless numbers and their utter over- 
 throw, the prophet tells us that the wood of their 
 weapons shields, bucklers, bows, arrows, hand 
 staves, and spears will serve the people for fire- 
 wood for seven years, and that all Israel shall be 
 seven months in burying the dead of their army. 
 They compassed the camp of the saints about, and 
 the beloved city; but before they had time to 
 strike a blow fire came down from God out of 
 heaven, and devoured them; and the devil that de- 
 ceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brim- 
 stone. This ends forever the power of the devil 
 upon earth, and the next symbol is that which pre- 
 sents to us the resurrection and the great judgment- 
 day. 
 
 19 
 
290 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 "And I saw a great white throne, and him that 
 sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heav- 
 en fled away; and there was found no place for 
 them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand 
 before God; and the books were opened: and an- 
 other book was opened, which is the book of life: 
 and the dead were judged out of those things 
 which were written in the books, according to their 
 works. And the sea gave up the dead which were 
 in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead 
 which were in them : and they were judged every 
 man according to their works. And death and 
 hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the 
 second death. And whosoever was not found 
 written in the book of life was cast into the lake of 
 fire." 
 
 It is clearly taught in the scriptures that there 
 shall be a " resurrection of the just and of the unr 
 just." Jesus said: " Marvel not at this: for the 
 hour is coming, in the which all that are in the 
 graves shall hear his voice, and shall come -forth; 
 they that have done good, unto the resurrection of 
 life ; and they that have done evil, unto the resur- 
 rection of damnation." 
 
 It is also taught that there shall be a day of judg- 
 ment following this resurrection, and that Jesus is 
 to be the judge. Paul says: " God hath appoint- 
 ed a day, in the which he will judge the world in 
 righteousness by that man whom he hath or- 
 dained." And again: " We must all stand be- 
 fore the judgment-seat of Christ." 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 291 
 
 The symbol here used shows that all the- dead, 
 small and great, shall stand before God. Even 
 the sea shall give up the dead which are in it, and 
 death and hell (hades, the place of the departed) 
 shall make a full deliverance on that day; and, 
 when emptied, shall, as no longer of any use, be 
 cast into the lake of fire. The books are opened; 
 the utmost accuracy is to be observed; each indi- 
 vidual is to be examined, and then the book of life 
 is to be appealed to to see if his name is found 
 there ; if not, that settles the matter, and he is cast 
 into the lake of fire. This casting into the lake of 
 fire is the second death. It is a final and eternal 
 separation from God and the good. 
 
 In the beginning of these revelations, in ad- 
 dressing the Church at Sardis, Jesus promises 
 that " he that overcometh, the same shall be clothed 
 in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name 
 out of the book of life, but I will confess his name 
 before my Father, and before his angels." 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 The New Heaven and the New Earth The New Jerusalem 
 The General Invitation. 
 
 IN our approach to these closing chapters of Rev- 
 elation we must not forget that this is a book of 
 symbols, and that these chapters are symbolic as 
 well as the rest. If we adhere strictly to this, we 
 will find them a most beautiful and striking repre- 
 sentation of the Church of Jesus Christ on earth, 
 when he had overthrown her foes and fully estab- 
 lished the plan upon w T hich he purposed to bring 
 the world under his scepter. 
 
 "And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for 
 the first heaven and the first earth were passed 
 away; and there was no more sea/' 
 
 Isaiah had foretold of this time, and the reveal- 
 ing angel applies this prophecy in these symbols. 
 When speaking of the Church of the Messiah that 
 should embrace the Gentiles, he says: "For, be- 
 hold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and 
 the former shall not be remembered, nor come 
 into mind. But be ye glad and rejoice forever in 
 that which I create ; for, behold, I create Jerusalem 
 a rejoicing, and her people a joy. And I will re- 
 joice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: and the 
 voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, 
 nor the voice of crying." This is the new heaven 
 and earth seen in the vision of John. The Mosaic 
 (292) 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 293 
 
 state of the Church had passed away, and the 
 Christian state had been established. 
 
 "And there was no more sea." The sea repre- 
 sents nations. "The waters which thou sawest, 
 where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multi- 
 tudes, and nations, and tongues." (Rev. xvii. 
 15.) Under the first arrangement God had his 
 Church in a nation the nation of the Jews but 
 now the Church is universal, members are taken 
 from all nations; and yet God has no nation he 
 calls his own, his peculiar people. As Christ said, 
 " My kingdom is not of this world." Members of 
 his Church can be found among all people ; nor is 
 it necessary for them to forswear allegiance to 
 their earthly rulers to become members of his 
 kingdom. On the other hand, all are exhorted to 
 be subject to their e.arthly rulers. His is not a na- 
 tional Church. 
 
 "And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, 
 coming down from God out of heaven, prepared 
 as a bride adorned for her husband." 
 
 This new Jerusalem is a symbol of the Church. 
 Paul, speaking of it, says: " For it is written, that 
 Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, 
 the other by a free woman. But he who was 
 of the bondwoman was born after the flesh: but 
 he of the free woman was by promise. Which 
 things are an allegory: for these are the two cov- 
 nants; the one from the Mount Sinai, which gen- 
 dereth to bondage, which is Agar. For this Agar is 
 Mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem 
 
294 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 which now is, and is in bondage with her children. 
 But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the 
 mother of us all." (Gal. iv. 22-26.) And again: 
 " But ye are come unto Mount Sion, and unto the 
 city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem." 
 (Heb. xii. 22.) 
 
 " Prepared as a bride adorned for her husband." 
 John the Baptist speaks of the Church as the bride 
 and Jesus as the bridegroom. (John iii. 29.) 
 Paul says: " I have espoused you to one husband, 
 that I may present you as a chaste virgin to 
 Christ." The Church must be clothed in " the 
 beauty of holiness." Christ is coming to take his 
 bride to his Father's house, and she must keep 
 herself unspotted from the world, loving her Lord 
 with all her heart. 
 
 "And I heard a great voice out of heaven say- 
 ing, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, 
 and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his 
 people, and God himself shall be with them, and 
 be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears 
 from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, 
 neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be 
 any more pain: for the former things are passed 
 away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Be- 
 hold, I make all things new. And he said unto 
 me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. 
 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and 
 Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give 
 unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the wa- 
 ter of life freely." 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 295 
 
 The new Jerusalem is not taken from earth up 
 to heaven, but it cometh down from God out of 
 heaven. It is to be here on earth for a time. The 
 temple has been thrown down; Jerusalem has been 
 destroyed. And now God sets up his tabernacle 
 among men. " The tabernacle of David which 
 had fallen" he had again set up, "that the residue 
 of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gen- 
 tiles, upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord, 
 who doeth all these things." (Acts xv. 17.) God 
 promises to dwell among his people and make them 
 his. The Gentiles are now to be his people. "And 
 it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was 
 said unto them, Ye are not my people; there shall 
 they be called the children of the living God." 
 
 "And God shall wipe away all tears from their 
 eyes." This is a symbol of the fact that the relig- 
 ion of Jesus is to be a solace for all the woes of 
 earth. Isaiah, in speaking of just this period, 
 says: "And the Lord God will wipe away tears 
 from off all faces." (Isa. xxv. 8.) 
 
 "And there shall be no more death, neither sor- 
 row, nor crying, neither shall there be any more 
 pain: for the former things are passed away." 
 Taking this in its symbolic sense, we find that death 
 is now spoken of as sleef, because Jesus has given 
 promise of a resurrection. 
 
 " I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, 
 concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow 
 not, even as others which have no hope." The 
 hope of living again takes away the sorrow and 
 
296 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 lifts us above pain the sorrow and pain without 
 hope. 
 
 "And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, 
 I make all things new. And he said unto me, 
 Write: for these words are true and faithful." 
 
 This is a moral creation, not a physical. Isaiah 
 foretold this. "For the Lord God shall call his 
 servants by another name: that he who blesseth 
 himself in the earth shall bless himself in the God 
 of truth ; and he that sweareth in the earth shall 
 swear by the God of truth; because the former 
 troubles are forgotten, and because they are hid 
 from mine eyes. For, behold, I create new heav- 
 ens and a new earth: and the former shall not be 
 remembered, nor come into mind. But be ye glad 
 and rejoice forever in that which I create : for, be- 
 hold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her peo- 
 ple a joy. And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and 
 joy in my people : and the voice of weeping shall 
 be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying.'* 
 (Isa. Ixv. 15-19.) Here the new name, "Chris- 
 tian," given to his people is spoken of. God shall 
 be their God, and they shall be his people. As 
 the bride, they shall take his name, " Christian." 
 
 The New Jerusalem is also spoken of as the joy 
 of the Lord. All things are new. Paul says: " If 
 any man be in Christ, he is a new creature : old 
 things are passed away; behold, all things are be- 
 come new." (2 Cor. v. 17.) " For in Christ Jesus 
 neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncir- 
 cumcision, but a new creature" (Gal. vi. 15-) 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 297 
 
 "And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha 
 and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will 
 give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the 
 water of life freely. He that overcometh shall in- 
 herit all things; and I will be his God, and he 
 shall be my son." 
 
 In the same grand prophecy of Isaiah we have 
 the invitation : "Ho, every one that thirsteth, come 
 ye to the waters." And Jesus exclaimed: "If any 
 man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink." 
 And he promised to give to the woman of Samaria 
 water of which if she drank she should never thirst. 
 
 " Shall inherit all things." Paul tells us: "All 
 things are yours, . . . and ye are Christ's; 
 and Christ is God's." " Having nothing, yet 
 possessing all things." 
 
 "I will be his God." We become the children 
 of God. By the spirit which makes us new creat- 
 ures in Christ we are enabled to cry Abba, Father. 
 " The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, 
 that we are the children of God: and if children, 
 then heirs; heirs of God, and joint heirs with 
 Christ." Thus we as the sons of God inherit all 
 things. How very plain it is that this beautiful 
 symbol refers to the Church of Jesus Christ as it 
 now exists ! 
 
 " But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the 
 abominable* and murderers, and whoremongers, 
 and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall 
 have their part in the lake which burneth with fire 
 and brimstone: which is the second death." 
 
298 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 Here are pointed out those who are excluded 
 from the blessings of the New Jerusalem. They 
 shall follow the beast, the false prophet, and the 
 dragon into the lake burning with fire and brim- 
 stone. Fearful fate! From this second death 
 there is no resurrection. When the seal of the sec- 
 ond death is set upon the soul, hope dies, and the 
 soul is damned forever. 
 
 "And there came unto me one of the seven an- 
 gels which had the seven vials full of the seven 
 last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come 
 hither, I will show thee the bride, the Lamb's 
 wife." 
 
 This angel comes now to show to John more in 
 detail the glorious city, the New Jerusalem. The 
 Church, as we have seen, is the Lamb's wife. So 
 the revelation now to be made is with reference to 
 the Church of Jesus Christ ; and let us bear in mind 
 that it is the Church on earth, not in heaven. 
 
 "And he carried me away in the spirit to a great 
 and high mountain, and showed me that great city, 
 the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from 
 God, having the glory of God: and her light was 
 like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper 
 stone, clear as crystal; and had a wall great and 
 high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve 
 angels, and names written thereon, which are the 
 names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: 
 on the east three gates ; on the north three gates ; 
 on the south three gates; and on the west three 
 gates. And the wall of the city had twelve foun- 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 299 
 
 dations, and in them the names of the twelve apos- 
 tles of the Lamb." 
 
 As the first or material Jerusalem was built upon 
 a high mountain, so this symbolic city is upon a 
 great and high mountain. In a subsequent part of 
 this description it is said, "for the Lord God giv- 
 eth them light." God is the light of his Church; 
 and the light is glorious, compared here to the light 
 of a precious stone clear as crystal. The wall is a 
 symbol of God's protecting care. It is said: " In 
 that day [the very time of which we speak] shall 
 this song be sung in the land of Judah ; We have 
 a strong city; salvation will God appoint for walls 
 and bulwarks. Open ye the gates, that the right- 
 eous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in." 
 (Isa. xxvi. i, 2.) And again: "Violence shall no 
 more be heard in thy land, wasting nor destruction 
 within thy borders; but thou shalt call thy walls 
 Salvation, and thy gates Praise. The sun shall be 
 no more thy light by day; neither for brightness 
 shall the moon give light unto thee : but the Lord 
 shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God 
 thy glory." (Isa. Ix. 18, 19.) 
 
 This last expression is the very language of the 
 symbol, "having the glory of God." Both the 
 prophecy and the symbol refer to the same thing, 
 and nothing is plainer than that Isaiah is speaking 
 of the Christian state of the Church in all the latter 
 part of his prophecy. Jesus himself at Nazareth, 
 when he read this part of Isaiah, said: "This day 
 is this scripture fulfilled in your hearing." 
 
300 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 "And had twelve gates," three on each side. 
 These gates are for the admission of those who 
 desire to become citizens of this city. They may 
 come from any quarter or from any nation, and 
 will be admitted, for "in him shall all nations be 
 blessed." The twelve angels represent the twelve 
 apostles. They were sent of God for this purpose. 
 Jesus said: " Whosesoever sins ye remit, they are 
 remitted unto them ; and whosesoever sins ye retain, 
 they are retained;" "and whatsoever thou shalt 
 bind on earth shall be bound in heaven ; and what- 
 soever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in 
 heaven." 
 
 Jesus commits the management of the affairs of 
 his Church to the apostles when he ascends on 
 high, and these are typical of his true ministers in 
 all ages. They stand at the gates to admit those 
 who come to Christ. The Christians are also still 
 known as the true Israel of God: "Know ye 
 therefore that they which are of faith, the same are 
 the children of Abraham." The Christian Church 
 is still the children of Israel. 
 
 "And the wall of the city had twelve founda- 
 tions, and in them the names of the twelve apostles 
 of the Lamb." 
 
 Paul, when writing to the Ephesians, who were 
 Gentiles, says: "Now therefore ye are no more 
 strangers and foreigners, but fellow-citizens with 
 the saints, and of the household of God; and are 
 built upon the foundation of the apostles and 
 prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cor- 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 301 
 
 ner-stone." "And he that talked with me had a 
 golden reed to measure the city, and the gates 
 thereof, and the wall thereof. And the city lieth 
 foursquare, and the length is as large as the 
 breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, 
 twelve thousand furlongs (fifteen hundred miles). 
 The length and the breadth and the height of it are 
 equal. And he measured the wall thereof, a hun- 
 dred and forty and four cubits, according to the 
 measure of a man, that is, of the angel." 
 
 This symbol of the city is taken from the Holy 
 of Holies of the temple, which was a perfect cube. 
 " The length and the breadth and the height of it 
 were equal." 
 
 "And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: 
 and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass. 
 And the foundations of the wall of the city were 
 garnished with all manner of precious stones. The 
 first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; 
 the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald; 
 the fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, 
 chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; 
 the tenth, a chrysoprasus ; the eleventh, a jacinth; 
 the twelfth, an amethyst. And the twelve gates 
 were twelve pearls ; every several gate was of one 
 pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as 
 if it were transparent glass." 
 
 That no one might misinterpret this symbol, John 
 constantly refers to the figures used by Isaiah in de- 
 scribing the Church. Isaiah says: "O thou af- 
 flicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, be- 
 
302 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 hold, I will lay thy stones with fair colors, and lay 
 thy foundation with sapphires. And I will make 
 thy windows of agates, and thy gates of carbuncles, 
 and all thy borders of pleasant stones." 
 
 The riches of the world are laid under tribute to 
 give expression to the glory and beauty of the 
 Church of Jesus Christ. 
 
 "And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord 
 God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. 
 And the city had no need of the sun, neither of 
 the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did 
 lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof." 
 
 Under this new arrangement, there are no fixed 
 places where alone God can be worshiped, as was 
 the case in Jerusalem; but as Jesus said to the 
 woman of Samaria: "Woman, believe me, the 
 hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mount- 
 ain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. 
 . But the hour cometh, and now is, when 
 the true worshipers shall worship the Father in 
 spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such 
 to worship him. God is a spirit: and they 
 that worship him must worship him in spirit and 
 in truth." 
 
 John saw no temple, for there was none. Where- 
 ever men might be, they could worship God; for 
 he is a Spirit, and is equally present everywhere. 
 When Jesus sent his disciples into all the world, he 
 said: "Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the 
 end of the world." This mighty Holy of Holies is 
 accessible to all. "Jesus said: I am the light of the 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 303 
 
 world : he that f olloweth me shall not walk in dark- 
 ness, but shall have the light of life." " In him was 
 life, and the life was the light of men." "That 
 was the true light which lighteneth every man that 
 cometh into the world." "And the nations of 
 them which are saved shall walk in the light of it : 
 and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and 
 honor into it. And the gates of it shall not be shut 
 at all by day; for there shall be no night there. 
 And they shall bring the glory and honor of the 
 nations into it. 
 
 Jesus is the Sun of righteousness, whose healing 
 wings are spread over all the earth. Isaiah says: 
 "And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and 
 kings to the brightness of thy rising." (Isa. Ix. 3.) 
 And again: " I will also give thee for a light to 
 the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto 
 the end of the earth." (Isa. xlix. 6.) And again: 
 "Who are these that fly as a cloud, and as the 
 doves to their windows? Surely the isles shall 
 wait for me, and the ships of Tarshish first, to 
 bring thy sons from far, their silver and their gold 
 with them, unto the name of the Lord thy God, 
 and to the Holy One of Israel, because he hath 
 glorified thee. And the sons of strangers shall 
 build up thy walls, and their kings shall minister 
 unto thee: for in my wrath I smote thee, but in 
 my favor have I had mercy on thee. Therefore 
 thy gates shall be open continually; they shall not 
 be shut day nor night; that men may bring unto 
 thee the forces of the Gentiles, and that their kings 
 
304 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 may be brought." (Isa. Ix. 8-n.) This passage 
 is a clear explanation of this symbol. 
 
 "And there shall in nowise enter into it any 
 thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh 
 abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are 
 written in the Lamb's book of life." 
 
 God's children must be pure and holy, for with- 
 out holiness no man shall see the Lord. Men with- 
 out spiritual life may unite with the visible Church, 
 but only those who have been regenerated by the 
 Holy Ghost shall be numbered among the true fol- 
 lowers of God. Paul says: "The foundation of 
 God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord 
 knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one 
 that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniqui- 
 ty." (2 Tim. ii. 19.) Only those born of the 
 Spirit have their names "written in the Lamb's 
 book of life." 
 
 "And he showed me a pure river of water of 
 life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne 
 of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the 
 street of it, and on either side of the river, was 
 there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of 
 fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the 
 leaves of the tree were for the healing of the na- 
 tions." 
 
 This river of life proceeds from the throne of 
 God and of the Lamb. God only through Jesus 
 Christ can give life to dead souls. There is none 
 other name under heaven given among men where- 
 by they can be saved. God and God only is the 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 305 
 
 author of salvation. The tree of life is to fur- 
 nish food to the saints, and the leaves are for the 
 healing of the nations. This cannot be a descrip- 
 tion of heaven, for there is no need of healing 
 there. Man lost his right to life by the transgres- 
 sion, and Jesus restores him to his lost inheritance. 
 " You hath he quickened [made alive], who were 
 dead in trespasses and sins." The blessed gospel 
 of Jesus Christ, like the leaves of the tree of life, is 
 for the healing of the nations. 
 
 "And there shall be no more curse: but the 
 throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it ; and 
 his servants shall serve him: and they shall see 
 his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads. 
 And there shall be no night there; and they need 
 no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord 
 God giveth them light: and they shall reign for- 
 ever and ever." 
 
 The manifest presence of God and the Lamb in 
 his Church shall be a guaranty from every curse. 
 His people need fear nothing. 
 
 " Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the 
 law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, 
 Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: that 
 the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gen- 
 tiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive 
 the promise of the Spirit through faith." (Gal. 
 iii. 13, 14.) 
 
 "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus 
 hath made me free from the law of sin and death. 
 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak 
 20 
 
306 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 through the flesh, God [did by] sending his own 
 Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, con- 
 demned sin in the flesh." (Rom. viii. 2, 3.) 
 
 No other sacrifice is needed to put away the 
 curse, hence no more need of a temple, of typical 
 sacrifices. The work has been done, "and there 
 shall be no more curse." 
 
 "And his s'ervants shall serve him." The grand 
 work of spreading the gospel to the ends of the 
 earth is committed to the hands of his servants. 
 "And they shall see his face." Jesus has prom- 
 ised to be with his servants " even to the end of 
 the world." His presence is always manifest to 
 his faithful servants. 
 
 "And his name shall be in their foreheads." 
 When one is baptized with water, the name of the 
 "Father, Son, and Holy Ghost" is written upon 
 the forehead. This is the outward sign of the 
 inward baptism of the Holy Spirit, whereby we 
 know ourselves as the children of God. Jesus is 
 present with us in the person of the Holy Spirit, by 
 which God's name is written on our foreheads. 
 The work of Jesus performed by his servants is to 
 be a continual service. 
 
 "And there shall be no night there." This is a 
 symbol of the continued work of the Church. 
 
 "And they need no candle, neither light of the 
 sun." It is " not by might, nor by power, but by 
 my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts." The work of 
 salvation is accomplished through no earthly agen- 
 cy. Men are born of the spirit, and this promise 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 307 
 
 of the divine presence and help is to extend to the 
 end, for "they [the servants of God] shall reign 
 forever and ever." 
 
 This closes the vision, and the angel closes by 
 saying: " These sayings are faithful and true: and 
 the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel 
 to show unto his servants the things which must 
 shortly be done. Behold, I come quickly: blessed 
 is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of 
 this book." 
 
 These are the final remarks of the revealing an- 
 gel, and he tells John plainly that he has shown 
 his servants the things which must shortly be done, 
 not things that are to transpire from one to two 
 thousand years after. Shortly meant the same in 
 the days of John that it means now, and the things 
 that had been revealed would shortly be done. For 
 instance, the destruction of Jerusalem took place 
 in the year 67, just after the Revelation was writ- 
 ten, and the destruction of Rome followed in about 
 three years. When the Revelation began, the very 
 first utterance is: " The Revelation of Jesus Christ, 
 which God gave unto him, to show unto his serv- 
 vants things which must shortly come to pass." 
 
 " Behold, I come quickly." This second com- 
 ing of Christ to judge the two guilty nations, and 
 to destroy them, was near at hand; and that his 
 servants might know of it, and be ready when the 
 signs pointed out should appear, to fly to a place 
 of safety, Jesus Christ sent his angel to show unto 
 them the things that must shortly be done. The 
 
308 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 warning note is sounded at the beginning, and 
 when the grand panorama had passed in review, 
 he again calls out to them: "Behold, I come 
 quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of 
 the prophecy of this book." In other words, take 
 warning, and be ready when he shall come. 
 
 "And I John saw these things, and heard them. 
 And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to 
 worship before the feet of the angel which showed 
 me these things. Then saith he unto me, See thou 
 do it not : for I am thy fellow-servant, and of thy 
 brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the 
 sayings of this book: worship God." 
 
 No doubt John, deeply impressed with the ap- 
 pearance of the angel and the wonderful revela- 
 tions he had made, mistook him for the Son of 
 man, and fell at his feet to worship. Rut he is in- 
 formed that he is but a fellow-servant of his, and 
 not to be worshiped. 
 
 "And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of 
 the prophecy of this book: for the time is at 
 hand." 
 
 The things foretold in the prophecy of this book 
 were so near at hand that John is commanded to 
 leave it open; in other words, not to seal them. 
 When Daniel prophesied, the revealing spirit told 
 him to 6( shut thou up the vision ; for it shall be for 
 many days." (Dan. viiL 26.) And again: "Shut 
 up the words, and seal the book, even to the time 
 of the end." Why was he to seal his book? Be- 
 cause the time was long. There was not to be an 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 309 
 
 immediate fulfillment "it shall be for many 
 days.'' But the time of the visions of John were 
 at hand. 
 
 This clearly sets aside all those systems of inter- 
 pretation of this book that spread the visions over 
 centuries, even down to the present time. The 
 Churches scarcely had time to read and to hear 
 read the sayings of the prophecy of his book be- 
 fore the rider upon the white horse drew his sword 
 and sounded the charge. John was to write the 
 book, and send it at once to the seven Churches; 
 and " blessed is he that readeth, and they that 
 hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those 
 things which are written therein: for the time is 
 at hand." (Rev. i. 3.) So short was the time 
 that there was no time for change of relations. 
 
 " He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and 
 he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he 
 that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he 
 that is holy, let him be holy still. And, behold, I 
 come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give 
 every man according as his work shall be." 
 
 The revelation was not given that men might 
 change their relation to God, for all had had the 
 gospel preached unto them. It was given that his 
 people might prepare for the coming calamities and 
 seek a place of safety; which, as we have learned, 
 they did, fleeing to Pella when Jerusalem was 
 overthrown. They were also warned to come out 
 of the devoted city of Rome when the judgments of 
 Almighty God were about to fall upon it. 
 
3io The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the 
 end, the first and the last." 
 
 Jesus would have his people know that he is the 
 same that appeared in such splendor to John at the 
 beginning. There he says: "I am Alpha and 
 Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the 
 Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to 
 come, the Almighty." (Rev. i. 8.) 
 
 " Blessed are they that do his commandments, 
 that they may have right to the tree of life, and 
 may enter in through the gates into the city. For 
 without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, 
 and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever lov- 
 eth and maketh a lie." 
 
 The calamities that are coming are not intended 
 for his people, those that keep his commandments. 
 They are to still have a place in his Church, still 
 to eat of the tree of life. He had promised in the 
 beginning: "To him that overcometh will I give 
 to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of 
 the paradise of God." (Rev. ii. 7.) 
 
 He repeats the promises. They shall also have 
 a place in the New Jerusalem, among the pure and 
 holy; while without are dogs, and sorcerers, and 
 all other abominable and unholy people. 
 
 " I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto 
 you these things in the Churches. I am the root 
 and the offspring of David, and the bright and 
 morning star." 
 
 By this expression Jesus himself unites this 
 revelation into one grand whole. It begins with 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 311 
 
 letters to the Churches, and now he declares that 
 he had " sent his angel to testify unto you these 
 things in the Churches." This Jesus is the blessed 
 Messiah of Jews and Christians. He is the "root 
 and the offspring of David, and the bright and 
 morning star." As dwellers in the New Jerusa- 
 lem, or as members of his Church, they are now 
 to go forth to work for the salvation of the world. 
 
 "And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And 
 let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that 
 is athirst come. And whosoever-will, let him take 
 the water of life freely." 
 
 The Church, now freed from the incubus of the 
 two great persecuting powers, is to offer life and 
 salvation to every creature. The Spirit and the 
 bride (the Spirit and the Church) give a cordial 
 invitation, and cry, "Come." Any that hear are 
 included, especially he that is athirst, and whoso- 
 ever will can come to this river of life that flows 
 out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. 
 Blessed invitation! It is as wide as the world. It 
 is the gospel of the Son of God. 
 
 " For I testify unto every man that heareth the 
 words of the prophecy of this book, If any man 
 shall add unto these things, God shall add unto 
 him the plagues that are written in this book: and 
 if any man shall take away from the words of the 
 book of this prophecy, God shall take away his 
 part out of the book of life, and out of the holy 
 city, and from the things which are written in this 
 book." 
 
312 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 So much was dependent upon this revelation 
 especially the safety of his people in the midst 
 of the awful calamities that were to befall the na- 
 tions, and they were so intimately involved that the 
 threats of this verse are spoken against him who 
 shall alter in any particular the things that are writ- 
 ten therein. It was a message from Jesus to his 
 people, who were soon to witness such calamities 
 as earth had never seen, and they must know just 
 how and when to act. Either precipitancy or de- 
 lay would be fatal. Hence the frequent warning: 
 " He that hath an ear let him hear what the Spirit 
 saith to the Churches." 
 
 "He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I 
 come quickly: Amen. Even so, come, Lord 
 Jesus. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be 
 with you all. Amen." 
 
 Here again the warning of the speedy coming 
 of Christ is given; and John, it would seem, adds, 
 "Even so, come, Lord Jesus;" and then pro- 
 nounces^the benediction: "The grace of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen." 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 The Folly of Modern Adventism Christ to Remain in Heaven 
 to the Judgment Mistakes of Modern Adventists. 
 
 THE idea that Jesus Christ will ever come in 
 the flesh again to earth and reign for a thou- 
 sand years, or for any period of time, is utterly fal- 
 lacious and unworthy of our Saviour. Besides, 
 the teachings of the Scriptures go solidly against it. 
 And yet in almost every period of the world's his- 
 tory from the ascension of Christ to the present 
 men have been expecting and predicting it. Even 
 in the days of the Apostle Paul men were looking 
 for the coming of Christ, and were troubling the 
 Church with their views; and some of them did 
 not scruple to write a letter in the name of Paul, 
 setting forth their peculiar views, as we learn from 
 an expression in Paul's Second Epistle to the Thes- 
 salonians (ii. I, 2), in which he says: " Now we 
 beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto 
 him, that ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be 
 troubled, neither by spirit, nor byword 9 nor&ytet 
 ter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at 
 hand." 
 
 These men claimed to have a revelation from 
 the Spirit on this subject. They preached it and, 
 as we have said, forged a letter in the name of 
 Paul, in which they made him to substantiate their 
 
 (313) 
 
314 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 views. From that time to the present men have 
 been urging these views upon the Church. They 
 claim that Christ will come, that the righteous dead 
 will be raised, and those that are looking for his 
 coming will be gathered together unto him; that 
 he will set up his throne somewhere, perhaps at Je- 
 rusalem, and will reign here on earth for a thou- 
 sand years. This we say is utterly unworthy of 
 Christ, and has not a particle of support from the 
 Scripture. 
 
 Just before the death of Christ he said to his dis- 
 ciples: " It is expedient for you that I go away: 
 for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come 
 unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto 
 you." 
 
 While Jesus was here in the flesh his presence 
 was restricted to a favored few. But few could 
 see him ; but few could hear him. It took time for 
 him to go from place to place. His Church after 
 his death was not to be confined to the narrow lim- 
 its of Palestine, but it was to take in the world: 
 "All nations shall serve him." Hence it was expe- 
 dient that he go away; for upon his going depend- 
 ed the coming of the Spirit, whose presence was 
 not to be limited by time or space. He was simply 
 omnipresent, and of never-waning, never-wearying 
 energy. He could be in every land and deal with 
 every heart at once ; and as the Christians were to 
 be co-workers with Christ, the increase of the 
 Church would only augment the power of the Spir- 
 it for the accomplishment of good. 
 
'The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 315 
 
 We gather from this last conversation of Jesus 
 with his disciples that his presence in heaven as an 
 advocate with the Father was necessary, if not in- 
 dispensable, to the presence of the Spirit upon 
 earth. If he went not away, the Spirit would not 
 come. And is not the presence of Jesus in heaven 
 to-day as indispensable to the presence of the 
 Spirit upon earth as at any time in the history of 
 the world ? 
 
 What folly to wish for Jesus in the flesh here on 
 the earth ! How many multiplied millions would 
 never see him ! And then, in comparison with the 
 constant, abiding presence of the Spirit, how unsat- 
 isfactory it would be for the most favored one to 
 catch a sight of him now and then, and hear but a 
 word or two from his lips while crowded from his 
 presence by the surging multitudes that would press 
 upon him by night and by day ! O it is a thousand 
 times better for us to have Jesus praying for us in 
 heaven than to have him reigning here on earth, 
 even under the most favorable circumstances. But 
 the Scriptures are very explicit on the fact that 
 Christ's place is in heaven, and will be to the end of 
 time. Peter, in preaching to the Jews, tells them 
 that it had been predicted of Jesus that " the heav- 
 ens must receive [him] until the time of the resti- 
 tution of all things." 
 
 - We are taught that when Christ comes it will be 
 to judge the world. In the First Epistle to the Thes- 
 salonians Paul tells us that " the Lord himself shall 
 descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of 
 
316 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 the archangel, and with the trump of God: and 
 the dead in Christ shall rise first; then we which 
 are alive and remain shall be caught up together 
 with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the 
 air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord." (i 
 Thess. iv. 16, 17-) Dead and living saints are to 
 be caught up to meet the Lord in the clouds, and 
 with him in heaven (not on earth) we are to live 
 forever. " I go to prepare a place for you," said 
 Jesus, "that where I am ye may be also." 
 
 This unscriptural doctrine of the coming of 
 Christ to reign on earth has been a source of 
 trouble wherever and whenever preached; and 
 every age has produced men who have talked of 
 and taught it, and simple-minded people have ever 
 been found to believe it. Time and time again 
 have men worked on the prophecies to prove when 
 the Lord would come. Mistakes and disappoint- 
 ments never dampen their zeal, nor do they teach 
 them wisdom. They set a time, and prove it to a 
 fraction ; and yet when the Lord fails to come at 
 the time they have fixed, they set right to work to 
 recast their calculations and to fix another time. 
 
 The close of the year 1000 was fixed as the time. 
 Let us read what a writer says of it: 
 
 THE LAST DAY OF THE YEAR 1000. 
 
 It was believed in the middle ages that the world would come 
 to an end at the expiration of one thousand years of the Chris- 
 tian era. This expectation in Christian countries was universal. 
 The year 1,000 was a period of suspense, terror, and awe. The 
 histories of this dark period give vivid accounts and incidents 
 of the state of the people under the influence of this awful ap- 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 317 
 
 prehension. A writer in 6" unday at Home reproduces the picture 
 with much distinctness, and relates an incident of the manner 
 that the hours were numbered on the supposed final night of the 
 year, which might aptly suggest a dramatic subject for a poet: 
 
 When the last day of the year 1000 dawned, the madness had 
 attained its height. All work of whatever kind was suspended. 
 The market-places were deserted. The shops were shut. The 
 tables were not spread for meals. The very household fires re- 
 mained unlighted. Men, when they met in the streets, scarcely 
 saw or spoke to one another. Their eyes had a wild stare in 
 them, as though they expected every moment some terrible 
 manifestation to take place. 
 
 Silence prevailed everywhere, except in the Churches, which 
 were already thronged with eager devotees, who prostrated 
 themselves before the shrines of their favorite saints, imploring 
 their protection during the fearful scenes which they supposed 
 were about to be displayed. 
 
 As the day wore on the number of those who sought admis- 
 sion grew greater and greater, until every corner of the sacred 
 edifices, large as these were, was densely crowded, and it became 
 impossible to find room for more. But the multitude outside 
 still strove and clamored for admission, filling the porches and 
 door-ways and climbing up the buttresses to find a refuge on the 
 roofs which they could not obtain inside. 
 
 A strange and solemn commentary on the text which binds 
 men to watch because " they know not whether the master of 
 the house will come at even, or at midnight, or at the cock- 
 crowing, or in the morning," was presented by the multitudes 
 which filled the churches that night. 
 
 Watch in very truth they did. Not an eye was closed through- 
 out that lengthened vigil ; not a knee but was bent in humblest 
 supplication; not a voice but joined the penitential chant, or 
 put up a fervent entreaty for help and projection. 
 
 There were no clocks in those days, but the flight of the hours 
 was marked by great waxen tapers, with metal balls attached at 
 intervals to them. These fell, one after another, as the flames 
 reached the strings by which they were secured, into a brazen 
 basin beneath, with a clang which resounded through the 
 church. 
 
 At the recurrence of each of these warning sounds the awe 
 
318 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 of the vast assembly seemed to deepen and intensify, as each in 
 terrible suspense supposed that between him and the outburst 
 of divine wrath only the briefest interval now remained. 
 
 At last the night, long as it was, began to draw to an end. 
 The chill which precedes daylight pervaded the air, and in the 
 eastern sky the first pale gleam of morning began to shoAv itself. 
 The light grew stronger in the heavens, and the flame of the 
 candles paled before it; and at last the rays of the risen sun 
 streamed through the windows on the white and anxious faces 
 of the watchers. The night had passed away. A new day, a 
 new year, a new century had begun. The text that says that 
 "no man knoweth the day nor the hour" had a new meaning. 
 
 Then in our own day we have had some expe- 
 rience in this line. About the year 1840 William 
 Miller announced that Christ would come and set 
 up his throne upon earth in October, 1843. He 
 said that at this time the world would be burned 
 up and cleansed by fire for the abode of the risen 
 righteous. 
 
 These were the points made by Mr. Miller in 
 working out his problem: "i. The little horn of 
 Daniel viii. is the Roman papal power. 2. The 
 'daily sacrifice' which the little horn 'took away' 
 (chap. viii. 11-13) was the pagan worship of idols 
 in old Rome. 3. The papal power abolished this 
 pagan idolatry in A.D. 508 or A.D. 538. 4. The 
 'sanctuary 7 which was 'cleansed* (chap. viii. 14) 
 is this entire world, and its cleansing is to be by 
 fire in 1843. Now, to find the exact time of this 
 great conflagration and cleansing he called in the 
 aid of chapter ix. 23-25." 
 
 We will not follow out all his reasoning and fig- 
 uring, for its failure is the proof of its fallacy. He, 
 with all others of his kind, takes the unscriptural, 
 
The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 319 
 
 untenable ground that a day stands for a year in 
 prophecy. 
 
 The spirit in which these dupes of a delusion 
 take their frequent disappointments, were it not so 
 sad, would be amusing. Let me in conclusion 
 give a single quotation from one of them who is 
 rallying his brethren for one more waiting. In 
 speaking of the " little book " given by the angel 
 to John to be eaten by him, after quoting the pas- 
 sage, he says: " These are the directions given to 
 the Church for their further movements, after their 
 first disappointment; and, my brethren of the ad- 
 vent faith, I would not chide you ; for you have eat- 
 en of this little book for the past forty years with a 
 keen relish; ay, you have endured the bitter, too, 
 which has followed, like heroes. If I could chide 
 you, it would be in this: that you now refuse to 
 eat more. The bitter has been so bitter (yet the 
 sweet was truly as sweet as honey) and has been 
 so exhausting (apparently) that many, very many, 
 have decided that it is bestybr the body that we 
 should eat no more. Truly the result of every 
 morsel since taking the book from the angel has 
 been bitterness. But, my brethren, if we are the 
 people of God, there is just one step more for us to 
 take, and only one. Hear it right from the lips of 
 the same angel that told John to take the book from 
 the hand of the first angel: 'And he said unto me, 
 Thou must -prophesy again [What, again? Yes, 
 again] before many peoples, and nations, and 
 tongues, and kings. 7 " 
 
320 The Kingdom and Comings of Christ. 
 
 Then, after making calculations, the author 
 winds up by fixing on 1889 as the year, and says: 
 " Why shall we not expect the Lord in 1889? The 
 writer, while he lays claim to no worldly wisdom, 
 and makes no pretensions as to being a prophet, 
 yet has no doubt that the year 18^89 will bring the 
 event mentioned in the last verse of Daniel's proph- 
 ecy, and means and expects to be ready." 
 
 So we see that no amount of disappointment can 
 dampen the ardor or cloud the faith of these false 
 interpreters of prophecy. Having accepted as true 
 that Christ is to reign in the flesh on earth, noth- 
 ing else will do them. 
 
 The doctrine, as taught by the " Second Advent- 
 ists," that Christ is to reign in the flesh here on 
 earth is entirely outside the Scripture. Peter tells 
 us plainly that the " heavens must receive him un- 
 til the times of restitution of all things." All w r ho 
 hold this doctrine disparage faith by their longing 
 desire to see Christ come and inaugurate a system 
 of work here on earth that shall be superior to that 
 now in operation. But this will never be. When 
 Christ shall come again which he surely will 
 it will be " with a shout, with the voice of the arch- 
 angel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in 
 Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and 
 remain shall be caught up together with them in 
 the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so 
 shall we ever be with the Lord [not on earth, but 
 in heaven]. Amen." 
 
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